The Reckoning

He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed.

2 Thessalonians 1:8-10a

Paul begins by describing those who have heard the gospel but rejected it, thereby turning their backs on the offer of grace. Millions all over the earth have heard that if they surrender their lives to Jesus, they will be redeemed, but they have not done it. They have turned their backs and walked away time and time again. That is what Paul is describing. Some claim these verses mean that when people die their existence also ends; they go out like the light of a candle and are no more. But Scripture never describes it in those terms; rather, it speaks here of eternal destruction. The word is ruin, the loss of everything that makes life worthwhile.

What terrible thing must one do to merit such an end? Turning one's back on God's offer of grace, is the answer of Scripture. God does not want anyone to perish, and he has gone through terrible agony to keep it from happening. But no matter how much you dislike passages like this, it is justice that is being carried out, not cruelty. It is his righteous reaction to cosmic treason on man's part. Turning your back on Jesus means self-chosen treason against the King of the universe. It is what those involved have wanted: freedom from God. Everything in their life has said, I don't want God messing up my plans and telling me what to do. Man says to God, Thy will be done, or else there comes a time when God says to man, Thy will be done. What you want is what you get!

But Paul also speaks of the day when he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. God will not glorify us because we have lived a good, decent life. Rather, our glorification is based upon our belief that Another did something for us. He died in our place, and God has honored his death to such a degree that he offers to accept us, with our terrible record of failure and defeat, and offers us an eternity of delight and glory with him.

Paul describes the glory of Jesus that will be seen in his holy people, and how they will cause people to marvel at what God has done in human lives. It is not Jesus himself and his glory that is described, but the saints reflecting the glory of Jesus. That causes the whole universe to marvel. 1 John says, It does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is (1 John 3:2). In Romans, Paul calls this the day of the manifestation of the sons of God (Romans 8:19 KJV). When the curtain is lifted on what God has been doing with his people all these years, how he has been changing them, all will see what God has been accomplishing.

Father, thank you for your great love and offer of forgiveness to all. Use me to share that with others in my life who don't know you.