It is a serious thing when a person who has been blessed by God does not behave like someone who has been blessed by God. In 1 Corinthians 5, the apostle Paul addressed a case in the church at Corinth and said in verse one, “It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father's wife.”
He named sin. It is not a pleasant thing to do. It is not a popular thing for people to hear. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 5:2, “And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you…”
The Corinthian church should have been brokenhearted. They did not mourn about the sin, nor did they mourn about the judgment that was coming to this individual. Notice verses 3-5. “For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed, In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.”
Paul said that it is possible to be delivered to the devil for the destruction of the flesh. The Bible says in 1 John 5:16, “If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.”
This message is to God’s people. There is a sin unto death for saved people. The Bible clearly teaches that it is possible for a Christian to die prematurely. There are instances in Scripture like 1 Corinthians 11:30-32 where the Lord teaches us that Christians who continue in sin were chastised with premature death.
Concerning Israel, God delivered His people from Egypt and He judged them in the wilderness. For forty years, they died in the wilderness. If God judged His own people, be certain that He will judge the apostates as well.
Jude gives the first example of these Israelites who came out of Egypt. The second example is in verse six and speaks of the angels “which kept not their first estate.” The Bible says, “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.”
These were beautiful angels, angels who rebelled against God and were judged for their rebellion. God says that they “kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation.” We are told that these expressions have to do with their manner of life. The word “habitation” has to do with their dwelling as individual angels.
There is a record in Genesis 6 where the “sons of God” married the “daughters of men,” and they produced giants in the land. This was before the old world was destroyed by the flood. Many good men believe these “sons of God” were spirit beings. There are other good men who believe it is simply a record of the unsaved marrying the saved. When the line of Seth and the line of Cain came together, the line of separation was broken and the judgment of God came upon them.
Some believe that this particular verse in Jude 6, is a commentary on Genesis 6 and explains what happened to those “sons of God.” Not all the fallen angels are reserved in judgement. Some of those angels are known as the demon spirits who move freely about in our world today. Others are bound and chained, reserved for judgement. There is great demonic activity in the world today. Some Bible teachers say that the ones who are bound are the ones that defiled the flesh and got involved with the human race in Genesis chapter 6. What I do know for sure is that God says that there were angels who left their own habitation.
These creatures of God, dwelling in the presence of God, the glory of God, kept not their first estate, their first principles, and now are reserved in everlasting chains under darkness. They left their own habitation, and they are reserved under darkness in chains until the judgment of the great day. God gives us this second example. He speaks of the group of fallen angels who rebelled along with Satan. Perhaps a third of the angels rebelled with the Devil. The Bible says in Revelation 12:4, “And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.”
God judged these angels, these created beings, these ministering spirits. God judged them and He is going to cast them into the lake of fire.
What about someone who has done such mighty things, someone who has accomplished so much good? If God will judge angels, no one will escape. The truth is that God judged these angels that sinned, and He will surely judge the apostates.
The lake of fire was prepared for Satan and his fallen angels (Matthew 25:41). That will be their ultimate destiny. God has decided not to provide salvation to fallen angelic beings. But God sent Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, to the earth to be made like His brethren, “that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation [propitiation] for the sins of the people.” (Hebrews 2:17). God has provided salvation to fallen human beings. One’s ultimate destiny need not be the lake of fire but can be with God and with Christ.
We remember that “God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (John 17:3).
“And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent” (John 17:3).
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