One thing to remember when addressing this question is a simple idea that light is destructive to darkness. Consider these passages:
1 Thessalonians 5:2
2 For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night.
In the expression “day of the Lord” emphasize the word “day”, and in the “thief in the night” emphasize “night”. Now, read it outloud with these emphases. See how it reads differently? It’s about day vs night. “Day of the Lord” is to be taken to mean “day originating / deriving from the Lord”, i.e. genitive of source. The Lord comes in the night – meaning, in the midst of darkness. His mode of arrival is “as a thief” – i.e., unexpected, with the additional semantics of “inflicting loss”. The primary characteristic of his coming is “day”, or “light/brightness” (as opposed to “night/darkness”).
Now, these verses:
1 Thessalonians 5
4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. 5 You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness.
v.5 confirms that being of the light is a question of origin (“sons of”, or “originated by” and thus “sharing the characteristics of”). No harm or loss is inflicted on children of the light.
Contrast that with this:
2 Thessalonians 2:8
8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.
Darkness is what the brightness / light is destructive to. It is so precisely because “God is light, and in him there’s no darkness at all”, meaning the two (perfect light and darkness) are mutually exclusive and can’t therefore occupy the same space at the same time. For those in Christ, it’s good news. Finally all that corrupts and produces pain and death will be removed.
Terminal Salvation 
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