All You Need to Know About Conspiracy Theories, Part 2

Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective

In our previous article – the first in this short series – we introduced the subject of conspiracy theories and why it is next to impossible to ever learn the truth about them. We truly cannot ever actually know the truth about an area that appears to have huge question marks over it. Did President Roosevelt know about the upcoming Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor before it occurred? If he did, then what were his reasons for allowing that to happen? If he didn’t know, why didn’t he know? Was our spy apparatus not effectively working even though a good portion of the world was already at war? We will never know these answers because President Roosevelt died without ever revealing the answers. Any “evidence” that people might cite is purely secondary and up for debate.

Really, when it comes down to it, discussing and debating conspiracy theories is much like to opposing forces debating politics, sports, or religion. People become very set in their worldviews and belief systems and because of that, are loath to relinquish their point to a person on the opposite side of the fence. On a much simpler level, it’s like seeing the young woman as opposed to the old woman in the drawing. Once you see it, you can’t understand why everyone can’t see it. Just as importantly, once you see it, you can’t “unsee” it.

In reality, the world of conspiracy theories is filled to overflowing with all sorts of conjecture. One of the most compelling and long-lasting theories has to do with the Illuminati, an allegedly nefarious group of people who are extremely powerful and who, it is said, are directing this world to a global unification. Does this group exist? I believe it does. Can I prove it? Nope. Then why do I believe it to be the case? Simply because it makes sense, based on my understanding of what the Scripture tells me regarding God’s plan for the end of this age.

As I noted last time, if you are a person who does not believe that God exists, that Jesus is the second Person of that Triune Godhead, or that the Bible is truly God’s written Word to humanity, then you are on your own. You have no one else and nowhere else to turn for truth except to the things you personally believe have truth in them. As stated though, you are your highest authority with respect to what you see as truth and what you are willing to embrace as truth. Some might say I’m in the same boat and on one hand, you have a point. However, I place my faith in God’s Word so that it changes me and the life I live on an eternal level. No amount of conspiracy theories will do that for you.

My point is simple. I look to Scripture as the final arbiter and judge of what this world is all about. Jesus believed in Satan, Lucifer before his fall. There are many portions of Scripture that speak about a being so powerful, that he was able to convince 1/3 of the angelic hosts to follow him in his rebellion against God (Isaiah 14; Ezekiel 28; Revelation 12 provides a nice synopsis of Satan’s evil intents against God and His people are concerned. But here are Jesus’ own words regarding this individual, found in John 13:40.

I will not speak with you much longer, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no power over me,

In Matthew 4, Jesus learned first hand what this being was all about. There, we are told that Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tested by the enemy of our souls, Satan. Jesus was there for 40 days and 40 nights and never once caved into the pressure to ignore God the Father’s will for His own. We read in Matthew 4:11 that the devil left Jesus, but we know it was only for a time because there are other instances during Jesus’ life and ministry where Satan attempted to bring Jesus down. It wasn’t “once and done.”

But aside from the fact that Jesus knew Satan to be real, the Bible also tells us of God’s plan for the ages and the summation of all things. We know, for instance, that much of Revelation (chapters 6 – 18) deal with the coming Tribulation/Great Tribulation, a period of seven years in which God’s wrath is to be poured out onto this earth and all of humanity. While there are those who personally enjoy (and profit) from allegorizing God’s Word to make it say something else entirely, the reality is that this seven-year period is noted too many times in Scripture to ignore. We learn of it in Daniel 9, Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21, Joel, and other portions of Scripture. God has taken the time to repeat Himself throughout Scripture about the events leading up to the second coming of Jesus to this earth.

The Bible also tells us about a “man of lawlessness/sin” (2 Thessalonians 2) who will rise up to be this world’s final dictator (see also Daniel 9:24-27 and Matthew 24). While we might choose to laugh at such a ridiculous-sounding idea, the truth of the matter is that nearly every generation has had people who have risen to the top of the pile of humanity to at least try to proclaim themselves “king” of the world. Unfortunately, they’ve always managed to gain a following too.

During WWII, the world saw not one, but three individuals who would be such a king. Of course, we know of Adolf Hitler who publicly stated he only wanted to expand German borders so that there would be enough room for all Germans to live in the same empire. Because of this, Hitler began to ride roughshod over parts of Europe, starting with Poland, in an effort to make good on his threat. Little did the world realize that Satan was going to use Hitler to organize what would be called “The Final Solution” where Jews were concerned.

But Hitler was interesting because of just how ruthless he was toward anyone who wasn’t German. He really didn’t care because all he had in mind was his goal of localized domination over a wide swath of geography.

Another individual who rose to the top at this same time was Mussolini of Italy. Watch some videos of him giving speeches some time. Just as flamboyant as Hitler, but markedly more egocentric. His stated goal was to rebuild the Roman Empire and I’m sure he saw himself as the next Caesar. He did try to expand into Greece Northern Africa, and elsewhere.

Then of course, the third individual was Emperor Hirohito of Japan. Japan wanted to expand its empire to include China and most/all of Asia. Because of this goal, they began attacking islands and geography in Southeast Asia to the north of Australia. Had they been successful, they would have ultimately been able to seize control of Australia because shipping lines. Of course, at that point, commercial airlines didn’t really exist to the extent they do now. Beyond this, communication wasn’t what it is now as well.

But here we have three individuals who would be king of their empires. Fortunately, other countries came into the mix to stop those dangerous men. There are plenty of conspiracy theories that tell us that the globalists (Illuminati, aka Rothschilds), had a hand in helping Hitler at least gain power. Moreover, there is some factual information that tells us that George H. W. Bush’s father (George W.’s grandfather), Prescott Bush, was busy making a lot of money by selling weapons and arms to Hitler during WWII. For some unknown reason, Prescott Bush was never brought up on charges of treason or “war profiteering.” He simply made a ton of money until he couldn’t do it any longer. Who protected Bush? Who kept the wheels of justice from turning? No idea, but of course, some argue that it was the same Illuminati.

My point is simply this. If during WWII, there were three separate and distinct individuals who wanted to rule “the world” so to speak, why should we believe that would never happen again? Saddam Hussein seemed to have designs to increase Iraq and was even in the process of rebuilding Babylon. Like Hitler and Mussolini, Hussein also had visions of rebuilding a long-lost empire from the pages of history.

Understanding human nature and the fact that among society, it is not difficult to believe that there arises every once in a while, a person who deigns to become ruler of something, whether ruler over a small empire or the world. The Bible tells us that during the last portion of this current age, an individual will rise whom Paul calls the “man of sin” (2 Thessalonians 2).

If we learn about a person who is going to rise to the surface and take full charge of all humanity toward the end of the age, it is important that we know why this is going to occur. Once we learn why it’s going to occur, we will know if we will able to stop it from happening. If we can stop it, then it’s probably something we should try to do. If we cannot stop it, then we need to realize that and live accordingly.

We’ll continue with this next time and focus on the reality and brutality of the end times according to Scripture. Does it matter whether the conspiracy theories are true if the Bible tells us what we can expect?

Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective