In this blog post I want to give the scriptural reasons for why I, as a member of the body of Christ, have no use for conspiracy theories. I want to make clear from the very start that I am not writing this to start any controversy or arguments over these matters. The reason for writing this up is that conspiracy theories seem to be popular amongst the body of Christ, and I don’t believe they should be for the reasons I list below. I consider conspiracy theories to be a distraction at best for members of the body of Christ. I encourage you to read this in its entirety and consider my scriptural reasons as to why I believe this.
Roots in insubordination -
Rom 12:21; 13:1-2: "Be not conquered by evil; but conquer evil with good. Let every soul be subject to the superior authorities, for there is no authority except under God. Now those which are, have been set under God, so that he who is resisting an authority has withstood God's mandate. Now those who have withstood, will be getting judgment for themselves,"
Tit 3:1-2: "Remind them to be subject to sovereignties, to authorities; to be yielding, and to be ready for every good work, to be calumniating no one, to be pacific, lenient, displaying all meekness toward all humanity."
In my experience, many if not most conspiracy theories that have been shared with me or that I have run into, have been rooted in insubordination. These theories vary of course, but the premise of most can generally be summed up as this: “the government/elites have been lying to you, so that they can bring about their nefarious plan.” This premise is then used as the reasoning for being insubordinate toward the government/elites in question.
Not one time in any of Paul’s letters do I ever read him tell us, as members of the body of Christ, to be insubordinate toward our governments or the civil authorities. I do read him tell us to be subject to sovereignties and authorities, yielding, lenient, peaceful, meek, and gracious toward all. Why does Paul entreat us to act like this? Because as ambassadors of Christ, we are to have the same disposition that our God and Father has toward all, which is graciousness. We should be living like we actually believe the evangel of the grace of God and in the conciliation. Correctly cutting the word of truth plays an important part here. In this current administration, we are entreated be of the same disposition as our God and Father. We are not in the coming day of Lord, when disobedience toward the authorities (both civil and religious) of the time will be required by faithful Israelites and those who want to worship the Living God (Rev 14:9-12). This truth about correctly cutting cannot be understated. Unlike in other administrations, when worshippers of the Living God were encouraged to be insubordinate toward earthly authorities (Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, Abed-nego, Peter in Acts 5, and saints during the coming day of the Lord) not once does our apostle Paul tell us to be insubordinate, but to be subject. This entreaty that Paul is making to members of the body of Christ of course, but it is an entreaty he sees fit to mention multiple times in his letters.
I do not believe we as members of the body of Christ should have a part in anything that spurs on or spreads insubordination, in keeping with the attitude we should have as ambassadors of peace. I believe conspiracy theories aid in spreading insubordination and encourage this attitude, which Paul says we should not have as members of the body of Christ, therefore this is one reason I have no use for conspiracy theories.
I made a video a couple of years ago titled: “We are ambassadors of peace, not ambassadors of evil”. This video went into detail on the verses I shared in this section and I also read some of A.E. Knoch’s commentary on these verses, which I find to be very good.
Conspiracy theories are unreliable towards understanding the end of the eon -
Many (especially christians) have been looking to conspiracy theories instead of the scriptures to gain understanding about the events coming at the end of the eon, which in Daniel, is referred to as “the era of the end”. It seems to be becoming more prevalent, and this should be of no surprise. With modern internet platforms of media, news and information that use algorithms to feed people more of the things they like to read, see and hear, rather than things that challenge their positions, it is no surprise these are becoming more popular. Christianity, as a whole, has no idea about the truth of the conciliation and frankly, God’s plan for the eons and His plan for humanity. They believe it is their job to “root out evil” not realizing that Christ is returning to the earth not to congratulate christianity, but destroy it along with its lies. Regarding the era of the end, “research” done into conspiracy theories is often more exciting than a diligent and laborious study of the scriptures. The scriptures let members of the body of Christ as well as the Israel of God know what they need to know concerning the era of the end.
The important principle of correctly cutting the word of truth comes into play here, in remembering the different expectations of the Israel of God and the body of Christ. In my blog post on the snatching away of the body of Christ, I go into why there are no signs for the body of Christ that will precede the snatching away, as we are to be awaiting our Saviour:
Phil 3:20: "For our realm is inherent in the heavens, out of which we are awaiting a Saviour also, the Lord, Jesus Christ,"
Conspiracy theories will not give us a “sign” of when the snatching away will occur. If we needed a sign, God would have given us one in scripture. We are to await our Saviour.
In contrary to the body of Christ, Israel still has the seventieth seven (periods of 7 years) prophesied by Daniel to go through before the return of the Lord Jesus Christ to the Mount of Olives (for Israel) and the establishment of the 1000 year kingdom on the earth.
There is an important section of scripture that I believe most have forgotten about, and that is the 11th and 12th chapters of Daniel. The purpose of the prophesy given to Daniel in these chapters is to inform future, faithful Israelites as to the era of the end. This prophecy, of which I believe everything from Daniel 11:6 onward is future, goes into detail about the conflicts that will be occurring among the nations surrounding Israel just before and during the era of the end. It also identifies for them who the antichrist/man of lawlessness will be, he is called the “despised person” in Daniel 11:21. It is very detailed, and when these events take place they will serve as signs for faithful Israelites during that time. Faithful Israelites are charged to be watching for the coming of the Lord (Rev 3:3, in contrast to the body of Christ, who is told to wait, Phil 3:20). This prophecy and the other prophesies in Daniel, as well as the Unveiling of Jesus Christ (Revelation) as well as the other scriptures written to Israelites will be the information they need to watch and overcome in the era of the end.
In Daniel 11 and 12, the “intelligent” are referred to a few times. In 11:33: “The intelligent of the people shall cause many to understand” and in 12:3: “The intelligent shall warn as the warning of the atmosphere,”. The intelligent among faithful Israelites will be watching, reading this prophecy, understanding it and warning the others. Again, the purpose of this prophecy is to warn faithful Israel of the coming false messiah, and help them watch for the true Messiah, Jesus Christ. These intelligent of the the people are of Israel, they are not members of the body of Christ. It is not our responsibility as members of the body of Christ to warn during the coming era of the end, we will not be here. It is also not our job to warn about it right now, but to share the evangel of the grace of God.
There is an interesting statement made by the messenger to Daniel in Daniel 12:4: “Now you, Daniel, stop up the words and seal the scroll until the era of the end, when many shall swerve as evil shall increase.” On page 427 of his book “Concordant Studies in the Book of Daniel”, A.E. Knoch wrote the following concerning this verse: “In the last book of the Bible the opening of the sealed scroll is not a figure for disclosing its contents, but for introducing its fulfillment. So, it seems to us, we must understand the charge to Daniel. The contents of the scroll are not concealed until the era of the end, but the fulfillment cannot occur until the time appointed. This may be taken as one of the strongest reasons why we should avoid historical “applications” until we are confronted with clear-cut fulfillments.” When these events prophesied are being played out, they will be very obvious to the intelligent among the people (Israel).
So, my point after all of that is that neither the body of Christ, nor faithful Israelites need conspiracy theories to understand the era of the end. For the member of the body of Christ, we wait for the Lord Christ Jesus, as there are no signs for us. For Israel, they have the prophetic scriptures, and the intelligent among them shall read, understand, and warn the others. I do not believe they will have use for conspiracy theories either. I believe they will more than likely be distractions from the truth.
I also reject the notion that, in rejecting conspiracy theories, one is “drowsing” or asleep as described in 1Ths 5:6: "Consequently, then, we may not be drowsing, even as the rest, but we may be watching and be sober.". I believe that it is reasonable to understand that “the rest” mentioned in verse 6 is a reference to unbelievers, who are the “they” in verse 3: 1Ths 5:2-5: "for you yourselves are accurately aware that the day of the Lord is as a thief in the night -- thus is it coming! Now whenever they may be saying "Peace and security," then extermination is standing by them unawares, even as a pang over the pregnant, and they may by no means escape. Now you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day may be overtaking you as a thief, for you are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of the darkness."
To be watching and sober, one has no need for conspiracy theories but of this: 1Ths 5:8-9: "Yet we, being of the day, may be sober, putting on the cuirass of faith and love, and the helmet, the expectation of salvation, for God did not appoint us to indignation, but to the procuring of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,"
The vast majority of conspiracy theorists are unbelievers and the Day of the Lord is going to come upon them as a thief in the night, they are unaware and drowsing.
If one wants to have a good and true understanding of the era of the end, stick to the scriptures and expositions of the prophesies in the scriptures. I believe A.E. Knoch’s “Concordant Studies in the Book of Daniel” and “The Unveiling of Jesus Christ” are some of the best. I will link to them below this post.
The potential for calumny -
Here is the definition of calumny from Dictionary.com:
-a false and malicious statement designed to injure the reputation of someone or something
Paul entreats us as members of the body of Christ many times not to calumniate:
Tit 3:1-2: "Remind them to be subject to sovereignties, to authorities; to be yielding, and to be ready for every good work, to be calumniating no one, to be pacific, lenient, displaying all meekness toward all humanity."
Eph 4:31: "Let all bitterness and fury and anger and clamor and calumny be taken away from you with all malice,"
Col 3:8: "Yet now you also be putting away all these: anger, fury, malice, calumny, obscenity out of your mouth."
Those that spread conspiracy theories are at risk of calumniating those that are the subject of the theory. The reality of a conspiracy theory being true or false can be debated, but I haven’t run into one that has been confirmed to be 100% true. It doesn’t matter what or who it is about. I don’t think that the fact that most conspiracy theories are designed to injure the reputation of someone or something can be debated. I haven’t run into one that attempts to shine a more positive view on someone or something.
Looking at the scriptures from Ephesians and Colossians above, bitterness, anger, fury and malice are attitudes that Paul says should be taken away and put away from us. These attitudes seem to coincide with conspiracy theories very closely. These attitudes that Paul tells us that we should put on, are usually conspicuously absent:
Col 3:12: "Put on, then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, pitiful compassions, kindness, humility, meekness, patience,"
Paul entreats us to calumniate no one, and there is risk in calumniating with spreading conspiracy theories. For me, the risk in calumniating is too high, as it is very difficult (impossible?) to find out whether these theories are 100% true. Therefore, this is another reason I have no use for conspiracy theories.
Conspiracy theories give men too much credit -
One of the reasons that we know the scriptures are inspired and true is that they shine such a poor light on man. To paraphrase Martin Zender: “We know man didn’t write the scriptures because they would have made themselves look better.” The scriptures highlight the failures of men and the success of God. I believe conspiracy theories give too much credit to those who are supposedly carrying out the conspiracy.
Concerning the era of the end, many conspiracy theories that have been put in front of me say (generally) that the “elites/government/new world order” are planning the events described in prophecy. I don’t believe this at all. For one, the day of the Lord is coming upon the people of the earth as a thief:
1Ths 5:2: "for you yourselves are accurately aware that the day of the Lord is as a thief in the night -- thus is it coming!" See also: 2 Peter 3:10
Also, in Daniel 12:10 Daniel is told this: “Many shall purify and whiten themselves and be refined; yet the wicked will act wickedly. None of all the wicked shall understand; yet the intelligent are understanding.”
The day of the Lord is coming as a thief in the night, and the wicked will not understand what’s going on. They most certainly aren’t planning the era of the end, that gives way to much credit to wicked men (true or false), who are dupes of the Adversary and slaves to the flesh.
Most conspiracy theories rely on the ability of millions of people working together to keep secrets from the rest of humanity. I believe this gives way to much credit to supposed wicked groups of people to bring about a nefarious plan. Tell a secret to a group of two or three and the secret will most likely be let out, let alone millions.
I believe conspiracy theories as a whole generally give too much credit to men in their ability to carry out massive plans (a pattern I have not found in scripture) therefore, this is another reason I have no use for conspiracy theories.
Conspiracy theories do not bring peace -
Peace is a huge part of Paul’s evangel for the body of Christ. God wants us to have peace, and Paul repeats this salutation or a form of it in all of his epistles: 2Ths 1:2: "Grace to you and peace from God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ."
I haven’t had a conspiracy theory bring me peace. The scriptures and the prophecies therein do bring me peace. Conspiracy theories, in my experience are focused on evil or wickedness that is thought to be happening. I see no benefit in this. We are not told by Paul to focus on the evil things (true or false) going on in the world, to do this is, I believe, is the opposite of what Paul entreats us to do: Col 3:2: "Be disposed to that which is above, not to that on the earth,".
I don’t think we need to be telling people about the evil things (true or false) that go on in the world either. We are supposed to be ambassadors of peace, not ambassadors of evil. We should be preoccupied with sharing the evangel of peace, not sharing bad news of evil doings. I have seen some members of the body of Christ say that they are supposed to “expose evil”. In Titus, Paul says this: Tit 1:9: "upholding the faithful word according to the teaching, that he may be able to entreat with sound teaching as well as to expose those who contradict." This is similar to what he says to Timothy: 2Tim 4:2: "Herald the word. Stand by it, opportunely, inopportunely, expose, rebuke, entreat, with all patience and teaching." Those in the body of Christ called to do so are told to expose teachings that contradict the evangel of the grace of God. These are religious lies. These are lies that hide the truth of the evangel, not evil things (true or false) that the civil authorities are doing.
This ties back into the first reason I listed in this post for having no use for conspiracy theories. Right after Paul’s entreaty to Titus in Titus 1:9, Paul says this: Tit 1:10-11: "For many are insubordinate, vain praters and imposters, especially those of the Circumcision, who must be gagged, who are subverting whole households, teaching what they must not, on behalf of sordid gain." Paul tell Titus to expose those who contradict, because many are insubordinate, vain praters and imposters, teaching what they must not. Later in his letter to Titus, Paul him to expose false teachings that go against the saving grace of God then immediately tells Titus to remind others to be subject and yielding: Tit 2:15; 3:1-2: "Speak of these things and entreat and expose with every injunction. Let no one slight you. Remind them to be subject to sovereignties, to authorities; to be yielding, and to be ready for every good work, to be calumniating no one, to be pacific, lenient, displaying all meekness toward all humanity.” Paul is not telling Titus to expose evil in the form of conspiracy theories here, which have the tendency to encourage insubordination. On the contrary, he is telling Titus to expose false teaching that goes directly against the evangel of grace, which would include teaching that encourages insubordination.
I do not believe conspiracy theories encourage peace, for the sharer or the hearer, therefore this is another reason I have no use for conspiracy theories.
In conclusion -
I see no benefit in a member of the body of Christ engaging in or spreading conspiracy theories for the reasons listed above. My hope is that these reasons will be considered and contemplated on. This is an entreaty for the body of Christ to be concerned with things of consequence and be preoccupied with the evangel of the grace of God, as ambassadors of Christ.
Phil 1:9-11: "And this I am praying, that your love may be superabounding still more and more in realization and all sensibility, for you to be testing what things are of consequence, that you may be sincere and no stumbling block for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that is through Jesus Christ for the glory and laud of God."
1Tim 6:20-21: "O Timothy, that which is committed to you, guard, turning aside from the profane prattlings and antipathies of falsely named "knowledge," which some are professing. As to the faith, they swerve. Grace be with you! Amen!"
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