Just Judgment

The arrival of Jesus will mean vindication and rest for the righteous, but everlasting loss for the wicked - 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10.

The “revelation” of Jesus from heaven will result in the vindication and reward of the faithful, but the loss and punishment of those who reject the Gospel, including men and women who abandon and betray the true faith. Christ’s return will result in “just judgment” for the righteous and the unrighteous.

Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians was written after he left the city. His first letter expressed his joy upon hearing that the congregation had remained faithful despite hostility and trials. His second letter addresses three main subjects: persecution, believers who refuse to work, and most importantly, the coming apostasy and “the Man of Lawlessness.”

[Sunshine - Photo by Davide Cantelli (Bologna, Italy) on Unsplash]

Persecution has increased, and some members of the congregation are refusing to work in anticipation of the imminent return of Jesus. Paul begins by discussing persecution and its significance. In doing this, he prepares for the discussion in the second chapter concerning the arrival of Jesus and related events.

Paul begins by thanking God for the perseverance of the Thessalonians. He refers to their “persecutions” in the plural number, indicating a hostile environment. The Greek word translated as “tribulations” in English is also plural - (2 Thessalonians 1:3-4, Matthew 24:21, Revelation 1:9, 7:14. See also Matthew 24:29, Mark 13:19, 13:24).

• Persecution is “evidence of the just judgment of God so that you be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, on behalf of which also you are suffering, since it is just for God to requite affliction to those who are afflicting you, and relief to you, to those being afflicted with us; at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with his angels of power” - (2 Thessalonians 1:5-7).

Judgment means a decision for or against someone. The term “evidence” in the passage refers either to the endurance of the Thessalonians or their persecution.  If the former, their “perseverance” demonstrates the rightness of God’s decision for the Thessalonians to inherit His Kingdom. If the latter, the persecuting activity of the church’s opponents validates God’s judicial sentence on the persecutors, since “it is just for God to requite affliction to those afflicting you and relief to you.” Both senses may be intended.

The Greek verb translated as “requite” or ‘antapodidōmi’ (ανταποδιδωμι) means “to give back; to repay.” It stresses equal payback, and here, it refers to “the recompense” given by God to two groups, the persecutors and the saints.

God will repay “affliction” to the persecutors of His Church, but He will grant rest or “relief” to faithful believers. Both results will occur when Jesus returns.

The word translated as “revelation” is ‘apokalypsis’ (αποκαλυπσις), meaning a “revealing, disclosure; an unveiling.”  Elsewhere in the Greek New Testament, it is used for the coming or "revelation" of Jesus from Heaven, and we read similar ideas about tribulations, testing, and reward when Jesus appears in Peter’s first epistle:

• “In which you greatly rejoice, though now, for a little while, if need be, you have been put to grief in various trials, that the proving of your faith, being more precious than gold that perishes though it is proved by fire, may be found unto praise and glory and honour at the revelation of Jesus Christ <…> Wherefore, girding up the loins of your mind, be sober and set your hope perfectly on the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” – (1 Peter 1:7, 1:13).

EVERLASTING DESTRUCTION

This “revelation” will occur when Jesus arrives from Heaven. This parallels the clause Paul uses in his first letter when describing how Jesus will descend from Heaven. Previously, the Apostle called the event the “arrival” or ‘Parousia’ of Jesus (παρουσια). In his Thessalonian correspondence, Paul applies both terms, “revelation” and “arrival,” to the same future event:

• “Now, may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you, and the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we also do toward you; to the end, he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the arrival [‘Parousia’] of our Lord Jesus with all his saints” – (1 Thessalonians 3:11-13).

• “For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we that are alive, that are left unto the arrival [‘Parousia’] of the Lord, will in no way precede them that are fallen asleep...” – (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17).

• “Now we beseech you, brethren, touching the arrival [‘Parousia’] of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together unto him” – (2 Thessalonians 2:1).

The clause translated as “in flaming fire” in 2 Thessalonians 1:7 may go with the preceding sentence. If so, it would read, “the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with his angels of power, in flaming fire.” If not, Paul may be referring to the “fire” of destruction that the wicked will receive on the Day of the Lord.

• (2 Thessalonians 1:7-10) - “In flaming fire giving vengeance to those who know not God and to those refusing to heed the gospel of our Lord Jesus, who will pay a penalty, everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and the glory of his might. Whenever he comes to be made all-glorious in his saints and to be marveled at in all who believe, because our witness to you was believed.”

The phrase “in flaming fire” also alludes to a passage found in the Book of Isaiah:

• “Yahweh comes with fire and like a storm-wind are his chariots, to render with fury his anger and his rebuke with flames of fire” - (Isaiah 66:15).

Divine vengeance will fall on those who refused the Gospel, namely, “everlasting destruction.” This is the “penalty” they will pay. The term “everlasting” or ‘aiōnion’ (αιωνιον) refers to the length of time that the results of the destruction will last.

The English term “destruction” translates the Greek noun ‘olethros’ (ολεθος), meaning “ruin, destruction, undoing.” Paul uses the same word for the “unexpected destruction” that will overtake the unprepared in 1 Thessalonians. The clause alludes to a prophecy by the Prophet Obadiah as translated by the Greek Septuagint version of Obadiah:

• “You should not have looked on the day of your brother in the day of strangers; nor should you have rejoiced against the children of Judah in the Day of their destruction [‘olethros’], neither should you have boasted in the Day of tribulation. Neither should you have gone into the gates of the people in the Day of their troubles” - (Obadiah 12-13).

• “But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that anything be written to you. For you yourselves know accurately that the Day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. When they are saying, ‘Peace and Security’, then sudden destruction [‘olethros’] comes upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they will certainly not escape” - (1 Thessalonians 5:1-3).

Obadiah pronounced judgment on the nation of Edom for oppressing Israel. Paul applies the prophet’s words to the persecutors of the Thessalonian congregation. “Everlasting destruction” does not refer to the tribulations that will occur before the End since it will be “everlasting” and coincide with the return of Jesus - (Matthew 7:23, 22:13, 25:41, Luke 13:27).

Those who oppose the Gospel will be excluded from the presence of the Lord and his “glorious might,” and this phrase is an echo of Christ’s saying in his Olivet Discourse:

• “Immediately after the tribulation of those days <…> then will appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the arrival [‘Parousia’] of the Son of Man on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” - (Matthew 24:29-31).

On that day, his faithful saints will be gathered to admire him. Believers and unbelievers alike will be presented before him, some for reward, others for punishment. Whether the Apostle applies the term “coming,” “revelation,” or “arrival” to Christ’s return, the noun is always in the singular number and refers to the same final event.

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SEE ALSO:

• Sudden Destruction - (Paul continued his discussion about Christ’s arrival by addressing what will occur on the Day of the Lord – 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3)

• Rumors and Disinformation - (Rumors about the Day of the Lord caused alarm and confusion in the Thessalonian congregation – 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2)

• Waiting for His Son - (The Thessalonians received the Gospel in tribulation but remained faithful while anticipating the future return of Jesus – 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10)

• The Apostasy - (Paul warned of the future Apostasy and linked it to the unveiling of the Man of Anarchy, the Son of Destruction)