Without getting totally into politics, it’s going to take a little bit on politics in order to get my thoughts rolling while writing this. I will do my best to contain myself and reach my point soon. :)

The nuclear deal with Iran is a bad deal — on many levels. As a Christian, of course I take offense that the US would be making a deal with Israel’s biggest enemy, who vows to blow her off the face of the planet — they are God’s people. I also am shocked that Obama is actually moving towards the total disconnect of our support and partnership with her. I never thought I’d see the day the possibility of this would ever happen. And even though this seems to be all unfolding according to biblical prophecy, I still love my country. And when God says He will make judgment on whoever condemns her, I know He is not joking around. (Genesis 12:3) It’s startling.

As American citizens, we have Iran calling us the Big Satan (Israel the Little Satan), and I’m seeing a growing amount of footage with multitudes of Iranians shouting “death to America” — along with new highly-produced propaganda footage Iran has recently released, that makes the hairs on my neck stand up. Meanwhile, Obama continues to see this bad deal to the finish line, with US tax dollars funding a program that could very well land nuclear bombs in suitcases, at the least, on American soil. With this deal, we will never be the same. We also have four American citizens being held in Iran that have been left by the wayside, and as of now, have been left out of this deal’s negotiations. This speaks very loud. 

Since I do get a little wound up in political decisions of late, of course I say to myself that’s a madman’s decision if I’ve ever seen one, calling these insane shots on behalf of our country. Where is this even coming from? I ask this because It makes absolutely no sense. It’s either the work of a madman paving the way or — could it possibly be — that I am now gaining a further understanding of what delusion really means? Is this the next unfolding I am witnessing? In our leadership — only to watch it trickle downhill from there?

Delusion defined.

1. the state of being deluded (to mislead the mind or judgment of; deceive)
2. a false belief or opinion
3. a fixed false belief that is resistant to reason or confrontation with actual fact

What actually triggered my thoughts on the topic of this post was a candid video clip I watched on the news last week. The first thing I thought after I viewed it was that all of the people being interviewed were shockingly deluded. My second thought was that people are acting very similar to cattle, these days in general, being herded along because they don’t take the time to do their homework. Or they just don’t care enough to dig down and at least try to figure things out — too busy worrying about their own personal lives and immediate bubble. It’s easy to do.

The newsclip was produced by a political satirist that took to the “highly educated” (and highly liberal) streets of the Upper West Side in Manhattan to talk to the people about the nuke deal. He was looking for feedback — if they thought Obama’s deal with Iran was a good deal or a bad deal. I’m not sure how many were interviewed total in his day, but the ten or so shown in the clip were all agreeing with him about how important it was that certain, crucial terms were indeed secured in the agreement — or else they wouldn’t be supporting it. The hook of the story was, none of those crucial terms are in the deal at all — and they were assuming the interviewer was an Obama supporter, so they were eagerly discussing it. One man said he had even read the whole transcript (impossible) word for word and it was written beautifully. One man said this was the best way to avoid wars. Nodding heads, yes, yes yes! So, how were they all so misled and/or assumptive that what they were strongly agreeing with and supporting was completely opposite from the information they thought they were agreeing with? The crucial part of the terms that makes this agreement with Iran so downright absurd! 

To me, this story is just an example of one of the many to come in regard to what I call a dangerous delusion. And though this video topic involves a decision that the majority of Americans do not agree with, I am sure you can think of a few other major decisions that have been made lately that a lot of Americans do agree with — against the basic laws of God. I think many haven’t thought about or even considered the boomerang effect such decisions will ultimately have on our society as a whole — affecting all points of view, all walks of life — no matter what your religious belief may be. Time will tell. No, this isn’t just about nuclear deals with Iran. This isn’t just about what political side you favor, or what church you go to.

Because I am a follower of Christ, I feel very honored to be living in these times. But — it also blows my mind at how much of a 180-degree turn we have so rapidly made in our once-held moral standards — just over the last couple of years. Sadly, even within the church. So what has happened to us and how has all of this happened so fast?

Could it be delusion is starting to set in?

Scripture does clearly tell us that God will send a strong delusion during the End Times, especially during the Tribulation period. Why? Because, It’s a man’s choice whether or not to accept and believe the truth of Jesus Christ. If you learn the truth and choose not to believe it — frankly put, God’s going to give you exactly what you want! He knows your heart. Repercussions will be the result of your own decisions, nothing more and nothing less.

So God will cause them to be greatly deceived, and they will believe these lies.Then they will be condemned for enjoying evil rather than believing the truth. (2 Thessalonians 2:11-12)

Tough love from a jealous God. Rejecting His love hurts Him more than we can even imagine. He is our Creator. He loves us so much. And, we are all made in His image, so we should be able to understand this emotion from our own experiences with rejection. Shouldn’t we? I do know that God is much more patient and merciful than we could ever be. And, He has done everything in His power to show us His love, by sending His one and only Son to die on the cross in our place, and He is still doing everything in His power to show us His love, save us, and offer a place in eternity with Him. He is also exceedingly patient.

The seven-year Tribulation period will be a short period of time in the grand scheme of things, and it’s going to be horrible — and that is putting it mildly. That’s why (our merciful) God said He will shorten the days for the sake of the new believers that come to Christ during that time. So perhaps delusion is one of the ways He speeds up the process. I don’t know. We obviously aren’t in the Tribulation yet, but I do think we are beginning to see End Times signs of man’s deluded mind beginning to take shape. Now more than ever, there is such a noticeable loss of the sense of right and wrong.

The Prophet Isaiah did warn us against this very thing, in revealing our day. Perfectly said.

Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. (Isaiah 5:20)

In closing, there are two types of people out there. Ones that will listen and be open to Christianity, and ones that won’t. Those who will be saved, and those who won’t. Those who will be eventually deluded, and those who will know the truth only through their salvation. If you are even a little bit curious about Jesus Christ — you are already on the right track. Keep looking for answers and don’t ever stop. Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear.” (Mark 4:9)

So listen, because He is calling your name.

Holding fast,

Lori