Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 2 Thessalonian 1:5
[Which is] a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer:
5. which is a manifest token of the righteous judgement of God ] Better, without the connecting words of the English version, a token of the righteous Judgement of God.
The heroic faith of the Thessalonians showed that God was on their side. By the courage He Inspired in them the Righteous Judge already showed what His judgement was in their case, and gave token of His final recompense. Comp. 1Th 1:6; Php 1:27-28, “Stand fast in nothing terrified by your adversaries, which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that from God.” So the joy of Stephen, when before the Council his face shone “as it had been the face of an angel” (Act 6:15); so the triumph of Paul and Silas singing psalms in prison; so the rapture of Christian martyrs at the stake, were signs of God’s presence with them and omens of retribution to their enemies.
that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God ] More precisely, to the end that (R. V.): “a token of God’s righteous judgement, given with the purpose that you may be counted worthy of His kingdom.”
God’s judgement in this controversy is already manifest to those who have eyes to see, in the brave endurance and growing faith of the persecuted Christian flock. But this sign looks onward and points to the final award, when “the blessed of My Father,” said Jesus, shall “inherit the kingdom prepared for them” (Mat 25:34). God designs this blessedness for them “chosen from the beginning unto salvation” (ch. 2Th 2:13); He “calls them unto His own kingdom and glory” (1Th 2:13). And this “manifestation” of His approval helps to prepare them for it.
That kingdom will be “given to those for whom it has been prepared” (Mat 20:13); but at the same time, only to those who are “counted worthy” (see 2Th 1:11 ; 1Th 2:12; 1Th 3:13 and notes; also Luk 20:35; Mat 22:8, “The wedding-feast is ready; but those who were called were not worthy”). There must be manifest in the final judgement a personal fitness of character, corresponding to God’s purpose, in those admitted to His heavenly Kingdom. Read the solemn words of Rev 22:10-15.
The sufferings of the Thessalonians were endured for the Kingdom’s sake: for the sake of which yum are also suffering. Their strong hope of the coming of Christ and the triumph of God’s Kingdom sustained them in their distress. “If we endure, we shall also reign with Him” (2Ti 2:12): so sang the early Christians. But yet it was not so much their own share in it, as the prospect of the glory of the Kingdom itself, that made them “exult in tribulations.” Comp. Heb 10:34; Rom 8:16; Rom 8:19; Php 1:20.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Section II. The Approaching Retribution Ch. 2Th 1:5-12
These vv. contain further reasons for thanksgiving on the writer’s part, concluding with a prayer that his readers may receive the entire fruition of the blessedness to which their sufferings are designed to lead. At the same time, the thoughts here expressed travel far from those which formed the immediate ground of the Thanksgiving, and present a distinct topic of their own. We therefore treat them under a separate heading.
The Retribution the Apostle foresees is twofold, consisting of rest and glory for Christ’s persecuted saints, 2Th 1:5 ; 2Th 1:7 ; 2Th 1:10 ; 2Th 1:12; and of punishment for their godless persecutors, 2Th 1:6 ; 2Th 1:8-9. In the view presented to us of this judgement we must carefully observe (1) its essential righteousness, 2Th 1:5-6; (2) that it attends on Christ’s advents, 2Th 1:7 ; 2Th 1:9-10; (3) that the chief purpose of the Saviour’s coming is the glorification of His people, to which the vengeance falling on their oppressors appears to be incidental, 2Th 1:8 ; 2Th 1:10.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God – The word which is supplied by our translators, and there may be some doubt to what the apostle has reference as being a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God. The general sense seems to be, that the fact that they were thus persecuted was an evidence that there would be a future judgment, when the righteous who were persecuted would be rewarded, and the wicked who persecuted them would be punished. The manner in which they bore their trials was an indication also of what the result would be in regard to them. Their patience and faith under persecutions were constantly showing that they would be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which they were called to suffer. It is evident that a relative must be supplied here, as our translators have done, but there has been a difference of view as to what it refers. Some suppose that it is to patience, others to persecutions and tribulations, and others to the whole sentence preceding. The latter is probably the true construction, and the sense is, that the endurance of affliction in a proper manner by the righteous is a proof that there will be a righteous judgment of God in the last day:
(1) It is evidence that there will be a future judgment – since the righteous here suffer so much, and the wicked triumph.
(2) These things are now permitted in order that the character may be developed, and that the reason of the sentence in the last day may be seen.
(3) The manner in which these afflictions are borne is an evidence – an indication ( endeigma) of what the results of the judgment will be. The word rendered manifest token ( endeigma), occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. It means an indication, token, proof – anything that shows or points out how a thing is, or is to be (from endeiknumi, to show, to point out). The meaning here is, therefore, that the course of events referred to – the persecutions which they endured, and the manner in which they were borne – furnished a proof that there would be a righteous judgment, and also afforded an indication of what the result of that judgment would be. We may, in general, learn what will be the issues of the judgment in the case of an individual from the manner in which he bears trials.
Of the righteous judgment of God – That there will be a just judgment hereafter. The crimes of the wicked who go unpunished on the earth, and the sufferings of the good who are unavenged, are a demonstration that there will be a judgment, when all these inequalities will be adjusted.
That ye may be counted worthy – As the result of your affliction, that you may be fitted for the kingdom of God. This does not mean that Christians will merit heaven by their sufferings, but that they may show that they have such a character that there is a fitness or propriety that they should be admitted there. They may evince by their patience and resignation, by their deadness to the world and their holy lives, that they are not disqualified to enter into that kingdom where the redeemed are to dwell. No true Christian will ever feel that he is worthy on his own account, or that he has any claim to eternal life, yet he may have evidence that he has the characteristics to which God has promised salvation, and is fitted to dwell in heaven.
Of the kingdom of God. – In heaven, see the notes on Mat 3:2.
For which ye also suffer. – The sufferings which you now endure are because you are professed heirs of the kingdom; that is, you are persecuted because you are Christians; see 1Th 2:14.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
2Th 1:5
Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God
Persecutions a demonstration of the Judgment
I.
State the point.
1. It concerns us to be fully persuaded of the truth of a future judgment for two reasons.
(1) It establishes our comfort, for then our wrongs shall be righted (Php 1:28), and our labour of love recompensed.
(2) It binds our duty upon us by the strictest tie (Ecc 12:14).
2. This judgment is a righteous judgment (Act 17:31). The world is now tried in patience: all are not punished according to their deservings.
3. This judgment needs to be evidenced, not only by the light of Scripture, but of reason. Nature says, It may be; faith, It shall be; yet the former must not be rejected–
(1) Because things seen in a double light work more strongly upon–
(a) Our love and obedience (Phm 1:16).
(b) Upon our faith. When nature teaches us to expect such a retribution, all vain cavils are refuted.
(2) Because all have not received the light of Scripture. To them, therefore, the light of nature is a preparative inducement either to believe or to believe more firmly.
(3) Because in time of temptation we need all the succour which the nature of the thing can give. Then, besides the grounds of faith, we must study its helps.
(4) Among other arguments of a future day of recompence persecution is a plain demonstration.
(a) If God chastises so severely the relics of sin in His children, how much more the wicked (1Pe 4:17; Luk 23:31; Pro 11:31).
(b) No righteous governor will suffer the disobedient to persecute the obedient, and therefore, though he permit it for a time, yet he will call them to account.
II. How it is a demonstration of future judgment.
1. There is a God. This is the supreme primitive truth which lies at the bottom of all religion (Heb 11:6). It were to light a candle to the sun to prove this.
2. This God is just, for all perfections are in the First Being (Jer 12:1; Rom 3:5-6).
3. This just God is the Governor of the world (Psa 94:1-2).
4. It is agreeable to the justice of His government that it should be well with them that do well, and ill with them that do evil. Conscience and natural reason own this truth (Rom 1:32; Pro 26:1).
5. This reward and punishment are not fully administered in this world. The best often go to the wall, and many wicked prosper, and persecute the ungodly. Hence the complaints of the saints who have stumbled at this (Psa 73:1-28; Jer 12:1-17; Hab 1:1-17).
6. Since Gods justice does not make a sufficient difference here, there is another life where He will; for otherwise all these absurdities would follow:
(1) God would seem indifferent to good and evil, yea, more partial to the evil; but this were a blasphemy (Psa 73:1; Psa 11:6-7).
(2) Man would seem left at liberty to break or keep Gods laws at pleasure, and no harm come of it, but rather profit. But this would destroy all obedience (Deu 30:19-20; Zep 1:12).
(3) Obedience would be mans loss and ruin, and so God would be the worst Master (1Co 15:19).
(4) The most eminent virtue would be under perpetual infamy; therefore things must be reviewed, and that which is good restored to its public honour (1Pe 4:13-14).
(5) The children of wisdom would seem sons of folly in checking their lusts and renouncing all for their fidelity to Christ.
(6) All the comfort of the saints in longing for this day is but a fanatical illusion, when yet this desire is quickened by God (Rom 8:23; 2Co 5:5).
7. This justice will be administered at the last day. (T. Manton, D. D.)
That ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer—
Worthiness of the kingdom of God
I. The kingdom of God is two-fold.
1. The kingdom of grace is the gospel estate, and for this Christians may be said to suffer–
(1) To promote it in the world.
(2) Because they have entered it.
2. The text rather refers to the kingdom of glory (Mat 25:34). Christians suffer for this that they may enter it.
II. Worthiness of this kingdom. There is a threefold worthiness.
1. Of exact proportion (Luk 10:7). This is justice proof both from the covenant and intrinsic worth of the action. But there is such a distance between God and the creature that none can make God his debtor (Rom 8:18; Rev 2:10).
2. Of fitness and congruity (Mat 3:8; Act 26:20; Php 1:27; Eph 4:1). There is–
(1) A fitness in point of order. So they are worthy who are qualified according to Gods order (Rom 8:17; 2Ti 2:11-12). It is agreeable to Christs wisdom and love that He should own His faithful servants, and since they are willing to take His cross, that they should share His crown (Rev 3:4).
(2) In point of preparation (Rom 9:23; Col 1:12). It is the wisdom of God to put all things in their proper places, as fishes in the sea, beasts on earth. And persecutions are one means which fit the godly for heaven. As the hewing and squaring of stones fitted them to be set in the Temple at Jerusalem, so are we squared and meetened to be set in the heavenly temple.
3. Of acceptance, when God, for Christs sake, is pleased to count us worthy in spite of failings (Luk 21:36). So here:
III. Those shall be counted worthy to enter the kingdom who diligently pursue it.
1. What this is–
(1) Diligence in doing good (Mat 6:33). It is not enough that we seek the kingdom; we must seek it in the first place, and all must give way to it (Heb 4:11).
(2) Evil must be suffered (Heb 10:36; Jam 1:12).
2. The reasons for it.
(1) These things are required as conditions of entering into life (Mar 10:38).
(2) When this condition is fulfilled, then we have an evidence that God will count us worthy to enter into His kingdom (Php 1:28). Use. Let us seriously consider these things–
1. The felicity here offered. What bustling is there in the world for a little greatness and advancement? Yet all other crowns are but petty in comparison of the crown of life.
2. The certainty of conveyance (2Ti 4:8).
3. You must submit to any terms (Php 3:11). (T. Manton , D. D.)
Present suffering and future glory
What the woof is to the warp, crosses are to character. Without the latter the former is nothing but limp lines of threads without strength, without usefulness, without susceptibility of being made beautiful. But when crossed by the woof, it becomes cloth fit for various uses, and capable of receiving a finish and an ornamentation which transforms it into a thing of beauty. In like manner a mans character is limp, weak, unreliable, and unattractive, until it has been subjected to many tests and trials. These, like the woof, cross and recross ones natural tendencies until resistance to evil begets strength, endurance, growth, and moral beauty. Why, then, should one fret against ones crosses? They are painful, vexatious, hard to be borne sometimes, but what are these ills, which are but for a moment, when compared with the exceeding and eternal weight of glory with which they are to be rewarded when the last one has been overcome? The brilliants in ones eternal crown will be the crosses of ones present life crystalized in the love and light of heaven. (Zions Herald.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 5. A manifest token of the righteousness judgement of God] The persecutions and tribulations which you endure, are a manifest proof that God has judged righteously in calling you Gentiles into his Church; and these sufferings are also a proof that ye are called in; for they who enter into the kingdom of God go through great tribulation; your going through that tribulation is a proof that ye are entering in, and God sees it right and just that ye should be permitted to suffer before ye enjoy that endless felicity.
The words, however, may be understood in another sense, and will form this maxim: “The sufferings of the just, and the triumphs of the wicked, in this life, are a sure proof that there will be a future judgment, in which the wicked shall be punished and the righteous rewarded. “This maxim is not only true in itself, but it is most likely that this is the apostle’s meaning.
That ye may be counted worthy] Your patient endurance of these sufferings is a proof that ye are rendered meet for that glory on account of which ye suffer and, in a true Gospel sense of the word, worthy of that glory; for he who is a child of God, and a partaker of the Divine nature, is worthy of God’s kingdom, not because he has done any thing to merit it, but because he bears the image of God; and the image is that which gives the title.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
These words seem to follow by way of argument, to comfort these Thessalonians under their sufferings:
1. By what they manifest, viz. the righteous judgment of God; they are a plain indication of it, or demonstration, as the word is used by logicians. And by judgment we must not here understand the judgments or afflictions God inflicts in this world; so that when God doth not spare, but chasten his own children, it is a token of his righteous judgment. But rather under understand it of the last judgment: when we see the righteous suffering such wrongs and injuries from wicked men, and they go unpunished, we may argue thence that there is a judgment to come; we cannot else well vindicate the righteousness, wisdom, goodness, and faithfulness of God in his governing the world: as Solomon so argued, when he saw so much unrighteousness in the very seat of justice; I said in my heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time for every purpose and work, Ecc 3:16,17. And this judgment is called here righteous judgment, by way of eminency, as it is expressed by one word, , Rom 2:5, (for all Gods judgments are righteous):
(a) Because the wicked will then meet with justice without mercy, which is not so in any present judgments.
(b) Justice will then be clearly manifested, which now lies obscure, both with respect to the righteous and the unrighteous.
And in this sense the words carry an argument of comfort to the saints, under their present unjust, sufferings from their enemies. As to the same purpose the apostle speaks to the Philippians,
Phi 1:28.
2. The other argument of comfort is from the result of their sufferings, the great advantage which will arise out of them; they will be hence accounted worthy of the kingdom of God: not by way of merit, as the papists say; the Greek word in the text, in its usual acceptation, will not favour that opinion, it signifies no more in the active voice, than the Latin word dignari, which we English to deign, or vouchsafe; and yet we may allow the word to signify more here, not only that this kingdom may be vouchsafed, but that ye may be meet or worthy to receive it; not that all their sufferings could deserve this kingdom, for the apostle saith, Rom 8:18; I reckon the sufferings of this present time not worthy of the glory, & c. There is no proportion between them, and so they cannot merit it, yet God may account those that suffer for this kingdom worthy of it, according to the grace of the new covenant in Jesus Christ, and as it hath a congruity with the nature of God, and his faithfulness in his promises; and so our translation renders the word, not that ye may be worthy of the kingdom of God, but accounted worthy; God of his free grace will account them worthy. The kingdom of God is propounded to men in the new covenant upon certain conditions, and those that perform them have a worthiness of right, as Rev 22:14, but not of merit. But God enables men to perform the conditions, so that there is nothing on our part properly meritorious; yea, when we have performed them, yet our worthiness is to be attributed to Christ, and Gods grace, and not to ourselves, else man would have whereof to glory. The Scriptures call eternal life the gift of God, Rom 6:23, and attributes salvation to grace, Eph 2:8. We must allow a worthiness only that is consistent with grace; but when we have done all we must say: We are unprofitable servants. Luk 17:10; and after all we have done and suffered for the kingdom of God, must pray, as Paul for Onesiphorus, that we may find mercy of the Lord at that day, 2Ti 1:18.
For which ye also suffer; the sense either respects their enemies, that it was upon the account of this kingdom that they persecuted them, having nothing else justly against them; or else their own aim and intention in suffering, it was for the kingdom of God. And hence we may learn that his kingdom is worth suffering for, and that in some cases it cannot be obtained without suffering: and he that then refuseth to suffer will be accounted unworthy of it; as he that doth suffer for it, as these Thessalonians, hath, upon the account of Gods covenant, and the merits of Christ, not only the grace and mercy, but the justice and faithfulness, of God engaged to bestow it upon him. And also that we may and ought in our sufferings look to the reward, as Moses did, Heb 11:1-40.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
5. WhichYour enduringthese tribulations is a “token of the righteous judgment ofGod,” manifested in your being enabled to endure them, and inyour adversaries thereby filling up the measure of their guilt. Thejudgment is even now begun, but its consummation will be at theLord’s coming. David (Ps73:1-14) and Jeremiah (Jer12:1-4) were perplexed at the wicked prospering and the godlysuffering. But Paul, by the light of the New Testament, makes thisfact a matter of consolation. It is a proof (so the Greek)of the future judgment, which will set to rights the anomalies of thepresent state, by rewarding the now suffering saint, and by punishingthe persecutor. And even now “the Judge of all the earth doesright” (Ge 18:25); for thegodly are in themselves sinful and need chastisement to amend them.What they suffer unjustly at the hands of cruel men they sufferjustly at the hands of God; and they have their evil things here thatthey may escape condemnation with the world and have their goodthings hereafter (Luk 16:25;1Co 11:32) [EDMUNDS].
that ye may be countedworthyexpressing the purpose of God’s “righteousjudgment” as regards you.
for whichGreek,“in behalf of which ye are also suffering” (compareAct 5:41; Act 9:16;Phi 1:29). “Worthy”implies that, though men are justified by faith, they shall be judged”according to their works” (Re20:12; compare 1Th 2:12;1Pe 1:6; 1Pe 1:7;Rev 20:4). The “also”implies the connection between the suffering for the kingdomand being counted worthy of it. Compare Rom 8:17;Rom 8:18.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God,…. That is, according as some think, that God should glorify those that are persecuted, and punish their persecutors: this sense indeed may seem to agree with what follows; but the apostle is speaking not of something future, but of something present; not of what God will do hereafter, but of the present sufferings of the saints. According to others the sense is, that God’s suffering affliction and persecution to befall his own people, as a chastisement of them, that they may not be condemned with the world, is an evidence of his strict justice, that he will not suffer sin in any to go unobserved by him; and is a manifest token how severely and righteously he will punish the wicked hereafter, see 1Pe 4:17. But rather the meaning of the words is this, that whereas good men are afflicted and persecuted in this life, they have now their evil things, and bad men prosper and flourish, and have their good things, so that justice does not seem to take place; which seeming inequality in Providence has been sometimes the hardening of wicked men, and the staggering of the righteous, which should not be; this is now a manifest token, and a clear case, that there will be a righteous judgment, in which things will be set aright, and justice will take place; for God is neither unrighteous nor careless, or negligent; and this is observed to support the saints under their sufferings, and to animate them to bear them patiently:
that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer; either of the Gospel, which is sometimes so called, and for which they suffered, and so judged themselves worthy of it; as those that put it away from them, and care not to suffer the least reproach for it, show themselves to be unworthy of it, and of eternal life also: or of a Gospel church state, and a name, and a place in it, for which the people of God likewise suffer; and those who shun reproach and sufferings for it are not worthy to have a place, or their names there: or rather of the heavenly glory; for the hope of which saints suffer much here, whereby their graces are tried, and so they are counted worthy, not by way of merit of it, but meetness for it; many tribulations are the way, or at least lie in the way to this kingdom. In the school of afflictions the saints are trained up for it; and though these are not worthy to be compared with their future happiness, yet they work for them an eternal weight of glory; by the means of these the graces of the Spirit of God are exercised and increased, their hearts are weaned from the world; and coming up out of great tribulations, they wash their garments, and make them white in the blood of the Lamb, and are made meet to be partakers of the inheritance with the saints in light.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
| Prospect of Persecuted Saints. | A. D. 52. |
5 Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer: 6 Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; 7 And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, 8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: 9 Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; 10 When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.
Having mentioned their persecutions and tribulations, which they endured principally for the cause of Christ, the apostle proceeds to offer several things for their comfort under them; as,
I. He tells them of the present happiness and advantage of their sufferings, v. 5. Their faith being thus tried, and patience exercised, they were improved by their sufferings, insomuch that they were counted worthy of the kingdom of God. Their sufferings were a manifest token of this, that they were worthy or meet to be accounted Christians indeed, seeing they could suffer for Christianity. And the truth is, Religion, if it is worth any thing, is worth every thing; and those either have no religion at all, or none that is worth having, or know not how to value it, that cannot find in their hearts to suffer for it. Besides, from their patient suffering, it appeared that, according to the righteous judgment of God, they should be counted worthy of the heavenly glory: not by worthiness of condignity, but of congruity only; not that they could merit heaven, but they were made meet for heaven. We cannot by all our sufferings, any more than by our services, merit heaven as a debt; but by our patience under our sufferings we are qualified for the joy that is promised to patient sufferers in the cause of God.
II. He tells them next of the future recompence that shall be given to persecutor and persecuted.
1. In this future recompence there will be, (1.) A punishment inflicted on persecutors: God will recompense tribulation to those that trouble you, v. 6. And there is nothing that more infallibly marks a man for eternal ruin than a spirit of persecution, and enmity to the name and people of God: as the faith, patience, and constancy of the saints are to them an earnest of everlasting rest and joy, so the pride, malice, and wickedness of their persecutors are to them an earnest of everlasting misery; for every man carries about with him, and carries out of the world with him, either his heaven or his hell. God will render a recompence, and will trouble those that trouble his people. This he has done sometimes in this world, witness the dreadful end of many persecutors; but especially this he will do in the other world, where the portion of the wicked must be weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth. (2.) A reward for those that are persecuted: God will recompense their trouble with rest, v. 7. There is a rest that remains for the people of God, a rest from sin and sorrow. Though many may be the troubles of the righteous now, yet God will deliver them out of them all. The future rest will abundantly recompense all their present troubles. The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed. There is enough in heaven to countervail all that we may lose or suffer for the name of Christ in this world. The apostle says, To you who are troubled rest with us. In heaven, ministers and people shall rest together, and rejoice together, who suffer together here; and the meanest Christian shall rest with the greatest apostle: nay, what is far more, if we suffer for Christ, we shall also reign with him, 2 Tim. ii. 12.
2. Concerning this future recompence we are further to observe,
(1.) The certainty of it, proved by the righteousness and justice of God: It is a righteous thing with God (v. 6) to render to every man according to his works. The thoughts of this should be terrible to wicked men and persecutors, and the great support of the righteous and such as are persecuted; for, seeing there is a righteous God, there will be a righteous recompence. God’s suffering people will lose nothing by their sufferings, and their enemies will gain nothing by their advantages against them.
(2.) The time when this righteous recompence shall be made: When the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven, v. 7. That will be the day of the revelation of the righteous judgment of God; for then will God judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath appointed, even Jesus Christ the righteous Judge. The righteousness of God does not so visibly appear to all men in the procedure of his providence as it will in the process of the great judgment-day. The scripture has made known to us the judgment to come, and we are bound to receive the revelation here given concerning Christ. As,
[1.] That the Lord Jesus will in that day appear from heaven. Now the heavens retain him, they conceal him; but then he will be revealed and made manifest. He will come in all the pomp and power of the upper world, whence we look for the Saviour.
[2.] He will be revealed with his mighty angels (v. 7), or the angels of his power: these will attend upon him, to grace the solemnity of that great day of his appearance; they will be the ministers of his justice and mercy in that day; they will summon the criminals to his tribunal, and gather in the elect, and be employed in executing his sentence.
[3.] He will come in flaming fire, v. 8. A fire goeth before him, which shall consume his enemies. The earth, and all the works that are therein, shall be burnt up, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat. This will be a trying fire, to try every man’s work,–a refining fire, to purify the saints, who shall share in the purity, and partake of the felicity, of the new heaven and the new earth,–a consuming fire to the wicked. His light will be piercing, and his power consuming, to all those who in that day shall be found as chaff.
[4.] The effects of this appearance will be terrible to some and joyful to others.
First, They will be terrible to some; for he will then take vengeance on the wicked. 1. On those that sinned against the principles of natural religion, and rebelled against the light of nature, that knew not God (v. 8), though the invisible things of him are manifested in the things that are seen. 2. On those that rebel against the light of revelation, that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men love darkness rather than light. This is the great crime of multitudes–the gospel is revealed to them, and they will not believe it; or, if they pretend to believe it, they will not obey it. Note, Believing the truths of the gospel is in order to our obeying the precepts of the gospel: there must be the obedience of faith. To such persons as are here mentioned the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ will be terrible, because of their doom, which is mentioned, v. 9. Here observe, (1.) They will then be punished. Though sinners may be long reprieved, yet they will be punished at last. Their misery will be a proper punishment for their crimes, and only what they have deserved. They did sin’s work, and must receive sin’s wages. (2.) Their punishment will be no less than destruction, not of their being, but of their bliss; not that of the body alone, but both as to body and soul. (3.) This destruction will be everlasting. They shall be always dying, and yet never die. Their misery will run parallel with the line of eternity. The chains of darkness are everlasting chains, and the fire is everlasting fire. It must needs be so, since the punishment is inflicted by an eternal God, fastening upon an immortal soul, set out of the reach of divine mercy and grace. (4.) This destruction shall come from the presence of the Lord, that is, immediately from God himself. Here God punishes sinners by creatures, by instruments; but then he will take the work into his own hands. It will be destruction from the Almighty, more terrible than the consuming fire which consumed Nadab and Abihu, which came from before the Lord. (5.) It shall come from the glory of his power, or from his glorious power. Not only the justice of God, but this almighty power, will be glorified in the destruction of sinners; and who knows the power of his anger? He is able to cast into hell.
Secondly, It will be a joyful day to some, even to the saints, unto those that believe and obey the gospel. And then the apostle’s testimony concerning this day will be confirmed and believed (v. 10); in that bright and blessed day, 1. Christ Jesus will be glorified and admired by his saints. They will behold his glory, and admire it with pleasure; they will glorify his grace, and admire the wonders of his power and goodness towards them, and sing hallelujahs to him in that day of his triumph, for their complete victory and happiness. 2. Christ will be glorified and admired in them. His grace and power will then be manifested and magnified, when it shall appear what he has purchased for, and wrought in, and bestowed upon, all those who believe in him. As his wrath and power will be made known in and by the destruction of his enemies, so his grace and power will be magnified in the salvation of his saints. Note, Christ’s dealings with those who believe will be what the world one day shall wonder at. Now, they are a wonder to many; but how will they be wondered at in this great and glorious day; or, rather, how will Christ, whose name is Wonderful, be admired, when the mystery of God shall be finished! Christ will not be so much admired in the glorious esteem of angels that he will bring from heaven with him as in the many saints, the many sons, that he will bring to glory.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
A manifest token of the righteous judgment of God ( ). Old word from , to point out, result reached (–), a thing proved. It is either in the accusative of general reference in apposition with the preceding clause as in Rom 8:3; Rom 12:1, or in the nominative absolute when , if supplied, would explain it as in Php 1:28. This righteous judgment is future and final (verses 6-10).
To the end that you may be counted worthy ( ). Another example of for purpose with first aorist passive infinitive from , old verb, with accusative of general reference and followed by the genitive (kingdom of God). See 1Th 2:12 for
kingdom of God .
For which ye also suffer ( ). Ye
also as well as we and the present tense means that it is still going on.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
A manifest token [] . N. T. o. Comp. endeixiv, Phi 1:28. The token is the patience and faith with which they endure persecution and tribulation. It is a token of the righteous judgment of God, in that it points to the future glory which God will confer at the final judgment and the righteous award which will be dispensed to the persecutors. Similarly Phi 1:28.
That ye may be counted worthy. The structure of the sentence is loose. These words should be directly connected with righteous judgment, and denote the purport of that judgment – their assignment to an inheritance in the kingdom of God.
Of the kingdom of God [ ] . The phrase is not frequent in Paul. basileia qeou four times; basileia tou cristou kai qeou kingdom of Christ and of God, once. Here in the eschatological sense – the future, consummated kingdom, the goal of their striving and the recompense of their suffering. See on Luk 6:20.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
Comfort in Persecution V. 5-12
1) “Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God” (endeigma tes dikaias kriseos tou theou) “a plain token of the just judgment of God”; one that the world can recognize. Their heroic courage and fortitude, under persecution, was a pre-reflection of victory at the final judgment. Php_1:28-29; 1Pe 4:12-13.
2) “That ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God” (eis to kataksiotherai humas tes Basileias tou theou) “so that you all may be accounted (as) worthy of the kingdom of God”; Luk 21:34-36; Act 14:22; Rom 8:17-18; 2Pe 1:9-11. Such a worthy position was Paul’s desire for the Thessalonians and himself, 2Th 1:11; Php_3:13-14; 1Ti 5:18.
3) “For which ye also suffer” (huper hes kai paschete) on behalf of which also ye suffer”; True saints of God, (church saints) of this age, are candidates for suffering for the Master’s sake; this was our Lord’s announcement to them, with His blessings in the Sermon on the Mount, at the beginning of His ministry, and in the Gethsemane Garden of prayer, near the end of His ministry, Mat 5:10-12; 1Th 2:14, indicates that church saints suffered on three continents, in the first century, to carry on the work and worship and service of our Lord – in Judea, Asia, and Europe, with an overlap into Cyprus and Alexandria Egypt, in North Africa.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
5 A demonstration of the righteous judgment of God. Without mentioning the exposition given by others, I am of opinion that the true meaning is this — that the injuries and persecutions which innocent and pious persons endure from the wicked and abandoned, shew clearly, as in a mirror, that God will one day be the judge of the world. And this statement is quite at antipodes with that profane notion, which we are accustomed to entertain, whenever it goes well with the good and ill with the wicked. For we think that the world is under the regulation of mere chance, and we leave God no control. Hence it is that impiety and contempt take possession of men’s hearts, as Solomon speaks, (Ecc 9:3) for those that suffer anything undeservedly either throw the blame upon God, or do not think that he concerns himself as to the affairs of men. We hear what Ovid says, — “I am tempted to think that there are no gods.” (626) Nay more, David confesses (Psa 73:1) that, because he saw things in so confused a state in the world, he had well-nigh lost his footing, as in a slippery place. On the other hand, the wicked become more insolent through occasion of prosperity, as if no punishment of their crimes awaited them; just as Dionysius, when making a prosperous voyage, (627) boasted that the gods favored the sacrilegious. (628) In fine, when we see that the cruelty of the wicked against the innocent walks abroad with impunity, carnal sense concludes that there is no judgment of God, that there are no punishments of the wicked, that there is no reward of righteousness.
Paul, however, declares on the other hand, that as God thus spares the wicked for a time, and winks at the injuries inflicted upon his people, His judgment to come is shewn us as in a mirror. For he takes for granted that it cannot but be that God, inasmuch as he is a just Judge, will one day restore peace to the miserable, who are now unjustly harassed, and will pay to the oppressors of the pious the reward that they have merited. Hence, if we hold this principle of faith, that God is the just Judge of the world, and that it is his office to render to every one a recompense according to his works, this second principle will follow incontrovertibly — that the present disorderly state of matters ( ἀταξίαν) is a demonstration of the judgment, which does not yet appear. For if God is the righteous Judge of the world, those things that are now confused must, of necessity, be restored to order. Now, nothing is more disorderly than that the wicked, with impunity, give molestation to the good, and walk abroad with unbridled violence, while the good are cruelly harassed without any fault on their part. From this it may be readily inferred, that God will one day ascend the judgment-seat, that he may remedy the state of matters in the world, so as to bring them into a better condition.
Hence the statement which he subjoins — that it is righteous with God to appoint affliction, etc. , is the groundwork of this doctrine — that God furnishes tokens of a judgment to come when he refrains, for the present, from exercising the office of judge. And unquestionably, if matters were now arranged in a tolerable way, so that the judgment of God might be recognized as having been fully exercised, an adjustment of this nature would detain us upon earth. Hence God, in order that he may stir us up to the hope of a judgment to come, does, for the present, only to some extent judge the world. He furnishes, it is true, many tokens of his judgment, but it is in such a manner as to constrain us to extend our hope farther. A remarkable passage truly, as teaching us in what manner our minds ought to be raised up above all the impediments of the world, whenever we suffer any adversity — that the righteous judgment of God may present itself to our mind, which will raise us above this world. Thus death will be an image of life.
May be accounted worthy. There are no persecutions that are to be reckoned of such value as to make us worthy of the kingdom of God, nor does Paul dispute here as to the ground of worthiness, but simply takes the common doctrine of Scripture — that God destroys in us those things that are of the world, that he may restore in us a better life; and farther, that by means of afflictions he shews us the value of eternal life. In short, he simply points out the manner in which believers are prepared and, as it were, polished under God’s anvil, inasmuch as, by afflictions, they are taught to renounce the world and to aim at God’s heavenly kingdom. Farther, they are confirmed in the hope of eternal life while they fight for it. For this is the entrance of which Christ discoursed to his disciples. (Mat 7:13; Luk 13:24)
(626) “ Solicitor nullos esse putare deos.” — Ovid in. Amo 9:36. In order to see the appropriateness of the quotation, it is necessary to notice the connection of the words “ Cum rapiant mala fata bonos…. Solicitor,” etc.; — “When misfortunes overtake the good, I am tempted,” etc. — Ed.
(627) “ Comme Denys le tyran, apres auoir pillé vn temple, s’estant mis sur le mer, et voyant qu’il auoit bon vent;” — “As Dionysius the tyrant, after he had plundered a temple, having embarked upon the sea, and observing that he had a favorable wind.”
(628) Our author alludes to a saying of Dionysius the younger, tyrant of Sicily, on occasion of his plundering the temple of Proserpine. See Calvin on the Psalms, vol. 1, p. 141, vol. 3, p. 126, and vol. 5, p. 114.— Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES
2Th. 1:5. Which is a manifest tokenAn indication. The steadfast and resolute continuance in the profession and adornment of the Christian faith, in face of opposition, might suggest to persecutors, as to Gamaliel, the possibility of the divine origin of the faith, to oppose which was to fight against God.
2Th. 1:6. Seeing it is a righteous thing.There is no unrighteousness in Him. However stern the retribution, none who suffers will ever be able to impugn the justice. To recompense tribulation to them that trouble you.The R.V. comes nearer to the original, affliction to them that afflict you. This lex talionis is a sword that is dangerous to any hand but His who said, Vengeance is Mine; I will repay.
2Th. 1:7. And to you who are troubled rest with us.The idea suggested by the words is that of poor, hunted fugitives with nerves tensely strung and a wild look of fear in the eyes. As the guardians of the infant Jesus were assured of safety by the death of him who sought the childs life, so the strain of fear shall be relaxed in the case of the persecuted Thessalonians.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.2Th. 1:5-7
The Recompense of Suffering for the Truth.
It is not an uncommon spectacle to see vice prosperous and triumphant, while virtue is ignored and oppressed. To a superficial observer it would seem that all the great prizes of the worldwealth, power, social status, gaiety, display, pleasurewere thrown indiscriminately and with lavish abundance into the lap of the wicked, and that the God-fearing few are left in obscurity to struggle with hardships, penury, and affliction. Nor is it always an easy matter to reconcile the sufferings of the good with the goodness and justice of God. But all things come round to the patient man. We must look to the future for the faithful redress of present grievances. In this chapter the apostle ministers consolation to the suffering Thessalonians by assuring them of a coming day in which they would be abundantly recompensed for all they had to endure, and in which the righteousness of God would be publicly vindicated. Observe:
I. That the maintenance of the truth often entails considerable suffering.The kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer (2Th. 1:5). They who will live godly in Christ Jesus must suffer persecution. The world is violently opposed to the Church, and that opposition is full of malignant hatred and cruelty. Socrates once said something like thisthat if goodness were to become incarnate in one man, so that that man would be perfectly good, the world would put him to death. What Socrates said was realised in Christ. If they have persecuted Me, said Christ to His followers, they will also persecute you. It is not the least among the trials of the good that they are obliged to come in contact with evil in so many forms, and that they are so savagely assailed and oppressed with it. Athanasius regarded the suffering of persecution to be a special note of a Christian man, observing: It is the part of Christians to be persecuted; but to persecute the Christians is the very office of Pilate and Caiaphas.
II. That suffering for the truth has a morally educating influence.That ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God (2Th. 1:5). The believer has no worthiness in himself, nor can he acquire any by the merit of his own works. This worthiness is but another word for meetnessthat meetness of state and character, as sinners justified and sanctified, without which no man shall enter the kingdom. Only to such has the kingdom been promised. And the sufferings they endure on behalf of the kingdom, so far from impairing their title, serve rather to confirm and illustrate it. Every Christian grace is tested, developed, and trained by suffering. The least reproach augments our glory. Every tear is not only noted and kept in the bottle, but made as varnish to add to our brightness and glorious splendour. No drop of our blood but wins us a river of glory; effusion of it the whole ocean of beatitude. When Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch, was cast to the lions, he exclaimed: I am Gods wheat, and must be ground by the teeth of the wild beasts that I may be found His pure bread.
III. That suffering for the truth will be divinely recompensed.Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God (2Th. 1:5)i.e. their sufferings and the constancy with which they endured them proved Gods justice. A strange assertion! The people of God have often been staggered by the fact that the wicked persecute and prosper, and the poor saints are plagued and oppressed (Psa. 73:1-14; Jer. 12:1-4). But from this very fact the apostle derives consolation. It is a proof to him of a future state in which all this apparent inconsistency will be set right, in which the saint and the persecutor will each receive his own proper recompense.
1. Suffering will be divinely recompensed in the deliverance of the sufferer.And to you who are troubled rest with us (2Th. 1:7). The word rest really means the slackening of strings that had been pulled tight. To the persecuted and afflicted Thessalonians the happiness of heaven is held out under the image of rest and relief after suffering. It is, as it were, the relaxing of tension after having been stretched on the rack. The keenest suffering for the truth is limited in its duration; and the righteousness of God is pledged to sustain and deliver His afflicted ones. The sweet rest of heaven will be all the more enjoyable because shared with those who have passed through a similar conflict.
2. Suffering will be divinely recompensed in the punishment of the persecutor.Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you (2Th. 1:6). The punishment of the persecutor is as just as the relief of the oppressed; and God has both the intention and the power of accomplishing what He thinks just. The law of retaliation will be rigidly enforced. The very measure the persecutors have dealt they are to receive back again; and the retaliation will be all the more terrible because of its unanswerable justice. Truth must triumph over all its enemies. Its watchword is no surrender. The apostate Julian spent his strength in trying to destroy the true Church; but when he fell on the battle-field, as the blood was gushing from his breast and his eyes were closing in death, he hissed between his setting teeth, Galilean, Thou hast conquered! And the Galilean must and will conquer, and all His enemies shall receive their just measure of punishment.
Lessons.
1. The sufferings of the good afford an opportunity for the display of divine justice.
2. Suffering is no evidence of the divine displeasure.
3. The glory of the future will infinitely outweigh the sufferings of the present life.
GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES
2Th. 1:6-7. Rest in Heaven for the Troubled.
I. Our Lords coming is called a revealing of Him.Here He is revealed in the outer world and in the gospel. There He will be revealed in glory, without disguise or veil.
II. Look at the troublers and their portion.It is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you. Sorrow of the acutest kind without comfort or alleviation.
III. Look at the portion of the troubled.Rest. A heaven of quietness and repose, and yet of ceaseless and tireless activity in praising God.
VI. The righteousness of the divine conduct.It is a righteous thing with God. The Lords second coming is not on an errand of mercy; His main business is to dispense justice.C. Bradley.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Text (2Th. 1:5)
5 which is a manifest taken of the righteous judgment of God; to the end that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer;
Translation and Paraphrase
5.
(You must never become discouraged in these sufferings, for your steadfastness is) an (obvious) evidence of the (fact that there is a) righteous judgment of God (coming upon mankind), Your steadfastness in suffering, combined with Gods righteous judgment, shall work out unto a happy result, namely) that you (shall) be judged worthy of the kingdom of God, for which (I know that) also you are suffering.
Notes (2Th. 1:5)
1.
We come now to the main point of II Thessalonians, chapter 1, the topic of Gods righteous retribution. (See outline.)
So often we see vice flourish and virtue perish. The Thessalonians probably wondered why they should be suffering persecution when they were trying to do the pure will of God. This problem of the prosperity of the wicked has always been perplexing to the righteous, Psa. 73:1-28 considers the problem. See also Job. 21:7-17. Many songs reflect on this matter, such as Well Understand It All By and By.
In this chapter Paul, like the writer of Psa. 73:1-28, considers the end of those who are prosperous, comfortable, persecuting, and ungodly. There is a day of righteous retribution on Gods calendar, and He will equalize all things. Until that day we must trust in God, having faith that He will do what is right.
2.
What is the manifest token of the righteous judgment of God? Is it the persecutions and tribulations in 2Th. 1:4, or is it the patience and faith in the same verse? Either view is possible, but we prefer the view that the patience and faith is the manifest token.
3.
This would seem to be suggested by the fact that persecutions and tribulations are plural nouns, while patience and faith and manifest token are all singular. Since manifest token appears to be in apposition to a previous term, it seems most likely that it would refer to a singular word (or words) like itself.
4.
The term manifest token (Gr. endeigma) means evidence, token, or proof. (Thayer) Rotherham translates 2Th. 1:5 : A proof of the righteous judgment of God.
5.
The patience and faith of Christians often suggest to sinners and persecutors the possibility of a divine origin of the Christian faith, and divine punishment for those who oppose it. It seemed to suggest this to Gamaliel. Act. 5:38-40.
6.
A remarkable case of how the patience and endurance of Christians convinced a man of the righteous judgment of God is the case of Justin Martyr (103162 A. D.). As a youth he sought to find rest for his troubled soul by studying the philosophers, but found himself growing none the wiser with regard to God. He saw a good deal of persecution of Christians and admired the endurance they displayed. One night, while walking near the seashore, he met an aged Christian, with whom he conversed freely, and by whom he was convinced of the truth of Christianity. He spent his life seeking to win men to the gospel and writing articles to defend the faith. During the reign of Marcus Aurelius, he refused to obey a command to sacrifice to pagan idols. Hence he was condemned to be scourged, and then beheaded, which was executed with all imaginable severity.
To Justin, the patient endurance and pure faith of the Christians was a proof of the divine nature of their religion. In our times, the world is also looking for the proof in our lives that the gospel of Christ is true.
7.
A related verse to 1Th. 1:5 is Php. 1:28 : And in nothing (be) terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God. Note here again the thought that the patience and endurance of Christians is a proof to their adversaries that they are on the road to perdition (destruction) while the Christians are following the truth. They sense this, even if they wont face up to it, or do anything about it.
8.
Often we hear people say that we can never be worthy of Gods blessings. We ourselves believe as strongly as anyone that we are not saved by our own works of righteousness. Tit. 3:5; Eph. 2:9.
But even so, this verse says that we may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, and indicates that being counted worthy is the result of our patience and faith as well as Gods righteous judgment. So evidently it is wrong to say that a man can NEVER be worthy. (For the meaning of worthy, Gr., axios, see notes on 1Th. 2:12, par. 4.)
This matter of being worthy is also emphasized in other verses, 2Th. 1:11 : that our God would count you worthy of this calling. Col. 1:10 : That ye might walk worthy of the Lord. 1Th. 2:12 : That ye would walk worthy of God. See also Rev. 3:4.
Let us freely admit that we are not saved by any works we do. But let us also realize that when once saved, Christians CAN and must live in a manner worthy of God. These facts do not contradict and exclude one another.
9.
What is it that causes us to be counted worthy of the kingdom of God? Is it Gods righteous judgment? Or is it our patience and faith? It is both, If either of these were lacking, we could not be counted worthy of Gods kingdom.
10.
The kingdom of God in this verse probably refers to the future and everlasting kingdom of God (as in 2Pe. 1:11) rather than to the church, which is also called the kingdom of God. Col. 1:13. It is a fact that God has already called us into the kingdom and glory, 1Th. 2:12. But it is also true that through many tribulations we (Christians) must enter into the kingdom of God. Act. 14:22.
11.
All Christians will suffer in some degree and manner. If we do not suffer, we shall not be judged worthy of Gods kingdom. Compare Heb. 12:7-8.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(5) Which is . . .In the fervid eloquence of the original these connecting words are omitted, and the clause added in a kind of apposition to the words in all your persecutions; the effect is the same as when we in English put a dash: which ye endurea manifest token, &c. The indication of Gods righteous judgment consisted not so much in the vitality and growth of the Thessalonians faith and love as in the very fact of their being persecuted; such persecution was an actual indication how the fair judgment of God would go in the last day. No undue stress is to be laid upon the epithet righteous, as if it were a token of the righteousness of Gods judgment; the point is only to indicate already what a fair judge was likely to decide.
That ye may be counted worthy.This expresses the result, not of the future judgment of God, but of the patient sufferings which reveal what that judgment will be. The counting worthy (or rather, perhaps, the declaring worthy) is, in fact, the judgment or sentence itself. You suffer in such a manner that we can forecast the fair verdict of God: viz., so as to be then declared (the Greek tense points to a distinct moment of forming the estimate) fit to receive Gods kingdom. The word counted worthy has in this place nothing to do with the theological question of merit.
The kingdom of God.Which had formed a prominent feature of the first preaching at Thessalonica. (See Introduction to the First Epistle to the Thessalonians.) Are the Thessalonian Christians, then, not yet in the kingdom of God? Yes; but only as its subjects: hereafter they are to be counted worthy not of admission into it, but of it itselfi.e., to inherit it, to become kings of it. (Comp. the parallel argument in 2Ti. 2:12.)
For which ye also suffer.St. Paul is very fond of this also in relative clauses; it tightens the coupling between the relative and antecedent clauses, and so brings out more clearly the vital connection between suffering and reigning. They suffer for the kingdom, not merely for the sake of winning it, but on its behalf, in defence of it, in consequence of being its citizens, to extend its dominion.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
5. Which Refers to their firm faith in the face of persecutions. It was a divine token, a premonition of the righteous judgment of God to be executed at the advent.
That To the end, or with the result that, so far as you are concerned, ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of glory.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
2Th 1:5. Which is a manifest token The exercise of God’s justice has a double object; respecting good men for their purification, and respecting bad men for their punishment. Persecution inflicted and suffered, furnishes both these objects respectively. Perhaps the word rendered manifest token, may further imply, that the sufferings of good men, and the triumphs of their persecuting enemies, should not only terminate in a display of divine vengeance; but that these seeming irregularities do even now declare, that there shall be such a day of retribution.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
2Th 1:5 . Judgment of the apostle concerning the conduct of his readers described in 2Th 1:4 . Their stedfastness in the sufferings of the present is a guarantee of future glory. 2Th 1:5 is a sentence in apposition, which is united to the preceding in the nominative, not in the accusative, to which Buttmann, Gramm. des neutest. Sprachgebr. p. 134 [E. T. 153], is inclined. See Winer, p. 472 [E. T. 669]. But refers not to the subject of , that is, to the Thessalonians, as if , were written (comp. Erasmus, Annot. , Camerarius, Estius); for however simple and easy such a connection might be grammatically, yet logically it is objectionable. Besides, Paul would hardly have put instead of the simple infinitive, if he thought on no difference of subject in and . But also is not to be referred to (Ambrosiaster, Zwingli, Calvin, Bullinger, Aretius, Wolf, Koppe, Pelt, Schrader, Ewald, Bisping, and others), but to the whole preceding principal and collective idea, . Accordingly it is to be analyzed as follows: (that is to say, , ) .
] is found here only in the N. T. It denotes a sign, guarantee, proof (comp. the active , Phi 1:28 ); here, according to the context, a prognostic .
] cannot, with Olshausen and Riggenbach, be understood of the present judgments executed on the earth, and which befall believers in order to perfect them and to make them worthy of the kingdom of God. Not only the article , pointing to the judgment , but also the explanation in 2Th 1:6 ff., decides against this view. The future judgment is meant which God will execute by Christ at the advent.
. . .] whose result will be that ye will be esteemed worthy of the kingdom of God , depends not on , so that would become a parenthetic exclamation (Bengel, Zachariae, Bisping, Hofmann, and others), nor does it also belong to the whole sentence : in reference to which ye, etc., but only to . Accordingly . . . . is not a statement of purpose (thus Alford and Ewald), but an epexegetical statement of result. , with the infinitive, also stands for the result in 2Co 8:6 , etc. Comp. Winer, p. 294 [E. T. 414].
The infinitive aorist expresses the verbal idea simply, without any regard to time. See Khner, II. p. 80.
] for striving to obtain which ye suffer , an additional statement of the cause whose corresponding result will be . The Thessalonians, by their enduring stedfastness, the motive of which was striving after the kingdom of God, made themselves worthy of participation in this kingdom, for they thereby showed how precious and dear Christ is to them; it is thus certain that the judgment of God to be expected at the return of Christ will recognise this worthiness, and will exalt the Thessalonians to be fellow-citizens of His kingdom. Comp. Phi 1:28 ; Rom 8:17 ; 2Ti 2:12 .
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
5 Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer:
Ver. 5. Which is a manifest token ] , indigitatio. The saints’ sufferings here are an ocular demonstration of a future judgment, wherein all their wrongs shall be righted, all their labour of love recompensed. This held Job’s head above water, when else he had been overwhelmed with the floods of affliction, Job 19:25 . So Dan 12:1-2 . Though things be otherwise darkly delivered, yet when the Jews were to lose land and life, then plainly the general judgment is mentioned: soHeb 11:35Heb 11:35 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
5 10 .] Comfort under these afflictions, to think that they were only part of God’s carrying out his justice towards them and their persecutors .
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
5 .] The sentence, in construction, is in apposition with the preceding . to , but in the nominative: ( ) or the like having to be supplied. In Php 1:28 we have the like sentiment, with supplied. There is a similar construction in Rom 8:3 .
] cf. in ref. a proof: manifested in you being called on and enabled to suffer for Christ, and your adversaries filling up the measure of their opposition to God. The is, that just judgment which will be completed at the Lord’s coming, but is even now preparing this being an earnest and token of it.
. . .] in order to (belongs to the implied assertion of the foregoing clause ‘which judgment is even now bringing about &c.’
is not merely of the result , as Ln.: nor is it of the purpose of your endurance, . . ., as Estius characteristically, to bring in the Romish doctrine of merit: but of the purpose of God’s dispensation of , by which you will be ripened and fitted for his kingdom. (Ellic. denies this, and would take of the object to which the tended. But surely when we are speaking of the divine proceedings, the tendency involves the purpose, and there is no need for a semi -telic force)) your being counted worthy of the Kingdom of God, on behalf of which (for this meaning of , see Act 5:41 ; Act 9:16 ; Rom 1:5 ; Rom 15:8 ; 2Co 12:10 ; 2Co 13:8 , al.) ye also ( , as in ref., points out the connexion q. d. ‘ ye accordingly ’) are suffering ,
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
2Th 1:5 . , in apposition to the general thought of the preceding clause; it does not matter to the sense whether the word is taken as an elliptic nominative or an appositional accusative. “All this is really a clear proof of (or points to) the equity of God’s judgment,” which will right the present inequalities of life (Dante, Purg. , x. 109 f.). is the future and final judgment of 6 10, whose principle is recompense (Luk 16:25 ); there is a divine law of compensation which will operate. This throws back light upon the present sufferings of the righteous. These trials, it is assumed, are due to loyalty and innocence of life; hence, in their divine aspect (2Th 1:5 ), they are the necessary qualification or discipline for securing entrance into the realm of God. They are significant, not casual. Paul begins by arguing that their very infliction or permission proves that God must be contemplating a suitable reward and destiny for those who endured them in the right spirit. . . ., is thus a loose expansion (from the common rabbinic phrase, cf. Dalman’s Worte Jesu , 97 f.; E. Tr., 119) of one side of the . . The other side, the human aspect of , then emerges in 2Th 1:6 . Since the Thessalonians were suffering at the hands of men ( , Isa 19:20 ), the two-handed engine of retribution (so Lam 3:64 f.; Oba 1:15 ; Isa 59:18 , for .) must in all fairness punish the persecutors ( cf. Sap. 11:9, 10). This is the only passage in which Paul welcomes God’s vengeance on the enemies of the church as an element in the recompense of Christians. : to see an intelligible purpose in suffering, or to connect it with some larger movement and hope, is always a moral stay. “God gave three choice gifts to Israel the Torah, the Land of Promise, and Eternal Life, and each was won by suffering” ( Berachoth , 5 a ).
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
manifest token. Greek. endeigma. Only here.
righteous. App-191.
judgment. App-177. Compare Php 1:1, Php 1:28.
that ye may be = to (Greek. eis) your being.
counted worthy. See Act 5:41.
kingdom. App-112.114.
also suffer = suffer also.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
5-10.] Comfort under these afflictions, to think that they were only part of Gods carrying out his justice towards them and their persecutors.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
2Th 1:5. ) namely, [It being a token, etc.] The Accusative absolute; comp. Act 26:3, note. The fact of your , enduring, 2Th 1:4, is a proof or token.-, just, righteous) What is stated as a Proposition in this clause is discussed at 2Th 1:6-7.- , that you may be counted worthy) This clause is connected (coheres) with ye endure.- ) for which. The suffering () makes them worthy of the kingdom.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
2Th 1:5
which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God;-The persecution brought upon them was a clear sign of the righteous judgment of God that he might test and try them and prove them worthy to receive the blessings of the kingdom of God. [Such affliction is viewed not only as a special privilege granted to the believer but as an unmistakable token of his acceptance with God-that he is to share Christs exaltation and glory at his coming.]
to the end that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God,-[Their sufferings served another purpose; they were not only suggestive of the judgment to come they were also disciplinary. They are intended to make those who endured them meet for the inheritance of the saints.]
for which ye also suffer:-[Until the power of the gospel came into their hearts, they were incapable of such endurance. That they had patiently endured and their faith had not failed was proof of the new life and an assurance that God would vindicate himself and them. Thereby all thoughts of vengeance were banished and a solemn sense of submission to Gods will was encouraged.] It is a blessing to man to try and to test him and prove his worthiness for the kingdom of God.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
manifest: 2Th 1:6, Phi 1:28, 1Pe 4:14-18
righteous: Job 8:3, Psa 9:7, Psa 9:8, Psa 33:5, Psa 50:6, Psa 72:2, Psa 99:4, Psa 111:7, Jer 9:24, Dan 4:37, Rom 2:5, Rev 15:4, Rev 16:7, Rev 19:2
may: 2Th 1:11, Luk 20:35, Luk 21:36, Act 13:46, Eph 4:1, Col 1:12, Rev 3:4
for: 2Th 1:7, Act 14:22, Rom 8:17, 1Th 2:14, 2Ti 2:12, Heb 10:32, Heb 10:33
Reciprocal: Mic 7:9 – he will Mal 3:18 – discern Mat 6:33 – the kingdom Mat 8:11 – in Mat 10:37 – not Mat 22:8 – but Mar 13:9 – take Luk 6:20 – for Luk 6:23 – your Luk 11:20 – the kingdom Luk 12:32 – the kingdom Luk 13:28 – the kingdom Luk 21:13 – General Joh 17:22 – the glory Rom 2:2 – judgment Rom 8:28 – we know 2Th 3:17 – the token 2Ti 4:8 – the righteous Heb 9:28 – he appear Heb 12:23 – God Jam 2:5 – heirs 1Pe 2:23 – judgeth Rev 1:9 – in the Rev 11:18 – and that Rev 16:5 – Thou art
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
2Th 1:5. It is God’s judgment that the faithful servants shall prove their faith by enduring persecutions (2Ti 3:12), such an experience being a proof that they are true disciples. Knowing that such persons will actually endure their trials, He has rebarded such a truth as rendering them worthy of the test. (See Act 5:41; Jas 1:2 Jas 1:4; 1Pe 4:12-14.) This is why Paul refers to the matter as a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God. The Lord knows how much the true disciples can withstand, hence He will not suffer them to be tried beyond that (1Co 10:13); and when they come out of their trials as victors over evil, it proves the righteousness of His judgment.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
2Th 1:5. A token of the righteous Judgment of God. The just judgment of God here referred to is that future and final allotment of rewards and punishments which is to take place at the second coming of Christ, as described in the following verses. And the present sufferings of the Thessalonians were a proof of this judgment to come: because they made it obvious that in this world men do not receive their deserts, and therefore demanded a future judgment which should harmonize condition and character. The success of falsehood and fraud, the prosperity of the wrong-doer, the sufferings of good men; in a word, the disorder of this present state has always most powerfully brought home to mens convictions the idea of a judgment to come. If we hold this principle of faith, that God is the just judge of the world, and that it is His office to reward every one according to his work, this other principle must beyond dispute follow, that the present disorder is proof that there will be a judgment which does not yet appear (Calvin).
That ye may be counted worthy. The sufferings of the Thessalonians served another purpose; they were not only suggestive of the judgment to come, they were also disciplinary. They tended to make those who endured them meet for the inheritance of the saints. Their sufferings were a token that they were worthy or meet to be accounted Christians indeed, seeing they could suffer for Christianity. And the truth is, religion, if it is worth anything, is worth everything; and those have no religion or none worth having, or know not how to value it, who cannot find in their hearts to suffer for it. We cannot by all our sufferings, any more than by our services, merit heaven as a debt; but by our patience under sufferings, we are prepared for the joy promised to patient sufferers in the cause of God.
For which ye also suffer. Not as if they expected to obtain the kingdom by their suffering, but they suffered for its sake, as a man willingly suffers for a cause he believes in and advocates.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
As if he had said, ” Which tribulations and persecutions, or which patience under your present persecutons, is a sign and token, yea, and evidence and manifestation, that God, the righteous judge, will reward you with a part and share in that kingdom for which you suffer, being in his account worthy of it: not with a worthiness of merit, but with a worthiness of meetness, they being made meet and fit for heaven hereafter by their patience and constancy under sufferings and persecutions here.”
Learn hence, That as none can enjoy the kingdom of heaven by meriting heaven, but by being made meet for heaven; so patience under sufferings and reproaches, under persecutions and sharp trials, is a special qualification to make us meet for the enjoyment of that glorious kingdom: That ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
God’s Coming Judgment
Even though the Thessalonian brethren were being afflicted at the time of his writing, Paul here assured them relief was coming. That relief would come in the form of the Lord’s second coming. Paul said angels would be with Jesus, as they often were at important times during His stay on earth ( Luk 2:8-14 ; Mat 4:11 ; Mat 28:1-8 ; Act 1:9-11 ). They would do the Lord’s bidding in the great harvest of souls ( 2Th 1:7 ; Mat 13:33-43 ).
Fuente: Gary Hampton Commentary on Selected Books
which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God; to the end that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer:
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
ARGUMENT 2
THE BLESSING OF PERSECUTION
5. We see here that it is a great blessing and an exalted honor to be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, so that we are permitted to suffer persecution for Christs sake. Hence, it says that persecution is a manifestation of the righteous judgment of God. Christ (Mat 5:10) catalogues persecution among the beatitudes. Have you considered that the probable reason why you are not persecuted is, because you are not worthy of the kingdom of God? The Lord give us light to examine our hearts, and consider our lives!
Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament
Verse 5
Token of the righteous judgment of God; that is, an indication that there is a righteous judgment to come
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
1:5 {2} [Which is] a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer:
(2) He shows the source of all true comfort, that is, that in afflictions which we suffer from the wicked for righteousness’ sake, we may behold as it were in a mirror the testimony of that judgment to come, the end of which is most acceptable to us, and most severe to his enemies.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
B. Encouragement to persevere 1:5-10
These verses explain what God’s future righteous judgment is.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Paul explained that suffering for Christ demonstrates the believer’s worthiness to participate in God’s kingdom. A hot fire under gold ore separates the gold from the dross and shows the gold to be what it really is. Likewise the fire of trials can separate the Christian from the unsaved and show him to be what he really is. He is what he is by God’s grace. It is God’s grace that qualifies a person for heaven, not suffering. Suffering, if properly responded to, only exposes the quality of the person whom God’s grace is transforming.
Paul taught elsewhere that God will reward Christians who endure temptations to abandon their commitment to Jesus Christ with the privilege of reigning with Christ in His millennial kingdom (2Ti 2:12). Whereas all Christians will return to earth with Christ at His second coming and enter His kingdom, only those who follow Him faithfully in this life will reign with Him. [Note: See Zane C. Hodges, Grace in Eclipse, pp. 69-77.]
"Jesus encouraged his disciples to rejoice when they were persecuted for his sake because, he said, ’your reward is great in heaven’ (Mat 5:11-12 par. Luk 6:22-23). This note recurs again and again throughout the NT." [Note: F. F. Bruce, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, p. 154.]
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Chapter 18
SUFFERING AND GLORY
2Th 1:5-12 (R.V.)
IN the preceding verses of this chapter, as in the opening of the First Epistle, the Apostle has spoken of the afflictions of the Thessalonians, and of the Christian graces which they have developed under them. To suffer for Christs sake, he says, and at the same time to abound in faith and love and spiritual joy, is to have the mark of Gods election on us. It is an experience so truly and characteristically Christian that the Apostle cannot think of it without gratitude and pride. He gives thanks to God on every remembrance of his converts. He boasts of their progress in all the churches of Achaia.
In the verses before us, another inference is drawn from the afflictions of the Thessalonians, and their gospel patience under them. The whole situation is a proof, or manifest token, of the righteous judgment of God. It has this in view, that the Thessalonians may be deemed worthy of the (heavenly) kingdom of God, on behalf of which they suffer. Here, we see, the Apostle sanctions with his authority the argument from the injustices of this life to the coming of another life in which they will be rectified. God is just, he says; and therefore this state of affairs, in which bad men oppress the innocent, cannot last forever. It calls aloud for judgment; it proclaims its approach; it is a prognostic, a manifest token of it. The suffering which is here in view cannot be an end in itself. Even the graces which come to perfection in maintaining themselves against it, do not explain the whole meaning of affliction; it would remain a blot upon Gods justice if it were not counterbalanced by the joys of His kingdom. “Blessed are ye when men shall reproach you, and persecute yon, and say all manner of evil against yon falsely, for My sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven.” This is the gracious side of the judgment. The suffering which is borne with joy and brave patience for Christs sake proves how dear Christ is to the sufferer; and this love, tried with fire, is requited in due time with an answer in love that makes him forget it all.
This is one of the doctrines of Scripture that untroubled times find it easy to dispense with. There is even an affectation of superiority to what is called the moral vulgarity of being good for the sake of something beyond goodness. It is idle to enter on any abstract discussion of such a question. We are called by the gospel to a new life under certain definite conditions, one of them being the condition of suffering for its sake. The more thoroughly that condition is accepted the less disposition will there be to criticise the future blessedness which is its counterpoise and compensation. It is not the confessors and martyrs of the Christian faith-the men who die daily, like Paul, and share in the tribulations and patience of Jesus Christ, like John-who become weary of the glory which is to be revealed. And it is such only who are in a position to judge of the value of this hope. If it is dear to them, an inspiration and an encouragement, as it certainly is, it is surely worse than vain for those who are living an easier and a lower life to criticise it on abstract grounds. If we have no need of it, if we can dispense with any sight or grasp of a joy beyond the grave, let us take care that it is not owing to the absence from our life of that present suffering for Christs sake, without which we cannot be His. “The connection,” Bishop Ellicott says, “between holy suffering and future blessedness is mystically close and indissoluble”; we must through great tribulation enter into the kingdom of God; and all experience proves that, when such tribulation comes and is accepted, the recompense of reward here spoken of, and the Scriptures which give prominence to it, rise to the highest credit in the mind of the Church. It is not a token of our enlightenment and moral superiority, if we undervalue them; it is an indication that we are not drinking of the Lords cup, or being baptised with His baptism.
But the reward is only one side of the righteous judgment foretold by the suffering of the innocent. It includes punishment as well. “It is a righteous thing with God to recompense affliction to them that afflict you.” We see here the very simplest conception of Gods justice. It is a law of retribution, of vindication; it is the reaction, in this particular case, of mans sin against himself. The reaction is inevitable: if it does not come here, it comes in another world; if not now, in another life. The hope of the sinner is always that in some way or other this reaction may never take place, or that, when it does take place, it may be evaded; but that hope is doomed to perish. “If it were done when tis done,” he says as he contemplates his sin in prospect; but it never is so done; it is exactly half done when he is finished with it; and the other half is taken in hand by God. Punishment is the other half of sin; as inseparable from it as heat from fire, as the inside of a vessel from the outside. “It is a righteous thing with God to recompense affliction to them that afflict you.” “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”
One of the favourite pastimes of some modern historians is the whitewashing of persecutors. A dispassionate interest in the facts shows, we are told, in many cases, that the persecutors were not so black as they have been painted, and that the martyrs and confessors were no better than they should have been. Where fault is found at all, it is laid rather at the door of systems than of individuals; judgment is passed on institutions and on centuries that persons and their actions may go free. Practically that comes to writing history, which is the story of mans moral life, without recognising the place of conscience; it may sometimes have the look of intelligence, but at bottom it is immoral and false. Men must answer for their actions. It is no excuse for murdering the saints that the murderers think they are doing God service; it is an aggravation of their guilt. Every man knows that it is wicked to afflict the good; if he does not, it is because he has quite corrupted his conscience, and therefore has the greater sin. Moral blindness may include and explain every sin, but it justifies none; it is itself the sin of sins. “It is a righteous thing with God to recompense affliction to those who afflict.” If they cannot put themselves by sympathy into the place of others-which is the principle of all right conduct-God will put them in that place, and open their eyes. His righteous judgment is a day of grace to the innocent sufferers; He rewards their trouble with rest; but to the persecutor it is a day of vengeance; he eats the fruit of his doings.
It is characteristic of this Epistle, and of the preoccupation of the Apostles mind when he wrote it, that he here expands his notice of the time when this judgment is to take place into a vivid statement of its circumstances and issues. The judgment is executed at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven, with the angels of His power, in flaming fire. “At this moment,” he would say, “Christ is unseen, and therefore by wicked men ignored, and sometimes by good men forgotten; but the day is coming when every eye shall see Him.” The Apostle Peter, who had seen Christ in the flesh, as Paul had never done, and who probably felt His invisibility as few could feel it, is fond of this word “revelation” as a name for His reappearing. He speaks of faith which is to be found unto praise and honour and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ. “Be sober,” he says, “and hope to the end for the grace that is being brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” And in another passage, much in keeping with this of St. Pauls, he says. “Inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christs sufferings, rejoice; that at the revelation of His glory also ye may rejoice with exceeding joy.” It is one of the great words of the New Testament; and its greatness is heightened in this place by the accompanying description. The Lord is revealed, attended by the angels of His power, in flaming fire. These accessories of the Advent are borrowed from the Old Testament; the Apostle clothes the Lord Jesus at His appearing in all the glory of the God of Israel. When Christ is thus revealed, it is in the character of a Judge: He renders vengeance to them that know not God, and to them that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Two classes of guilty men are quite plainly distinguished by these words; and as plainly, though the English alone would not enable us to lay stress upon it, those two classes are the heathen and the Jews. Ignorance of God is the characteristic of paganism; when Paul wishes to describe the Gentiles from the religious point of view, he speaks of them. as the Gentiles which know not God. Now, with us, ignorance is usually regarded as an excuse for sin; it is an extenuating circumstance, which calls for compassion rather than condemnation; and we are almost astonished in reading the Bible to find it used as a summary of the whole guilt and offence of the heathen world. But we must remember what it is that men are said not to know. It is not theology; it is not the history of the Jews, or the special revelations it contains; it is not any body of doctrines; it is God. And God, who is the fountain of life, the only source of goodness, does not hide Himself from men. He has His witnesses everywhere. There is something in all men which is on His side, and which, if it be regarded, will bring their souls to Him. Those who know not God are those who have stifled this inner witness, and separated themselves in doing so from all that is good. Ignorance of God means ignorance of goodness; for all goodness is from Him. It is not a lack of acquaintance with any system of ideas about God that is here exposed to the condemnation of Christ; but the practical lack of acquaintance with love, purity, truth. If men are familiar with the opposites of all these; if they have been selfish, vile, bad, false; if they have said to God, “Depart from us; we desire not the knowledge of Thy ways; we are content to have no acquaintance with Thee”-is it not inevitable that, when Christ is revealed as Judge of all, they should be excluded from His kingdom? What could they do in it? Where could they be less in place?
The difficulty which some have felt about the ignorance of the Gentiles can hardly be raised about the disobedience of the Jews. The element of wilfulness, of deliberate antagonism to the good, to which we give such prominence in our idea of sin, is conspicuous here. The will of God for their salvation had been fully made known to this stubborn race; but they disobeyed, and persisted in their disobedience. “He that being often reproved hardeneth his neck”-so ran their own proverb-“shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.” Such was the sentence to be executed on them in the day of Christ.
When it is said that ignorance of God and disobedience to the gospel are here presented as the characteristics respectively of Gentile and Jew, it is not said that the passage is without significance for us. There may be some of us who are sinking day by day into an ever deeper ignorance of God. Those who live a worldly and selfish life, whose interests and hopes are bounded by this material order, who never pray, who do nothing, give nothing, suffer nothing for others, they, whatever their knowledge of the Bible or the catechism may be, do not know God, and fall under this pagan condemnation. And what of disobedience to the gospel? Notice the word which is here used by the Apostle; it implies a conception of the gospel which we are apt, in magnifying the grace of God, to overlook. We speak of receiving the gospel, believing it, welcoming it, and so forth; it is equally needful to remember that it claims our obedience. God not only beseeches us to be reconciled, He commands us to repent. He makes a display of His redeeming love in the gospel-a love which contains pardon, renewal, and immortality; and He calls on all men for a life in correspondence with that love. Salvation is not only a gift, but a vocation; we enter into it as we obey the voice of Jesus, “Follow Me”; and if we disobey, and choose our own way, and live a life in which there is nothing that answers to the manifestation of God as our Saviour, what can the end be? Can it be anything else than the judgment of which St. Paul here speaks? If we say, every day of our life, as the law of the gospel rings in our ears: “No, we will not have this Man to reign over us,” can we expect anything else than that He will render vengeance? “Do we provoke the Lord to anger? Are we stronger than He?” The ninth verse describes the terrible vengeance of the great day. “Such men,” says the Apostle, “shall pay the penalty, everlasting destruction, away from the face of the Lord and from the glory of His might.” These are awful words, and it is no wonder that attempts have been made to empty them of the meaning which they bear upon their face. But it would be false to sinful men, as well as to the Apostle, and to the whole of New Testament teaching, to say that any art or device could in the least degree lessen their terrors. It has been boldly asserted, indeed, that the word rendered everlasting does not mean everlasting, but age long; and that what is in view here is “an age long destruction from the presence and glory of Christ, i.e., the being shut out from all sight of and participation in the triumphs of Christ during that age” [“the age perhaps which immediately succeeds this present life”]. And this assertion is crowned by another, that those thus excluded nevertheless “abide in His presence and share His glory in the ages beyond.” Anything more gratuitous, anything less in keeping with the whole tone of the passage, anything more daring in its arbitrary additions to the text, it would be impossible even to imagine. If the gospel, as conceived in the New Testament, has any character at all, it has the character of finality. It is Gods last word to men. And the consequences of accepting or rejecting it are final; it opens no prospect beyond the life on the one hand, and the death on the other, which are the results of obedience and disobedience. Obey, and you enter into a light in which there is no darkness at all: disobey, and you pass eventually into a darkness in which there is no light at all. What God says to us in all Scripture, from beginning to end, is not, Sooner or later? but, Life or death? These are the alternatives before us; they are absolutely separate; they do not run into one another at any time, the most remote. It is necessary to speak the more earnestly of this matter, because there is a disposition, on the plea that it is impossible for us to divide men into two classes, to blur or even to obliterate the distinction between Christian and non-Christian. Many things prompt us to make the difference merely one of quantity-a more or less of conformity to some ideal standard-in which case, of course, a little more, or a little less, is of no great account. But that only means that we never take the distinction between being right with God, and being wrong with God, as seriously as God takes it; with Him it is simply infinite. The difference between those who obey, and those who do not obey, the gospel, is not the difference of a little better and a little worse; it is the difference of life and death. If there is any truth in Scripture at all, this is true-that those who stubbornly refuse to submit to the gospel, and to love and obey Jesus Christ, incur at the Last Advent an infinite and irreparable loss. They pass into a night on which no morning dawns.
This final ruin is here described as separation from the face of the Lord and the glory of His might. In both the Old Testament and the New, the vision of God is the consummation of blessedness. Thus we read in one psalm, “Before Thy face is fulness of joy”; in another, “As for me, I shall behold Thy face in uprightness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with Thy likeness.” In one of the Gospels, our Saviour says that in heaven the angels of the little ones do always behold the face of their Father who is in heaven; and in the Book of Revelation it is the crown of joy that His servants shall serve Him and shall see His face. From all this joy and blessedness they condemn themselves to exclusion who know not God, and disobey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Far from the face of the Lord and the glory of His power, their portion is in the outer darkness.
But in vivid contrast with this-for the Apostle does not close with this terrible prospect-is the lot of those who have chosen the good part here. Christ is revealed taking vengeance on the wicked, as has just been described; but He comes also to be glorified in His saints and to be admired in all them that believed-including those Christians at Thessalonica. This is the Lords and the Christians interest in the great day. The glory that shines from Him is mirrored in and reflected from them. If there is a glory of the Christian even while he wears the body of his humiliation, it will be swallowed up in a glory more excellent when his change comes. Yet that glory will not be his own: it Will be the glory of Christ which has transfigured him; men and angels, as they look at the saints, will admire not them, but Him who has made them anew in the likeness of Himself. All this is to take place “on that day”-the great and terrible day of the Lord. The voice of the Apostle rests with emphasis upon it; let it fill our minds and hearts. It is a day of revelation, above all things: the day on which Christ comes, and declares which life is eternally of worth, and which forever worthless; the day on which some are glorified, and some pass finally from our view. Do not let the difficulties and mysteries of this subject, the problems we cannot solve, the decisions we could not give, blind our eyes to what Scripture makes so plain: we are not the judges, but the judged, in this whole scene; and the judgment is of infinite consequence for us. It is not a question of less or more, of sooner or later, of better or worse; what is at stake in our attitude to the gospel is life or death, heaven or hell, the outer darkness or the glory of Christ.