Our Strong Tower

The coronavirus outbreak in biblical perspective

A message for the Church.

No-one who saw the Grenfell fire on 14 June last year will forget it. It was a literal towering inferno that has had ramifications far beyond North Kensington. It cost the lives of 72 people, displaced not only the survivors but also hundreds who lived nearby and broke the reputation of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) as one of the best-run local councils in the country. More broadly, it exposed deep-seated problems of governance that have shaken the nation.

Over the forthcoming months, the Public Inquiry will reveal more that will no doubt embarrass (in different measures) the Fire Brigade, the Council, the Tenant Management Organisation, the 60+ contractors involved in the refurbishment, the Government department responsible for fire safety and standards, and no doubt a few Government ministers, as well as Parliament. Whether responsibility will be pinned on one or a few, or be much more widely spread, is conjecture. But it is clear that there were very many shortcomings, by many different organisations.

Precisely because of its size - it was the largest such tragedy in 25 years (Hillsborough and Aberfan are both comparable in terms of loss) - and the degree to which it dominated politics and the news for weeks after the fire had extinguished itself, Grenfell needs to be seen both politically and spiritually as a national event, raising national questions.

This is all the more so as - quite ‘coincidentally’ – further tower block fires broke out in Lewisham and Glasgow on the very anniversary of the Grenfell fire. Given that the main news on Thursday was the anniversary of Grenfell, it is as if God, in allowing two fires in similar buildings to break out that same day (although thankfully neither with fatalities) is really trying to get our attention.¹ But many may well have missed these news stories.

Grenfell needs to be seen both politically and spiritually as a national event, raising national questions.

Why Did God Allow Grenfell?

Why did God allow the Grenfell tragedy to occur? First, we need to stress that there was nothing particularly bad about those who died. In Luke 13, Jesus tells his listeners that those who died when the tower in Siloam fell were not worse sinners than others who dwelt in Jerusalem (verse 3). However, he is unequivocal in the following verse that his listeners nevertheless need to repent, lest they too perish.

In other words, the collapse of the Tower of Siloam was allowed by God in order to send a wider message of repentance to those looking on. Just so with Grenfell. Too few Christian leaders regularly acknowledge the degree to which we live in a fallen world, and repentance is a neglected concept. God is very holy and we are very much mired in our sin. We desperately need Jesus’s atoning death to pave the way for eternity.

I also believe God allowed Grenfell in order to expose the sin that lay behind the fire and its aftermath. In a previous article on this subject, I noted that if there was one sin of which RBKC (indeed, the UK as a whole) was perhaps guiltier than most, it was pride, itself the root of all sin.

Thousands join a silent march marking one year since the blaze.Additionally, I believe that God wants to get our attention, as believers and also as UK subjects. It is not his delight to punish, but to show mercy – he wants us to seek his face in serious repentance (not just with lip-service), that he might pour out forgiveness and that we might be restored. Undoubtedly, searching questions need to be asked: not just about who was to blame, but about our entire direction and destiny as a society.

For this reason, Grenfell is first and foremost a wake-up call to the Church, which in turn should bear the message of repentance to the nation. How the Church responds (or fail to respond) will have hugely significant consequences for Britain’s future destiny.

Emotion and Injustice

At a local level, the Church has a role to play in the aftermath of Grenfell which the Government simply cannot fulfil. In my previous article, I looked at the historic reasons for the lack of trust, lack of hope, latent anger and hatred which mark communities in and around Grenfell Tower. I explained that decades – even centuries – of deprivation and disenfranchisement now imbue this area with deeply felt emotions, made worse by the incredible affluence on display virtually next door, in the south of the Borough.

Grenfell is first and foremost a wake-up call to the Church, which in turn should bear the message of repentance to the nation.

But while these problems strike at the heart of Government, concerning as they do issues of decision-making, empowerment and stewardship of resources, they also involve complex social and spiritual problems that our secular Government is unable to properly address - and perhaps was never supposed to.

With a relatively narrow remit, we cannot expect the Inquiry to look into these things. This is where the Church must come in: we need to ask what the role of the Body of Christ should be, and how it can bring true hope and restoration into this situation, and more widely.

Re-Commitment Needed Desperately

As a result of wide-ranging criticisms, many RBKC councillors and staff have moved on and a governance review is underway. There is much yet to be done, but few serious observers would dispute that there has already been significant change.

Whether this could also be said of the local Church is a different matter. The churches immediately surrounding Grenfell Tower responded extremely well to the tragedy. However, their ecclesiology, missiology and theology vary so hugely (and in some cases are diametrically opposed), that the question needs to be asked whether they can all be meaningfully and genuinely Christian. This issue strikes at the heart of the direction in which different parts of the Church in Britain are progressing – and implicitly raises the question of what sort of a god they worship.

In my last article, I noted the need for a re-commitment to evangelism from both church leaders and ordinary Christians, all across the country. This point still stands. As the Public Inquiry has shown, many Grenfell Tower residents were Muslims. They need the true Jesus of the Bible just as much as do the wealthier across the Borough – as indeed does the country as a whole: it is the job of all churches to evangelise the lost – from whatever ethnic background or culture they are. Few of us have shared the Gospel as we should have done, with boldness and seizing all opportunities.

What is desperately needed is a wholehearted re-commitment from churches around the nation to God’s word and his purposes.

However, even a re-commitment to evangelism (while welcome) is not enough on its own. What is desperately needed is a wholehearted re-commitment from churches around the nation to God’s word and his purposes. This would transform not only our evangelism but much else besides – and empower the Church to respond to this tragedy prophetically, declaring its lessons to the nation, as well as serving locally.

The hour is late; the time has come for fearless proclamations of truth, made in the power of the Spirit of God, as well as demonstrations of God’s kingdom purposes - to say nothing of his love. The future of churches – indeed, entire denominations - that refuse this mandate is at stake, for “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire” (Matt 7:19; also John 15:2).

A Wake-Up Call

While much else besides, Grenfell was a wake-up call to a slumbering Church which has lost its way. The true Church – the Bride of Christ - needs to discern the wider significance of the tragedy and the necessity of repentance just as much as those not yet in the Kingdom.

Many churches local to Grenfell have given fully of themselves and are still doing all that they can. But given that this is a national tragedy, it should be the case that churches across the country are also willing to help as needed – one obvious way being in helping to carry the burden of prayer and intercession: for hope and healing, for repentance and forgiveness, and for the fullness of God’s purposes to be worked out, including through the Inquiry.

The cost of the fire will be borne by survivors until they themselves die, and will continue to mark our society even after. But if Grenfell’s stark warnings about the nation’s precarious position before God cannot be learned and applied soon, it is undoubtedly the case that further destruction will follow. If we do not listen to God’s words, we will have to endure his works: the former may be challenging - the latter much more so.

Leading the way here, declaring the warning and holding out the offer of mercy to a lost nation, should be the true Church of God! If the Church senses the great urgency of the hour and responds as the Father wills, there is yet opportunity for great positive transformation in Britain that would, in some measure, mitigate the indescribable loss of Grenfell.

References

1 See news articles from the BBC, The Guardian and The Telegraph, for example.

Further Reading

Previous article on this subject: Reflections on the Grenfell Tower Fire. Prophecy Today UK, 15 December 2017.

Everett, A, Rev, 2018. After the Fire, Finding words for Grenfell. Canterbury Press, Norwich.

O'Hagan, A. The Tower. London Review of Books.

Reflections a year on from Grenfell and Manchester.

This week we were reminded of two tragedies in our nation. On Monday the media carried harrowing reports of the tragic loss of life at Grenfell Tower, as the main inquiry into the cause of the disaster began.

On Tuesday, memories of the 22 lives lost and the multitude injured in the Manchester Arena terrorist attack replaced memories of Grenfell.

I heard no-one in the media asking the obvious question, “Where was God in all of this?” Indeed, God has been so sidelined in the thoughts and lives of the majority of our nation that we no longer even hear the question, “Is there a God?”

Yet, we still live in a nation whose Queen, at her Coronation, swore an Oath to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who has protected us beyond our deserving over many years. Central to that Oath was the commitment to maintain his laws and the true profession of the Gospel. Over a generation, this commitment to God has largely been forgotten by the nation’s leaders and is rarely mentioned by the leaders of the established Church.

Unprotected Children

As far back as the 1980s, I was waiting one day in the playground of the school where our youngest two children were about to finish their school day. I watched as the classes were dismissed and as a crowd of children emerged, each looking for a parent to take them home safely. I thought I heard the voice of God in my mind saying that these children were no longer under his protection.

Over a generation, our national commitment to God has largely been forgotten.

I wondered if I had imagined it, because these were simply innocent children, embarking on their lives in a country God has greatly blessed and protected. I recalled the wonderful protection of my own childhood when, in the late 1940s and early 1950s, family and community co-operated to re-build our nation after the devastation of war, thankful for God’s deliverance from the evil that so easily could have engulfed us.

Yet, since that day when I thought I heard that voice of God, one disaster has followed another in our nation, making me think that God was indeed speaking, in the early stages of removing his hand of protection.

Let me say clearly, however, concerning both the Manchester and Grenfell disasters that God was not punishing those who had assembled there, any more than those who lost their lives when the Tower of Siloam fell in Jesus’ day. The picture is bigger: that, whilst we must also recognise that God allowed these disasters, they serve as signs to our nation – warning signs that we will not live in safety if we choose to live outside of his protection.

Knowing God’s Ways

If, as we should, we search our Bibles to discover God’s ways, we will see that God does take his protection away from his people if they do not seek him with all their heart. At the time of Samuel, for example, when the religious framework of the nation had decayed under Eli the priest and his wicked sons, the Philistines prevailed over Israel.

Again, when the kings of Israel and Judah led the people astray (kings whom God warned his people they should not desire), the troubles of the nations soon followed. Ultimately, God’s protection was removed: first from the Northern Kingdom of Israel which fell to the Assyrians, and then from the Southern Kingdom of Judah which fell to the Babylonians.

Disasters like Grenfell are warning signs that we will not live in safety if we choose to live outside of God’s protection.

God’s sadness was displayed through the weeping of the Prophet Jeremiah, as recorded in the Book of Lamentations. Similarly, Jesus wept over Jerusalem when he foretold the coming second fall of the City.

God knows what will happen when the doors are allowed open to the evil adversaries of the people of this world – adversaries both physical and spiritual. God weeps when the time comes for him to remove his protection from a people who do not seek him, who choose to try to live without him under the beguiling principles of humanism and false religion, where false gods are honoured. But he is willing to remove his protection.

We are reaping the consequences of this in Britain today despite the fact that we have had sign after sign that should bring us to ask, “where is our God?”

The Prime Minister adds her condolences to a 'Tree of Hope' in Manchester. See Photo Credits.The Power of Testimonies

The testimonies of those who lost loved ones at Grenfell and the memories of the fatal night in Manchester are profound. But they should not only be sparking human sympathy and attempts to celebrate and unite a community (such as in Manchester where a concert has been held), but be compelling those who have responsibility for our nation to lead us in seeking God in repentance.¹

God is a loving Father to those who seek him with all their heart and protects his loved ones beyond their deserving – always. But he is also a strong God who will not bend from the eternal balance of justice and mercy. He is Judge of the entire earth and cannot compromise in the ‘big picture’ of his eternal covenant purposes throughout history.

God weeps when the time comes for him to remove his protection from a people who do not seek him.

If he did not spare his own Son in these eternal purposes of overcoming sin and offering eternal redemption to those who would accept it, he cannot continue to protect a people who reject him and choose lives of sin.

There is a Way Back

There is always a way back and those who know the Lord, namely those in the churches of our nation (especially the leaders of the churches), should be his prophetic voice. It is imperative that we take the opportunity while we still have it to call this nation back to repentance and seeking God.

It is time for the leaders of our Government - from the Royal Family through to the executives who are duty-bound to outwork the purposes of the Monarch’s Oath - to take their responsibility before God and lead the nation back to him. This is what the tragic signs are telling us. We are vulnerable outside the protection of Almighty God and that vulnerability is bringing increasing pain, sadness and loss of life - not only to those who lead but to those for whom they are responsible.

Notes

1 And we do not mean just any God. The multi-faith service in Manchester which was part of the memorial activities a year after the attack is yet another symptom of how far our nation has compromised our allegiance to the One True God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Grenfell Tower and God’s purposes for Britain.

The Grenfell Tower disaster continues to fill our newspapers and will no doubt do so for a long time to come. Left-wing politicians see it as an opportunity to lambast a Conservative Council for neglecting the poor, the powerless and the immigrant. Anarchists are stirring up rage while seeking the opportunity for overthrowing an elected government.

Lawyers are rubbing their hands at the prospect of prolonged legal battles. Criminals are said to have spirited away huge amounts of gifts and clothing donated by the public, and millions of pounds have been donated to online appeals, some of which have been set up by crooks.

But what about the survivors who have suffered the cruel loss of loved ones reduced to ashes – and the loss of everything they own, their homes, passports, precious family photos and mementos? Who is caring for them? How are they coping with devastating bereavement and shock?

In this issue of Prophecy Today we are publishing an interview with the pastor of a local church that has been intimately involved with the survivors since the first hours of the fire. I also have spoken to this pastor and heard some of his amazing testimony to the grace of God. They have just been filmed for the BBC’s Songs of Praise, so some of these testimonies may well be broadcast to the world.

Warning After Warning

Jesus also had to deal with a tower disaster during his ministry in Jerusalem (Luke 13:4). Jesus saw this disaster, which God had allowed, as a warning that something was severely wrong in the city and unless people took heed, a greater disaster would occur. History shows the result of his warning being ignored. Less than 40 years later, Jerusalem was totally destroyed by the Romans after a disastrous four years’ war.

Jesus also had to deal with a tower disaster during his ministry in Jerusalem – he saw it as a warning that something was severely wrong.

Christians who are alert to the times in which we are living know that God has been sending us warnings for a long time. Our nation has deliberately turned away from truth to embrace every kind of evil, from child abuse and gross immorality to lies and corruption in high places in the governance and commercial life of the UK.

We have deliberately defied the word of God, even to attempting to ‘re-define’ the founding principles of Creation. In so doing we have put ourselves outside the protection of God and we are already reaping the whirlwind of our own creation.

Is Repentance Still Possible?

Disaster will undoubtedly follow and I believe the Grenfell Tower inferno is the latest warning sign that God has sent to us. Of course, it is not too late for national repentance. Jeremiah was still calling for repentance when the Babylonian army was outside the gates of the city, because he knew that God could strike them down and save Jerusalem even at the last moment. But he also knew that there would be no repentance because of the blindness and wickedness that gripped the nation, so he knew that God would allow disaster to happen.

In the 40 years before the destruction of Jerusalem, God raised up three prophets – Zephaniah, Habakkuk and Jeremiah – all with a similar message. They each gave severe warnings; they each said that only repentance and turning to God would prevent disaster; and they each looked beyond the inevitable disaster to a time of restoration and blessing.

I personally believe that the people of Britain, America and Europe have all passed the point where repentance (although still possible) could save us from inevitable disaster. We are being driven by powerful forces of destruction. This is vividly illustrated in the spirit of death that is gripping many young people who are being driven to self-harm and suicide via the internet. In the same way, Western nations are being manipulated and steered by forces of evil.

I personally believe that Britain, America and Europe have all passed the point where repentance, though still possible, can save us from inevitable disaster.

Severe Testing – But with Purpose

Of course, these forces of darkness could be broken if there arose in the Western nations a powerful army of intercessors empowered by the Holy Spirit to scatter the darkness and heal the land. But there is little sign of this at the moment because churches are either gently sleeping in their cosy traditions or actively pursuing the policies of apostasy – the fruit of false teaching and rejection of the truth.

The three pre-exilic prophets of Judah were each told that God would actually use the disaster to further his purposes by sweeping idolatry, immorality and injustice out of the land to prepare the way for the new covenant relationship inaugurated by Messiah. The promises of restoration given by each of these prophets can be found in Jeremiah 31:27f, Habakkuk 2:14 and 3:16f, and Zephaniah 3:14f.

In the recent prayer times led by Issachar Ministries in different parts of the country where we have had intercessory gatherings to spend time together listening to the Lord, the outstanding words that have been received have been urgent calls for repentance, but also calls for strengthening the Body of believers to enable them to stand firm during the coming storm. Christians need equipping with the full armour of God, which is not only for defence but also for declaring the word of God in a hostile environment - that is, we must exercise the sword of the Spirit as well as raise the shield of faith!

The major revelation from these times of waiting upon God is that Christians in Western nations are going to go through days of severe testing, but those days will undoubtedly be followed by times of renewal, spiritual awakening and blessing.

Signs of Future Blessing

A little sign of future blessing can be seen in the Grenfell Tower disaster, out of which many people are entering into a new relationship with God - according to the reports we are hearing from churches in the area. Local Muslims in particular have been greatly shaken, not least because the inferno occurred during Ramadan, which they normally regard as a time of blessing; and because no Muslim would ever have his body cremated - yet so many have been reduced to ashes.

Christians in Western nations are going to go through severe testing, but those days will undoubtedly be followed by times of renewal.

There are reports of Muslims questioning their faith in the wake of Grenfell Tower, and the recent terrorist atrocities committed in the name of Allah, as well as the widespread tragedy unfolding in the Middle East – particularly in Syria, Iraq and Yemen, where Muslims are slaughtering each other. Many Muslims in Kensington are said to be responding to the love being shown to them by Christians and there is a new openness to the Gospel. Is this the beginning of a new harvest for the Kingdom?

Our Resources Editor Paul Luckraft pays his own visit to the Tabernacle Christian Centre, near Grenfell Tower.

When my friend Sally Richardson told me of her visit to the Tabernacle Christian Centre in the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower fire, I decided to follow this up with a visit of my own and spend some time talking with Pastor Derrick Wilson. Here is what I learnt.

The setting for the interview was the strangest I had ever encountered. The main church and all the other smaller rooms were full to overflowing with racks of new clothes, boxes of household goods, mattresses and many other items. Where to sit was the first problem! Eventually we squeezed into a tiny space in a corner of the crowded main room, set up a couple of folding chairs and began to talk. Meanwhile, volunteers continued to work around us, organising the items and talking to anyone else who came in.

Derrick has been a pastor for 24 years, and has led the Tabernacle Christian Centre since 2005. Before then he was engaged in similar work, including being a street preacher, totalling 30 years in ministry overall. His wife Paulette has been an integral part of this, including being Principal of the Tabernacle School, which is a Christian school nearby.

He admitted that at times it has been a difficult role to sustain, with many challenges and hardships, both financially and in terms of opposition. But Derrick is a man that rises to a challenge, and with God’s help he has already overcome many obstacles. Another challenge has now come, but God has been preparing his man.

Looking Outwards

Recently God had been speaking to Derrick about a new move which would impact the church and the community. Derrick is a prophetic pastor with a clear teaching ministry. The Gospel and the Cross are central to all he proclaims.

God had been speaking to Derrick about a new move to impact the church and community.

He also encompasses an evangelistic and missionary focus. But he admitted to having been frustrated. The small congregation he leads were not always responsive. How could this change? How might they become more community-focussed, more mission-orientated? For a while, Derrick had sensed that God was saying he would be bringing people to them, from all directions. Did this make sense?

People from All Directions

Pastor Derrick Wilson. © Prophecy Today UK

On the Tuesday evening before the fire broke out (in the early hours of Wednesday 14 June), Derrick had led their usual Bible study from the Letter to the Hebrews. At the end they took up an offering and Derrick began to pray. As he did so, he felt a word from God, along similar lines to before but more specific: “As from tonight there will be a spiritual shift over this church. You will see people come here from north, east, south and west, to do the job you should be doing.”

It felt like a rebuke. Was it of the flesh, Derrick wondered? It seemed to be a warning, but what did this mean? Who were these others that would suddenly come from all directions?

A few hours later, the phones started ringing. Immediately it was clear a major incident was happening less than half a mile away. Was this what God had spoken about? The doors of the Tabernacle were immediately opened. Derrick and his wife began to search the streets. Messages flooded in from friends and relatives. Then, from nowhere, people started arriving - some local, others total strangers.

Over the next few hours and into the next few days, they continued to arrive at the Tabernacle. Many brought items or gifts; others came to offer help. Volunteers simply appeared - literally from all points of the compass - and some from far away, in one case Bristol. Once they arrived, they stayed. Some even slept in the side rooms of the church.

Within hours the church was at the heart of a mercy mission. No-one had organised this; even today Derrick does not understand how it happened. Why his church? But God had honoured his word, and Derrick’s heart for the community and obedience to preaching the true Gospel. Although other churches nearby also became similar centres, clearly God was doing something special at the Tabernacle.

God honoured his word, and Derrick’s heart for the community and obedience to preaching the true Gospel.

A Message in the Midst of Tragedy

Many of the volunteers who came were not Christians, but they seemed to know where to come. They simply arrived; God had guided them there. And once there, they found a peace and joy in what they were doing. A sense of God’s presence and blessing surrounded them and began to change them.

The Muslim community has suffered immensely by this tragedy, and been greatly affected by it in so many ways. But they are also being significantly impacted by what God is doing at the Tabernacle. They come to receive physical goods but find they are offered so much more. They are told ‘we as a church are praying for you’, and they are so grateful. They have been shaken so much that they are responding to what the Christians are offering. In their suffering many questions remain, but at the Tabernacle they are at least finding some answers.

In the midst of tragedy, a message is getting across - the message of the cross. At the front of this crowded room full of gifts is a large wooden cross, with a crown of thorns. It stands there strong, stating clearly ‘this is what you need’. Meanwhile, with their building crammed full of clothes and other items, the church congregation has been worshipping on the streets, and is being asked what this singing means!

Just the Beginning

As has been frequently reported, the initial response from the Council was chaotic or non-existent. But God knew what needed to be done, and how to do it. He stepped in and told the Tabernacle Christian Centre they were to be at the heart of this. Derrick had prayed that somehow the Tabernacle would become a significant part of the community and now it is happening.

God knew what needed to be done, and how to do it.

© Prophecy Today UKHe had faithfully preached a Gospel of holiness and righteousness, love and service - not always a popular message, but God has honoured him for this and put the Tabernacle firmly on the map. He has woken them up and there is a sense that this is just the beginning. A harvest of souls is fully expected.

My visit was informative and emotional, amazing and at times shocking. But soon after meeting Derrick my impression was that it was a privilege for them to be so used by God at this time. This is a deeply significant event that will stay with us all for a long time, certainly for as long as the blackened shell of the tower block stands there for all to see, and no doubt the pictures and videos of it will remain for much longer.

My own first glimpse of it was unusual. As I walked from the tube station towards the Tabernacle I had no sense that I was in its vicinity. Where was it? Had I come to the right area? Suddenly it appeared from behind a similar tower block which had been blocking it from my sight. ‘Here I am’, it seemed to be saying, you will not be able to ‘block’ me out for years and years.

After meeting Derrick, he walked me back a different way, past the memorial walls and pictures, past those still standing there and wondering - past the places where the horrific events of that night had taken place.

God has honoured Derrick for his faithfulness and put the Tabernacle firmly on the map.

In such cases it is always right to ask what God is saying, what he is doing, both among the church and the community, even the nation (as Clifford Hill does in this week’s editorial). Grenfell is part of a pattern of events that is shaking our nation, our political system and social structures. Yet that shaking is aimed at producing a greater harvest, for the Kingdom that cannot be shaken. The Tabernacle Christian Centre is an example of how God works his purpose out among those who are prepared to listen and serve.

Parliament’s Christian witness will prevail.

As if London hasn’t seen enough tragedy of late, her weary eight million residents woke up to a veritable picture of Dante’s inferno on Wednesday morning. The sight of a West London tower block burning away all night was truly terrible, with all the loss of life, home and family that resulted. Our hearts go out to all the victims.

In truth, we are all reeling in shock, perhaps wondering why things just seem to have gone from bad to worse in the wake of the recent terrorist attacks. And though the Grenfell Tower fire did not fall into the latter category, the cause is as yet unknown.

Nevertheless, we need to take stock, and continue to pray for God’s mercy on our battered nation, now further rocked by the resignation as leader of the Liberal Democrat Party of Christian politician Tim Farron. More of that later…

Biblical Voice in Parliament Maintained

In fact, not everything is gloom and doom; there are real signs of hope, despite a General Election that left confusion and chaos as politicians jostled for power, the Conservatives winning most seats but with no overall majority, and thus in a seemingly weak place for negotiating our exit from the European Union.

The Bible says: “When a country is rebellious, it has many rulers, but a ruler with discernment and knowledge maintains order” (Prov 28:2).

Christians had been dismayed as they found themselves having to choose between main parties who had all agreed that sexual ethics – and in particular same-sex marriage – was not an issue. So it seemed that the way was left open to continue running the country on secular humanist lines, with no thought for the biblical laws that have underpinned our civilisation for centuries.

We need to take stock, and continue to pray for God’s mercy on our battered nation.

But who would have thought the Conservatives would be forced to ‘get into bed’ with the strongly Christian Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) of Northern Ireland, in order to secure a still wafer-thin overall majority for carrying out planned legislation? The DUP’s ten seats add up to a coalition fractionally more than all the other parties put together. So they will clearly be beholden to their friends from across the Irish Sea, a fact provoking hysteria from many quarters – not least the Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson, who is a lesbian.

It could certainly make for a rough passage for any new un-Christian laws. The DUP is thoroughly opposed to same-sex marriage and, in line with their Bible-believing basis, is also unreservedly pro-Israel.

So, for all the humanistic attempts to rid Parliament of its Christian witness, God has ensured that it remains – and that biblical thinking cannot be ignored. God will not be mocked.

The psalmist asks: “Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying, ‘Let us break their chains and throw off their shackles.’ The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them…” (Ps 2:1-4).

The fiercely Protestant DUP was founded in 1971 by the Rev Ian Paisley who, when he launched the Northern Ireland Friends of Israel group in March 2009, drew a parallel between his own country’s struggles against terrorism and that of Israel’s. And he also prayed for peace in Jerusalem!¹

Time to Plead with God

Last Sunday evening, as my wife and I contemplated the ongoing political turbulence, we suddenly noticed a worrying crack in the ceiling, with water dripping through. Our hot water tank was leaking and on the blink, and we have since had it replaced (at no small cost). Thankfully, disaster was averted by an emergency plumber.

It was very much a picture of the state of the nation with the drip, drip, drip feed of secularism (and in particular the LGBT+ agenda) on the point of bringing the house down. We are in serious hot water, and poison is leaking into the ship of state, which is on the verge of sinking.

For all the humanistic attempts to rid Parliament of its Christian witness, God has ensured that it remains.

I am sickened by the BBC’s continual obsession with depicting the ‘virtues’ of left-wing propaganda. As the country rocks with uncertainty, and in danger of collapse, a great show is made of a ‘gay pride’ march in York, described as a symbol of unity and love. Of course, I realise this is nothing compared to the 200,000 who marched through Tel Aviv, Israel’s major city, in celebration of the homosexual lifestyle. And that in what is universally known as the ‘Holy Land’! However, this only goes to prove that both Jews and Gentiles are prodigals whom the Father longs to welcome back.

And since we are talking numbers, it’s worth noting that a recent prayer meeting of Christians in South Africa drew a massive 1.7 million people (equal to Tel Aviv’s total population) to a farm outside the central city of Bloemfontein, where they pleaded God’s mercy for their beloved nation. We too, in Britain, need to pray – and how! Surely it’s time Christians got together, as they have done in South Africa, to plead God’s mercy for our land?

Truth Turned Upside-Down

Tim Farron. See Photo Credits.

Tragically, much of the West has not only rejected God and his laws, but has gone further by turning millennia-old precepts completely upside-down. The Prophet Isaiah, writing 2,700 years ago, said: “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight. Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine and champions at mixing drinks…” (Isa 5:20-22). Ring any bells?

To put it another way, it would be like Monty Don reporting from the Chelsea Flower Show that weeds are the new flowers and rubbishing anachronistic gardeners who insist on showing their beautiful roses and lilies amidst finely-cut lawns and water features.

Exaggerating? Hardly – for one of the most disturbing aspects of the election campaign was the blatant anti-Christian prejudice promoted in much of the media, claiming that Christian candidates were unfit to hold public office because of their biblical views.² Even the Prime Minister was condemned by a major national newspaper for visiting one of the UK’s largest black churches – because the church opposes abortion and same-sex marriage.³

One of the most disturbing aspects of the election campaign was the blatant anti-Christian prejudice promoted in much of the media.

And now Tim Farron is the latest victim. After an insufferable media campaign directed at his Christian faith, in the words of Evangelical Alliance spokesman David Landrum, “he has found himself torn between living as a faithful Christian and serving as a political leader – and so he has resigned. And who could blame him? Politics has always been a tough business and general elections have always been rough rides. Tim was surely prepared for that. What he wasn’t prepared for, and what nobody really expected, was a vicious and sustained assault on his faith. And he wasn’t alone in this.”⁴

The Fields are Ripe for Harvest

Finally, on a more positive note: Rosaria Butterfield, a former lesbian and LGBT advocate, converted to Christ after reading large sections of the Bible as part of research into why the so-called religious right ‘hated’ people like her. Her first book, The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert, details her conversion and the cataclysmic fallout which followed – in which she lost “everything but the dog”, yet gained eternal life in Christ.

We are the people of the Book, which holds the key to life and leads us to the ‘pearl of great price’ which can often cost us everything (Matt 13:46). Pearls are shaped through rough times, and we need to speak up for Christ in the face of the storm.

References

1 Teller, N. The UK balance of power – weighted towards Israel. Jerusalem Post, 12 June 2017.

2 E.g. The Daily Mirror, 4 May 2017, The Spectator, 18 May 2017, Buzz Feed, 27 May 2017. See here.

3 Robertson, D. The Independent, 30 May 2017.

4 Landrum, D. Farron’s fall – neither liberal nor democratic. Christian Today, 15 June 2017.