1:9 eternal destruction. The fearful doctrine of eternal punishment (Is. 66:24; Matt. 25:42, 46; Mark 9:43, 48), staggering as it is, assured the hounded Thessalonian Christians of final and perfect justice. They were to refrain from taking personal revenge (1 Thess. 5:15; cf. Rom. 12:17–21) for the atrocities they suffered (v. 4), entrusting themselves instead to the God “who judges justly” (1 Pet. 2:23; cf. Jer. 17:10; Acts 17:31; Rom. 2:6, 11, 16; Rev. 22:12).