“They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness” (2 Thessalonians 2:10-12). “And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed” (Romans 13:11).
We see so much delusion in our world, that is rapidly increasing and I don’t think I’m alone in this observation. “The Babylon Bee” is a clearly labeled satire site that is both humorous and often insightful. “Not The Bee” is its non-satire cousin reporting brief spots of real news that sure seems to be satire and many probably would have been only a few years ago. (Although I am not sure you could even make some of it up!)
Yesterday, “Not the Bee” had one headlined, “Your woke tweet of the day” which was, “As a transgender woman, I am biologically female”* For those of you blessedly non-conversant in this gender madness craze this is a male pretending to be a female insisting he is a biological female, a new leap of illogical insanity. One person responded, “So you have somehow magically changed your chromosomes from XY to XX just by deeming it so on Twitter? Would you mind deeming me a billionaire with these magical powers?” Another quipped, “As a married man, I am a bachelor.”
So let’s continue this two part series on delusion. Yesterday we considered the general state of delusion the world is in due to human depravity based on Romans 1. Today we consider a verse in 2 Thessalonians and seek to make sense of the increasing deception and powerful delusion that is sweeping our world.
It seems we are living in days very similar to the days of Noah when “the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5).
2 Thessalonians chapter 2 is prophetical. It begins, “Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him“. Do you suppose when Paul wrote this he had any notion that the church age would have lasted as long as it has? Even at that time Paul had to warn his readers, “not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by the teaching allegedly from us—whether by a prophecy or by word of mouth or by letter—asserting that the day of the Lord has already come” (v.2) I am sure that generation and many since have considered these verses as applying to their generation.
The Scripture continues, “Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction” (v.3). Earnest Bible students debate if this refers to an apostasy among those who once followed God, or a general worldwide rebellion.
The powerful delusion referred to in our daily text seems to me to primarily be in the period following Christ’s coming but it is still instructive for any period when people refuse to love the truth and so be saved.
Bibleref.com comments:
“In this verse Paul explains what happens to those who refuse the truth during the tribulation. He references an impending spiritual rebellion, and the rise of a powerful spiritual figure, the man of lawlessness. To those who are not Christians, God sends a strong delusion, so they will succumb to the false teaching of the man of lawlessness. A rejection of truth always predisposes sinners to accept error (Romans 1:18–23). In this case, unbelievers choose to reject the truth but believe the lie that the man of lawlessness is the Messiah.”
So the powerful delusion we see in our own time may be precursor to these events. Today so many refuse to love the truth and be saved and “have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness”.
Following this prophetic teaching in 2 Thessalonians 2 Paul calls the Thessalonian church to stand firm. “So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter” (v.15).
As we face so much deception and delusion that’s a good word not only for the Thessalonians, the initial recipients, but for all of us!
Be encouraged today, (Hebrews 3:13)
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
