Catacomb Resident Blog

Count the Cost

17 August 2023

The mission has not changed. The first iteration of this blog began as a call to prepare for tribulation. Not the stuff of fiction, nor popular mythology, but looking at issues others tend to ignore. The most difficult part of this message is trying to convince folks that tribulation is not what they might expect.

Some parts of the coming sorrows will represent a dramatic departure from life as we've known it. But most of the drama comes from the false expectations that the mainstream has consumed and absorbed from the media. In other words, the trauma will be the shocking realization that most of what people believe about things in general has been nonsense all along. From time to time, I've posted about this façade and just how awful our government really is. Nobody in government -- nobody -- represents our real interests.

I'm not the only one saying this: Good moral people would never compete for the authority to control the lives of others. All human government is a conspiracy to rule, and most of it is a conspiracy to use and abuse for self-gain. The biblical model of a righteous shepherd is someone who would rather do something else, but knows God demands they take up the staff.

Think about Saul, who began as a self-effacing man who tried to avoid the public anointing as King of Israel, but ended up so enamored with his position that he lied to God's prophet about some very petty stuff. You would think that was two different men. He was okay until he gained power. The true mark of a man is how he uses whatever power he receives. Those who dread the necessity of exercising authority are good people; those who manage to go ahead and do it well are excellent.

Thus, I've expended a lot of electrons trying to paint a different picture of the threat model. Most of what we face is way outside our control. The known plans of men are not the whole story. Rather, we must first get some idea of the plans of those beings who use men for their agendas. The image painted by Dr. Hesier of the political wrangling in the heavenly courts of God demands a radical shift in our expectations. The American religious mythology of demons versus angels vastly oversimplifies the way the Bible depicts things. The reason I was so receptive of Heiser's message was because it simply extended what I already knew about the imagery of the Ancient Near East in general, and of Hebrew thinking, in particular.

It's not enough to know bad things are coming. Rather, it is our duty to the Lord of Creation to grasp, as much as possible, the true nature of how He designed and now operates that Creation, how He stays involved and keeps things going according to His agenda. We must understand that agenda, at least in accordance with what He has offered to show us so far. We must understand in some way His tolerance for dissent among His advisors in Heaven. Things are not clear cut and precise from where we stand.

This calls for a sharp departure from what most people expect, because they aren't paying attention to what the Bible actually says. I don't claim to have all the answers, but I'm quite eager to testify of how a different approach has brought me so much peace and inner joy in Christ. I then immediately warn you to test my ideas against your own convictions, as to whether and how much of my testimony is useful to you.

That means that I chatter here about things with which I have significant experience. But not everything; some of what I believe I know about doesn't really belong here, at least not very much. That would include, for example, my experience with computer technology. This will never be a technology blog. The reason is simple: This is just a tool, and it has a limited life span in our preparation for tribulation. Indeed, the single most important statement I can make based on my computer technology experience is that you should be careful to build up a strong capacity for doing without computers and the Internet in the near future. My biggest warning is that using cell phones and other networking devices can so easily entrap you in a place where the power of the oppressors is greatest.

Be ready to continue your life without that electronic networking. Be ready to drop it at a moment's notice and keep on truckin' for the Lord. Invest yourself and your resources in some other ways of getting things done in life.

But at the same time, notice what I'm not saying: "Throw it all in the trash." What I'm saying is never forget that networking technology is just a tool; it is not your life. Whatever contact you have with government, society and the economy will likely require you to keep track of the trends and have on hand whatever devices are necessary for the moment. The time to head out for the mountains and life off-grid may never come. Indeed, I rather doubt it will ever come as a result of human activity. Rather, that day will come when God pours out His wrath via solar catastrophes.

The situation will most likely degrade slowly in place, and require that we make a lot of small adjustments in order to maintain our witness. Yes, I expect the stock market to crash, but I seriously doubt economic activity will simply stop altogether. Rather, a stock market crash is being engineered to distinguish between the real elite and their lackeys. A great many of those who believe they are among the elite class really are not; they are just tools being used.

The biggest lie of all is that this whole thing is somehow random, that it wasn't planned and engineered to go this way. With cybercrime in particular, most of it is not just a bunch of crooks trying to make a buck. Rather, the crooks are being used, fostered and protected for a time until the real elites are through with them. Don't get lost in the confusing array of different cyber-attacks; it is all headed in a planned direction. The seeming dependence of humanity on this technology is part of the big plan to enslave us. Your cellphone is meant to be your chain.

Whatever use you make of these devices, let it be only a sideline to your real mission and calling. Whatever you commit to "the cloud" must be of small importance to you in your Covenant faith life, because you can be sure "they" will someday take it all away from you. That is part of their plan to seize power over the human race. If everyone becomes too dependent on the devices and the technology behind them, then they will have no means of pulling away from the centralizing control of evil and oppression.

Unless you have a mission and calling to resist in some particular way, it's quite likely you'll continue to operate as an infiltrator. You'll need to keep some kind of device around and tolerate the attendant surveillance and tracking. Not for everything you do, but tolerate just enough tracking to allow the government agents to believe that you aren't rebelling. Be selective in how you register dissent. There may come a time when you'll need to make a definitive break from the milieu, but as long as the Lord doesn't make that call, we need to keep our witness in front of those around us. That means staying among them in some way that you get their attention.

Don't get wrapped up in the tactics to the point you lose track of the larger strategy of a faith witness. Recognize evil, but don't be afraid to raid our Enemy's camp now and then. Jehovah's opposition knows who you are. The Covenant is your shield, limiting their power to touch your life, but that protection is not absolute. Count the cost and obey the Lord.


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