Because of this, God sends them a working of error, that they should believe a lie;
World English Bible
2 Thessalonians 2:11
This verse is examined in more than one Scripture Analysis section. Each lens is shown on its own terms, in the section's own words; GEBible reaches no verdict of its own.
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Examined in Scripture Analysis
Contradictions (4)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
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Does God lie?
Numbers 23:19, 1 Samuel 15:29, Titus 1:2, and Hebrews 6:18 declare flatly that God cannot lie. Yet 1 Kings 22:23 has Yahweh personally putting a 'lying spirit' in the mouth of Ahab's prophets to lure him to his death, Ezekiel 14:9 has God say 'if a prophet is deceived, I the LORD have deceived that prophet,' and 2 Thessalonians 2:11 has God sending strong delusion so that people will believe a lie.
Critical scholarship: Widely regarded as a genuine contradiction.
Theology
More on this question
The proposed answers and sources for each reading are on the question page.
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Do humans have free will?
The Bible holds together two streams: Deuteronomy 30:19 and Joshua 24:15 frame human destiny as a real moral choice ("choose life," "choose you this day"), while Romans 8-9, Ephesians 1, and a stack of other texts have God predestining individuals to salvation or damnation before the foundation of the world.
Critical scholarship: Genuinely disputed among scholars.
Theology
More on this question
The proposed answers and sources for each reading are on the question page.
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Does God want some to go to hell?
1 Timothy 2:3-4 and 2 Peter 3:9 say God wants every human saved; Proverbs 16:4, John 12:40, Romans 9:18-22, and 2 Thessalonians 2:11-12 portray a deity who creates the wicked for the day of evil, hardens hearts to prevent repentance, prepares vessels of wrath, and sends strong delusion so that the damned will be damned. The two strands of texts presuppose flatly different doctrines of the divine will.
Critical scholarship: Widely regarded as a genuine contradiction.
Theology
More on this question
The proposed answers and sources for each reading are on the question page.
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Who forces non-believers to disbelieve?
John 12:40 attributes the blinding of unbelievers' eyes to God, and 2 Thessalonians 2:11-12 has God sending strong delusion so that they will believe a lie and be damned. 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 instead attributes the blinding of unbelievers' minds to the god of this world (Satan).
Critical scholarship: Leans toward a genuine contradiction.
Theology
More on this question
The proposed answers and sources for each reading are on the question page.
Each section sets the viewpoints side by side; you weigh the evidence. Here, "critical scholarship" means academic study, not a value judgment. How this is built →
Other verses examined for the same kind of question or claim
Within each section, grouped by shared field or question type — not a cross-section comparison.
Cite this page
This citation refers to this GEBible page — the verse and the analysis gathered here. To cite the underlying scholarship, cite those sources directly.
"2 Thessalonians 2:11 — Scripture Analysis" GEBible, https://gebible.app/analysis/verse/2-thessalonians/2/11?version=WEB (retrieved 26 August 2026).