Testing the gold dust phenomenon

Hugh Kitson on Britain’s divine call to support Israel.

Official EU policy has been to sacrifice Israel for oil

The secret is out. Britain has been locked into an anti-Israel agreement ever since we first entered Europe in the early 1970s – a policy likely to consign us to the dust of history.

But a successful Brexit could allow us to repair the damage.

Writing for Heart newspaper,¹ which circulates in churches throughout the south of England, film-maker Hugh Kitson has revealed the real reason for the mess we’re in over Europe.

In a devastating article, he says that Britain, along with its European allies, has effectively sacrificed Israel on the altar of expedience and economic survival.

By signing up to the so-called Euro-Arab Dialogue (EAD), we capitulated to the Arab political agenda in exchange for oil, literally allowing the rich Arab nations to hold us ‘over a barrel’.

Economic Blackmail

The historical background to this little-known arrangement was Arab frustration at Israel’s resilience in surviving a succession of wars against the odds. Having failed yet again to defeat Israel in the 1973 Yom Kippur War, they dispensed with brute force in exchange for undermining the political will of the West by imposing an oil embargo.

This led to severe restrictions that brought Britain to its knees, as a result of which European countries led by France agreed to the EAD agenda which ensured that Israel – the Middle East’s only democracy (holding elections again on Tuesday) – would have her actions and borders constantly challenged.

Shockingly, we agreed further that Islam and its human rights abuses could not be criticised, while Muslim immigration into European society was to be welcomed.

The EAD has changed shape over the years, but has continued to meet to this day; its most recent gathering, in February, was attended by Theresa May.

By signing up to the so-called Euro-Arab Dialogue (EAD), we capitulated to the Arab political agenda in exchange for oil.

Distortion and Deception

Hugh Kitson writes: “This explains the anti-Israel bias in the Western media, which leads to a completely distorted view of the Arab-Israeli conflict…”

See Photo Credits.And he adds: “This policy is obligatory on member states of the EU to this day if they are to have favourable economic relations with the Arab world. Basically, the European nations decided that there has to be a Palestinian state with ‘East Jerusalem’ as its capital, no matter what, even if it means the demise of the Jewish state.”

The push for a so-called ‘two-state solution’ has been part of this mantra for years. Yet it flies in the face of international acknowledgement of Israel’s right to the land, particularly through the San Remo Treaty of 1920, and brazenly provokes the judgment of God, who states in his word: “When I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all nations and…enter into judgment against them concerning my inheritance, my people Israel, for they scattered my people among the nations and divided up my land” (Joel 3:2).

So it seems that our 45-year dalliance with Europe has been marked by deception – not only that the liaison was never intended to be more than a trade agreement, but also over Middle East foreign policy, which the electorate will have trusted the Government to enact in good faith and for the benefit of both parties.

But this has clearly never been the case with Israel, whom we have betrayed – not once, not twice, but three times. First, we reneged on our 1917 pledge to prepare a home for them in their ancient land; then we refused immigration to many who were desperately trying to flee Nazi-occupied Europe and now, we discover to our horror, we have been sacrificing them relentlessly to the god of oil.

Deliberate Policy

Such a policy has long been suspected, as it has effectively been our practice, but it has only now become more widely known that this had been the agreed course of action all along, to which our Government has been committed.

This disgraceful treatment of God’s chosen people has sent us sliding down the slippery slope of godlessness, hopelessness and despair amid the chaos and confusion surrounding Brexit – unless, of course, we see the error of our ways and act upon it.

Our 45-year dalliance with Europe has been marked by deception.

Speaking of the future glory of Zion, the word of God says: “For the nation or kingdom that will not serve you will perish; it will be utterly ruined” (Isa 60:12).

Although seen as a means of our short-term economic survival, the reality of the policy we have pursued over Israel is that it will ultimately lead to our destruction. We have cursed rather than blessed them, and will be judged accordingly (see Gen 12:3).

We’ve Lost the Way

And the result is that much of what we see happening in the Middle East is being replicated here – the death of democracy, for instance, seen in the huge crowds descending on London calling for a second referendum because they didn’t like the outcome of the first. They were, of course, reflecting the views of their politicians, foolishly ignoring the will of 17.4 million people.

Another feature of Middle East politics is the blatant propaganda which seeks to portray Israel as the unwilling party in peace negotiations, whereas in reality neither the Palestinian Authority nor Hamas is interested in securing a peace deal that doesn’t involve driving the Jews into the sea. The fact is, they don’t want part of the land; they want all of it.

In Britain too we are being bombarded by propaganda. It’s not enough that homosexuals have been ‘normalised’ into society. No, the government’s Department of Education email signature line now embeds a large rainbow flag with the logo ‘I’m an LGBT+ Champion’.²

We now hear how the general populace has fallen out of love with our politicians, but they only reflect the selfish, sinful and confused state of the electorate.

In a passage about wisdom, the Book of Proverbs offers us the choice of life or death: “For whoever finds me finds life and receives favour from the Lord. But whoever fails to find me harms himself; all who hate me love death” (Prov 8:35f).

Jesus is the way, the truth and ‘the life’ spoken of here (John 14:6). We have lost our way as a nation; we need to find Jesus again!

References

1 Heart newspaper, April/May 2019.

2 Christian Concern, 29 March 2019.

Continuing our series on the question 'What is a prophet?', Edmund Heddle unpacks the idea of prophetic anointing.

No one knows the origin of the custom of anointing with oil or for how long it has been practised. It is claimed that the oldest prescription for an anointing oil dates from about 4200 BC, so it is certainly an age-old practice. Anointing is mentioned in the Scriptures over one hundred times and in all periods of biblical history.

Anointing a Pillar

Genesis 28:18 records the first occurrence in the Bible when early one morning Jacob poured oil on the stone on which he had rested his head, as he set it up as a lasting memorial of his experiences. His action gives then impression of being the normal thing to do, rather than the introduction of a new custom. By pouring oil on the stone he sanctified it, in the sense of setting it apart for God, a meaning that is common to all Biblical anointings.

Secular Anointings

The Bible in Old and New Testaments refers to various secular uses of anointing. Part of an Israelite's daily toilet was to anoint oneself with oil, thus causing their faces to shine (Psalm 104:15)! This custom was only omitted during mourning (2 Sam 12:20, 14:2).

The anointing of the heads of guests was a courtesy that Simon the Pharisee neglected when he entertained Jesus to a meal. It is significant from the words used in Greek that whereas Simon did not get around to anointing Jesus with common olive oil, the sinful woman was not content with anything less that an expensively perfumed oil to pour on Jesus' feet.

In biblical times, anointing with oil was a daily activity, with uses ranging from personal vanity to social courtesy, to medicine."

The third use of oil was a medicinal one, in the story of the Good Samaritan, who poured on oil and wine (Luke 10:34, also Isa 1:6, Eze 16:9). From the story of the women at the Garden Tomb, we see it was a custom to anoint the bodies of the dead (Mark 16:1).

Priest's Anointing

Turning to the biblical accounts of sacred anointings, we note that priests were anointed into office by the pouring on of oil. In the Pentateuch there are some thirty references to anointings; all of these refer to the anointing of the High Priest and his sons, the tabernacle and its furniture (Ex 40:9-15). This act was in fact their ordination and accreditation, giving them authority to minister to both God and man (Lev 8:12).

Priests were anointed into office, giving them authority to minister to both God and man."

Special Formula Oil

The oil used in their consecration had to be made to a special prescription laid down by God himself. (Ex 30:32). The four spices were liquid myrrh, sweet-smelling cinnamon, aromatic cane and cassia. These were to be blended with olive oil by a perfumer. Two of these spices were rare and only obtainable from India and the Far-East.

This was to be the oil used for anointing the priests and the kings of Israel down the generations. It was forbidden to use this oil on the bodies of ordinary men (Ex 30:32) and it was forbidden to make up any oil to the same formula, on pain of exclusion from the people of God. This special oil was kept in a holy place (1 Kings 1:39) and in the care of the son of the High Priest (Num 4:16).

The oil used in the priestly anointing was made of a unique formula, written by God himself and forbidden for use on ordinary men."

Such careful regulations made this oil special and therefore an appropriate symbol of the Holy Spirit, throughout Scripture typified by oil and which cannot be poured out on those who are unredeemed.

Aaron's Anointing

Looking back over the centuries, the writer of Psalm 133 describes the precious oil poured on Aaron's head in such abundance that it ran down on to his beard and the collar of his robes (v2). So generously is the Spirit poured out, bringing the fragrance of Christ, the blessing of life and the brotherly unity of all who share the divine anointing.

In connection with his anointing, a gold plate was placed on Aaron's turban. The Hebrew word for this gold diadem is closely connected with the word for the Nazirite vow of separation (Num 6:21). By his anointing the High Priest was forbidden to leave the sanctuary and was not permitted to come into contact with the dead, even to attend the funeral of a close relative. All of this teaches us that alongside blessings of the divine anointing, stringent demands of holy separation are imposed on all upon whom the holy oil has been poured.

As with the priestly oil, so the Holy Spirit is poured out generously on believers, bringing the fragrance of Christ, brotherly unity and the blessing of life- but also the call to be holy and separate for the Lord."

Anointing of Kings

In the historical books of the Old Testament (Judges through 2 Chronicles), there are more than fifty references to anointing, and all but few are concerned with the coronation of kings. Saul and David, Absalom and Solomon and others after them received the 'coronation' of holy anointing oil. Very little is said about placing a crown on their heads, the vitally important thing was the anointing they received.

Holy anointing oil was also used at the coronation of kings; what mattered wasn't the crown placed on their heads, but the anointing they received."

This anointing resulted in their being described as 'the Lord's Anointed'. This term, which occurs a dozen times in the Book of Psalms, has an original reference to the kings of Israel and in a fuller, prophetic sense to the Messiah.

Kings were anointed over an area or kingdom (1 Sam 15:17); David was first anointed king over Lawrence OP / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 / see Photo CreditsJudah (2 Sam 2:4), and subsequently over Israel as a whole (2 Sam 5:3). Early on he had received a prospective anointing as the God-appointed successor to King Saul, whilst still a young lad (though no mention was made then of the territory over which he was to reign). Then, during the waiting period whilst Saul was still king, that David on two occasions had the opportunity to kill him. But this David refused to do because Saul was 'the Lord's Anointed' (1 Sam 24:6, 26:9-11).

When news came to him that Saul was dead, David discovered that his informant had dealt the final blow and for such a crime he was immediately put to death (2 Sam 1:14-16)- so heinous did David regard the crime of taking the life of the Lord's Anointed. From the anointings of kings we see the dignity and authority bestowed on them by the sacred anointing they had received. We should also note that charismatic gifts also resulted from the same anointing (1 Sam 10:6-13, 16:13).

Kingly anointing bestowed dignity and authority, and often resulted in charismatic gifts."

Were Prophets Anointed?

In spite of the fact that a number of Bible dictionaries state that priests, kings and prophets were anointed, there is no record in Scripture of any prophet ever being anointed with oil. It is true that Elijah was ordered to anoint Elisha as his successor in the prophetic office. But it was Elijah's mantle, rather than any oil, that came down on Elisha (1 Kings 19:16-19).

Alan Cole in his commentary on Exodus (p203) says: "the word (anointing) is used only in a metaphysical sense of the appointment of prophets". Psalm 105:15 describes the patriarchs as prophets, and God calls them 'my anointed ones', yet there is no suggestion that they had ever been anointed with oil. The prophet's anointing was and always will be 'with the Holy Spirit'; of which in the anointing of priests and kings the oil was the symbol.

Prophetic anointing was and always will be with the Holy Spirit."

Christ the Anointed

Jesus is 'the Anointed One'; priest, king and prophet, and for this we call him 'Christ', from the Greek word 'christos' meaning anointed. We also call him 'Messiah' or Messias, the Latin form of the Hebrew word 'mashiach', also meaning 'the anointed'. Isaiah's prophecy had been fulfilled in him and he could say: the Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me' (Isa 61:1). It is important to notice that Jesus was not anointed 'by' the Spirit, but 'with' the Spirit. J Elder Cumming in his 'Through the Eternal Spirit' (p154) says:

The thought conveyed in these passages is that the anointing is the Holy Spirit himself. It is not that he is the agent in giving it, nor that he gives something that belongs to him which he makes over in the sense of a blessing or power. It is that he comes to be the anointing oil. Jesus of Nazareth was anointed not by him, but with him. The anointing is not a blessing, a gift such as grace, peace or power, but is a person, the Holy Spirit himself...

Peter explained to the Roman Centurion Cornelius that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, that he went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed by the devil (Acts 10:38). Jesus' earthly ministry was made possible by his having been anointed with the Holy Spirit.

This anointing of Jesus had taken place immediately after his baptism by John in the Jordan, when the Spirit descended like a dove (Mark 1:9-10). The tempter immediately challenged this anointing, but Jesus stood firm against him and so returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit (Luke 4:14).

The Christian Anointing

There is no anointing for the believer to claim before he can rightly use the name 'Christian' (Greek christianos), meaning follower of Christ the anointed one. As Aaron and his sons were unfit to minister until the holy oil had been poured upon them, so Christians are unfit to discharge their office as priests, prophets and kings until they are anointed with the Holy Spirit, of whom the holy oil was the type.

Christians are unfit to discharge their office without the Holy Spirit, of whom the holy oil was a type. When we accept God's gift of the Spirit by faith, we receive an abiding anointing."

According to Paul's words to the church at Corinth (2 Cor 1:21), and John's letter (1 John 2:20, 27), Christians have been anointed, and the tense of the verbs they use indicates that this anointing is something which happens once and for all: it refers to a definite moment in the life of the disciple. It would seem, therefore, that the habit, prevalent in some circles, of referring to 'an anointing coming upon me time and time again' obscures the fact that what we receive when we by faith accept God's gift of the Spirit (Luke 11:13, Gal 3:14) is an abiding anointing.

Part of the answer to the question 'What is a prophet?' must be this: a prophet is someone who is aware that the Spirit has been poured out upon him and as a result he is enabled and impelled to speak the words of God. Without that experience, no man could ever be a prophet.

Meaning of Anointing

• To be set apart from unholy things;
• To be given authority to act as a crowned king;
• To be able to speak God's words and have those words confirmed by charismatic gifts;
• To spread abroad the fragrance of Christ;
• To be a unifying influence, and
• To promote spiritual life and vitality.

These are the characteristics of those prophets who have received the abiding anointing of the Holy Spirit himself.

First published in Prophecy Today, Vol 1, No 5, 1985.