The Bible shares a time when people will give in to deception. The Strong Delusion in Non-Christians and Professing Christians will start quietly but then become overt. Non-Christians will not see it at all, but true Christians will see the deception. Those that profess Christ but don’t really follow Him as Lord and Savior are doomed to follow along with the non-Christians. During this time, they will be given over, by God, to a strong delusion. This delusion is a prophesied event after the rapture of the church, but I can see the precursors of delusion today. People are being conditioned and manipulated to believe lies. Our children are subject to indoctrination in their schools. Additional precursors of the strong delusion are also in place and active. Let’s look a little closer at the scripture and the prophecy.
“And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:”
Paul was writing to the Thessalonian church concerning the end times because they thought they had missed the rapture. A false prophet tried to convince them that they were left behind. He shared with them that the true Gospel will save them. Those that don’t believe the true Gospel will be condemned eternally after the rapture. It will be impossible for someone that has heard and rejected the Gospel to come to the saving grace of God after the rapture. Those that believe the true Gospel, as presented in the Bible, will be saved and raptured before the tribulation.
The Strong Delusion in Non-Christians
The Bible predicts that after the rapture of the church, mankind will believe whatever the government tells them. People are currently being conditioned to do just that. We are told to do this, so we do it. We are told to do that, so we do it! Like mindless sheep, we obey, and as we obey the government and influential corporate leaders increase the deception incrementally. This deception is all building to the final deception. The strong delusion that leads people away from God and to the governing authorities that becomes the false God of the tribulation. A person will complete this deception, and the Bible refers to him as the Antichrist. He will reinforce the delusion and perpetuate it until about the midpoint of the tribulation. Then he’ll show the world how truly evil he is. This delusion will come in a multifaceted pack of lies.
What Strong Delusion, in Non-Christians, Should Those Left Behind Expect?
Well, first, they have to explain why millions of people vanished off the earth. My first thought is that people will be convinced Aliens abducted them. Or, the “religious” may push the idea that God removed the conservative Christians so that they cannot interfere with the progressive movement and formation of the new apostolic global church. A church probably led from the Vatican by a demonically controlled Pope. But the Bible is not specific about the strong delusion, so I’m just speculating at this time. The deception may come in numerous ways with overlapping and abundant lies.
The primary reason this strong delusion will work on these non-Christians and professing “Christians” will be because of all the little deception that is playing out as I write this devotional. The deception that this country is not and never has been the greatest country on earth. The deception that socialism and communism are better than our free market system. Furthermore, the deception that the bigger the government, the better our lives will be. The deception of free money and healthcare for everyone is better than earning your salary and free-market healthcare. The deception that God is a vending machine to provide us all our wants and desires. I could go on and on about the deceptions that have led us to the place we are at today. The point is, we are being conditioned to accept the strong delusion spoken of in 2 Thessalonians 2.
How Can You Break the Cycle of this Strong Delusion?
First, accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Then repent of your sins and start your quest for sanctification. Or, the lifelong period of praying, learning, and obeying the scriptures in accordance with God’s will. If you know the Bible, you cannot be deceived. If you obey the Bible, you will not be led astray. You will become the sheepdog instead of one of the mindless sheep. You will put on the armor of God and defend the faith and spread the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ! We must, as Christians, be salt and light in this tasteless, rotting, and dark world. But we cannot do that by mindlessly following. We must obey God at all costs – including defying unjust, unbiblical laws, potential imprisonment for our refusal to obey the world instead of God, and possible death for our non-compliance. We must obey God, and true Christians will!!