Brexit’s woes in spiritual perspective.
I knew I had to write about Brexit in this week’s editorial, so this morning I listened to the news more carefully – a depressing experience. I turned to my Bible for a word of comfort.
It fell open to the fall of Jerusalem and the Lamentations of Jeremiah. The word of the Lord came to me strongly, “This is the nation that has not obeyed the Lord its God or responded to correction. Truth has perished; it has vanished from their lips…The Lord has rejected and abandoned this generation that is under his wrath” (Jer 7:28-29).
Of course, that was written to Israel, a nation in a covenant relationship with God, but Jeremiah was also given a promise for all nations: “If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned” (Jer 18:7).
With these scriptures in mind we can turn to Brexit and ask what God is saying to us and to the people of Europe. What is God doing to work out his purposes today?
Rebellion Leads to Destruction
We cannot deny that Britain and the nations of the European Union have all turned away from the word of God. Though they have had the Gospel for more than a thousand years, each of these nations has been invaded by secular humanist philosophies that have devoured their good Judeo-Christian heritages. Europe has adopted an atheistic culture and God-denying policies that have, in large measure, brought us to the disastrous situation we face today.
The European Union is imploding under the weight of multiple crises. Its leaders are terrified of seeing Hungary, Poland, Italy and other key nations breaking away from the union as populist movements gain momentum across the continent.
The European Union is imploding under the weight of multiple crises.
In desperation, the Brussels gravy train, frightened that it is going to lose power and wealth, is trying to close ranks, punishing Britain in order to frighten off rebel elements in other nations. Of course, British politicians should know that they will never get a good deal from Brussels! The EU’s tactic now is to delay and delay – always holding out the hope of a deal but never actually concluding one, so that Britain continues to pay vast sums into EU coffers, but never actually walks away free.
The EU elites are exploiting the confusion they know surrounds British politicians of all persuasions in Westminster. But Christians should not be surprised at this confusion - because it is a classic sign of the judgment of God promised upon those who deliberately turn away from his truth: “The Lord will inflict you with madness, blindness and confusion of mind…You will be unsuccessful in everything you do” (Deut 28:28-29).
The Shaking of the Nations
For those who are familiar with the whole word of God in the Bible, it is obvious that we are going through a period which was revealed to the great Prophets of Israel more than 2,500 years ago. God said that there would come a time when he would bring judgment upon all the nations by shaking everything – the world of nature, politics and every structure of society: which is precisely what we are seeing today (see Haggai 2:6-7, cf. Hebrews 12:26-27).
As well as economic and political turbulence and societal breakdown, we are also seeing incredible storms, hurricanes and tsunamis hitting many parts of the world – as well as earthquakes and famines. The terrible wars and bloodshed in Syria and much of the Middle East, the upheavals taking place in Venezuela, Brazil and many other parts of the world, are all evidence of the great shaking of the nations.
Jeremiah’s Revelation
The great revelation that was given to the Prophet Jeremiah is one that we ought to be studying today. Jeremiah was facing the destruction of his country and the demolition of his city, Jerusalem, by the Babylonian army. His prayer (Jer 32) enabled him to see beyond the immediate tragedy and understand what God was doing: how, through it all, he was working out his purposes.
It is obvious that we are going through a period of worldwide shaking, revealed to the great Prophets of Israel more than 2,500 years ago.
The prayer began with the words, “Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you!” Then Jeremiah came to his central conundrum: although he knew that Jerusalem was going to be destroyed, he had been told by the Lord to buy a field at Anathoth - already enemy-occupied.
In his prayer Jeremiah said to God, “Though the city will be handed over to the Babylonians, you, O Sovereign Lord, say to me, buy the field with silver and have the transaction witnessed” (Jer 32:25). God’s response revealed to Jeremiah the significance of this symbolic act: “As I have brought all this great calamity on this people, so I will give them all the prosperity I have promised them. Once more fields will be bought in this land…because I will restore their fortunes, declares the Lord” (Jer 32:42-44).
Jeremiah realised that God had to allow a whole generation to suffer judgment before they would repent and be open to the truth. This is the way that God has always dealt with nation-wide rebellion – starting with Israel’s grumbling in the wilderness. And it enables us to understand what he is doing today in allowing the turmoil that is enveloping the nations.
God’s ultimate purpose, of course, is to see as many as possible come to a knowledge of salvation in Jesus – restored to right relationship with God and able to enjoy all the blessings he has to bestow upon his children. But persistent rebellion only brings more destruction.
If we are truly to understand the ‘Brexit Battle’, we have to see it in the context of the purposes of God revealed to us in the Bible. This is not just a little political wrangle. We are at a major crossroads in the history of the world and the unfolding and working out of the purposes of God.
Being Careful in Prayer
This is why Christians need to be very careful how they pray. We have said many times before on Prophecy Today that if we pray “Peace, Peace” when the Lord is saying “There is no peace!” we will actually put ourselves against God. We have to understand God’s nature and purposes and ensure that our prayers are aligned with what he is doing today.
Jeremiah’s prayer enabled him to see beyond the immediate tragedy and understand what God was doing: how, through it all, he was working out his purposes.
If we do this, declaring God’s truth and his good purposes to our godless generation so that people can understand what has gone wrong, and if this leads to a spirit of repentance and turning away from the ways of darkness, Britain will undoubtedly see days of revival come through this time of great shaking. This is the other message we have been emphasising recently on Prophecy Today.
Bible-believing Christians will undoubtedly ask, where does the Second Coming of Christ fit into this scenario? The answer is that it is not for us to know the times the Lord has set in his own timetable: but we may be nearer to that event than any of us knows. We have to obey the command of Jesus to “Watch and pray”.