DELUDING INFLUENCE Part 5

I believe we have pretty much established who are going to be the "deluded ones", now we will switch our attention to "when" this deluding influence is scheduled to take place (everything is on God's schedule, you know).

2 Thessalonians 2:1-2 Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. (Emphasis added)

Well…….that was pretty simple. Paul is reassuring the church at Thessalonica that the rapture hadn't taken place yet……..and they had missed it. However, he establishes two very important FACTS here that were both for the Thessalonian believers and all true believers down through history……right up to today. The first fact is that Paul fully expected them to "not be quickly shaken". This tells me that he was absolutely assured of their real & genuine salvation (as we spoke of in the past 4 posts)……..the enemy (a spirit) doesn't waste his time on those who are not genuinely "born again"! He focuses his attention on those who have the ability to impart the gift of reconciliation to those who need it desperately……..remember, he does not want his kingdom to shrink any further than it already has….and time is getting short for him.

2 Thessalonians 2:1-2 Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come.

The second FACT
is probably one of the most important ones for all true believers, especially in today's heightened spiritual climate. He unequivocally establishes that the rapture (gathering together to Him), and, the unmistakable biblical phrase (the day of the Lord) are one in the same……at the same time. In coming to an understanding of how our enemy works it is really easy to see how he has quickly shaken some of us from our composure over this whole issue of the rapture of the church. It really is a classic attack that he has used down through history on believers. It's not "divide & conquer"……..it's "divide & confuse"…….once you have confusion you spend endless hours in debate and argument of your point…….and less and less time in IMPARTING TO THE LOST THE GIFT OF RECONCILLIATION.

2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come 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.

The prophet PAUL has told us that He is not coming back until the apostasy takes place first and the man of sin is revealed! Let's really attempt to stay on target here and truly believe what has been written down here by God's Holy Spirit……..GO AND SHARE THE GIFT THAT HAS BEEN IMPARTED TO YOU………Hmmmm, where have we heard this before?

DELUDING INFLUENCE Part 4

In the last posting we took a closer look at the "they & them" in 2 Thessalonians, so I believe it is now time to look at those the writer was thankful for, those who were not a part of this delusional crowd. We not only need to look at who they were but why they would not be counted with the delusional.

2 Thessalonians 2:13-15 But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. It was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us.

The first clue that we have is the FACT of God choosing them from the beginning for salvation. There has been great debate over the centuries as to predestination VS free will, and I am sure that we are not going to come to any type of conclusion within this little BLOG…….however…….there is great merit in the FACT that because of the seal of God's Holy Spirit imparted to all those who truly are BORN AGAIN, He knew beforehand who was actually going to accept that prerequisite or not. Secondly, Paul made the observation of God "calling them through the gospel"…..or the exclusivity of Jesus Christ as the only way. Lastly is the commendation of them "standing firm" and "holding to" the traditions (or, the TRUTH, the WHOLE TRUTH and NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH) as taught by those walking in the TRUTH and talking about the TRUTH.

So again, by using simple deductive reasoning; if you want to be sure that you are not going to be part of the deluded crowd just respond to God's invitation (it's His desire that all would be saved), His way (through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ), with real repentance for your sin and acceptance of His guarantee of finishing the job (regenerating power of God's indwelling Holy Spirit).

Everyone else (the Theys & Thems) are invited to board the good ship DELUSION for a guaranteed trip to a much "warmer climate" with some pretty "HOT' entertainment! And since we also have His divine proclamation that the "gospel" WILL be preached to every person on the planet before His Son returns…

Matthew 24:14 "This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.

…..the "Theys & Thems" will be without excuse!

Understanding the deluding influence part 3

OK………since we opened up the biblical "can of worms" in the last posting……..I felt it necessary to explore this whole biblical principle of being "culturally saved" vs. " biblically born again"…….there really is a major difference that has eternal consequences.

Besides the mandate set forth by Jesus himself;

John 3:3
Jesus answered and said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God."

John 3:7
"Do not be amazed that I said to you, 'You must be born again.'

You have the admonition of Peter to add to the severity of the eternal consequences;

1 Peter 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

1 Peter 1:23 for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God.

So, if we go back to the one verse from the last posting;

2 Thessalonians 2:10 and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. (Emphasis added)

We can plainly see in order to be "truly" saved it requires a "receiving" of the love of the "truth". Now it is absolutely necessary for proving this point that we add just one more scripture to the equation;

John 16:13 "But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. (Emphasis added)

Jesus was right in the middle of explaining to His disciples that is was necessary for Him to go away (die on the cross) so that the comforter/helper (paraclete GR) could come, and not just be with them but would truly indwell them (the biblical proof of being born again).

John 14:16-17
"I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.
(Emphasis added)

He then moves into this portion of scripture to name this indwelling Holy Spirit as the "Spirit of truth"……AGAIN (John 16:13)! So, by using simple deductive reasoning here you can plainly see that the "theys" talked about in 2 Thessalonians 2:10 are really nothing more than unsaved people who think in the minds that their eternal position has been adequately dealt with. This is a classical deception used by the enemy of our souls to help insure that his kingdom does not shrink any further. That is why Jesus gave this pointed admonition to His disciples;

Matthew 24:4-5
And Jesus answered and said to them, "See to it that no one misleads you. "For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will mislead many.

The "many coming in My name" are the "they & them" spoken of in 2 Thessalonians and 2 Timothy.

NUFF SAID ABOUT THAT!

Understanding the “deluding influence” part 2

In the continuing effort to understand this "deluding influence" that God himself is going to send, I believe we are going to have to dissect this whole portion of scripture very carefully so as not to be "self-deluded" in the process. So, let's take just the 2 verses that speak of this "deluding" now that we have established the context;

2Th 2:11 For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false,

2Th 2:12 in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness. (Emphasis added)

I am thinking that it is going to be necessary to first establish who the "them & they" are in these two verses. It's obvious because of the wording used at the beginning of verse 11 that God is referring to individuals prior to that moment of time …..or perhaps a better term would be "types of individuals". So, let's go back;

2Th 2:10 and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. (Emphasis added)

Wow……that was simple. The "they & them" types are people calling themselves "saved" but are truly not born again as described in the verse as "not receiving the truth"……..or, not ever being regenerated by God's Holy Spirit. Where the author of this letter is Paul (being directed to write by God's Holy Spirit)…..Paul also wrote to Timothy about the "they & them";

2Ti 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their
own desires,

2Ti 4:4 and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.(Emphasis added)

I believe through some simple deductive reasoning we can determine who these "they & them" really are…..it's not rocket science. So, if we keep this portion of scripture in context you go directly back to;

2Ti 3:2-5 For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these. (Emphasis added)

Wow……that was simple too……….."People calling themselves "saved" but not really biblically born-again by the regenerating power of God's indwelling Holy Spirit…………Hmmmmm!

I believe that's enough to ruminate on for today.

Attempting to understand the “DELUDING INFLUENCE”

Before we can even begin to see what God's Holy Spirit is trying to convey in this whole "deluding influence" area of scripture it will be necessary to read the context and see what the original language says. So, that will be the first thing we do in this attempt to discover the truth. Take a few minutes today and read this portion of scripture in at least 3 translations……..not transliterations or paraphrase versions of the bible.

 

2 Thessalonians 2:1-17 Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come.

Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come 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. Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things? And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he will be revealed.

For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved.

For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.

But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. It was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us.

Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace, comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word. (Emphasis added) NASB

"deluding" G4106 πλάνη planē plan'-ay

Feminine of G4108 (as abstraction); objectively fraudulence; subjectively a straying from orthodoxy or piety: - deceit, to deceive, delusion, error.

"influence" G1753 ἐνέργεια energeia en-erg'-i-ah

From G1756; efficiency ("energy"): - operation, strong, (effectual) working.

A "WORKING" knowledge of Spiritual Warfare

I was reminded again recently of 2 Timothy 2:15 "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth".

As I took this verse apart (accurately handling) some things came to light that I had not considered before, things that dealt with Spiritual Warfare. In being "diligent" it really is the opposite of slothful, which is one of the key weapons the enemy uses to keep us from the best and being willing to settle for just a "place" in heaven. "To present yourself approved" tells me that one day we will all stand before Jesus and give an account (Romans 14:12). We will stand before him as a "workman", which tells me we have been given a job to do and that being only ONE job (Acts 1:8). Now come the part where Spiritual Warfare comes in; "who does not need to be ashamed".......ashamed of what? It really is that simple......we will be ashamed that we did not do what He commanded us to do.....("we shall be His witnesses"). Two major weapons of the enemy come in to play here, the first being, putting anything and everything in our "fleshly" path to distract us from the one thing He gave us to do. Remember, witnessing is so much more than handing out an occasional tract.......it's really a lifestyle that matches our words of witness. The second weapon the enemy uses comes into play because of NOT "accurately handling the word of truth". God's Word, or the proclamation of the gospel of truth, is something that has eternal consequences for the hearer. For those who are following after the wrong Jesus (the spirit of Antichrist in disguise) the twisting of the gospel has become an art form that has permeated the church of Jesus Christ.......all because they would not handle the word of truth accurately.

So, can you now see how important it is to have a WORKING knowledge of Spiritual Warfare. Our enemy will do anything and everything to get you off track just enough to make you ashamed as you stand before God.

Think about it.........and "submit yourself to God, and the devil will flee"!

Keep your eyes on the Middle East

Egypt is really close to meltdown.....click here to see what is transpring.