Skip to Content
intertextual.bible
Go to Related Reading
About this book

2 Thessalonians

About this book
Chapter 1

1 From Paul and Silvanus and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Grace and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! 3 We ought to thank God always for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, because your faith flourishes more and more and the love of each one of you all for one another is ever greater. 4 As a result we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and afflictions you are enduring. 5 This is evidence of God’s righteous judgment, to make you worthy of the kingdom of God, for which in fact you are suffering. 6 For it is right for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you,⁠ 7 and to you who are being afflicted to give rest together with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels.⁠ 8 With flaming fire he will mete out punishment on those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.⁠ 9 They will undergo the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his strength,⁠ 10 when he comes to be glorified among his saints and admired on that day among all who have believed—and you did in fact believe our testimony. 11 And in this regard we pray for you always, that our God will make you worthy of his calling and fulfill by his power your every desire for goodness and every work of faith, 12 that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Texts in conversation

Compare Isaiah 66:15 and 2 Thessalonians 1:8

Hebrew Bible · New Testament

Share:

Summary

In Isaiah, fire represents God’s arrival to judge the nations and restore Jerusalem at the end of the exile. 2 Thessalonians builds on this image, turning Isaiah’s vision of God defending Israel into universal judgment at the end of the age.

Passages

Isaiah 66:15

Hebrew Bible
12 For this is what the Lord says: “Look, I am ready to extend to her prosperity that will flow like a river, the riches of nations will flow into her like a stream that floods its banks. You will nurse from her breast and be carried at her side; you will play on her knees. 13 As a mother consoles a child, so I will console you, and you will be consoled over Jerusalem.” 14 When you see this, you will be happy, and your bones will sprout like grass25. The Lord will reveal his power to his servants and his anger to his enemies. 15 For look, the Lord comes with fire; his chariots come like a windstorm to reveal his raging anger, his battle cry, and his flaming arrows. 16 For the Lord judges all humanity with fire and his sword; the Lord will kill many. 17 “As for those who consecrate and ritually purify themselves so they can follow their leader and worship in the sacred orchards, those who eat the flesh of pigs and other disgusting creatures, like mice—they will all be destroyed together,” says the Lord.
740–450 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Isaiah

2 Thessalonians 1:8

New Testament
5 This is evidence of God’s righteous judgment, to make you worthy of the kingdom of God, for which in fact you are suffering. 6 For it is right for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, 7 and to you who are being afflicted to give rest together with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels. 8 With flaming fire he will mete out punishment on those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will undergo the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his strength, 10 when he comes to be glorified among his saints and admired on that day among all who have believed—and you did in fact believe our testimony. 11 And in this regard we pray for you always, that our God will make you worthy of his calling and fulfill by his power your every desire for goodness and every work of faith, 12 that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
80–90 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 2 Thessalonians

References

"... the final (and decisive) allusion to Isaiah 66 can be found a bit later - and, again, the intertext can help us for a proper understanding of the passage in 2 Thessalonians: it is very difficult to determine the exact syntactical function of the phrase at the beginning of verse 8. Usually this words in the critical editions are connected to the passage before and seen as a further illustration of the 'revelation of the Lord Jesus' described in verse 7. In this case the text intends to say that the "revelation of the Lord Jesus" is going out from heaven, that he comes with the angels of his power and it takes place in a flame of fire ... While the words appear, for example, in Exodus 2:3 in the contexts of God's revelation in the burning bush, and while texts like the Revelation of Peter 5 connect parousia and the burning of the world, an intertextual connection to Isaiah 66:15 can help us to interpret the image in another way ... If we take our sub-text seriously, the parallel between 2 Thessalonians 1:8 and Isaiah 66:15 is not on the level of the Lord's coming 'in fire,' but on the idea that his judgement will take place in 'the flame of fire' - that's why the critical editions' comma should be deleted ..."
Tobias Nicklas, Intertextuality—Christology—Pseudepigraphy: The Impact of Old Testament Allusions in 2 Thess 1:5–12 (Leiden: Brill, 2013), 227–238.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

Your feedback

Isaiah 66:15 and 2 Thessalonians 1:8

Leave a comment

Your questions and comments are welcome!

Comments

Glossary

Search the Library