…in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might…
2 Thessalonians 1:8-9
It can be uncomfortable to discuss the realities of the afterlife, especially if one includes the place or reality we refer to as hell. Paul discusses some of the qualities and qualifiers of eternal punishment not so as to gloat over the enemies of the Church in Thessalonica, nor to provide a complete idea of what this hell looks and feels like.* His point, in this passage, is to assure a church in persecution that despite their hurt and suffering, God is just.* They need not worry about His desire to save them, nor do they need to attempt to bring justice.*
How many times have we been in situations where life feels unfair? How many times have we cried out to God saying something that sounded like, “I thought you were just! What’s going on?!”
Paul assures the church that God sees and that God acts justly. Just as the righteous enjoy benefits because of God’s justice (see e.g., v.7 and v.10), those who turn away from God will also experience His justice.*
Despite Paul’s intent to bring comfort, this blaring question lingers, however: who is going to hell and what will that be like?
Again, Paul’s reference to hell is not an exhaustive exploration on the topic (Jesus discusses hell often and other passages illuminate the topic as well), but Paul does offer some insight.*
First, Paul uses “those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus” as the qualifier to determine who experiences hell after this life.* What is he saying here? "Those who do not know God” does not refer to those who are simply ignorant, but to those who have rejected the knowledge of God.* A choice has been made, and it was to say, “no” to who God is and His plan for life. Furthermore, “who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus” serves as a clarifying statement or a subset of the first qualifier.* Said another way, Paul may say, “those who reject the knowledge of God by disobeying the gospel of Jesus.”
Because Paul’s words are not a complete list of qualifiers, it leaves questions unanswered such as “what about people who have never heard about Jesus?” etc. While this question is valid and worthy of discussion and an exploration into Scripture (as are many other questions), Paul seeks to assure a church under persecution that those persecuting them because of their own rejection of God and the Good News of Jesus will experience justice.* That’s the main point, so it limits our discussion here, leaving opportunity for discussion in the future.
Before we move past this passage, however, Paul’s description of the experience of hell merits consideration. Paul describes an eternal reality of forever-destruction away from the presence of God and the glory of His might. When someone chooses to reject knowing God and the Good News of Jesus, they are attempting in this life to live separate from God.* Death, as the transition to the forever-life-after, then serves as nothing more than the vehicle to desires made manifest. Meaning, death takes those who wished to live close to God in this life on His terms (i.e. through knowing Him and being known via salvation in Jesus Christ) and makes it final. Death takes those who wished to have nothing to do with God in this life and make it final.
My wife and I sold our house before we moved to San Diego to plant a church. There are many transactions, thanks to our customer-centric world, that can be undone. The sale of our house, however, once signed, would take great effort, expense, and happenstance to undo. While not impossible, the sale of our home was almost irreversible. This is why selling it made it seem so final. Death is a door to a final destination; it cannot be undone.
As was the experience of the Church in Thessalonica, we who follow Jesus and desire to see His Kingdom come here on earth as it is in Heaven experience sin and pain in this world. We experience sin here on this earth because we await the final return of Jesus (or our own exit from this world) to do away with sin once and for all. Until that time, we cannot live life on this earth completely separated from the brokenness, pain, and dis-ease of sin.
Similarly, though there are those who desire to live a life separate from God, attempting to earn, achieve, empty themselves, or ignore their way to a pleasant eternal life (or even choose to decide that there is no afterlife), they cannot live life on this earth completely separated from the goodness, mercy, and love of God.
Gloriously, one day believers will enter into the eternal reality of complete closeness with the Good, Good Father for which they have longed. Tragically, one day unbelievers longing will also be fulfilled; they will enter into the eternal reality of complete separation from their Creator.
Jeffery Weima points out,
The negative side of God’s just judgment is described elsewhere in the NT in more graphic and fiery terms than those used here by Paul: “unquenchable fire” (Matt. 3:12); “fiery furnace” (Matt. 13:42, 50); “eternal fire” (Matt. 18:8; 25:41); “blackest darkness” (2 Pet. 2:17); “the punishment of eternal fire” (Jude 7); “the fiery lake of burning sulfur” (Rev. 21:8). Compared to these depictions, Paul’s words about the separation “from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might” may appear tame.*
Weima goes on to quote Marshall who says,
To be separated from God and his blessings—and to be forever in this situation—is for Paul the worst of prospects. This is the reality for which the other pictures are merely symbols.*
Gary Shogren paints this picture:
Some people think that death is nothing, that you just click off and you’re done. No—for a person without Christ, it’s being in darkness, but you’re still conscious forever. Imagine going down to a dark basement with a flashlight and then there is no flashlight, and your eyes never get adjusted … but you’re still there. There are worse things than ceasing to exist. And living in the outer darkness is not in a nice sense of “I’d like some down time by myself.” Rather it’s “I’ll never be in touch with anyone again.” Whatever our dead heroes are doing now [I had spoken about a rock singer who had died of a drug overdose], they’re not keeping in touch with their friends. You think our church is picky about turning off your cell phones? Well, in hell they make you check your devices at the door: no texting, no cell phone, no Facebooking, not even email, no face-to-face, no sharing a cappuccino and comparing notes on the afterlife! “See you in hell”? No, you won’t.…*
Paul’s words help us understand that our suffering is temporary, and so is injustice. Paul’s words also must break our hearts. Paul’s words must compel us to do more than make others aware of the severity of separation from God, but we must demonstrate and tell of His irresistible and complete goodness. We must help introduce this world to Him so that their appetite might change. As humans, we follow our appetites.
Lord Jesus, please help us to share our appetite for you with others that they may follow you.
Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
Psalm 34:8
Today, take a step.
Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to consider living a message of His irresistible and complete goodness. Perhaps today God would have you consider whether you know Him and follow Jesus. Maybe today God would have you move beyond knowing about Him and enter into a place of relationship. Perhaps today God would have you rest in the truth that He is just. Maybe God wants you to know that your suffering is temporary; He will make all things right. Perhaps today God wants you to have a taste of who He is.
Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.
Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus.
Feel free to comment at the bottom of this page! We would love to hear from you!
*Holmes, M. (1998). 1 and 2 Thessalonians (pp. 213–214). Zondervan Publishing House.
Shogren, G. S. (2012). 1 & 2 Thessalonians (pp. 250–255). Zondervan.
Shogren, G. S. (2012). 1 & 2 Thessalonians (pp. 263–265). Zondervan.
Hagner, D. A. (1995). Matthew 14–28 (Vol. 33B, p. 636). Word, Incorporated.
Morris, L. (1984). 1 and 2 Thessalonians: An introduction and commentary (Vol. 13, pp. 119–121). InterVarsity Press.
Beale, G. K. (2003). 1–2 Thessalonians (pp. 187–189). InterVarsity Press.
Weima, J. A. D. (2014). Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament: 1–2 Thessalonians (R. W. Yarbrough & R. H. Stein, Eds.; pp. 470–475). Baker Academic.