The deception of the elect is a curious one and I think it could be a long game topped with an ultimate decision to choose loyalties.
It could start with signs and wonders, maybe some miraclious type things and then total control with a mark of some kind.
...destruction, wanting to die but can't, plagues, famine, gonna be a wild ride. This too shall pass and all that though.
Desperate people do desperate things, I myself plan to pray for manna from heaven and hide where He tells me to, kinda hoping it's a treehouse.