Commentary on 2 Thessalonians
Cyprian (200–258)
And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be judged who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
Nevertheless the profound gloom of the falling darkness has so blinded the hearts of some, that they receive no light from the wholesome precepts, but, once turned away from the direct path of the true way, they are hurried headlong and suddenly by the night and error of their sins.
Not to recognize sins lest penance follow is the wrath of God, as it is written, "And the Lord gave to them the spirit of a deep sleep," lest they actually return and be cured and healed by their lamentations and just satisfactions after their sins. The apostle Paul in his epistle states and says, "For they have not received the love of truth that they might be saved. Therefore God will send them a misleading influence that they may believe falsehood, that all may be judged who have not believed the truth but have preferred wickedness." The first degree of happiness is not to sin; the second, to recognize the sins committed.
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