The Two Lies: God’s Strong Delusion, & the Father of Lies
[Note: This author is a pre-Tribulation rapture believer, and this article reflects that view.]
Introduction
This is a study on the two prominent lies, God’s strong delusion that he sends on the world, and the father of lies behind all deception, as revealed in Scripture pertaining to future prophecy and how it relates to us today.
What we find, when digging deeper within the texts and elaborating on them, is a clearly defined attack on the truth of God’s revealed Word that has been happening since the Garden of Eden. As we will see, Satan’s deceptions have never changed; they have just been modified with the times using the same basic premise and modus operandi.
The Lie of Romans Chapter 1
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things“ (Romans 1:18-23).
“Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen” (Romans 1:25).
To dig deep into this lie, definitions are in order regarding four religions I’d like to focus on (derived from various sources).
Paganism – A religious, spiritual, or cultural community based on the worship of nature or the earth. A polytheistic or pantheistic nature-worshiping religion.
Darwinian evolution – A theory of biological evolution developed by Charles Darwin and others, stating that all species of organisms have developed from other species, primarily through natural selection.
Hinduism – Central to the faith is a belief in reincarnation and one supreme god called Brahman who has multiple manifestations as either a god or goddess. Gods and goddesses can be spirits, trees, animals, and even planets. Views mankind as divine.
New Age – New Age thought supports the theory of organic evolution, but extends the concept to the evolution of the spirit. This is the concept of “Evolutionary Godhood,” where the next step in evolution won’t be physical, but spiritual.
I selected these four religions (and yes, Darwinian evolution is most definitely a religion) to help show a pattern in all religions in general. Other than the three monotheistic religions – Judaism, Christianity, and Islam – all religions share the same basic philosophical ideals, with varying nuances, of course, as these four.
As we can see, Paganism, Darwinian evolution, Hinduism, and New Age have one common link: the belief in and worship of nature (or the giving of creative powers to nature). They all, as Paul describes in the verse above, “worshiped and served the creature more than the Creator.”
(Note: Please see my article, “Zechariah 5:5-11 – Homecoming: Babel Returns Home” here Zechariah 5:5-11 – Homecoming: Babel Returns Home :: By Mark A. Becker – Rapture Ready or https://www.faithwriters.com/article-details.php?id=205436 to see how Hinduism and New Age could very well play a major role in the worship of Antichrist and acceptance of his Mark of The Beast system.)
The Fruits of this Lie in Today’s World
The rise in prominence of these four religions throughout the world has played a major role in shaping our world governments today, and one can look no further than to the United Nations to see the impact they are having.
So-called “climate change” is nothing more than the result of the worship of the earth’s ecosystems; and the fear generated from the delusion that this living, breathing entity we call earth is about to be destroyed because of human interaction with the environment is nothing short of staggering. This fear, along with the impact of these false nature-worshiping religions, has created in the UN an all-inclusive new, yet actually ancient, religion known as Gaia worship.
This fanaticism is the vehicle used to prime the world’s citizens to clamor for the governments of the world to unite under a New World Order (NWO), that the elites have been pushing for at least a hundred years, in an attempt to thwart this “manmade genocide of planet Earth.”
This unfounded fear has generated another fabled atrocity forced upon the world: that of “over-population.” (Nothing like sticking one’s finger in God’s eye in not fulfilling His command to “be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:28 & Genesis 9:7). What’s the remedy for this delusion? Abortion on demand, of course.
The natural progression of this barbaric and inhumane murder of human life leads to the next step that is addressed by Paul as the end result of this lie’s acceptance by mankind in their effort to “worship and serve the creature more than the Creator” – that of homosexuality and other deviant sexual perversions. What better way to control the population than to murder the unborn while practicing sexual promiscuity and pushing for the acceptance of homosexuality so that procreation can be halted? And so it is.
The rest of the surrounding verses to Romans 1:25 give us some very vivid and powerful statements about what this lie produces in mankind, and has, ever since the fall. Every nation in history rises and falls based upon these truths outlined for us.
The lie – after one refuses the truth of creation testifying of a Creator God and ends up “worshiping and serving the creature rather than the Creator” – finally results in what we have been talking about:
“Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves“ (Romans 1:24).
“For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet” (Romans 1:26-27).
The End Results of this Lie in Today’s World
Once this is achieved by the will of man, then all is lost; and here is the end result:
“And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them“ (Romans 1:28-32).
Look at Paul’s description to Timothy of the character of men in the last days:
“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away“ (2 Timothy 3:1-5).
This lie, in summary, is the lie of all false religion’s worship and elevation of nature and man to godhood (united in ungodliness and unrighteousness), and thereby attempting to usurp God’s rightful place as creator.
The Lie and God’s Strong Delusion of 2 Thessalonians 2
“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” (2 Thessalonians 2:11-12).
Many have erroneously believed that this “strong delusion, that they should believe a lie,” will be sent by God after the rapture of the church. The rapture is not the context to when this strong delusion to believe a lie will take place. Let’s investigate what the true context is and when this event will happen.
“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; 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, shewing himself that he is God” (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4).
The context is found in these verses and the when is dictated by the context. Note that the “man of sin” will “be revealed” after there comes “a falling away.” I have written about the “falling away” in a previous article entitled, “An Examination of the Day of the Lord,” which can be found here https://www.raptureready.com/2020/08/11/an-examination-of-the-day-of-the-lord-by-mark-a-becker/ or https://www.faithwriters.com/article-details.php?id=205363 detailing how this “falling away” is actually the departure of the saints in the pre-Tribulation rapture of the church.
This is where the error of believing that the timing of “the strong delusion, that they should believe a lie” is after the rapture of the church. But in order to actually find the when, we need to consider the rest of the passage, specifically verse 4.
“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, shewing himself that he is God” (2 Thessalonians 2:4).
You see, it isn’t the rapture that sets the stage for the strong delusion to believe a lie; it is when the Antichrist “sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God,” and we know this will happen during the middle of the Tribulation (Daniel 9:27).
“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” (2 Thessalonians 2:11-12).
Now, to verify what we have learned, we need to know who these are “that they all might be damned who believed not the truth.” This should confirm that these people are living at the time that the Antichrist enters the temple and declares himself God, and should also tell us why God has “damned” those “who believed not the truth.” That is, those whom “God shall send” a “strong delusion, that they should believe the lie,” and what that lie may be.
“And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name“ (Revelation 14:9-11).
Here is the answer to part of our question.
After the Antichrist enters the temple and declares himself to be God (known as the Abomination of Desolation), then he will enact his Mark of The Beast worship and economic system on the entire earth, demanding absolute obedience and submission. All who don’t take the mark will be hunted down and beheaded for Christ’s sake and the testimony of His Word:
“And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshiped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years” (Revelation 20:4).
To answer the other part of the question as to why those who take the Mark of The Beast are eternally damned and not able to receive salvation through faith by grace, it seems we must speculate by using the history of mankind recorded in the Scriptures.
Going into the details of this is not in the scope of this article. But suffice it to say, the genome of humanity will be corrupted to the point that a human being will no longer be “made in the image of God,” and will therefore be ineligible and unable to be saved by our Creator and Savior, Jesus Christ.
This has happened once before in history and will have the same outcome; that of judgment.
“There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown” (Genesis 6:4).
(Please see “Genesis 6:4 Commentary and Genetics” for my take on what I believe might have happened in these somewhat controversial passages of Scripture, here: https://www.faithwriters.com/article-details.php?id=204120 )
The past seems to point to the future.
We are already seeing the fruits of this labor in the genetic field, and its outcome will be a corruption of humanity resulting from the taking of The Mark of The Beast and/or what the Mark will represent.
God’s strong delusion, that they may believe a lie, will be the lie of false promises associated with the taking of The Mark of The Beast and the worship of the Antichrist.
The Father of Lies and his Lie in the Garden
“… He [the devil] was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it” (John 8:44b).
The father of lies, Satan himself, is a deluded creature. Splendid in beauty and knowledge, he became puffed-up in pride and wanted what God has.
Since his fall, he’s been deceiving the nations and every human being who’s ever lived.
It all started with the lie he declared to Eve in the Garden of Eden. A lie he has used successfully ever since, and mankind has taken it “hook, line, and sinker” ever since.
“‘You will not certainly die,’ the serpent said to the woman. ‘For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil'” (Genesis 3:4).
Every lie, every deception, every false teaching, and every delusion can be traced back to this one event. Everything evil in our world is hinged upon this one action in history.
“But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound” (Romans 5:20b).
Conclusion
“How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High” (Isaiah 14:12-14).
This was Satan’s downfall as his desire to rise above the throne of God and declare himself master of a universe he did not, nor could ever, create himself, began with unbridled pride and was climaxed in the crowning of himself as the father of lies. And we have seen the fruits of his lies beginning in the Garden of Eden, up until today.
As we’ve come full circle, we see that from Satan’s own deluded deception, he passed on this evil and unattainable desire to dethrone God to the very creation that was created in God’s own image: mankind. The adversary and accuser continued in his offer to mankind that they too could “know good and evil” and “be like God.” Mankind did, in fact, know good and evil to their own detriment, but humans are a product of God’s creative powers (as is Satan) and have no right to such Godhood.
But God! In His mercy and love, He came in the form of a son of man, lived a sinless life, and willingly offered Himself to the Father as a lamb without spot for the redemption of mankind (John 1:29 & Hebrews 9:14).
Those of us who have believed “on Him who the Father has sent” (John 6:28-29) are accepted as sons and daughters of God, and the first lie in this article will have no power over us as we allow the Holy Spirit to guide and lead us in this life.
The second lie, and God’s strong delusion he will send on the earth to believe this lie, won’t even be a part of the bride of Christ’s experience, as, before then, Jesus will have come back in the clouds to meet us in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:14-18), taking us back to the Father’s house to be with our Lord and Savior forever (John 14:1-3)!
Comfort one another with these words, children of God, and Maranatha!
Email: mab10666@yahoo.com