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The meditation of the children of God unlocks the mystery of His revelation. In the study of the neurological phenomenon of savantism, science has discovered a shocking reality: When one typically thinks of a savant, one pictures an individual who is mentally or socially handicapped in various ways, but who possesses a “superhuman” capability in areas such as math, art, music, or others. Recent studies of individuals around the world who have experienced traumatic events that have triggered savant-like skills without losing any of their original mental and social skills have many scratching their heads—especially evolutionists. The research suggested all humans have been downloaded with savant-like skills and the way to unlock these God-like capabilities, short of some fortuitous traumatic event, was through meditation.
God’s children are instructed to meditate. Psalm 1:1-3:
1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
The power of Holy Ghost meditations that unlock remarkable hidden skills is only available to those Jesus Christ calls the born-again. At this place called born-again, one repents of his sins, believing on the Lord Jesus Christ, and begins to follow Him. Have you been born again—actually born a second time, this time of the Spirit of God? Make that decision today and today will surely be the best day of your life. All of your sin and shame will be erased and all of Satan’s bondages broken. Today will be your brand-new beginning full of promise and eternal purpose. By seeking Christ Jesus with your might and exercising your childlike faith, even your bad days will be converted to very good. Will you choose Christ today? Click onto “Further with Jesus” for childlike instructions and immediate entry into the Kingdom of God. NOW FOR TODAY’S SUBJECT.
GOD SAID, Genesis 19:24-38:
24 Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;
25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.
26 But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.
27 And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the LORD:
28 And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace.
29 And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in the which Lot dwelt.
30 And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters.
31 And the firstborn said unto the younger, Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth:
32 Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.
33 And they made their father drink wine that night: and the firstborn went in, and lay with her father; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose.
34 And it came to pass on the morrow, that the firstborn said unto the younger, Behold, I lay yesternight with my father: let us make him drink wine this night also; and go thou in, and lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.
35 And they made their father drink wine that night also: and the younger arose, and lay with him; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose.
36 Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father.
37 And the firstborn bare a son, and called his name Moab: the same is the father of the Moabites unto this day.
38 And the younger, she also bare a son, and called his name Benammi: the same is the father of the children of Ammon unto this day.
GOD SAID, Daniel 5:25-31:
25 And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.
26 This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it.
27 TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.
28 PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.
29 Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.
30 In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain.
31 And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old.
MAN SAID: The Bible’s history is fouled with error and exaggeration. No one with a modicum of sense gives it any credibility at all—no one!
Now THE RECORD: Carnal man must resist with his might because if God’s Word is true, all is lost. His rebellious existence here must be corrected and if not, eternal, cognizant damnation is his soon-coming reward—and eternity never ends. Carnal men resist vociferously not because of a lack of proof that the God of the Bible is, but because their deeds are evil.
How reliable are the historic accounts in the Holy Bible? Welcome to GodSaidManSaid feature article 916 that will, for the 916th time, prove the inerrancy of God’s beautiful book—and yes, history, miracles, and all. All of these powerful features are archived here in text and streaming audio for the edification of the saints and as ammunition in the battle for the lost souls of the sons of Adam. Every Thursday eve, God willing, they grow by one. Thank you for visiting. We are honored by your presence. May God’s face shine upon you with Light and Truth.
GodSaidManSaid uses four divisions of proof to establish God and His Bible and that this Bible-God is the Creator of all things visible and invisible, the God above all gods, and that all—including Satan and his fallen angels—will stand before an angry God and His consuming judgment.
The first proof division is Archaeology, which includes archaeology, paleontology, ancient history, and ancient societal records. There are a host of features in this category and they establish beyond doubt the supernatural accuracy of the Bible’s historic account, from creation to Calvary and the days of the apostles. The skeptics continue to challenge and malign, but truth remains truth.
Abraham, the father of faith and the father of the Hebrew people, was born just a few years after Noah’s death, and according to Ussher, the gap between Adam and Noah was just 126 years. Abraham was directly involved in the great destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and the strange events that followed affected his nephew Lot, Lot’s daughters, and thus their offspring, the Moabites and the Ammonites. The skeptics howl, but the truth is impervious to their shouts.
Where there such a people called the Ammonites? The following excerpts are from Lisette Bassett-Brody’s book Etched in Stone:
The Ammonites had an extensive Biblical history with their cousins, the Israelites. They often teamed up with Israel’s enemies, such as the Amalekites, and the Philistines, and repeatedly raided and made war on her. This aggression continued through the time of Saul and King David. But for as prominent a history as the Ammonites had, their land was virtually unknown to Bible scholars until world-renown American rabbi and archaeologist Nelson Glueck explored the land of Jordan in the 1930s. This was the location where the Ammonites had settled.
Since then, others have brought expeditions to Jordan, and numerous Biblical artifacts have been discovered. One such discovery confirmed the existence of this people known as the Ammonites. Larry Herr, doctor of Near Eastern languages and civilizations from Harvard University, described the potsherds that were uncovered:
Found in the fill of the reservoir at Hesban, these two ostraca—potsherds with writing on them—and several others testify to Ammonite survival in their homeland after the Babylonian conquest of Judah in 586 BC. Both bear lists of Ammonite names in the Ammonite language but one is written in the Ammonite script of the mid-sixth century BC, while the other is written in the Aramaic script of the late sixth-century BC. In contrast to the closely-related paleo-Hebrew script, Ammonite script has an upright stance and simple form. Small changes over time in the letter forms and stance allow experts to date inscriptions with great precision, as in the case of these Ammonite ostraca deciphered by Frank M. Cross.
Today, the capital of Jordan still carries the Ammonite name, that is, Amman. [End of quote]
Genesis 19:38:
And the younger, she also bare a son, and called his name Benammi: the same is the father of the children of Ammon unto this day.
Much information exists concerning Joseph, his rise to power in Egypt, his father Jacob and the rest of his family coming to sojourn with him in Egypt, their future enslavement and their exodus from Egypt—yet “scholars” continue to challenge. The following excerpts are from a feature titled “Hebrews in Egypt before the Exodus? Evidence from Papyrus Brooklyn,” which was submitted by Archae27:
Current academic consensus views the events described in the book of Exodus as a myth, without any indication of a historical core, and now a topic which the vast majority of scholars decline to investigate due to their certainty that the story is fictional. Scholars have made claims that, according to archaeological investigations, “Israelites were never in Egypt. The many Egyptian documents we have make no mention of the Israelites’ presence in Egypt.” Another archaeologist concluded that investigations of the Exodus story is pointless because of the alleged absence of evidence, stating that “not only is there no archaeological evidence for such an exodus, there is no need to posit such an event. I regard the historicity of the Exodus as a dead issue.”(William Dever) Are claims that there is absolutely no evidence to support the idea that Hebrew people were in Egypt prior to the time of the Exodus consistent with current archaeological and historical data?
According to a reading of specific chronological information in the books of Kings, Judges, and Numbers, combined with chronological information from Egyptian, Assyrian, Babylonian, Hellenistic, and Roman documents, the Hebrew Exodus from Egypt occurred around the 1440s BC (I Kings 6:1; Judges 11:26; Numbers 32:13: Ptolemy’s Canon; Neo-Assyrian Eponym List; Manetho’s King List; Uruk King List; Roman Consul Lists).
Earlier, Abraham had resided temporarily in Egypt but he moved back to Canaan for the remainder of his life (Genesis 12:10-13:1). Around the time of these patriarchs, during the periods called the Middle Kingdom and Second Intermediate Period in Egypt and the Middle Bronze Age in Canaan, many people from Western Asia or Canaan immigrated into Egypt. A famous contemporary depiction and description of this immigration was found painted on one of the walls of the tomb of Khnumhotep II in Beni Hasan, Egypt. The scene, painted with a text, depicts a group of 37 Semites from Canaan—men, women, and children, along with their livestock and supplies—immigrating into middle Egypt during the early 19th Century BC. [The Hebrew people are Semites and Jacob lead his family of 66 individuals, including himself, into Egypt and dwelt in the land called Goshen.]
While this would be slightly earlier than when Joseph and subsequently his father Jacob arrived in Egypt, the events occur in the same general historical period. According to archaeological excavations and information derived from various ancient documents and artwork, during the time, large numbers of people from Western Asia immigrated into Egypt and settled primarily in the Nile Delta region, just as Jacob and his family also did. Following this period, the Egyptian Pharaoh Ahmose I retook Lower Egypt and began enslaving Semites of “Asiatics”—an Egyptian designation for people from the area of greater Canaan which would have included the Hebrews and other tribal groups (Exodus 1:6-14). The transition from a Pharaoh who did not know Joseph to the forced labor of the Hebrews and other Semites seems to fit the transition from the rule of the Hyksos to the 18th Dynasty and the subsequent policy of forced labor upon Asiatics and other non-Egyptians. Papyri such as the Leningrad Papyrus 116A from the 18th Dynasty, probably the reign of Pharaoh Thutmose III prior to around 1450 BC, specifies that immigrant people were subjected to compulsory labor such as public building projects after the expulsion of the Hyksos under Pharaoh Ahmose I and subsequent rulers. This would be exactly the time of the enslavement of the Hebrews. Just as this papyrus describes Asiatics or Semites being forced to construct public buildings, the book of Exodus records that Hebrews were involved in constructing storage buildings in the cities of Rameses, Pithoms, and On (Exodus 1:11). Artwork in tombs from the early and middle 18th Dynasty, up through the reign of Thutmose III just prior to the Exodus, also demonstrate the type of slave labor forced upon the Semites as described in the book of Exodus. Wall paintings in the tombs of Intef and Rekmire show Semitic slaves performing agricultural tasks, making mud bricks, and constructing buildings. Egyptian artwork depicts different ethnic groups very distinctively, so distinguishing Semites in a particular scene is relatively simple.
The making of mud bricks by Hebrew slaves and the difficulties in this task are detailed in the Exodus account (Exodus 5). A remark on the scene in a tomb of Rekmire about an Egyptian master reminding slaves not to be idle lest they receive a beating with the rod brings to mind the episode in which Moses saw an Egyptian taskmaster beating a Hebrew slave (Exodus 2:11).
An important Egyptian document from Upper Egypt has survived the millennia. While the current scholarly consensus asserts that there is no definitive evidence for Hebrews living in Egypt prior to the Exodus, an Egyptian list of domestic servants written in the Second Intermediate Period, perhaps in the late 17th Century BC, contains not only Semitic names, but several specifically Hebrew names. This document was designated Papyrus Brooklyn 35.1446.
Rediscovered on the antiquities market, this papyrus was examined by William Albright and Kenneth Kitchen and published in a book by Egyptologist William Hayes of the Brooklyn Museum. Several references to Thebes on the papyrus indicate that it was originally composed in or around that city, the capital of Upper Egypt, although it is not certain exactly where in that region it came from, as information about its original place of discovery was lost. The section of the papyrus dealing with the servants is thought to date from the 13th Dynasty of Egypt, or at least from some time in the era known as the Second Intermediate Period. The end of this period preceded the Exodus by approximately 120 years, while the period began around 300 years prior to the Exodus—encompassing the time that the Hebrews were in Egypt as settlers and perhaps even slaves.
A section of Papyrus Brooklyn 35.1446 contains a list of 95 servants, many of whom are specified as “Asiatic” or coming from Western Asia (i.e. Canaan). The servants with foreign names are given Egyptian names, just as Joseph was when he was a household servant under Potiphar (Genesis 41:45). The majority of the names are feminine because domestic servants were typically female, while the male servants often worked in construction or agricultural tasks. Approximately 30 of the servants have names identified as from the Semitic language family (Hebrew is a Semitic language), but even more relevant to the Exodus story is that several of these servants, up to ten, actually have specifically Hebrew names. Thus, this list is a clear attestation of Hebrew people living in Egypt prior to the Exodus, and it is an essential piece of evidence in the argument for a historical Exodus. Thus, the list appears to be an attestation of Hebrews in Egypt in their earlier period of residence in the country, prior to their total enslavement, and perhaps shows that a group may have migrated south or was taken south for work. While remains of material culture such as pottery, architecture, or artifacts may be ethnically ambiguous, Hebrew names and possibly even the word or name Hebrew clearly indicates that there were Hebrews living in Egypt. Although rather obscure, the list includes the earliest attestation of Hebrew names that has ever been recorded in Egypt, and it demonstrates that Hebrews were in Egypt prior to the 1440s BC just as the story in the book of Exodus records. [End of quotes]
Recently, US President Donald Trump moved the US Embassy to the city of Jerusalem, endorsing the Jewish claim to the City of Peace. The following paragraphs have been lifted from PatternsOfEvidence.com’s feature “Seal Shows Jerusalem was Strong, Central City:”
The claim that there is no evidence of a strong, centralized government in the Israel of the Biblical era took another hit as 2018 dawned. The intellectual punch came from respected archaeologists digging beneath the Western Wall of ancient Jerusalem.
Excavators with the Israeli Antiquities Authority revealed on January 1 that they had unearthed a 2,700-year-old clay bulla (or docket) that contained an impression from a seal. The seal, says the IAA, belonged to the governor of Jerusalem. Reference to the existence of such a high-ranking local official supports the importance of this city in ancient times.
According to the Authority, Professor Tallay Ornan of Hebrew University and Professor Benjamin Sass of Tel Aviv University examined the bulla and gave it this description: “…above a double line are two standing men, facing each other in a mirror-like manner. Their heads are depicted as large dots, lacking any details. The hands facing outward are dropping down, and the hands facing inward are raised. Each of the figures is wearing a striped, knee-length garment. In the register between the double line is an inscription in ancient Hebrew… (which the two scholars translate as) belonging to the governor of the city.”
Both the Hebrew Bible and other historical documents state that such a high-ranking local official would have been appointed by the king, say Ornan and Sass.
“It is very overwhelming to receive greetings from First Temple period Jerusalem,” Barkat is quoted as stating. “This shows that already 2,700 years ago, Jerusalem, the capital of Israel, was a strong and central city.”
Not only does the “governor’s seal” speak to the importance of Jerusalem in ancient times, but it gives further credence to the Bible as a reliable record. In its coverage of this event, the well-respected, left-leaning Mirror of Britain said, “Governors of Jerusalem are mentioned twice in the Bible, and this mysterious new discovery may reinforce the Biblical assertion as a historical fact.” [End of quotes]
Were there three Hebrew children and a fiery furnace? Was there handwriting on the wall or a Daniel in the lion’s den? Concerning the handwriting on the wall and the Babylonian King Belshazzar, the book of Daniel 5:1-7 reads:
1 Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand.
2 Belshazzar, whiles he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, might drink therein.
3 Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, drank in them.
4 They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.
5 In the same hour came forth fingers of a man''s hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaster of the wall of the king''s palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.
6 Then the king''s countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another.
7 The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. And the king spake, and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whosoever shall read this writing, and show me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.
The following paragraphs are from the aforementioned book, Etched in Stone:
King Nebuchadnezzar reigned in Babylon circa 605-562 BC. He was the one God used to punish Judah for her idolatry by sending her into exile. When Nebuchadnezzar invaded Jerusalem, he also took the Temple articles, which belonged to the Lord, and placed them in the temple of his god. In the book of Daniel, Belshazzar, Nebuchadnezzar’s grandson, is holding a banquet with a thousand of his noblemen, getting drunk. With blatant disregard for the Lord, he orders that the gold and silver goblets, taken from the Jerusalem Temple, be brought in so that he and his guests can drink from them. While engaging in this act of rebellion, he furthers his sin by praising the gods of the wood, iron, silver, gold, and stone. Therefore, God tells Belshazzar that his reign is over, and that very night he is killed, effectively ending the Babylonian Empire. Darius the Mede then becomes ruler of the kingdom, effectively beginning the Medo-Persian Empire. Critics scoffed at the story of Belshazzar because they said that no Babylonian records confirmed him. However, in 1854, Babylonian cuneiform records were discovered that did, in fact, attest to Belshazzar and other details of the time. One such confirmation comes from a clay cylinder discovered in Iraq. In their book, Lost Treasures of the Bible, Clyde E. Fant and Michael G. Reddish translate a portion of the Babylonian cuneiform concerning Belshazzar:
As for me, Nabonidus, king of Babylon, save me from sinning against your great godhead and grant me as a present a life of long days, and as for Belshazzar, the eldest son my offspring, instill reverence for your great godhead [in] his heart and may he not commit any cultic mistake, may he be sated with a life of plentitude.
In his book Nabonidus and Belshazzar, Raymond P. Dougherty, who holds a PhD from Yale University, said, “It is an incontrovertible fact that there was a Babylonian prince by the name of Belshazzar; that he acted as co-regent in Babylonia during the absence of his father in Arabia is equally indisputable.” [End of quotes]
God’s Word is perfect and inerrant—history and all. Build your life upon it and it will last forever.
GOD SAID, Genesis 19:38:
And the younger, she also bare a son, and called his name Benammi: the same is the father of the children of Ammon unto this day.
GOD SAID, Daniel 5:25-31:
25 And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.
26 This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it.
27 TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.
28 PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.
29 Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.
30 In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain.
31 And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old.
MAN SAID: The Bible’s history is fouled with error and exaggeration. No one with a modicum of sense gives it any credibility at all—no one!
Now you have THE RECORD.
References:
Authorized King James Version
“Hebrews in Egypt Before the Exodus? Evidence from Papyrus Brooklyn,” Apxaioc.com, November 12, 2014
Aeilts, D., “Seal Shows Jerusalem was Strong, Central City,” PatternsOfEvidence.com, January 12, 2018
Bassett-Brody, L, Etched in Stone, WND Books, 2017
