In the thick of trouble or temptation we often feel that we are outmatched, like a child taking on a professional boxer. The strength of opposition causes us to fear we will fail and fall short. But as strong as any temptation or trouble is, our saviour is stronger. In Christ, we will prevail.
Reading of a great apostasy immediately preceding Christ’s return can place us in the same mental place as feeling outmatched by trouble or temptation. If God will send a strong delusion that will draw unbelievers to the Antichrist, how will Christians stand? But as strong as this delusion is, this passage in 2 Thessalonians assures us that this is all in God’s control, and directed at those who have rejected the truth, not embraced their Saviour.
In previous verses, Paul has revealed that the Antichrist or Man of Lawlessness, who is currently restrained in some way, will one day be unloosed only to be swept aside by the Lord Jesus with an effortless flick of the wrist on the day of Christ’s return.
The unloosing of the Man of Lawlessness will ramp up the rebellion (or apostasy) of this present evil age against God to a fever pitch. It will seem like a dam has broken, and even a great many who claim to be Christians and attend church will flock away after the Man of Lawlessness and his false claims and teaching as he “opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God” (v.4).
All this at the “coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan” (v.9) to deceive anyone who he can. It will be accompanied by “all power and false signs and wonders” (v.9) to make the lie particularly convincing. It will deceive those who do not test the spirits to see if they are from God (1 John 4:1), just as Jesus himself predicted (Matt. 24:24). Great signs and miracles will cause the unwary to follow the Antichrist and worship him as God.
These signs are directed “with all wicked deception for those who are perishing” (v.10). The foolish and unwary will think they are following a wonder worker, only to find themselves deceived. How often has this played out throughout history, with false healers and religious leaders or political figures claiming to usher in new glorious ages? Satan has been busy practicing his technique to finally unleash it fully one last time.
But the deceived are deceived “because they refused to love the truth and so be saved” (v.10). Like Pharaoh who brought the judgement of God upon himself and Egypt because of his hard heart, the deceived bring their deception on themselves because they refuse to embrace the good news of forgiveness from our sins through Jesus Christ. Since they have rejected the truth, they cannot do anything except be deceived into following the lie to their own final destruction.
All this is to accomplish God’s will, which is to bring judgement on those who reject his mercy. “Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness” (vv.11-12).
Satan is not God’s equal, like some yin and yang. Satan does God’s bidding, leading the deluded into strong delusion to believe what is untrue, and by their acts proving they truly are unrepentant and deserving of punishment. This event is like a police sting, revealing the true intent hidden behind clever words and acts to fool the general public.
Those who are deceived are those who do not believe the truth, but prefer to live in unrighteousness. For them, a strong delusion will come to flush them out into the open, and reveal their inner unrighteousness, because God wants it so.
The strong delusion that accompanies the unloosing of the Man of Lawlessness, and the corruption and apostasy of the Church which accompanies it, raises a legitimate question about the fate of Christians. But the way in which Paul talks should encourage us, not concern us.
Those who embrace the lie are those who have rejected the truth. They are those who prefer the pleasures of sin to worshiping God and delighting in him. They are deceived by Satan’s power and false signs, but only because God allows it to happen, for God’s own purposes.
Strong delusion yes, but Jesus is a stronger Saviour. Those who have embraced the truth are not deceived. Those whom Jesus saves are not perishing, but have eternal life (John 3:16). Those who believe the truth are in Christ Jesus, and are no longer under condemnation (Romans 8:1).
The coming of the Antichrist will bring a strong delusion, seducing away those who reject the truth. But Jesus is more powerful. For all of us who embrace the truth, we need not fear the strong delusion; we have a stronger saviour.