Are You a Useful Idiot?

I apologize for even asking the question, as I have no intention of insulting any of you, our faithful Tomorrow’s World readers. “The phrase useful idiot designates a naive or credulous person who can be manipulated or exploited to advance a cause or political agenda” (WordHistories.net). When you and I look in the mirror, that hardly looks like us—or does it? The answer may be surprising.

We live in a very uncertain world—one that is divided, polarized, and angry. People hurl insults and accusations—sometimes without even understanding their meaning—and often those hurling the accusations are woefully lacking in understanding about the person or group they are accusing. They simply jump on the bandwagon, repeating what others have said.

There have always been divisions in the world, but behind those divisions are pride and arrogance. This is why fights erupt on the schoolyard, marriages dissolve, and nations fight wars. The Internet has only offered wider, swifter, and more accessible avenues for hatred and division to deepen and spread.

Why is our world this way? Why do people line up so viciously against others? In most cases it is because there are forces behind the scenes that they do not understand—when you trace the ideas back to where they begin, you find that there is often a hidden agenda being promoted. Here in the United States, radical professors have infiltrated universities with the motive of severing the nation from its historical foundations. It appears that many in the media share these sentiments—and there are politicians who, by their words and actions, appear not to love their country. This is not new. What is new is social media, which foreign governments can use to corrupt and weaken their enemies and competitors.

Individuals or countries fund protests to effect change. The U.S. and Great Britain are as guilty of playing this game as Russia, China, North Korea, Iran, and other nations. Most of us understand this—I am not saying anything that is not already obvious to any thinking person—so why the question in the title?

Just as there are shadowy characters working behind the scenes to disrupt and to destroy those individuals and nations they hate, so too is there a shadowy figure—recognized by almost no one—who is trying to destroy not only an enemy country, but the entire world. And he uses naïve people to carry out his destructive plans.

Why Does God Allow Evil?

When bad people do bad things, the question of evil often comes up. It is not an inconsequential question, and it begets greater questions. “The problem of evil is the problem of accounting for evil in a world created by an all-powerful, all-knowing, all-good God. It seems that if the creator has these attributes, there would be no evil in the world. But there is evil in the world. Thus, there is reason to believe that an all-powerful, all-knowing, all-good creator does not exist” (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy).

Is this conclusion true? It comes from human reasoning and lacks an understanding of the almighty, all-knowing, perfectly righteous God. It fails to consider God’s plan and purpose. Only if one knows His plan can one reconcile the fact of evil in the world.

Today’s mainstream Christianity bears little resemblance to the teachings of Jesus Christ. That is more than an accusation, as it can be proved by comparing today’s common “Christian” practices with what we find in the Bible. Tomorrow’s World has several well-documented resources that point this out: Restoring Original Christianity quotes respected historians who reveal the history of true Christianity, and it compares modern practices with what the Bible actually says. You may order a copy of this booklet by contacting our Regional Office nearest you, as listed on page 4 of this magazine, or you can read or listen to it here at TomorrowsWorld.org.

The Bible takes us back to the origin of evil, explaining that God created a beautiful angel of high rank and placed him on Earth to manage and perfect it. Lucifer was not an automaton—God created him as a free moral agent. Over a long period of time, this cherub became filled with vanity and self-importance. He saw himself as wiser than God. He eventually rebelled against God and attempted to knock his Creator off His throne, only to be cast back down to Earth. We see in Scripture that this spirit being has been the unseen hand behind human leaders (Ezekiel 28:12–17; Isaiah 14:12–15).

People are familiar with the account in Genesis wherein this spirit being, appearing as a serpent, talked Eve into taking and eating a fruit that God had forbidden. He deceived her, but although Adam was not deceived he went ahead and ate the fruit as well (1 Timothy 2:14). This raises questions that we ought to ask: Why was Satan—formerly Lucifer—left on earth to tempt our first parents? Could God not have stopped him? The answer, of course, is yes, He could have—so why did He not?

God’s purpose for man is far greater than what is taught in the typical Sunday-morning worship service. God has not placed us on Earth to live out our lives, have as much fun as we can, and then die and go to eternal retirement in Heaven or eternal punishment in hell. You can learn the incredible purpose for your existence by ordering a copy of our free resource What Is the Meaning of Life?

Why We Need to Pray God’s “Will Be Done”

When Lucifer rebelled against God, the government of God ceased to be administered on Earth. This is evident from an often-repeated prayer. The so-called “Lord’s Prayer” was not meant to be recited mindlessly over and over again, as is commonly done today. Jesus gave it as an outline of how to pray in response to His disciples’ request to “teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1). We read in this sample prayer, “Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (v. 2).

Why pray for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in Heaven? Is that not already the case? Not at all. What we see on Earth today is not God’s will! While He does step in from time to time to effect His overall plan, He never removed the rebellious archangel and his followers. But why not?

In the garden, when Adam was tempted, he could have rejected Satan. Had he overcome the adversary, he could have carried out God’s will on earth—but he didn’t. He instead submitted his will to the devil. That is the reason for the “last Adam” or “second Man” (1 Corinthians 15:45–49). That is why Jesus was led out into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Though the first Adam failed, the second Adam, Jesus Christ, refused Satan’s temptations. As the second Adam, Christ did what the first Adam could have done—qualify to restore the Kingdom of God and God’s will on earth.

However, Christ’s Kingdom has not yet come. This is explained in the parable of the Nobleman who went into a far country (Luke 19:11–27). And why did He do so? “To receive for himself a kingdom and to return” (v. 12). You can read of that future coronation ceremony in Daniel 7:13–14. When He does return, “having received the kingdom” (Luke 19:15), He will remove the devil (Revelation 20:1–3), and He will then establish His own righteous rule. Those who overcome Satan’s rule today will rule with Christ (v. 4).

Until then, Satan is desperately trying to thwart God’s plan. He is directing the course of this world and using human beings to promote his ways of violence, hatred, and rebellion. He infuses into unsuspecting minds vanity and arrogance, self-will and selfishness. He promotes an unforgiving attitude, self-pity, and a spirit of competition. And yes—we allow ourselves to be his useful idiots when we fall prey to his ways of thinking and acting.