Friday 3rd October
Read 2 Thessalonians 1:8-10
“He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might 10 on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marvelled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.” (NIVUK)
These words trouble many today. Some consider Paul too delighted in the fate of the unbeliever. Many have observed that the eternal nature of the punishment seems extreme. Yet Paul has placed it in opposition to the glory of Jesus, a majestic reality without end. Thus, to limit the punishment implies a limit to the majesty of Jesus. In simpler terms, to cut short hell one must cut short heaven.
At the heart of Paul’s framework for prayer is a delight in the glory of God that is all-consuming. It is less a vindictive and gleeful description of the fate of persecutors and more an overwhelming sense of the greatness of God. God’s glory is reflected in His calling the Thessalonians to faith and allowing them to perceive this; and simply be awed by it. Proverbs argues that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Those who do not ‘fear’ God, who do not marvel at His might and wisdom, are ignorant – they ‘do not know’. The punishment is that they will continue to ‘not know’ forever.
The mark of a true believer is simply this – they delight in Jesus above all else.
