Week 50 2 Thessalonians 1
Yesterday I saw a couple of common features about people who will eventually end up in hell. The first was that they did not know God. The second was that they did not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. There might be other circumstances that land a person in hell but Paul only mentions these two at this point.
Anyway today I was thinking about a different question: what is hell like? I found three things:
1. Hell is a place of everlasting destruction (which I think means a permanent state of ruin where there’s no chances for renovation or rebuild)
2. In hell people will be shut out from the presence of the Lord
3. People will also be shut out from the glory of the Lord’s might.
After reading the verse in my version I decided to do a confirmatory double-check (and in the end I octuple-checked it). The other versions I looked at were pretty consistent.
1. They all used either the phrase eternal destruction or everlasting destruction
2. They all agreed that hell was a place away from the Lord
3. They all agreed that in hell there wouldn’t be any evidence of the Lord’s glorious power or might.
No mention of flames. No pitchforks. No torture. No horned demons.
But it was a permanent destination that was a long long way from the Lord.
Note: quotes from 2 Thessalonians 1:8 9 (NIV). Comparison versions: NASB NLT Phillips Amplified Common-English KJV (21st C) RSV & WEB