For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment … - 2 Peter 2:4

Today’s Scripture Reading (March 6, 2015): 2 Peter 2

In Greek mythology, Tantalus entertained the gods with a grand banquet. But the main course that he offered to the gods was the body of his son, Pelops. According to the story, Tantalus cut Pelops up and then boiled the meat, after which he served him as the main course in a meal that was given to the gods. But the gods that attended the banquet were not fooled – and neither were they amused by Tantalus’ actions. Only Demeter, the god of the harvest who was preoccupied at the time of the banquet, tasted the meat that had been set before them. Demeter ate the shoulder of Pelops before he realized what the meat really was. The gods were appalled, and greatly angered. And so they consigned Tantalus to Tartarus, the mythical Greek version of hell. There he was condemned to stand in a pool of water beneath a fruit tree for the rest of time. But every time he grew hungry and wanted to taste the fruit of the tree that stood above him, the branches would raise just enough so that they were out of reach of Tantalus’ outstretched arms. And every time he grew thirsty and would reach down to the pool of water at his feet, the water would pull just outside of his reach. In fact, it is in this experience of Tantalus in Tartarus that we find the root of the English word “tantalize” – to be teased by something that is just out of reach.

As Peter writes this passage, he begins to give examples of divine judgment, beginning with the angels. But as he talks of the angels being banished to hell, and being put into chains of darkness where they will await judgment, the word that he uses for hell is “Tartarus.” In the entire breadth of scripture, this is the only time that “Tartarus” is used to describe hell. But because Peter is writing to Greeks, it makes sense that he would use terms with which the Greeks would be familiar.

But there also might be a message about the kind of torture that the angels suffer in Tartarus. Consider that we often consider angels to be emissaries of light, and Peter describes their experience in Tartarus as being “chained by darkness.” These beings who existed only to be in service to God, now are spending their time awaiting the Day of Judgment in the absence of God. The agony of the angels that had been sentenced to Tartarus may not have much different from the pain that was experienced by Tantalus. In some ways there would seem to be a parallel between the story of Tantalus in Tartarus and the fate of the angels that have been sent there.

Peter’s central point is that even the angels who have opposed God have been condemned, so why do with think that we will be immune when we oppose God. It is a question that we need to consider carefully, in the shadow of Tartarus.   

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 2 Peter 3

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