Shawn Bolz and the deceit at the heart of the Prophetic Movement

Lessons from Scripture on justice and judgement

Lessons the Church might learn

Putting our trust in God, not man

“Watch out that no one deceives you!”

The Government’s sticking-plaster solution for domestic abuse.

Our Victorian forefathers used to boast “An Englishman’s home is his castle”. What went on in the home was nobody’s business outside the family. Family life was closely guarded and anything that damaged the image of the family was considered a public disgrace.

That desire to keep family life hidden from the public is still very much evident today but it presents great danger for many women and children. This is highlighted by a Government bill on domestic violence drafted this week. The intention is to increase the penalty for domestic abuse through tougher sentences on offenders. But is tagging offenders and longer prison sentences the right way of dealing with this issue?

Shocking Statistics

The statistics are quite shocking – some 2 million women in England and Wales suffer some form of domestic violence every year, according to the ONS. They say that one in four women will suffer abuse at some point in their lives. So what goes on behind closed doors and shutters is far more serious than is generally recognised.

Most women who suffer abuse do not report to any of the authorities; they keep quiet. It usually takes numerous acts of violence before a woman goes to the police to report her partner. Statistics show that on average two women are killed every week in England and Wales by their partner or ex-partner.

Clearly this is a situation that cannot be ignored and greater protection needs to be offered, not only to victims but to children growing up in family homes where there is constant violence. Untold harm is done to these children that affects their education and their emotional and mental health, and leaves lifelong scars.

The ONS says that one in four women will suffer abuse at some point in their lives – but most do not report it to the authorities.

We Reap What We Sow

How have we reached this point where a quarter of all households shelter a violent abuser? I can remember the strong warnings that Mary Whitehouse used to give when she constantly opposed violent programmes on TV and scenes of extreme violence on film and video. She was vehemently opposed by secular humanists and libertarians who said that there was no harm in watching violent films – it was just harmless entertainment.

But the statistics for violent crime tell a different story. The plain fact is that we reap what we have sown! If the public absorb a regular diet of violence, pornography and various forms of perversion, this will be reflected in the behaviour of a significant proportion of the public – particularly those who do not have happy and stable family home lives.

It’s probably much too late to do anything about curbing the vast quantity of obscene material available on the internet and other sources of entertainment, including violent video games for which many young people have an obsession. But sadly, even the Government’s bill, hailed by both the Home Secretary and the Prime Minister as a ‘ground-breaking’ piece of legislation, will do little to solve the continuing problem of domestic violence.

A Much Bigger Problem

The new law will allow offences committed by British citizens anywhere in the world to be prosecuted in UK courts. Amber Rudd, the Home Secretary, said “These measures will help bring us justice to women who experience these abhorrent crimes anywhere in the world and shows perpetrators there is nowhere to hide”. Theresa May said that the new law would “completely transform the way we tackle domestic abuse.”

Of course, we welcome measures to strengthen the law dealing with offenders but we cannot share the optimism of the Home Secretary or the PM. If we are really to see ground-breaking changes in behaviour, we have to change the culture that gives rise to domestic violence and abuse in family life.

If the public absorb a regular diet of violence, pornography and various forms of perversion, this will be reflected in behaviour.

If we are to tackle the problem of domestic abuse, we have to recognise that in a single generation we have grossly devalued marriage and family life in the nation! What we are suffering from today is the deliberate destruction of the biblical values of the sanctity of life – of human beings, both male and female created by God in his own image – and of the covenant of marriage that unites a man and a woman in a lifelong bond of love, providing the ideal environment for the procreation and nurture of children.

These biblical values, part of Britain’s godly heritage, have been deliberately destroyed by powerful secular humanist lobbies whose objectives are to create anarchy, breaking down the mores that have given stability to the nation for centuries. What we are seeing now is only the tip of the iceberg of the lawless chaos of the next generation, when all restraints on the behaviour of individuals are removed.

One Hope for Salvation

The churches in Britain have been complicit in the corruption of society and the destruction of national biblical foundations by allowing liberal values to corrupt and weaken the proclamation of the Gospel.

At Billy Graham’s funeral last week his daughter Anne Graham gave a strong and courageous call to Christians to recover confidence in the Gospel and declare the word of God fearlessly in a corrupt generation. We echo this call for Christians no longer to be bound by political correctness, but to declare the truth that will set people free from the tyranny of moral and spiritual corruption that is driving the nation to national suicide.

Christians need to no longer be bound by political correctness, but declare the truth that will set people free.

What will save Britain? Not a hard Brexit, or a soft Brexit, or remaining under the dominance of the EU! Those who are listening to the Lord today are hearing warnings similar to those God gave to Jeremiah:

This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Look! Disaster is spreading from nation to nation; a mighty storm is rising from the ends of the earth” (Jer 25:32)

The only thing that will save the nation from destruction is to hear the word of God and for the light of its truth to shine upon the great issues of state that confront us. We need to hear the word of the Lord proclaimed - in Parliament, in the public square and in the churches!!

This latest disgrace is a particularly significant one.

“Should I continue to give my money to Oxfam?” Someone asked me this week. There is no easy answer because if Oxfam’s funds dry up the great work that they do among the poor and distressed – especially in areas hit by natural disasters – would not be done.

The scandal that has overtaken Oxfam in the past week is tragic for those who benefit from the work of the charity and it is also tragic for the large numbers who self-sacrificially work for Oxfam in the field or volunteer in their many charity shops in Britain.

But my questioner undoubtedly had a point – none of us want to give our money for it to be misspent by rogues, or for it not to reach those who really need our help. When we hear of Oxfam workers exploiting women in Haiti, the poorest country in the world, by using them for sexual gratification, we are shocked beyond words.

Surely charity workers can be relied upon for integrity and faithfulness in carrying out their work of compassion among the poor and needy in times of emergency? But does this exposure – undoubtedly the tip of the iceberg of what is happening in charitable institutions - really point to something of far greater significance?

Fundamental Change

Is it evidence of something fundamental happening that is not simply confined to one organisation or one sector of society? Are we really seeing the whole value system collapsing upon which our nation, and Western society, is founded?

This is a frightening picture of the ratcheting up of the forces of social change that have been buffeting the moral and spiritual foundations of the nation for the past half-century. But this breakdown in the charity sector has apocalyptic significance.

What if the Oxfam exposure points to something of far greater significance?

The values of truth, justice, righteousness, compassion and charity (or love) can no longer be taken for granted in organisations once established upon these values and dedicated to their performance. If society can no longer trust the institutions of charity – which inevitably include the Church and all its associated organisations of good works such as food banks, Street Pastors, mums and toddlers, youth groups and countless other groups – where can we turn to put our trust?

Watchmen Asleep

Clearly if Oxfam is to regain the trust of the public there has to be root and branch reform. In the early days of Oxfam and many other charities all the workers, including the directors, gave self-sacrificial service, taking small salaries as a sign of their dedication because they were not in it for the money.

Sadly, today many charities pay their executive staff six-figure sums – more than we pay our Members of Parliament - and the institutions themselves have become more like global corporations than simple charities.

This is the extent of the cultural revolution that has been taking place before our eyes in recent decades as we have discarded the foundational pillars upon which our civilisation is built – one after another!

The changes have taken place because the watchmen have been asleep at their posts, drugged by the intoxicating enticements of secular humanism and political correctness that have crept into the culture and deceived us all.

A Powerful Delusion

St Paul, writing to the Christians in Thessaloniki, spoke of the “secret power of lawlessness” that was already at work in the world and would continue its work of destruction unhindered because a “powerful delusion” would prevent people from perceiving the truth. Jesus referred to a similar delusion in the religious leaders of his own day who, like those in the time of the Prophet Isaiah were always hearing but never understanding, always seeing but never perceiving.

We have discarded the foundational pillars upon which our civilisation is built – one after another.

This is what happens when people deliberately despise their spiritual heritage and embrace a delusion. The great delusion turns the truth upside-down and creates blindness so that no one is able to perceive the difference between the facts and fake news, between truth and lies, between good and evil, between light and darkness.

So, we have a culture in which a teenager this week refused to accept the discipline of his school and took a gun and killed his teachers and fellow pupils. Other young men have brought a false religion to the West and in the name of their god carry out atrocities recklessly destroying life and maiming the bodies of fellow citizens.

These things are the evidence of the breakdown of a culture: of the destruction of the foundations of a civilisation that has been based upon ultimate truth which has been discarded as no longer relevant.

Take Courage

The only hope for the future is for eyes to be opened to the reality of what is happening in our lifetime. That can only happen if the Bible-believing remnant that still exists in every nation of the Western world will awake to the imminent danger facing us and have the courage to declare the truth to a dying world.

It was for this purpose that God so loved the world that he sent Jesus our Lord and Saviour, the Light of the world. He is our only hope.

What do we learn from the current investigation into the hidden life of our former Prime Minister Sir Edward Heath?

Sins of the Nation

It is interesting first to note our initial reactions, even before police enquiries are complete. Most of us are not at all surprised! We are getting used to exposure after exposure of the sinful hidden lives of those who should be trusted in the nation.

Already the well-known entertainers Rolf Harris, Stuart Hall and Jimmy Saville have been exposed as having dark sides to their lives: whilst having an acceptable public profile they were also involved in sinful acts that should not exist in a righteous nation. The recent conviction of Tom Hayes in the Libor banking fraud illustrates that the sins of our nation extend into other areas as well as child abuse. Now we wait to see if the accusations levelled against a former Prime Minister will reveal further dark secrets.

On the one hand we can be reassured that we still have a legal system that will bring justice relating to serious crimes. Our nation, despite all, may not have slipped beyond recovery. On the other hand we may be witnessing the tip of the iceberg of sin in our nation. Could it be that the Lord God himself is uncovering these sins to show us the danger that our nation is in, before he acts in further judgement?

Layer Upon Layer

During the 1990s, we carried out some research on the New Age Movement for Prophecy Today. In doing so, we discovered deep and demonic darkness taking footholds in the nation. Satan's lies usually start with harmless-looking temptations: after all he is called lucifer, the angel of light. His traps are subtle and what seems like 'fun' or even beneficial in some ways can gradually be a luring of a person into utter darkness and sin. Such sin is then kept in the secret recesses of a person's life – a trap.

That is how even a prominent leader can be drawn into ritual abuse of children and even into satanic rituals. That is how a banker can be tempted to exploit the wealth of the nation for personal gain. That is how any of us can turn from the ways of God to the ways of sin and evil. The thin end of the wedge of sin is very narrow, but the wedge thickens as sin deepens, sometimes imperceptibly to the one caught up in it.

Satanic lies usually start with harmless-looking temptations, but gradually and subtly lure people into utter darkness and sin. Such sin is then kept in the secret recesses of a person's life."

Consider, for example, the way the so-called 'New Age Movement' attracts a person through subtle means. Doorways include the lie that all religions lead to the one god, promises of healing through alternative therapies such as with crystals and counterfeit meditation, and a lie that "we are all gods" with no such thing as sin. Step by step, one can then be trapped, with the potential of believing ever deepening lies of satan.

A Tangled Web

When we carried out our research on the New Age Movement, one of the things we did was to draw a diagram linking together various organisations and activities. If we found something in common, such as a particular group of people who belonged to two seemingly separate organisations, we would draw a line to link the organisations together. By studying these links one could understand how a person involved in one activity would meet others belonging to another, thus enabling a person in one area of interest to move to another, and move deeper and deeper into areas of deception. On this basis we were also able to warn others of the traps that should be avoided.

In our research on the New Age Movement, we often found hidden links between seemingly unrelated organisations, groups and activities. We traced connections between apparently useful, innocuous activities and others of great concern."

This process of tracking potential links often showed up connections between seemingly useful, innocuous activities and others of great concern. A person, for example, could start with an interest in ecology, or some modern evolutionary science, or alternative medicine, and wander into other areas through personal contact with others or through widely circulated written material. A person could experiment with something relatively harmless and move on to other things, including false religions and even witchcraft and satanism. Of course this is not inevitable - but the potential is there.

The 'spirit of the age' is one of relativism and experimentation. Is it any wonder that some people end up in the deepest darkness when their guard is down and when they are personally vulnerable, and mix in circles that can mislead them?

Satan's Cleverest Trick?

One of Satan's cleverest tricks is to blind the eyes of people to his very existence. Then he can get away with almost anything, degree by degree. James had the weakness of men in mind and also the schemes of satan when he wrote:

...each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. (James 1:14-15)

Our Response

Whilst those being seduced may be blinded by satan to the consequences of their sins, even thinking the sins to be pleasurable, those who set up opposition enter an unrelenting spiritual battle. Those who sin may go into the dark depths quite unaware, whilst others fight a battle, knowing how dark these depths are.

The Lord Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by satan (Matt 4). By contrast he taught us to pray: "lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one" (Matt 6:13). Jesus disarmed satan for those who live by faith, so that the injunction of Paul might also be fulfilled:

...brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy – meditate on these things. (Phil 4:8)

For this reason, having sent our warnings out in Prophecy Today we have also turned to a positive response to the wickedness of the age in which we live, wickedness found even in our own nation. We will keep on warning but will also promote deeper Bible study and the ministry of prayer. Many may go astray in our nation but we must be stronger in the things of God. With many revelations of wickedness coming to the surface - even accusations concerning a past Prime Minister - repentance across the nation is still possible. Let us pray for the things of darkness to be exposed, as God has started to do. Let us also be strong in the Lord and ready to serve, as we are called to in this age of growing deception.