2 Thessalonians 2:1-12
Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers,[a] 2 not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. 3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness[b] is revealed, the son of destruction,[c] 4 who 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. 5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? 6 And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, 10 and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, 12 in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
"I initially thought that part 2 of my blog would be the concluding portion, but after conducting further research, I realized that there was more to add. Recently, I came across a pastor's teachings on this topic, and it led me to certain conclusions. According to God's word, if we remain steadfast, He will keep us safe from the evil one. Even though the devil tries to deceive everyone, God ensures that His chosen ones will not fall prey to Satan’s tricks.”
"As we find ourselves in a state of rebellion, it is important to note that although this may not be the rebellion foretold in the prophecies about the antichrist, it is still a rebellion nonetheless. This rebellion has paved the way for deception and has caused many to fall victim to it." The verses above speak of a strong delusion. To me, this is where God has the angels cut the wheat and the tares to separate the evil from the good. When God causes this, no one under pretenses will be able to resist; they will be deceived. The reason I say this is because Christians who try to balance themselves in both worlds will not make it. These are the ones we call false converts."
Consequently, God speaking here through Paul says do you not remember when I was with you, I told you of these things? People this is key to helping you see that when they asked about the days before Jesus’s return. Jesus already exposed the things of the days to come so that they would not be deceived. Here are the things that Jesus warned us of and this is what leads to all of the deception so God told them to take heed.
Matthew 24:22-27
22 “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect, those days will be shortened. 23 At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. 24 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you ahead of time.
26 “So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27 For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
If you comprehend this set of verses, you can see that many will try to deceive us but will fail. However, those who are not grounded in truth will fall prey. You can't straddle the fence on your faith.
For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you beforehand. 26 So, if they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it.
According to the book of Matthew, we are advised to verify everything we hear by comparing it with God's word, which is the ultimate truth that liberates us. Therefore, let's delve deeper into this idea. If we examine certain verses in the scripture, we find that God allows those who reject the truth to follow their path, which can be considered a form of deception in itself.
Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves,
For this reason, God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature;
And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.
In Romans 1:24&26, it is mentioned that when people indulge in lust and dishonorable passions, God gives them over to it. But that's not all, God also gave them over to their understanding, which is contrary to what we are supposed to do. We are commanded not to rely on our understanding, and we must obey His commandments.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
"This is the delusion God allows to happen to those who do not love the truth. When we listen to the desires of our hearts without aligning them with scripture, we are at risk of being deceived. However, if you are a true child of God, you do not need to worry about being deceived. While scripture does not state that we can be deceived, but warns us to be vigilant and watchful to ensure that we are not.”
So, to keep this nice and short I will leave with this, God is always warning us and keeps us from danger but for us to see this we must be studying scripture. Without the truth of God, you will be subjected to the lie. However, with my findings, I will write one more blog to complete this topic.
As always, I hope this helps bring clarity and a better understanding of God’s word. May everyone who comes across this website be richly blessed by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
God Bless, Peace, and Sholom.
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