The battle is on for the foundations of our civilisation.

President Trump’s demolition of Obama’s legacy continued this week with the issuing of a directive overturning Obama’s federal guidance that students have unfettered access to whichever bathroom and locker room best matches their ‘gender identity’.

A joint letter sent out by the Departments of Justice and Education on Wednesday referred to the legal battles being fought in a number of States against the Obama directive, which was issued in May 2016. These State Governments have refused to comply with the federal guidance, on the grounds that boys claiming to be girls and exercising a right to use the girls’ toilets and showers would not only be an infringement of the rights of girls, but could expose them to acts of violence.

The Trump administration has cited these legal battles as justification for withdrawing the federal guidance issued by Obama, on the grounds that these complex legal issues all need to be clarified before education policy is finally established.

LGBT Backlash

LGBT rights groups immediately attacked the Trump administration saying “This is a mean-spirited attack on hundreds of thousands of students who simply want to be true to themselves and be treated with dignity while attending school.”¹ That was said by Maria Keisling, Executive Director of the National Centre for Transgender Equality.

Trump’s demolition of Obama’s legacy continued this week with the issuing of a directive overturning Obama’s transgender bathroom guidance.

Of course, she gives no evidence for the claim that there are “hundreds of thousands” of children who want to change their gender; although no doubt with all the publicity being given to the subject, more children will think it is a good idea and climb onto the bandwagon! This has been part of the tactics of the LGBT lobby for a long time – to exaggerate the numbers involved and to gain publicity far above their numerical value.

‘Equality’ and ‘Tolerance’

The main line of attack used by LGBT groups is on the grounds of ‘equality’. In one of the lawsuits currently being pursued in the USA, a student is suing her school for refusing her permission to use the boys’ toilets because she is registered as a girl. A so-called medical expert stated “refusing to respect and affirm transgender students’ gender identity communicates a clear, negative message: there is something wrong with the student that warrants this unequal treatment.”²

‘Equality’ and ‘tolerance’ are the two main values put forward by the LGBT lobby as justification for their campaigns. However, do not be fooled by these smooth, positive-sounding words. The radical agenda of the LGBT lobby is (and always has been) to change the whole structure of Western society, with the ultimate goal of destroying our Judaeo-Christian biblical foundations. In Britain, way back in 1971, a collective of gay rights groups issued a ‘manifesto’ in which they stated that the traditional family was the start of all gay oppression and had to be destroyed.³

Do not be fooled by smooth, positive-sounding cries of ‘equality’ and ‘tolerance’.

Maria Miller, Chair of the Women and Equalities Committee. See Photo Credits.Battle for the Foundations of Civilisation

What we are facing today is nothing less than a great spiritual battle to uproot the foundations of Western civilisation. Immediately after Donald Trump’s inauguration as President of the USA, LGBT groups and other far-left radical political groups who had formed an alliance made an appeal for funds. The alliance is the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). In the first month, they raised more than $80 million as a war chest for fighting the Trump administration.

In Britain today, the same radical social engineers who are to trying to destroy our Christian heritage are supporting a Private Members Bill in Parliament. The ‘Gender Identity (Protected Characteristic) Bill 2016-2017’ is being debated today (Friday 24 February 2017), led by Maria Miller, who was David Cameron’s Equality Minister who drove through Parliament the Same-Sex Marriage Bill that was opposed by more than half of Cameron’s Conservative backbenchers.

Miller’s latest assault on traditional family life is aimed at stopping so-called ‘unjust discrimination’ against people on grounds of gender identity and allowing men into women’s changing facilities. The new thing about this Bill is that whereas until now it has been assumed that transgender people are those who have had some surgical adjustment to change their gender, this Bill redefines ‘gender identity’ in terms of a person’s subjective perception of themselves. So, anyone claiming to be a person of the opposite gender will have a right to use public conveniences of their choice!

Britain’s own transgender bathroom bill is being debated today.

The Nature of the Battle

It really is essential that Christians should recognise the spiritual nature of the battle in which we are all involved. This is not just a gender issue. Neither is this just a local issue. We are facing a fundamental attack upon the biblical revelation of the God of Creation, that is being mounted by secular humanists throughout the Western world. They have been carrying out a planned campaign of social engineering for 40 years.

Their first target was to destroy the Christian concept of family and marriage. They have certainly been highly successful in this by redefining marriage and changing the whole concept of family. We now live in a society where – increasingly – any and all forms of family life are considered acceptable, normal and equally valuable.

Their second target has been to brainwash children and young people: moulding them into radical protesters who can be quickly mobilised through social media to take to the streets on any issue that threatens their ‘equality’ and ‘tolerance’ agenda.

This is why we have seen huge demonstrations against Trump in the USA and many other nations in the Western world. In their eyes, Trump represents a threat to all they have achieved in the past 40 years, not least because in his administration are many committed Christians who are dedicated to holding firmly to traditional biblical values.

A Crooked Generation

This is the heart of the battle today. It is a result of God shaking the nations and revealing their deep and widespread corruption. These revelations have generated an awareness among ordinary people that our leaders cannot be trusted, which has led to the rise of populist movements in Britain, the USA and Europe that are challenging the ruling authorities.

But these ruling elites are not just well-known leaders: they are civil servants and local government officers and other minor officials who have been infiltrated and dominated by the liberal left.

The radical agenda of the LGBT lobby has always been to destroy the biblical foundations of Western society.

We need to avoid implying that there is some kind of joined-up dark conspiracy; but there is plenty of evidence that there are lesser-known individuals and groups operating behind the scenes, (such as Common Purpose, George Soros-backed Indivisible and Organizing for Action) dedicated to manipulating social values and undermining our biblical heritage in order to work towards a one world government (presumably whereby they can seize power to gain their own ends).

Anti-establishment, populist victories like Brexit and Trump are perceived to be a threat to their power and the achievement of their purpose. They have instigated far-reaching counter-revolutionary demonstrations – and now even occult groups are calling their supporters to put a curse on Trump at midnight tonight, 24 February 2017.⁴ The forces of darkness are certainly being stirred!

This is why Christians need to understand the nature of the spiritual battle that is raging in Western nations today. Believers need to understand what Isaiah meant when he said:

When your judgements come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness. Though grace is shown to the wicked, they do not learn righteousness; even in a land of uprightness they go on doing evil and regard not the majesty of the Lord. (Isa 26:10)

It is surely time for the army of the Lord to rise up in prayer; and to declare publicly God’s truth to a crooked generation!

References

1 Smith, D and Redden, M. Trump administration rescinds Obama-era protections for transgender students. The Guardian, 23 February 2017.

2 Ibid.

3 Gay Liberation Front: Manifesto. London, 1971, revised 1978.

4 We have examined evidence for this claim and are satisfied that it is true, but we are not publishing website details as we have no wish to promote these organisations.

A call to prayer.

In two days' time, on Sunday 15 January, representatives from 70 nations will gather in Paris for a conference aimed at resurrecting the Israel/Palestine peace process.

Last week we commented on the passing of anti-Israel UNSC Resolution 2334 and John Kerry's speech setting out parameters for a 'two-state solution' (both December 2016). The next stage in Obama's swansong would appear to be a last-minute attempt to force through some kind of international agreement along these lines, using this Paris summit.

We do not yet know the form this agreement might take - whether further pressure on Israel to declare their West Bank settlements illegal, or even a global 'roadmap' for establishing a Palestinian state.¹ Its outcome may quickly be overturned when President-Elect Trump assumes office next Friday (20 January) – nevertheless, its clear follow-on from Resolution 2334 and its rushed placement just before Trump's inauguration are causing concern amongst Israelis and friends of Israel.

The Nations Gather

70 nations will be present at the summit (though some news outlets have reported that the eventual number might be 72 or 77), which has been instigated by the French and will be chaired by French President Francois Hollande.

This is prompting some biblical speculation. One Rabbinic commentator has noted that in Torah terms, '70 nations' signifies all nations – prompting connections to be made to Bible prophecies about all the nations of the world gathering against Israel during the end times.²

70 Nations Deciding the Fate of One

What is certain is that this is no gathering for the sake of peace – however it might be billed. We do not see similar conferences happening to solve the Syrian civil war, or to combat the spread of ISIS, for instance. Israel is being singled out in yet another international attempt to carve up her God-given land and further undermine support for her very existence – as Charles Gardner eloquently expounds in his article this week .

Though Israeli PM Netanyahu and Palestinian President Abbas have been invited to attend the conference's conclusion, Netanyahu has refused this invitation on principle, stating: "This conference is a fraud, a Palestinian scam under French auspices, whose goal is to lead to the adoption of additional anti-Israeli positions".³ Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman has called the summit "a modern-day Dreyfus trial".⁴

70 nations will be present at the summit, prompting some biblical speculation.

The present American embassy in Israel, Tel Aviv. See Photo Credits.American Betrayal

Earlier this week, Washington confirmed that John Kerry will be in attendance, as part of his last foreign trip as Secretary of State.⁵ Relations between Israel and the US have been at an all-time low since UNSC Resolution 2334 was passed last month. Obama's clear involvement in this surfaced soon after, in what many are calling a deep betrayal of the long-standing friendship between the US and Israel.

These diplomatic tensions are being worsened by the current outcry against Donald Trump both within and outside of the USA, as he has so far refused to rescind his promise to move the American embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Indeed, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas will meet with Pope Francis at the Vatican on Saturday, the day before the Paris conference, as part of a campaign to stop Trump's 'explosive' plan.⁶

Israel's Last Chance?

All this is coming at a particularly vulnerable time for Israelis, who are still recovering from the terror attack last week in Jerusalem, when a lorry was driven deliberately into a group of IDF soldiers.

Israeli officials have predicted that the chain of international events currently unfolding will undermine Netanyahu's leadership and incite further Palestinian violence, whilst removing all hope of a 'two-state solution'.

As if to confirm this, a top adviser to the Palestinian President has told The Jerusalem Post that the Paris conference is Israel's 'last chance' to accept such a 'solution'.⁷ In a veiled threat, he implied that if Israel does not bow to the pressure being loaded upon them by the world, they will be solely responsible for the breakdown of the peace process and any violence that might ensue.

This will be no gathering for the sake of peace - no matter how it might be billed.

Unfolding Rapidly

Events are moving quickly. The week ahead looks set to be momentous – with the Sunday summit feeding into a further convening of the UN on Israel/Palestine matters on Tuesday 17 January.

The World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland, where global leaders meet annually to discuss the world's future in both open and closed meetings, also begins on Tuesday, whilst Trump's inauguration is set for Friday 20 January.

There is certainly no time like the present for Christians to turn to the word of God for guidance, hope and encouragement in prayer! But what are we to expect – and how are we to pray?

Watch and Pray – But How?

We know that in general terms, those who seek to harm Israel do so at their peril – for they risk bringing Divine retribution upon themselves. This is an eternal principle set out in Scripture (e.g. Gen 12:3), the grim reality of which has been confirmed time and again through history.

The Bible is also very clear that at the end of days there will be a special, global revolt against Israel (e.g. Zech 12-14, Rev 16, Jer 25), with many nations assembling together to attack Jerusalem. This will be part of the Lord's judgment - and part of an inevitable chain of events foretold in Scripture that lead directly to the return of Jesus Messiah.

Joel 3:1-2 specifies that these nations will historically have had a hand in scattering Jews into exile and dividing up the Lord's land. However, the siege will be directed against Zion (Jerusalem), implying that the City at the centre of it all will remain under (or eventually be restored to) Israeli control: "On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves" (Zech 12:2-3).

The eternal principle set out in Scripture is that those who seek to harm Israel do so at their peril.

Though the nations conspire together, however, the timings of this final onslaught are completely in the hands of the Lord God. Psalm 2 is a wonderful psalm for regaining this heavenly perspective ("Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain?...The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them...").

As Christians watching keenly the events currently happening on the world stage, we must pray that the Lord will accomplish his purposes fully at this time, using the instability and the great evil abroad in the world to bring as many into the Kingdom as possible. We should pray blessing on the people of Israel – and seek to support them in more tangible ways. And we might pray that Britain will work for Israel's best interests in all our diplomatic endeavours, instead of paying lip service to her one day and betraying her the next.

A Final Warning – and a Hope

Finally, we can all take heed of the warning in Zephaniah 2, given to those nations that would come against Israel. This is the very same chapter that prophesies the emptying of Gaza and the final destruction of Canaan, the land of the Philistines (from whence we get our modern terms 'Palestine' and 'Palestinian'). The warning is this:

Gather yourselves together...Before the decree is issued, before the day passes like chaff, before the Lord's fierce anger comes upon you, before the day of the Lord's anger comes upon you! Seek the Lord, all you meek of the Earth who have upheld His justice. Seek righteousness, Seek humility. It may be that you will be hidden in the day of the Lord's anger.

References

1 A draft closing statement for the conference was leaked by Haaretz earlier this week. Full text available here.

2 Berkowitz, Biblical Origins of the 70-Nation Anti-Israel Paris Conference. Breaking Israel News, 5 January 2017.

3 Ravid, B. Netanyahu: Paris Peace Conference Is Rigged by Palestinians Under French Auspices. Haaretz, 12 January 2017.

4 Ynet News, Associated Press. Abbas hopes Paris summit ends settlements. 27 December 2016.

5 AFP, Kerry to attend Mideast peace conference in Paris. Times of Israel, 11 January 2017.

6 Lazaroff, T. Abbas to meet Pope Francis in advance of Paris parley. The Jerusalem Post, 11 January 2017.

7 Rasgon, A. Palestinians put hope in Paris conference as possible 'last chance' for two-states. The Jerusalem Post, 3 January 2017.

No peace in Paris: Middle East conference more likely to be a powder keg.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not a problem that is going to disappear with a wave of a magic wand from the world's politicians. It's an age-old dilemma that has spiritual roots and a spiritual solution.

Representatives of 70 nations will descend on Paris on Sunday for a global conference to promote a "two-state solution" as the way to lasting peace in the Middle East. It's a 'peace' they plan to impose on Israel, who will not even be there!

And the fear among Jews is that whatever is agreed in France will be used as the basis for a UN Security Council resolution that would permanently divide Israel and create an Islamic Palestinian state.

Denying Reality

But the nations are merely engaging in another distraction – a denial of reality – that does not begin to address the issue. Just three weeks ago the UN passed a resolution declaring that Israel is illegally 'occupying' much of the land to which it is historically, and biblically, entitled – including the Temple Mount, Western Wall and the Old City itself (every inch of east Jerusalem, in fact), which have been part of Judaism for thousands of years. And Britain, to its shame, voted for this!

In re-writing history and making a mockery of justice and fairness, the United Nations has become a sick joke as it brazenly continues to back the Palestinian narrative that would drive Israel into the sea. Their spokesmen have been quoted over and over again saying that they only want such a state as a launch pad for ridding the region of Jews altogether.¹

The nations are merely engaging in another distraction - a denial of reality.

Roots in Anti-Semitism

The response to the truck-ramming attack in Jerusalem which killed four Israeli Defence Force soldiers² says it all. Arab Palestinians took to the streets and social media to celebrate and, in Gaza, the ruling Hamas terrorist group praised the attack as a "natural response to the Israeli occupier's crimes". People in Gaza and the Palestinian Authority-controlled 'West Bank' were seen festively handing out sweets to mark the occasion.

According to the PA, the murder of Israeli youths is sanctioned by Islam! The official PA daily said the killer "died as a Shahid" (that is, a martyr for Allah). And the Authority will now reward the terrorist's wife with a lifetime monthly allowance of £627 ($760 or 2,900 shekels). And this in a territory led by Mahmoud Abbas – a so-called 'moderate'.

No, the problem is not the settlements, or Jewish communities, built on disputed land claimed by the Palestinians. The root of this enduring conflict is anti-Semitism, currently in the shape of Islamic fundamentalism. Actually, Israel is entitled under international law to Judea and Samaria (currently known as the West Bank), courtesy of the San Remo Conference of 1922 in the aftermath of World War I.

In fact, it was around this time that a 'two-state solution' was first tried when, with the stroke of a pen, the British Government handed over a major portion of the territory originally earmarked for Israel to the Arabs – the country now known as Jordan. So why is there a need for further division?

The root of this enduring conflict is anti-Semitism, currently in the shape of Islamic fundamentalism.

The Trump Card...

The Paris Conference, like the recent UN resolution, could well make things worse for Israel and render peace even less likely by encouraging terror groups to believe they have the backing of world powers.

This would be a profound tragedy, however, especially for the nations involved. There will undoubtedly be further battles for Israel, but in the end they hold the 'trump' card – and I am not referring to the incoming US President.

Jesus, the Jewish Messiah, will return to his beloved Land – and the nations who scattered his people and divided up his Land will be put on trial. But the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem will be restored (see Joel 3:1f).

Jesus will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and will be king over the whole earth (Zech 14:1-9).

Come, Lord Jesus!

Notes

1 For this and other information in this article, I am indebted to David Soakell's 12 January 2017 newsletter, Watching Over Zion, produced weekly for Christian Friends of Israel (CFI), as well as to official PA TV, 8 January 2017.

2 This included three young women aged 20-22, one of whom, Yael Yekutiel, was a Facebook friend of my CFI colleague David Soakell, who described the 20-year-old officer as "full of light and life" who "seemed to love everyone and everyone loved her." David himself narrowly missed being a victim of a suicide bomb back in 2002.

Echoes of 1930s as May government betrays Israel.

As Russian planes bomb Syria and clouds continue to gather over the Middle East, Clifford Hill asks: are we one step closer to the fulfilment of Ezekiel 38?

Once again Putin has outmanoeuvred Obama. At their meeting in Washington earlier this week, Putin offered the involvement of Russian forces in the fight against the Islamic State. Obama welcomed it! He didn't spot Putin's ploy!

Just Who is Russia Attacking?

Within 48 hours of their meeting, Russian forces piled into Syria with air-to-air missiles and SA-22 anti-aircraft batteries. But the Islamic State has no air force! So whose planes would Russia be shooting down? The only planes flying over Syria are American and French. No wonder the Russians delivered a one-hour warning to the American embassy in Baghdad telling them not to fly any missions.

Russia then launched air attacks upon the area occupied by Syrian rebels trained by the USA and supplied with American weapons in their fight against Assad. So what Obama agreed to do was the slaughter of those whom America has been supporting. Russia is now free to roam the skies over Syria in support of Assad without any commitment to destroying the Islamic State.

Obama accepted Putin's offer of military action against IS – and has unwittingly given Russia control over Syrian airspace.

International Alliances

This conflict is about far more than a disagreement about Assad's ability to rule: it is about strategic control of the entire Middle East. At the same time as launching the recent airstrikes, Russia has joined an intelligence-gathering centre in Baghdad set up by Iraq, Iran and Syria which effectively establishes a Shi'ite Muslim alliance over the whole Middle East from Iran to the Mediterranean Sea. When they have settled their battle for supremacy over the Sunni Muslims they will turn to their final objective – the destruction of Israel.

Russia knows that they only have another 16 months of Obama's weak presidency so now is the time to strike and establish their power base in the region. Meanwhile, anti-Assad rebel groups have their own international backers – including Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia as well as the US, the UK and France. Syria's civil war is fast threatening to become a proxy war – and could potentially escalate even beyond this.

The Shi-ite Muslim alliance being established over the Middle East has a final goal: and it's not victory over the Sunnis. It's the destruction of Israel.

Threat to Israel

The threat to Israel grows daily and becomes increasingly like the biblical scenario which was revealed to the prophet Ezekiel in chapters 38 and 39 which speaks of an alliance between Iraq and Iran plus the North African states of Sudan and Libya, and the involvement of the Azerbaijan area of Russia (Eze 38:5-6), all gathering to attack Israel.

The big question facing us is this: is Ezekiel's prophecy inevitable? Or has it been sent by God as a warning of what could happen if we do nothing when violent men who care nothing for human life, armed with weapons of mass destruction, come together threatening the peace of the world?

We welcome your comments!