 | Matthew 13:11 "He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given." "It has been given to you to know": Here Jesus clearly affirms that the ability to comprehend spiritual truth is a gracious gift of God, sovereignly bestowed on the elect (verse 11). The reprobate ones, on the other hand, are passed over. They reap the natural consequence of their own unbelief and rebellion – spiritual blindness (verse 13). The mysteries of the kingdom of heaven": "Mysteries" are those truths which have been hidden from all ages in the past and revealed in the New Testament. Many specific doctrines of the new Testament are identified as "mysteries" (Rom. 11:25; 1 Cor. 15:51; Eph. 5:32; 6:19; Col. 1:26-27; 2 Thess. 2:7; 1 Tim. 3:9, 16). (people who preach the fake doctrine can not preach about Jesus Christ because they don't know Him personally) Jesus revealed to the people He wanted to know the mysteries. We have discovered that we never fully understand the mysteries of God. Every time We pick up the Bible and read a Scripture that we have read before, God will reveal something brand new to us. The more we search the Scriptures, the more we understand, it seems. Some unsaved person can read the Bible over and over and still not understand. The Bible is a spiritual book, and can only be understood through the spirit.
2 Thessalonians 2:11 "And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:" "God shall send them strong delusion": shows that the judgment of God will already have fallen on them (Matt. 13:10-17 for a similar instance). People who prefer to love sin and lies rather than gospel truth will receive severe, divine recompense, as do all sinners. God Himself will send judgment that insures their fate in the form of a "deluding influence" So that they continue to believe what is false. They accept evil as good and a lie as the truth. Thus does God use Satan and Antichrist as His instruments of judgment. Since they are not interested in the Truth of God, they will fall for a lie. Temptation is always around us to sin and to believe a lie. The protection we have is the Truth of God. God sent the Truth to those who will accept Him. Those who rejected Him will be sent strong delusion as punishment. |
