GOD’S FINALE JUDGEMENT OF THE WICKED.


 
1Thessalonians 1:9 says that “They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might”.  What is Paul’s message here?

The Bible records, see Acts 16 and 17, that Paul did not have a good experience when he visited Thessalonica.  Paul was beaten illegally and then put into prison.  They then forced him to leave the city by night because unbelieving Jews brought false charges against Paul. 

Paul did not give up, he made several attempt to return but he was hindered by Satan.

“But when we were separated from you, brothers and sisters, for a short time (in presence, not in affection) we became all the more fervent in our great desire to see you in person. For we wanted to come to you (I, Paul, in fact tried again and again) but Satan thwarted us” (1 Thessalonians 2:17-18).

In this first letter to the Thessalonian Church Paul was concerned about the progress of the church and wanted to be with them to strengthen them in their faith and beliefs.

“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” (1 Thessalonians 1:5).

He wanted to reassure the Church that they were chosen by God.  He did not want the Thessalonians to give up.  He wanted them to look to their faith so that they could endure the persecution that was sure to come.  Paul knew that the people who persecuted them were wicked and would get their just due, but this was not the message he had for them here. 

Paul was using God’s authentication and empowering of the gospel message when he wrote this letter.  He said that because of their “…perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials…” that they were enduring, it was proof that God chose them. (1 Thessalonians 1:4).  Because of this fact he was encouraging them to continue to endure these persecutions.

For this message to have power it is important to understand that the gospel that Paul preached were not his words, but the words came from God through the Holy Spirit and he constantly used this fact to authenticate and empower his words.  The church in Corinth he wrote:

“God has revealed these to us by the Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.  For who among men knows the things of a man except the man’s spirit within him?  So too, no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.  Now we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things that are freely given to us by God.  And we speak about these things, not with words taught us by human wisdom, but with those taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual things to spiritual people.  The unbeliever does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him. And he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.  The one who is spiritual discerns all things, yet he himself is understood by no one.  For who has known the mind of the Lord, so as to advise him? But we have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:10-16).

Paul’s message was always that Jesus Christ made the promises to all those who follow Him that when the Holy Spirit came, He would empower the messengers so that others would believe and be saved to eternal life.  This is what this passage is based on.  It is an encouragement to all saints down through the last almost two thousand years that in difficult days of adversity and persecution, God’s word can serve to encourage us as the dark clouds of persecution gather for Christians around the world. This power of God will sustain believers when persecuted in the end times.

The message of Eternal destruction, is an important message based on the fact that it is mentioned throughout the Old and the New Testaments.  The problem is that the phrase “eternal destruction” is misunderstood by many.  More importantly, it is not the message we need to be taking away from this Biblical passage.  If this is done, the true message is hidden, which is what Satan wants to happen. 

Because it is mentioned here, it is important to have a basic scriptural knowledge of what the phrase means.  There is a very simple answer when trying to describe what eternal destruction means, if you take each word individually.  Eternal means, “Continuing without interruption; perpetual”, (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/eternal ), forever, it will never change.

Destruction means “to cause (something) to end or no longer exist, to cause the destruction of (something), to damage (something) so badly that it cannot be repaired. (www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/destroy ).  When a human being meets “eternal destruction” as described in 1 Thessalonians 1:9, it means that that person will be damaged so badly, that he or she will no longer exist.  That that person cannot be repaired.  The existence of that person will come to an end.

The prophet Malachi explains it clearly:

““Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and the day that is coming will set them on fire,” says the Lord Almighty. “Not a root or a branch will be left to them.”” (Malachi 4:1).
The non-believers and the wicked will be burned to ashes to such an extent that there will be nothing left.  There will be no “root” or “branch left”.  When this happens there is no way that that person can exist, period.

CHRISTIAN LIVING FOR GOD - TODAY AND BEYOND.

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