II Thessalonians 1:6-12 – Righteous Judgments of God
- Study Index for 2 THESSALONIANS by Chester McCalley
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II Thessalonians 1:1-5 – Comfort in Affliction
II Thessalonians 1:6-12 – Righteous Judgments of God
II Thessalonians 2:1-12 – Day of the Lord
II Thessalonians 2:13-17 – From Instruction to Exhortation
II Thessalonians 3:1-18 – Prayer and Discipline
A DESCRIPTION OF THE RIGHTEOUS JUDGMENT OF GOD
1:6-8
“For after all it is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, 7and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, 8dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.”
ITS OUTCOME 1:6-7A
Verse 6 opens with the principle upon which God’s righteous judgment rests. It is a first class conditional sentence that begins with the word if. This type of sentence assumes something to be true—“If, as is truly the case, it is only just for God to repay.” God’s justice is in perfect harmony with His character. God’s justice pays back in kind. The juxtaposition of the words shows this—to those troubling you—trouble. A proper and biblical concept of justice demands requital. In the face of present injustices, our conscience tells us there must he a future retribution. A world in which justice does not prevail would not and could not be God’s world. This is the case for a future judgment.
The word relief conveys the picture of the loosening of a taut bow- string. It suggests relief and rest, not from toil and labor, but from tension and suffering. This relief is associated with the return of Christ.
The words to us as well reveal a Pauline characteristic: Paul fre- quently unites himself with his readers. II Corinthians 1:7, 4:14; Philippians 1:30; and II Timothy 4:8 show that Paul often writes in terms of us, not in terms of you and me.
ITS REVELATION 1:7B
The preposition translated when has two implications. The first is the most obvious. It has temporal implications in that it shows when this judgment will occur. It also has instrumental implica- tions in that His return is also the means of retribution. The revela- tion marks the time of retribution and the means of retribution.
Three prepositional phrases describe Christ’s coming. It will be from heaven. The preposition from denotes a departure. Hebrews 8:1 teaches us that upon His ascension Jesus took a seat at the Father’s right hand where He remains to this day. Paul is teaching that the judgment day will come, and He will depart that throne in heaven to take a throne on earth from which He will judge and reign. Theologians often refer to the period between His ascension and return as His session. His session is marked by patient longsuffer- ing but will someday abruptly end.
His coming will be with His mighty angels. Jesus predicted this in places such as Matthew 16:27 and 25:31. The power will be His, and the angels will be His agents. At the moment, the power belongs to the persecutors; but we are to be encouraged by knowing that one day the power will be all His.
Christ will return in flaming fire. Literally the text says in a fire of flame. The theophanies of the Old Testament were often marked by fire (Exodus 3:2, 19:18, 24:17; Psalm 18:12; Isaiah 30:27-30; and Daniel 7:9-10). Fire portrays both majesty and indignation.
ITS SUBJECTS 1:8
The gender of the participle dealing out connects it to the Lord Jesus, not flaming fire. In the Old Testament, the rendering of vengeance is asserted to be the prerogative of Yahweh (Deuteronomy 32:35, Psalm 94:1). The action of vengeance taken here by Christ is com- patible with His words in John 5:22, “For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son.”
The description of the subjects of the judgment is made in two parallel statements. Williams translation brings out this idea, say- ing “those who do not know God, that is, those who will not listen to the good news.” The present tense of obey marks their persistent condition. Those judged refuse both the content of the message and the response it demands.
THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE RIGHTEOUS JUDGMENT OF GOD 1:9-10
THE DESTRUCTION OF THE LOST 1:9
“And these will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power.”
These is a plural qualitative pronoun that tells what kind of people he is speaking of. Their fate is in harmony with their nature.
The adjective eternal is aion and refers to an age, a period of undefined duration. It occurs seventy times in the New Testament but in only three places is it an epoch that is not endless (Romans 16:25, II Timothy 1:9, and Titus 1:2). This is the most express statement in Paul’s writings concerning the eternity of future punishment.
THE GLORIFICATION OF THE SAVED 1:10
“…when He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed—for our testimony to you was believed.”
The believer’s entire identity is found in his relationship to Christ. The aorist tense of the participle and verb believed looks back to that decisive moment on earth when one came to faith in Christ. The words on that day are last and therefore emphatic.
THE PRAYER IN LIGHT OF THE RIGHTEOUS JUDGMENT OF GOD 1:11-12
THE CONTENT OF THE PRAYER 1:11
“To this end also we pray for you always that our God may count you worthy of your calling, and fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith with power...”
The prospects of the righteous judgment of God have been used to encourage the Thessalonian believers, and now it is found to be motivation to pray for them. Paul often turns his teaching into prayer. Paul had thanked God for them (1:3); had boasted about them (1:4); had assured them (1:7, 10); and now he prays for them (1:11-12).
When God calls men, they are completely unworthy (Galatians 1:13-15); but He does not wish them to remain in that state. As the Christian life progresses, they are to increasingly walk worthy of their calling (Ephesians 4:1). The word desire carries, not merely the idea of a wish, but the idea of a resolve. The verb fulfill contains the idea that human power is inadequate to do this, and thus the action of God is required to produce it.
THE PURPOSE OF THE PRAYER 1:12
“…in order that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
In the Bible, a name is far more than a means of distinguishing a person. It is used to sum up the whole character of the person. A name is almost equivalent to character, nature, or personality of the one spoken of. The glorification is reciprocal—it is of both Him and us. As is always true with Paul, the success of the work of God in the believer is attributed to the grace of God. The words according to introduce both the norm and the source of this mutual glorification. There is one article with the words our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. This makes feasible the translation of our God and Lord, Jesus Christ.
- Study Index for 2 THESSALONIANS by Chester McCalley
-
II Thessalonians 1:1-5 – Comfort in Affliction
II Thessalonians 1:6-12 – Righteous Judgments of God
II Thessalonians 2:1-12 – Day of the Lord
II Thessalonians 2:13-17 – From Instruction to Exhortation
II Thessalonians 3:1-18 – Prayer and Discipline
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