In 2 Thessalonians 2: 10-12, we learn that in the end time, God will send a strong delusion upon the earth. It’s directed towards a certain group of people as a condemnation. The reason God does it is because this group of people delight in hiding behind wickedness from His truth.
God’s truth is that He will keep those who are patient with His word. He will keep them from the hour of temptation that will come upon the whole world (Revelation 3: 10). But this word of God is mocked, ridiculed, and thrown away as so much foolish rubble by those upon whom the delusion prevails.
How the delusion is sent, and the nature of the delusion, is seen in 2 Thessalonians 2: 8 and 9. “And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders.”
God sends the delusion, but His “sending” is in the sense and context of disclosure. He sends the revelation that the delusion will be manifested by the hands of the one working as Satan’s Antichrist, who will send forth unclean spirits of influence throughout the world.
The outcome of Antichrist’s great delusion is the wicked believing that all is well; that there is nothing to fear after their demise; that their death will simply be the end of their philosophical joint venture with humanism. In fact, they will feel safe in their lifestyle choices; pooh-poohing the notion of being affected by any such thing as a judgment. (This attitude actually prevails today.)
The prophet Isaiah describes their position well. In their delusion, he says that they say, “We have made a covenant with death, and with Sheol we have made a pact. The overwhelming scourge will not reach us when it passes by, for we have made falsehood our refuge and we have concealed ourselves with deception.” Isaiah 28: 15.
God allowing this delusion to happen is in line with His judgment concerning wickedness. That is, He respects our choices. And the choice of the wicked is that although they’ve heard that their deeds deserve death, they choose to continue in their deeds and give approval to others who are like-minded (Romans 1: 32).
In essence, they condemn themselves. As such, God’s judgment is to allow them to hate and reject the truth; to receive the delusion of safety that they crave. Knowing that they won’t change, God withdraws the Spirit from engaging them when this proclamation is given from heaven. “Let the one who does wrong, still do wrong; and the one who is filthy, still be filthy” (Revelation 22: 11). God then gives them over to their depraved minds to do that which they shouldn’t (Romans 1: 28).