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Satan, Devil and Demons
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  Genesis 3:4-5
  Genesis 6:2
  Job 1:6
  Isaiah 14:12-14
  Ezekiel 28:13-16
  Matthew 4:1-11
  Matt. 12:43-45
  Luke 10:18
  Luke 22:3,31
  John 12:31
   14:30; 16:11
  John 13:2,27
  2 Cor. 11:14
  James 2:19
  1 Peter 5:8
  2 Peter 2:4
  Jude 6
  Jude 9
  Rev. 12:7-9
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2 Peter 2:4; Jude 6
"And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day."

Problem:
A J.W. publication interprets these verses as follows:

". . . before the flood of Noah's day some of these spirit 'sons of God' materialized as men, that is, they left their place in heaven as spirit creatures and clothed themselves with fleshly bodies. And why? To enjoy human passions by marrying the good-looking daughters of men . . . When the global flood of Noah's day destroyed all the wicked humans, the unfaithful angels dissolved their fleshly bodies and returned to the spirit realm. But they were not allowed to become part of God's organization of holy angels again. Instead, they were confined in a debased condition of spiritual darkness. (2 Peter 2:4). Since the Flood, God has not permitted these demonic angels to materialize in the flesh as they did before then. Yet they can still exercise dangerous power over men and women. In fact, with the help of these demons Satan is 'misleading the entire inhabited earth.' (Revelation 12:9)."1

Solution:
  1. The above publication assumes without proof the following:
    1. That the "angels" which sinned were spirit creatures. The Greek word "aggelos" translated "angel" means "messenger, agent",2 and is used of both human and divine messengers. It is used of humans in the following places: Matt. 11:10; Luke 7:24, 27; 9:52; and James 2:25.
    2. That "sons of God" must refer to divine angels. (It refers to humans in Deut. 14:1, R.S.V.; Psa. 82:6, R.S.V.; Hosea 1:10; Luke 3:38; John 1:12; 1 John 3:1.)
    3. That evil power can still be exercised by the "angels that sinned" despite the fact that they are "reserved in everlasting chains". (Why bother to chain these angels, if as the J.W. publication contends, they can still 'exercise dangerous power over men and women'?)

  2. The angels in this passage are human, not divine angels. This is proven by the following:
    1. "The wages of sin is death." (Rom. 6:23).
    2. If divine angels were sinners, then they would die.
    3. But Jesus said angels do not die. (Luke 20:36).
    4. Therefore, the angels which sinned were human, not divine angels.

  3. All existence in Scripture is bodily existence. J.W.'s should be pressed hard for Scriptural evidence for asserting bodies can be "materialized" and "dissolved".

  4. There is evidence that the human angels were the 250 princes of the Israelitish congregation which were led in rebellion by Korah, Dathan and Abiram. (Num. 16). Consider the following:
    1. They were "aggeloi" (angels) since they were assigned to "minister" to the congregation. (Num. 16:9).
    2. Their "first estate" or "principality" (Jude 6 mg.) was that of "princes" or "leaders" R.S.V. (Num. 16:2).
    3. They left this "former estate" when they sought the priesthood. (Num. 16:10).
    4. They were delivered into "chains of darkness" when they were swallowed alive by the earth. (Num. 16:31-33).3
    5. They were "sinners" in arrogating to themselves the priesthood. (Num. 16:10, 38).
    6. The judgment is that which will be administered by Christ. (2 Tim. 4:1).
    7. Those who opposed Moses in the rebellion of Korah were called the "sons of Levi" (Num. 16:8). In Malachi 2:7 we find that the levitical priests were also called "messengers ("aggeloi") of the LORD."

  5. It will be noted that in Peter's epistle, "the angels that sinned" is placed chronologically before the time of (2 Peter 2:4, 5), whereas in Jude's epistle, it is placed after the exodus of Israel from Egypt. (Jude 5, 6). There are too many similarities between the two epistles to conclude that the accounts refer to two different occasions on which "angels sinned". Rather Jude's epistle must be regarded as setting out the chronological order of events since in verse 6 the Greek text is syntactically connected with verse 5,4 thereby implying the historical sequence. But why the reversal of historical allusions in Peter's account? Because verse 4 in Peter's account is connected with verse 1. "But there were false prophets also among the people, {i.e., Israel of old}5 even as there shall be false teachers among you . . ." Verses 2 and 3 are a warning of false teachers to come in the future, but verse 4 reverts to verse 1 and illustrates the judgment of God upon false prophets in Israel. In verses 5-7, Peter guided by the Holy Spirit, selects two additional illustrations from Old Testament history.
Footnotes:
  1. The Truth that leads to Eternal Life, (Brooklyn, New York: Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of N.Y. Inc., Int. Bible Students Ass., 1968), pp. 58, 59. Return

  2. Robert Young, Analytical Concordance to the Holy Bible, (London: Lutterworth Press, 1965). Return

  3. The Greek word for "hell" in 2 Peter 2:4 is "tartarus" which only occurs in this passage. In popular mythology "tartarus" meant lower than hell ("hades"). This is exactly where Korah, Dathan, and Abiram went when swallowed up by the earth. See James Hasting (ed.), Dictionary of the Bible, (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1963), P. 319. Return

  4. 2 Peter 2:5, 6 uses the normal disjunctive "kai", but Jude uses "te" which is copulative in character, and indicates the connection between Jude 5 and 6. Return

  5. Note the connection between 2 Peter 2:1 ("among the people") and 2 Peter 1:21 ("holy men of God" - i.e., in Israel) cf. Acts 4:27. Return