Subject: These so-called "Last Days"
Dear Scumbucket, my beloved little jellybean,
My, you are working hard these days, aren't you? My pride at your accomplishments is only equalled by my delight in nibbling on your still-increasing bewilderment as our demands on you grow. You have learned much, my little subordinate, but ah -- you have so very much yet to learn.
Let us consider the subject of your latest communique, for example. You express a great deal of alarm at the fact that one of your subjects, not particularly religious before, has suddenly become quite taken with the notion of the Apocalypse -- specifically, the Christian version as taken from the writings of John of Patmos. He has, I understand, begun reading the Book of Revelation assiduously, and is not only reading everything he can get his hands on that is available from the popular or "inspirational" press on the subject, but is also listening to various preachers and ministers in the media who focus on this subject almost exclusively.
My opinion of the situation? Wonderful. Delightful. Couldn't be better.
Are you shocked by such a statement? Good. It's about time that I shake up some of the silly assumptions that clutter your pointed head.
First off -- rather than concentrating so much on the dangers (which I will admit are genuine), let's examine the opportunities provided by the situation.
(Even before that -- If your subject is reading Revelation to the point of distraction, are you at least making sure that he doesn't *read anything else* in the Scriptures? I mean, going back into Isaiah or Daniel or some of the more obscure prophetic writings would be acceptable, I suppose, since such reading will either feed into his bafflement about Revelation or, contrariwise and more usefully, into his belief that he actually *understands* Revelation -- but keep him *out of the Gospels* at all costs. I would even rather have him read Paul's epistles -- we've had considerable success in warping men's thinking by using some of Paul's stronger pronouncements. If your subject lacks a real grounding in Scripture, specifically the Gospels, and is kept from gaining even a toehold therein, the subsequent steps will become easier.)
The overall point is to give the subject fear *about* God without instilling what is called (ah, how easy it is to corrupt language!) the "Fear *of* God." The latter is a formidable spiritual trait, the former is a lever that makes it child's play to dislodge the most well-entrenched boulder from the mountainside of the Church and send it crashing to the abyss below.
How is this done? Look again. We have arranged things in such a way that there are any number of ways to interpret the writings found in the Book of Revelation. Every age has found some way to map its own situation onto it, but none has been a true fit. The myriad possible interpretations which your subject is now trying to digest can result in a number of desirable outcomes. He may throw up his hands in despair and decide that the whole subject is malarkey, with clear benefit to us. He may, from the experience of one or two true minor insights, be led to believe that he knows *exactly* what the entire scenario is, and expend all his energy trying to convince everyone in sight of the validity of his findings. How comically delightful it is to see the simple message of the Gospel obscured beyond recognition by complex timelines, calculations, and fervent appeals for *action* -- as if human action had anything to do with it, as if our inevitable resurgence could be quelled by some sort of human mobilization, as if something *other* than simple surrender of the self to the will of God were required...
We have some of these so-called Christians running around in such a state that you might think they wanted to *postpone* the Second Coming. The irony of it all is just too, too delicious to miss, and I certainly wouldn't want you to be deprived of its savor.
You see the strategy here, don't you? Keep his attention glued to the external signs, not the internal reality. The internal reality, of course, is that each and every one of these beings is only one heartbeat away from their own personal Apocalypse at each and every moment, and it is *this* reality that your subject must never ever ever be given even a moment to contemplate. Let him worry about world governments, shady conspiracies, and implantable microchips, as previous generations worried about Nero or Justinian. Let him spend hours in libraries poring over obscure texts (we've led quite a few souls into the waiting clutches of Mr. Crowley himself in this way). Let him worry about the imposition of the Antichrist's government in Jerusalem, and meanwhile completely overlook the extent of His power over his own soul.
Above all, never let him reach the point where he truly appreciates the enormity of the situation -- for then, the only recourse is absolute trust in the Enemy, and he is lost to us forever.
Now then -- let me also address the unspoken questions in your post. Let me assure you, the ultimate outcome is far from decided. You are a spirit, and have a spirit's view of Time -- look from one expanse to the other, what do you see? You see the struggle, of course, between our minions and those of the Enemy, stretching out across the ages and continents. Do you see any end to it? Of course not, only the eternal turmoil along the fractal battle line, the battle line that courses, infinitely divisible, through the soul of each sentient being. For there to be an Apocalypse, there would have to be some dimension of Existence beyond what we spirits see and experience, something known to the Enemy alone--
And of course, we know that is impossible, right?
Right?
More on this later. There is business to attend to here.
Steadfastly, your doting uncle,
Screwdisk