Deception, Conspiracies, and Flat-Earthers

The Watchman's Righteous Standard - I am going to dip my toe into some dangerous waters and look at areas where Christians are being deceived. I feel constrained to do so as we have to consider the integrity of our message as Christians in this age. Even if believers are 95% right, the 5% mixed-waters can pollute the entire message.

I have repeatedly stated that in the midst of confusion, woke ideology, and "tofu" "Jesus-light" Christianity, we have to raise a righteous standard. We are the modern-day Elijahs that will rebuild the altar and see God's fire of transformation fall. Our communities and nations need to be transformed and so do we (Is. 61). We are the watchmen on the wall that are raising an alarm - a true heavenly sound of righteousness and truth. If we fail in this calling, who will be there to help?

The bible is clear that watchmen are to be listened to and provide a vital service to the community alerting them to dangers. (Scripture goes on that if we do not warn then there is a liability for what happens to those that did not hear but if we warn then there is no liability.) We are in a time where righteous standards are being attacked at every turn. Laws are being proposed even now to curb Christian speech and to criminalise prayer.

"Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from My mouth, give them a warning from Me." Ez 3:17

“And I set watchmen over you, saying,

‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’

But they said, ‘We will not listen.’ Jer 6:17

Watchmen have a solemn duty to hear the word of the Lord and pass it on. Sadly, many Christians are being drawn away into conspiracy and delusion.

"Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons," 1 Tim. 4: 1

satan is the father of lies - if something is wrong and deceiving people then the source is the father of lies. As a result, we need to anchor ourselves in truth, be quick to repent if we get it wrong, knowing that we have a solemn duty to be a righteous watchman. Otherwise:

Come, all you beasts of the field; eat greedily, all you beasts of the forest. Israel’s watchmen are blind, they are all oblivious; they are all mute dogs, they cannot bark; they are dreamers lying around, loving to slumber. Like ravenous dogs, they are never satisfied. They are shepherds with no discernment; they all turn to their own way, each one seeking his own gain:… Is 56: 9-11

The reference to "beasts of the fields" is a direct reference to the curse of Deuteronomy 28:26 - people who have not followed after God and are operating under the curse.

"The prophets are prophesying lies in My name," replied the LORD. "I did not send them or appoint them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a false vision, a worthless divination, the futility and delusion of their own minds. Jer 14:14

What About Conspiracies? - We also know that opening up to lies and deception means we are open to the father of lies and are not on sound footing. Now I do not mean we must get everything right, but I do mean that we must not be carried away by conspiracy and deception and lead others astray.

I am also not talking about fake news and misinformation, much of which is later proven to be true. The challenge of any idea is the bedrock of Christianity and true science. There is one territory but many maps - we must judge the maps. The spies of the children of Israel went into the Promised Land and all saw the same territory. The evil spies' maps and reports may have been physically true and included an assessment of the enemies' strengths. The good spies' reports were likewise factual but included the Word of God about the situation as righteous watchmen. They had a better map- our maps are to include spiritual reality.

Likewise, Daniel sought God in prayer about the promised freedom of his nation. He could have become carried away with local politics, conspiracies, or "deceitful spirits and teachings of demons", but God showed him what was going on.

... I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, a man dressed in linen with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his waist. His body was like yellow jasper, his face like a flash of lightning, his eyes like fiery torches, his arms and his feet like the gleam of burnished bronze, and the sound of his words like the roar of a multitude...He said to me, ‘Daniel, highly valued man, carefully consider the words I am speaking to you. Stand up! For now I have been sent to you.’ When he spoke this word to me, I stood up trembling.

“Then he said to me, ‘Don’t be afraid, Daniel! For from the first day that you set your heart to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard. I have come because of your words. However, the prince of the kingdom of Persia resisted me for 21 days, but behold Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me because I had been detained there with the kings of Persia. Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future days. For the vision concerns days yet to come.’ Daniel 10

There was a detailed plan in action. satan had his plan and it was being executed by his princes and kings in the region - this was the root of the conspiracy and the heart of the cabal. There was a bit of a battle going on. Likewise, in the New Testament era we are told:

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Eph. 6:12

To summarise, we are in areas in our culture and nations where there are battles for what is true and we must judge the "maps" in use. Conspiracies flourish because their adherents do not really believe in the spirit world. They do not really believe or give weight to the fact that satan has his master plan, his principalities and powers, and his acolytes. For this reason, they attribute to men and women the works of satan. They see a master plan at work and create cabals, conspiracies and mystic structures to account for what we see. There is a conspiracy: it is among satan and his spiritual forces influencing and working with fallen men and women. Don't get me wrong, I do believe that there are groupings that are up to no good, but much of the extreme enemy action is not driven by evil men but by the evil spiritual forces.

Can I suggest that before any of us move further down what could be a rabbit trail of deception, we seek more proofs and support, knowing that the enemy is trying to trip us up?

We have a solemn duty to raise a righteous standard to believers and also to the world. We have to say what we hear the Father say and do what we see the father do. We do not have the liberty to be false watchmen and get it wrong or run down rabbit holes of vain disputations. We are to hear from the Lord not our own deceptions. Like a preacher in a moral failure, getting it wrong can negatively impact or destroy the rest of our message.

Flat-Earthers - this brings me to the "flat-earthers". I was exposed to this theory recently when someone was sharing about this. I responded negatively and had to apologise, but I think they were genuinely exploring the issue. However, I was concerned that people were being drawn into something that involves deception and would lessen the value and impact of their other beliefs.

For those of you who have never heard of this, it is a movement of people from all backgrounds who either believe the earth is flat or are skeptical of the established science that it is a sphere. Some connect this with New Age ideas; however, for a detailed chat about this from someone who wrote a book on the origin and rise of these beliefs see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nwKZiawYsY

Given the extent that our "betters" and "leaders" have lied and twisted the truth, a querying approach is a good thing. We are now in a cycle where if our so-called liberal elites are pushing a view backed by legacy media, it is likely that the opposite is true. There has been irreparable harm to the reputation of medicine and science during this last season. It is no wonder that there is a lack of trust in the authorities who promoted things like:

• the lab origin of covid 19 was a conspiracy

• the vaccines are safe and effective with little or no side effects

• that the unvaccinated are a danger to the vaccinated

• that national riots in the US and elsewhere that resulted in the deaths of many and massive property damage were mainly peaceful

• that defunding the police would not result in crime waves

• that open borders do not destabilise a society

• gender fluidity and pregnant men

• forced taking of medicine dictated by governments

• the Russia Hoax and Alpha Bank Hoax in the US

However, while approving and endorsing the questioning mindset, we must also pick our battles. It is not wrong to challenge the status quo and, as Christians, we need to do so. There are key battles of thought and science that are important in our culture today. The theory of evolution vs creation is one key battleground. When life begins and abortion is another area where the outcome matters. The fact of two sexes has also suddenly become an issue as is the need to fight for freedom of speech and movement. We have travel bans for the unvaccinated in Canada and elsewhere based on false or twisted science designed to promote a political agenda. I am all for challenge and not accepting the status quo blindly. Indeed, the basic premise of science is to challenge ideas and concepts. However, in this questioning process we cannot open the door to the father of lies and lose ourselves in the process.

What is happening is that people with extreme views surprise us with battles and arguments that we are not prepared for. The stereotypical churchgoer, when confronted with gender fluidity arguments may initially may think that this is some kind of a joke and respond accordingly. Likewise, positions held by people around flat-earth, conspiracies, and cabals may also be surprising. However, the wild-eyed radical confronting our churchgoer has been highly educated in the arguments to support their views. Their "map" may be flawed - rubbish even - but they know it inside out and their talking points are all well embedded. As a result, the unprepared parishioner feels at a disadvantage as they never thought they would have to defend the righteous standard of two sexes or the science behind the nature of the earth. In our current society we need to have our "maps" updated - it is the watchmen's' responsibility to raise a righteous standard - a map - that sets out truth. God is the creator and Father of truth and we must reflect that.

So what do we do? Remember the fundamental truth - we are set free to serve/worship the Lord. We are modern-day Elijahs and watchmen and, as such, we have a duty to hear truth from the Lord and to raise that truth as a righteous standard. In turn, hearers have a duty to listen to the godly warnings of righteous watchmen.

How does my engaging serve the Lord? Avoid being led away into views or beliefs that do not lead to anything. I will engage on the issues relating to the nature of the sexes, protection of children, the integrity of the Word of God, preserving liberty and the like. I will raise a righteous standard for things that Jesus cared about, because, after all, our primary calling is to join with Jesus in His mission to destroy the works of satan (1 John 3:8).

I am not particularly interested in the gravitational pull of the moon - I know it affects the earth and the tides but unless it is involved in my work or life I don't engage. This is particularly true if the new theory is linked to some "out there" thinking. Indeed, being led away into deception can damage the impact of anything else I am talking about.

It seems like the flat-earth viewpoint is an extension of the conspiracy mindset - that everything is faked and untrue. Believing the flat-earth theory feeds into a view that there is an organised cabal that have lied about everything - no space programme, no satellites, fake astronauts etc. The lies would never end and be multinational (why would the US agree that the Russians were first to orbit the earth). Taken to the extreme how can you prove that Terry Pratchett's vision of the discworld supported by four elephants on the back of a cosmic turtle is not also an option...

The position that every photo of the earth in my lifetime was false, seemed very extreme. It is also wrong and a deception based on my understanding and observation.

Once you have opened the door to the father of lies you are prey to believe anything. The curse comes with blindness (Deut. 28:29) and we do not want to be led into a cul-de-sac of irrelevance and conspiracy.

The End

A few comments on proof:

- A basic internet search will give lots of insight and the link above to the book and discussion will also be helpful. It was interesting to look at the proofs of the earth's shape dating back to 350BC.

- Living in Europe with family in the US and working in Asia meant I was often on the plane. I have seen the curvature of the earth on many occasions. I knew also it took much less flying time to fly Europe to West Coast direct than it did via the East Coast due to the curvature of the earth and being able to fly the polar route.

- There is a live NASA camera of the earth that you can look at also, https://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/ESRS/HDEV/ but I know it becomes circular if you believe everything is faked. Otherwise the only things you believe will be things you see personally - thankfully, you can soon go up in a private space launch so start saving!