Our present chaos and our future hope.

“Write down the revelation” is a word from Habakkuk 2:2 that strongly came to me 40 years ago and resulted in me writing the book Towards the Dawn which changed the direction of my life, leading me to apply academic sociological concepts to contemporary issues in a new way. The new way brought together my training as a sociologist with my biblical theology, seeking understanding of how God was working out his purposes through the forces of social change that have been driving Western civilisation.

The book was written in 1979 – 40 years ago! It’s been long out of print and I’d not looked at it for decades, but last week I felt a strong urge to take my solitary copy off the shelf and read it again.

The book looked at the situation in Church and State, where we had largely turned away from biblical truth since the 1960s. Listen to this from page 72: “There are no certainties, no yardsticks, no basic principles to provide a compass point of reference by which the changes occurring in society can be evaluated and on the basis of which they can either be rejected, modified or accepted. Without such a yardstick all is uncertain and the result will be chaos.”

State of Chaos

Looking ahead to the future, I said: “With no certain basis to the values of society and an ever-increasing rate of change, the end result in terms of mounting chaos, normative anarchy, the breakdown of social organisation and the final disintegration of the entire social system is inevitable.”

This, of course, is exactly what we are seeing today. It is not only our Westminster Parliament that is in a state of chaos: the social scene is also chaotic with knife crime, gang warfare, drugs, domestic violence, school exclusions, family breakdown, mental health problems, fatherlessness, homelessness and thousands of other symptoms of a sick society.

But my purpose here is not simply to recount daily news items that you can see on TV, on social media, on websites and in the newspapers. I want to offer an answer to the questions in the minds of millions in Britain today – why is all this happening? What has gone wrong and is there anything we can do about it?

It is not only our Westminster Parliament that is in a state of chaos: the social scene is also chaotic.

Pulling the Linchpin Out

The simple answer is that we have rejected the basic standard of truth, and therefore we have no yardstick by which to measure the changes in the value system upon which all our personal and corporate behaviour is based.

The linchpin that held the whole of our civilisation together was the Bible, regarded as the revealed word of God, the Creator of the universe. Basic biblical truth provided us with our personal and social values of faithfulness, integrity, loyalty and trustworthiness which determined our relationships with other people in our families, workplaces, neighbourhoods and nation. When you pull out the linchpin everything collapses; which is what we have done.

The bad news is that even more danger faces us because our chaotic Parliament has announced its intention to change the divorce laws – legalising ‘no-fault divorce’, which will have a devastating effect upon marriage and family stability in the nation.

The State of Marriage in Britain

A new analysis of national statistics data published last month shows that marriage is already in a bad way in Britain. Only half of today’s teenagers will get married, in spite of survey evidence showing that the vast majority of teens want to get married.¹

Marriage trends follow family tradition: where there is divorce or family breakdown in a family, the next generation usually follows the same example. Whereas 91% of women and 86% of men in their 60s have been married at some point in their lives, current research projects that only 57% of today’s teenage girls and 55% of teenage boys will marry.

The linchpin that held the whole of our civilisation together was the Bible, but this linchpin has been removed – and so everything is collapsing.

Marriage of under 25-year-olds has virtually disappeared. In 1970, 81% of women and 62% of men had married by the age of 25: today, only 8% of women and 4% of men have done so. Marriage before the age of 30 has fallen from 85% to 21% for men and from 91% to 30% for women.

In Defence of Marriage

Nevertheless, study after study shows that marriage is the only relationship that provides a stable, happy and successful family life for children. Couples who marry are significantly more likely to stay together than those who don’t. Marriage provides the best outcomes for children. Teenage self-esteem is boosted in families with married parents and this affects their education and life chances. Teenage mental health is best protected in families with married parents.

All other types of family, especially re-constituted families bringing together children from different relationships, negatively affect the mental health of children, especially teenagers. Even in intact families, having married parents (cf. cohabiting) has a unique protective value on the mental health of young people, especially teenage boys.

Despite all this massive evidence in favour of marriage, our confused politicians in this chaotic Parliament are likely to nod through with little informed debate this new legislation for ‘no-fault divorce’ (which is being welcomed almost universally in the press), making it easy for people to break their marriage vows of lifelong fidelity and commitment to each other.

But on the subject of finding fault, it is not just Brexit that has produced this Parliament of 650 individuals who cannot find any agreement with each other on the most fundamental issue affecting the future of the nation for decades to come. It is we as a nation, who elected them - and we as a nation have despised our biblical heritage, casting out truth from national life.

Marriage is already in a bad way in Britain – and the Government’s plans to introduce ‘no-fault divorce’ will only make things worse.

Time for Fresh Vision

But there is still a remnant of Bible-believing Christians scattered across the nation – many thousands meet regularly in small groups for prayer and Bible study.

This remnant has undoubtedly been galvanised by Brexit, but it is surely God’s intention to rouse, organise and strengthen us further, not only to fervent prayer but to make our voices heard and to declare Gospel truth into the nation, for the sake of our children and grandchildren and their future!

We need to catch a fresh vision for the testing season ahead, seeking the Lord for what each of us should be doing. If the remnant began by petitioning their MPs to vote against this diabolical divorce bill, it might make them start to think about the real issues in the nation!

Moreover, regarding Brexit, while the rest of Britain remains ‘in purgatory’, seemingly until October, what is the Lord calling believing Christians to do? Ought we to march on London demanding that our MPs fulfil the declared wish of the people? We certainly ought to be reminding ourselves just why Brexit is so worth defending (I warmly recommend my friend Nick Szkiler’s short film on this).

Action and Prayer

Now is the time for action, as well as for prayer! I am reminded of Jean Darnall’s vision of the myriad prayer groups across the nation as little lights shining in a dark place, gradually becoming brighter as they link together and as the darkness intensifies. The little lights become a great light shining across the nation that overcomes the darkness and brings light, truth and salvation to Britain – even flooding across to the continent of Europe.

Although I do believe that things are going to get darker for a season, I also believe Jean Darnall’s vision will one day be fulfilled, because God still has good purposes for Britain.

References

1 Benson, H. Unfulfilled aspirations: Half of teens will never marry. Marriage Foundation, March 2019. All subsequent statistics taken from this document.

From Magna Carta to the abolition of slavery: the development of Britain's biblical laws.

Last week we looked at how the Gospel spread around Anglo-Saxon England and, independently, the Celtic fringes of Wales, Cornwall, Scotland and Ireland. We saw that Christianity was readily adopted by successive Anglo-Saxon kings, influencing their law codes and building into our developing nation early on a close relationship between Church and state. By the time of the Norman conquest, England could be viewed as one nation under God.

Over the next centuries, enormous battles proceeded as our political structures developed and matured. Major upheavals condensed around the introduction of checks and balances to the power of the monarchy, the development of Parliament and the judiciary; also the English Reformation and our departure from Roman Catholicism; also the fragmentation of British Protestantism thereafter.

This week, we look at how, through all this turbulence and complexity, our ‘unwritten’ constitution nevertheless came to reflect biblical principles and beliefs.

Six Centuries in Brief

Foundational to the British constitution and rule of law is Magna Carta (1215, confirmed as statute law 1297) - particularly its clauses guaranteeing freedom for the Church and the right to due legal process for all citizens. However, even though Magna Carta established in principle that the king was not above the law, it took several centuries to move Britain from the absolute rule of one sovereign (reliant on advisors and the support of regional landowners) to a Parliamentary democracy with checks and balances in place to hold both monarch and government accountable.

Although no political system is perfect, the fundamental idea of limiting the king’s power introduced a notable principle of humility into Britain’s governmental system, framed by the Christian belief that all men are answerable to God. During Henry III’s reign our first elected Parliament was convened (1265), starting the nation on a journey towards a representative democracy. Meanwhile, a parallel move away from autocracy also began within the Church, first with protest against Catholicism and then with dissent against the Church of England, and always with criticism of corrupt and unaccountable clergy.

Through six centuries of upheaval, our ‘unwritten’ constitution nevertheless came to reflect biblical beliefs and principles.

Several turbulent centuries of both international and internal conflict eventually culminated in the ‘Glorious Revolution’ of 1688, when the ascent of William and Mary to the throne led to a new Bill of Rights being introduced guaranteeing, not least, freedom of speech and free elections,¹ as well as a Toleration Act granting freedom of worship to Dissenters. Importantly, the Coronation Oath was also revised to include a promise before God to “maintain the laws of God and the true profession of the Gospel” – a promise still made by our current Queen, to which we believe the Lord holds her.

These were truly landmark moments in the history of Britain’s politics and her position before God. Though they did not rid the nation of violence, poverty and persecution, they undoubtedly laid the foundation for later outpourings of Christian belief and repentance, not least by ensuring key Gospel freedoms. Over the next two or three centuries, Britain saw mass revivals of religious fervour, from the grassroots right up to the uppermost echelons of society, led by evangelists both within and without the established Church.

It was these revivals which changed British culture sufficiently that a host of righteous laws could then be passed including the abolition of slavery, laws preventing child labour and cruelty to animals, and laws promoting family values and protecting the vulnerable, all of which were added to the statute books in the 19^th Century.

Reflections

There are many ways of analysing the developments outlined above, which were in reality far more complex than my brief summary permits. Here, I want to highlight two ways in which the Bible was brought to bear on Britain’s political system and thence its people - by force and by free will – and to ask where God was in all of this.

Faith by Force

The explosion of the Reformation in Europe under Luther galvanised pressure for Church reform across the British Isles. However, Protestantism’s top-down, politicised introduction to England through Henry VIII’s notorious split from Rome in 1534 over the matter of his marriages, did not reflect popular critiques of Catholicism but rather political wrangling, and led to several decades of violent conflict, persecution, execution, revolt and exile. Ambition and power play combined with varying levels of piety and zeal in the persons of several different rulers, passing England back and forth between the two branches of Christianity.

The 16^th-17^th Centuries were marked by attempts to enforce either Catholic or Protestant belief and practice on the general public. Under Elizabeth I’s God-given lengthy reign, Protestantism finally triumphed and was firmly embedded into our national consciousness, but in the process, dissent and genuine calls for reform of the Church of England were outlawed and punished.

Charles I’s attempts to force English Anglicanism on Presbyterian Scotland prompted numerous military conflicts and fuelled the English Civil Wars. Cromwell’s ascent to power led to Puritanical standards being imposed - albeit probably in good conscience, but without long-lasting success.

Landmark constitutional freedoms combined with popular revivals to transform the fabric of British culture, such that a host of righteous laws could then be passed.

Then, following the restoration of the monarchy in the 1660s and the return of traditional Anglicanism, dissent was once again stifled through a series of laws known as the Clarendon Code, together with the infamous Test Act. Dissenters (later known as non-conformists) may have been allowed freedom to worship, but they were barred from holding public office or attending Oxbridge. Unofficial small group meetings were also banned.² Thousands of non-conformist clergy resigned and nearly two centuries of discrimination against Dissenters ensued.

Faith by Free Will

These centuries teach us, amongst other things, that the top-down enforcement of any kind of religious practice by the state cannot change men’s hearts. God has given mankind a measure of free will and the Gospel was ordained to spread by the preaching and hearing of the word, not by violence and coercion. Nevertheless, true faith was alive and well during those centuries and the Lord did not reject entirely the zeal of our rulers, nor did he abandon our island to tyranny. Instead, in ways we cannot fully comprehend, he worked in the midst of the upheaval and conflict.

John Wesley, preaching outside the church walls. See Photo Credits.He did this, vitally, through successive generations of individuals and groups who were raised up, often from the grassroots, to campaign for repentance, reform and a return to the plain truths of Scripture. Through all the ups and downs of Britain’s history, as soon as any one form of the faith became codified and ‘established’, particularly in the sense of outward displays of religiosity not reflective of genuine inner transformation, the Lord raised up prophetic servants to hold the establishment to account.

From Wycliffe’s outspoken criticism of Catholicism (mentioned last week) through Puritanism in Tudor England to non-conformist movements of the 18^th and 19^th Centuries, it has been the faithful living and witness of ordinary Christians, often in the face of significant persecution, that has born lasting spiritual fruit in our nation and gradually steered our parliamentary and judicial systems in a godly direction.³

For example, I have already mentioned that the 19^th Century saw a host of righteous laws added to our statute books, such as those campaigned for by the Clapham Sect (including, most famously, the abolition of slavery). These laws were the culmination of decades of faithful campaigning but they also owed significant debts to a general evangelical revival throughout Britain that, in the space of a generation, completely transformed its socio-cultural fabric (more on this next week). The Lord had raised up John and Charles Wesley and George Whitefield outside of the institutional Church, and inside vocal evangelicals such as Charles Simeon, Henry Ryder and JC Ryle, to thunder Gospel truths from their pulpits and in the highways and byways, saving and inspiring millions. Their faithful service laid the cultural foundation for laws which in turn blessed a countless number.

It has been the faithful witness of ordinary Christians, often in the face of significant persecution, that has born lasting spiritual fruit in our nation and gradually steered our parliamentary and judicial systems in a godly direction.

Blessing Through Struggle

Arguably, Britain has been the more blessed for having a professing Christian monarchy and government over the years, even though this has also brought bloodshed and sorrow and has been shaped by the vagaries of political necessity as much as genuine belief. However, although the development of Godly laws in our nation and the general acceptance of biblical principles into our culture are due in part to this overarching system, they are just as much if not more due to successive generations of faithful ordinary believers, raised up by the Lord as prophets to the nation, calling people to account and crying for justice in the streets and in the pulpits.

It is God’s faithfulness to Britain that the failings of our professing Christian establishment have always galvanised passionate believers to pray, speak and work for change, for his glory. We cannot forget, especially today, that our godly heritage developed as the Lord blessed the struggle and sacrifice of many believers over long centuries of difficulty, which forced people to think seriously about what they believed and what they were willing to live and die for.

In biblical terms, Britain has taken after Jacob/Israel, wrestling long and hard to receive the blessing of a God-given identity. And by God’s grace, the result of this struggle by the 19^th Century was a degree of individual freedom and popular religious fervour which, combined with Britain’s imperial might, led to the Gospel being taken to virtually the whole world.

Next week: How God blessed Britain through successive revivals.

Notes

1 The 1689 Bill of Rights is credited with inspiring and influencing the US Constitution and Bill of Rights in the 18^th Century.

2 Similar penal laws were introduced to Ireland in 1695, mainly affecting Catholics, who were not emancipated until 1829.

3 These dissenting groups have always been split between those seeking to reform the establishment from within and those seeking to work outside of it. History seems to confirm that both strands are needed.

Where was God on Monday night?

In the aftermath of the horrendous terrorist attack in Manchester, Christians might well be asked, “Where was your God?” The answer is not simple, but there has to be an answer. Indeed, where else but God will we find the bottom line answer to these escalating problems in the world?

Questions like this have been asked as long as the world has existed. At the time Jesus was on earth he needed to address contemporary tragedies like the falling of the Tower of Siloam, which killed 18 people. He made it clear that those 18 were no more sinful than others and warned Israel and Judah in the hearing of Rome that “unless you repent you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:5).

These seem harsh words, but Jesus was not willing to compromise his message to a fallen world. This message echoed through the succeeding 2,000 years to us, coming to mind at such times as the collapse of the Twin Towers on 9/11, the recent Paris terrorism and indeed the Manchester atrocity of this week.

When innocent people suffer such an untimely death, we are not to deduce that they were being punished for their personal sins but we are to consider what God is saying to us all through the incident. There are signs of his presence and word all around us, and these signs are increasing in number and impact.

Where was God on Monday? The answer is not simple, but there has to be an answer.

Where is Our Protection?

When evil abounds we ask why was there no protection. The hard fact is that the protection of God is progressively disappearing from our nation.

Over the years, Prophecy Today has taken the hard path of highlighting the many tragedies that have hit the nation – allowed by God as call after call to turn back to him. This has been through an era when the priorities of our nation have been far from a close walk with him – and many law changes that are against the principles of the Bible.

From the inception of Prophecy Today magazine in the 1980s, we have warned especially about what was then the beginning of the rise of Islamic terrorism. We published articles and sent personal warnings to members of the government. Yet, generally speaking, these warnings were far from heeded. And so, the nation has not been protected as it might have been.

Yet it is not only Islamic terrorism that we are facing when God takes away his protection. We are vulnerable in every area of our society. Surely we all feel this, and despite the massive efforts to gain votes in the coming election, we are not convinced of the strength of man to overcome our vulnerabilities. It is right to increase the presence of the police and the military to increase protection on our streets in this vulnerable time following the Manchester atrocity, but this cannot be the answer alone. Without the help of God, no amount of policing our streets will take away our vulnerability.

God’s Grace and Grief

What, then, is God saying to us? Something like, I have loved you as a nation, but you have rejected my laws and rejected belief in my Son. It was my intention in withdrawing my hand of protection that you should turn to me once more, to reinstate my laws, to seek me in prayer and walk in my ways. I long to restore my protection, but cannot until you turn in repentance: how can I protect a people who do not want to know me? Protection in this transitory world is only effective for a short time. It is your eternal future with me that is of greater importance and you must think on these things. Believe me, when you suffer through the acts of terror of the age I suffer with you, but for the ultimate good I must allow these things to come to pass. Seek me while you can. Only I can protect you against the growing evil in the world.

The hard fact is that the protection of God is progressively disappearing from our nation.

We have highlighted in this magazine the central tenet of the Queen’s Coronation Oath, that to the utmost of her power she will maintain the laws of God and the true profession of the Gospel. We have written personally to the Queen and to her ministers to remind them of this at times of law change and at times when the signs of God’s displeasure are evident through the nation.

God was present in Westminster Abbey when the Queen, on all our behalves, made that Oath on 2 June 1953. We may have forgotten this but God has not and grieves to see the consequence of his removing his hand of protection. He grieves with us at what he must allow and at the consequence when 22 people die so painfully, as they did in Manchester. Yet it was we that turned from him first.

His longsuffering ensured that his grace extended to this nation beyond our deserving, even during our drift to apostasy. So when signs abound of protection removed we have sunk further than we realise.

Now: Our Great Responsibility

Christians have a great responsibility in the midst of this. There are some especially called to intercessory prayer and to the ministry of the watchman exemplified in the call of Ezekiel (Ezekiel 3 and 33), but all of us are called to this ministry to a certain level in these days of crisis.

Unless the Lord God brings back his protection we will remain vulnerable whatever party wins the General Election, whatever Prime Minister handles Brexit, the NHS, social care, the nation’s finances and so on. The evil that hit Manchester is yet another sign intended to point us back to God. Out of a suffering nation it is time for prayer to rise to the throne of God as it has in past times of crisis in our nation. Perhaps our current crisis is more serious than at any other time in our history.

Frankly, we who know these things have a great responsibility. Through the laws of the Lord and true profession of the Gospel, the country can be brought back under the protection of Almighty God. It is not God who is unjust but it is our hands that are stained with blood if we, once appointed, do not fulfil the call of the intercessor and watchman.

What is God saying to Britain through the devastating floods that hit Cumbria and the North West?

In the Bible storms and floods and droughts are undoubtedly a sign from God. The Bible reveals God as the God of Creation. But he did not simply create the universe and then retire somewhere in the cosmos and take no further interest in his creation. Biblical teaching shows God actively involved in the world of nature.¹

So what is God saying to Britain through the devastating floods that hit Cumbria and the North West? First: I'm sure God is reaching out in love and compassion to those who have suffered the devastation of flood waters pouring into their homes and ruining their preparations for Christmas.

Jesus and Tragedies

We can learn a lot from the way Jesus dealt with tragedies. A tower block collapsed in the Siloam District of Jerusalem killing 18 people (Luke 13:4). Jesus was quick to say that those who died were no more wicked than all the rest of the citizens of Jerusalem but this was a sign that God was removing his cover of protection over the rebellious people of that city. This was a warning sign to the whole city that something far more devastating was going to happen unless there was a radical change in the moral and spiritual life of the people.

So what is God saying to Britain today? The plain fact is that as a nation we have turned our backs upon God and ignored many warning signs that the nation is in trouble. God is slowly removing his covering of protection over this land and far worse things will happen than the flooding of some houses. In the lifetime of the older generation we have passed one law after another that has slowly undermined the Judeo Christian foundations of our civilisation.

I'm sure God is reaching out in love and compassion to those who have been devastated by the floods. But as we have turned our backs upon him, he is slowly removing his covering of protection over this land.

The clear up begins in Carlisle. See Photo Credits.

Faith in the Public Square

The report from Baroness Butler-Sloss this week states that nearly half the population have no religion; but instead of recommending measures by which we may seek to restore truth into the public square and to renew the spiritual health and well-being of the nation it foolishly recommends measures that will increase the secular humanist influence.

Yet it is secularism that is responsible for the breakdown of family life which has led to so many ills, including the rise of child abuse. It has also precipitated a collapse of social morality evident in the greed and corruption of bankers, politicians and celebrities that provide such an ungodly model for the younger generation.

If anyone is in doubt that Britain is a nation that deserves to be under judgment, please read the list of unGodly laws that have been passed by our Parliament during the lifetime of the older generation (please note, in listing these laws we are not saying that everything about them has been unbiblical, but we are noting their general effects and the overall trend to which they contribute).

If this list would form the agenda for prayer in every church and prayer group in the country leading to repentance, even though Christians are now a minority in the land, God would respond in accordance with his promises to Israel (2 Chron 7:14) and to all nations (Jer 18:7-8).

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. It is available on application to www.issacharministries.co.uk - or ring (01767) 223270.

References

1 A fortnight ago Prophecy Today published a study article on this very theme.

Is there any prophetic significance in the warnings given to MPs that the Houses of Parliament are crumbling?

Just look at the facts. It was back in October 2012 that MPs were first alerted to the serious problems in the Grade 1 listed building, part of which is nearly 1000 years old and is listed as a World Heritage Site. A new report this week gives further urgency to the warnings that unless urgent repairs are carried out the building could collapse in 20 years.

Warnings

MPs have also been warned that if they insist on staying in the buildings whilst repairs are carried out it could take up to 32 years and cost up to £7 billion. The building doesn't just require minor repairs. The whole structure is crumbling. Built on London clay, it is slowly sliding towards the river. There are serious problems with the roof, the walls are crumbling and the foundations are cracking so MPs are facing a number of options. If they move out the work could take up to 10 years and cost about £3 billion, which is clearly the surveyors' favoured option.

But where do they go?

A number of different scenarios have been proposed including moving out of London to Manchester or Birmingham. Most MPs will probably favour staying within London which would certainly be the cheapest option, particularly if they can stay close to Westminster so that all the Whitehall offices can be maintained and the hugely costly movement of the civil service bureaucracy will be unnecessary.

A number of buildings in Westminster and nearby are being considered such as the Methodist Central Hall, or the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, just across from Parliament Square. Other suggestions include moving Parliament into the Olympic Park in East London – which is the downmarket option. The upmarket option is to move into Buckingham Palace. But the Queen might have something to say about this! Another alternative is to build an entirely new building somewhere in London and sell the old building to the highest bidder who would no doubt either be an Arab sheik or the Chinese!

Is there a deeper reason for the crumbling condition of the Houses of Parliament? Is God saying something about the laws passed there that have been anathema to his will and word?

Neglect

Why has the 'Mother of Parliaments' reached such a state of neglect? We have just been celebrating the 800th anniversary of the signing of Magna Carta and earlier this year we marked the 800th anniversary of the Simon de Montfort Parliament, the oldest in the Western world. The Houses of Parliament are part of our national heritage. Of course, those responsible for the buildings should have carried out many of these repairs as routine maintenance over past decades. Surely, to allow the buildings to reach such a state of decay shows a failure in caring for the property somewhere along the line. Why has the building been allowed to drop into this desperate state of disrepair?

Why has it happened?

Could there be a deeper reason for the crumbling condition of our Houses of Parliament? Is God saying something to us about the laws that have been passed through both Houses of Parliament in the past 40 or 50 years that have been in direct opposition to biblical standards and the teaching of his word?

As a nation we have acknowledged Christianity to be the faith of our people for more than 1000 years. At the Coronation of each Monarch we expect them to declare their commitment to uphold the Christian faith- and yet we have required the Queen to put her signature to Acts of Parliament that are anathema to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, whose Bible we claim to revere.

Unholy laws

We have passed laws abolishing the Sabbath and permitting Sunday trading and Sunday sports and entertainment, making it a day like any other day. We have undermined family life through abortion, easy divorce, and same-sex 'marriage'. We have sent our soldiers to fight in wars that had little or nothing to do with our national security. We have passed laws that favour the rich and deny justice to the poor.

Greed and corruption have been exposed in every part of the life of the nation over the past 10 years – among the bankers, among MPs, among newspaper moguls and journalists, among the police, among celebrities and entertainers, among all sections of society – even in the church – because God is shaking the nations as he promised in Hebrews 12:26-27. Now we are seeing our Parliament buildings cracking at the foundations.

The sorry condition of Parliament is a powerful metaphor of Britain's crumbling moral and spiritual state.

So what is God saying to us?

For those who are unwilling to view the sorry condition of Parliament as a prophetic sign, it is nevertheless a powerful metaphor of Britain's crumbling moral, spiritual, economic and political state. Should we not be calling upon our MPs to cancel business in the House for a whole day and get before the Lord in prayer, in humility and repentance, seeking what he is saying to the nation? If the Commons will not do this, surely Members of the Lords, who are ostensibly older and wiser, will recognise the need to seek what God is saying to the nation today? At least the bishops in the House of Lords should lead the way!

But will this happen? Is there any spiritual life left in the great Mother of Parliaments where in former years the word of God was often quoted and always upheld? In the words of King David, "When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?" (Psa 11:3)

Most Christians who take an interest in the affairs of the nation know that Britain is in a mess! This has been increasingly evident over the past 10 years as we have stumbled from one crisis to another.

7 July this year will be the 10th anniversary of the London bombings when 55 people lost their lives and hundreds were wounded. This showed that God’s protection had been removed from over the nation.

God Speaks

God always gives us forewarnings. The Prophet Amos said “Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing his plans to his servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7). But we have to be looking and listening, and able to interpret the signs that God sends.

The great hurricane in October 1987 was a dramatic warning that God sent. 15 million trees were felled, disrupting road and rail transport around the rich commuter area of London. It was followed 3 days later by a dramatic fall on the stock market. Both of these signs were rightly interpreted in the magazine Prophecy Today, but the warnings were not heeded.

When warning signs are ignored God says, “I called but you did not answer, I spoke but you did not listen” (Isa 65:12). There are inevitable consequences when we do not listen. Some more recent ones are listed in the article “What Is God Doing?”.

Consequences

The history of Israel recorded in the Bible shows the consequences when a nation refuses to heed the warnings that God sends to them: things start to fall apart in the life of the nation. It was at one of these times that the Psalmist cried out “Help, Lord, for the godly are no more; the faithful have vanished from among men. Everyone lies to his neighbour; their flattering lips speak with deception” (Ps 12:1). In another of David’s Psalms he asked “When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (Ps 11:3).

The response of Christians should be, “Is there any word from the Lord?” (Jer 37:17) This was the question King Zedekiah asked the Prophet Jeremiah when the Babylonian army was surrounding Jerusalem. But it was too late then. He should have asked this question much earlier.

Is it too late for us? Is Britain already in a time of judgement?

Foundations Crumbling

Certainly, the Judaeo-Christian foundations of our nation have been steadily eroded over the past 40 years! We have passed one law after another that has undermined the biblical values of the nation:

• the Abortion Law has killed millions of unborn babies,
• the Sunday Trading Act has turned every day into a day of commerce with no time for the family, for quiet reflection and worshipping God,
• the Divorce Laws that the Bible says God hates have devastated family life (Mal 2:16), and most heinous of all political crimes:
• the Same-Sex Marriage Act, which actually dares to 'redefine' marriage, part of God’s act of creation!

So what can Christians do? The General Election gives an opportunity to eject ungodly MPs. But where are the godly men and women to replace them?

Here are a few things we can do.

1. Use your vote. Be determined to use your vote. And use it wisely.
2. Find out who your local candidates are and find all you can about them. If you have a sitting candidate discover how he or she voted on key questions such as the Same-Sex Marriage Act. Information on this is available on the Marriage Foundation’s website. Ask the candidates questions – for help look at the special election websites provided by Christian Concern and CARE.
3. Meet with other Christians and discuss the local situation and arrange to meet candidates. If there is no local meeting – organise one!
4. Read the Bible; study the word of God with other believers, especially the prophets.
5. Pray together: ask the Lord what should be done and decide on a plan of action. Agree to meet both before and after the election to pray for candidates and pray for the new MPs.
6. Get involved in local action instead of leaving it to the secular humanists. Paul says the whole “creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed” (Rom 8:19).

Time for Action

Surely it’s time for Christians to make the word of the Lord heard in this land! With Paul, we should be saying, “I’m not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes” (Rom 1:16). If we remain silent at such a time as this we will be accountable to the Lord for the mess in our nation.

Now is the time to awake from sleep; to rise up in the power of the Lord and declare the truth to a corrupt generation!

We need to pray for boldness and the power of God’s Spirit and he will certainly respond with the promise “Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord Almighty” (Zech 4:6).