By God’s grace and by His Christ, the redeemed will soon be gone from this veil of good of evil, and of trials and warfare. The battle will have been won, the controversy will have been settled, and the contradiction will have been ended. My personal journey in the faith is close to its end, for I have well surpassed threescore and ten—and what a hallelujah anticipation it is! But Christ’s return is so imminent, I might well instead be caught up with all the saints to meet Christ in the clouds. The time is so close.

Just about every week day on my commute to work, I drive past an old graveyard where many of my kin are buried.  Most of them made a good confession of Christ and are already in the presence of the Lord. They have left this mortal plain and no longer deal with the wicked deeds of this vapor called time.  How magnificent, then, is Revelation 21:1-5:

1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

What a marvelous advertisement!

Dear visitor, have you yet to be BORN AGAIN?  Jesus tells Nicodemus in John 3:3 that BORN AGAIN is the only way to see the Kingdom of God:

Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

BORN AGAIN means exactly what it says: Born a second time, this time of the Spirit of God, this time as sons and daughters of God Himself.

In just a few moments, I will invite you to follow me in a simple prompt, and if you follow from your heart, everything changes for you today.  Today, all your sin and shame will be washed away by Christ’s cleansing blood. Today, all of the devil’s bondages in your life will be broken, the bigger the better.  Today, your birth certificate registering your new name will be recorded in the Lamb’s Book of Life. Today, as in right now, your eternal soul is in your very own hand, and everything in your life—as in every last thing—can change in an instant.  It’s all hinged on this decision. 

Here is the prompt I promised: Click onto Further with Jesus for childlike instructions and immediate entry into the glorious Kingdom of God.  Make your decision now, today, while you have the chance. NOW FOR TODAY’S SUBJECT.

GOD SAID, Daniel 9:8:

O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee.

GOD SAID, Galatians 6:7:

Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

GOD SAID, Hebrews 10:25:

Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

MAN SAID: The Christian’s God and their Bible are just a pacifier.  It gives them hope in the face of life’s uncertainties, and comfort for the inevitability of death.  The educated elite among us know better, of course.  …Wait.  What was that? Doctor, are you saying I have two weeks to live?! I’m going to die?! Oh, God, save me! Save me!!

Now THE RECORD: Welcome to GodSaidManSaid feature 1195 that will once again contend for the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ.  All of these faith-building features are archived here in text and streaming audio for the building-up of the Kingdom and to be used as ammunition in the battle for the lost sons and daughters of Adam. Every Thursday eve, God willing, they grow by one.

Thank you for visiting today.  May God’s face shine upon you with Light and Truth.

God speaks of a controversy He has with fallen Israel and the nations in several passages in the Old Testament.  He is preparing to settle the controversy.  Jeremiah 25:15-31:

15 For thus saith the LORD God of Israel unto me; Take the wine cup of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it.

16 And they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them.

17 Then took I the cup at the LORD'S hand, and made all the nations to drink, unto whom the LORD had sent me:

18 To wit, Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, and the kings thereof, and the princes thereof, to make them a desolation, an astonishment, an hissing, and a curse; as it is this day;

19 Pharaoh king of Egypt, and his servants, and his princes, and all his people;

20 And all the mingled people, and all the kings of the land of Uz, and all the kings of the land of the Philistines, and Ashkelon, and Azzah, and Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod,

21 Edom, and Moab, and the children of Ammon,

22 And all the kings of Tyrus, and all the kings of Zidon, and the kings of the isles which are beyond the sea,

23 Dedan, and Tema, and Buz, and all that are in the utmost corners,

24 And all the kings of Arabia, and all the kings of the mingled people that dwell in the desert,

25 And all the kings of Zimri, and all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of the Medes,

26 And all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another, and all the kingdoms of the world, which are upon the face of the earth: and the king of Sheshach shall drink after them.

27 Therefore thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Drink ye, and be drunken, and spue, and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you.

28 And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at thine hand to drink, then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Ye shall certainly drink.

29 For, lo, I begin to bring evil on the city which is called by my name, and should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the LORD of hosts.

30 Therefore prophesy thou against them all these words, and say unto them, The LORD shall roar from on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation; he shall mightily roar upon his habitation; he shall give a shout, as they that tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth.

31 A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the LORD hath a controversy with the nations, he will plead with all flesh; he will give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the LORD.

As far as mankind is concerned, the controversy began in the beginning, in the Garden of Eden. The mother of all living, our grandmother Eve, chose to believe Satan’s words over God’s.  In an act of unbelief and disobedience, Eve chose to eat of the forbidden and deadly fruit.  Adam then chose to follow Eve, and also ate of the forbidden and deadly fruit.  As a result, they both died to their sinless, immortal root that very day, and physical death followed many years later. Genesis 2:17:

But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

The controversy God has with the nations is childlike in its simplicity: Is God’s Word, by which all things are created, true or is it the devils that are the way, the truth, and the life?  Someone is lying to mankind: Is it God, or is it the devil?

Our original parents, as a result of the fall, no longer had the Holy root to pass on to their offspring, so all of us were spiritually stillborn, thus the need to be BORN AGAIN; born a second time, this time of the Spirit of God. It’s so childlike simple. Ephesians 2:1-6:

1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins:

2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,

5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

The great prophet Daniel cries out unto God, repenting of his own sins and even the sins of his fathers, and speaks of a spiritual condition known Biblically as “confusion of face.” Daniel 9:4-8:

4 And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments;

5 We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments:

6 Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.

7 O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee.

8 O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee.

Confusion of face.  One thing is certain, II Timothy 3:13 is moving forward, right on schedule:

But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.

Speaking of the antichrist and the end, Daniel 8:23 prophesies:

And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up.

One of the very last signs of doomsday is a global mindset that has fully rejected God’s Word in favor of Satan’s, found in II Thessalonians 2:8-12:

8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,

10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:

12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Doomsday is knocking at the door.

The magazine The Week published a feature titled “The Way We Were in 2023” in their December-January 5, 2024 issue.  Under the subhead, “How has society changed?,” you’ll find the following:

We’re more tolerant of weed and we own more firearms.  A record 70% want marijuana legalized—up 22 points since 2012 (Gallup)—and 52% say they or someone in their household owns a gun, up 6 points since 2019 (NBC).  We’re increasingly accepting of same-sex marriage: 71% believe it should be legal, up from 27% in 1996 (Gallup).  7.2% of Americans now identify as LGBT—double the number in 2012—including 20% of 18- to 25-year-olds (Gallup).  [End of quote]

It's called confusion of face.

The world is in a huge and very prophetic downward spiral, and dangerously nearing the bottom.  The following excerpts are from the GodSaidManSaid feature, “America Caught with its Hedge Down:”

It’s never been done.  It cannot be done.  The word is NEVER!  One cannot cast off God’s Words of instruction without suffering a curse, individually or as a nation. Galatians 6:7 is a cardinal law of the Scriptures, and it cannot be abrogated.  Galatians 6:7:

Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

To mock, disregard, or neglect God’s Word will result in the curse of a broken hedge, through which Satan enters an individual’s life.  This feature will make it ever so obvious. For those clamoring for proof, the argument should end here.  Of course, the issue is that they are not actually looking for “proof;” their challenge is just a cloak to hide their sins.  John 3:18-19:

18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

Jesus did not get it wrong.

Headline, June 17, 2022, Axios.com, Erin Doherty: “America’s Belief in God Hits New Low.”

Headline, April 7, 2021, Axios.com, Bryan Walsh: “America is Losing its Religion.” A few sentences follow:

New surveys show Americans’ membership in communities of worship has declined sharply in recent years, with less than 50% of the country belonging to a church, synagogue, or mosque. 

Why it matters: The accelerating trend towards a more secular America represents a fundamental change in the national character, one that will have major ramifications for politics and even social cohesion.

By the numbers: A Gallup poll released last week found just 47% of Americans reported belonging to a house of worship, down from 50% in 2018 and 70% as recently as 1999. 

The shift away from organized religion is a 21^st century phenomenon.  US religious membership was 73% when Gallup first measured it in 1937, and stayed above 70% for the next six decades. [End of quote]

Despite what you just read, the United States still believes in God, and to the utter dismay of the evolutionists. Consider what Jeffery Jones wrote in a June 17, 2022 article headlined, “Belief in God in US Dips to 81%, a New Low:”

The vast majority of US adults believe in God, but the 81% who do so is down six percentage points from 2017 and is the lowest in Gallup’s trend.  Between 1944 and 2011, more than 90% of American’s believed in God. 

The groups with the largest declines are also the groups that are currently least likely to believe in God, including liberals (62%), young adults (68%), and Democrats (72%).  Belief in God is highest among political conservatives (94%) and Republicans (92%), reflecting that religiosity is a major determinant of political divisions in the US.  [End of quotes]

Excerpts from the GodSaidManSaid feature “Inversely Proportional” follow:

But what happens when church attendance goes south?  The amazing truth is the results are inversely proportional.  When church attendance drops, point-by-point, the deadly fruit of disobeying God’s commandment rises incrementally—all of which is the inescapable proof that God IS. 

When church attendance decreases, a myriad of deadly plagues infiltrate the ranks of the unwashed.  It is inversely proportional.  Consider the charts that follow:

 

 

 

 

 Please note: The data in these charts was taken from 2014 to 2017.

These charts could go on page after page, but the point is obvious: Rejecting God’s commandments churns out its deadly fruit at an ever-increasing and alarming rate—even inversely proportional to the decline in church attendance.  

It truly is a global field study and the results clearly report that regular attendance at God’s house is directly hooked to health, mental wellbeing, and prosperity. [End of quotes]

When church attendance drops and God is removed from public discourse, the results can only be grim. In 1962 and 1963, the Supreme Court ruled God out of the public school system.  Historian David Barton reports the following in The Founders’ Bible, on pages 926 and 927:

By George Washington’s own words, what youth learned in American schools “above all” was “the religion of Jesus Christ”—that is, “the fear of the Lord.”

In 1789, the first federal law to address education was passed by Congress.  Signed by President George Washington, Article III of that law directly linked religion and public education together, declaring:

Religion, morality, and knowledge, being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged.

The Founders believed, and in this first federal education law acknowledged, that schools and education systems were a proper means to encourage the “religion, morality, and knowledge” that were so “necessary to good governance and the happiness of mankind.”

This philosophy of education continued well into the twentieth century—a fact demonstrated by courses taught in public schools in Dallas, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Little Rock, and other districts across the nation.  Those courses—a Bible Study Course of the Old Testament and a Bible Study Course of the New Testament—counted toward graduation in those schools.  “Lesson 1” in the New Testament course begins by having students read John 1 and then answer questions such as:

“Where was Christ before He was born on earth?”

“What titles does John apply to Christ in this chapter?”

“For what purpose was John sent by God?”

“Name five things the angel told Mary concerning her child Jesus?”

“What does the word Jesus mean?”

Why is this no longer the practice today? Because in 1962 and 1963, the US Supreme Court ruled that after 320 years of “the fear of the Lord” being central to America’s educational philosophy, it was time to make a change—that it was time for public education to become completely secular.  The difference between the two approaches has been dramatic—and measurable.

For example, following the introduction of the new educational policy excluding “the fear of the Lord,” academic knowledge plummeted—evidenced by the dramatic decline in college-bound student Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores.  Furthermore, in numerous recent international academic competitions, American high school students regularly finish last, near the last, or in the bottom half of students in math and science testing.  In fact, one recent international testing found that although American elementary students performed above average when compared with their peers in other nations, junior high students performed only at average, and American high school students finished at the bottom—well below average.  This sequence of results prompted one national education magazine to observe: “The longer US students stay in school, the less they seem to know.”

Yet, on the other hand, testing results routinely demonstrate that students who participate in faith-based education, whether in home, Christian, or parochial schools, score several grade levels higher than their counterparts in public school on the same academic tests, regardless of demographic locations or socioeconomic stratas. And, those students also score forty points or more higher on the college-bound SAT test. 

The American educational system is indeed learning from harsh experience that the Scriptures are accurate, and that “the fear of the Lord” is indeed “the beginning of knowledge,” including academic knowledge. [End of quotes]

NOTE: The statistics just listed are from 1994.  Anyone interested in today’s numbers?

America has fallen a long way from its spiritual root.  A couple of final thoughts about this root:

Benjamin Rush, who was passionate about the Bible’s importance in American education, as The Founders’ Bible notes:

Founding father Benjamin Rush wrote an extensive policy paper on why the Bible should always remain in the textbook of American schools.  Dr. Rush, known as “the Father of Public Schools Under the Constitution,” is responsible for starting five universities and penning several textbooks.  Notice some of the excerpts from his 1791 “A Defense of the Use of the Bible as a School Book:”

I promised to give you my reasons for preferring the Bible as a school book to all other compositions. … I shall assume the five following propositions:

1. That Christianity is the only true and perfect religion; and that in  proportion as mankind adopt its principles and obey its precepts, they will be wise and happy. 

2. That a better knowledge of this religion is to be acquired by reading the Bible than in any other way.

3. That the Bible contains more knowledge necessary to man in his present state than any other book in the world.

4. That knowledge is most durable and religious instruction most useful when imparted in early life.

5. That the Bible, when not read in schools is seldom read in any subsequent period of life.

My arguments in favor of the use of the Bible as a school book are founded in the constitution of the human mind. [End of quote]

When I read this final statement from Dr. Rush, I am reminded of Proverb 22:6:

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.  

Dr. Rush continues:

There is a wonderful property in the memory which enables it in old age to recover the knowledge it had acquired in early life after it had been apparently forgotten for forty or fifty years.  Of how much consequence, then, must it be to fill the mind with that species of knowledge in childhood and youth which, when recalled in the decline of life, will support the soul under the infirmities of age and smooth the avenues of approaching death.  The Bible is the only book which is capable of affording this support to old age, and it is for this reason that we find it resorted to with so much diligence and pleasure by such old people as have read it in early life… [End of quotes]

When you cast off God’s Word, which is declaring the right thing to do, expect the wrong thing. A catalogue of fearful phobias possess the bodies of billions:  According to Gallup, 40% are afraid to walk alone at night, even near their home.  All manner of evil, perversions, and Satanic bondages abound: According to The Week’s article just cited, 57% of Americans admit an addiction to their digital phones, and 47% feel panic when the battery level drops below one-fifth.  If you don’t think phones and Satanic bondage quite fit, think again.  This is an open portal to doomsday.  You’d be very wise to remember that your phone is a tool, and to be careful in your use of this tool.

Confusion of face abounds, and it will increase rapidly.  This is the end.  But in this ever-increasing darkness, there is a great Light.  Jesus Christ is the true Light (John 1:9) and the bright and morning star (Revelation 22:16).  Jesus Christ is the Light of the world, and He speaks of His disciples in Matthew 5:14-16:

14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Saints of God must note that the best friend of the candle is extreme darkness. The darker it gets, the brighter the candle shines.  Light will always prevail over darkness. It is time to shine, saints!  The contrast between us and them is staggering, even the difference between life and death and heaven and hell.

Dear visitor, if you have yet to make your confession for Christ, do it now.  Click onto “Further with Jesus” while your opportunity still exists. This is truly a “limited time offer.”  Time is almost over.  Doomsday approaches.  Go, make your peace with God now. 

GOD SAID, Daniel 9:8:

O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee.

GOD SAID, Galatians 6:7:

Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

GOD SAID, Hebrews 10:25:

Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

MAN SAID: The Christian’s God and their Bible are just a pacifier.  It gives them hope in the face of life’s uncertainties, and comfort for the inevitability of death.  The educated elite among us know better, of course.  …Wait.  What was that? Doctor, are you saying I have two weeks to live?! I’m going to die?! Oh, God, save me! Save me!!

Now you have THE RECORD.

References:

Authorized King James Version

GodSaidManSaid, “America Caught with its Hedge Down (Satan Steals In)”

“The Way We Were in 2023,” The Week, December 29-January 5, 2024