The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Thessalonians — Section 10

afflic~ you "-th~ penalty partaking of the very character of the sin. On the other band, God 1s not 1 • unrighteous to forget your work of fidtb and labour of love." The afflicted sb11II be recompensed with "rest," RB well as reward for all their p11tience. II. THE TIME OF THE JUD0MENT. "When the Lord Jeans shall be revealed from heaven." 1. There is a day appointed for the J°udgment of the world; for God " bath appointed a day in which he will jndge the world in righteousness by that Man whom he bath ordained" (Acts xvii. 30, 31). 2. The day is that which ia to be the manifesta- tion of the Lord from heaven. He is now in heaven, "sitting at the right hand of God" (Acts vii. 56) ; but he shall then come forth in glory to those who "wait for him," to the judgment of the world. 3. The time of thejurfgment ia unknown to man. 'l'he day of the Lord "shall come as a thief in the night." III. THE BUAORDINATE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE JUDGMENT. 1. The angelic mimJe. "The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with the angels of his power." (1) They manifest bis power and enhance his glory. They will be with him when he "shall come in glory, an<l shall sit on the throne of his glory" (Matt. xxv. 31). (2) They execute bis purposes, whether of wrath or mercy. (a) They "gather together his elect from the four winds" (Mark xiii. 27). (b) They "shall gather out of bis king<lom all t.bings that offend, and them that do iniquity, and shall cast them into a furnace of fire" (Matt. xiii. 41, 42). 2. The flaming glory of his manifestation. It shall be" in flaming fire;" not as the instrument of vengeance, but as enhancing the glory of the Divine presence. "Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him. He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may judge bis people" (Ps. 1. 3, 4). IV. THE RESULTS OF THE JUDGMENT TO THE TWO CLASSES. 1. The class of perse- cutors. "Those which afflict you." (1) Wicked men cannot endure the saints. It is with them as with Cain, who slew bis brother. Wherefore? "Because bis own worb were evil, and his brother's righteous" (1 John iii. 12). (2) The cry of the saints rises to heaven against them. "How long, 0 Lord, holy and true, dost thou not juc1ge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?" (Rev. vi. 10). (3) The persecuton are of two classes. "Them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." (a) The first class refers to Gentile persecutors. "They know not God." Ignorance is their great sin. They had resisted the light of nature. ( ..) 1t was wilfnl ignorance, for they had the truth brought to their doors in Tbessa.lonica; (tl) their ignorance made confidence in God impossible, (-y) as well as an intelligent worship of God. (b) The second class refers to Jewish persecutors-" that obey not the gospel of our tord Jesus Christ." As ignorance was the sin of the Gentiles, dis- obedience was the sin of the Jews. They knew God, but rejected the gospel of Cllrist. They were fiercer persecutors of the saints even than the Gentiles. (a) Christ is the Author of the gospel as well as its theme. (tl) The gospel is to be obeyed as well a.s received, and is therefore called "the obedience of faith;" for faith without obedienoe is dead, as obedience without faith has no value. (4) The judgment upon the persecu- tors. It is described first generally and then more definitely. The Lord Jesus shall take vengeance upon them. They "shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power." This represents "the wrath of the Lamb" (Rev. vi. 16, 17). (a) The judgment is everlasting destruction. This does not imply annihilation-an idea equally opposed to Scripture and to the facts of natural science. The term "everlasting" associated with it neutralizes the idea of annihilation, which implies a point of time in which the wicked cease to exist. The duration of the punishment will be as the duration of the blessedness (Rev. xvi. 26; Heh. ix. 14; Matt. xxv. 46). (b) It involves separation from "the face of the Lord, and the glory of his strength." It is heaven to "see Christ as he is," to be " with him where he is, that they may behold his glory," The sum of all woe is, "Depart from me." A great gulf is fixed between the saved and the lost (Luke xvi. 26). 'l'be wicked are to be outside the o.pocalyptic city of God. "Outside are dogs" (Rev. xvi. 14, 16). 2. The class of saints. The results of the judgment as affecting them are thus described. (1) They are to be accounted" worthy of the kingdom of God." (a) They are heirs of it, as children of God. (b) They are called into it. (c) The kingdom "shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High" (Dan. vii. 27). "The saints shall judge the world" (1 Cor, vi, 2, 3). They shall "inherit the kingdom• 8 THE SEOOND EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANB. [oR. L 1-12.