October Rants (or "Rants-fest") Part 1
10/07/08 - 4th Day - After Breakfast. Separation is more than just a philosophy. It is a natural result that is inevitable when certain things occur. When you speak a different language, operate on fundamentally different principles, reject the worldview and foundational basis of the world around you, and are determined to live contra-mundum (against the world), then you will naturally be a separatist. I will give you an example. If you were translated into a strange and foreign country, where you did not speak the language of the people, and where the practices and actions of the people were not just foreign to you - but were offensive, and where the people operated on principles that were fundamentally opposite to yours, but where, for a time, the people were willing to let you live somewhat peacably and according to your own principles, you would be a separatist would you not? This is the problem with the modern "christian". Modern "Xtianity" has concluded that syncretism is acceptable despite the fact that the Bible says these things:
1. That we are not citizens or "nationals" of this world, but we are citizens and ambassadors of another Kingdom.
2. We are not to be conformed to this world.
3. If we come to love this foreign land, then the love of our true King is not in us.
4. Our true country is not of this country at all, and we are to live separated in it, and are to be obedient to our true sovereign, and are not to become entangled or burdened with the cares of this foreign country.
Now, with those marching orders, modern "xtians" still argue - endlessly - that they are supposed to live just like the world in order to convert it, and that they do not love this present world, even while they are telling everyone around them that Jesus did.
Ok, so here we are in the midst of this foreign land and an economic disaster (or at least severe hardship) is upon the land. The people are crying out to their "god" (government) for help, and they want you to cry out to him too. Our God has, so long as there has been Bibles written in the language of the people, been calling His people to live separately from the wicked of the world, and to operate on different principles, and to not live in dependence on the world. We have been called to live off of the land, off of the world grid, away from the system of urbanization and separation that has so crippled the sons of Adam. We are called to be a testimony to this wicked generation, and to give God's Gospel to it, but we were never called to join it, live with it, or fornicate with it. It is very likely (although not automatic) that we will feel the trepidation and fears from pending economic collapse in direct relation to how much we have sinned with this present world.
Preparedness
Now, once again, people are talking about preparedness. They are talking about storing up dehydrated foods and fuel supplies and generators, etc. I want to talk about that.
First of all, we are a preparedness people. All true Christians ought to be. We all ought to be relying on God's providence today, and trusting in Him to provide for us tomorrow. We all ought to "forseeth evil" and hide ourselves, lest we pass on (as the simple do) and get punished (Prov. 22:3). We all ought to "prepare our meat in summer" (Prov. 30:26). Preparedness is not an event, it is a lifestyle and a worldview.
One of the problems, though, with the preparedness folk, is that they do not see beyond the fundamental errors of the people. Whereas the ignorant folk say "I have no need of storing up any goods when there is a nice, shiny, clean store just down the road", the preparedness folk say, "Yes, and I will go to that store and buy up enough food for X years", as if they know that X years supply of food will be sufficient. In both cases, the people are relying on the store. The ignorant folk say, "the government will take care of me if I run out of food, water, or shelter", and the preparedness folk say, "Well, I would rather rely on myself and chance". By this I mean that neither desires to make a wholesale change in the very principles and worldview that inform their decisions. Neither desires TODAY to be dependent on God and His Word. Neither wants to give up modern comfort and modern security in order to throw themselves on a Holy and Righteous God. I've seen it for years.
Many of you may not know that I was a preparedness teacher many years before the Y2K scare of a decade ago. In fact, I was teaching preparedness before I had even heard of Y2K. I finally gave up when I realized that people will prepare for events, and they will prepare for hardships - but only so long as their fundamental principles are not challenged. They will not accept the idea that the very fundamentals of their industrial/commercial society is Anti-christ, and mentally and spiritually crippling. They will not accept that the way they have chosen to live is why the system is evil and must eventually collapse. They will not accept that their perpetual 72 degree lives are designed to ease them into hell. They will prepare, so long as the preparations guarantee a certain standard of living, and say to them that they will not die hungry or thirsty, or from some horrendous calamity, and that some day... things will return to "normal", which is to say that they will one day get to return to their lives of colonized leisure and comfort.
So... we can see that some will not leave Sodom at all because they are Sodomites,and some will leave, but will turn back hoping it is not utterly destroyed.
Preparedness for events is a recipe for eternal and spiritual failure.
I am not saying you should not buy food from stores, especially when it is on sale and you have not yet developed a system of food production for yourself and your family. I am saying that you should not rely on a band-aid when you have a potentially fatal bullet wound.
Remember, the pied-pipers of event preparedness are generally in it for the money. Not all of them are - some are true believers (in industrial preparedness), but most of them are trying to make a buck. Only someone who truly cares about your soul will tell you to separate from the world and begin a life of true preparedness, where you will be relying on God's provision and His daily bread, rather than on the wicked system of commerce which currently runs the world. If you want to be prepared, plant a garden - or at least plan now for your spring garden - and this year, plan for a garden big enough to feed your family. Make plans to preserve the bounty from your garden, and make those plans right now. Plant trees this fall.... trees that will produce fruit and nuts for your family in the future.
Simplify, Simplify, Simplify... sell almost everything and attempt to pay off your debts. Cut off your cable and sell your TV. Sell, sell, sell... right now is the time to liquidate. While the world is selling stocks, you should be selling bonds (the things that keep you in bondage). Buy only those things that will guarantee you something in the future.
Anyway, I've covered all of this in my Off-Grid Living series... Go read it...
Oh, and don't fall for the Preterist lie that all prophecy has been fulfilled, and that this is just a bump in the road on the way to a worldly Christian Kingdom. And don't fall for the futurist lie that it doesn't matter what you do, because this is the end of it all, and either the rapture is going to happen, or you will only have to make it for 7 years through the tribulation. Both of those lies are crippling heresies and will never lead you to obedience and true submission.
Later,
Michael Bunker
1. That we are not citizens or "nationals" of this world, but we are citizens and ambassadors of another Kingdom.
2. We are not to be conformed to this world.
3. If we come to love this foreign land, then the love of our true King is not in us.
4. Our true country is not of this country at all, and we are to live separated in it, and are to be obedient to our true sovereign, and are not to become entangled or burdened with the cares of this foreign country.
Now, with those marching orders, modern "xtians" still argue - endlessly - that they are supposed to live just like the world in order to convert it, and that they do not love this present world, even while they are telling everyone around them that Jesus did.
Ok, so here we are in the midst of this foreign land and an economic disaster (or at least severe hardship) is upon the land. The people are crying out to their "god" (government) for help, and they want you to cry out to him too. Our God has, so long as there has been Bibles written in the language of the people, been calling His people to live separately from the wicked of the world, and to operate on different principles, and to not live in dependence on the world. We have been called to live off of the land, off of the world grid, away from the system of urbanization and separation that has so crippled the sons of Adam. We are called to be a testimony to this wicked generation, and to give God's Gospel to it, but we were never called to join it, live with it, or fornicate with it. It is very likely (although not automatic) that we will feel the trepidation and fears from pending economic collapse in direct relation to how much we have sinned with this present world.
Preparedness
Now, once again, people are talking about preparedness. They are talking about storing up dehydrated foods and fuel supplies and generators, etc. I want to talk about that.
First of all, we are a preparedness people. All true Christians ought to be. We all ought to be relying on God's providence today, and trusting in Him to provide for us tomorrow. We all ought to "forseeth evil" and hide ourselves, lest we pass on (as the simple do) and get punished (Prov. 22:3). We all ought to "prepare our meat in summer" (Prov. 30:26). Preparedness is not an event, it is a lifestyle and a worldview.
One of the problems, though, with the preparedness folk, is that they do not see beyond the fundamental errors of the people. Whereas the ignorant folk say "I have no need of storing up any goods when there is a nice, shiny, clean store just down the road", the preparedness folk say, "Yes, and I will go to that store and buy up enough food for X years", as if they know that X years supply of food will be sufficient. In both cases, the people are relying on the store. The ignorant folk say, "the government will take care of me if I run out of food, water, or shelter", and the preparedness folk say, "Well, I would rather rely on myself and chance". By this I mean that neither desires to make a wholesale change in the very principles and worldview that inform their decisions. Neither desires TODAY to be dependent on God and His Word. Neither wants to give up modern comfort and modern security in order to throw themselves on a Holy and Righteous God. I've seen it for years.
Many of you may not know that I was a preparedness teacher many years before the Y2K scare of a decade ago. In fact, I was teaching preparedness before I had even heard of Y2K. I finally gave up when I realized that people will prepare for events, and they will prepare for hardships - but only so long as their fundamental principles are not challenged. They will not accept the idea that the very fundamentals of their industrial/commercial society is Anti-christ, and mentally and spiritually crippling. They will not accept that the way they have chosen to live is why the system is evil and must eventually collapse. They will not accept that their perpetual 72 degree lives are designed to ease them into hell. They will prepare, so long as the preparations guarantee a certain standard of living, and say to them that they will not die hungry or thirsty, or from some horrendous calamity, and that some day... things will return to "normal", which is to say that they will one day get to return to their lives of colonized leisure and comfort.
So... we can see that some will not leave Sodom at all because they are Sodomites,and some will leave, but will turn back hoping it is not utterly destroyed.
Preparedness for events is a recipe for eternal and spiritual failure.
I am not saying you should not buy food from stores, especially when it is on sale and you have not yet developed a system of food production for yourself and your family. I am saying that you should not rely on a band-aid when you have a potentially fatal bullet wound.
Remember, the pied-pipers of event preparedness are generally in it for the money. Not all of them are - some are true believers (in industrial preparedness), but most of them are trying to make a buck. Only someone who truly cares about your soul will tell you to separate from the world and begin a life of true preparedness, where you will be relying on God's provision and His daily bread, rather than on the wicked system of commerce which currently runs the world. If you want to be prepared, plant a garden - or at least plan now for your spring garden - and this year, plan for a garden big enough to feed your family. Make plans to preserve the bounty from your garden, and make those plans right now. Plant trees this fall.... trees that will produce fruit and nuts for your family in the future.
Simplify, Simplify, Simplify... sell almost everything and attempt to pay off your debts. Cut off your cable and sell your TV. Sell, sell, sell... right now is the time to liquidate. While the world is selling stocks, you should be selling bonds (the things that keep you in bondage). Buy only those things that will guarantee you something in the future.
Anyway, I've covered all of this in my Off-Grid Living series... Go read it...
Oh, and don't fall for the Preterist lie that all prophecy has been fulfilled, and that this is just a bump in the road on the way to a worldly Christian Kingdom. And don't fall for the futurist lie that it doesn't matter what you do, because this is the end of it all, and either the rapture is going to happen, or you will only have to make it for 7 years through the tribulation. Both of those lies are crippling heresies and will never lead you to obedience and true submission.
Later,
Michael Bunker
posted by Michael Bunker at 10/07/2008 07:47:00 AM
9 Comments:
Mr. Bunker
I enjoy your posts and am fascinated by your ideas on separatism and off-grid living. I am a 44 y.o.f. Christian, living in the Northeast. I am divorced and own a small condo; I have a full-time professional job. I have been down-sizing, but only aggressively for the last 1 year. I worry that it is too little, too late. After all, I can't just quit my job, can I? In reading some of these homesteading-type blogs, I don't see many single women striking out to the woods to separate. What are 3 things you would suggest for someone like me? Yes, I do pray fervently for God's will and His wisdom! Thanks for your thoughts.
It's funny in a not-so-funny way, that I've been silently begging God for "just five more years, please Lord, just five more years" to allow me the time (ego much?) to pay off debts, get some money sunk into land, and get a good sustainable harvest coming in for the future. I've been feeling this pull for close to two years off and on, yet somehow I feel no closer to attaining the goal. And I haven't made many drastic changes, although I can feel that the edge (for financial ruin, the abyss...) is approaching.
This is a long-winded way of saying, thank you, for the clarity with which you write. It is just that simple, to simplify.
Hey Jaye,
First of all, I love the "3 things" question. I've always liked it when someone gets right to the point. Ok, so here are the three things:
1. Read my Off-Grid Living series. I think it will greatly help you in making decisions and in deciding what can and can't be done.
2. Research, reach out, and find people who believe like you do (first make sure you believe the right things, and then make sure you know why you believe them, and become certain of them). Find like-minded people, and start to look around for a better, more Biblical situation.
3. Decide in your mind and heart that you want the truth and nothing but the truth, and determine that you will obey that truth no matter what it costs you. This is really the key, and this is what separates confessors (pretenders) from posessors (the real deal). Be willing to lose everything to gain Christ, and you will win everything and Christ.
Your servant in Christ Jesus,
Michael Bunker
Michael, your insights on the true nature of this world are very insightful as always. You have a way of putting things in their proper light that makes things so easy to understand. Thank you for hitting me between the eyes with them.
Allen Shropshire
Thanks Michael for the reminder that we should not rely on this world and its shiny lights but our reliance must be on God and His Will
Hi Michael. I just made copies of this post. I think it says states wonderfully what separation is and why. I am going to give each of my co-workers a copy. There are 12 of them. It should be interesting! 3 profess Christ yet are very worldly. Might not be such a pleasant place to work after that. Not that it is in the first place for me personally.
Thanks Debylin
Do you still vote?
We do not vote. Here is my reasoning on why a Christian should not vote:
Click Here
Michael
Mr. Bunker,
I have enjoyed reading your blog and also lazarus unbound for a while. I wont go into all that we believe but it is similar. We are already on the road to an off-grid or self sustaining way of life. Anyway, my question is how do you go about finding the people who believe like you do. We moved here about a year ago and left a great group of likeminded believers. We have not found one family who think like we do. What are your thoughts?
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home