What are the "strong delusions"?
Dear Berean,
The strong delusion is the
spirit of anti-Christ and the lie is that
Satan is Christ and his apostate church is the true church.
2Cor 11:13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. 14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
A short time after the death of Paul, the churches which he and the others apostles started all become
apostate. The apostasy occurred because of the introduction of the spirit of anti-Christ into the world.
Acts 20:29 For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. 30 Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. 31 Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.
Though Paul did not write much about the coming apostasy, it was a
very big deal and the knowledge of its coming greatly distressed Paul. No one should take the tears that Paul shed over this revelation lightly.
Paul died somewhere around 65 A.D. and John wrote his 3 letters to his churches sometime around 90 A.D.
Here is what John said in his first letter:
1John 4:3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.
As John says, an apostate believer does not believe that Christ ever came in the flesh (to them personally). Coming "in the flesh" is John's way of describing when Christ comes to an unbeliever and gives them the Early Rain of the Spirit.
The Early Rain of the Spirit is what Paul received on the Damascus Road and what the Apostles received when they walked with Christ on His journey to the cross.
In the marriage analogy, the Early Rain of the Spirit is what causes an unbeliever to become a chaste virgin and to be espoused to Christ. The marriage occurs when Christ returns with Latter Rain and judgment. This is the point of conversion.
When an unbeliever receives the Early Rain of the Spirit, it will give them a "measure of faith" and certain spiritual gifts. This is when they enter the church. However, the Early Rain of the Spirit is given in "measure" (small amount) and will not heal the new believer's spiritual blindness. As a result, the believer will (for the most part) not understand the spiritual teachings of Christ (see Mark 8:15-25 for Christ's teaching on spiritual blindness). In this spiritually blind condition, Christ will only appear to the believer "in the flesh", or as Paul says "Christ and Him crucified" (1Cor 2:2). The believer will be able to understand Christ's physical work which lead Him to the cross, but His spiritual work and teachings under the New Covenant will remain blurred.
It is these spiritually blind & unconverted believers who were deceived by Satan when the spirit of anti-Christ came into the world near the end of the 1st century. None of them were spared. Even to this day, all new believers (shortly after they are called out from the world) will experience this same "strong delusion" and will become apostate.
These verses applies:
Mat 4:4 But he answered and said, it is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word (both good and evil) that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
Lam 3:38 Out of the mouth of the Most High doth not there proceed evil and good?
Back to what John said in 1John 4:3. Paul's warning to the churches about the coming apostasy was probably common knowledge in the churches as evidenced by John saying "whereof ye have heard that it should come". John then adds that the spirit of anti-Christ is not only coming but that it is "already in the world".
The Revelation of Jesus Christ which John received by a vision is John's final letter to the churches. In that vision, the apostasy that came upon the church at the end of the 1st century is taught in detail. The Seven Headed Beast introduced in chapter 13 represents an apostate believer who has become a "man of sin" (2Thes 2:1-8). The second of beast of chapter 13 represents the spirit of anti-Christ (false prophet) which spiritually controls the apostate believer.
Christ also frequently taught about the coming apostasy in the four gospels.
Below is where Christ describes how powerful the deceptions of Satan will be to unconverted believers:
Mat 24:24 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.
Christ even taught about
how the church will become apostate:
Mat 12:43 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. 44 Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. 45 Then goeth he, and taketh with himself SEVEN other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.
The spiritual symbol of an unclean spirit represents a spirit which teaches Satan's false truth through lies and deceptions.
Since a new believer remains
spiritually blind (
Mark 8:21-25) after receiving the Early Rain of the Spirit, they cannot replace their worldly false beliefs with the truth of Christ. ONE unclean spirit leaves but comes back with SEVEN more. The number "seven" represents perfection. In this case, the number seven represents the perfection of Satan's lies/deceptions which come to a believer by the indwelling of the spirit of anti-Christ. Now, instead of ONE unclean spirit within the believer, they now have EIGHT. The number eight is a spiritual symbol which represents a
new spiritual condition. In this case, the new spiritual condition is worse than the first (a "man of sin").
The apostasy of the church is truly a strong delusion and has continued to hold its grip on the church even up to this present day. However, since it is a "strong delusion", the believers in the apostate churches of the world (all approx. 2,000 denominations/sects of Christianity) are
completely unaware that they are following Satan instead of Christ. That is the nature of being deceived - while it is happening to a person, they cannot know it. It is only AFTER they come out from the deception that they can know that they had been deceived.
Since Christ is saving the Elect during this age, Christ will not allow His Elect to remain under Satan's deceptions until they die.
These verses apply:
Mat 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. 15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand. 16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
"This gospel of the kingdom" is not referring to Christ's Gospel. It is referring to Satan's "another gospel" which the Elect believer is unknowingly following. When the verse says that this gospel "shall be preached in all the world", it means when Satan's false gospel has been fully accepted by the believer. The "nations" represents the strongholds of the believers thoughts and beliefs. Once an Elect believer arrives at this "worse than the first" spiritual state of being,
they are ready for the end to come. The "end" that Christ is referring to is the end of the ages when He returns for an Elect believer's salvation (Heb 9:28).
When Christ comes the second time, He will pour out the Latter Rain of the Spirit which will restore the fallen away believer to salvation.
The Latter Rain of the Spirit is what the Apostles received on the Day of Pentecost and what Paul received after being blind in Damascus for three days.
In the farming analogy, it is the day of the wheat harvest:
1Sam 12:17 Is it not wheat harvest to day? I will call unto the LORD, and he shall send thunder and Rain (Latter Rain); that ye may perceive and see that your wickedness is great (see the Abomination of Desolation), which ye have done in the sight of the LORD, in asking you a king (Satan).
Next, Christ will judge the believer to remove the "chaff" from within them. During this time of judgment, the spirit of anti-Christ and the Great Harlot (worsened carnal nature of the believer) will be removed and cast into the Lake of Fire for destruction (shown in Mat 24:40-41, Rev 19:20). This judgment will complete the believer's conversion from a "man of sin" (worsened child of the Devil) into a new child of God.
What I have explained above is what the Lord has shown me concerning the "strong delusion" and the spiritual pathway that He causes all His Elect to travel to their conversion/salvation. That pathway goes through the apostate church.
Joe
