Six years later, many of us may still harbor some disbelief that the 9-11 terrorist attacks actually happened. For some, it’s a TOTAL case of denial. Several days ago, I was at a retail store when I spotted a couple with black shirts, with faces that looked oddly haunted and hunted. Their shirts probably had a lot to do with that: they proclaimed that 9-11 was an “inside job,” and gave the web address to a site that treats the whole event as a grand conspiracy theory. So the Twin Towers weren’t brought down by demonic suicide jihadists; no, they were demolished from the inside (I guess the Pentagon, part of the big “conspiracy,” no doubt, did their own dirty work; plus United Flight 93 was probably shot down, right? For what reason, the conspiracy buffs won’t tell us).
As someone who a long time ago used to buy into, at least in part, “the same ten people control history, they own all the money” theory, I’ve grown pretty tired of it all. Let me make it clear right now from the start: no, I DON’T believe in these conspiracy theories. FDR didn’t let the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor. President John F. Kennedy wasn’t murdered by government conspirators trying to keep us in Vietnam, but by a lone nut, who was a trained Marine quite capable of carrying out the assassination.
Is there a coming Antichrist? Yes, the Bible, I believe makes that clear. And it’s likely some technological and global trends could well help facilitate his global rule. But in all this conspiracy talk, we forget about the one who truly is in charge of the planet—GOD! Daniel 2:21 proclaims that it is GOD who sets up kings and brings them down! GOD is in control of history—and no Illuminati or Trilateral Commission or whatever is going to change that!
I’m not talking about having a “run for the hills” mentality—we need to be active in our society, to be Jesus’ light and salt to this society, and that includes in the area of politics. Why am I so down on “conspiracy theories”? For one, as I just pointed out, they ignore the God of the universe who is truly in charge. So let’s say some Illuminati is trying to rule the earth. Do you think they are somehow escaping the notice of the God who knows the hearts and minds of every human on this planet? As a side note, I’ve written quite a bit about the threat of America being Islamified (which is well documented through a slew of media reports and studies I have cited). But the way to counter this threat is first through prayer, then in active witness to those around us, and especially to Muslims in this country (and through supporting missionaries around the world reaching them). It is also done by holding our elected officials to account—to stop giving Islam favored status (in the Victoria State in Australia, it is now a “hate crime” to criticize Islam; a Christian who was tried for this “crime” was not even allowed to read passages form the Koran to show Islam’s true nature!).
It must be remembered that when the murderous French Revolution threatened to wash ashore in England, it was John Wesley’s peaceful public witness (by passing out tracts he wrote about how honoring the government was a biblical command) that stopped it.
Two other points about conspiracists: They tend to be ruled by fear. The fear and paranoia in the eyes of the couple I saw the other day was the same I saw in a student I met when I was a Chi Alpha minister about 10 years ago, who was consumed by the “fact” that the Catholic Church was allegedly infiltrating Protestant churches to eventually rule the world. I still remember the secretive tones in which he spoke (I guess he concluded I was a stooge for the Vatican, since he never came back to visit). I wish I could go back to that encounter, and tell him one thing (well, two things: if the Catholic Church is so great at infiltrating and controlling our country, please explain all those millions of dollars they’re handing out in settlements for sexual abuse of children by some miscreant priests): If THAT’S your idea of following Jesus—looking under every rock for “Jesuit agents” or taking orders from Jack Chick, living in a constant state of fear for the rest of your life (please see 2 Timothy 1:6-7 and 1 John 4:18)—you can KEEP IT! Jesus came so that we would have life, and have it more abundantly (John 10:10b)! A fear-filled life ruled by conspiracy theories just doesn’t fit that bill!
Finally, those caught up in conspiracies can never face truth. They look away from the clear fact about how 9-11 happened, the cameras trained on the towers, the innumerable eyewitness accounts, the human suffering—it’s all seen through their warped “conspiracy” lens as being an “inside job” by some international cabal as part of a bid for world conquest and enslavement. Look at about 15 years ago, after all those JFK conspiracy books had been published for forever. One book,
Case Closed by Gerald Posner, proved scientifically that Kennedy WAS murdered by Lee Harvey Oswald, acting alone. The conspiracy lie has so permeated our society, that Posner’s book was met with a blistering response (that did not succeed in dispelling the book’s truth).
You’ll have to excuse my venting on all this. I still remember that morning on Sept. 11, frantically trying to call my sister who worked across the street from the World Trade Center towers (praise God she was safe, having left the Deutch Bank building after the first plane struck). I still remember driving home from work that day, looking at all the familiar sites where I lived and worked in Venice, FL, knowing that the world would never be the same again. I still remember the national mood, the patriotism mixed with the mourning on that day. Maybe those idiotic t-shirts set me off; still, you have to feel sorry for such people who would want to live in such fear and delusion.
On this day, we need to remember in prayer those lost in the terrorist murder attacks, and their families and loved ones they left behind; we need to pray for justice, that the Satan-inspired al Qaeda and its chief thug Osama bin Laden, weakened but not eliminated, would be totally brought down; we need to pray as we face the threat of radical Islam (which would wipe out our Christian heritage in America, as it is already doing in Europe); and, in all this, pray Daniel’s prayer from Daniel 2:20-22: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and might are His. And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding. He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, and light dwells with Him.”
