The great shaking of the nations that in this ministry we have been prophesying for more than 30 years is happening now. It gives us no satisfaction in saying this for, as leaders in each of the nations are saying, we are all in this together – no-one is immune from the risk of the coronavirus pandemic. But where does this fit in the purposes of God and what is God saying to the nations today?

In the July 1986 edition of the printed magazine Prophecy Today, I wrote the editorial under exactly the same title as I am using today – and we are re-publishing it this week to highlight how things have developed in the last three decades. Back then, I was writing a few weeks after the Mount Carmel and Jerusalem gatherings where we had received the message forewarning of a great shaking of the nations, in line with the prophecy given in Haggai 2:6-7:

This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. I will shake all nations, and the desired of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord Almighty.’

In the previous issue of Prophecy Today we had given a detailed account of the gatherings in Israel and some of the words that had been received. A word given by Lance Lambert we will reproduce here because of its relevance for today:

It will not be long before there will come upon the world a time of unparalleled upheaval and turmoil. Do not fear, for it is I, the Lord, who am shaking all things. I began this shaking with the First World War and I greatly increased it through the Second World War. Since 1973 I have given it an even greater impetus. In the last stage, I plan to complete it with the shaking of the universe itself, with signs in the sun and moon and stars. But before that point is reached, I will judge the nations and the time is near.

It will not only be by war and civil war, by anarchy and terrorism, and by monetary collapses that I will judge the nations, but also by natural disasters: by earthquakes, by shortages and famines, and by old and new plague diseases. I will also judge them by giving them over to their own ways, to lawlessness, to loveless selfishness, to delusion and to believing a lie, to false religion and an apostate church, even to a Christianity without me.

Do not fear when these things begin to happen, for I disclose these things to you before they commence in order that you might be prepared and that in the day of trouble and evil you may stand firm and overcome. For I purpose that you may become the means of encouraging and strengthening many who love me but who are weak. I desire that through you many may become strong in me, and that multitudes of others might find my salvation through you.¹

The great shaking of the nations that in this ministry we have been prophesying for more than 30 years is happening now.

I received a word saying that the Soviet Union was going to be the first nation to be shaken and I spoke of this publicly at the large gathering in Jerusalem’s Binyenei HaUma Conference Centre, on Good Friday, 1986. I still remember how nervous I was of saying something that seemed crazy at the time, because the Soviet Union was such a powerful empire, controlling not only Russia and the Ukraine but the whole of Eastern Europe - from Berlin in East Germany through to the Balkan states.

But just three weeks later the Chernobyl nuclear power station blew up, scattering radioactive dust thousands of miles, even reaching sheep on the Welsh mountains. It began the great shaking of the USSR leading to its total collapse three years later. It emerged that the word ‘Chernobyl’ in the Ukrainian language means ‘bitterness’ and the nuclear power station had been built directly upon the burial site of hundreds of Jews killed in a pogrom, which Russian Christians were connecting with Revelation 8:11.

The great shaking of the nations has only increased in intensity since those days – as we have been writing in Prophecy Today for many years. Today, God is shaking all nations through the coronavirus pandemic. As with all the other shakings, we must ask: why?

Oppression and Violence

If we take a careful look at many of the places in the Bible where God rebukes the nations, and Jeremiah’s ‘Temple Sermon’ (Jer 7), we can see three outstanding things that God hates: oppression and violence, injustice and greed, idolatry and false religion. I believe there comes a point in God’s dealings with the nations where the wickedness of humanity becomes intolerable; at that stage God allows the forces of darkness and human sin to be unrestrained and to bring a time of judgment upon the nations.

It is interesting to note that the countries first affected by the coronavirus were China and Iran – both nations of unremitting oppression where freedom of speech is impossible and where Christians are subjected to great persecution and cruelty. Both are societies founded upon violent oppression that is abhorrent to God. In addition, Iran daily threatens the destruction of Israel.

Even in Europe, however, now the ‘epicentre’ of the pandemic, abortion levels are at an all-time high, while more and more countries are allowing elderly and unwell people to take their own lives, shepherding those deemed a burden on society to the slaughter. Can we be surprised that God has not spared us also?

There are three outstanding things that God hates: oppression and violence, injustice and greed, idolatry and false religion.

Injustice and Greed

The second thing God condemns is injustice and greed, which are the qualities upon which the financial systems of the world are built. The vast differences in the distribution of wealth produce a huge gap between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots’ – between those who live in unrestrained avarice and those who go to bed hungry every night. The rich nations have the power to control the production of wealth; they hold the patents for industrial and technological production so the poor countries remain poor, producing the raw materials but not enjoying the wealth of the end product.

There are similar restraints within rich nations that limit the social mobility of the poor. In 2008, the great financial crisis brought the crash of many seemingly rock-solid financial institutions which required an enormous effort of governments to bail out the banks and save the world economy. Even secular observers saw this as caused by greed and injustice. It was an opportunity for radical reform, but no such reformation took place. Its warning sign was rejected, so now the world economy is facing a disaster which no-one can avert or escape.

Idolatry and False Religion

The third thing God hates is idolatry and false religion. Idolatry is human beings inventing their own gods and worshipping bits of wood and stone. Our modern totem poles are our houses and cars and worldly possessions – and ultimately ourselves.

False religion in Britain takes the form of the unbelief embraced by most clergy and ministers trained in the theology faculties of our universities. Biblical scepticism becomes unbelief which robs the gospel of power.

The worst form of this false religion is seen in the way British church leaders have welcomed other religions that have been brought into Britain through 50 years of immigration. Instead of recognising that the overseas mission field had come to us, presenting a great opportunity for evangelism, we allowed immigrants to establish spiritual strongholds in the land.

We did not welcome the newcomers by teaching them our history, our culture, our values and our faith in Jesus as the one and only Saviour and the only true revelation of God. Instead politicians and church leaders all said, “Well, we all worship the same god!” This is a denial of the uniqueness of our Judeo-Christian heritage and the wonderful ways that God has protected and blessed Britain in the past, and is a major reason why Britain is under judgment today.

There comes a point when warnings are too late.

Asking for Mercy

For all these reasons, there comes a point when warnings are too late. I realised that some two or three years ago, when I was told to stop praying for Britain’s wellbeing and blessing. I then changed the direction of my prayers, asking the Lord to have mercy upon us. And I concentrated prayer upon the great Brexit battle.

A quiet Piccadilly Circus, 20 March. Xinhua News Agency/PA ImagesGod, in his mercy, has allowed Britain to withdraw from the EU despite the utter turmoil in Parliament and in the nation. This is a sure sign of God’s love and blessing despite all the unfaithfulness in Britain today. It is a sign that God has good plans for the United Kingdom. Nevertheless, he is still allowing the great shaking of the nations, of which he has been warning us for many years, and it will affect Britain just as it is affecting all the nations across the globe.

I have no word that Britain will be spared the worst of the pandemic, but I do know that God has good purposes for this nation in the recovery afterwards. The promise in Jeremiah 29:11, I believe will come true for Britain in the coming years, if the shaking softens hearts and produces repentance:

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord.

I believe that God is directing this word to the people of Britain right now. I cannot speak for any other nation. I can only speak for the nation where I was born and where I have lived all my life.

The message I have been carrying since the 1980s is that there would come a time of great trouble engulfing all nations. For Britain it would be a time of judgment upon all the unrighteousness, greed and oppression in our financial system, the unjust laws that have been passed in our Parliament, the innocent blood that has been shed and has polluted the land with 9 million babies torn from their mother’s wombs in the past 40 years, the social corruption, the blood on the streets from knife crime, drugs and violence, the tragedy of family breakdown, unfaithfulness in marriage, and the abuse of children.

God has been warning Britain of all these offences for many years and it was inevitable that a day of judgment would arise. But the message I have been carrying is also one of hope – if we preach the gospel and people respond in repentance then a great revival of faith could follow the time of judgment. God has good plans to prosper the nation when the pandemic is over. That is why he separated Britain from Europe, because it is his intention not only of prospering Britain, but of renewing the spiritual life of the nation which could be a good witness to the world.

In the meantime, how should we respond? The gospel is firmly in the hands of individual believers up and down the country and we must seek every opportunity to share it. Churches may be closing their doors and moving online, but even with ‘social distancing’ we are still being afforded an unprecedented opportunity in our communities to share the love of God and testify to the only cure for fear – the hope of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

References

1 Read the full prophecy here.