Now verse 6 does not tie in with an often wishy-washy view of Christianity. God will judge those
who attack His people. Now it is important to note that it is God who does the
judging, not us. Vengeance belongs to the Lord not us (Rom 12:19). Verse 7 makes it clear
that this will happen when the Lord returns. Verse 8 makes it equally clear
that this will be a day of judgement upon all who do not believe. In fact note
that it says those who do not obey the gospel of Christ. It is not a matter of
choosing whether to believe or not. Rather it is a matter of whether or not we
obey the command to obey the gospel.
Verse 9 days that they will suffer eternal destruction away
from the presence of the Lord. Now some will take this as support for the view
of annihilationism, rather than eternal punishment. There are two things that
can be said in response to this. First, it does not necessarily mean this. We
don't know what eternal destruction means, and the second part of the verse
seems to imply that it is ongoing. Secondly, whatever the case, any view that
seeks to soften hell is profoundly unbiblical and is very dangerous. People
need to realise the seriousness of the situation.
When He does return it will be to be glorified in the
saints, and we will marvel at Him. On that day we will see that everything that the Bible says about Him is true. The outworking of this now is that His power may result in good works and faith now.
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