The Strong Delusion

Q

Do you have any opinion of what the lie in 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 might be? It says God will send them a strong delusion so they believe it. How convincing will it be to those left behind?

A

I think the lie of 2 Thes. 2:11 is that Satan is their savior and God is their enemy. In the passage we’re told that they will see signs and miracles from Satan. It also says they will have previously refused to believe the truth about God. Notice it doesn’t say they didn’t know the truth. It says that they refused to love it and so be saved. So in effect God will be saying, “You won’t accept me as your savior? Fine, then you can have him, since that’s who you want.” I think this will only impact those who will have firmly rejected God. I think the “undecideds” will still have a chance to be saved after the Church is gone.

How strong is the delusion? Rev. 13:3-4 says that the whole world will follow the anti-Christ and worship Satan. Rev. 16:11 says that they’ll know God is calling them through the judgments they’re experiencing but will curse Him and refuse to repent (change their minds). Pretty strong.

God will always take the desire of your heart and help you follow it to its ultimate extreme. Desire to know God? He’ll save you from your sins, make you as righteous as He is, and grant you an eternal destiny with Him filled with unimaginable blessing. Want Him out of your life? You’ll get it forever, and everything that goes with it.