how it will be

…when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed.

2 Thessalonians 1:10

There isn’t much more to add to Paul’s view on how this is all going to eventually be. Jesus will return. Those who have believed in Him will rejoice, marvel and worship Him. Those who persecute Christians will be dealt a quick justice blow (2 Thessalonians 1:6). Those who have suffered for Jesus’ sake will find relief (2 Thessalonians 1:7). Jesus will come with a host of angelic soldiers to inflict fiery vengeance on those who reject God and disobey the gospel (2 Thessalonians 1:8). They will enter eternal destruction, permanently and finally cast away from the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Thessalonians 1:9).

This really is how it will be… for certain. Paul, as an apostle, was taught these truths about the future of the world by Jesus Himself. Paul shared this with the church to encourage believers to faithfully cling to Christ and proclaim the gospel despite the resistance and the apparent rise of evil. This helped them to endure. They lived a difficult existence. But knowing that Christ is King and Judge, Savior and Sovereign, brings comfort and strengthens the church with an unstoppable hope.

The truth here still brings needed perspective. The world gets worse and worse. A season of tyrannical power has emerged in our world once again. Wars are everywhere. Communication may be more global and instantaneous than anyone in Thessalonica in the first century could ever have imagined. Yet hate fills hearts, evil abounds, life is cheap, violence is glorified, God is mocked, and the gospel is hated in words or in actions all around us. The world is on the brink of collapse. This is the result of evil ruling hearts. It is time for Jesus to bring justice and in the end, His eternal rule of peace! 

Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!