Are you able to join us for a special Brexit prayer conference?

The battle for Britain’s future has never been fiercer. These are historic days; there is a great need for the remnant of Bible-believing Christians in the nation to gather together to seek the Lord and intercede for the nation. Like Timothy, it is imperative that we ‘keep our heads’ and respond to what’s going on with faith (see 2 Timothy 3-4).

Join Dr Clifford and Mrs Monica Hill and members of the Issachar Ministries and Prophecy Today teams for a special prayer conference ahead of the next proposed date for Britain’s exit from the EU.

Venue: The Hayes, Swanwick, Derbyshire

Dates: Sunday 20 – Tuesday 22 October 2019

Cost (including all meals): £185pp (single room), £170pp (shared room). Day delegate cost for three days (i.e. full board but no accommodation) £100.

For more information and to book, contact the Issachar Ministries office on 01767 223270 during normal office hours.

What are the spiritual dynamics behind all the Brexit fury?

Beware of easy prophecies of unconditional revival.

Natural signs of a spiritual reality.

‘LEAVE NOW’ screamed the front page of the Daily Mirror yesterday. Did this signal a major political change in the Labour-supporting, strongly ‘Remain’ newspaper? Certainly not! It was referring to the imminent danger of a reservoir bursting in Derbyshire that could threaten the safety of many people in Whaley Bridge in the Peak District.

Strangely enough, Ruth George, the Labour MP for the High Peak district which includes Whaley Bridge, not only voted to remain in the 2016 referendum, but is an outstanding campaigner against leaving the EU. She is out of step with the rest of Derbyshire, which voted to leave the EU by approximately 60:40.

Time to Reflect

Ruth George MP

Mrs George is also out of step with the official position of the Labour Party, who are desperately trying to combat anti-Semitism among their MPs. She jumps onto any opportunity to criticise Israel, although she got her fingers burnt earlier this year when she criticised Luciana Berger, a Jewish MP, for leaving Labour.

Mrs George suggested that financial support for Labour Friends of Israel, which Ms Berger formerly directed, was coming from Israel. Mrs George later apologised saying that she was quite wrong to suggest that there was a conspiracy involving Israel.¹ 

Perhaps Mrs George should reflect upon the ‘coincidence’ of the floods that have swept through her constituency and the urgent command to all the residents of the town she represents to LEAVE NOW!

Watching Signs in Nature

The prophets of Israel always watched what was happening in nature as signs of what God might be saying to the nation. Amos 4 is a classic example, where the prophet details the droughts, floods and plagues that had hit the nation with the much-repeated phrase “‘Yet you have not returned to me’ declares the Lord”. Maybe the floods, which are not only affecting the residents of Derbyshire, should be taken as a sign to all residents of the UK.

What is God saying to us? Surely, we are a nation under judgment, but there is still time for repentance and turning. Is the Lord saying to the people of Britain, “LEAVE NOW and put your trust in me!”?

"Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God and there is no other” (Isaiah 45:22)

References

1 See Labour MP apologises for suggesting Israel funds Independent Group. The Guardian, 19 February 2019. Ruth George MP has also received criticism for failing to call out a Labour councillor in her constituency who posted anti-Semitic material online. Read more here and here.

Is this the start of a new era of hope?

Mr Boris Johnson fulfilled his lifelong ambition this week to become British Prime Minister. The rogue old Etonian began in his usual breezy style of easy optimism. But however much we may wish him well in tackling the multiple crises in the nation, realistically the challenge facing any new Prime Minister is no different from that which plagued – and overcame - Theresa May’s administration. The question is: can a new government do anything new?

The challenge of which I speak is that we have an elected parliament that defies the electorate. Whatever deal the new PM does with Brussels in order to fulfil his promise to leave the European Union by 31 October 2019, the possibility of getting the approval of this Parliament (without divine intervention!) is virtually nil. He not only faces the opposition of Labour, the LibDems and the Scottish Nationalist Party, but he also faces the threats of rebels on the Tory backbenches who say they are willing to bring down the Government rather than agree to leave the EU without a deal.

Today, Britain is a more divided nation than it has ever been since the days of the Civil War between Cromwell’s Parliament and supporters of Charles I. How should Christians understand what is going on in the nation? And are there any signs of hope?

Reflecting on the Past

In last week’s editorial we were asking “Is there any word from the Lord?” This led us to some of the things Britain has done wrong on the international scene and especially the need to recognise and say we are sorry for the dreadful things we did to Jewish survivors of the Holocaust back in 1947. Recognising that injustice would be an act of righteousness that I believe would be pleasing to the Lord.

I believe there is a real message of hope and good news in the midst of all the doom and gloom we’ve been hearing for a long time. But we ought also to recognise where we have gone wrong: not only abroad, but also in the things we have done at home in Britain. As we have said many times in these editorials – turning away from biblical values has led to the present days of crisis. This era of great cultural change began with a political Act of Parliament in 1951.

Today, Britain is a more divided nation than it has ever been since the days of the Civil War. What is going on – and is there any hope?

Political Decisions, Cultural Consequences

It was the Fraudulent Mediums Act which abolished the Witchcraft Act that had been on the Statute Book of Britain for centuries. In 1951 witchcraft was legalised. All occult activities were made legal, in direct defiance of biblical teaching:

Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or is a medium or spiritist or consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord… (Deut 18:10-12)

This political decision to defy the Bible was taken by the Government led by Clement Attlee, a Jew-hating atheist, and paved the way for other major policy turnarounds which precipitated great cultural changes in the nation.

The first great cultural change was in the 1959 Obscene Publications Act which paved the way for the legalisation of obscenity in publications, film, video and the internet.

The second cultural change was in the Abortion Act (1967) which made it legally acceptable to kill unborn babies. Currently, about 450 babies a day are killed in British hospitals, bringing the total since 1967 to over 9 million. 2018 saw the number of UK abortions reach an all-time high, and our dysfunctional, rebellious Parliament has now ruled to impose abortion on the only part of the British Isles that still upholds biblical values, defying the wishes of the people of Northern Ireland – as we noted last week in an excellent article from our Managing Editor.

These changes follow the classic path to the corruption of civilisation noted by the Apostle Paul in the first chapter of his letter to Rome. He says that once we stop believing in the God of Creation and start suppressing the truth, we believe anything. We “exchange the truth of God for a lie” and then we abandon all restraints upon our behaviour.

The Apostle Paul says that once we stop believing in the God of Creation, we believe anything and abandon all restraints upon our behaviour.

Church Leaders Responsible

But God does not expect an ungodly nation to repent of things that are not even publicly recognised as being wrong! The history of Israel in the Bible teaches us that God holds the religious leaders responsible for the moral and spiritual state of the nation – it was they who had the truth and the responsibility of declaring it to the people, who otherwise remained ignorant.

Applying that teaching today, God holds church leaders responsible for the nation. But can we expect repentance from them? The bishops in the House of Lords didn’t even bother to turn up for the vote on forcing same-sex marriage and abortion upon the people of Northern Ireland last week. If they had been there, they would probably have voted in favour of imposing LGBTQ+ values upon Ulster.

Hope for the Future

Amidst this seemingly lost situation, God is doing two things: he is blessing the many thousands of local fellowships, large and small, where the word of God is faithfully preached and taught. And he is withdrawing his blessing from those churches that have turned away from the word – including churches within the traditional denominations, which are crumbling, losing members and closing buildings as a result.

The hope for the future lies with the faithful remnant in Britain of Bible-believing, praying people who refuse to be driven by the values of the world and are prepared to take a stand for truth whatever the cost. God is faithful to hear and to heed the prayers of the faithful remnant who grieve over the state of the nation; who repent for our silence when ungodly laws were being passed in our Parliament; but who nevertheless cry out to the Lord to have mercy and to bless the new Government.

We should be appealing to God to remember his covenant relationship with our forefathers, who placed the Bible at the centre of the British legal system, governing the nation, and made it part of the Coronation Oath sworn by our Queen, whom God has wonderfully preserved for these perilous times.

We should be appealing to God to remember his covenant relationship with our forefathers.

There is a solid biblical principle for such an appeal to God on behalf of the nation. Paul says that as far as the Gospel is concerned the people of Israel put themselves outside God’s protection, although he himself would never break his covenant promises “on account of the patriarchs, for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable” (Rom 11:29).

This is undoubtedly a special passage concerning Israel, but it also shows that God respects the spiritual heritage of a nation. As he has blessed Britain in the past, using Britain to get the gospel to many nations, we can call upon him to bring us through this time of trial and to restore faith and belief – especially among young people in the United Kingdom – to give us “a hope and a future” (Jer 29:11) as he promised to the people of Jerusalem enslaved in Babylon at the worst moment in their history.

Pray he will follow our Queen in acknowledging a far greater authority

As a Christian who believes in God’s great eternal purposes for Israel as spelled out in the Bible, I welcome the choice of Boris Johnson as Britain’s new Prime Minister. And I will pray for him; he certainly needs it.

He has indicated strong support for the Jewish state – in sharp contrast to the message from the official opposition – describing himself as a “passionate Zionist” for whom wild horses wouldn’t keep him away from visiting Israel as British premier.¹

But there are other factors that leave cause for concern, not least the unprecedented move into No. 10 of a Prime Minister setting up home with his live-in girlfriend – hardly a suitable role model for family life in a country already beset by major problems in this area.

No-nonsense Politics

I warmed to him when he first appeared on the political scene in his jovial, gung-ho, ‘can do’ style, and I am particularly encouraged by his apparently unequivocal rhetoric on Brexit – always on the important basis of regaining our national sovereignty. It’s fudging on the issue that has caused much of the division in the nation.

And I would hope that his no-nonsense attitude on Europe would be extended to wider horizons in order better to deal with irksome regimes like Iran which will no doubt be one of his big tests, in light of the oil tanker crisis.

We have been tainted and weakened for too long as a soft target due to our constant appeasement of dictators over the past century – first the Arabs, then the Nazis and now Iran.

Britain has been tainted and weakened for too long as a soft target due to our constant appeasement of dictators.

The Best Candidate for Years?

Humanly-speaking, Boris seems the best candidate for years to turn the tide of Britain’s propensity for pussy-footing about with dictators. But again, he will need our prayers for the wisdom, strength and authority to deliver. And as one who loves to be loved, and hates to be hated – no doubt the effects of an insecure childhood – this is obviously no guarantee.

As a light-hearted (if a little worrying) aside, I have three times read in recent days of his childhood ambition to be ‘World King’, the infamous role played by the so-called Anti-Christ in the last days before Christ’s return.²

But Londoners assure me that he performed extremely well as Mayor of that great city, except in the case of the buses carrying adverts supporting gay lifestyles, when he apparently intervened to prevent Christians from responding with an ad campaign of their own.

Many Distractions

I don’t know Boris, but have met several members of his delightful family, including his father Stanley who I heard on the radio suggesting that climate change would be an even bigger issue than Brexit for his son to deal with.

But this would be such a distraction from reality. I note that former Education Secretary Damian Hinds encouraged pupils to berate parents for leaving their car engines running at the school gates, in view of the adverse effects on children of the fumes.³ Though I commend Johnson’s general optimism, he must distance himself from this sort of politically correct nonsense if he is to impact the real world.

Israel is also infected by godless cultural changes that have swept the West, but these are merely signs of coming judgment on such sin and lawlessness, as with the increasing violence that preceded the great flood through which only the righteous Noah and his family were saved (Gen 6:11).

Humanly-speaking, Boris seems the best candidate for years - but he will need our prayers for the wisdom, strength and authority to deliver.

Inspiration from the Queen

At some stage the likes of Boris will have to give an account to God for their actions (2 Cor 5:10), which are better based on faith than human wisdom. I am not talking of merely assenting to a set of beliefs, as he might have done many times in Eton’s school chapel, but of acknowledging Jesus as Lord and Saviour, and humbly bowing the knee to the Suffering Servant who will soon return as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Humility is required. Jesus, though he was God, became man and humbled himself, even to death on a cruel execution stake. Boris should follow the lead of our Queen in acknowledging the awesome authority and power of someone far greater than her. The most important decision the new Prime Minister will ever make is whether or not he bows the knee to Christ as his redeemer and Lord!

References

1 World Israel News, 23 July 2019, quoting Jewish News.

2 Sebastian Shakespeare’s Saturday Essay, Daily Mail, 20 July 2019.

3 The Times, 22 July 2019.

Debates over Brexit are revealing about the state of our hearts.

In Matthew 8:28-34 we read how Jesus freed two men of strong demon possession. Since this resulted in a substantial financial loss for the owners of a herd of swine that was present, we are told that the whole town beseeched the Son of God to leave their region. It is a sad but classic proof of why Jesus said that we cannot serve both God and money (Matt 6:24; Luke 16:13).

Somehow, this reminds us of the whole Brexit issue. This is because politics, the banking and corporate sectors, as well as the media, counterweight Britain’s prospective freedom from the EU with forecasts of a heavy economic loss. It’s easy, therefore, for people to get distracted from the more important spiritual and moral issues.

From a secular point of view, Britain must decide whether it really wants to leave an alleged safe haven and embark on an unknown path. In this framing of the argument, fear is made the driving force. From a biblical point of view, Britain must decide whether it wants to be free from political dictate or keep handing over its freedoms for the 'promise' of financial stability. Personal conviction is the motivating force here.

For all that, Brexit and its economic consequences are just fruits of a more foundational issue that believers, and indeed the whole nation, need to deal with: the question of whom they serve.

Britain must decide whether it wants to be free from political dictate or keep handing over its freedoms for the 'promise' of financial stability.

God or Money?

Jesus said the two most important laws that man must live by are (a) to love God with all that we are, and (b) to love our fellow men as ourselves (Matt 22:37-40; Mark 12:30-31; Luke 10:27). This also includes our enemies (Matt 5:43-44; Luke 6:27, 35). And Jesus left no doubt that if we love and serve God, we cannot love and serve money (Matt 6:24; Luke 16:13). Yet, loving and serving money is exactly what the financial system of the world demands.

A good many Christians see no danger here for themselves. They are confident that they are by no means serving money. And who can blame them? Most people generally have very little insight into how our money system works and its negative and enslaving effects.

The Financial System of the World

I believe that today’s financial system has evolved as a consequence of man rejecting God as the source of his provision, and instead creating his own supply system as a substitute (Jer 2:13). This system has become the basis of our productive economies and the financial world today. But it is an unjust apparatus and of evil design – like everything the world produces without God (John 7:7).

Most Christians are unaware that it violates God's word in virtually every way; its general use of fiat money, fractional reserve banking, interest, extensive debts and limited liability laws renders it exploitative, destructive and unsustainable. It is based on illusions, incessantly demands continual growth at the expense of our available natural resources, ruthlessly expropriates the little wealth of the majority of the population for the benefit of the few capital holders, and ultimately forces its rule on man.

Unsurprisingly, therefore, our economies and the world of finance appear more like war zones: battles are raging in currencies, profits or market shares, ruthless competition, hostile takeovers, dominance through innovation, market leadership and so forth. Blackmail, exploitation, betrayal, nepotism, influence peddling, manipulation, bribery, theft, fraud, lies, falsification of documents, discrediting others, etc., are only some of the weapons being used.

The justified question then is how does that all fit in with God’s fundamental laws of love, honesty, faithfulness and truth? The straight answer is, it doesn’t!

Loving and serving money is exactly what the financial system of the world demands.

For this reason, as far as believers are concerned, Brexit cannot simply be a matter of leaving an artificial union of states that is increasingly usurping the political sovereignty of its members. It also offers the opportunity to break free from forced subjugation to an economic system directed against God's will.

Our financial wellbeing does not depend on human alliances, regardless on which level, nor does it depend on the use of a wicked monetary system that enslaves and ultimately destroys. It depends on God alone (Deut 8:18).

Concrete Instructions

The Bible contains a remarkable number of passages dealing with money and economic issues. Obviously, God felt it necessary to give us a comprehensive spiritual perspective on these themes – firstly, because money plays an essential role in everyday life, and secondly, because it carries a strong potential to conflict with God’s plans and purposes for our lives (individually, corporately and nationally).

The challenge for Christians, situated within a worldly system and vulnerable to its pressures and influences, is to find ways to shun the world and follow our God’s wise instructions, since through him and for him everything was created and in him everything holds together (Col 1:16-17; John 1:2-3; Rom 11:36). His ways are neither tied to nor limited by the mainstream school of thought. Their implementation, however, presupposes openness to a very different paradigm (Rom 12:2; John 15:5; 1 Cor 3:11).

Our financial wellbeing depends on God alone.

Do We Really Know?

No human being knows what will happen tomorrow (Prov 27:1; Luke 12:18-20; James 4:14). Realistically, man without God can only make assumptions about the future – we can neither predict nor plan it (Prov 19:21; 1 Cor 13:9). As a result, man tries to tie down this uncertainty by extrapolating things of the past into the future and adjusting them based on human expertise, imagination, ingenuity, intelligence and wisdom.

Yet, bottom line, it all remains more guesswork than fact. Natural disasters, epidemics, terror, civil unrest, wars, rumours, bankruptcies, manipulation, corruption, vested interests, change of governments, etc., can turn things upside-down in a moment.

Given all this, who is to say that breaking free from evil dictate will indeed result in economic and financial mayhem? We really have no way of knowing. The fear-mongering surrounding Brexit, then, is a reflection less of the facts than of whom we are trying to serve.

Gottfried Hetzer is the author of 'Money ... The Great Deception', which we reviewed earlier this year.

Or is it a deceptive plot to keep us tied to Europe?

As votes are counted in an election that should never have taken place in the UK, suggestions of conspiracy and betrayal abound amid feelings of being in Alice in Wonderland territory, where the Queen of Hearts and her entourage turn out to be nothing but a pack of cards.

Why, after a majority (17.4 million people) voted to leave the European Union nearly three years ago, are we still so committed to this Tower of Babel project that we are spending over £100 million to choose representatives who will only be sitting in Brussels for a couple of months?

Unless, of course, that was never the plan! For the message we have been consistently giving to Euro leaders - acting collectively like a petulant Pharaoh - is that we are not really serious about leaving. We prefer to be enslaved to their godless laws, and we just love the leeks and onions.

A Fait Accompli?

A secret document witnessed by someone I am assured is a reliable source suggests that our future in Europe was stitched up at a meeting between British Prime Minister Theresa May (now shortly to vacate her post) and German Chancellor Angela Merkel before being presented to the Cabinet at Chequers last summer as a fait accompli.

The two leaders are said to have agreed to ‘appease’ Brexit voters while at the same time keeping as close to the EU as possible, leaving the door open for re-joining the club at a later stage.

The message we have been giving to Euro leaders - acting collectively like a petulant Pharaoh - is that we are not really serious about leaving.

In other words, it is claimed that both leaders agreed that the only realistic future for the UK was as a member of the EU and that the likely course of events is that Britain would re-join in full at some time after the next general election.

So it transpires that the Withdrawal Agreement presented at Chequers was essentially a German production, with the original draft completed in Berlin last May.

Theresa May announces her soon departure as Prime Minister, 24 May 2019. Alastair Grant/AP/Press Association ImagesDeath Blow for Democracy

Of course this whole sorry saga got off on the wrong foot from the word ‘go’ when, in the wake of the 2016 Referendum, Mrs May – a Remainer – was charged with the task of taking us out, against her own convictions. It was a death blow for democracy, and hardly a recipe for job satisfaction, to expect someone clearly convinced that our best interests lie with Europe to spend the next three years negotiating our way out.

Unless, of course, as our information suggests, that is not what she has really been doing. It would explain why Brexit has turned into such a chaotic, crazy circus in which clowns are trying to tame the tigers.

It would seem that the long and tortuous route to freedom has been blighted by deceit and double-dealing to make it look like we are doing one thing when we are really doing quite another.

I’m very suspicious of the message the mainstream TV media are trying to convey by repeatedly showing Mrs May coming out of church, as if to assure us that she means no harm and is doing her best – perhaps even seeking God’s will – to fulfil her promise that ‘Brexit means Brexit’.

The long and tortuous route to freedom has been blighted by deceit and double-dealing.

But in her days as Home Secretary, she was a key figure pushing the same-sex marriage agenda, helping to turn our centuries-old Judeo-Christian values on their head and presiding over the ruin and destruction of a society once the envy of the world.

Now we are a nation, like Israel in Isaiah’s time, that has been separated from God by our iniquities, with hands “stained with blood” (particularly through abortion) and tongues that have muttered wickedness, where “truth is nowhere to be found” as we rely on “empty arguments” (Isa 59:2-4, 15).

A Modern Moses

A leader of integrity is a rare find these days, but Nigel Farage strikes me as such, passionately committed to the single issue of getting out of Europe. I am aware that his popularity could open the door for Jeremy Corbyn if it were repeated in a general election, but unless we regain our sovereignty forthwith, we may forever remain in the manipulative hands of our bureaucratic puppeteers in Brussels.

I am not alone in comparing Brexit to the exodus from Egypt of the enslaved Jews in ancient times. It was hard enough for Moses, and it took ten plagues before a stubborn Pharaoh would let his people go.

But we don’t even have a Moses, unless things change dramatically when Mrs May is replaced. For our leader has no conviction either about the necessity of our exodus or of God’s involvement in the process.

God’s Awesome Sovereignty

But I am a little encouraged by the newly-postponed date for departure – 31 October. Yes, I know Hallowe’en has come to be marked by darkness amid ghostly goings-on, but it was originally celebrated as the eve of All Hallows (or All Saints), a period of the church year dedicated to remembering the faithful departed. More to the point, it was the date in 1517 when Martin Luther sparked the Reformation with his personal revelation of faith in Christ.

It was also the date, exactly 400 years later, when the British Government (through the Balfour Declaration) promised to help restore Jews from around the world to their ancient land, made possible on the very same day when brave soldiers from Australia and New Zealand triumphed against the odds in the Battle of Beersheva.

I am a little encouraged by the newly-postponed date for our departure – 31 October.

And it was also the date, in 1940, of a British victory over Nazi forces that proved a crucial turning-point of World War II. Its cropping up again as the next proposed date for our deliverance from the EU is a small reminder that the Lord – who answers prayer - holds all our times in his hands, and exercises sovereign rule over the nations as he pleases.

But while I do believe that Brexit is crucial, it will not be the turning-point of our present spiritual battle against the forces of evil unless, as a nation, we repent of the heinous sin of turning our back on the God who brought us through the dark years of the 1940s, in answer to the prayers of people all over the country who queued outside churches to seek him for deliverance (see also Isaiah 59:13).

As the great Prophet urges us, “Seek the Lord while he may be found, call on him while he is near” (Isa 55:6).

Postscript

On another positive note, a Doncaster primary school used for polling purposes nevertheless went ahead with an assembly in which I took part (in a second hall) declaring the power of the Gospel – the real need of the nation - to hundreds of children!

Will Britain stand?

Last Saturday, 11 May, two marches of quite different natures processed through central London.

One was a Palestine solidarity protest marking what Muslims worldwide call the ‘Nakba’ (the catastrophe), or the formal re-establishment of the State of Israel in 1948.

The march attracted mainstream press attention and some 3,000 protestors, led by Palestinian activist and former convict Ahed Tamimi who proclaimed the genocidal slogan of Hamas and Hezbollah: “From the river to the sea, Palestine shall be free” (i.e. Israel must be destroyed).

The other march, which attracted nearly 5,000 supporters but received no mainstream press coverage, was the March for Life. Standing up on behalf of the plight of unborn children, hundreds of thousands of whom lose their lives silently in the UK each year, the march celebrated and proclaimed the sanctity of human life.

Opposing Worldviews

Seeing these marches take place virtually side by side reminded me just how divided our country has become. Every month, all sorts of protests take place in our capital, each one claiming a just and righteous cause. Both the above marches purport to stand for justice on behalf of the oppressed. However, they are undergirded by vastly opposing worldviews.

The pro-life movement is rooted in a biblical worldview, in which human life - from conception - is divinely given, in the image of God, and innately deserving of dignified treatment. While not all within the pro-life movement are believers, the movement is grounded in an understanding that life and death are sacred matters, in which humans must defer to an authority and set of moral standards higher than their own. And so, the pro-life movement champions a culture of respect, non-violence and life.

The March for Life attracted nearly 5,000 supporters but received no mainstream press attention.

Palestine Solidarity March, 11 May 2019. See Photo Credits.By contrast, Palestinianism is rooted in a rejection of the God of the Bible: specifically, his choice of land and people, denying the covenant heritage of the Jews (and its basis in historical and legal fact). It leads people to believe gross distortions and slanders about Israel, regurgitate age-old anti-Semitic tropes and side with terrorist groups who seek to murder innocent Jewish civilians. The result, directly or indirectly, is the championing of a culture of violence and death.

The issues of Israel and unborn life, though seemingly unrelated, are two of the most defining battles of our time. Both are, I believe, particularly close to God’s heart. Both are also modern spiritual litmus tests: telling indicators of the spiritual condition of our nation before God. With this in view, pondering Saturday’s marches I was reminded of Jesus’ sobering words that “a house divided against itself cannot stand” (Mark 3:25; Matt 12:25).

A Nation at War

This coming week, Britain goes to the polls again for an election which many are calling a ‘second referendum’ on our membership of the EU. Current projections indicate that because the Remain vote will be split across several different parties, Nigel Farage’s new Brexit Party will make considerable gains by mopping up the Leave vote, at the particular expense of the Tories. But this does not change the fact that the country is still split roughly 50/50 over Brexit.

Brexit has divided families, neighbours, co-workers and friends. As we have written elsewhere on Prophecy Today UK, these divisions are far more than superficial political disagreements. They are symptoms of an underlying spiritual battle raging for the soul of the nation.

Brexit did not create these divisions; it merely exposed them, albeit starkly and painfully. For this reason, those who hope that a political resolution (deal or no deal) will make everything ‘go back to normal’ are sadly mistaken.

Britain has apparently become a nation of polarised outrage, shouting about a plethora of issues electronically, on the street and at the ballot box. But whether Brexit, Israel, abortion, climate change, President Trump, feminism, LGBTQ+ pride or any number of other causes, follow them to their roots and you will find one single, simple battle over God and his truth, revealed in Scripture.

True Unity

A generation of rebellion against the biblical beliefs and values that once united our nation means that Britain’s social and moral fabric is now rife with division and discordance. While our political and religious establishment call for unity and bridge-building, we must stand back and ask whether unity is possible, or even desirable, in this context.

True unity is a blessing of the Holy Spirit for obedience to the Lord. God will not bless a nation that rejects him. But Britain is a house divided, not knowing whom she really serves. Any man-made unity foisted upon this spiritual backdrop will necessarily be a poor imitation of the real thing; at best a charade, at worst a forcibly-imposed regime.

Britain has become a nation of polarised outrage on a plethora of issues – but follow each to their root and you will find one battle over God and his truth.

The only real answer to our problems is repentance and a return to the Gospel. Thankfully, God desires to use the present division and instability to draw people back to himself. He wants people to come to an understanding that something has gone very wrong in Britain: we are broken, in so many ways, and in need of a Saviour. He wants us to “seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us” (Acts 17:27). As Christians, are we being faithful in praying and working for this end?

A Hope and a Future

Credit: March for Life UK

I am thrilled by the growing strength of the pro-life movement in this country (and in the USA). But, while protests and goodly debate are vital, these alone will not win the day, because “our battle is not against flesh and blood” (Eph 6:12). As the Brexit polls indicate, Britain as a whole is still split right down the middle: not just politically, but spiritually.

Things cannot remain this way forever: they will tip one way or the other, unless the Lord intervenes in a more drastic and immediate way. Similarly, in 1858, Abraham Lincoln quoted Mark 3:25 to the Illinois Republican State Convention, warning that America could not remain divided over slavery forever. He said: “I do not expect the house to fall — but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all the other.”¹

When it comes to both Israel and abortion, I hope very much that we will see a turning of the tide, with hearts and minds changed nation-wide and righteous decisions at the very top. But the ultimate hope for Britain, including on these issues, remains the Gospel, accompanied by much prayer. That is the only thing that will unite our beleaguered nation and give her a hope and a future.

References

1 'House Divided' speech, Springfield, Illinois, 16 June 1858. Read the full transcript here.

Christians and Jews are both in the firing line.

With residents of Israel bombarded by 700 rockets last weekend, it’s something of an understatement to say the Jewish nation is under fire.

Fortunately, decisive words and action – in marked contrast to what we are witnessing in Britain – led to a ceasefire as Hamas terrorists backed down in the face of an ultimatum from Benjamin Netanyahu. He warned them that if they didn’t drop their weapons forthwith, Israel would annex Gaza and drive them out forever.

Israel has long since learnt that they cannot fully rely on the support of their allies, and are thus prepared to take tough action when necessary.

British Betrayal

The British Parliament, now in complete disarray over our future in Europe, made a decision 80 years ago on 23 May 1939 which effectively sent thousands of Jews to certain death.

Capitulating to Arab opposition, a White Paper was passed on that day severely restricting entry to Palestine (then under Britain’s mandate) of Jews fleeing Nazi persecution. It was a shocking betrayal of our pledge to prepare a home for Jewish people to live in safety.

The British Betrayed

It is significant that this anniversary coincides with the European elections, which we should never have needed to contest three years after a majority 17.4 million of our citizens voted to leave the EU.

"The day of the LORD is near for all nations. As you have done, it will be done to you; your deeds will return upon your own head"

Following the shameful betrayal of the Jewish people 80 years ago, the British people themselves are now feeling betrayed by the same Parliament. Is there perhaps a connection? The word of God says: “The day of the LORD is near for all nations. As you have done, it will be done to you; your deeds will return upon your own head" (Ob 15).

19^th-Century Britain

There was a day, in 19^th-Century Britain, when we acted more decisively and with greater honour and compassion, as viewers of the hit ITV series Victoria would have observed last Sunday night.¹

In 1850, Foreign Secretary Lord Palmerston actually ordered a naval blockade in response to an Easter anti-Semitic outrage in Athens involving a British subject. Gibraltar-born Jew Don Pacifico and his family were viciously attacked by a mob after the Greek government banned the traditional burning of an effigy of Judas Iscariot in apparent deference to a wealthy British Jew, Lord Rothschild, who was in the country to discuss offering a loan.

There was a day when Britain acted more decisively and with greater honour and compassion.

Pacifico, a former Portuguese consul-general, was targeted in his capacity as de-facto leader of the city’s Jewish community. Palmerston was also a key figure in early political moves designed to facilitate the restoration of Israel.

Persecution of Christians in the UK

Tragically, it seems that, to some degree, Britain is now playing the role of Judas, the betrayer of Jesus, the Jewish Messiah, turning on their own Christians in a bid to silence those holding to the truth of the gospel and the commandments of God which have been recklessly jettisoned by successive governments.

I believe there is a sense in which God is speaking to both Christians and Jews, telling us we’re in this together. After all, we both worship the God of Israel, which is surely why both groups are being so fiercely persecuted worldwide.

There is a sense in which God is speaking to both Christians and Jews, telling us we’re in this together.

The Relationship Between Christians and the Jewish People

The church needs to understand that the Jews brought us the gospel (along with the Bible, the law, the prophets, the patriarchs, and our Lord himself). We owe it to them to offer help in their time of need (Rom 15:27). At the same time, however, Jews must understand that Jesus is their Messiah – Gentiles are even called to tell them so by declaring: “Your God reigns!” (Isa 52:7).

Praise God, many are responding, though others are clearly offended. But the gospel has always been an offence (Gal 5:11). And we must tell them – it’s a way of saying thank you, just as many grateful Africans have come over to Britain to thank us for our faithful forefathers who took the gospel to their countries, often sacrificing their lives in the process. These Nigerians, Zambians, Zimbabweans and others are now living among us, preaching with passion the message we have largely discarded, acting as lighthouses to a rudderless society in danger of shipwreck.

Worldwide Persecution

That we are in this together was brought home most forcibly through Sri Lanka’s Easter Sunday terror attacks. Though the targets of the atrocity were the Christians, two of the eight British citizens killed by the bombs were Jews – siblings Amelie and Daniel Linsey, members of the synagogue of which Lord Leigh of Hurley is president. He said: “They shared the same classes as my children.”²

Shechem (also known as Nablus) in Samaria, some miles north of where the Jifnah attack took place. Both Christians and Jews are targeted in Israel / See Photo Credits

In territory run by the Palestinian Authority, meanwhile, Christian residents of the town of Jifnah were attacked by (ruling party) Fatah activists after a local woman complained to the police about the son of a senior Fatah official. The violent incident included shooting.³

In spite of what I said about Britain turning on their own Christians, I am pleased to say that the plight of persecuted Christians abroad has at last been acknowledged by the Government, thanks to a report commissioned by Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, who has already opened the way towards further reconciliation with the Jewish community by apologising for the White Paper mentioned earlier.

Mr Hunt, reported to be a committed Christian, said Christians are enduring what amounts to genocide in some parts of the world and were being driven out of the Middle East in a modern-day exodus. And he blamed political correctness – particularly a “misplaced worry” that it would be interpreted as “colonialist” – for failing to confront the issue.⁴

The plight of persecuted Christians abroad has at last been acknowledged by the Government.

His report found 245 million Christians spread across 50 countries now suffer high levels of persecution. So it seems that as Jews migrate to Israel, now home to nearly seven million sons and daughters of Abraham, Christians in neighbouring countries are being uprooted and forced in the opposite direction.

We must stand together with our brothers in the ancient faith of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and be a blessing to one another. Their deed to the land is, primarily, in the Bible (Gen 17:7f). And our right to inheritance in the faith of Abraham is also in the Bible (Rom 4:16f).

References

1. The incident and its repercussions were featured in last Sunday’s episode of the series on the life of the young Queen.

2. Two Jewish siblings among victims of Sri Lanka attacks. The Jerusalem Post, 24 April 2019.

3. Christians Violently Attacked by Palestinian Forces, Forced to Pay Special ‘Tax’. United with Israel, 29 April 2019.

4. Persecution of Christians is modern-day 'genocide' says report. Daily Mail, 3 May 2019.