2 Peter 2:6 — Example 3, Part 4: Denouement

… if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly;

Summary: Is God mean? Are his judgments unfair? Does the fact that God is spirit have any impact on what the Bible tells us? 

At the end of a story, there is usually a final chapter called the “denouement.” The word is derived from a French word meaning “unknot.” Ironically, our expression for the same thing is to “tie up loose ends.” Either way, the idea is to put the story in perspective and answer questions that might be in the reader’s mind. 

The story we have just read is one of judgment. Peter has told us that angels who sin are in “chains of darkness to be held for judgment” (2 Peter 2:4). He shared the story of Noah and the judgment on the rest of the world by water (2 Peter 2: 5). Finally, he mentions Sodom and Gomorrah (2 Peter 2: 6). 

The story of Sodom and Gomorrah is especially disturbing. Understanding how that must have occurred challenges our understanding of God’s wrath. Knowing that the Bible promises more of the same for all who reject God’s Son is even more terrifying. 

What are we to make of all this? 

In John 3: 9-12, Nicodemus asks Jesus, “How can this be?” (Jesus has been talking about being “born again.”) Jesus replies: 

“‘You are Israel’s teacher,’ said Jesus, ‘and do you not understand these things? … I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things?’”

Later, when talking with his disciples, Jesus explains, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables…” (Mark 4:11).

Why? Why does Jesus have to talk in parables? 

Imagine for a moment that you could talk to fish. While you are swimming around a fish asks, “Where do you come from?” 

How do you explain to a fish what it is like to live on the land? 

Uh-huh. Not easy, is it? 

Jesus had the same problem. How do you explain to people in the physical realm what life is like in the spiritual realm? His answer? Parables. He used examples in the physical realm to show us what things will be like in the spiritual realm. 

Do you think that there is a real “lake of burning sulfur” in the spiritual realm? Is there sulfur on that side of the grave? Spiritual and physical are entirely different things. The physical world is a subset of the spiritual. The physical universe has a beginning and an end. The spiritual realm is eternal. 

So there is something like a lake of burning sulfur in the spiritual realm. There is something as horrible as a blood-red rain that burns endlessly. This spiritual version feels the pain of burning sulfur both inside and out. The poisonous gasses that burn the eyes and eat out the lungs are symbols of the spiritual reality that exists for those who reject God. 

Why is this important? 

For the answer, we need to return to Genesis 2 – 3. The story of “original sin” is critical to understanding the rest of the Bible. In Genesis 2: 16-17 God says, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” Later, in Genesis 3:4, the serpent challenges what God said. He tells Eve, “You will not certainly die…” 

Who was right? 

Was the serpent correct? Was God wrong? The answer depends on your understanding of the word “die.” 

Obviously, after eating the forbidden fruit, Adam and Eve were still physically alive. But something had definitely changed. They were dead spiritually. They just did not know it. 

In Jesus’ amazing prayer for those who believe in him, he explains: “Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” (John 17:3)

Eternal life is knowing God. Not knowing “about” God, but knowing God personally. 

Adam and Eve knew God but chose to disobey, reject God, and break the spiritual bond that they had with God. Their body still lived, but their spirits were no longer “knowing God.” In that sense, they were dead. 

You and I are dead, too, unless we know God through knowing his Son, Jesus Christ. There is no other way. To be physically dead and to be without God is like being in a lake of burning sulfur. God is telling us what it feels like to be apart from him. Not that God has devised ways to torture people for the sake of hurting them. It is that God wants us to understand the consequences of eternity without him. His hope is that you will want to be with him forever. 

Application: As you read the Bible remember why God speaks in parables.  

Food for Thought: Is God’s physical wrath in Old Testament times an expression of his anger, or something else? Explain.