to or into (indicating the point reached or entered) · preposition
they
αὐτοὺςautous
G846
the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — accusative plural masculine
believe
πιστεῦσαιpisteusai
G4100
to have faith (in · verb — aorist active infinitive
lie
ψεύδει,pseudei
G5579
a falsehood · noun — dative singular neuter
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Romans 1:28 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 con…
John 12:39-43 Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again,
1 Timothy 4:1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines…
Matthew 24:11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
Psalms 81:11-12 But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me.
Ezekiel 21:29 Whiles they see vanity unto thee, whiles they divine a lie unto thee, to bring thee upon the necks of them that are slain, of the wicked, wh…
Romans 1:21-25 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foo…
1 Thessalonians 2:3 For our exhortation was not of deceit, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile:
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on 2 Thessalonians 2:3-12
In these words the apostle confutes the error against which he had cautioned them, and gives the reasons why they should not expect the coming of Christ as just at hand. There were several events previous to the second coming of Christ; in particular, he tells them there would be,
I. A general apostasy, there would come a falling away first, Th2 2:3. By this apostasy we are not to understand a defection in the state, or from civil government, but in spiritual or religious matters, from sound doctrine, instituted worship and church government, and a holy life. The apostle speaks of some very great apostasy, not only of some converted Jews or Gentiles, but such as should be very general, thoug…
for this cause--because "they received not the love of the truth." The best safeguard against error is "the love of the truth."
shall send--Greek, "sends," or "is sending"; the "delusion" is already beginning. God judicially sends hardness of heart on those who have rejected the truth, and gives them up in righteous judgment to Satan's delusions (Isa 6:9-10; Rom 1:24-26, Rom 1:28). They first cast off the love of the truth, then God gives them up to Satan's delusions, then they settle down into "believing the lie": an awful climax (Kg1 22:22-23; Eze 14:9; Job 12:16; Mat 24:5, Mat 24:11; Ti1 4:1).
strong delusion--Greek, "the powerful working of error," answering to the energizing "workin…
God shall send them strong delusion - For this very cause, that they would not receive the love of the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness, therefore God permits strong delusion to occupy their minds; so that they believe a lie rather than the truth, prefer false apostles and their erroneous doctrines to the pure truths of the Gospel, brought to them by the well-accredited messengers of God; being ever ready to receive any false Messiah, while they systematically and virulently reject the true one.
The Church Fathers
Nevertheless the profound gloom of the falling darkness has so blinded the hearts of some, that they receive no light from the wholesome precepts, but, once turned away from the direct path of the true way, they are hurried headlong and suddenly by the night and error of their sins.
Not to recognize sins lest penance follow is the wrath of God, as it is written, "And the Lord gave to them the spirit of a deep sleep," lest they actually return and be cured and healed by their lamentations and just satisfactions after their sins. The apostle Paul in his epistle states and says, "For they have not received the love of truth that they might be saved. Therefore God will send them a misleading influence that they may believe falsehood, that all may be judged who have not believed the truth but have preferred wickedness." The first degree of happiness is not to sin; the second, to recognize the sins committed.
We can recount many other events clearly showing that from a hidden judgment of God comes perversity of heart, with the result that refusal to hear the truth leads to commission of sin, and this sin is also punishment for preceding sin. For to believe a lie and not believe the truth is indeed sin, but it comes from the blindness of heart which by a hidden but just judgment of God is also punishment for sin. We see this also in what the apostle says to the Thessalonians, "For they have not received the love of truth, that they might be saved. Therefore God sends them a misleading influence that they may believe falsehood."
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Antichrist · 13:6,21,22; — 13:6,21,22;
Apostasy · UNCLASSIFIED SCRIPTURES RELATING TO — UNCLASSIFIED SCRIPTURES RELATING TO
Call Of God, The · Rejection of, leads to: Delusion — Rejection of, leads to: Delusion
Doctrines, False · The wicked given up to believe — The wicked given up to believe
Miracles Through Evil Agents · Deceive the ungodly — Deceive the ungodly
Reprobacy · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Self-Delusion · 4:17; — 4:17;
Unbelief · 5:12-14; — 5:12-14;
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
John Gill on 2 Thessalonians 2:11
And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion,.... 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 the…
2 Thessalonians 2:9-12
9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
9. Cuius adventus est secundum operationem (vel, efficaciam) Satanae, in omni potentia, et signis et prodigiis mendacibus,
10. And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
10. Et in omni deceptione iniustitiae, in iis qui pereunt: pro eo quod dilectionem veritatis non sunt amplexi, ut salvi fierent.
11. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
11. Propterea mittet illis Deus operationem (vel, efficaciam) imposturae, ut cred…
As seen elsewhere in Scripture (Exod 9:12; 2 Chr 18:22), God sometimes hands people over to the power of the sin or deception they have desired in place of the truth (Rom 1:24, 26, 28; 11:8).
