Video from The Veritas Forum
God Gives Us What We Ask For — For Better or Worse - John Lennox at UCLA
"John Lennox (Oxford) explores the Christian view of judgement and Hell." from video introduction
When God Gives People Over to Delusion
"There is a principle often found in the Bible wherein God gives people over to their sins and delusions if they refuse to humble themselves and repent. Consequently, the more we reject the truth, the more deluded we become, and the more we reject the Lord’s moral standards, the more perverse we become.
We find this principle in Romans 1, which describes the spiritual and moral declension of the human race. In sum, because we rejected God, He gave us over to foolish idolatry. Then, as we persisted in sin, He gave us over to sexual immorality, then to sexual perversion, then to every kind of moral evil.
We find this same principle in 2 Thessalonians 2, but this time in terms of delusional beliefs, as those who reject God’s truth will end up following the Antichrist.
As Paul wrote, “The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.” (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12)
Notice carefully: God Himself sends these persistent unbelievers “a powerful delusion.” They are hardened in their sin, just as Pharaoh was in Exodus. (For a detailed treatment of the Hebrew verbs involved in the biblical account, see here.)
In some cases, we simply reap what we sow, meaning that, the more we walk in error, the further we get into error. The more we walk in disobedience, the more we disobey. (See Galatians 6:7-8.)
In other cases, as with the texts just referenced, God actively gives people over to delusion and deception. This is the judgment they experience for refusing to yield.
Today, we are witnessing a similar phenomenon, be it with people reaping what they have sown or with God giving them over to delusion. Either way, it is frightening to watch this unfold here and now, right in front of our own eyes.." from the article: When God Gives People Over to Delusion