The spiritual battle raging for control of Europe has deep historical roots.
The Prophecy Today Editorial Board met earlier this week and in a time of prayer we were seeking guidance for the content of this editorial, as we approach Referendum day on 23 June.
It is in many senses a 'D-Day'– a decision day which may become a 'Deliverance Day', as it was in 1944.
We were actually meeting on 6 June and we remembered the thousands of young men who lost their lives on the beaches of Normandy on that day more than 70 years ago. As we prayed about this it became clear to us that it is the same battle being waged today – a great spiritual battle over Europe.
The Battle to Control Europe
This battle has been raging for centuries. From Charlemagne to Hitler, there have been many attempts to unify and dominate Europe – to bring all the nations of the continent under one ruling authority. What is it about Europe that makes it such a special target for those who want to rule? Why has the continent been driven by war between neighbouring nations for centuries and then in the 20th Century been the centre of two incredibly destructive and bloody World Wars?
Could it be that there is something in the history of the continent that has got into its very DNA and which is now fighting its greatest battle for control?
Few people would deny that Hitler and his Third Reich were a demonically directed force aiming to control the whole of Europe, from the Irish Sea to the Urals. Today there are many indications that the European Union has a similar objective.
The fact that the EU has chosen to adorn its headquarters in Brussels with the statue of 'a woman riding the beast' from Greek mythology (many Christians relate this to Revelation 17) and has refused to acknowledge the Judaeo-Christian heritage of Europe in its constitution, shows how much pagan and secular humanist ideologies now dominate the continent, which was once the world centre of Christianity.
The battle to unify and dominate Europe has been raging for centuries, in different guises.
Gotthard Tunnel Opening
The opening of the Gotthard Tunnel between Switzerland and Italy on 2 June showed that the pagan spirit is very much alive in central Europe. The ceremony actually involved Satanist rituals with a cohort of acrobats representing miners in orange jumpsuits marching like zombies towards the tunnel entrance. The miners were ritualistically sacrificed in the tunnel and emerged as veiled spirits, at which point an actor dressed as a goat ritualistically consumed and mated with the veiled dancers.
All this took place in the presence of President François Hollande of France, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and President Johannes Schneider-Ammann of Switzerland and a very large crowd of sightseers. A group of church leaders also took part in a ceremony, dedicating a plaque to Saint Barbara, said to be the patron saint of miners. For more information, click here for TruNews' coverage. It is surely a demonstration of how far Europe has departed from its Judaeo-Christian roots!
Historical Turning Point
Our prayer time in the Editorial Board meeting led me to explore the spiritual history of Europe. Was there a great turning point in this history that was of huge significance?
I believe there was - and it may be found right back in the fourth century AD when the Emperor Constantine, a new convert to Christianity, called Christian leaders together from around the Roman Empire and presided over the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD - but he refused to invite any of the Jewish leaders of the Church.
Constantine had formerly been a sun worshipper and he hated Jews, who he described as 'detestable' and 'deservedly afflicted'.1 He made Sunday the official day of rest for the Roman Empire and discarded the Hebraic calendar and feasts, for instance replacing Passover with Easter.
The recent events at the Gotthard Tunnel opening in Switzerland show just how far Europe has departed from its biblical heritage.
Fresco depicting the First Council of Nicaea.From New Testament times the Church had been predominantly led by Jewish believers in Jesus and even after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, Jews were still in the majority in the Church. Following the failure of the Bar Kokhba revolt against Roman rule in 138 AD when half a million Jews in Judaea were murdered, all Jews were banned from Jerusalem and Judaea. Gentiles rapidly became a majority in the Church and centres such as Antioch, Alexandria, Ephesus and Rome replaced Jerusalem as centres of Christian leadership.
The Council of Nicaea was a seminal moment in Church history, but Messianic Jews were excluded from it by Constantine. The sharp theological dispute between Arius and Athanasius which sorely divided the Church could easily have been resolved by a Hebraic theologian but there was not a single Hebrew-speaking Christian in attendance.
This was a great turning point in Church history when the Gentile Church rejected its Hebrew roots, discarding its biblical heritage and leaving the way open for the growth of anti-Semitism which has plagued Europe ever since that time.2
Jewish Persecution by Christians
Throughout European history since Roman times, Jews have been actively persecuted by Church leaders and slaughtered by Christians. As a young man, it was Luther's fervent desire to see Jews regain their place in the Church. In 1523 he wrote an essay 'That Jesus Christ was Born a Jew', urging Christians to treat Jews kindly. He said that church leaders had treated Jews with great injustice:
As if they were dogs rather than human beings; they have done little else than deride them and seize their property...If the apostles, who also were Jews, had dealt with us Gentiles as we Gentiles deal with the Jews, there would never have been a Christian among the Gentiles.3
Sadly, when the Jews refused to convert to Gentile Christianity he became their enemy, and urged the German princes to drive them from the land. In 1543 he wrote a 65,000-word anti-Jewish treatise, 'On the Jews and Their Lies' which was widely used by the Nazis in justifying their policy to exterminate all Jews in Europe.
In Britain, our record in the mediaeval period was not been much better than the Nazis' in the 20th Century, with outbreaks of violence in towns and cities across England. In 1190, 30 Jews were beaten or trampled to death in London riots. In the same year, over 150 Jews died in Clifford's Tower in York, 57 were massacred on Palm Sunday in Bury St Edmunds and there were pogroms in several other towns.
These outbreaks of violence continued for another hundred years until in 1263, when 400 Jews were massacred on Palm Sunday in London. In 1278, when 680 Jews were imprisoned in the Tower, 290 were hanged. Then in 1290 the King in Council passed a law expelling all Jews from England – the first general expulsion of Jews from any country.4
A great turning point in Europe's spiritual history was the Council of Nicaea, when Jews were excluded and the Hebraic roots of Christianity discarded.
Anti-Semitism Rising Today
Today, anti-Semitism is on the rise again throughout Europe and is especially severe in France and Germany, where there are large communities of Muslims. In Britain anti-Semitism is endemic but often hidden, as in our universities and in large business enterprises such as the Co-op, which boycotts Israeli produce.
Sadly, the roots of this anti-Semitism are in the Church in what theologians call 'Replacement Theology', whereby Gentiles are said to have 'replaced' Jews in their covenant relationship with God.
This false theology, based upon inadequate biblical knowledge, appeals strongly to people with innate racist tendencies and is a powerful force among many church leaders. But it is also responsible for robbing the gospel of power by cutting the Church off from its biblical roots, opening Europe to the power of secular humanism, paganism and the onslaught of Islam.
Spiritual Attack on Europe
Today Europe is under enormous spiritual attack, at a time when it has deliberately rejected its biblical foundations and is adrift in perilous seas, while its leaders lack both compass and rudder.
Economically, they have no idea how to deal with the unsustainable amount of debt and unemployment that has been created across the Eurozone by trying to force all their economies into a single financial system. Meanwhile, mega financial organisations want Britain to remain in the EU to keep the ship afloat a bit longer, so that they can continue making vast fortunes from the mounting crises in the continent.
The rejection of our Hebraic roots has opened the door for centuries of anti-Semitism and the onslaught of other religions.
Europe is also under a great spiritual attack caused by the imploding of Islam throughout the Middle East with conflicts between Sunnis and Shias becoming more violent and destructive by the day. This is creating vast numbers of refugees and migrants - and likely will continue for decades until Islam finally destroys itself - which could take the rest of this century.
In the meantime, Muslims continue to pour into Europe. Without a strong evangelical Church and Christians on fire with the gospel to love their new neighbours and bring them to Jesus, the Islamisation of Europe is almost inevitable – unless God intervenes.
D-Day Approaches
Is it possible that God is giving Britain the opportunity on 23 June to escape the worst of the tragedy that is likely to descend upon Europe? Are we being offered a 'Deliverance Day' from the EU? God has promised that if any nation puts their trust in him he will guarantee their protection and prosperity.
The following are a few of the scriptures that Christians should be considering before casting their vote. A promise given to Israel through Moses lays down a seminal spiritual principle:
When you and your children return to the Lord your God and obey him with all your heart and with all your soul according to everything I command you today, then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you. (Deut 30:2)
This was extended to all nations through the promise given to Jeremiah:
If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned. (Jer 18:7)
This month Britain has the opportunity of taking a bold step towards becoming 'A Nation Under God', whose trust is in the Lord. That cannot be achieved without recognising the plight we are in and asking God's forgiveness. Like the father in Jesus' parable of the prodigal son, there would be an immediate response from God.
Are the prayers of the faithful remnant sufficiently powerful to save the nation? If Britain votes to come out of the European Union, can we become 'A Nation Under God'? What would such a nation look like?
That is the theme of next week's editorial.
References
1 Eusebius, Life of Constantine, Book 3, chapter 18.
2 This has been supported by the anti-Semitic teachings of the 'Church Fathers', including Chrysostom, Irenaeus and Augustine.
3 Luther, M, 1523. That Jesus Christ was Born a Jew. Trans. Walter I. Brandt, in Luther's Works (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1962), pp200-201, 229.
4 See Roth, C, 1941. History of Jews in England. OUP, 3rd revised edition 1978.
