Receiving The Love Of The Truth

...even him, whose coming is after

the working of Satan with all power

 and signs and lying wonders, 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.

2Thessalonians 2:9-12

     When is Jesus coming again? Paul makes this very clear: "And then shall that Wicked (why capitalize this word? It is because the noun is masculine nominative with the definite article "he", therefore this word speaks of a definite person) be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming: even him whose coming is after the working of Satan...." (1Thessalonians 2:8-9a). Who is going to perish at His coming? Those who believed the Wicked One, Satan, and did not believe who Jesus is, God, come in the flesh according to Scripture that teaches us the truth about Jesus and not some man who is deceiving people in regards to who Jesus is and when Jesus is coming for if a person does not believe this truth they will perish. PERIOD! All the bells and whistles, the dancing about in some euphoric trance, will not save you, to follow after practices that are not warranted in Scripture will not save you. You are saved when you with that free gift of faith believe who Jesus is, that you are a sinner and in need of His salvation, convert, not just believe, to what Jesus has declared for all His children to do, and that is, live a quiet life, be one of His ambassadors: "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present you bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world; but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind. that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God" (Romans 12:1-2).

     God is not the author of sin, so when it is said that God "sends," this sending from the Greek word: πέμψει  not άποστέλλω, which is used in the Lord's prayer are distinct from each other, άποστέλλω means to order one to go, to be sent, whereas  πέμψει denotes the orderly motion involved, especially a temporary errand. So how does God "send" this strong delusion? Simple: God leaves a person to their own devices to be deluded by Satan's instructions and his instructions are given by men who themselves are deluded and believe, teach, a lie. God will give them up to the workings of their hearts: "For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour he adversaries" (Hebrews 10:26). It is not that those to be devoured by their sins, it is because they heard the truth but ignored it, and by this ignoring they are subject to damnation. 

     Now, if we hate sin and love the truth, we are bound to thank God for our selves and for each other. Many of us can remember a time when we hated the doctrines of God's word, and preferred a life of sin, those soothing times that made us feel manly, or womanly, a time of happiness but not one of joy. God then, as he did to me, allowed my circumstances, that which I conjured up in my life, to send to me His love and this through that which I had come to believe in my early life only had now left that which I knew to be true. It is in this circumstance that what I had put into my life came to send me back to God. Thank God for those who too held close to God and their relationship to Him. Do you have such friends? Are you putting in to your heart and mind the truth of God's word? If so, you deception at the moment will disappear as you apply God's truth to lead you and to run from all deception. 

Therefore He broght down their heart

     with labor; they fell down, and there 

was none to help. Then they cried unto 

    the LORD in their trouble, and He 

saved them out of their distresses. 

     He brought them out of darkness and

the shadow of death, and brake their 

    bands in sunder. Oh that men would

praise the LORD for His goodness, and

    for His wonderful works to the 

children of men!

                     Psalm 107: 12-15

 Turn to God: He is your Savior

Richard L. Crumb