…when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
These will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, separated from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might…. [1:7B-9]
THIS is the Word of the Lord?
I think Paul has forgotten what Christ is supposed to be about.
Jesus doesn’t take vengeance. Jesus forgives. Isn’t that right?
I read this and remember that this is Paul talking, not me. In Paul’s eyes, it seems, if you believe in Christ, only then do you find eternal life. If you don’t believe in Christ, if you’re in that whole gang that’s persecuting the Christians and keeping Paul in prison, well then it sucks to be you, because Christ is going to get you in the end.
I can see the roots of the Middle Ages’ hellfire and brimstone beginning to form right here.
Me, I prefer a softer interpretation of what happens in the end times. I’m not willing to preemptively send non-Christians to hell.
Another passage here troubles me:
Take note of those who do not obey what we say in this letter; have nothing to do with them, so that they may be ashamed. Do not regard them as enemies, but warn them as believers.
I see the point he’s making, but I can also see thousands of modern Christians reading only the first sentence of this statement, and then using it as an excuse to exhile people from the Christian community. (Obvious modern example – gays and lesbians).
What troubles me is that this book could easily be used by Christians to justify the judging of those around them. I don’t think that’s what it’s intended to be. (Or perhaps it is intended to be so judgemental?) But I definitely don’t believe that that is how Christians should be. And so this letter seems unhelpful and problematic.
Jesse said,
January 25, 2008 at 8:48 am
I think it’s important to realize this passage is not about Jesus’ presumed course of action during the resurrection. Paul wrote this first part of his letter to “build the Thesselonicans up” so to speak. These were people who were voluntarily subjecting themselves to great persecution because of their faith . They were alienating themselves from their neighbors and families. Paul was a man who was not afraid of hellfire and brimstone and he may have included these words to inspire them to remain strong in their faith. What is important is that Paul is careful to remind the Thesselonicans that God will dole out retribution and they should not take these matters into their own hands. His words later which you quote, implore the Thesselonicans to continue to minister to the Word. It’s easy to see how this passage can be misinterpreted, but part of our mission as children of God is to read the Bible and to do that we must look at the passages in the proper context.
Rosemary said,
February 6, 2008 at 11:44 pm
So true, Jesse. So true. Thank you. You make me feel better about this book by reminding me of its context & original intent.
William said,
February 8, 2008 at 5:20 pm
I know that this is one of the passages used by the “christians” who are are protesting the military funerals. They are the ones from the Baptist church in Overland Park KS. Anyway, they are missing the point as well as many of the larger baptist style churches. We all fall short. It is with the community of Christ that we ovoid these problems and reinforce what is needed to live as Christians. Course a good dose of seeking and receiving forgiveness from Jesus helps a bit too. Just my 2cents.