Clifford Hill surveys the Volkswagen scandal and asks: is God saying something to Germany - and to us?

Germany, the political and economic driver of Europe, has suffered one blow of dismay and humiliation after another in the past month. The country was still struggling with the fallout from their controversial migration policy when the Volkswagen scandal struck. What's going on in Europe's leading nation? Is there any prophetic significance in these events?

The Volkswagen Scandal

Volkswagen, the world's leading car manufacturer, has admitted that some 11 million of their cars distributed around the world have been fitted with a cheating device that gives a false reading of its engine efficiency when on the test pad. It cuts the emission of pollutants while the car is being tested but once out on the road the car can spew poisonous gases into the air, including nitrogen oxides, in amounts 40 times higher than regulation emissions standards.

So far investigations have been restricted to Volkswagen, but the spiralling scandal has led to calls for cars from other manufacturers to be checked for carrying similar devices deliberately designed to cheat when the cars are being tested. US authorities, who broke the news that they had discovered the sophisticated software which turns off pollution emissions on the test pad said that VW had admitted equipping about half a million cars in the United States. VW then admitted some 2.8 million cars in Germany also had the devices and that others have been distributed throughout Europe including in Britain.

Bankruptcy Threatened

The revelations, with their potential of creating the world's biggest corporate scandal, immediately hit the value of VW's shares. Some €25 billion, about 40%, was wiped off VW's share price in just two days. The US Government added to Volkswagen's woes by announcing that they would levy fines of $18 billion. But this is only the start of the cost to VW which may result in diesel engines no longer being used for domestic cars. It is a crippling blow to the worldwide sales of VW cars which include Audi, Seat and Skoda models, that could bankrupt the firm creating massive workforce redundancies that will affect the German national economy.

Blow to Pride

The VW revelations have dealt an enormous blow to German pride: Volkswagen is a national symbol of German character and has strengthened their economy since World War II.

The Volkswagen revelations not only have financial implications; they have dealt an enormous blow to German pride. Volkswagen is not just a carmaker; it is a symbol of the national character of Germany. Volkswagen began producing a 'People's car' in the Nazi era and played a significant role in the recovery of the German economy after World War II. It became the ambition of every German family to own a VW and the company's worldwide success symbolised the prosperity of the nation enabling it to exercise both economic and political power in Europe.

Suddenly all this prosperity and pride is now threatened. Germany has dominated the councils of the EU, successfully persuaded a group of nations to join the euro club putting their national economies under the control of the European Central Bank (mainly under German control), and forced crippling austerity programmes upon those with weaker economies. Now it is Germany's turn to be worried about their national economy and there are many Europeans who will say that they are getting their comeuppance.

London's ReputationLondon's financial heart - once a centre renowned for business integrity.

But we in Britain are in no place to point the finger. We too have suffered enormous blows to our national pride through cheating. Our bankers used to have a worldwide reputation for honesty in the days when London was renowned for business integrity and deals could be made on the basis of word-of-mouth and a handshake, without even reading the small print. That reputation for honesty has disappeared in a cesspit of banking scandals, Libor rate fixing, and massive rewards paid to failed executives.

It is not only in the world of finance that cheating has been exposed; our great parliamentary tradition that used to be the envy of the world has been humbled by the exposure of cheating by Members of both Houses of Parliament, with scandals involving their expenses and allowances, and selling their services for commercial gain.

The catalogue of cheating exposures does not end there but has included the sexual abuse of children and other scandals by celebrities and leaders in church and state that have shaken the nation.

We in Britain are in no place to point the finger at Germany, having suffered enormous blows to our national pride through cheating.

The Western World

Other European nations have also had their shocks and similarly in the United States cheating and corruption have been exposed, leading to the downfall of mighty financial institutions. So what's going on throughout the Western world among nations who share the Christian faith and a long biblical heritage?

Surely, the plain answer is that as nations we have deliberately turned our backs upon the word of God that historically has provided trustworthy foundations for personal and social morality. The spiralling revelations that have been shaking the nations throughout the past 40 years coincide with the increasing secularisation of the nations and the abandonment of biblical values. All of these things are prophesied in the Bible that speaks of a great shaking of the nations and a time of international turmoil and conflict.

Warning Signs

The revelations of cheating in the nations are not just coincidental, they are warning signs urging us to change course before bringing disaster upon our generation. The revelations are the deliberate action of God turning on the light to expose evil. His major purpose is to bring his salvation to the nations rather than to bring judgement.

Uncovering corruption is a salutary warning of the consequences of abandoning truth and deliberately turning upside-down the moral values which are part of God's act of creation.

Uncovering corruption is a salutary warning of the consequences of deliberately up-ending the moral values which are part of God's act of creation.

The word of God to our generation is "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight...For they have rejected the law of the Lord Almighty" (Isa 5:20-24). The future history of the world depends upon whether or not we will take note of the warning signs!

We submit two historical prophecies to readers for weighing and testing.

This week we are re-publishing two historical prophecies given in Norway – one from 1968, the other from 1937. They concern events in Europe and their relation to the fulfilment of end times prophecy. Of particular interest and encouragement is point four in the 1968 prophecy, which appears to foresee the current refugee crisis.

These prophecies can be found elsewhere on the internet, but their authenticity has been verified to the best of our ability. We submit them to you for your prayerful testing.

1968 Prophecy by 90 Year Old Woman in Norway

An old woman of 90 from Valdres in Norway had a vision from God in 1968. The evangelist Emanuel Minos had meetings (services) where she lived. He had the opportunity to meet her, and she told him what she had seen. He wrote it down, but thought it to be so unintelligible that he put it in a drawer. Now, almost 30 years later, he understands he has to share the vision with others.

The woman from Valdres was a very alert, reliable, awake and credible Christian, with a good reputation among all who knew her. This is what she saw:

"I saw the time just before the coming of Jesus and the outbreak of the Third World War. I saw the events with my natural eyes. I saw the world like a kind of a globe and saw Europe, land by land. I saw Scandinavia. I saw Norway. I saw certain things that would take place just before the return of Jesus, and just before the last calamity happens, a calamity the likes of which we have never before experienced."

She mentioned four waves:

1. "First before Jesus comes and before the Third World War breaks out there will be a 'détente' like we have never had before. There will be peace between the super powers in the east and the west, and there will be a long peace. (Remember, that this was in 1968 when the cold war was at its highest. E. Minos) In this period of peace there will be disarmament in many countries, also in Norway and we are not prepared when it (the war) comes. The Third World War will begin in a way no one would have anticipated - and from an unexpected place."
2. "A lukewarmness without parallel will take hold of the Christians, a falling away from true, living Christianity. Christians will not be open for penetrating preaching. They will not, like in earlier times, want to hear of sin and grace, law and gospel, repentance and restoration. There will come a substitute instead: prosperity (happiness) Christianity."
   • "The important thing will be to have success, to be something; to have material things, things that God never promised us in this way. Churches and prayer houses will be emptier and emptier. Instead of the preaching we have been used to for generations -like, to take your cross up and follow Jesus, - entertainment, art and culture will invade the churches where there should have been gatherings for repentance and revival. This will increase markedly just before the return of Jesus."
3. "There will be a moral disintegration that old Norway has never experienced the likes of. People will live together like married without being married. (I do not believe the concept 'co-habitor'? existed in 1968 - E. Minos) Much uncleanness before marriage, and much infidelity in marriage will become the natural (the common), and it will be justified from every angle. It will even enter Christian circles and we pet it - even sin against nature. Just before Jesus return there will be TV- programs like we have never experienced." (TV had just arrived in Norway in 1968. E. Minos)
   • "TV will be filled with such horrible violence that it teaches people to murder and destroy each other, and it will be unsafe in our streets. People will copy what they see. There will not be only one 'station' on TV, it will be filled with 'stations.' (She did not know the word 'channel' which we use today. Therefore she called them stations. E. Minos) TV will be just like the radio where we have many 'stations,' and it will be filled with violence. People will use it for entertainment. We will see terrible scenes of murder and destruction one of the other, and this will spread in society. Sex scenes will also be shown on the screen, the most intimate things that takes place in a marriage." (I protested and said, we have a paragraph that forbids this kind of thing. E. Minos) There the old woman said: "It will happen, and you will see it. All we have had before will be broken down, and the most indecent things will pass before our eyes."
4. People from poor countries will stream to Europe. (In 1968 there was no such thing as immigration. E. Minos) They will also come to Scandinavia - and Norway. There will be so many of them that people will begin to dislike them and become hard with them. They will be treated like the Jews before the Second World War. Then the full measure of our sins will have been reached." (I protested at the issue of immigration. I did not understand it at the time. E. Minos)

The tears streamed from the old woman's eyes down her cheeks. "I will not see it, but you will. Then suddenly, Jesus will come and the Third World War breaks out. It will be a short war." (She saw it in the vision.)

"All that I have seen of war before is only child's play compared to this one, and it will be ended with a nuclear atom bomb. The air will be so polluted that one cannot draw one's breath. It will cover several continents, America, Japan, Australia and the wealthy nations. The water will be ruined (contaminated?). We can no longer till the soil. The result will be that only a remnant will remain. The remnant in the wealthy countries will try to flee to the poor countries, but they will be as hard on us as we were on them."

"I am so glad that I will not see it, but when the time draws near, you must take courage and tell this. I have received it from God, and nothing of it goes against what the Bible tells."

"The one who has his sin forgiven and has Jesus as Savior and Lord, is safe."

WHEN THE OIL FLOWS

An elder in the Pentecostal Church at Moss, Norway, Martin Andersen, heard the following prophecy in 1937, in Moss:

'When oil comes out of the North Sea and along the Norwegian coast, things will begin to happen, and the return of Jesus is approaching.'

When these words had been proclaimed, people stood up in the congregation and asked the man to sit down and not speak such nonsense. In 1937 it was indeed nonsense to talk about oil being pumped along the Norwegian coast. Today all the world's big oil companies are pumping oil along the coast of Norway. Norway is the world's second greatest exporter of oil - after Saudi Arabia.

The sum of it all is: Jesus is coming soon (suddenly).

Original source editor's note:

The above account was originally transmitted from Israel to friends in the US. It was sent by a Norwegian Christian worker by the name of Ragna Von Porat. Ragna states in a footnote that it was translated from Danish. She further states that Emanuel Minos, the evangelist mentioned in the account, was her friend's closest neighbor in Oslo. She says, "I heard him in my young days. My parents knew him."

Because of my fear of transmitting false prophecy, I have diligently inquired concerning the information in this letter. Publication has been delayed until permission could be secured from Ragna in Israel. In my contact with her, she has assured me that these accounts are true and reliable. In fact, she relates that the first account has already been published in one of Norway's Christian newspapers.

I have found in my own research that the first account was also published by the Christian Information Service in Germany. The website of Dr. Emanuel Minos is active today and can be accessed for verification [NOTE FROM PROPHECY TODAY: Emanuel Minos passed away in 2014 and his website is no longer live]. Although the language on this site is Norwegian, the very similar story of the woman and her vision is posted there in English. The above accounts are transmitted just as they were received.

Ragna took it upon herself to verify as much of the above information as she could. In contacting the Embassy of Norway she learned that Norway has now dropped to the world's third largest oil exporter. Ragna states, "I certainly have no objection to your going ahead [with publishing]. It must be now-if ever."

Clifford Hill suggests that God might be offering European Christians a great opportunity through the refugee crisis.

There are no signs of stemming the flow of people seeking to escape war and poverty in the Middle East. Nearly half a million people have crossed the Mediterranean to reach Europe this year, and this is just a fraction of the millions who may be heading for Europe. EU leaders meeting on 23 September decided to "tackle the dramatic situation at our external borders and strengthen controls at those borders".¹ So Europe's open door is soon to be closed in face of the tide that has overwhelmed Italy, Greece, Macedonia, Hungary, Serbia and Croatia and created problems throughout Europe.

Even Germany is struggling to cope with the sheer numbers involved and the nightmare task of registering people with no passports or personal papers. But these numbers could lead to a vast inflow from the 60 million displaced people worldwide according to UN estimates.

Germany has at last realised that continuing to signal welcome signs could have catastrophic effects upon the social and economic health of Europe and they too say they must limit numbers. But Germany is now facing other problems.

Germany is finally realising that continuing to signal welcome signs could have catastrophic effects upon the social and economic health of Europe.

German DominationGerman Chancellor Angela Merkel.

For a number of years Germany has been boasting of its riches and flexing its power muscles in Europe; dominating the European Central Bank, forcing disastrous policies upon Greece and directing EU economic and political policy.

Suddenly the VW scandal has broken on the scene. The motor company with the world's largest sales has been caught cheating with a device that gives a false reading of its engine efficiency when on the test pad. Millions of euros were wiped off the value of the company within 48 hours and the scandal is so enormous that it has the potential of bankrupting the firm and seriously affecting the German national economy. Germans need to ask what God is saying to them through such a humiliation.

Quota System

Meanwhile meetings of EU heads and officials this week struggled to agree a quota system for those already in Europe, in the face of fierce opposition from East European nations who do not want an influx of Muslims into Christian countries. Having triggered the large inflow of migrants, Germany is now agreeing with others who believe the right way to deal with this crisis is to put EU funds into helping Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon, where they are struggling to cope with the 4 million displaced Syrians already in their countries. In addition there are 11 million homeless Syrians in their own country, displaced by a brutal war.

Russian Involvement

A further complication to an already confusing situation is the evidence that Russia is becoming involved in military action in support of President Assad. There seems no chance of the rebels in the Syrian civil war being victorious. But Russia's fears are of the real possibility of an Islamic State victory, which would undoubtedly destabilise already troubled relationships within Russia with its own large Muslim minority.

This is presenting the USA with a dilemma: their bombing missions over many months have been unable to deter the advance of ISIS in the region, but they have no wish to see Russia establish a base in Syria and become a dominant force in the Middle East.

Russia's growing military support of Assad is presenting another Middle East complication, as the US has no wish to see Russia a dominant force in the region.

Israel Anxiety

Sitting on the sideline, people in Israel are watching the situation developing on their doorstep with growing anxiety. Lance Lambert believed that solving the Syrian crisis would not bring peace and security to Israel. In fact he believed that once the Muslim nations stopped fighting each other they would turn their attention to Israel because their ultimate objective is the annihilation of the Jewish State (see Part 2 of his 1988 interview with Gary Clayton, here).

International negotiations on Iran's nuclear programme, March 2015.

This is why the Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has been so strongly opposed to the deal with Iran agreed by Obama that allows the continuation of Iranian nuclear ambitions. He knows that their aim is to build a nuclear bomb for an attack upon Israel.

Is there any word from the Lord?

How will it all end? Is there any word from the Lord to guide us in these chaotic days? One of the things that Jesus said would be a sign that we are approaching the time of his Second Coming is what we've often described as the "shaking of the nations". This is prophesied in a number of places in the Bible, notably Isaiah chapters 2 and 24, as well as Haggai 2 and Hebrews 12. The main places in the Gospels are in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21.

Luke records the teaching of Jesus on this subject, saying that it will not only be the earth and the nations that will be shaken but that "Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken" (Luke 21:26).

But Jesus also said, "When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near" (Luke 21:28). So, far from being nervous, we should be excited when we see these things beginning to happen in our own lifetime! But it is most essential both to study the word of God and also to learn to use our prayer times for listening to the Lord and not just for speaking. We need to know what God requires us to do.

Jesus said that when we see things prophesied in Scripture coming to pass, we should stand in hope – not faint from fear – for his Second Coming draws near.

False Religion

One of the things that Jesus says will be a feature of the end times is that there will be a lot of false religion around. He warns about being deceived, "for false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect – if that were possible" (Matt 24:24).

The greatest threat from false religion today is Islam, whose militant leaders are deceiving many to give up their own lives and take those of others. Right across the world, Christians are being persecuted by Muslims. This is most intense where militant Islamists operate and in areas where multitudes of Muslims are converting to Christianity (such as in Indonesia, where two million Muslims a year are leaving Islam and accepting Jesus as Lord and Saviour). Militant Muslims are carrying out a savage persecution of Christians. Churches are being attacked and Christians beheaded, but all this is only causing more conversions to Christianity.

Indonesian Spiritual Awakening

Until recently, Indonesia was known as having the largest Muslim population in the world. But since the 1980s there has been an escalating growth in Christian churches right across the land. Our team from Issachar Ministries has ministered there many times in the past 20 years and had a small share in this. In the 1990s the Muslim Government became worried about this growth and they introduced a programme of mass resettlement – moving large numbers of Muslim families out of overcrowded Jakarta into islands that were solidly Christian.

Something amazing happened! The Christians welcomed the newcomers with open arms and great generosity; helping them to settle, find work and be part of the local community. They were shown so much love which the Christians said was "the love of Jesus" that most of the families converted to Christianity. The Imams complained that the policy was disastrous and so the Government stopped the resettlement after about 10 years. But news of what had happened spread like wildfire across Indonesia, fuelling the great spiritual awakening and move from Islam to Christianity that is now gathering momentum.

God's Purposes for Europe

Could it be within the purposes of God to bring large numbers of Muslim migrants into Europe in these days in order for them to be released from the spiritual darkness of Islam?

We've not done a very good job with the four million Muslims from Pakistan who have arrived in Britain since 1960. But that's due largely to our immigration policy that makes no attempt to integrate them into society and teach them our language and Judaeo-Christian heritage. It allows them to form closed communities where many women live in virtual slavery and there are few opportunities for Christians to have any contact with their neighbours.

Could it be part of God's purpose in bringing large numbers of Muslim migrants into Europe today is for them to be released from the spiritual darkness of Islam?

The migrants coming from Syria come from a very different culture to that in rural areas of Pakistan and there will be greater openness to integration and opportunities for Christians to share their faith. At the same time God has allowed the Islamic State to perform the same barbaric practices as the founder of their religion in the seventh century, exposing to the world the spirit that drives this religion.

Opportunity for Christians

This is giving Christians in Europe the opportunity of showing the difference between the god whom Mohamed served and the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Whereas Mohamed insisted on forced conversions at the point of the sword and beheaded those who refused, Jesus said:

You have heard that it was said, 'love your neighbour and hate your enemy'. But I tell you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in Heaven... (Matt 5:43)

There can be no greater contrast than this between the two religions. This is the opportunity that God is presenting to Christians in Europe through the great migration currently taking place.

References

1 Press release from the informal meeting of EU heads of state or government on migration, Brussels, 23 September 2015.

Clifford Hill connects the migration crisis to Bible prophecies about the end of days, and suggests that God may have a special purpose for Britain at this time.

As of today, Friday 18 September, in this fast moving crisis, Croatia has become the latest European country to close its borders as the great migrant invasion of Europe intensifies, and Hungary has begun extending its fence along the borders with Croatia. Even Germany has introduced border controls to stop the unmanageable flow of migrants from Austria.

Europe in Turmoil

So what is the significance of all this as Europe is thrown into turmoil by what appears to be an unending flow of migrants? Clearly these are not just refugees fleeing war-torn Syria and Iraq, but something is stirring in nations right across the world where there is dissatisfaction with current life chances. Already hundreds of thousands are on the move and potentially this could be millions who want to jump on the bandwagon and reach Europe.

It is significant that the most popular destination is Germany – not because the migrants speak German but because it's the richest country in Europe. Angela Merkel has lit the touch paper of a migrant tsunami that is already causing major confusion, social chaos and political disunity throughout Europe. It has the potential of creating a catastrophic social, economic and political disaster.

Militant Islam

It is significant that the majority of the migrants attempting to enter Europe are Muslims. Some 25 years ago I published an article in the print magazine Prophecy Today saying that the greatest threat to peace in Europe was not from the Soviet Union but from militant Islam. The USSR was at the height of its power and the Cold War between East and West occupied the attention of newspapers and politicians alike. Islam was hardly given a thought except to note the brutal war between Iran and Iraq that lasted for most of the 1980s and resulted in more than 1 million deaths. But for those who were studying the signs of the times with an open Bible and an ear tuned to God, there were unmistakable warnings that Islam would soon be a major threat to world peace.

For those studying the signs of the times with an open Bible and an ear tuned to God, there have long been warnings that Islam would soon threaten world peace.

MI5's WarningMigrants push through a police line in Croatia on Thursday.

I'm not implying that I was the only one sounding a warning note about Islam. In Prophecy Today we published a number of articles in the 1980s by writers such as Clifford Denton, Lance Lambert, Ray Register, John Lafin, John Ray and Patrick Sookhdeo, who all perceived danger lying ahead. This danger is now being intensified by news of ISIS' plans to infiltrate Europe with half a million jihadists and that an unknown number have already mixed with the flow of migrants into Europe. This danger was highlighted yesterday by the head of MI5 warning that they had intercepted and prevented five attempts by jihadists already this year.

200 More Mosques

It is notable that Saudi Arabia, which has so far taken no refugees from Syria, has offered to build 200 mosques in Germany! No doubt this is their contribution to the Islamisation of Europe! Saudi Arabia has also just announced that it intends to crucify an 18-year-old boy for taking part in a protest against government policy. This is in accord with sharia law that they want to impose upon Europe!

So what's going on? Is there any word from the Lord? What does the Bible have to say about the times in which we are living?

Lance Lambert's View

Lance Lambert, who died recently, was one of the greatest of modern prophets, a Jew who accepted Jesus as Messiah. He gave us two interviews for Prophecy Today some three months before the 40^th anniversary of the State of Israel. We published these in March and May 1988 and are re-publishing them today and next week because we believe they are relevant to the situation that is now developing across the Middle East and Europe (see the first article here). Lance said that he did not think that anything remarkable was going to happen to Israel on the 40^th anniversary. He said,

I do feel that we have nevertheless passed irreversibly into the last phase of world history. We know this from Luke 21:24, where Jesus prophesies that the Jewish people will fall by the sword, be taken as captives into all the nations, and Jerusalem trampled on by foreigners 'until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled'.

Times of the Gentiles

Are the 'times of the Gentiles' now fulfilled? This is the big question that biblical scholars have been debating since 1967, when Israel re-gained hold of Jerusalem. There is no definitive answer to this but the 'great shaking of the nations' prophesied by the biblical prophets (Isaiah 2, Haggai 2 and Hebrews 12) appears to be happening in our lifetime.

Back in 1988, Lance Lambert stated a belief that we have passed into the last phase of world history, when the 'times of the Gentiles' will be fulfilled.

Words of Jesus

Add to these prophecies the words of Jesus' warning that "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places" (Matt 24:7). Jesus also warns that those who believe in him will be persecuted and at the same time there will be a great increase in wickedness, but the gospel will be preached in the whole world (Matt 24:9-14).

There is plenty of evidence in the daily news that all these things are happening today, including the Church worldwide growing at the fastest rate in history, despite the great falling away in Europe. So how does the migration crisis in Europe fit into this picture?

The Servant Songs

The prophet Isaiah actually refers to the British Isles a number of times. He links "the islands" with "the ends of the earth". In those days the islands off the coast of Europe were at the end of the known world, so it is a reasonable assumption that he is referring to the British Isles. There are some significant references in what biblical scholars know as 'The Servant Songs' (all Messianic statements that link Israel as a nation with the person of Messiah). The Songs show God working out his ultimate purposes for the salvation of the nations through Israel and the Messiah.

Can Britain Serve the Purposes of God?

The first of the four 'Servant Songs' is Isaiah 42:1-4 which begins "Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations." God has undoubtedly used and mightily blessed Britain in the past, but in today's highly secularised environment, has the faithful remnant of believers sufficient spiritual strength to stand against the tide of unbelief and godless moral anarchy? Is there sufficient spiritual strength to serve the purposes of God at such a time as this?

Isaiah actually refers to the British Isles a number of times, perhaps indicating that they have a special place in the purposes of God.

This prophetic statement indicates that the British Isles have a special place in the purposes of God. God does not change his mind so this is still true today! The second Servant Song (Isa 49:1-6) begins with a call to the islands – "Listen to me, you islands; hear this, you distant nations..." It concludes with the promise to Israel, "It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth."

Final Great Conflict

Historically, Britain has indeed enjoyed a special place in God's purposes, being used powerfully in the worldwide spread of the Gospel. But does that purpose still exist for modern, 'post-Christian' Britain?

The final reference to 'the islands' in Isaiah is found in the last chapter, which is all in the context of the final conflict before the advent of the new heavens and the new earth, establishing the reign of God upon earth. It speaks of a sign being sent to "the distant islands...They will proclaim my glory among the nations" (Isa 66:19).

If we put this in the context of Jesus' words in the days leading up to his second coming, "There will be great distress, unequalled from the beginning of the world until now – and never to be equalled again" (Matt 24:21), we may expect a time of unparalleled upheaval and conflict among the nations.

My own interpretation is that we are moving towards a time of great conflict that will engulf Europe and the Middle East. The 'Arab Spring' that began on 18 December 2010 in Tunisia lit the fuse for this period, which has spread across North Africa and the Gulf States to link with the intense conflict within Islam that began with the Iran/Iraq conflict between Sunni and Shia Muslims and is now devastating Syria.

Britain's Biblical Heritage

An irreversible process has begun that will lead to open conflict unless there is divine intervention. If it is a right interpretation of Isaiah's vision, Britain has a special part to play within the purposes of God. The question is whether there is sufficient strength in the Judeo/Christian biblical heritage of the nation to enable Britain to carry out its role of bringing the word of the Lord into this situation.

Leaving the EU

In order to do this it may be that Britain will need to separate from the rest of Europe and be prepared to stand alone under God (alongside an increasingly secularised Europe but not under its godless direction). I believe the word of the Lord to Britain today is, "Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord Almighty" (Zech 4:6). To this we must add the words of Jesus to his disciples that we should, "watch and pray" (Matt 26:41).

I believe that we are moving towards a time of great conflict in Europe and the Middle East, unless there is divine intervention. Britain may well have a special part to play, but will she be prepared to stand for God?

Dr Hill will elaborate on this theme in another feature article, to be published on Friday 25 September. In the meantime any comments from readers posted below would be greatly appreciated.

Clifford Hill considers the pros and cons of the refugee crisis.

We've got people drowning in their hundreds in the Mediterranean, trying to cross the sea to the overcrowded island of Lesbos; families dying of thirst in Serbian forests; children suffocating in lorries; thousands crowding into trains and buses or walking along highways in search of refuge – but what is Europe's response? According to Libby Purves in The Times, "razor wire and bickering over quotas" (02/09/15).

EU Leaders Unprepared

The migrant crisis continues to occupy centre stage in our daily news. EU officials in Brussels struggle to find some common ground in a policy to deal with what appears to be an unstoppable flow of migrants into Europe.

On 14 September EU ministers will hold an emergency meeting to try to work out an acceptable deal, although eastern European countries are expected to resist any attempt to enforce a quota system. The sheer numbers involved and the speed with which the crisis has gathered momentum over the summer months has caught EU leaders unprepared despite the warning signs being there for the past two or three years.

CompassionPeople organize aid in Erfurt, Germany. Jens Meyer/AP/PA Images

Several good things have emerged in the midst of the crisis; notably the compassion shown by countless individuals offering to open their homes to families escaping from war zones. It is not only in Britain where such compassion is being shown but in many other Western European nations too, such as Iceland where 10,000 families have announced willingness to take Syrian refugees into their homes.

Germany says they are willing to take 800,000 asylum seekers this year with Angela Merkel leading the way by saying that all Syrian refugees would be eligible for asylum in Germany. But Hungary and Austria have accused Berlin of increasing the chaos as human trafficking continues to pour thousands of migrants into the continent – an unknown mixture of genuine refugees, workers seeking a better living and possibly jihadists seeking opportunities of destruction.

Several good things have come out of the crisis – notably the compassion being shown by countless individuals across Europe in welcoming the refugees. But with the compassion is considerable fear and uncertainty.

HamburgFinding a Solution

It is this unknown mixture that causes fear and uncertainty in dealing with such large numbers. Britain has said that we will take 20,000 refugees from Syria while arguing that the major effort to deal with the situation should be to pour resources into the area immediately surrounding the war zone and to seek a United Nations policy on finding a solution to the civil war in Syria and defeating the Islamic State.

This is arguably the only way to defeat the people traffickers who exploit the plight of those fleeing the conflict and are stoking a never-ending flow into Europe. It is also the most sensible solution for the refugees themselves to remain in a largely Arabic culture rather than try to adjust to an alien Western environment. For those who do come to Europe there needs to be a radical change from the policy we have followed in Britain for the past 50 years in giving migrants no assistance in settling into a new environment.

Acculturating New Arrivals

If we had followed America's example in acculturating new arrivals we would not have the problems we have today in some of our cities where immigrants have formed close-knit communities with no attempt to integrate into British society and no love for their adopted country. With the new arrivals from Syria, even if they come from Christian communities, we should insist that they attend induction classes where they learn the history of Britain and the basis of our legal and cultural heritage.

For Muslims it is even more necessary that they should understand the elements of Christianity that are interwoven into our culture and social structure. We have neglected this at our cost and if we allow large numbers to swell the Muslim population in Britain without any understanding of our Christian heritage we will do so at our peril. We will be creating a community of disaffected young men alienated from British society - with all the dangerous potential this brings.

If we allow large numbers to swell the Muslim population in Britain without any understanding of our Christian heritage, we will do so at our peril.

Biblical Principles

There are good biblical principles to support a policy of teaching our culture and heritage to newcomers. When Israel entered the Promised Land they were instructed to show compassion and care for the aliens among them, but they were strictly warned against being influenced by their gods:

He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing. And you are to love those who are aliens, for you yourselves were aliens in Egypt. (Deut 10:18-19)

In the Promised Land, Israel was instructed to show compassion and care to foreigners, but warned against being influenced by their gods.

Christians need to take seriously the words of Jesus that there is no other way to the Father except through him (John 14:6), which gives us an obligation to share the Truth with others. We have already made huge mistakes in our immigration policy by neglecting to share our faith with those we have allowed to settle in our country. We need to make sure that we don't continue to make that mistake with this new group of immigrants. Where there is a serious attempt to do this as in the City of Leicester, through a combined churches outreach, it is making a remarkable difference to community relationships.

Clifford Hill discusses the Europe-wide refugee crisis.

The whole of Europe is now being drawn into what is rapidly becoming a continent-wide crisis eclipsing that of the Euro and the Greek banking problems. More than 100,000 migrants are flocking into Europe per month, crossing perilous seas with inevitable loss of life. So far this year over 2,500 people have died trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea in numbers that have been overwhelming the authorities in Italy: last year that number was over 3,000.

TV news, websites and newspapers have been full of pictures of angry crowds in Budapest where the main railway station has been besieged by thousands of migrants and many others have been stranded in a train. Most of them have escaped from war-torn Syria. Hungary has been building a fence stretching the length of its eastern border in an attempt to keep migrants out, but their determination to reach Northern European nations has stretched EU laws to their limit. Hungary has been attempting to enforce the rule that migrants must register in their first country of entry into Europe but EU's borderless policy is in total disarray as the numbers coming in every day simply overwhelm authorities.

Shocking Pictures

The recent sight of a little boy's body washed up onto the beach in Turkey has shocked people right across Europe. It reminds us that these thousands of people on the move whom we label as 'migrants' are real people; boys and girls, men and women like us: and the majority of them (over 70%) are refugees fleeing from the horrors of conflict in war-torn areas.

The little boy was Aylan Kurdi, a three-year-old refugee from Kobani in Syria, who died with his mother and five-year-old brother while attempting to reach the Greek island of Kos.

The recent sight of a boy's body washed up onto the beach in Turkey reminds us that these thousands of 'migrants' on the move are real people, like us.

Frank Augstein/AP/Press Association ImagesGermany expects to settle up to 800,000 refugees this year, while Sweden has declared 'open borders' to all those fleeing war zones. Austria has welcomed trainloads of refugees coming in from Hungary; but by contrast, of the 4 million refugees who have fled Syria Britain has so far taken only 216 – barely enough to fill two carriages of a train! But David Cameron seems to be bowing to public opinion and agreeing to take a share of the refugees.

Britain's Immigration Policy

The plain fact is that our immigration policy has for the past 50 years been in chaos. Ever since the great parliamentary debates of the early 1960s on what to do with the worker migrants coming in ever-increasing numbers from former colonial territories in the British Commonwealth, our politicians have not known what to do. The first Commonwealth Immigrants Act of 1962 set the tone by simply restricting numbers, which sent out the xenophobic message that all non-white immigrants were a social problem.

Ever since the parliamentary debates about worker migrants coming in from the Commonwealth in the early 1960s, British politicians have not known what to do about immigration.

The greatest mistake was to say that any Commonwealth migrants who settled here had the right to bring in their spouse or other close dependants. This regulation is still in force today which allows migrants from the Indian subcontinent to send their young people back home for a marriage partner which doubles their migrant population each generation.

Hangovers from Colonialism

Our immigration policy has not been based upon offering a home to refugees or caring for those in need, but upon an outworn colonialist ideology of Britain being the 'Mother Country' who has an obligation to open her borders to all her children. This is regardless of the fact that many of those who have come from, say, Pakistan, have no love for Britain, make no attempt at integration, and share a long-term ambition of turning Britain into a Muslim country.

Now our politicians are scared of opening our borders to genuine refugees because of the social consequences of already having whole areas in some of our cities where English is hardly spoken and where health, welfare and education already present enormous problems. To bring in thousands more (mainly Muslims) from the Middle East exacerbates the problems we already have. Unless there is a radical change in public opinion, politicians do not want to make unpopular decisions - particularly in the run-up to the Referendum on Britain's relationships with the European Union. But even if there is a change in public opinion towards the refugees, will this affect our attitudes toward the EU?

Prosperity Threatened

Britain is not alone in fearing to open its borders to all-comers. There is already social unrest in Germany and a number of other nations within the Eurozone, where 18 million people are unemployed and youth unemployment is running at nearly 22%.

After centuries of European economic dominance where much of the wealth and prosperity has been derived through colonial exploitation, that prosperity is now under threat. With the Chinese market shrinking as their shares bubble bursts, the fears of economic collapse in Europe increase.Frank Augstein/AP/Press Association Images

What Does The Bible Say?

Does the Bible have anything to say about what is happening today? Way back in 1986, Prophecy Today began warning about a great shaking of the nations that was first prophesied by the Prophet Haggai in the sixth century BC, just after the return of the first wave of Jews from captivity in Babylon. Haggai foresaw a time coming when there would not only be tumultuous events in nature, the shaking of earth and sea, but there would be social and economic turmoil in all nations (Hag 2:6-7).

That prophecy was believed to be still in the future by the writer of the Book of Hebrews, near the end of the first century AD (Heb 12:26f). Of course, prophecies can have more than one fulfilment, but there are so many indicators today that something along these lines is actually happening in our lifetime. The increased frequency of earthquakes, storms and natural disasters plus the social, economic and political upheavals among the nations in every region of the world, surely have some significance! The reference in Hebrews says that when these things happen, God will use them to shake human confidence in our own cleverness and ability to solve every problem. This will prepare the way for the second coming of Jesus. Maybe that event is not so far in the future.

Is there anything that Christians can do to help in this situation with thousands of desperate people on the move across the world? Of course we can pray; and prayer does have a practical effect! We can also give to genuine charities that are working among refugees – particularly those on frontline camps in Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Turkey. But maybe we should also be offering accommodation in our home to genuine refugees to enable them to have a good experience of starting life again in a safe environment. Here is an opportunity for some trusted Christian group to organise this.

Is the Greek banking crisis really over, or have they just kicked the can down the street? Does the new bailout bring real hope or just delay the day of reckoning? Clifford Hill believes biblical principles hold the answer...

The problems facing Greece raise much wider issues that affect all of Europe because there are biblical principles that should have been applied: and if they had been applied the whole situation would have been very different.

All the nations in Europe have a Christian heritage. Their shared belief system based upon the Bible should have enabled a common approach to financial dealings. It is because the European nations have abandoned their Christian foundations and lost their biblical heritage that they are in such trouble today."

Lending and Borrowing in Scripture

The Bible sets out clear rules for lending money. "If one of your countrymen becomes poor and is unable to support himself among you, help him as you would an alien or temporary resident, so that he can continue to live among you. Do not take interest of any kind from him, but fear your God so that your countryman may continue to live among you. You must not lend him money at interest or sell him food at a profit. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God" (Lev 25:35).

Surely that could not be clearer? Within the family of Israel, despite all the differences of tribes and clans, there had to be just one rule for everyone. If anyone became in need of help, through illness, accident, or a bad harvest, or even through mismanagement of resources, he and his family had to be helped by the rest of the community. There were no exceptions to this. They were one family of people with a shared belief in God and a shared covenant relationship with God, which created a shared relationship with each other. Therefore they had mutual obligations within the family of Israel.

Those who had resources were to help those who were in need. If they cared for one another in this way they would all prosper and they would enjoy a healthy society where no one was exploited and the whole nation benefited. Indeed, the exploitation of the poor and needy by the rich and powerful was forbidden.

No Blame

The regulation given to Israel in Leviticus 25 does not lay blame on how someone became poor. It simply states "If one of your countrymen becomes poor and is unable to support himself" then he must be helped. That becomes a sacred obligation because it is an out-working of the covenant relationship within the nation of Israel, because of her relationship with God.

Our biblical heritage should guide Europe's thinking, so that when one nation becomes poor that nation should be lent money by the other nations of Europe without interest. There would, of course, be an obligation to repay the amount loaned. The biblical principle is stated in Psalm 37:21 "The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously".

The bailout that was reached last month was the worst possible solution for the people of Greece and only makes them poorer. Already they have 60% unemployment among their young people. This deal, with its increased austerity, will make things worse, driving people into hopelessness and despair. It is a cruel exercise of power of which Germany and France are the chief perpetrators.

Historically both these nations have a record of trying to dominate Europe and rule their neighbours.

• Napoleon was defeated 200 years ago at the 1815 Battle of Waterloo
• Bismarck tried and failed to conquer Europe by force of arms in 1870
• The Kaiser tried the same tactic in 1914 with the resultant deaths of millions of men
• Hitler tried to enslave the rest of Europe in 1939 with disastrous results

Have the Germans and the French really learned that power should be used to promote the common good; not to oppress others, especially their brothers and sisters in the Christian faith? However, we live in post-Christian Europe where biblical values have been abandoned and even the Church relies on interest on its investments!

Different Theological Interpretations

Ironically, although usury (money-lending at interest) was forbidden among the Jewish community, the Bible does not forbid lending to those outside that community. The teaching of Jesus was "And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked" (Luke 6:34-35).

The Catholic Church interpreted this to mean that those who lend should not expect anything in return – not even the original loan. This discouraged any lending. Consequently, the Jews became the money lenders for the Christian community across Europe in the Middle Ages. The Protestant Church similarly forbade usury, but Calvin argued that lending at low interest should be allowed and that the prohibition should be against 'extortionate' interest.

Protestant Work Ethic

His influence extended to German sociologist Max Weber – one of the fathers of Sociology - who noted the distinction between the culture of northern European and southern European nations. In his analysis he noted that the most powerful influence was religion – the differences between Protestantism on the one hand and Roman Catholicism and Greek Orthodoxy on the other. He noted that Catholic and Orthodox beliefs were largely controlled by priests who had great influence over the people.

By contrast, the Protestant nations followed the teaching of the Apostle Paul that each individual believer should work out their own salvation by seeking a personal relationship with God, to whom they are primarily responsible for the stewardship of the spiritual gifts and physical resources they have been given. Weber believed that it was this fundamental difference in religious belief within Christianity that accounted for the difference in national culture between Europe's northern and southern nations.

German sociologist Max Weber argued that religion has powerfully shaped European culture, creating a divide between the northern Protestant nations on the one hand, and the southern Catholic and Orthodox nations on the other."

He noted that the northern nations were driven by what he called the "Protestant Work Ethic" which promoted industrialisation and the maximisation of resources, and included an aesthetic element which prevented them from simply consuming the profits of their labour. They ploughed the surplus back into their business enterprises which became increasingly profitable; whereas people in the southern nations of Europe were not driven by such ambition and were simply content to live life from day-to-day.

This cultural difference still exists in Europe today, particularly among the older generation. Many Greeks remember the Nazis' brutal treatment during the Second World War and that legacy sours the relationship between Greece and Germanythe two countries. Young people are much more influenced by the secular humanist ideology that is circulating freely across Europe and the Western nations. They do not share the faith of their parents or grandparents so they live with a different world-view which is less nationalistic. They accept a different set of values and are not even aware of the biblical values that laid the foundations of all the nation-states of Europe.

Road to Financial Bondage

The traditional north-south European religious divide, as Weber showed, still underpins the Greek crisis as German efficiency is contrasted with perceived Greek fecklessness.
The Germans look upon the Greeks as inferior and lazy people who should be treated harshly and made to conform to northern European standards. The German press day after day vilifies the Greeks. They are determined to impose their Protestant Work Ethic culture upon the people whom they once physically enslaved.

Angela Merkel and her fellow politicians have certainly learned that military might is not the best way of achieving their objectives, but the principle of oppression and the brutal exercise of power leading to enslavement (in this case financial bondage) is the same.

The traditional north-south divide still underpins the Greek crisis, as German efficiency is contrasted with perceived Greek fecklessness."

Biblical principles governing finance show that to profit from the enslavement of others is the worst of crimes! But this is what the euro nations are doing to Greece – they are virtually enslaving them! What they don't realise is that they are creating a situation that will bring disaster, not just upon Greece, but upon the whole of Europe. Unrighteousness has a day of reckoning! Europe is stoking up a mountain of debt in Greece that will become a volcano which will eventually erupt and pour its lava across Europe because the whole system is built upon unrighteousness, exploitation, and enslavement.

Justice in Right Relationships

God has built into his Creation principles of justice. When they are ignored they bring disaster upon those who defy the truth that it is right relationships which bring prosperity and well-being. Michael Schluter in his book After Capitalism – Rethinking Economic Relationships says that the current financial crisis is a result of a sustained culture of debt which is based upon 'reward without responsibilities', 'investment without involvement' and 'profit without participation'.¹

In all our dealings, whether of a financial or social nature, the most important thing is our relationship with others. Ezekiel, the Prophet of the exile in Babylon, taught the people about the importance of right relationships with God and with each other. Ezekiel 18:16-18 says that the righteous man: "does not oppress anyone or require a pledge for a loan. He does not commit robbery but gives his food to the hungry and provides clothing for the naked. He withholds his hand from mistreating the poor and takes no interest or profit from them. He keeps God's laws and follows his decrees."

These are the biblical principles which establish righteous financial policies based upon just and merciful relationships which the nations of Europe should be following. This would ensure justice for the poor in times of hardship and shared prosperity. These biblical principles are already there in the Christian heritage of Europe which has been largely abandoned in the age of secularism that has swept the Continent. The only real hope for the future prosperity of Europe is to reassert the principles of righteousness in our biblical heritage.

References

1 Jubilee Centre, Cambridge, 2012, p24.

"The axe is already at the root of the trees" (Matt 3:10): Clifford Hill asks if these words of John the Baptist have relevance for us today.

I have always thought that in this verse John the Baptist is speaking about judgement falling upon Israel. That is what all my commentaries say. The axe is about to cut down the tree. But John does not say this. He says that the axe is at the ROOT of the trees, not the trunk!

This changes the meaning of the metaphor: the root of the trees was being cut off so that the "nourishing sap" (to use Paul's words in Romans 11:17) from the root could not feed the tree to produce good fruit. Therefore, it would have to be cut down.

Israel's long-awaited Messiah was about to appear and John's mission was to prepare the way for him. Meanwhile, the spiritual life of the nation was being corrupted by the Scribes and Pharisees whose teachings and interpretations of the Law made life difficult for ordinary people. The Israelites were being cut off from their spiritual heritage in the teaching of Moses and the prophets, so they were unable to read the signs of the times. Jesus wept over Jerusalem: "If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace – but now it is hidden from your eyes" (Luke 19:42).

Our Spiritual Heritage

In Britain, America and Europe since the Second World War, we have been cutting off our Judaeo-Christian roots. The 'nourishing sap' of the word of God that has blessed our nation for centuries is being cut off at the very time when we most need the guidance and the blessing of God.

Just as Jesus came to Israel at a time when they were cut off from their own spiritual heritage, so now Britain and other 'Christian' nations are cutting themselves off from their own Judeao-Christian roots."

The nations are being shaken with greater speed and severity each day but because the leaders of the Western nations do not know the word of God, they are unable to perceive the significance of what is happening. They do not know what to do: so inevitably they are making all the wrong decisions.

The Greek TragedyProtestors clashed with police outside the Greek Parliament on Wednesday.

In Brussels the Eurozone nations are struggling to save the euro. They may have succeeded in a patched-up deal to stop the Greek crisis bringing down the whole structure of European finance – but they are simply 'kicking the can down the road', delaying the day of judgement. They continue to build up a mountain of debt that will eventually become a volcano that will burst and spill out, engulfing not only Athens but the whole of Europe.

Battle in the Middle East

In the Middle East the power struggle for control of the Muslim world is increasingly centring upon the two behind-the-scenes main players in Iran and Saudi Arabia. With America's President Obama having another year to run, there is huge danger in his desire to be friendly to Iran, despite the recent treaty.

Everyone knows that the Iranian nuclear programme is not just to produce nuclear power for peaceful purposes, because they are sitting on the world's fourth greatest reserves of oil. They don't need nuclear power! What they do want is a nuclear bomb! Then they can control the Middle East and prepare to attack Israel. But if they succeed in their nuclear ambitions, the Saudis will have to do the same. They will immediately purchase a nuclear bomb and the race for survival will be on! Who will blink first?

Global Insecurities

With the rising tide of terrorism from militant Islam, the threat to world peace grows daily. So too does the danger of worldwide financial collapse. In Beijing the Communist rulers are struggling to control their stock market casino as the gambling fever that grips the nation has paved the way for a gigantic double-dealing con-trick that has swindled millions of small investors out of their savings. Clearly there is no way that a massive $3.5 trillion could have gone through a life-and-death cycle in a mere 80 trading days of normal commercial activity! Yet, the all-powerful commissars of China are powerless to protect their own people from financial disaster.

For those who have eyes to see and ears to hear, there have been warning signs of these global problems for a long time. Many Christians believe that a critical point in world history will occur around the time of the Feast of Tabernacles this year which coincides with the Lunar Eclipse, the 'Super Blood Moon' on 28 September, 2015.

Whether or not this is the case, we are certainly living in volatile times. What can be done? The most effective thing Christians can do is pray – but we need to know how to pray and what to pray for. This is where knowledge of the Bible and an understanding of the nature and purposes of God are essential.

The most effective thing Christians can do is pray- but we need an understanding of how to pray and what to pray for."

When we can understand what God is doing, we know how to pray. We should be praying for our nation; for repentance for all we have done that is contrary to the word of God and the way we have cut off our spiritual roots. God is slow to anger and abundant in mercy. It is time to call upon him for help. Never was there greater need than today.

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

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

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

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

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

Underlying Crisis

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

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

The People Revolt

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

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

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

Unjust System

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

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

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

Right Prayer

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

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

Clifford Hill looks at the migrant crisis.

We are witnessing today one of the greatest movements of human population in the history of the world. This is the conclusion of population experts as millions of refugees are on the move throughout the world and many of them are heading for Europe. Amnesty International says "We are witnessing the worst refugee crisis of our era, with millions of women, men and children struggling to survive amidst brutal wars, networks of people-traffickers, and governments who pursue selfish political interests instead of showing basic human compassion".¹

More than 100,000 migrants – asylum seekers and economic refugees – have descended upon Europe since the beginning of this year, coming from diverse nations in Africa (e.g. Eritrea, Somalia, Nigeria) and the Middle East (Syria, Afghanistan). This is causing a political crisis among European leaders and a social crisis on the ground.

Experts are concluding that today the world is witnessing one of the greatest movements of human population ever known."

Greece and Italy have borne the greatest burden as boatloads of migrants flow across the seas from Turkey and Libya – a journey fraught with danger as people-traffickers overfill unseaworthy fragile boats and set them adrift in the Mediterranean and the notoriously dangerous waters between Turkey and Greece.

Pressure on ports

Malta, Sicily and the southern ports of Italy are struggling to cope with the human influx. The Italians also are complaining that the rest of Europe is not doing enough to help. They are threatening to block HMS Bulwark from docking in their ports to drop off migrants. But a Downing Street spokesman said "Our ships are there to save lives, not to offer people asylum in the UK".²

Britain is taking the same attitude to the mounting crisis across the Channel in Calais where some 3,000 migrants are desperately attempting to board trucks heading for Channel ferries to Dover. They have already travelled thousands of miles to reach Calais and there is increasing desperation among them. A similar situation is in northern Italy where African migrants are camping out at the French border-crossing near Ventimiglia but are being denied access.

More trouble for Greece

The situation is even worse in Greece where tens of thousands of migrants fleeing the conflict in the Middle East have been landing in the popular island resorts of Kos, Lesbos, Tilos and Symi, adding to the economic woes of Greece, whose government is barely able to feed their own unemployed victims of the banking crisis.

The Greek Interior Minister Tasia Christodoulopoulou, warned "The reception systems there, already understaffed and underfunded, have collapsed. It is no surprise that thousands of destitute migrants are milling around in the streets and squares, searching for food and shelter. We simply don't have the money or resources to provide for all of them. It's tragic, I tell you, tragic! And it's going to get worse, really worse, and Europe isn't batting an eyelid. It's watching this unfold with criminal indifference".³

Colonial past

Why is all this happening today? Could it be that Europe is now reaping the harvest of its past history of oppression? For some 400 years British traders, backed by the Army, carried out a policy of colonisation right across the globe until the British Empire controlled one quarter of the world.

Most of the other European nations did the same, carving up Africa, Asia and the Americas into colonies which provided untold wealth to Europe. In doing so, they ignored tribal territories in creating new nations right across the Middle East and Africa, which today are boiling cauldrons of violence and mass murder from which millions of asylum seekers are fleeing.

Europeans carved up much of the world into colonies and then left them with unstable political systems, crippled economies and huge under-development, from which millions are now fleeing."

Europeans were happy to take the raw materials and cheap labour from their colonies and give them bank loans to enable them to purchase our manufactured goods while withholding technical and industrial patents and failing to help them develop the means of production to compete in global markets.

As a result, in almost all the colonies (except where there was a white majority) we left behind unstable political systems, crippled economies and huge under-development, creating conditions of poverty, unemployment and fragility from which millions are fleeing today.

Scales of justice reversed

The result is a human tidal wave which is now threatening to overwhelm the ageing population of Europe, complicate the continent's fragile economic and political state and irrevocably change its culture. This is not to overemphasise Europe's woes at the expense of the migrants, who are undoubtedly suffering most. It is to draw attention to our largely forgotten colonial history, which may be coming back to haunt us now in ways that will actually transform the fabric of the entire continent.

Could what is happening in Europe be related to what the biblical prophets see as a principle of justice that is built into Creation? The Prophet Jeremiah foresaw judgement falling upon the Babylonian Empire after 70 years and Isaiah said, "The Lord Almighty has a day in store for all the proud and lofty, for all that is exalted and they will be humbled." (Isa 2:12) He went on to declare that when this happens - "The Lord Almighty will be exalted by his justice, and the Holy God will show himself holy by his righteousness." (Isa 5:16)

God's basic principles of justice are built into creation- if we deliberately go against them, there will come a time when the scales are reversed."

The evidence of the Bible shows that God has built into his Act of Creation three basic principles: equality, justice and love. All men and women are created equal in the sight of God and therefore no one has the right to oppress others. Justice and love are part of the revealed nature of God.

When we deliberately go against these basic principles, we actually bring upon ourselves a time when the scales of justice are reversed. When this happens, it is a triumph of the justice of Almighty God, the Creator of the Universe. Could this be what is happening in Europe today? At least in part, is the migration crisis a legacy of colonialism that we ourselves sowed?

References

1 The Times 16.06.15

2 Ibid.

3 The Times 12.06.15