The Significance of These Sufferings in Relation to Divine Judgment
T. Croskery 2 Thessalonians 1:5 Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God… He comforts them with the thought of the certainty of the future judgment. I. THERE WILL BE A RIGHTEOUS JUDGMENT OF MEN. "Verily there is a God that judgeth in the earth" (Psalm 58:11). The afflictions of the righteous and the prosperity of the wicked in the present world are not inconsistent with this righteous judgment. The problem is an old one, how to understand the mystery of Divine providence. The Book of Job sets forth its conditions and its mysteries. The disturbing effect of sin is not sufficiently considered in estimating the character of the Divine administration. It is the inequalities in Divine providence that lead us to expect a future rectification of wrongs; for God's judgment is righteous. II. THE PATIENT HEROISM OF THE SAINTS IS ITSELF A SIGN OF GOD'S RIGHTEOUS JUDGMENT. "Which is a token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may he counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer." 1. It is not that believers suffer, receiving here their evil things, while the wicked receive their good things. 2. It is not because God is just and there rest be a future judgment. 3. It is not that the persecution was an indication how the judgment would go at the last clay. 4. It is that the patience of the saints accredited them, by the righteous judgment of God, as meet heirs of his kingdom, while it was a presage of the coming judgment, when the future would bring its double compensation for the present. The idea is the same as in the Philippian Epistle: "And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God" (Philippians 1:28). It follows, therefore, (1) that God is not forgetful or indifferent to the sufferings of his saints; (2) that patience is a special qualification for the enjoyment of God's kingdom; (3) that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the future happiness of the saints, who will have an eternal weight of glory. - T.C. Parallel Verses KJV: Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer: WEB: This is an obvious sign of the righteous judgment of God, to the end that you may be counted worthy of the Kingdom of God, for which you also suffer.