Revelation 2:1-2
¹ Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;  ²  I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:

GOD’S FINAL JUDGMENT AND GLORY (PART 2)
2 THESSALONANS 1:7-12

And to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, ⁸ in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, ¹⁰ when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed.¹¹ Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power, ¹² that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Vs.7 And to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, the apostle is addressing all Christians that are in need of relief from labor; from immediate execution; or from confinement, imposed upon them by the unbelieving Jews and the heathens.  The Greek anesis translated rest, the subject is not the rest to be granted to the saints, but the divine retribution on their persecutors, hence the phrase: and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels. The Second Coming of the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven indicating the judicial retribution is to take place. The Greek apokalupis translated revealed means more as it points to the visible, personal and gracious manifestation of the Lord Jesus Christ. It seems to imply previous or present concealment (the heavens have concealed Him), in contrast with His immediate and magnificent appearing in His own glory and in the glory of His Father, and of the holy angels. The words ap oupavou indicate the locality from which He comes. He is now in heaven at the right hand of the Father, pleading, reigning and preparing a place for His people; and the economy of redemption being completed, in itself and in the number of its recipients, He descends to raise the dead, and usher all His own perfected ones in the fulness of their humanity into everlasting blessedness.  With His mighty angels, might be translated with the angels of His power. The angels are the servants of His power, the power is not theirs but His. The work performed by Him at the Second Advent is momentous and mighty—resurrection and final victory over death; judgment and the ultimate separation of believers and the wicked; and the angels of His might, as its heralds and ministers are specially connected with Him and His glorious appearance.

Vs. 8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. At the Second ComingHe is revealed in or enveloped in a fire of flame—no dulled or veiled glow, but a radiance, bright, pure, and flashing; a fire burning with intense brilliance. This was a familiar symbol of the divine presence and glory—the cloud that guided   Israel being as the veil by day of the of the inner brightness, which shown out in the night as a fire. What characterizes the Theophanies (God appearing as man) of the Old Testament characterizes the Advent of the Son in our nature—similar majesty of manifestation betokening the Godhead of the Redeemer, Jehovah-Jesus. In flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. This vengeance is and must be just, as it is His sentence, who is the righteous Judge, who has also been the loving Savior; the Lamb of God, by whose gentleness the apostle adjures the Corinthian church. As man and mediator, Jesus is Judge; all judgment is committed to the Son; He awards the merited penalty on those who do not know God. Whatever their own flattering impressions on this point, he asserts their ignorance—an ignorance that might have been enlightened in Thessalonica. The clause characterizes the heathen. Ignorance of God prevents all confidence in Him, and all intelligent service to Him. These referred to did not know God, and in their willful ignorance persecuted His servants. In our text we find a second class on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. The basis of safety is to obey the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ –so to listen, understand, and believe, that the heart is induced and enabled to obey accepting the invitation, believing its doctrines, trusting its promises and obeying its promises. Our Lord Jesus brought the good news of divine mercy to the world, and as Lord sent the Holy Spirit to give His truth a deep and vital lodging in man’s heart. The Jews had the knowledge of God but would not accept the Gospel, spurned it and in their idiotic attitude rejected it and also persecuted those that tried to proclaim it to them.

Vs. 9 These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, The KJV of 1611 translates diknv risouslv shall pay the penalty while the   NKJV shall be punished; the sinners referred to not only feel the inner ruin brought on by ignorance and disobedience—for all sin punishes as it degrades and hardens and widens the distance from God—but a positive penalty is laid on them: everlasting destruction. This is a legal penalty that brings on ruin as a result of a sinful course of living or inflicted as a divine penalty. Again, we have a translation, apo prosopon tou Kupiou KJV from the face of the Lord, and the NKJV from the presence of the Lord; if one is denied the presence of the Lord he is also denied the face of the Lord, but either application means to be separated from the Lord or the source of all joy. The last clause: from the glory of His power or the glory being that glory that springs from His power and which may be conceived of as a visible splendor gathered up like the Shechinah into one spot. That power manifests its glory in the perfection and happiness of His saints who have been rescued and blessed by Him and lifted at length beyond death to supreme and immortal happiness.

Vs. 10 When He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed. Paul, writing on His Second Coming writes He comes to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe. The clause defines the period when the judgment of the previous verse is to be inflicted. The Lord Jesus Second Coming is a future objective fact that will happen and there is no reason why we should be told, only the Father knows about, in that Day. The apostle writes to Christians and especially the Thessalonians because Christ is glorified in them—in their persons, In the saving power which pardoned and changed them, in their spiritual maturity, in all the prior steps and processes by which salvation has been reached. Christ’s own image is indelible pressed upon them, in their perfect and unchangeable blessedness, and in their full and final glorification—in all these elements of their history and destiny Christ ‘s glory is reflected, He is glorified. Look at those who are to be admired among all those who believe, Paul, Silas, and Timothy, because our testimony among you was believed. Pastor Mark Liddle, your testimony among us at Dominion Church is believed and lives are changed by the grace of God.

Vs. 11 Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power, Paul indicates he is not willing to preach without praying that the word would be effectual in the lives of those he is able to reach with messages from God. Therefore, we pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling, this clause has the original meaning of direction to or towards the realization of the glorification of Christ in saints and believers. The Thessalonians are regarded as believers, therefore as belonging to that happy company; and certainly, the divine purpose to fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power. Since there is need for continuous grace, there is need for continuous prayer.

Vs. 12That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Christ. The name is not Himself, but Himself made known to  men in these elements of character, relation, and glory which the name contains and implies. That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him. That familiar but expressive phrase “in Him” is that union with Him, which so identifies His people with Himself that they are glorified in Him, are partakers of His glory. This is Paul’s final aim at recognizing both equally as answering the prayer which includes such a purpose according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Catechism Question 64

Q: Which day of the seven has God appointed to be the weekly sabbath?
A:  Before the resurrection of Christ, God appointed the seventh day of the week to be the weekly sabbath, and the first day of the week ever since, to continue to the end of the world, which is the Christian sabbath

Exodus 31:15
¹⁵ Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.