2 Thessalonians 1:8-Those Who Reject the Gospel About the Lord Jesus Will Be Judged by Fire

2 Thessalonians 1:3 Each of us is under obligation to always make it our habit of always giving thanks to the one and only God on behalf of each one of you brothers and sisters because it is appropriate for your faith is growing to an extraordinary degree. Correspondingly, the divine-love of each and every one of you is increasing to a considerable degree for one another. 4 Consequently, each one of us, we ourselves regularly expressed great pride in all of you in the congregations belonging to this one and only God, specifically about your perseverance as well as faith in the midst of all your persecutions as well as your adversities, which each of you are regularly enduring. 5 This is evidence of the exercise of this God’s righteous judgment so that each of you become worthy of this God’s kingdom for the benefit of which, each of you are regularly experiencing suffering. 6 Indeed, to repay with adversity for the detriment of those who regularly cause each of you to experience adversity is righteous in the judgment of this one and only God. 7 Correspondingly, to pay back rest for the benefit of each and every one of you who are regularly experiencing adversity along with each one of us at the revealing from heaven of our one and only Lord Jesus with His mighty angels. 8 The one who will as a certainty cause those who do not possess a personal knowledge of God to experience retribution by means of flaming fire. Specifically, to the detriment of those who do not obey the one and only gospel about the Lord Jesus. (My translation)

2 Thessalonians 1:8 contains two statements.

The first asserts that the Lord Jesus will as a certainty cause those who do not possess a personal knowledge of God the Father to experience retribution by means of flaming fire.

The second identifies specifically these individuals who do not know the Father personally and asserts that the Lord will as a certainty cause those who do not obey the one and only gospel about the Lord Jesus to experience retribution.

Therefore, the second statement defines not knowing the Father personally as not obeying the message of the gospel about Jesus Christ.

A sinner comes to know the Father personally through faith in His one and only Son, Jesus Christ as one’s personal Savior.

Furthermore, when Paul asserts that these unregenerate Gentiles do not know the one and only God personally, it means that they did not know the Father personally as a result of being justified by Him through faith in His one and only Son, Jesus Christ.

Here in 2 Thessalonians 1:8, the noun euangelion, “gospel” means “proclamation of the gospel” since the word contains the figure of metonymy meaning that the gospel is put for Paul, Silvanus and Timothy communicating to the non-Christian community.

This noun pertains to communicating the good news to the unbeliever that Christ died and rose from the dead for them and that through faith in Him they could receive the gift of eternal life and the forgiveness of sins.

This indicated by the fact that 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10 assures the Thessalonian Christian community that God will judge the unrepentant, unregenerate individuals who persecuted them and ultimately every unrepentant, unregenerate person in history.

Both these statements in 2 Thessalonians 1:8 describe the Lord Jesus Christ exacting retribution against every unrepentant, unregenerate person who reject the gospel of Jesus Christ, which would include the unrepentant, unregenerate Gentiles of the city of Thessalonica who persecuted the Thessalonian Christian community.

Ultimately, He will judge every unrepentant, unregenerate person who persecute those who trusted in Him as their Savior.

Paul is teaching the principle of lex telionis, which is also called the law of retribution (cf. Lev. 24:20; Deut. 19:21; Prov. 12:14; 19:17; Ezek. 35:15; Hos. 4:9; Joel 3:4-8; Jer. 50:15, 29).

This principle means that the Father’s repaying these unregenerate Gentiles in the city of Thessalonica who persecuted the Thessalonians fit the sins they committed against Him and the Thessalonians.

The punishment of those who persecuted the Thessalonian Christian community would correspond to the sins they committed against this community or in other words, the punishment of these unregenerate Gentiles in Thessalonica would fit the sins they committed against God and the Thessalonian Christian community.

When the apostle Paul speaks of the Lord Jesus causing those who do not know God personally because of their rejection of the gospel to experience retribution by means of flaming fire, he is not speaking of the rapture.

Rather, he is referring to the last three and a half years of the seventieth week of Daniel as well as the Second Advent of Jesus Christ, which is indicated by the contents of 2 Thessalonians 1:8-10.

In verse 8, Paul asserts that the Lord will mete out judgement on those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of Jesus Christ.

In verse 9, he asserts that these individuals who do not know God and obey the gospel will undergo the penalty of eternal destruction away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His strength.

In verse 10, Paul asserts that the Lord will come glorified among his saints and admired on that day among all who have believed and believe the apostles’ testimony about Jesus.

The New Testament does not teach that any of these things will take place at the rapture since at the rapture the Lord will not manifest His presence to the inhabitants of planet earth and judge unrepentant unregenerate human beings.

Rather, He comes to the earth to remove the church so that she will not experience His wrath which He will exercise during the seventieth week of Daniel and His Second Advent.

He comes to the earth at the rapture to give resurrection bodies to the members of the church and to take His bride to the Father’s house in heaven.

None of this is mentioned in 2 Thessalonians 1:8-10.

Therefore, the contents of 2 Thessalonians 1:8-10 will find their fulfillment during the seventieth week of Daniel when the Lord will exercise His wrath through the seven seal, trumpet and bowl judgments which are recorded in Revelation 6-18.

The contents of this passage will also find their fulfillment with the Second Advent of Jesus Christ when He will exercise His wrath by destroying armies of the Tribulational, kill the Antichrist and the False Prophet and have them thrown into the Lake of Fire (Rev. 19:11-19).

He will also imprison Satan and the fallen angels for a thousand years.

At that time, He will kill every unrepentant, unregenerate person on the face of the earth and have them thrown into torments and from there they go to the Great White Throne Judgment (Rev. 20:11-14) where their sentence to be cast into the lake of fire forever is executed.

Another question arises as to why Paul references the seventieth week of Daniel and the Second Advent of Jesus Christ as the time when the Lord will exact retribution against those who persecuted the Thessalonian Christian community?

In order to answer this question, we must first remember, as we noted, in 2 Thessalonians 1:5-6, that Paul comforts and assures the Thessalonians that the Father will give them justice by judging those who persecuted them.

However, in 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10, Paul describes the last three and a half years of the seventieth week of Daniel and the Second Advent of Jesus Christ, which constitute the eschatological day of the Lord.

During this time, the Lord will either kill or have His elect angels remove from the earth every unrepentant, unregenerate human being living on the earth at that time.

Therefore, Paul would appear to be telling the Thessalonians that God will give them justice by judging those who persecuted them through the judgments of the seventieth week and the Second Advent of Jesus Christ.

Therefore, Paul’s statements in 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10 would appear to indicate that when he wrote Second Thessalonians, he believed that the rapture was imminent and could happen in his lifetime as well as the eschatological day of the Lord, which is the seventieth week of Daniel and Second Advent of Jesus Christ.

The rapture would be immediately followed by the eschatological day of the Lord.

So therefore, Paul thought both the rapture and this eschatological day of the Lord were imminent.

However, he could also be telling the Thessalonians that God will give them justice by judging those who persecuted them through the Second Advent of Jesus Christ because at the Second Advent, the Lord Jesus will kill or have removed from the earth all those who reject Him as Savior and King.

At that time, all of the Lord’s enemies will be removed from the earth by either killing them or removing them with the elect angels.

In other words, Paul is comforting and assuring the Thessalonians by teaching them that ultimately the Lord Jesus will kill or have removed from the earth by the elect angels every unrepentant, unregenerate person including those who persecute Christians like themselves.

This would comfort and assure the Thessalonians because the Second Advent of Jesus Christ ushers in His millennial kingdom, which the Thessalonians would take part in as members of the bride of Christ.

Thus, the reference to the seventieth week of Daniel and the Second Advent of Christ in 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10 would serve as a reminder and comfort and assurance for the Thessalonians that those who persecuted them and those who persecute any member of the church will ultimately be judged by the Lord Jesus.

The Second Advent will complete the destruction of the Lord’s enemies and thus the enemies of His bride, the church.

Also, the reference to the Second Advent of Christ in 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10 would serve as a reminder and comfort and assurance for the Thessalonian Christian community that they will ultimately be rewarded by the Lord for their faithfulness to Him in the midst of persecution.

He will reward them by having them reign with Him over the entire earth during His millennial reign.