2 Thessalonians 1

2 Thessalonians 1:1

A year after his first letter, Paul penned a second letter to the Thessalonians. This was done in order to clear up the confusion caused by those who preached after he left. They were saying that the persecution launched against the church in Thessalonica was proof that the Tribulation had already begun. Add to them a group who supposedly prophesied in the Spirit, and a forged letter from Paul saying the Tribulation had begun. It is easy to see why the Thessalonians were confused. In the first verse of his first letter to the Thessalonians, Paul had commended their work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope. Here, in his second letter, he commends only their faith and love. Why? They had lost their hope because they were no longer living for Jesus’ return. Although of faith, hope, and love the greatest is love (1Co_13:13)all three elements are essential because it is faith and hope that allow us to love. How? I’d be too ashamed to love if I were hung up over my past sins. Faith tells me my past failures were totally cleansed by the blood of Jesus. I’d be too afraid to love if I were worried about the future. Hope tells me He’s coming again, so there’s no need to fear.

2 Thessalonians 1:4

Even as Paul wrote his epistles, Christians were being beat up and wiped out. “We’re proud of you,” says Paul. “You’re enduring hard times.”

2 Thessalonians 1:5

“The fact that you are persecuted and put down is proof that you’re a part of the kingdom,” declares Paul. He would say the same thing to Timothy by writing, “Yea, all those who live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution” (2Ti_3:12). Hmm. So often I pray to avoid pressure, problems, and persecution. In reality, it is those very things that would have produced Christlike qualities within me. There is really no other way. If you want to be like Jesus, hard times are inevitable. “I want to shine like a diamond in the kingdom,” we say. You know what a diamond is? It’s a chunk of worthless coal that has undergone tremendous amounts of pressure over many, many years. So if your heart wants to reflect Jesus, know this: There is no other way that will happen than to go through fiery trials over great lengths of time. This is why Peter talks about our faith being purified by fiery trials (1Pe_4:12), and why James says, “Count it all joy when you go through these trials” (Jas_1:2). Although I know this in theory, I still find myself praying, “Lord, I don’t want to deal with this. Lord, I don’t want to go through that. Lord, do I have to go there? Lord, get me out of here!” In reality, such prayers are unwise because they can actually hinder the work the Lord was doing in me through these trials. Consequently, I am praying less, “Lord, help me Yourself,” and more, “Lord, help Yourself to me. I am tired of directing You. Put me wherever You see I’ll be happy and most fruitful. You know best.”

2 Thessalonians 1:6

I personally believe this verse alludes to more than the tribulation the Thessalonians were experiencing. I believe it speaks of the bigger picture of the Tribulation of Revelation 6-19. Why? The phrase, “It is a righteous thing with God,” takes me back to Genesis 18. Concerning the impending doom of Sodom, Abraham asked God, “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (Gen_18:25) God did, indeed, pour out His wrath on Sodom. Before He did, He raptured Lot and his family when He sent an angel to grab them by the hand and pull them out of the city. And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly; and delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;) The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished…2Pe_2:6-9 The word translated “out of” is the Greek word ek. Ek does not mean “to protect them while they are going through it.” It means “to be taken out completely.” Before God poured out His judgment on Sodom, He “took out” Lot and his family. God will take His children out before He pours out His wrath on a Christ-rejecting, sinful, corrupt world during the Tribulation.

2 Thessalonians 1:7

Are you getting picked on because of your faith in Jesus Christ? Relax, Paul says, because there’s coming a day when the Lord will return with mighty angels to take vengeance on those who are purposefully, knowingly giving you headaches and heartbreaks because of your faith in Him.

2 Thessalonians 1:10

When Jesus comes, He will be glorified not among His saintsbut in them. I venture to guess that none of us bought the latest Ladies Home Journal expecting to see our names on the “Ten Most Admired People” list. Nor did we buy the latest edition of Who’s Who in America, eager to see our names inside. That’s because this is not our day. This is the “day of man” (Job_10:5)“man” referring to fallen humanity. When Jesus returns, He will be glorified and admired in all who believe. This means we’ll see Jesus in each other. “Wow, I thought you were a lightweight,” we’ll say; or, “I thought you were weird”; or, “I thought you were callous, cruel, pompous, or vain. Now look at you! I see Jesus in you!” Oh, to have such a mind-set this side of eternityto join Paul in “knowing no man after the flesh” (2Co_5:16), instead seeing Jesus glorified in His saints even now.