2 Thessalonians 1 - Is Hell A Real Place?

2 Thessalonians 1

Introduction to 2 Thessalonians

Chapter 1: Encouragement in Persecution: Paul thanks God for the growing faith and love of the Thessalonians, assuring them that God will bring justice and relief when Jesus is revealed from heaven. (Bible Project)

5 All this is evidence that God’s judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering. 6 God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you 7 and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. 8 He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might 10 on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you. Verses 5-10

We don't often talk about judgment. We prefer to talk about God's grace and mercy. But without judgment there is no mercy. Jesus would not have had to die on the cross if there was no judgment of sin. We often fail to mention part of the gospel is Jesus took the judgment we deserved.  We deserved death due to our sin. 

I.e Romans 6:23 "The wages of sin is death but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus!"

Because God is holy, God cannot just "wink at sin".  If God allowed sin, he would not show himself to be holy and just. But God is love and He loves His children the crown of His Creation. Genesis 1:29-31

He proved His love for us by sending His only Son, Jesus into the world to save those who would believe in Him. But for those who refuse God's free gift of mercy, they remain accountable for their sin before a holy God. When they die, they will face the consequences of their sin. 

The bible tells us that God does not desire that any should perish (face hell) but all to come to a knowledge of the truth. 2 Peter 3:9 

Then, Paul teaches how God will judge the world when Jesus returns with a blazing fire and his angels. God judgment will be severe and final. Unbelievers will be separated from God forever. Though therea are many other places where the bible describes hell as a place of fire, Paul doesn't do it here. 

The idea of hell being a place of fire is talked about three times in Matthew's gospel. Jesus warns about the danger of the "hell of fire" (Matthew 5:22), unbelivers being thrown into a fiery furnace (Matthew 13:41-42), and unquenchable fire reserved for the devil and his angels. (Matthew 25:41). The apostle John describes a "lake of fire" of eternal judgment, reserved for those who are not written in the book of life. 

Whether these are all meant to be literal or metaphorical is debated among commentators. But the bottom line is hell is not a place you want to end up. I think the best description of hell is found in Matthew 13, when Jesus describes hell as a place where there is "weeping and gnashing of teeth". I see this as an experience of profound regret for not accepting God's free gift of grace in Jesus. 

Since God is not an unjust God, His judgment is fair. The exception may be those who have never heard the gospel. The bible teaches that all people have some degree of being accountable to God because He is revealed in Creation so that all men are without excuse. See Romans 1:20. 

The bottom line is that no one would ever be judged unfairly by God. God is not a cruel or arbitrary in his judgment, but wants all of his children to be with him forever. 

What truly characterizes hell is that there, people are from the presence of the Lord, in the sense of being apart from anything good or blessed in God’s presence. From the presence of the Lord sums up the Bible’s understanding of hell. Nothing must be said more about its horrors, other than hell will be completely devoid of God and every aspect of His character, except one: His unrelenting holy justice. - Guzik

Now let's talk about the Good News for those who do believe! Paul says those people who believe in "their testimony" would be saved from the coming wrath. And what was the testimony Paul and his partners proclaimed? It was not only his personal testimony about how he came to know Jesus (on the Road to Damascus), but also the testimony about Jesus' resurrection from the dead. 

The fact that Jesus rose from the dead is the linchpin of the truth of the Christian gospel, upon which it stands or falls. The literal and historical resurrection of Jesus proves without a shadow of doubt that he was and is the Son of God, and He will return in great and promised glory. 

Finally, Paul says, "On the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you."

What does it mean that Jesus will be glorified in his holy people and marveled at among all who believe?

We will admire what God has done in others and in us. “Those who look upon the saints will feel a sudden wonderment of sacred delight; they will be startled with the surprising glory of the Lord’s work in them; ‘We thought He would do great things, but this! This surpasseth conception!’ Every saint will be a wonder to himself. ‘I thought my bliss would be great, but not like this!’  (Charles Spurgeon)

How does the reality of hell, whether literal or metaphorical make you feel?

Do you think it is fair for God to judge people for eternity? 

How does the reality of hell affect how and why we share the Good News and our testimony with other who don't yet know Jesus? 

 



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