Part 2 − Worship through the battle

From our archive – with an updated message for today

Two books from a much-respected Bible teacher

Episodes in the battle for truth.

God is about to do mighty things in and through Britain.

The old adage “a week is a long time in politics” is now laughable, as the political scene changes day by day and hour by hour.

Clifford Denton reviews ‘Beloved Warrior’ by Gail Dixon (ICT Media Tech/Print, 2019)

Gail Dixon has been in Christian ministry and missionary work for nearly 40 years, first with World Horizons and more lately leading its sister organisation, Nations Trust. This inspiring devotional book emerges from her wide-ranging experiences and is based on personal reflection over a long life of discipleship.

One imagines her sitting before the Lord, after all these years of walking with him and praying to him, and being inspired to share the most central aspects of her relationship with him. What has resulted is a book is about the covenant love of Jesus within the battle for the salvation of many - hence the title, Beloved Warrior.

The Battle and the Warrior

Gail includes some remarkable accounts of the intensity of this wider battle, which have resulted in fruit being borne for the Kingdom in lives saved and transformed by Jesus’ love. The accounts draw on both scriptural examples, of those who have gone before, and a multitude of modern-day examples.

But even though the book is about the battle for salvation, the book is structured around and focused on Jesus, the Beloved Warrior. Each of its ten chapters focus on a different characteristic of our Saviour and our relationship with him, including prayer, worship, rest, perseverance, faithfulness and surrender.

Beautiful Writing

Gail seeks to draw the reader into experiencing the Lord’s love and sharing it with others, whatever the commitment and cost. Her writing is scriptural, tender and powerful:

His warfare is full of mercy, full of healing, because the weapon is love. He woos us, through our bruising, and breathes onto us when our flame is dying. He longs for us to know that we are His beloved. He is never discouraged, and as we stand into His love, so we too will discover that we are warriors. His love, His power, flows through us. (p271)

All income from the book will be donated to the work of Nations Trust.

Beloved Warrior (158pp) is available from Amazon as a paperback (£10) and on Kindle (£2.65).

Searching for reality in a 'post-truth' age.

The famous words of Pilate at the fake trial of Jesus have echoed down the centuries – what is truth? These words have taken on new significance in the 21^st Century with the development of social media and the spread of ‘fake news’. Paul defines truth in very simple terms: as the good news of salvation (Eph 1:13). Jesus says that he himself is truth. He says “I am the way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6). By this statement Jesus means that anyone who knows God, knows truth.

If truth is so central to the purposes of God, it is small wonder that it is under attack from the powers of darkness that are presently ruling the world. It is as though a huge blanket of cloud is covering humanity and preventing clear perception and rational thinking. The evidence of this can be seen in every part of the world.

In America, division over immigration has led to parts of Government being shut down because of President Trump’s dispute with Congress over the wall he wants to build between the USA and Mexico. Europe too is wracked by disagreement over immigration and the many other problems besetting the EU project: in Germany there is mounting fear over the failing economy and the future of the Euro. In France there are growing social problems, with millions taking to the streets before Christmas in populist demonstrations against the policies of President Macron.

These problems are not going away and there are similar tensions in other EU states. But, arguably, none have such potentially far-reaching consequences as the divisions over Brexit.

No Alternatives?

At the moment Brexit arguments in Britain have not spilled over into the streets, although there are plenty of noisy groups in Westminster demonstrating around Parliament day after day. The major upheavals are inside Parliament where confusion reigns supreme.

The Prime Minister insists that the deal she has negotiated with the EU is the only deal and there is no Plan B. But Parliament has voted to take back the initiative by insisting that if her deal is voted down by Parliament next week, she must come back to the House of Commons in three days with a further plan.

If truth is so central to the purposes of God, it is small wonder that it is under attack from the powers of darkness that are presently ruling the world.

Although there appears to be no valid alternative to Mrs May’s deal, there is probably a majority of MPs who want to ensure that Britain does not leave the EU with no deal at all. The EU fears a ‘No Deal’ more than Britain does, but our politicians appear blind to this. If the MPs make it impossible for ‘No Deal’ to happen, they strip the Prime Minister of the most powerful weapon in negotiations with Brussels.

The Netherlands alone say that they will lose more than £2 billion in trade if there is no deal between the EU and Britain. Germany is desperate to sell their cars in Britain, without which their economy would be in serious trouble; and the EU itself urgently needs the €39 billion promised in the divorce bill, without which the Euro currency is likely to fail. Many of our MPs seem completely unaware of the power they hold over the EU, which is part of the blindness afflicting leaders of our nation.

The Consequences of Rebellion

This blindness to truth is not simply a political, economic or social issue: it is fundamentally a spiritual problem resulting from Britain’s rejection of her biblical foundations. Though this rejection is not recognised, its consequences can be seen throughout the life of the nation.

One obvious example is that every week there are young people dying on the streets of London through a wave of knife crime, drugs, gangs and lawlessness that is spilling across to other cities. This is a national issue, but our politicians are too busy arguing over Brexit to notice what is happening on our streets.

But this wave of violence is directly linked to our rejection of God. We have rejected the biblical foundations of Britain’s value system, so we are no longer able to recognise truth. For 50 years we have allowed the nation to be driven by secular humanist activists who have deliberately undermined traditional family life, promoting divorce, cohabitation, sexual perversion, abortion-on-demand and more recently, transgenderism. These policies have all been based on a lie – the lie that all types of family are equal.

This blindness to truth is fundamentally a spiritual problem resulting from Britain’s rejection of her biblical foundations.

There have been scores of sociological research reports demonstrating that only faithful marriage as the Bible describes it produces happy, stable and successful family life for both adults and children. But this truth about families has been wilfully ignored or rejected by post-modernist agitators who have done untold harm to British children.

Every child who dies on the city streets of Britain is in some way a victim of the post-modern, secular humanist, pro-LGBTQ+ policies that have deliberately aimed at destroying family life in the nation in this ‘post-truth’ age.

Spiritual Blindness

The greatest crime in Britain today is the blindness of our leaders, in both Church and state, to recognise the sickness of the nation and the root of its problems.

I have been responsible for no less than eight sociological reports to Parliament on family life in Britain during the past 30 years. They have set out clearly the consequences of following policies based upon the false concept of ‘equality’. But successive Governments have been blind to TRUTH.

This blindness is a spiritual malady. It is not a lack of intellectual capacity. It is plain and simply a spiritual force of darkness, given a foothold through rebellion and rejection of God’s word, that makes it impossible to understand and accept TRUTH.

This is why our MPs are in such utter disarray over Brexit. There is no shared vision because they are blinded to TRUTH. The plain fact is: no political solutions to the nation’s problems can be found until there is repentance for what has been done to the nation; and new openness to the word of God. What will it take? Is it a matter of more prayer, or more truth-telling – or must more disaster be allowed to come upon Britain?

At this time, it is vital that the faithful remnant of God’s people seek to understand what he is doing and pray and act in line with his will. Elsewhere in this week’s issue of Prophecy Today UK is an article to this end, entitled ‘A Word for 2019’. Please do read this and bring it before the Lord in prayer, seeking how you might respond.

Paul Luckraft reviews ‘Israel’s Anointing’ by Sandra Teplinsky (Chosen Books, 2008).

Sandra Teplinsky’s book ‘Why Still Care About Israel’ was reviewed previously on Prophecy Today and highly recommended. Now we feature her other main book of this kind, ‘Israel’s Anointing’.

The book, subtitled ‘Your Inheritance and End-Time Destiny through Israel’, aims to prepare God’s people for the closing events of this age (and beyond) by providing insights into God’s heart and purpose for Israel and how these apply to us personally as individual believers in Jesus.

Messianic Understanding

In the author’s own words, “the chapters build on each other, taking us from the ancient paths into the prophetic future” (p17).

Two of the chapters focus on single books – Ruth and Song of Songs, respectively. Chapter 3 uses the story of Ruth to illustrate the mystery of Jew and Gentile as ‘one new man’ and the recent unprecedented move of the Spirit, destined to increase in the coming years, that is causing a “global rejoining of Gentile to Jewish believers in Messiah” (p40). Chapter 4 features the Song of Songs to emphasise that Jesus is coming for a Bride.

The next two chapters are particularly impressive as Teplinsky explores two key themes, Sabbath rest and Torah. The chapter on the Sabbath contains many useful insights. Rather than just being a repeat of familiar arguments, we are given a feel for the importance and potential impact of a Sabbath rest.

Teplinsky aims to prepare God’s people for the closing events of this age by providing insights into God’s heart and purpose for Israel and how these apply to us personally.

Her explanation of the role of Torah is one of the highlights of the book. Here is a brilliant exposition set within the context of the covenants. The level of understanding that comes through these pages is perhaps one that only a Messianic Jew can provide.

The Physical and the Spiritual

Chapter 8, ‘From Zion’s Battlegrounds’, is a fascinating description of the military pressures and battles that Israel faces, especially over Jerusalem. Teplinsky’s proposition is that we can only properly understand the physical warfare once we have grasped the nature and intensity of satan’s heavenly rebellion against the God of Israel.

She convincingly explores the link between what Israel has to face on the ground and what the Church faces in terms of spiritual warfare. “The Israeli Defence Forces have been called to fight battles in the natural that both prefigure and reflect battles the Church is called to fight in the supernatural” (p136). As Christians often don’t see these supernatural battles or feel called to engage in them, they remain largely unaware of the real aspects of ‘Zion’s battlegrounds’.

One interesting extra detail is Teplinsky’s link between the role of women in the IDF and that of women in the Church as intercessors. Whatever reaction this might cause amongst her readers, the whole chapter is nevertheless well expressed and thought out.

Encouragement to Stand Firm

In later chapters Teplinsky focuses on aspects of Jesus’ return and its aftermath. She maintains a steady position based upon a straightforward reading of the biblical texts. Jesus will set up a Messianic Millennial Kingdom in line with that of his role as the fulfiller of the Davidic covenant. Righteousness and peace will ensue and the earth will be progressively restored.

Teplinsky’s proposition is that we can only properly understand the physical warfare once we have grasped the nature and intensity of satan’s heavenly rebellion against the God of Israel.

The planet will be in tremendous need of rehabilitation after the havoc wreaked by the Antichrist during the Great Tribulation, and “resurrected saints will play a thrilling role in overseeing the millennial operation” (p166). Without trying to explain every detail of this, we are simply encouraged to stand firm to the end in order to have a part in this eternal destiny.

The book concludes with an extensive bibliography, end notes and index. Overall it succeeds in its aim of providing insights into God’s purposes for Israel and how individual believers can engage with this. It will enable both Gentile and Jewish believers to grow in maturity and come together as ‘one new man’ in Messiah.

'Israel’s Anointing' (215 pages, paperback) is available from Amazon for £7.99.

Divine deliverance during World War II.

Continuing our ‘Book of Remembrance’ looking back on God’s faithfulness to Britain through the ages, this week we dwell on instances of divine intervention in our nation during times of conflict and threat.

Alongside David Longworth’s article on the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588, it is also important to remember God’s intervention in World War II, not a century ago – a topic on which we often reflect on Prophecy Today, not least because it laid the groundwork for the re-establishment of the state of Israel in 1948 – the most important prophetic fulfilment of our times.

For example, both Dr Clifford Hill and David Longworth have discussed the miracles which allowed the safe rescue of British troops from Dunkirk in 1940, after the King called the nation to prayer and repentance. Thousands assembled outside packed churches to intercede for the Lord’s help, with thanksgiving and rejoicing in the aftermath also turning into intercession for deliverance in what became known as the Battle of Britain. You can read these articles here:

• The Miracle of Dunkirk (Dr Clifford Hill)
  
• Dunkirk: Divine Deliverance (David Longworth)
  

We have also been alerted recently to a leaflet featuring testimonies about God’s intervention from six of the most senior figures of the War. The Wartime Miracles leaflet is currently being circulated around UK churches by the Strengthen the Faithful team as part of a campaign “to give true Christians hope, encouragement and reassurance, which is so greatly needed in these unsettling and frightening times.”¹

Elsewhere on Prophecy Today, David Longworth has written about the lesser known Allied victory at El-Alamein (Egypt) in 1942, also preceded by a national day of prayer, which marked a turning point in the war and prevented the Nazi genocide of Jews in both Egypt and Palestine. You can read David’s article here:

• The Battles of El Alamein: Prayer and the Sovereignty of God
  

Finally, of course, these and many other points of divine intervention in the war were accompanied by faithful intercession from British Christians, especially at the Bible College in Wales, where students were led in fervent prayer by Rees Howells. This spiritual warfare has been mentioned many times on Prophecy Today, but we recommend particularly the following article by Dr Clifford Denton about how the Swansea intercessors supported the re-birthing of Israel:

• Israel Re-Born: the Fruit of Prayer
  

May God be praised as we give thanks for his marvellous action on our behalf in times past – and may we be inspired to give ourselves afresh to prayer for our otherwise helpless nation. The Lord has not finished with Britain yet!

Notes

1 Free paper copies of this leaflet can be obtained by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., stating ‘Wartime Miracles’ in the subject line.