Strong Delusion

(Written Feb 2017. Accidentally deleted and republished July 2017.)

Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?

And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.

For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.

And then shall that Wicked 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 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.

Strong Delusion is Consuming Christianity

There’s no way to sugar-coat this. The Christians of today, in a large part, are under strong delusions that will keep them from the promises of Jesus. But, before getting to that, there are some important things to understand.

Satan is a master of delusion.

Satan was a liar from the beginning, and he’s very good at it. So good, that he corrupts us at every turn, if we are not careful and seek the Lord with all our hearts diligently. But, God is in control, and He allows it. That’s a hard thing for many to swallow, but it’s true. God allows the wicked and disobedient to be eaten up by Satan, even allowing them to believe they are in the perfect will of God as Satan eats them alive.

The sad thing is that delusion makes it very difficult to repent, because you don’t know you are doing wrong. The more churches and Christians in general go their own way, the stronger they fall into delusion. The more they fall into delusion, the more they are given over to Satan. The more they are given over to Satan, the more they suffer things like depression, confusion, lack of peace, and other afflictions – all the while thinking they “live in Christ.”

Then, what happens when the anti-Christ appears? What happens to those who are already weak in the faith and under delusion? They will surely fall, and the scriptures fulfilled when they hear Jesus say, “depart from me you who work iniquity. I never knew you.”

Common Delusions of Churches

If you go to church, you’re probably filled with delusion. If you don’t, you’re probably still under delusion. This can be very hard to accept, especially when you place so much of your identity on man-made traditions. It’s natural to reject the Lord when He calls you out of these delusions at first, but if you seek Jesus and ask Him to reveal your hidden deceptions, to lead you to His truth, He will show you in time. This isn’t meant to discourage Christians, but to save them from lies. To show them that there is more for them than what they find sitting on a church bench – that they can be free from sin and the effects that a life in darkness currently has on their lives. This is meant to be good news!

What are some of the common delusions in today’s Christendom? Here are a few, in very basic terms:

• You’ll never stop sinning. The central idea of a life in Jesus is knowing that He can, and will, free you from ALL sin! Those who continue in sin live in darkness, and they cannot know Jesus. This is a very serious matter, because if you don’t know Jesus, He will deny you, and you will NOT inherit eternal life. Sin leads to death. Both in this present life, and in the age to come. If you do not believe on Jesus, understanding that He has the power to write the laws of the kingdom on your heart, then you will not be saved. This is one of Satan’s most deceptive and powerful delusions, because it keeps people in bonds to sin and death.
• Misconceptions about the Holy Spirit baptism. From those who deny the Holy Spirit baptism as a powerful experience, to those who don’t test the spirits or allow chaos within their church assemblies, the deceptions about the Holy Spirit baptism are rampant. This is also a great tool of Satan, because it is the Holy Spirit that leads us to all truth, so that we might repent and grow into the fullness of Christ as we should. His Spirit is what changes our natures. This is what it means to be born again!
• Makes merchandise of souls. The Christian world today is full of music, movies, books, and more that try to teach us how to be better Christians – How to succeed in this world, but not how to really be righteous or how to seek the truth of Jesus. Churches themselves are full of it. Full of shops and other things similar to the money changers that Jesus overthrew! These things are deceptive, and fill the world and those who seek Jesus with lies. Christian merchandise makes men rich off of the very souls of mankind!
• Commits idolatry, sorcery, and fornication. Rather than speak the truth, many ministers have completely abolished sound doctrine, instead saying what pleases men in order to keep their churches filled with happy, complacent people. They accept ideologies from other religions, teach that God makes you prosperous in this world if you follow him, rather than prosperous in righteousness, and accepts sinful acts that are against God rather than showing those in these bonds that there is a way out!
• Becomes complacent; lives like the rest of the world. The teaching that says once you make a declaration of faith, you are saved for good, is dangerous. We are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. It is a journey, a race we run to win until we measure up into the fullness of Christ. Sadly, you can’t tell many Christians today from the rest of the world, largely because of these false teachings that rip the zeal and truth of Jesus right out from under them.
• Manipulates the word of God. Satan loves to quote scriptures to keep people in bondage to him, and so do his ministers. These “men of God” are nothing more than wolves in sheep’s clothing, men sent to ministry schools and filled with traditions of men rather than the Spirit of Truth. Surely not all, but by far the majority.
• Does not love God or brethren. Where is the love in Christians today!? They hate on those who seem to be bigger sinners, without seeing their own delusions and hypocrisy. It’s easy to do. But, it has pushed people away from Jesus, giving Christians a deserved bad name. We speed by the homeless in our expensive cars, look down our noses at those who don’t “accept Jesus,” while we live pretty much just as they do. Sure, we might deny some sins, but we are still full of hate, vanity, gossip, lies, lusts, and other things that cause us to be like white-washed tombs filled with dead man’s bones! Without Jesus in your hearts, you don’t know love like you should, and you will not be worthy of the kingdom of God!

Delusion Does Not End After You “Come Out” of Churches!

Many are being called out of the corrupted systems and ideas that have caused Christians to fall away from Jesus. But, Satan does not stop there. Delusions continue, causing people who say they are full of the Holy Spirit to fall into darkness. There are many out there who teache righteousness and perfection in Christ and the importance of the Holy Spirit baptism, but they take their eyes of Jesus and become entrapped in more delusion. How do I know this? Because the Lord suffered me to fall into every one of these below, and I hope the reason was so I could help others who are similarity deceived. Some of these are:

• Fighting churches. Yes, the churches for the most part have fallen from Jesus, but it is the will of God that allows them to continue in this state. Yes, we should mark those who teach lies, but it is not our personal mission to fight these things, tooth and nail. To fight churches is to fight God, and it takes your eyes off Him! Before you know it, you become full of bitterness, hatefulness, pride, and other sins – all the while harping on churches because they don’t teach righteousness. It is a powerful, strong delusion of hypocrisy that forgets the patience of Jesus. The churches will be judged, but we cannot lose hope for those still entrapped within. Hating on the churches will only discourage people from being reached. You can’t beat hate with hate, lie with lie, or evil with evil. You can only state the truth, so those who have ears can hear.
• Unjust judgment. When you begin to see the wickedness of the world and those who pollute the name of Jesus and the gospel, it’s easy to fall into a trap of hypocrisy. It is not our place to say who are “real” Christians. We are not the ones who judge hearts! Even the angels are unable to distinguish the wheat from the tares, and we are no different. We must be careful we don’t look down on those who are asleep, or else we are just like they are – and we become hypocrites of the worst kind.
• Vanity and false sense of importance. Once we are called out of corruption and into truth, we have an obligation to share the light of Jesus with as many as will hear it. But, we should not allow ourselves to become prideful. If we stray, even a little, it gives Satan a foot hold. And he loves to see us go astray. I’ve seen teachers of righteousness and the Holy Spirit make grandiose claims about themselves or others. They feel they (or others) are personally Smyrna, Philadelphia, Moses, Elijah, or other figures.
• Falling for other spirits. If given a gift of prophecy, we must be very careful that we keep our hearts on Jesus, otherwise we can end up much worse than we were before. Learning to test the spirits isn’t easy, but if you ask Jesus to help you hear him and bless you with discernment, you will not fall to your own ideas or those of Satan. Also, we must always make sure that any gift of the Spirit is used with a pure heart, otherwise it will no go well for us.
• Prophesy obsession. The called out understand the time we are facing, so it’s natural they would feel it important to learn the prophetic scriptures. It is, but take care that you don’t put too much focus on this, or else you open yourself to false spirits and corrupting the word of God! The Holy Spirit will give you the understanding you need when you need it, and not a moment sooner. And really, if your eyes are on Jesus as they should be, there is nothing to fear anyway. It’s better to seek freedom from sin so you can stand against Satan, rather than trying to interpret cryptic scriptures.

Jesus told us His way was straight and narrow for a reason!!

We are told that Satan would deceive the world, and if possible, even the chosen – and it will only get worse the further we fall from the Lord!

These are just some of the many forms of strong delusion that’s overtaking Christians. Again, this is not meant to discourage, though, a healthy fear of the Lord is important. We must NEVER assume we are saved! Having a false sense of security will cause us to let our guard down. We continue in faith, yes, not giving into despair. But, if we go our own way, just as God’s people have always done, we WILL fall.

The answer to fighting strong delusion – keep your eyes ALWAYS on the Lord Jesus!