“This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering— since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed.”
~2 Thessalonians 1:5-10 (ESV)
What does God consider just?
God considers it just to repay persecuters with affliction and to grant relief to the persecuted.
When will God repay the persecuters and grant relief to the persecuted?
God will repay the persecuters and grant relief to the persecuted when Christ Jesus returns.
How will God repay the persecuters?
The persecuters will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction away from the presence of the Lord and the glory of His might.
How will God grant relief to the persecuted?
The persecuted will be relieved as Christ is glorified in His saints and as Christ is marveled at among all who have believed.
I look at injustices and cry out for immediate judgement.
Make the wrongdoer’s pay. Make the victims restitution. Justice must be served.
Now.
That’s what I say.
God considers it just to wait to judge until Christ has returned.
“When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. They cried out with a loud voice, ‘O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?’ Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servantsand their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.”
~Revelation 6:9-11 (ESV)
It can’t be right, waiting to judge.
But all God does is right. He is just to wait to judge.
“But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.”
~2 Peter 3:7 (ESV)
God is not slow. He is patient.
He is not unjust. He is merciful.
When His judgment comes, it is final. When His relief comes, it is sublime.
He is willing to wait, chooses to wait so that relief may come to as many as are called.
Amen.