The Irish political game: North and South.

Have the lives of unborn children now become pawns in the political game? How low can we sink in the United Kingdom?

Satan’s cleverest lie is that he does not exist. Once that lie is accepted, the guard is down and a stream of further lies and deceptions can follow among which is the lie that there is no God presiding over the affairs of men.

In the course of just one generation, the majority of the people of the United Kingdom have become beguiled in this way: as a consequence, the laws of God have become trampled under our feet and some strange concoction of so-called ‘human rights’ has replaced the fear of the Lord. And this has happened in a nation whose Monarch made an Oath before Almighty God in the 1953 Coronation (whose 65^th anniversary is celebrated this very week) to maintain the laws of God and the true profession of the Gospel, to the utmost of her power.

Was it not the God of the Bible to whom the Oath was made? The personal God who does exist and cares about the affairs of our nation, to the extent shown in the sacrificial death of His Son, Jesus Christ, the total focus of the Gospel which the Queen, on behalf of the entire nation, vowed to proclaim!

satan’s cleverest lie is that he does not exist. Once that lie is accepted, the guard is down.

A multitude of our laws have changed over one generation to reverse what was once a much better reflection of the laws of God. Is it any wonder that God’s protection is being removed from our nation when we ourselves have reversed laws that were themselves intended to protect?

Thin End of the Wedge

This week, once more the protection of unborn children is in focus, wrapped up in the more clinical language of ‘abortion’ and the misguided language of human and feminist rights. The surprise referendum result in southern Ireland - a rebellion against the hold of the Roman Catholic religion - has sent a shockwave of opportunism up to Northern Ireland to those also wanting to legalise abortion there.

In 1967 a law was passed in Britain to counter back-street abortions so that women whose lives were at risk could find help in the NHS. We were concerned even with that first partial legalisation of abortion, and now we find that step by step, as the mindset of our nation has turned away from Almighty God, that law has become the thin end of the wedge.

Abortion is now more like a method of contraception than a questionable and sensitive measure in the most extreme circumstances of need to protect a mother or her baby when difficult choices have to be made on the grounds of health. And this week I would suggest that we have gone even beyond this, with the lives of unborn babies becoming pawns in the political power game.

Does God Approve?

Before taking this point further, let us pause and consider whether the Most Holy God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob approves of taking the lives of unborn babies. Does he really work on the principle of a woman’s ‘right’ to take control of her own body?

1967 was the thin end of the wedge.

The God who has protected Britain over hundreds of years until this day calls us to be like him and protect the vulnerable of society - and who can be more vulnerable than an unborn child? This is made clear by a principle of his laws found in Exodus 21:21-24. God shows his concern that we protect unborn children by imposing the penalty of the law when an unborn child is harmed. The penalty is: eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, would for wound, stripe for stripe - life for life!

This is the seriousness before God of our taking the lives of unborn babies so casually - as if what is hidden in the womb to us is also hidden to him! How foolish!

Crossing Another Line

I believe we crossed yet another line on abortion this week. This is highlighted by the attempt of the Shadow Attorney General, Baroness Chakrabarti, in seeking to goad the Prime Minister on the grounds of feminism to enforce the Northern Ireland Parliament to take steps to bring in an abortion law to match the result of the referendum in southern Ireland. This was front-page news on Monday of this week.

Let’s unpack this a little more to see how far we have fallen before Almighty God since the Coronation of 1953. The Attorney General is the senior legal advisor to the Crown and should therefore interpret, on behalf of the Monarch, how to bring the laws of the Bible into the laws of our nation. The Shadow Attorney General, aspiring to this job, should be amongst the most devout Bible students of our nation, trembling daily before the Throne of God in prayer.

Instead, this particular politician has seized an opportunity to attempt to drive a humanistic political wedge between the Conservative Party and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), knowing the strength of resolve of the DUP not to allow abortion in Northern Ireland. Against this, the figure of more than 100,000 lives saved in Northern Ireland because of the resolve of the Northern Irish has been quoted by members of the DUP: 100,000 testimonies of children who lived rather than died.

How wonderful it would be to hear about some of these children who were protected and now can grow up and contribute to our world, rather than to have been cast onto the waste heap before they could even take their first breath.

The God who has protected Britain for centuries until this day calls us to be like him and protect the vulnerable of society.

Inferring the Real Motive

God knows if I am right in my further appraisal of this situation: God is the Judge and his judgement will one day be fully applied. Nothing escapes his notice.

I cannot help observing that politics at times is a game of words and we are left to infer what the real motive is behind what is sometimes said. Members of the Labour Party in opposition are likely to seize any opportunity to bring the Government down. It is known that for important issues, including Brexit, the Government needs the support of the DUP. Therefore, much can be achieved if an issue can be highlighted to break this co-operation.

If the abortion law is such an issue, with motives veiled to what this law would really be doing in taking lives of innocent babies, then even this could be a bargaining chip in the quest for political control.

Almighty Spiritual Battle

We are in an almighty spiritual battle in Britain not even considered by those whose minds have been so veiled by Satan himself. Those who understand what is going on in the spiritual realm must continue to sound the trumpet as watchmen appointed by God.

When lives of unborn babies become bargaining chips in the political power game, how far have we fallen? We raised this point in July last year. The battle has intensified even more this week.

The war in Syria is moving in a very dangerous direction.

With Al Qaeda and associates on one side and Assad on the other, another screw has suddenly turned in this all-out conflict without any rules of behaviour.

It is reported that the chlorine gas dropped upon women and children this week was made in Germany, sold to Iran and used by Assad’s Syrian Government forces backed by Russia.¹ How strange! The rebels had almost been driven out of Douma; Assad was on the verge of victory, why use chemical weapons? Madness! Or is it all fake news? Who can we trust?

What a mess! The Western nations are saying that a red line has been crossed. But how many red lines have been crossed in the past seven years of war in Syria? Are there no limits to the inhumanity and destructive forces that have been let loose in the Middle East?

World War, No Rules?

Today we have reached what is arguably the most dangerous point in world history since the end of World War II, with nations primed with weapons of mass destruction taking sides in a local civil war that could suddenly explode into global destruction.

Neither side can claim to be righteous; both sides have committed terrible atrocities. Whichever side we in the West back, it seems, we are aligning with demonic forces whose adherents have departed from any elements of common humanity in their intensity of hatred and determination to shed human blood.

Today we have reached what is arguably the most dangerous point in world history since the end of World War II.

There are no longer any rules, there is no longer any compassion, no longer any consideration for helpless babies and little children – all are regarded as legitimate targets for unlimited aggression. What has happened to humanity?

Humanity Corrupted

The Bible declares that human beings are created in the image of God. Have we reached a stage in our descent into corruption whereby there is no longer the least hint of the divine recognisable in our humanity? Have we reached the point of absolute degradation?

The Prophet Isaiah foresaw a time when humanity would descend into such depths of utter corruption that God would bring judgment upon all nations.

“Come near,” he said. “Come near, you nations and listen; pay attention, you peoples! Let the earth hear, and all that is in it, the world, and all that comes out of it! The Lord is angry with all nations; his wrath is upon all their armies. He will totally destroy them, he will give them over to slaughter. Their slain will be thrown out, their dead bodies will send up a stench; the mountains will be soaked with their blood” (Isa 34:1-2)

It’s a terrible picture but it is one that we are already seeing little glimpses of on our TV screens and iPads as news from Syria comes in. But what of the future? Where will all this lead?

With unpredictable leaders at the helm of the nations, no-one can answer these questions. One false move or miscalculation could rapidly escalate the situation into worldwide destruction – such is the depth to which humanity has descended.

Is There Any Hope?

Is there any hope for humanity? Certainly, there is! This is the whole point of the stark warnings that God gave to the biblical prophets. The warnings are there for anyone to read if we want to know the truth and understand the answer to the present dilemmas facing humanity.

Have we reached a stage in our descent into corruption whereby there is no longer the least hint of the divine recognisable in our humanity?

Those warnings given in Isaiah 34 are immediately followed by some of the most beautiful words and promises in the Bible, in the next chapter, which refers to the wilderness blossoming, the glory of Lebanon and the splendour of Carmel already showing the glory of the Lord and the splendour of our God.

This is linked with good news to those who recognise the plight of humanity and turn to the Lord God for help – “strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, do not fear; your God will come’” (Isa 35:3-4).

Sin and its Undoing

In the New Testament Paul recognises the plight of humanity that we all experience: we are all sinners. We all do things that we regret. We behave badly and say things and do things in the heat of the moment that we should not. Paul goes to the heart of the matter when he says “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do” (Rom 7:15).

This is the strange thing about our human nature: the godly side can rise to sublime heights of self-sacrifice and self-giving. But the other part of our nature sometimes drives us to do things that we hate. This is because we are either led by the Spirit of God or we are driven by the forces of darkness.

Paul faces this dilemma and concludes that only Jesus is the answer to this internal battle inside each one of us, because only he can set us free from the forces of sin and death. He says:

For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. (Romans 8:11)

This brings us to the heart of the Gospel, that God in Christ has done something for us that we could not do for ourselves by actually dealing with the corruption of our human nature: as Paul says, “If anyone is in Christ he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (1 Cor 5:17).

How Should We Pray?

So, what should Christians do in the present dilemma? Clearly, we must pray for our leaders, but how should we pray? Should we not also pray for the Syrian and Russian people and their leaders? It takes two parties to make a conflict (or in this case, many more than two!) and we should be praying that God will bring godly wisdom into the councils of human beings.

Only Jesus is the answer to this internal battle inside each one of us, because only he can set us free from the forces of sin and death.

Should we also be praying for God to hasten the day of the coming of Jesus? World events certainly look as though we are drawing closer to the times described in Scripture as leading up to the Parousia. But his coming will bring judgment upon all the nations and all people. Jesus said that before that time “the gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world” (Matt 24:14) so that everyone has a chance to hear God’s truth.

It is not his desire that anyone should be lost and all of us have some loved ones who are not yet in the kingdom. We should be careful of praying for God’s judgment to come quickly: it is far better to trust our loving Father whose timing is always perfect, who knows all the circumstances and cares for all his children.

References

1 Behold Israel, Special update on Syria, April 11, 2018. Youtube.

One voice in Westminster speaks volumes about Britain's social crisis.

In last week’s editorial we said that family breakdown was at the heart of many of the problems facing the NHS. Those problems continue to hit the headlines today and at least one voice in Westminster has recognised their source.

Lord Farmer, former Treasurer of the Conservative Party and outspoken advocate of family values has called for a ‘Minister for Family Breakdown’ to tackle the huge problems facing the nation.

Michael Farmer, a committed Christian, grew up in a chaotic family with alcoholic parents but became a successful businessman and has since devoted his life to championing the importance of strong and stable families in public policy. In an article in the Daily Telegraph this week he refers to the “devastating effect of family breakdown upon the lives of young people that affect their ability to succeed in life.”

He says that every department of Government is experiencing the costs of family breakdown and the public are at last beginning to recognise the serious problems it causes.

Family Matters

Politicians of all parties are guilty of causing the problems we are experiencing today. A new phase started in the year 1997, when the New Labour Government of Tony Blair had just been elected promising a whole new political arena. A lot of the new MPs were women – dubbed ‘Blair Babes’– some of whom had had a bad experience of marriage, and there was a lot of anti-men sentiment around in Westminster.

Divorce rates were high and family breakdown was just being recognised as a social problem. I was the Research Director of the Lords and Commons Family and Child Protection Group. Jack Straw MP was Home Secretary and he offered Home Office support for the research we were carrying out on the health of the family in the nation.

At least one voice in Westminster has recognised that much of our NHS crisis owes to family breakdown.

Our report ‘Family Matters’ was presented in Parliament in July 1998 at a packed meeting in the Moses Room at which Jack Straw accepted the report and promised Government action to strengthen family life in Britain. But the White Paper he promised he was never able to produce, due to strong opposition in the Cabinet from the rising anti-family lobby, whose mantra was “There’s nothing wrong with the family, it is just changing”. They said that all types of family were of equal value. This was ignoring the truth that had been known since the time of Aristotle, who defined the worst inequality as the treating of unequal things as equal.¹

The Facts IgnoredLord Farmer of Bishopsgate, who has spoken out about the dire consequences of family breakdown. See Photo Credits.

The report noted the complex character of family structures. It stated:

Social analysts now refer to ‘first marriages’, ‘remarriages’, ‘cohabiting couples’, ‘lone-mother families’, ‘lone-father families’, ‘step families’, ‘multi-parent families’ [where children spend some time with one parent and some time with another], ‘multi-sibling families’ [where children from different unions live in a single household with one parent, or stepparent, or other carer]…²

It was noted that these ‘re-constituted families’ not only placed a stress upon the adults involved, but they had strongly negative effects upon the children, in terms of health, education, peer group relationships and life chances.

Research for the Report found that 98% of children involved in persistent youth crime came from broken homes. It concluded that if the present rate of marriage and relationship breakdown continued, it would have catastrophic effects upon the lives of children and young people, and upon the future stability of the national social structure.

Two years later, July 2000, we published another report, ‘The Cost of Family Breakdown’ which stated:

Britain’s children are suffering as never before, family fragmentation is a major cause of poverty, inequality and social exclusion. Yet there are few attempts to engage with ideas to strengthen family and marriage. Research shows that children are twice as likely to suffer adverse outcomes from family breakdown as those from intact families. This is a huge disadvantage in education, emotional and physical health, and in life-chances for employment and personal fulfilment. But ‘political correctness’ produces a kind of conspiracy of silence to ignore the facts, the outcome of which is to institutionalise the disadvantage of children and to promote depression and mental instability among adults.³

All these facts have been known for at least the past 20 years and yet they continue to be ignored by politicians so that generations of children in Britain are being denied the right to a happy, healthy home life that will enable them to be fulfilled in adult life.

It is surely time for our politicians to be held accountable for their crimes against humanity by continuing to ignore the words of Jack Straw MP who stated, “The family is the building block of society and marriage is the ideal form of family life” (in the Green Paper ‘Supporting Families’, published by the Home Office in 1998).

The facts about family breakdown have been known for at least the past 20 years, and yet they continue to be ignored by politicians.

Church Complicity

Sadly, the Church has no better record than the politicians. When Jack Straw’s words were published, an Education Bill was going through Parliament. A Peer introduced an amendment to the Bill in the House of Lords to ensure that “marriage is the ideal form of family life” was included in what should be taught to children. Tony Blair’s Government opposed it (against its own Home Secretary) but so too did nine bishops.

If they had voted for the amendment, it would have been passed. How strange! The official representatives of the Church of England voted against a measure to teach children the value of faithful monogamous marriage! So, the Church colluded with the state to destroy the biblical basis of family and marriage in Britain.

Isn’t it time we Christians acknowledged our part in bringing upon the nation the troubles we are now seeing in our NHS and everywhere else in the life of the nation – our overflowing prisons, our neglected lonely old people, our children who know nothing of the teaching of the Bible about what is right and wrong? Jesus said that it would be better for those who cause children to sin to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied round their neck (Luke 17:2).

It’s time to recognise that the Church has been part of the conspiracy of silence that has allowed the nation to reject its Judeo-Christian heritage. Surely, repentance and weeping before the Lord should be high in our priorities.

But if Lord Farmer is right that there is a shift in public opinion towards recognising the problems created by family breakdown – then surely it’s time for Christians to break their silence and join him in the battle against the powers of darkness!

References

1 ‘Aristotle's Axiom’. Peter, LJ, 1979. Peter's People. NY: Morrow.

2 Click here for the full report.

3 Cost of Family Breakdown. Family Matters Institute, Bedford, 2000, p80.

Schools are queuing to hear the message of Easter creatively told in an interactive, child-friendly way.

Some 10,000 primary pupils in the South Yorkshire town of Doncaster – statistically at the bottom of the church attendance league table at just 2% – have been discovering the amazing story of the death and resurrection of Jesus over the past seven years.

Christians around the country have been taken by surprise at the openness to the Gospel now found in the teaching establishments of this northern metropolitan borough – geographically the largest outside London but with a population of only 300,000.

Eye-Catching Atmosphere

For the eighth successive year a project known as the ‘Easter Journey’ is being offered to Key Stage 2 pupils of the town, with Tuxford in north Nottinghamshire also now benefitting.

A total of 1,300 pupils from eight schools will experience the unique journey this year, taking them through five stages of the Easter story – Palm Sunday, the Last Supper, the Garden of Gethsemane, the Cross and the Resurrection – each told by volunteers (some in costume) in different classrooms specially set up with appropriate props and backdrops, creating a peaceful, eye-catching atmosphere in which the children are encouraged to interact with the story and think about what they are hearing.

Over the last seven years, some 10,000 primary pupils in Doncaster have been discovering the amazing story of Jesus’ death and resurrection.

At the Last Supper, for example, the children are asked to gather round a long table laden with jars of water and ‘wine’ along with bowls of grapes and pitta bread, candles and serviettes – and even a money-bag (for Judas). We explain something of the significance of the feast of Passover and, with the help of a bowl and towel, enact the servant nature of Jesus in washing the disciples’ feet, though due to practicalities and time constraints we usually invite just one pupil to have his or her hands washed instead!

Wide-Eyed and Excited Pupils, Enthusiastic Staff

Often spell-bound by what they see and hear as they are transported to the Holy Land at the time of Jesus, the pupils leave the 75-minute experience wide-eyed and excited while matching enthusiasm from staff means there is always a waiting list of schools wanting to host the event.

Because there are simply not enough volunteers to meet the need – “the harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few” – a rota ensures that those missing out get priority the following year or instead have the chance of hosting a ‘Christmas Journey’, which is restricted to Key Stage 1 pupils.

Backed by the Doncaster Schools Worker Trust, supported by a number of local churches and in associating with Scripture Union, the project is headed up by Linda Gardner, who has been teaching Christianity in the town’s primary schools for over 20 years through RE lessons, Bible classes and assemblies. With the addition of a secondary school worker, Dan Budhi, and a host of teams taking assemblies using the Open the Book (Lion’s Storyteller Bible) method, the Trust is currently supporting over 50 of the town’s schools.

The pupils leave the 75-minute experience wide-eyed and excited and there is always a waiting list of schools wanting to host the event.

Spreading the Gospel

The Easter and Christmas journeys follow the success of a project celebrating the Pilgrim Fathers when coach-loads of pupils enjoyed a day of discovery in the nearby village of Scrooby, where the founding fathers of the United States first gathered 400 years ago before being hounded out of the country for their passionate faith.

Along with all the other regular school visits throughout the year, the journeys allow the Trust not only to help schools meet their curriculum requirements on religious education and outside visitors, but also to carry out the Great Commission in spreading the Gospel.

Olave Snelling and Pippa Smith discuss pornography and the need to protect our children.

In the late 1980s, while filming at a school in Coventry for a series of ITV programmes on ethics and morality in the nation's life with Gerald Priestland, former Religious Affairs Correspondent for the BBC, an extraordinary and alarming finding was made.

In this deprived area of high-rise flats some distance from the city, request was made to film in the school playground, and later to talk to mothers and activists who were concerned to provide after-school activities for the children who otherwise had nothing. Filming completed, we talked to the headmistress, explaining to her that we had noticed a particular absence of the kind of 'playing' normally associated with large numbers of children in school playgrounds.

“I am not surprised,” said the headmistress, “My children do not know how to play.” She went on to explain that, in the large majority of households in the area, fathers were out of work. This was at a time when thousands lost their jobs because the machine tool industry (for which Coventry was famous) had hit the buffers, as had many other commercial and industrial enterprises. There was nothing for any of them, or their wives, to do. There was not even enough money to catch a bus into the city to do a little shopping.

Instead, they sat indoors and watched TV - but mainly explicit pornography, from early morning until late at night. Children watched this material before they went to school and would watch more when they came home. They were so de-sensitised to anything normal that they had no idea how to play as normal children would. That was in the 80s. Imagine what it is like now.

Children who had been exposed to explicit pornography were so de-sensitised to anything normal that they had no idea how to play as normal children would.

The Smartphone Generation – and its Consequences

Today, the situation is far worsened by the ubiquitous presence of technology. Smartphones, tablets and computers make even the youngest of children incredibly vulnerable to explicit and harmful material in circulation online – this is no longer an issue exclusive to television and ‘offline’ sources like DVDs and videos.

• 81% of 13-18 year olds have smartphones.¹ Smartphone ownership is now routine for children as young as nine.²
  
• At least 37% of 3-4 year olds go online; 28% of 3-4 year olds have their own tablet.³
  
• Within the 16-24 age group, 99% claim to use social media and say it accounts for 18% of all the time they spend using media and communications. On average, 16-24s spent 2 hours 26 minutes per day using social media in 2016; 61% use their smartphones to access it.⁴

Meanwhile, parents are trailing behind:

• 23% of parents say they have trouble controlling their children’s screen use.⁵
  
• 83% of parents have never received information about sexting (the sending of sexually explicit images of oneself via text or over the internet) and 84% of parents have never looked for it. 50% of parents want to learn more.⁶
  
• 42% have spoken to their children about sexting at least once, but 19% do not intend ever to have a conversation about it.⁷

Fighting to Block the Material

The effect of violent, horrific video material and pornography on children (let alone adults) is well-known, but little-recognised officially. Once seen, it cannot be unseen. It is highly addictive. It is utterly destructive. Pornography is a multi-billion-dollar industry and the exploitation of children and many adults caught up in the making of this material is a worldwide problem.

There are a number of heroes and heroines involved in trying to get this atrocious material blocked, not least Baroness Howe, CBE, who, after many years of trying, is seeing the Digital Economy Bill making its way through Parliament.

The effect of horrific video material and pornography on children (let alone adults) is well-known, but little-recognised officially.

This Bill would introduce Age Verification legislation, that would require all commercial providers of online pornography to have age verification controls in place to stop under-18s from accessing the material.

Where websites refuse to comply, the Age Verification Regulator (the British Board of Film Classification, the BBFC) would notify them and could, if required, disrupt them by cutting off their ancillary services. In the case of persistent infringement, these sites could actually be blocked in the UK. The Secretary of State, Karen Bradley, has declared the Government's interest to carry through legislation to protect under-18s and to make age verification compulsory for sources of this material in the UK.

But there are still problems.

Digital Economy Bill: Age Verification

Age verification is not a perfect, catch-all solution for the pornography crisis. If introduced as a legal requirement, it would only cover the 50 largest commercial porn websites operating in the UK, which the BBFC says is proportionate, but which is not exhaustive. It may also only cover the four major internet service providers (ISPs), leaving many other smaller ones left out.

This also leaves a lot of other media platforms (e.g. social media) unregulated, providing ready access to 18+ content. The majority of social media sites set a lower age limit of 13 for use of their sites, but 75% of all 10-12 year olds in the UK are on them anyway.

Internet service provider Sky has questioned the effectiveness of age verification checks and installed its own alternative solution: a Broadband Shield, which filters out harmful content automatically and is turned on for their internet customers by default (Sky is the only major internet service provider to do this). 62% of Sky internet users now benefit from its protection, compared to a much lower take-up of 4-10% when the default was set to 'off’.

Attempt to Hijack the Bill

The House of Lords.

Meanwhile, as reported last week by Prophecy Today UK, the Government is planning to table an amendment to the Digital Economy Bill to further water down its suggested protections. Bowing to pressure from Labour and the Lib Dems, this amendment would make explicit material currently illegal in the UK (i.e. material that is so harmful it is considered beyond age classification) legally accessible to adults – and so theoretically accessible to children (given the weaknesses of age verification as described above).

And so, a Bill intended to protect children and young people from the terrible impacts of pornography could cause untold further harm.

The Digital Economy Bill was meant to protect young people – but it could cause untold further harm.

This is all deeply concerning and comes before the Lords on Monday 20 March. The problem within the House of Lords is that most Labour and Lib Dem Peers are libertarian and outnumber Conservatives.

After the vote, the Bill will return to the Commons, where the amendment must be resisted by MPs.

It cannot be beyond the wit of man to understand that even over-18s are going to be affected by the hideous material these Peers want to liberalise (indeed, the BBFC knows that they would be). It is important to note that sex crimes have risen by 50% in the last 10 years and violent crime is also rising. Women and girls, as well as boys and men, will be more vulnerable.

We desperately need protection at this stage – not further liberalisation.

The Terrible Fruit

There has been a tripling in numbers of children reported to police for indecent images offences in the last three years, to more than 2,000.⁸ According to IWF Research UK, “Girls as young as 7 are being targeted online and posting explicit images of themselves – in some cases the material was secretly recorded on internet calling services and then posted by a third party.”⁹

A generation of children and young people are being betrayed - internet service providers and platforms such as Google and social media must be challenged to be responsible and provide the best and most effective protection.

Online pornography is creating a public health crisis in our young people, whilst children are being driven to mental breakdown and even suicide by harassment on social media. The effect of consumption of pornography and violent material is a time-bomb waiting to go off. Our children are at risk.

Please consider emailing your MP – and/or a member of the House of Lords – today.

Olave Snelling & Pippa Smith
Working Party on the Family
Lords & Commons Family & Child Protection Group

References

1 YouGov’s SMIX Kids Report, February 2014.

2 DfE Research, 2016.

3 Ofcom, 2014.

4 Ofcom: Communications Market, 2016.

5 Action for Children, January 2016.

6 NSPCC Report, 2016.

7 Ibid.

8 1 in 6 reported to police for indecent images are under 18. NSPCC, 1 September 2016.

9 IWF Research UK. See also their 2015 report on this issue.

A timebomb of corruption is set to explode across the nation.

This was the warning given at a meeting of the Family and Child Protection Group in the House of Commons on Wednesday this week. The Group was considering the Digital Economy Bill which is at present at the Committee Stage in the House of Lords.

The Digital Economy Bill covers a complex set of regulations surrounding the provision and use of the internet. One of its objectives is to increase the protection of children from exposure to scenes of extreme violence and sexual activity on pornographic sites, but this may be the very thing that is not achieved!

Proposed Derestriction of Prohibited Material

These regulations providing protection are being opposed by a group of Lib Dem and Labour peers who are against all restrictions on public liberty.

The Government has intimated to Peers this week that because of pressure from the Labour and Lib Dem front benches, it will table an amendment next week which means that ‘prohibited material’ (i.e. pornography that is currently beyond age classification, such as violent or child pornography) will no longer be blocked forcibly by the age verification regulator, the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC).

The amendment will mean that so long as prohibited material is behind age verification checks so that children theoretically cannot see it, it will become available legally to adults, unless it meets the much tighter definition of ‘Extreme Pornography’.

The Digital Economy Bill should increase the protection of children online – but this may be the very thing it fails to achieve!

If the amendment is approved in the Lords, the Bill will go back to the Commons where there will be further pressure from MPs who share the desire for full freedom of public access to explicit material. If passed, it will remove regulations that were set in the Video Recordings Act of 1985 that forced all films to be classified according to their content (i.e. for family viewing, age 15, or 18+). Films containing scenes of an explicit sexual nature and extreme violence were banned from public display and could only be viewed in clubs or licensed premises.

Currently, prohibited pornographic material is subject to this same law – but the proposed amendment would change that in the domain of the internet, liberalising the law and increasing the likelihood of children gaining access to such material.

The Impacts of Pornography on Children

I was involved with the Parliamentary Group that campaigned for the 1985 Act that produced evidence showing that anything that is available for the public will be seen by children of all ages. In those days there was no internet, but video films could be purchased or hired and were freely available in most homes. The evidence we produced showed that if these films were available in the home they would likely be seen by children.

Secondly, we produced evidence showing the harm done to children by watching scenes of extreme violence and explicit sex. We showed that anything seen on the small screen affects behaviour which, of course, is the whole basis of advertising. Advertisers would not spend millions of pounds promoting their goods if what is seen on the screen does not affect human behaviour.

One example we presented to Parliament was the witness of a police officer who said that a six-year-old girl had been gang-raped by a group of 10-year-old boys who had been going to the home of one boy at lunchtime to watch pornographic films.

Explicit films available in the home are likely to be seen by children – and watching that kind of material does affect them adversely.

Despite all the evidence, we faced massive opposition from the film industry which, since the dawn of the internet, has grown even bigger and more powerful. Billions of dollars are made in the pornographic industry, which has its supporters in both Houses of Parliament.

Today, research has shown that 47% of 11-16 year olds have accessed some kind of pornographic site, and that one in five 11-17 year olds have seen pornographic images that have upset them.¹

Towards Social Disintegration

If the Digital Economy Bill is changed in accordance with the Government’s proposed amendment, important regulations protecting children from harmful scenes will be removed. A timebomb of pornography and violence would be set to explode which will do untold harm among young people. It will make Sodom and Gomorrah seem like a Sunday School party!

Age verification checks are not enough to protect children from accessing pornographic material. Even if parents install protections on their children’s computers, young people soon find ways of circumventing them. It will mean that even the youngest of children could have access – not only on their computers but also on their phones.

Age verification checks are not enough to protect children from accessing pornographic material.

The ultra-libertarians among our lawmakers in both Houses of Parliament seek to remove all regulations out of a misplaced desire for full individual freedom. They have already succeeded in breaking down traditional family life to an extent that endangers the health and well-being of millions of children living in re-constituted families. Unless there is a reversal of current trends that are undermining the value system of the nation, we will experience social disintegration on a scale that is impossible to contain.

Lynda Rose, CEO of Voice for Justice UK, responds: “The adverse effects of pornography are so clearly established by research, that it is difficult even to conceive anyone today calling for liberalisation of current provisions and easier access."

“That a Labour/Lib Dem coalition in the House of Lords should, therefore, be pushing for amendments to restrict application of the proposed age verification provisions contained in the Digital Economy Bill seems recklessly perverse. Children will inevitably be put at increased risk - and inevitably they will suffer.”

Reaping the Whirlwind

Sadly, already we are beginning to see the harmful effects of these trends. We have children as young as 6 and 7 self-harming and becoming suicidal, with social media and other online content playing a central role in worsening this trend.

We have mental health problems at epidemic levels among adults. We have teachers on long-term sickness with mental health problems generated by the misbehaviour they have to contend with daily in the classroom and the playground.

All this stems from the deliberate abandonment of our Judaeo-Christian heritage and the biblical values that historically kept society stable and healthy.

The current trends are undermining our national value system, and if left unchecked will lead to untold social disintegration.

It is surely time for Christians who love this nation to speak fearlessly about the problems facing us. We have to speak about the ‘justice’ of God as well as his love. God is calling his Church to be a prophet to the nation. That means warning of impending judgment in the same way as the biblical prophets did when they saw danger. The Prophet Joel was told to “Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy hill. Let all who live in the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming” (Joel 2:1).

Jeremiah was told to stand at the crossroads and declare the word of the Lord, “I am bringing disaster on this people, the fruit of their schemes, because they have not listened to my words and have rejected my law” (Jer 5:19). The same could be said of Britain and other nations in the Western world. We have had the truth for centuries and we have turned our backs upon it. We have sown the wind and now we are reaping the whirlwind!

What You Can Do

There are two things Christians can do right now. First, tell other Christians and mobilise prayer. Pray that the Government’s amendment will not succeed; pray anyway the Lord tells you – even if it’s to pray confusion into the House of Lords. Secondly, on a practical note, send an email to any member of the House of Lords you know (or even pick some from the list on the internet) asking them to vote against the amendment.

Above all – pray! Pray for the Lord to protect the nation from the clouds of darkness that are gathering to overwhelm us, even if you believe that the nation does not deserve God’s protection. Pray that he does not ‘hand us over’ to the forces of evil, as Paul foresaw the consequences of “the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness” (Rom 1:18-32).

References

1 New blocking powers to protect children online. Department for Culture, Media & Sport.

Paul Luckraft reviews ‘What Are They Teaching the Children?’, edited by Lynda Rose (Wilberforce Publications, 2016).

This very pertinent and important question for our age is thoroughly explored in this collection of 12 essays written by a wide-ranging group of well-qualified contributors and skilfully put together by Lynda Rose, CEO of Voice for Justice UK, who have published this volume in conjunction with Wilberforce Publications.

Much Food for Thought

Lynda herself has written a key chapter, entitled Battle for the Soul of our Nation. Other topics covered include the role of parents as primary educators, the relevance of Christian assemblies and the issue of indoctrination, especially in the areas of sexual morality and scientism (the way in which scientific investigation has been turned into a belief system). The collection concludes with a personal reflection by Baroness Cox, called Holding the Line.

If you are concerned about the ways in which state education has become a vehicle for promoting secular and liberal beliefs about religion, morality and the family, often overriding the wishes and values of parents, then this is a book that will give you much food for thought.

Vital Resource

It is not a book to be dipped into lightly. Every chapter has been thoroughly researched and is well-documented with many endnotes. The overall contention of the book is that education today has become an ideological battleground.

There has been a revolution, a bloodless coup that has been consciously planned and instigated by secular activists committed to the overthrow of the Judeo-Christian foundations on which our educational system was built. Given this scenario, this book is a vital resource for teachers, parents and all those concerned with the wellbeing of our nation’s children.

What Are They Teaching the Children? (352 pages) is available from Amazon for £12.

Dr Clifford Hill reflects on the BBC's social engineering agenda.

What is the BBC doing? Last night they broadcast an hour-long piece of pernicious propaganda purporting to be a serious documentary called 'Transgender Kids'.¹

As a documentary giving serious consideration to the subject it was a total flop – it was neither informative nor interesting. But it was very revealing about the BBC's clear agenda to change the moral values of the nation.

There were very few children actually featured in the programme and their stories were interspersed with long speeches from so-called 'experts' on what was described as 'gender dysphoria'.

The programme was all about what's happening in Canada - the only mention of the UK came in the last few minutes, when the commentators were trying to persuade viewers that gender dysphoria is now a worldwide issue with expansive statements about the need for "gender affirmation" being universal! The implication was that children all over the world are clamouring to change their sex. But there were no hard facts or statistics given to back up these sweeping claims.

Canada Leading the Way

Two or three children spoke about their experiences and the experts said that children as young as two or three can express unhappiness about their gender. In Canada they are treated in a Toronto clinic which practises "developmentally affirmative therapy".

They prescribe gender-blocking drugs to children to delay the onset of puberty and when they become teenagers, if they still want to change gender, they can proceed to sex-reassignment surgery. The programme admitted that 88% of boys, when reaching this stage, do not proceed but decide to stay with their birth gender.

In Canada, 'gender dysphoric' children are treated with gender-blocking drugs before being offered sex-reassignment surgery.

The stories of the girls who wanted to be boys were mixed in with scenes of gay pride marches and placard-waving transgender adults, leaving the distinct impression that the whole so-called 'documentary' was just a cover for LGBT propaganda.

Again, there were no statistics given to show how widespread it is for children to express unhappiness about their gender. The statements from parents certainly did not give confidence that the adults in these children's lives had shown wisdom in their counselling.

A Global Phenomenon?

A major object of the programme appeared to be to give the impression that clinics around the world are flooded with children wanting to change their gender. It implied that this is a universal phenomenon that requires a major attitudinal change among parents and teachers to be able to identify the so-called 'classic symptoms', so that publicly-funded 'gender affirmative treatment' can be universally available.

Many of the statements made in the programme were anecdotal rather than evidence based research data to support the views of the 'experts'. But there were a number of times when the transgender slogans about "the new normal" were slipped into the script which revealed the real purpose of the so-called 'documentary' - blatant social engineering.

It is sad that the LGBT community are going to such lengths to try to convince the public that their lifestyle is "normal". Clearly, they recognise that it is not normal and that is why they are campaigning to change the definition of 'normal' to 'new normal'!

The programme gave the impression that this is a universal phenomenon that requires major attitudinal change.

Imposing A Different Value System

Those caught in or choosing a homosexual or transgender lifestyle have every right to pursue this course for their lives – although what a Christian response to this looks like is obviously a controversial topic worthy of much discussion and prayer.

What I object to is the values promoted by the LGBT lobby being imposed forcibly on the rest of society as is apparently being advocated by Dame Louise Casey, the Government's 'integration' czar. In a recent speech to a select committee in the House of Commons, she labelled church schools who support traditional marriage as "homophobic". The BBC appears to be participating in this campaign of social engineering to change our national attitude to family, marriage, love and gender away from God's original design.

In Britain, we already have laws protecting minority groups from discrimination - our so-called 'hate laws' are there for this very purpose. In a civilised society, it is right that we should respect the rights of minority groups; but it is not right that the BBC (as our national broadcaster) should use its power at prime time to broadcast a blatant piece of social engineering - such as the 'Transgender Kids' programme last night.

Postscript: Clearly this is not just a social issue which is part of the natural movement of change that occurs from one generation to the next, reflecting changes in technology and living conditions. What is happening here is a deliberate attempt to change the foundational values and beliefs of our society, which are rooted in our understanding of Creation, the nature of existence and the health and well-being both of individuals and society as a whole. These are essentially 'spiritual' concepts that we will be examining in greater depth in the coming weeks. In the meantime, we value comments from our readers.

We are pleased to introduce Patrick and Grace Munyua from Nakuru, Kenya, with an update on their thriving and diverse ministry!

Introduction (John Quinlan)

How can I best introduce Patrick Munyua from Kenya? First of all, that is not how I have grown to know him over the past years. I have come to know him as 'Bishop' Patrick and his wife Grace, a man and woman of God, serving him in their home region of Nakuru, a place that I gather is one of the poorer parts of the country. My wife and I were introduced to Patrick and Grace in around 2010 when they visited England, and quickly sensed a unity in God's spirit with them.

We kept in contact with them initially with regard to supporting two nursery schools they had built for very disadvantaged young children, who have been displaced due to conflicts, or who are orphans or coping with the ravages of AIDS in their families. Patrick's and Grace's aim has been to provide a safe, therapeutic environment for the children to enjoy each day, getting some substantial food and a basic education.

As well as the nursery schools they have now constructed buildings where older children are being taught and taken through national exams.

But the reason for Patrick's title of 'Bishop' is another aspect of their ministry: the fourteen or so churches in the region that they shepherd. Since late 2011, Clifford Denton and I have been supporting Patrick with the starting of a Tishrei Bible school. This started with a group of students meeting in the shade of a tree to study, although they now have a building constructed specifically as a Bible school.

This email Patrick sent to me back in May 2012 gives a wonderful flavour of the early days of the school:

Love and greetings in Jesus Name...

Parental counselling.We are all well and thankful for His providence. We are experiencing very unusual falls with severe floods causing destruction and loss of life in some places. Not good experience but as we go through the Book of Genesis we...

Actualy I forgot to tell you our class time table. My first class which is 'the FIRST FRUIT'...starts at 7am-8:30am. And in the afternoon from 3:30pm-5pm. This makes have time for a group discussion as we go through each one's thought and prayer...Now the next class of church members consists of eight [and] will be meeting on Saturdays whole day and Sunday afternoon. So I have experienced the hunger and thirst of the Word in the hearts of many.

...The group discussion is playing a great role as we respect each one's opinion. It is Live! Man of God, that is our Bible school progress and NEWS! Hello and shalom.

Patrick et-al.

Patrick and Grace, man and woman of God, can be an inspiration to us all.

Update from Patrick Munyua, Kenya

Retired school teachers' gathering.Bwana asifiwe, Nashukuru Mungu kwa ajili ya wema Wake juu ya Maisha yangu. Mwaka huu nilipitia majaribu ya magonjwa Na Mungu akaniponya. Nina wimbo Wa wingi Wa shukurani ' Amefanya maajabu nasiwezi kueleza, siwezi kueleza,siwezi kueleza Amefanya maajabu.'Hallelujah! Praise God! I thank God for His goodness in my life. This year I went through health challenges and God healed me. I have a thanksgiving song: 'He has done so much for me that I cannot tell it all, I cannot tell it all, I cannot tell it all, He has done so much for me'. Hallelujah.

After a period of four months preaching sitting and walking with a stick, I was invited to attend and speak in different meetings. I believed God and started confessing, declaring and decreeing Psalm 86:17. This verse become a song of my heart and my tongue confessed it all day long.

In one in Seminary I taught about the 'consequences of poor or bad parenting'. When children are young, they are malleable and receptive. This is the best time or opportunity to teach and train them and to instil worth and the right values in them. It is the best time to introduce them to God and His Word.

There are children right now that are in hell or in prison because when they were children, their parents failed to do this and failed to use their parental authority to reprimand them and correct them. They ended up making wrong choices in their adulthood. Proverbs 23:13-14.

NB: Children come from God, BUT not all GO back to God! Psalm 127:3

A WORD TO EVERYONE:

1. Do things in GOD'S ways and God will be responsible for the results.
2. Do things in your own ways and you will be responsible for the results.
3. Your loyalty counts much to God when you have undivided heart. Bwana asifiwe (to God be the Glory).

Brothers, I am honoured to be part of your Ministry. May all of our team have a joyous time of blessings to bless others. To live is to give and giving is living. Shalom.

Patrick

In our series on the relevance of the prophets today, Howard Taylor looks at the heart-breaking symbolic message lived out by Hosea.

In many ways, the Israel of Hosea's time was similar to the wealthy Western society of today after the collapse of its former enemy, the Soviet Union. Israel had become affluent and secure. Its traditional enemies were in disarray and everything was going well for the country. But also like today's Western society, the nation had become corrupt, perverse, immoral and crime-ridden. After only one more generation it would be swept away in terrible judgment. Who but the Lord's prophets would have expected such a disaster?

The book of Hosea draws us near to the heart of God as he faces the iniquity of mankind. It challenges all superficial human expectations as to how God and man should respond to the presence of evil.

Seeing Evil from God's Perspective

The most common complaint against God is that he does not use his power to rid the world of evil and suffering. Should it not be easy for him? If he is both good and all-powerful, should he not be able to remove evil at a stroke? Countless theological students have sweated over essays on this so-called 'problem of evil'.

Hosea's experience enables us to see the problem of evil from God's point of view. God does not merely show Hosea how to approach the issue, he invites the prophet to experience in his personal life the dilemma that faces God.

Hosea's experience draws us near to the heart of God and enables us to see the problem of evil from his point of view.

It is for this reason that in the first chapter we read of Hosea's agonising calling. God tells him to take an adulterous wife and children of unfaithfulness because, in departing from the Lord (Hos 1:2), the land is guilty of the vilest adultery. The pain of family life which Hosea is called upon both to endure and to deal with enables him to experience something of God's own father heart for his people.

At the heart of the story of Hosea is the culmination of the painful process whereby sin is taken away through the cross of the Saviour. Hosea was not to foresee the consummation of Israel's agonising relationship with God. Nevertheless, the message clearly points beyond itself to that great sacrifice of love through which sinful man will be saved.

Solutions for an Unhappy Family

The book of Hosea introduces us to a family whose relationship to one another parallels God's relationship with his people. It is an unhappy family. The wife is faithless and leaves her husband, the children are strangers to him in his own home. What solution can there possibly be to such a situation?

1. Hosea could try long-suffering tenderness in an effort to bring his wife and children back - but this method alone would solve nothing, the wayward wife would just continue her wilful behaviour.
2. He could use strong-arm tactics, forcing his family back and keeping them prisoners - but that would also be futile, because it would entail resigning his calling as a husband and a father to become an autocrat who forces his family to obey.
3. He could simply let them go and wash his hands of the whole business -but that would be the end of the family he had promised to love and protect.

In fact, God's plan of redemption calls for the use of all three options. In his dealings with Israel, the world and with believers, there are times when we are aware of his great tenderness, times when we are mindful of his judgment, and times when it seems as if he has left us to 'stew in our own juice.' But through all his dealings with us we see a holy love which will not let us go. If we are to be eternally separated from him it will be our choice, not his.

At its heart, the story of Hosea is a shadow of the painful process whereby sin is taken away through the cross of the Saviour.

Gomer's Children

Soon after their marriage Gomer makes a fool of them both. Today, Western society mocks God and makes itself foolish as a result.

Gomer leaves her husband, but God commands Hosea: "Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites" (Hos 3:1), and so the book of Hosea unfolds. The names of Gomer's successive children are portents for Israel. The Lord commands that the first son be named Jezreel, "because I will soon punish the house of Jehu for the massacre at Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of Israel. In that day I will break Israel's bow in the Valley of Jezreel" (Hos 1:4-5).

Jezreel had been the site of a terrible massacre and injustice, involving trickery, butchery, and hypocrisy. It would be like naming a child 'Syria' or 'Libya'. The message of this first portent is that the strength of evil power structures and nations will be broken. God will not allow any evil empire to last forever.

The second child, a daughter, is to be called Lo-Ruhamah, "...for I will no longer show love to the house of Israel, that I should at all forgive them" (Hos 1:6). The name means 'not pitied'. It was a warning to Israel that a time would come when the nation would feel that it had forfeited God's compassion. It would look as if he cared nothing for them. The judgments that God will surely bring upon our society will make us feel the same.

The third child's name illustrates what we are already experiencing in the West. God said, "Call him Lo-Ammi, for you are not my people, and I am not your God" (Hos 1:9).
Yet the very next verses after these warnings tell of an astounding reversal of the process of judgment, though it is one which can only come about after the full wrath of God has been revealed.

But through all God's dealings with us we see a holy love which will not let us go.

In Hosea 1:10 we read God's promise that "...the Israelites will be like the sand on the seashore, which cannot be measured or counted. In the place where it was said to them, 'You are not my people', they will be called, 'sons of the living God'."

In Hosea 2:1 we read of God's reassurance: "Say of your brothers, 'My people', and of your sisters, "My loved one."'

The remaining chapters of Hosea reveal vital aspects of God's relationship with humanity. Let us look at just three of them:

1. The Day of the Lord

In Hosea 2:16,19,20, we read God's declaration: "In that day...you will call me 'my husband'; you will no longer call me 'my master'...I will betroth you to me for ever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion. I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the Lord."

In prophetic writings the phrase 'in that day' signifies that tremendous event when the Lord will not just send his prophets, but come in person. In the Old Testament God draws near to his people, revealing his heart of love. In the New Testament, God comes among his people in the person of Jesus, although he allows them to reject him. But even in his being rejected, he prays for their sin, and the sin of the whole world, to be forgiven.

2. Repentance Must Be Deep and Lasting

It is so easy in times of personal or national emergency to ask for God's help, to urge others to pray, or to call for a return to basics, but Hosea mocks such a shallow response to God. The people may say, "Come, let us return to the Lord. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds. After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence" (Hos 6:1-2), but the Lord is not to be bought off so easily.

"Your love is like the morning mist," he tells his errant people, "like the early dew that disappears. Therefore I cut you in pieces with my prophets, I killed you with the words of my mouth; my judgments flashed like lightning upon you" (Hos 6:4-5).

In both Testaments, God draws near to his people, revealing his heart of love, even though he allows them to reject him.

Much of the religion which we see within certain segments of the church represents nothing more than a facade - the empty offering of a cheap and spurious grace - with nothing but blessings for all and sundry. The Lord's prophets, however, bring to bear on the situation a word which cuts through such superficiality.

3. The Fatherhood of God

God first compares his relationship with Israel to that of a husband to his wife. Later on, the illustration is changed to that of a father's relationship to his child.
The most moving example of this is to be found in chapter 11 where God is revealed as loving and long-suffering. Many hundreds of years later, through his death on the cross, Jesus totally illustrated the full content of this chapter. Only those who come to the Father with child-like faith will enter the Kingdom of God.

Today, in much the same way that the people of Israel asked for a king to rule over them so that they might be like the other nations (1 Sam 8:4-5), Israel's great longing is simply for her status as a nation to be recognised by those around her. But God's call, from the beginning, has been for Israel to be ruled by him and him alone.

She was not to put her trust in the power and security offered her by the surrounding nations, but to put her trust in God. In Hosea 13:10-11 we read, "Where is your king, that he may save you? Where are your rulers in all your towns, of whom you said, 'Give me a king and princes?' So in my anger I gave you a king, and in my wrath I took him away."

Today, despite her desire for peace, Israel can find no rest. Her neighbours are fanatically opposed to her very existence. Although their rejection of Israel's right to exist is an expression of the wickedness of their own hearts, the Lord is using these threats to Israel to bring her to the point where she realises that she can no longer rely on her military prowess to save her. Only God and his anointed King, Israel's Messiah, will in the end provide the nation with true security.

Israel longed for recognition from the nations around her, but God's call from the beginning has been for his people to trust in him and him alone.

It is then, at the end of the age, that the nations will "beat their swords into ploughshares...Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war any more" (Isa 2:4) or, as Hosea 2:18 puts it, "Bow and sword and battle I will abolish from the land, so that all may lie down in safety."

Only then, when the authority of the Lord's Anointed is acknowledged in all the world, will the power of death and the grave be seen to be beaten: "I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. Where, O death, are your plagues? Where, O grave, is your destruction?" (Hos 13:14).

Originally published in Prophecy Today, Vol 10 No 5, September 1994.

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