2 Thessalonians 1:6-10

God is not only righteous in the way He leads us.  He is righteous in the way He judges men.  All men!  God’s judgment is always fair.  We say this because it is fundamentally what we call the law of the harvest.  What you sow, you reap.  That is clearly evident by the use of the term tribulation (NKJV) in v4 and v6.  The Thessalonians are experiencing tribulation at the hands of their persecutors.  Eventually God will bring tribulations upon those who have troubled the believers.  This is why the Bible uses words like repay (v6), vengeance (v8) and punishment (v9).

Today’s passage answers important questions about God’s punishment.

·        The time of punishment (v7).  The day of judgment occurs when Christ returns from heaven with the host of heaven.  This event is described in chapter 19 of the last book of the Bible, The Revelation of Jesus Christ.  Thus, the Thessalonians need to realize that there may not be an end to the persecution.  They may even die because of the sufferings.  Their hope is in the return of Christ.

·        The recipients of punishment (v8).  Punishment comes on those who do not know God and those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Some understand this to refer to both those who have never heard the gospel and those who, having heard, have rejected and disobeyed the gospel.  That may be.  But it may also be understood that the two phrases speak of the same people.  Those who disobey the gospel have forfeited the only way to come to God and thus do not know God.  What it means in this context is that punishment is not only for those who have actively persecuted Christians.

·        The nature of punishment (v9).  It is described as flaming fire in v8.  In v9 it is everlasting destruction.  We have argued elsewhere that this is not annihilation.  The term for everlasting is used of everlasting life where life continues on in eternity.  We take it to refer here to an ongoing experience of destruction.  Note that this everlasting destruction is said to be   the presence of the Lord and the glory of His power.  The separation from God that sinners have experienced since the Garden of Eden will continue on throughout eternity.  That description makes it sound as if those being punished are conscious of what they are missing. 

Verse 10 speaks of the glorification of Christ and believers.

·        The time of glorification.  It will happen in that Day, when Christ comes, at the same time as the punishment.

·        The recipients of glorification.  Jesus will be glorified in His saints.  The saints are all those who believe.  Jesus gave His life for those believers; thus every one of them that is present when He returns will be for the honor and glory of Christ.

·        The description of glorification.  This is the mystery of God, the event at the end of the ages when God will gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth (Eph. 1:9-10). 

This is encouragement for God’s people in Thessalonica and for all believers.  We are called to suffer as Christ suffered.  But we have a hope beyond this life that spurs us on to patience and faith.