When confronted with information about a conspiracy, the Apostle Paul did not react the way many today do. (Acts 23:12-30) Many today instantly dismiss as ludicrous the mere suggestion of what they contemptuously refer to as a "conspiracy theory." The Apostle Paul, on the other hand, took this information very seriously and took steps to deal with the situation. The validity of a concept is not determined by whether or not it can be labeled a "conspiracy theory." Yet the popular notion of our time is that an idea can be discredited by simply designating it a conspiracy theory.
A Biblical account of one who did not take the suggestion of a conspiracy seriously and the consequences of that action is found in Jeremiah 40:13-41:3. Gedaliah refused to believe that anyone could possibly be plotting to harm him. That attitude cost him his life and resulted in the deaths of all those around him.
The history of mankind is replete with conspiracies. It was a conspiracy that directed Brutus against Julius Caeser in the Roman senate on the Ides of March. It was a conspiracy that plotted the betrayal of West Point by Benedict Arnold during the American Revolution. It was a conspiracy that led John Wilkes Booth to the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln on Good Friday in 1865. Are we to believe that human beings no longer engage in secret plots to achieve their nefarious ends?
As Christians, we cannot naively assume that we only have to contend with those who do not yet know the gospel of Jesus Christ. We need to realize that we must also deal with those who do know the gospel, have rejected it, and are actively working to oppose its dissemination! Just as God often works through people, His arch enemy Satan, the great counterfeiter, also often works through people. Appearances can be deceiving, as we are told in II Corinthians 11:14-15. "Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness." Those who are actually serving Satan are often individuals of power and influence who are commonly perceived as doing good.
What we are confronted with today is not conspiracy theory; we are faced with conspiracy fact! And it's progressed far beyond the conspiracy/planning phase into the program/implementation phase.
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