Dusting Off the Sandwich Board
If, at least, it is a righteous thing with God to recompense affliction unto them that afflict you, and unto you that are afflicted, release with us, - By the revealing of the Lord Jesus from heaven, with his messengers of power, In a fiery flame; Holding forth vengeance - against them that refuse to know God, and them who decline to hearken unto the glad-message of our Lord Jesus. These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and the glory of His power - (2 Thessalonians 1.6-9a, Rotherham, NASB)
Back in my college days, I went to the University of Texas at Arlington for a summer speech class. As I’d race to class (there was always traffic), I’d invariably have to run straight through the Free Speech square when our resident street preacher was holding service.
Excuse me. Sorry. Late to class. No, not going to hell, at least not today, thank you. Excuse me.
As I sped off to class, the preacher would use me as an example of a guy who couldn’t care less about his soul let alone anyone else who had stopped to listen.
His message was the usual hellfire and brimstone that is the fare of most street preachers -“all of you sorority girls with your skimpy outfits and red lips and you Greek guys with your alcohol binges are all going straight to hell unless you repent!” While I questioned his method, I had to applaud his stamina. He stayed with it during the entire summer semester, not an easy thing to do in the summer Texas heat.
As Christian ministry has jettisoned the dog-days of street preaching and gone Madison Avenue, it has turned a blind eye toward some of the more inconvenient truths contained in scripture. Yes, God so loved the world that He gave us His Son. Yes, Jesus emptied Himself of all of His glory in order to rescue mankind. Yes, Jesus was resurrected and every man may be born-again and possess “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” But it is also “yes” that Jesus is coming back to the planet and those who have given the Gospel the cold-shoulder will suffer eternal destruction. Yes, yikes! is right.
In modern End Times preaching, most of the emphasis is on the temporal - the Antichrist, Israel, the War of Armageddon, or even where the United States fits into the scheme of things. While it is good to know and understand all of that (it is all in the Book), the ultimate fact is that when Jesus sets his feet once again on the Mount of Olives the show is over. As the Word says, at that time he’ll take out his vengeance on “against them that refuse to know God and them who decline to hearken unto the glad-message of our Lord Jesus.”
While it may not be popular, 2 Thessalonians 1.6-9 is just as much Gospel as John 3.16 and it shouldn’t be relegated to hot-headed street preachers.