The Problem with Conspiracy Theories.

  

If you are a Christian then you no doubt know that we are, by default, under spiritual attack the moment we give our lives to Christ. After all, the world hated Jesus; and since we are his followers we are also hated. A servant cannot be greater than the master, and if the world hates the master, they will hate the servant, too. 

That being said, it has come to my attention that one of the greatest threats facing Christians today is not the spreading of Atheism and the subsequent hatred of religion in general. Nor is it the disunity and open hostility between different churches within the body of Christ—though this is indeed a major issue that I feel needs to be addressed and resolved within the church if we are to work together to bring the Gospel to as many people as possible, within the time we have left.

Indeed, one of the biggest threats I see in the church today is the overwhelming prevalence of “conspiracy theories” dominating the lives of Christians—perhaps more so now than ever before. 

The reason why I say that conspiracy theories are one of the biggest threats to God’s Kingdom is that they are a weapon aimed specifically at Christians and individuals with some basic knowledge of End Times prophecy. Though there are some exceptions to this, such as Area 51, that have little to no biblical correlation whatsoever.

That being said, the majority of conspiracy theories tend to follow a pattern of subtle inception that generally pertains to the Mark of the Beast, the Antichrist and his one-world-government (often referred to as the “New World Order”) as well as various other theories pertaining to secret organizations conspiring to bring about the one-world-government. (Which we know from the scriptures will happen during the Great Tribulation. So in that regard the only “conspiracy” is in fact God’s will. And God’s will will be done.)

Indeed, the majority of these theories are based in biblical fact. And that is exactly why they are so devastating to the Christian walk. They act as a poison (or more accurately a narcotic) that slowly seeps into a person’s mind, a little at a time, until they are eventually so obsessed with the theories themselves that they forget their greater purpose: Their God-given calling to go into all the world and make disciples of all nations. 

Of course, the only way that these conspiracies can actually work, or even affect a true Christian is if that person believes that there is no rapture of the church prior to the beginning of the Great Tribulation. 

Let me stress this further. Since these conspiracies are aimed specifically at Bible-believing individuals, one must assume that these individuals believe—or at least are aware—that, according to the scriptures, God poured out his wrath on Jesus Christ in our place, so that we who are by nature stranded in our sins could find life and liberty through him by means of his death and resurrection.

It is also reasonable to assume that those who chose to believe in End Times conspiracy theories know that the various plagues and disasters of the End Times are also God’s wrath being poured out on an unbelieving, unrepentant world.

This of course raises several thought-provoking points. Mainly: If God already poured out his wrath on Jesus in our place, then why would He pour it out again on the people He died to save? The only explanation would of course be that Christians have to be punished for their sins despite Christ’s sacrifice. There is of course absolutely no biblical support of this claim. In fact, the Bible says quite the opposite.

“So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.”

~ Romans 8:1-2 (NLT) [Emphasis Added]

But suppose you still believe that the Christians mentioned in Revelation are being judged for their sins? Well this only raises more questions. For instance: If Christians have to pay for their sins regardless, then why does God only judge the last generation of Christians? Wouldn’t He also have to punish everyone who had died before that time? If that is the case, and every Christian still has to be punished postmortem, then why did Jesus even have to die to begin with? What's the point?

I am not saying that Christians won’t experience persecution and suffering; the Bible makes it abundantly clear that we should expect persecution. However, these trials and tribulations are not the Great Tribulation we see in Revelation. There is a difference between being persecuted by men because of our faith in God, and God judging us for our sins.

Also it is fair to point out that the Bible does say that each will be judged according to his deeds. However, this does not imply God’s punishment of believers for past sins. If we are in Christ then we are forgiven and are judged according to what we did with the gift God gave us; to be rewarded accordingly. If you are not in Christ however, then you are still in your sins. You will be judged for these sins, and having rejected Christ‘s forgives, you will be found guilty. (Revelation 20: 7-15)

In short, the only conclusion that will logically work with the conspiracy theorist mind-set, is that Christ's death and resurrection wasn't enough. Which leaves them in a very dangerous place: A hopeless, Christ-less void, where there is no forgiveness of sins; Jesus’ death and resurrection meant nothing; and there is more obsession with hell and the forces of darkness than with God and His victory over Satan and death.

This alone is bad enough, but it gets worse. If you follow the conspiracy theorist line of reasoning one step further, you are ultimately left wondering if the Bible has any validity at all. At which point every End Time conspiracy theory falls apart because if you believe that the Bible isn’t true, then you shouldn’t be concerned with the End Times prophecies at all, since they’re all nothing but a bunch of fairy-tales and therefore can't be trusted or taken seriously.

So what is the ultimate outcome of an obsession with conspiracy theories? Atheism. Or at the very least, agnosticism—doubting that God exists or even cares what happens to us. 

Now to me, that seems to be evidence enough that all these theories are nothing more than a carefully constructed scheme of the Devil, meant to mislead Christians into abandoning the God-ordained calling of the Great Commission, by tricking them into living in a survivalist and ineffective way—effectively burying their talent in the ground. (Matthew 25: 14-30)

Ultimately conspiracy theories destroy the very foundation of Christianity; neutralizing the Gospel and crippling Christians with an unbearable burden of fear and paranoia. Conspiracy theories slowly draw people’s eyes away from God and get them focused on this world, and the worries of this life. Instead of setting their eyes on things above and running their race with endurance, they stick their heads in the sand and brace themselves for the Tribulation.

So I ask you this: What better way is there for Satan to prevent God’s message of forgiveness and salvation from reaching the world, than to force the Christians who could be spreading the Gospel into self-imposed seclusion? Or worse: replacing their Gospel message—that is, the good news about Jesus Christ—with a message of doom and despair, like those found in nearly every conspiracy theory?

Essentially the obsessive belief in End Times related conspiracy theories is little more than a cleverly disguised ploy of the Devil meant to disable or destroy the Christian life. Yes it is true that these theories are based in scriptural truths. But remember: the Devil can quote scriptures too, and he loves to twist them to meet his own ends. However, if you peel back the seemingly unrelated layers you can see (or at least, I hope you can see) that these theories and the obsession thereof undermine the Gospel and indeed the whole foundation of Christianity itself. That being said, I believe it is clear to us that such things have no place in the Christian life and should be put as far from our minds as possible, lest they hinder us—or worse—destroy us completely.

“Don’t call everything a conspiracy, like they do, and don’t live in dread of what frightens them. Make the Lord of Heaven’s Armies holy in your life. He is the one you should fear. He is the one who should make you tremble. He will keep you safe…”

~ Isaiah 8:12-14 (NLT)