Deception: 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12, especially vss. 3, 4 (RSV), "Let no one deceive you in any way; for that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God." With two thousand years of history behind us since the ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ in the flesh began, we read today's Epistle informed by a host of occasions in which many souls have been shaken in their minds and troubled (vs. 2), deceived by a host of lies (vss. 3,11), and taken in by various delusions (vs. 11). Such disruptions of the Faithful have occurred repeatedly, often caused by charismatic demagogues who never accepted the "foolishness of God," but promoted "the wisdom of this world" (1 Cor. 1:20,21), huckstering ideas and programs out of their own fallen minds. The Apostle Paul's warning against deception needs urgently to be heeded - loved and embraced as liberating truth - so that we may be saved (2 Thess. 2:10).
First, notice that St. Paul alerts us to some of the means which are used to deceive: "by spirit or by word or by letter" purporting to have Apostolic source and authority (vs. 2), by "power, signs and lying wonders" (vs. 9), or by bald, "unrighteous deception" (vs. 10). Deceivers have advanced their agenda by claiming some private inspiration from the Holy Spirit or as a word directly from God having 'certain' Apostolic authority. Once caught up in the vortex of their pride or ambition, those who urge the 'latest thinking' or the 'new truth' which they have discerned often quote selectively from Holy Scripture or from the Holy Fathers to 'prove' their points. Some, by the power of attractive personality or by false signs and wonders, have shaken the Faithful from following the plain truth of the Gospel and Holy Tradition.
But even more important here, the Apostle directs our attention to the underlying causes that motivate these deceived and deceiving innovators. But first, he has us observe that there always is a certain "falling away" (vs. 3) from the basics of the Faith. Note that the term, "falling away," in the original is the familiar - "apostasia," a "denying of those basic truths of Christianity without which it cannot be understood." Behind this "mystery of lawlessness" (vs. 7), lies a deeper rebellion that might seem, at first glance, to well up from no obvious source.
The Apostle, however, firmly identifies the primary cause of apostasy as "the working of Satan" (vs. 9) - ever the likely cause! And God permits the devil, and ourselves as well, to make wrong and evil choices (vs. 11). Do not be shocked at this, for God extended genuine freedom of choice to our race from the beginning (Gen. 2:16,17), expecting us to exercise our hearts and minds in favor of His truth and not to seek "pleasure in unrighteousness" (2 Thess. 2:12). Therefore, it behooves us always to be aware of diabolical machinations when we feel lured away from the Faith, for, as St. Seraphim of Sarov teaches: "We must always be attentive to the assaults of the devil; for can we hope that he will leave us without temptation, when he did not leave our Founder and Source of faith and Perfecter the Lord Jesus Christ Himself?"
Having helped us see the true nature of deception, the Apostle also spells out what happens if we allow ourselves to be taken in by Satan: at present, shaken minds and trouble - either within us or in our external affairs (vs. 2); and ultimately, condemnation by God (vs. 12) and perishing (vs. 10) along with Satan when the triumphant Lord Jesus returns and consumes and destroys him "with the breath of His mouth" and "the brightness of His coming" (vs. 8).
O Lord save Thy People and bless Thine inheritance, granting to Thy People victory over all their enemies; and by the power of Thy Cross preserving Thine Kingdom.