⁹These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power …

The apostle Paul had just written to the Thessalonian believers to encourage them that the Lord will “repay with affliction those who afflict you” and “give relief to you who are afflicted” and bring “retribution” to unbelievers (vs. 7-8). However, one can imagine the unsaved who happened to be with the Thessalonian believers when they read aloud Paul’s letter. A typical church has various people at different places in their response to the message of Jesus Christ. An active, evangelistic church will have unsaved visitors, not to mention children who have not yet come to faith. While Paul did not give this as an evangelistic message, unbelievers listening over the shoulders of the believers would find this a sobering message.

The facts are straightforward, not watered down to remove what sounds offensive to present-day unregenerate ears. There is eternal destruction awaiting those who do not believe the message of Christ. This is not fear-mongering but simply telling the truth, of the same sort as one person telling another that he has been saved from painful lung cancer by giving up smoking tobacco. A smoker listening in on the conversation should listen up, even if he is not part of the conversation. The same is true of an unbeliever reading this letter or hearing its message.

This “eternal destruction” is not annihilationism, as some believe, wherein unbelievers simply cease to exist. “Destruction” describes a state of complete and utter ruin. The destruction of ancient Rome, evidenced in its ruins, still exists and can be seen today. So also the ruins of unbelievers will be “forever and ever” (Rev. 14:11, 20:10–15). Just as the first death did not mean ceasing to exist, so also the second death doesn’t either.

What that existence of the lost will be like defies human imagination. God uses the worst possible descriptions of it. He calls it “the lake of fire” and the “the second death.” Burning is the most painful experience a person can undergo, and death is the greatest enemy of human life. If that is not the literal understanding of eternity apart from God, then it is much worse; God limits Himself to using earthly, human concepts to describe eternal truths.

Does it defy our sensibilities to imagine the amount of suffering that will go on for eternity? Yes, it does, and it should! It is horrifying. As believers, we have been saved from what we deserved. We must never forget God’s mercy.

O Lord, Your mercy and grace have saved me from eternal destruction.