Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 2 Thessalonian 1:9
Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;
9. who shall be punished with everlasting destruction ] Rather, men who will pay the penalty of eternal destruction. In these awful words the Apostle describes the retribution designed for godless men and rejecters of the Gospel. His word for “penalty” ( dik, the root of the words righteous and righteousness in Greek) brings to a climax the idea of justice developed in 2Th 1:5-8; see note on “vengeance.” But the clause while defining, qualifies the foregoing; for “who” is equal to such as, who with all like them. The threatening applies to the impious and malignant opposers who were seeking to crush the infant Church. Their sin corresponded to that which our Lord denounced as the sin against the Holy Spirit, the “eternal sin,” the “blasphemy against the Spirit which shall not be forgiven” (Mat 12:31-32; Mar 3:28-29, R. V.).
“Destruction,” as applied to man and his destiny in the N.T., signifies perdition, ruin, the utter loss of blessedness. It is opposed to “salvation” in Heb 10:39; 2Co 2:15, &c.; and “eternal destruction” is the antithesis of eternal life.” There is no sufficient reason for interpreting the destruction of the reprobate as signifying their annihilation, or extinction of being; they will be lost for ever lost to God and goodness. Nor can we limit the range of the word eternal in its relation to this fearful doom; it removes all limits of time, and is the express opposite of temporary (2Co 4:18). Seventy-two times the Greek original of the adjective is found in the N.T.: forty-four of these examples are repetitions of the phrase “eternal life;” it is arbitrary to suppose that in the opposite combination “eternal” bears a restricted sense. Christ’s judicial words in Mat 25:46 bar all attempts to minimize the penal effect of the sentence of the Last Day; “eternal punishment,” He says, and “eternal life.” Comp. Php 3:19, “whose end is destruction.”
from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power ] Better, as in R. V., and without the comma, from the face of the Lord and from the glory of His might. Language borrowed from Isaiah 2, where it occurs thrice repeated, all but identically ( Isa 2:10 ; Isa 2:19 ; Isa 2:21), in the prophet’s picture of Jehovah’s coming in judgement: “Enter into the rocks and hide yourselves in the earth from the face of the fear of the Lord and from the glory of His might, when He ariseth to shake the earth.” The words of Rev 6:15-16 are based on the same original: “They say to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb.” The preposition here seems, however, after the word “destruction,” to signify coming from, rather than shrinking from the face of the Lord. The sight of their Judge and His Almightiness, robed in fire and attended by His host of angels, will drive these wretched men, terror-stricken, into ruin. Their destruction proceeds “from the face of the Lord;” in His look the evildoers read their fate. So we can imagine it will be with the murderers of Jesus, and with malicious persecutors of His people. Comp. Psa 34:16; Psa 76:7, “The face of the Lord is against them that do evil:” “Who may stand in Thy sight, when once Thou art angry?”
While the destruction of the persecutors and the deliverance of the persecuted are contrasted in themselves ( 2Th 1:6-7), they are identified in point of time. For justice will overtake the former
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction; – see the notes on Mat 25:41, Mat 25:46. The word which is here rendered destruction ( olethron), is different from that which occurs in Mat 25:46, and which is there rendered punishment – kolasis. The word olethron – olethron – occurs only here and in 1Co 5:5; 1Th 5:3; 1Ti 6:9; in each of which places it is rendered destruction. It does not denote annihilation, but is used in the same sense in which we use the word when we say that a thing is destroyed. Thus, health is destroyed when it fails; property is destroyed when it is burned or sunk in the ocean; a limb is destroyed that is lost in battle; life is destroyed when one dies. In the case before us, the destruction, whatever it be, is:
(1) To be continued forever; and,
(2) Is to be of the nature of punishment.
The meaning then must be, that the soul is destroyed as to the great purposes of its being – its enjoyment, dignity, honor, holiness, happiness. It will not be annihilated, but will live and linger on in destruction. It seems difficult to conceive how anyone can profess to hold that this passage is a part of the Word of God, and yet deny the doctrine of future eternal punishment. It would not be possible to state that doctrine in clearer language than this. It is never is in clearer language in any creed or confession of faith, and if it is not true that the wicked will be punished forever, then it must be admitted that it would not have been possible to reveal the doctrine in human language!
From the presence of the Lord – That is, a part of their punishment will consist in being banished from the immediate presence of the Lord. There is a sense in which God is everywhere present, and in that sense he will be in the world where the wicked will dwell, to punish them. But the phrase is also used to denote his more immediate presence; the place where are the symbols of his majesty and glory; the home of the holy and the blessed. It is in that sense that the word is used here, and the idea is, that it will be one of the circumstances contributing to the deeper woe of the place of punishment, that those who dwell there will be banished from that holy abode, and will never be permitted to enter there.
And from the glory of his power – The meaning seems to be, that they will not be able to endure the manifestation of his power and majesty when he shall appear, but will be driven away by it into outer darkness; see 2Th 2:8. The Saviour, in describing his second coming, uses this language: They shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory; Mat 24:30. There will be a great exhibition of both. The power will be seen in the convulsions of nature which will precede or attend him; in the resurrection of the dead; and in the bringing of all to judgment: and the glory will be seen in his own person; the dignity and number of his attendants; and the honor that shall then be conferred on him as the final Judge of all mankind. By the manifestation of that power and glory the wicked will be driven away into eternal ruin. They will not be able to stand before it, and though, in common with the righteous, they may see the majesty of the Redeemer in the last day, yet they will be driven away to witness it no more.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
2Th 1:9
Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord.
The punishment of the wicked
I. Generally. We have here–
1. The estate destruction (1Th 5:3; Mat 7:13; Rom 9:22; Php 3:19), meaning thereby not an abolition of their being but of their well-being. Annihilation would be no loss. It is a destruction–
(1) Of their carnal happiness, their glory, pleasure, gain, wherein they placed their contentment–
(2) Of the true happiness which lies in the favour of God.
2. The duration everlasting (Mat 25:41; Mat 25:46).
3. The reasons–
(1) The majesty of God against whom the sin is committed.
(2) The nature of sin which is a preference of short sensitive good before that which is spiritual and eternal.
(3) The will of the sinner. Their impenitence is endless, so is their punishment.
(4) There is no change of state in the other world (Luk 13:25; Luk 16:26).
II. Particularly.
1. The punishment of loss From the presence of the Lord. Concerning this note–
(1) That all are equal in this. There may be degrees of pain, but all are equally excluded from the Divine presence.
(2) That the punishment of the wicked is the opposite of the reward of the righteous. All our refreshment comes from the Divine presence (Act 3:19).
(3) That it is fitting. They have forsaken God, and now God has forsaken them (Rom 1:28; Job 21:14).
(4) That it is this greatest part of future punishment–
(a) In itself, it is to be deprived of an infinite good (Psa 16:11; Exo 33:15).
(b) In the deep sense of it. Here the wicked are insensible of it.
(c) In its irreparableness.
2. The punishment of sense: From the glory of His power (Rev 6:15-16). This is the greatness of His goodness, and to be deprived of that is to feel the might of His justice.
III. The lessons–
1. To the unconverted. These considerations should–
(1) Rouse them out of their security.
(a) Many disbelieve.
(b) Others think neither one way nor the other (Amo 6:3).
(c) Others do not closely apply what they believe and think.
(2) Check their boldness in sinning against light and conscience.
(3) Cause them to shake off all delays in the business of religion (Mat 3:7; Heb 11:18; Luk 14:32).
2. To the godly–
(1) Bless God for your deliverance through Christ (1Th 2:13; Rom 5:9).
(2) Let your love to Christ be quickened, and grow in His likeness (1Jn 4:17-18).
(3) Be courageous (Luk 12:4-5; Heb 11:35).
(4) Warn your friends in time (Luk 16:1-31).
Banishment from Gods presence
1. Of all the ways in which Scripture describes the future blessedness of the elect none has less attraction for the wicked than that which places it in the full enjoyment of Gods presence. On all occasions direct reference to Him as near is painful.
2. Yet you would think it very strange and hard if whilst every day you were heaping marks of love on a child he regarded you simply as a mere machine operating beneficently because you could not help it. This is the treatment, however, to which men subject their Maker.
3. One main reason of this treatment is the constant flow of good gifts from God whether they make any return or not; and so, having never discerned the invisible God in His works and gifts here, they see no reason why in another world it should not be the same. Where can the bliss be of seeing Gods countenance shine full on the soul, no beam of which has been ever sought or wished for by them here.
4. But when it comes the punishment will be dreadful enough for–
(1) All good things come from God.
(2) But having rejected Him it is but equitable that we should be left to our own resources to find what happiness we may. Banishment from God means–
I. Exclusion from this material world with all its natural sources of pleasure, every particle of which is Gods.
II. Deprivation of all that can satisfy a sinners lusts. Think of the misery of a never satisfied hunger and an always raging thirst. The good creatures of God which were once abused are now beyond the reach.
III. The withdrawal of the godly who are taken to God. No one knows how much the world owes to the intermixture of the righteous with sinners, leavening the corrupting mass and shaming evil into dark corners. But the angels will sever the two, and so precisely that no one true servant of God shall be left in the crowd. There is something unspeakably dreadful in the thought of a society which is one mass of sin.
IV. Love will be extinguished. Very sweet is kindness which God has shed in our hearts as a solace for earthly ills, but there can be no love at all when God is withdrawn, for that means the withdrawal of love as effectually as light at sunset.
V. The Holy Spirit will have departed. Now, ever striving within, that Spirit does now and then give out a spark of goodness, and overrule here and there that utter wickedness which otherwise would prevail. And even in wicked men we see scattered up and down remainders of something better and higher, just as among the ruin of a great building you see here and there a beautiful fragment unbroken, to remind you of what the whole once was; or as you may sometimes see, when the sun is shining, beauty in things ugly, and when the sun is withdrawn the beauty goes. So it will be with the soul in eternity. At present strive as he will man cannot utterly unstamp his soul of the seal of God. But when God removes His presence the spirit of man becomes wholly evil. Conclusion: The sure Word of God teaches us much else about hell; but the teaching of the text should be sufficient to warn us against it. (J. Garbett, M. A.)
Hell, a necessary truth
Assuming the general impression of readers of the New Testament in relation to this doctrine to be correct; that we are there taught that there is a hell, that a human being of certain character may come and must come into a state of everlasting punishment; we are prepared to accept it as truth. The doctrine is as really required as the immense vertebra of some unknown animal require that the undiscovered ribs should be immense and of a certain character. An astronomer observes in a planet a slower or quicker rate of motion at one point of its orbit: he argues that there must be a world beyond it, not yet seen; and Neptune is presently discovered. A hell is the full harvest of self-indulgence, evil, sin. (J. Christen, D. D.)
The reality of perdition
A dying man of large means said: I would give thirty thousand pounds to have it proved to me satisfactorily that there is no hell. Such proof cannot be presented. But suppose you throw overboard most of the testimony on this subject–is there not some slight possibility that there may be such a place? If there should be, and you have no preparation to escape it, what then? A young woman, dying, said to her father: Father, why did you not tell me there was such a place? What place? A hell! He said: Jenny, there is no such place. God is merciful. There will be no future suffering! She said: I know better! I feel it now I I know there is such a place! My feet are slipping into it this moment! I am lost! Why did you not tell me there was such a place? It is the awful, stupendous, consuming, incontrovertible fact of the universe. (T. De Witt Talmage.)
Punishment irremediable
The law which binds the earth in its orbital path finds expression in the being of a flower; the being of a flower and the life of a human soul are governed by one and the same law. Given, then, a flower with every capacity for strength, beauty, and sweetness; put it beyond the range of the mighty suns hand of blessing, put it in the outer darkness of a cellar, whence the celestial sheen is excluded, into which no showers can come, and through which no breeze can sweep: the flower will live for a time, even will propagate life; but what life! Its stalk and branches will become poor, weak, spongy, nerveless things; its leaves will grow more yellow and diminutive, its flower less and less like the God-purposed thing it might have been, and its smell will degenerate into a tainting impurity; why? Because by a mysterious chemical communion with the sun, alone could the glory and goodness that were in it be brought to blossom and fruitage. Light, not the mere need of light, quickens strong life and paints the beautiful. The presence of the true, not its felt absence, corrects the false. Communion with the grand, good, strong, and loving, alone can recover and transform. If, therefore, the language of Christ and His apostles will not admit of the interpretation that hell is the theatre of a more effective moral discipline than earth, that future punishment is really disciplinary;–and will the general mind admit the words outer darkness–unquenchable fire–everlasting punishment–place of torment–and depart, ye cursed, capable of the interpretation?–then the doctrine of an irremediable state of punishment in the life to come is in harmony with the law which we recognize in the utter falling off from fruitage, beauty, and trueness of uncultivated plants, and in the fearful degradation and mere animalism into which isolated and neglected tribes of our race have fallen Destruction–death–perish–devour, forever and ever:–do these Scripture terms become more intelligible in the light of this law? (J. Christien, D. D.)
The glory of His power
Not from His power,–this is impossible. Whither can I go from His power? If I ascend up to heaven it is there: if I go down to hell, it is there also. Nay, nay, it is only from the glory of His power. I beseech thee, said Moses, show me Thy glory. And He said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee. Well, then, the glory of God is the goodness of God. So the glory of His power in that day will be the goodness of His power in the revelation of the resources of His almighty will, as seen in the new heaven and the new earth, in the righteousness that shall dwell therein, and in the blessedness of His saints therein. To be banished from the glory of His power is to be given over to the fury of His power. It is not only to forfeit the enjoyment of the resources of His power administering goodness, but it is to come under the rigour of His power, administer ing justice. It is to feel Almightiness taking vengeance on body and soul without limit to, or possible escape from it–vengeance, we are told by One who knew, which is as a worm that never dies, and a fire that never shall be quenched. Oh, one of old did indeed well say, It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God! (C. J. P. Eyro, M. A.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 9. Who shall be punished] What this everlasting destruction consists in we cannot tell. It is not annihilation, for their being continues; and as the destruction is everlasting, it is an eternal continuance and presence of substantial evil, and absence of all good; for a part of this punishment consists in being banished from the presence of the Lord-excluded from his approbation, for ever; so that the light of his countenance can be no more enjoyed, as there will be an eternal impossibility of ever being reconciled to him.
The glory of his power] Never to see the face of God throughout eternity is a heart-rending, soul-appalling thought; and to be banished from the glory of his power, that power the glory of which is peculiarly manifested in saving the lost and glorifying the faithful, is what cannot be reflected on without confusion and dismay. But this must be the lot of all who acknowledge not God, and obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
This is the vengeance before spoken of; it is here called
destruction, not an annihilation, and cessation of being, but of all well-being: and elsewhere called death, Rom 6:23, and the second death, Rev 20:6, which imports also not all ceasing of life, but all comfort of life. And it is not the body alone, nor the soul alone, but their persons,
who, & c.; and as fire is a great destroyer, so Christs coming in flaming fire brings their destruction. And this destruction is
everlasting: the fire that destroys them is never quenched, Mar 9:43,44. As the fire of the altar, which was a fire of mercy, was not to go out, so the fire of Tophet burns for ever, Isa 30:33, which is the fire of justice; and God living for ever, and his justice never satisfied, their destruction is for ever. They sinned in their eternity, and will be punished in Gods eternity. There was a remedy provided in the gospel for men, but rejecting the gospel, and not obeying it, there remains no hope; their destruction is everlasting. And this destruction is called punishment, poenam luent; not the chastisement of a Father, as the temporal affliction of Gods people. It proceeds from vindictive justice; it is taking vengeance. And this punishment is twofold, punishment of loss and sense, and from both together proceed perfect destruction.
From the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; the preposition from in the first expression noting separation, in the second noting efficiency. Others conceive efficiency to be meant in both, their destruction proceeding from the face of Christ frowning on them, frowning them into hell, (which smiling upon others, will bring their salvation), as well as from his glorious power manifested against them to destroy them, Rom 9:22. And yet others interpret the preposition in both places to note separation, both from the face of Christ, which the saints shall behold and rejoice in for ever, and from his glorious power; which will work in some for their complete salvation in the day of his appearing, as it had done before in their first conversion, and sanctification. The destruction of the wicked will be from or by the power of Christ; but by this
glory of power may be meant only that power which will bring glory both to the bodies and souls of the saints, and this the wicked shall have no experience of in that day.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
9. WhoGreek, “personswho,” c.
destruction from the presenceof the Lorddriven far from His presence [ALFORD].The sentence emanating from Him in person, sitting as Judge[BENGEL], and drivingthem far from Him (Mat 25:41Rev 6:16; Rev 12:14;compare 1Pe 3:12; Isa 2:10;Isa 2:19). “The presence ofthe Lord” is the source whence the sentence goes forth; “theglory of His power” is the instrument whereby the sentence iscarried into execution [EDMUNDS].But ALFORD betterinterprets the latter clause (see 2Th1:10), driven “from the manifestation of His power in theglorification of His saints.” Cast out from the presenceof the Lord is the idea at the root of eternal death, the law ofevil left to its unrestricted working, without one counteractinginfluence of the presence of God, who is the source of all light andholiness (Isa 66:24; Mar 9:44).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction,…. With destruction both of soul and body, though not with the annihilation of either; their gnawing worm of conscience will never die, and the fire of divine wrath will never be quenched; the smoke of their torment will ascend for ever. Sin being committed against an infinite and eternal Being, will be infinite in its duration; nor will it cease to be in the persons punished, who will not be in the least reformed or purged from sin by punishment; which will make the continuance of it just and necessary. And these will be driven
from the presence of the Lord; as the former clause may express the punishment of sense the wicked will feel in their own breasts, this may intend the punishment of loss; or what they will be deprived of, the presence of the Lord, in which the happiness of angels, and of glorified saints lies; and may also signify how sudden and terrible their destruction will be. As soon as the Lord appears, they will perish at his presence like wax before the fire; and so awful will be his appearance, they will flee from it with the utmost terror, and call to the rocks and mountains to hide them from the face of the Lord, and to screen them from his wrath:
and from the glory of his power; or his glorious power, in which he shall come, and which will be exerted, and shown in raising the dead, and gathering all nations before him, in passing sentence on them, and in executing it. For he has power, as to save, so to destroy, as to glorify the bodies and souls of his saints, so to destroy the wicked, both body and soul, in hell; and the glory of his power will be seen in the one, as well as in the other. And now it will be, that tribulation will be rendered to the troublers of the Lord’s people.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Who (). Qualitative use, such as. Vanishing in papyri though surviving in Paul (1Cor 3:17; Rom 1:25; Gal 4:26; Phil 4:3).
Shall suffer punishment ( ). Future active of old verb , to pay penalty (, right, justice), here only in N.T., but once also to repay Phm 1:19. In the papyri is used for a case or process in law. This is the regular phrase in classic writers for paying the penalty.
Eternal destruction ( ). Accusative case in apposition with (penalty). This phrase does not appear elsewhere in the N.T., but is in IV Macc. 10:15 the eternal destruction of the tyrant (Antiochus Epiphanes). Destruction (cf. 1Th 5:3) does not mean here annihilation, but, as Paul proceeds to show, separation
from the face of the Lord ( ) and from the
glory of his might ( ), an eternity of woe such as befell Antiochus Epiphanes. in itself only means age-long and papyri and inscriptions give it in the weakened sense of a Caesar’s life (Milligan), but Paul means by age-long
the coming age in contrast with
this age , as
eternal as the New Testament knows how to make it. See on Mt 25:46 for use of both with , life, and , punishment.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Shall be punished [ ] . The verb (N. T. o.) means to pay or render. Lit. shall pay penalty.
Everlasting destruction [ ] . The phrase nowhere else in N. T. In LXX, 4 Macc. 10 15. Rev. properly, eternal destruction. It is to be carefully noted that eternal and everlasting are not synonymous. See additional note at the end of this chapter.
From the presence [ ] . Or face. Apo from has simply the sense of separation. Not from the time of the Lord ‘s appearing, nor by reason of the glory of his presence. Proswpon is variously translated in A. V. Mostly face : also presence, Act 3:13, 19; Act 5:41 : person, Mt 22:16; Luk 20:21; Gal 2:6 : appearance, 2Co 5:12; 2Co 10:1; fashion, Jas 1:11. The formula ajpo proswpou or tou proswpou occurs Act 3:19; Act 5:41; Act 7:45; Rev 6:16; Rev 12:14; Rev 20:11. In LXX, Gen 3:8; Gen 4:14, 16; Exo 14:25, and frequently.
Glory of his power [ ] . For glory see on 1Th 2:12. Iscuv power, not often in Paul. It is indwelling power put forth or embodied, either aggressively or as an obstacle to resistance : physical power organized or working under individual direction. An army and a fortress are both ijscurov. The power inhering in the magistrate, which is put forth in laws or judicial decisions, is ijscuv, and makes the edicts ijscura valid and hard to resist. Dunamiv is the indwelling power which comes to manifestation in ijscuv The precise phrase used here does not appear elsewhere in N. T. In LXX, Isa 2:10, 19, 21. The power [] and glory of God are associated in Mt 24:30; Mr 13:26; Luk 21:27; Rev 4:11; Rev 19:1. Comp. kratov thv doxhv aujtou strength of his glory, Col 1:11.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “Who shall be punished” (oitines diken tisousin) “who will pay (the) penalty”; for enmity, rebellion, and disobedience to offered redemption, mercy, and grace from God, 2Co 11:15; 2Pe 3:7.
2) “With everlasting destruction” (olethron aiomion)
eternal destruction”; it will take eternity to pay it. There will no “bailing out”, no release, no escape, after death, and after the judgment. This eternity of punishment cannot be explained away, Mat 25:41; Mat 25:46; Php_3:19.
3) “From the face of the Lord” (apo prospou tou kuriou) “from the (f ace- presence), any extended mercy, of the Lord”, in the sense of removed from any possible union or fellowship with the Lord, Luk 16:26; Isa 2:19; Rev 6:15-17; Rev 14:10-11; Rev 20:11; Rev 20:15.
4) “And from the glory of his power” (kai apo tes dokses tes ischuos autou) “and from the glory of his strength”, -the sphere where His strength or power manifests itself in splendor and eternal bliss of the saved, abandoned forever from any hope of relief or help, in release from the regions of the cries and wailing and woes of the damned forever, Rev 21:27; Luk 16:26; Luk 16:31; Heb 9:26-27.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
9 . Everlasting destruction from the face. He shews, by apposition, what is the nature of the punishment of which he had made mention — destruction without end, and an undying death. The perpetuity of the death is proved from the circumstance, that it has the glory of Christ as its opposite. Now, this is eternal, and has no end. Accordingly, the influence of that death will never cease. From this also the dreadful severity of the punishment may be inferred, inasmuch as it will be great in proportion to the glory and majesty of Christ.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
Text (2Th. 1:9)
9 who shall suffer punishment, even eternal destruction from the face of the Lord and from the glory of his might,
Translation and Paraphrase
9.
(These) who (are disobedient) shall pay the penalty (which is) everlasting destruction (in a place far) from the presence of the Lord, and from his (majestic and) powerful glory.
Notes (2Th. 1:9)
1.
How terrible to be forever away from the presence of the Lord: Every good and perfect gift comes from the Lord. Jas. 1:17. All men on earth, even those who do not serve God, enjoy His blessingsHis rain, sunshine, the gift of life, godly friends and loved ones, etc. How fearful to be forever banished from the Lord, where none of these blessings can ever come!
2.
The punishments of sinners is described as everlasting destruction. Because of this expression (and similar ones in other references), some have thought that the punishment will be an annihilation, a going out of existence, a being burned into nothingness. This is contrary to the meaning of the word destruction, and to Scriptural teaching in other references. See Rev. 14:9-11; Mar. 9:43-48; Mat. 25:41; Mat. 25:46.
3.
The word here translated destruction is olethros. It is used elsewhere in the New Testament only in 1Th. 5:3, 1Ti. 6:9, and 1Co. 5:5. Liddell and Scotts definition of olethros is Ruin, destruction, undoing. The word indicates total ruin, but not necessarily an end of existence or annihilation.
In 1Co. 5:3, Paul speaks of delivering the incestuous man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh. In this life neither our literal flesh nor our fleshly instincts are ever totally annihilated. They are brought under control and subjugated, but not annihilated.
1Ti. 6:9 Paul speaks of hurtful lusts drowning (present tense) men in destruction and perdition. (The present tense indicates a continuous action.) Since the destruction of sinners is said to be presently in the process of being accomplished according to this verse, it would seem to be wrong to say that destruction is limited to one irrevocable burning up in the lake of fire.
4.
To further illustrate the meaning of olethros (or destruction), R. C. Foster (in THE FINAL WEEK, page 118) tells how the word was used by the Greek dramatist Sophocles in his play, Oedipus Rex. Oedipus was a king who became enmeshed in the most hideous moral mess imaginable, and brought untold shame and misery upon himself. He even married his own mother. In the end of the play, Oedipus, instead of committing suicide, put out his own eyes. Scholars agree that his tragedy was greater because he had to live on in the moral muck he had created than it would have been for him to have committed suicide and ended it all. Now quoting R. C. Foster:
In the light of our discussion of eternal punishment, it is of startling importance to find that Oedipus in his agony cries out, I am the great olethros (ton megan olethron): In other words, Oedipus is not saying that he is the great annihilation, but that he is the supreme example of endless suffering. Out of the midst of one of the most famous of all Greek dramas comes powerful evidence as to the meaning which this word carried. (Op. cit., p. 118)
5.
Everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord indicates that sinners are to be banished from the presence of the Lord forever. Goodspeed translates this verse as eternal ruin and exclusion from the presence of the Lord. In Mat. 25:41, the doom of the wicked is to Depart from me. The wicked are driven forever from His presence. On the other hand the saints are to be ever with the Lord. 1Th. 4:17.
6.
The glory of the Lords power is vividly described in Deu. 33:2 and 1Ti. 6:16. God dwells in light unapproachable. But sinners will not share this light. They will be in outer darkness. Mat. 25:30.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(9) Punished with everlasting destruction specifies the vengeance to be taken. But the word destruction does not stand absolutely and alone as a synonym for annihilation. This passage, in itself, gives us no reason to suppose that the lost will be destroyed in the ordinary sense of the word. They are to be destroyed from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His poweri.e., cut off from it for ever. The presenceor, more literally here, the faceof the Lord, as well as the glory of His power, is a metaphor from the courts of Oriental kings, where only honoured courtiers are admitted to spend their time in the immediate and familiar presence of the sovereign. Familiar contact with Christ hereafter, which will be accorded to all the saved, was Gods ideal intention for the lost as well, therefore it is a positive destruction to be banished from it. But to the Jews, who looked for a Messiah who should keep regal state, the punishment was peculiarly appropriate. The word is used besides in 1Co. 5:5; 1Th. 5:3; 1Ti. 6:9. As for the word rendered everlasting (or eternal, for it is the same which is used, e.g., Heb. 6:2), it would certainly convey to St. Pauls readers the notion of incessant duration in time; it is, of course, only an adaptation to human language to speak of time at all in such a case, as we cannot tell what may take the place of time in the next dispensation; however, so far as the actual words go, there is nothing in these passages (Mat. 18:8; Mat. 25:41; Mat. 25:46; Mar. 3:29; Heb. 6:2; Jud. 1:7) to suggest any future alteration in the state of the lost. In this, as in some other doctrines, there seem to be two distinct sets of passages, the logical reconciliation of which in our present state seems almost impossible.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
9. Who shall be punished Shall satisfy justice. The verb is in the active voice. It signifies: 1. To honour, to reverence. 2. To honour by making atoning, satisfying compensation. 3. To satisfy judicially, by undergoing ( , the noun here) justice. Who shall undergo justice, namely, everlasting destruction; standing in opposition with, as explanatory of, the suffered justice or punishment. Destruction is not annihilation, that is, of the ultimate particles or essence of an object. Its normal meaning, however, is such a separation of the parts or constituents of the individual as to result in the cessation of his organic, individual existence.
From the presence Beware of understanding the destruction as issuing from his person, or produced by its blazing splendour, or executed by his hand. This is not that mystical descent to the earth, as warrior and destroyer, in Rev 19:11-21, but the judicial coming of Mat 25:31-46, and Rev 20:11. The from, therefore, is identical with that of “depart from me, ye cursed,” etc., Mat 25:41. Banishment from the gracious face of the Redeemer is the doom of the reprobate.
From the glory of his power That glory which is manifested in the exertion and exhibition of his power in raising the dead, judging the world, and bestowing eternal life on all his saints. Far removed alike from his smiling face and his glorious manifestation of power, the reprobate’s doom is in distance and darkness.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘Who will suffer punishment, even eternal destruction from the face of the Lord and from the glory of His might.’
This is their greatest punishment, that they will not see His face or observe and experience His powerful glory. That they will be separated from Him and what He is for ever. Those who deliberately ‘knew not God’ will now for ever not know Him. The word for destruction is not that which means final destruction (apoleia – in contrast with ‘life’ – Mat 7:13; ‘vessels fitted for destruction’ – Rom 9:22; in contrast with ‘ the saving of the soul’ – Heb 9:22; the result of the day of judgment – 2Pe 3:7) but olethros, which indicates ruin and loss, but here is very similar in meaning. The two words are paralleled in 1Ti 6:9. Thus here it means total ruin and darkness, and loss of that which is above all to be desired. It is ‘the destruction of the age to come’, heavenly destruction. We do wisely not to expand upon it for we cannot even conceive of it. Scripture always leaves the idea in suspense when it speaks of it, neither elaborating on it nor analysing it. Awful it will certainly be, but that is all we can say.
We can consider how the beings cast ‘alive’ into ‘the lake of fire’ (Rev 19:19; Rev 20:10) are spiritual beings, and alone are said to suffer positive and continual torment, probably due to the hugeness of their loss. The ‘lake of fire and brimstone’ there is therefore spiritual. It represents the awful judgment and punishment of the One Who is a consuming fire. His awful holiness is stressed by the fire, His awful judgment is stressed by the brimstone. The remainder are cast in as ‘dead’ (Rev 20:15 with Rev 20:13 and Rev 19:21) and there is no mention of torment. Compare Isa 66:24 where the idea is also of being excluded, in that case from ‘Jerusalem’, and the dead bodies are maggot eaten and destroyed by fire. As death and Hades were also cast into the lake of fire the idea in Rev 20:13-15 would seem to be of final total destruction after the agonies of judgment (torture at trial was a regular feature of justice – Rev 14:10), for such things as death and Hades cannot be punished. We do well to leave to God’s understanding the final punishment of the wicked.
‘Punishment.’ Literally the paying of a deserved penalty. Because of their unwillingness to know and respond to Him they will be receiving what they deserve.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
2Th 1:9. From the presence of the Lord, This phrase expresses not only that they shall be expelled from that joy and glory which reigns in the presence of Christ, but that his presence shall appear active in the infliction of their punishment; so that they shall as it were be blasted by the lightning of his eye. The original is very emphatical: “Who shall suffer punishment,everlasting destruction from the face of the Lord.” From the glory of his power means, from his glorious power.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
2Th 1:9 . Paul names eternal destruction as the punishment which those ungodly ones will have to endure.
] nimirum qui , refers back to the characteristics of the two classes named in 2Th 1:8 , and accordingly recapitulates the reason for . See Hermann, ad Soph. Oed. R. 688.
. . .] has received a threefold interpretation. Chrysostom, Oecumenius, Theophylact, Erasmus, Vatablus, Estius, Fromond., and others interpret of time : immediately after the appearance of the and of the . The swiftness and facility of the punishment are thereby described, inasmuch as it required Christ merely to become visible . The artificialness of this interpretation is evident. For however often denotes the point of commencement of a period, yet the bare cannot possibly be considered as parallel with such constructions as , Rom 1:20 ; , Phi 1:5 , and the like. At least or something similar would require to have been written. Add to this that . . ., on account of its position at the end of the sentence, cannot have such an emphasis, that the idea of the swiftness and facility of the punishment can be derived from it. is understood as a statement of the operating cause by Grotius, Harduin, Benson, Bengel, Moldenhauer, Flatt, Pelt, de Wette, Baumgarten-Crusius, Ewald, and Hofmann: “ from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power” (comp. Act 3:19 ). Pelt (and so also Castalio, Koppe, Bolten, and others) arbitrarily considers as equivalent to the simple ; and equally arbitrarily Harduin, Benson, and Moldenhauer (comp. also Hofmann) understand of a wrathful or gloomy countenance. But there is an essential inconvenience to this second mode of interpretation, inasmuch as by its assumption without the introduction of a new idea there is only a repetition in other words of what has already been said in 2Th 1:7-8 from to ; the whole of the 9th verse would only contain as a new point. Accordingly the third mode of explanation, adopted by Piscator, Ernest Schmid, Beza, Calixt, Koppe, Krause, Schott, Bloomfield, Alford, Bisping, and Riggenbach, is decidedly to be preferred, according to which expresses the idea of separation , of severance from something . Comp. 2Th 2:2 ; Rom 9:3 ; 2Co 11:3 ; Gal 5:4 . According to Flatt and de Wette, the expression is opposed to this explanation, which directly points to an operating cause. But is to be rendered the genitive of origin, and the is to be understood, not of the glory of Christ, but of the glory which is to be imparted to believers . The meaning is: apart or separated from the face of the Lord, and apart from the glory which is a creation of His power . By this explanation receives its full import; “to see the face of the Lord” is a well-known biblical expression to denote blessedness (comp. Psa 11:7 ; Psa 17:5 ; Mat 5:8 ; Mat 18:10 ; Heb 12:14 ; Rev 22:4 ), whereas distance from it is an expression of misery.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
9 Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;
Ver. 9. Who shall be punished ] Here is the pain of sense, of eternity, of extremity.
From the presence ] Here is the pain of loss, which is of the two the greater.
And from the glory of his power ] God will set himself to inflict upon the damned such a measure of misery as his power can extend unto.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
2Th 1:9 . The overwhelming manifestation of the divine glory sweeps from before it (pregnant ) into endless ruin the disobedient (Psa 76:7 ) men who (see Moulton, 91 f.) shall pay the penalty of (see Pro 27:12 , LXX) eternal destruction (the common apocalyptic belief, see Volz, Jd. Eschat. , 286 f.).
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
be punished with = pay (Greek. tino. Only here) the penalty (App-177.), (even).
everlasting. App-151.
destruction. Greek. olethros. See 1Co 5:5.
glory. See p. 1511.
power. App-172.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
2Th 1:9. , from) It is a judicial procedure from the Divine presence itself, that will inflict punishment upon them. , from the face. Devils will not be the tormentors; for even in this life bad men are not punished by devils, but rather by good angels: and in Psa 78:49, the phrase, angels of (bringing) evil, may even denote good angels.[4] Exo 12:23; 2Sa 24:16.-, the face) This face will be intolerable to them; they shall not see it, but they shall be made to feel it. Face and glory are generally parallel.-, of His might) Lay aside your fierceness (haughty confidence of might) ye wicked men!
[4] He cast upon them the fierceness of His anger-by sending evil angels among them. LXX. .-ED.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
2Th 1:9
who shall suffer punishment,-Those whom he comes to punish will be punished with a destruction from the presence of the Lord and the glory of his power that shall be everlasting.
even eternal destruction from the face of the Lord and from the glory of his might,-This is not a destruction of the souls of men, but they will be banished from the presence of the Lord. The bonds that unite them will be destroyed forever. They will never be restored. And away from God, with all the means of help and blessing from God severed, man will be the subject of misery and woe forever. The Scriptures are so clear on this point that it seems that none willing to receive the truth can doubt this. In making the punishment for sin a light matter, we make sin against God a trivial matter and derogate his honor, majesty, holiness, and power.
The whole trouble arises over a misconception of the meaning of death. Death does not mean annihilation, but separation of the spirit, the vital principle, from the body. Spiritual death means the separation of the soul and body from God, the vitalizing principle of spiritual life. Eternal death is the final and everlasting separation of soul and body from the presence and glory of God. Thus separated, it is not annihilated. It is subject to perpetual and eternal suffering. Nothing looking toward annihilation is found in the Bible when we rightly use terms. This idea is not found in the Bible. Whence does it come? It comes from a disposition to mitigate rebellion against God, and to find lighter punishment than God has prescribed. Why should this be done? Is man too fearful of sinning against God? Lighten the sin and ameliorate the suffering and will it then make men dread sin and rebellion more? We may well suspect our position and our spirit when we find ourselves excusing sin or ameliorating the woes that come from sin against God.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
be: Isa 33:14, Isa 66:24, Dan 12:2, Mat 25:41, Mat 25:46, Mat 26:24, Mar 9:43-49, Luk 16:25, Luk 16:26, Joh 5:14, Phi 3:19, Heb 10:29, 2Pe 2:17, 2Pe 3:7, Jud 1:13, Rev 14:10, Rev 14:11, Rev 20:14, Rev 21:8, Rev 22:15
from the presence: Gen 3:8, Gen 4:16, Job 21:14, Job 22:17, Psa 16:11, Psa 51:11, Mat 7:23, Mat 22:13, Mat 25:41, Luk 13:27
the glory: 2Th 2:8, Deu 33:2, Isa 2:10, Isa 2:19, Isa 2:21, Mat 16:27, Mat 24:30, Tit 2:13,*Gr: Rev 20:11
Reciprocal: Gen 4:14 – from thy Lev 22:3 – from my Deu 7:23 – shall destroy 2Sa 22:41 – I might 2Ki 13:23 – neither cast he 2Ki 17:20 – until he had cast 2Ch 14:13 – before the Lord Job 15:30 – the flame Job 31:3 – destruction Psa 2:12 – when Psa 9:3 – they shall Psa 34:21 – they Psa 36:12 – There Psa 37:38 – General Psa 45:4 – right Psa 50:3 – a fire Psa 68:2 – as wax Psa 73:18 – thou castedst Psa 80:16 – perish Psa 138:6 – afar off Isa 1:28 – the destruction Isa 27:11 – therefore Isa 50:11 – ye shall Jer 4:20 – upon destruction Jer 23:39 – cast Eze 3:19 – he shall Jon 1:3 – from Mat 3:7 – flee Mat 5:26 – Thou Mat 7:13 – that Mat 18:8 – everlasting Mat 18:34 – and delivered Mar 3:29 – but is Mar 9:44 – the fire 1Co 16:22 – Anathema Eph 2:8 – by 1Th 5:3 – then Rev 15:8 – from the
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
2Th 1:9. The preceding verse names the element the Lord will use in punishing the disobedient. This verse shows the nature or extent of that punishment, that it will be everlasting. The unrighteous will first be sentenced to this fate, which is one meaning of the word for punished. It is the same Greek word translated “Judgment” in Act 25:15, where Festus says he was asked to have judgment (meaning a sentence) against Paul. So our verse means Jesus will pronounce the sentence when he comes, and the verdict will begin to be served on that day. The punishment to which the unsaved will be sentenced is described next. Destruction is from OLETHROS, which Thayer defines, “ruin, destruction, death,” and he explains it to mean, “the loss of a life of blessedness after death, future misery.” The word does not mean total annihilation as certain false teachers claim. The wicked will not cease to be, but their right to happiness will be totally destroyed. Hence they will be driven from the presence of God, and the separation will be everlasting.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
2Th 1:9. Eternal destruction. This is the penalty to be paid by those who reject the Gospel and will not know Goda destruction which is to be rendered permanent by the severance of those who suffer it from the source of all good desire and endeavour. A testimony, this, to the eternity of future punishment that is not easy to be explained away (Ellicott).
From the presence of the Lord. The preposition from is here not only either causal or local, but both. The destruction is caused by the presence of the Lord; that very thing which is the hope and stay of all blessedness, becoming now the source of destruction. How are men to be reclaimed if the very presence on which all holy desire and life depend, becomes destruction to them? This meaning is determined by the passages in Isaiah, from which the phraseology is derived. See Isa 2:10; Isa 2:19; Isa 2:21. But the destruction also consists in banishment from the Lord. The doom of the cursed is, Depart from me (Mat 25:41). As to be ever with the Lord was used in the First Epistle as the sum and security of all blessedness, so here to be driven from the Lord is complete destruction.
From the glory of his power. Those to whom His power is unfriendly, and who have no expectation that it will be exerted in their behalf, will flee from its glory. Those glorious appearances which shall somehow convey to men the idea that the power of Christ is almighty, will terrify and destroy those who have hated or rejected Him.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Observe here, The tremendous dreadfulness of that wrath and vengeance which at the great day will be inflicted on the ignorant and disobedient part of mankind; to denote the greatness of it, it is called destruction, not as if it were an abolishing of their nature, and utter extinction of their being, as the destruction of beasts is; but a loss of their happiness and well-being, as the destruction of the fallen angels was; and to set forth the duration of it, it is called everlasting destruction, a dying life, and a living death; their debt will never be paid, they will never come out of prison; they will be always satisfying, but never able fully to satisfy, divine justice.
And observe farther, As their punishment of sense is here described, so we have their punishment of loss declared: they shall be banished from the presence of the Lord, that is, for ever excluded from the sight of his blessed face, and the enjoyment of his gracious presence: the presence of his favour they shall never find, the presence of his fury they shall ever feel.
Lord, how is thy presence here on earth, life, light, and joy, to thine own people: how much more will it be so in heaven! But how terrible and dreadful will thy presence be to the wicked at the great day, even everlasting destruction! Lord, where shall the ungodly and sinner appear, when thou appearest! Thy very presence shall punish and torment them, and thy glorious power drive them away to the place of torment prepared for them. They shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; that is, destruction shall come forth immeniately from the presence and glorious power of Christ upon them, and that without any measure of mitigation; the sentence denounced will be instantly executed, and the sinner that is banished from Christ’s presence shall be everlastingly tormented by his power.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
2Th 1:9-10. Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction Not the annihilation, but the perversion and utter ruin of all their powers of body and mind, so that those powers become instruments of torment and sources of misery to them in all possible ways. As there can be no end of their sins, (the same enmity against God continuing,) so neither of their punishment: sin and its punishment running parallel through eternity itself. They must of necessity therefore be cut off from all good, and all possibility of it. From the presence of the Lord Wherein chiefly consists the salvation and felicity of the righteous. What unspeakable punishment is implied even in falling short of this, supposing that nothing more were implied in the punishment here spoken of! But this phrase, destruction from the presence, or face, of the Lord, as Bishop Hopkins justly observes, expresses not only that they shall be expelled from that joy and glory which reigns in the presence of God and of Christ, but that his presence shall appear active in the infliction of their punishment, so that they shall find his wrath issuing forth like lightning to appal and torment their spirits, while his power glorifies itself in their ruin and misery. When he shall come to be glorified in his saints For his wonderful glory shall shine forth in them, and he will manifest the greatness of his power in rendering them glorious; and to be admired in all them that believe With respect to the efforts of his almighty power and love for their complete salvation. Or, they shall be filled with wonder at what is done by Christ for and upon them, so far exceeding their most sanguine expectation. Because our testimony, &c. As if he had said, I reckon you of this number because of the credit which you gave to our preaching.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
who shall suffer punishment, even eternal destruction from the face of the Lord and from the glory of his might,
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
Verse 9
Everlasting destruction. The word destruction is perhaps still more decisive even than such terms as eternal and everlasting, in reference to the perpetuity of the moral ruin in which the impenitent soul will be involved. If the permanent and final loss of virtue and happiness can be indicated by any language whatever, it would seem that such phraseology as “everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord” is the language fitted to express it. We must not, however, in looking forward to the future condition of the condemned, conceive of them as simply suffering through eternity the punishment due for the sins of this life; but, on the other hand, as continuing to sin, and consequently continuing to suffer. The misery of the soul in a future world is the consequence of its impenitence in this; but it is nowhere in the Scriptures said to be the penalty for that sin exclusively. The doctrine of the gospel is simply this,–that a change of the heart and character, which becomes almost out of the question after the lapse of many years of sin in this life, becomes wholly out of the question after death has terminated probation; and then, when there is no longer any hope of holiness, there can be none of happiness or peace. In the great and, almost insuperable difficulties in the way of moral transformation late in life, which we all witness in this world, we have indications by which the truth of this doctrine is strongly confirmed.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
These non-Christians will suffer "eternal destruction" (lit. they will pay a penalty). Their fate is eternal separation from the person of Christ and the manifestation of His glory (i.e., eternal death; cf. Isa 2:10; Isa 2:19; Isa 2:21). This is Paul’s most explicit reference to the eternal duration of unbelievers’ judgment in all his writings. It is ironic and talionic that those who reject Christ experience God’s rejection.
"Olethros (’destruction’) does not refer to annihilation, which cannot be ’everlasting’ (Hendriksen, p. 160). The word in LXX and NT usages never has this meaning but rather turns on the thought of separation from God and loss of everything worthwhile in life . . ." [Note: Thomas, p. 313. Cf. Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, s.v. "olethros," by J. Schneider, 5 (1967):169; Leon Morris The First and Second Epistles to the Thessalonians, p. 205; D. Michael Martin, 1, 2 Thessalonians, p. 213; Wanamaker, p. 229; and Robert A. Peterson, "Does the Bible Teach Annihilationism?" Bibliotheca Sacra 156:621 (January-March 1999):13-27.]
"Heaven is primarily the presence of God. Hell is the loss of that presence." [Note: E. J. Bicknell, The First and Second Epistles to the Thessalonians, p. 70.]