Good afternoon!<\/p>\n
What exactly does “reviling angelic majesties” mean in II Peter 2:10?<\/p>\n\t
“then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires and despise authority. Daring, self-willed, they do not tremble when they revile angelic majesties, <\/em>whereas angels who are greater in might and power do not bring a reviling judgment against them before the Lord<\/em>” (II Peter 2:9-11).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
This is in the middle of describing false teachers. One emphasized characteristic is a lack of respect for authority in any form. They “despise authority,” are “self-willed,” and have no fear of reviling “angelic Majesties.” False teachers don’t want to be corrected by anyone.<\/p>\n
These are people who want no restraints of any sort on their behavior (Romans 1:28-31). It is a natural result of rejecting God’s authority since governmental authority derives from God (Romans 13:1-2). But it goes a step further than rejection. They despise all authority.<\/p>\n
The false teachers are also described as daring, brazen, bold, or audacious. They have lost any fear of acting against authority.<\/p>\n
Albert Barnes describes “self-willed” as “being self-complacent; a trait of character which, of necessity, makes a man imperious, dogmatical, impatient of contradiction, and unyielding.” Matthew Poole defines it as “stubborn, refractory, addicted to their own ways, and therefore will not be ruled by others.” In other words, false teachers believe they are right, and no one is going to tell them differently (Psalms 73:8).<\/p>\n
Sadly, people don’t see the danger of false teachers’ behaviors. Instead, they are drawn to them, much as teenage girls are drawn to the “bad boys” in their circle.<\/p>\n
False teachers have no fear of blaspheming “glories” or dignities.\u00a0The Greek word\u00a0doxas,<\/em> used in II Peter 2:10, means “glories.”\u00a0Some believe this is a reference to angels as spoken of II Peter 2:11, and so to clarify, the word “angelic” is added. Others believe it is a reference to anyone whom God has glorified with a high position. However, the Greek word\u00a0doxa<\/em>\u00a0is frequently used in reference to the glory of God and the things connected with God. The other times it is used in the plural form are\u00a0I Peter 1:11\u00a0and\u00a0Jude 8. False teachers will lie about the glories of God’s work resulting from Christ’s suffering.<\/p>\n
In contrast, angels, who are greater and mightier than any man, refuse to slander false teachers before God. They do not even slander Satan before God (Jude 9). It is God’s place to render final judgment (Zechariah 3:2). [There is a debate as to what “them” refers to in\u00a0II Peter 2:11. Possibilities are the “glories,” fallen angels, or false teachers. I lean to the latter because the form of “them” in Greek is plural, genitive, and has consistently been used about the false teachers in II Peter 2.]<\/p>\n\t
Response:<\/h2>\n
Thanks.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: Good afternoon! What exactly does “reviling angelic majesties” mean in II Peter 2:10? Answer: “then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires and despise authority. Daring, self-willed, they…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[1139,76],"class_list":["post-82317","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-ii-peter","tag-terminology"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":79341,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/im-tired-of-sinning-sexually\/","url_meta":{"origin":82317,"position":0},"title":"I’m tired of sinning sexually","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 21, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good evening, I write to you because I am tired of sinning sexually. When I think I have overcome it, I fall again, and I sin with prostitutes when I know that I am a minister. I have a relationship with the Lord, yet I continue to sin and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":54338,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-were-michael-and-satan-arguing-about-the-body-of-moses\/","url_meta":{"origin":82317,"position":1},"title":"Why were Michael and Satan arguing about the body of Moses?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 29, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a Bible question about Jude:\u00a0 Why were Michael and Satan arguing about the corpse of Moses? Answer: \"Yet in the same way these men, also by dreaming, defile the flesh, and reject authority, and revile angelic majesties. 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Answer: \"He who walks in his uprightness\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":51547,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/im-perplexed-we-agreed-not-to-have-sex-before-marriage-but-he-keeps-pushing\/","url_meta":{"origin":82317,"position":3},"title":"I’m perplexed. We agreed not to have sex before marriage, but he keeps pushing","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 2, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good evening, I first would like to say 'thank you' and God bless you for all the questions you have been answering. I have been on your websites and reading many of the answers, and all of them are answered using the Bible.\u00a0 Thank you for being truthful, blunt,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":46921,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-couldnt-make-my-pledge-this-month-and-the-pastor-wants-god-to-afflict-me-what-do-i-do\/","url_meta":{"origin":82317,"position":4},"title":"I couldn’t make my pledge this month and the pastor wants God to afflict me. What do I do?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 16, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am a young lady of 26 years. I attend a church and during a fundraising, the pastor asked me to pay 2000 in our currency. I got 500 to pay him and promised to pay the rest later. He mentioned we should not cross the end of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":93352,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/clouds-without-water\/","url_meta":{"origin":82317,"position":5},"title":"Clouds Without Water","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 21, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton Peter spoke of change agents as false teachers who creep into churches, promise liberty from the old way of doing things, but they \"despise authority\" (II Peter 2). They are \"clouds without water\". What does that mean? 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