I want you to just sit with those strong words from the Lord for a moment. Let them sink deeply into your heart. You see, I just think that when God gives a strong warning against a popular way of thinking that He wants us to reject, I just believe we need to sit up and pay attention. Because the second thing we’re learning here is when we’re presented with a conspiracy theory we need to… 

Reject Fearful Thinking that Sees a Conspiracy in Everything.

Remember those annoying messages I was referring to earlier that you get from someone who has the secret knowledge of what’s really going on that nobody else knows? Well, you need to be even more careful about watching those on social media, because the algorithms built into these platforms will start automatically sending you more of the same type of content, further reinforcing misinformation in your brain that deepens your confirmation bias, thus creating an echo chamber of ideological thinking you already obsessively want to be true. You become increasingly irrational and further distanced from reality. And this is how many people get radicalized and pulled into extreme conspiracy theories like Qanon. Last year a friend of mine got pulled deeply into it this overarching, and somewhat all encompassing, conspiracy theory. In conversations I’d have with her, she’d always be anxious and would see a conspiracy behind just about everything. She saw everything as connected, which ultimately led up to the insurrection of January 6th. In all of the scenarios she shared with me, I told her I found it interesting that they all centered around Trump being the last hope to save the world. She followed this up with, “That’s right, it’s in the book of Revelation.” My ears perked up and I asked her, “That’s interesting. Where can I find this in Revelation?” She said, “Oh, I don’t know. But I’m sure it’s in there somewhere.” My dear friends, she represents many professed Christians who’ve been getting pulled into this type of thinking, tragically confusing conspiracy theories with the fulfillment of Bible prophecy. And like many on January 6th at the Capitol building, doing it all in the name of Jesus!

You see, the problem with conspiracy theories, especially when promoted by Christians, is that they undermine trust in the authentic fulfillment of God’s prophetic word. You can only “cry wolf” but so many times before you loose all credibility! And Jesus gives us the purpose of His authentic prophetic word in John 14:29, “And now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe.” John 14:29 NKJV. Jesus is clearly laying out the principle that prophecy is for the purpose of anchoring our faith in Him in order to sustain us during its fulfillment, not to paralyze us with fear! And this is the main difference between the fruit of Gospel-saturated Bible prophecy and conspiracy theories. One inspires faith in the One who holds us and the future in His hands, while the other induces fear, irrational thinking and a dependence on yourself rather than on God, which is futile! This is why Jesus describes those whose hearts are not anchored in Him by faith during the events to precede His soon return this way in Luke 21:26, “men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth…” Luke 21:26a NKJV.

My friends, this is why God, through the prophet Isaiah, is urging us to reject this type of thinking, because when you reject this type of thinking you’re free to think critically, from a Christ-centered, biblical perspective. For example, be aware of your own biases and avoid confirmation bias. Don’t just read a headline, but dig deeper. Read the full article and assess the source of the claims. Look for credible evidence, which requires you to know the difference between an opinion and an actual fact. Look for replication in publication. In other words, is the same thing being published by multiple sources. If so, then it’s more likely to be legitimate than if it was only coming from one source. Visit the site and read about it, the author or the publisher. Is the logic being presented to you strong or weak? Is the logic objective or is it sensational and over the top, in which case you may want to avoid it. Question the intention of the author and ask why are they presenting this to me and, if you can, identify who is funding what’s being presented to you (For more, read 10 Ways to Spot Fake News). These are just a few tips on identifying a conspiracy theory, fake news or misinformation. You don’t want to waste your time being absorbed with them, because they tend to make you an anxious presence that people inevitably don’t want to be around!

So instead of being absorbed with conspiracy theories, God has something else He wants us to fear. Come with me to verse 13, which says…

Stay tuned for Part 3…