2 Thessalonians 1:7-10

 

Rachel Workman: ⁷ And God will provide rest for you who are being persecuted and also for us when the Lord Jesus appears from heaven. He will come with his mighty angels, ⁸ in flaming fire, bringing judgment on those who don’t know God and on those who refuse to obey the Good News of our Lord Jesus. ⁹ They will be punished with eternal destruction, forever separated from the Lord and from his glorious power. ¹⁰ When he comes on that day, he will receive glory from his holy people—praise from all who believe. And this includes you, for you believed what we told you about him.

These verses should be comforting to us who believe in Christ. And scary for those who do not.

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John Burnett:  7 and to give relief to you who are afflicted, along with us, when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels 8 in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God, and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 These people will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, 10 when He comes to be glorified among His saints on that day and to be marveled at among all who have believed—because our testimony to you was believed.  These verses make it very clear that Jesus Christ will return and pour out His wrath on those who do not know Him as their savior.  With prophecy being fulfilled almost every day, the day being described here is not far off.  The rapture could take place at any moment and will start a chain of events including the rebuilding of the third temple which has to happen before the day being described here takes place.  If you do not know Christ, you are under His wrath and should pray for your eyes to be opened so that you can see how sinful you are and how much you need Jesus Christ as your savior. 

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Reading for 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12

¹¹ So we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of his call. May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do. ¹² Then the name of our Lord Jesus will be honored because of the way you live, and you will be honored along with him. This is all made possible because of the grace of our God and Lord, Jesus Christ.^[d]

2 Thessalonians 1:1-6

 

Rachel Workman: 1 This letter is from Paul, Silas,^[a] and Timothy.

We are writing to the church in Thessalonica, to you who belong to God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

² May God our Father^[b] and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.

³ Dear brothers and sisters,^[c] we can’t help but thank God for you, because your faith is flourishing and your love for one another is growing. ⁴ We proudly tell God’s other churches about your endurance and faithfulness in all the persecutions and hardships you are suffering. ⁵ And God will use this persecution to show his justice and to make you worthy of his Kingdom, for which you are suffering. ⁶ In his justice he will pay back those who persecute you.

We do not need to worry about justice because has already promised to take care of it.

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John Burnett:  Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,

To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

3 We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters, as is only fitting, because your faith is increasing abundantly, and the love of each and every one of you toward one another grows ever greater. 4 As a result, we ourselves speak proudly of you among the churches of God for your perseverance and faith in the midst of all your persecutions and afflictions which you endure. 5 This is a plain indication of God’s righteous judgment so that you will be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you indeed are suffering. 6 For after all it is only right for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you,  The title added in the NASB Bible above says,"Giving thanks for faith and perseverance."  Faith and perseverance are gifts of God, not something that we do on our own.  Why would we give thanks for something that we do and who would we give thanks to, ourselves?  To those whose eyes have been opened and believe, God gives the Holy Spirit to help grow us in our faith and help us persevere in our persecution and afflictions (v4).  We are to give God the glory for our saving faith and perseverance through our trials we endure with God's help.  God also promises to punish those who afflict us and make sure that we are not afflicting others so that we will be considered worthy.  The Thessalonians were suffering persecution for the sake of the gospel.  This type of suffering is not far off in the U.S. and only those who are in Christ will be able to persevere.  You must realize you are a wretched sinner, confess and repent of your sin and put your trust in Christ alone, not your own faith but the saving faith that only Jesus Christ gives.

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Tomorrow’s reading for 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10

⁷ And God will provide rest for you who are being persecuted and also for us when the Lord Jesus appears from heaven. He will come with his mighty angels, ⁸ in flaming fire, bringing judgment on those who don’t know God and on those who refuse to obey the Good News of our Lord Jesus. ⁹ They will be punished with eternal destruction, forever separated from the Lord and from his glorious power. ¹⁰ When he comes on that day, he will receive glory from his holy people—praise from all who believe. And this includes you, for you believed what we told you about him.

1 Thessalonians 5:23-28

 

Rachel Workman: ²³ Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. ²⁴ God will make this happen, for he who calls you is faithful. Nothing should be more comforting than to know the one who called you is faithful. Very much unlike us humans.

²⁵ Dear brothers and sisters, pray for us.

²⁶ Greet all the brothers and sisters with a sacred kiss.

²⁷ I command you in the name of the Lord to read this letter to all the brothers and sisters.

²⁸ May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you

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John Burnett:  23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will do it.

25 Brothers and sisters, pray for us[m].

26 Greet all the brothers and sisters with a holy kiss. 27 I put you under oath by the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers and sisters.

28 May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.  Paul is closing out his first letter to the Thessalonians with a prayer/blessing and instructions.  Verse 23 is his wish for these faithful brothers and sisters in Christ.  When you become a born-again believer, you begin the process of sanctification.  The process of sanctification is the believer becoming more and more like Christ until that believer dies and receives their glorified body.  Paul then ask for prayer in verse 25 and puts them under an oath to share this letter with their fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.  If you don't have the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, you are under the wrath of Jesus Christ, because you are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone, as stated in the scriptures alone, for the glory of God alone. 

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Tomorrow’s reading for 2 Thessalonians 1:1-6

1 This letter is from Paul, Silas,^[a] and Timothy.

We are writing to the church in Thessalonica, to you who belong to God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

² May God our Father^[b] and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.

³ Dear brothers and sisters,^[c] we can’t help but thank God for you, because your faith is flourishing and your love for one another is growing. ⁴ We proudly tell God’s other churches about your endurance and faithfulness in all the persecutions and hardships you are suffering. ⁵ And God will use this persecution to show his justice and to make you worthy of his Kingdom, for which you are suffering. ⁶ In his justice he will pay back those who persecute you.