(There is a special message at the end of this article for those who might happen to read this and do not have Jesus in their life and are looking for peace and a way to better understand the present-day insanity and confusion.)

Those who are familiar with “camping out” and the peace and comfort of sitting around a campfire also know that when it’s time to turn in for the night, the campfire must be thoroughly extinguished.

Most remember Smokey the Bear’s ads [or maybe I’m too old?]. This slogan existed for over 5 decades. “Only you,” he would say, “can prevent forest fires.”

The guidelines he espoused made it clear that every last ember of a campfire had to be drowned. Totally drowned, lest a tiny little spark should remain.

A tiny little spark that could be fanned into a flame.

Freedom is like that.

The American Revolution (if history is to be honestly evaluated) is a perfect example of what can happen when there is the slightest chance that it can be obtained, even at great cost.

That is why (in large part) the primary goal of the new world order is to first utterly and completely crush freedom.

America is a major stumbling block for them.

As the demon of tyranny closed in on the founders of the American experiment, one of the most famous quotes ever made was made by patriot Patrick Henry:

“Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!”

There still remains this same spirit in America today, even though it is buried under a layer of dust and debris caused by having too much prosperity for too long.

The demon of indifference and of taking freedoms for granted works within societies when they wander from God to godlessness.

It is still there, but it is a weak image of what it once was.

The globalists can still see it, so they seek to extinguish it.

They sense victory, so they press and push.

Two other nations’ citizens (not government leaders) are notable for having this same desire for freedom (as they have had a taste of it as well). Canada and France.

The desire for freedom has been a cornerstone of the human spirit over the entire history of the world, but it is being destroyed by money (or, in today’s world, the illusion of it), the proliferation of it, and most importantly, the control of it.

The evil twins: money and power.

“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil” (1 Timothy 6:10).

Control of either leads to the acquisition of the other.

Make no mistake, America is the focus of their destruction right now, and a world without a free America will quickly yield to the globalist objective: Crush freedom and resistance. Then reduce the world population to the levels set according to the not-so-mysterious Georgia Guidestones:

“Maintain humanity under 500,000,000 [500 million] in perpetual balance with nature.”

Who do you suppose is the real author of that evil directive?

The earth’s population is currently around 8 billion. You can quickly do the ominous mathematical calculation that will be necessary for them to attain their goal.

You can be certain that they already have done the math and they are actively working toward it.

Now to the crux of this article

How has a country established on the foundation of the Word of God, His Laws, Precepts, and Decrees, arrived at this current state of fiscal disaster and moral depravity?

In order to “maintain” something, one must first assume ownership of it.

We were given ownership of America by God.

How could the most blessed and powerful nation on earth with unprecedented freedoms be reduced to such a sorry condition?

What is most sorrowful of all is that I don’t need to provide anyone with a list of these sorry conditions as they have now become obvious to everyone with an ear to hear, eyes to see, and a heart to break.

A quick reference guide was provided by the Apostle Paul approximately 1,956 years ago in the second epistle to Timothy (2 Timothy 3:1-5).

Only a decade or so ago, it would have been hard to believe things could get this bad.

“Not in America,” I heard from so many. “That can’t happen here,” they responded with incredulity when I acted to fulfill my obligation to be a Watchman on the wall.

Yes, it can happen here and now has, in full and living color.

Another sterling example of the inerrant Word of God.

God, as ever, has made it clear well in advance the reasons why America has sunk so far. His warning was given for all nations, of course, but America, despite being the most powerful nation on earth at present, is conspicuously absent from any direct mention in God’s prophetic Word.

That can really only mean one thing: Due to rampant disobedience, and open hostility toward God, America is being erased from significance.

Judgment is now being executed on what was once the most blessed nation on earth.

America has become a modern-day Valley of Hinnom: a place where the ancient Hebrews conducted the vile practice of child sacrifice. That is one of so many rampant national sins. It is one of the most vile, but there is so much more.

We should not point the finger of accusation at the Jews. We have exceeded their numbers by the murder of millions and millions of innocent souls.

Because of His Steadfast Love, God warned humankind beforehand in order to give them the knowledge and understanding they would need in order to avoid their own destruction.

And, as has always been true, His cautions were eventually ignored to the point where they are manifest in our current situation.

Let me make it clear to the reader that these passages from the Book of Jeremiah were written to the Hebrews, and this is not some weak attempt at Replacement Theology. The Jews are now and will remain God’s chosen nation for His sovereign purposes.

God’s Nature, His Word, and His Laws, and the consequences of ignoring them, are intended to be applied to ALL of humanity as they always have been and still are.

The verses below offer a progression of actions and consequences.

The actions:

“The priests did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord?’ Those who deal with the law did not know me; the leaders rebelled against me. The prophets prophesied by Baal, following worthless idols. ‘Therefore, I bring charges against you again,’ declares the Lord. ‘And I will bring charges against your children’s children'” (Jeremiah 2:8-9). Emphasis added by me.

Does God mean He will punish the children and grandchildren for the sins of their fathers? No, I believe He means for people to understand that the consequences of rebellion and sin will result in living conditions for subsequent generations to also be degraded, as they now are.

He will have to bring those same charges, as they will have been raised up to do the same things with the same consequences.

Consequences:

“‘Your own wickedness will correct you, And your backslidings will rebuke you. Know therefore and see that it is an evil and bitter thing that you have forsaken the Lord your God, And the fear of Me is not in you,’ Says the Lord God of hosts” (Jeremiah 2:19).

Denial and Judgment

“you say, ‘I am innocent; he is not angry with me.’ But I will pass judgment on you because you say, ‘I have not sinned'” (Jeremiah 2:35).

“Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” John Adams

Is America populated by a “moral and religious people”? As a nation, morality is now as rare as hen’s teeth, and it is fading fast. And “religious?” John Adams meant a Christian people, not a cornucopia of conflicting “religions” devised and imagined by feckless humans as a hedge against accountability to the Truth.

“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).

America has wandered far away from that eternal Truth.

“The leaders rebelled against me,” God’s Word says. And we allow them to.

They are not held accountable, so the Fire of Freedom is almost gone.

Here we are in 2023, and the truth of the rebellion against God and rejection of His Messiah, Jesus Christ, that mankind was warned about, has become a terrible reality.

True freedom is being able to reject sin and rebellion: to follow God’s Laws. That requires receiving Jesus Christ as Savior.

(Please see the special message at the end of this article.).

God’s Word tells us of an approaching time when Evil will be allowed to rule over the nations and peoples that have rejected Jesus Christ. The Book of Revelation reveals this time in its frightening reality and makes no attempt to gloss it over.

It is not a frightening reality for those who have received Jesus. He has promised to remove His followers from the earth prior to the unfolding of the final judgment of rebellious man.

I don’t believe there is any hope on a national level for America. God has made it clear in His Word that there comes a point at which a nation is beyond remedy.

“Do not pray for this people or offer any plea or petition for them, because I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their distress” (Jeremiah 11:14). (Companion verses with the same message: Jeremiah 14:11 & 7:16)

Cries of “God Bless America” will not help. How could God bless a nation that has willfully chosen to embrace and even worship rampant sin?

It is sad to have to write these things. We all want to hope that our nation could recover from the morass of evil it has been allowed to fall into, but reality is not optional: It is a self-inflicted wound.

There is Hope, however, and I hope you will take the below message to heart and act on it very soon.

The special message I promised you:

For anyone who may read this article and has not trusted in Jesus Christ and therefore has no hope or peace in your life.

You can have hope. You can have the peace that Jesus has promised to all who have made Him their Lord and Savior. The peace that passes understanding.

It requires that you come before God on His terms.

And, what are His terms according to His Word?

• Genuine repentance (turning to God instead of continuing to reject or ignore Him).
• Confession of sins (that you are a sinner and acknowledge that to God).
• That you understand that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23).
• To acknowledge to God that you are unable to pay that debt.
• Belief that Jesus Christ paid your death sentence for you on the cross.
• To believe that Jesus is the Way, the only Way, that God has established by which humans may be saved from the consequences of their sin and rebellion.

God has made it absolutely clear that there is no one who comes before Him, under His terms, that will be refused.

• No one: no race, no color, no country of origin, regardless of any previous belief system: no one.
• No matter what your past sins have been, God can and WILL forgive you because He says He will.
• Salvation is available to everyone without any exceptions.

If you put all your trust for salvation in Jesus, and Him only, you can follow that prayer up by simply saying, “Thank you, Father God, for hearing my prayer and saving me,” because we can trust Him to keep His Word. He always has. He always will.

“Truly, Truly, I say to you that he who hears My words and believes the One who sent Me has eternal life and will not be condemned. He has crossed from death to life” (John 5:24).

There are no answers and there is no hope in the world by governments, organizations, politics or politicians. There are only lies and deception. But you can have the Truth and the peace you seek.

The answers are in the Word of God—The Bible. If you ask God, with all your heart, He will hear you.

“And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).

Pro Salvator Vigilans

To contact me: canoeman96@gmail.com

The ark of the covenant was kept in the inner sanctum of the Most Holy Place in the tabernacle and the first temple. There was a heavy veil or curtain that separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. The mercy seat was the golden lid that covered the ark. It had two golden cherubim figures on each end that faced one another. “You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the Testimony that I will give you. And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, about everything which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel” (Exodus 25:21-22).

The mercy seat in the tabernacle was where God, in His Shekinah Glory, would speak to Moses or Aaron. “And you shall put it before the veil that is before the ark of the Testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the Testimony, where I will meet with you” (Exodus 30:6). “Now when Moses went into the tabernacle of meeting to speak with Him, he heard the voice of One speaking to him from above the mercy seat that was on the ark of the Testimony, from between the two cherubim; thus He spoke to him” (Numbers 7:89).

The Shekinah Glory of God was always concealed within a cloud when He appeared to the children of Israel. “Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tabernacle of meeting, because the cloud rested above it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Whenever the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle, the children of Israel would go onward in all their journeys. But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not journey till the day that it was taken up. For the cloud of the Lord was above the tabernacle by day, and fire was over it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys” (Exodus 40:34-38).

The “ark” and all the furnishings that were in the tabernacle and later in the temple were patterned after the Most Holy Place in heaven. “As Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle. For He said, See that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain” (Hebrews 8:5). It is thought by most theologians that God is surrounded by cherubim in heaven. The mercy seat represents God’s throne in heaven, where He judges mankind.

After the tabernacle had been set up, anointed, and consecrated, the leaders of the 12 tribes of Israel brought an offering for the dedication of the altar. At the end of the offerings, “Moses went into the tabernacle of meeting to speak with the LORD. He heard the voice of One speaking to him from above the mercy seat that was on the ark of the Testimony, from between the two cherubim; thus He spoke to him” (Numbers 7:89). In 1 Samuel 4:4 and other places, God is described as being enthroned between the cherubim over the ark. Whenever the glory (shekinah) of the Lord filled the tabernacle or the first temple, you can be assured the Lord was above the mercy seat of the ark of the covenant in the Most Holy place.

While in the wilderness, God gave the children of Israel three things that separated them from other nations: the Law, the Levitical system of sacrifice and worship of Yahweh, and His heavenly provision and sustenance in the form of manna. The ark contained three objects that God had given them to signify they were indeed His chosen people (Hebrews 9:4). However, these objects also represented the Hebrew’s rebellion against God. This rebellion was against His word, authority, and law, including the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd commandments (by making the golden calf) and the 5th commandment (not keeping the Sabbath).

Each item represents a particular type of sin committed against God. The first item was the two tablets of stone on which God had written the 10 Commandments. Ironically, the children of Israel violated the first commandment, “You shall have no other gods before me,” before God actually wrote the 10 Commandments on the two tablets of stone. This occurred when Moses went up the mountain to speak with God and the Hebrews pressured Aaron to make them a golden calf idol (Exodus 32). Throughout the ages, Israel proved they were totally incapable of obeying the Lord’s laws.

The second item in the ark was the budded rod of Aaron. This occurred after the rebellion of Korah and about 250 men who rose up and challenged the authority of Moses and Aaron, especially in spiritual matters between the LORD and the children of Israel. After the earth had swallowed Korah and his household and fire devoured the other rebels, Moses gathered 12 rods from the leaders of each tribe and placed them in the tabernacle of meeting in front of the Testimony (mercy seat of the ark) where God met with Moses. The Lord told Moses, “And it shall be that the rod of the man whom I choose will blossom; thus I will rid Myself of the complaints of the children of Israel, which they make against you” (Numbers 17:5).

The next day Moses went into the tabernacle, and sure enough, there was Aaron’s rod which had put forth buds, produced blossoms, and yielded ripe almonds. “And the Lord said to Moses, Bring Aaron’s rod back before the Testimony, to be kept as a sign against the rebels, that you may put their complaints away from Me, lest they die” (Numbers 17:10).

The third item that was kept in the ark was a golden bowl of manna. Manna was a supernatural bread from heaven that God had rained down on the children of Israel when they were in the wilderness. This occurred after the Hebrews had complained to Moses and Aaron (and ultimately God) that they didn’t have meat and bread to eat like they did in the “good old days” in Egypt. The Lord commanded Moses and the people to only gather the manna for six days and not on the Sabbath. The first time the word “Sabbath” is mentioned is in Exodus 16:23, referring to not working on the seventh day by gathering manna. One was not to work when gathering the bread from heaven.

But once again, the children of Israel did not obey the Lord. “Now it happened that some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather, but they found none. And the Lord said to Moses, ‘How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My laws? See! For the Lord has given you the Sabbath; therefore He gives you on the sixth day bread for two days. Let every man remain in his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.’ So the people rested on the seventh day” (Exodus 16:27-30).

These God-given objects were all kept in the ark of the covenant with the mercy seat covering on the top. When God dwelt in the tabernacle (and later the first temple), He resided or appeared in the cloud (Shekinah Glory) above the mercy seat. On the annual Day of Atonement, Aaron or the High Priest at the time would bring the bull of the sin offering, which was for himself, and make atonement for himself and for his house.

“Then he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from the altar before the Lord, with his hands full of sweet incense beaten fine, and bring it inside the veil. And he shall put the incense on the fire before the Lord, that the cloud of incense may cover the mercy seat that is on the Testimony, lest he die. He shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the mercy seat on the east side; and before the mercy seat he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times” (Leviticus 16:12-14).

Once Aaron (and later his lineage) was appointed High Priest, the LORD gave Moses the instructions for the Day of Atonement, which was to be an annual event. On this day, Aaron would offer blood sacrifices for himself and the children of Israel. Here is what happened on that first day of Atonement: “Then Aaron lifted his hand toward the people, blessed them, and came down from offering the sin offering, the burnt offering, and peace offerings. And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of meeting, and came out and blessed the people. Then the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people, and fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. When all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces” (Leviticus 9:22-24).

Of course, the Levitical High Priest performing his duties on the annual Day of Atonement is a typology of the High Priest in heaven (not of the Levites but of the order of Melchizedek), Jesus Christ, making intercession before God for the sins of the “saints” on earth. The “cloud” of smokey incense represents the cloud of God which accompanies His Shekinah Glory. Sprinkling the blood on and around the mercy seat “seven times” represents Jesus’ holy blood, as seven represents spiritual perfection and completeness. This is, however, where the typology ends. Jesus does not need to offer His blood on the mercy seat in heaven. It is “by” His blood as the sacrificial Lamb of God, which was offered only one time on the cross, that sins are forgiven. The rituals of the Day of Atonement do not need to be repeated every year in heaven. Atonement was achieved at the cross.

So, what’s in the ark of the covenant in heaven? I believe it is empty, except for one thing… Grace. God’s grace is granted to those who have faith. “But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for “the just shall live by faith” (Galatians 3:11). The old covenant of the Law, represented by the objects in the ark on earth, have been replaced by the new covenant of grace. The 10 Commandments written on the two tablets of stone have been replaced by the new covenant of Jesus Christ. The budding rod of Aaron, which represents the Levitical priesthood, has been replaced by the order of Melchizedek’s priesthood, namely Jesus the Christ. The bowl of manna has been replaced by the true bread from heaven, Jesus Christ. He will supply all our needs.

The High Priest, Jesus, does not need to place any blood on the mercy seat, for the blood of atonement has already been shed on the cross, once and for all. Our sins – past, present, and future – are not only “covered up,” they are forgiven and forgotten forever. “For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. As a father pities his children, So the LORD pities those who fear Him” (Psalm 103:11-13).

“Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all (as it is written, ‘I have made you a father of many nations’) in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did; who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, ‘So shall your descendants be'” (Romans 4:16-18).

We will examine Jesus’ blood atonement more closely in my next article.

Randy Nettles

rgeanie55@gmail.com

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