In our last article, we looked at why anyone should care about conspiracy theories. The conclusion was that we should become Christian Conspiracy Theorists (CCT) and aware of conspiracy theories because they confirm a central theme in the Bible which is that Satan is the ruler of this world. Today, I want to specifically look at not just what difference it makes for a Christian to know conspiracies or be aware of them, but also the more central issue of, “doesn’t it mean you don’t trust God?”
The argument is as follows: You look at conspiracies and spread fear about the world we live in. You warn people about impending danger and possible destruction of the political, economic, and even spiritual pillars of society as we know them. Therefore, you do not trust God that He will make all things right. Trusting in God means you shouldn’t look or care about these conspiracies because ultimately God will take care of things.
It’s a valid point. The danger certainly is that anyone, Christian or not, can get caught up in the web of conspiracy theories making them higher than Jesus. It is true that conspiracies can become an idol. But that’s true for anything, not just conspiracies. Of course I don’t believe that is the point to the CCT. I am going to make a bold claim and then back it up with Scripture. It is more Biblical to understand conspiracy theories and study them than to ignore them!
For the last two centuries, theologians have been very well versed in the realm of atheism, scientism, and secular philosophies in order to counter these arguments. The advent of modern day apologetics is great and an important tool for any believer to have in their intellectual arsenal. However, as we move into the 21st century, I believe it’s time to gain a better understanding of the supernatural elements of Scripture. The Bible is a supernatural book full of God’s providential information, but also exposing the counterfeit spiritual practices and entities. To ignore them, and not take time to relate these revelations to the world around us, would be ignoring much of what God wants us to know!
As a general consensus, conspiracies are everywhere. They have been a part of our history. Here are a list of just twelve conspiracies that have been proven to be true in our known recorded history!
1. 63 BC The Second Catiline conspiracy
2. 44 BC Caesar assassination plot
3. 1605 Gunpowder plot
4. 1763 Small pox infected blankets to the Native Americans
5. 1865 Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
6. 1894 The Dreyfus affair
7. 1913 Federal Reserve Act (If you don’t know about this one, you need to!)
8. 1919 Black Sox Scandal
9. 1945 Nazi Gold
10. 1950 Project MKULTRA
11. 1964 Gulf of Tonkin incident
12. 1972 Watergate scandal
The key element to any conspiracy is the element of deception. Lies upon lies create a web and fog so thick that one would have to get their hands dirty to arrive at the truth of any given matter. But luckily for us, God has given us the true source of these lies. It’s Satan.
“For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.” ~John 8:44 (emphasis added)
So as you can see, the very characteristic of any conspiracy is of the fallen cherub himself. So it’s no surprise that he would be behind most or all conspiracies.
The Bible also tells us to put on the full armor of God to be able to stand against the “schemes of the devil.”
“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.” ~ Ephesians 6:11
The Greek word for “schemes” is methodeia of which we get our English word “method.” It simply means “craft, deceit.” This means that Satan is going to use deception as a way to carry out his agenda. And if we are not aware of the methods and schemes of Satan, than we are going to be eaten alive! In conjunction with this verse, one of my favorite verses is found in the chapter prior to this one when Paul states:
“Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.” ~ Ephesians 5:12
The Greek word for expose here is elegchó, and it means to rebuke, reprove, convict or expose. The message here is to not just sit idle, but expose what is not of Christ. But how can we expose anything if we do not know what we are exposing? This is where we can go back to Ephesians 6:12 and find out the what’s really going on here.
“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” ~Ephesians 6:12
Ladies and Gentlemen, this is the core issue here. Our war is not carnal, it is spiritual. Because the CCT knows this, it allows them to be much better prepared to investigate and learn about the methods of Satan, as well as expose them. If we neglect to do these things, then we’re really not following a major part of what we are called to do. Of course this is all in the name and authority of Jesus Christ.
And to answer the criticism of not trusting God, I would say, it’s quite the opposite. The CCT requires tremendous trust in God. This is simply because we are the ones who infiltrate and investigate the dark places that most shy away from. Without a complete and utter trust in God, this research and investigation would be in vain. Without the protection of Christ, none of the work of the CCT is worth anything. Throughout Scripture, we find folks who trust God when it seems ridiculous or outright insane to the world. Remember what 1 John 2 tells us:
“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” ~1 John 2:15
And remember what David said in trusting the Lord:
“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” ~Psalm 23:4
I could go on and on. The point is that we live in a world that is ruled by Satan and influenced by Satan for his ends. This is where I can go off into why I believe end times prophecy is important to look at. Without going too far down this rabbit trail, let me just point out one verse that lets us know what we are dealing with when it comes to the Satanic kingdom that we are living in today.
“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” ~1 Peter 5:8
The fact that the verse starts off with the words, “Be sober-minded; be watchful,” is indicative of what the CCT is doing. Looking at the world conspiracies, and understanding what’s behind it all takes a sober mind. It is also being watchful because we are keeping an eye on the enemy. Something I haven’t brought up which I should have is that the CCT is essentially a watchmen. I certainly consider myself a watchmen, but I can’t tell you how many times I can relate to this verse:
“I set watchmen over you, saying, ‘Pay attention to the sound of the trumpet!’ But they said, ‘We will not pay attention.’” ~Jeremiah 6:17
The church at large, and those who ridicule or ignore the warning that we are in a very important and integral time in history could very well be deceived. And this deception may end up with many who might call themselves Christians to believe the lie and possibly lose their salvation!
“Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day (The day of the Lord) will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time.For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way.And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders,and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false,in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” ~2 Thessalonians 2:3-12 (emphasis added)
There’s a lot there in these verses. Some parts of these verses are classic rapture verses, but I beg to differ on those points. Nevertheless, I want to focus on the key points that are emphasized.
First, the word for “rebellion” as rendered by the ESV here is actually the word apostasia, the falling away. While pre-tribulation rapture folks use this as meaning “rapture”, the reality is that the word apostasy means “a departure” or again as the KJV and NKJV puts it, a falling away. I find it interesting that most Christians don’t get as alarmed when seeing this verse. I don’t think it is simply talking about the unbelieving world. In fact, I believe because this is a letter from Paul to the church in Thessalonica, it can be looked at as a letter to the body of Christ as well. And what seems to be implied here, is that many people who call themselves Christians are going to be deceived! This will be comes more apparent as we continue.
The next portion I emphasized is also very alarming. First off, it states clearly that the coming of Satan incarnate is going to be marked by “all power and false signs and wonders.” This is the biggest lie that is going to manifest in human history. And again, isn’t it alarming that Paul states, “Therefore, God sends a strong delusion.” Think about this for a moment. God is going to send a strong delusion that even those of us who are believers could believe the lie. This is not going to be a politician promising “change.” This is going to be something much bigger, and far more supernatural.
If we couple 2 Thessalonians with the following verse we find from Jesus directly, who says:
“For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.” ~Matthew 24:24 (emphasis added)
…we find ourselves come to the conclusion that whatever is going to happen in the very near future, it is going to be highly deceptive, and quite possibly something that will deceive our brother and sisters in Christ who were not warned or educated on the matter.
Conclusion
So what difference does conspiracy theories make for Christians? Everything. I hope you’re beginning to see that it’s not a far fetched, tin foil hat, fear mongering tactic to sell books. Rather, for the Christian who investigates and studies Conspiracy Theories, it is the catapult that gives us more reason to hold onto the Lord. Every little conspiracy that we uncover is another thread in the fabric of the great deception, one led by Satan, with his goal to bring down the church which is the body of Christ. If you think about it, one soul giving up their faith in Christ when the lawless one is revealed and Satan has in essence, a glimpse of victory. The Lord desires all to come to the knowledge of truth and so be saved (1 Timothy 2:4) and the CCT takes the same attitude when learning about such topics.
And about trusting God? Well again, I think I’ve demonstrated enough times that learning about the enemy requires a tremendous amount of trust in God. It requires us to lean on God for protection in infiltrating enemy territory to gain intelligence. It requires us to hold steadfast to God’s promise that in the end He wins and we glory with Him! It requires us to trust God in this calling and this ministry because we certainly know that it’s not for everyone. Our Lord is powerful and true. We have victory in Christ. But learning about the enemy and bringing people out of the current deception, as well as warning the body of Christ for the coming Great deception is a tall order. Being a CCT means that you are going to get opposition from both sides; the secular world, and the church at large. But there is one verse that we must keep in mind when coming face to face with such opposition:
“Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets. Love Your Enemies, “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.” ~Luke 6:26-28
This will lead us straight into the next and final segment of these articles when we look at the question: What does knowing about conspiracies have to do with “loving your neighbor”? and What are the pros and cons of being a Christian Conspiracy Theorist?
Written by Gonz - June 2, 2012
