What are we to make of the Prime Minister's gaffe?

The Prime Minister's gaffe (or was it deliberate?) had some unexpected consequences. He said that Nigeria was a "fantastically corrupt nation" - not the most diplomatic way of preparing for a conference on combating corruption that he himself was to chair!

The Prime Minister of Nigeria was already in London for the conference but he wisely rejected calls for an apology.

Acknowledging that there is widespread corruption in his country, he said that he would prefer the return of assets in London bought through the proceeds of money-laundering.

First, Remove the Plank...

Millions of dollars and pounds have been stolen from government funds in Nigeria by corrupt officials and politicians and squirrelled away into foreign assets, including mega London property deals. This has been going on for decades with the full knowledge of the Nigerian Government and financial authorities in London.

It is surely an embarrassment to David Cameron to be faced with these facts when hosting a conference seeking to combat corruption: especially following the recent revelations in the 'Panama Papers' which showed that his own family had used the services of offshore banking provided in British colonies.

Nigeria's President would surely be justified in quoting the little parable that Jesus used of the man who wanted to remove the speck of dust in someone else's eye when he had a plank in his own eye (Matt 7:3)! Britain's role as the oldest democracy in the Commonwealth should be that of assisting the newly democratised nations struggling to establish stability and righteous government.

London's complicity in Nigeria's corruption is an embarrassment – Buhari would be justified in asking Britain to remove the plank from their own eye before accusing Nigeria.

Cameron and Buhari at this week's anti-corruption conference, London. See Photo CreditsNigeria's History of Corruption

Nigeria has a history of political instability and corruption. In its short life since independence in 1960 there have been 10 military presidents – six of whom were either assassinated or deposed in a military coup. The first democratically elected president was in 1999 when Olusegun Obasanjo came to power. A devout Christian, his stated aim was to alleviate poverty, reduce government corruption and establish a democratic system that would bring stability to the nation.

Sadly, his efforts to stamp out corruption in government were met with fierce opposition from MPs, including members of his own Government who expected to benefit from government contracts and a wide range of backhanders and personal benefits. The politicians even attempted to impeach the President as they did not like his authoritarian style of imposing reforms upon Parliament.

On my first visit to Nigeria back in the 1980s I was shocked to be stopped by police at a roadblock as we were driving out of Lagos only to be told by my driver that if I did not include some money inside my passport when I handed it over for inspection, we could be sitting in the roadblock for hours. I refused to do so and we were eventually allowed to leave. My driver went on to explain that every civil servant and minor official expected a reward for any transaction - such as applying for a passport, which could be delayed for months unless the clerical officer was rewarded.

Nigeria has a history of political instability and corruption that affects the country today at all levels.

Obasanjo also attempted to deal with religious and ethnic strife, which increased considerably during his presidency when the Muslim-dominated Northern states introduced sharia law. During the presidency of his successor, Goodluck Johnson, radicalism increased and led to the atrocities of Boko Haram and the abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls who have never been found.

The current president Muhammadu Buhari said that David Cameron was right in describing Nigeria as "fantastically corrupt".¹ The scale of corruption is astonishing. Last week Nigerian Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo said that an estimated $15 billion (£10 billion) of government money had been stolen through corrupt arms contracts under the previous Government - and in March this year, an official audit found that Nigeria's state-owned oil company had failed to pay the Government $25 billion which had fraudulently disappeared.²

Corruption Endemic Globally

Unmasking corruption is becoming a worldwide movement as whistleblowers and justice campaigners seek to promote transparency in business and politics and social relationships.

According to Transparency International, more than 6 billion people live in countries that are seriously affected by corruption – which is most of the world's population!³ They say that 68% of countries worldwide have a serious corruption problem which includes about half of the members of the G20, and not a single nation in the world is entirely free of corruption.⁴

A campaign group Unmask the Corrupt says that corruption is "the abuse of high-level power that benefits the few at the expense of the many and causes serious and widespread harm to individuals and society."⁵

According to Transparency International, more than 6 billion people live in countries that are seriously affected by corruption – that's most of the world's population!

What the Bible Says

The Bible is full of condemnation of those who misuse their power and oppress the poor and the powerless. The Prophet Isaiah slams those who turn the moral law upside down, "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness...Woe to those who acquit the guilty for a bribe but deny justice to the innocent" (Isa 5:20-23).

Some of the harshest words Jesus spoke are directed against those who carefully fulfil religious ritual requirements but neglect what he described as "the more important matters" of God's teaching – "justice, mercy and faithfulness". He condemned their actions as those of hypocrites: "You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence" (Matt 23:23-25).

The prophets and Jesus all speak of a time coming when God will deal with the greed and injustice of humanity by shaking everything that we count as important – all the things we have established, such as our democracy, our banks and great finance houses, our pension funds, our National Health Service, our justice system, our armies with their nuclear warheads poised to spread destruction across the earth – all the things in which we put our trust!

Some of the harshest words Jesus spoke were directed against those who act religiously but neglect justice and mercy.

God revealed to the Prophet Isaiah that there would come a day when he would deal with all the pride and arrogance of human beings (Isa 2:12-22) and that this would actually be a demonstration of God's justice. He says "So man will be brought low and mankind humbled, the eyes of the arrogant humbled. But the Lord Almighty will be exalted by his justice, and the Holy God will show himself holy by his righteousness" (Isa 5:15-16).

Isaiah's Apocalyptic Vision

In Isaiah 24 the Prophet describes what will happen when God rises to deal with the wickedness of human beings. It does not make pleasant reading. Earlier generations of biblical scholars used to say that this was 'apocalyptic language' – it was 'visionary imagination' which could never become a reality. But today we know that the arsenal of nuclear weapons possessed by the nations could in fact fulfil the description in Isaiah 24:19: "the earth is broken up, the earth is split asunder, the earth is thoroughly shaken..."

We do not know whether this prophetic vision is given as a warning to humanity or whether it will actually happen at some time. The one thing we do know is that human beings are capable of violent and irrational behaviour and that the nations are armed with incredible weapons of mass destruction. If the North Koreans join the nuclear club the prospects of world peace become increasingly problematic.

Perhaps the London Conference seeking to find ways of combating corruption has greater significance for the future of humanity on this earth than most of us realise. This is surely food for thought – and prayer!

References

1 Nigerian President Buhari 'not demanding' Cameron apology. BBC News, 12 May 2016.

2 Ibid.

3 Corruption Perceptions Index, 2015. Transparency International.

4 Ibid.

5 UnmasktheCorrupt.org.

The Government's propaganda may put people off, or it may deceive them - just as the nation was deceived in the 1975 EU Referendum.

British people dislike bullies. We have a strong sense of fair play and on big issues we like to weigh the evidence and make up our own minds. We are an island people and we value our independence. We do not like being bullied. This is why the huge pressure being put upon the electorate by the Government and their overseas friends, international leaders, big business corporations and bankers may prove to be counter-productive.

The Government promised to help the undecided by publishing the facts. Instead, they have spent £9 million on a blatant piece of propaganda trying to persuade us to stay in the European Union. The front page title of the booklet gives the game away. It says nothing about a presentation of the facts. Its title is "Why the Government believes that voting to remain in the European Union is the best decision for the UK". It then states "The UK has secured a special status in the reformed EU".

We should surely be entitled to ask, what 'special status'? And in what way is the EU 'reformed'? Are the British people once again being deceived by lies from powerful politicians - as we were 40 years ago?

More Deception?

What is happening today looks very similar to how we were tricked into entered the European Union. Ted Heath, the Prime Minister who did the original deal in 1973, readily admitted before he died that he had lied to Parliament and to the British people because he knew that we were not simply joining a trading group but that the intention was always to work towards the formation of a United States of Europe in which we would all lose our sovereign identity.¹

This fact was deliberately kept hidden from the British public when we voted at the 1975 referendum on whether or not we should stay in the 'European Economic Community' ('Common Market') as it was then described. In those days it was largely a trading group with nine member states, whereas today the EU is a very different beast, with 28 members in a tightly regulated organisation bound by treaties, such as Maastricht and Lisbon, and controlled by an unelected Commission backed by an enormous bureaucracy, with institutions such as the European Parliament and the European Court of Justice exercising enormous power over our own parliament and legal courts.

In 1975, we were asked to vote on whether we should stay in a small trading group of nine countries. Today, the EU is a very different beast.

When the Maastricht Treaty was being negotiated there were attempts by churches to get some reference to the Judaeo-Christian heritage of Europe but this was strongly resisted by secular humanists, who prevailed.² The resultant European Union is not only deliberately a godless - in fact, God-denying - organisation, but it is also systemically corrupt, as demonstrated by the fact that it has not been able to persuade the auditors to endorse its accounts for at least the past five years.³ In this country, if a company were in that situation they would not only be prosecuted but they would not be allowed to continue in business.

Miracles in the Past

So how should Christians decide on such an important issue? We surely have to recognise the moral and spiritual battle for the soul of Britain that is involved in the present referendum debate. Christians need to know what God is saying to us, not least by looking at the recent history of Britain in a biblical context. This enables us to understand the purposes of God and what he requires of a nation with a strong Judaeo-Christian heritage such as Britain's.

There are still many people in the older generation who remember that God worked a miracle at Dunkirk in 1940, saving our army from annihilation and giving us victory in the Battle of Britain in the skies. Even Churchill acknowledged in Parliament that it Dunkirk was a "miracle of deliverance".⁴ Those were days when the whole nation turned to prayer.

It was also at a time of national prayer that Hitler took the irrational decision not to invade Britain. It is now recognised that if the German invasion had taken place in 1940 nothing could have stopped them conquering Britain. Dad's Army would no doubt have fought valiantly but German Panzer tanks would have been rolling down Whitehall within days. 

When a nation puts its destiny in the hands of God it can expect miracles to happen. It has happened in the past and it can happen again today – if there is a sufficiently strong believing remnant in the country.

When a nation puts its destiny in the hands of God it can expect miracles to happen. It has happened in the past and it can happen again today.

Opportunity for the Remnant

Of course we know that as a nation we have spurned our spiritual heritage: we have passed many ungodly laws and we no longer deserve to be called a Christian nation. But there is undoubtedly a strong remnant of believers in the older generation and there are many indications of young people coming to faith in Jesus – possibly in reaction to the mess their unbelieving parents have made of the nation. It is the middle generation who are missing in many churches up and down the country today.

Believing Christians know that as a nation we deserve judgement but we also know the love and mercy of God who has given a solemn promise, "If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned" (Jer 18:7).

The Referendum debate is bringing believing Christians to prayer throughout the country. Many prayer meetings are organised for this weekend, St George's Day, 23 April, and many more are planned between now and 23 June. These prayer meetings give us a chance to seek the Lord and know what he is saying to the nation so that we can pray in line with God's will and vote accordingly.

Word on the EU, 2015

We have already nailed our colours to the mast in this magazine but we know many Christians who are still undecided. We respect their integrity and we therefore encourage them to join other Christians in prayer where they can spend time spreading the whole issue before the Lord who will surely answer in clarity.

If you have not yet decided which way to vote, we encourage you to join with others in prayer and spread the issue before the Lord.

Alongside this article we are printing a prophecy from David Noakes that has already been widely circulated. I was with him when he received this prophecy towards the end of last year. David and I have been close friends and colleagues since the early days of the old printed magazine, Prophecy Today.

We have shared a platform at hundreds of meetings over the years and I have heard him prophesy many times, but I have never heard him bring a word that is as directional as this. In publishing it today, please understand that we are not saying that this is a direct word from the Lord. We offer it in love and humility to our fellow believers for weighing and testing, and we offer it as part of the process of seeking the word of the Lord for Britain today.

References

1 E.g. Quote from PRO/FCO 30/789, Sub-committee of official committee on monetary aspects of UK entry to EEC, 1970. The Heath Government's positive response: PRO/CAB 164/771, Informal talks with the European Commission and the exchange of views with member countries during the negotiation period, 1970.

2 E.g. Anderson, MJ. Ungodly Ways: The Dark Side of the European Union. CRISIS Magazine, 1 June 2003.

3 Waterfield, B and Dominiczak, P. EU auditors refuse to sign off more than £100billion of its own spending. The Telegraph, 4 November 2014.

4 Speech to the House of Commons, 4 June 1940. Transcript available via The Churchill Society.

Press hype, or more serious?

The poet John Donne wrote "No man is an iland, intire of it selfe; every man is a peece of the Continent, a part of the maine". While considering the revelations in the Panama Papers of secret financial arrangements to avoid (legally or otherwise) payment of income tax, the natural reaction of many might be, 'Here we go again, corruption and greed in high places'. Once again we are swept along in a tide of press-fed indignation against the rich and privileged.

Well, yes, but Christians have a responsibility to step back and take a much wider view of the subject and its background because, as the poet might have said, the Panama revelations are but a piece of the whole. What is this 'whole'? It is the evidence all around us of mankind's inherent greed and corruption, his desire to conform to standards set at the Fall (now taken as norms) that he sees practiced all around him, to protect and enrich himself at the expense of others. Rather than dwell on the minutiae of individual claims, we should reflect that they are but the most recent manifestation of the Fall, and the world has not changed since that time.

Scandal Everywhere

It was not long ago that we were treated to the unappealing view of the corrupt world of football (the 'Beautiful Game') and its international governing body FIFA, many of whose leaders were arrested and brought to court. Before that it was the world of athletics and the prevalence of performance-improving drugs that came into the spotlight. More or less at the same time it was horse-racing, this time with doping, that made the news.

The Panama revelations are but a piece of the whole - evidence all around of mankind's inherent greed and corruption.

All this is without a mention of the banking scandals beginning in 2008, with the domino-like collapse of banks in the UK and elsewhere and the grasping behaviour of senior staff regarding bonuses, the on-going UK investigations into paedophilia in which the police have received unwelcome publicity, and the serial unveilings by the Daily Telegraph of the antics of MPs who had been fiddling their expenses, bringing the Mother of Parliaments into contempt and derision.

These signs of corruption began in May 2009 and show no sign of dying. Yet there has been little or no evidence of contrition or widescale resignation on the part of individuals but - incredibly - a call for the Government to step in and control the press!¹

In another arena of public concern, attention has been drawn to the continuing public sell-off of Britain's national resources, to the extent that the future of our nuclear energy (Britain was one of the two original pioneers in the field) is now in the hands of France and China. At the time of writing, the UK's nuclear energy policy is adrift, with no-one really in charge. And now—stop press—the announcement that the UK Government's plea for someone to take over a part of the UK's steel industry sold to India's Tata Steel in 2006 has been at least partly answered as another foreign company steps forward. Nobody is ashamed, nobody is embarrassed. Not responsible, old chap, it was all done before I/we were there.

Words Have Power

But enough of dwelling on the grey desert of Godless national and world society. The United Kingdom is gravely compromised spiritually. I would like to suggest that the most serious of its failures in recent times has not been any statement made by the church, nor any of the various ill-considered pieces of legislation that have passed through parliament (even including the institution of 'gay marriage'), but it was an off-the cuff remark by an unelected Government spokesman during a press meeting with a society magazine.

During a 1993 interview with culture, society and politics magazine Vanity Fair UK, Socialist Prime Minister Tony Blair was asked by a reporter about his Christian faith. Before he could answer, his advisor, Alistair Campbell, broke in to declare that "We don't do God".² That hasty rejection was not countermanded by the nation's executive head (the Prime Minister), nor has it been since by any other such UK leader.

The United Kingdom is gravely compromised spiritually, with signs of corruption being unveiled in every sphere of society.

But words of proclamation can have power—even the most casual, throwaway ones—and can bring blessings or curses on those who utter them or those to whom they are directed. The Vanity Fair rejection would have been heard by the population at large through the media, by the powers of darkness, and by God himself. The phrase 'We don't do...' has entered the national lexicon, recalling the source of its origin. Just as Israel brought a curse on herself when she formally rejected her Saviour, consigning him to the cross and suffering the consequences ever since, so has England formally placed herself in a place of spiritual danger through those carelessly uttered words.

I had a mental picture of the appalled silence of the assembled host of angels at this statement. How could such a nation, formerly so blessed of God, do this? Did God himself at that moment exclaim, 'Well, if that's what they want, I'll give them the desires of their hearts'? It may well be that God has removed his hand of protection (so evident at Dunkirk, when the King announced a day of prayer) so that it may be set adrift.

I am minded of the frequent comments in the book of Judges: "In those days there was no king; everyone did as he saw fit" - there appears to be spiritual and moral anarchy in our day. We can trace the steepening collapse of Britain's finance and industry sectors and the way in which the nation has, recklessly, sold off its resources and allowed foreigners to purchase the most valuable parts of its capital city in a way not emulated by any other country.

Church's Responsibility

A significant responsibility must surely lie with the leaders of the Church of England and its accumulation of errors, beginning with its absorption with 19^th Century liberal theology. Notable events since that time included the 1984 appointment of David Jenkins as Bishop of Durham (who regarded the resurrection as "a conjuring trick with bones") and the Archbishop of Canterbury Runcie's famous Observer headline plea to "Let Rome lead all Christians" (1989). How sad it is to see the established church being dragged through public disgrace!

A significant responsibility must surely lie with the leaders of the established church and its accumulation of errors.

On the foundation of liberal theology, the Socialist Government of 1997-2010 erected its new edifice of equality and diversity, which included the institution of 'gay marriage' as one of a number of acceptable unions. Since that time historic marriage has declined and the family unit has fragmented.

If the established church, with its privileged position in the House of Lords, is so wayward, can we really blame a secular world for trying to protect its amassed fortunes by squirreling them away in secret offshore funds?

What is God Doing?

The prophetic Church should ask, is there any word from the Lord regarding these evidences of mankind's sorry plight? Yes. God is exposing corruption in high places, shining a light in the darkness. Senior, formerly respected people are being exposed in the court of public opinion. It is part of what the prophet Haggai refers to when he says that God will shake all nations in preparation for the coming of his glory.

There is surely only one recourse, the grace of him who is ready to dispense restoration following the response of a Church and leadership that falls on their knees and implores divine mercy in accordance with God's promise of forgiveness in Jeremiah 18:8, "if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned." There is much good work in progress in the Church and para-Church bodies.

The only way forward is through the grace of him who is ready to dispense restoration, if the Church would only fall on its knees and implore mercy.

We also remember Jean Darnall's vision of a Britain in which pinpricks of light - Spirit-filled churches and fellowships - grew in intensity until they blazed forth from north to south, many even crossing the Channel to sow the fire abroad (see Hugh Black's book Revival, which includes the prophetic vision of Jean Darnall).

It may be that after all the press hype, tax havens feature quite minimally in God's scheme of things. All the mountains of mammon will come to nothing when Babylon falls – "In one hour such great wealth has been brought to ruin!" (Rev 18:17).

References

1 Leveson Inquiry, published November 2012.

2 E.g. see coverage in The Telegraph.

The latest revelations from the Panama Papers are damaging the Prime Minister's credibility.

Next week promises to be a very lively week in Westminster, with the Prime Minister fighting for his political life following revelations of his offshore investment - and charges that Number 10 brought forward the announcement of the publication of the EU leaflet to deflect attention from David Cameron.

Officially, Parliament is still on its Easter holiday break. But from all over the country, breaking news today (Friday 8 April) shows MPs on both sides of the House highly disturbed at what is going on in the government. The publication of the so-called 'Panama Papers' is rocking Downing Street because David Cameron's father is said to be one of those named in the database of Mossack Fonseca, the Panama-based law firm. The leaked documents are said to show how the law firm helped rich clients to launder money, dodge sanctions and evade tax.

Damaged Credibility

There is no suggestion that David Cameron or his father were involved in illegal financial deals but the very fact that it took some days for the PM to admit that he had personally owned some shares in his father's firm is damaging to his credibility. He has stated that he sold the shares in 2010 before he became Prime Minister and that he complied with all the UK tax requirements when cashing in his investment.

Further damage to the Prime Minister's standing comes from the advanced publication of the government's EU Referendum leaflet which is to be distributed to every household throughout Britain - at a cost to the taxpayer of nearly £10 million. Already the leaflet is being heavily attacked for the veracity of its claims, which are said to be highly biased in favour of recommending the public to vote to stay in the European Union.

The very fact that the government is going to such extraordinary lengths to try to persuade voters to stay within the EU is profoundly disturbing. It is more likely to make people question the reasons why they are using such heavy-handed tactics.

The extraordinary lengths to which the government is going to persuade voters to stay within the EU are profoundly disturbing.

Doubting the Government

There were already many doubts about the 'new deal' the Prime Minister had said that he would negotiate with all the member states of the EU. He had boasted that he aimed to see a 'reformed Europe' which he could present to the British people. In pursuit of this reform he toured the capitals of Europe and spent hundreds of hours in discussion with EU leaders. But the resultant deal was certainly not a 'reformed Europe'.

Now, with this government leaflet that appears to be little more than EU propaganda and the Prime Minister's personal reputation being damaged, public trust in the government's handling of the Referendum may well wane.

A Nation Under Judgment

Many Christians believe that Britain is already a nation under judgment, following so many unrighteous Acts of Parliament that have steered the nation away from its biblical heritage into the paths of secular humanism. When a nation has embraced the Judeo-Christian faith for hundreds of years - as we have done in Britain - and then turns away from the truth, there are inevitably dire consequences in its spiritual and moral welfare which affect the social and economic health of the whole population. Quite simply, this is what has happened in Britain.

There is a severe warning in scripture to those who deliberately turn away from the truth: "The Lord will send on you curses, confusion and rebuke in everything you put your hand to, until you are destroyed and come to sudden ruin because of the evil you have done in forsaking him" (Deut 28:20). I know that these words were said to Israel who are a people in a special covenant relationship with God. But in Jeremiah 18, there is a similar warning that applies to all nations. It says this: "If at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it" (Jer 18:9-10).

When a nation embraces God for centuries and then turns away, there are inevitably dire consequences.

Confusion and Rebuke

Clearly our government is being severely shaken, with many backbench MPs even considering refusing to vote for the budget because of the distorted 'facts' in the EU Referendum leaflet – "confusion and rebuke" would be a good description of what is likely to be happening in our parliament in the next few days.

What can Christians do? Certainly we should be praying for our leaders. But also we should be calling for a clear presentation of the facts about the EU and not standing for attempts to scare people to remain under its jurisdiction. It is time for honesty and truth from our leaders. This is the only way that trust can be restored.

What will happen if we leave Europe? Perhaps the question we should ask is: what will happen if we don't?

The media is focused on the political, financial and social implications of a possible Brexit – legislation, trade, migrants. However, we are the spiritual leaders of the nation and so we must consider the spiritual and moral implications too. We should be asking questions such as: what is the EU's ethos? Does it uphold our Judeo-Christian heritage? Has it retained the foundations of Christian Europe or is it humanist (man-centred) in outlook?

Controversial Symbolism

Many Christians have noted symbols used by the EU and drawn sinister conclusions about their intent. A popular view is that the Strasbourg Parliament building was based on the painting The Tower of Babel by Pieter Brueghel the Elder (though the architects actually were inspired by Roman amphitheatres).

To add to the confusion, the 'Many Tongues, One Voice' poster used by the Council of Europe bears a resemblance to the Brueghel painting and certainly the slogan implies a reference to Babel. Some have pointed out the poster's use of inverted stars, which are also symbols used in witchcraft. However, the Council of Europe is a separate organisation to the EU¹ and so the Babel imagery cannot be said to have been deliberately used by the EU at all.

A controversial image which is used by the EU is the statue of Europa from the tale by the Roman author Ovid, about a woman ravished by Zeus or Jupiter. It depicts a woman riding a beast, leading many to point to Revelation 17's woman riding a beast, also known as the prostitute 'Babylon', with whom the "kings of the earth" commit adultery and who intoxicates the inhabitants of the earth (Rev 17:1-2).

This image has also appeared on various Euro coins and postage stamps. In Revelation this woman is an archetype of those who war against God's people: "I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of God's holy people, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus" (Rev 17:6).

One controversial image which is used by the EU is the statue of Europa, which depicts a woman riding a beast, leading many to point to Revelation 17 and its prophesied war against God's people.

Post-Christian Europe

Yet we do not need to observe statuary, buildings or symbols to recognise that we are living in post-Christian Europe and that biblical values are blatantly set aside by governments. This is not a hidden agenda - it is done openly. The list below of Ungodly laws passed in Britain since 1950 (Issachar Ministries, published elsewhere on prophecytoday.uk) demonstrates that the British government is quite capable of enacting a humanistic agenda without the EU's assistance.

The jury is still out on whether the EU provides a layer of protection in this context, or whether it exacerbates the problem. For instance, the Christian Legal Centre takes its appeals to Europe when they do not succeed here (for example, Aisling Hubert's gender abortion case, as reported in the last issue of HEART²). However, limiting our sovereignty to one government's laws is preferable, arguably, to having two such levels of humanistic legislation to battle.

The issue of UK sovereignty goes beyond legislation, in any case. We need to consider our position strategically for the end times. Leaving the EU gives us the ability to act unilaterally with regard to Israel and without being forced to provide troops for the EU army. When the nations surround Jerusalem (Luke 21:20), we do not want our nation to have been compelled to be there.³ We want to ensure that British citizens have the chance to be among the 'sheep' rather than the 'goats' of Matthew 25:31-46.

The issue of UK sovereignty goes beyond legislation – we also need to consider our position strategically for the end times.

Erasing God and Christianity

Since October 2004, we have been bound to Europe constitutionally by The Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe. When the Constitution was being written, Pope John Paul II pleaded for recognition that as a "new institutional order, Europe cannot deny its Christian heritage, since a great part of its achievements in the fields of law, art, literature and philosophy have been influenced by the evangelical message."⁴

The Pope called for a strong reference to Europe's Christian roots in the preamble.⁵ Bishops and religious leaders backed up the Pope, including Rabbi Aba Dunner, secretary general of the Conference of European Rabbis, who stated, "I would love to see the word 'God' in there, in some form or another."⁶ Critics argued that a Judeo-Christian reference did not resonate with secular Europe and pointed to another problem: what of the continent's Muslim populations?

One Irish priest commented, "First Brussels will remove our independence, then they will give us mandatory abortion and euthanasia and homosexual 'unions...And that is all seen as enlightened and touted as Europe's commitment to 'equality and justice.' But without our sovereignty - we will be powerless to resist."⁷

Here is the Preamble to the Constitution, with no mention of our Judeo-Christian heritage:

DRAWING INSPIRATION from the cultural, religious and humanist inheritance of Europe, from which have developed the universal values of the inviolable and inalienable rights of the human person, freedom, democracy, equality and the rule of law...⁸

Note the deliberate use of the word 'humanist', with the word 'religious' undefined and sandwiched uneasily between references to culture and humanism. Despite the Pope's and others' requests, there are no references in the Constitution to God or Christianity.

The EU's constitution makes no mention of the great debt owed by Europe to its Judeo-Christian heritage – despite numerous calls for its acknowledgment from prominent religious figures.

Pluralism, Rights and Freedom

Note too the use of the word 'pluralism' in the list of the Union's values (below) and the emphasis on humanity's dignity, rights and freedom, without ultimate responsibility to any higher authority.

In the EU Constitution's Article below about Freedom of thought, conscience and religion, the phrase "in public or in private, to manifest religion or belief, in worship, teaching, practice and observance" is being flouted continually, as the UK's Christian Legal Centre's growing case-load bears witness. Recently, it was reported that a Christian student has been expelled from a social work course at Sheffield University over his biblical views on marriage and sexual ethics, which he posted on Facebook. How can it be said that he is allowed to express his beliefs publicly?

It seems that there is a clash between the Union's Article on Values and the Article on Freedom of thought, conscience and religion. You are free to express your religious views - but only insofar as they do not offend anyone who holds a different opinion. The EU claims to protect freedom of religion but recent cases show that where these values clash with cherished anti-biblical values, Christians are unlikely to be supported.

We also need to think about whether the EU has been an institution worthy of our allegiance and respect. The European Parliament's well-documented history of corruption and misappropriation of funds speaks for itself.

Not Rejecting Europe's People

A vote to leave is not just a vote for self-preservation by Christians. It is a vote for the future stability and security of our nation, for whom we stand accountable before God spiritually.

A vote to leave should not be considered to be a rejection of Europe's people or our mandate to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth. A Brexit should not mean descent into national introspection and 'little Englander' protectionism. A Prophecy Today UK reader reminded us that in 1947, Smith Wigglesworth (an outstandingly anointed man of God and pioneer of the Pentecostal movement) prophesied about the UK and Europe:

When the Word and the Spirit come together, there will be the biggest movement of the Holy Spirit that the nation, and indeed the world, has ever seen. It will mark the beginning of a revival that will eclipse anything that has been witnessed within these shores, even the Wesleyan and the Welsh revivals of former years. The outpouring of God's Spirit will flow over from the UK to the mainland of Europe, and from there will begin a missionary move to the ends of the earth.¹²

We do not need to remain politically and economically bound to Europe to forge strong spiritual ties. When we were a self-determining nation trading across the world, we led the world in missionary endeavour. Let's seek spiritual union with Christians across Europe but leave an increasingly ungodly political union.

UNGODLY LAWS PASSED IN BRITAIN SINCE 1950

1. 1951: The Fraudulent Mediums Act (Deut 18:10-13) which abolished The Witchcraft Act This legalised witchcraft in Britain which had previously been banned for centuries and made all occult arts legal. Through this Act Britain allowed all kinds of spiritual activities to be acceptable. Alien spirits and witchcraft activities are offensive to God and we are severely warned against them in Scripture. In Romans 1:23-29 Paul says that idolatry is the first step in the corruption of human civilisation which leads to "sexual impurity" and other "shameful lusts" and "every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity".
2. 1959: The Obscene Publications Act (Mark 7:21-23) was a very weak Act and had the effect of making it more difficult to prosecute pornographers, as lawyers had to prove that the publications had "a tendency to corrupt and deprave". Defence lawyers were able to ask the jury if they had been corrupted and depraved by exposure to a book, film or video. Most jurors did not want to say that they had been 'depraved'. The defence were able to claim that it was a 'public good' and an 'educational' value. The Act's Amendment in 1977 (Col 3:5-6) and The Broadcasting Act 1990 extended the law to cinema and television respectively, preparing the way for the Internet. This Act allowed all kinds of offences to be screened into our homes that certainly are an offence to God.
3. 1965: The Murder (Abolition of the Death Penalty) Act (Lev 24:17-22) removed the death penalty from the Statute Book for all kinds of murder and sent a message through the nation about the social acceptability of violence.
4. 1967: The Abortion Act (Gen 4:10-11). We had abolished the death penalty for murder but in 1967 we said it was acceptable to murder unborn babies. Doctors were now allowed to perform abortions if they complied with certain conditions. About 450 abortions take place daily in British hospitals, bringing to more than 6 million the number of unborn children killed since abortions became legal.
5. 1967: The Sexual Offences Act (Lev 18:22, Rom 1:22-27) was a further offence to God and directly against the Word of God where homosexual practices are said to be detestable to God. It decriminalised homosexual acts between consenting men over the age of 21, if done in private. (a) In 1994, the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act reduced to 18 the homosexual age of consent. (b) In 2000, the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act equalised the age of consent for homosexual and heterosexual sex at 16. This Amendment Act was brought in against the wish of the vast majority of the population and against the stern opposition of the House of Lords. The Government used the Parliament Act, which is only to be used for extreme measures of constitutional importance, to drive this through. This virtually abolished Clause 28 and allowed homosexual acts to take place between young people of sixteen years of age and upwards. Both boys and girls were thus allowed to be exposed to paedophiles and sexual predators and children in schools were taught that all forms of sexual intercourse were allowable according to each individual's wishes.
6. 1967: The Obscene Publications Act Amendment (Eph 5:4-6, Rom 13:13) further opened the way for all kinds of pornography and literature to be published of an explicit sexual nature.
7. 1968: The Theatres Act (Prov 15:26, 1 Thess 4:7) abolished 'censorship of the theatre', although the public performance of plays requires licensing, and obscene performances are prohibited. This Act allowed nudity and all kinds of explicit sexual acts on stage. The effects of this Act in removing censorship were long-lasting and soon began to have a wide effect upon the arts and media.
8. 1969: The Divorce Reform Act (Mark 10:2-12) introduced the principle of the irretrievable breakdown of marriage as the sole ground for divorce, to be proved by adultery, unreasonable behaviour, or desertion; or by two years separation with consent to a divorce, or five years separation without consent to a divorce. In other words, it opened the way for easy divorce – the floodgates were opened by this Act for widespread marriage breakdown.
9. 1972: The European Communities Act, the EC (Amendment Acts of 1986 and of 1993) (Ps 9:10,17) took Britain into the European Economic Community (EEC), and by which the Single Market and Maastricht Treaty both became law. All these measures contributed to increased political control over Britain by unelected non-nationals in Europe.
10. 1989: The Children Act (Ps 127:3-5). Despite the good intention of this Act to increase the protection of children, it had the fundamental effect of removing the traditional concept that parents are the best judges of their children's welfare. Grandparents were no longer recognised in the kin structure of the family that were reduced to 'significant others', thus promoting the breakdown of traditional family life.
11. 1990 Amendment to the Abortion Act (Jer 7:31, Ps 106:37-38) reduced the age at which an unborn baby could be aborted to twenty weeks and legalised the abortion of 'disabled' babies at a much later stage than that. King David spoke about God knitting him together in his mother's womb and Jeremiah speaks about being called into ministry from the time of his conception (Jer 1:5). This Act showed our society's total disregard for the principle that life is sacred as the gift of God.
12. 1990: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act (Ecc 11:5) legalised the creation of embryos for experimentation or storage in laboratories. This Act also amended the Abortion Act 1967, resulting in abortion on demand for handicapped babies right up to the time of birth.
13. 1993: The Sunday Trading Act (Ex 20:8-11) allowed widespread trading on Sundays which was directly against God's command to observe a Sabbath day, a day of rest each week. There was a marked increase in the number of shops opening on Sunday (20% of all shops in October 1994, and 54% by July 1999). It produced an acceleration in the closure of neighbourhood shops, an expansion of Sunday work and general increase in traffic and pollution. Sunday became just another day like any other day which inevitably weakened family life and reduced church attendance.
14. 1994: The National Lottery Act (1 Tim 6:10) instituted a state national lottery. It pays out 50% of its taking to winners, but is an intrinsically regressive form of voluntary taxation, as the burden falls most heavily on the poor. Further, many of the 'good cause' recipients, who receive 28% of the takings, have agendas wholly opposed to Biblical values. The National Lottery has become an obsession for millions of people wanting to get rich quick and it encourages people to gamble, often with money they cannot afford.
15. 1995: Licensing Sunday Hours Act (Deut 12:5, Mark 2:17) virtually abolished Sunday observance and was another direct Act against the Word of God – more or less legalising anything to happen on Sundays, but with some restrictions on the number of hours that shops could open for business.
16. 1995: Removing Prohibitions on Advertisements (Rom 1:24) legalised sexually explicit images that had previously been regarded as obscene. It marked yet another stage in the corruption of society by exposing the nation to obscenities.
17. 1996: The Family Law Act (Mal 2:16) replaced the five grounds for divorce in the Divorce Reform Act 1969 with a so-called 'no-fault' divorce system. The Lord Chancellor announced in 2001 that this part of the Family Law Act would not be brought into effect and would be repealed in due course.
18. 1997: The Amsterdam Treaty (Ps 2:1-2) further eroded national sovereignty, bringing Britain increasingly under the rule of a humanist, anti-Christian code of law. This was one more step in Britain being ruled from Brussels rather than by our own elected Members of Parliament. It was selling our birthright for a mess of pottage.
19. 1999: The Finance Act (Is 61:8) scrapped the already low value of the Married Person's Allowance for the tax year 2000/2001, thereby signalling the government's lack of esteem for marriage. It was a further step towards the degradation of marriage and the breakup of family life in Britain.
20. 2001: Regulations to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 (Ex 23:7) permitted embryo research for developing treatments for serious diseases. Effectively, this allows cloning of human embryos and experimenting with creating human life.
21. 2004: The Civil Partnership Act (Matt 19:5, Eph 5:3) granted civil partnerships in the United Kingdom rights and responsibilities very similar to that of civil marriage. Civil partners have the same property rights as married heterosexual couples with the same pension benefits and social security rights. They also have the rights of parental responsibility for partner's children as well as 'tenancy' and 'next of kin' rights with a formal process for dissolving partnerships which is similar to divorce in the case of marriage.
22. 2004: The Gender Recognition Act (Gen 2:23, Is 5:20) granted transsexual people legal recognition as members of the sex opposite to their birth gender, either male or female. This allowed them to acquire a new birth certificate recognising their new gender within the law and allowing them to marry a person of the opposite sex. The Act required applicants to have transitioned two years before the issue of a certificate but it made no requirement for sex reassignment surgery to have taken place. The act was a further assault on God's act of creation of human beings in his own image, both male and female.
23. 2013: The Marriage (Same-Sex Couples) Act (Rom 1:6-27, 1 Cor 7) redefined traditional marriage which had always been between a man and a woman. It allowed two persons of the same gender to enter into legally recognised marriage. This Act crossed a red line in British parliamentary history. It passed a law that directly contradicted God's act of creation in creating men and women as complementary human beings to be united in a faithful marriage covenant through which the physical expression of love would produce the procreation of children to ensure the health and well-being of future generations of the human race. The passing of this Act was said to be under strong duress from the European Union upon British politicians.

This list of unGodly laws is published as a pamphlet by Issachar Ministries (reproduced here with permission). It is available on application to www.issacharministries.co.uk - or ring (01767) 223270.

References

1 "The Council of Europe, founded in 1949, is a regional intergovernmental organisation whose stated goal is to promote human rights, democracy, and the rule of law in its 47 member states, covering 820 million citizens. The organisation is separate from the 28-nation European Union, though sometimes confused with it, in part because they share the European flag. Unlike the European Union, the Council of Europe cannot make binding laws." Taken from The Council of Europe, Wikipedia.

2 Girl who fought for unborn babies has to pay costs of £50,000. HEART of Sussex, 3 February 2016.

3 Luke 21:20 was a warning about the destruction of Jerusalem by Rome in 70 AD. However, Hebrew prophecy has more than one application and so this is often applied to the end times as well.

4 Anderson, MJ. Ungodly Ways: The Dark Side of the European Union. CRISIS Magazine, 1 June 2003.

5 Ibid.

6 Ibid.

7 Ibid.

8 Read the Treaty by following this link.

9 See the Christian Legal Centre website.

10 Christian student expelled from social work course over views on marriage. News release, Christian Concern, 27 February 2016.

11 See for example Pancevski, B. £11.5bn of EU aid 'lost to incompetence and graft'. The Sunday Times, 17 January 2016.

12 We are grateful to a reader of the website for reminding us of this.

Whatever their motives, MPs chose to 'Keep Sunday Special' this week. Clifford Hill comments.

Sunday trading has always been a toxic issue in parliament. It was the only issue on which Margaret Thatcher lost a vote in the House of Commons. That was in 1986 when the Shops Bill was defeated in a revolt by 72 Tory MPs who felt strongly that this was an issue of conscience.

From 1986 to 2016

The 1986 vote in parliament was strongly influenced by a successful campaign 'Keep Sunday Special' initiated by Dr Michael Schluter, which was strongly backed by churches of all denominations and had considerable prayer support from Christian organisations.

The successful rebellion against the government this week was led by David Burrowes MP, well-known for his Christian commitment, who said that he had listened to the concerns of his constituents. "I have many shop-workers, many faith groups and many others saying: why are we doing this? Why are we trying to unpick something that's fairly settled?"¹ He also said that for him this was "an issue of conscience" which he could not ignore.²

David Burrowes proposed an amendment which was supported by 317 to 286. The amendment was supported by MPs from across the parties, including Labour, the SNP, the DUP, Lib Dems and 27 Tory backbenchers who voted against the government.

Shameless Economic Agenda

The proposed changes to the Sunday trading laws would have benefited the larger stores who currently are only allowed to open for six hours on a Sunday. The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) said that it was "a major win" for small businesses in England and Wales as its members were "unconvinced of the economic case for relaxing Sunday trading rules".³

The defeat was greeted with delight by John Hannett, General Secretary of the Shopworkers Union USDAW. He said, "This is the third time in five years that Conservative ministers have attempted to permanently change Sunday trading regulations and the third time they have been unsuccessful."⁴ He added, "We hope now that the Government will leave this great British compromise alone and focus on providing real support for the retail sector, not the unwanted and unnecessary bureaucracy that devolution would have resulted in."⁵

The argument in favour of scrapping restrictions on Sunday trading was shamelessly economic – largely designed to favour big business operators – and showing little concern for the views of shop-workers and the broader negative impacts Sunday trading has upon family life. It is this latter point that is of particular concern for Christians who have watched with dismay over the past 40 years the disappearance of regulations protecting the spiritual health of the nation.

In the past 40 years, Christians have watched the disappearance of regulations protecting the spiritual health of the nation. Increased Sunday trading would have struck a further blow.

Keep Sunday Special

Anything that weakens family life is a blow to the physical, mental and spiritual health of the nation. The pressures of commercialisation have left little opportunity for families to spend time together to relax and simply to communicate with one another. Surely most people should be able to organise their shopping habits to satisfy their needs in six days without encroaching on Sundays at all. Our present regulations are by no means ideal but complete deregulation would finally destroy even the protection that our present Sundays give for at least part of the day to be different from the rest of the week.

This was surely the intention of God in the creation of the world: to have one day free from the pressures of work when there could be a reflection upon things other than merely making a living. This is why honouring the Sabbath is included in the 10 Commandments: because it is important for the health and well-being of all humans.

God instituted the Sabbath for the health and well-being of all humans – to keep one day in the week free from the pressures of work, giving space for reflection on other things.

Corruption and Injustice

In the history of Israel, when the nation ignored the regulations protecting the Sabbath it always resulted in a wide range of social problems that included the exploitation of the poor and vulnerable by the rich and powerful. Greed and corruption led to injustice that enslaved the powerless and destroyed family life.

This was one of the reasons why the prophets strove to protect the people from those who wanted to destroy the Sabbath. Amos told of market traders wanting to end the Sabbath so that they could get on with their trading – "skimping the measure, boosting the price and cheating with dishonest scales, buying the poor with silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, selling even the sweepings with the wheat" (Amos 8:5-6).

Nehemiah believed that failing to observe the Sabbath led to God removing his cover of protection over the nation. He saw people in Jerusalem buying and selling on the Sabbath and said, "What is this wicked thing you are doing – desecrating the Sabbath day? Didn't your forefathers do the same things, so that our God brought all this calamity upon us and upon this city? Now you are stirring up more wrath against Israel by desecrating the Sabbath" (Neh 13:17-18).

In Israel's history, when the nation ignored Sabbath regulations it always resulted in the poor and vulnerable being exploited and greed and corruption becoming rife.

The Government has criticised MPs for playing political games in voting against changing the Sunday trading rules. But they still did the right thing - even if their motives were not right!

References

1 Sunday trading changes defeated by Commons rebellion. PSE, 10 March 2016.

2 Government facing battle in Sunday trading vote. BBC News, 9 March 2016.

3 Sunday trading defeat for government as MPs reject changes. BBC News, 9 March 2016.

4 Mason, R.No 10 concedes Sunday trading defeat after Commons rebellion. The Guardian, 9 March 2016.

5. Ibid.

The Prime Minister has fired the starting gun: what he calls 'the debate of our lifetimes' has begun. Politicians on both sides of the Referendum debate have been falling over themselves to give TV interviews and write newspaper articles.

With the date now fixed as 23 June 2016 we face something like 120 days of wrangling, during which the public is likely to get bored - especially if the debate descends into personal abuse similar to the Presidential Election Campaign in the USA.

In this magazine we have already raised a banner stating our belief that the Referendum offers a unique opportunity for Britain to take a bold step of faith in shaking off the shackles of the European Union and regaining our ability to shape our destiny as a nation.

One thing we do promise our readers – we will not be trotting out the same old arguments week after week, or entering into the minutiae of 'The Deal' negotiated by David Cameron, or debating whether in fact Britain will be 'safer, stronger and richer' by staying in the EU.

No Real Reformation

We acknowledge that the PM has worked extremely hard for many months in trying to persuade the leaders of all the European States to back his proposals. We do not doubt the PM's sincerity and commitment, but in his reports to the House of Commons and numerous other statements it cannot be claimed that the EU have made any significant concessions that could justify asking the country to endorse an agreement with a 'Reformed' European Union.

There does not appear to be any significant reformation! There is no change to the Common Agricultural Policy which is strangling the life out of British farming, such that farmers have the highest rate of suicide of any occupation and the dairy farming industry is likely to be wiped out.

There is no change in the Fisheries Policy which forces our fishermen to throw thousands of fish back into the sea in order not to exceed their quotas, whilst we buy fish caught by foreign fishermen in our own waters. Britannia certainly does not 'rule the waves' around our shores since we gave away our sovereignty to the EU. And there is no change in the predominance of the European Court of Justice, that takes precedence over our own legal system (itself developed over the past 800 years, since Magna Carta).

In this magazine we have already raised a banner stating our belief that Britain should take a bold step of faith in shaking off the shackles of the European Union.

Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire/Press Association ImagesMichael Gove said last week "EU rules dictate everything, from the maximum size of containers in which olive oil may be sold (five litres) to the distance houses have to be from heathland to prevent cats chasing birds (five kilometres)."¹

He said, "Individually these rules are comical...As a Minister I've seen hundreds of new EU rules cross my desk, none of which were requested by the UK Parliament, none of which I or any other British politician could alter in any way and none of which made us freer, richer or fairer".²

Speaking of his personal frustration with the restrictions placed upon us he said "Every single day, every single minister is told: 'Yes Minister I understand, but I'm afraid that's against EU rules'."³

Our Greatest Concern

Our greatest concern in this magazine is with the spiritual state of the nation and whether or not decisions regarding its future destiny are in line with the word of God and are likely to have his blessing.

We were greatly concerned during the prolonged negotiations leading up to the Maastricht Treaty, when there were a number of attempts to get some reference in the Treaty to the centuries-long Judaeo-Christian tradition shared by all the nations of Europe. This was vehemently resisted by the secular humanists who have gained power among the unelected officials in the European Union.

Attempts to get the EU to recognise the continent's Judaeo-Christian heritage have long been resisted by secular humanists.

Their atheist values have had a fundamental effect in promoting the secularisation of Britain. A recent example is a 2010 case law challenge to the EU 'Charter of Fundamental Rights' (that became binding in December 2009) from Austria which, though unsuccessful, did lead the European court to affirm same-sex relationships as a valid form of family life protected by fundamental human rights:

61. Regard being had to Article 9 of the Charter ["The right to marry and the right to found a family shall be guaranteed in accordance with the national laws governing the exercise of these rights"]...the Court would no longer consider that the right to marry enshrined in Article 12 must in all circumstances be limited to marriage between two persons of the opposite sex...⁴

This opened the door for a challenge to the law in Britain restricting marriage to persons of the opposite gender, paving the way for the Same-Sex Marriage Bill.

UnGodly and Repressive System

When nations deliberately reject the truth of God's word, they put themselves outside the blessing and protection of God. This is what has happened in Europe, which has gone from being the most Christian continent in the world to the most secular.

Today the nations of Europe are facing multiple problems as they struggle to cope with a vast influx of migrants, high unemployment and growing social discontent, compounded by the desperate attempts to maintain the Euro (which are causing incredible suffering to the poor in countries such as Greece, Spain and Portugal).

Of course they all want Britain to stay to help prop up this ungodly and repressive system, which is why all the leaders spent so much time trying to shuffle together a few crumbs for our Prime Minister to take back to London and claim it as a new deal in a "reformed Europe". This is so far from the truth as to be laughable if it were not so serious.

The Prime Minister's 'new deal' is so far from genuine reform as to be laughable – if it were not so serious.

Politicians and leaders of big businesses are combining to try to scare the voting public into remaining in the EU. But the greatest fear is not in leaving, but in staying within a failing organisation. The warning signs have been there for a long time. Now we have the opportunity of escaping before the collapse comes - like Lot getting out of Sodom, or Abraham leaving Ur.

Of course it leads us into unknown territory, but this is where trust in God is far more important than making pacts and treaties with other nations. Jeremiah had to warn the politicians in his day that making treaties with other nations would lead to disaster. He said "The Lord has rejected those you trust; you will not be helped by them" (Jer 2:37). Sadly, the leaders and the people refused to listen and only a few years later Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians who had invaded the land.

The big question facing us today in Britain is whether or not there is sufficient trust in God for him to be able to lead the nation into ways of righteousness and prosperity.

A Faithful Remnant

God is not dependent upon numbers! He loves to work out his salvation with just a handful of people who are totally committed to him like Gideon's 300; and like the 120 disciples on the Day of Pentecost who shouldered responsibility for the 'Great Commission', taking the message of God's salvation to all the world.

God is mobilising the faithful remnant in Britain today to intercede to save the nation. As the prayers of the faithful saved the nation at the time our soldiers were rescued from Dunkirk and our airmen won the Battle of Britain against the might of the Nazi war machine, so too faithful believing prayer has the power to influence the destiny of the nation.

God is mobilising the faithful remnant in Britain today to intercede to save the nation.

We are being offered just such an opportunity to put our trust in God. Even though we will be treading unfamiliar paths; if we are doing this through trust in God, he will respond and ensure that blessing will come upon the nation.

God is Faithful

The God of Creation, who holds the nations in his hands, is faithful to keep his promises. He says:

I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. (Isa 42:16)

He also promises when we put our trust in the Lord, "Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, 'This is the way; walk in it'" (Isa 30:21).

The faithful remnant of believers in Britain today have the opportunity to bless the nation through their prayers and through their witness; that if we put our trust in the Lord he will lead us, not only into ways of righteousness but into times of prosperity and happiness.

References

1 Apps, P, EU Referendum: Michael Gove's full statement on why he is backing Brexit. The Independent, 20 February 2016.

2 Ibid.

3 Ibid.

4 Schalk and Kopf v. Austria (case), European Court of Human Rights. A summary can be found on Wikipedia.

This magazine believes that Britain needs to take a step of faith and vote to leave the EU.

The first signs of hope for the future are beginning to creep into the British press as journalists right across the political spectrum dismissed the draft agreement with the EU as a Cameron con-trick designed to keep Britain in the European Union.

After racking up thousands of air miles travelling around European capitals trying to reform the European Treaty, the Prime Minister failed to achieve his primary objective of securing British control over our own borders. He also failed to stop the massive burden upon our welfare system of child benefit payments made to East European migrants working in Britain, sent for the support of their children back home.

Europe Will Not Relinquish Power

The temporary break upon welfare payments to migrant workers is dependent upon Britain proving that the strain upon our economy is unsustainable. But even this is dependent upon Brussels - the EU still retains control of the final decision. There is a hint that Britain might be allowed the right to block any EU laws that are considered detrimental to the best interests of our nation. But again, in this the EU maintains control, as Britain would have to persuade at least 14 EU member states to agree!

In the opinion of this magazine, the European Union is clearly not going to relinquish any of its power to Britain or any other single nation-state, as this would undermine its ultimate objective of total control over Europe through the establishment of a European Super-State.

Ultimate ObjectivePrime Minister David Cameron with President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz, Thursday 4 February. Steve Parsons/PA Wire.

This objective of a 'United States of Europe' was there right at the beginning, in the 1972 foundation of the 'European Common Market' which Edward Heath signed in 1973 on behalf of the British people. Before signing, Heath was told by the Lord Chancellor, Lord Kilmuir, that Britain would suffer a loss of sovereignty in three respects:¹

1. Parliament would surrender some of its functions
2. The Crown would lose some of its power
3. Our courts of law would be subordinate to the European Court of Justice

Heath ignored this and deliberately lied to the British public, saying "There is no question of eroding any national sovereignty".² Behind the scenes, however, his government wholeheartedly endorsed the Werner Report which laid out plans for "the ultimate creation of a European federal state".³

Back in 1972, European leaders agreed that there would be a slow motion takeover of national governments. The Treaty of Rome in 1986 followed by the Maastricht Treaty took huge steps towards the formation of an EU Constitution that enforces its laws over all nations within the European Union.

Slowly but surely, the EU has formed a massive unelected bureaucracy that exercises control over member states. The EU is already well on the way to achieving its ultimate objective of forming a European State with its own currency, its own parliament, its own defence programme, space programme, banking system, legal system and Supreme Court - through which it can exercise control over all its member states, in the same way as the Soviet Union exercised totalitarian control over its satellite states.

The EU is well on its way to achieving total control over all its member states – in the same way as the Soviet Union exercised totalitarian control over its satellite states.

For the past eight months our Prime Minister has been touring the capitals of Europe trying to get a deal that he can present to the British people that will persuade us to stay under the control of Brussels. The plain fact is that David Cameron has discovered that the European Union is incapable of reform! It will never surrender its control!

Myth of Economic Ruin

Will our Prime Minister have the courage to admit the truth to the British people? If he does not, in the next five months we can expect to see a deliberate campaign of deception orchestrated by Number 10 of even greater magnitude than was inflicted upon the nation by the Heath Government back in 1973. They will primarily play the 'fear' card – warning Britain's workers that their jobs will be in peril; warning the public that prices of ordinary household goods including food will all go up; warning that our trade will suffer because EU markets will be closed to us.

All this is a pack of lies because Britain pays into the EU far more than we gain! Back in 1972 by joining the European Common Market, Britain was forced to break all its Commonwealth Preference Trade Treaties which had disastrous effects upon the economy of countries such as New Zealand who supplied much of our lamb and butter. We have never apologised to them!

The government may well play the fear card that our economy and quality of life will be in peril if we leave the EU. But all this is a pack of lies.

The British Commonwealth has roughly a third of the world's total population. By leaving the EU we would be able to trade freely with the Commonwealth, without being constricted by the controls exercised over us by Brussels. We would be free from the Common Agricultural Policy which has almost brought our dairy farmers to bankruptcy, as well as the disastrous Fisheries Policy which has oppressed our fishermen and given away our rights to fish in our own waters.

By exiting we would be freed from the immense burden upon our economy of paying billions of pounds into the EU to support a corrupt oppressive system run by unelected officials, who every year fail to get a clean audit report on their accounts.⁴

Step of Faith Required

If David Cameron does go ahead and allow the British people to choose their own future in June 2016 the question then would be: will the public have the courage to take a great step of faith and choose freedom, or will they voluntarily choose to be enslaved by a corrupt totalitarian system?

This is where faith really matters! If we were truly a God-fearing nation prepared to put our trust in the Lord, we would have no fear in going forward under our own traditional British constitution, which has defined the relationship between Government and people for 800 years (since the signing of Magna Carta) and which is reaffirmed in our national Coronation Oath.

If we were truly a God-fearing nation, we would have no fear in stepping out on our own.

If we were a God-fearing people, we could draw comfort and strength from the record in the Bible of God's dealing with his covenant people Israel and his promises that apply to all nations. Through the prophet Jeremiah, God promised: "If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned" (Jer 18:7).

Are We Prepared to Lead the Way?

Bible-believing Christians know that God has been warning Britain for a long time that we have been allowing secular humanist politicians to pass legislation that is offensive to God, driving the nation towards the breakdown of family life with disastrous social consequences.

Through hardships of storm and flood and economic austerity, God has been warning us that as a nation we are heading for unimaginable disaster! But in his mercy, we are now being offered an opportunity to shake off the atheistic secular controls of Brussels and put our trust in God. If we are prepared to take a step of faith by leaving the European Union and repenting for the past, God will undoubtedly bless the nation.

The Church should be leading the way in this by public repentance for our share of responsibility for the godless state of the nation - and by proclaiming our confidence in the Lord that if we turn to him, he will undoubtedly bless the nation with prosperity and the healing of our social divisions and broken relationships - bringing love and joy and faithfulness into family life.

We are being given an opportunity to shake off the secular controls of Brussels and put our trust in God. Will we take a step of faith – and will the Church lead the way?

The forthcoming referendum gives the nation the opportunity to choose our future in the same way as Joshua presented a choice to the people of Israel to choose to live under the slavery of men or under the blessing of God. He said, "Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve...But as for me and my household we will serve the Lord" (Josh 24:15).

References

1 PRO/FO 371/150369, EEC Relations with UK, 1960.

2 White Paper, 1971.

3 Quote from PRO/FCO 30/789, Sub-committee of official committee on monetary aspects of UK entry to EEC, 1970. The Heath Government's positive response: PRO/CAB 164/771, Informal talks with the European Commission and the exchange of views with member countries during the negotiation period, 1970.

4 Waterfield, B and Dominiczak, P. EU auditors refuse to sign off more than £100billion of its own spending. The Telegraph, 4 November 2014.

Is Euroscepticism a sign of a deeper dissatisfaction with the direction in which Britain is heading?

Over the next few months the question of whether Britain should be in or out of Europe is no doubt going to occupy a great deal of the news media. David Cameron's publication of the demands that he intends presenting to the European Council were a surprise only for the mildness of what he expects to achieve.

Mild Demands

In his letter to European Council President Donald Tusk, the Prime Minister set out his four key objectives for the re-negotiation of Britain's place in Europe. They are: –

1. Protection of the single market for Britain and other non-Euro countries
2. Boosting competitiveness by setting a target for the reduction of the 'burden' of red tape
3. Exempting Britain from 'ever-closer union' and bolstering national parliaments
4. Restricting EU migrants' access to in-work benefits such as tax credits

With such a mild set of demands an impartial observer could be forgiven for wondering what all the fuss is about! In any case, to get any meaningful changes in the EU's governing treaties before 2017, when Cameron has promised a referendum, is quite impossible. His demands are far too modest to satisfy those who want to see substantial differences in Britain's relationship with Europe.

The demands will be formally debated by the EU leaders at a summit next month, although no doubt most of the EU leaders were already well aware of what our Prime Minister is asking. He has had extensive talks with Angela Merkel, who has already indicated that she would go a long way to make concessions that will keep Britain in the EU - provided nothing infringes on the free movement of people within the Union.

Battle for Greater Independence

One thing David Cameron has already made clear to the rest of Europe is that Britain is totally opposed to any closer political union within the EU. But whether he can achieve greater independence and - in particular – freedom to control our own borders, is very doubtful. Perhaps the greatest danger is that the EU leaders will collectively conspire to make the achievement of even the smallest concessions look extremely difficult so that Cameron is able to claim a magnificent victory in the face of fierce opposition.

David Cameron might have made it clear that Britain opposes closer political union within the EU, but will he manage to achieve greater independence for the UK?

Our Prime Minister could then put his 'hard-won' victory to the British people and achieve a 'Yes' vote for staying in the EU without actually ever having achieved what the Eurosceptics want – greater independence so that we can make our own laws and re-gain our national sovereignty, for which we fought two world wars. They want to be able to trade with Europe without being under the heel of Brussels.

Deeper Dissatisfaction

But is there not a deeper reason why so many people want freedom from the European Union? A recent poll reported on the Conservative Home website says that more than two-thirds of Conservative Party members are likely to vote for Britain to leave the EU. Why is this? What is making people so dissatisfied with the present situation?

Could the reason for this dissatisfaction be the vague sense of having lost our national heritage? The older generation, in particular, has lived through the most incredible period of social change in our history. The changes have not only been in technology and scientific discovery that have given us space travel, the internet, heart transplantations and weapons of mass destruction; but also radical changes to our whole culture and national way of life. It is now hard to define 'British values'– what it is to be British.

What is making people so dissatisfied with the present situation? Could it be the vague sense of having lost our national heritage – what it means to be British?

Change of Pace

Even our humour and entertainment have changed beyond all recognition in the past decade or so - as looking at old films from the 1970s or 80s confirms. I was never very keen on films such as the 'Carry On' series, but at least they were harmless slapstick nonsense - although many of their subjects would fall foul of our politically correct restrictions today. Moreover, you could take the children to see them without blushing at the filthy language that litter so many films and TV programmes today!

Many of today's Eurosceptics are really looking for 'the good old days' when life was a lot simpler and the pace was not so hectic. One of my friends who works on a TV news programme told me the other day that she has on average 500 emails a day! I usually have 40 or 50 a day (plus 2 or 3 scam phone calls) but even that I find a drain on my time and a huge test of my patience and endurance!

Abandoned Foundations

We are not going to be able to put the clock back or make radical changes to our national way of life whether we stay in the EU or whether we wave goodbye. The plain fact is that as a nation we have abandoned the most valuable part of our heritage that has been part of the foundations of this nation for hundreds of years. What I'm referring to is our biblical heritage: the values and principles that were enshrined in the nation that gave us freedom and justice and schools and hospitals and welfare programmes. Rights and obligations were built into our unwritten national code: respect for other people, plus honesty, truthfulness, integrity, faithfulness, loyalty, love and generosity.

All these things were part of being a good citizen; they were taught in church and school, so that they became part and parcel of being 'British'. They were taken for granted as part of the national character. This is what we have lost through the onslaught of secular humanism and the aggressive campaigning of cultural anarchists who care nothing for truth and integrity, but care only for themselves and the achievement of their destructive objectives – especially destroying family life.

Our biblical heritage enshrined principles of freedom and justice into our nation – but we have taken these things for granted as part of 'British' character, and now they are being lost.

Spiritual Rebirth

Whether we stay in the EU or get out may not make much difference to the cultural life of the nation. The only way to bring about fundamental change is through a spiritual rebirth: the rediscovery of the spiritual dynamic that can set us free from the powers of darkness that are driving us towards an ever greater national catastrophe. Our young people are being threatened by indoctrination with evil and corrosive values that, if left unchecked, will spread a social cancer across the nation. Many people no longer recognise ultimate values of truth and integrity but are being seduced by the nihilistic hedonism of the age.

But the tide could still be turned if all the Christians in Britain would be active in sharing their faith! Angela Merkel recently spoke of her strong evangelical Christian faith and called upon German Christians to be more active in speaking about their faith with their new Muslim neighbours coming from the Middle East in such large numbers. It would be great to hear more of this kind of witness from our national leaders.

Clifford Hill considers the possible long-term implications of the recent deals with China, arguing for the need for spiritual discernment.

The deal struck between China and the British Government allowing China to be involved in the new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point in Somerset is a landmark in relationships between the two countries. But who does it benefit and are there any long-term disadvantages?

David Cameron certainly laid on a royal reception for Chinese President Xi Jinping's four-day visit to Britain, during which he was hosted by the Queen in Buckingham Palace and red carpet was laid out in Downing Street for his visit to Number 10.

Many people in Britain will be surprised that such a reception was given to the leader of a Communist dictatorship with an abysmal human rights record and a reputation for the brutal repression of dissenters.

Courting Chinese Business

The way had been prepared for this visit by Chancellor George Osborne's trade mission to China last month in which he secured a number of business deals with the world's second-largest economy.

China already invests heavily in property in Britain and Chinese firms are currently in the process of purchasing a number of British businesses and even Independent Schools (such as the deal struck last year to acquire the prestigious Chase Grammar School in Staffordshire, where boarding fees are £36,600 a year).

Steel Politics

Xi Jinping's visit to Britain comes at the same time as workers across Britain are dismayed by news of steel plant closures caused by China's action in flooding the world market with cheap steel, resulting from a slowdown in the Chinese economy and their refusal to cut back production.¹ Two months ago the Chinese took stock markets by surprise, devaluing their currency three times, making their export products even cheaper and showing how little they care for the health and well-being of other economies.

The European Union has already taken steps to impose additional import duties on steel from China and similar measures are being considered by the US Government. But will the British Government have the strength and resolve to confront Chinese leaders about this issue at a time when the Conservatives are striving to complete big energy deals, or will they sacrifice the steelworkers in order to pursue their policy? How many thousand steelworkers will be thrown out of work? What is the price of 'Caring Conservatism'?

Whilst the Conservatives court Chinese business, British steelworkers are being dismayed by plant closures as China dumps cheap steel onto the global market.

Hinkley Point Power Station, SomersetSecurity Questions

Another big question is security. A number of MPs have raised concerns about the security risks of giving China a stake in British nuclear power. There are fears that if the Chinese design and build the reactors they could insert 'technical trapdoors' into the reactor systems.

This would enable them to override British controls, or even shut down the plant in the event of any diplomatic dispute between the two countries - such as that which occurred in 2012 when Britain hosted the Dalai Lama, who China dislikes (and who, coincidentally, recently criticised Britain's policy toward China as "Money, money, money – where is morality?"²).

Bernard Jenkin MP, chairman of the Commons Public Administration Committee, was quoted in The Times³ saying "In 2014 the Prime Minister assured the Joint Committee on National Security 'there is going to be a proper NSC consideration of this' and this was welcomed, but there is no indication that ministers have asked for or received a comprehensive analysis or assessment of the risks." He called for the Government to publish a risk assessment for the scrutiny of MPs or a full Parliamentary Select Committee will undertake the task.

Calls have been made for a proper risk assessment to be carried out by the Government, because of concerns over security.

Peng Liyuan, China's First LadyXi Jinping and his famous pop-singer wife are popular with ordinary Chinese people although she entertained the troops in Tiananmen Square soon after they had massacred pro-democracy demonstrators in 1989. He rose from poverty through the ranks to become head of the ruling Communist Party and China's most powerful leader since Deng Xiaoping. But his smiling face and the large sums of money his Government is prepared to invest in British nuclear power plants may not be good for Britain's long-term interests.

Need for Discernment

The big question is whether or not our present political leaders have sufficient spiritual discernment as well as business acumen in agreeing the terms of this deal. It is spiritual discernment that is called for in assessing the long-term prospects.

Those who are familiar with the history of Israel will remember the lack of discernment shown by King Hezekiah when a number of envoys visited Jerusalem from Babylon about 695 BC, long before the Babylonian Empire became a world power (see Isaiah 39). The King had recently recovered from a serious illness and the political leaders of Babylon sent a gift to him celebrating his recovery. That should have put Hezekiah on alert but instead it was all smiles and warm greetings all round. Hezekiah was so pleased to receive them that he showed them everything in his palace – all the gold and silver and treasures acquired by his illustrious forebears.

The prophet Isaiah was scathing in his rebuke because he foresaw the rising power of Babylon and the day when the Babylonian army would invade the towns and cities of Judaea. He saw the terrible havoc they would create through the destruction of Jerusalem - including the great Temple and the Palace of the King.

King Hezekiah was rebuked by Isaiah for accepting gifts from Babylonian envoys - Isaiah foresaw Babylon's coming rise to power.

Wisdom in Foreign Policy

Have our political masters really taken seriously their responsibility to seek the well-being of this nation by taking before God such a far-reaching matter as our relationship with China? This is where church leaders and politicians should work together, seeking the wisdom of God for our international relationships. The great danger facing Britain is that these deals are struck purely for short-term financial gain without due consideration of the long-term implications. This is where we need the guidance of the Holy Spirit. But only prayer-centred leaders of the nation can ensure making the right decisions.

References

1 Weldon, D. Why British steel is in crisis. BBC News, 21 October 2015.

2 Dearden, L. Dalai Lama on Britain's Policy Towards China. The Independent, 23 September 2015.

3 17 October 2015.