The Black Vault

Just days before my transformation--when my handle here was enki66--I had a startling and powerful dream. No reason to delve into the many details, but there is one part which somehow I was just reminded of today in my thoughts.

In that dream the book of 2 Timothy was part of a discussion. Interesting sidenote: When I had the dream, I wasn't even aware of the existence of such a book.

So today as I meditated on some things that are going on in my life, I was reminded of 2 Timothy and decided to reread it.

I came across this verse and it resonated in my mind. I thought I would share. People outside the ecclesia are ceaselessly trying to drag us into their myriad pursuits, debates, arguments, etc. So read this verse and envision the metaphor in your mind so that it sinks in completely.

No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.

Absolutely brother. We are an occupying army. It is our job to occupy until the return of our Commander in Chief. When He returns He will rule this earth. Until then we should not fraternize with the natives too much.

It's pretty easy to discern when someone is leading you down a path to nowhere (the motive to do so may be conscious or subconscious). It may start as a simple charge against God's word that must be reprove and corrected; but behold, several posts later you find yourself defending your inegrity, your character, and fending off attacks you never signed up for by answering the initial charge. That's when it's time for the soldier to simply back away and get back on the path that the one that enlisted him, put him on. There should be no guilt or shame in doing so, and the metaphor of the soldier not getting involved in civilian pursuits is an excellent metaphor for it.

I wonder if Christ wants to have soldiers.

at1with0 wrote:I wonder if Christ wants to have soldiers.

Yes, but the context isn't military. He wants His children to "fight the good fight" as it were... with our bible, the Word of God, being our sword of truth. It's a spiritual battle being waged on a fallen Earth. The children of God arm ourselves with spiritual armor. The enemy arms itself with deceit, lies, manipulation, and treachery.

frrostedman wrote:Yes, but the context isn't military. He wants His children to "fight the good fight" as it were... with our bible, the Word of God, being our sword of truth. It's a spiritual battle being waged on a fallen Earth. The children of God arm ourselves with spiritual armor. The enemy arms itself with deceit, lies, manipulation, and treachery.

As sly as a snake, simple as a dove.

Oddly enough, while outside smoking and pondering soldiers of Christ, the phrase sword of truth came to mind. It was my user name on some forum I used to frequent...So it's not like these ideas are totally lost on me.

"How can you defeat that which finds nourishment in your attack? How can you kill that which finds sanctuary in your blade? How can you hinder that which embraces the strategies against it?"

In my mind, the enemy is not a subset of people who don't believe as I do. The enemy is war itself. But war is upon us, you might say. Well, I don't think Christ needs anyone to put words into his mouth, trying to infer an intent behind the testaments. He died for our sins and didn't need our help to do so; nor does he need our help to fight the good fight.

If we can't conquer our inner demons, we are lost trying to vanquish the external ones. The good fight starts within. I believe everyone has their own internal "adversary" which is just part of how the human mind works. The kicker is that the internal adversary is at least as clever as you are which is what led me to quoting those questions above. The good fight starts with the internal adversary for if it cannot be subdued, then it is unlikely we could subdue any real external adversary.

You mentioned dreams that changed your life.. I've had a number of dreams of being in the Lord's navy, as it is referred to in my dreams. If I were to interpret my dreams literally, I am certainly being called to service (and finally accepted the call in one of them). But what that service entails is never spelled out in my dreams.

Jesus Christ, being our sovereign LORD, needs nothing of us at all. But that doesn't mean He doesn't love us and desire for us to be righteous, speak the truth, and resist evil.

At1 states:

"If we can't conquer our inner demons, we are lost trying to vanquish the external ones. The good fight starts within. I believe everyone has their own internal "adversary" which is just part of how the human mind works. The kicker is that the internal adversary is at least as clever as you are which is what led me to quoting those questions above. The good fight starts with the internal adversary for if it cannot be subdued, then it is unlikely we could subdue any real external adversary."

This is true. If we all could conquer our inner demons there would be no need
to...

If we can't conquer our inner demons, we are lost trying to vanquish the external ones. The good fight starts within. I believe everyone has their own internal "adversary" which is just part of how the human mind works. The kicker is that the internal adversary is at least as clever as you are which is what led me to quoting those questions above. The good fight starts with the internal adversary for if it cannot be subdued, then it is unlikely we could subdue any real external adversary.

yep

The whole "war on religion" thing has gotten old, I've been quite iritated with it for some time. I see articles all over the web daily, always slanted and biased one way or the other. The comments section for each are always filled with hysterical, depressing and often quite shocking views towards "the enemy". I'll just call it what it is, hate speech. Usually the theme is "how dare group x try to cram their religion down my throat!" All part of the plan folks. If they can't make us hate each other based on ethnicity, nationality or sexual preference, they've always got that card. It's their ace in the hole.

I've always refrained from political and religious discussions but have recently come out of my shell here. It brings out the absolute worst in people. What disturbs me though is the recurring theme, war. Everything is a war in politics and so it is in religion as well.