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Particulars of Christianity:
315 Global Conspiracy
(and Freemasonry)


The Lifespan of the Conspiracy (Part 1)

Intro: A Biblical Look at "Conspiracy"
Conspiracy: What does the Bible Say?
Conspiracy Against God in the End Times
Revelation Records the Conspiracy
The Lifespan of the Conspiracy (Part 1)
The Lifespan of the Conspiracy (Part 2)
Mystery: The Religion of the Conspirators (Part 1)
Mystery: The Religion of the Conspirators (Part 2)
Part 1: Mystery Religion in Modern Groups
Part 2: Financial Influence and Freemasonry
Part 3: The Great Merchants and Global Deception
Conspiracy Study Reference and Research Section
Controlling the News: Goldberg and Quigley



So far, we have proven our first point, that there is a conspiracy against God that exists in the end times. But does this conspiracy spring up during the final 3 1/2 to 7 years, or does it grow and evolve much earlier?

There are two lines of evidence in the Bible, which both clearly establish the longevity of this conspiracy. The first line of evidence concerns the political evolution of the end time conspiracy unfolding from ancient, empire systems. (For a thorough investigation of this line of evidence please see our articles entitled "Prophetic Symbols" in the End Times (Eschatology) Section of the In Depth Bible Studies.)

The second line of evidence that the conspiracy is not short-lived but develops over a long period of human history follows the mystery religion of the conspirators themselves. It is this track of evidence to which we will now turn our attention.

As far as this line of evidence is concerned there are four very interesting New Testament passages concerning the long life span of the conspiracy against God.

2 Thessalonians 2:1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, 2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. 3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. 5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? 6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery [3466] of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. 8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

We note that in 2 Thessalonians Paul is discussing three things, which are relevant to our study. First, Paul mentions the antichrist (verse 3-4). Second, Paul relates this antichrist to a "mystery of iniquity." Third, Paul states that this "mystery of iniquity" is already at work in his time in the first century. When we take a look at some of John's writings we see that he addresses the same issues.

1 John 2:18 Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.

[Notice how verse 18 mentions antichrists plural while at the same time upholding the concept of a singular, individual who will be the ultimate expression of this group.]

1 John 4:3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

2 John 1:7 For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.

[Notice how these deceivers from 2 John 1:7 parallel the "antichrists" plural in 1 John 2:18. And we should also take note of their defining characteristic. They seem to acknowledge Christ on some levels while at the same time denying his humanity. We will take a greater look at this issue in a later section.]

These three passages from John's letters also discuss three things. First, in 1 John 2, he mentions the antichrist. Second, he then connects this antichrist to persons who were already around in his time. Third, in 1 John 4, he states that the spirit of antichrist was in the world at the time of his writing in the first century. This is corroborated by 2 John 1 as well.

When taken together we can see several things. One, at the time these epistles were written, there was already a mystery of iniquity at work and the spirit of the antichrist was already present in the world. And two, lesser antichrists working in accordance with the evil end time purpose were also present at that time.

The unavoidable conclusion that we arrive at by comparing these four verses is that antichrists, the spirit of antichrist, and the mystery of iniquity have been at work going all the way back to the time 2 Thessalonians and John's epistles were written in the first century AD.

But is there anything to connect these things to the idea of the end time conspiracy, which we have established from Psalms?

The answer is yes. When we ask, "what is the mystery of iniquity" that Paul speaks of in 2 Thessalonians 2, we see that the word for "mystery" there is the same word found in Revelation 17, concerning Babylon the Great.

Revelation 17:5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, [3466] BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

Now, what is this mystery that is associated with this great deceiving entity known in Revelation as Babylon the Great? The word for mystery in both 2 Thessalonians 2 and Revelation 17 is defined as follows.

3466 musthrion musterion moos-tay'-ree-on
from a derivative of muo (to shut the mouth); TDNT-4:802,615; n n AV-mystery 27; 27
1) hidden thing, secret, mystery
1a) generally mysteries, religious secrets, confided only to the initiated and not to ordinary mortals
1b) a hidden or secret thing, not obvious to the understanding
1c) a hidden purpose or counsel
1c1) secret will
1c1a) of men
1c1b) of God: the secret counsels which govern God in dealing with the righteous, which are hidden from ungodly and wicked men but plain to the godly
2) in rabbinic writings, it denotes the mystic or hidden sense
2a) of an OT saying
2b) of an image or form seen in a vision
2c) of a dream

While this word can be used to indicate Godly things and is used often times throughout the New Testament in that sense, we know that in the contexts of 2 Thessalonians 2 and Revelation 17 it is speaking of ungodly religious mysteries. This Greek word for mystery occurs 27 times in the New Testament. And of the 27 occurrences, 25 refer to godly mysteries revealed by God to his people. The occurrences found in 2 Thessalonians 2:7 and Revelation 17:5 are the ONLY 2 times it applies to ungodly spiritual mysteries. This further strengthens the tie between these two passages.

From this overall definition, definition 1a) "religious secrets, confided only to the initiated and not to ordinary mortals" or definition 1c) "a hidden purpose or counsel" would both indicate the type of secret society conspiracy found in popular global conspiracy theory.

So, we can conclude from these two passages that there is a connection between 2 Thessalonians 2:7's "mystery of iniquity" and Revelation 17:5's "mystery" of "Babylon the Great." Both are associated by John and Paul with the antichrist. But this is not the only evidence we have that the religious aspect of the conspiracy is long-lived.

Since this word "mystery" is associated so closely with the phrase "Babylon the Great" we must ask some questions. What is the connection that Revelation is making between the end time conspiracy and ancient Babylon? Is this a reference to the actual historic city of Babylon? Or are these terms and phrases from Revelation 17:5 a symbolic, descriptive title meant to describe another city besides the historic Babylon? In either case, does this connection support our claim that the conspiracy exists long before the final 3 1/2 to 7 years?

First let's take a look at what Revelation is implying by its usage of the title "Babylon the Great." The first thing we will note is that a historic city name can be used as a descriptive title for a different city. In such cases as these the original city of that name may not be in view, but rather some aspect or characteristic of that city is being applied to describe some other city, which shares that particular aspect or characteristic. We can see that Revelation does this on at least one occasion.

Revelation 11:8 And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.

The city where Jesus was crucified was Jerusalem. In this verse Jerusalem is not mentioned by name but the names of two other cities are applied to it. It is called Sodom and Egypt in a figurative sense.

Like Revelation 17:18, Jerusalem is referred to as "the great city." Now, it is not necessary for us to assume that the same city is meant in both passages. There is no reason to assume there is only one great city. And, while this passage does apply the symbolic titles of Sodom and Egypt to Jerusalem, the title of Babylon is noticeably absent. Given that Babylon is a title used later in Revelation 17:5, we should assume that if Jerusalem was Babylon, that title would have been applied in Revelation 11:8.

So, from Revelation 11:8 we know that the names of historic cities are used in the Bible as symbolic titles for other cities in order to convey that some aspect of the originally titled city is shared by the one being described. And while we have demonstrated that this occurs in Revelation 11:8 to describe Jerusalem, it would make even more since to use this mode of description to characterize a future city not yet in existence whose name John would not have known.

But what about Revelation 17:5, is it meant to indicate the actual city of Babylon or rather some aspect of it that is shared by this future city.

In order to answer this we should consider the fact that at the time Revelation was written, the city of Babylon was in no way a prominent city, let alone the seat of global government as Revelation 17:8 describes. So, at the time Revelation was written, it is likely, particularly given the use of Sodom and Egypt as titles for Jerusalem, that the church of that day would have understood "Babylon the Great" was a symbolic title for another city, not the actual city of Babylon. While this is not conclusive, it is certainly probable and as we have shown there is Biblical precedent just 6 chapters earlier in Revelation 11:8.