The Great Conspiracy
Forerunner, "Prophecy Watch," September-October 2026
Have you ever heard of individuals who have conspired to control the world's nations with their wealth and power, and who are the real force behind what happens in the world? These elites supposedly put various leaders in power and control them through their influence, so that the domestic and foreign policies of many nations are dictated by these conspirators. Allegedly, these shadowy people initiate wars and strife between races, religions, nations, ethnic groups, political parties, and ideological factions, and cause depressions and other economic problems.
Is this true? Do these people really exist? Are there incredibly powerful individuals behind the scenes who are "pulling the strings" and shaping the destiny of the whole world, while most people do not even know they exist? The Bible's answer is a resounding "Yes!" The Bible reveals that not only do such individuals exist, but that they are the real rulers of this world. God even uses them to fulfill prophecy!
"Ruler of this World"
At the time of His temptation in the wilderness, Satan took Jesus Christ up on a high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world. The Devil offered to give them to Jesus if He would be willing to worship him (Luke 4:5-8). In verse 6, Satan boasts, "All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish." Notice that the Devil claims authority over the whole world, and he delegates authority to whomever he wishes.
Three times, Jesus refers to Satan as the "ruler of this world" (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11), recognizing Satan as the ruler of this present world. However, Satan does not rule alone. He has an army of fallen angels, called demons, at his disposal. The apostle Paul refers to these evil rulers in his letter to the Ephesians: "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12). These demons may number in the multiple millions (compare Revelation 5:11 and 12:3-4).
In His Word, God gives us an occasional glimpse of how He uses these evil forces to influence the rulers of nations. One such scene occurs in I Kings 22. When Ahab, the evil ruler of Israel, was trying to decide whether to fight against Syria to retake Ramoth Gilead, Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, persuaded him to consult his prophets first. All of his prophets advised him to proceed with the battle because God would give him a great victory. However, Micaiah, a true prophet of God, told him that God had allowed an evil spirit to put lies into the mouths of Ahab's prophets. He did this because it was His purpose that Ahab be killed in the battle. Ahab shunned Micaiah, took the advice of his own lying prophets, and fell fighting against the Syrian armies.
In His prophecies about events leading to the second coming of Jesus Christ, God clearly describes how He permits Satan to influence the world's nations to fulfill His end-time prophecies. In Revelation 12, God describes a great war in heaven. Satan and his demons will be cast down to the earth, bringing disaster and destruction on the world and great persecution on the church of God.
Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time. (Revelation 12:12)
In Revelation 13, the apostle John describes a powerful beast, representing a world-ruling empire and its ruler that will exert sway over the whole earth in the end time. "Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority" (Revelation 13:2). The dragon, a biblical symbol of Satan, will give the same power and authority to the ruler of this future empire as he promised Jesus in the temptation described in Luke 4:5-7!
Notice Revelation 13:4:
So they worshipped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshipped the beast, saying, "Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?"
Satan finally gets his wish to have the world worship him!
In Revelation 13:13-14, God goes on to explain how He will permit Satan and his demons to utilize supernatural power to deceive the nations of the earth and persecute the people of God at the time of the end:
He [the False Prophet] performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived.
The prophecy also describes how Satan and his demonic agents will be allowed to use their powers as rulers of this world to influence men to form a monolithic government that will control all aspects of people's lives. This government will have the power of life and death over the earth's inhabitants and will compel people to commit idolatry, killing those who refuse. Also, the economies of all nations will be controlled, and people will not be able to participate in commerce unless they abide by the government's despotic rules. Because these matters oppose God's way, this time will be one of severe trial and testing for God's people (Revelation 13:15-18; Matthew 24:21-22).
A Chronicle of Man's Wars
In Revelation 16:13-14, God shows another clear example of the "behind-the-scenes" activity and influence of demons on this world's affairs in the gathering of the armies to fight Christ at His coming:
And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
When this occurs, the humans involved in these decisions will probably have no idea that they are being influenced by demons. As beings made of spirit, Satan and his minions are imperceptible to human senses, and they accomplish their work by broadcasting attitudes and influencing thoughts in people's minds (see Ephesians 2:1-3). Such thoughts and attitudes seem normal and natural to the people involved, yet their outcomes can be utterly inhuman and unnatural, resulting in such atrocities as the Inquisition, "total war," the Holocaust, "the killing fields," "ethnic cleansing," chemical and biological warfare, and the like. The horrors that have occurred throughout all of human history will happen again.
It has been said that human history is little more than a chronicle of man's wars. Those wars are the result of men being influenced by invisible, evil spirit beings ever since Adam and Eve sinned and were cast from the presence of God (Genesis 3:22-24). No people and no generation have ever been exempt from Satan's attempts to keep men separated from God.
Yes, there is a great conspiracy. It is a conspiracy for the minds 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. They will doggedly persist in broadcasting attitudes of envy, jealousy, murder, lust, greed, and all of the other wrong and sinful ways that are the root cause of this world's misery and suffering.
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). When Christ returns to the earth in power and glory, Satan will be bound and no longer permitted to broadcast attitudes or exercise sway over any nation or any individual (Revelation 20:1-3). At that time, the wonderful world tomorrow will begin, and the earth will have a thousand years of rest, peace, and prosperity. May God speed that day!
This article was originally published in October-November, 1995.
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