Paul Derengowski, ThM
And because of this God sends into them a work of deceit in order to believe in the lie, in order that those who did not believe in the truth may be judged, but took pleasure in wickedness (2 Thess. 2:11-12).
Until the Lord returns, lawlessness, wickedness, deception and deceit will rule the day, with intermittent bouts of justice and righteousness becoming anomalies.
Jesus, speaking of the day of “great tribulation, said, “And because lawlessness is increased, love will grow cold” (Matt. 24:12).
There is something about rampant, unchecked anarchy and antinomianism that further breeds apathy, discontent, and hopelessness in people.
A society without rules of law is a society destined to collapse, whereby in order to survive, even the most genteel and unobtrusive became careless toward and unloving in their treatment of others.
Given the day in which we are headed, where the right to live is predicated on one’s allegiance toward the one-world ruler, and it is easy to understand the coming barbarity, as sickening as that will be.
What is worse is that God will contribute to the revelation and exaltation of the man of lawlessness by sending to those destined to perish a deluding influence, so that they would believe “in the lie.” But, what is the lie?
From the immediate context of what the Apostle Paul wrote above to the Thessalonian church, it would seem that “the lie” is one being told by the antichrist—he is God!
Let no one in any way deceive you, for unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God (2 Thess. 2:4-5).
But, even more than that, the lie all along is that man is an independent agent; that he can live and make his own decisions apart from any intervention by the Almighty.
It is the age-old lie and satanic stratagem first used by the serpent in the Garden of Eden, whereby Eve was tricked into believing that by rebelling against God’s command to refrain from eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, she would never die, her eyes would be opened to know good and evil, and that she would become like God (Gen. 3:1-ff.).
The strategy has never changed.
Today, and in the days ahead, more and more people are being tricked, in a wide variety of ways, to believe they can lead their lives without Godly intervention.
Rooted in ignorance of God’s revelation, the Bible, as well as the scheming of the devil, humanity is setting itself up to receive the delusion or the lie that they can become gods and goddesses.
When Devin Patrick Kelley walked into the Sutherland Springs Baptist Church and began shooting, he was convinced that he was his own god and no one was going to convince him otherwise.
He was not going to be held accountable, at least so he thought, which is why he took his own life later, as more and more criminals do in their attempt to impose their own delusional theology upon the unwary.
It is part of the delusion that will precede the coming of the man of lawlessness and the final judgment upon him and his followers.
It is also part of the reason why Jesus would warn of an impending day when “many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ, and will mislead many” (Matt. 24:5).
Religious imposters and authorities will fill the streets and airwaves, one day, with their lies and distortions, ironically to dispel the confusion brought on by all the lawless behavior, but their “Christian” messages will actually only contribute to the mayhem because of their false identities.
Jesus said, “Do not believe them!”
The delusion, though, will be so strong that “many” will follow them anyway.
In fact, the Apostle Paul informs us that they will take pleasure in all the wickedness (2 Thess. 2:12).
There is only one solution to it all. His name is Jesus Christ.
To know and understand Jesus can only be discovered through a “born again” relationship brought on by the Holy Spirit (Jn. 3:3-5, 8).
That revelation is found only in the Bible, which is God’s only tool of communication with man that is objectively verifiable.
All other mystical experiences, spiritual devices, books and the like, are frauds.
They are part of the impending deception that is destined to only get worse.
If you are not sure of your relationship with the Jesus of the Bible, then it would be in your best interest to start asking some serious questions right now.
Anything short of being born again or spiritually regenerated by God will only result in your subjection to the man of lawlessness and the work of deceit, or the very things we all witnessed, recently, in all its ugliness, in the person of Devin Patrick Kelley.
May God bless you in your effort.
Previously, The Mystery of Lawlessness: Part 7, The Solution
