Jude 1:6 And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation… The sin of angels is notorious, and their punishment is as famous; they are fallen from light to darkness, from heaven to hell, from felicity to misery; Valerian fell from a golden chair to a cage of iron; Dionysius fell from a king to a schoolmaster; Alexander III. fell from being pope to be a gardener in Venice; Nebuchadnezzar fell from a man to a beast; but the celestial spirits fell from angels to devils. For their sin of apostasy was great, it cried to God for vengeance. The Lord Jesus noteth this apostasy in them to show that their sin was not by creation but by wilful corruption. And this is the cause, saith , why God hath redeemed men and not angels, for that they sinned from within and of themselves maliciously and rebelliously; man sinned from without and by provocation. Their fall was great, so was their punishment. The higher their state and condition the more grievous their fall. If it was much for Cain to be a vagabond, and Adam to be driven out of Paradise, and Ishmael out of his father Abraham's house, how much more for the angels to be driven out of heaven and not to return, like Noah's dove, to the ark, but to live in darkness for ever? But in that God hath reserved them in chains, it is a thing of singular comfort. Here, therefore, we learn that they cannot pass their bounds, they are under God, they depend on His beck. Well, God hath reserved them in everlasting chains under darkness, they are punished already, but their full punishment is not before the day of judgment. As yet they are but as prisoners in fetters and irons; the great assizes, the day of execution, is yet to come. Lastly, note, that the day wherein the angels shall be judged is called a great day. It is so called in three respects: great in respect of the Judge (Daniel 7:9, 10); great in respect of the assistants — the angels; great in respect of the prisoners that shall be arraigned. Good Lord! what a great day will this be, when all the saints out of heaven, all the damned out of hell, all the dead bodies out of the earth must appear! Not an angel spared, not a devil respited, not a saint or sinner rescued, but all must be summoned to give their attendance and to make their appearances. But to proceed a little further, this day is called "a day" by an excellency. For never day was like unto it. For if the day of Christ's humiliation was so glorious, what shall be the day of His glorification? (S. Otes.) Parallel Verses KJV: And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. |
    |