In a moment of idle curiosity, I looked at some online videos of a prominent conspiracy theorist in contemporary Adventism, whose profile in certain denominational circles has been high for the past twenty years. Though an academic himself, much of his material is condemned by other academics, including many political and religious conservatives.
Not being an academic myself, I will not address in this context the many academic objections to the theories in question. This brother’s presentations focus very much on conspiracy theories regarding various governments and the Roman Catholic Church. These theories focus very much on the role of secret societies and the affiliations powerful people in this world allegedly possess. Thoughtful minds in the church, and this website, have rightly condemned this approach to prophecy and current events.
But, some might ask, are we being too dismissive of this mindset? Is there an argument for the old adage that where there’s smoke, there’s fire?
Conspiracies Exist
These popular conspiracy theories revolve around the “elites” of the world—real or imagined, and what they are doing—allegedly or otherwise—that is against the kingdom of Christ. Scripture is clear, of course, that the world is in fact in rebellion against Christ. Satan, in a number of verses, is identified as the prince of this world:
Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out (John 12:31).
Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me (John 14:30).
Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged (John 16:11).
A prince must have a court. If he, Satan, is the ruler of this world, then he too must have a court. All rulers, autocratic and otherwise, have an inner circle with whom they confer and distribute responsibility for the carrying out of their commands. The Book of Daniel alludes to this in that, besides containing prophecy, it contains tales of events in the court of imperial Babylon and its dominions during the prophet Daniel’s time. Chapter 6 of Daniel would be a typical “court tale” example complete with intrigue, secret meetings, and other aspects of a good conspiracy.
There are ten verses in the Bible that use the word conspiracy (2 Sam 15:12; 2 Kings 12:20; 14:19; 15:15, 30; 17:4 2 Chron: 25:27; Jer 11:9; Ezek 22:25; Acts 23:13). Many of these conspiracies are against the people of God, as we find in Acts 23:13 (which details collusion between Satan and the rulers of Israel at that time).
These texts show that Satan works, as much as God allows, with the movers and shakers of society. So, logically, Satan has a cohort of humans to assist him in his illegal rule of the planet. Logically, such persons must possess a measure of power in order to be of value to him
Tales of conspiracy have been part of the human experience from time immemorial, and some have actually happened. The infamous Pentagon Papers disclosed by Daniel Ellsberg during the Vietnam War documented a conspiracy of silence and deception on the part of the U.S. government. The Watergate scandal during the administration of U.S. President Richard Nixon is another such example, as was the Iran-Contra affair during the following decade. The formerly secret project MKUltra is now exposed and documented widely [1].
On the other hand, some conspiracy theories should be filed under the entertainment category for their sheer unlikeliness, like the theory that Americans never actually landed on the moon. This conspiracy theory may have originated with a disgruntled ex-NASA employee named Bill Kaysing [2]. It is also believed to have gained impetus from an engaging science fiction movie called Capricorn One [3], which was about America covering up a failed mission to Mars by faking its success with the use of a movie studio set.
Should We Concern Ourselves with Conspiracies?
I believe the best model for how Seventh-day Adventists should relate to such suggestions is to be found in the writings of Ellen G. White. Consider what she says about the Jesuits. Type the word Jesuits into google and prepare to be overwhelmed with material (about 80,400,000 results). Of all this material, some may be true but much will be false. Of the Jesuits, Ellen White said:
Under various disguises the Jesuits worked their way into offices of State, climbing up to be the counsellors of kings, and shaping the policy of nations. They became servants, to act as spies upon their masters. They established colleges for the sons of princes and nobles, and schools for the common people; and the children of Protestant parents were drawn into an observance of popish rites. All the outward pomp and display of the Romish worship was brought to bear to confuse the mind, and dazzle and captivate the imagination; and thus the liberty for which the fathers had toiled and bled was betrayed by the sons. The Jesuits rapidly spread themselves over Europe, and wherever they went, there followed a revival of popery [4].
Pretty heady stuff, one might say, with a strategy of secretly influencing the highest people in society. However, here is perhaps the most interesting feature of the above statement. The above constitutes everything—yes, everything—that Ellen White is known to have written about the Jesuits. In addition, with respect to society’s elites being supposedly all tied up with Satan—an assumption germane to many conspiracy theories—Ellen White has this to say:
God also has his agents among the leading men of the nation. The enemy moves upon his servants to propose measures that would greatly impede the work of God; but statesmen who fear the Lord are influenced by holy angels to oppose such propositions with unanswerable arguments. Thus a few men will hold in check a powerful current of evil. The opposition of the enemies of truth will be restrained that the third angel's message may do its work. When the final warning shall be given, it will arrest the attention of these leading men through whom the Lord is now working, and some of them will accept it, and will stand with the people of God through the time of trouble [5].
That is, not all of society’s leaders are in league with Satan. God has His people in high places also. It would seem that though Satan is the prince of this world, we might fall into the trap of paying him too much attention. While it is important for us to be acquainted with the adversary’s devices (II Cor. 2:10-122), I have noticed that many Adventists who spend considerable time studying conspiracy theories, even the less far-out ones, become increasingly discouraged and negative in their outlook. I fear many of these will finally arrive at the place where they see Satan’s power as greater than Christ’s.
As God is seeking just now to assemble a faith community whose divinely-empowered conquest of sin is to mirror that of their Savior (Rev. 3:21), this is not the time to lose sight of the superior power of Jesus. Those desiring one day to follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth (Rev. 14:4) should spend more time studying His power than that of His enemy.
REFERENCES
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MKUltra
2. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jul/10/one-giant-lie-why-so-many-people-still-think-the-moon-landings-were-faked
3. https://www.space.com/apollo-11-moon-landing-hoax-believers.html
4. Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 235.
5. Ibid, pp. 610-611.
Tony Rigden, a former atheist/deist, came into the Seventh-day Adventist Church in 1980 as the result of a miraculous conversion and the reading of the book The Great Controversy by Ellen G White. He has since been a regular Sabbath School teacher, very part-time lay preacher, elder and briefly head elder. Formerly an electronics technician and computer programmer, Tony is currently still part-time programming but mostly retired. Former hobbies included diving and private flying. Currently he is a volunteer guard (train conductor) for one of New Zealand's leading vintage railways.