2 Peter 2:4–10 is part of the apostolic testimony and false teachers
section of the letter. This section can be further subdivided as follows:1
- Body (middle): the apostolic testimony and the false teachers (2 Peter 1:12 – 2:22)
A call to remember (2 Peter 1:12–21)
The coming and the judgment of the false teachers (2 Peter 2:1–22)
The rise and judgment of the false teachers (2 Peter 2:1–3)
Past sinners and their doom (2 Peter 2:4–10)
Having previously affirmed the presence and coming destruction of the false teachers (2 Peter 2:1–3), Peter now goes on to give three examples that confirm what he has been saying. The false teachers might claim that there is no evidence that God intervenes to judge the world, but this is not true, since God has acted in the past and he will act in the future.
The examples which Peter uses are similar to the ones found in Jude 1:5–8 except for the fact that Peter refers to Noah whereas Jude refers to the Exodus. Peter also has a different aim with his examples. Jude wanted to show the judgment that comes on those who overstep their boundaries thinking that their privilege will spare them from God’s wrath. Peter instead uses his examples to emphasize the reality of divine judgment for the ungodly and preservation for those who trust in Christ.
An interesting feature of 2 Peter 2:4–10a is the fact that Peter uses one sentence in the Greek. He begins with an if clause
(protasis) in 2 Peter 2:4, with the then clause
(apodosis) being delayed until 2 Peter 2:9.
4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment;