Our society is caught in a raging storm of violence, chaos, and wickedness. How has America gotten to where we are today? There is much talk about conspiracy theories. We have heard about individuals who have conspired to control the nations of the world with their wealth and power and the question is: “Who is the real force behind the things that happen in the world?” They are supposedly the ones who put various leaders in power and control them with their influence so that the foreign policy of many nations is dictated by these conspirators. They supposedly are the real causes of the wars and strife between races, ethnic groups and whole nations and are the causes of depressions and other economic problems. Who is it that is behind the scenes pulling the strings and shaping the destiny of the whole world while the vast majority of people on earth do not even know they exist? Is this true? The answer from our Bible is a resounding “Yes!” The Bible reveals that not only do such individuals exist, but that they are the real rulers of this world but nevertheless are used by God to carry out the fulfillment of prophecy!
Let’s examine scriptures that expose the source of this conspiracy. The word “conspiracy” is a secret plan to deceive, mislead, or defraud others of their freedom and rights. It is a “plot”—a secret plan for treacherous ends which is a betrayal of any trust or confidence and trying to overthrow the empire or government to which one owes allegiance. With this in mind, we need to go back and identify the Conspirator and his rebellion against authority.
The original rebellion took place in heaven, and it was against the One True God and Creator of all. We find our first hint in Ezekiel in 28: 2 that is the account of the prophet Ezekiel who takes up an oracle against the human ruler of Tyre, an arrogant person smug enough to claim to be god himself. God plans to bring this prince down. But while Ezekiel preaches against this ruler, he seems to make several allusions to a similar story on a cosmic scale. In fact, the prophet says a few things that point all the way back to the Garden of Eden: “You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God…you were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones.” Later in the oracle, Ezekiel tells us that this being had a pride problem similar to the prince of Tyre’s: “Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor.” (28: 17) This being is punished; he’s expelled from Eden to a new domain: earth. Let’s look at Isaiah 14: 9-17 for our second clue. It is the account of the overthrow of Lucifer that means “Day Star”—son of the morning who was expelled from heaven because of his pride and rebellion along with one third of the angels. (Rev. 12: 4--stars are sometimes symbols of angels) The prophet Isaiah compares the arrogant king of Babylon to a particularly ambitious divine being who has “fallen from heaven.” This character at one point said to himself: “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God (heavenly host); I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the upmost heights of the north (the abode of God). I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” (14: 13-14) His five “I will’s” introduced rebellion against God and the battle of the ages between good and evil. The Bible attributes the condition of our universe to the war in heaven that resulted from Satan’s rebellion and fall.
In his attempt to be like God, he desired to have a kingdom to rule over and be worshiped. Henceforth, Lucifer would become Satan—the Adversary of God and his future creation of mankind. In the third chapter of Genesis, the serpent persuades Eve who persuaded Adam to eat the forbidden fruit, expelling them from Eden and sealing their doom and their descendants. But although Adam and Eve are punished, Satan gets the fiercest curse from the God he rebelled against. The Lord says to him: “Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals. You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life.” (Genesis 3: 14) The serpent was cursed to crawl on its belly. This is strikingly similar to the fate of our villain in Ezekiel 28 and Isaiah 14, who is cast down to the ground. The prophets say this rebel was cast to the dirt and eventually to the lake of fire. (Rev. 20: 10) The serpent who wanted to be “most high,” will be “most low”—as pride comes before a fall!
As we know, this rebellion of Lucifer and Adam and Eve was no surprise as Adam first heard about “evil” from God’s own mouth (Gen. 2: 15-17) who already had His plan in place before the foundation of the world. (Rev. 13: 8) God would announce His plan to Satan in the Bible in Genesis 3: 15 which is the first prophecy in scripture. God said: “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; it will bruise your head, and you will bruise his heel.” Enmity comes from the same root word as “enemy” and God specifically designates Satan as the “enemy” and all mankind outside of Christ. Satan did not understand God’s plan, but he knew that it involved his seed (fallen angels) and the seed (offspring) of the woman who we know would be Christ—the son of God. Hence, the battle of the ages was set in motion and the attack upon God and those who would believe in Jesus and become heirs of salvation. Human beings were created specifically to provide the way for a coming Messiah and repairing the broken universe! God is the God of order and Satan is the god of chaos (Genesis 1:2-3! The first mention of the word “sin” in the Bible is found in 4: 7 which speaks of Cain killing righteous Abel. Jesus said in John 8: 44 that the devil was a murderer from the beginning and a liar. Satan was the originator of murder—death and lies. Colossians 1: 19-20 says: “For it pleased the Father that in Him should all fulness dwell; And, having made peace through the blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile all things unto Himself; by Him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.” Jesus in John 14: 6 that He is the Way, the Truth and the Life!
The battle that began in ages past will come to a final resolution. It has been 2000 years since Jesus came to this earth and Satan knows his time is short and his final fate so the intensity of evil from him and his host of minions is growing. This present world system, organized upon the principles of force, greed, selfishness, ambition, and sinful pleasure, is his work and the bribe which he offered to Christ. God had granted dominion of all creation to Adam but by his disobedience it defaulted to Satan—as god of this world. His diabolical plan to rule the world and set up his kingdom and be worshiped like God is being allowed to fulfil His plan of the ages. We have read the end of the book and Satan has too. “BUT GOD is working out His eternal purpose, not only in spite of human and satanic opposition, but by means of them.” (A.W. Pink) Jesus’ purpose will prevail “…For this purpose the Son of God was manifested that He might destroy the works of the devil.” (I Jn. 3:8) “The whole history of the world is discovered to be but a contest between the wisdom of God and the cunning of Satan and fallen man.” (A.W. Tozer) More than anything else ever could, Satan will become the eternal emblem of the futility of pride and iniquity. In the end, he shall have served a purpose that he probably never imagined…the creation of a perfect new heaven and earth for which Isaiah looked forward. (Isa. 65: 17)
Yes, there is a great conspiracy. It is a conspiracy for the souls (mind, will and emotions) of men. As long as Satan and his demons are still ruling this world, they will continue to be the invisible force behind the things that occur on the world scene—the rulers the power, the worldly forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly realm. (Eph. 6: 11-12) I encourage you to read Psalm 2 in the light of where we are today. Our elected leaders attempt to appease the restless masses by rejecting the Lord and His Anointed but they are like chaff that the wind blows away who will not stand during the judgment. Thankfully, God’s prophecies show us that Jesus Christ has qualified to depose Satan as the ruler of this world. (John 12:31, 16:11)
God has called us for such a time as this to be salt and light to a world steeped in darkness! His message to us today is “Daily put on the whole armor of God. Do not be afraid, for I am with you. Hear Me saying, “peace, be still,” to your restless heart. No matter what happens, I will never leave you or forsake you. Though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, you need not fear! Tune into the living Word—the One who is always the same. Let Scripture saturate your mind and heart, and you will walk steadily along the path of Life. Even though you don’t know what will happen tomorrow, you can be absolutely sure of your ultimate destination. I hold you by your right hand, afterward I will take you into Glory.” Read Mark 4: 39; Deut. 31:6; Psalm 46; Psalm 73; 2 Cor. 4:8. GOD IS REAL, GOD HAS A PLAN, GOD IS IN CONTROL AND GOD LOVES US!