whereas angels, being greater in strength and power, do not bring slanderous accusations against them in the presence of the Lord.
Truth to Learn
We all need to recognize what spiritual authority we are under.
Behind the Words
“Angels” is a transliteration of the Greek word angelos, meaning “a messenger.”
The word translated “slanderous” is blasphēmos, which means “to be abusive, to revile, or to slander a person’s good name. It is the word from which we get our English word blasphemy.
“Accusations” is from krisis, meaning “an accusation” or “a condemning judgment.”
Meaning Explained
Lest we forget, the people that Peter is now talking about are those false teachers who despise the ones in authority, especially those who are in spiritual authority over them. These false teachers were not afraid of the principalities and powers, and they even spoke evil of them. Peter now contrasts that with the attitude of the spirit beings themselves, the angels.
Let’s look at these spirit beings for a minute. There are differing ranks among the angels. There are those who are simply called “angels,” like those who appeared to the shepherds announcing the birth of Christ; there are a few, like Michael, who are called archangels, having a superior position to the others; and there are cherubs and seraphs that seem to have special functions around the throne of God. There are also those angels referred to as “principalities,” translated from the Greek archai, meaning “those who are chiefs among the rest.”
Peter says that even angels, who are greater in power and might than the false teachers who freely blaspheme higher powers, do not bring a slanderous accusation against those with spiritual dominion over them. Peter may be referring to an incident that is mentioned in the book of Jude. Jude also talks about false teachers who have crept into the church and who have spread destructive heresies. Also, like Peter, he talks about how these false teachers do not respect the spiritual hierarchy.
Satan (the Devil) was once one of the top angelic beings and he was described as “full of wisdom and perfect in beauty” (Ezekiel 28:12) before his fall, and he remains a powerful force among the spirit beings, higher and more powerful than even Michael the archangel. Jude speaks of Michael’s encounter with Satan regarding the body of Moses.
But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a railing judgment, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!" (Jude 9)
Michael, though he is a powerful and mighty archangel, would not bring an accusation against Satan who is more powerful, and mightier. Instead, he left the rebuking up to the even more powerful God.
Angels will not bring a reproaching accusation against another angel, but these false teachers will freely blaspheme them before the Lord. These false teachers don’t understand the very things they claim to have mastery over. Instead, as Peter will say in a later verse, they are “speaking out arrogant words of vanity…” and God will judge them for it!
Application
The false teachers that Peter has been talking about were not submitted to the lordship of Almighty God. They may have been great teachers. but without having been submitted to God’s authority, their teaching was empty vanity. In fact, none of us can be mightily used by God unless we’re submitted to His lordship. Is Jesus Christ your Lord, or just your Savior?
In God's service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2017 Will Krause. All rights reserved