Dangerous Obsession: Hip-Hop & the Illuminati

What caused Hurricane Katrina, UFO sightings over Utah, the JFK assassination, the Spur’s NBA Finals loss, President Obama’s re-election, Samsung’s deal with Jay Z, and your flat tire?  The answer is easy- The illuminati!  Seriously, I wish that it were a stretch of imagination, but not by much.  These days, especially in the hip-hop world, everyone loves to point to the mysterious illuminati as the reason for injustices in the world, and generally anything that isn’t right.  Even Busta Rhymes recently said that he thinks Hip-hop’s fascination with the illuminati is over the top.  Why is the illuminati granted so much credibility, even amongst Christians?  Answer: When what we don’t know is filled with superstition instead of the Bible, alternative theories sound plausible.

[Tweet “Nowadays everyone loves to point to the mysterious @illuminati as the reason for injustices.”]

[Tweet “If what we don’t know is filled w/ superstition instead of the Word, other theories sound plausible.”]

The Mighty Sovereign Illuminati!

The illuminati is passed off as this all powerful secret society of people who control the affairs of the world at the deepest level.  They are more powerful than the president.  They are more influential than CNN.  They are the characters behind the black curtain that nobody ever sees (at least not while knowing), but everyone always feels their effects.  They are ultra-rich.  They might even have access to medicines that the rest of us can’t get.  They can, at the whim of a moment, change the course of foreign trade, the value of currency, start wars, stop wars, etc. They even have the power to control your will and affections through clever marketing.  The more that we listen to these descriptions, the more it sounds like the illuminati is a convenient way to explain away every bump in the night.  It sounds like a counterfeit description of the Sovereign God.  And here is my first problem with Christians making a big deal about the illuminati.

[Tweet “The @illuminati sounds like a counterfeit description of the Sovereign God.”]

Who’s Really in Control?

Proverbs 21:1

The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord;

he turns it wherever he will.

This is the kind of power that people claim that the illuminati have.

I’m sorry, but this Scripture shows us that there is no such thing as a group of people who actually control the world- only a group of people who think they control the world.  I’m not saying that there isn’t a super influential group that we don’t know about.  What I’m saying is that even if such a group exists, to use Martin Luther’s idea, they are God’s illuminati- God using them, ultimately, to accomplish His sovereign will.  You see this most clearly displayed in the death of Jesus.  Consider Acts 2:23:

 

“…this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.”

 

and Acts 4:27-28

“…for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.”

[Tweet “If @theilluminati do exist, they are under the hand of our sovereign God. He’s using them.”]

The Triune God is the one who rules the world.  He is the one that makes the stock market rise and fall.  He’s the one who determined how the story started and how it will end.

[Tweet “God rules the world. He determined how the story started and how it will end. “]

Obsession over the illuminati shows a Biblical immaturity, especially in regards to the sovereignty of God.  Yes, there are very dark forces at work in this world. In their case, the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God (2 Corinthians 4:4).  But don’t get it twisted and think that God and Satan are equally strong cosmic forces.  Don’t get it twisted and think that God isn’t working everything out according to His purposes for the highest display of His glory ultimately.

[Tweet “Obsession over @theilluminati shows a Biblical immaturity.”]

Have your secret societies.  Have your brain washing light pulses through the TV.  Have your government influence and world market manipulation.  Whatever may go bump in the night is a weak tool that only exists in God’s world for God’s purposes to God’s glory.