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courageous enduring of trouble. . .The word literally speaks of remaining under or sustaining hope
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under difficulty.”

Comfort Toward the Coming Judgment (vv5-10)

5 This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the
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kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering— since indeed God considers it just to repay with
affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the
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Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels 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
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suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory
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of his might, when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among
all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed. (ESV)

In vv5-6a, based on v4, Paul gives us four statements confirming God’s righteous judgment and His
justice for both obedient people (believers) and rebellious people (sinners). Not only did they
evidence God’s righteous judgment but God’s justice (v6a). Secondly, God promised the church that
a day of vengeance was coming to their persecutors. In v6b, Paul wrote that it was going happen
when Jesus was going to be revealed from heaven in blazing fire with His powerful angels.
Vengeance is not our responsibility, but God’s, so the church must endure the pain of persecution
until Christ returns. He will bring about total vengeance and correct all the wrongs done to the
church.

In v8, Paul communicated to them what God was going to do not only to the persecutors, but to all
those who did not know Him and obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. So, the execution of God’s
justice in form of judgment will affect all unbelievers. In v9, Paul described the nature of their
punishment. 1) It will not be annihilation or instant killing, but conscious and everlasting destruction
(v9a). Destruction should not be literally interpreted. That is, with the combination of “eternal” and
“everlasting,” it suggests continuous destruction that has no end. 2) They will be shut out from the
presence of the Lord. That is, the obverse of salvation; enjoying His presence (v9b). On the presence
of the Lord, Wanamaker notes that it “is simply a way of describing the glorious and majestic
presence of the Lord from which the persecutors of the Thessalonians will forever be excluded.” 3)
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They will be shut out from the glory of His might (v9c). In v10, during the punishment of
unbelievers, our Lord Jesus Christ will be glorified in His holy people and marveled at among them.
One could argue that the ground for their evidential spiritual growth is chiefly God’s election (1
Thess. 1:4), acceptance of the Word as God’s Word not man’s (1 Thess. 2:13), imitation of both God
and God’s worthy servants and churches (1 Thess. 1:6; 2:14), and desire for goodness and every
deed prompted by faith (2 Thess. 1:11).

Prayer for Them (2 Thess. 1:11-12)

11 To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill
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every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may
be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. (ESV)

77 John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: 1 & 2 Thessalonians (Chicago, IL:
Moody Publishers, 2002), 229.
78 Wanamaker, The New International Greek Testament Commentary: The Epistles to the
Thessalonians, 229.

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