As the Snowden revelations
continue to come out the latest involves the NSA's internal 'Google' clone, an
inter-agency search engine that allows other departments within the government
to access the data NSA has gathered.
This is all warrantless
collection of information. It's as if the police or any other government agency
can drive by your house and come inside and snoop.
It's really beyond that. Based
off the way the Internet functions in our lives, they can actually get into
your head and see what you're thinking about.
When people ask me who the
greatest president was, I'm genuinely stumped. Those words don't go together.
The idea of a 'great' president is something beyond my capacity to grasp. As a
Christian and a student of history my take places me well outside mainstream
frameworks.
Both parties in the present
system have betrayed the country. 9/11 really was the death of America... in
some ways. In others way it unveiled its true nature. It was re-born like a Phoenix
rising from the abyss of perdition.
The worst part on a practical
level is there's no way this information will be contained. It will be hacked
and disseminated. It will be sold. It will leak out. There are already
instances of the government using personal data to slander people. There are
too many people who will have access.
It might be time to start
thinking of the Internet as a tool and not a community.
More people are going to be
pushed into the Internet Underground and the Dark Net. And... I think you'll
see a reaction of people just simply turning it off and rejecting the
technology.
We don't have a lot of Internet
cafes in the United States. Most people who don't have a computer access the
web through the public library. I don't know about all of them, but those
around where I live make you sign-in with your library card. They at the very
least have a record of who was using which computer and at what time. In other
words, anonymity is impossible.
Interestingly not long after
the Patriot Act was passed I witnessed a confrontation between a state police
officer and a librarian. They wanted the information and let's just say the
librarian (though valiantly protesting) backed down. Those days are gone.
Maybe we will see a growth of
Internet cafes... with the ability to utilize the net in an anonymous fashion?
Free Wi-Fi doesn't cut it. Your IP address is still at work. You have to access
through a public device.
I imagine in the end most
people don't really care.
There's not really anything we
can about it other than denounce it.
This is not a call to arms.
Those that respond that way are in sin. It's a call to truth and a wake-up to
reality.
Do not participate in this
government. Do not work for it. Do not send your children to fight for it or
'serve' it in any capacity.
This does not mean we divorce
ourselves from society or contact with the government. We obey the laws and pay
our taxes but we're not 'citizens' in the sense of full participation. We don't
help in the building of the American Project. You can take your Social Security
payment and take a tax credit. But don't support the American project. As bad
as it is, it's still better than absolute chaos.
This has always been the case.
So what's the difference today?
The true nature of the government...of
government itself, particularly the Imperial variety has become so plain and
apparent that even those who contemplate a principled allegiance must pause and
reconsider.
The government is finally putting
its cards on the table. Admittedly with great reluctance and sleight of hand,
but there it is.
The citizens of Babylon may
rise up against the Washington Nebuchadnezzers. Or one of the satraps might.
Don't be fooled by some kind of 'Lesser-Magistrate' heresy that encourages
Christians to take up arms, threaten and kill others in order to seize power.
That's not our calling.
But wake up and be aware. Be
kind to the officials of Babylon but be truthful. Those in the Church who serve
Babylon ought to reconsider what they do and what they're part of.
Daniel didn't volunteer. He was
a captive. Joseph didn't volunteer. He was a kidnapped slave in prison. God can
call men like Daniel and Joseph to serve his purposes.
They didn't call themselves and
I would challenge anyone today who claims that they've been called by Divine
voice or vision. Apart from that, they have no call. Those who make such claims
must be rebuked and rejected.
We are being watched and that's
been the case for a long time. We're being watched and tracked by computers.
This doesn't mean they're going to kick down our doors. At this point those who
tell the truth aren't too much of a threat. They are going after some
journalists and activists. They are acting with a political motive. Let's make
it clear that we're not fooled but we're not after political power either.
The Beast-Servants might not
appreciate our calling them out, our truth telling and our non-conformity.
But... we're not a direct threat to them unless a lot of people start
listening. That's not likely. It never has been.
In the meantime, recognize the
US government for what it is and what it really has always been...another
Babylon, one of many Beasts.
We have to keep our lives clean
and in terms of society... we keep a low profile. Keep living, being salt and
light. Share the gospel. This Babylon will burn and another will arise. Count
on it.
Living lives of integrity and
humble but firm conviction will speak more to the people around us than any
political activity we undertake. Having a model marriage and family and a right
conduct and demeanour will speak more to the community than any sabre-rattling
at a community meeting or school board. Don't be distracted. Live in the light
and according to the truth.
And labour to liberate other
Christians from the idolatry that is Americanism.
It's getting easier. The
government is making it easier.
Those who believe America is
'no longer' Christian are still in error. It never was Christian. There is no
such thing as a Christian nation.
But, if they're to the point
that they are willing to admit that it no longer is... maybe they'll listen and
start to re-think the issue in its entirety.
Sadly I fear many will not
react that way. Their idol is being stolen and they will rise up with violence.
If so, then woe to them and to
us who sit in the same congregations they do. The hammer of Babylon will come
and yet they will not be martyrs for the Kingdom but for the American political
idol they serve.
If you're in such a
congregation, it may be time to re-think it.
To the Babylonians our message
stays the same whether they read it online or not...
Oh, you who are lost, look to
Babylon and Assyria of old. Gaze on the ruins of Rome...
Repent or you will all likewise
perish.
