These shall pay the penalty, eternal distress from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power,
Truth to Learn
Those who reject Jesus Christ will suffer terribly, for eternity!
Behind the Words
The words “pay the penalty” is translated from the words dikēn tisousin. The word dikēn refers to “a judgment, a penalty, or a punishment” and tisousin is a form of the verb tinō, which means “to pay the value of something.” When these two words are used together they mean “to pay a penalty.”
“Eternal” is from the Greek adjective aiōnios, which is derived from the noun aiōn, meaning “an age of time.” Aiōnios means “constant, perpetual, or eternal.”
Olethros is the word translated “distress.” It is based on the verb ollumi, meaning “to destroy” or “to kill.” The fundamental thought behind olethros is not annihilation (ceasing to exist), but unavoidable and never ending distress and torment.
The word translated “presence” is prosōpon, which is made up of pros, meaning “toward” and ops, meaning “the eyes.” Thus, prosōpon literally means “toward the eyes.” It is most often translated as “face,” but it can also be translated as “presence.”
Meaning Explained
Paul has been talking about the righteous judgments of God: His righteous decision to show grace to sinners who believe in the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ, and His righteous decision to sentence all non-believers to eternal punishment. Yesterday we looked at one aspect of this punishment of unbelievers. Paul identified it as hot, blazing fire. In Luke’s gospel account the following description of this torment is described in the story of the rich man and Lazarus, where the rich man was in torment in hades:
And he cried out and said, “Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in this flame.” (Luke 16:24)
But even this pales in comparison to the final torment that unbelievers will suffer. According to Revelation 20:15, “And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire.”
As painful and torturous as this may be, I believe that this is not the worst part of the sentence that will be passed on those who reject the gospel message. Listen to the words of Jesus:
And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth." (Matthew 8:11-12)
In this verse, the expression “sons of the kingdom” is a reference to the Jews, sons of Abraham, who rejected their Messiah. The total absence of the presence of God and His glory will produce such darkness that it will cause those experiencing it to wail and to gnash their teeth. This is the future that is promised to all who reject Jesus Christ.
Application
It is not our job to punish evil doers. That is God’s prerogative and His punishment will be worse than anything we could do.
In God's service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2016 Will Krause. All rights reserved