It appears there were at least two falls of angels; one was the one we call Satan, who, when man was made, tempted man through Eve. With regard to these evil angels, of which we read in the Bible from Genesis down to Revelation, they are not under everlasting chains at all. They are roving about the world continually, and so far have not been reserved in chains of darkness; they are allowed access to heaven. You will see that in a very marvelous way in the history of Job. You will see there “the sons of God” referred to. They are the angels of God. The angels of God appeared before God. We learn from this that they have access, and they include not only the good angels but also the satanic angels. Satan was a fallen angel, but still he was an angel, and when “the sons of God” came, Satan was there too, so that it is evident, from the Book of Revelation more particularly that Satan will not lose that access to the presence of God until we are actually in heaven. It has not come to pass yet. People have an extraordinary idea in their heads that whatever access Satan had before that time, he lost it — either when our Lord was born or when our Lord died — but there is nothing of this in the Epistle to the Ephesians, where, on the contrary, it is expressly stated that our wrestling is not against flesh and blood but against wicked spirits in the heavenlies. We are not like the Israelites fighting against Canaanites. Our Canaanite is a spiritual enemy in heavenly places, that is, Satan and his host of demons or angels.
Angels in Chains
In Jude 6, we read of “angels which kept not their first estate.” These angels fell into a very peculiar iniquity, which is in a general way spoken of in Peter, but in a special way in Jude. In consequence, they were put under chains of darkness and not allowed to stir out of their prison. They are not the angels that tempt us now; they did their bad work just a little time before the flood. We do not know just how it was done, but Genesis 6 says that there were “sons of God” upon earth at that time who acted in a way which was so offensive to Him that it brought on the flood. No doubt man in general was very corrupt and vile, but besides that there was, in some mysterious manner, this awful violation of the marks that divide the creatures of God. As a result God completely destroyed the whole framework of creation, so that every one of them perished. Those angels that behaved in that tremendously wicked manner became prisoners. They are not like Satan and his host that tempt us to this day; these particular angels were not allowed to tempt men anymore. They had done too much, and God would not allow these things to go on any longer; therefore there was this mighty interference at the time of the flood. Their falling was a departure from their first estate, but in this particular case Satan had not done so, nor the angels that fell with Satan. These angels left their own habitation and preferred to take their place among mankind to act as if they were men on earth. Accordingly, God has now reserved them in everlasting chains under darkness until the judgment of the great day.
What makes the matter so striking is that Jude compares this awful conduct with Sodom and Gomorrah. The enormity of this wickedness exceeded that of all wicked people, and this is what brings them into a position with Sodom and Gomorrah: “Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire” (Jude 7).
In Peter, it is general: “If God spared not the angels that sinned” (2 Peter 2:4). He cast them down into chains and darkness, but that description does not apply to Satan and his host. Therefore it seems there were two different falls of angels; one, Satan and his followers mounting up in the pride of their hearts to God; the other, these angels sinking down in the wickedness of their heart to man, in a very low condition indeed. The difference therefore is most marked. God “delivered them unto chains of darkness to be reserved unto judgment; and spared not the old world.” There is a connection between the two narratives (that is, the judgment of these angels and the flood of Noah), as they took place about the same time. Peter marks this very point and puts it along with God’s dealing with the angels. In keeping with this theme of unrighteousness and judgment, Noah is described as a “preacher of righteousness,” not as a preacher of grace.
Obedience
We come now to the bearing of Peter’s words upon the present time. “The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished” (2 Peter 2:9). The analogy is that this particular form of evil requires a particular form of discipline, and that the world will be destroyed not by water but by fire from God in heaven. Now when we come to Jude, it is a great deal closer than all this. What he says is, “Likewise also these dreamers” — those who live in the imagination of their own hearts instead of being guided by the Word of God. The Word of God is an expression of God’s authority, and His will is the only thing that ought to guide us, whether believers or unbelievers. If I were to give, in one word, in what all practical Christianity consists, I should say obedience, the obedience of faith, not law. It is characterized by Peter in his first epistle as “the obedience of Christ.” Fallen angels failed in their obedience, and fallen man has failed in his. It is a privilege, as believers, to seek to be characterized by the obedience of Jesus Christ.
W. Kelly, adapted