Charles Ellicott Commentary 2 Thessalonians 2:11

"And for this cause God sendeth them a working of error, that they should believe a lie:" — 2 Thessalonians 2:11 (ASV)

And for this cause — that is, because they did not care whether things were true or not. This verse is not a mere repetition of 2 Thessalonians 2:9–10. In those verses, there, we were told of the external dangers that would accompany Antichrist’s coming for those who are perishing. Because they had not cared for the truth, the presence of the Man of Sin—which could not even endanger those who love the truth—would, for them, be full of special marvels and deceptions by which they might be misled.

Here, the verse sets forth the effect on their own selves of refusing to accept God’s gift of the love of the truth: God takes from them, by His natural law, their power to discern the true from the false and thus, as it were, actually deceives them. Every willful sin causes this double mischief: it strengthens the power of the temptation from without and weakens the power to resist from within. For an illustration, see 2 Chronicles 18:7 and 22, where Ahab cares only for what is pleasant, not what is true, and the Lord repays him by sending a lying spirit to entice him.

Shall send — The Greek verb is in the present tense, “sends,” just as “is” in 2 Thessalonians 2:9. St. Paul sees it all happening before his eyes. “A strong delusion” should be understood as “an effective inner working of error”—no longer a mere indifference to truth, but a real influence of error on their hearts. This inner working of error is sent so that they believe the lie (the Greek has the definite article)—that is, the lie that Antichrist would have them believe. What a terrible combination when God and Satan are in agreement to deceive a person! Yet what an encouragement to see God using Satan for His own purposes.