if so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from their trials, and to reserve the unrighteous for punishment at the day of judgment
2 Peter 2:9 NET
Much of 2 Peter is written about false teachers who were coming into the church and exploiting the people for their own benefit. They were leading immoral lifestyles and teaching others to do the same.
In this chapter, Peter is primarily concerned with showing the judgment that awaited these false teachers and any who followed their example. In 2 Peter 2:4-8, he gave two examples of God’s judgment against the ungodly and his rescue of the righteous.
Two Examples
His first example centered around the flood. The “angels who sinned (2 Pet. 2:4)” is likely a reference to the sons of God who married human women (Gen. 6:1-4). These have been kept chained in Tartarus (often translated as hell), and they are awaiting judgment.
Most of the world at that time was described as wicked and was destroyed by the flood. But God rescued righteous Noah and his family.
The second example Peter used is Sodom and Gomorrah. Those wicked cities were utterly destroyed. But God rescued righteous Lot and his family from that destruction.
And Two Conclusions
The conclusion that Peter draws from this is two-fold. The Lord knows how to rescue the godly from the trials we face. Like Noah and Lot, we can be assured that we will escape the judgment that awaits the ungodly world. This rescue has a future component, taking place at the time of judgment, just like Noah’s deliverance from the flood and Lot’s deliverance from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. But we also experience his deliverance now as God’s dearly loved children.
Peter’s second conclusion is that a day of judgment for the unrighteous is coming. Regardless of how good their life might be now, judgment is coming. The flood and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah illustrate the completeness of their destruction.
Don’t envy those who seem to be prospering in this world. And don’t be tempted to follow their example. Their judgment is coming. Instead, be faithful to the one who can, and will, rescue you from the judgment that awaits an ungodly word. And who will, even now, protect and guard what you have entrusted to him (2 Tim. 1:12).
