Prophecy Today was originally a bi-monthly printed magazine. Within our archives, there is a treasure trove of messages from God to the Church at that time. Over time, we plan to put all of our archived material onto the web for those who wish to search for it. But certain messages, as well as being of historical significance, also still have something to speak to the Church of today. With that in mind, over the month of August, we will be publishing and featuring some of these messages.
In this message, from November 1987, Cliff spoke of the warning signs that were sent to Britain over the three years previously, but also of how to interpret signs from God. With the proliferation of dramatic and catastrophic worldwide events in recent weeks, Cliff’s words that we need to listen to God in order to interpret the signs of the times, in order to proclaim the word of God to the ears of bewildered unbelievers, are as relevant as they ever were.
In recent months an unusually large number of people have written to me with the fruit of much painstaking biblical research attempting to prove that some great apocalyptic event due to take place in the last days is about to happen. These events culminate in the Second Coming of our Lord and the establishing of his reign. I have been sent a variety of dates for these events ranging from 15 September this year to 14 May 1992.
These forecasts of apocalyptic events thought to be imminent are usually accompanied by complicated mathematical and quasi-historical charts and timetables. The scriptural basis for these calcuations is usually derived from verses in Daniel and the Book of Revelation.
I want to say as kindly and as firmly as possible that this is a wrong use of scripture. We are not meant to use our knowledge of scripture to try to foretell the dates and times of events that are prophesied eventually to take place. Those who do these things are usually trying to satisfy their curiosity concerning the future. Their behaviour is very little different from that of people who go to fortune-tellers and palmists and who gaze into tea-cups or crystal balls.
Be always ready
Jesus dealt very firmly with his own disciples when they asked a question concerning the future restoration of the kingdom of Israel. His reply was. “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority” (Acts 1:7). Jesus’ words to the disciples clearly indicate that, by attempting to know the dates of future apocalyptic events, they were actually seeking knowledge that the Father does not intend us to have.
Jesus’ teaching on this subject was that we should always be ready for the coming of the Son of Man. The unbelievers are never ready (Luke 17:20-37) but the believers should be waiting and praying and learning to interpret the signs of the times. Jesus spoke scathingly to the learned men of his day who could interpret signs in the physcial world but were unable to interpret spiritual things: “Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the Earth and the sky. How is it that you do not know how to interpret the present time?” (Luke 12:54-56)
Events prophesied in scripture are being fulfilled in our lifetime
The reason for this increase in biblically based date-forecasting and the mounting interest in the study of apocalyptic phenomena is that we are living in days of great prophetic significance. The regathering of the Jews to the land of Israel was foretold in scripture and has been taking place during this present generation. Next year (1988) will be the fortieth anniverary of the modern state of Israel. This is a very significant date and we will be marking it in this magazine by carrying a number of articles concerning Israel and the Middle East and the biblical and historical significance of the events that are taking place today.
Flexibility with regards to dates
I do not wish to discourage anyone from studying prophecy or meditating on the significance of any part of the word of God in scripture. I am trying to discourage what I consider to be a fruitless and pointless exercise, that of trying to forecast the dates and times of events that the Father has set within his own control. Indeed I believe that in our own thinking we should hold an attitude of complete flexibility in regard to dates. God is willing actually to hold back the judgment that is coming upon the nations in response to the intercession of faithful believers. If this were not true there would be no point in calling upon intercessors urgently to get before the Lord on behalf of the nations.
I believe that in our own thinking we should hold an attitude of complete flexibility in regard to dates.
The Father is longing to see the maximum harvest for the Kingdom and he is willing to stretch out the days and hold back the darkness so that the multitudes may be swept into the Kingdom. If this were not true there would be no point in intercessors crying out to God in prayer. It is because the Father does not wish to see anyone perish that Jesus taught us to pray for more labourers to help with the harvest. Those who mis-use their knowledge of scriptures to try to satisfy their curiosity regarding the dating of future events conerning the Kingdom are in grave danger of disobeying the Lord by wasting their time in fruitless study instead of helping with the harvest.
Interpreting the signs of the times
One of the major ways of helping with the harvest is to learn to interpret the signs of the times. The incidence of disasters and significant events in every nation in the world is increasing rapidly during our lifetime. God uses these events to speak to the people, but they need to be interpreted. When a disaster or significant event takes place that sets a whole nation talking, it provides opportunity for believers to declare the word of God with boldness. The ears of unbelievers are open at such times and they usually ask questions such as ‘Why has God allowed this to happen?’
God uses these events to speak to the people, but they need to be interpreted. When a disaster or significant event takes place that sets a whole nation talking, it provides opportunity for believers to declare the word of God with boldness.
God is calling his people today to be a prophetic people – to declare the word of the Lord to this generation with power and authority. In order to fulfil this task we have to know the word of God in scripture and be alert to what is happening in the world around us. But we also have to be praying people who are daily waiting upon the Lord and asking the Holy Spirit to interpret events in our day to our understanding. When God uses an event of national significance to speak to a nation that event may rightly be described as ‘a sign’.
A sign to the church
In Britain during the past two or three years there have been a number of significant events that have gripped the nation. Among these I have discerned five signs. The first of these signs was to the church. It occurred in July 1984 when York Minster was struck by lightning out of a cloudless blue sky, with no hint of rain or storm. In fact the whole of northern Europe showed clear skies on the weather-chart, but over York there was one tiny cloud no bigger than a man’s hand. From this a thunderbolt was flung down on to York Minster of such strength as to over-run a newly installed sophisticated lightning conductor and set fire to the cathedral building. It happened while the Church of England General Synod was in session, just a few hours after the consecration in that same building of Dr David Jenkins as Bishop of Durham – a man widely reported as not believing in the fundamentals of the Christian faith such as the resurrection and divinity of Christ. Clearly, God was saying something to his people about unbelief and faithlessness in the church.
A sign warning of the spread of Islam
The second sign was the Bradford City football stadium disaster in which fifty-five people were burnt to death. This occurred on the same day as Bradford became the first city in Britain to have a Muslim Lord Mayor. It is the practice in Britain for Lord Mayors to take the oath of office upon the Bible. The Bradford city fire occurred hours after the new Lord Mayor was sworn in to office on the Koran. Let me make it abundantly clear that I am not saying that there was a direct connection between the swearing in of a Muslim Lord Mayor and the deaths of many innocent people. What I am saying is that God used this tragedy to draw attention to the city of Bradford, and through it he was warning of the spread of Islam in a once-Christian country that is now turning its back upon the gospel and allowing the spread of false religion and idolatry throughout the land.
A sign against promiscuity
The third sign was the great national campaign warning of the dangers of AIDS. From rumbling warnings here and there the nation was suddenly dumbfounded by a government campaign warning against the incurable disease of AIDS spread through sexual contact, notably homosexual practices. The government campaign aimed at ‘safe sex’ – but in reality the warning from God is against promiscuity. This was the significance of the sign – that men cannot simply ignore the word of God and engage in detestable practices that are strictly forbidden in scripture without incurring the due penalty of disobedience.
“If you defile the land it will vomit you out.”
Leviticus 18:24-28 states that detestable sexual perversions including homosexuality and child abuse actually defile the land. “And if you defile the land it will vomit you out as it vomited out the nations that were before you”.
A sign against greed and injustice
The fourth sign was the sinking last March of the Herald of Free Enterprise. The loss of the cross-channel ferry that went down just after leaving Zeebrugge harbour earlier this year with the loss of nearly two hundred lives was an event that shook Europe. The subsequent enquiry established the fact that it was common practice for ferries to leave port with the bow doors open in order to save time and maximise profitability of the service. The normal procedure then was for the doors to be shut before the ferry left the calm waters of the harbour and hit the rougher sea outside, but on this occasion the crewman responsible for closing the doors was asleep. The tragedy that resulted in such loss of life was a clear sign to warn of the consequences of unbridled greed. When a materialistic society becomes so caught up in the business of making money that it sacrifices standards of safety and care for human life the consequences are disastrous. The sign was a warning against injustice, exploitation, greed, avarice and materialistic obsessions. These are the gods of the present generation – the gods of metal and stone that are worshipped by the world today.
A sign warning of violence
The fifth sign took place in August. It occurred in the quiet rural market-town of Hungerford where a Rambo-style mass-murderer went on a rampage of killing and mayhem with a machine gun that left seventeen people and a number of animals dead and many children and adults seriously hurt. It shocked the nation; this time the sign was clear to everyone, needing very little interpretation. The events in Hungerford were a copy-book illustration of the brutal video films that are avidly watched by millions of children and young people who grow up in a world of violence. Even the secular media could see the lesson that if people’s minds are filled with violence and murder their behaviour will follow the same pattern.
“The warnings to this generation are becoming so clear that even secular men can interpret the signs.”
The warnings to this generation are becoming so clear that even secular men and a media hostile to the gospel can understand and interpret the signs. God is warning the world of impending disaster as violence among the nations and the behaviour of mankind become more uncontrolled. Judgment becomes inevitable. The time is short, the task before Christians is urgent. We must call the nations to repent before it is too late. But repentance begins at the household of God, for that is where judgment begins. That is why the first of the five warning signs to Britain was to the church.
The message today is the same as it was when Jesus began to bring the word of God to the people of Galilee: “Repent and believe, the Kingdom is near”.
