2 Thessalonians 2:11

11 For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie

2 Thessalonians 2:11 in Other Translations

11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:

11 Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false,

11 So God will cause them to be greatly deceived, and they will believe these lies.

11 And since they're so obsessed with evil, God rubs their noses in it - gives them what they want.

11 For this reason God sends them a strong delusion so that they will believe what is false,

2 Thessalonians 2:11 Meaning and Commentary

2 Thessalonians 2:11

And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion,
&c.] Or "efficacy of error", which God may be said to send; and the Alexandrian copy reads, "does send"; because it is not a bare permission but a voluntary one; or it is his will that error should be that truth may be tried, and be illustrated by its contrary, and shine the more through the force of opposition to it; and that those which are on the side of it might be made manifest, as well as that the rejecters of the Gospel might be punished; for the efficacy of error is not to be considered as a sin, of which God cannot be the author, but as a punishment for sin, and to which men are given up, and fall under the power of, because they receive not the love of the truth, which is the reason here given: and this comes to pass partly through God's denying his grace, or withholding that light and knowledge, by which error may be discovered and detected; and by taking from men the knowledge and conscience of things they had, see ( Romans 1:28 ) . So that they call evil good, and good evil, and do not appear to have the common sense and reason of mankind, at least do not act according to it; and by giving them up to judicial blindness and hardness of heart, and to the god of this world, to blind their minds; and without this it is not to be accounted for, that the followers of antichrist should give into such senseless notions as those of transubstantiation, works of supererogation, or into such stupid practices as worshipping of images, praying to saints departed, and paying such a respect to the pretended relics of saints, as they do; but a spirit of slumber is given them, and eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear, because of their rejection of the Gospel: and

that they should believe a lie;
that the pope is Christ's vicar on earth, and has power to forgive sins; that the bread and wine in the Lord's supper are transubstantiated into the very body and blood of Christ; with other lying tenets spoken in hypocrisy concerning good works, merit, pardon, penance; &c. with a multitude of lying wonders and false miracles, of which their legends are full; and this is the first and more near end of strong delusion or efficacious error being sent them; the more remote and ultimate one follows.

2 Thessalonians 2:11 In-Context

9 The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie,

10 and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.

11 For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie

12 and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.

13 But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as firstfruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.

Cross References

• 1. Romans 1:28
• 2. Matthew 24:5; S Mark 13:5
• 3. Romans 1:25