2 Thessalonians 1 - Introduction
Older Title, To the Thessalonians II (See note on title of I Epistle.)... [ Continue Reading ]
Older Title, To the Thessalonians II (See note on title of I Epistle.)... [ Continue Reading ]
Section I. Salutation and Thanksgiving. Ch. 2 Thessalonians 1:1-4 1, 2. This _salutation_is nearly identical with that of Ep. I., see note. Only the Apostle writes here CHURCH OF THESSALONIANS IN GOD OUR FATHER (Father _of us_, whom He loves and calls to he His own: comp. ch. 2 Thessalonians 2:16; R... [ Continue Reading ]
_We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren_ The case is put in the same way in ch. 2 Thessalonians 2:13 ("we are bound to give thanks"), and nowhere else in St Paul. The Apostle feels himself under a special _debt_of gratitude to God for that which His grace had wrought in the Thessalonians... [ Continue Reading ]
_so that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God_ The triumph of the Gospel at Thessalonica had given peculiar gratification of the Apostle (1 Thessalonians 1:8; 1Th 3:7-9; 1 Thessalonians 2:20, "You are our glory and joy"). For the advantageous position of this Church and its great activit... [ Continue Reading ]
which is _a manifest token of the righteous judgement of God_ Better, without the connecting words of the English version, A TOKEN OF THE RIGHTEOUS JUDGEMENT OF GOD. The heroic faith of the Thessalonians showed that God was on their side. By the courage He Inspired in them the Righteous Judge alrea... [ Continue Reading ]
Section II. The Approaching Retribution Ch. 2 Thessalonians 1:5-12 These _vv._contain further reasons for _thanksgiving_on the writer's part, concluding with a _prayer_that his readers may receive the entire fruition of the blessedness to which their sufferings are designed to lead. At the same tim... [ Continue Reading ]
_seeing_it is _a righteous_thing _with God_ Lit., IF VERILY (if, as all will admit) IT IS RIGHTEOUS WITH GOD. The Apostle has just spoken (2 Thessalonians 1:5) of "God's righteous judgement" as manifest in the unshaken faith and courage of His servants. That visible token points to their future and... [ Continue Reading ]
_rest with us_ St Paul's was a life full of harassment and fatigue, and the hope of _rest_was sweet to him (note the outburst of Galatians 6:17). Men of an easy untroubled life miss the delight of the thought of Heaven. But in his visions of future joy his children in Christ always shared. Comp. 2... [ Continue Reading ]
_in flaming fire_ Lit., FIRE OF FLAME; or, in other copies, FLAME OF FIRE. "Fire" is a symbol of Divine anger and majesty, in Scripture; and "flame" is fire in motion, leaping and blazing out. According to 2 Peter 3:7; 2 Peter 3:10, fire will be the means of destruction for the visible world at the... [ Continue Reading ]
_who shall be punished_with _everlasting destruction_ Rather, MEN WHO WILL PAY THE PENALTY OF ETERNAL DESTRUCTION. In these awful words the Apostle describes the retribution designed for godless men and rejecters of the Gospel. His word for "penalty" (_diké_, the root of the words _righteous_and _ri... [ Continue Reading ]
_when he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe_ Better, without the comma: WHEN HE HATH COME TO BE GLORIFIED IN HIS HOLY ONES AND WONDERED AT IN ALL THOSE WHO BELIEVED. The last verb, in the true reading, is _past_in tense. We are transported to the tim... [ Continue Reading ]
_Wherefore also we pray always for you_ Rather, TO WHICH END ALSO WE PRAY ALWAYS FOR YOU (comp. 1 Thessalonians 1:2; 1 Thessalonians 3:10), THAT OUR GOD MAY COUNT YOU WORTHY OF HIS CALLING. God was "calling" the Thessalonians "to His own kingdom and glory," and calling them accordingly to the sancti... [ Continue Reading ]
_that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you_ Once more read LORD JESUS (R. V.), not _Lord Jesus Christ_. For this end, "to be glorified in His saints," we were told in 2 Thessalonians 1:10, Christ is coming; the call by which God summoned the Thessalonians in the Gospel has this... [ Continue Reading ]