Lyn Mize
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.
(2 Th 2:10b-11 NIV)
This passage of
Scripture is one of the most misunderstood passages in
the Bible. The first error that theologians make in
interpreting this passage is to assume it is talking
about spiritually unsaved people. This passage is
addressing believers who are not open to the truth of
the Word of God, and consequently lose their souls at
the Judgment Seat of Christ. There has been much
speculation about the lie that will apparently come from
God, so that many will actually prefer to believe this
lie instead of the truth. There are three primary
questions that need to be answered to understand this
passage of Scripture. I will state and answer these
three questions in a very brief format, and then I will
address the questions in more detail from the
Scriptures—not from mere speculation.
Question 1: What is this lie
that God would actually send out?
Answer: Paul gives the
subject of the lie in the first few verses of this
subtopic. The subject of the lie pertains to the Second
Coming of our Lord and the Rapture of the Church. The actual lie itself
is that the entire Church will be Raptured before the
tribulation begins.
Question 2: Who are the
recipients of this lie or doctrinal error that comes
from God?
Answer: Paul identifies
the recipients of this lie in verse three where he warns
the Christians in Thessalonika against this deception.
Consequently, the
recipients of this lie are Christians.
Question 3: Why would God send
out a lie to His own people, the Church, for them to be
deceived?
Answer: Paul gives the
answer to this question in verse 10 by stating that they did not love the
truth and refused to receive it. Therefore, God sent them what
they wanted and loved, THE LIE.
I will now address the
questions in more detail within the context of the
passage of Scripture where the lie is mentioned. It is
paradoxical that God would send out doctrinal error to
His people, the Church, but the passage clearly explains
the reason, which is the refusal of the Church to love
the truth.
We will now explain the
entire passage of Scripture verse-by-verse.
(2
Th 2:1 KJV) Now we beseech you, brethren, by the
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering
together unto him,
The issue in question
is the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering
together with him. Paul is addressing the brethren or
Christians, and he actually beseeches or requests
urgently that they pay close attention to what he is
about to say about the coming of Jesus Christ to Rapture
the Church.
(2
Th 2:2 KJV) That ye be not soon shaken in mind,
or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by
letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at
hand.
(2
Th 2:3 KJV) Let no man deceive you by any means:
for that day shall not come, except there come a
falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed,
the son of perdition;
(2
Th 2:4 KJV) Who opposeth and exalteth himself
above all that is called God, or that is worshipped;
so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God,
showing himself that he is God.
(2
Th 2:5 KJV) Remember ye not, that, when I was
yet with you, I told you these things?
The "day of Christ" in
verse 2 above is the Rapture of the Church. This is
confirmed by verse 1, which gives the definition of the
"day of Christ". The meaning of a word or phrase in
Scripture, as well as any writing, is determined by the
context. The Thessalonians had been told that the
Rapture had already occurred and they were in the day of
the Lord. Their belief that they were in the Day of the
Lord would have meant that they had missed the Rapture,
and they were then enduring the wrath of God. Paul wrote
them to alleviate their fears and explain when the
Rapture would occur. Paul very clearly and succinctly
told the Thessalonians that the day of Christ (i.e., the
Rapture) would not occur until three distinct and
separate events occurred. These three events are the
apostasy, the revealing of Antichrist, and Antichrist
establishing himself in the temple claiming to be God.
The Rapture of the church is clearly and definitively
stated by Paul to be in the middle of the tribulation
period, since this is the time that Antichrist will
establish himself in the temple and claim to be God. Of
course, Antichrist will reveal himself at the beginning
of the tribulation, immediately after the "apostasy."
The apostasy is a
definite, distinct and clearly identified event that
will take place, and all Christians will recognize the
exact time that this event will transpire. The apostasy
is not a process of something that transpires over a
long period of time, such as a falling away from the
faith or a rebellion against God. The revealing of
Antichrist and his establishment in the temple are also
events that will be clearly identified as taking place
at a certain moment in time. Paul gave the Thessalonians
three distinct and recognizable events that would take
place before the Rapture would occur. It would be
ludicrous for Paul to give the revealing of Antichrist
as an event to watch for if the whole Church were going
to be in heaven at the time.
The apostasy is
probably the most misunderstood event in the Bible,
because of the gross mistranslation of the
transliterated Greek word apostasia as "falling away." This
same Greek word is used five times in the New Testament
in Mark 10:4; Matt. 19:7; Matt. 5:31; Acts 21:21; and 2
Thess. 2:3. It is translated "divorcement" in the first
three, "departure" in the fourth, and "falling away" in
the fifth. Divorcement or departure would be an accurate
translation, but falling away is completely without
merit. A better translation according to the above
Scriptures would be "separation." The following is the
definition of divorcement
straight out of the American Heritage Dictionary:
di·vorce·ment -- n.
Complete separation.
Divorcement would also
be a highly appropriate translation of apostasia, as in
the first three instances, since it is a time that
Christ will "put away" those in the Church who have been
unfaithful.
An accurate paraphrase
of 2 Thess. 2:3-5 is as follows:
Let
no man deceive you into thinking that the Rapture has
already occurred, for the Rapture will not occur until
the separation takes place, the Antichrist is
revealed, and Antichrist presents himself as God by
opposing God and exalting himself. Antichrist will
even set himself up in the temple and present himself
as God. Don't you remember that I told you these
things when I was with you.
Paul tells the
Thessalonians that the Rapture has not occurred, and
that it will not occur until after The Separation takes
place and the Antichrist is revealed and sets himself up
in the temple. All of the above information in the
Scripture provides the truth about the Rapture of the
Church. Paul had even told the Thessalonians in person
about the Separation and the exaltation of the Man of
Sin before the Rapture, and he now reiterates this truth
to them.
(2
Th 2:6 KJV) And now ye know what withholdeth
that he might be revealed in his time.
In this verse Paul
summarizes what he has just stated in the preceding
verses. He has told them about the Separation of
faithful Christians before Antichrist is revealed. He
then states that they now know what is restraining evil.
The following verse firmly identifies that which is
restraining evil, as it will continue to restrain evil
until it is taken out of the way. Then evil will be
allowed to run rampant upon the earth. The restrainer is
those Christians who will be removed at the time of the
Separation. Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount confirmed
this when He stated that the faithful Christians were
the salt of the earth. Salt is that which hinders or
prevents corruption or putrefaction, which symbolizes
evil. This is seen in the following verse:
(Mat
5:13 KJV) Ye are the salt of the earth: but if
the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be
salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be
cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
Jesus even stated that
if the salt has lost its savor, then it is good for
nothing and will be cast out “to be trodden under foot
of men.” This simply means that if a Christian has lost
his distinctive ability to restrain evil, then he will
be cast out at the time of the Separation to be
persecuted by men.
(2
Th 2:7 KJV) For the mystery of iniquity doth
already work: only he who now letteth will let, until
he be taken out of the way.
Paul continues to
explain the Separation by saying that the mystery of
evil is continuing to work, but that which restrains
evil or hinders its progression will continue to operate
until it is taken out of the way. In other words, the
faithful Christians who have not lost their savor will
continue to restrain evil in the world until these
faithful Christians are removed from the earth at the
time of the Separation or the Firstfruits Rapture.
The whole context of
this passage of Scripture pertains to the Separation of
the faithful ones who restrain evil by being like salt,
and when they are gone, the Wicked One (i.e.,
Antichrist) will be revealed. Evil will run rampant upon
the earth when those Christians who have been cast out
will be trampled under foot or persecuted by Antichrist
and his evil men. It is very important to note that they
are cast out because they have lost their savor, or
their distinctive ability to restrain evil.
(2
Th 2:8 KJV) And then shall that Wicked be
revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit
of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of
his coming:
This verse continues
the pronouncement that Antichrist will only be revealed
after the restrainer has been removed from the earth. It
is the Holy Spirit who does the removing and not the one
who is removed. This is one of the biggest errors in
Biblical understanding today to think that the
restrainer is the Holy Spirit. This is actually part of
the lie that God sends out to those who do not love the
truth, but prefer to believe THE LIE that the Rapture
will happen before the tribulation period and before
Antichrist is revealed.
(2
Th 2:9 KJV) Even him, whose coming is after the
working of Satan with all power and signs and lying
wonders,
This verse continues
the description of Antichrist as the one whose coming is
after the working of Satan with power, signs and lying
wonders. The word for working means superhuman power,
and the signs and lying wonders are supernatural and
from Satan himself.
(2
Th 2:10 KJV) And with all deceivableness of
unrighteousness in them that perish; because they
received not the love of the truth, that they might be
saved.
This verse confirms
that the coming of Antichrist will be the grandest
deception of mankind since Satan deceived Eve in the
Garden of Eden. The New International Version translates
this passage very well as follows:
(2
Th 2:10 NIV) and in every sort of evil that
deceives those who are perishing. They perish because
they refused to love the truth and so be saved.
“Those who are
perishing” are those Christians who are not faithful.
They are not faithful because they do not love the truth
clearly set forth in the above Scriptures about the
Separation, the identity of the restrainer, and the fact
that numerous Christians will perish at the Judgment
Seat of Christ. The salvation is the salvation of the
soul and not the salvation of the spirit. This is also
part of THE LIE
that the great majority of Christians prefer to believe
instead of the truth. It is because of this preference
for THE LIE that it is God Who sends
out the “strong delusion, that they should believe a
lie.” The word immediately before “lie” is the definite
article “the” instead of the indefinite article “a”. It
is true that God sends out this lie, but we must
understand why he sends it out, and this is stated in
the following verse.
(2
Th 2:11 KJV) And for this cause God shall send
them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
Christians refuse to
love the truth, and it “for this cause” that “God shall
send them strong delusion, that they should believe a
[the] lie.” The NIV translates this verse correctly by
inserting the definite article as follows:
(2
Th 2:11 NIV) For this reason God sends them a
powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie
I reiterate that it is
God Who sends the “powerful delusion” to “believe the
lie” because they did not love the truth. The word for
powerful means “effectual working” and the word for
delusion means “error” or a “straying from orthodoxy”.
It is difficult to understand why God would actually
send out error to the Church, but we must understand
that this is what they prefer. The following passage of
Scripture confirms that the Church in the latter days
will prefer doctrinal error to the truth:
(2
Tim 4:3 KJV) For the time will come when they
will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own
lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having
itching ears;
(2
Tim 4:4 KJV) And they shall turn away their ears
from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
It becomes clear that
God has sent the effectual working doctrinal error to
the Church for the simple reason that the Church prefers
to believe this error rather than the truth of the Word
of God. The Church has even interpreted this passage of
Scripture as referring to the spiritually unsaved during
the tribulation period, but the truth is that it refers
to the majority of Christians in the Church today. The
doctrinal error is that the entire Church will be
raptured before the tribulation period starts, and no
Christian will suffer any under the persecution of
Antichrist.
Just as Paul stated in
this passage of Scripture, this “powerful delusion” is
rampant in the Church and the great majority of the
Church is deceived. The popular theologians and the
great majority of pastors and teachers in the Church
today teach this doctrinal error. Is God surprised and
disturbed by this doctrinal error having permeated the
Church? Absolutely not for He is the One who sent this
error out to the Church in response to the Church’s
refusal to love the truth. Will those in the Church who
have believed this error be responsible for their
beliefs? Absolutely, as the following Scripture states
that they will be judged and punished for believing this
error.
(2
Th 2:12 KJV) That they all might be damned who
believed not the truth, but had pleasure in
unrighteousness.
This verse needs an
accurate paraphrase to fully understand what it is
saying:
(2
Th 2:12 Paraphrase) That they all might be
censured who believed not the truth, but it pleased
them to believe error.
The word for “damned”
is the Greek word krino
and it means to be judged, disapproved and
punished for refusing to believe the truth. This is
exactly what is going to happen to Christians who refuse
to believe the truth about the Separation or Firstfruits
Rapture of those faithful Christians who have not lost
their savor.
The teaching about the
Rapture of the entire Church before the tribulation
period comes from God through the great majority of
pastors and teachers in the Church today. This is what
they wanted to believe, so God has obliged them to
believe the error, but they will be greatly censured for
believing this error. The most popular authors and
teachers in the Church today teach this error. They are
Christians who teach it and not Satan’s emissaries. This
is why this passage clearly states that it is God who
sends the strong delusion (i.e., effectual working
error) so they will believe THE LIE.
One easily sees how
strong this delusion (doctrinal error) is when a
Christian attempts to teach the truth about the
Firstfruits Rapture. This Christian is persecuted,
smitten, ostracized, and made an example for all to see.
There are few stout-hearted Christians who are willing
to stand up to all of the Christians operating under
this strong delusion.
I have seen numerous
Christians fight the doctrine of the Separation, in
spite of the numerous and clear passages of Scripture
that teach this truth. It is this “strong delusion” that
causes otherwise sincere and trustworthy Christians to
pervert and distort the Scriptures to mean something
other than what they clearly state. I have seen many
good exegetes who understood the Scriptures in regard to
the kingdom and the difference between spirit and soul
salvation. However, they become obstinate,
closed-minded, and downright mean when they are
confronted with the truth and the Scriptures that teach
the coming separation of faithful Christians from
unfaithful Christians. These Christians are operating
under this “strong delusion” and they are unteachable.
I have several friends
who opposed me tooth and nail on this teaching about the
Separation, but they finally came around after years of
opening up the Scriptures in regard to this truth. One
very good friend heard about these truths for about two
years, and he attended our Bible studies for about three
months steady one time. We would discuss and open up the
Scriptures each week on the Firstfruits Rapture.
Finally, one night he broke down and wept and stated
that he saw this in the Scriptures and it was very
clear. He then made a statement that I already knew to
be true. He said, “I was unable to see it because I did
not want to see it.” The same is true with numerous
Christians who argue, debate, and provide an endless
list of reasons—but no Scripture—as to why the
Firstfruits Rapture is not true. It is very frustrating
for those of us who clearly see the Firstfruits Rapture
in literally hundreds of Scriptures. It is very
important for us to be patient with these Christians who
are unable to see it because they are operating under
this “strong delusion”. One day soon all of these
Christians are going to see and understand the
Firstfruits Rapture. We need to pray that they will
overcome this delusion and see it before the Firstfruits
Rapture takes place.
Pray Luke 21 v 36
It is sad that our (John 3v3) friends who do not read
and are offended at the Word
will be left behind to face the fires of the tribulation
outside grace.
Doug R