This is my understanding of 2 Thessalonians 1:8: It says "In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:"
In flaming fire taking vengeance on (two kinds of non-believers): on them that do not know God, and those that do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:
There is a difference. The second ones are people who just reject the truth when they hear the gospel. The first ones about knowing God, are those people that have had it revealed to them, as Paul calls it in Romans Chapter 1 that through nature, through creation, God has manifested Himself that He is real and that there is God.
They might not have ever heard the gospel, but Paul says in Romans Chapter 1 that the testimony of God is in every person's heart that enters into this world, so that no one can stand before Him with an excuse.
Even if they never hear, the bible says that the Holy Spirit is using creation as a testimony to people's hearts. So both kinds of non-believers will be judged with vengeance from God.
Jesse, when I saw your mention of: "the Holy Spirit is using creation as a testimony to people's hearts" & "through nature, through creation, God has manifested Himself that He is real and that there is God", I immediately remembered a quote from Abraham Lincoln written in the margin of my Bible at Psalm 19:1-6. It is:
"I can see how it might be possible for a man to look down upon the earth and be an atheist, but I cannot conceive how a man could look up into the heavens and say there is no God."
Shouldn't the beauty & majesty of Creation provoke mankind to search out the Living God & He is ever waiting to hear that call ( Jer 29:13). And even the Gospel of Christ comes with the same Glory, yet the value of the Gift of God is deemed weak by many because they prefer to try and earn their way into Heaven.
That is a great quote from a great man. It paints a picture of so many things in my mind. Our focus should not be on the horizontal, but the vertical. I am going to print this quote out and put it up in my office. Thank you so much for sharing this!
This is my understanding of 2 Thessalonians 1:8: It says "In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:"
In flaming fire taking vengeance on (two kinds of non-believers): on them that do not know God, and those that do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:
There is a difference. The second ones are people who just reject the truth when they hear the gospel. The first ones about knowing God, are those people that have had it revealed to them, as Paul calls it in Romans Chapter 1 that through nature, through creation, God has manifested Himself that He is real and that there is God.
They might not have ever heard the gospel, but Paul says in Romans Chapter 1 that the testimony of God is in every person's heart that enters into this world, so that no one can stand before Him with an excuse.
Even if they never hear, the bible says that the Holy Spirit is using creation as a testimony to people's hearts. So both kinds of non-believers will be judged with vengeance from God.
I hope this helps!
"I can see how it might be possible for a man to look down upon the earth and be an atheist, but I cannot conceive how a man could look up into the heavens and say there is no God."
Shouldn't the beauty & majesty of Creation provoke mankind to search out the Living God & He is ever waiting to hear that call ( Jer 29:13). And even the Gospel of Christ comes with the same Glory, yet the value of the Gift of God is deemed weak by many because they prefer to try and earn their way into Heaven.
That is a great quote from a great man. It paints a picture of so many things in my mind. Our focus should not be on the horizontal, but the vertical. I am going to print this quote out and put it up in my office. Thank you so much for sharing this!
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