How to pray as the Greek crisis goes global...

This weekend the leaders of all the countries that are part of the European Union have been called together to consider how to deal with the so-called "Greek Crisis". The referendum held by the Greek Government last Sunday produced a resounding 'NO' to the austerity measures which the Euro club countries are trying to force upon them.

The people of Greece have said "Enough is enough"! Years of austerity have done nothing to improve the national economy crippled by debt. It has simply increased the unemployment rate so there are less people able to pay taxes and the country has become poorer and poorer. But the powerful nations of Europe, led by Germany and the European Central Bank, are blindly demanding yet more austerity.

You don't have to be an economist to know that if the present policy is not working it is sheer madness simply to press on enforcing the same policy with even greater stringency! The ordinary people of Greece have recognised this, and they have bravely determined to confront the bankers and say "Can't Pay: Won't Pay!" (It would be even better if they said Can Pray: Will Pray! But of course, you have to know how to pray and what to pray for!).

You don't have to be an economist to know that if the present policy is not working, it is sheer madness to press on enforcing it with even greater stringency."

Underlying Crisis

Of course, there's lots more to it than that! Most Greeks are aware that there is great need for reform in their national lackadaisical approach to the duty of ordinary citizens to pay their taxes, and that there is endemic corruption in their political system. But they have also been the victims of grossly corrupt banking practices on a global scale. Their banks have been used for sharp practices by Russian oligarchs as well as their own wealthy Greeks, whose sudden withdrawal of investments triggered the crisis.

But what began as a problem for a national bank in one country has now become a crisis threatening to unravel the whole of the European Union and the stability of NATO which has an effect upon east-west relationships that is causing great concern in Washington. If Greece leaves the Euro and turns to Russia or China for help in coping with its financial chaos, this will have an immediate effect upon the balance of world power.

The People Revolt

There are similarities here with the peasants' revolt in 18th century Britain over the inflated price of bread, due to imported corn being cheaper than homegrown corn. Their protests threatened to destabilise the nation at a time when Britain was at war with half the world. So too the peasants' revolt in Greece is likely to have far wider ramifications.

It is time to recognise the fundamental weakness of the whole capitalist system that has built up vast sums of national debt that struggling national economies are unable to meet. Greece is not alone in facing a burden of debt that is beyond any possibility of being repaid. If the International Monetary Fund cancels even part of the Greek debt, others will demand equal treatment. Already there are strong anti-austerity protests in Portugal, Spain and Italy. The unfairness of the whole debt-ridden world economy hits the poor harder than the rich. The peasants' revolt in Greece is likely to spread like wildfire across Europe. This is the fear gripping European bankers.

It's time to recognise the fundamental weakness of the whole capitalist system: Greece is not alone in facing a vast burden of debt that is beyond any possibility of being repaid."

Unjust System

Karl Marx was surely right when he said that capitalism contains within itself the seeds of its own destruction. You don't have to be a Marxist or even an anti-capitalist to recognise the truth of this statement. There is something fundamentally unjust in a system that allows 1% of the population to live on vast excesses of wealth whilst the rest of the population struggles to make a living, many experiencing malnutrition and disease which could be eliminated if there were a fairer system of wealth distribution.

The Bible foretells a day when God will deal with this injustice. He will humble the proud and lofty, according to the prophet Isaiah (2:12-21). The oppressors will be overthrown and God's justice will be seen. Maybe the Greek crisis is part of God's plan to allow the whole financial system to collapse, so that his justice can be established. Christians should be careful not to pray against the great shaking of the nations. If this is how God is working out his purposes, we must trust him.

Christians should be careful not to pray against God's purposes being worked out. We must learn to trust him."

Right Prayer

If you pray "Peace, Peace" when God is saying "There is no peace" – you put yourself against God! The next verse in Isaiah 2 says "Stop trusting in man, who has but a breath in his nostrils. Of what account is he?" If our trust is really in God we can trust him with our lives – even if we are nervous of how we are going to survive the storm.

If God is at work shaking the nations, it is wrong to ask him to stop the shaking. The right prayer is to ask God to fulfil his purposes and to make the shaking effective! He will certainly take care of those who put their trust in Him.

"If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith" (Romans 12:6)

In this series on Spiritual Gifts listed in the New Testament, Monica Hill turns from her overview of the various gifts to looking at each of the Gifts listed in Romans 12 in turn.
The first of the gifts mentioned in Romans 12 – prophecy - is mentioned in three of the lists given by Paul - Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12 and Ephesians 4. Although they all have the same definition of prophecy, there is a distinction between each of them.

In Romans 12, prophecy is one of the natural gifts and is often equated with a good speaker who is able to expound the word of God so that others can understand it and benefit from it. Although this can be an intellectual exercise it is different from the Ministry of the Prophet (Ephesians 4) and the Manifestation (1 Cor 12) and is easily recognised when it 'has an anointing'.

The Romans passage wisely adds the condition that turns good speaking into prophetic proclamation: "in accordance with your faith". This gives the glory to God and follows up the invocation "do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you" (12:3).

There is the lovely story in Acts 24 of this potential gift recognised in Apollos by Aquila and Priscilla:

Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures...He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately. (Acts 24:24-26)

Apollos became one of the 'anointed preachers' who could draw great crowds to hear the Gospel.

Defining Prophecy

In order to find the biblical definition of prophecy we have to go right back to the time of Moses. In Exodus 3, Moses argues with God after receiving the command to go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt. In the following chapter he pleads that he is not eloquent and asks God to send someone else.

God then makes a special arrangement whereby God would speak to Moses, Moses would speak to Aaron, and Aaron would speak to the people. "It will be as if he were your mouth and as if you were God to him" (Ex 4:16). This gives us the definition of a prophet as the mouthpiece of God.

In Exodus, we find the definition of a prophet as the mouthpiece of God."

Exercising the Gift

Moses said "Would that all the Lord's people were prophets and that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them!" (Num 11:29). This appears straightforward, but we need to put this desire of Moses into context. During the 40 years of Israel's travel through the wilderness, life was not easy and on this occasion the people had become very rebellious and were blaming Moses for bringing them out of Egypt.

When Moses complained to the Lord that he could not cope, the Lord rebuked him saying "Is the Lord's arm too short? [The Amplified Version reads "do you think the Lord's ability and power is thwarted and inadequate?"] Now you will see whether or not what I say will come true for you."

Moses was told to bring together 70 of the elders of Israel into the 'Tent of Meeting' where worship took place. God said:

I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take of the Spirit that is on you and put the Spirit on them. They will help you carry the burden of the people so that you will not have to carry it alone (Num 11:17).

When the Spirit came upon them they prophesied, or as the Amplified version says "they sounded forth the praises of God and declared His will". Another interesting point is that the two men who had stayed in the camp also prophesied. Although this seemed outrageous to Joshua, Moses replied "Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the Lord's people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!"

Being able to celebrate the Lord's presence with others who have also caught the vision and are really sounding forth praises of God and declaring his will is a wonderful, exhilarating experience for all concerned. This is the outpouring of the Spirit foretold in Joel 2 which was fulfilled at Pentecost:

In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.

The Acts version of the record from Pentecost adds the last four words to Joel's prophecy, "and they shall prophesy" to emphasise their importance. This means that every believer, baptised in the Spirit, is potentially able to prophesy. This is true of men and women, young and old, rich and poor.

Every believer, baptised in the Spirit, is potentially able to prophesy."

Old Testament Prophets

Today we often think of the prophetic gift as being relevant more to the Old Testament when the role of the prophets was greatly revered. They were individuals who were so in tune with God that they understood and knew what God wanted to say to his people. This has provided the basis of the teaching in the New Testament.

The task of the Prophets then (both those whose words have been recorded as well as those who we only know their names) was to bring the word of the Lord which was living in them to the nation. God used them to reveal his nature and purposes so that Israel would understand the God who had established a covenant relationship with them through their forefathers thus preparing them to be "a light unto the Gentiles"; a role which was eventually personified in Messiah Jesus.

New Testament Prophets

The prophetic role today is still to bring knowledge and understanding and to reveal the nature and purposes of God through the church to the world. Moses' words "I wish that all the Lord's people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!" is carried out most effectively when it creates a mature body of believers who can relate their faith to everyday life.

In this way they can present a united front to the world with a powerful spirit-filled anointing upon their works of service, which glorifies Jesus and causes multitudes to want to know him and find that their lives are transformed by God.

Not all are prophets, but all are called to be prophetic witnesses...

It was just before he said goodbye to his disciples and ascended into heaven that Jesus commissioned them, when they had received the Holy Spirit, to be his witnesses (Luke 24:48-49; Acts 1:4-8)

When his promise was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost, Peter explained that what had happened to the disciples was a fulfilment of a prophecy of Joel and stated the result - adding his own four words – "and they shall prophesy" (Joel 2:28¬-29; Acts 2:16-18).

Putting these two statements together the conclusion that we reach is that all Christians are appointed by Jesus and are enabled by the Holy Spirit to be his 'prophetic witnesses' to the whole world in general, and to their own generation and locality in particular.

Not All Are Prophets

Christ's witnesses function as prophets do, but this does not mean that every believer is a prophet in the sense that Paul had in mind when he asked: "Are all prophets?" (1 Cor 12:29); the presumed answer to which is 'No!'. The ministry of the prophet, to which Paul referred, is an important one, second only to that of an apostle; but this is a ministry given only to some persons.

Not all Christians are called to the ministry of the prophet. But all are appointed by Jesus and enabled by the Holy Spirit to be his 'prophetic witnesses' to the outside world."

It is also necessary to distinguish that 'prophetic witness' which Jesus expects his disciples to maintain among a world of unbelievers from the manifestation of the gift of prophecy which Paul sought to encourage in the assembly of the Lord's people in Corinth (1 Cor 14:1, 5).

All God's People Witnesses

God's primary purpose in calling a people to be his own, in both Old Testament and New Testament times, is for them to be his witnesses. Paul told a company of idol worshippers in Lystra that God had not left himself without witness in that he had given them rain and fruitful seasons, but it is evident from the context that these people needed witnesses to show them that such essential blessings are the provision of a loving God (Acts 14:15-18).

In Isaiah's day, the people of God were reminded that they were his witnesses (Isa 43:10; 43:12, 44:8) with the responsibility of bearing witness to the fact that Jehovah is the living and true God as compared with all idols.

The Shema Witness

"Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord". These words repeated twice a day by orthodox Jews are called the Shema, from the Hebrew of the first word, meaning 'hear or listen'. In Jewish tradition, the last letter of the first word of the Shema and the last letter of the last word are printed in large type. These two letters are the letters of the Hebrew word 'witness'.

All believers are called to be witnesses: to listen to the living, speaking God and testify to his truth."

This statement which is part command, part creed and part covenant is an excellent summary of the witness Israel and the church today is called to sustain. The command is to listen, for God is a living God who speaks. The creed declares that he is one and besides him there is no other God. The covenant is implicit in his name Jehovah, who is the God who enters into covenant with his people.

New Testament Witness

By the time Jesus sent out his witnesses into all the world there was an additional piece of information to be added to the Old Testament witness: the God of glory had sent his Son to die for the sins of the whole world and had raised him from the dead. The essential aspect of New Testament witness is the fact of the resurrection (Acts 1:22).

Seven times over Luke informs us of this (Acts 2:32; 3:15; 5:32; 10:39; 10:41; 13:31; 17:18). No witness can claim to be truly Christian which denies, explains away or omits this fundamental truth (1 Cor 15:14-17).

Witness Word Study

The Hebrew word translated 'witness' literally means to repeat. It is part of being a witness to repeat what we have seen and experienced. However, the repetition may be that implied by the Old Testament's insistence that there must be at least two witnesses to establish the truth of any matter (Deut 17:6)- a principle which is carried over into New Testament teaching (Matt 18:16).

The New Testament word for witness is martus. This is the Greek root from which we get our English word 'martyr'. As F.F. Bruce has pointed out, by the time we come to the reference in Revelation 2:13 to 'Antipas, my witness', the Greek word 'martus' has begun its transition from 'witness' to 'martyr'. This stresses the cost of being a faithful witness.

The Greek word for 'witness' is also the root of our English word 'martyr'. Being a witness – that is, repeating what we have seen and experienced – comes with a cost."

The English word 'witness' refers to a person who has seen or can give first-hand evidence of some event. This quality of witness is emphasised in Jesus' words to Nicodemus. "We speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen" (John 3:11).

Witnesses Stand Out

The English word for 'witness' is made up of two words: 'wit' (meaning 'to know') occurs in several well-known phrases such as 'to have the wit to', 'to keep one's wits about one' and 'to be at one's wits end'.

The second word 'ness' is of French origin and means 'nose'. It occurs in a number of English place names e.g. Dungeness, Foulness, Shoeburyness, also Walton-on-the¬-Naze - all places which project or stick out.

The English word 'witness' implies someone who sticks out because of what he knows."

It would be hard to beat this definition of a 'witness' that he stands out for what he knows! Before leaving the words used for 'witness' it is important to note that the words 'testify', 'testimony' and 'bear record' are all translations of the Greek word 'martus' and have the same meaning as 'witness'.

Universal Witnessing

Jesus' words make it clear that he expects his disciples to carry out their witnessing to the ends of the earth. "To all nations, beginning from Jerusalem" (Luke 24:47), "in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8) indicates our marching orders geographically to be to the ends of the earth. But there are other 'worlds' into which we must seek entry for his gospel. The 'worlds' of music, art, drama, sport, society and many others have all to be evangelised.

We have been given our marching orders: to take the good news of Jesus to the ends of the earth and into every sphere of society."

We must regain the commitment of those early Christian witnesses who witnessed to Jewish rulers, to an occult magician, to a Roman jailor, to a Roman centurion, to Athenian intellectuals, to a rioting crowd in Ephesus, to King Agrippa and to a number of Roman governors. They didn't give their witness behind the closed doors of Church buildings in those days, expecting strangers to 'come and get it!'

Power-packed Witness

The secret of their powerful witness was their conscious receiving of the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus had promised them the dynamic experience which they had appropriated. He had told them that when the Holy Spirit came he would bear witness and they also were witnesses (John 15:26-27).

But the initiative was the Holy Spirit's. He showed them where to witness. He directed Philip away from a revival to a deserted road; persuaded Peter to break out of his religious apartheid and sent Paul sailing to Europe and finally to Rome itself (Acts 8:26; 10:20; 16:10; 27:24).

Witness Confirmed

He enabled them to witness effectively by transcending their merely human wisdom (1 Cor 2:4). He backed up their words with demonstrations of his power. When Ananias and Sapphira lied about their offering they collapsed and died (Acts 5:1-11). When Elymas the magician resisted Paul he ended up with temporary blindness (Acts 13:6-11). As they witnessed he brought conviction to their hearers and multiplied the number of those who were being saved (John 16:8-11; Acts 2:37-41).

The secret of successful witnessing is the conscious receiving of the power of the Holy Spirit, who witnesses through and with us, and backs up our words with demonstrations of his power."

Speaking God's Words

The most simple definition of a prophet is 'one who speaks God's words' and it was Moses who expressed the desire "that all the Lord's people should be prophets" (Num 11:29). That wish was fulfilled when Joel's prophecy was made a reality on the day of Pentecost (Joel 2:28-29). Then Jesus' promise became true: "When they deliver you up, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given you in that hour; for it is not you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you" (Matt 10:19-20). This is what it means to prophesy and all true witnesses are prophets in the sense that Moses had in mind.

This is the only manifestation of prophecy in which all the Lord's people can share. They cannot all receive the ministry of the prophet and it is unlikely that they will all be able to speak a word of prophecy in the worship gathering of the Lord's people; but they can and they must be prophetic witnesses to the world. The one about whom they bear witness is called "the faithful and true witness" (Rev 1:5; 3-14) and they can have no higher ambition than that their witness is also faithful and true.

First published in Prophecy Today, Vol 2, No 5, September/October 1986.

Continuing his study series, Clifford Denton looks at the Apostle Paul's preparation for ministry.

Introduction

In these studies, our central purpose is to trace the origins of Christianity, the continuity from Old Testament to New Testament and the parting of the ways between Jews and Christians. By carefully considering these things we might come to the conclusion that now is our timely opportunity to return to our origins and repair what has been damaged in identity, relationship and witness.

Before the apostles were empowered to share the Gospel with the Gentiles, the Gospel message came first to the "lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Matt 10:6, 15:24). In earlier studies we considered Acts 15 and the Hebraic background of Paul who, at the appointed time, became the Apostle to the Gentiles (Rom 11:13). The Gospel message then began to move out under the power and inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

From the time of Ezekiel, the message to the scattered tribes of Israel and Judah was that individuals were responsible for their own sins (Ezek 18). This was a preparation for the Gospel, first offered to Israel and then to the Gentiles. The Gospel message is to individuals: a call through repentance and faith to accept the free gift of salvation through the shed blood of Jesus the Messiah. Yet, salvation has often been emphasised at the expense of community. It is Hebraic to think in terms of building community. Thus Paul preached the Gospel and also emphasised the community of Jewish and Gentile disciples in Jesus – the One New Man (Eph 2:15).

Paul's Ministry

If we consider the timing of Paul's ministry it helps us to understand the scriptural background to his message. We recall that Paul wrote to Timothy:

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Tim 3:16-17)

What was "all Scripture" in Paul's day? It is thought that he wrote this letter from Rome in about 63 AD- quite late in his ministry. The earliest written Gospel account may have been compiled as late as 60 AD. We are unlikely to find exact dates for the New Testament writings, but these approximate dates help us to understand the context of Paul's ministry.

Paul came from the background of Judaism, where the writings of the Tanakh (Torah, Prophets and Writings of the Old Testament) were the recognised Scriptures. What was later to become the 'New Testament Canon' took some years to emerge. Also, the Church Councils such as Nicea (325 AD) had not yet taken place, which would re-define Christianity heavily biased towards the New Testament and more loosely linked to its Old Testament origins. The earliest Christian references to the various books of the New Testament begin from about 70 AD, so we can assume that Paul's 'Scripture' was the Tanakh, the Old Testament. This formed both the model and mindset for the community of faith to which Gentiles were invited. His teaching saw the Gospel message as the fulfillment of the shadows of all that went before.

We know from historical evidence that Paul's mentions of 'Scripture' were references to the Tanakh- that is the Torah, the Prophets and the Writings of the Old Testament."

The Spread of the Gospel

We can picture Paul on his missionary journeys, writing letters to the new congregations and to his friends between about 49 and 63 AD. He heard about the teaching of Jesus when he was still a zealot for traditional Judaism. Then, after a dramatic and personal meeting with the risen Messiah, he took time aside to reflect on these things, before embarking on his ministry to the Gentile world. He described this when he was in Jerusalem around 57 AD (recorded in Acts 22:3-21).

To get a sense for the timings of Paul's ministry, a broad timeline is useful:

• 33-34 AD: Paul was converted 'on the road to Damascus'.
• 34-43 AD: He then went to Arabia and Damascus for some years, where he had direct revelation concerning the Gospel. This was before any written record of New Testament Scripture.
• 43 AD: Paul visited the elders in Jerusalem and went to Antioch.
• 47-48 AD: Paul's first missionary journey.
• 49 AD: The Apostolic Council (Acts 15) was held in Jerusalem.
• 49-51 AD: Paul's second missionary journey.
• 52-56 AD: Paul's third missionary journey.

A study of the maps of his three missionary journeys is also helpful (along with a study of the New Testament records):

Paul's first missionary journey

Paul's second missionary journey.

Paul's third missionary journey.

Being Prepared for Ministry

Paul wrote about his call and experiences to the Galatians, and the whole picture of Paul's life and ministry within this time-frame is written in the Book of Acts:

I make known to you, brethren that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ. For you have heard of my former conduct in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it. And I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in my own nation, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers.

But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb and called me through His grace, to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went to Arabia, and returned again to Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and remained with him fifteen days. But I saw none of the other apostles except James, the Lord's brother. (Now concerning the things which I write to you, indeed, before God, I do not lie.)

Afterward I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. And I was unknown by face to the churches of Judea which were in Christ. But they were hearing only, "He who formerly persecuted us now preaches the faith which he once tried to destroy." And they glorified God in me. (Gal 1:11-24)

We see that Paul, deeply schooled in the Tanakh, came to a dramatic revelation of the risen Jesus, being taken aside for a time of preparation. Here he considered the revelation of Jesus in the context of his former training in the rabbinical schools, still having the Tanakh (Old Testament) as his reference Scriptures. The way Jesus fulfilled the promises of the Torah, Prophets and Psalms came by personal revelation. The sources, therefore, of Paul's Gospel ('good news') to the Gentiles came out of his personal study and prayer with the Scriptures of the day as his reference point, and through revelation by the Holy Spirit. This was the "all Scripture" of 2 Timothy 3:16-17.

Paul was rooted in the Messianic expectation of the Old Testament, and his personal preparation for ministry was through a revelation of Jesus as the fulfillment of this."

This, then, is the background from which we should consider the Gospel message brought by Paul to the Gentile world and later described to us through his letters and through the Gospel accounts. In a similar way, our foundational source for the Gospel message is the Tanakh (Old Testament). Without this foundation, the New Testament is out of context.

We, like Paul, should be rooted in the Messianic expectation of the Torah, the Prophets and Writings. We learn this from the walk of two disciples on the Road to Emmaus, where we also learn that Jesus confirmed what we have suggested to be Paul's position - the Gospel message emerged from the shadows of the Tanach:

Then He said to them, "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!" Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?" And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. (Luke 24:25-27)

For Study and Prayer

Consider how we might preach the Gospel message by using the Old Testament and the Gospel accounts.

Next time: Paul and the spread of the Gospel Part 2

In the light of the recent death of Sir Nicholas Winton at age 106, Charles Gardner shares the story of John Fieldsend, rescued from Auschwitz through Sir Winton's Kindertransport project and taken in by a Sheffield family...

Heini and Arthur Fiege

Snatched from the jaws of the Nazis in the nick of time, Heini Fiege escaped to England to begin a new life. It was a traumatic parting for Heini and his brother Arthur, aged seven and ten at the time, but their parents could see the writing on the wall and willingly gave up their boys for adoption to save them from the horrors of Auschwitz, where they were to perish within a few short years.

Heini and Arthur thus became beneficiaries in 1938 of the Kindertransport project of Sir Nicholas Winton, who died on Wednesday aged 106. A young stockbroker at the time, he arranged the rescue of thousands of Jewish children from Czechoslovakia and other places under German occupation.

Despite the heartbreak, which affected him for much of his life, Heini and his brother found new hope as they grew up in Sheffield comforted by the love and devotion of a Christian couple, Les and Vera Cumpston, and their son John.

Growing up in Sheffield

Shortly after their arrival in Sheffield, foster father Les became the butt of neighbourhood jokes as he set about building an elaborate air-raid shelter in the garden of their home in the southern suburb of Handsworth. But of course, like Noah building an ark on dry ground, he was thoroughly vindicated when the city was heavily blitzed by the Luftwaffe on the nights of 12th and 15th December 1940.

Les was under-manager of Tinsley Park Colliery at the time and later moved to Worksop following promotion to Inspector of Mines and Quarries for Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and South Yorkshire.

Following the lead of his older brother, Heini anglicized his name to John Fieldsend, preferring the English equivalent of his second name Hans. Not surprisingly perhaps in view of his parents' example, John also discovered a personal faith in Christ and, although he qualified as an engineer with practical experience of working on aircraft during his time in the RAF, he felt a strong call to preach the gospel full-time and became a successful Anglican vicar overseeing a thriving church in Bayston Hill, Shropshire.

Dwelling on his past was difficult to face at first, but in time he felt drawn to re-focus on his Jewish roots, referring to himself as a Messianic Jew – one who follows Jesus (Yeshua in Hebrew) as Messiah.

He later became involved in the leadership of the Church's Ministry among Jewish people (CMJ), a 200-year-old Anglican society dedicated to the spiritual re-birth of Israel. Following his time at CMJ he joined the Ministry Team at Moggerhanger Park, home of the original magazine Prophecy Today, taking responsibility for developing the work of the Centre for Biblical and Hebraic Studies.

50th Anniversary Reunion

The Jewish aspect of his identity had taken a leap forward when TV personality Esther Rantzen arranged an emotional 50th anniversary reunion between Sir Nicholas Winton and some of those children he rescued as part of her very popular That's Life! programme.

Sir Nicholas had kept forged copies of the children's identity documents (forged to speed up the process of officialdom for what he knew to be a dire emergency). And these were used to track down the likes of John, who had lost most of his relatives in the Holocaust.

A Wondering Jew

In his recently published book, A Wondering Jew (reviewed here), John recalls visits made to the Children's Memorial in Yad Vashem, the Holocaust museum in Jerusalem (see picture opposite), which commemorates the one-and-a-half million children who died at the hands of the Nazis.

As we listened to the names of the children being read out on an endlessly looping tape – which took several days to go round – I realized that had my journey from Czechoslovakia been delayed by only about five weeks, my name would have been on that tape! It was a very dramatic experience...

John's ministry has taken him all over Britain and to many parts of the world, and on one occasion in South Africa, after sharing his story and speaking about Jewish and Gentile reconciliation through Jesus, he was approached by a man who "rather hesitantly confessed that he had spent the war years as a member of the Hitler Youth...This was not the first time, nor would it be the last, that I had been challenged to practice what I had just preached!"

John and his wife Elizabeth celebrated their golden wedding in 2011. Now 84, John is a regular speaker at the Holocaust Museum in Laxton, near Newark in Nottinghamshire.

'God's Faithfulness – Stories from the China Inland Mission and OMF' by Rose Dowsett & Chad Berry (OMF International, 2014, 338 pages, available from OMF for £8.00)

This is a unique anthology of forty stories which testify to the faithfulness of God over the 150 years of OMF/CIM. Here are stories of tragedy, triumph, sorrow and joy, God's provision and many answers to prayer.

OMF International was founded in 1865 by James Hudson Taylor as the Chinese Inland Mission, so the book celebrates 150 years of service in East Asia. Hudson Taylor, after his dramatic word from the Lord on Brighton beach, served in China for nearly 50 years. However, although the book gives some outline of the mission's beginnings in the 1860-80's and developments since 1949 when the staff had to leave China, it is not a history book.

It is a series of amazing stories of ordinary people performing extraordinary exploits for God - in Thailand with leprosy patients at Manorom hospital and in Phayao, planting a Bible college and, in 2004, ministering to tsunami survivors. In Malaysia, Brian and Esther Newton planted a hundred church groups in Sarawak with tribal communities, the result being that the area is now fifty percent Christian. Robert and Ruth Erion ministered close to the border of Malaya and Thailand with communist insurgents. In Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim country, missionaries were able in the 1960s and 70s to develop literature materials and then a Christian curriculum for the government from kindergarten to university.

This book contains a series of amazing stories of ordinary people performing extraordinary exploits for God."

Most heartening of all is to read of individual new believers who took on the mission outreach, in particular Mongolian nomadic herdsmen Erdene, Mishig, Tuya and Bolar. The testimony to their service for the Lord is that in 1990 there were fewer than ten known Christians in the country and today there are more than fifty thousand.

This book will encourage all of us who have been involved with OMF over the years but also any Christians who have been unaware of what God has done in South East Asia.

Prophets not only understood God's words and relayed them to others, they also gained God's ear. Edmund Heddle looks at this profound intercessory relationship...

It was the special privilege of the true Old Testament prophets to stand in the council of the Almighty to listen to his words. It was this access that ensured the accuracy and authority of the prophecies they spoke.

But this access also gave them the privilege of gaining the ear of God as they interceded on behalf of their people and ensured the success of their intercession. God spoke to them and they spoke to God. Both of these aspects need to be kept in mind if we are to gain a true understanding of what a prophet is.

First Bible Prophet an Intercessor

The earliest example of a prophet interceding occurs in Genesis 20:7, which is where the first reference to a prophet in Scripture occurs. In a dream God told Abimelech, king of Gerar, to hand back Sarah, Abraham's wife, and said that Abraham's intercession would save him from certain death "because he is a prophet" (Gen 20:7, 17).

There is however an earlier reference to Abraham praying when he interceded for the wicked city of Sodom (Gen 18:22-23). Six times Abraham besought God to spare Sodom and each time God accepted his prayer. What an encouragement today to pray for our increasingly immoral society! It was a sad commentary on Sodom's widespread homosexuality that there were fewer than ten righteous men in the city and so the inevitable judgment fell, a lasting warning to the cities that are moving in that direction before our eyes today.

Abraham's intercession spared kings and cities judgment- what an encouragement today to pray for our increasingly immoral society!"

Prayers of the Writing Prophets

The close link between prophesying and interceding is also found in the writing prophets of the Old Testament. We find Amos asking God's pardon for Israel and for respite from the utter destruction caused by a divinely ordained plague of locusts (Amos 7:1-2).

In similar fashion Joel cries to God for the ending of the drought which has caused the "seed to shrivel under the clods" and the wild beasts to cry out because "the water brooks are dried up" (Joel 1:17-¬20). In contrast, Hosea calls down an awful judgement on the homes of Israel by requesting "wombs that miscarry and breasts that are dry" (Hos 9:14).

Habakkuk's Fiddle!

In his long prayer forming the whole of Habakkuk 3, the prophet expresses his absolute confidence in Yahweh, no matter how many calamities might befall him or however bad things might become. One quaint old commentator advises his readers to strum away on 'Habakkuk's Fiddle' when we are facing days of trouble.

Hebrew scholars tell us that the rhythm of the last part of this prayer is very beautiful, consisting of short lines of three words each and obviously intended to be set to music. He says that he will wait patiently until the day of calamity overwhelms the nation that was invading his land (Hab 3:16b).

Amos interceded for God's pardon, Hosea called for judgment and Habakkuk expressed his complete confidence in God, whatever the future might hold."

The Prophet's Arguments with God

Ezekiel wrestles with God and hints that his reputation is at stake if he utterly wipes out the remnant of Israel (Eze 9:8-11; 11:13-16). The reputation of Yahweh is one of the strongest arguments advanced by the prophets in their interceding for God's people. It was used by Moses several times, as he argues that the surrounding nations would conclude that Yahweh had failed to bring his people into the Promised Land (Ex 32:12; Deut 9:25-29).

A variation of this argument, also used by Moses, was to remind God of his promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and to tell him that he dare not break them. A similar argument that Yahweh would bring disgrace to his name if he let his people down had been used by Joshua at the defeat of Ai (Josh 7:9). These arguments are just as strong today if we adapt them to our New Testament understanding of the character and promises of our Heavenly Father and the victory of his Son, our Saviour.

Many prophets interceded by reminding God of his character and promises- and by arguing that his reputation was at stake. These arguments are just as strong today"

Prayer's Powerful Effect

Of all the prophets, Elijah is chosen as the example of the powerful effect of a righteous man's intercession (James 5:16-17) and it is from this New Testament account that we learn that the disastrous three and a half years' drought in the reign of King Ahab happened in answer to Elijah's praying. Had we only the narrative in 1 Kings 17, we should not have known the part that his prayers had in bringing about the drought, as a judgement upon the idolatrous activity of the wicked Queen Jezebel.

As this three-year period came to an end the power of Elijah's praying was again demonstrated when, after total failure on the part of Baal's prophets to bring fire from heaven, God answered his servant's prayer by causing the enormous power of his lightning falling from heaven to consume not only the wood and the sacrifice but also the soil and the stones!

In 1 Kings and James, we find that Elijah's powerful intercession caused drought in Israel for three and a half years, brought down fire from heaven and then finally brought rain"

Having brought about this convincing demonstration of Yahweh's superiority, Elijah tells the king that rain was on its way. Yet again Elijah turned to prayer, bending down to the ground with his head between his knees, having first climbed to the top of Carmel. After six reports from his servant that there was not a cloud in the sky, when he looked the seventh time a cloud no larger than a man's hand convinced him that torrential rain was about to fall.

Intercessor's Options

From the foregoing stories it is clear that, on occasion, a prophet may in prayer invoke the judgement of God upon a sinful nation whereas at another time he may terminate the judgement. An example of both options may be found in the story of Elisha, Elijah's successor. He invoked blindness on Israel's enemy, but later prayed that their vision might be restored (2 Kings 6:18-20).

There is in fact another option, making three in all. Elisha could ask either (i) that God would bring judgement to reveal his displeasure (eg Elijah in 1 Kings 17:1), or (ii) that God would pardon his people and rescue them from judgement (eg Moses in Numbers 11:1-3), or again (iii) that God would modify the intensity of his judgement (eg Ezekiel in Ezekiel 11:13) so as to avoid their total overthrow.

It might well be asked which option that today's intercessors should adopt, though they are not left without direction: "For the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought...the Spirit intercedes...according to the will of God" (Rom 8:26-27).

Moses - Intercessor for Israel

Moses is the supreme example of a prophet who was also an intercessor. Moses prayed for Israel at least four times during the wilderness wanderings and secured the mercy and pardon of God for his sinning people. They turned to idolatry, they constantly grumbled, they wanted to return to Egypt and on one occasion were about to stone Moses and his few faithful companions. But time and time again Moses' intercession secured them God's deliverance (Ex 32:9-14; see also Deut 9:20-29; Ex 32:30¬-34; Num 14:13-19 & 21:7-9).

Moses' example of fervent, vicarious intercession has only been surpassed by that of Jesus."

The fervency of Moses' intercession – "I lay prostrate before the Lord for these forty days and forty nights, because the Lord had said he would destroy you" (Deut 9:25) - and the vicariousness of his pleading as he says to God "forgive their sin - and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book..." (Ex 32:32), together with his refusal of the divine suggestion that the people should be wiped out so that God could make a new nation of him, form an example for today's intercessors to emulate, though never to surpass. Only one has ever done that when "in the days of his flesh he offered up prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears" (Heb 5:7).

Other Prayers of Moses

Moses' intercession bringing victory to Israel over the Amalekites is the classic story of the power of the intercessor (Ex 17:8-16). Moses' prayers also secured mercy for Miriam his jealous sister (Num 12:13), God's presence in their onward pilgrimage (Ex 33:12-¬16) and a new leader to take over from him (Num 27:15-23).

When we see the achievements that result from praying for others we are ashamed that we so often neglect this part of the prophetic ministry and cry out with John Calvin "what deep-seated malice against God is this, that I will do anything and everything, but go to him and remain with him in secret prayer!".

Another Prophet Intercessor

Psalm 99:6-8 refers to Samuel as another intercessor who called on the name of the Lord to have mercy on his people. When the Israelites were terrified at the impending attack of the Philistines, they begged Samuel to pray for them. God's thunder was his answer and the enemy was routed (1 Sam 6:7-10).

When the people sinned against God by demanding a king, to be like the other nations, the Lord showed his displeasure by sending thunder and rain, seldom experienced at that particular season. This was in answer to Samuel's praying. However, when they repented, Samuel (though personally rejected by their demands for asking) magnanimously assured them that he would not cease to pray for them and would continue to teach them the "good and right way".

Are we guilty of giving up praying because we have been rejected?"

For Samuel to cease to pray would have amounted to "sin against the Lord" (1 Sam 12:23). Are we guilty of giving up praying because we have been rejected? Samuel's attitude is one which today's intercessors would do well to copy.

Courageous Praying

The prophet Daniel is well known for his faithfulness in continuing to pray even when the threat of being thrown to the lions had been made. "He kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed...as he did afore time" (Dan 6:10). Most of his prayers are concerning the hidden mysteries God was gracious enough to unveil to him. But chapter 9 contains his prayer of confession, which is an aspect of prophetic praying we have not so far mentioned.

In the context of reminding Yahweh of his promise through the prophet Jeremiah to restore his people to their land after seventy years, Daniel confesses vicariously on behalf of God's sinful nation. A most important part of the prophet's intercession is to 'stand in the shoes' of the people being prayed for as prayer is offered on their behalf.

When Prayer is Forbidden

Jeremiah's prophecy contains a number of prayers for God's people (Jer 14:7-9; 19-22; 42:1-7). But the time came when it was too late to pray and Jeremiah was forbidden to do so. God's order to his servant was "do not pray for this people, or lift up cry or prayer for them, and do not intercede for them, and do not intercede with me, for I do not hear you" (Jer 7:16; see also 11:14, 14:11). How important that prayer should be offered before it is too late!

Prophet's Privilege

If we are to speak for God, we need first to speak to God."

Everyone knows that it is the responsibility of the prophet to speak God's word to whoever he is sent. Sometimes that word can be hard and condemnatory - unless the prophet has also interceded for whoever is on the receiving end of the prophecy. If we are to speak for God, we need first to speak to God. Then only will the prophets of today really copy the example of the prophets of the Bible.

First published in Prophecy Today, Vol 2, No 4, July/August 1986.

Clifford Denton concludes his study of the Apostle Paul's attitude to Torah.

In order to recover Christianity's intended relationship with Israel, we must study the way they grew apart. There are a number of historical factors that began in the First Century and continued up to the present day – it was a gradual process more than a one-off event. It is important to consider each of these factors carefully.

In this study we will continue to consider Paul's attitude to Torah. It was inevitable that theological differences would occur between the disciples of Jesus and the existing rabbinical sects, so the developing tension would always have the potential of causing a rift. Nevertheless, when we read Romans 11:11 we might wonder if the Christian Church has fulfilled its particular calling to provoke the Jews to jealousy, when some branches of Christianity are all but unrecognisable as the authentic fulfillment of Old Covenant promises.

Has the Christian Church become so estranged from its roots that it now fails to provoke Jews to jealousy with its fulfilment of Covenant promises?"

It is therefore reasonable to reassess Paul's perspectives in order to recover the balance we need.

Need for balance

Above all, nevertheless, we must remember who we are in the Lord Jesus as we study these things and not lose our New Covenant inheritance through any form of imbalance. Time and again, Paul emphasised that disciples of Jesus were saved by grace. Theirs was a walk of faith, according to the life of the Holy Spirit. We must not detract from this wonderful liberating truth. We who are saved by faith must not return to the external obligations of ritual halakhah.

Yet, Paul also knew that the Lord Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, had taught:

Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfil. I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. (Matt 5:17-19)

There is a balance for New Covenant believers to achieve between walking in the liberation of grace through faith, and not rejecting God's law."

Paul the Apostle taught the life of the Spirit; he also had the depth of understanding of Torah to use the Scriptures to teach heart principles. For example, he used Deuteronomy 25:4 (concerning feeding oxen who tread the grain) to argue the case to care for those who teach the Gospel (see 1 Cor 9:9, 1 Tim 5:18).

Linking the New with the Old

The New Testament is not a new law book to replace the Law of Moses, so we will find only a few examples of Paul's way of thinking to link back to Torah. The more we consider this, however, the more serious our own quest to connect new with old should appear. Consider, for example, a principle illustrated in passages such as Ezekiel 26:2-3:

Son of man, because Tyre has said against Jerusalem, 'Aha'...Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and will cause many nations to come up against you...

Tyre came to nothing because the people did not respond correctly to the Babylonian captivity of Judah, thinking they should mock the people whom their God had abandoned. Could Paul's understanding of this be behind his statement in Romans 11:18-21:

...do not boast against the branches...do not be haughty but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either...

Paul's biblical mindset led to his understanding of weighty matters concerning the God of Israel, some with important prophetic significance.

For fear of Judaising, many Bible teachers have barely begun to handle the Scriptures so fluently as Paul."

For fear of Judaising, many Bible teachers have barely begun to handle the Scriptures so fluently as Paul. Over the centuries there have been many alternative standpoints from which Scripture has been taught. Let us, therefore, consider these.

Two extremes

In Our Father Abraham, Marvin Wilson gives the example of Marcionism- a set of Church teachings originating in Rome with Marcion of Sinope, in the 2nd Century AD. Wilson writes (p108):

To some degree, Marcion appears to have been influenced by the dualistic teachings of Gnosticism. Thus he held that the world, with its appalling evils, was created by a Demiurge (a term Gnostics borrowed from Platonism). This cruel god of battles and bloody sacrifices, so Marcion contended, was revealed in the pages of the Old Testament. He insisted that since an evil world could not be created by a good God, the Old Testament was really the Demiurge's book and hence of lesser status than the New. The Old was the great antithesis of the New and thus was demeaned as being imperfect, offensive, and unedifying.

But the New Testament, Marcion insisted, revealed the true God in the coming of Christ from heaven. Unlike the Demiurge, this God was a God of love. Marcion argued that the New Testament, being Christ's book (not that of the Demiurge), was unquestionably superior to the Old Testament. Furthermore, in his quest to demote the Old Testament from its recognized position of authority, he began to extol the writings of Paul, which held that Christians were "free from the Law" (cf Galatians 5:1). He contended firmly that the Church was wrong in attempting to combine the gospel with Judaism. Indeed, Marcion's principle goal was to rid Christianity of every trace of Judaism. Hence Marcion became the archenemy of the "Jew God".

Wilson goes on to point out that Marcionism is still prevalent in the Christian Church today albeit in another guise. By contrast, he also writes of another sect of Early Christianity called the Ebionites (p25):

The Ebionites, a Jewish-Christian sect which flourished for several centuries after A.D. 70, are most likely a continuing reflection of the Judaizing movement. An ascetic group, committed to poverty as a life-style, the Ebionites upheld the whole Jewish Law but rejected Paul's letters on the grounds that he was an apostate from the Law.

These are two extreme examples of the many views Christians have taken on Paul's teaching. They show that the consequences of our worldview, mindset or way of thinking can be profound, ranging from antinomianism to legal bondage.

Olive Tree Theology

In Restoring the Jewishness of the Gospel (Jewish New Testament Publications, 1988) David Stern explores three types of theology, which he terms Covenant, Dispensational and "Olive Tree". Of the first two he writes (p16):

Christian theologians have usually followed one or two approaches in dealing with this subject. The older and better known one is generally called Replacement theology or Covenant theology, although it is also appearing these days under other names; it says that the Church is "Spiritual" Israel or the "New" Israel, having replaced the "Old" Israel (the Jews) as God's people.

More recently there has developed in Protestant quarters Dispensational theology, which, in its more extreme form, says that the Jewish people have promises only on earth, while the Church has promises in heaven.

David Stern goes on to remind his readers of the Olive Tree metaphor of Romans 11, inventing the term "Olive Tree theology". This was the way that Paul considered the Covenant community to be defined. Gentiles are grafted by faith into an existing body in which Jesus the Messiah is central, and where the roots go back to the Patriarchs and the Covenants.

Paul defined the New Covenant community as branches grafted by faith into an existing tree, rooted in the Patriarchs and Old Testament covenants, in which Messiah Jesus is central."

How does the Torah fit into Paul's Olive Tree theology? Since Covenant history for Israel was Torah-based (intended to be understood in the right way), we from the Gentile world, with a different background to our lives, must be careful not to read into what he says through our own preconceptions, thereby misunderstanding what he is really teaching us.

Let us consider Paul's way of thinking a little more.

Paul's Way of Thinking

We can start in a number of places to anchor Paul's way of thinking. Following David Stern, Romans 11 is one place, where Paul brings balance to his teaching to the Romans about how the Gentiles were saved by grace through faith, entering the existing community of Jewish disciples of Jesus the Messiah.

Acts 15 is another place, where we see Paul and the other apostles and elders grappling with issues of halakhah for Gentile converts and deciding that the Torah is not to be a set of obligations, but is to be learned, in its fulfilled sense, through the Holy Spirit. A new and living halakhah was being launched into the world by the power of the Holy Spirit, but the Covenant heart was still founded on the Torah of God.

We could also start in Galatians and find a strong word against the wrong interpretation of Torah which deprives the believer of his freedom in Messiah.

Wherever we start, we must conclude that Paul does not teach that the Torah is replaced by something else. Instead, Paul leads the believer to trust in God and live by faith, recognising the value of the written Torah as a guide and inspiration. He shows great trust in God rather than man (including those Rabbis who, with strongly held traditional interpretations, did not recognise the Messiah) for the willingness to guide each believer on to maturity, within the context of the believing community.

Wherever you start in Paul's writings, he does not teach that the Torah is replaced by something else. Instead, he leads believers to trust in God and live by faith, valuing the Torah as a guide and inspiration."

In Romans 7:12 he recalls that though the flesh is too weak to obtain salvation for a person by striving for righteousness, the Torah is nevertheless holy:

Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good.

In writing to Timothy, he upholds the Torah as the foundation of teaching:

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Tim 3:16-17)

Here, we must interpret 'Scripture' as the existing Tanakh (Torah, Prophets and Writings – what came to be called the Old Testament by Christians). The New Testament was still emerging and was not yet united as a single document.

Walking with God

Yet, we sense that Paul is urging his students on to a personal walk with God rather than the ritual lifestyle that typified Israel before the coming of Messiah and the giving of the Holy Spirit. He also exhorted Timothy:

But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully, knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which was committed to my trust. (1 Tim 1:8-11)

Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. (Gal 3:24-25)

Paul sees that New Covenant faith is like the faith of Abraham that leads a person to walk with God. That is the goal of Torah. He sees Jesus the Messiah as central to the fulfillment and goals of Torah, like the objective one sees through a telescope when one is on a journey (to a destination). This is the "end" or "goal" of the Torah in Romans 10:4, which is the pivot point of the teaching in the Letter to the Romans, where Paul shows the chief and central context of the Torah is Jesus the Messiah:

For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. (Rom 10:4)

Thus Paul's mindset is completely Christ-centred whilst also being Torah-centred. He sees beyond his Rabbinical training whilst not denying his roots. He sees a need for the grace of God and the fulfillment of the sacrificial system for sin permanently accomplished in Jesus, so that the punishment for sin of those who believe is also nailed to the cross (Col 2:14). He exhorts us to freedom in Jesus and a walk in the Spirit of God with the Torah on our hearts.

Paul's mindset is completely Christ-centred whilst also being Torah-centred: he urges believers on to freedom in Jesus and a personal walk with God with the Torah on our hearts."

Those who read Paul as denying Torah and breaking from Covenant history have not understood his background, and have misunderstood his message of freedom from sin in the power of the Holy Spirit.

A Balanced Perspective

Since Paul is so central to the teaching of the New Testament, many books have been written concerning his relationship with Torah. The secret is to first assess the context of Paul's call and understand the background from which he came. Then it is possible to walk through this theological minefield without danger, recognising the error of those who are reading into the Scriptures what they have already decided that Paul would say, to justify their bias.

The issue is balance. Paul does not exhort us to come under the yoke and limits of rabbinic Judaism. This led to the powerful letter the Galatians. Salvation is by grace alone and through faith, leading to a walk in the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God is the gift of God to a disciple of Jesus. The authority of the rabbis to interpret Torah had, inevitably, become bondage to external show rather than spiritual relationship.

Nevertheless, we must recognise that the roots of Judaism are also the roots of Christianity. Christianity must not be a replacement but a fulfillment of Torah. Indeed a new form of legalism within Christianity, perhaps equivalent to a sect of Rabbinic Judaism, is not the goal either, but a continuity of biblical Torah founded in covenant history which leads to the faith of Abraham in the context of knowing all of God's teaching. Paul leads us to a maturity which bears the fruits of justice and mercy through love, whilst living humbly in the protection of Jesus for the shortcomings of our lives.

Paul encourages us towards the faith of Abraham: walking with God, knowing his teaching and bearing the fruits of his Spirit, whilst living in the protection of Jesus for our own short-comings."

The curse of the law (Gal 3:13) was the curse for disobedience (Deut 27). It was this curse that Jesus took upon himself so that we could be free, not to sin but to walk with God under the leading of his Spirit. It was not that the Torah of God was a curse, but that we needed help because of our inability to attain the righteousness that is at the heart of Torah.

For Study and Prayer

In Ephesians 5:18 Paul writes, "be filled with the Spirit." In a similar passage, Colossians 3:16, he writes, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly." How might a Christian fulfill Romans 11:11 by a balanced walk in word and Spirit?

Next time: Paul and the spread of the Gospel.

The Editorial Team of Prophecy Today want to express their compassion and concern for all the families who have suffered in the terrible events at Sousse in Tunisia.

The news that most of the holidaymakers on the beach were British and that the number of dead is likely to exceed 30 has numbed the nation. The carnage on the beach shown in a multitude of photos on the media resembled a war scene and the list of dead and injured appearing on the Internet has sent a shockwave right across Britain.

In an interview this morning on BBC Radio Four's Today Programme Prime Minister, David Cameron said that the Islamic State had declared war on us.

He said, "I think that frankly, we are a target. They have declared war on us, they are attacking our people at home and overseas whether we like it or not... They are attacking our way of life and what we stand for."

He warned, "There are people in Iraq and Syria who are plotting to carry out terrible acts in Britain and elsewhere and as long as ISIL exists in those two countries we are at threat." He said that Britain is the second most active country in launching air attacks upon the Islamic fighters. But he added that it wasn't enough to "destroy [IS] at source".

He said "We have to deal with this appalling radical narrative that's taking over the minds of young people in our country. It's a battle of our values and our narrative against their values and their narrative. We have to get that right as well as the military end of things." [emphasis added]

The Narrative Battle

The Prime Minister is right in saying that the real battle is to do with values. But he is wrong to speak about a military defeat of the Islamic State. You cannot defeat an ideology by weapons of war: it can only be successfully tackled with a counter-ideology that is more powerful and compelling.

If a full-scale war between Islamic radicals and the West is to be avoided, we have to act now before the situation deteriorates further. We have to recognise the nature of the ideological conflict between the values being propagated by radical Islam and those of the West which are still based predominantly upon our Judaeo-Christian heritage.

You cannot defeat an ideology by weapons of war, only by a counter-ideology that is more powerful and compelling."

The right way to deal with this situation is for Quranic scholars and Biblical scholars to come together and examine their Scriptures. We have to stop these foolish statements about "we all worship the same God". This is clearly untrue as even a cursory comparison of the teaching of Jesus and Muhammad shows.

One of the sayings of Muhammad is, "The recompense of those who make war on Allah and his messenger and exert themselves to cause corruption in the land is that they should be killed or crucified, or that their hands and feet on opposite sides should be cut off." (Quran 5:37)

This is in strong contrast to the teaching of Jesus, "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbour and hate your enemy'. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" (Matthew 5:43).

It is this basic contrast in values that lies at the heart of Islam and Christianity which has to be faced. At the same time we are warning against an escalation of the war in the Middle East and calling for a dialogue between the scholars of Islam and Christianity.

Call for Dialogue

We know, of course, that there have been many periods in history when those who claim to be followers of Jesus have not followed his teaching as in the atrocities of the Crusades. And we know that the vast majority of Muslims are peace-loving people who follow those parts of the Quran that advocate peace rather than war.

Our call is for the scholars of both Christianity and Islam to come together and solve what David Cameron rightly describes as a 'clash of values'. We do not see this as some kind of attempt to harmonise the two religions, but rather to highlight the differences in social values that may lead at least to peaceful co-existence and counteract the attraction of the Islamic State's propaganda that is currently attracting young Muslims.

In Prophecy Today we will elaborate this call for dialogue further later this week, in an article entitled "Who are the true Muslims?" In the meantime we ask all our readers to pray for the families of those who have lost loved ones and also for the protection of the nation from further terrorist attacks as we come up to the 10th anniversary of the 7/7 London bombings of 2005.

'Preparing for the Economic Storm: the Church in an Age of Austerity' by Derrick Burns (New Wine Press, 2013, 158 pages, available from Roperpenberthy for £8.99)

This is a well-researched and informative book on an important current topic: the turmoil in national economies that threatens to turn into a global storm. The author provides many relevant facts and figures and a perceptive analysis of those countries most in financial trouble. Helpfully, he states early in his book the key questions he will attempt to answer: what is God doing? How does he use economic storms? How can we prepare for tough times? What kind of church does God require and how can we raise up new leaders?

The author outlines how the Western world has worshipped capitalism and economic prosperity, and boldly declares that such idolatry brings nations down. Already cracks are beginning to form. Unrestrained corporate greed and a short-term gain mentality mean excessive spending will inevitably continue, both individually and nationally. This can only lead to more debt and eventual collapse, though he is cautious as to when and how seriously.

The situations in Greece, Spain and France come under scrutiny, as does the severity of the challenges the United States now faces. The spotlight also falls on the United Kingdom which has forsaken its calling to the gospel and turned its back on God, following materialism and consumerism instead. Consequently, we are heading for the same storms.

The call of this book is for God's people to free ourselves from idols of greed and be ready for the coming storms"

The author recognises this is part of the shaking of the nations as predicted in Hebrews 12:26. In particular, "God is deliberately allowing the economic storms to challenge Western idols built on money, self-centredness and success". (p74) The call is for God's people to free ourselves from these idols now in order to be ready for the storms and to be able to help others who will struggle in these difficult economic times. We must heed the warning signs and shake off complacency before the storms hit.

The book contains many references to historical figures and events as well as key Biblical passages, in particular the fat and lean years in the Joseph account. The aim is to bring prophetic insight and practical wisdom to bear on personal lifestyles as well as on national issues. Indeed, a main strength of the book is the wealth of practical advice for individuals, churches, charities and other organisations, advice designed to create a new focus and flexibility to adapt to changing times. This guidance is important otherwise we might feel helpless in the light of his stern message.

The author stresses the need for the church to be thinking now about what kind of mission we will face in the future and how to father new spiritual leaders for the next generation. Mature Christians must help equip newer believers and build up gifts of prophecy and discernment.

The Church needs to prepare and be ready- not just for changing times, but for new opportunities for the gospel."

The overall message of the book will be an eye-opener for those not aware of how God acts in judgement, but there is also reassurance. God does provide in times of hardship. His Kingdom operates according to a different economy. If we understand the times and what God is doing then there will be great opportunities for the gospel.

Here is an illuminating challenge to prepare for a more difficult future than we might otherwise contemplate. It is a prophetic book in that it analyses the present in clear Biblical terms. Alarm bells should ring but not in an over-alarmist clamour- this is a book to read prayerfully and then share, not shelve.