Is there any hope for Britain?

Over the New Year holiday, I spent some time seeking the Lord for his word to Britain and I was strongly led to what God said to Ezekiel at a time when Jerusalem was in turmoil. He said, “Son of man you are living among a rebellious people. They have eyes to see but do not see and ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious people.”

This message meant that people could not see what should have been blindingly obvious. The nation was facing disaster but her leaders, both religious and secular, were running around like headless chickens, fighting one another but not taking any positive steps to deal with the situation.

Jeremiah (unlike Ezekiel) was actually in the city. He was driven to despair. “Your own conduct and actions have brought this upon you,” he said. “My people are fools…They have no understanding. They are skilled in doing evil; they know not how to do good” (Jer 4:18-22). Both Ezekiel and Jeremiah knew that the nation was under judgment which the people had brought upon themselves by deliberately turning away from the truth of the word of God.

In Britain, we are in a similar situation. The scenes of turmoil in the House of Commons in the run-up to Christmas were a vivid illustration of the mood in the nation – it is a mood of dissatisfaction with everything; yet no-one has any idea what to do about it! It is in this situation of major disagreement among our political leaders that the voices of the mob in Westminster streets calling for a ‘people’s vote’ should be ringing alarm bells everywhere. Such a vote would spread dissension and conflict across the land.

People bring judgment upon themselves when they deliberately turn away from the truth of the word of God.

Social Problems Side-lined

The Brexit debates in Parliament for the past two months have been so all-consuming that major social issues affecting the welfare of the nation have been woefully neglected. A review of school exclusions was delayed which could have helped to deal with the crisis of knife crime that claimed the lives of more than a hundred young people on the streets of London in 2018.

The Green Paper on social care was also kicked into touch despite the crisis in the NHS, the shortage of beds and elderly people not being cared for in the community. Many other urgent social issues have been side-lined by the Brexit rows that have split the Conservative Party and exposed the weakness of the Opposition.

These are all signs of the serious moral and spiritual issues that underlie the great Brexit debate that is dividing the country. What is being exposed is the lack of an overriding standard of truth by which all issues can be judged.

It is because truth has been eroded from the public square and the forces of darkness have been allowed to spread deception that we are seeing the very thing that both Ezekiel and Jeremiah saw in Jerusalem. 500 years later Jesus saw the same thing when he wept over Jerusalem that both leaders and people were blinded by deceit. He said “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand” (Matt 13:13).

Good for Evil, Evil for Good

In Britain, we have not only abandoned truth, but we have actually embraced lies and deception. Even our language has changed to accommodate opposite values. Children and young people call good things ‘wicked’ and evil things that are harmful to them are celebrated as good. It is a rebellious generation that has no understanding of ultimate values. This is why we are seeing knife crime ruling city streets, as gang life is substituted for family life; loyalty to the gang for the love of parents and siblings.

Urgent social issues have been side-lined by the Brexit rows, which have split the country and exposed its lack of an overriding standard of truth.

Also driving society deeper into deception are the false values of LGBTQ+ that have been embraced by politicians from all our political parties. We are led by a Prime Minister who was the chief architect of radical changes when she was Home Secretary, driving the Same-Sex Marriage Bill through Parliament despite the opposition of more than a hundred MPs of her own party and all the warnings that were sounded across the nation.

That legislation, more than five years ago, marked a tipping-point in the nation: Britain went from at least nominally acknowledging the biblical foundations of its social value system to adopting a system based upon the total denial of truth. It was ignoring the clear warnings given in the Bible – “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter” (Isa 5:20).

You cannot ignore fundamental standards of truth that are part of the creation of the universe without bringing disaster upon society. But this is exactly what we have done in Britain and this is the reason why we are seeing the turmoil in our Parliament that is reflected across the nation.

The plain fact is we have brought judgment upon ourselves, one of the consequences of which is listed in Deuteronomy 28:28 as “madness, blindness and confusion of mind”, which we can see clearly by watching the debates in Parliament.

Hope for the New Year

But the Bible does not only warn us of the consequences of rejecting truth. It also sets out the remedy. Jeremiah was given a promise from God that applies to any nation at any time: “If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned” (Jer 18:7).

The circumstances of the giving this promise should give us great hope and encouragement as a message for the New Year.

You cannot ignore fundamental standards of truth that are part of the creation of the universe without bringing disaster upon society.

Jeremiah was told to go to the potter’s shop where he watched the potter at work. The clay he was using simply did not run in his hands so he was unable to form it into the shape in his mind. He stopped the wheel and Jeremiah probably expected to see him throw that obstinate bit of clay into the dust across the floor of his workshop. But instead, the potter patiently kneaded it back into a ball, put it on the wheel and carefully made it into a pot. It was not the beautiful vase he originally envisioned but it was a useful pot that would no doubt serve a busy housewife.

From this, Jeremiah learned a message about God’s love and forgiveness. We all of us mess up our lives at some point; but God never abandons us, in the same way as the potter did not throw away that bit of clay. When we confess our sinfulness and our need of his love, he immediately re-makes our lives, as the potter re-shaped the clay.

This is the message of hope that God wishes to convey to us for 2019.

European nations pay for defiance of God’s plan

As Christmas draws near, the gloomy prospects of Brexit proposals are somewhat overshadowing the bright lights of Britain.

Virtual civil war has broken out within the ranks of the political class, but there is a general blindness to the real cause of our troubles, which lies with our relationship – not with Europe – but with Israel.

Nations are trying to tamper with God’s dwelling-place on earth and are suffering serious injury as a result.

As writer and theologian Frank Booth reminded me, after Donald Trump moved the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in 2017 in recognition of the obvious, European leaders May, Macron and Merkel joined the voices raised against the decision. Look at them now!

Zechariah 12:3 says: “I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock [or heavy stone] for the nations; all who try to move it will injure [or grievously hurt] themselves.”

And Booth asks: “How can anyone who knows the slightest thing about the history of Israel deny Jerusalem as her natural historic capital?”

Signs of the Times

In the bleak midwinter, a popular carol, seems an apt description of the view ahead of us in the UK. But the hymn should also remind us of what life is really about, especially of how – 2,000 years on – we are still profoundly affected by the Christ child who came into the world to save us from our sin.

Bethlehem may have been his birthplace, but Jerusalem – just six miles away – was and is the key to the world’s future. It was there that our Lord died as the perfect sacrifice for sins, where he rose from the dead three days later, where he subsequently ascended to Heaven after appearing to more than 500 witnesses, and where he will return - probably in the very near future judging by the many signs of his coming already being fulfilled.

Nations are trying to tamper with God’s dwelling-place on earth and are suffering serious injury as a result.

The most obvious of these has been the re-birth and rise to prominence of the State of Israel, symbolised in the Bible as the fig tree (see Matthew 24:32-34). The blossoming of the fig tree has come about as a result of the return of Jews from every corner of the world to the land promised them some 4,000 years ago. All the world has witnessed this phenomenon, fulfilling an abundance of ancient prophecies (e.g. Jer 23:7f; Jer 31:16f; Ezek 36:24; Isa 43:5-7).

But as the scriptures also predicted, they would not be welcomed back to their homeland by their neighbours – hence the current upheaval in the Middle East.

So how does this affect the UK and why is this issue – and not Brexit – the source of our difficulties?

Britain’s Capitulation

Britain has been granted the inestimable privilege (by God himself and through international treaties) of facilitating Jewish repatriation. This was thanks to godly men like Wesley, Wilberforce and their evangelical successors, whose influence caused the Government of 1917, led by David Lloyd George, to issue a promise to do all it could to make this possible through what came to be known as the Balfour Declaration (signed by Foreign Secretary Lord Balfour).

Despite later reneging on this pledge and betraying the Jews – even refusing entry (to then British-controlled Palestine) to thousands of would-be immigrants trying to escape the Nazis – we at least got the ball rolling which enabled a reborn Israel to rise from the ashes of the ‘Valley of Dry Bones’ (Ezek 37) that was the Holocaust.

But as we kept caving in to Arab intimidation, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict worsened and our great empire – on which the sun never set – began systematically to fall apart in direct fulfilment of Genesis 12:3, promising blessing to those who bless the seed of Abraham and cursing to those who don’t.

In addition, Joel 3:2 guarantees judgment on the nations that have scattered his people and divided up their land. All the talk now is of a ‘two-state solution’, carving up territory designated (both by God and international treaties) as belonging to the Jews.

Jerusalem the Key

Jerusalem is the key to all this. Plans for dividing the city into east and west in order to achieve peace are actually a recipe for further bloodshed, as Israel’s enemies want all of it.¹ The last great war, the Bible says, will be over the status of Jerusalem, not Europe or the Far East.

Australia’s lukewarm attempt to please both sides of the divide by only recognising West Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, and holding off acceptance of East Jerusalem as the Palestinian capital until a two-state solution is found, will cut no ice with God, who spits such lack of commitment out of his mouth as English folk might do with tepid tea (see Rev 3:16).

Australia’s lukewarm attempt to please both sides of the divide will cut no ice with God, who spits such lack of commitment out of his mouth (Rev 3:16).

While this position might be seen as a step in the right direction, Australia’s Pentecostal Christian Prime Minister Scott Morrison should note what has happened to Britain, Germany and France since Donald Trump’s brave decision to move his embassy to Jerusalem.

Taking their cue from the politically correct secularists, May, Merkel and Macron defiantly refused to follow Trump’s example, and all three are now in grave difficulties.

Open warfare over Brexit threatens to bring further chaos to Britain including the distinct possibility of a Government led by Jeremy Corbyn, an ally of terrorist groups wishing to obliterate Israel and who shows no sign of lancing the boil of anti-Semitism within his party.

Merkel, meanwhile, has a fragile hold on power as Germans express great frustration with the problems caused by mass immigration, and deadly street riots – led by a movement reported to be grossly anti-Semitic – have erupted in Paris in protest at Macron’s ‘reforms’.

Reaping the Whirlwind

Such a triple calamity can be traced back, quite simply, to defiance of the God of Israel and of his commandments which have formed the basis of Western civilisation.

We are reaping the whirlwind of anti-Semitism and godlessness after shamefully turning our backs on the God who bought our redemption when his Son was brutally murdered in his very own city (Ps 48:1-3).

The Bible is clear that our security as nations and individuals depends on our attitude to Jesus, to the Jews and to Jerusalem (John 3:16; Gen 12:3; Ps 122:6).

References

1 See also Senior Palestinian negotiator: all of Jerusalem on table, World Israel News, 18 December 2018.

Turmoil, division and anarchy: where is God?

The Prime Minister has seen off the challenge to her leadership and secured another 12 months before she can be challenged again. But has this changed anything at Westminster?

The failed leadership coup has shown that one third of the parliamentary Conservative Party is against their own Prime Minister, reflecting the division in the nation that is becoming increasingly vociferous.

Britain is not alone in being a divided nation. France is in an even more serious situation with open warfare on the streets and widespread social dissatisfaction with the ruling elite. President Macron is fighting for his political life in a battle that looks even more dangerous than Theresa May’s. The rise of populist movements in Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Hungary, Poland and even in Germany, is threatening the stability of the European Union.

These political eruptions make it increasingly difficult for Brussels to make concessions to the Brexit deal, despite signs that they would like to help Theresa May in her search for a solution that would win the vote in the British Parliament.

So what’s going on? Why did 117 Conservative MPs vote against their own leader? Is it possible to solve the Irish border situation and get a Brexit deal that satisfies everyone? We could add at least a hundred more unanswerable questions to the mounting pile of imponderable conundrums facing us in the world today. It seems that in every part of the world there are social, political or economic problems, or even open conflict threatening to destabilise the globe – and that’s without throwing in environmental problems like climate change!

Need for Spiritual Clarity

How do we read the situation facing us as we send off our Christmas greetings and contemplate the frightening prospect of another year with all the old problems unresolved and even more on the horizon? Is there something very simple that we are all missing? Is there another dimension that would enable us to see the whole thing from a different perspective? It’s like watching snooker on a black-and-white television – it just doesn’t make sense; you can’t know what’s going on. Change to colour TV and suddenly it all becomes clear.

It seems that in every part of the world there are social, political or economic problems, or even open conflict threatening to destabilise the globe.

Paul describes this situation: he says that there are some things that can only be understood if they are viewed from a spiritual dimension. He says: “The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Cor 2:14).

Among the hundreds of prophecies in the Bible, the one that makes the most sense in our present situation is the little word from Haggai 2:7 that we have quoted lots of times in Prophecy Today UK and in the old printed magazine of the same name: it is that God is shaking the nations.¹ And not only the nations; that prophecy says that God will also shake the whole of the heavens and the earth – in other words, all of Creation. Why would God do such a thing? There has to be a reason!

Clearly God does not want to see the destruction of his Creation and the annihilation of human beings. But the Bible makes clear that God will do what is necessary to soften hard hearts and get people’s attention – because he desires all people to come to a knowledge of him and respond to his offer of salvation.

Anarchy Arising

There are plenty of other passages of Scripture that speak about terrible destruction coming upon the nations of the world. Since the invention of atomic weapons and other weapons of mass destruction, passages such as Isaiah 24, which describes the devastation of the earth’s surface, have taken on a new significance.

I am not saying that God is warning us of the imminent risk of nuclear warfare. But I do foresee that large parts of the world are moving into a highly disturbing time of anarchy – of the challenge to law and order, of urban warfare – even repeating the kind of civil war that has devastated Syria in the past seven or eight years.

In Britain the demand for a ‘People’s Vote’ may sound innocuous, but it could very quickly lead to the kind of open conflict on the streets of London and other cities similar to that which is taking place on the streets of Paris.

Prolonged and Confusing Battle

In order to understand the significance of the battle within the Conservative Party, which is a reflection of the division in the whole nation, we have to see the spiritual forces that are at work. This is a battle between post-modernist, globalist, atheist forces, born in the 18^th-Century Enlightenment, and Britain’s centuries-old Judeo-Christian heritage. In the last decades, it is the latter that has been losing ground in this battle. The Brexit crisis has simply brought everything to a head; the outcome will determine the future, not only of Britain but of the whole Western world.

In order to understand the significance of the battle within the Conservative Party, which is a reflection of the division in the whole nation, we have to see the spiritual forces that are at work.

This is why it is such a prolonged and confusing battle that is so difficult to understand. It is actually a battle between the forces of darkness and the forces of light. I am not saying that all the politicians who voted against the PM are the goodies and the others are the baddies – or vice versa! I doubt if many of them really understand the true nature of the battle and the spiritual significance of what is happening in our lifetimes.

We are moving towards what Christians call the end times – the turbulent days foretold in Scripture leading up to the Second Coming of Christ. We can only understand what is happening in our daily news bulletins when we see it in the context of the whole revelation of truth in the Bible. I believe this is why so many Christians are getting into small groups to study the Bible and to pray together in these confusing days.

D-Day

The secular humanists are fighting very hard to keep Britain locked into the European Union: this is why they have seized upon the Irish border as the weakest point in the Brexit agreement: a way for them to continue to exercise power over Britain.

It is becoming increasingly clear that the best solution would be for Britain to leave with no deal at all, which would also save paying £39 billion to the EU. It would probably cause some economic disruption for a short period but in the end would lead to far greater prosperity and new opportunity to seek the blessing of God upon the nation.

We greatly need to pray to God to protect Britain in the turbulent days leading up to D-Day – 29 March 2019.

Editorial note: Do visit our ‘Pray for Britain’ section on the website, where new prayer resources have been uploaded since last week. Please also consider attending a number of special prayer days coming up soon:

• Saturday 26 January: A Day of Prayer and Fasting for God to Deliver our Nation from Chaos! The SSE Arena, Wembley, 10am-6pm. Organised by David Hathaway and Eurovision. Dr Clifford Hill will be speaking.
  
• Monday 18 – Wednesday 20 March: Issachar Ministries conference, ‘Brexit: Hardship or Harvest?’. Swanwick, Derbyshire.
• Friday 29 March (Brexit Day): A Day of Prayer in Westminster. Organised by Issachar Ministries. With Dr Clifford Hill, David Hathaway and others.

See the News Page for further details of these events and to book tickets.

Notes

1 See also Hebrews 12:25-27. 

Riots in France should be a wake-up call to Britain.

It is often said that the only thing we ever learn from history is that we never learn anything from history. Watching the scenes on TV from Paris last weekend of rioting crowds wreaking havoc around the Arc de Triomphe reminded me of the fear that gripped Britain back in the days of William Pitt and William Wilberforce. There was genuine dread that the violence from the French Revolution would spread across the channel and sweep away law and order in Britain.

The anti-Macron riots ought to act as a wake-up call in Britain, with our politicians locked in acrimonious debate of the Brexit deal presented to Parliament by Theresa May. The latest polls indicate that the country is even more divided today than it was at the time of the 2016 Referendum. A poll this week showed that 44% of the nation would like to remain in the EU while 50% want the Government to get on with the deal and complete Brexit.

Despite overwhelming evidence that the country is evenly split on this issue there are still loud calls from the public (aided and abetted by the BBC) and among pro-EU politicians for a second referendum. The motive behind this is, of course, the desire to keep Britain locked into the European Union. But a second referendum would be disastrous - both in terms of the economy and for social order.

In the 2½ years since the Referendum a revolution has been taking place affecting social attitudes and values, driven by the advancing post-modernist agenda and the unrestrained use of hate-filled social media. Britain simply could not cope with another six months’ campaign as required by law in the lead up to another referendum. The breakdown in law and order would be horrendous. There would undoubtedly be riots on the streets of our cities with tempers running high and rival parties taking the nation to the brink of civil war.

The motive behind calls for a second referendum, which would be disastrous for the country, is the desire to keep Britain locked into the European Union.

Breaking Off the Yoke

Tim Ireland/Xinhua News Agency/PA ImagesBut what are the alternatives? Our politicians are faced with the choice between Mrs May’s EU deal, no deal, or going back to the people. It is surely time to face the fact that there is no easy solution, because we are a nation under judgment!

We chose to align ourselves with the secular humanist European Union 45 years ago, in defiance of our biblical heritage and the word of God that clearly warns against being unequally yoked: “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?” (2 Cor 6:14).

We are reaping the harvest of our own foolishness and lack of trust in God. We have had numerous warnings that our national life has been going in the wrong direction but every warning sign has been ignored since the 1980s when we joined the EU. In the printed version of this magazine we interpreted sign after sign, such as the sinking of the Herald of Free Enterprise, the 1987 hurricane that hit south-east England, Black Monday and the stock market crash, the King’s Cross fire and numerous others that carried a spiritual warning to the nation. But ears were deaf and eyes were blind to the word of the Lord.

We are now in a similar position to that of Jerusalem in the time of Jeremiah when God told him to go up and down the streets of the city and see if he could find one person who dealt honestly and seeks the truth. He couldn’t find anyone and he thought “These are only the poor; they are foolish, for they do not know the way of the Lord, the requirements of their God. So I will go to the leaders and speak to them; surely they know the way of the Lord, the requirements of their God. But with one accord they too had broken off the yoke” (Jer 5:4-5).

They had severed all connection with God, so the nation was no longer under his protection at the time when the Babylonian army was already invading the land. The destruction of Jerusalem was inevitable unless there was divine intervention.

We are now in a similar position to that of Jerusalem in the time of Jeremiah when God told him to go up and down the streets of the city and see if he could find one person who dealt honestly and seeks the truth.

Judgment on the Whole World

This is the situation facing us in Britain today. Our political leaders are in disarray. No-one knows what to do, so they spend their days in Parliament shouting at each other, heaping abuse on those who hold different views and growing in frustration and bitterness that is spilling over into the nation through the media. No one stops to ask, “Is there any word from the Lord?” If they would look back along the way we have come, they would see that God has been warning us for many years!

The word received in Jerusalem in 1986 was that a time of judgment was coming upon the whole world:

It will not only be by war and civil war, by anarchy and terrorism, and by monetary collapses that I will judge the nations but also by natural disasters: by earthquakes, by shortages and famines, and by old and new plague diseases.

I will also judge them by giving them over to their own ways, to lawlessness, to loveless selfishness, to delusion and to believing a lie, to false religion and an apostate church, even to a Christianity without me.¹

The Way Ahead

We cannot blame the PM for the deal she has reached, because the EU was never going to give us a good deal. They have plenty of problems of their own with the rising power of populism threatening to tear the Union apart. Even if we changed our PM for a radical Brexiteer, he would not achieve an advantageous deal for Britain and anyway, the public are rapidly losing faith in all politicians.

The way ahead is to accept where we are now, repent, and urgently seek the Lord for the way forward. Of course, we know that repentance is not going to happen with our godless politicians. Meanwhile, Brexit itself is being threatened by a combined assault from post-modernists and assorted powers of darkness which are determined to force another referendum and keep Britain locked into the EU. God have mercy on us!

The way ahead is to accept where we are now, repent, and urgently seek the Lord for the way forward.

But…

But there is still a faithful remnant of believers in Britain whose prayers could change the situation. We should concentrate our prayers on Brexit being achieved on 29 March 2019 – one way or another – and put our trust in God for the future. The prayers of good and faithful men and women could still influence the future history of Britain.

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble, therefore we will not fear though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea…Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. (Ps 46)

Not since the days of Dunkirk has there been so great a need for sustained, believing prayer for the future of Britain.

Editorial note: To this end, we are publishing some prayer points gleaned from prophetic words and editorials published on Prophecy Today UK since the Referendum in 2016. Read them here. We hope to publish more prayer resources in the coming weeks. We have also gathered together prophecies and articles of particular relevance that we have published since Prophecy Today re-launched in 2015, to aid you in your prayers. Find them here.

References

1 Read the full prophecy here.

Advice for petitioning Heaven at this dark time in our nation.

Britain has a choice ahead.

I have been looking at things we published in Prophecy Today back in 2016, prior to the Referendum and the vote to leave the European Union. Amongst the many comments and articles about the EU and about Britain, its heritage and present social and spiritual condition, we also published what we believed to be an authentic prophecy given by David Noakes.

Although we left readers to assess whether or not they believed this to be a genuine word from God, we clearly felt that there was the truth in it, or we would not have published it. We therefore believe it is right to revisit it at this crucial time in the nation’s history.

We now face the appalling prospect of a second referendum, which is being continually pushed by the BBC in all their news bulletins and interviews - or another general election, in which there is a strong possibility of Jeremy Corbyn becoming Prime Minister.

Let’s review the situation. Theresa May has rightly won the respect even of her strongest opponents, however grudgingly, for her resilience and persistence in the past two years of hard bargaining with the officials of the European Union, succeeding in agreeing a deal with them which has now been presented to the British Parliament and will be voted upon in the near future.

The deal itself is vastly complex and is set out in 500 pages of legal language that makes it difficult to summarise and assess. It sets out the financial settlement with Brussels for allowing the UK to leave the EU; the establishment of a transition period, giving businesses and individuals time to adjust; and it establishes the rights of EU citizens in the UK and UK citizens in the EU at the end of the Brexit period. 

We now face the appalling prospect of a second referendum, which is being continually pushed by the BBC in all their news bulletins and interviews.

The Irish Question

The most controversial part of the deal is the agreement over the border between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic, to ensure that Britain cannot gain a competitive advantage over the rest of the EU.

Anti-Brexit protesters in Westminster. See Photo Credits.

There is agreement between the two sides to make every endeavour to secure a satisfactory agreement during the transition period. But if no agreement is reached, a temporary backstop would come into effect whereby all EU rules and regulations would apply keeping Northern Ireland effectively within the European Union – a situation that could only be resolved by joint agreement. In other words, Northern Ireland could only be joined up to the rest of the UK with the permission of the EU! This of course is quite intolerable to the DUP and to all Brits who uphold the Union of the United Kingdom!

What a strange quirk of history that the Irish question, which has bugged the English since the time of Oliver Cromwell, should be the main stumbling block to our agreement in getting out of the European Union! It has long been a joke among Westminster politicians that if they ever discovered the answer to the Irish question, the Irish would change the question! They have done just that now. It is no longer a question of whether or not there should be a border, but how the border should operate.

But we cannot blame the Irish for the problems of the European Union, which conflict much more deeply with the foundational values of our democratic civilisation. For centuries these ‘British’ values have been founded upon biblical principles of truth, integrity, faithfulness, righteousness, liberty and freedom of expression. It is because these values were being threatened by the European Union and its unelected cabal of Eurocrats, dedicated to secular humanist philosophies and the principle of ‘ever-closer union’, that many people in Britain voted to leave.

What a strange quirk of history that the Irish question, which has bugged the English since the time of Oliver Cromwell, should be the main stumbling block to our agreement in getting out of the European Union!

Revisiting Prophecy

So, what is God saying to Britain today in the face of the utter chaos in our House of Commons, where every MP has a different point of view and there is no shared vision? We hardly need to remind our readers that where there is no vision, the people perish! (Prov 29:18) or, to use the Living Bible’s translation – “Where there is ignorance of God, the people run wild.”

Our greatest problem in Britain today – and the reason for this absence of vision - is the lack of understanding of even the basics of biblical truth. It is now a whole generation ago that we ceased to teach schoolchildren the basics of the Bible. This is why this present generation is suffering so much from knife crime, guns and gangs in our cities. And this is why there is such a vast amount of mental disorders, depression and suicide among young people – and adults.

A whole generation has been raised without any understanding of basic truth. Now they are even being told that they can choose their own gender – the one fixed point of reference that they have in their childhood! Indeed, we are a nation thoroughly deserving of judgment! We are certainly on the road to ruin unless there is a fundamental change in social policy, currently driving the nation to disaster.

We need to read again the central paragraph of the prophecy given to David Noakes in November 2015 (published in April 2016):

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

I warn you now that the European institution will not repent, even though I bring disaster and destruction upon it. I urge you, O Britain still beloved by Me for the sake of your godly forefathers, come out of her, so that you may not be caught up in that same destruction, for I am even now arising in judgment to bring to nothing what she has sought to achieve. If you will separate yourself from her declared rejection of God, I will have mercy upon you and restore my hand of protection; and I will use you once again to bring light to many lost in the darkness which is now steadily increasing.¹

Our greatest problem in Britain today – and the reason for this absence of vision - is the lack of understanding of even the basics of biblical truth.

Choice Ahead

The choice facing the British nation today is a choice between re-asserting our independence as a sovereign state and (crucially) putting our trust back in God for the future, or being driven onto the rocks of destruction through social chaos and violence. This will inevitably follow if the secular humanists continue to get their way – particularly if they succeed in forcing the nation to hold a second referendum.

It does not really matter whether we leave the EU with Mrs May’s deal or with no deal. If we put our trust in the Lord, blessings and prosperity are guaranteed for the future of the nation. The one thing to be avoided at all costs, is a second referendum. The prayers of all Christians should be directed to this end.

References

1 Read the full prophecy here.

We need to be honest about the root causes of our national problems.

In last week’s Editorial we said that successive Governments have undermined the central importance of marriage and family, thereby damaging the social stability of the nation. This is a major reason why we are now seeing so many children and young people who have no understanding of right and wrong and whose behaviour is uncontrollable. And this is why so many young people are dying on our city streets in a wave of knife crime, drugs and gang warfare.

20 years ago, I was working with Home Secretary Jack Straw MP, compiling a report to Members of Parliament on the health of the family in Britain. It was presented in July 1998 at a meeting in the Moses Room (appropriately) - with its great wall murals depicting Moses receiving the 10 Commandments.

Mr Straw promised a White Paper stressing the importance of measures to strengthen family and marriage in Britain. In a Green Paper, Supporting Families, he had correctly stated that marriage was the most reliable framework for raising children: but this caused dissension from LGBT members in the Cabinet which prevented him from issuing the White Paper or taking any concrete measure to support and strengthen married families.

The rallying cry of the secular humanists driving Government policy was “the family is not deteriorating, it is only changing”. They said that all kinds of family are of equal value. This was the beginning of Government policy focusing upon ‘equality’. Hence the value of the married couple family could not be taught in school in case a child from a single-parent family was made to feel inferior.

The rallying cry of the secular humanists driving Government policy was “the family is not deteriorating, it is only changing”. They said that all kinds of family are of equal value.

In defiance of all the evidence, children were taught what is now known as ‘alternative facts’ (laying the groundwork for ‘fake news’!). This was a milestone in the reshaping of Britain in accordance with secular humanist objectives.

Church and State Collude

At that time, the Lords and Commons Family and Child Protection Group recognised that child poverty, ill health, drug abuse, mental health problems and youth crime all stem from marriage failure and family breakdown. The evidence was said to be conclusive and incontrovertible, but ‘political correctness’ prevented the Government dealing with these root issues. In the Foreword to the Report The Cost of Family Breakdown it was stated:

Different sexual and child rearing lifestyles are decisively not ‘equal’ in the sense of ‘equality’ that is applied in all other areas of legislation; that is, ‘equal’ in their average results for good or harm on the present population and on generations to come.

Although the Report was received warmly by MPs on both sides of the House and in the Upper House, there was no change in Government policy. It was as though a veil was drawn over the eyes of politicians of all parties shielding them from the truth.

Worse was to come: at the time this report was published in July 2000, an Education Bill dealing with what pupils should be taught in school about sex and child-rearing was going through Parliament. A peer attempted to include Jack Straw’s statement in Supporting Families saying that “marriage is the most reliable framework for raising children”.

The Government fiercely opposed teaching children the truth that married families are the most reliable unit for raising children. There were extraordinary scenes in the Lords with the largest turnout of the session. No fewer than 234 peers voted against the Amendment, including nine bishops! It was a very tight vote and if the nine bishops had voted the other way it would have been carried. So, the Church of England’s representatives in Parliament voted against holy matrimony being taught to children in the schools of Great Britain!

In 2000, Church and State colluded to destroy family and marriage on one of the saddest days in our Parliamentary history.

Church and State colluded to destroy family and marriage on one of the saddest days in our Parliamentary history. Therefore, surely, in the sight of God, the Church of England must be held responsible for what we are now seeing on our city streets!

Veil of Deception

The veil of deception is still over the eyes of senior Church leaders today. I have seen evidence showing that the Bishop of Liverpool, a strong LGBTQ+ supporter, is using his power to prevent evangelical clerics from being appointed to Liverpool churches.

The Methodist Church has appointed a homosexual man as their National Director of Evangelism with the specific intention of creating more LGBTQ-friendly inclusivity; and the Methodist Central Hall in Westminster has banned evangelist David Hathaway from hiring it. He held a prayer meeting there last month but evidently said some things that were unpopular with some of the staff.

As I said in my recent book, The Reshaping of Britain,

The intensity of the great shaking of the nations is increasing rapidly. We may all soon be engulfed in a modern ‘Babylon’ of unbelievable intensity. But God is offering to Christians the most incredible opportunity, because only those who have put their trust in him will be able to stand and be overcomers.

Spiritual, Not Political

What we need to recognise is the hand of God in the deepening national crisis! Truth being upturned in the public square, confusion over Brexit, violence on the streets, soaring mental health problems, public institutions on the verge of collapse: all speak of a nation under judgment – both Church and State.

We have turned the word of God upside-down and he is saying, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight” (Isa 5:20-21).

We need to recognise the hand of God in our deepening national crisis!

As the Brexit crisis deepens and the confusion among politicians increases, we have to recognise that there are no political solutions to our problems, because they are primarily spiritual.

The cleverest politicians in the land will not solve the present crises! The only solution – the only way forward for the nation – is repentance and turning to the word of God. If we do this, whether we have a deal OR no deal, God will reach out and restore peace and prosperity to Britain. But if we simply continue as we are today, the result can only be catastrophe.

The People’s Vote

The people of Britain are being offered a choice at this astonishing juncture in our national history. This is the true ‘people’s vote’!! Joshua presented the same choice to the people of Israel: “choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve” (Josh 24:15). To the people of Britain, the choice is whether we will serve ourselves, and the pagan gods of the European Union, or the God of the Bible who has preserved us and so richly blessed our forefathers in times past.

To Christians in Britain, the choice is whether we will stand up and declare the truth, or stay silent. The good news is that it is always in times when God shakes the nations that the greatest opportunities for evangelism are presented.

Turmoil on the streets, in schools and in matters of state: what has gone wrong?

Two chaotic scenes shown on television this week speak volumes about the state of the British nation today. One was a short film about a school for excluded pupils showing young people whose behaviour was so disruptive they had been banned from mainstream education. They were some of nearly 50,000 dysfunctional or ill pupils taught in alternative provision schools.

The second was Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons with 600 representatives of the people all shouting at the same time and no-one listening to anyone else. This was the Mother of Parliaments in action – the oldest and most respected political institution in Western democracy. Brexit fever had spread its pernicious toxin across the House and sanity had fled the building. Chaos reigned supreme.

I went into my study and wept. What has gone wrong with the nation I have loved and served throughout my working life? Is there any word from the Lord? Isaiah 31 came to me. The Assyrian Empire was at its height and many in Israel feared invasion. In Jerusalem there was a strong pro-Egyptian party who had persuaded the king to send emissaries with lavish gifts to sign a treaty binding them with Egypt. The word of the Lord came to the Prophet Isaiah,

Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in the multitude of their chariots and in the great strengths of their horsemen, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel, or seek help from the Lord…But the Egyptians are men and not God; their horses are flesh and not spirit. When the Lord stretches out his hand, he who helps will stumble, he who is helped will fall; both will perish together.

How apposite this is for our current situation! When do we ever hear any of our political leaders ask if there is any word from the Lord? Of course, it should be obvious that if M. Barnier and the European Union are happy with the deal, it must raise doubts as whether it will be good for Britain. But the greatest need among our Members of Parliament is for spiritual discernment, which is woefully lacking at present.

When do we ever hear any of our political leaders ask if there is any word from the Lord?

Facing Turmoil

No-one, however, could fail to admire the resilience of the Prime Minister facing a baying pack of critics in the House of Commons with insults and jibes thrown at her from all sides, yet she answered each one with dignity and confidence. At the end of the day she held a televised press conference in the full view of the nation and defended the deal she had struck with Brussels, saying that her major objectives had been achieved and Britain would be leaving the European Union on 29 March 2019.

Her objective has been to seek an arrangement that would ensure frictionless trade with the rest of Europe while at the same time taking back responsibility for our borders; but safeguarding the position of EU workers in Britain and British citizens resident in Europe.

Her objective has also been to get out of the Common Agricultural Policy and the Common Fishing Policy which have favoured foreign producers. Above all, a major objective has been to ensure that Britain is free from the rules and regulations of the European Court of Justice and all the other legal impositions of Brussels. This is where there are major doubts among those who have fought for many years to be free from the EU and return sovereignty to the British Parliament.

Anti-Brexit protestors in Westminster this week. NurPhoto/SIPA USA/PA ImagesAlongside all these objectives has been the complication of the border between the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland. No one wants to return to a hard border, but the DUP, whose 10 votes in the House of Commons are needed for a Government majority, do not want Ulster to be treated any different from other parts of the UK.

Most of the politicians shouting abuse at Theresa May had not read the 580-page document jointly agreed by the negotiators from Britain and Brussels. It will no doubt be argued over for a long time and there will still be hardline Brexiteers who will prefer Britain to leave the EU with no deal than one that keeps Britain tied to European laws and customs-regulations for an ill-defined period.

The weakness of all those opposing the EU deal is that they have no rational alternative. They all appear to be a bunch of individuals peddling their own political ambitions - in contrast to the statesmanlike conviction of the Prime Minister.

The greatest need among our MPs is for spiritual discernment, which is woefully lacking at present.

Nation Under Judgment

The turmoil in the House of Commons and out on the streets of Westminster is something never before seen in my lifetime. There is a simple reason for this: we are a nation under judgment. Since the 1950s, one law after another has been passed in our Parliament that violates biblical values and teaching. The final red line was the passing of The Same-Sex Marriage Act in 2013.

This was not only directly against God’s act of creation in making human beings male and female in his own image, but it also further undermined the central importance of marriage and family in the social structure of the nation. This, together with all of the other laws which have enabled and encouraged family breakdown, is why we are now seeing so many children and young people who have no understanding of right and wrong and whose behaviour is uncontrollable. And this is why so many young people are dying on our city streets in a wave of knife crime, drugs and gang warfare.

Our politicians are infected with the same spirit of rebellion that we see among young people. Once you reject the word of God, ultimate standards of truth and righteousness disappear from the nation. If Parliament rejects the deal offered by the EU and agreed with the Prime Minister, the only alternatives are a ‘No Deal’ or another referendum. But a second referendum would only increase division and bring utter disaster, releasing uncontrollable anarchy on the streets.

It is important to remember that the European Union is also under judgment for having rejected the word of the Lord and scorned its centuries of Judeo-Christian heritage. In the near future, I believe we will see one nation after another enveloped in turmoil across Europe with rising nationalism tearing aside the false unity created by Brussels with their one-size-fits-all, secular-pagan politics.

The turmoil in Westminster is for one simple reason: we are a nation under judgment.

Pray for Mercy

If Britain were a godly nation we should simply leave the European Union, with or without a deal, and put our trust in the Lord, who would undoubtedly respond with protection and prosperity. But without faith we are likely to be driven by spirits of darkness.

The future of Britain is at greater risk today than at any time since the darkest days of Dunkirk in 1940. Will God have mercy upon us for the sake of our godly heritage and the faithful remnant of believers who are still interceding at the throne of grace?

Christians: Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong (1 Cor 16:13). And pray: pray for a spirit of repentance to fall among our politicians. Pray for eyes to be opened to the realities of what has gone wrong. Pray for prophetic voices to arise to call the nation back to God. Pray for mercy in the midst of judgment.

Brexit’s woes in spiritual perspective.

I knew I had to write about Brexit in this week’s editorial, so this morning I listened to the news more carefully – a depressing experience. I turned to my Bible for a word of comfort.

It fell open to the fall of Jerusalem and the Lamentations of Jeremiah. The word of the Lord came to me strongly, “This is the nation that has not obeyed the Lord its God or responded to correction. Truth has perished; it has vanished from their lips…The Lord has rejected and abandoned this generation that is under his wrath” (Jer 7:28-29).

Of course, that was written to Israel, a nation in a covenant relationship with God, but Jeremiah was also given a promise for all nations: “If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned” (Jer 18:7).

With these scriptures in mind we can turn to Brexit and ask what God is saying to us and to the people of Europe. What is God doing to work out his purposes today?

Rebellion Leads to Destruction

We cannot deny that Britain and the nations of the European Union have all turned away from the word of God. Though they have had the Gospel for more than a thousand years, each of these nations has been invaded by secular humanist philosophies that have devoured their good Judeo-Christian heritages. Europe has adopted an atheistic culture and God-denying policies that have, in large measure, brought us to the disastrous situation we face today.

The European Union is imploding under the weight of multiple crises. Its leaders are terrified of seeing Hungary, Poland, Italy and other key nations breaking away from the union as populist movements gain momentum across the continent.

The European Union is imploding under the weight of multiple crises.

In desperation, the Brussels gravy train, frightened that it is going to lose power and wealth, is trying to close ranks, punishing Britain in order to frighten off rebel elements in other nations. Of course, British politicians should know that they will never get a good deal from Brussels! The EU’s tactic now is to delay and delay – always holding out the hope of a deal but never actually concluding one, so that Britain continues to pay vast sums into EU coffers, but never actually walks away free.

The EU elites are exploiting the confusion they know surrounds British politicians of all persuasions in Westminster. But Christians should not be surprised at this confusion - because it is a classic sign of the judgment of God promised upon those who deliberately turn away from his truth: “The Lord will inflict you with madness, blindness and confusion of mind…You will be unsuccessful in everything you do” (Deut 28:28-29).

The Shaking of the Nations

For those who are familiar with the whole word of God in the Bible, it is obvious that we are going through a period which was revealed to the great Prophets of Israel more than 2,500 years ago. God said that there would come a time when he would bring judgment upon all the nations by shaking everything – the world of nature, politics and every structure of society: which is precisely what we are seeing today (see Haggai 2:6-7, cf. Hebrews 12:26-27).

As well as economic and political turbulence and societal breakdown, we are also seeing incredible storms, hurricanes and tsunamis hitting many parts of the world – as well as earthquakes and famines. The terrible wars and bloodshed in Syria and much of the Middle East, the upheavals taking place in Venezuela, Brazil and many other parts of the world, are all evidence of the great shaking of the nations.

Jeremiah’s Revelation

The great revelation that was given to the Prophet Jeremiah is one that we ought to be studying today. Jeremiah was facing the destruction of his country and the demolition of his city, Jerusalem, by the Babylonian army. His prayer (Jer 32) enabled him to see beyond the immediate tragedy and understand what God was doing: how, through it all, he was working out his purposes.

It is obvious that we are going through a period of worldwide shaking, revealed to the great Prophets of Israel more than 2,500 years ago.

The prayer began with the words, “Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you!” Then Jeremiah came to his central conundrum: although he knew that Jerusalem was going to be destroyed, he had been told by the Lord to buy a field at Anathoth - already enemy-occupied.

In his prayer Jeremiah said to God, “Though the city will be handed over to the Babylonians, you, O Sovereign Lord, say to me, buy the field with silver and have the transaction witnessed” (Jer 32:25). God’s response revealed to Jeremiah the significance of this symbolic act: “As I have brought all this great calamity on this people, so I will give them all the prosperity I have promised them. Once more fields will be bought in this land…because I will restore their fortunes, declares the Lord” (Jer 32:42-44).

Jeremiah realised that God had to allow a whole generation to suffer judgment before they would repent and be open to the truth. This is the way that God has always dealt with nation-wide rebellion – starting with Israel’s grumbling in the wilderness. And it enables us to understand what he is doing today in allowing the turmoil that is enveloping the nations.

God’s ultimate purpose, of course, is to see as many as possible come to a knowledge of salvation in Jesus – restored to right relationship with God and able to enjoy all the blessings he has to bestow upon his children. But persistent rebellion only brings more destruction.

If we are truly to understand the ‘Brexit Battle’, we have to see it in the context of the purposes of God revealed to us in the Bible. This is not just a little political wrangle. We are at a major crossroads in the history of the world and the unfolding and working out of the purposes of God.

Being Careful in Prayer

This is why Christians need to be very careful how they pray. We have said many times before on Prophecy Today that if we pray “Peace, Peace” when the Lord is saying “There is no peace!” we will actually put ourselves against God. We have to understand God’s nature and purposes and ensure that our prayers are aligned with what he is doing today.

Jeremiah’s prayer enabled him to see beyond the immediate tragedy and understand what God was doing: how, through it all, he was working out his purposes.

If we do this, declaring God’s truth and his good purposes to our godless generation so that people can understand what has gone wrong, and if this leads to a spirit of repentance and turning away from the ways of darkness, Britain will undoubtedly see days of revival come through this time of great shaking. This is the other message we have been emphasising recently on Prophecy Today.

Bible-believing Christians will undoubtedly ask, where does the Second Coming of Christ fit into this scenario? The answer is that it is not for us to know the times the Lord has set in his own timetable: but we may be nearer to that event than any of us knows. We have to obey the command of Jesus to “Watch and pray”.

The real reason for leaving the EU – come what may.