America has gone from the penthouse to the outhouse in a historically short time.  From God’s shining light to the generator of spiritual darkness, America the Beautiful has become a dark shell of her illustrious past by becoming the international leader in sin and degradation.  Let us turn to God’s Holy Word for an explanation as to how America the Beautiful became America the Ugly and how she can return to what she once was and was always meant to be.

For the explanation as to how God’s light became Satan’s darkness we turn to Second Chronicles chapters six and seven.  Let us do so now . In chapter six we find that Solomon has built the Temple for God that his father, David, wanted to build.  Solomon went to great extent to build God’s House with the best of everything.  Following its completion, he blessed it with prayer and sacrifices and topped off the ceremony by placing the Ark of the Covenant within it.  In his prayer of dedication (6:1-42) Solomon made numerous statements of Truth.  We will focus on verses 24-31 initially in that these verses lay out the Truths that God Himself would later speak in reply to the King’s prayer.  Please read Solomon’s words in verses 24-31.

In response to Solomon’s prayer God sent fire down from heaven which consumed the sacrifices and burnt offerings that had been placed on the alter.  This was His way of saying “amen”–meaning “So be it.”  When the people of Israel saw what had happened they bowed with their faces to the floor and worshiped the Almighty.

At this time I want to remind the readers that God’s true saints are now His Temple (1 Cor. 3:16,17/ 2 Cor. 6:16).  He no longer uses a building made with hands as His spiritual abode.  His Very Elect are His Temple in whom He and His Son abide in the form of Their Holy Spirit.  This is the place where He is always in charge, where His people not only live, but where they worship Him night and day and show their love for Him by obeying His Law as commanded in John 14:15,23 and 15:10.  God’s true saints not only love Father and Son, they are IN LOVE WITH THEM.  This kind of love is all-consuming.  Everything else in life is just everything else.  The Godhead is not number one; the Godhead is the ONLY ONE.  While on earth as a man, Jesus of Nazareth had to obey God’s Words in order to prove His love for Him and to remain at one with Him.  What God says about the Temple that was in Jerusalem must be applied to His modern day Temple that can be found throughout the earth–wherever His people live.

In 7:12-15 we find Ezra–the writer of both First and Second Chronicles–writing about Solomon’s meeting with the Lord after the Temple was completed.  In these verses Ezra notes that God appeared to Solomon during the night and told him that He (God) would take up residence in the Temple (the saint’s heart today).  Let us now examine verses 13 through 15, for they contain Truths that every true seeker of Salvation must know and take to heart.

“If I shut up heaven ….”  Note in verse 13 Who is the One Who brings drought upon the land of Israel, Who sends locusts to destroy Israel’s crops and Who sends disease epidemics upon the people.  Note that it is God Himself who pours out His wrath on those whom He calls “My people.”  Anciently this meant the Israelites in the Promised Land.  Today the expression refers to “the church, the Israel of God” (Gal. 6:16) and the nations in which they dwell and dominate.

Now the question is why God would do such things to His own people.  He tells us in verse 14 where He says that IF His people–those who are called by His name (today called “Christians”)–would humble themselves before Him, pray, seek His face and TURN FROM THEIR WICKED WAYS ….”  But wait, aren’t ALL who are called by His name, who congregate in His name, who sings songs extolling Him, who preach and hear His Word, who carry Bibles and wear crosses ….  Aren’t they ALL His people?  Sadly, no.  Only a tiny remnant are truly His people.  These are they whom He calls His “remnant,” His “little flock,” His “nation of priests.”  These are His true saints (holy ones) who comprise His true church (called out ones) who believe and obey His Word ….  Only these are His true people.  All others in “the church” are counterfeit Christians.  Read First Peter 4:17 which was written to and about the church, not about people outside the church.  Also read All That Glitters.  Key word–Glitters.  Note in Peter’s epistle that only one caliber of “Christian” will be saved–“THE RIGHTEOUS,” and they JUST BARELY.  Learn this and learn it well: GOD IS A STRICT, COMMANDING DICTATER.  A DICTATER IS OBEYED IMPLICITLY AND EXPLICITLY.  He commands that sinners repent and turn from their sinful ways.  He does not accept those in the church’s sin-repent, sin-repent cycle.  GOD DECLARES THAT ONLY AFTER WE HAVE REPENTED AND PERMANTLY TURNED FROM SIN would He hear the prayers of those whom He calls “My people” (vs 15).

As was the case with ancient Israel, there is today A church within THE church.  Peter makes it clear that the vast majority of those within THE CHURCH are in fact in a separate church within A CHURCH.  He makes it clear that those in His tiny remnant church must eventually separate from the false Christians and remain separate from them.  Read Second Corinthians 6:14-7:1.  There is coming a time, and soon, when one will be known by which church one is a part of–either A church or THE church.  Those in THE (God’s obedeiant) church will be openly hated and discriminated against by those in A (the false) church comprised of two main parts–Catholic and Protestant.  God’s people will be forced to leave their native lands and go to “her (the church’s) place” where they will be protected while the rest of the world explodes around them (Rev. 12:6,14).  This will take place just before what is Scripturally called the Great Tribulation (Mat. 24:21/ Rev. 2:22) and the Great and Terrible Day of the Lord (Mal. 4:5/ Rev. 6:19)–the 3 1/2 year period following God’s removal of His people to a place of safety.  Following this time of terror, destruction and death, Jesus will return “with salvation in His wings” and will establish the Kingdom of God in the land He promised Abraham’s spiritual descendants.  He will resurrect His true saints and take them to that place from which He and they will rule and reign (Rev. 5:10; 20:6; 22:5).

Verse 13 explains what has happened to the once great nation called The United States of America.  Verse 14 explains WHY God has cursed her with her present condition and WHAT she must do to remove His curses from her.  Verse 15 explains why 99% of church prayers are not answered–THEY ARE NOT HEARD.  Church sins have caused Him to place an iron dome over those who voice them (Lev. 26:19), all of whom are in “the church.”  Note also that He would turn their land into brass through droughts, floods, heat, cold, hail, insect infestations, root rot, etc.

America the ugly has brought everything she is experiencing on herself.  It is America herself that must learn, believe and obey verse 14 in order to be healed.  As He said in Exo. 15:26: “I am your God Who heals you” (IF ….)  L.J.