When God Gets Mad

A new study reports that people who believe that God dispenses punishment when deserved, tend to be better for it.

Divine judgment.

Picture dark clouds in the sky. Flashes of lighting. Angels blowing trumpets. Jesus returning to judge the earth.

A scary scene, no doubt about it. The apostle Paul expected it to happen any day, which is why he addressed the Thessalonians with the words, "As to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ ..." (v. 1). For Paul, Christ's return was a fact, not a fantasy. He wanted the Thessalonians to prepare for something that was as certain as the stampede of shoppers on Black Friday.

And every bit as frightening.

Christ was returning. Judgment was at hand. Jesus was soon to be "revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God" (1:7-8, emphasis added). The threat of divine punishment was very real for the Thessalonians. And very close.

But maybe Paul knew that the return of Christ was more than a scary scene. He might have sensed that the threat of divine punishment would actually turn the Thessalonians into better...