“…that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer; since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you…” 2 Thessalonians 1:5b-6.

The above was covered in the study Everlasting Destruction, 2 Thessalonians 1:6 posted on 2-3-21, and has been included for context. This post will be on 2 Thessalonians 1:7-12 only.

“…and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 2 Thessalonians 1:7-8.

Please consider something before we go further. As you know the Thessalonians never saw the Lord Jesus descend from heaven in flaming fire to punish those who persecuted them.

In fact they all died in faith nearly two thousand years ago, so it could be said that they are already at rest with Paul and with their other loved ones who had passed on before them.

It may be true that the persecution against them died out over time and they came into a period of peace just as Paul and the apostles may have experienced at times, though the apostles lives were often interrupted by violence.

Eventually though all of this generation fell asleep and another one took their place. Paul’s gospel and these letters were passed on to this next generation, and so on for two thousand years; “…because our testimony among you was believed.”

It is not just the Thessalonians that these letters were written to, they have been a comfort to all Christians who have read them during the entire church age, which will end when the rapture takes all Christians away.

First and Second Thessalonians were a comfort for Christians during the days of the Roman persecutions when they were being thrown to the lions.

They were comforted in the middle ages when they were being abused, humiliated, violated and burned at the stake for refusing to come under the heretical hand of the Church of Rome.

They were comforted while they were being persecuted for not coming under the hand of state churches formed during the Reformation (many Christians came to America for this reason).

Missionaries were comforted many years later when they came under attack in the foreign lands where they went to preach the gospel.

Again, we are beginning to see persecution here and now throughout all the earth, especially in communist and Muslim countries as Satan again asserts his authority over ungodly men who gladly do his bidding.

Scripture has always been relevant to every generation of Christians in every century.

These words will also be life and hope for the starving Christian hiding in a cave and reading them during the tribulation, as they witness the murderous destruction and desolation all around them.

You see, these verses describe the glorious appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ at the end of the tribulation.

All who have ever believed will be at rest and witnesses to this sight when Jesus imprisons the Devil and sentences all of the ungodly who remain alive to hell and on Judgment Day to the lake of fire.

While those who became Christians during the tribulation and are alive and remain will be invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb and enter the kingdom of Christ during the millennium, see Matthew 25:31-46.

“…in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 2 Thessalonians 1:8.

I call the folks referred to as, “those who do not know God” the Homer Simpsons of the world (from the cartoon show, “The Simpsons”).

These are people who are satisfied with this life and are too lazy or indifferent to bother to know God.

Like Homer Simpson, they will go to the coliseum to watch Christians being tortured and murdered for enjoyment. Without really knowing or caring why they are persecuted, other than the fact that everyone hates Christians for a good reason, whatever that is.

Concerning, “those who do not obey the gospel” these are people who have heard the gospel of salvation and rejected it knowingly. People from both of these groups are dropping into hell hourly, at which point they will see things as they really are, unfortunately, too late.

It will be a bit different when they see the Lord Jesus returning in power and flaming fire, because then they will say this.

“And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?’” Revelation 6:15-17.

There are only two choices in life, do you want to rest in the love of Christ or fall under His wrath. Only two questions and only two; there is no middle ground.

“These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power…” 2 Thessalonians 1:9.

This destruction will be for eternity, there will be no second chance, nor time in purgatory, because it does not exist. All eternal choices are made by men and women within their lifetime!

The destruction is very real; it is the catastrophic loss of everything, not annihilation.

These things are, “from the presence of the Lord”. There are two thoughts here; when they are cast out from the presence of the Lord, unbelievers will never see the glory that God has prepared for those who love Him.

This has been said before, but it bears repeating; there are a lot of Age of Aquarius types who envision a world paradise. It will be a place where the oceans are unpolluted and dolphins frolic and whales breech joyfully. On land, men are at peace, and the fruit of the ground produces bountifully, while the rest of the land lies in lush vegetation.

The problem is that even if mankind were capable of doing this, it will not happen for perhaps a hundred years, it would take that long to heal the earth which because of man’s sin nature will never happen. So our hopeful Aquarians have no hope of seeing this during their lifetime.

These folks will then put their hopes for change in a one world government and the Antichrist. If they do, they will never see the beautiful harmony that their heart cries out for, only destruction and eternal darkness.

If only they will put their hope in Christ, because He has promised to make things the way it has been described here. And it will happen overnight, not over years. Only God can do this not men.

“The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s hole, and the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper’s den.” Isaiah 11:6-8.

I saw a tragic thing on a nature show once, a tigress or lioness; I do not remember which, decided to move her kits to a safe location. After putting the three or four of them there she went out to hunt. When she returned she found that a cobra had come out of its nearby nest and killed them all.

This will not happen during the coming millennium when Jesus Christ rules the world.

Another interpretation of the words, “…from the presence of the Lord” means just that, eternal separation, an eternal death, away from God who created them to dwell with Him eternally.

God gives meaning to life and apart from Him; it can be described as eternal death, which is why it is called the second death.

In an article called “That Hideous Doctrine”, author John Thomas describes some of the aspects of hell. He speaks of the “weeping” Jesus talks about in Luke 13:28, weeping comes from deep anguish of soul and the sound of it rends our own heart when we know we can do nothing to stop it.

Jesus speaks of “wailing” in Matthew 13:42 while weeping makes us sympathetic, wailing frightens us, it is the horrific cry of a soul completely undone, seeking escape, but there is none.

In Luke 13:28, there is “Gnashing of teeth” angry frustration, the knowledge that there is nothing today and tomorrow there will be nothing but the sounds of weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth, no rest day or night, and no respite from the screams of the damned.

Hell is a place of little or no sensory input, no companionship, no reason to live, no hope of dying, and no end.

It is a place of sane madness; if only one could descend into madness, it would be a blessing. Jesus preached more about hell than He did of heaven.

“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9.

The ungodly will be punished with eternal destruction in hellfire away from the presence of the Lord and will not see the glory of His power, which remains for those who love Him.

God does not cause these miseries. The atheist and the immoral get what they want, no God.

However, God is the Creator of beauty, love, companionship, light, colors, water, flowers and their scent, in short everything that we love here on earth. Where there is no God, neither are there the things we love.

The damned are left with one thing, their conscience and the continual reminder of the evil things they have done in life. These will play in a loop in their minds for eternity, not just the bad memories, but very likely the actual feelings of their victims, hence the weeping and wailing!

“…when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe [or, who have believed], because our testimony among you was believed.” 2 Thessalonians 1:10.

On the awesome and wondrous Day when Christ returns He will, “…be glorified in His saints”, these saints are all believers who have been redeemed by the blood of Christ shed on the cross.

All of believing mankind is redeemed by the blood of Christ without exception Old Testament or New Testament. It is these which show the glory of Christ.

“I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them.” John 17:9-10.

Jesus says above that He is glorified in all who accept Him as their savior. And He will be admired by those saints who come with Him on that Day and he is to be admired by all those who await His return on that Day. This will be an incredible Day of exultation when the long awaited promises of God come about and are seen by all believers.

“Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power, that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.” 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12.

The Christian has been made worthy in the heavenlies by the blood of Jesus Christ, so this is not the meaning of, “…that our God would count you worthy of this calling”, rather it means we should conduct ourselves in a worthy manner on this earth as Christians.

The Christian who is determined to glorify Christ in his daily walk will also display a work of faith with power in the Holy Spirit which will be noticed by the unbeliever and either draw them toward Christ or repel them.

“Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense, either to the Jews or to the Greeks or to the church of God, just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.” 1 Corinthians 10:31-33.

“And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.” 1 John 2:28.

 

Everlasting Destruction, 2 Thessalonians 1:7-12 taken from godisrevealed.com posted on 10-6-13, updated on 2-6-21.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version, copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission, all rights reserved.