The God of the Killdozer Operator, Marvin Heemeyer

While working toward becoming an apologist and a pastor, I was a heavy equipment operator. I have over 15 years’ experience in the field, focusing on hydrological restorations (stream bank and river restoration and water dam removals) and site development for building pads (ranging from houses to one million + sq. ft. warehouses). I say this because I want to show where the heart for writing article this came about.

Marvin Heemeyer purchased a bulldozer from an auction which was a Komatsu D355A with an operating weight of 97,907 lbs. (this does not include the weight of Heemeyer’s fabricated addition). In the picture above, I am operating a Komatsu D155AX which has an operating weight of 89,300 lbs. (If I remember correctly, we were developing the site for a 550,000 sq. ft. warehouse building pad). Heemeyer then went on a rampage in his armored bulldozer in Granby, CO.

I don’t want to go into great details about what led up to Heemeyer doing what he did, nor do I want to go into great details about the bulldozer he used, simply because these are covered ad nauseum in Wikipedia and many other books and websites. What I want to examine is Heemeyer’s personal claims and also address the moral nature of what happened from a biblical perspective.

It seems that much of the world is confused about what is good regarding this event, praising Heemeyer for what he did, which many people refer to it as “sticking it to the man.” There is even a YouTube channel that purchased a D355A and fabricated an iron surround over it much like Heemeyer’s by a team of welders who continually celebrate their product as well as the actions of Heemeyer.

The question I seek to address is, “Did Marvin Heemeyer really hear from God (since this was his claim), and if he did not, what does that mean?” If he did hear from God and was being obedient to God in such a rampage, then I think that this means that such a God contradicts His own word, which ultimately should cause us to question the God that Heemeyer heard from. As you may have guessed by now, if Heemeyer did not hear from God, then the only part God had in this was protecting the people of Granby against such terrorism.

I mentioned that if God indeed told Heemeyer to go on such a rampage, then God is contradicting His own word, which would then arguably show that this perspective of God is not pointing to the one, true God.

Romans 12:14-21 sheds light on why it would be a contradiction if God were the one who told Heemeyer to go on a rampage:

“Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head. 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”[1]

As clearly understood, the Bible tells us how to handle those who persecute us and cause evil against us… to leave room for God’s wrath, to not take revenge (protection is a different subject), that vengeance is God’s, and that instead, we should heap burning coals on our enemies’ heads. This means to do things that our enemies will not be able to stop thinking about, such as feeding them when they are hungry, or giving him a drink when he is thirsty. Heemeyer did the exact opposite.

In his blathering monologue, often referred to as his manifesto, Heemeyer discusses all that is wrong in his world, and goes into detail about what God tells him what to do, and the permission granted to him to carry out such an act.

“A peace came over me that has only come over me a few times before in my life where I knew that what I was doing was tough, but it was the right thing and that it was above me. It wasn’t me. I was doing this because God wanted me to do it, and I didn’t understand it. I said, ‘Why did you ask me to do this? Is that why I've never been married, so I didn't have a family?’”[2]

Here, Heemeyer clearly states that his plan to terrorize the city was something that came from above. I believe what he is saying is that he believes that that he heard a message from the supernatural world that he was tasked to this ultimate goal of destruction, and this message was confirmed for him.

As Heemeyer processes his works’ progress in his own mind, he believes that if such a plan to take a rampage in Granby were not God’s will, then it could not be carried out. The fact that Heemeyer continued to progress in his secret plan convinced him that it was the will of God.

“You know, God has his timing, his plans made out, and they are to be. It looks like it's going to be. Because the one thing that I have wanted to do is get caught. I had hoped that somebody would catch me and that this whole thing would stop. And that would be a good sign for me not to do it.”[3]

He is saying that God’s will cannot be thwarted out of one corner of his mouth, and out of the other corner of his mouth, he says that what happened to him was not God’s will, but man’s will. It works for him to say what is God’s will that is being carried out, and when it doesn’t work for him, then he dismisses it as man’s will. This is both pragmatic and vacillated. Just because Heemeyer was not stopped does not mean that this is God’s will. God never desires that a person murder another in cold blood, otherwise this would contradict His own word (See Exodus 20:13). Yet, because of free will, it happens all too frequently.

“It was not Gods will that they do what they did to me. That was man’s will. That was their will. And you know, it’s effective. I don’t agree with it, I could never agree with it. When man’s will is to harm his neighbor and to keep him from prospering, it’s wrong, and that’s all they did the many years I was there.”[4]

What is interesting is that Heemeyer goes against his own claim here. If it is wrong to harm one’s neighbor, and Heemeyer set out to harm his neighbors, then he is in the wrong as well. Not only this, but two wrongs don’t make a right. We saw this above in Romans, that we are not to “repay anyone evil for evil” and “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Also, Heemeyer acknowledges the fact that wronging one’s neighbor is not good.

“I don't think that just knowing what I am doing is enough. I think God will bless me. To get the machine done, to drive it, to do the stuff that I have to do up to a point. Then… you're either going to blow me right off the f****** streets, or I'm going to have a heart attack and die cause I’m all pumped up, the machine's going to break, or maybe, maybe it'll go all day, and I'll run out of fuel. I don’t know. I've got a lot of fuel in that thing, let me tell you, so I’m trying to be as prepared as I can be to do what I believe needs to be done, what God has inspired me to do…

I am the co-captain in my life. God is first, I am second. Ok? This is where He’s taken me. This is where you have tried to control my life. You have tried to be the captain of my life. You do not run my life. You do not determine my income. You do not determine what I desire, what I want, what I deserve. I determine that and my God determines that. Not you people. No people do that. If they do, then you're a slave to them. I am not a slave to man. I am a slave to God, and I am a slave to what God tells me I should have, and that’s why we are where we are.”[5]

If one is a slave to what God tells him what he should have, then perhaps God is taking away what he has, like He did in the book of Job to reveal the proof of righteousness. If this is the case, Heemeyer completely failed. A prophet never seeks to merely injure people. If Heemeyer were a true prophet from God, then He would be successful in his mission. Deuteronomy 18:20-22 tells us the test of a prophet:

But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.’ 21 And if you say in your heart, ‘How may we know the word that the Lord has not spoken?’— 22 when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him.

One difference between this and a steelman argument which I might suggest as Samson as a judge against the Philistines (see Judges 15), who took the Philistines out with him when he died, is the difference of success. Heemeyer was not successful. Heemeyer merely inconvenienced people momentarily. Twenty years later, Granby is still in existence, and the operation of the town itself seems to be unphased.

“If it does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the Lord has not spoken.” The same principle can be applied here. He was unsuccessful in doing any significant damage, except to himself. Heemeyer ultimately claimed to be a prophet of God in biblical proportions. The spiritual fruit in Heemeyer’s life suggests otherwise. Heemeyer used a .50 caliber rifle to blindly shoot from inside his cab. He set out to kill. He never cared that there were kids or elderly in those buildings. Marvin Heemeyer was a terrorist, not a prophet. Let’s stop remembering this event in a positive light and see it for what it is.

The god that told Heemeyer to do what he did was clearly not the one, true God of the Bible. So, who was it? Perhaps this article will shed some light…

"For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself." ~Philippians 3:18-21

Written by Nace Howell through the grace of the Lord Jesus

[1] Romans 12:14-21 NIV.

[2] Heemeyer, Marvin. Tape 2, side A. Audio Tape Recordings. https://www.skyhinews.com/in-depth/bulldozer-in-granby/audio-hear-from-marvin-heemeyer-himself-in-recorded-manifesto/

[3] Ibid.

[4] Ibid. Tape 2, side B. Emphasis added.

[5] Ibid. Tape 3, Side A.

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