The Hermit Tradition & a Donald Trump Prophesy from 1983

Seeking truth directly from God outside of all worldly institutions and traditions (including religious ones)

The rich spiritual path of the hermit never really caught on in Europe and remains virtually unheard of in America. But in the Far East and Middle East, it has long been a respected spiritual path. 

I'm writing this post because I was astonished to hear an ignorant preacher on YouTube condemn another preacher as a "false prophet" because he had had a remarkable dream that St. John lived as a hermit in the desert as an old man. The preacher actually stated, "The bible says you must be part of the assembly, so he's a false prophet." But that's not an accurate interpretation since every verse must be interpreted in light of the entire bible; no verse stands alone.

From the earliest recorded history, men have given up everything to follow God and pursue holiness. (Men were free to be hermits, but because it was deemed too dangerous for women, an institution like St. Claire's religious order needed to back them. More on that in a bit.)

Hermits seek truth directly from God outside of all worldly institutions and traditions (including religious ones), like St. John the Baptist. Although his father was a priest in the Temple in Jerusalem, he sought God's face directly in the desert with locusts and wild honey as his only food, wearing nothing but camel hair secured with a belt. 

Many first, second and third century Christians were hermits or semi-hermits, like Anna who lived in the Temple and gave baby Jesus a special blessing, and St. Paul who abandoned his wife and family to follow God, just like the Buddha. 

Some hermits lived in secret hiding places like Qumran, the desert cliff where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in 1947. A hermit would serve as librarian of sorts taking care of the sacred scriptures that were hidden away from the Romans. The birds and desert animals were their only friends. Pulleys would regularly be put in place to bring the hermit librarians food and water.

In the world, but not of it
The conforming influences of civilization is what Jesus calls "the world" and "mammon." Scripture says we are in the world, but not of it. But thus far, few followers of Jesus know or care what this means. 

The core idea is that spiritual progress beyond a certain point is impeded when one is all strapped down by family life and the hamster mill of having to support a family. (One possible exception is doing a job one truly loves that is in line with one's spiritual purpose.) 

Any society in which people are not free to devote themselves to seeking truth directly will end up out of sync with eternal truths, stuck in selfish man-made civilization (a sort of Disneyland of our own creation), rudderless and unaware of how off-base and off-putting such an artificial society inevitably becomes to its neighbors. Ancient civilizations like India have always known this, and therefore revere the hermit tradition.

If God cannot guide the hearts of people (as they cling so tightly to the status quo and worldly systems, with full faith not in God but in their money!) people will have to learn the hard way, like Nineveh (what is today Iraq) with its vast wealth, prestige, and self-serving narratives. Soon it was destroyed by its far weaker, poorer neighbors who ganged up together against it (after the prophet Jonah dramatically postponed its destruction 70 years). I'm sorry to notice that in attacking Iraq, we may have taken on their ancient karma.

If a society arrogantly refuses to listen to the grievances against it, what else can be expected? Amazingly, this is what Freedom of Speech and the US Bill of Rights is all about -- it's a brilliant low-cost way to keep the peace by allowing people to freely air their grievances so they can be addressed. Terrorism cannot exist in such an environment -- it extinguishes itself before it can catch on, like a fire deprived of fuel.

The Franciscans 
In medieval Europe, the enormously popular Franciscan movement incorporated the hermit tradition. They seek to be separate from society (holy and set apart), take vows of poverty, enjoy periods of silent reflection, and seek God in solitude. But they seek God alone with the quiet support of "mothers and fathers" who would make sure the spiritual seeker is OK, getting sufficient food and water, etc. 

Hydration is very important, especially when praying in the Holy Spirit, particularly once it raises your physical vibration. 

As the first female follower of St. Francis, St. Claire was appointed head of the women by him. Claire and Francis were both born into the nobility of Assisi (Italy) and were so in tune that she was dubbed an Alternate Francis. The women lived at a monastery at first, and then built a convent.

A word of caution
The hermit tradition, however, is likely best embarked upon for a limited period of time for learning, clarity and healing. It's increasingly necessary to grow to the point that you can renounce every earthly thing and empty out of ego (the root word for evil!), but then be willing to take up the individual mantle God has for your own life. 

Maybe we can't discern whether it was true of St. Claire personally, particularly given the time in the 13th century, but in general, renouncing everything for all time seems like a waste of God's gifts  that ultimately negates his will for our lives.

Why? Because there are many things that only you are uniquely positioned to accomplish in the history of this world, like taking good care of a grandmother no one else in the family can be bothered to care for, unwilling to fulfill the most basic responsibilities of being family! Or caring for a spouse going through a difficult patch that "medical treatment" has only seemed to weaken in body and spirit! Such is the configuration of our world. But we are our brothers' keeper. And no one is exempt.

Here's an incredible prophesy about Donald Trump given by the late American hermit Tom Zimmer: https://rumble.com/embed/v2z22h8/. Zimmer wrote the best selling book Pieta: https://www.amazon.com/tom-zimmer/s?k=tom+zimmer.