Summary of 2 Thessalonians, Chapter 1

Paul and his companions Silvanus and Timothy wish grace and peace to the Thessalonians. We should thank God always for the great growth of your faith and love. We can even boast about you in the other churches. You hold up in all persecutions -- this situation is a sign that a just judgment of God is coming, for justice calls on God to repay those who trouble you, and to give relief to you who are troubled, along with us. He will do this when the Lord Jesus appears from the skies, with the angels or messengers of His power, in a fire that gives punishment to those who do not know God or obey the Gospel. They will pay the due penalty, which is eternal ruin, when He comes to be glorified in His holy ones and to cause wonder to all the faithful. So we always pray that God may judge you worthy of the call to the Church that He has given you, so the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him.

Comments on Chapter 1

Paul is proud of the way they are holding up under persecution from the Jews. The fact that they suffer thus shows that there must be a just judgment coming, to reward them, to punish the enemies of Christ. Jesus will appear with His angels in a flame of fire to bring eternal ruin to those who persecute His faithful ones.

"His messengers" means His angels -- the Greek word is angeloi. Some today say we are not certain there are angels, or even deny their existence flatly. But it is a basic rule of Scripture study that we should understand the Scriptures as the original readers would have understood -- not reading them as if written by a modern writer. If we read in this way, there is no doubt that the readers, and the early writers of course too, of Scripture, understood that angels are beings distinct from God. Further, Vatican II, On the Church §12, tells us that if the entire Church, people and authorities both, has ever believed a truth (considered it revealed) that belief is infallible. Surely, the whole Church has long believed in angels. So this is an infallible doctrine.

The mention of fire in this passage is, however, a touch of apocalyptic genre, which we explained in commenting on 1 Thessalonians 4:l3-18. We do not mean to deny the Scripture on fire of hell. This refers to something different, the fire of His return.¹

We notice too that Paul speaks of the punishment as eternal ruin, that is, it will not end. So Paul does teach the eternity of hell.

Paul also prays that they may continue to be worthy of the call God gave them to full membership in the Church. The mere fact that they have entered does not mean they have it made, are automatically secure forever (Luther's mistake).² Faith means much more than a confidence that the merits of Christ apply to me.