Should Christians Pay Attention to Conspiracy Theories? by Chris Pinto
Featured National Talk-Show Host at www.worldviewradio.com and featured speaker at the 2012 Branson Worldview Weekend, St. Paul, MN and Atlanta Worldview Weekends
For some time now, books, videos, newsletters and the Internet have been swarmed with countless material that is often corralled into the category of "conspiracy theories." Generally speaking, the information concerns the New World Order, the New Age, Communism, Nazism, the Roman Catholic Church, the Evolution movement, and things that are frequently attributed to Bible prophecy. While it must be said that much of this material is wildly speculative and often false, much of the information is not without noteworthy origins.

Nevertheless, these issues are often ignored by Christian ministries, in a blanket manner, who seem to pretend that God's prophecies will be fulfilled at some later date, but are not readily recognizable in our own time. Many of us disagree with this view, and consider it a responsibility to sound the trumpet as we see the Day of the Lord approaching. Yet in doing this, we find ourselves exposing the conspiracies of deceitful men. Some will argue that we ought not to be preoccupied with such conspiracies, and just preach the Gospel. But what does the Bible say?

The word "conspiracy" is mentioned many times in the Old Testament Scriptures,
and comes from the Hebrew word qesher (keh'-sher) meaning "an (unlawful) alliance: -- confederacy, conspiracy, treason" (Strong's 7195). We only find the word once in the New Testament when certain Jews conspire to kill the apostle Paul (Acts 23:13). Nevertheless, the New Testament writings abound with warnings and prophecies about deception and delusion in the last days. From false gospels to wolves in sheep's clothing, the exhortations to stay on the alert and "take heed that no man deceive you" permeate the teachings of Christ and the apostles. Jesus said:

"Take heed that no man deceive you. For
many shall come in my name, saying, I am
Christ; and shall deceive many."
(Matt. 24:4-5)

From here, Jesus next goes on to describe hearing of "wars and rumors of wars" and how "nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom …" It seems clear that deception precedes the upheaval of the nations and kingdoms on earth. In v. 6 of this passage, the Lord tells His disciples: "… see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass …" That said, it's important to remember that "be not troubled" and "don't pay attention" are not exactly the same thing.

In Isaiah chapter 8, God gives us what should be the ideal perspective on conspiracies, if and when we see them come to pass:

"For the Lord spake thus to me … saying,
Say ye not, A conspiracy*, to all them to
whom this people shall say, A conspiracy;
neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid.

Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself; and let
him be your fear, and let him be your dread.
And he shall be for a sanctuary …"
(Isaiah 8:11-14)

There have always been conspiracies among the governments of men. Just think about how men like Nebuchadnezzar II, Cyrus the Persian, or Alexander the Great were able to overthrow so many kingdoms and bring them under their power. These men had to conspire and plan the takeover of other countries. Sometimes people were aware of the conspiracies, sometimes they weren't. Regardless, God makes it clear that such things should not trouble His servants. Our fear should be to fear God, and then we will not fear what man can do to us. If we fear the Lord, He will be our sanctuary; He will be our strong tower of defense. Then we can say with the saints, I will not fear what man can do to me; if God be for us, who can be against us? (Hebrews 13:6, Romans 8:31)

*NOTE: In the original KJV, this word is translated confederacy. Nevertheless, it is the same Hebrew word (qesher) which is translated conspiracy in 9 other passages of the OT.

Prophecy & the Gospel

"… the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."
(Revelation 19:10)

How do conspiracy theories fit in with The Great Commission? This is a good question and one to be considered by those who investigate end time events and those who don't. First let me say that this writer is of the opinion that conspiracy theories have little or no value unless they glorify God, and demonstrate the fulfillment of Bible prophecy. Some believe the great commission consists only of telling unbelievers how they are sinners, need to repent, and put their faith in Jesus Christ for salvation. I would, in part, agree. Yet with this, I would remind my brethren that the Lord's command is to teach the nations "… all things whatsoever I have commanded you …" (Matt. 28:20) There is much more to the Lord's teachings than repentance from sin and faith toward God.

The Book of Jude begins with the author speaking of how he intended to write of "the common salvation" (what might be a typical Sunday sermon), but then changes direction, saying:

"… it was needful for me to write unto
you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly
contend for the faith which was once delivered
unto the saints. For there are certain men
crept in unawares, who were before of old
ordained to this condemnation …"
(Jude 3,4)

Notice how Jude makes reference to the fact that these "ungodly men" were known "before of old." As we read again and again in the New Testament, the false teachers and deceivers of the modern era are in fact the fulfillment of Bible prophecy.

"… evil men and seducers shall wax worse
and worse, deceiving and being deceived."
(2 Timothy 3:13)

The purpose of exposing the evil deceptions of wicked men is not to make others fearful, and it's certainly not to stop the New World Order. As we have shown in our documentaries, these things will come to pass because God has declared them. Nowhere are we instructed to prevent these things from happening, but instead we are told, "these things must come to pass." (Matt. 24:6) To challenge our understanding even more, we find this perplexing passage concerning the ten kings who will rule the world with Antichrist:

"… God hath put in their hearts to fulfill
his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom
unto the beast, until the words of God
shall be fulfilled."
(Revelation 17:17)

This passage and many others in the Bible make it clear that God Himself is ultimately directing the outcome of world events. Nevertheless, "not stopping" the NWO is to be distinguished from taking part therein. We must remember how Jesus said, "And truly the Son of man goeth, as it was determined: but woe unto that man by whom he is betrayed!" (Luke 22:22) Yes, the kingdom of Antichrist will come to pass as it was determined by God; but it's clearly something we are called to be separate from; to be salt in the earth, and as lights shining in a dark place.

But back to the issue: How do conspiracy theories serve the Gospel message? The answer comes when they glorify the only true God, and the testimony of His Son. Sometimes this happens by exposing the wicked deeds of evil men, as it is written: "… have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them." (Ephesians 5:11) Jesus said that the world hates Him "because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil." (John 7:7) Furthermore, John the Baptist was arrested and put to death for speaking against King Herod, not just for his adultery but "for all the evils which Herod had done …" (Luke 3:19) The prophets of old (Moses, Samuel, Elijah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel) were sent to testify against kings because of their wickedness. It is one thing to speak evil against the ruler of your people (i.e. to curse them or to wish them harm), which the Bible forbids (Acts 23:5); but it is not evil to expose their treachery, if such treachery exists. In doing so, the prophets of old compelled wicked rulers to repent, warning them of God's judgment.

Yet above all else, revealing the world conspiracy against the Lord and against His Christ is according to the writings of the prophets. Understanding the global conspiracy can only happen when world events are examined through the lens of Scripture and all that God has told us would come to pass. As we show in other works, God demonstrates His authority as the only true God through prophecy. In Isaiah, He says:

"Remember the former things of old: for
I am God and there is none else; I am
God and there is none like me, declaring
the end from the beginning, and from ancient
times the things that are not yet done …"
(Isaiah 46:9-10)

God maintains that "there is none" like Him who can declare the end from the beginning. In other words, there are no gods, powers or principalities in the entire pantheon of pagan beliefs that can do what Yahweh, the God of the Bible can do in this regard. While we see demonic powers manifesting "miracles" at various points (i.e. the Egyptian magicians of Exodus 7:11-12, and the false prophet in Revelation 13:14) none of these powers has the ability to declare future events with 100% accuracy. Only the God of the Bible has this ability. As such, it is through prophecy that Yahweh establishes Himself as the God of all gods, and the only salvation for mankind.

God tells us in the Scriptures that kings and rulers would be conspiring against Him and against the Lord Jesus Christ at the end of the age. In the Old Testament, we read in the Psalms:

"Why do the heathen rage, and the
people imagine a vain thing? The kings
of the earth set themselves, and the
rulers take counsel together, against the
Lord, and against his anointed …"
(Psalm 2:1-2)

Then in the New Testament, the apostle Peter quotes this Scripture in relation to those who reject the Lord Jesus Christ:

""Why did the heathen rage, and the
people imagine vain things? The kings
of the earth stood up, and the rulers
were gathered together against the Lord,
and against his Christ."
(Acts 4:25-26)

This gathering against God and Christ reaches its climax in the Book of Revelation, where we read how the kings of the earth make war against Jesus Himself:

"And the ten horns which thou sawest
are ten kings … These shall make war
with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall
overcome them: for he is Lord of lords
and King of kings …"
(Revelation 17:12, 14)

Finally, in chapter 19, we read of the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, who comes in the clouds of heaven where every eye shall see Him:

"And I saw heaven opened, and behold
a white horse; and he that sat upon
him was called Faithful and True, and
in righteousness he doth judge and
make war … And he hath on his vesture
and on his thigh a name written, KING
OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
(Revelation 19:11, 16)

Just a few verses later, we find the kings of the earth gathered together alongside the Antichrist, and these deluded rulers have actually planned to make war against the Christ of God! The Scripture makes it clear that these kings are compelled by demonic powers:

"And I saw three unclean spirits like
frogs come out of the mouth of the
dragon, and out of the mouth of the
beast, and out of the mouth of the
false prophet. For they are the spirits
of devils … which go forth unto the kings
of the earth and of the whole world, to
gather them to the battle of that great
day of God Almighty … And he gathered
them together into a place called in the
Hebrew tongue Armageddon."
(Revelation 16:14,16)

"And I saw the beast, and the kings of
the earth, and their armies, gathered
together to make war against him that
sat on the horse, and against his army."
(Revelation 19:11, 16, 19)

As we show through our research, this war against God and Christ is not merely symbolic; it is a very literal and direct attack against Jesus Himself. The secret societies that are so often shown to be ruling the world behind the scenes, and who have been laboring to bring mankind into a global empire, demonstrate through their repeated writings, declarations, and actions that their main enemy is Jesus and the gospel message. The early rebels of the Communist movement declared: "Our enemy is God. Hatred of God is the beginning of wisdom." That statement clearly defines the collective mind behind the New Age/New World Order movement, and is the fulfillment of bible prophecy.