All of us may be far too quick, at times, of making wrong assumptions, based on “facts” which seem to be rather compelling, only to find out later that our information and conclusions were not altogether correct… and many times, they were totally wrong.
In Jesus’ days, the Jews were not guiltless in this regard. Based on their preconceived notions, they were unwilling and unable to believe that Christ could have been the Messiah or even a godly prophet, and following their own ideas and human traditions as to how a righteous person had to behave, they accused Him of terrible things, since Christ did not live in the way that they thought He should. Especially the way Christ kept the Sabbath was a bone of contention for many. It is not that different today. Some, based on faulty understanding of Scripture, insist that we must not use public transportation or go to a restaurant on the Sabbath, proudly and self-righteously negating and rejecting the teachings of the Bible.
Christ challenged His audience when He said to them, “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment” (John 7:24). When His rule is established on earth, He will “not judge by the sight of His eyes, Nor decide by the hearing of His ears; But with righteousness He shall judge…” (Isaiah 11:3-4). Hearsay and observation by eyesight might be very “convincing,” but they may be deceiving and may lead to wrong assumptions and conclusions.
The prophet Jeremiah was wrongly accused of defecting to the Chaldeans, after he had prophesied about the fall of Jerusalem and was then observed going into the land of Benjamin to claim his property among the people. As the “facts” seemed to speak against him, he was arrested and imprisoned in a dungeon for many days (Jeremiah 37:11-16).
King Saul was guilty of making wrong assumptions, which had terrible results. First he assumed that all his men had conspired against him, because he thought that they knew about David’s whereabouts, without telling him (1. Samuel 22:8). When it came to his attention that the innocent priest Abimelech gave David some of the holy bread, handed him the sword of Goliath, and inquired of God for him, Saul assumed and concluded that the priest was part of a conspiracy with David against him (1 Samuel 22:13); and as a consequence, he had the priest and almost his entire house murdered through Doeg, an Edomite.
Later, the priest Amaziah wrongly accused the prophet Amos of conspiring against King Jeroboam, as he did not like the message which Amos proclaimed under godly inspiration (Amos 7:10-17).
The Bible commands us to be very careful before we believe in the concept of a conspiracy. Hundreds, if not thousands of “conspiracy theories” are being circulated, especially on the Internet. Many are totally convinced that the moon landing never took place and that the American government was behind the 9-11 attack, and that just about everybody was involved in conspiracies to present false facts. Others believe in a conspiracy cover-up regarding UFOs, claiming that governments know of their existence, but deny them for whatever reason. Others see conspiracies pertaining to certain groups secretly “running” this world, including the Free Masons, the Illuminati, the Bilderbergers, and whatever other of the many groups they may list.
First of all, none of this is material and relevant for true Christians, as it is Satan who, as the god and prince of this world, is ruling this earth, and whatever “group” he may use for this purpose is really of no consequence for us. In addition, no one knows for sure whether these things are so, and therefore, to state them with “conviction” and the self-righteous attitude of “I know it, and you don’t” is dangerous, since one might be guilty of lying, if these ideas turn out to be false. Isaiah 8:12 warns us: “Do not say, ‘A conspiracy,’ Concerning all that this people call a conspiracy, nor be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled. The LORD of hosts, Him you shall hallow; Let Him be your fear, And let Him be your dread” (Isaiah 8:12-13).
If we would only do this, we would not get involved in conspiracy theories, politics, governmental elections, jury duty, military service and war, and many other man-made institutions and concepts which are against the Will of God. As ambassadors of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God, we are to announce and represent God’s coming rule on earth, when there will be no more false judgments and wrong assumptions, based on “convincing facts” which had been acquired through eyesight or hearsay. Let us work towards the goal of rendering righteous judgment, and let’s leave the world’s politics with its faulty ideas, traditions and concepts behind.
