A prophecy to the nation in relation to the forthcoming Referendum on EU membership - for your weighing and testing.

The Prophecy Today UK editorial team has decided to publish a prophecy to the nation in relation to the forthcoming Referendum on EU membership. The prophecy has already been widely circulated and we believe our readers should see it in the context of seeking guidance from God in regard to the Referendum.

We remind readers that all modern prophecy should be tested and not simply accepted as having come from a reliable messenger. Please read the prophecy and then the following note by our Editor-in-Chief, Clifford Hill.

DAVID NOAKES' PROPHECY

This was the word given by David when meeting with a small group of Ministry leaders on 17 November 2015.

"Nation of Britain, I have loved you with a love which has not ceased, despite the state of apostasy and degradation into which you have fallen. My anger towards those church leaders who have taught false things in my Name, and encouraged others to believe and act as they do, is intense and my judgment upon them will be severe. Yet I have compassion upon those who have been like sheep without godly shepherds; and my heart still longs to exercise mercy upon a nation whose forefathers upheld my Name and took my Word to the ends of the earth; a nation whose belief in the truth of my Word framed godly laws and inspired a culture of uprightness.

"Rather than rely on Me and my faithfulness to you, you chose, for worldly purposes, to join yourself to an institution which has denied my Name and refused to acknowledge Me in its councils. My fierce anger is upon that institution on account of its rebellion, its defiant rejection of me and its hardness of heart towards my ancient people Israel.

"I warn you now that the European institution will not repent, even though I bring disaster and destruction upon it. I urge you, O Britain still beloved by Me for the sake of your godly forefathers, come out of her, so that you may not be caught up in that same destruction, for I am even now arising in judgment to bring to nothing what she has sought to achieve. If you will separate yourself from her declared rejection of God, I will have mercy upon you and restore my hand of protection; and I will use you once again to bring light to many lost in the darkness which is now steadily increasing.

"Hear Me, O once godly nation and respond to my call, or you also will come to ruin in that same judgment of destruction. This is not my will for you, but you must choose the course which you will take. I urge you to respond to Me and choose life under my hand of discipline and protection, rather than death in the disaster which is even now coming upon Europe."

David Noakes

About the author: David Noakes was a solicitor in London until he joined Clifford Hill’s ministry in 1984. He has been part of the Prophetic Word Ministries/Prophecy Today team since that time, although he has also exercised an independent ministry speaking at conferences both in Britain and overseas. He has visited Israel many times and until recently was chairman of Hatikvah Film Trust, working with Hugh Kitson making films about Israel. He is a well-known Bible teacher with an established ministry and remains an official advisor to Issachar Ministries (Prophecy Today UK's parent charity).

Additional Note from Dr Clifford Hill

The Apostle Paul warned the church in Thessaloniki not to treat prophecies with contempt but to "Test everything. Hold on to the good, avoid every kind of evil" (1 Thess 5:21). This still applies today. If anyone receives a revelation it should be tested by others, however well-known and reliable the speaker.

I can testify to David's reliability and integrity. We have been close friends and colleagues for more than 30 years. I first heard him prophesy at a gathering of men and women with prophetic ministries at Mt Carmel in April 1986. Since then we have spoken at countless meetings together and many times he has received a word from the Lord that has been helpful to a local fellowship.

This prophecy is different and I have to say that it would have been much easier to weigh and test if David had expressed it in the third person rather than the first person singular. But that should not prevent us from a careful consideration asking fundamental questions, such as:

• Does it conform to Scripture or is there any way in which it does not?
• Does the prophecy edify and build up the church?
• Is the prophecy expressed in love?
• Does the prophecy glorify Christ?
• If the prophecy is predictive or has promises of blessings or warnings of judgment, Are there any conditions to this prophecy?
• Does the prophet himself/herself pass the character test required of one bringing a revelation from God? This character test was one of the major tests of prophecy in the New Testament churches.
• Finally, Is there a witness of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of the believers who hear this prophecy?

An expansion of these tests can be found here. These tests of prophecy were expanded still further in my book Prophecy Past and Present, published by Eagle (Guildford, 1995).¹

We are not going to answer these questions here because it is for readers to weigh the prophecy for themselves. We are simply indicating the way in which mature Christians should consider any word of revelation that is given today and we remind readers that our words are the human expression of what we believe we are hearing from God in our prayer times. These words have to go through our minds and none of us can claim to be sinless - so the words we speak must be weighed and tested, in accordance with the teaching of the Apostle Paul.

Over the next few weeks on Prophecy Today, Clifford Denton will discuss some of the well-known prophecies that have been given in modern times.

Dr Clifford Hill

References

1 pp237-251, in the chapter 'Testing Prophecy'. Copies of PROPHECY PAST AND PRESENT: An Exploration of the Prophetic Ministry in the Bible and the Church Today are still available from the Issachar Ministries office – email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The latest revelations from the Panama Papers are damaging the Prime Minister's credibility.

Next week promises to be a very lively week in Westminster, with the Prime Minister fighting for his political life following revelations of his offshore investment - and charges that Number 10 brought forward the announcement of the publication of the EU leaflet to deflect attention from David Cameron.

Officially, Parliament is still on its Easter holiday break. But from all over the country, breaking news today (Friday 8 April) shows MPs on both sides of the House highly disturbed at what is going on in the government. The publication of the so-called 'Panama Papers' is rocking Downing Street because David Cameron's father is said to be one of those named in the database of Mossack Fonseca, the Panama-based law firm. The leaked documents are said to show how the law firm helped rich clients to launder money, dodge sanctions and evade tax.

Damaged Credibility

There is no suggestion that David Cameron or his father were involved in illegal financial deals but the very fact that it took some days for the PM to admit that he had personally owned some shares in his father's firm is damaging to his credibility. He has stated that he sold the shares in 2010 before he became Prime Minister and that he complied with all the UK tax requirements when cashing in his investment.

Further damage to the Prime Minister's standing comes from the advanced publication of the government's EU Referendum leaflet which is to be distributed to every household throughout Britain - at a cost to the taxpayer of nearly £10 million. Already the leaflet is being heavily attacked for the veracity of its claims, which are said to be highly biased in favour of recommending the public to vote to stay in the European Union.

The very fact that the government is going to such extraordinary lengths to try to persuade voters to stay within the EU is profoundly disturbing. It is more likely to make people question the reasons why they are using such heavy-handed tactics.

The extraordinary lengths to which the government is going to persuade voters to stay within the EU are profoundly disturbing.

Doubting the Government

There were already many doubts about the 'new deal' the Prime Minister had said that he would negotiate with all the member states of the EU. He had boasted that he aimed to see a 'reformed Europe' which he could present to the British people. In pursuit of this reform he toured the capitals of Europe and spent hundreds of hours in discussion with EU leaders. But the resultant deal was certainly not a 'reformed Europe'.

Now, with this government leaflet that appears to be little more than EU propaganda and the Prime Minister's personal reputation being damaged, public trust in the government's handling of the Referendum may well wane.

A Nation Under Judgment

Many Christians believe that Britain is already a nation under judgment, following so many unrighteous Acts of Parliament that have steered the nation away from its biblical heritage into the paths of secular humanism. When a nation has embraced the Judeo-Christian faith for hundreds of years - as we have done in Britain - and then turns away from the truth, there are inevitably dire consequences in its spiritual and moral welfare which affect the social and economic health of the whole population. Quite simply, this is what has happened in Britain.

There is a severe warning in scripture to those who deliberately turn away from the truth: "The Lord will send on you curses, confusion and rebuke in everything you put your hand to, until you are destroyed and come to sudden ruin because of the evil you have done in forsaking him" (Deut 28:20). I know that these words were said to Israel who are a people in a special covenant relationship with God. But in Jeremiah 18, there is a similar warning that applies to all nations. It says this: "If at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it" (Jer 18:9-10).

When a nation embraces God for centuries and then turns away, there are inevitably dire consequences.

Confusion and Rebuke

Clearly our government is being severely shaken, with many backbench MPs even considering refusing to vote for the budget because of the distorted 'facts' in the EU Referendum leaflet – "confusion and rebuke" would be a good description of what is likely to be happening in our parliament in the next few days.

What can Christians do? Certainly we should be praying for our leaders. But also we should be calling for a clear presentation of the facts about the EU and not standing for attempts to scare people to remain under its jurisdiction. It is time for honesty and truth from our leaders. This is the only way that trust can be restored.

What will happen if we leave Europe? Perhaps the question we should ask is: what will happen if we don't?

The media is focused on the political, financial and social implications of a possible Brexit – legislation, trade, migrants. However, we are the spiritual leaders of the nation and so we must consider the spiritual and moral implications too. We should be asking questions such as: what is the EU's ethos? Does it uphold our Judeo-Christian heritage? Has it retained the foundations of Christian Europe or is it humanist (man-centred) in outlook?

Controversial Symbolism

Many Christians have noted symbols used by the EU and drawn sinister conclusions about their intent. A popular view is that the Strasbourg Parliament building was based on the painting The Tower of Babel by Pieter Brueghel the Elder (though the architects actually were inspired by Roman amphitheatres).

To add to the confusion, the 'Many Tongues, One Voice' poster used by the Council of Europe bears a resemblance to the Brueghel painting and certainly the slogan implies a reference to Babel. Some have pointed out the poster's use of inverted stars, which are also symbols used in witchcraft. However, the Council of Europe is a separate organisation to the EU¹ and so the Babel imagery cannot be said to have been deliberately used by the EU at all.

A controversial image which is used by the EU is the statue of Europa from the tale by the Roman author Ovid, about a woman ravished by Zeus or Jupiter. It depicts a woman riding a beast, leading many to point to Revelation 17's woman riding a beast, also known as the prostitute 'Babylon', with whom the "kings of the earth" commit adultery and who intoxicates the inhabitants of the earth (Rev 17:1-2).

This image has also appeared on various Euro coins and postage stamps. In Revelation this woman is an archetype of those who war against God's people: "I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of God's holy people, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus" (Rev 17:6).

One controversial image which is used by the EU is the statue of Europa, which depicts a woman riding a beast, leading many to point to Revelation 17 and its prophesied war against God's people.

Post-Christian Europe

Yet we do not need to observe statuary, buildings or symbols to recognise that we are living in post-Christian Europe and that biblical values are blatantly set aside by governments. This is not a hidden agenda - it is done openly. The list below of Ungodly laws passed in Britain since 1950 (Issachar Ministries, published elsewhere on prophecytoday.uk) demonstrates that the British government is quite capable of enacting a humanistic agenda without the EU's assistance.

The jury is still out on whether the EU provides a layer of protection in this context, or whether it exacerbates the problem. For instance, the Christian Legal Centre takes its appeals to Europe when they do not succeed here (for example, Aisling Hubert's gender abortion case, as reported in the last issue of HEART²). However, limiting our sovereignty to one government's laws is preferable, arguably, to having two such levels of humanistic legislation to battle.

The issue of UK sovereignty goes beyond legislation, in any case. We need to consider our position strategically for the end times. Leaving the EU gives us the ability to act unilaterally with regard to Israel and without being forced to provide troops for the EU army. When the nations surround Jerusalem (Luke 21:20), we do not want our nation to have been compelled to be there.³ We want to ensure that British citizens have the chance to be among the 'sheep' rather than the 'goats' of Matthew 25:31-46.

The issue of UK sovereignty goes beyond legislation – we also need to consider our position strategically for the end times.

Erasing God and Christianity

Since October 2004, we have been bound to Europe constitutionally by The Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe. When the Constitution was being written, Pope John Paul II pleaded for recognition that as a "new institutional order, Europe cannot deny its Christian heritage, since a great part of its achievements in the fields of law, art, literature and philosophy have been influenced by the evangelical message."⁴

The Pope called for a strong reference to Europe's Christian roots in the preamble.⁵ Bishops and religious leaders backed up the Pope, including Rabbi Aba Dunner, secretary general of the Conference of European Rabbis, who stated, "I would love to see the word 'God' in there, in some form or another."⁶ Critics argued that a Judeo-Christian reference did not resonate with secular Europe and pointed to another problem: what of the continent's Muslim populations?

One Irish priest commented, "First Brussels will remove our independence, then they will give us mandatory abortion and euthanasia and homosexual 'unions...And that is all seen as enlightened and touted as Europe's commitment to 'equality and justice.' But without our sovereignty - we will be powerless to resist."⁷

Here is the Preamble to the Constitution, with no mention of our Judeo-Christian heritage:

DRAWING INSPIRATION from the cultural, religious and humanist inheritance of Europe, from which have developed the universal values of the inviolable and inalienable rights of the human person, freedom, democracy, equality and the rule of law...⁸

Note the deliberate use of the word 'humanist', with the word 'religious' undefined and sandwiched uneasily between references to culture and humanism. Despite the Pope's and others' requests, there are no references in the Constitution to God or Christianity.

The EU's constitution makes no mention of the great debt owed by Europe to its Judeo-Christian heritage – despite numerous calls for its acknowledgment from prominent religious figures.

Pluralism, Rights and Freedom

Note too the use of the word 'pluralism' in the list of the Union's values (below) and the emphasis on humanity's dignity, rights and freedom, without ultimate responsibility to any higher authority.

In the EU Constitution's Article below about Freedom of thought, conscience and religion, the phrase "in public or in private, to manifest religion or belief, in worship, teaching, practice and observance" is being flouted continually, as the UK's Christian Legal Centre's growing case-load bears witness. Recently, it was reported that a Christian student has been expelled from a social work course at Sheffield University over his biblical views on marriage and sexual ethics, which he posted on Facebook. How can it be said that he is allowed to express his beliefs publicly?

It seems that there is a clash between the Union's Article on Values and the Article on Freedom of thought, conscience and religion. You are free to express your religious views - but only insofar as they do not offend anyone who holds a different opinion. The EU claims to protect freedom of religion but recent cases show that where these values clash with cherished anti-biblical values, Christians are unlikely to be supported.

We also need to think about whether the EU has been an institution worthy of our allegiance and respect. The European Parliament's well-documented history of corruption and misappropriation of funds speaks for itself.

Not Rejecting Europe's People

A vote to leave is not just a vote for self-preservation by Christians. It is a vote for the future stability and security of our nation, for whom we stand accountable before God spiritually.

A vote to leave should not be considered to be a rejection of Europe's people or our mandate to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth. A Brexit should not mean descent into national introspection and 'little Englander' protectionism. A Prophecy Today UK reader reminded us that in 1947, Smith Wigglesworth (an outstandingly anointed man of God and pioneer of the Pentecostal movement) prophesied about the UK and Europe:

When the Word and the Spirit come together, there will be the biggest movement of the Holy Spirit that the nation, and indeed the world, has ever seen. It will mark the beginning of a revival that will eclipse anything that has been witnessed within these shores, even the Wesleyan and the Welsh revivals of former years. The outpouring of God's Spirit will flow over from the UK to the mainland of Europe, and from there will begin a missionary move to the ends of the earth.¹²

We do not need to remain politically and economically bound to Europe to forge strong spiritual ties. When we were a self-determining nation trading across the world, we led the world in missionary endeavour. Let's seek spiritual union with Christians across Europe but leave an increasingly ungodly political union.

UNGODLY LAWS PASSED IN BRITAIN SINCE 1950

1. 1951: The Fraudulent Mediums Act (Deut 18:10-13) which abolished The Witchcraft Act This legalised witchcraft in Britain which had previously been banned for centuries and made all occult arts legal. Through this Act Britain allowed all kinds of spiritual activities to be acceptable. Alien spirits and witchcraft activities are offensive to God and we are severely warned against them in Scripture. In Romans 1:23-29 Paul says that idolatry is the first step in the corruption of human civilisation which leads to "sexual impurity" and other "shameful lusts" and "every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity".
2. 1959: The Obscene Publications Act (Mark 7:21-23) was a very weak Act and had the effect of making it more difficult to prosecute pornographers, as lawyers had to prove that the publications had "a tendency to corrupt and deprave". Defence lawyers were able to ask the jury if they had been corrupted and depraved by exposure to a book, film or video. Most jurors did not want to say that they had been 'depraved'. The defence were able to claim that it was a 'public good' and an 'educational' value. The Act's Amendment in 1977 (Col 3:5-6) and The Broadcasting Act 1990 extended the law to cinema and television respectively, preparing the way for the Internet. This Act allowed all kinds of offences to be screened into our homes that certainly are an offence to God.
3. 1965: The Murder (Abolition of the Death Penalty) Act (Lev 24:17-22) removed the death penalty from the Statute Book for all kinds of murder and sent a message through the nation about the social acceptability of violence.
4. 1967: The Abortion Act (Gen 4:10-11). We had abolished the death penalty for murder but in 1967 we said it was acceptable to murder unborn babies. Doctors were now allowed to perform abortions if they complied with certain conditions. About 450 abortions take place daily in British hospitals, bringing to more than 6 million the number of unborn children killed since abortions became legal.
5. 1967: The Sexual Offences Act (Lev 18:22, Rom 1:22-27) was a further offence to God and directly against the Word of God where homosexual practices are said to be detestable to God. It decriminalised homosexual acts between consenting men over the age of 21, if done in private. (a) In 1994, the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act reduced to 18 the homosexual age of consent. (b) In 2000, the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act equalised the age of consent for homosexual and heterosexual sex at 16. This Amendment Act was brought in against the wish of the vast majority of the population and against the stern opposition of the House of Lords. The Government used the Parliament Act, which is only to be used for extreme measures of constitutional importance, to drive this through. This virtually abolished Clause 28 and allowed homosexual acts to take place between young people of sixteen years of age and upwards. Both boys and girls were thus allowed to be exposed to paedophiles and sexual predators and children in schools were taught that all forms of sexual intercourse were allowable according to each individual's wishes.
6. 1967: The Obscene Publications Act Amendment (Eph 5:4-6, Rom 13:13) further opened the way for all kinds of pornography and literature to be published of an explicit sexual nature.
7. 1968: The Theatres Act (Prov 15:26, 1 Thess 4:7) abolished 'censorship of the theatre', although the public performance of plays requires licensing, and obscene performances are prohibited. This Act allowed nudity and all kinds of explicit sexual acts on stage. The effects of this Act in removing censorship were long-lasting and soon began to have a wide effect upon the arts and media.
8. 1969: The Divorce Reform Act (Mark 10:2-12) introduced the principle of the irretrievable breakdown of marriage as the sole ground for divorce, to be proved by adultery, unreasonable behaviour, or desertion; or by two years separation with consent to a divorce, or five years separation without consent to a divorce. In other words, it opened the way for easy divorce – the floodgates were opened by this Act for widespread marriage breakdown.
9. 1972: The European Communities Act, the EC (Amendment Acts of 1986 and of 1993) (Ps 9:10,17) took Britain into the European Economic Community (EEC), and by which the Single Market and Maastricht Treaty both became law. All these measures contributed to increased political control over Britain by unelected non-nationals in Europe.
10. 1989: The Children Act (Ps 127:3-5). Despite the good intention of this Act to increase the protection of children, it had the fundamental effect of removing the traditional concept that parents are the best judges of their children's welfare. Grandparents were no longer recognised in the kin structure of the family that were reduced to 'significant others', thus promoting the breakdown of traditional family life.
11. 1990 Amendment to the Abortion Act (Jer 7:31, Ps 106:37-38) reduced the age at which an unborn baby could be aborted to twenty weeks and legalised the abortion of 'disabled' babies at a much later stage than that. King David spoke about God knitting him together in his mother's womb and Jeremiah speaks about being called into ministry from the time of his conception (Jer 1:5). This Act showed our society's total disregard for the principle that life is sacred as the gift of God.
12. 1990: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act (Ecc 11:5) legalised the creation of embryos for experimentation or storage in laboratories. This Act also amended the Abortion Act 1967, resulting in abortion on demand for handicapped babies right up to the time of birth.
13. 1993: The Sunday Trading Act (Ex 20:8-11) allowed widespread trading on Sundays which was directly against God's command to observe a Sabbath day, a day of rest each week. There was a marked increase in the number of shops opening on Sunday (20% of all shops in October 1994, and 54% by July 1999). It produced an acceleration in the closure of neighbourhood shops, an expansion of Sunday work and general increase in traffic and pollution. Sunday became just another day like any other day which inevitably weakened family life and reduced church attendance.
14. 1994: The National Lottery Act (1 Tim 6:10) instituted a state national lottery. It pays out 50% of its taking to winners, but is an intrinsically regressive form of voluntary taxation, as the burden falls most heavily on the poor. Further, many of the 'good cause' recipients, who receive 28% of the takings, have agendas wholly opposed to Biblical values. The National Lottery has become an obsession for millions of people wanting to get rich quick and it encourages people to gamble, often with money they cannot afford.
15. 1995: Licensing Sunday Hours Act (Deut 12:5, Mark 2:17) virtually abolished Sunday observance and was another direct Act against the Word of God – more or less legalising anything to happen on Sundays, but with some restrictions on the number of hours that shops could open for business.
16. 1995: Removing Prohibitions on Advertisements (Rom 1:24) legalised sexually explicit images that had previously been regarded as obscene. It marked yet another stage in the corruption of society by exposing the nation to obscenities.
17. 1996: The Family Law Act (Mal 2:16) replaced the five grounds for divorce in the Divorce Reform Act 1969 with a so-called 'no-fault' divorce system. The Lord Chancellor announced in 2001 that this part of the Family Law Act would not be brought into effect and would be repealed in due course.
18. 1997: The Amsterdam Treaty (Ps 2:1-2) further eroded national sovereignty, bringing Britain increasingly under the rule of a humanist, anti-Christian code of law. This was one more step in Britain being ruled from Brussels rather than by our own elected Members of Parliament. It was selling our birthright for a mess of pottage.
19. 1999: The Finance Act (Is 61:8) scrapped the already low value of the Married Person's Allowance for the tax year 2000/2001, thereby signalling the government's lack of esteem for marriage. It was a further step towards the degradation of marriage and the breakup of family life in Britain.
20. 2001: Regulations to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 (Ex 23:7) permitted embryo research for developing treatments for serious diseases. Effectively, this allows cloning of human embryos and experimenting with creating human life.
21. 2004: The Civil Partnership Act (Matt 19:5, Eph 5:3) granted civil partnerships in the United Kingdom rights and responsibilities very similar to that of civil marriage. Civil partners have the same property rights as married heterosexual couples with the same pension benefits and social security rights. They also have the rights of parental responsibility for partner's children as well as 'tenancy' and 'next of kin' rights with a formal process for dissolving partnerships which is similar to divorce in the case of marriage.
22. 2004: The Gender Recognition Act (Gen 2:23, Is 5:20) granted transsexual people legal recognition as members of the sex opposite to their birth gender, either male or female. This allowed them to acquire a new birth certificate recognising their new gender within the law and allowing them to marry a person of the opposite sex. The Act required applicants to have transitioned two years before the issue of a certificate but it made no requirement for sex reassignment surgery to have taken place. The act was a further assault on God's act of creation of human beings in his own image, both male and female.
23. 2013: The Marriage (Same-Sex Couples) Act (Rom 1:6-27, 1 Cor 7) redefined traditional marriage which had always been between a man and a woman. It allowed two persons of the same gender to enter into legally recognised marriage. This Act crossed a red line in British parliamentary history. It passed a law that directly contradicted God's act of creation in creating men and women as complementary human beings to be united in a faithful marriage covenant through which the physical expression of love would produce the procreation of children to ensure the health and well-being of future generations of the human race. The passing of this Act was said to be under strong duress from the European Union upon British politicians.

This list of unGodly laws is published as a pamphlet by Issachar Ministries (reproduced here with permission). It is available on application to www.issacharministries.co.uk - or ring (01767) 223270.

References

1 "The Council of Europe, founded in 1949, is a regional intergovernmental organisation whose stated goal is to promote human rights, democracy, and the rule of law in its 47 member states, covering 820 million citizens. The organisation is separate from the 28-nation European Union, though sometimes confused with it, in part because they share the European flag. Unlike the European Union, the Council of Europe cannot make binding laws." Taken from The Council of Europe, Wikipedia.

2 Girl who fought for unborn babies has to pay costs of £50,000. HEART of Sussex, 3 February 2016.

3 Luke 21:20 was a warning about the destruction of Jerusalem by Rome in 70 AD. However, Hebrew prophecy has more than one application and so this is often applied to the end times as well.

4 Anderson, MJ. Ungodly Ways: The Dark Side of the European Union. CRISIS Magazine, 1 June 2003.

5 Ibid.

6 Ibid.

7 Ibid.

8 Read the Treaty by following this link.

9 See the Christian Legal Centre website.

10 Christian student expelled from social work course over views on marriage. News release, Christian Concern, 27 February 2016.

11 See for example Pancevski, B. £11.5bn of EU aid 'lost to incompetence and graft'. The Sunday Times, 17 January 2016.

12 We are grateful to a reader of the website for reminding us of this.

The Prime Minister has fired the starting gun: what he calls 'the debate of our lifetimes' has begun. Politicians on both sides of the Referendum debate have been falling over themselves to give TV interviews and write newspaper articles.

With the date now fixed as 23 June 2016 we face something like 120 days of wrangling, during which the public is likely to get bored - especially if the debate descends into personal abuse similar to the Presidential Election Campaign in the USA.

In this magazine we have already raised a banner stating our belief that the Referendum offers a unique opportunity for Britain to take a bold step of faith in shaking off the shackles of the European Union and regaining our ability to shape our destiny as a nation.

One thing we do promise our readers – we will not be trotting out the same old arguments week after week, or entering into the minutiae of 'The Deal' negotiated by David Cameron, or debating whether in fact Britain will be 'safer, stronger and richer' by staying in the EU.

No Real Reformation

We acknowledge that the PM has worked extremely hard for many months in trying to persuade the leaders of all the European States to back his proposals. We do not doubt the PM's sincerity and commitment, but in his reports to the House of Commons and numerous other statements it cannot be claimed that the EU have made any significant concessions that could justify asking the country to endorse an agreement with a 'Reformed' European Union.

There does not appear to be any significant reformation! There is no change to the Common Agricultural Policy which is strangling the life out of British farming, such that farmers have the highest rate of suicide of any occupation and the dairy farming industry is likely to be wiped out.

There is no change in the Fisheries Policy which forces our fishermen to throw thousands of fish back into the sea in order not to exceed their quotas, whilst we buy fish caught by foreign fishermen in our own waters. Britannia certainly does not 'rule the waves' around our shores since we gave away our sovereignty to the EU. And there is no change in the predominance of the European Court of Justice, that takes precedence over our own legal system (itself developed over the past 800 years, since Magna Carta).

In this magazine we have already raised a banner stating our belief that Britain should take a bold step of faith in shaking off the shackles of the European Union.

Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire/Press Association ImagesMichael Gove said last week "EU rules dictate everything, from the maximum size of containers in which olive oil may be sold (five litres) to the distance houses have to be from heathland to prevent cats chasing birds (five kilometres)."¹

He said, "Individually these rules are comical...As a Minister I've seen hundreds of new EU rules cross my desk, none of which were requested by the UK Parliament, none of which I or any other British politician could alter in any way and none of which made us freer, richer or fairer".²

Speaking of his personal frustration with the restrictions placed upon us he said "Every single day, every single minister is told: 'Yes Minister I understand, but I'm afraid that's against EU rules'."³

Our Greatest Concern

Our greatest concern in this magazine is with the spiritual state of the nation and whether or not decisions regarding its future destiny are in line with the word of God and are likely to have his blessing.

We were greatly concerned during the prolonged negotiations leading up to the Maastricht Treaty, when there were a number of attempts to get some reference in the Treaty to the centuries-long Judaeo-Christian tradition shared by all the nations of Europe. This was vehemently resisted by the secular humanists who have gained power among the unelected officials in the European Union.

Attempts to get the EU to recognise the continent's Judaeo-Christian heritage have long been resisted by secular humanists.

Their atheist values have had a fundamental effect in promoting the secularisation of Britain. A recent example is a 2010 case law challenge to the EU 'Charter of Fundamental Rights' (that became binding in December 2009) from Austria which, though unsuccessful, did lead the European court to affirm same-sex relationships as a valid form of family life protected by fundamental human rights:

61. Regard being had to Article 9 of the Charter ["The right to marry and the right to found a family shall be guaranteed in accordance with the national laws governing the exercise of these rights"]...the Court would no longer consider that the right to marry enshrined in Article 12 must in all circumstances be limited to marriage between two persons of the opposite sex...⁴

This opened the door for a challenge to the law in Britain restricting marriage to persons of the opposite gender, paving the way for the Same-Sex Marriage Bill.

UnGodly and Repressive System

When nations deliberately reject the truth of God's word, they put themselves outside the blessing and protection of God. This is what has happened in Europe, which has gone from being the most Christian continent in the world to the most secular.

Today the nations of Europe are facing multiple problems as they struggle to cope with a vast influx of migrants, high unemployment and growing social discontent, compounded by the desperate attempts to maintain the Euro (which are causing incredible suffering to the poor in countries such as Greece, Spain and Portugal).

Of course they all want Britain to stay to help prop up this ungodly and repressive system, which is why all the leaders spent so much time trying to shuffle together a few crumbs for our Prime Minister to take back to London and claim it as a new deal in a "reformed Europe". This is so far from the truth as to be laughable if it were not so serious.

The Prime Minister's 'new deal' is so far from genuine reform as to be laughable – if it were not so serious.

Politicians and leaders of big businesses are combining to try to scare the voting public into remaining in the EU. But the greatest fear is not in leaving, but in staying within a failing organisation. The warning signs have been there for a long time. Now we have the opportunity of escaping before the collapse comes - like Lot getting out of Sodom, or Abraham leaving Ur.

Of course it leads us into unknown territory, but this is where trust in God is far more important than making pacts and treaties with other nations. Jeremiah had to warn the politicians in his day that making treaties with other nations would lead to disaster. He said "The Lord has rejected those you trust; you will not be helped by them" (Jer 2:37). Sadly, the leaders and the people refused to listen and only a few years later Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians who had invaded the land.

The big question facing us today in Britain is whether or not there is sufficient trust in God for him to be able to lead the nation into ways of righteousness and prosperity.

A Faithful Remnant

God is not dependent upon numbers! He loves to work out his salvation with just a handful of people who are totally committed to him like Gideon's 300; and like the 120 disciples on the Day of Pentecost who shouldered responsibility for the 'Great Commission', taking the message of God's salvation to all the world.

God is mobilising the faithful remnant in Britain today to intercede to save the nation. As the prayers of the faithful saved the nation at the time our soldiers were rescued from Dunkirk and our airmen won the Battle of Britain against the might of the Nazi war machine, so too faithful believing prayer has the power to influence the destiny of the nation.

God is mobilising the faithful remnant in Britain today to intercede to save the nation.

We are being offered just such an opportunity to put our trust in God. Even though we will be treading unfamiliar paths; if we are doing this through trust in God, he will respond and ensure that blessing will come upon the nation.

God is Faithful

The God of Creation, who holds the nations in his hands, is faithful to keep his promises. He says:

I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. (Isa 42:16)

He also promises when we put our trust in the Lord, "Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, 'This is the way; walk in it'" (Isa 30:21).

The faithful remnant of believers in Britain today have the opportunity to bless the nation through their prayers and through their witness; that if we put our trust in the Lord he will lead us, not only into ways of righteousness but into times of prosperity and happiness.

References

1 Apps, P, EU Referendum: Michael Gove's full statement on why he is backing Brexit. The Independent, 20 February 2016.

2 Ibid.

3 Ibid.

4 Schalk and Kopf v. Austria (case), European Court of Human Rights. A summary can be found on Wikipedia.

This magazine believes that Britain needs to take a step of faith and vote to leave the EU.

The first signs of hope for the future are beginning to creep into the British press as journalists right across the political spectrum dismissed the draft agreement with the EU as a Cameron con-trick designed to keep Britain in the European Union.

After racking up thousands of air miles travelling around European capitals trying to reform the European Treaty, the Prime Minister failed to achieve his primary objective of securing British control over our own borders. He also failed to stop the massive burden upon our welfare system of child benefit payments made to East European migrants working in Britain, sent for the support of their children back home.

Europe Will Not Relinquish Power

The temporary break upon welfare payments to migrant workers is dependent upon Britain proving that the strain upon our economy is unsustainable. But even this is dependent upon Brussels - the EU still retains control of the final decision. There is a hint that Britain might be allowed the right to block any EU laws that are considered detrimental to the best interests of our nation. But again, in this the EU maintains control, as Britain would have to persuade at least 14 EU member states to agree!

In the opinion of this magazine, the European Union is clearly not going to relinquish any of its power to Britain or any other single nation-state, as this would undermine its ultimate objective of total control over Europe through the establishment of a European Super-State.

Ultimate ObjectivePrime Minister David Cameron with President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz, Thursday 4 February. Steve Parsons/PA Wire.

This objective of a 'United States of Europe' was there right at the beginning, in the 1972 foundation of the 'European Common Market' which Edward Heath signed in 1973 on behalf of the British people. Before signing, Heath was told by the Lord Chancellor, Lord Kilmuir, that Britain would suffer a loss of sovereignty in three respects:¹

1. Parliament would surrender some of its functions
2. The Crown would lose some of its power
3. Our courts of law would be subordinate to the European Court of Justice

Heath ignored this and deliberately lied to the British public, saying "There is no question of eroding any national sovereignty".² Behind the scenes, however, his government wholeheartedly endorsed the Werner Report which laid out plans for "the ultimate creation of a European federal state".³

Back in 1972, European leaders agreed that there would be a slow motion takeover of national governments. The Treaty of Rome in 1986 followed by the Maastricht Treaty took huge steps towards the formation of an EU Constitution that enforces its laws over all nations within the European Union.

Slowly but surely, the EU has formed a massive unelected bureaucracy that exercises control over member states. The EU is already well on the way to achieving its ultimate objective of forming a European State with its own currency, its own parliament, its own defence programme, space programme, banking system, legal system and Supreme Court - through which it can exercise control over all its member states, in the same way as the Soviet Union exercised totalitarian control over its satellite states.

The EU is well on its way to achieving total control over all its member states – in the same way as the Soviet Union exercised totalitarian control over its satellite states.

For the past eight months our Prime Minister has been touring the capitals of Europe trying to get a deal that he can present to the British people that will persuade us to stay under the control of Brussels. The plain fact is that David Cameron has discovered that the European Union is incapable of reform! It will never surrender its control!

Myth of Economic Ruin

Will our Prime Minister have the courage to admit the truth to the British people? If he does not, in the next five months we can expect to see a deliberate campaign of deception orchestrated by Number 10 of even greater magnitude than was inflicted upon the nation by the Heath Government back in 1973. They will primarily play the 'fear' card – warning Britain's workers that their jobs will be in peril; warning the public that prices of ordinary household goods including food will all go up; warning that our trade will suffer because EU markets will be closed to us.

All this is a pack of lies because Britain pays into the EU far more than we gain! Back in 1972 by joining the European Common Market, Britain was forced to break all its Commonwealth Preference Trade Treaties which had disastrous effects upon the economy of countries such as New Zealand who supplied much of our lamb and butter. We have never apologised to them!

The government may well play the fear card that our economy and quality of life will be in peril if we leave the EU. But all this is a pack of lies.

The British Commonwealth has roughly a third of the world's total population. By leaving the EU we would be able to trade freely with the Commonwealth, without being constricted by the controls exercised over us by Brussels. We would be free from the Common Agricultural Policy which has almost brought our dairy farmers to bankruptcy, as well as the disastrous Fisheries Policy which has oppressed our fishermen and given away our rights to fish in our own waters.

By exiting we would be freed from the immense burden upon our economy of paying billions of pounds into the EU to support a corrupt oppressive system run by unelected officials, who every year fail to get a clean audit report on their accounts.⁴

Step of Faith Required

If David Cameron does go ahead and allow the British people to choose their own future in June 2016 the question then would be: will the public have the courage to take a great step of faith and choose freedom, or will they voluntarily choose to be enslaved by a corrupt totalitarian system?

This is where faith really matters! If we were truly a God-fearing nation prepared to put our trust in the Lord, we would have no fear in going forward under our own traditional British constitution, which has defined the relationship between Government and people for 800 years (since the signing of Magna Carta) and which is reaffirmed in our national Coronation Oath.

If we were truly a God-fearing nation, we would have no fear in stepping out on our own.

If we were a God-fearing people, we could draw comfort and strength from the record in the Bible of God's dealing with his covenant people Israel and his promises that apply to all nations. Through the prophet Jeremiah, God promised: "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).

Are We Prepared to Lead the Way?

Bible-believing Christians know that God has been warning Britain for a long time that we have been allowing secular humanist politicians to pass legislation that is offensive to God, driving the nation towards the breakdown of family life with disastrous social consequences.

Through hardships of storm and flood and economic austerity, God has been warning us that as a nation we are heading for unimaginable disaster! But in his mercy, we are now being offered an opportunity to shake off the atheistic secular controls of Brussels and put our trust in God. If we are prepared to take a step of faith by leaving the European Union and repenting for the past, God will undoubtedly bless the nation.

The Church should be leading the way in this by public repentance for our share of responsibility for the godless state of the nation - and by proclaiming our confidence in the Lord that if we turn to him, he will undoubtedly bless the nation with prosperity and the healing of our social divisions and broken relationships - bringing love and joy and faithfulness into family life.

We are being given an opportunity to shake off the secular controls of Brussels and put our trust in God. Will we take a step of faith – and will the Church lead the way?

The forthcoming referendum gives the nation the opportunity to choose our future in the same way as Joshua presented a choice to the people of Israel to choose to live under the slavery of men or under the blessing of God. He said, "Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve...But as for me and my household we will serve the Lord" (Josh 24:15).

References

1 PRO/FO 371/150369, EEC Relations with UK, 1960.

2 White Paper, 1971.

3 Quote from PRO/FCO 30/789, Sub-committee of official committee on monetary aspects of UK entry to EEC, 1970. The Heath Government's positive response: PRO/CAB 164/771, Informal talks with the European Commission and the exchange of views with member countries during the negotiation period, 1970.

4 Waterfield, B and Dominiczak, P. EU auditors refuse to sign off more than £100billion of its own spending. The Telegraph, 4 November 2014.

We are living in a time when there is a widespread sense of impending international crisis. How do we see things from Heaven's perspective?

In the past week, Westminster has been buzzing with speculation that the Prime Minister will call a referendum on Europe as early as June this year. At the meeting of business leaders in Davos, Switzerland this week, David Cameron has been urging increased support for a deal that will bolster his campaign for Britain to stay in the European Union.

He called upon business leaders to make their voices heard in support of Britain staying within Europe. His appeal was strengthened by reports that Goldman Sachs had made a donation of a six-figure sum to the campaign to keep Britain in the EU as the Prime Minister threw his weight behind the campaign.

But most of Europe's leaders have other things on their minds, as the migrant crisis deepens. Donald Tusk, the current President of the European Council, said that Europe has two months in which to solve the migrant crisis - or the EU itself is likely to collapse. He was referring to the reduced numbers trying to enter Eastern Europe via Greece in the winter months, when the crossing from Turkey is particularly dangerous. He was forecasting that as soon as spring arrives, the vast flow of migrants and asylum seekers will be beyond control. 

EU Collapse?

Winter sets in in 'The Jungle' migrant camp, Calais.

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls has also warned that the European Union is in danger of fracturing in the coming months if the migrants cannot be stopped. Despite the winter weather, there are reports that 2,000 newcomers a day are finding their way into Europe.

Europe's open borders policy allowing all its citizens to move freely has already collapsed, with the closing of borders between many eastern European nations and - significantly - between Austria and Germany, as well as the closing of the 10-mile-long bridge between Denmark and Sweden.

The re-imposition of border controls has come about through the vast numbers coming from the war zones of Syria and Iraq, as well as North Africa via Italy, that are imposing impossible demands upon public services such as housing, health, education and employment. It simply is not possible to accommodate such large numbers in many communities in such a short time.

Europe's open borders policy has already collapsed and public services are pressurised. It is simply not possible to accommodate such large numbers in such a short time.

Culture Clashes

But the major pressure has been intensified by reports that have filled the media of sex attacks upon women and girls by asylum seekers and migrants, which have inflamed public opinion.

These incidents, which police and local authorities have tried to hide, are the inevitable result of the clash of cultures. Cultural integration simply cannot take place in a short space of time, neither can it be forced upon a community for which no preparation has been made and where no attempt has been made to ensure that the newcomers have even a basic understanding of the language and customs of the host society.

International Upheaval

The mistakes that have been made in Europe are horrendous and come at a time of increasing international conflict, economic uncertainty and political upheaval. There is a widespread sense of impending international crisis that is compounded by the economic chaos in China; the tensions in the Far East caused by North Korean boasts that they have exploded a hydrogen bomb; the expectation that Iran will flood the market with cheap oil that will destabilise the economy of oil-producing countries, the increasing complexity of the Syrian civil war and the brutal conflict being waged by the so-called Islamic State.

As if all this is not enough, the murder of Alexander Litvinenko in London has added to diplomatic tensions between Britain and Russia after an enquiry implicated President Putin in the assassination.

The EU migrant situation, with a host of other events around the globe, together compound a widespread sense of impending international crisis.

Heaven's Perspective

That's a brief roundup of just some of the things that are going on in the world. But what is the prophetic significance of these events? If it were possible to look at the state of the world from the heavenly places, what conclusion would be reached? I think our 'heavenly observer' might start by quoting Psalm 2; "Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his Anointed One. Let us break their chains, they say, and throw off their fetters".

The evidence suggests that the whole world is in rebellion against its Creator. In Britain they are even teaching small school children that there is no such thing as 'gender' in an attempt to blot out the Creator of the Universe! The psalmist says that "the Lord God scoffs at them!" because he knows that one day they will be brought before him to account for their lives and the evil they have done. In fact, Jesus said it would be better for people who destroy the lives of children to have a millstone tied around their necks and drown in the sea than go on abusing children.

But on the bigger picture, the Bible tells us that there will come a time in world history when the rebellion of humans against the God of Creation becomes so great that their actions threaten to destroy the entire world. Before that happens, God will do something dramatic. He will shake all nations, and everything that human beings have created, from the great financial and political empires to the denominational structures that we call 'churches'. In fact, the only things that will not be shaken are the things that God himself has made. Isaiah describes the day when the great shaking of all creation reaches its climax. He says that "The pride of men will be humbled; and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day" (Isa 2:17).

The Bible tells of a time in world history when human rebellion against God will become so great that their actions threaten to destroy the entire world - but also that God will intervene.

None of us knows when all this will happen, but the year 2016 has certainly started with a lot of events which indicate that a significant milestone has been reached in world history. The advice of Jesus was when we see these things happening we should "watch and pray".

Thousands of refugees and migrants continue to pour into Europe every day, fear of terrorism grows daily and the nations struggle to find a long-term solution. What does the future hold?

The boats keep coming. Overcrowded, unsafe boats flounder and capsize in the rough seas of the Aegean and still they keep coming – this autumn the number reaching Lesbos and other small Greek islands topped 7,000 per day.¹

People smuggling from Turkey to Greece across the dangerous seas is a multi-million dollar business. The people smugglers care nothing for humanity. They are making a fortune from the human misery of those who have lost everything in the war zones of Syria and Iraq – people so desperate that they will risk their lives boarding unsafe boats.

Looking for a Solution

Thousands are plucked from the sea every day and hundreds more simply drown, nameless victims of the greatest tragedy the Middle East has ever witnessed. This is the scene at the Eastern extremities of Europe.

At the other end of Europe, leaders of the EU nations are meeting to discuss desperate measures to deal with the crisis. How can they cope with the million strong flood of humanity that has descended upon Europe this year? How can such a human avalanche be absorbed among the nations? Even more urgently, how can it be halted, or even put on hold for a period, to give time for dealing with the situation in the war zones?

The humanitarian crisis engulfing Europe has no easy solution: neither is it a short-term problem that will be all over in a few weeks or months. Whole populations are on the move and there appears no end to the conflict that is destroying cities and towns across the Middle East and inflicting homelessness, injury and death on vast numbers of people.

The humanitarian crisis engulfing Europe has no easy solution – neither is it a short-term problem.

Europe on High Alert

The complexity is confounded by the mixture of migrants and refugees. The numbers are so great that it is impossible to discover who are the genuine refugees, who are the economic migrants and who are the jihadis slipped in among them by the Islamic State fighters.

Ever since the Paris atrocities on that notorious Friday 13 November, when at least one of the bombers had entered Europe through Greece posing as a refugee, the whole of the EU has been on high alert. The fact that the Paris bombers were a mixture of home-grown and migrant terrorists has added to the sense of fear and confusion.

Mass Fear

That fear and confusion is not confined to Europe but has spread to America as well. Just weeks after the Paris slaughter, a couple went on the rampage with automatic weapons in San Bernadino, California, slaughtering people as they were eating a meal together. President Obama used the occasion for an impassioned appeal for gun reform in the USA where he said that these mass killings were becoming routine.

The danger facing Europe is that mass killings will also become routine in the EU - unless the source of the problem in the killing-fields of the Middle East is dealt with effectively.

The danger facing Europe is that mass killings will also become routine here – unless the source of the problem can be dealt with.

Islamic 'Alliance'

Saudi Arabia has now announced the formation of a new military alliance of 34 Arab nations to fight terrorism. But who will they fight? Who do they define as 'terrorists'? Saudi Arabia has already beheaded more people this year than the Islamic State.² Their branch of Sunni Wahhabi Islam based upon the strict observance of Sharia law is rejected by half the Islamic world, including the coalition led by Iran which is presently fighting the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

Iran and Saudi Arabia have been locked in a proxy conflict for several years, with Iran backing the rebels in Yemen who the Saudis have been bombing. So the chance of this new initiative bringing peace to the Middle East is virtually nil. The most likely outcome is to extend the conflict between the different branches of Islam.

But could this be within the purposes of God?

Though all-out war between Islam and the Western nations (which in some respects would be a war between Christianity and Islam) looks ever more plausible, it could be that internal conflict between the different sects of Islam will save us from World War III.

All-out war between Islam and the Western nations could be avoided – if Islam implodes due to the internal conflict between its various sects.

Looking Forward

In the New Year's Day issue of Prophecy Today we will look more closely at what is happening in the Middle East, particularly in the context of biblical prophecy. The conflict between Israel and the Palestinians has gone quiet - the world's attention is upon Syria. But what does the future hold?

References

1 IOM Monitors Mediterranean Migrant Flows: 7,000 Crossing Daily to Greece. International Organization for Migration, Press Release, 10 September 2015.

2 Saudi Arabia Beheads Nearly Twice As Many People As ISIS So Far This Year. MintPress News Desk, 25 August 2015.

Germany's welcome to the refugees seems to go above and beyond the call of duty. What is driving it?

Europe is facing an unprecedented population influx of refugees and economic migrants. Increasingly, it is becoming a melting pot of race and culture as thousands flee to what they perceive to be a safe political and economic haven.

But what is the European Union? Is this increasingly uneasy grouping of nations a truly safe and welcoming haven for migrants? Perhaps the only common driver for governments and citizens (and migrants hoping to become citizens) is our relative economic security and a desire to live in peace, or at least the absence of war.

Is this increasingly uneasy grouping of nations a truly safe and welcoming haven for migrants?

Merkel's Faith

The country leading this federation has the worst track record when it comes to treatment of outsiders. Yet Germany is unquestionably Europe's leader and Angela Merkel its most influential premier, perhaps deservedly so. The former scientist with a doctorate in Physics is the daughter of a Lutheran pastor and has declared:

I am a member of the Evangelical Church. I believe in God, and religion is also my constant companion, and actually has been my entire life. I find it very liberating that as a Christian, one can make mistakes, that one knows there is something higher than just human beings, and that we are also called on to shape the world in responsibility for others. This is a framework for my life, which I consider very important.¹

Merkel may belong to the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party but public declarations of personal faith are rarely uttered by German politicians. However, Merkel's biographer, Volker Resing, called her life story The Protestant,² illustrating the centrality of faith for the German Chancellor. He reveals that in 2009, when Angela Merkel and Barack Obama met in Dresden they sat together in quiet prayer in the Frauenkirche, an event most Germans remained unaware of because Merkel did not allow pictures.³

Germany may have the worst track record when it comes to treating outsiders, but it is unquestionably Europe's leader and Merkel is its most influential premier – perhaps deservedly.

Attitude to Refugees

In September, speaking at the University of Bern, Switzerland, the German Chancellor was asked about the "dangers of the Islamisation of Europe". In response, she encouraged Christians to embrace their identity: "I would like to see more people who have the courage to say 'I am a Christian believer'. And more people who have the courage to enter into a dialogue".

In Germany where, as in most of Europe, church attendance has declined, Merkel suggested people should go back to the "tradition of attending a church service now and then, and having some biblical foundations". She pointed out that many do not have an understanding of Christian concepts like Pentecost. She suggested that the debate about Islam and the identity of Europe, "could lead us to deal again with our own roots and to know them better."⁴

Angela Merkel, the daughter of a Lutheran pastor, has been encouraging church attendance and calling for Christians to embrace their identity.

Commenting on those who have responded with trepidation to the numbers entering Germany, she said, "Fear was never a good advisor" and "Cultures that are marked by fear will not conquer their future."⁵

The Sins of the Past

Some fear is surely healthy, such as fear of repeating the sins of the past. Merkel has always been quick to own up to German responsibility for the Holocaust. "The Shoah fills us Germans with shame. I bow before the victims. I bow before the survivors and before all those who helped them survive," she said in her address to the Israeli Knesset (parliament) in 2008. "The mass murder of six million Jews, carried out in the name of Germany, has brought indescribable suffering to the Jewish people, Europe and the entire world."⁶

However, anti-Semitism is on the rise in Germany once again. According to one report, "Scrawling swastikas on synagogues, Jew-baiting during demonstrations, desecration of Jewish cemeteries", are taking place today. Apparently, the word 'Jew' is once again an insult and bullying of Jewish schoolchildren comes from Arab children but mainly from those influenced by the far right.⁷

Is it this history and re-emergence of intolerance in sections of German society that is encouraging Angela Merkel to take the lead in the migrant crisis and allowing huge numbers to enter Germany? Germany needs migrant workers, but the scale of immigration surely far exceeds its need. Germany is expecting 800,000 to 1 million by the end of 2015 and its Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel has said Germany can take 500,000 a year for several years.⁸

In welcoming so many refugees, is Merkel seizing the chance to show that Germany has repented for the Holocaust and its past intolerance towards outsiders?

Repentant Democracy?

In the face of what many in the Jewish community today are likening to the Jewish flight from Nazi Germany, is this former dictatorship proving itself to be the kindest-hearted democracy of all? Is Germany being given a second chance? Angela Merkel is perhaps seizing the opportunity to show that Germany has learnt the lessons of its history of intolerance and hatred towards the outsider.

It may be that this openness, directly from the seat of power, is a result of the various acts of repentance over Germany's responsibility for the Holocaust initiated by German Christians, such as the Protestant community of nuns known as the Evangelical Sisters of Mary.⁹

Opportunity for the Gospel

European Christians have struggled to take the gospel to the Muslim world, but that world is now coming to Europe and Germany in particular: the former graveyard of Europe is yielding new life and spiritual hope for a wave of ethnic and religious outsiders, as German churches open their buildings to refugees amid reports of mass conversions to Christianity.¹⁰

European Christians have struggled to take the gospel to the Muslim world, but now that world is coming to us.

The pastor of a Berlin church has seen his congregation at the evangelical Trinity Church grow from 150 to more than 600 in just two years, describing the number of conversions as a miracle. Some have raised the concern that these conversions are not genuine but are made in hope of increasing their chances of staying in the country. In Afghanistan and Iran conversion from Islam is a capital offence and so they trust that the German government would not send them back to certain death. However, Angela Merkel has said that Islam "belongs in Germany" and that conversion is no guarantee of asylum.¹¹

Fear or Faith?

Many also fear a stealth or soft jihad, a sleeper population of Muslim insurgents who will in time out grow their host population. However, should we not see the current crisis as a God given opportunity to bring the gospel to those whose national borders have kept them as spiritual prisoners? We need to ask ourselves if God is more interested in preserving our national borders or in the salvation of people groups.

Is God more interested in preserving national borders or in saving people?

In Britain, we too have opportunities to show kindness to refugees and migrants. Do we retreat in fear or welcome in faith? Britain and Europe have squandered their Christian inheritance, but we, the remnant Church, must rise to the challenge to bring comfort and hope to the stranger in our land. Our nation offers prosperity, political freedom and cessation of war, but the Church now has the opportunity to offer true freedom and peace.

References

1 Angela Merkel Believes in God. Dialogue International, 29 November 2012.

2 Resing, V, 2009. Angela Merkel: Die Protestantin. St Benno, Auflage.

3 Warner, M B. Merkel raises eyebrows by raising religion. Global Post, 27 November 2012.

4 'Courageous Christians with biblical foundations' needed, says Merkel. Evangelical Focus, 7 September 2015. 

5 Ibid.

6 Tom Chivers and agencies. Germany is 'filled with shame' over Nazi holocaust, Angela Merkel tells Israel. The Daily Telegraph, 18 March 2008.

7 Asche, C. Anti-Semitism Is On The Rise In German Schools. Huffington Post Germany, 3 April 2015.

8 Migrant crisis: Germany 'can take 500,000 asylum seekers a year'. BBC News, 8 September 2015.

9 See Faithful, G, 2014. Mothering the Fatherland: A Protestant Sisterhood Repents for the Holocaust. OUP.

10 Huggler, J. German churches open the doors to refugees under protection of ancient custom. The Daily Telegraph, 15 March 2015.

11 Taylor, F. Hundreds of Muslim Refugees convert to Christianity in German church. Christianity Today, 7 September 2015.

Is Euroscepticism a sign of a deeper dissatisfaction with the direction in which Britain is heading?

Over the next few months the question of whether Britain should be in or out of Europe is no doubt going to occupy a great deal of the news media. David Cameron's publication of the demands that he intends presenting to the European Council were a surprise only for the mildness of what he expects to achieve.

Mild Demands

In his letter to European Council President Donald Tusk, the Prime Minister set out his four key objectives for the re-negotiation of Britain's place in Europe. They are: –

1. Protection of the single market for Britain and other non-Euro countries
2. Boosting competitiveness by setting a target for the reduction of the 'burden' of red tape
3. Exempting Britain from 'ever-closer union' and bolstering national parliaments
4. Restricting EU migrants' access to in-work benefits such as tax credits

With such a mild set of demands an impartial observer could be forgiven for wondering what all the fuss is about! In any case, to get any meaningful changes in the EU's governing treaties before 2017, when Cameron has promised a referendum, is quite impossible. His demands are far too modest to satisfy those who want to see substantial differences in Britain's relationship with Europe.

The demands will be formally debated by the EU leaders at a summit next month, although no doubt most of the EU leaders were already well aware of what our Prime Minister is asking. He has had extensive talks with Angela Merkel, who has already indicated that she would go a long way to make concessions that will keep Britain in the EU - provided nothing infringes on the free movement of people within the Union.

Battle for Greater Independence

One thing David Cameron has already made clear to the rest of Europe is that Britain is totally opposed to any closer political union within the EU. But whether he can achieve greater independence and - in particular – freedom to control our own borders, is very doubtful. Perhaps the greatest danger is that the EU leaders will collectively conspire to make the achievement of even the smallest concessions look extremely difficult so that Cameron is able to claim a magnificent victory in the face of fierce opposition.

David Cameron might have made it clear that Britain opposes closer political union within the EU, but will he manage to achieve greater independence for the UK?

Our Prime Minister could then put his 'hard-won' victory to the British people and achieve a 'Yes' vote for staying in the EU without actually ever having achieved what the Eurosceptics want – greater independence so that we can make our own laws and re-gain our national sovereignty, for which we fought two world wars. They want to be able to trade with Europe without being under the heel of Brussels.

Deeper Dissatisfaction

But is there not a deeper reason why so many people want freedom from the European Union? A recent poll reported on the Conservative Home website says that more than two-thirds of Conservative Party members are likely to vote for Britain to leave the EU. Why is this? What is making people so dissatisfied with the present situation?

Could the reason for this dissatisfaction be the vague sense of having lost our national heritage? The older generation, in particular, has lived through the most incredible period of social change in our history. The changes have not only been in technology and scientific discovery that have given us space travel, the internet, heart transplantations and weapons of mass destruction; but also radical changes to our whole culture and national way of life. It is now hard to define 'British values'– what it is to be British.

What is making people so dissatisfied with the present situation? Could it be the vague sense of having lost our national heritage – what it means to be British?

Change of Pace

Even our humour and entertainment have changed beyond all recognition in the past decade or so - as looking at old films from the 1970s or 80s confirms. I was never very keen on films such as the 'Carry On' series, but at least they were harmless slapstick nonsense - although many of their subjects would fall foul of our politically correct restrictions today. Moreover, you could take the children to see them without blushing at the filthy language that litter so many films and TV programmes today!

Many of today's Eurosceptics are really looking for 'the good old days' when life was a lot simpler and the pace was not so hectic. One of my friends who works on a TV news programme told me the other day that she has on average 500 emails a day! I usually have 40 or 50 a day (plus 2 or 3 scam phone calls) but even that I find a drain on my time and a huge test of my patience and endurance!

Abandoned Foundations

We are not going to be able to put the clock back or make radical changes to our national way of life whether we stay in the EU or whether we wave goodbye. The plain fact is that as a nation we have abandoned the most valuable part of our heritage that has been part of the foundations of this nation for hundreds of years. What I'm referring to is our biblical heritage: the values and principles that were enshrined in the nation that gave us freedom and justice and schools and hospitals and welfare programmes. Rights and obligations were built into our unwritten national code: respect for other people, plus honesty, truthfulness, integrity, faithfulness, loyalty, love and generosity.

All these things were part of being a good citizen; they were taught in church and school, so that they became part and parcel of being 'British'. They were taken for granted as part of the national character. This is what we have lost through the onslaught of secular humanism and the aggressive campaigning of cultural anarchists who care nothing for truth and integrity, but care only for themselves and the achievement of their destructive objectives – especially destroying family life.

Our biblical heritage enshrined principles of freedom and justice into our nation – but we have taken these things for granted as part of 'British' character, and now they are being lost.

Spiritual Rebirth

Whether we stay in the EU or get out may not make much difference to the cultural life of the nation. The only way to bring about fundamental change is through a spiritual rebirth: the rediscovery of the spiritual dynamic that can set us free from the powers of darkness that are driving us towards an ever greater national catastrophe. Our young people are being threatened by indoctrination with evil and corrosive values that, if left unchecked, will spread a social cancer across the nation. Many people no longer recognise ultimate values of truth and integrity but are being seduced by the nihilistic hedonism of the age.

But the tide could still be turned if all the Christians in Britain would be active in sharing their faith! Angela Merkel recently spoke of her strong evangelical Christian faith and called upon German Christians to be more active in speaking about their faith with their new Muslim neighbours coming from the Middle East in such large numbers. It would be great to hear more of this kind of witness from our national leaders.

Clifford Denton surveys the tragic abuse of Jews in Europe through the Dark Ages and the Middle Ages, by Church and State. What responsibility did Christians bear then - and what should our response be now?

In previous instalments our focus has been on the separation that occurred between Church and Synagogue, from the early centuries of the Common Era through to the 'Early Church Fathers'. Alongside this we have mentioned the parallel growth of anti-Semitism.

This, in turn, added further impetus to the separation, both as a fruit of, and as a contribution to, the gulf between the two communities.

This week we will look at the Middle Ages, where the fruit of anti-Semitism was coming to maturity.

Treatment of Jews by Christians

Marvin Wilson introduces this topic (Our Father Abraham, p98) as follows:

In the Middle Ages, Christian culture largely excluded Jews. Jews sought to avoid social, economic, and ecclesiastical pressures by living in secluded quarters of cities. They were considered useful primarily for one purpose, money-lending. This isolation from the larger society led Christians to accuse Jews of being a pariah people. Stripped of many personal liberties and victimized by an elitist "Christian" culture, Jews were required to wear a distinctive hat or patch sewn on their clothing. The very idea of "Hebraic" was commonly equated with "satanic".

Jews experienced a barrage of accusations. They were said to have had a peculiar smell, in contrast to the "odor of sanctity." Jews were also said to be sucklers of sows. They were held responsible for many evils, the "Christ-killer" charge still prominent. Jews were also called desecraters of the Host, allegedly entering churches secretly and piercing the holy wafer out of which "real blood" of Jesus flowed. They were accused of murdering Christian infants in order to use their blood (instead of wine) at the Passover Seder. During the Black Plague, which killed one-third of Europe's population, Jews were blamed for causing the plague by poisoning wells. [emphases added]

Such was the fruit of the early separation of Christianity from its Hebraic roots. We might have expected the world to persecute the scattered tribes of Israel. The Church should have mourned for them and comforted them, recognising their place in the Olive Tree of Romans 11.

The Middle Ages

And so we come to the Middle Ages, the years around 1000 AD. Theological differences between Christians and Jews had emerged even in the second century, strengthened by the philosophical ideas of the 'Church Fathers' that re-interpreted Scripture through the mindset of Plato and Aristotle. These things separated Christians from Jews so much that they would appear to have grown from the roots of two different trees. The next step was the persecution of Jews by 'Christians'.

By the Middle Ages, Christians and Jews had become so separated that they would appear to have grown from the roots of two different trees.

A prominent survey of anti-Semitism over 23 centuries is The Anguish of the Jews by Edward H Flannery (Paulist Press, 2004). We will consider some more of the details of anti-Semitism in the Middle Ages by reviewing chapters 4 to 6 of this book.

The Dark Ages

Flannery begins his survey by assessing the treatment of Jews in the Dark Ages, the centuries which preceded the Middle Ages (p66):

The Middle Ages meant one thing to the Christian, another to the Jew. For the latter, they not only began earlier and ended later but assumed a direction opposite to the general current of history. The earlier period, often called the Dark Ages, was for Jews a time of shifting fortunes but, as a whole, was relatively bearable. As the medieval period reached its culmination – the golden age of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries – the dark night of Judaism began.

The Dark Ages – from the fifth to the eleventh century – witnessed a world in travail...A great Empire in decline, ceaseless barbarian invasions, Persian wars and Moslem encirclement – such were the elements of disarray from which the Church, sole unifying force extant, was to forge the unity that would be Christian Europe...It was a period in which the mantle of temporal as well as spiritual governance was often thrust upon the Church, but one, conversely, in which its spiritual authority often suffered encroachment.

Judaism's situation presented a picture as chaotic as that of the times. Little can be said that applies to all Jewry or to the whole period. Hence the necessity of following the vagaries of Jewish fortunes from East to West, from Gaul to Spain, Persia to Arabia where their prosperity or degradation depended as much on the will of pope, king, bishop, council, caliph, noble, or mob as it did on law. Recalcitrant to the emerging unification, Jews received special attention almost everywhere. Jewish-Gentile altercations were not the infrequent result, but by and large, on the popular and often ecclesiastical and political level, Jews fared well. [emphases added]

Conflicts and Restricted Rights

Roman law imposed itself on the Jewish world as on other people groups. In the Eastern Empire Jews were often resentful of restrictive measures. In addition to this, at times Christians ignored statutes that protected Jewish rights. This led to conflicts, including those at Antioch. There were massacres and burnings of synagogues in the reign of Zeno (474-91). This continued into the following century, one recorded incident being when, "a monk of Amida, named Sergius, incited a mob and burned down a synagogue, in the wake of which a veritable contest of church and synagogue burning and rebuilding ensued" (quoted by Flannery, p68).

The Emperor Justinian (483-565) enforced new legislation which was far more restrictive on Jews than before. Among the restrictions was a narrowing of property rights, a barring from public functions and the inability to testify against a Christian. Jews could not celebrate Passover before Christian Easter. The Bible could not be read in Hebrew, and the Mishnah was banned. Those who did not believe in the resurrection, the last judgment or the existence of angels were to be excommunicated and put to death.

These were among the measures intended to bring Judaism under some sort of control, but it instead brought exasperation and later in the century resulted in violence, including the killing of many Christians in Antioch at the turn of the century. Many Jews joined the Persians in 614 in the conquering of Jerusalem where 30,000 Christians were killed.

In the fifth and sixth centuries, measures introduced to bring Judaism under control instead brought exasperation and outbreaks of violence.

There was retaliatory action from Christians later and many Jews were killed when Jerusalem was retaken under Heraclius in 628. Once more Jews were barred from the city. Heraclius, like some others, attempted to bring unity by forced baptisms of Jews.

Judaism a Crime

Judaism became a sort of crime against the state for several centuries. The Second Council of Nicaea (787) prohibited Jews who practised Judaism in secret to be admitted to the Church or sacraments. It also insisted on their practising aspects of Judaism openly once they were baptised but, as Flannery points out:

The Church's prohibition, reiterated many times during the next millennium, seemed powerless against the medieval urge to enforce religious and cultural unity. The history of forced conversion would be long, heartrending, and bloodstained before it reached its high point centuries later in the Spain of Ferdinand and Isabella. (p71)

Though there was more acceptance of Judaism in the Western Empire at this time, the same tensions caused by the exaltation of Christianity over Judaism still existed. In the reign of Pope Gregory I (590-604), there was a zeal to convert Jews and to suppress Judaizing. However, Jews were given legal right to attend their synagogues.

Forced Conversions

Persecution did break out in Spain in the reign of King Sisebut (612-21). The Jews were given the ultimatum to be baptised or go into exile. Approximately 90,000 were converted while many thousands fled the country.

Later it was observed that forced conversions were not really effective and tensions remained. Baptised children of un-baptised Jewish parents were taken from them for a Christian education, a practice that occurred in later centuries too. We read that later:

The summit of oppression was reached under King Erwig (680-87), who enacted twenty-eight laws designed to make the existence of Jews and Judaizers intolerable: Jews were ordered to accept baptism; Jewish converts must obtain a permit from a priest to undertake a journey; they were forced to listen to Christian sermons and forbidden to make distinctions among meats; evasions and bribes by Jews and lax enforcement by authorities were prohibited; and, finally, blasphemies against the Christian faith were made punishable. The twelfth council of Toledo (681) confirmed these measures.

Toward the end of the century, with Islam menacing his kingdom from North Africa where many Jews had fled, King Egica (d. 702), after first attempting to soften their lot, decreed conjointly with the sixteenth council (693) that the Jews must abandon commerce and surrender all property acquired from Christians. The seventeenth council (694), again in conjunction with the king, accused the Jews of conspiracy with their king in North Africa, reduced them to perpetual slavery, banned all Jewish rites, and ordered all Jewish children above the age of seven to be taken and reared as Christians. (Flannery, p77)

During the seventh century persecution broke out in Spain, with forced conversions, exile, enslavement and the confiscation of Jewish children.

The Visigoth Kingdom

The Muslims conquered Spain by 711 and the lot of Jews improved – indeed, a new 'golden era' began where Jewish scholarship was allowed to take on new life. The Visigoth kingdom, which had covered much of south-western Europe for the 5th–8th centuries, was removed. It is considered that the maltreatment of Jews in the Visigoth kingdom of Spain had been a direct result of the union of Church and State, however, the effect of this union was not uniform. For example, Jews fared much better in France in the same period that they were persecuted heavily in Spain.

Nevertheless, wherever there were Jews in the Christianised world there was constant debate in the church councils and resulting tensions to one degree or another, as well as some restrictions associated, for example, with the Feasts and dietary laws.

Wherever there were Jews in the Christianised world there was constant debate in the church councils and, as a result, tensions to one degree or another.

What Kind of Anti-Semitism?

As a general comment on the phase of anti-Semitism up to the turn of the first Millennium, we see it as having greater intensity in the East than in the West and, in the West, greater in pre-Muslim Spain than in France. Flannery writes about the character of this anti-Semitism:

...there was in this era no popular or economic anti-Semitism. Yet there was a juridical or legislative anti-Judaism. Jews were not opposed as persons or as a people, and indeed heretics still fared worse than they. The Church still had reason to worry about Jewish influence in social and religious life. The Talmudic withdrawal of Judaism was never complete. Many Jews, especially those who reached posts of influence in civic or economic spheres kept the doors to and from the Christian world open.

The legislation of church and state must, in effect, be seen, above all, as a defense against Jewish proselytism. The perennial laws against employment of Christian slaves, holding government office, and Jewish-Christian intimacies were motivated by religious scruples rather than political or social considerations. (pp88-89)

Flannery writes that this period was characterised less by anti-Semitism and bad feeling against the Jews themselves, than by a legal anti-Judaism enforced by both church and state.

After 1000 AD

The intensity of anti-Semitism increased after the year 1000 and grew to terrifying proportions. Flannery writes (p90-91):

During the first half of the second Christian millennium, the history of anti-Semitism and the history of Judaism so converged as almost to coincide. It is a scandal of Christian history that, while the Church and the Christian State were at the zenith of their power and influence, the sons of Israel reached the nadir of their unending oppression. This was the age of Innocent III and Henry II, Gregory VII and Henry VI, of the Crusades, of Aquinas and Dante, of St. Francis, of Notre Dame and Rheims Cathedral; but it was no less the age of anti-Jewish hecatombs, expulsions, calumnious myths, autos-da-fe, of the badge, the ghetto, and many other hardships visited upon the Jews...

The year 1000 found Jews in conditions reasonably stable for the time. Two centuries later they were almost pariahs; in three, they were terrorized. What occurred in this span to effect such a change? Some observers speak of the Church's "teaching of contempt" finally taking hold and suddenly seeping down to the populace. True, but the matter appears more complex. The eleventh century – as a period of incubation – contained certain events that foreshadowed the future. When Hakim destroyed the Holy Sepulchre in 1009, the Jews of Orleans were accused of collusion – an improbable charge since Jews as well as Christians were persecuted by that mad caliph. Nonetheless, widespread persecution of Jews resulted.

Again in 1012, when Jews were expelled from Mainz by Henry II, the expulsion was a repercussion of the earlier charge of treason, and doubtless also a reaction to the conversion to Judaism of Wecelinus, chaplain of Duke Conrad in 1006. In the "Crusade of Spain" against the Saracens in 1063, the Jews were disqualified for armed service and were attacked by the soldiers on the march. In short, renewed suspicions of Jewish complicity with Islam heightened the sense of the Jews' alien and infidel character, thus readying the atmosphere for the storm about to break over Judaism at the close of the eleventh century. [emphases added]

From this brief overview of the first part of the second millennium we perceive that widespread and multi-faceted persecution of Jews grew across the nations that had been 'Christianised' through Roman influence at the time of Constantine. To explore this fully is a task beyond the scope of this series. However, it is essential for students of Scripture to be informed about this era, so we will illustrate the extent of this persecution through some of the key events.

The Crusades

It is considered that the First Crusade of 1096 was a tragedy for the Jewish world measurable against the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD and the Holocaust of the Second World War under Hitler. In Flannery's words:

Great, illorganised hordes of nobles, knights, monks, and peasants – "God wills it" on their lips as they set off to free the Holy Land from the Muslim infidel – suddenly turned on the Jews.

Along the route to the Holy Land taken by the crusaders, Jews were offered the choice of baptism or death. Massacres took place in Rouen, along the Rhine and Danube, at Worms and at Mainz, in Treves, Neuss, Ratisbon, in Bohemia and in Prague. Some Jews preferred suicide to baptism. From January to July of 1096 it is estimated that up to 10,000 died, probably one third of the Jewish population of Germany and Northern France at the time.

The Jewish world was stunned and the rift between Judaism and Christianity was magnified. Christians were viewed by some as capricious assassins, ever ready to strike. But out of the suffering, a new heroism was born. A cult and tradition of martyrdom was instituted whereby Jews who gave their lives "to sanctify the Name" (Kiddush ha Shem) were greatly revered; their remembrance became part of the synagogue service. (pp91-3)

The Second Crusade of 1146, while not so intense as the first, brought further outbreaks of violence against the Jews. This time there were moderating influences from some Christian leaders, including Emperor Conrad II, King Louis VII of France and Bernard of Clairvaux. Another issue entered in, however, to divide Christians from Jews and contribute in some places in Europe to the violence associated with this Crusade:

Since the First Crusade, Christians had become more active in commercial affairs and so now resented their Jewish competitors. Moreover, Jews were more deeply involved in money-lending, a practice which drew upon them the hostility of both the clergy and the people. Pope Eugenius III (1145-53), who called up the new Crusade, suggested to the princes, as an inducement to enlistment, crusaders be absolved of their debts to Jews. (p94, emphasis added)

Peter of Cluny exhorted Louis VII that Jews, "like Cain, the fratricide, they should be made to suffer fearful torments and prepared for greater ignominy, for an existence worse than death" (quoted in Flannery, p95).

The First Crusade of 1096 was a tragedy for the Jews that has been since likened to the Holocaust of WW2. 10,000 were massacred or committed suicide in the space of six months.

Bought and Sold

A result of a certain amount of protection that Jews sought and acquired from Emperors Henry IV and Conrad III during the period of the Crusades led them to being considered as 'Servants of the Royal Chamber'. Their freedom was curtailed through legislation at various times: "The attachment to the imperial chamber reduced Jews to the status of pieces of property that could be – and were – bought, loaned, and sold as any other merchandise. Kings paid off barons and barons paid off creditors with Jews" (quoted in Flannery, p95).

In addition, the message of Paul in his letters (Rom 9:13, Gal 4:22-31, wrongly applied) was used to imply that Jews were inferior to Christians. This perpetuated, from a theological standpoint, the servitude of the Jews and their barring from public office.

Forced out of many areas of social and commercial life, by the 12th and 13th centuries money-lending became the means by which many Jews survived: "At every turn, he was faced with special taxes, confiscations, cancellations of credit, expulsions, and threats of death. He had literally to buy not only his rights but his very existence. Money became to him as precious as the air he breathed, the bread he ate." (p97) The caricature that later became Shakespeare's Shylock began in these days of Jewish survival.

Forced out of many areas of social and commercial life, by the 12^th and 13^th centuries money-lending became the means by which many Jews survived – and so developed the caricature.

Myths and Rumours

Another significant attack on Jews came from the so-called 'ritual murder' or 'blood' libel. This occurred in a number of places. The first incident was in Norwich, England in 1141 where the body of a dead boy was discovered on Good Friday. Jews were believed to be the culprits following a story that they planned to carry out a murder once a year in derision of the death of Christ.

This same accusation occurred in other towns of England and on the Continent where additions were often made to the story, such the drawing of blood for magical purposes by Jews and the taking of Passover communion with the heart of a murdered child.

Hundreds of incidences of this kind occurred and many Jews were slaughtered following rigged trials. In 1171 in Blois, 40 Jews were burned, for example. Excused by this blood libel, King Philip Augustus, on a single day in 1182, had all Jews arrested, freed for a ransom and expelled from his realm, only to recall them sixteen years later, and appoint them as money lenders to be taxed heavily. All this was for the purpose of acquiring money from the Jews.

Cheating and Humiliation

At the time of the Third Crusade of 1189 his persecution continued with the canceling of all debts to Jews. These are examples of the trend that continued in relation to the financial persecution of the Jews, including those enacted by the Popes, such as the measures adopted by Innocent III in the Fourth Lateran Council of 1215.

Out of this Church Council also came the tradition of a Jew having to wear a distinctive badge of identification. The justification was to help curtail intermarriage between Christians and non-Christians. Later, in France, the badge was a yellow sphere, and in Poland a pointed hat, with different symbols elsewhere.

In the 13^th century, Jews were made to suffer financially and were also forced to wear humiliating badges of identification.

A further result of the hate of Jews began in 1240 following an accusation to Gregory IX by a Dominican by the name of Nicholas Donin. He produced 35 theses to propose that the Talmud was the chief cause of Jewish unbelief and an offence to Christians. The Talmud was put on trial and eventually the case against it, which was quite complex, assumed proven and 24 cartloads of the Talmud were burned in Paris.

The Black Death

These brief examples serve to illustrate the immensity and the multifaceted nature of unrelenting aggression that was leveled against the Jews in these centuries. We finish the survey with one more example. In Europe, between 1347 and 1350 an epidemic called the Black Death killed one third of the population. The Jews were blamed – and then attacked:

For Jews it was a tragedy to which, after the fall of Jerusalem, only the horrors of 1096 and 1939 were comparable. For three hellish years (1348-50) Jewish communities all over Europe were torn to pieces by a populace crazed by the plague which, before it ended, carried off one third the population. Bewildered by the plague's ravages people looked for a cause. Before long the inevitable scapegoat was found. Who else but the archconspirator and poisoner, the Jew?

This time, too, the weird formula for the well poisonings – elicited by torture – was disclosed: a concoction of lizards, spiders, frogs, human hearts, and, to be sure, sacred hosts. The story that Jews in Spain had circulated the death-killing drug to poison the wells of all Christendom spread like wildfire. It was first believed in Southern France, where the entire Jewish population of a town was burned.

From there the deathly trail led into Northern Spain, then to Switzerland, into Bavaria, up the Rhine, into East Germany, and to Belgium, Poland, and Austria...In all, over 200 Jewish communities, large or small, were destroyed...the massacres were greatest in Germany where every sizeable city was affected...Well over 10,000 were killed in Erfurt, Mainz, and Breslau alone. [emphasis added. Flannery, p109]

Summary

Here we have an indication of the depths reached as a result of the division between Church and Synagogue which began in relatively small ways in the second and third centuries. Theological division was perhaps the major root cause (along with theological misinterpretation) of the divergence of the two religions, led by the dominant Christian majority when Christianity became politicised.

The catalogue of disasters is immense and what we have described can be added to with many other examples, such as the conquering Crusaders herding the Jews of Jerusalem into their synagogue and singing hymns while they burned them to death "in the name of Jesus"; or the Spanish Inquisitor Torquemada holding the Spanish Jews in a state of terror in the late 1400s, resulting finally in their expulsion from Spain on 30 July 1492, through the edict by Ferdinand and Isabella.

Then on and on, from peak to trough through the Holocaust and Pogroms, to the present day. Here in the depth of anti-Semitism we see the consequences of the separation of the Christian Church from its Hebraic foundations.

For Reflection and Comment

• How can Christians respond to this terrible history of anti-Semitic violence and persecution?
• What can Christians do to ensure that anti-Semitism is no longer evident in the Church?

Next time: Emergence of anti-Jewish Christian Theologies.