This topic has been on the mind and heart of my wife and I lately. It is because we have been prompted to pray about this more and more. Not just for ourselves, but others.
It is simply our desire to not be deceived and we know that only God can prevent this. It is our desire that no one would fall prey to any deception and be caught off guard when it comes to God's plan for his people.
The question as to what is the lie that is warned about in 2 Thessalonians 2 has come up a lot lately.
Through prayer and meditating on this, we discovered that the answer is located right in that same chapter.
I have heard a lot of theories about what the lie is about. I just wanted to present this for others to study and discuss.
I have opened this topic as a place to discuss 2 Thessalonians 2. What is written there? What does it say not to be misled about?
Please try to refrain from debate about what you believe and stick to what is written in those scriptures. I hope that this will come to others as a blessing that might give understanding on this topic.
Grace and peace be to all of you through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
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: 2Th 2:9
I think the key is found in the word wonders as to the source.
The strong delusion to believe the lie would be in respect to those who add to the scriptures coming from another source of faith other than... as it is written called a “lying wonder”. With wonder the faith principle meaning the unseen, made know by what it seen, a sign.
In that way a clear distinction between a sign
and lying
wonder must be made.Its an evil generation the generation of Adam that does seek after signs used as wonders in order to bring belief, faith
The focus is on the wonder that which bring faith and not so much the sign. Signs are for observing while wonders draw to the unseen.
Today seeing what we had in part up until the last book was written giving us the perfect as in compete. It would be any one who says they have received a vision or a new revelation. That would make them a liar. The possibility of God bring any new revelation is sealed up till the end .
Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo,
here is Christ, or there; believe it not.For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs
and wonders; insomuch that, "if it were possible", they shall deceive the very elect. Mat 24:23
The elect that heed the warning will have no need to be sent a strong delusion .They try the spirits by that which God has revealed . Not looking for another source of faith because the unbelievers need more than God had intended to give us making it impossible for those who heed the warning to be deceived.. Again by assuming the Lord said this or that as a new revelation knowing the Lord has not spoken .
1Thessalonians 2:13 For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it
not as the "word of men", but as it is in truth, the word of God,
which effectually worketh also in you that believe.
That which does effectually works in the believer to both will and do his good pleasure. The work of Christ's faith
2Corinthians 4:4 In whom the god of this world
hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
In the verse above we can see how how the father of lies the god of this world blinds the mind by adding to the perfect tradition of God those of men. Now that we have the whole and dare not add to it the traditions of men and assuming together they are all one source of faith, called a wonder
The Catholic perform it boldly with what they are required to call private revelations to give the illusion God is still adding to his source of faith the scriptures. Making that which they do add a private source of faith while some others denominations more subtle.
They would be sent a strong delusion so that they can continue to add there private revelations (private interpretation as if it all all one interpretation coming from heaven .
Bottom line the scriptures of themselves (all things written in the law and the prophets (soal scriptura) are not a source of faith those who believe God is still bring new revelations . The scripture, God's perfect law to them cannot perform what it declares, a source of eternal life giving us simply ones His understanding . Its authority has been removed in exchange for the tradition of the fathers making the word of God, as the one source of Christian faith without effect,
II. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TRADITION AND SACRED SCRIPTURE
One common source. . .
80 "Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture, then, are bound closely together, and communicate one with the other. For both of them, flowing out from the same divine well-spring, come together in some fashion to form one thing, and move towards the same goal."40 Each of them makes present and fruitful in the Church the mystery of Christ, who promised to remain with his own "always, to the close of the age".41