God will hear the cries for justice – but will we?

It seems that our divided, weakened, chaotic Government is able to unite, occasionally, over things that really matter. Like matters of life and death. Last week, the Commons voted overwhelmingly to pass a measure which included the imposition of legalised homosexuality and abortion on Northern Ireland, where a strong biblical stance on the latter has hitherto saved 100,000 lives.

This week, despite impassioned speeches from pro-life peers and outcry from tens of thousands of Northern Irish citizens, the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation) Bill passed through the House of Lords with ease, including a further amendment from Baroness Barker agreeing even more relaxed abortion rules. The amended version was passed by the Commons on Thursday, 328 to 65.

The bill was intended to allow more time for Stormont to reconvene its devolved government, but has been hijacked to serve both pro-abortion and LGBTQ+ agendas. Taking advantage of Stormont’s political crisis, politicians in Westminster have displayed utter contempt for devolution by taking Northern Ireland’s social matters into their own hands (an amendment to give members of Stormont a say was not passed).

In a display of flagrant political opportunism, our MPs have fast-tracked through Parliament the imposition of one of the world’s most extreme abortion laws on Northern Ireland presumably because, like the BBC and the rest of the metropolitan liberal class – they genuinely believe they are morally right. They have a duty, in the ominous words of the BBC, to make sure that Northern Ireland is ‘brought into line’ with the rest of the UK.¹ They must ‘force the people to be free’.

On the Altar

Two biblical incidents have come to mind in these last few days as I have been pondering this truly terrible state of affairs. One is the infamous time in the history of Judah when the nation had degenerated to such an extent that even the kings began to sacrifice their children in pagan fire – affirming a practice for which Israel had already been judged (2 Kings 17:17) and which the Lord detests.

Both Ahaz and Manasseh sacrificed their sons to the Canaanite god Molech (see 2 Kings 16, 21), incinerating them just as today’s aborted babies are incinerated, looking to safeguard their own prosperity just as today’s parents choose abortion because children are considered too expensive, too inconvenient.

These kings provoked the Lord’s fierce anger and helped to seal his judgment upon Judah, with the promise that Jerusalem would be wiped out “as one wipes out a bowl – wiping it and turning it upside-down” (2 Kings 21:10-15, 23:26).

Both Ahaz and Manasseh provoked the Lord’s fierce anger and helped to seal his judgment on Judah by sacrificing their sons.

If this was the case for God’s covenant nation, how much more is judgment inevitable for Britain? To the Lord “a day is as a thousand years and a thousand years are like a day” (2 Pet 3:8). Here children have been sacrificed on the same altar of convenience and prosperity for more than 50 years – and now we are exporting this detestable practice around the world – not just to Northern Ireland, but to poorer nations through our international aid and development programmes.²

Cries Drowned Out

When children were sacrificed in the flames to Molech, priests standing around the family would bang and clap, making so much noise that the child’s screams were drowned out.³ Just so today, the moral claims of the unborn are being drowned out by a cacophony of voices affirming to parents that they are doing the right thing – that it is their right to choose.

Meanwhile, the majority of people in the UK (who support a reduction in the upper limit for abortion, not its extension) are also being distracted from the cries of the unborn by a chattering, chaotic media class determined to keep all the focus on Brexit, on money matters, on Trump, on climate change, on sport…on anything else, really. “‘But I have been watching!’ declares the Lord” (Jer 7:11).

Your Brother’s Blood

This brings me to the second passage that has been on my mind this week: the story of Cain and Abel. Abel may not have been murdered in the womb, but he was murdered in secret, where his screams could not be heard, and by a blood relative, Cain. Adam and Eve may not have witnessed the attack, but the Lord saw, and the Lord heard:

Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”

“I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

The LORD said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. (Genesis 4:9-11, emphasis added)

The word used for ‘cries out’ in this passage is the same word that is used to describe the Israelites crying out to God for deliverance from Egyptian slavery and from the oppression of the Canaanites. It connotes a screaming out for justice, for help, for intervention. In that vein, it is also the word used to describe the summoning of fighting men to go to war (e.g. Judg 7:23, 10:17) – a rousing call for aid in a time of distress. The implication in the story of Abel is clear – the spilling of innocent blood shrieks out to God’s sense of justice, summoning a fierce response.

As our MPs and peers casually nod through contemptible, murderous legislation, you can be sure that the blood of the innocent will scream out to the Lord – and that it has been doing so, from British soil, since 1967. How long will the Lord delay his response? Surely the chaotic turmoil of our current Parliament is the very least that we deserve – and likely only the beginning of judgment to come.

The blood of the innocent has been screaming out to the Lord from British soil since 1967.

Saving Souls

Elsewhere in this week’s issue of Prophecy Today, our editorial comments on the importance of Britain changing her attitude towards Israel and taking opportunities to confess our historic failure to support the Jewish people. This is indeed of vital importance to our nation’s future. But before God, do we not also deserve to be torn apart for what we are doing to these little ones – and for all the other ways in which sin is being allowed to pervade and corrupt our culture? If we supported Israel wholeheartedly, but did not repent in these matters, would he let us go unpunished?

For Christians, juggling these various claims on our prayers can be overwhelming. But the final point that needs to be made is this: the Gospel must head up our struggle for truth in all of these areas. Without the Gospel, we are fighting a losing battle on every issue – from abortion to freedom of speech, from sexuality to euthanasia.

“You have one business on earth,” said John Wesley to his fellow Methodists, “to save souls”. How much was Britain’s godly culture a wonderful outflow of the evangelical labours of such as Wesley? Conserving its last vestiges may buy us some time, but we cannot recoup what has been lost without true revival touching this land once again. This means not just political activism on our part, but Gospel witness. If the cries of the blood of the innocent do not galvanise us to this end, what will?

References

1 See here.

2 E.g. see here and here.

3 According to the Midrash.

Far from it – it is time to reclaim our Christian heritage.

One unexpected fallout of the General Election has been the question about how Christians can, without compromise, serve in Parliament.

With the conservative, Protestant DUP party potentially entering Government with an influence far beyond their small number of ten MPs and the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, Tim Farron, resigning so as not to compromise his faith, much is being said. But can we not also discern the voice of God in all this?

Actually, there is a clear answer to this question that is easily lost in our peer-pressured, politically correct, compromising society. In a nutshell, true Christianity should be at the heart of the government of the UK, with no divide between politics and Christianity.

Sworn Duty

We do not have a written constitution, such as in the USA. If we did, the clear role of Government would be to interpret and defend the constitution. What we have, however, is potentially better.

Over many centuries, since the days of Alfred the Great, our four-nation Union has developed a balance of laws and customs that define our constitutional framework of Monarchy, Church and Government. This framework is intended to be reflected in our laws, education, finance and business structures.

When MPs enter Parliament they are required to take an oath or affirmation of allegiance, known as ‘swearing in’. The exact wording can be found here.

The oath or affirmation is either in the name of Almighty God (the oath) or a statement of honour (the affirmation) to “be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, her heirs and successors, according to law.”

True Christianity should be at the heart of the government of the UK.

When we consider the constitutional position that is defined by the Monarch’s own Coronation Oath, surely the allegiance declared by MPs is to uphold what the Monarch stands for. If she had not taken the Oath she would not, by law, have been crowned Queen – that is how important this is. As we have said in other articles in Prophecy Today, central to the Coronation Oath is the commitment “to the utmost of power to maintain the Laws of God and the true profession of the Gospel” (for the wording of the entire Oath click here).

In short, the duty of every member of the Lords and Commons is to test every aspect of UK governance against the Queen’s commitment before God “to the utmost of power to maintain the Laws of God and the true profession of the Gospel”! Every successive Government must interpret our constitutional position and every MP must measure what he or she is promising when standing for and taking office, against this one benchmark: that by law Britain is a Christian nation and the MPs’ vow is to uphold this position!

Far from Christian MPs struggling over conscience issues to serve in Parliament, the entire conscience of the nation should be measured by the biblical interpretation of all that is done in both Houses. This is especially so since the Monarch’s power has been restricted to a largely advisory capacity and, at the strongest (apart from the power she has over her own hand to sign in new laws!), to warning the Prime Minister during their regular meetings.

Tim Farron: A Case in Point

Tim Farron. See Photo Credits.

Obviously, however, for the past 50 years the UK has been subjected to a powerful process of secularisation which has undermined our biblical heritage.

Look at the issue of Tim Farron. When he was asked whether or not homosexual sex acts were sinful he should have said “yes they are sinful” – and so should all MPs, not based on their own views or party lines, but based on clear interpretation of biblical principles into all matters of governance. This is the responsibility MPs have taken under oath - not a matter of personal opinion.

The allegiance sworn by MPs is to uphold what the Monarch stands for – that which she promised in her Coronation Oath.

It is up to the individual who performs such acts of sexuality to face up to Almighty God, who has declared his principles clearly through his word, but is also full of grace for any repentant sinner. It is for politicians to ensure that laws are in place which protect the vulnerable in society and to bring in educational strategies that help our children to have a conscience framed on biblical principles.

Anything less is a breaking of our constitutional position made before Almighty God. Is it any wonder, with successive governments failing in their oaths and commitments to God, that we are facing the situation in our nation where God’s hand of protection is being withdrawn, with horrendous and escalating consequences?

Defining Our National Character

In the House of Lords there are 26 bishops, including the Archbishops of Canterbury and York. They are termed the ‘Lords Spiritual’. It is their right to serve and their role to bring biblical insight to bear on every issue before them. This is where we must hear a clear declaration and reminder of the laws of God and the true profession of the Gospel, to help all other Members of Parliament be clear on direction.

Many non-conformists in the UK may have long since ceased to think that the Christian faith can be central to the political workings of the nation, but until the Coronation Oath itself is liberalised, this is not so.

Until that time, by law and custom, politics and the Christian faith (albeit expressed chiefly through the Established Church) should be seamlessly connected in the governance of our nation. Christianity should define the character of the United Kingdom. God knows this and that is what he expects – no less. Every Government bill, every debate in the parliamentary chambers, every discussion between Prime Minister and Monarch, every prayer meeting in Parliament, should be centred on interpreting biblical principles accurately into the life of the nation.

Our Responsibility

This is why we have 26 bishops in the House of Lords. They are there to declare the word of the Lord and to give biblical advice to MPs as they make the laws of the land. But do we ever hear the word of the Lord declared by any of the bishops? It is so rare that it would no doubt be headline news in the media!

Until the Coronation Oath itself is liberalised, the Christian faith should be central to the political workings of the nation.

If the Church is silent on the great issues of the day, how can we expect MPs to know the standards of righteousness required to conform to biblical teaching? In ancient Israel the Lord held the religious leaders responsible for the state of the nation. “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock” (Ezek 34:10).

We all have a responsibility to pray for those in authority and in a democracy we have the right and the ability to make our views known to our representatives in Parliament. The whole Church, therefore, not just the bishops, shares the responsibility for the state of the nation. This is a sobering thought! Are we, individually, doing all we can to make the word of the Lord heard in the United Kingdom?

This is not a call for some dry religiosity to descend on our nation, but for us to return to God so that he will protect us in all our ways, restoring a tangible peace and security to the UK. Herein is our prosperity and our commission to serve one another. Herein is the protection of our borders, our care for the elderly and vulnerable, the future and hope for our children - and principles whereby we can avert the tragedies that are currently besetting us.

British politicians seek ‘way of peace’, but are back in appeasing mode.

British politicians are once again demonstrating the moral confusion that has seen them pass so many laws contradicting the biblical precepts upon which our civilisation was based. The latest example is the suggestion from an influential House of Lords committee that the UK Government recognise a new state of Palestine.

In a report titled The Middle East: Time for New Realism, published on Israel’s Independence Day,¹ the upper house’s International Relations Committee (chaired by former Conservative cabinet minister David Howell) called for the government to “give serious consideration to now recognising Palestine as a state, as the best way to show its determined attachment to the two-state solution”.

And the relevant paragraph was prefixed by the extraordinary statement that “the balance of power in the delivery of peace lies with Israel”.²

Yet the Palestinians have repeatedly made clear their commitment – not to the two-state solution so precious to Western leaders, but to a single-state solution with Israel driven out of the region altogether. PA president Mahmoud Abbas and his rivals in Gaza, Hamas, want all of it; that is why they refuse to recognise the Jewish state!³

The Palestinians have repeatedly made clear their commitment – not to the two-state solution, but to a single-state solution with Israel driven out of the region.

Surely – judging from their oft-repeated comments over the years – it is obvious to anyone with a semblance of elementary education (Lord Howell went to Eton) that these men do not want peace, but rather a jihad (holy war) against the ‘infidel’ seed of Abraham!

The ancient ruins of a synagogue at Capernaum undermine the Palestinian narrative about land.Promises of Peace

The report does not specify where the borders of this new state should be drawn, or even who should run it – Fatah, in charge of the West Bank (Judea and Samaria) in the guise of the Palestinian Authority, or Hamas, who run a chaotic Gaza; factions which are constantly at loggerheads with each other. What kind of stable society will that produce?

The report also suggests that Britain work with Iran, despite current US policy, “to ensure the stability of the Iran nuclear deal”, adding: “That would be a way of peace in a region needing stability.”

Oh really! Such potential treachery has echoes of 1938, when Neville Chamberlain returned from Germany promising “peace in our time”. Have we learnt nothing in the past 80 years; that appeasement with dictators doesn’t work, for instance? In the case of the Munich meeting, it only further encouraged Hitler in his madness and hastened the death of some 50 million people!

Palestinian Pressure

Meanwhile the British Government has rightly refused persistent requests by the Palestinians to apologise for the Balfour Declaration which, 100 years ago this November, promised to do all in its power to enable Jews to re-settle their ancient homeland.

Such requests suggest that the Jews should never have been allowed to return to the region, which is in fact exactly what the Palestinians think. But instead of giving the Palestinians short shrift while fully backing Jewish aspirations, we keep kowtowing to international demands for endless peace talks which only ever seem to produce more conflict.

The British Government has rightly refused persistent requests by the Palestinians to apologise for the Balfour Declaration.

Israel withdrew from Gaza under international pressure, for example, in one of these so-called ‘land for peace’ deals. And what was the result? A continuous volley of rocket fire into Israeli territory.

Britain’s Historic Failures

We certainly have no need to apologise for the Balfour Declaration. But we do need to apologise for repeatedly going back on our word in subsequent years, as we betrayed the Jews again and again – firstly, by giving the bulk of the land we originally promised them to the Arabs (now Jordan) and then by persecuting them in various ways during Britain’s Mandate of the territory then known as Palestine, particularly by restricting Jewish immigration (to appease the Arabs) at a time when they could have done with a bolthole from Nazi threats.

Then, shamefully, we abstained in the 1947 UN vote to recognise the new state. And it was around this time (70 years ago this summer) that, quite disgracefully, we turned away Holocaust survivors from the port of Haifa, sending some of them back to Displaced Persons’ Camps in Germany, of all places.

For such treatment we should hang our heads in sorrow and shame. Among the dozens of refugee ships turned back in this way by the Royal Navy was the Exodus, with over 4,500 on board, mostly Holocaust survivors. Boarding the ship in international waters, the British killed three and wounded many more.

We have no need to apologise for the Balfour Declaration - but we do need to apologise for repeatedly going back on our word in subsequent years.

Leading the Way of Repentance

I’m glad to report that, two years ago, such sorrow and shame was expressed on our behalf by a group of some 100 British people, including Col Richard Kemp and Rev Alex Jacob.⁴ They travelled out to Israel for an event at Haifa and Atlit (location of one of the camps) where they asked forgiveness for our action from a similar sized group of Israelis, many of whom had suffered under the Mandate.

We do need to apologise – but not for the Balfour Declaration which, to quote journalist Melanie Phillips, was “the high-water mark of British decency towards the Jewish people. But it’s been downhill all the way…ever since”.⁵

Notes

1 Also on Independence Day, UNESCO (the UN’s Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) voted – by 23 votes to 22 – to adopt a resolution denying Israeli claims to Jerusalem. Britain voted against it.

2 Recognise Palestine State says Lords. Christian Voice, 2 May 2017.

3 Hamas has unambiguously stated that “there is no solution for the Palestinian question except through jihad”. And senior PA official Jibril Rajoub has emphasised that “all of Palestine, from the river (Jordan) to the sea (Mediterranean), it’s all occupied,” clearly implying that he does not accept Israel’s right to exist under any borders. Taken from Peace in Jerusalem by Charles Gardner, olivepresspublisher.com, pp143-149.

Reports that Hamas intends to remove the call for Israel’s destruction from a new policy document have sceptics suggesting it is merely a ploy to improve relations with Egypt and the Gulf states.

4 Richard Kemp is a retired British Army officer, best-selling author and fervent supporter of Israel. Alex Jacob is CEO of the Church’s Ministry among the Jewish people (CMJ).

5 Phillips, M. As I see it: The British Foreign Office remains true to type. Jerusalem Post, 27 April 2017.