Burn It With Fire - 2 Thessalonians 1

This second epistle of Paul to the Thessalonians was written because “it is possible that his first letter did not resolve all the questions the Thessalonian Saints had about the Second Coming. In addition, it appears that the Thessalonians had received a fraudulent letter that claimed to be from Paul, and this letter had caused some to believe that the Second Coming had already occurred.” He also had learned in the time between the two letters that there had been an increase in persecution to the saints there and he wanted to strengthen them. The IM outlines the teachings in 2 Thessalonians saying, “Paul corrected the false idea that the Second Coming had already occurred. He taught that there would be an apostasy prior to the Lord’s return. He counseled Church members to work to provide for their temporal needs and not to be weary in well-doing.” 2:1-7 - Paul begins by introducing himself and those who are with him, “Silvanus (Silas) and Timotheus (Timothy),” gives them well wishes, and thanks the people for their prayers on their behalf. It also seems that despite the growing persecution, the saints had grown in their faith and “the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth.” He assures them their persecutions are “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.” I love the law of compensation, it’s one of my absolute favorite principles because it means that no matter the horror endured by anyone in this life, it will all be made worth it, like an investment. Likewise, Paul assures them that these trials “it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you.” Not only will God reward us for our faithfulness, but he is required to do so because of his righteousness. This can be a slippery slope because when someone does something bad to us, we only see them as a bad person, but the vast majority of people who do bad things are more complicated than, “they’re just a bad person.” Most have been abused themselves, some are ill either mentally or physically, it’s just a really complicated issue all around. There have been times in my life when someone has done something to hurt me and later, I found out their backstory and it softened my heart toward them and helped me forgive. I don’t want anything bad for anyone even those who hurt me, and I know that I have hurt people, probably irreparably, and I don’t want to be punished for that because I did what made sense at the time and I’ve repented and tried to do better. So if I want God’s mercy to apply to me, then I have to be willing to allow it to apply to other people as well. The article on this chapter from gospeldoctrine.com says, “God has promised the ‘recompense unto every man according to his work, and measure to every man according to the measure which he has measured to his fellow men.”… Kings and kingdoms, the great and the small, all are subject to the law of recompense by a just God who either in this life or the world to come balances all accounts… Those who have the blood of prophets and Saints upon their hands will receive their just reward.” Judgment is a complex issue involving all of us as both victims and perpetrators, so it’s probably for the best that we are all judged by a God who not only knows everything but is highly invested in the redemption of all of us, if we’ll accept it. But it’s good to know that anything we suffer in persecutions will be the counted for our good, and that the faithful will “rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels.” 2:8 - I have a really hard time with understanding the next concept, because Paul talks about Jesus’ return “in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know now God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.” We’ll get back to the “flaming fire” part in a second, but first I want to address the “vengeance on them that know not God.” We don’t choose where we are born or when or to whom or in what circumstances. We don’t get to choose if we have the gospel in this life or not and the vast majority of people throughout human history hasn’t had even the opportunity to learn about the gospel in their lifetimes. So why would those who, through no fault of their own, be punished because they “know not God?” that seems very contradictory for a just, all loving God. And the rest of the verse includes those “that obey not the gospel of our Lord.” The phrase “obey not” is cross-referenced with the word “disobedience.” There is a big difference between being told about the commandments and not buying into them, and knowing them, accepting them and then choosing to “disobey.” So I feel like most people need to hear “those who reject God will be destroyed at his coming,” because most people function on a fear based level, but I just have a problem with it. And God being the master psychologist knows what the majority of people need to hear to understand, while still maintaining a just, merciful, and all loving path and plan. I guess that’s why it works. And I don’t think that those who are good people but don’t have the gospel will not be burned with the wicked in fire at the second coming. The scriptures say that those who would be worthy of the celestial kingdom had they known about the gospel in their lifetimes, will be caught up with the righteous. When I was a kid, I would think about being caught up in the cloud with Jesus and then throwing a rope down to my mom so she could come with me. I don’t know why I thought that I would be taken up but not her, but it was very distressing to me as a child. Now as an adult, I understand that there will be a threshold for those who are so wicked that they can not withstand the glory of God and the rest of those who will be caught up to meet him. It’s interesting to consider just what that threshold will look like. But I guess it’s like when God allows a city to be destroyed, there’s a point where the people in it can no longer progress in the physical world and must be taken to the spirit world in order to repent. I’ve found that that point is usually when they start to kill the prophets, according to the scriptures, that’s just what I’ve deduced. 1:9-12 - Those who are not caught up to meet Jesus “shall be punished with destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his everlasting power.” This is the JST which changes the placement of the word “everlasting.” This verse seems to clarify again that it’s not that Jesus is going to burn the whole earth down and everyone in it that he doesn’t like, but that he will come in his full glory and those who can not withstand the glory of God will be destroyed by it. So it’s not so much of a judgment thing as it is a worthiness thing. And that worthiness is not just based on acceptance of the gospel, but acceptance of universal good person principles that are for everyone.