Believing The Unbelievable 

Conspiracy theories were once confined to fringe groups and dubious tabloid newspapers. To believe them one definitely had to belong to the  aluminum foil hat wearing brigade.

Now just about everybody seems to believe at least one. The "golden oldies" like the "fake" moon landings, the Nazis survived but they fled to the moon, the Loch Ness monster and the  perennial flat-earth crowd have been replaced by a swarm of  ridiculous theories about Covid-19, Area 51, Big Foot, 5G towers killing us all. The list is just about endless. Why?


Christians appear to be falling for the unbelievable in every-increasing numbers, and ever-more outlandish suppositions.

The popular 1998 Boyzone song includes these lyrics....
No matter what they tell us
No matter what they do
No matter what they teach us
What we believe is true

Contrast those words to what God's word says....
We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood. 1 John 4:6 NIV  

Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the LORD from your mouth is the truth.”  1 Kings 17:24 NIV

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.2 Timothy 2:15 NIV

Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place. Ephesians 6:14 NIV 

I grew up in the church in the late 1960's, 70s and 80's during the Charismatic Revival  that swept the world and millions into the Kingdom in those years. One of the "cornerstones" of that movement was its eschatological (end-times) teaching, growing in intensity as the new Millennium approached. 

This culminated with the Y2K panic. Christian authors, "prophets" teachers, (soothsayers all) jumped on the "band-wagon" telling followers of  The Way that this was all the proof that one needed to know that Jesus was definitely returning when the clocks ticked over from 11:59 31 December 1999 to 00:01 1 January 2000.... Well as we know that didn't happen. Most people completely missed the fact that century 21, and the 3rd Millennium didn't start until 2001. 

All that really happened was that the Christian authors, "prophets" teachers, (soothsayers all) picked themselves up, shook off the dust and latched on to next climactic  event that "proved" that Jesus had delayed His return to allow more people to be ushered into the Kingdom.    
 

Every new technological advance was further "proof" that society was being prepared to accept the "mark of the beast" every new world leader was indeed "the Anti-Christ". Every political event of note was another step toward Armageddon. Anything involving Israel was a "finger-on-button" moment for our Lord's imminent appearance on Mt. Zion.

My first indication that something was seriously amiss in the "prophetic publishing" world came soon after I had read a book in which the author claimed that Holy Spirit had revealed to her that Anwar Sadat (the then President of Egypt) was the Antichrist. Her book included photographic evidence, eg. Sadat's "personal" Egyptian Navy Frigate was numbered F666. About 6 months after this book was published, Anwar Sadat was assassinated.... well that little detail did not deter our author/prophetess. She soon followed her first book with another, in which she claimed Holy Spirit had "misspoke" and really meant to say that the Antichrist was Anwar Sadat's son, who eventually disappeared into history without a trace. (as did the author of these two tortured tomes!)  

Nowadays there is an almost "cult-like" obsession with End-Times events, particularly within the Evangelical/Pentecostal branches of Christianity. The theology of this stream of Christianity is so interwoven with (and dependent upon) our Lord returning tomorrow (if not sooner) that event driven belief is always "skating on thin ice". Prognosticators arise, interpret events according to this theology, issue dire warnings, further fueling conspiracy theories within and without the church, then disappear when time and or events proves them wrong, seldom being held accountable for the chaos they cause. 

The Bible plainly states that Jesus (Yeshua) will return to our little blue planet. 

 So Christ, having been offered once and once for all to bear [as a burden] the sins of many, will appear a second time [when he returns to earth], not to deal with sin, but to bring salvation to those who are eagerly and confidently waiting for Him. Hebrews 9:28 Amplified Bible      

When?
But of that [exact] day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son [in His humanity], but the Father alone. Matthew 24:36 Amplified Bible 

We live in an age when the concept of absolute truth has gone the way of the dodo. Scientific evidence of an event, thing or situation is often disputed to the point of being useless. Facts change, knowledge grows, what was a truism fifty years maybe no longer. Those who caught the conspiracy bug as part of their conversion experience will often find it almost impossible to overcome, with even the heftiest later doses of  good theology and Holy spirit inspired teaching.


Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15 NIV