Half blind in a fallen world - ward against the darkness by letting the light in..

Hi ATS,

As well as being a dedicated Christian, I'm a dedicated conspiracy researcher. I consider myself to be a fairly balanced person, 'walking in the Spirit', living for God, holding my thoughts captive to Christ, refusing to allow myself to think in worldly, materialistic, corrupt ways. I have flaws, as we all do - one of which is allowing righteous anger to become obsessive. Indeed I lashed out with a direct rebuke against a certain member today, a fairly new soul on ATS who has not demonstrated good character in any way, shape or form during his brief sojourn in this realm of fellowship in the pursuit of truth. In the latest infraction, which raised my ire to unbearable levels, he mocked the vaccine injured as 'stupid' & gloated that he had been savvy enough to not take the vaccine, laughing at those who did, who 'deserved' terrible consequences as a result.

I rebuked him with fury, pointing out that we conspiracy theorists are technically the outliers - who have learned, through whatever providence has directed our life experiences to date, not to trust the governing authorities implicitly, indeed requiring a great deal of evidence that they are acting with integrity on a specific issue before allowing ourselves to even remotely consider trusting them. I pointed out that the majority of people - indeed, a great many morally upright, wonderful people who live wholesome & fulfilling lives, perhaps charitable towards others in many ways - were duped by the authorities, by a combination of fear-inducement & propaganda, darkly playing the card of power & authority with which they were entrusted, in order to deceive & abuse those good people - tricking them, forcing them (through mandates & the threat of losing their job) to take the vaccine.

Most of those good people instinctively trusted the authorities, having had no evidence previously which would have led them to distrust those in power - and yet, those in authority who manipulated & abused in this way, were intent on harming those good souls who had never done anyone any harm. Even to the point of causing horrendous injuries & death, on purpose, in order to depopulate the world we live in, serving their masters at the apex of the pyramid of power, the rulers, the powers & principalities of darkness. Ultimately, via many iterations of ascending power, those authorities are subservient to a being we could loosely term 'Satan', the dark spiritual power behind all other spiritual powers in the astral realms, the 'god of this world'. An entity with an agenda - to debase & destroy the good works of God the Creator, fuelled by rage & hatred of the most putrescent kind imaginable.

The vile intent driving the vaccine mandates, as epitomised by our human rulers, was nothing less than the watered down, slightly filtered hatred of all things holy which the Enemy of our souls directs towards God, via ourselves, in the hope of causing as much pain & sorrow as possible, to both us & our Creator, simultaneously reshaping the world we live in, causing people everywhere (including those in the medical world) to accept that new kinds of deliberate harms against our fellow man were inevitable, necessary, and even 'a good thing'. The good people who are now faced with vaccine injuries, or bereaved of close family members, are now 'conspiracy theorists' like us, having become painfully aware of the darkness that had concealed itself behind the supposedly respectable authorities they had trusted all their lives.. They were duped, manipulated & forced into circumstances in which they suffered horrendous consequences for their unforeseeable error in trusting those authorities who had formerly seemed so noble & trustworthy - or at least, not deliberately evil or intent on causing them harm.

And so I explained to the errant new ATSer that to mock, ridicule, laugh at or denigrate the vaccine injured as 'stupid' & (as he had stated plainly) deserving of their deaths & injuries because of that stupidity, was in fact directly equivalent, in moral terms, to the act of abusing & harming those people using the deceptions which were utilised by the rulers in order to commit the treasonous crimes they had committed. I made it clear in my comments that the mockery of people who were perfectly good in human terms, who had never committed an evil act, who were killed or horrifically harmed by the vaccine campaign, was exactly equivalent, in moral terms, to the attitude of presumptuous arrogance, selfish & conceited haughtiness, pride & smug superiority, which was present in the hearts of those who deliberately abused, harmed & killed those souls so thoroughly undeserving of such evil.

It is directly equivalent, in moral terms, to both cause that harm, and to mock those who were harmed through no moral fault of their own.

Sadly, my assumption is that the user I was rebuking, could be no more than a whippersnapper, a young person raised in an educational & social environment providing no moral substance, no training in righteousness, no understanding of ethics, no received or learned wisdom, no desire to develop their spiritual potential.

Most people born prior to 1990 have some memory of a time when goodness & grace were specifically praised as virtues; when there were at least some people in authority in the educational institutions, who had a hand in helping to raise them, who were decent enough to nurture those qualities in their wards. This at a time when most parents in middle & working class homes the world over raised their kids with some positive, structured value system to adhere to, some rules to guide them - when the social environment still had numerous points of virtue dotted around the matrix of possibilities which would ensure there were role models to look up to, authorities to trust & fear in appropriate measure, ensuring that behaviour was channelled in a positive direction, that offences against others were minimised, inspiring a desire to understand life in a moral, ethical & spiritual way as they got older & developed wisdom by their experience of the world & its people, its institutions & its products.

It was clear that this ATSer was young, with no understanding or moral character whatsoever. In my anger I rebuked him, and in so doing I let my guard down & became worldly for a moment, I lost my bearings. Instantly depressed at the mire this world has become - not only for the grand reasons we all are keenly aware of (IE the COVID conspiracy & the vaccine injuries) - but also the bit players at the base of the pyramid - those who make the world an ugly & misshapen void of sludge & grime, who laugh & mock at the poor, shattered lives of the victims of that grand conspiracy.

It saddened me deeply to realise that there are many on the right side of understanding, who are completely on the wrong side of the moral argument. ATS, we all need to do our bit to educate the fools who show no deference to the sacrosanct, to the souls of the innocent who are forever broken; trammelled by the debased brutes who fully intended to poison & destroy the ordinary, genteel citizens of God's created order, the children of the King.


But as well, we must open the eye which is closed, leaving us half blind.

It is no use seeing the darkness clearly if one cannot see the light.

We must deliberately craft our reflections towards goodness & grace once more, as well as truth.



FITO.

When presented with some of the events going on, I have had to laugh at it, the term illumanaughty is one example. It is either that or cry.

If us more seasoned individuals are at a loss at what to do about this mess, The new ones are going to go through some shock as they catch up. As they just laugh it off it is a defensive mechanism for them. Hopefully in time they will become better equipped to handle some of these big messy problems in a more appropriate way.

When we have people like the British health secretary Matt Hancock reveling in his authoritarian madness, it does not set a good example for the next generation. At least in the short term, has for how his career evolves with the standard he has set, maybe it will become an example of where these attitudes lead.

With one Grandfather in war, being able to laugh at problems was a healthy response. It kept ones spirit up despite what is going on around them and helped in pushing on. When you cannot laugh about it, it is a dark place to be.

Humor is also going to be a valuable weapon in fighting for the truth, as with the meme wars and other comedians that just get straight to the point.

Ridicule can go too far at times as people use it to detach from the implications of ones own actions.

originally posted by: FlyInTheOintment
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But as well, we must open the eye which is closed, leaving us half blind.

It is no use seeing the darkness clearly if one cannot see the light.

We must deliberately craft our reflections towards goodness & grace once more, as well as truth.

On the other hand, when a person looks at things in an impure way or with evil design, he is in great spiritual darkness. As Jesus put it: “If your eye is wicked, your whole body will be dark. If in reality the light that is in you is darkness, how great that darkness is!”​—Mt 6:23; compare 2Pe 2:14.

“So, then, Jehovah knows how to rescue people of godly devotion out of trial, but to reserve unrighteous people to be destroyed* [Lit., “cut off.”] on the day of judgment, especially those who seek to defile the flesh of others and who despise authority.* [Or “look down on lordship.”]

Daring and self-willed, they are not afraid to speak abusively of glorious ones, whereas angels, although they are greater in strength and power, do not bring against them an accusation in abusive terms, out of respect for* [Or “before.”] Jehovah. But these men, like unreasoning animals that act on instinct and are born* [Or “are born naturally.”] to be caught and destroyed, speak abusively about things of which they are ignorant. They will suffer destruction brought on by their own destructive course, suffering harm as their reward for their own harmful course.

They consider it pleasurable to indulge in luxurious living, even in the daytime. They are spots and blemishes who revel* [Or “who indulge with unrestrained delight.”] in their deceptive teachings while feasting together with you. Their eyes are full of adultery and are unable to desist from sin, and they entice unstable ones.* [Or “souls.”] They have a heart trained in greed. They are accursed children.
. . .
These are waterless springs and mists driven by a violent storm, and the blackest darkness has been reserved for them. They make high-sounding statements that are empty. By appealing to the desires of the flesh and with acts of brazen conduct,* [Or “acts of shameless conduct.”] they entice people who have just escaped from those who live in error. While they are promising them freedom, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for if anyone is overcome by someone, he is his slave.*” [Or “overcome by something, he is its slave.”] (2Pe 2:9-14,17-19)

“But these men are speaking abusively about all the things they really do not understand. And in all the things that they do understand by instinct like unreasoning animals, they go on corrupting themselves.
. . .
These men are murmurers, complainers about their lot in life, following their own desires, and their mouths make grandiose boasts, while they are flattering others* [Or “admiring personalities.”] for their own benefit.” (Jude 10,16)

There are a lot more of these types “speaking abusively about all the things they really do not understand” (such as who really rules this world and what his goals are, how the hierarchy of power in this world is structured and who is involved at the higher echelons of power*) on ATS than you might think. *: most of what these people talk about comes from secular sources, usually with a rightwing political slant when we're talking about NWO conspiracies. They often do not regard the Bible as a useful source of information how this world works, and who is really calling the shots, and what this idea of a new world order as envisioned by US president George Bush when he used the term back in 1991, really represents (a counterfeit version of the Kingdom of God promising peace and security in a new world order, and styled as such by the religious leaders in Christendom when supporting the UN/League of Nations long before 1991). Consequently, they speak abusively about any Biblical truths concerning these subjects (and by extension, the Bible itself). Sometimes with downright hostility (towards the truth or anyone sharing it). Demonstrating another Biblical truth and fulfilling Bible prophecy:

“For there will be a period of time when they will not put up with the wholesome* [Or “healthful; beneficial.”] teaching, but according to their own desires, they will surround themselves with teachers to have their ears tickled.* [Or “to tell them what they want to hear.”] They will turn away from listening to the truth and give attention to false stories.” (2 Timothy 4:3,4)

“Therefore, now that you have put away deceit, each one of you speak truth with his neighbor, because we are members belonging to one another. . . . Let a rotten word not come out of your mouth, but only what is good for building up as the need may be, to impart what is beneficial to the hearers.” (Ephesians 4:25,29)

originally posted by: whereislogic
...*: most of what these people talk about comes from secular sources, usually with a rightwing political slant when we're talking about NWO conspiracies. They often do not regard the Bible as a useful source of information how this world works, and who is really calling the shots, and what this idea of a new world order as envisioned by US president George Bush when he used the term back in 1991, really represents (a counterfeit version of the Kingdom of God promising peace and security in a new world order, and styled as such by the religious leaders in Christendom when supporting the UN/League of Nations long before 1991). ...

A little more about the bolded part there:

Chapter 33: Judging the Infamous Harlot (Revelation—Its Grand Climax At Hand!)

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The Harlot Rides a Beast

... Revelation 17:3.

...

This wild beast has seven heads and ten horns. Is it, then, the same as the wild beast that John saw earlier, which also has seven heads and ten horns? (Revelation 13:1) No, there are differences. This wild beast is scarlet-colored and, unlike the previous wild beast, is not said to have diadems. Rather than having blasphemous names on its seven heads only, it is “full of blasphemous names.” Nevertheless, there must be a relationship between this new wild beast and the previous one; the similarities between them are too pronounced to be coincidental.

What, then, is this new scarlet-colored wild beast? It must be the image to the wild beast that was brought forth under the urging of the Anglo-American wild beast that has two horns like a lamb. After the image was made, that two-horned wild beast was allowed to give breath to the image of the wild beast. (Revelation 13:14, 15) John now sees the living, breathing image. It pictures the League of Nations organization that the two-horned wild beast brought to life in 1920. U.S. President Wilson had envisioned that the League “would be a forum for the dispensation of justice for all men and wipe out the threat of war forever.” When it was resurrected after the second world war as the United Nations, its chartered purpose was “to maintain international peace and security.”

In what way is this symbolic wild beast full of blasphemous names? In that men have set up this multinational idol as a substitute for God’s Kingdom​—to accomplish what God says his Kingdom alone can accomplish. (Daniel 2:44; Matthew 12:18, 21) What is remarkable about John’s vision, though, is that Babylon the Great is riding the scarlet-colored wild beast. True to the prophecy, Babylonish religion, particularly in Christendom, has linked itself with the League of Nations and its successor. As early as December 18, 1918, the body now known as the National Council of the Churches of Christ in America adopted a declaration that declared in part: “Such a League is not a mere political expedient; it is rather the political expression of the Kingdom of God on earth. . . . The Church can give a spirit of good-will, without which no League of Nations can endure. . . . The League of Nations is rooted in the Gospel. Like the Gospel, its objective is ‘peace on earth, good-will toward men.’”

On January 2, 1919, the San Francisco Chronicle carried the front-page headline: “Pope Pleads for Adoption of Wilson’s League of Nations.” On October 16, 1919, a petition signed by 14,450 clergymen of leading denominations was presented to the U.S. Senate, urging that body “to ratify the Paris peace treaty embodying the league of nations covenant.” Though the U.S. Senate failed to ratify the treaty, Christendom’s clergy continued to campaign for the League. And how was the League inaugurated? A news dispatch from Switzerland, dated November 15, 1920, read: “Opening of the first assembly of the League of Nations was announced at eleven o’clock this morning by the ringing of all the church bells in Geneva.”

Did the John class, the one group on earth that eagerly accepted the incoming Messianic Kingdom, share with Christendom in paying homage to the scarlet-colored wild beast? Far from it! On Sunday, September 7, 1919, the convention of Jehovah’s people in Cedar Point, Ohio, featured the public talk “The Hope for Distressed Humanity.” On the following day, the Sandusky Star-Journal reported that J. F. Rutherford, in addressing nearly 7,000 persons, had “asserted that the Lord’s displeasure is certain to be visited upon the League . . . because the clergy​—Catholic and Protestant—​claiming to be God’s representatives, have abandoned his plan and endorsed the League of Nations, hailing it as a political expression of Christ’s kingdom on earth.”

The dismal failure of the League of Nations should have signaled to the clergy that such man-made organs are no part of a Kingdom of God on earth. What blasphemy to make such a claim! It makes it seem as though God was a party to the colossal botch that the League turned out to be. As for God, “perfect is his activity.” Jehovah’s heavenly Kingdom under Christ​—and not a combine of squabbling politicians, many of them atheists—​is the means by which he will bring in peace and have his will done on earth as in heaven.​—Deuteronomy 32:4; Matthew 6:10.

What of the League’s successor, the United Nations? From its inception, this body has also had the great harlot riding on its back, visibly associated with it and trying to guide its destiny. For example, on its 20th anniversary, in June 1965, representatives of the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church, together with Protestants, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, and Muslims​—said to represent two thousand million of earth’s population—​assembled in San Francisco to celebrate their support and admiration of the UN. On visiting the UN in October 1965, Pope Paul VI described it as “that greatest of all international organizations” and added: “The peoples of the earth turn to the United Nations as the last hope of concord and peace.” Another papal visitor, Pope John Paul II, addressing the UN in October 1979, said: “I hope the United Nations will ever remain the supreme forum of peace and justice.” Significantly, the pope gave very little attention to Jesus Christ or to God’s Kingdom in his speech. During his visit to the United States in September 1987, as reported by The New York Times, “John Paul spoke at length about the positive role of the United Nations in promoting . . . ‘new worldwide solidarity.’”

A Name, a Mystery

...

a reply to: whereislogic

They often do not regard the Bible as a useful source of information how this world works, and who is really calling the shots, and what this idea of a new world order as envisioned

The one main thing that #'s me with Revelations is that it reads as a self fulling prophecy. If you want to take a knee to the 4 horse men while lining up to your mark of the beast... Your call I guess.

When seeing how Jesus reacted when the temple was taken over by the money changers, I get the same vibe from all this doom and gloom in the last chapter of the Bible. As a story of man in these times, it is a chapter that has already played out many times in many ways. Perhaps finishing this book on a sour note is a good thing to be prudent about being complacent. As for how some see it as a vision and something worth fighting for is a concern.

As for how this Beast, NWO system is shaping up, a separation of powers has been critical in shaping the western civilization and aiding it is growth. It stops one nutjob from going its all about them and owning it at the detriment of the rest of society.

It has been sad to see Russia fall from the wayside of the Olympics. Sure they have their drug issues as the rest of the world does, but they where working on it in there way as the other nations do. It was always USA and Russia as top two, China in a close third. It comes across as factions within America did not like the competition Russia provided on the sports field. With the competitive spirit getting blocked on the sports field from expression, now we have things like Ukraine.

The US midterms gave some hope in things moving back to a more reasonable position, As for where the 2024 election goes? Not sure if Russia will be up for another 4 years of attrition. They have been through worst in the past. Otherwise if Russia does fall, China will get half.

Personally I do like this separation of powers idea to help keep power in check. I know all these language barriers are a head banger at times, we just have to be cool about it and keep doing the right thing. English is respected as global language of business and as long as business remains fair it will continue grow.

a reply to: FlyInTheOintment

I thought about that possessed girl from Acts 17, and the prison guard, and the policy enforcers.

I'm a lesser man, thinking of doing an MCU Stark Snap rather than giving them a chance to improve.
Okay, Thanos Snap. Rawr.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon me, a sinner.


Thank you, FITO.