Journalist hits out at ‘irresponsible madness’ of Al-Quds march.

A shocking case of double standards has come to light in London. A pro-Israel rally set for next Thursday, 22 June, has been postponed indefinitely for ‘security reasons’ while a pro-Palestinian march is scheduled to go ahead on Sunday 18 June.

A Night to Honour Israel was to have been held in Westminster, central London, and would have been Britain’s largest pro-Israel event – though the venue had been kept under wraps for obvious reasons, especially as similar meetings have been disrupted by violent demonstrators in recent times.

Speakers were to have included American pastor John Hagee, journalist Melanie Phillips and former British Army leader Col Richard Kemp. It had been advertised as an “opportunity to unite with Christians and Jews in showing your support for Israel during this significant Balfour Centenary year, an important time in the history of our two nations”.

Al-Quds Day March Going Ahead

The organisers, Christians United for Israel (CUFI), said it was postponed for the protection of the 1,000 people who had already bought tickets, with a statement explaining: “Islamist extremists have called for specific targeting of Christians and Jews during Ramadan, when our event was due to take place.”¹

A shocking case of double standards has come to light in London.

And yet the Al-Quds Day march through the capital has been allowed to go ahead. Ostensibly in support of Palestinians, demonstrators at this event last year waved Hezbollah and Hamas flags. Al-Quds Day is always held on the date chosen by the late Ayatollah Khomeini calling for Israel to be destroyed. Naturally, London’s Jewish community is alarmed and the capital’s Muslim Mayor, Sadiq Khan, is being called to account.²

Daily Mail columnist Richard Littlejohn writes: “It’s irresponsible madness to hold such a polarising, provocative march in the wake of a bloody attack by Islamist terrorists. But the authorities can always be relied upon to prostrate themselves before militant Islam. Pity they’re not so obliging when it comes to others, especially supporters of the Jewish state.”³

Who Are the Targets?

There is, I perceive, some perverse logic to the reasoning behind this, in that while Christians and Jews are particularly vulnerable to attack from Muslim fundamentalists, supporters of the Palestinian cause are not at risk because Christians are called to ‘love their enemies’ (Matt 5:44). As Littlejohn says, “no-one is calling for the specific targeting of Muslims or Palestinians, are they? Only Jews and Christians.”

But whatever happened to the ‘diversity and equality’ we hear so much about these days? Should not both events have at least been treated in the same way? A huge amount of police resources will no doubt be garnered for the Al-Quds march. Couldn’t such resources also have been afforded to protect the freedom of those who support Israel?

When things go wrong, and we are attacked by murderous followers of the Qur’an, left-wing luvvies blame the Tories for cuts in the police budget.

Al-Quds Day is always held on the date chosen by the late Ayatollah Khomeini calling for Israel to be destroyed.

But the reality is that the economy is overstretched by the social disintegration of a society bedevilled and over-burdened by the break-up of family life. Our police do a great job, but extra officers only succeed in putting a plaster over a gaping wound. We need to tackle the cause of our ills, not just the symptoms.

Just the other day I watched a documentary partly focused on how the police were forced to deal with an anarchist rally in London. Huge resources were committed to this ugly event, allowing those who want to destroy our society to ‘have their say’. But Christians and Jews who love the nation of Israel are prevented from doing so.

References

1 See here.

2 See CUFI's response, here.

3 The Daily Mail, 9 June 2017. 

British politicians seek ‘way of peace’, but are back in appeasing mode.

British politicians are once again demonstrating the moral confusion that has seen them pass so many laws contradicting the biblical precepts upon which our civilisation was based. The latest example is the suggestion from an influential House of Lords committee that the UK Government recognise a new state of Palestine.

In a report titled The Middle East: Time for New Realism, published on Israel’s Independence Day,¹ the upper house’s International Relations Committee (chaired by former Conservative cabinet minister David Howell) called for the government to “give serious consideration to now recognising Palestine as a state, as the best way to show its determined attachment to the two-state solution”.

And the relevant paragraph was prefixed by the extraordinary statement that “the balance of power in the delivery of peace lies with Israel”.²

Yet the Palestinians have repeatedly made clear their commitment – not to the two-state solution so precious to Western leaders, but to a single-state solution with Israel driven out of the region altogether. PA president Mahmoud Abbas and his rivals in Gaza, Hamas, want all of it; that is why they refuse to recognise the Jewish state!³

The Palestinians have repeatedly made clear their commitment – not to the two-state solution, but to a single-state solution with Israel driven out of the region.

Surely – judging from their oft-repeated comments over the years – it is obvious to anyone with a semblance of elementary education (Lord Howell went to Eton) that these men do not want peace, but rather a jihad (holy war) against the ‘infidel’ seed of Abraham!

The ancient ruins of a synagogue at Capernaum undermine the Palestinian narrative about land.Promises of Peace

The report does not specify where the borders of this new state should be drawn, or even who should run it – Fatah, in charge of the West Bank (Judea and Samaria) in the guise of the Palestinian Authority, or Hamas, who run a chaotic Gaza; factions which are constantly at loggerheads with each other. What kind of stable society will that produce?

The report also suggests that Britain work with Iran, despite current US policy, “to ensure the stability of the Iran nuclear deal”, adding: “That would be a way of peace in a region needing stability.”

Oh really! Such potential treachery has echoes of 1938, when Neville Chamberlain returned from Germany promising “peace in our time”. Have we learnt nothing in the past 80 years; that appeasement with dictators doesn’t work, for instance? In the case of the Munich meeting, it only further encouraged Hitler in his madness and hastened the death of some 50 million people!

Palestinian Pressure

Meanwhile the British Government has rightly refused persistent requests by the Palestinians to apologise for the Balfour Declaration which, 100 years ago this November, promised to do all in its power to enable Jews to re-settle their ancient homeland.

Such requests suggest that the Jews should never have been allowed to return to the region, which is in fact exactly what the Palestinians think. But instead of giving the Palestinians short shrift while fully backing Jewish aspirations, we keep kowtowing to international demands for endless peace talks which only ever seem to produce more conflict.

The British Government has rightly refused persistent requests by the Palestinians to apologise for the Balfour Declaration.

Israel withdrew from Gaza under international pressure, for example, in one of these so-called ‘land for peace’ deals. And what was the result? A continuous volley of rocket fire into Israeli territory.

Britain’s Historic Failures

We certainly have no need to apologise for the Balfour Declaration. But we do need to apologise for repeatedly going back on our word in subsequent years, as we betrayed the Jews again and again – firstly, by giving the bulk of the land we originally promised them to the Arabs (now Jordan) and then by persecuting them in various ways during Britain’s Mandate of the territory then known as Palestine, particularly by restricting Jewish immigration (to appease the Arabs) at a time when they could have done with a bolthole from Nazi threats.

Then, shamefully, we abstained in the 1947 UN vote to recognise the new state. And it was around this time (70 years ago this summer) that, quite disgracefully, we turned away Holocaust survivors from the port of Haifa, sending some of them back to Displaced Persons’ Camps in Germany, of all places.

For such treatment we should hang our heads in sorrow and shame. Among the dozens of refugee ships turned back in this way by the Royal Navy was the Exodus, with over 4,500 on board, mostly Holocaust survivors. Boarding the ship in international waters, the British killed three and wounded many more.

We have no need to apologise for the Balfour Declaration - but we do need to apologise for repeatedly going back on our word in subsequent years.

Leading the Way of Repentance

I’m glad to report that, two years ago, such sorrow and shame was expressed on our behalf by a group of some 100 British people, including Col Richard Kemp and Rev Alex Jacob.⁴ They travelled out to Israel for an event at Haifa and Atlit (location of one of the camps) where they asked forgiveness for our action from a similar sized group of Israelis, many of whom had suffered under the Mandate.

We do need to apologise – but not for the Balfour Declaration which, to quote journalist Melanie Phillips, was “the high-water mark of British decency towards the Jewish people. But it’s been downhill all the way…ever since”.⁵

Notes

1 Also on Independence Day, UNESCO (the UN’s Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) voted – by 23 votes to 22 – to adopt a resolution denying Israeli claims to Jerusalem. Britain voted against it.

2 Recognise Palestine State says Lords. Christian Voice, 2 May 2017.

3 Hamas has unambiguously stated that “there is no solution for the Palestinian question except through jihad”. And senior PA official Jibril Rajoub has emphasised that “all of Palestine, from the river (Jordan) to the sea (Mediterranean), it’s all occupied,” clearly implying that he does not accept Israel’s right to exist under any borders. Taken from Peace in Jerusalem by Charles Gardner, olivepresspublisher.com, pp143-149.

Reports that Hamas intends to remove the call for Israel’s destruction from a new policy document have sceptics suggesting it is merely a ploy to improve relations with Egypt and the Gulf states.

4 Richard Kemp is a retired British Army officer, best-selling author and fervent supporter of Israel. Alex Jacob is CEO of the Church’s Ministry among the Jewish people (CMJ).

5 Phillips, M. As I see it: The British Foreign Office remains true to type. Jerusalem Post, 27 April 2017.

South African-born journalist, Charles Gardner, brings a second report on the signs of revival currently in South Africa.

The South African revival to which I referred in an earlier dispatch is now in full bloom, as evidenced by an extraordinary prayer meeting attended by an estimated one million people.

The ‘Call to Prayer’ – named It’s Time – came from farmer-evangelist Angus Buchan in response to allegations of corruption in Government, an intolerable crime rate, violent student protests, and immorality at many levels.

Call to Prayer

Affectionately known Oom Angus¹, the preacher has made a huge impact on the nation since experiencing a dramatic encounter with Christ in 1979. In recent years, he has focused his attention on men, imploring them to live up to their responsibilities by leading their families in prayer and dedication to God.

For seven years he held annual weekend camps at his KwaZulu-Natal farm Shalom, initially hosting just family and a few friends, but eventually drawing some 400,000 men. Similar events, known as ‘Mighty Men Conferences’, have since spread to other parts of the country as well as to the UK.

But with the country now embroiled in chaos led by a Government apparently steeped in corruption, Angus believed it was time to call Christians to serious prayer – and the venue chosen was 2,500 acres of farmland near the central city of Bloemfontein.

With the country now embroiled in chaos led by a Government apparently steeped in corruption, believers are gathering in prayer.

Believers responded by travelling from all parts of the country to set up camp, pray over many issues such as abortion, crime, injustice, and poverty, and draw inspiration from the beloved evangelist with his uncompromising message focused on living according to the Bible’s precepts.

“You will sleep with no-one until you are married!” he urged young men, adding (echoing a phrase used by Britain’s legendary Pentecostal evangelist Smith Wigglesworth): “God said it; we believe it and that settles it.”

Healing for Israel

An Israeli flag could be clearly seen fluttering in the breeze as a video camera panned across a sea of people stretching some 1.4 kilometers from the main platform, and strong gusts of wind accompanied prayers in scenes akin to the initial Holy Spirit outpouring recorded in the New Testament, (Acts 2:2).

I mention the Israeli flag to further support the thesis of my previous article on the subject: blessing the Jewish people is a key to revival, something the UK church has yet to grasp!

In addition to YouTube videos, I have friends taking part who have kept me informed of progress, and it is difficult not to see this as further fulfilment of Joel’s prophecy “In the last days I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh” (Joel 2:28). Such a time could quite conceivably coincide with the restoration of Israel along with the judgment of those nations opposing them (Joel 3:1f).

Blessing the Jewish people is a key to revival.

It’s Time is evidently inspired by the biblical promise of healing for Israel when God’s people humble themselves and pray.

When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain (South Africa has been suffering a severe drought), or command locusts to devour the land, or send a plague among my people, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. (2 Chron 7:13-14)

I do not have an exact count of the attendance at this event, but my sources tell me that as many as 1.7 million people had registered beforehand. That is equivalent to the population of Tel Aviv, Israel’s largest city, and greater than Birmingham, Britain’s second city.Mighty turnout: Men gather in great numbers for the Karoo Mighty Men's Conference in the heart of South Africa's farming community.

Clearly, prayer leads to revival, along with blessing Israel as I have already emphasized. There is a distinct correlation between this move of the Spirit and a general understanding and support of Israel, to whom Christians are indelibly attached. If we cut ourselves off from our Judaic roots, the Church cannot truly exist (Rom 11:17f).

Churches in South Africa Today

Churches in all parts of South Africa – black and white as well as English and Afrikaans-speaking – are bursting with new life as they provide a counter-culture to secularists and humanists. They are especially a thorn in the flesh to the Government which is reportedly rife with corruption and virulently opposed to Israel - even to the extent of virtually cutting off diplomatic ties with the Jewish state. This is in spite of the fact that it was Jews who led the resistance to apartheid in the days of the whites-only Parliament.

Angus, who has led a similar gathering in Israel, has proved a huge inspiration as he urges men to run their homes, love their wives and exercise Godly discipline with their children, which leads to inevitable clashes with political correctness!

Moreover, the default position of many of South Africa’s churches today is an understanding of God’s everlasting love for Israel and of the church’s enormous debt to them – for the Bible, for their Saviour and much more. A friend of mine put it this way: “If you don’t believe in God’s plan for Israel, you’re a biblical atheist.”

The point is that these South African Christians have woken up, having come to love God’s chosen people. UK churches are in desperate need of gaining similar biblical truth.

For revival, you have to be in the right place with God so that, as far as is possible, his thoughts become our thoughts (see Isaiah 55). We don’t worship Israel, as they are human and sinful like us, but we do worship the God of Israel who has blessed us with his precious Word and with his Son, the Jewish Messiah, who is “the way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6).

Fear vs Faith

I have re-visited my home country a number of times in recent years to see family and friends, and I became aware that it is no longer divided along apartheid lines, but between those who live in fear – the secularists who erect huge steel barriers to protect their property from burglars – and those who live by faith and in freedom, who love their neighbours and believe in the country’s future under God.

For revival, you have to be in the right place with God.

I appreciate that Jesus warned of deception in the last days, but I feel that sometimes we are in danger of straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel on this point. Author/preacher RT Kendall, writing of how Israel as a whole failed to recognize their Messiah, says: “We are all so sure that we would recognize the authentic Christ. You could not have told a Sadducee or a Pharisee that the Messiah would come to Israel without them knowing and acknowledging him. But he came and they rejected him.”²

There are many signs that this revival is authentic. And if we wish the same for our nation, we need to humble ourselves and pray, repenting of our wicked ways, especially over our treatment of God’s chosen people.

References

¹ Oom is Afrikaans for 'Uncle'.

² Why Jesus Died (Monarch Books), p40.

Paul Luckraft interviews author Rosemary Bamber, whose book ‘In Time with God’ was reviewed on Prophecy Today last year.

It is always fascinating to discover how a book came into being, especially one which God has been blessing. Clearly such books don’t just ‘drop out of heaven’, so how did In Time with God come to be written?

Early Preparations

Rosemary Bamber came from an Anglican home and heritage but it was at an Easter Camp in her early teens that she was born again and baptised in the Spirit. Even as a child her hobby was writing stories and poems, so from an early stage God was preparing her for what he wanted later.

She studied Theology at college without being totally clear what the purpose would be, though writing did feature as a distinct possibility. After a series of short-term jobs, she settled into a permanent post as an English teacher in Adult Education, but never really felt this was satisfying enough to define her life’s work. She decided to seek God’s will further and in 2000 went on retreat to Ashburnham, which was to be a very significant turning point.

A Revelation and a Journey

During a prayer time there, God spoke to her: “You will write books with Hebrew words in.” This was so startling and unexpected - it had to be from God! Hebrew? A totally foreign language to her!

Further revelation came a short while later when a friend of a friend happened to mention evening classes in Hebrew, without knowing anything of Rosemary’s situation. Here was a sure confirmation, and when Rosemary found she could reduce her hours in Adult Education to pursue this, she immediately realised it was time to enrol.

Even at an early stage, God was preparing Rosemary for what he wanted later.

However, learning Hebrew was to prove a struggle. It is not an easy language and at times it was very difficult for Rosemary. But she didn’t give up as God had spoken, and he had further plans along these lines. In 2003 the opportunity arose to volunteer in Israel with CMJ (the Church’s Ministry amongst Jewish people), so Rosemary took a sabbatical and went to live in Israel for the first time.

Having become interested in the Jewish Feasts by this time, Rosemary now had the opportunity to learn more. She served in Jerusalem initially as a CMJ volunteer (2003-4), then at the Garden Tomb (2004-2011). Not only was she able to continue her study of Hebrew in the Land where it is spoken, she could also immerse herself in what the Feasts and Shabbat really mean to those for whom it is a regular part of life.

From Concept to Publication

In 2005, during this period of serving and learning in Israel, she came home for Christmas, and on Boxing Day went for a walk with members of the family. It was on this walk that the Lord intervened again. Rosemary felt a clear sense from God that she was to write the book that was to become In Time with God. She received in her spirit what the format of the book would be like, how to write it and what to study.

On returning to Jerusalem she now had a clear idea of the path she was to take, and found that opportunities to learn and study came her way most easily. Material for the book was readily available and she also kept meeting just the right people to encourage her with this project. The book was now in progress!

Rosemary received in her spirit the idea for the book, how to write it and what to study.

In 2006 she returned to the UK to write the first draft, followed by a second in 2008 and two more in 2010. By 2011 it was ready for others to see and offer their opinions. The main advice was that this kind of book would not find a ready publisher, so she decided to publish, market and sell it herself.

Miraculously, enough financial support came in at exactly the right moment to publish and print the first 500 books. Then CFI and Sozo Ministries put In Time with God on their online bookstores, which was a great help. And so, In Time with God Publications was born.

Waiting on the Lord for Fresh Ideas

At each stage, Rosemary needed to rely on and trust the Lord for help and wisdom. Now she reminds herself that when God spoke to her initially, he had said ‘books’ with Hebrew words in - not just one book! Writing In Time with God has opened up a new career for Rosemary and now she feels more fulfilled as a writer, serving God to the best of her abilities.

Other booklets have followed, as well as an allegory on the Feasts called The White Sheep, which was originally written with children in mind - but adults can benefit too!

More projects will undoubtedly follow as Rosemary continues to wait on God for fresh ideas and the means to bring them to birth. Overall her story is an encouragement to those who, at whatever stage in life, feel restless in what they have been doing so far and long for fresh paths to explore. Take time to be “in time with God” - who knows what may result!

For more information on In Time with God, visit Rosemary’s website www.intimewithgod.com. Read our review here.

We have abandoned our national plumb line.

Who used chemical weapons in Syria? Who was responsible for the latest atrocity that killed civilians and children? Who can we believe – Russia? Assad? Iran? Turkey? Where can we obtain independent and reliable news reports? These are just some of the questions that people throughout the Western world are asking.

The USA has answered decisively that Assad is to blame so they have destroyed (allegedly?) the airfield from which the attack was (allegedly?) launched.

The pictures we have seen on TV news reports and in our newspapers, show horrific scenes of children suffering breathing problems from chemical weapons and wounds from bombing, but will we ever know who was responsible for these atrocities? Will we ever know the truth?

No Yardstick for Truth

If we have to judge between ISIS and Assad as to who is telling the truth, we really do have a problem. They are both Muslims and the Islamic religion sanctions the telling of lies if doing so promotes their religion. This makes it extremely difficult in any social relationships in mixed communities. You can never be quite sure which standard of truth is being applied.

Of course, we know that truth has been under attack for centuries – evidenced by Pilate’s famous cynical question at the fake trial of Jesus, “what is truth?” But something extraordinary seems to be happening in our lifetime, and in our nation: it is the deliberate distortion of truth. We hear so many reports of ‘fake news’, or ‘alternative facts’ and it is increasingly difficult to separate out fact from fiction, especially amidst a bombardment of tweets, news flashes, adverts and coded messages.

Something extraordinary seems to be happening in our lifetime, and in our nation: the deliberate distortion of truth.

Communication of the truth becomes increasingly complex, even in ordinary everyday things of life. When we listen to news reports on the radio we can never be sure of the veracity of what is being reported. The basic problem is the lack of agreed standards of truth. Without a yardstick, we cannot measure anything. There was even a report last week saying that the marathon that has been run in different places has been inaccurately measured, thus calling into question the times achieved by different athletes.

Amos Faced the Same Battle

The Prophet Amos faced the same battle for truth in the nation of Israel. People were all making up their own standards and the teaching given by Moses was being ignored. Everyone did as they pleased. The poor came off worst. They were cheated in the market by merchants who used dishonest scales or who brushed a lot of chaff and dust into the bag when they were selling corn to the housewife (Amos 8:5-6).

If a poor housewife went to court trying to get justice against a rich merchant, it would be the rich man who won because the judge was corrupt and accepted a bribe before he gave his decision, so the poor were deprived of justice in the courts (Amos 5:12).

Amos was outraged by this and many other things he saw in the nation such as selling the poor into slavery, a father and a son abusing a girl and drunken behaviour (Amos 2:6-8). He took this to God in prayer and got some very straight answers about judgment coming upon the nation.

Checking the City Walls

Amos was not only a righteous man but he was also compassionate and he pleaded with God to have mercy on the people. He had several revelations of what God was going to do and each time he pleaded that this would not happen. Eventually God showed him a picture of a man standing by a wall with a plumb line in his hand and God asked him “What do you see Amos?” “A plumb line,” he replied. Then the Lord said “Look, I am setting a plumb line among my people Israel; I will spare them no longer” (Amos 7:8).

Amos knew that there was no further point in arguing. He had seen the city engineer regularly checking the city walls with a plumb line. They were looking for the wall becoming out of line – out of exact perpendicular. In particular, the engineer had to look for bulges.

Our problem is our lack of agreed standards of truth. Without a yardstick, we cannot measure anything.

The city walls were built with an outer and an inner wall of stone with a gap between. The gap was usually filled with rubble which often also contained household rubbish. It was this rubbish that presented a danger because it could sometimes generate heat which could put pressure upon the outer and inner walls causing them to bulge. The bulge meant that the wall could crack and suddenly fall, leaving the city open to the invasion of enemies.

The engineer had to check for the bulges which indicated that there was corruption inside the wall. When Amos saw this, he got the message that God was communicating to him.

There would come a point when the corruption in the nation would become so strong that family life and harmonious community relationships would all be affected by the lies and injustice of corrupt officials and lawless individuals. If the nation went on ignoring the warning signs of corruption and the cracks in the justice system, in family life and in community relations – the outcome would be disastrous. It would happen without further warning, in an instant when nobody was expecting it.

Message to Britain

The Prophet Isaiah had a similar message:

Because you have rejected this message, relied on oppression and depended on deceit, this sin will become for you like a high wall, cracked and bulging, that collapses suddenly in an instant. It will break in pieces like pottery, shattered so mercilessly that among its pieces not a fragment will be found for taking coals from a hearth or scooping water out of the cistern. (Isa 30:12-14) [emphasis added]

This is a message to Britain today. There have been many warning signs over a number of years of corruption among officials in our nation - in the banking industry, among our politicians, in local government and business as well as in family life and community relationships. The savage beating of a young asylum seeker in Croydon has shocked the nation – that there can be such barbaric cruelty and violence among young people in Britain is horrifying.

If our nation goes on ignoring the warning signs of corruption – the outcome will be sudden and disastrous.

But this is simply evidence of corruption in the nation: the breakdown of family life and the abandonment of teaching truth in our schools. When we ceased to teach the Bible in state schools we abandoned the plumb line of truth. Now we are reaping the inevitable rewards of a lawless generation. But it’s no good blaming the young people – we are all to blame!

The only hope for the future is repentance and turning to the word of God for his truth to be enshrined at the heart of the nation. Jesus promised, “When he, the Spirit of Truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13). This should surely be the focal point of prayer among Christians for our leaders, both Church and State!

‘Mighty Men’ revival linked with support for Israel.

Although hundreds of thousands – perhaps millions – have been affected by it, few in the Northern Hemisphere seem to have heard of the South African revival.

I’m not referring to the 1860 awakening led by my ancestor (by adoption) Andrew Murray,¹ but to a current movement that is drawing huge crowds – especially men – to Christ. And it is my belief that there is a distinct correlation between this move of the Spirit and a general understanding and support of Israel, to whom Christians are indelibly attached – if we cut ourselves off from our Judaic roots, the Church cannot truly exist (Rom 11:17f).

Churches in all parts of South Africa – incorporating black and white as well as English and Afrikaans-speaking – are bursting with new life as they prove a counter-cultural provocation to secularists, humanists and others (who are trying it on there too) and especially to a Government rife with corruption and virulently opposed to Israel, even to the extent of virtually cutting off diplomatic ties with the Jewish state. This is in spite of the fact that it was Jews who led the resistance to apartheid in the days of the old whites-only Parliament.

Angus Buchan and Shalom

One man perhaps stands out among the many leaders of this movement for the influence he has had – and that is Angus Buchan, a humble farmer who doubled as an evangelist soon after a dramatic encounter with Christ in 1979.

His campaigns reaped rewards, but then God called him to focus his attention on men – and he has been faithful to this task ever since, drawing both young and old men to weekend camps initially held at Shalom, his KwaZulu-Natal farm, for seven consecutive years.

I believe there is a distinct correlation between the present move of the Spirit in South Africa and a general support of Israel.

It began with just family and a few friends but, six years later, was accommodating a staggering 400,000 men who had gathered from all corners of the land to hear the uncompromising word of God challenging them to take responsibility as heads of their families by serving Christ with all their hearts.

The magnificent Drakensberg mountains, not far from the farm where an Israeli family heard how Jesus is the fulfilment of Yom Kippur.The so-called Mighty Men Conferences have since spread elsewhere, including the UK, as faith in God has swept across the countryside like a prairie fire. Friends of mine from the Karoo area of the Cape, who in the early days travelled 500 miles to join the camps in far-off KwaZulu-Natal, are now involved in helping to host events in their own farming district.

Default Position: Love for Israel

Angus has proved a huge inspiration as he urges men to run their homes, love their wives and discipline their children in the fear of God, leading to inevitable clashes with political correctness. But as the corridors of political power darken, the light of Christ shines brighter.

Author of the best-selling Faith Like Potatoes which has been made into a powerful movie, Angus has also led meetings in Israel, where Pentecostal-type manifestations such as a mighty, rushing wind (see Acts 2:2) have been evident.

Moreover, the default position of many of South Africa’s churches today is an understanding of God’s everlasting love for Israel and of the church’s enormous debt to them – for the Bible, for their Saviour and much more. This is certainly reflected in the publishing realm, led by Joy magazine (also published in Afrikaans as Juig), the biggest circulation Christian periodical outside the United States. The same can be said for the popular South African news portal, Gateway News.

The default position of many of South Africa’s churches today is an understanding of God’s everlasting love for Israel and of the church’s enormous debt to them.

A recent event involving CMJ (the Church’s Ministry among Jewish people), for whom I volunteer, bore this out in no uncertain terms. One of our workers travelled a thousand miles from Cape Town to KwaZulu-Natal to speak at a Christian gathering about the significance of Yom Kippur – the Day of Atonement – and how Jesus is the fulfilment of this Jewish holiday, their holiest day of the year.

A statue of Andrew Murray, a much-revered figure in South African history.About 70 people turned up to hear her at a farm in the shadow of the Drakensberg mountains, where I grew up. It so happened that a secular Israeli family touring South Africa rang to inquire about overnight guest accommodation. The owners, Hendrik and Ina Goosen, warned them that a Christian meeting would be taking place. But they said they didn’t mind, and the family – mum, dad and three children – turned up for the entire talk which was followed by refreshments. They were overwhelmed by the experience, and by the love people had for Israel.

Wonderful Spiritual Legacy

I have re-visited my home country a number of times in recent years to see family and friends, and I became aware that it was no longer divided along apartheid lines, but between those who live in fear – the secularists who erect huge steel barriers to protect their property from burglars – and those who live by faith and in freedom, who love their neighbours and believe in the country’s future under God.

South Africa has a wonderful spiritual legacy. I have already mentioned the legendary devotional writer and revivalist Rev. Andrew Murray who, after learning Dutch in Holland, came out from Scotland to pastor Afrikaners who had fled the British-ruled Cape in search of more favourable pastures. The country was also greatly influenced by the Pentecostal pioneers of the early 20^th Century – particularly John G Lake and David du Plessis – and it was around this time that the young Nelson Mandela was strongly influenced by Methodist missionaries, who also paid for his education.

My thesis of the link between Holy Spirit revival and love for the Jews is backed up by another famous Scot, Robert Murray McCheyne, along with his fellow countryman Andrew Bonar, who together encouraged the evangelisation of the Jews back in the 1830s. Both led missions to Palestine (as it was then known) and Jewish communities in Europe. And when revival broke out in his local parish of Kilsyth, McCheyne took this as a sign of God’s promise to Abraham and his heirs that “I will bless those who bless you” (Gen 12:3). God’s favour was on them because they honoured the Jews, the apple of God’s eye.²

South Africa is no longer divided along apartheid lines, but between those who live in fear and those who live by faith and in freedom.

On the other side of the same coin is the horrendous legacy of the so-called Berlin Declaration of 1909, in which 56 evangelical leaders concluded that the Pentecostal outpourings at Azusa Street in Los Angeles in 1906 and in Sunderland, England, in 1907, were of the devil. Werner Oder, a UK-based pastor and son of a Nazi, believes this amounted to blasphemy of the Holy Spirit and sowed the seeds of the Holocaust.³

It is interesting that, despite early success in Europe, the Pentecostal movement made comparatively little impact on this part of the world whereas it has been a very different story in Asia, Africa and South America.

I appreciate that Jesus warned of deception in the last days, but I feel that sometimes we are in danger of straining at a gnat but swallowing a camel on this point. My favourite author/preacher RT Kendall, writing of how Israel as a whole failed to recognise their Messiah when he came, says: “We are all so sure that we would recognize the authentic when it arrives. You could not have told a Sadducee or a Pharisee that the Messiah would come to Israel without them knowing and acknowledging him. But he came and they rejected him.”⁴

Requirements for Revival

Some years ago I received a dramatic vision of revival in Doncaster, my home town, during a celebration service involving a number of churches, and immediately shared it with those present. It was of a beautiful new square complete with fountains, trees and smart buildings, and I told them that, although I believed God was saying this would indeed become a material reality in the town, it was also a picture of revival to come.

Two weeks later the local paper published an artist’s impression precisely reflecting that vision – and this lovely square, complete with 16 fountains, now adorns the Waterdale area of the town centre and is flanked by the new municipal offices and a modern theatre called Cast, where the town’s pastors recently met for the first time for mutual encouragement. A similar feature, also with fountains, has now been announced for the area adjacent to Doncaster’s railway station.

I keep telling friends and pastors here that, if they wish to see this vision (of revival) fulfilled, they must start blessing Israel – by praying for them, helping their poor, defending them from unwarranted attack and anti-Semitism and, most of all, by reaching out to them with the very Gospel which has so blessed us (Rom 1:16, 10:14).

If we want to see revival, we must start blessing Israel.

In South Africa, meanwhile, up to a million people are expected to descend on the central city of Bloemfontein (which, incidentally, translates ‘flower fountain’) in a fortnight’s time (22 April) to pray for their nation, following a call from the man they have all come to know as Oom (Uncle) Angus!

Don’t forget that Jesus is returning – not to London, New York, Paris or Cape Town, but to Jerusalem, as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah (Rev 5:5)!

If you really love Jesus, you will love the Jews!

Notes

1 My orphaned great-grandfather, also Charles, was brought up in the Murray parsonage in Graaff-Reinet, 500 miles from Cape Town. Our family is forever indebted to Rev Andrew Murray Snr and his wife Maria, who had 16 children of their own!

2 Peace in Jerusalem by Charles Gardner (olivepresspublisher.com), p164.

3 Ibid, p162-3.

4 Why Jesus Died (Monarch Books), p40.

Are you able to join us in September?

From Sunday 24 September to Sunday 1 October 2017, join Issachar Ministries and members of the Prophecy Today UK team on a study trip to the Holy Land, together with evangelists and ministry leaders Syd and Liz Doyle. Bookings are now open – we would love for you to join the group!

The 8-day tour will take place over the Days of Awe and Yom Kippur and will include evening meetings led by the Doyles and Clifford and Monica Hill. We will be meeting with Messianic communities during our stay and enjoying worship at Christ Church, Jerusalem on the last day.

Destinations include Galilee, Banias (or Caesarea Philippi, the springs of the River Jordan where Jesus taught his disciples), Qumran (where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered) and a variety of locations in Jerusalem including the Western Wall tunnels, the Bible Lands Museum, the Pools of Bethesda, the Garden Tomb and the Garden of Gethsemane.

Price £1,495 per person on a half-board basis, plus a single supplement (£282) and travel insurance.

For a full itinerary and details of how to book, click here.

Arab ACE card trumps anti-Israel campaign.

As genocide is being committed against Christians, Yazidis and even ‘dissident’ Muslims across the Arab world, the international finger of criticism continues to point at Israel.

The latest example is a UN report urging swift action to oppose and end Israeli “apartheid”.¹

Thankfully, my Christian Friends of Israel colleague David Soakell has produced an ‘ace’ card exposing all this nonsense with a timely series of testimonies from Arabs which I have aptly titled Apartheid Claims Exposed (ACE).²

He tells us that Israeli Arabs – both Christian and Muslim – are risking disapproval from their own communities by volunteering for the Israeli Defence Forces in increasing numbers, disproving the lie that Israel is a racist, apartheid state (non-Jews are not obligated to serve in the IDF).

Powerful Testimonies

One Muslim female soldier said: “I wanted to enlist because it is my duty to serve and protect my country.” And she is even allowed weekly visits to her family during the Ramadan fast, so there is no difficulty with her practising her religion in the Jewish state.

Ibrahim Bari, an African Muslim refugee, went public with his testimony, saying: “In the army, I made friends for life [and] would do everything to defend Israel.”

Elinor Joseph, an Arab Christian serving in the IDF, says: “This is my country. When I see the [Israeli] flag waving in the wind I get excited.”

Another Arab-Israeli soldier, Monaliza Abdo, adds: “I came to serve my country and my home.”

And Major Ala Wahib, the highest-ranking Muslim in the IDF, asks: “Is Israel inherently racist – an apartheid state? Well, do you think that such a country would tolerate a person like myself getting to the position I am today? Someone who has not only fought alongside Jewish soldiers, but now trains them too? ...I do not serve in the army to kill people – I serve in it to save people. When Hamas fires rockets, or Fatah encourages stabbings, we are here to protect the lives of all Israeli citizens, Jewish and non-Jewish.”

Israeli Arabs – Christian and Muslim – are risking disapproval from their own communities by volunteering for the IDF in increasing numbers.

Protection and Rights

Adam Ram has also decided to “break the silence” by standing against the slander and constant defamation of Israeli soldiers. A Bedouin serving as a combat soldier in Hebron, a particularly tense area, he says: “The war is against all Israelis, regardless of who you are, because when a terrorist leaves his home with a knife, planning on murdering a soldier or a civilian, he does not care if his victim is a Jew, a Muslim or a Christian…As long as you hold a blue Israeli ID card, you are a fair target.”

Furthermore, Palestinians he has met on the streets see them as their protector, preferring them to the failure that is the Palestinian Authority which, incidentally, contributes just 10% of the cost of medical care for Palestinians treated in Israel – the rest is paid by the Israeli taxpayer.³

“As opposed to Daesh and other Islamic regimes, Israel is democratic and extends rights even to those who are not citizens of the state,” Adam adds.

Contrast this with the blatant discrimination against non-Muslims in much of the surrounding Arab world, where even Muslim women do not share the rights of their menfolk.

Meanwhile a group of North African journalists from Muslim Arab countries, visiting the Jewish state as guests of the Foreign Ministry, have described their first impressions of Israel as “appearing Western and free” and as “an opportunity to see the real Israel without the media acting as a middle man”.⁴

Disproportionate Criticism

Even if all this criticism of Israel was justified, it is out of all proportion to the reality that exists in the region. The tiny Jewish state has had to suffer wars and rumours of wars on a constant basis since she emerged once more onto the world stage as a new nation in 1948.

The world, particularly in the shape of the United Nations, is largely silent as terror stalks the streets of Jerusalem but at the same time condemns the Jews for allegedly stealing land not their own.

Even if all this criticism of Israel was justified, it is out of all proportion to the reality that exists in the region.

The sabre-rattling of Israel’s enemies involves guns, knives, rockets, missiles and even the threat of nuclear weapons. But more than anything it is a battle for truth in the midst of ferocious spiritual warfare which demands the engagement (in prayer and other ways) of all who love the truth, perfectly revealed in our Messiah Yeshua. And we must stand up for Israel against such shocking bias that is so transparent it demands a rewriting of history.

Anti-Semitism Continues

Accusing Israel of being an ‘apartheid’ state is just the latest in a long line of anti-Semitic attempts to invoke the wrath of a world effectively rebelling against the God of Israel, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Jewish Messiah.

First there was identity theft, as Yasser Arafat invented a ‘Palestinian’ nation where Jews were once known as Palestinians. Then the Jews were accused of stealing ‘Palestinian’ land they had inhabited for thousands of years, which God himself had given them according to the Scriptures, and to which they even acquired an international legal right through a treaty signed at San Remo on the Italian Riviera in 1920.

And now, in raising their protests during the recent Israel Apartheid Week, students have abandoned their inquiring minds in pursuit of a vendetta of lies and propaganda against the only democracy in the Middle East.

Open their eyes, dear Lord!

Notes

1 Produced by the UN’s Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, according to World Israel News, 15 March 2017.
2 CFI’s Watching over Zion newsletter, 9 March 2017.
3 Ibid.
4 United with Israel, 16 March 2017

Opponents of Israel are building their own gallows.

As Iran’s supreme leader calls for a ‘holy intifada’ to eradicate Israel, Jews everywhere can be encouraged that the tables were turned on a man from the same part of the world when he made a similar threat.

As we approach the annual Jewish feast of Purim, we recall the plot to destroy all Jews living in the ancient and far-reaching Persian Empire. The man behind it was Haman, political aide to King Xerxes, but thanks to the intervention of Queen Esther, his plan was ultimately foiled and the gallows he had constructed for his Jewish enemy Mordecai (cousin and guardian of the beautiful young Queen) was used for him instead.

In the same way today, those who side with the Islamic world in opposition to Israel are building their own gallows.

Heading for Confrontation

Describing Israel as a “cancerous tumour”, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei said the international community was heading toward confrontation with the “Zionist regime”.¹

But as Barry Segal of the Jerusalem News Network put it: “Actually, it is Iran that is heading towards a confrontation with the international community with its support of global terrorism, its nuclear ambitions, and its unrelenting hateful tirades against Israel and the USA.”²

Those who side with the Islamic world in opposition to Israel are building their own gallows.

Mordecai had learned of the 500 BC plot to destroy the Jews and managed to persuade Esther to approach the King on behalf of her people, even though it was against protocol to do so without being summoned.

'Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape,' Mordecai warned. 'For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?' (Est 4:13f)

So Esther resolved to risk her life for her fellow Jews, saying: “If I perish, I perish” (v16).

Modern Hamans, Modern Esthers

Modern-day Iran is part of ancient Persia and its threat against Israel bears all the hallmarks of the Haman spirit, with successive leaders promising to wipe the Jewish state off the map and underscoring their sabre-rattling by boasting of missiles capable of reaching Tel Aviv in seven minutes. And all the time they continue to work towards nuclear capability.

But, as with Haman, their plans will ultimately be brought back on their own heads as the Bible makes clear that, in the last days, many nations will attack Israel and come under God’s judgment as a result (see Joel 3:2; Zech 14:2f).

Thankfully, some modern-day Esthers are standing up to the bully-boys. America’s new Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley, speaking of that body’s Security Council, says its “double standards are breathtaking”. Declaring that the US was determined to stand up to the UN’s anti-Israel bias, she said the prejudiced approach to Israeli-Palestinian issues “bears no relationship to the reality of the world around us”³ (the Trump administration has indicated that it may pull America out of the UN Human Rights Council due to its Israel bias⁴, which even outgoing Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has admitted to have been the case⁵).

Watching an old Hollywood movie on the subject, One Night with the King, reminded me of how, just after retiring from full-time work in the newspaper industry, I felt the Lord say that I had been called to the Kingdom “for such a time as this”, confirming an earlier call to be a “helper of Israel” in these last days by writing the truth about Middle Eastern affairs.

Modern-day Iran is part of ancient Persia and its threat against Israel bears all the hallmarks of the Haman spirit.

In a different vein, England’s own Esther has emerged in the form of a beautiful young lady called Aisling Hubert, who is having to pay a heavy price for standing up for the unborn, eight million of whom have been killed since the UK Abortion Act was passed 50 years ago. Aisling launched a private prosecution against two doctors who had been secretly filmed offering gender abortion. But the Crown Prosecution Service ruled that pursuance of the case was not in the public interest, and the doctors were awarded costs. An undisclosed settlement has been reached, and it is “a large sum”.

Aisling has been supported throughout her ordeal by the Christian Legal Centre. Do get in touch with them if you wish to help by clicking here.

Jesus Our Rescue

Mary, the mother of Jesus, performed an Esther role in carrying the Messiah, whom the devil tried to destroy at birth as Herod ordered the killing of Bethlehem’s infant boys in a desperate bid to prevent his crown from passing to the new king (Rev 12:4; Matt 2:16).

In the end, her soul was pierced by a sword, in fulfilment of Simeon’s prophecy (Luke 2:35), as she watched her innocent young son being crucified, aged just 33.

Yet in the fulness of God’s perfect time, and just a generation before the Jews would be scattered abroad by Roman brutality, Jesus himself stepped forward to die on behalf of his people, and of all who would, metaphorically speaking, mark the doorposts of their hearts with the blood of the Lamb.

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. (Isa 53:5)

Truly, Jesus (Yeshua in Hebrew) is the Jewish Messiah who has come to the rescue of his people in these last days. Welcome him in advance of that great day when his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem (Zech 14:4).

Notes

1 Ahren, R. Iran’s supreme leader backs ‘holy intifada’ to destroy ‘cancer’ Israel. Times of Israel, 21 February 2017.

2 Jerusalem News Network (JNN), 23 February 2017.

3 David Soakell’s Christian Friends of Israel newsletter Watching over Zion, 23 February 2017.

4 JNN, quoting the Jerusalem Post, 27 February 2017.

5 Ban Ki-moon admits UN’s Israel bias. Ynetnews.com, 17 December 2016.

Israeli backpacker finds Yeshua in far-off New Zealand.

An Israeli backpacker had to travel to the other side of the world before finding the Jewish Messiah no-one had told him about at home.

Born and raised in a secular kibbutz (and knowing almost nothing about Jesus), Omri Jaakobovich was taken aback when the Dutch-born host of his hostel in Paihia, Bay of Islands, New Zealand, kept referring to him as one of God’s ‘chosen people’.

Like most Israelis, he had been horrified by the relatively recent assassination of then Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin by an Orthodox Jew in the name of God.

So he challenged his host: “What’s so chosen or so much better about us Jews?” adding that for the first time in history a Jew had killed the chosen leader of the Jewish nation.

But he was shocked by her reply: “It’s not the first time that the Jews have killed the chosen leader of the Jewish nation.”

“What are you talking about?” he wondered.

“This is what you did to Yeshua,” was her response.

Realising that Yeshua (Hebrew for Jesus) was a Jew like himself, Omri’s interest was piqued: “Were they trying to hide something from me?” he pondered. “How come they told me absolutely nothing about him in Israel?”

Having wrestled since he was a child with the question, ‘Why was I born if one day I have to die?’ it now seemed logical to him that, ‘if Yeshua has been raised from the dead, maybe I too can be resurrected.’

The Veil Lifted

A chance meeting with another Israeli backpacker who had a Tanach (what Christians call an Old Testament) among his belongings led Omri to start reading its prophecies.

And seeing Yeshua in every one of them, he became convinced beyond any doubt that Yeshua was indeed the promised Messiah – though at this stage he thought he was the only Jewish believer in Jesus as he didn’t know of any others!

A Christian Omri met then read 2 Corinthians 3:14 to him, which says that only when Jews turn to Christ will the veil (of understanding) be lifted from their eyes.

There was no voice from heaven, he recalls, but he realised right then and there that he needed to start telling his people about it. So he began sharing his faith with every Israeli who came to the hostel. And within just four months, the man who gave him the Bible also came to faith.

HIT’s Impact

Omri subsequently founded a unique travel programme aimed at offering cheap accommodation for young Israeli backpackers and at the same time giving an opportunity for Christians to express their indebtedness to Israel for the Bible, salvation and, above all, their Saviour.

Host Israeli Travellers (HIT) has since provided inexpensive rooms in a friendly home environment to more than 15,000 youngsters touring the world after their demanding stints in the Israeli Defence Forces.

Beginning in New Zealand, which has become a favourite destination for young Israelis, it has now also spread to Australia, Fiji, Hong Kong and the UK.

HIT membership cards are available for a nominal fee and most hosts make only a small charge of up to £5 a night to cover overheads, though many still prefer to offer rooms free.

“One of the most significant developments over the years has been the ever-increasing openness of these young people to spiritual matters,” a spokeswoman said.

And Omri is now encouraging the Church to take up its calling to provoke the Jews to jealousy by sharing the Gospel with them (Rom 11:11, 14; also Rom 10:14).

To learn more, or to sign up, visit www.hitinternational.net.