“Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness” (2 Thessalonians 2:11-12 ESV).
The truth of God’s existence (and all that proceeds from it) is often difficult, uncomfortable, or inconvenient for those who would prefer to live as if that truth did not exist. Nevertheless, the old adage still applies: the truth always catches up with you. In this instance, a denial of the truth results in condemnation for those who “…would rather do evil than believe the truth” (CEV).
One source elaborates on the stark realities that confront us in this passage…
“Since they will not believe the truth, God allows them to believe the great lie. Although God is the sovereign agent behind all that happens, it is clear in this passage that a voluntary, rational choice is made by these people of every age who have pleasure in unrighteousness. The word used here (Gr eudokeo) means to ‘make a decision about what is right.’ The decision was theirs; they decided for unrighteousness rather than for righteousness and God. The result is that they are condemned, i.e., lost!” (1)
Another commentator offers a particularly hard-hitting analysis of these verses…
“This thought may astound some people, but the Scriptures actually teach that when men refuse to accept what God plainly says, that God sends delusion to them, that they may believe a lie and be condemned. There are numerous examples of this in the Bible.
(1) God hardened Pharaoh’s heart and caused him to suffer many plagues, because Pharaoh first hardened his own heart. Exo_3:19; Exo_5:1-2; Exo_7:3; Exo_7:13.
(2) God hardened the hearts of the wicked inhabitants of Canaan, so that they would fight Joshua and be destroyed. Jos_11:20.
(3) God sent a lying spirit to the prophets of Ahab, so that Ahab would go into battle and be killed. 1Ki_22:19-23. (Of course, Ahab had long before rejected Jehovah.)
(4) God turned the Gentiles who refused to honor Him as God, over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which were horribly evil and self-destructive. Rom_1:28.
(5) Likewise now the lie of the man of sin comes to those who will not receive the love of the truth. Beware.” (2)
The warning to modern-day readers of this passage is clear: “God furnishes no guarantee that He will disabuse sinners of error if they really prefer error to the truth.” (3)
(1) Hindson, E. E., & Kroll, W. M. (Eds.). (1994). KJV Bible Commentary (p. 2488). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
(2) Wilbur Fields, Thinking Through Thessalonians, Notes (2:9) [pg. 209] https://archive.org/stream/BibleStudyTextbookSeriesThessalonians/17Thessalonians_djvu.txt
(3) Archer, G. L. (1982). New International Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties (p. 410). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.