The Prophet’s appeal to common sense.

Say to them, ‘This is what the Lord says: “When men fall down, do they not get up? When a man turns away, does he not return? Why then have these people turned away? Why does Jerusalem always turn away? They cling to deceit; they refuse to return. I have listened attentively, but they do not say what is right.

No-one repents of his wickedness, saying, ‘What have I done?’ Each pursues his own course like a horse charging into battle. Even the stork in the sky knows her appointed seasons, and the dove, the swift and the thrush observe the time of their migration. But my people do not know the requirements of the Lord.”’ (Jeremiah 8:4-7)

In this passage Jeremiah makes an appeal to common sense. He says: when someone stumbles and falls over, if they are a normal, healthy human being, they don’t stay lying on the ground bemoaning their plight - they get up. In the same way, if someone finds he is going in the wrong direction, he doesn’t just increase his speed hoping that he will get to the right place in the end! He recognises that he has to turn around and go in the right direction – it’s plain common sense!

Jeremiah then makes an appeal to nature, saying that even the birds in the air know the times and seasons, observing their times of migration so that they are not caught in the wrong place in wintertime. When they see the signs of winter approaching, they fly away to warmer places. If they did not observe the signs of approaching danger, they would not live to survive the winter storms.

The citizens of Jerusalem and the general population of Judah were so stupid, they were not even exercising ordinary common sense and recognising the danger that was plainly to be seen, if only they would open their eyes. If the birds were able to see the signs of approaching winter, the people of Israel and Judah ought to have had no difficulty in perceiving the signs of danger on the international horizon. There was plenty of news from travelling merchants that the Babylonian army was actually on the move and heading towards the land of Judah.

Jeremiah appeals to the people of Jerusalem and Judah to exercise plain common sense and open their eyes to the obvious danger ahead.

God’s Conditional Promises

Of course, Jeremiah knew that the major responsibility for this national blindness lay firmly with the priests and prophets. They proclaimed publicly that the Temple was a holy place where the Lord God of Israel had his presence. God would divinely protect the building that Solomon had created and dedicated - he would never allow it to fall into enemy hands.

But Jeremiah knew that when Solomon had prayed at the opening of the Temple, he had recognised that God’s presence and blessings were conditional upon the obedience of the nation, that they should have no other God than Yahweh the God of Israel.

Idolatry was everywhere to be seen: not only at countryside shrines and high places up in the hills, but even in the streets of Jerusalem, where the people baked cakes to Astarte, the goddess of the Assyrian Empire who was also worshipped by the Babylonians. She had obviously blessed the Babylonians greatly, so the people of Judah thought that she might do the same for them.

Common Sense Ignored

Jeremiah was horrified at the extent of spiritual idolatry right across the nation and while he primarily blamed the priests and prophets, there was really no excuse for the people, because from infancy each one was taught the Shema:

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up… (Deut 6:4-7)

The first of the Ten Commandments was “You shall have no other gods before me.” Everyone in Judah should have known this, so there was really no excuse for spiritual ignorance. If the people simply exercised basic common sense, they should have known that God would not protect an unrighteous city and a land full of idolatry. They should have known the basic ‘requirements of the Lord’.

It was the responsibility of the priests to teach the people the terms of the covenant between God and the people of Israel that had been agreed by Moses when he called the assembly at Mount Sinai. But it was the responsibility of the prophets to look for signs of danger to the nation, including on the international scene. Both priests and prophets were failing in their duty, which is the reason why the people did not know the requirements of the Lord.

Jeremiah blamed the priests and prophets for the idolatry in the nation – but there was no excuse for the people either.

Disaster Ahead

Jeremiah was a lone voice on the streets of Jerusalem; banned from the Temple and even threatened by his own family. “Beware of your friends: do not trust your brothers,” he was warned. “Friend deceives friend, and no one speaks the truth. They have taught their tongues to lie” (Jer 9:4-5).

Jeremiah wept much for the people of Jerusalem because he could see what was going to happen to them: “Oh, that my head were a spring of water and my eyes a fountain of tears! I would weep day and night for the slain of my people” (Jer 9:1).

If there was no excuse for not knowing the requirements of the Lord in Jeremiah’s time, there is surely even less excuse for us today. We not only have the teaching given to Moses by God; we also have the Gospel in the New Testament and the revelation of truth in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus our Messiah. Our generation has rejected truth and does not even have the common sense to recognise that we are heading for disaster. Will we stop and turn around before we reach the edge of the precipice?

This article is part of a series on the life and ministry of the Prophet Jeremiah. Click here to read previous instalments.

Clifford Hill suggests that God might be offering European Christians a great opportunity through the refugee crisis.

There are no signs of stemming the flow of people seeking to escape war and poverty in the Middle East. Nearly half a million people have crossed the Mediterranean to reach Europe this year, and this is just a fraction of the millions who may be heading for Europe. EU leaders meeting on 23 September decided to "tackle the dramatic situation at our external borders and strengthen controls at those borders".¹ So Europe's open door is soon to be closed in face of the tide that has overwhelmed Italy, Greece, Macedonia, Hungary, Serbia and Croatia and created problems throughout Europe.

Even Germany is struggling to cope with the sheer numbers involved and the nightmare task of registering people with no passports or personal papers. But these numbers could lead to a vast inflow from the 60 million displaced people worldwide according to UN estimates.

Germany has at last realised that continuing to signal welcome signs could have catastrophic effects upon the social and economic health of Europe and they too say they must limit numbers. But Germany is now facing other problems.

Germany is finally realising that continuing to signal welcome signs could have catastrophic effects upon the social and economic health of Europe.

German DominationGerman Chancellor Angela Merkel.

For a number of years Germany has been boasting of its riches and flexing its power muscles in Europe; dominating the European Central Bank, forcing disastrous policies upon Greece and directing EU economic and political policy.

Suddenly the VW scandal has broken on the scene. The motor company with the world's largest sales has been caught cheating with a device that gives a false reading of its engine efficiency when on the test pad. Millions of euros were wiped off the value of the company within 48 hours and the scandal is so enormous that it has the potential of bankrupting the firm and seriously affecting the German national economy. Germans need to ask what God is saying to them through such a humiliation.

Quota System

Meanwhile meetings of EU heads and officials this week struggled to agree a quota system for those already in Europe, in the face of fierce opposition from East European nations who do not want an influx of Muslims into Christian countries. Having triggered the large inflow of migrants, Germany is now agreeing with others who believe the right way to deal with this crisis is to put EU funds into helping Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon, where they are struggling to cope with the 4 million displaced Syrians already in their countries. In addition there are 11 million homeless Syrians in their own country, displaced by a brutal war.

Russian Involvement

A further complication to an already confusing situation is the evidence that Russia is becoming involved in military action in support of President Assad. There seems no chance of the rebels in the Syrian civil war being victorious. But Russia's fears are of the real possibility of an Islamic State victory, which would undoubtedly destabilise already troubled relationships within Russia with its own large Muslim minority.

This is presenting the USA with a dilemma: their bombing missions over many months have been unable to deter the advance of ISIS in the region, but they have no wish to see Russia establish a base in Syria and become a dominant force in the Middle East.

Russia's growing military support of Assad is presenting another Middle East complication, as the US has no wish to see Russia a dominant force in the region.

Israel Anxiety

Sitting on the sideline, people in Israel are watching the situation developing on their doorstep with growing anxiety. Lance Lambert believed that solving the Syrian crisis would not bring peace and security to Israel. In fact he believed that once the Muslim nations stopped fighting each other they would turn their attention to Israel because their ultimate objective is the annihilation of the Jewish State (see Part 2 of his 1988 interview with Gary Clayton, here).

International negotiations on Iran's nuclear programme, March 2015.

This is why the Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has been so strongly opposed to the deal with Iran agreed by Obama that allows the continuation of Iranian nuclear ambitions. He knows that their aim is to build a nuclear bomb for an attack upon Israel.

Is there any word from the Lord?

How will it all end? Is there any word from the Lord to guide us in these chaotic days? One of the things that Jesus said would be a sign that we are approaching the time of his Second Coming is what we've often described as the "shaking of the nations". This is prophesied in a number of places in the Bible, notably Isaiah chapters 2 and 24, as well as Haggai 2 and Hebrews 12. The main places in the Gospels are in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21.

Luke records the teaching of Jesus on this subject, saying that it will not only be the earth and the nations that will be shaken but that "Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken" (Luke 21:26).

But Jesus also said, "When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near" (Luke 21:28). So, far from being nervous, we should be excited when we see these things beginning to happen in our own lifetime! But it is most essential both to study the word of God and also to learn to use our prayer times for listening to the Lord and not just for speaking. We need to know what God requires us to do.

Jesus said that when we see things prophesied in Scripture coming to pass, we should stand in hope – not faint from fear – for his Second Coming draws near.

False Religion

One of the things that Jesus says will be a feature of the end times is that there will be a lot of false religion around. He warns about being deceived, "for false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect – if that were possible" (Matt 24:24).

The greatest threat from false religion today is Islam, whose militant leaders are deceiving many to give up their own lives and take those of others. Right across the world, Christians are being persecuted by Muslims. This is most intense where militant Islamists operate and in areas where multitudes of Muslims are converting to Christianity (such as in Indonesia, where two million Muslims a year are leaving Islam and accepting Jesus as Lord and Saviour). Militant Muslims are carrying out a savage persecution of Christians. Churches are being attacked and Christians beheaded, but all this is only causing more conversions to Christianity.

Indonesian Spiritual Awakening

Until recently, Indonesia was known as having the largest Muslim population in the world. But since the 1980s there has been an escalating growth in Christian churches right across the land. Our team from Issachar Ministries has ministered there many times in the past 20 years and had a small share in this. In the 1990s the Muslim Government became worried about this growth and they introduced a programme of mass resettlement – moving large numbers of Muslim families out of overcrowded Jakarta into islands that were solidly Christian.

Something amazing happened! The Christians welcomed the newcomers with open arms and great generosity; helping them to settle, find work and be part of the local community. They were shown so much love which the Christians said was "the love of Jesus" that most of the families converted to Christianity. The Imams complained that the policy was disastrous and so the Government stopped the resettlement after about 10 years. But news of what had happened spread like wildfire across Indonesia, fuelling the great spiritual awakening and move from Islam to Christianity that is now gathering momentum.

God's Purposes for Europe

Could it be within the purposes of God to bring large numbers of Muslim migrants into Europe in these days in order for them to be released from the spiritual darkness of Islam?

We've not done a very good job with the four million Muslims from Pakistan who have arrived in Britain since 1960. But that's due largely to our immigration policy that makes no attempt to integrate them into society and teach them our language and Judaeo-Christian heritage. It allows them to form closed communities where many women live in virtual slavery and there are few opportunities for Christians to have any contact with their neighbours.

Could it be part of God's purpose in bringing large numbers of Muslim migrants into Europe today is for them to be released from the spiritual darkness of Islam?

The migrants coming from Syria come from a very different culture to that in rural areas of Pakistan and there will be greater openness to integration and opportunities for Christians to share their faith. At the same time God has allowed the Islamic State to perform the same barbaric practices as the founder of their religion in the seventh century, exposing to the world the spirit that drives this religion.

Opportunity for Christians

This is giving Christians in Europe the opportunity of showing the difference between the god whom Mohamed served and the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Whereas Mohamed insisted on forced conversions at the point of the sword and beheaded those who refused, Jesus said:

You have heard that it was said, 'love your neighbour and hate your enemy'. But I tell you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in Heaven... (Matt 5:43)

There can be no greater contrast than this between the two religions. This is the opportunity that God is presenting to Christians in Europe through the great migration currently taking place.

References

1 Press release from the informal meeting of EU heads of state or government on migration, Brussels, 23 September 2015.

Clifford Hill connects the migration crisis to Bible prophecies about the end of days, and suggests that God may have a special purpose for Britain at this time.

As of today, Friday 18 September, in this fast moving crisis, Croatia has become the latest European country to close its borders as the great migrant invasion of Europe intensifies, and Hungary has begun extending its fence along the borders with Croatia. Even Germany has introduced border controls to stop the unmanageable flow of migrants from Austria.

Europe in Turmoil

So what is the significance of all this as Europe is thrown into turmoil by what appears to be an unending flow of migrants? Clearly these are not just refugees fleeing war-torn Syria and Iraq, but something is stirring in nations right across the world where there is dissatisfaction with current life chances. Already hundreds of thousands are on the move and potentially this could be millions who want to jump on the bandwagon and reach Europe.

It is significant that the most popular destination is Germany – not because the migrants speak German but because it's the richest country in Europe. Angela Merkel has lit the touch paper of a migrant tsunami that is already causing major confusion, social chaos and political disunity throughout Europe. It has the potential of creating a catastrophic social, economic and political disaster.

Militant Islam

It is significant that the majority of the migrants attempting to enter Europe are Muslims. Some 25 years ago I published an article in the print magazine Prophecy Today saying that the greatest threat to peace in Europe was not from the Soviet Union but from militant Islam. The USSR was at the height of its power and the Cold War between East and West occupied the attention of newspapers and politicians alike. Islam was hardly given a thought except to note the brutal war between Iran and Iraq that lasted for most of the 1980s and resulted in more than 1 million deaths. But for those who were studying the signs of the times with an open Bible and an ear tuned to God, there were unmistakable warnings that Islam would soon be a major threat to world peace.

For those studying the signs of the times with an open Bible and an ear tuned to God, there have long been warnings that Islam would soon threaten world peace.

MI5's WarningMigrants push through a police line in Croatia on Thursday.

I'm not implying that I was the only one sounding a warning note about Islam. In Prophecy Today we published a number of articles in the 1980s by writers such as Clifford Denton, Lance Lambert, Ray Register, John Lafin, John Ray and Patrick Sookhdeo, who all perceived danger lying ahead. This danger is now being intensified by news of ISIS' plans to infiltrate Europe with half a million jihadists and that an unknown number have already mixed with the flow of migrants into Europe. This danger was highlighted yesterday by the head of MI5 warning that they had intercepted and prevented five attempts by jihadists already this year.

200 More Mosques

It is notable that Saudi Arabia, which has so far taken no refugees from Syria, has offered to build 200 mosques in Germany! No doubt this is their contribution to the Islamisation of Europe! Saudi Arabia has also just announced that it intends to crucify an 18-year-old boy for taking part in a protest against government policy. This is in accord with sharia law that they want to impose upon Europe!

So what's going on? Is there any word from the Lord? What does the Bible have to say about the times in which we are living?

Lance Lambert's View

Lance Lambert, who died recently, was one of the greatest of modern prophets, a Jew who accepted Jesus as Messiah. He gave us two interviews for Prophecy Today some three months before the 40^th anniversary of the State of Israel. We published these in March and May 1988 and are re-publishing them today and next week because we believe they are relevant to the situation that is now developing across the Middle East and Europe (see the first article here). Lance said that he did not think that anything remarkable was going to happen to Israel on the 40^th anniversary. He said,

I do feel that we have nevertheless passed irreversibly into the last phase of world history. We know this from Luke 21:24, where Jesus prophesies that the Jewish people will fall by the sword, be taken as captives into all the nations, and Jerusalem trampled on by foreigners 'until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled'.

Times of the Gentiles

Are the 'times of the Gentiles' now fulfilled? This is the big question that biblical scholars have been debating since 1967, when Israel re-gained hold of Jerusalem. There is no definitive answer to this but the 'great shaking of the nations' prophesied by the biblical prophets (Isaiah 2, Haggai 2 and Hebrews 12) appears to be happening in our lifetime.

Back in 1988, Lance Lambert stated a belief that we have passed into the last phase of world history, when the 'times of the Gentiles' will be fulfilled.

Words of Jesus

Add to these prophecies the words of Jesus' warning that "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places" (Matt 24:7). Jesus also warns that those who believe in him will be persecuted and at the same time there will be a great increase in wickedness, but the gospel will be preached in the whole world (Matt 24:9-14).

There is plenty of evidence in the daily news that all these things are happening today, including the Church worldwide growing at the fastest rate in history, despite the great falling away in Europe. So how does the migration crisis in Europe fit into this picture?

The Servant Songs

The prophet Isaiah actually refers to the British Isles a number of times. He links "the islands" with "the ends of the earth". In those days the islands off the coast of Europe were at the end of the known world, so it is a reasonable assumption that he is referring to the British Isles. There are some significant references in what biblical scholars know as 'The Servant Songs' (all Messianic statements that link Israel as a nation with the person of Messiah). The Songs show God working out his ultimate purposes for the salvation of the nations through Israel and the Messiah.

Can Britain Serve the Purposes of God?

The first of the four 'Servant Songs' is Isaiah 42:1-4 which begins "Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations." God has undoubtedly used and mightily blessed Britain in the past, but in today's highly secularised environment, has the faithful remnant of believers sufficient spiritual strength to stand against the tide of unbelief and godless moral anarchy? Is there sufficient spiritual strength to serve the purposes of God at such a time as this?

Isaiah actually refers to the British Isles a number of times, perhaps indicating that they have a special place in the purposes of God.

This prophetic statement indicates that the British Isles have a special place in the purposes of God. God does not change his mind so this is still true today! The second Servant Song (Isa 49:1-6) begins with a call to the islands – "Listen to me, you islands; hear this, you distant nations..." It concludes with the promise to Israel, "It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth."

Final Great Conflict

Historically, Britain has indeed enjoyed a special place in God's purposes, being used powerfully in the worldwide spread of the Gospel. But does that purpose still exist for modern, 'post-Christian' Britain?

The final reference to 'the islands' in Isaiah is found in the last chapter, which is all in the context of the final conflict before the advent of the new heavens and the new earth, establishing the reign of God upon earth. It speaks of a sign being sent to "the distant islands...They will proclaim my glory among the nations" (Isa 66:19).

If we put this in the context of Jesus' words in the days leading up to his second coming, "There will be great distress, unequalled from the beginning of the world until now – and never to be equalled again" (Matt 24:21), we may expect a time of unparalleled upheaval and conflict among the nations.

My own interpretation is that we are moving towards a time of great conflict that will engulf Europe and the Middle East. The 'Arab Spring' that began on 18 December 2010 in Tunisia lit the fuse for this period, which has spread across North Africa and the Gulf States to link with the intense conflict within Islam that began with the Iran/Iraq conflict between Sunni and Shia Muslims and is now devastating Syria.

Britain's Biblical Heritage

An irreversible process has begun that will lead to open conflict unless there is divine intervention. If it is a right interpretation of Isaiah's vision, Britain has a special part to play within the purposes of God. The question is whether there is sufficient strength in the Judeo/Christian biblical heritage of the nation to enable Britain to carry out its role of bringing the word of the Lord into this situation.

Leaving the EU

In order to do this it may be that Britain will need to separate from the rest of Europe and be prepared to stand alone under God (alongside an increasingly secularised Europe but not under its godless direction). I believe the word of the Lord to Britain today is, "Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord Almighty" (Zech 4:6). To this we must add the words of Jesus to his disciples that we should, "watch and pray" (Matt 26:41).

I believe that we are moving towards a time of great conflict in Europe and the Middle East, unless there is divine intervention. Britain may well have a special part to play, but will she be prepared to stand for God?

Dr Hill will elaborate on this theme in another feature article, to be published on Friday 25 September. In the meantime any comments from readers posted below would be greatly appreciated.

Clifford Hill discusses the Europe-wide refugee crisis.

The whole of Europe is now being drawn into what is rapidly becoming a continent-wide crisis eclipsing that of the Euro and the Greek banking problems. More than 100,000 migrants are flocking into Europe per month, crossing perilous seas with inevitable loss of life. So far this year over 2,500 people have died trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea in numbers that have been overwhelming the authorities in Italy: last year that number was over 3,000.

TV news, websites and newspapers have been full of pictures of angry crowds in Budapest where the main railway station has been besieged by thousands of migrants and many others have been stranded in a train. Most of them have escaped from war-torn Syria. Hungary has been building a fence stretching the length of its eastern border in an attempt to keep migrants out, but their determination to reach Northern European nations has stretched EU laws to their limit. Hungary has been attempting to enforce the rule that migrants must register in their first country of entry into Europe but EU's borderless policy is in total disarray as the numbers coming in every day simply overwhelm authorities.

Shocking Pictures

The recent sight of a little boy's body washed up onto the beach in Turkey has shocked people right across Europe. It reminds us that these thousands of people on the move whom we label as 'migrants' are real people; boys and girls, men and women like us: and the majority of them (over 70%) are refugees fleeing from the horrors of conflict in war-torn areas.

The little boy was Aylan Kurdi, a three-year-old refugee from Kobani in Syria, who died with his mother and five-year-old brother while attempting to reach the Greek island of Kos.

The recent sight of a boy's body washed up onto the beach in Turkey reminds us that these thousands of 'migrants' on the move are real people, like us.

Frank Augstein/AP/Press Association ImagesGermany expects to settle up to 800,000 refugees this year, while Sweden has declared 'open borders' to all those fleeing war zones. Austria has welcomed trainloads of refugees coming in from Hungary; but by contrast, of the 4 million refugees who have fled Syria Britain has so far taken only 216 – barely enough to fill two carriages of a train! But David Cameron seems to be bowing to public opinion and agreeing to take a share of the refugees.

Britain's Immigration Policy

The plain fact is that our immigration policy has for the past 50 years been in chaos. Ever since the great parliamentary debates of the early 1960s on what to do with the worker migrants coming in ever-increasing numbers from former colonial territories in the British Commonwealth, our politicians have not known what to do. The first Commonwealth Immigrants Act of 1962 set the tone by simply restricting numbers, which sent out the xenophobic message that all non-white immigrants were a social problem.

Ever since the parliamentary debates about worker migrants coming in from the Commonwealth in the early 1960s, British politicians have not known what to do about immigration.

The greatest mistake was to say that any Commonwealth migrants who settled here had the right to bring in their spouse or other close dependants. This regulation is still in force today which allows migrants from the Indian subcontinent to send their young people back home for a marriage partner which doubles their migrant population each generation.

Hangovers from Colonialism

Our immigration policy has not been based upon offering a home to refugees or caring for those in need, but upon an outworn colonialist ideology of Britain being the 'Mother Country' who has an obligation to open her borders to all her children. This is regardless of the fact that many of those who have come from, say, Pakistan, have no love for Britain, make no attempt at integration, and share a long-term ambition of turning Britain into a Muslim country.

Now our politicians are scared of opening our borders to genuine refugees because of the social consequences of already having whole areas in some of our cities where English is hardly spoken and where health, welfare and education already present enormous problems. To bring in thousands more (mainly Muslims) from the Middle East exacerbates the problems we already have. Unless there is a radical change in public opinion, politicians do not want to make unpopular decisions - particularly in the run-up to the Referendum on Britain's relationships with the European Union. But even if there is a change in public opinion towards the refugees, will this affect our attitudes toward the EU?

Prosperity Threatened

Britain is not alone in fearing to open its borders to all-comers. There is already social unrest in Germany and a number of other nations within the Eurozone, where 18 million people are unemployed and youth unemployment is running at nearly 22%.

After centuries of European economic dominance where much of the wealth and prosperity has been derived through colonial exploitation, that prosperity is now under threat. With the Chinese market shrinking as their shares bubble bursts, the fears of economic collapse in Europe increase.Frank Augstein/AP/Press Association Images

What Does The Bible Say?

Does the Bible have anything to say about what is happening today? Way back in 1986, Prophecy Today began warning about a great shaking of the nations that was first prophesied by the Prophet Haggai in the sixth century BC, just after the return of the first wave of Jews from captivity in Babylon. Haggai foresaw a time coming when there would not only be tumultuous events in nature, the shaking of earth and sea, but there would be social and economic turmoil in all nations (Hag 2:6-7).

That prophecy was believed to be still in the future by the writer of the Book of Hebrews, near the end of the first century AD (Heb 12:26f). Of course, prophecies can have more than one fulfilment, but there are so many indicators today that something along these lines is actually happening in our lifetime. The increased frequency of earthquakes, storms and natural disasters plus the social, economic and political upheavals among the nations in every region of the world, surely have some significance! The reference in Hebrews says that when these things happen, God will use them to shake human confidence in our own cleverness and ability to solve every problem. This will prepare the way for the second coming of Jesus. Maybe that event is not so far in the future.

Is there anything that Christians can do to help in this situation with thousands of desperate people on the move across the world? Of course we can pray; and prayer does have a practical effect! We can also give to genuine charities that are working among refugees – particularly those on frontline camps in Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Turkey. But maybe we should also be offering accommodation in our home to genuine refugees to enable them to have a good experience of starting life again in a safe environment. Here is an opportunity for some trusted Christian group to organise this.

Clifford Hill looks at the migrant crisis.

We are witnessing today one of the greatest movements of human population in the history of the world. This is the conclusion of population experts as millions of refugees are on the move throughout the world and many of them are heading for Europe. Amnesty International says "We are witnessing the worst refugee crisis of our era, with millions of women, men and children struggling to survive amidst brutal wars, networks of people-traffickers, and governments who pursue selfish political interests instead of showing basic human compassion".¹

More than 100,000 migrants – asylum seekers and economic refugees – have descended upon Europe since the beginning of this year, coming from diverse nations in Africa (e.g. Eritrea, Somalia, Nigeria) and the Middle East (Syria, Afghanistan). This is causing a political crisis among European leaders and a social crisis on the ground.

Experts are concluding that today the world is witnessing one of the greatest movements of human population ever known."

Greece and Italy have borne the greatest burden as boatloads of migrants flow across the seas from Turkey and Libya – a journey fraught with danger as people-traffickers overfill unseaworthy fragile boats and set them adrift in the Mediterranean and the notoriously dangerous waters between Turkey and Greece.

Pressure on ports

Malta, Sicily and the southern ports of Italy are struggling to cope with the human influx. The Italians also are complaining that the rest of Europe is not doing enough to help. They are threatening to block HMS Bulwark from docking in their ports to drop off migrants. But a Downing Street spokesman said "Our ships are there to save lives, not to offer people asylum in the UK".²

Britain is taking the same attitude to the mounting crisis across the Channel in Calais where some 3,000 migrants are desperately attempting to board trucks heading for Channel ferries to Dover. They have already travelled thousands of miles to reach Calais and there is increasing desperation among them. A similar situation is in northern Italy where African migrants are camping out at the French border-crossing near Ventimiglia but are being denied access.

More trouble for Greece

The situation is even worse in Greece where tens of thousands of migrants fleeing the conflict in the Middle East have been landing in the popular island resorts of Kos, Lesbos, Tilos and Symi, adding to the economic woes of Greece, whose government is barely able to feed their own unemployed victims of the banking crisis.

The Greek Interior Minister Tasia Christodoulopoulou, warned "The reception systems there, already understaffed and underfunded, have collapsed. It is no surprise that thousands of destitute migrants are milling around in the streets and squares, searching for food and shelter. We simply don't have the money or resources to provide for all of them. It's tragic, I tell you, tragic! And it's going to get worse, really worse, and Europe isn't batting an eyelid. It's watching this unfold with criminal indifference".³

Colonial past

Why is all this happening today? Could it be that Europe is now reaping the harvest of its past history of oppression? For some 400 years British traders, backed by the Army, carried out a policy of colonisation right across the globe until the British Empire controlled one quarter of the world.

Most of the other European nations did the same, carving up Africa, Asia and the Americas into colonies which provided untold wealth to Europe. In doing so, they ignored tribal territories in creating new nations right across the Middle East and Africa, which today are boiling cauldrons of violence and mass murder from which millions of asylum seekers are fleeing.

Europeans carved up much of the world into colonies and then left them with unstable political systems, crippled economies and huge under-development, from which millions are now fleeing."

Europeans were happy to take the raw materials and cheap labour from their colonies and give them bank loans to enable them to purchase our manufactured goods while withholding technical and industrial patents and failing to help them develop the means of production to compete in global markets.

As a result, in almost all the colonies (except where there was a white majority) we left behind unstable political systems, crippled economies and huge under-development, creating conditions of poverty, unemployment and fragility from which millions are fleeing today.

Scales of justice reversed

The result is a human tidal wave which is now threatening to overwhelm the ageing population of Europe, complicate the continent's fragile economic and political state and irrevocably change its culture. This is not to overemphasise Europe's woes at the expense of the migrants, who are undoubtedly suffering most. It is to draw attention to our largely forgotten colonial history, which may be coming back to haunt us now in ways that will actually transform the fabric of the entire continent.

Could what is happening in Europe be related to what the biblical prophets see as a principle of justice that is built into Creation? The Prophet Jeremiah foresaw judgement falling upon the Babylonian Empire after 70 years and Isaiah said, "The Lord Almighty has a day in store for all the proud and lofty, for all that is exalted and they will be humbled." (Isa 2:12) He went on to declare that when this happens - "The Lord Almighty will be exalted by his justice, and the Holy God will show himself holy by his righteousness." (Isa 5:16)

God's basic principles of justice are built into creation- if we deliberately go against them, there will come a time when the scales are reversed."

The evidence of the Bible shows that God has built into his Act of Creation three basic principles: equality, justice and love. All men and women are created equal in the sight of God and therefore no one has the right to oppress others. Justice and love are part of the revealed nature of God.

When we deliberately go against these basic principles, we actually bring upon ourselves a time when the scales of justice are reversed. When this happens, it is a triumph of the justice of Almighty God, the Creator of the Universe. Could this be what is happening in Europe today? At least in part, is the migration crisis a legacy of colonialism that we ourselves sowed?

References

1 The Times 16.06.15

2 Ibid.

3 The Times 12.06.15