2 Peter 2:10-11: Which Celestial Beings?

In 2 Peter the author is condemning false teachers, and specifically their pride and presumption. We would understand it if he then aimed some verses against their slandering angels in some way, but suddenly he refers to "celestial beings" that are not angels, for the angels are presented over against them in the very next clause. Who could these celestial beings be? Have we in fact entered some science-fiction world of dark monsters? Are these simply mythological, or a figment of Peter's imagination? And if they are real, what is their significance for Christians today?

The false teachers of 2 Peter were known for their immorality. The author says they will be condemned, for they "despise authority" or, better, "despise the authority of the Lord" (2 Pet 2:10). Not surprisingly, then, these people have nothing but contempt for other beings too.
The concept of celestial beings of one type or another has already been mentioned in 2 Peter. In 2 Peter 2:4 the author mentions the sinning angels of Genesis 6:1-4. Jude 6 refers to them as "the angels who did not keep their positions of authority." They are kept in prison, waiting for the final judgment, a picture we also see in 1 Peter 3:19-20. Now in the passage under consideration, Peter refers to "glorious ones" (a more literal translation than "celestial beings"). While some commentators believe that these are church leaders, the language appears too exalted for that. They could, of course, be good angels, but a natural reading of the passage shows a contrast between these "glorious ones" and the angels mentioned in the next clause. Also, the parallel passage in Jude 9 refers to the archangel Michael's dispute with Satan, which Peter has generalized into the behavior of angels in general over against that of evil angels (perhaps because he did not think his readers would know the story to which Jude refers). Therefore we conclude that by "glorious ones" or "celestial beings" Peter is referring to evil angelic beings of some description.

That such beings exist is clear elsewhere in the New Testament. Paul refers to "rule and authority, power and dominion" (Eph 1:21) and "thrones or powers or rulers or authorities" (Col 1:16). He also mentions that Christians fight against "the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms" (Eph 6:12). Furthermore, Revelation 12 and Daniel 10 refer to battles among spiritual forces in the unseen world. In other words, there is plenty of evidence in the New Testament for the existence of evil celestial beings, in terms of either fallen angels or other types of celestial beings. Nowhere is this terminology explained to the church nor is detailed information about these realms offered (perhaps to prevent our entering into the speculation and fascination evident in some intertestamental Jewish writings), but it is everywhere assumed that they exist.

The false teachers 2 Peter opposes, then, speak disrespectfully, even slanderously, of such beings, even though they are far weaker than these spiritual beings. But the angels, who are more powerful than these beings (our author may be thinking of archangels, since an archangel is mentioned in Jude) would not make such an accusation against them before the Lord. The contrast shows the magnitude of the foolishness of the false teachers.

Why would they slander celestial beings? We do not know. Perhaps they had been warned that if they continued in their licentious ways they would fall under the power of such beings. (We do not call them demons, for we do not know if demons are the same as or different from such beings; they may be far more powerful than demons, who appear in the New Testament to attack or control single individuals and so may be low-level evil spiritual beings.) They may have scoffed at their existence or boasted of being able to control them. All such presumption is dangerous.

What does this mean for the church? The church is called to take the existence of an infernal hierarchy seriously. Spiritual powers do rule in this world. But the church is not called to spend time learning a lot about such powers or to speak against them, although the Lord could, of course, give a person a prophetic word to speak to that realm. Paul lists the means of spiritual warfare in Ephesians 6, and although they include prayer, they do not include direct confrontation with celestial beings. Unfortunately, in our fascination with such powers we may be tempted to speak against them (without a direct command of the Lord, but simply to try to demonstrate "our authority") or to live in fear of them. Peter expects them to be taken seriously, but the way they are taken seriously is by living a holy life free from the desires and pride to which they appear to be related (and which pastoral experience reveals to be the principal means by which they control a person). This means that the New Testament does take such celestial beings seriously, but wants Christians to focus on Christ, not on the dark powers. If Christians live in intimacy with and obedience to Christ (unlike these false teachers), then such beings can do nothing ultimate to them.