Right Words

In 2 Pt. 2:4 and Jude 6, we learn the immediate and ultimate fate of defecting angels from Gen. 6: they were cast down to hell after drowning in the flood (2 Pt. 2:5) and await judgment at the great white throne (“the judgment of the great day”).

So who will judge angels per 1 Cor. 6:1-3? Easy, right: the saints (v. 3)…but which ones? Since it’s prophesied that the angels will be judged, the saints in 1 Cor. 6 are part of the prophetic program, not of the mystery program revealed to the apostle Paul after the close of Acts (Eph. 3:1-9, Col. 1:24-26). Daniel 7:9-10 is a foreview of the white throne judgment in Rev. 20:11-15. In v. 10 we see that the Lord is assisted in administering this judgment, which aligns perfectly with 1 Cor. 6:2-3. Kingdom saints from the old testament, gospel, and Acts periods will assist God with this judgment, since the church of this dispensation is not the subject of prophecy (Eph. 3:5, Col. 1:25).

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Strong meat addendum (not for the faint hearted):

1 Pt. 3:19-20 indicates that Christ preached to these defective angels in the underworld following his death. The “spirits” of v. 19 are defined by the context in v. 22 as “angels.” So apparently these spirits got a chance to repent of their defection after death. Ever heard people talk about getting a second chance like this? Well, that’s not true for men but may be for the angels that fell in Noah’s day.

Why? Here are my thoughts. While these beings were originally spirits (Ps. 104:4), they somehow took on flesh and blood when they left heaven, and therefore, in a marvelous way, qualified for the benefits of Christ’s atonement (Heb. 2:14-16). I believe that 1 Pt. 4:6 is a cross-reference to explain this special situation. Here were spirits that had taken on flesh and blood therefore qualified for blood atonement (Rom. 5:11). I can’t yet explain why these beings got a post-mortem space of repentance (Rev. 2:21) and sinful antediluvians did not, but it appears that Christ offered them clemency, but we don’t know if any of them took it. If Jude was written after 1 Peter, then it would indicate that some of them rejected the offer. At this time, only the gospel of the kingdom was being proclaimed, so likely that is what Christ preached to them, i.e., if they would submit to his authority (1 Pt. 3:22) – like the penitent thief just had (Luke 23:39-46) – they could be part of that kingdom, likely as men (1 Pt. 4:6). That’s about as far as I can go with this, but isn’t it astounding what’s actually covered in the Bible, contrary to popular unbelief!