2 Thessalonians 1:4-10

2 Thes. 1:4 “So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure: 5 Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer: 6 Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; 7 And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, 8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: 9 Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; 10 When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.”

“So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure:” Sometimes we will hear people say that we are not to glory in anything but in the Lord. Well that is true when it comes to the things that God has done and especially in his work of saving us from our sins. The word, glory, appears 177 times in the New Testament and all but a small handful of times it is speaking about the glory of God or giving glory to God. However, the word, glory, primarily means boast but on occasion the word depending on the context means praise. An example that most people would recognize is that when the preacher is blessed to deliver a sermon that stirs us up and/or answers questions that we may have we may give praise to the preacher by saying to him how much we enjoyed the sermon. So applying the principle to the verse above Paul is saying that he was praising the members of the church in Thessalonica for their patience and faith in all their persecutions and tribulations that they endured.

“Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer:” A “manifest token” is a “visible indication.” Thus the patience and faith of the members of the church in Thessalonica in all their persecutions and tribulations is a visible indication of the righteous judgment of God in that God had counted them worthy of the kingdom of God for which they suffered those things and yet remained faithful to God and His word.

“Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you;” When we suffer persecutions and tribulations it is the reaction of our flesh nature to seek revenge. However, we are told that it is not up to us to seek vengeance: Rom. 12:19 “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.” Since God has taught us that vengeance is His, then it is indeed a “righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you;” God is a just and holy God and will execute his wrathful judgment when it is needed.

“And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels…” The time that the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with his holy angels is the time of his second coming in the resurrection of the dead. When he comes among the things He will do is take vengeance: “In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:” Those who know not God are those who were not chosen in Christ before the world began and who were not quickened to spiritual life by the Holy Spirit. Of course these will also not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Of course, it is also a righteous thing for the Lord to take vengeance upon them as their sin debt was not paid for them on the cross. Their punishment is stated as follows: “Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power.” This punishment is everlasting and involves them being cast into the lake of fire of God’s judgment and suffering everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and the glory of his power.

In contrast concerning the elect Paul said this: “When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.” One of the evidences of the gracious state of the elect is that they believe in that day.