Skip to content
mannafest.faith

2 Thessalonians 1:8

in 2 Thessalonians 1

in blazing fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV

ASV

rendering vengeance to them that know not God, and to them that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus:

KJV

In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:

This verse in 2 Thessalonians 1

Commentary

5 notes on this verse

A commentator

Tertullian

Against Marcion Book V · Written before 220.

To Him, therefore, does it appertain to punish such as know not God, for none ought to be ignorant of Him. In the (apostle's) phrase, "From the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power," he uses the words of Isaiah who for the express reason makes the self-same Lord "arise to shake terribly the earth.

This site's exposition

In flaming fire taking vengeance

on 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9

The revelation arrives in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel, ignorance of God and disobedience to the gospel named as one offense, since the gospel is now the means by which God is known. The sentence, everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power, is read by the church's main line as conscious, unending separation from God, and by a minority of readers, including some who hold conditional immortality, as destruction meaning the end of being; the exposition keeps the main line at full strength and names the minority reading with its holders.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)

Taking vengeance - Does God barely permit this, or (as "the Lord" once "rained brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven," Gen. xix, 24) does a fiery stream go forth from him forever? Who know not God - (The root of all wickedness and misery) who remain in heathen ignorance. And who obey not - This refers chiefly to the Jews, who had heard the gospel.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

In flaming fire - Εν φλογι πυρος· In thunder and lightning, taking vengeance - inflicting just punishment on them that know not God - the heathen who do not worship the true God, and will not acknowledge him, but worship idols; and on them that obey not the Gospel - the Jews, particularly who have rejected the Gospel, and persecuted Christ and his messengers; and all nominal Christians who, though they believe the Gospel as a revelation from God, yet do not obey it as a rule of life.

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

In flaming fire--Greek, "In flame of fire"; or, as other oldest manuscripts read, "in fire of flame." This flame of fire accompanied His manifestation in the bush (Ex 3:2); also His giving of the law at Sinai (Ex 19:18).

The words behind it

16 Greek words

Every Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Hebrews 10:30

    For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge His people.”

    it leads to

    • Deuteronomy 32:35–36

      Vengeance is Mine; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; for their day of disaster is near, and their doom is coming quickly.”

    • Romans 12:19

      Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but leave room for God’s wrath. For it is written: “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, says the Lord.”

    • Nahum 1:2

      The LORD is a jealous and avenging God; the LORD is avenging and full of wrath. The LORD takes vengeance on His foes and reserves wrath for His enemies.

    • Psalms 50:4

      He summons the heavens above, and the earth, that He may judge His people:

  • Through

    1 Peter 4:17

    For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who disobey the gospel of God?

    it leads to

    • Jeremiah 25:29

      For behold, I am beginning to bring disaster on the city that bears My Name, so how could you possibly go unpunished? You will not go unpunished, for I am calling down a sword…

    • Romans 2:9

      There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil, first for the Jew, then for the Greek;

    • Ezekiel 9:6

      Slaughter the old men, the young men and maidens, the women and children; but do not go near anyone who has the mark. Now begin at My sanctuary.” So they began with the elders…

  • Through

    2 Peter 3:7

    And by that same word, the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.

    it leads to

    • 2 Peter 3:10

      But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar, the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and its works will be laid…

Where this verse is studied

By subject

Judgment35 verses

Everything on Judgment

On this page

About 2 Thessalonians

The Ascension — Gustave Doré (engraving, public domain)
The Ascension — Gustave Doré (engraving, public domain)

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Tertullian, Against Marcion Book V.