Conspiracy

A conspiracy is a group of people trying to overthrow duly constituted authority. It is a group of people suitably organized for an evil or unlawful purpose.

Types of Conspiracy

There are six types of conspiracy according to the Word of God. National conspiracy in Jeremiah 11:9.

“Then the LORD said to me, “A conspiracy has been found among the men of Judah and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem.” (Jeremiah 11:9, NASB)

Local conspiracy in Jeremiah 11:21-23. This was the Anathoth conspiracy. This was Jeremiah’s home town. At one time, he was extremely popular, but later the locals were out to get him.

“Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the men of Anathoth, who seek your life, saying, “Do not prophesy in the name of the LORD, so that you will not die at our hand”; therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts, “Behold, I am about to punish them! The young men will die by the sword, their sons and daughters will die by famine; and a remnant will not be left to them, for I will bring disaster on the men of Anathoth—the year of their punishment.”“ (Jeremiah 11:21-23, NASB)

Family conspiracy in Jeremiah 12:6.

““For even your brothers and the household of your father, Even they have dealt treacherously with you, Even they have cried aloud after you. Do not believe them, although they may say nice things to you.”“ (Jeremiah 12:6, NASB)

Personal conspiracy in Jeremiah 12:7.

““I have forsaken My house, I have abandoned My inheritance; I have given the beloved of My soul Into the hand of her enemies.” (Jeremiah 12:7, NASB)

Religious conspiracy in Ezekiel 22:25-31.

““There is a conspiracy of her prophets in her midst like a roaring lion tearing the prey. They have devoured lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in the midst of her. “Her priests have done violence to My law and have profaned My holy things; they have made no distinction between the holy and the profane, and they have not taught the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they hide their eyes from My sabbaths, and I am profaned among them. “Her princes within her are like wolves tearing the prey, by shedding blood and destroying lives in order to get dishonest gain. “Her prophets have smeared whitewash for them, seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD,’ when the LORD has not spoken. “The people of the land have practiced oppression and committed robbery, and they have wronged the poor and needy and have oppressed the sojourner without justice. “I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one. “Thus I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; their way I have brought upon their heads,” declares the Lord GOD.” (Ezekiel 22:25-31, NASB)

International Conspiracy in Jeremiah 17:9-10. This is the conspiracy of emotional revolt of the soul where the old sin nature in the believer has a love affair with the emotions. The emotions in turn affect the frontal lobe. A good illustration of this is the tongues movement.

““The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it? “I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give to each man according to his ways, According to the results of his deeds.” (Jeremiah 17:9-10, NASB)

Characteristics of Conspiracy

A conspiracy has three organized categories – the plot, the intrigue, and the machinations. The first category of a conspiracy is the plot. A plot is a carefully devised plan for the overthrow of authority. It is the most deliberate of all conspiracies. The plotters are the brains of the conspiracy, sometimes in the background, but definitely the nerve center of all conspiracies.

The second category of a conspiracy is intrigue and involves dupes. This is a system of scheming involving petty and underhanded methods. It also involves uninformed and unthinking people. This is usually the type of conspiracy that accidentally falls together. People sit around at a party and they begin to criticize. People talk over a dinner party and they begin to criticize. Criticism spreads from one to another. They find they are in agreement. This leads to intrigue. In Jeremiah 11:9, this involved the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Dupes are people who have rejected the Word of God and are in rebellion against duly constituted authority.

“Then the LORD said to me, “A conspiracy has been found among the men of Judah and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem.” (Jeremiah 11:9, NASB)

The third category of a conspiracy is machinations. Machinations are the activity of those who are idle, troublemakers, and don’t have much to do in life. These are groups who through a crafty and torturous process seek to harass, destroy, and overthrow or harm establishment or authority. This would involve organizations in a country that plot to undermine and subvert the existing duly constituted authority that governs the nation. This can involve those who destroy by hit and run violence.

The conditions that Jeremiah faced when he said in Jeremiah 11:9, “A conspiracy has been found,” are exactly parallel to the situation in the United States today. Jeremiah had already been the victim of a personal conspiracy through his wife. He survived them all through Bible doctrine giving iron to his soul.

There has never been a conspiracy or an apostacy without first the rejection of Bible doctrine. Jer. 11:8.

“‘Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked, each one, in the stubbornness of his evil heart; therefore I brought on them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they did not.’““ (Jeremiah 11:8, NASB)

In Jeremiah 11:8, “Yet, they did not obey” is the qal perfect of שׁמע (shâma‛) and is negative volition towards Bible doctrine. “Nor incline their ear” is the niphil of נטה (nâṭâh) and is stronger and means they had no concentration. It means they knew they ought to come and hear Moses teach and they knew they ought to come to Jeremiah’s Bible classes. They would come because they knew they should. It was the thing to do. You ought to go to church once a week because if you don’t, God will kick you in the pants. They feel better when they go to church. This a salve of the conscience.

This is how the conspiracy starts. I ought to go, but there is a good program on TV tonight. I ought to go, but this is one of those once in a lifetime parties. I ought to go, but I have some dear friends in town. I ought to go, but…

What does that mean? That means there is something more important in your mind when Bible doctrine is communicated face-to-face. That means you should already have warning bells going off in your soul. That means your emotions demand titillation, stimulation, pleasure, or ecstatics. That means your emotions are becoming so demanding they are about to rule your soul. However, they will not rule until they get into a conspiracy with the old sin nature! And when the old sin nature dominates the emotions, then the conspiracy is on. They knew they should come and get Bible teaching, but there was something to give them an excuse not to. And they would snatch at excuses! Like straws!

In Jeremiah 11:8, “But walked, each one, in the stubbornness of his evil heart” refers to their life pattern, behavior and thought pattern. The qal imperfect of הלך (hâlak) means they kept on following this pattern. “Stubbornness” is שׁרירוּת (sherı̂yrûtha) and is a Hebrew term for scar tissue and a technical word for the emotional revolt of the soul. Emotional revolt makes the heart evil!

Remember there are three categories of emotional revolt - mental attitude sin revolt, lust type of revolt (power lust, approbation lust, etc.), and human good revolt. One of these three or a combination work on the emotions, which are responders only and have no doctrinal content.

An “evil heart” is a destroyed right lobe, like Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel. “Evil” is רַע (ra) and means worthless. The heart is worthless because it has lost its authority. The day that the pastor-teacher loses his authority to teach Bible doctrine in the local church, he is worthless. The day that someone does not have authority in a place of authority, that day he is worthless. The heart is the basic authority of your soul.

When the police officer doesn’t have authority to arrest, to shoot, to do whatever is necessary in line of duty, then the law enforcement is worthless. When an officer in the military cannot command his troops, then be becomes worthless. When you school teachers do not have authority over your pupils, your teaching is worthless! When an executive in business cannot set policy for that business, it becomes worthless!

“All the words of this covenant” refers to those in emotional revolt who will receive the cursing of the Mosaic Covenant. Deut. 27:15-26; Deut. 28: 15-48.

“‘Cursed is the man who makes an idol or a molten image, an abomination to the LORD, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and sets it up in secret.’ And all the people shall answer and say, ‘Amen.’ ‘Cursed is he who dishonors his father or mother.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’ ‘Cursed is he who moves his neighbor’s boundary mark.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’ ‘Cursed is he who misleads a blind person on the road.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’ ‘Cursed is he who distorts the justice due an alien, orphan, and widow.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’ ‘Cursed is he who lies with his father’s wife, because he has uncovered his father’s skirt.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’ ‘Cursed is he who lies with any animal.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’ ‘Cursed is he who lies with his sister, the daughter of his father or of his mother.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’ ‘Cursed is he who lies with his mother-in-law.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’ ‘Cursed is he who strikes his neighbor in secret.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’ ‘Cursed is he who accepts a bribe to strike down an innocent person.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’ ‘Cursed is he who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’“ (Deuteronomy 27:15-26, NASB)

In Jeremiah 11:8, “commanded” is the piel perfect of צוה (tsâvâh) and is an intense type of command from God, yet it was rejected. They chose cursing rather than blessing. All conspiracies come out of the rejection of the authority of the pastor and the rejection of Bible doctrine. Jer. 11:9.

“Then the LORD said to me, “A conspiracy has been found among the men of Judah and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem.” (Jeremiah 11:9, NASB)

No one has a right to be a pastor unless he preaches with authority, dogmatically, emphatically, and without deviation. And when he does, obviously some will accept, some will reject. When they start going negative, they get into emotional revolt of the soul and that’s it, the conspiracy is on!

In Jeremiah 11:9, “Then the Lord said to me” refers to Jeremiah. “A conspiracy” is קשׁר (qesher) in the Hebrew and means a combination of persons who are trying to overthrow duly constituted authority. This word connotes the three areas of conspiracy.

“Has been found” is the niphil perfect of מצא (mâtsâ’) meaning to discover. God permitted this conspiracy to be uncovered and it became the basis of many of Jeremiah’s messages. “Among the men of Judah” the men are the leaders of the conspiracy. They are in the plot involving a few men.

“Among the inhabitants of Jerusalem” is the intrigue category. They are the dupes and pawns. They simply get into petty underhanded comments back and forth. This is the larger group. These are the stupid ones that parrot whatever comes out of the plotting.

Conspiracy Examples

Conspiracy was the basis for one of the most tragic revolutions of all time, the Absalom revolt. Absalom was the favorite son of David. If ever a father loved his son, David loved Absalom. No one could hurt David like Absalom could. 2 Sam. 15:12-13.

“And Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counselor, from his city Giloh, while he was offering the sacrifices. And the conspiracy was strong, for the people increased continually with Absalom. Then a messenger came to David, saying, “The hearts of the men of Israel are with Absalom.”“ (2 Samuel 15:12-13, NASB)

There was a plot, a carefully devised plan, but Absalom was not in the plot. Then there was intrigue where Absalom became the dupe and the front of the conspiracy. Then there were machinations, the crafty and torturous tactics of Saul’s relatives who were still around. This makes quite a study for conspiracy and how you can get drawn into this without even knowing it. In fact, often people in the intrigue category and the machinations category say, “There’s no organized conspiracy.”

Conspiracy has been the basis of many assassinations such as Joash in 2 Kings 12:19-21.

“Now the rest of the acts of Joash and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? His servants arose and made a conspiracy and struck down Joash at the house of Millo as he was going down to Silla. For Jozacar the son of Shimeath and Jehozabad the son of Shomer, his servants, struck him and he died; and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David, and Amaziah his son became king in his place.” (2 Kings 12:19-21, NASB)

Conspiracy was the basis for the assassination of the son of Joash, Amaziah in 2 Kings 14:17-19 and 2 Chronicles 25:27.

“Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah lived fifteen years after the death of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel. Now the rest of the acts of Amaziah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? They conspired against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish; but they sent after him to Lachish and killed him there.” (2 Kings 14:17-19, NASB)

“From the time that Amaziah turned away from following the LORD they conspired against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish; but they sent after him to Lachish and killed him there.” (2 Chronicles 25:27, NASB)

This is interesting when a conspiracy goes from one generation to the next. The conspiracy in each generation reached a climax when the target was liquidated. Again it involved all three categories.

Conspiracy destroyed the Northern Kingdom, among other things. The last king of the Ten Northern Tribes was Hoshea. He came to the throne through a conspiracy in 732 BC. 2 Kings 15:30.

“And Hoshea the son of Elah made a conspiracy against Pekah the son of Remaliah, and struck him and put him to death and became king in his place, in the twentieth year of Jotham the son of Uzziah.” (2 Kings 15:30, NASB)

He loved conspiracy. He conspired against Assyria and as such he was the last king of the Ten Northern Tribes and Assyria took them captive under the Fifth Cycle of Discipline. 2 Kings 17:4-6.

“But the king of Assyria found conspiracy in Hoshea, who had sent messengers to So king of Egypt and had offered no tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year; so the king of Assyria shut him up and bound him in prison. Then the king of Assyria invaded the whole land and went up to Samaria and besieged it three years. In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and carried Israel away into exile to Assyria, and settled them in Halah and Habor, on the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.” (2 Kings 17:4-6, NASB)

Jeremiah was the target of an organized conspiracy. This conspiracy was based on the rejection of Bible doctrine. Jer. 11:9-10.

“Then the LORD said to me, “A conspiracy has been found among the men of Judah and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem. “They have turned back to the iniquities of their ancestors who refused to hear My words, and they have gone after other gods to serve them; the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken My covenant which I made with their fathers.”“ (Jeremiah 11:9-10, NASB)

Religious conspiracy is the worst because it involves every category of humanity. This is illustrated by Ezekiel in Ezekiel 22:25-31.

The Apostle Paul was a victim of conspiracy in Jerusalem. The plot involved the Pharisees who were the legalists in the Sanhedrin. The dupes were the 40 young men, knuckleheads who would not eat until Paul was assassinated. The machinations involved the Judaizers who followed him around. Acts 23:12-13.

“When it was day, the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves under an oath, saying that they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul. There were more than forty who formed this plot.” (Acts 23:12-13, NASB)

The Cause of Conspiracy

The cause of conspiracy is rejection of Bible doctrine (Mosaic Law in the Old Testament). In Jeremiah 11:10, “iniquities of the ancestors” refers to rejection of the Mosaic Law, specifically the golden calf incident. The Jews came out of body slavery, but stayed in soul slavery. In 1441-1401 BC, all but Caleb, Joshua and Moses died in the desert under the sin unto death for their continual negative volition. They would all die and never enter the Land as their divine discipline from God. Then from soul slavery, they went back to body slavery under the Chaldeans.

““They have turned back to the iniquities of their ancestors who refused to hear My words, and they have gone after other gods to serve them; the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken My covenant which I made with their fathers.”“ (Jeremiah 11:10, NASB)

When a nation reaches prosperity, it always does so because of God’s grace, the laws which God has ordained, the principles of law and order, privacy, the principle of authority, and the principle of free enterprise. But then they forget the grace of God and go into soul slavery and lapse into body slavery. Whether we in the United States survive or not depends upon our response to the Word of God.