Be Dedicated to God: Several Points in One Post. (I know it's long but please read it!)

People think of Christianity as blind following of rules set by the institution. This couldn't be farther from the truth. The central figure of Christianity is Jesus Christ, the son of God. Salvation through him separates Christianity from religions of similar origin which don't accept him as the Messiah. Jesus the Messiah was easily one of the biggest rebels of that time. He turned over tables when people were "turning God's house into a marketplace", which was clearly generally accepted, since you didn't see anyone else turning the tables over. He openly taught things against which the leaders of that day adamantly stood.

The pharisees, well-respected people who had the best seats at events, taught that people don't need to honor their father or mother if they gave that honor to God. Jesus said, right to them, that they were wrong and that you do still need to honor your father and mother. Jesus, throughout his ministry, proceeded to go on a large rant about what hypocrites they were, and called them a brood of vipers. He also (indirectly, I think) called them children of Hell.

Of course, the point here isn't that Jesus ran around and insulted people and yelled at people, the point is that Jesus didn't adhere to earthly authority, but rather to the rules that the Heavenly Father wanted him (and wants us) to follow. In becoming Christ-like, we are also not to submit to authority which teaches things contrary to God's word. Can you imagine going up to leaders in the Vatican today and calling them out directly on their hypocrisy? Can you imagine going to a church like Lakewood "church" today, and calling out the wrongdoings that are taught there -- "turning over the tables", if you will?




A common misconception amongst human beings is that Christianity is the most popular faith in the world. It is not. Christianity is the most popular religion, but it is not the most popular faith.

The Christian religion, at least of today, isn't that hard to follow. Go out and get a Bible. You don't really have to read it or anything, just make sure it's in your house somewhere. If you have a facebook account, change your Religious Views to "Christian", and if you're really feeling it, go put John 3:16 in your Favorite Quotes. Go out and buy a cross necklace. Make sure it's a really expensive one. The Bible teaches not to waste money on things like that, but it's okay, that was written a long time ago! It's the 21st century, people, times are changing! The Bible tells us not to change with the times or conform to the world, but again, that was written a long time ago. Smile really big, and congratulations! You're following the Christian religion of the 21st century.

The Christian faith is different from that. Christian faith involves regular prayer to our Heavenly Father, spreading the true Gospel, being patient and understanding to those to whom we teach of course, but not to the point of compromising the message, regardless of how unappealing it is to the world. Christian faith involves reading the Bible and understanding its message, learning about what God wants from us and allowing it in our lives, regardless of how unfamiliar and unappealing it may seem to us when we're used to "the world". You can learn more about God's will for your specific life, also, through prayer. Christian faith involves not only calling yourself a servant of Christ, but living like it, too. Christian faith involves, above all, faith and trust in Jesus Christ the only begotten son of God, and repentance from sin. Christian faith involves realizing that God's messages to the people from Biblical times do still apply to us today, and learning to apply that in our lives. The lies the leaders of today tell shouldn't be met with a "whatever" stance from us. As people who call ourselves servants of Christ, people who love God, we are to stand up against this stuff, to defend our Father and our friend, Jesus.

And in that way, we are called to be major rebels against the system. In a world where a billion people follow a heretical cult led by human men under the guise of a church (yes, "Catholicism"), where secularism is on the rise in the name of superficial half-truths and lies, where materialism and lust and gluttony and wrath and manipulation and propaganda and overall self-serving compassionlessness and misguided, sinful reactionism are the law of the land, how can a believer in Christ possibly be subservient to the system? How can we be blind slaves to anything, when in fact if we were, we would be like the other however-many billions of people and faiths who are all unanimously against us and our way of life? Look: if a pagan spreads a message of norse mythology, don't the secularists go, "Cool! Vikings!"? If an atheist speaks out against Christianity specifically, don't the pagans all come and agree? Why, then, are there so few secularists on our side? Why do all faiths come together against us, and not against each other more often? It's because Christians, true Christians of the faith, are the "rebels" in this world. We love when the world tells us to hate. We worship when the world tells us not to. We spread the word when the world tells us to shut up. We follow the Bible when the world wants to live according to their own rules. Not out of spite for the world, but out of dedication to God. Be entirely dedicated to God. 

I pray that all readers get something out of this, and that God will help you to accept it. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Quick Thoughts on Unblack Metal

Two posts in one day. I feel compelled to share this, for Christians (and anyone) in the metal scene. I saw a post recently where somebody was criticizing unblack metal, saying that it's just the same as evil black metal, but with Jesus' name included. They used Horde's "Hellig Usvart" as an example. What does Anonymous say about his lyrics?

. . . Black metal has changed . . . moving away from the simple 'Satanic' subject matter of it's early years, to the more poetic and story-like lyrics of today . . . The lyrics on 'Hellig Usvart' were written 12 years ago. I'm sure that if another Horde album was written today, the themes would be quite different and much more mature, to counteract the poetic and intelligent (albeit misguided) lyrics of modern BM.

 So even the person who started it does not think unblack metal should just be stereotypical lyrics with Jesus' name thrown in.

And for anyone who does think unblack metal is just that, I'd like to share some lyrics from various unblack metal bands. Unblack metal can be just as healing for us metalheads as Christian music of other genres can be for those scenes. Look at these lyrics:

Beeroth - The Darkness by Always Will Die

Sorrow and pain no reign more,
My soul are purify, the blood of my Lord bathes me
And now I can believe
The death of my Christ was my life
The pay of the cross was your death
But now you live, Christ.

Elgibbor - Your Soul

There is only One Way.
There is only One Truth.
There is only One Hand that can save you.
Jesus Christ loves you.
Jesus Christ wants you to live.
Jesus Christ wants to save you from the fire.
Believe... Believe... Believe...

Antivenom - Where Darkness Cannot Reach

All hope is not lost
The storm shall pass and Your light will shine
I feel the warmth of Your embrace
You lift me up as I cry out Your name. 

Deborah - Soteria

There are - there are so many souls
Confused - confused and destroyed by
Themselves - themselves, they cannot see
That the solution - solution is at hand

Receive your health, receive the light
Open your eyes, is time to fly

Oh Son of God
Come fill their hearts
Come heal their lives
They need your sign 

Destroyer of Lie - Sing a Heart Sing My

Сердце огнем горит,
Дух Святый говорит,
Не покину я Тебя,
Ведь в Тебе вся жизнь моя.
Это мой великий Бог,
Он от смерти уберег,
Устрояет жизнь мою,
Ему песню я пою.

Diamoth - Sceptical

With our faith
We are so alive 

Grim - Scepter of Blood

The choice of death is simple
just follow this earth
The choice of life is simple
just turn to God almighty!

Vials of Wrath - A Greater Calling

You are the cleansing flood
Who takes away all untrue
I long to be so much more…
More of what you are
I am nothing without You
For You are the great I am 

Divine Symphony - Giants

We believe in the almighty God, creator of all things
And in the Lord Jesus Christ, the son of God
The only begotten of the father, God of God, light of light,
He being of the same substance and essence of God

O Majestic Winter simply quote Psalm 91 in "To Praise the Eternal":

O Father of Life, my heart beats for Your glory!
Death shall relinquish my body
But You, Lord, will gather up my spirit!

Let Your spirit fill my heart!
Your wonders abound in me...
I am nothing outside of You...
Eternal One, Almighty God, take this offering!

Mercy - Kingdom of Holiness

Christ has won
He comes with His Kingdom of Grace
On His throne
The prophecy is fulfilled

Wrote in the Book of the Living Word

Salvation, Peace, Life, Rest
Light, Freedom
All for free in the Blood
All for free in Christ, the Lord 

Edit 17 March 2015, here's one more. Dying Blaze - Attera Obscurum:

. . . But you are stronger and can overcome everything
Breaking the darkness, insane for Christ!

Breaking the darkness!

Cross is on your chest, holiness in your soul
Life is in your mind, cold are your hands
You will overcome your fears
You are not alone!

God bless you all according to His perfect will! Amen. 

Patience in a Direct Message

I think there's something a lot of people spreading the Gospel are forgetting:

2 Timothy 4:2

Proclaim the message; persist in it whether convenient or not; rebuke, correct, and encourage with great patience and teaching.

We are not called to be in-your-face about our message. We're not called to be forceful in our message.

Now, be careful here: we are NOT told to be soft in the word, compromising God's clearly-stated messages for what people want to hear. We're not here to desperately beg people to accept some being called "God" into their life, we are here to beg people to accept the TRUE God, Father of our savior and sole mediator Jesus Christ, into their life. Not the "god" which speaks things contrary to the Bible, not the "god" which says, "the Bible says this, but it sounds unappealing to this age and science even suggests otherwise, so it should be changed", we are to look to God, whose word stands regardless of how popular it is amongst human beings or their superficial "logic".

But at the same time, we are not to be like some people are, some who are called to go out and spread the word. These people spoken of here are forceful in their words, copping an attitude about them and making the word truly unappealing to people who may otherwise have wanted to hear it.

Let me give you a crude example here. You have a friend who is curious about Christianity, but is also into pornography. You inform the friend that God does not want us to look at things like that, or engage in such activities. The friend says to you, "But I'm only human! How can the Lord expect me not to enjoy something so appealing to me?"

Some among us would say, "God does not want to hear your excuses, that's not good enough. God wants you to repent of your sins and sin no more. Stop looking at that right now, or you will be thrown into Hell for all of eternity." 

On one hand, the message there is mostly true. God doesn't want to hear our excuses, it's not good enough, God does want us to repent and sin no more, and those lost in lust are in danger of Hell. The problem is, the message there is being told in a way that prevents it from really getting through, which is where patience comes in.

2 Peter 3:9

The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.

Back when I was in some bad stuff, an in-your-face attitude would never have gotten me here, even though I already did believe in God. I didn't want to hear stuff from the "crazy angry preachers". The message got through patiently. It started with not getting into physical fights (as often), and not listening to (directly) satanic music anymore, which in itself took awhile. Along the way, I stopped listening to pagan music too, my attitude changed, everything happened with patience from the Lord, and over a period of 5 years, starting somewhere in 2009, I'm finally away from all that stuff, as of August 2014. That's how long it took me.

I stress again that we are not to be soft in our message, we are to be patient in our teaching. Rebuke people, show them the message of the Lord, do not ever compromise it, but don't be forceful in it. We want the message to get through to others who need to hear it. We care about these people, no? That's why, secularists and pagans, some of us Christians are so in-your-face about the word, because we're that desperate to get you to see the truth - we want you to know its joy, to feel God's perfect love and mercy, we want to see you in Heaven, in eternal peace and joy with God, and it bothers us to see you stubborn about accepting it when your own soul is on the line. But to the other Christians, don't be so forceful in it when speaking to them. God is patient with us, let yourself be patient with them.

I always keep in mind my past whenever I speak to an unbeliever or a misguided believer in the basics of Christianity - how would I have taken the words I speak now, back when I was lost? Would I have taken it into consideration, or would I have just walked away and went home to listen to some satanic music again? Again: God is patient with us, let yourself be patient with them. Pray to God to guide you.

And may God the Heavenly Father bless you all and guide you according to His perfect will. Amen.

Quck Notes About LGBT Stuff

This is not about gays vs straights, it's about obeying God's rules for us, which we are all told to do.

If you disagree with the act of gay marriage (as I do), that view is completely justified in Scripture,

But if you hate lgbt people, let quickly remind you that hatred is wrong and equal to MURDER in God's eyes. (1 John 3:15) (1 John 4:20) (Matthew 5:22)

And that just because you can marry and reproduce, does NOT make you exempt from other laws regarding lust which also apply to homosexuals! Most people are in the same boat regarding lust. Do not hate others, even if you disagree with some actions pertaining to lgbt stuff!

This is not soft preaching or making compromises, this is SCRIPTURAL TRUTH.

On the other hand, just because I've said this, does not mean what the Bible says about lgbt stuff, is not true. It totally is, and any lgbt people interested in serving God should keep this in mind - as heterosexuals are also to do.

Again, this is not about gays vs straights, it's about obeying God's rules for us, which we are all told to do. Do not view these issues from a gay/straight standpoint. View them from a Christian standpoint, and think about if what you are doing is pleasing to God - if you have faith in Christ, if you are repenting. 

Common Signs of Negativity in the Media

I'm in the process of writing a bigger post, but I need a friend to get back to me on something first. In the meantime, I was inspired to come here and point a few things out. Not everybody reading this is a conspiracy theorist, but if you're open to new ideas, there are plenty of symbols and keywords that people associate with negative agendas in the media, signs that you should probably not associate yourself with whatever is using the symbols, and I'd like to outline a few of them. If I think of more, I'll edit this post and add them later. For now, here are these:

1) All-seeing eyes. Usually in a triangle/pyramid (symbolizes horus, an Egyptian idol), but not necessarily! One lone eye could still symbolize it (incl two-eyed creatures with one eye covered by something). Not taking it to extremes, of course. Not every instance of this is a sign of something.

Examples include the U.S. one dollar bill, Bill Cipher on Gravity Falls, the doodle god logo, etc. 

2) Hexagrams, 6-pointed figures. Some people interpret these as Stars of David, which doesn't make sense since Jesus Christ was a Jew and a descendent of David; and the global elite hate Christianity.  It turns out that the Jewish hexagram is also a symbol of black magic, and may well have never been a symbol of David to begin with. Take it from a former satanist! Though more often than not the elites are actually depicting unicursal hexagrams, different occult symbols.

Examples include, once again, the U.S. one dollar bill, possibly Twilight Sparkle's cutie mark on MLP, the mason logo seems to suggest a hexagram too, some of Bring me the Horizon's merchandise, etc.

3) the words "rain man" or "rain". I know the word "rain" is a huge stretch, but you'll see it. When it's used in negative stuff, it's usually a metaphor, usually for evil. And "rain man" is apparently another name for the adversary.

Examples of that seem to be all over popular music. An example of the rain metaphor could be these lines: "Feel the rain on your skin, . . . only you can let it in . . . Drench yourself in words unspoken"

The last part suggests negativity because of, well, the context, and also because the positive word of God has already been spoken. It's not about "words that are unspoken" like in the song. I know it seems subtle and nit-picky, but it's kind of not.

4) Lightning bolt symbols. When they're used in negative stuff, they're usually one of two specific shapes, one that's shaped kind of like an "S", and one like that but with an extra right, and down-left line at the bottom. Lightning symbolizes the adversary from when Jesus said, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven." (Luke 10:18) 

Examples include the logo for the computer program Daemon Tools, Pearl Jam's album "Lightning Bolt" (also has an all-seeing eye), the promo images for Arch Enemy's "War Eternal" (also had all-seeing eyes), etc.  

5) Black, white (or gray), and red solid colors together. Usually not blended. Just solid, contrasted colors like in MS Paint or something, though that's not always the case. I'm not sure at all what the significance is, just that red is often associated with evil, I guess. I don't know what using solid colors is supposed to mean.

Examples include the aforementioned Pearl Jam album, and basically any album art you see with those colors made after, like, 2010 or so, particularly if the band or artist never used those colors before. 




I know there are a lot of other ones, and I'll update this later with more. In the meantime, I pray that these five will be useful to you. In Jesus' name. Amen.

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[Note September 2015: Once in a great, great while, I'll update the list at the bottom of this. I don't want it to be a full catalog of artists, just a sample. If you can think of a band, especially in one of the sections where there aren't many links yet, that you think would help, please tell me! 
--> imperialkodnarok AT gmail DOT com <--- ]

I've left behind the esoteric and occult nonsense that used to plague me, I've accepted Jesus as my savior, but even today, even though I do not face punishment from God any longer, I still get punished by my own mind for it... Simple things like certain roads, even sunsets and certain kinds of scenery make me think of those things. Important note: I don't want, for even half of a second, to go back to them. I know what they do, they feel bad, and God has changed my life for the better in so many ways since I gave it all up. However, I'm still reminded of it. A scene may remind me of a negative band's album cover, for example. I hate feeling like that. I want to be able to enjoy simple creativity, simple nature scenes without being reminded of spiritual negativity. I want to be able to see again what other Christians see in nature, and I can already fully perceive it, I just have trouble seeing it through my memories, but I know it's there.

Don't make the same mistakes I did. Don't get sucked into it. Ideology does matter. You're not proving anything by listening to evil music. It doesn't make you cool, it doesn't make you "brutal". It may seem better than popular Christian music, but there are many Christian bands* with similar sounds to those bands, who are equally enjoyable. If you are a Christian but find evil bands singing about subjects with which you agree (especially spiritual ones) don't embrace it; find the flaws and change them. Nature worship is poisonous, paganism is poisonous, esotericism is poisonous, it's all bad in the end. It doesn't matter how good it sounds, either. The point is the deeper element: the spiritual element, their intent. Christian black metal may sound vicious, it may challenge the best and fastest-playing artists in the rest of the scene, but it's generally not "malicious". It's subtle, but there's a fundamental difference in songs depending on the spiritual state and intent of the artist(s). You need to realize it. I am not a fundamentalist because the church told me to be one. I am not a fundamentalist because I hate gays and black people and foreigners and whatever you want to say, which I don't. I believe 100% in the Bible because in light of my experiences, and my reflections on life, and God's influence, I now see that there is no other choice, and I don't want another choice, either. I've seen the other choices, and I'm not happy with any of them.

* Here are a few Christian bands who play styles that may be relevant to this blog, note that there are definitely more than I'm linking here, this is just a very, very small sample:

folk/viking/ possibly black - Slechtvalk, Arvinger, Oskord, Holy Blood, Vardøger, Requiem Eternam

post rock - The Sleep Design,

black/war - Armageddon Holocaust, Verdelger, Devotam, Edificador, Wintersoul, Primitive Church, Soterion, Desmodus Rotundus, Horde

symphonic black - Divine Symphony, Mercy, La Chambre Ardente, Dark Lay Still

ambient/atmospheric black - Vials of Wrath, Usynlig Tumult, Dark Woods, Phanerosis

DSBM - Forgotten Sorrow, Hated, Cryptic Rising

other bands of interest: Winter's Dawn, Thy Fiery Haze, Elgibbor

heavy/power: Cold Embrace, Santuario, Emerald, Bride, Messiah Prophet

death metal: Becoming the Archetype, Crimson Thorn, Disencumbrance, Obliteration, Metanoia, Broken Flesh

Industrial: Kirche Gothika (harsh industrial/metal), Mental Destruction (industrial/dark ambient), Audio Paradox (industrial/EBM), Blackhouse (industrial/noise)

Noise: Frostnoise, a noise EP from my project, Circus of Insanity, Fleshdeath (noisegrind), Decimate Damnation (noisegrind)

Experimental: Relentless Tradition, Determining the Absent, an EP from me again, another EP from me

You can always check out my tumblr for more bands.

God bless you all, as always.
2 Peter 3:9 "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."

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I'm always surprised when I hear about the pasts of certain Christians. God has clearly worked fantastic things through these people.

Fire, from Elgibbor and Fire Throne, used to smoke, drink, do drugs, and practice satanism and black magic. He's now one of the most prolific people in the Christian black metal scene. Not to mention, he makes some great music now. "War" is one of my favorite black metal albums.

I've heard of several occultists turning to Christianity, both in metal and otherwise. That's understandable; when you witness spiritual things at work, and you get sick of all of the negative forces dragging you and your life down, what other choice do you have? You already figured out, albeit the hard way, that higher forces are at work. Just turn to the Holy Spirit! 

Another unblack metal musician to whom I've spoken also said he was involved in drugs and alcohol before accepting Jesus into his life.

As I learned earlier, there are apparently several people who used to be in the porn industry who became Christian, and now speak out against the industry, which is even more corrupt than you think it is.

Someone in a comment I saw on an article one time mentioned how they used to be involved in gang violence before turning to God.

And these are just a few examples in the plethora of people whose lives have been transformed by the Lord. A lot of people think Christians are just people who are raised in a church and just decide not to question it. There are tons of people whose stories are the complete opposite of that, and it is astounding how much God can transform them. God has clearly chosen such people for great things.

There are even more accounts like this in "The Metal Bible". Normally I would never advertise on this blog, but the whole thing (or at least most of it?) is completely free to read in the link above (legally!), so if you're not convinced of the power of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, take a look at this. May God continue to bless all of those people who have been changed by him, and may God bless you, too.

Small rant

Kept for archival purposes. This was my mindset when things really started to change, when I finally let God fully take the reins in my life, and He started cutting away the useless stuff. - August 2015

Ack. This is why I don't enjoy speculative spirituality as much as I used to. I've been talking to a few people lately who have spiritual beliefs pertaining to things that the Bible doesn't seem to directly address. "Oh no, you have to think for yourself!" Well, it's not quite that simple. I don't simply "think for myself" with these matters, I think about them logically and objectively.

God is infallible, the Bible is God's word to us (this is logically sound - I do not simply believe blindly), and so the Bible can be trusted with whatever issues it addresses. Anything else requires objective thought (and prayer).

But there are so many accounts speaking of different things that need to be considered. People all have different ideas of different things, and there's not much telling which ones are valid and which ones are not. God can guide us personally to the truth of such matters, but the problem doesn't end there.

What if the other person isn't receptive to information contrary to their own ideas? Surely I'm not to simply lie or roll with something that may be wrong. But I also don't want to be the sort of religious person who's anxious to call people out on being wrong - I know very well how badly such things go; I don't enjoy being told what to do or think, and neither do they.

It's research with unimaginable amounts of sources claiming all different things, and trying to form an objective opinion on them. The end result is always turning to God. He knows what the objective truth is, and can guide me, and you, to it. The problem is, others may not take so well to it, and I still struggle in how exactly to deal with such things while staying true to my own belief system, the teachings of God.

I suppose what gets me the most is that these people are my friends. I am friends with some people who have very strange and largely esoteric beliefs. I understand these people, and their thoughts, even if I do not always agree with them, but I'm still somewhat confused about what to do when they do point out something with which I disagree. I don't want to be forceful, but I want to point out the fallacies in their logic. I don't want to be disrespectful, but I know it often seems that way.

I suppose all I can do is pray about it. God knows everything - He also knows what I should do in these situations.

I just wanted to rant about this. I hope and pray that readers get something out of this anyway, though. God bless you all.