2 Thessalonians 1:10-Church Age Believers, Old Testament and Tribulation Saints Will Witness the Second Advent of Jesus Christ

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. 9 These who are characterized by disobedience will suffer a righteous punishment, namely, eternal destruction away from our Lord’s presence, specifically away from His glory, that is, the manifestation of His victorious power 10 on that day when He has returned in order to be greatly honored by the saints. In fact, in order to be marveled at by each and every one who has believed. Also, by means of each and every one of you because our testimony was believed by each one of you. (My translation)

2 Thessalonians 1:10 continues the thanksgiving section of Second Thessalonians which begins the body of this letter.

This section ends in 2 Thessalonians 1:12 and is divided into three parts.

The first part appears in 2 Thessalonians 1:3-4 and commends the Thessalonians’ for their post-justification in the midst of persecution and the second appears in 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10 and serves to comfort and assure the Thessalonians that God will judge their persecutors.

The third part is found in 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 and contains Paul, Silvanus and Timothy’s intercessory prayer for the Thessalonians (1:11-12).

So therefore, like 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9, Paul’s prophetic statement in 2 Thessalonians 1:10 serves to encourage and assure the Thessalonian Christian community that God the Father will judge the unrepentant, unregenerate Gentiles in the city of Thessalonica who persecuted them because of their faith in Jesus Christ.

It also assures them that ultimately, He will judge every unrepentant, unregenerate person on the earth during the last three and a half years of the seventieth week of Daniel and when He returns at His Second Advent to establish His millennial kingdom.

In fact, it assures them that the Lord Jesus Christ will judge every unrepentant, unregenerate person in history-past, present and future at the Great White Throne Judgment.

At that time, the Lord will execute the sentence against the unrepentant, unregenerate sinner by casting them alive into the eternal lake of fire.

Furthermore, 2 Thessalonians 1:10 encourages and assures each member of the Thessalonian Christian community that they will take part in the events of the Second Advent of Jesus Christ in that they will witness the Lord Jesus Christ manifesting His divine omnipotence at the Second Advent in order to defeat His enemies and establish His millennial kingdom on the earth.

This verse asserts that the Thessalonians with other believers throughout history will marvel at this manifestation of the Lord’s divine omnipotence.

Now, we come to 2 Thessalonians 1:10, which contains a temporal clause followed by an emphatic clause which in turn is followed by a hoti causal clause.

The temporal clause asserts that the Lord Jesus Christ will return at His Second Advent in order to be greatly honored by His saints and this statement coincides with the prophetic statement in 2 Thessalonians 1:9.

Therefore, this temporal clause is expressing the idea that unrepentant, unregenerate human beings will suffer a righteous punishment and specifically eternal destruction when the Lord Jesus Christ returns to earth at His Second Advent.

Paul’s emphasis in using this temporal clause is not to identify the particular time when the Second Advent takes place but rather that it will take place.

The adjective hagios(ἅγιος), “saints” describes church age believers from the perspective that they have been set apart through the baptism of the Spirit at the moment of justification in order to order serve God exclusively.

Specifically, it describes those sinners who are justified by the Father through faith in His one and only Son during the church age in contrast to those who were declared justified through faith in the Lord prior to the church age during Old Testament dispensation and after the church age, i.e. the seventieth week of Daniel.

Some interpret the adjective hagios (ἅγιος)here in 2 Thessalonians 1:10 as meaning “holy ones” referring to the angels, however, in all 76 instances in which Paul uses this word, the referent is never the angels.

He uses it to describe the Scriptures (Rom. 1:2), the Holy Spirit (Rom. 5:5; 9:1; 14:17; 15:13, 16; 1 Cor. 6:19; 12:3; 2 Cor. 6:6; 2 Cor. 13:13; Eph. 1:13; 4:30; 1 Thess. 1:5-6; 4:8; 2 Tim. 1:14; Titus 3:5), a kiss (Rom. 16:16; 1 Cor. 16:20; 2 Cor. 13:12; 1 Thess. 5:26), the apostles (Eph. 3:5), the Christian’s calling (2 Tim. 1:9).

However, most of the time it is used to describe church age believers (Rom. 1:7; 8:27; 12:13; 15:25-26, 31; 16:2, 15; 1 Cor. 1:2; 6:1-2; 14:33; 16:1, 15; 2 Cor. 1:1; 8:4; 9:1, 12; 13:12; Eph. 1:1, 15, 18; 2:19; 3:8, 18; 4:12; 5:3; 6:18; Phil. 1:1; 4:21-22; Col. 1:2, 4, 12, 26; 1 Thess. 3:13; 1 Tim. 5:10; Phlm. 5, 7).

Now, as we noted earlier, this temporal clause which begins 2 Thessalonians 1:10, is followed by an emphatic clause, which presents the second purpose for which the Lord Jesus Christ will return to planet earth at His Second Advent.

It asserts that He will do so in order to by marveled at by each and every one who has believed in Him as their Savior.

This emphatic clause not only presents an addition to the previous statement which as we noted asserts that the Lord Jesus Christ will return to earth in order to be greatly honored by the saints but is also advancing upon and intensifying this previous statement.

Therefore, the advancement and intensification is that not only will the Lord be greatly honored by the saints but He will also be marveled at by all those who have believed in Him.

As we also noted, the reference to the saints is a reference to the church whereas all those who have believed is a reference to believers who lived during the Old Testament dispensations prior to the church age and after the church age, namely, the seventieth week of Daniel.

Therefore, the advancement and intensification is that not only will the church be present at the Lord Jesus Christ’s Second Advent but also resurrected believers who lived during Old Testament dispensations and after the church age, namely, those who lived during the seventieth week of Daniel.

This interpretation is supported by the fact that the adjective pas (πᾶς) is modifying the participle conjugation of the verb pisteuō (πιστεύω) and the former pertains to the totality of an object, thus, it is speaking of the totality of believers throughout human history and not just the church age.

Therefore, this adjective is emphasizing that not only church age believers will be present at the Second Advent of Jesus Christ but all who exercised faith in Him throughout history will be as well.

Old Testament saints looked forward in faith to Him whereas believers living during the seventieth week of Daniel will look back in faith at Him like church age believers.

As we also noted earlier, this emphatic clause is followed by a hoti causal clause which actually serves as an addition to this emphatic clause.

This hoti causal clause asserts that the Lord Jesus Christ will be marveled at by each and every member of the Thessalonian Christian community because Paul, Silvanus and Timothy’s testimony was believed by each of them.

“Testimony” is the noun marturion (μαρτύριον) refers to Paul, Silvanus and Timothy communicating the gospel of Jesus Christ to the Thessalonians when they were in their unregenerate state in the sense that these men affirmed to the Thessalonians the truth of Jesus Christ’s life, death, resurrection, ascension and session at the right hand of the Father.

Now, in 2 Thessalonians 1:10, the prepositional phrase en tē hēmera ekeinē (ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ), “on that day” does not modify the hoticausal clause hoti episteuthē to martyrion hēmōn ephʼ hymas (ὅτι ἐπιστεύθη τὸ μαρτύριον ἡμῶν ἐφʼ ὑμᾶς), “Also, by each and every one of you because our testimony was believed by each one of you.”

But rather it is modifying the temporal clause hotan elthē endoxasthēnai en tois hagiois autou (ὅταν ἔλθῃ ἐνδοξασθῆναι ἐν τοῖς ἁγίοις αὐτοῦ), “when He has returned in order to be greatly honored by His saints,” which begins the verse as well as the emphatic clause kai thaumasthēnai en pasin tois pisteusasin (καὶ θαυμασθῆναι ἐν πᾶσιν τοῖς πιστεύσασιν), “In fact, in order to be marveled at by each and every one of those who have believed,” which follows it despite the fact that it is positioned by Paul at the end of the verse.

This interpretation is indicated by the fact that the temporal and emphatic clauses are describing events which will take place during the Second Advent of Jesus Christ and the prepositional phrase en tē hēmera ekeinē (ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ), “on that day” is referring to the Second Advent.

Secondly, the hoti clause is describing the Thessalonians being declared justified by the Father through faith in His one and only Son as their Savior which took place during the church age.

Therefore, this prepositional phrase en tē hēmera ekeinē (ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ), “on that day” cannot be modifying the hoticausal clause hoti episteuthē to martyrion hēmōn ephʼ hymas (ὅτι ἐπιστεύθη τὸ μαρτύριον ἡμῶν ἐφʼ ὑμᾶς), “Also, by each and every one of you because our testimony was believed by each one of you.”