Strong Delusion

^{II Thessalonians 2:10-12}

¹⁰And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

¹¹And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:

¹²That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

There are scriptures forever implanted in my mind because of growing up at CGT. I think every Christian has a verse deeply seared into their hearts, but the ones that stick to people who grow up in cults are usually a little different. Most cling to verses like John 3:16 or John 1:1. Instead, we have verses like 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 or Revelation 18:4. These verses are wonderful, but don’t quite stir the popularity following as the others.

I remember this particular verse. I discovered it in high school and it sunk in deeply. To me, it was proof that the religious world, the Babylon of Revelation 18 was strongly deluded because they didn’t love the truth - the truth revealed to the leaders and false-apostles of the group I was in. It was at this same time that Bill Clinton was being elected to his second term in office. I remember a special prayer the service before the election because of the seriousness of the next week’s election. It was suggested that God could do a miracle and prevent another Clinton presidency. Sure, it looked like Bob Dole was out for the count, but maybe, just maybe, God would do a miracle and let the GOP pull one out.

He didn’t. Instead, he allowed President Clinton another term and the country another impeachment. Clinton testified and made a mockery of the truth. The particular line I remember most vividly was, “it depends on what the meaning of the word ‘is’ is.” I remember outrage aimed at the President within CGT. I remember a conversation with a current trustee in which he told me he believed America would be judged on electing a man like Clinton twice.

2 Thessalonians isn’t about covering child abuse. It is about rejecting the truth of the gospel. But in it, there is a principle God has put into motion in his world. Truth should be loved. Like Pilate, we can mock it. Like David, we can twist it. Like the blind Pharisees, we can hate it. When we do, and we all do, we’re in deep danger of believing a lie. And when people believe lies, they are on the verge of strong, irredeemable delusion.

My prayer today is that the righteous anger aimed at Bill Clinton is still alive somewhere in the hearts of the current CGT members. I am hopeful because of God’s grace (the grace that saved me - a truth-hater, truth-mocker, and truth twister) that more will leave the evils of CGT, repent, and be delivered from their delusion. I long for their freedom. I long for their love of truth, the truth of the gospel, and the truth that does exist in the sexual abuse cases.