Thread: Since the 19th Century, What Is the Strong Delusion of II Thessalonians 2: 10-12?
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Since the 19th Century, What Is the Strong Delusion of II Thessalonians 2: 10-12?
Posted : 17 Nov, 2013 03:27 AM
"And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
11. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
12. That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." II Thessalonians 2: 10-12 KJV
10 And in all deceivableness of unrighteousness, among them that perish,
because they received not the love of th
e truth, that they might be saved.
11 And therefore God shall send them stro
ng delusion, that they should believe
lies, 12 That all they might be damned which
believed not the truth, but had pleasure
in unrighteousness. " II Thessalonians 2: 10-12 in the Geneva Bible.
"and in all deceivableness of unrighteousness, among them that perish: because they received not the love of the truth,{trueth} that they might have been saved.
2:11 And therefore God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe lies: 2:12 that all they might be damned which believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. " Tyndale Bible
Why are the Greek words "energeian planes" translated as strong delusion in the Tyndale Bible, Geneva Bible and in the King James Version?
The New Revised Standard has "powerful delusion" and the New American Standard has "a deluding influence." And the New King James has "strong delusion." The New International Version has "a powerful influence," which is sort of a compromise, and is ambiguous, which really does not talk about a strong delusion, and it avoids use of words like error which is what the Greek word planes means. The American Standard Version has "a working of error," which avoids the use of the term delusion.
II Thessalonians 2: 11 is translated as God will send them strong delusion to believe that which is false in all the versions mentioned above except, as expected, in the New International Version. The American Standard Version follows the George Ricker Berry Greek-English Interlinear and has "a working of error."
What is the error which is behind the false teaching of the theology which, since the 1830's has taken over many or most Christians denominations? It is the error that God now has two peoples, physical Israel and the church, and that physical Israel remains God's chosen people. This teaching is an error because Christ in John 10: 16 says there is one fold. Paul in Romans 12: 4-5 says there is one Body of Christ, not two. Paul mentions in other places that there is one Body of Christ, not two.
In addition, Paul's teachings in Romans 2: 17-29, Romans 9: 6-8, Romans 11: 5, 17-20, Galatians 3: 3-29 and Galatians 4:24-26 say that the house of physical Israel, the majority in that house, is no longer Israel as God's people, but that the remnant of physical Israel which accepted Christ is now God's Israel, and there is no longer a true Jew in the flesh, and there is no difference between former non-Jews and former physical Jews who are in Christ Jesus. Paul explains in Galatians 3: 3-29 that the promise of God, for example in Genesis 12: 7 about the seed from Abraham, now means that the promise applies to Jesus Christ, who is the one seed of Abraham (Galatians 3: 16), and that those in Christ are the seed from Abraham. All in Christ are the seed of Abraham, but not the seed of the flesh. The seed of the flesh was done away with at the Cross.
In saying there is now no difference between Jew and Greek in Christ, Paul says both are one in Christ, with no difference. Being in Christ is far superior to being in physical Israel under the Old Covenant (Hebrews 7: 19, Hebrews 7: 22, Hebrews 8: 6, Hebrews 11: 40 and Hebrews 12: 24).
Trying to return to the Old Covenant in a deceptive way through the teachings of John Darby, C.I. Scofield, Lewis S. Chafer and many others is part of that strong delusion. It is a manifestation of strong delusion. a working of error.
Since the 19th Century, What Is the Strong Delusion of II Thessalonians 2: 10-12?
Posted : 17 Nov, 2013 11:08 AM
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance says that number 1753, energeia means "from 1756, efficiency - energy - operation, strong, effectual, working." No 1756 says "energes from 1722 and 2041, active, operative, effectual, powerful."
The better question is why was the Greek word planes translated as delusion?
Strong's says that number 4106, plane, feminine of 4108, as abstract, fraudulence, straying from orthodoxy or piety - deceit, to deceive, delusion, error."
Strong's number 4108, planos, is said to mean "...a tramp, by implication an impostor, or misleader, deceiver, seducing."
Plane, or planes, πλανης, is an interesting Greek word, because theologies which men, leaning to their own understanding, have made up - and which do not agree with scripture, or certain scriptures - are taught in a deceptive way. And we have been living in an age of deception for a number of decades. It is not surprising that the many false prophets of Matthew 24: 11, seen also in Revelation 9: 16-19, who "kill" the third part of men, man's spiritual part, returning him to the state of the natural man of I Corinthians 2: 14, operate in a deceptive way.
In Matthew 24 the word planao, translated as deceive, is used three times, in verses 4, 5, and 24.
The definition of planos is also interesting, an impostor, deceiver. A false prophet is an imposter, claiming to be a man of God, when he is a deceiver, not a man of God at all, but leading those he deceives away from the truth of Christ, who is himself the way, the truth, and the life, in John 14: 6.
The followers of John Darby, C.I. Scofield, Lewis S Chafer and many others and their allies of the Messianic Judaism, Hebrew Roots and Sacred Name movements have to spin the meaning of II Thessalonians 2: 10-12 a great deal to avoid it applying to them, or just claim its some other guys it is talking about, not them.
Since the 19th Century, What Is the Strong Delusion of II Thessalonians 2: 10-12?
Posted : 18 Nov, 2013 04:49 AM
II Thessalonians 2: 11, "And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie."
What cause? The cause is seen in II Thessalonians 2: 10, "because they received not the love of the truth that they might be saved."
Because they did not receive the love of the truth, therefore God gives them over to a strong delusion.
It was William Tyndale in about 1522 who began using strong delusion for energeian planes. The words coming before energeian planes - "and because of this God will send to them" - indicates that God is the active agent or cause of this energeian planes. God gives the people who do not receive a love of this truth over to energeian planes. Tyndale was trying to communicate the doctrine in English that Paul wrote in Greek as well as he could do so. He communicated it in strong language.
The Geneva Bible translators - William Whittingham, Myles Coverdale, Christopher Goodman, Anthony Gilby, Thomas Sampson, and William Cole - followed Tyndale's strong words for II Thessalonians 2: 11. These English protestant scholars had left England for Geneva, Switzerland to create their Geneva Bible. England at that time was ruled by Catholic Queen Mary. In Geneva these English protestants were under some influence from Calvinist Theodore Beza.
A great deal of the English in the King James Version came out of the two earlier English translations, both using the Textus Receptus for the New Testament. The spiritually powerful words of the King James owe a great deal to William Tyndale, who was martyred for making his English translation.
A very important doctrine is in II Thessalonians 2: 10-12, saying that those who do not receive a love of the truth are not saved, and that for this reason God sends them energeian planes, strong delusion in the Tyndale, Geneva and King James. The doctrine must be communicated in clear and strong words.
2 Thessalonians 2:11 :ERV, Easy-to-Read Version:
"So God will send them something powerful that leads them away from the truth and causes them to believe a lie."
2 Thessalonians 2:11, Contemporary English Version (CEV)
"So God will make sure that they are fooled into believing a lie."
2 Thessalonians 2: 11: Jubilee Bible 2000 (JUB)
"Therefore, for this cause, God shall send the operation of error in them, that they should believe the lie; "
2 Thessalonians 2: 11:Living Bible (TLB)
"so God will allow them to believe lies with all their hearts,"
2 Thessalonians 2: 11: The Message:
"2 Thessalonians 2:11 (The Message)
9-12 "The Anarchist�s (Anti-Christ?) coming is all Satan�s work. All his power and signs and miracles are fake, evil sleight of hand that plays to the gallery of those who hate the truth that could save them. And since they�re so obsessed with evil, God rubs their noses in it�gives them what they want. Since they refuse to trust truth, they�re banished to their chosen world of lies and illusions."
The Message for 2 Thessalonians appears to be even more of an interpretation than even many of the translations of the New International Version. There is no "Anti-Christ" in II Thessalonians 2.
2 Thessalonians 2:11 New International Version:
11 "For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie."
I quoted a different version of 2 Thessalonians 2: 11 for the NIV before, says God will send "a powerful influence," But this online site quotes the above, about a "powerful delusion."
2 Thessalonians 2: 11: New Life Version:
"For this reason, God will allow them to follow false teaching so they will believe a lie. "
When that Wicked in II Thessalonians 2: 8 will be revealed is not shown here to be at some specific time. The falling away of II Thessalonians 2: 3-4 is said to occur when the anthropos tes amartias, the son of perdition, is revealed. To insist that this anthropos tes amartias is a literal individual man comes out of a particular "Hermeneutic," from John Darby, C.I. Scofield, Lewis S. Chafer and others. The followers of these theologians try to avoid the knowledge that they are in the strong delusion by claiming that the falling away of II Thessalonians 2: 3-4 and the strong delusion do not happen until after they are raptured off the earth. Those followers of Darby et al who do not belive in the rapture still put the falling away and the strong delusion off until their tribulation period. These things cannot be, for them, something that goes on for decades.
Our word anthropology comes from anthropos. Anthropos means mankind, or man as a species, not necessarily an individual man. "Man of sin" therefore is man as a type of men who are under sin so strongly that they are said to be sons of perdition, that is, sons of damnation. Daniel 8: 23 says "And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up." Transgressors is from Strong's number 6586, pasha, "to break away from just authority, i.e, trespass, apostatize, quarrel, offend, rebel, revolt, transgress."
The man of sin is a collective man, not an individual anti-Christ figure of fables. It is collective man who has broken away from the absolute authority and absolute truth of God, into apostasy, quarreling against that absolute word of God and with those who proclaim it, in other word the men of sin are the transgressors who are come to the full. When that begins to happen, then it is the period of the falling away. It is the period of the leavening of the kingdom of God in Luke 13: 18-21 "till the whole was leavened," meaning the leavening goes on for a period of time.
