But the light of Christ will shine even brighter.

As the dust begins to settle on the General Election with a hung Parliament result, I believe we are entering a dark period for our nation. That’s not all bad news, because it is at such times that the light shines brightest.

One candidate seemed to sum up the situation, perhaps inadvertently, by quoting the first line of a well-known hymn, “The day thou gavest, Lord, is ended…”, no doubt referring to the long night he had endured waiting for the results.

But it was prophetic of where we are, especially in terms of the next line: “The darkness falls at thy behest…”.

The Gamble Didn’t Pay Off

Theresa May called the election in order to win a mandate for conducting Brexit negotiations from a position of strength, but the gamble has not paid off. The chips are down. Her Conservative Party will clearly have the most seats, but does not look like having an overall majority following a campaign which has come down to a two-horse race. Labour have done far better than expected despite being led by a man of the hard left who has courted the IRA, Hamas and Hezbollah, and who only two years ago paid a visit to the grave of a Palestinian terrorist.

But he has successfully won over swathes of impressionable young people, who have turned out to vote in apparently unprecedented numbers. Somehow they have rallied to his cause, which seems mainly about turning our backs on austerity (i.e. spending money we haven’t got) and promising to abolish university tuition fees – bait which has proved very tasty, not only for students, but also for their parents. But who’s going to pay for it?

I believe we are entering a dark period – but it is at such times that the light shines brightest.

It is hardly surprising that the youth of today – a second generation brought up largely without the biblical ethics that underpinned our civilisation for centuries – are for the most part interested in no-one but themselves. So a short-term magic wand proves very attractive while Mrs May’s social care policies cut little ice.

Threat from Without and Within

Though she has been a loyal supporter of Israel, which is obviously important, I’m not sure a large majority for Mrs May would have been a good thing.

The truth is that none of the main parties mentioned Christianity in their manifestoes. Policies in support of healthy family life were almost totally absent – in fact the opposite was the case. For they all appear determined to incorporate the LGBT+ agenda into every facet of national life, even to the point of compulsory education on sexual relationships (including the supposed normality of gay sex) for nursery school children.

Caroline Ansell, defending a slim Conservative majority in Eastbourne, was hounded by the Press over her evangelical faith and because she had dared to employ an intern from the Christian campaign group CARE.

For many in this country, the gay issue has become like the nursery classic about The Emperor’s New Clothes, in which the emperor is brainwashed into thinking he is wonderfully dressed until a small child shrieks in horror: “The Emperor has no clothes!”

We are facing a double whammy – the threat of Islamic terrorism on the one hand, and on the other the danger of collapse from within that comes to all decadent societies. I have a picture of a gaping wound which only Jesus can heal. The Prophet Isaiah foretold of how the Messiah would die on the Cross for the sins of the world, and that “by his wounds we are healed” (Isa 53:5).

In discarding God from our culture following a world war when we could so easily have been invaded but for the prayers of the nation, we have poisoned ourselves with atheism. And we will only be cured when we acknowledge our diseased condition, and return to Christ for cleansing.

We are facing a double whammy – Islamic terror on the one hand, and collapse from within on the other.

Downward Spiral of Morality

The Church, meanwhile, has been intimidated into silence for fear of being dubbed homophobic. But Christians must stop denying their Lord. Part of the problem for Mrs May was that, while claiming to be guided by her (Christian) faith, she is said to have been the prime mover (as Home Secretary) behind the introduction onto the statute book of same-sex marriage – a total contradiction of biblical teaching and one of the worst laws ever passed in this land. And yet we have been largely silent in calling her to account.

Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron, a committed believer, initially inspired hope among Christian voters until he too denied that gay sex was wrong. And then Mrs May sacked Isle of Wight MP Andrew Turner for his biblical views on sexual ethics.

The LGBT+ agenda has penetrated every crack and crevice of our national institutions, and you are simply not allowed to object – Christians who have done so have been hauled before the courts. We tolerate everyone else – but not Christians. Where is the place of personal conscience in our supposed liberal society?

We have seen a downward spiral of morality on a par with that which ultimately led to the collapse from within of Roman civilisation. St Paul’s famous letter to the 1^st Century Roman Christians makes this absolutely clear as he encourages them to avoid being influenced by the depraved culture of those around them, whose descent into lust and lawlessness started by denying God as Creator. God’s eternal power was obvious from the beauty of Creation, “but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened” (Rom 1:21) Isn’t this what we have been teaching our children for generations: that we evolved from apes and God had nothing to do with the beauty we see all around us?

So for the Roman pagans, one thing led to another until they ended up engaging in “shameful lusts” (Rom 1:26) involving “unnatural” sexual relationships (i.e. lesbian and homosexual activity).

We have seen a downward spiral of morality on a par with that which ultimately led to the collapse of Roman civilisation.

It’s no use pussyfooting over this issue with supposed compassion. We have participated, as those unbelievers in Rome did, in the suppression of truth, and we wonder why our walls are falling down and our bridges are breached as we come under attack from enemies of God and democracy.

The Bible says: “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin condemns any people” (Prov 14:34).

Rebuilding on the Rock

We stand condemned as a nation, but there is a way out! Hear the wonderful words of Jesus: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” (John 3:16f).

Our walls are broken down because of our sin, and they will only be restored when we address the decadence in our midst and return to the God of our fathers.

To use another biblical metaphor, we have built on sand and are now found wanting. A fierce storm has hit us, leaving us wobbling and about to collapse. We need to rebuild on the Rock, which is Christ, who said: “Everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash” (Matt 7:26f).

Our walls are broken down because of our sin – they will only be restored when we return to the God of our fathers.

Thank God for media outlets like Revelation TV, who hosted their own election night commenting on the great issues from a biblical perspective. One of their panel made the pertinent point that Church leaders are failing to give guidance on voting to their congregations, as mosques clearly do. The Bible speaks into the issues at stake, so it is surely the duty of pastors and teachers to demonstrate, from the scriptures, how certain policies are either right or wrong.

Finally, we need to recapture total confidence in the Gospel as the sole means by which our beloved nation can be saved from its own folly. Let us say with St Paul: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile” (Rom 1:16).

Are those who oppose the EU really backward-looking and bigoted?

Reversing Brexit is currently the chief General Election objective of all those people, especially Liberal Democrats, passionately committed to furthering the goal of European union.

This group includes many of our young people, particularly those in higher education, because of a deeply rooted but mistaken belief that the desire to preserve or (in Britain’s case) re-gain national sovereignty is somehow ‘racist’ and reactionary. They are taught that ‘nationalism’ leads to war, and being patriotic supposedly implies that one dislikes foreigners.

However sincerely held this belief may be, it should be rejected firmly by biblically informed and historically literate Christians.

The fallen human nature of ambitious and despotic rulers, obsessed by the selfish pursuit of wealth and power, has been the chief cause of war down the ages - not the existence of self-governing nation-states.

As for World Wars I and II, they, like so many armed conflicts of the modern era, were launched by militaristic dictatorships against mainly liberal democracies, whose peaceful exercise of their national sovereignty threatened nobody.

Reversing Brexit is the chief General Election objective of all those passionately committed to furthering the goal of European union.

Consequently, the real lesson of history is the very opposite of that drawn by the supporters of European integration. Since power corrupts because human beings are fallen creatures, it is essential that it remain dispersed, in an international system of ‘checks and balances’, rather than centralised and concentrated in a European Super-State.

Curbing Immigration: Right or Wrong

These ideas about national sovereignty and freedom are highly relevant to the controversial issue of immigration.

Politically correct ‘liberals’ always imply that the desire to restrict immigration is morally suspect, because it stems (supposedly) from a xenophobic, bigoted dislike of foreigners. Even when political pressures force them to acknowledge people’s legitimate concerns about the impacts of mass uncontrolled immigration on schools, hospitals, housing and transport, they do so reluctantly, always wanting to change the subject to the need for more government action to create jobs and improve public services.

Yet whilst it is obviously important to combat racists and welcome the positive contributions made by so many immigrants to our economies and societies, there is a strong and principled case for acknowledging the right of individual countries to control their own borders.

Border Control is Moral

In the first place, a country’s right to control its borders and restrict immigration is an essential component of its national sovereignty. If it is not allowed to determine who is or is not permitted to cross its frontiers and settle within them, it cannot maintain its distinctive national character or preserve its political independence.

Consequently, if we value an international system in which political power is de-centralised, we should recognise that mass uncontrolled migration threatens these institutional and cultural foundations, and should therefore be curbed.

There is a strong and principled case for acknowledging the right of individual countries to control their own borders.

A second and related argument is that liberal democracies cannot preserve their sovereignty, cultural unity and liberties if they open their doors to too many migrants whose cultural beliefs and values are fundamentally at variance with those of a free society. This truth is particularly relevant to the question of mass migration from the Muslim world, especially within the context of the global spread of radical Islam.

Freedom to Critique Islam

As the annual reports of international human rights monitoring organisations like Freedom House regularly reveal, most of the Islamic world is blighted by religious intolerance, sectarian violence and political tyranny. Women largely remain second-class citizens, freedom of thought and speech is non-existent or heavily restricted, and the rights of religious and ethnic minorities are generally trampled underfoot.

Some two million Christians, for example, have been driven out of their Middle East homelands over the past 20 years. But the greatest victims of Muslim violence and intolerance have been and continue to be other Muslims. According to a 2007 study by Harvard-trained scholar and Middle East expert Daniel Pipes, and Professor Gunnar Heinsohn of the University of Bremen:

…some 11,000,000 Muslims have been violently killed since 1948, of which 35,000, or 0.3%, died during the sixty years of fighting Israel, or just 1 out of every 315 Muslim fatalities. In contrast, over 90% of the 11 million who perished were killed by fellow Muslims.¹

To highlight these facts, and the difficulties they pose for European countries struggling to control immigration from the Muslim world, is not to indulge in Islamophobia or to deny the fact that most Muslims currently living in Western countries live at peace with their neighbours and contribute to our societies. It is simply to draw attention to what is a genuine political and cultural problem widely acknowledged by liberal Muslims and human rights activists.

In March 2007, for example, a brave group of Muslim writers and intellectuals came together at a ‘Secular Muslim Summit’ in St Petersburg, Florida, USA, and issued a freedom manifesto called The St. Petersburg Declaration. This declared, amongst other things, that:

We see no colonialism, racism, or so-called ‘Islamophobia’ in submitting Islamic practices to criticism or condemnation when they violate human reason or rights…We demand the release of Islam from its captivity to the totalitarian ambitions of power-hungry men and the rigid structures of orthodoxy…²

Against this background, is it really ‘racist’ or illiberal for Western governments to seek to limit the entry into their countries of large waves of migrants? These will inevitably include a minority of Muslims who advocate Sharia law, do not recognise freedom of conscience or speech, treat women as inferior beings, and feel no loyalty or attachment to their host communities.

Liberal democracies cannot preserve their liberties if they open their doors to too many migrants whose cultural beliefs and values are fundamentally at variance with those of a free society.

Protecting Personal Freedom

It remains, finally, to observe that peace, harmony and wealth creation depend primarily on the voluntary co-operation and enterprise of private individuals, organisations, and businesses - that is, on all the myriad relationships, activities, and institutions of civil society outside the State.

Therefore, a peaceful and harmonious world requires that the coercive power of government be kept to a minimum, and maximum scope be given to personal initiative, effort and creativity.

That may seem a utopian dream, but such a world is more likely to become a reality (at least in part) if its existing free societies retain (or re-gain) their sovereignty and independence, trading freely with each other and co-operating in defensive alliances and the pursuit of common solutions to regional and global problems.

In such an international environment of competing tax systems, centres of power, and legal jurisdictions, connected to each other by free trade, travel and communication, private individuals and independent institutions will always have more room to breathe, and greater freedom of action, than if they are imprisoned within a world of regional power blocs – or, worst of all, some monopolistic system of global government.

Note Well

The single most important historical fact about the 20th Century is that more people (170 million of them) died in internal repression under tyrannical rulers and governments, than in all its wars combined.³

Bearing this in mind, no true friend of liberty should have any hesitation in opposing the misguided idealism of those who believe that abolishing national sovereignty will lead to a better world.

References

1 Click here for full details.
2 Click here to read the full text of the Declaration.
3 For fuller details, see: R.J. Rummel, 1996. Death by Government. Transaction Publishers, USA. Also The Black Book of Communism (Harvard University Press, USA, 1999).

A round-up of key resources for concerned Christians.

Christian Institute: General Election Resources

• Briefing on where the main parties stand on issues important to Christians.
  
• Questions to ask MPs.
  
• View your MP’s voting record.

Christian Concern: The Power of the Cross

• Campaign tools including church resources, social media resources, plus plenty of information on Christian freedoms in the UK and how to engage with the election in your area.
  
• View your constituency profile – including voting records for past and present candidates, as well as prospective candidate profiles.

CARE: engaGE2017

• Information on key election issues important to Christians.
  
• Resources for individuals and churches, designed to equip Christians to get involved in the election.

CUFI (Christian United for Israel): A Pledge for Israel

• Contact your prospective MPs and ask them if they are willing to pledge their support for Israel.
  
• See also CUFI’s coverage of Labour’s manifesto commitment to recognising a state of Palestine.
  

Voice for Justice UK

• VfJUK is not party-political but has launched a petition calling on Labour to drop their manifesto commitment to extending abortion ‘rights’ into Northern Ireland. Click here for more information.
  

If you know of any other useful resources, do post them below!

Examining the true spirit behind all the election promises.

The manifestoes are published! The day has arrived! No more leaks. No more fake news or half-truths. The real thing is now here. Each of the main parties has now published its policies for the next five years.

The politicians and their advisers have been poring over the texts, burning the midnight oil, arguing over each point and how to express it to the public. At last agreement has been reached and the results have been printed – there for all to see!

But how many voters will actually read the manifestoes? I decided to investigate what the politicians have actually said. I wanted to get past the big stuff on the NHS and migration; the economy and Brexit. I wanted to get the feel of what lies behind the policies. I wanted to read the small print – the things the politicians and their professional advisers have slipped in to the text – things they probably hope the public won’t really notice – the things they want to get away with undetected.

These are the things that reveal the true spirit behind the political promises that are being poured out this election time.

The Spirit of the Age

Upon closer inspection, all three main party manifestoes are pandering to the spirit of the age, seeking to endorse and extend radically anti-Christian values. Just look at some of the social issues that crop up across all three:-

• Extending sex education to all children
  
• Promoting LGBT+ lifestyles
  
• Tackling hate crime
  
• Enforcing and strengthening equalities law
  
• Promoting humanist values worldwide
  

Let’s look at what the parties have to say on these issues. The following are a few quotes:

Not-so-hidden agendas: Tim Farron makes it clear where the Lib Dems stand on Brexit.

Sex Education

The Conservative Party “will introduce comprehensive relationships and sex education in all primary and secondary schools” (p79).

Labour will “make age appropriate sex and relationship education a compulsory part of the curriculum” (p77). Labour will “ensure that all teachers receive initial and ongoing training on the issues students face and how to address them. We will ensure that the new guidance for relationships and sex education is LGBT inclusive” (p111).

The Liberal Democrats will “include in SRE teaching about sexual consent, LGBT+ relationships, and issues surrounding explicit images and content” (p29).

Promoting LGBT+ Lifestyles

The Labour Party says “A Labour Government will reform the Gender Recognition Act and The Equality Act 2010 to ensure they protect trans-people” (p111).

The Liberal Democrats will “strengthen legal rights and obligations for couples by introducing mixed-sex civil partnerships and extending rights to cohabiting couples” (p72). They will also “extend The Equality Act to all large companies with more than 250 employees, requiring them to monitor and publish data on gender, BAME, and LGBT+ employment levels and pay gaps” (p71).

Tackling Hate Crime

The Conservative Party will “push forward with our plan for tackling hate crime committed on the basis of religion, disability, sexual orientation or transgender identity” (p44).

The Labour Party will “bring the law on LGBT hate crimes into line with hate crimes based on race and faith, by making them aggravated offences” (p111).

The Liberal Democrats will “tackle bullying in schools, including bullying on the basis of gender, sexuality, gender identity or gender expression” (p30).

Enforcing and Strengthening Equalities Law

Theresa May launches the Conservative manifesto, Thursday 18 May.

The Conservative Party will “strengthen the enforcement of equalities law – so that private landlords and businesses who deny people a service on the basis of ethnicity, religion or gender are properly investigated and prosecuted” (p56) (This is a direct threat to Christians).

“A Labour Government will enhance the powers and functions of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, making it truly independent” (p108).

The Liberal Democrats will “extend protection of gender reassignment in Equality Law to explicitly cover gender identity and expression, and streamline and simplify The Gender Recognition Act 2004 to allow individuals to change their legal gender without unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles” (p72).

Promoting Humanist Values Worldwide

The Conservative Party will “continue to champion British values around the globe: freedom, democracy, tolerance and the rule of law” (p38).

The Labour Party commits to “appoint dedicated global ambassadors for women’s rights, LGBT rights and religious freedom to fight discrimination and promote equality globally” (p118). Labour will also “continue to ensure a woman’s right to choose a safe, legal abortion – and we will work with the Assembly to extend that right to women in Northern Ireland” (p109).

British Values?

All of these policies are either expressly anti-biblical or more subtly so – dressed in language that seems to promise good for society. The protections of hate laws and equality legislation, for instance, are difficult to argue against from a Christian standpoint without being labelled hateful or bigoted. However, it is these catch-all policies that are being used to shut down freedom of conscience and speech for Christians, while enforcing the nation to not only accept but also endorse wrongdoing.

All of these policies are either expressly anti-biblical or more subtly so – dressed in language that seems to promise good for society.

Moreover, the Conservatives are the only ones who spell out the values that lie behind all their policy decisions: freedom, democracy, tolerance and the rule of law. They claim these to be British values - and to untrained ears they sound positive - but there has been no national debate upon what constitutes British values, where these concepts have come from and what they are being used to promote.

They certainly are not the values of our forefathers, which were the biblical values of truth, justice, righteousness, faithfulness, integrity and love. These are the values of our Judeo-Christian heritage that former generations embraced and became the foundations of our civilisation. Are we to allow them to be abandoned without even protest?

Aggressive Humanism

All the values underlying the policies put out by all three parties in their manifestoes have come from Darwin, Freud, Marx and other humanists. They are based fundamentally upon evolutionary/secular humanist beliefs, not on Judeo-Christian values. By what right do our politicians champion humanist values “around the globe”, calling them British?

This is the spirit of the age that is driving the political policies being promoted in Britain today – aggressive humanism. Continued unchecked, these policies will undoubtedly bring Christians into conflict with the law in the future. Our freedom of speech risks being curtailed by hate laws and soon we will not even be able to quote parts of the Bible in public worship services. No doubt the day may even come when our home-based Bible study groups will also be under threat.

All the party manifestoes are based fundamentally upon evolutionary/secular humanist beliefs.

We Need the Word of the Lord!

When similar things were happening in Israel the prophets thundered forth the word of God, but today our church leaders are silent. Why do we not hear the word of the Lord declared in our nation?

“This is what the Lord says, cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the Lord. He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes…But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream…It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” (Jer 17:5-8)

Charles Gardner makes a passionate plea for Christians to be more active in their faith.

It’s time British Christians rose up to say, ‘enough is enough’.

As we stand at the crossroads with multiple challenges before us as a nation – politically, economically and spiritually – our greatest need is prayer. But in order to be aroused to the urgency of the times, we need leaders called “for such as time as this” – men and women who refuse to be intimidated by political correctness – conforming to the current worldview.

The Bible says: “…If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and forgive their sin and heal their land” (2 Chron 7:14). This promise was given to Israel, a nation in a covenant relationship with God. But Britain has voluntarily affirmed its biblical heritage through the Coronation Oath and may expect to see God’s blessings if we are faithful to honour his word.

But where is the Church, and where are our leaders calling us to pray? By contrast, South African Christians responded to such a call by travelling hundreds of miles across the country to join an estimated 1.7 million people petitioning the God of Israel to intervene in their nation’s desperate problems with corruption at Government level spiraling out of control.¹

Where is the Church, and where are our leaders calling us to pray?

The immediate euphoria of the early post-apartheid days, when a rainbow nation swept clean of injustice basked in the new sunshine, are long gone. Instead of godliness taking root for the long-term, a spiritual vacuum was left in the corridors of power, and it is as if the demons of the past have returned with fellow spirits making the last state of the nation worse than the first, as in the teaching of Jesus in Matthew 12:43-45 where he explained that some cases could only be dealt with by prayer and fasting (Mark 9:29).

Men of Courage

In a book written in the wake of the 7/7 bombings in London, Oxford vicar, Charlie Cleverly, likened the church to the position of Queen Esther when called to rescue the Jewish people from destruction in ancient Persia. The author calls for men of courage to rise up and lead us to the foot of the cross, to be prepared to suffer for our Lord as our forbears did when burnt at the stake for bringing us the Gospel in our own language.

A mini-version of Foxes Book of Martyrs, The Passion that Shapes Nations² also compares England to the spiritual dilemma described above by Matthew. We were swept clean by martyrs and others who lit a flame for the Gospel to be spread throughout the world, but we have since disowned our Godly heritage and are now seven times worse off than under the likes of Henry VIII.

Where is the courage that took Paul Hannington to Uganda where he died preaching the gospel; that took Hudson Taylor to China at great personal cost? Where are those who will stand up to godlessness and compromise in both church and state? We are approaching a crucial election, but God is apparently not on the agenda – politicians are afraid to mention God – a shameful situation for a nation granted the inestimable privilege of spreading the Gospel across the globe.

Preachers are being hounded and arrested for quoting the Bible.

Lib Dem leader Tim Farron, a declared Christian, has long refused to be drawn on his view of gay sex, but has now finally succumbed to press intimidation by stating that it is not sinful. As Cleverly states in his book,

…the Church today, when faced with homosexuality, hardly dares to mention sin in this context. She is intimidated like Esther into silence.

The alarm bells are sounding. Preachers are being hounded and arrested for quoting the Bible: a student has been expelled from Sheffield University for his biblical views on sexuality.

It's Time

Appropriately, the South African prayer gathering was called It’s Time. Surely, it’s time to say, as the irrepressible farmer/evangelist Angus Buchan has said, ‘enough is enough’. As he addressed the teeming masses gathered on a former Springbok rugby player’s farm, he thundered to the young men present: “You will not sleep with anyone until your wedding night!” Cries of ‘Amen’ echoed across the veldt (I have watched videos sent by friends on the ground).

Need I say more? The great need of the hour is not political correctness or even political debate, but urgent, passionate prayer. God’s people, and especially church leaders, need to humble themselves and pray and seek the face of the Lord for the healing of our nation.

The destiny of nations is not in the hands of politicians but in the hands of the people of God who pray.

The Old Testament refers to the “men of Issachar who understood the times and knew what Israel should do” (1 Chron 12:32) and the prophet Hosea calls us to break up our unploughed ground – “for it is time to seek the Lord” (Hos 10:12).

As Charlie Cleverly puts it, Esther understood “that the destiny of nations is not in the hands of politicians but in the hands of the people of God who pray”. He adds: “I believe the Church is under threat as in the days of Esther and she needs to awaken to a coherent strategy.”

As John Knox called out, “Give me Scotland or I die”, where are those crying out in the wilderness: “Give me England or I die”?

References

¹ 'It's Time': South Africans hold largest prayer meeting in nation's history. Gotera, J, The Christian Post, 30 April 2017.

² Victor, an imprint of Kingsway.

Clifford Hill looks at the spiritual significance of the French Presidential election.

The people of France are between a rock and a hard place. Who should they vote for to be the President of their country?

Many have said that they will spoil their ballot papers in protest against the impossible choice they are being offered. Do they vote for a "reckless rebel" or a "bigoted racist" - as they are described in the French press? But what has happened to create this incredible situation?

The mainline parties of both the left and the right (the Socialists and the Republicans) that have governed France for decades have been firmly rejected by the people. Their candidates for the President of France were decisively defeated last week in the First-Round contest. So two outsiders, Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen, have won through to the final round of voting that takes place next week.

One of them will become the President of France. Macron only formed his political party last year and he has no MPs. Le Pen leads a right-wing party and has only a handful of MPs. Neither could lead an effective Government without negotiating complex political coalitions.

What has caused this political earthquake that is in the process of triggering a social tsunami in Europe?

What is happening in France is of great significance. It is part of the same movement that triggered Brexit in Britain and brought Donald Trump to the White House in the USA – it is a movement that is rising among ordinary people in all the Western nations. It is a grassroots ground swell that is rippling through rural communities and urban populations and is slowly gaining in momentum.

What is happening in France and Britain and the USA has enormous significance for Christians because unless we understand what is happening in our lifetime we cannot be effective in bringing the gospel to an increasingly secular population, or even praying effectively.

Many Christians do not realise that God is still active in his Creation.

We have to understand, not only what is happening among people at a human level, but also what God is doing to work out his purposes in our generation. Many Christians do not realise that God is still active in his Creation and if we do not understand what is happening we could be a hindrance to the Kingdom, or actually find ourselves praying against God’s purposes rather than in line with his will. It is essential to remember that God is shaking the nations in order to expose the work of Satan and prepare the way of the Kingdom (Heb 12:26- 29).

Just take a brief look at what is happening in France.

Emmanuel Macron was the Minister for the Economy in the Socialist Party. At 39 he was the prodigy of President Hollande. Just two days before he formed his new political party he casually informed François Hollande that he was going to Amiens to start a youth movement on 6 April 2016. This was seen by political observers in France as part of Macron’s duplicity, that he deserted his Socialist mentors to pursue his personal ambition for power. He is strongly in favour of the European Union and as an ex-banker it is reported that his social and economic policies favour globalisation and big business corporations which makes him unpopular with ordinary working people.

Marine Le Pen is the leader of the National Front anti-immigration party in France. She has vowed that if she becomes President she will close France’s borders and expel migrants with criminal records and those who are a threat to the national security of France. This, of course, has wide appeal in France due to the number of violent terrorist atrocities that have occurred in recent years. None of the mainline parties have tackled immigration in their policies and neither has Macron. Le Pen says that she will take France out of the Eurozone and will also consider offering a Referendum to the French people on membership of the European Union.

The fact that one of these two rank political outsiders will become President of France is a landmark in European history. It results from the grassroots rejection of the ruling elite who are widely thought to care only for their own interests and ignore the interests and the wishes of the ordinary people. It is a kind of peasant’s revolt, similar to Brexit in Britain and the election of Donald Trump in the USA.

The fact that one of these two rank political outsiders will become President of France is a landmark in European history.

The reason for this revolutionary grassroots movement is not hard to see. The gap between the rich and the poor in the Western industrialised nations has been steadily growing in the last two or three decades through the process of ‘globalisation’ and the immense growth of powerful corporations that have no loyalty to their workers in the Western nations. They care only for making greater profits which they can do through employing cheap labour in developing nations and abandoning their Western roots.

Ordinary working people struggling to make ends meet have noticed the vast salaries paid to company bosses who count their pocket money in millions. The people are seeing what they believe is injustice and corruption in the world economic system and they are saying 'enough is enough' – we will not have these people rule over us any longer!

There is something in our human nature that recognises truth and righteousness as good, and injustice, greed and corruption as being wicked.

French voters demonstrate their patriotism. See Photo Credits.This is something that has happened throughout history – there comes a point where people rise up against what they perceive to be evil; because there is something in our human nature that recognises truth and righteousness as good, and injustice, greed and corruption as being wicked.

What most people do not understand is that this recognition of truth and righteousness is part of the activity of God in human history. We can learn this from the history of Israel. There came a point, in the sixth century BC, when the people were suffering under slavery in Babylon where they recognised the reason why God had removed his cover of protection over Jerusalem and let it be conquered by the Babylonians.

There was a spiritual awakening among the ordinary people that it was their own rejection of God and turning their backs upon his teaching that had resulted in national disaster. The Prophet Isaiah recorded this in the form of a prayer:

For our offences are many in your sight, and our sins testify against us. Our offences are ever with us and we acknowledge our iniquities: rebellion and treachery against the Lord, turning our backs on our God, fomenting oppression and revolt, uttering lies our hearts have conceived. So justice is driven back, and righteousness stands at a distance; truth has stumbled in the streets, honesty cannot enter. Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey. (Isa 59:12-15)

The only hope of true reform for the people of France is the recognition of how far they have turned away from the Godly heritage of the Christian gospel.

The only hope of true reform for the people of France is the recognition of how far they have turned away from the Godly heritage of the Christian gospel that has been available to them for centuries. Electing a new President, who does not know God and Jesus as Lord and Saviour, will only compound the problems facing the nation. Further embracing the ungodly values of the EU or raising a fence of ‘protectionism’ around the borders of France will not protect them from national disaster. Only ‘repentance and turning’ can do that.

We, the people of Britain facing a general election, and the people of America facing the possibilities of war in the Far East, should take especial note of the warning signs presently hanging over the people of France. We will not escape the shaking of the nations if we fail to take the opportunity of Brexit and the Parliamentary election to return wholeheartedly to God in prayer and repentance.

Will Theresa May’s judgment about what is best for Britain prove correct?

Clifford Hill explores the Dutch election from a biblical standpoint.

What’s happening in the Netherlands? The results of their General Election have surprised the pundits who were all expecting Geert Wilders to do well.

He had been topping the polls for some time but then, days before the election, the spat with Turkey was a gift for Prime Minister Mark Rutte. He took a courageous decision to defy Turkish requests for rallies of Turkish nationals in Holland as part of Erdogan’s bid to gain greater power for his Presidency.

Rutte’s decision to break up demonstrations of expatriate Turks in Rotterdam, to ban Turkey’s Foreign Minister from the country and to expel another Turkish Minister who arrived in the Netherlands by car without permission, delighted the Dutch public and greatly enhanced Prime Minister Rutte’s electoral prospects. The timing could not have been better for him and the results from the 80% turnout of voters has reflected this.

Dutch newspapers have been full of congratulations to Rutte and political commentators have hailed the increase of right-wing parties and the diminished support for Wilders as a significant shift away from populist parties. One newspaper (NRC) said that the result showed that the Netherlands had returned to ‘normal’ and the ‘patriotic spring’ was dead.

Is Populism Dead?

But Dutch elections never give a clear-cut result. No party is able to form a Government on its own and, although Rutte has slightly increased the number of seats his party holds, he cannot govern alone. He will have to do deals with two or three other parties to try to find a working majority for a coalition to govern the nation.

Newspapers are claiming that Rutte’s win shows that European populism is dead.

It would be reckless to conclude that populism in Europe is now dead, especially with the French elections coming up soon and Marine Le Pen doing well in the polls. The level of dissatisfaction with their political leaders among Europeans is still running high and part of the reason why Rutte did well was because he stole some of Wilders’ anti-immigration thunder.

Focus will now be upon what a new right-wing Government led by Rutte will do to restore broken relationships with Turkey. If they give in and apologise, they will inflame the rising anti-Muslim sentiment in the Netherlands.

No Understanding

Europe has by no means ‘returned to normal’ because one nation has narrowly held on to the political status quo. Politicians do not understand the mood of the people because they do not understand the socio-economic and social forces of change that are currently driving Western nations.

These forces of change cannot be understood simply in terms of an ideological battle between the radical left and the conservative right. Neither can they be understood purely in economic terms of Marxism versus capitalism; or in sociological terms of relative deprivation and the revolt of the ‘have nots’ against the ‘haves’ in society.

The reason why our political leaders cannot understand what’s going on today is because they have abandoned God. It is as simple as that! In academic institutions of former generations, theology was regarded as the queen of the sciences, because people understood that God was the God of Creation who had created human beings in his own image. This was the starting point of all investigations of human relationships. If you rule out God, you lose the anchor point of truth for all subsequent investigation.

If you rule out God, you lose the anchor point of truth for all subsequent investigation.

The Bible’s Timeline

The Bible gives us a timeline that enables us to see the development of humanity against the backcloth of God’s plan for the nations. If we look at humanity from God’s perspective, we can see how far we are along the road to self-destruction. God sees the global arsenal of weapons of mass destruction – nuclear bombs, nerve gas, germ warfare weapons.

He also sees the vast pollution of society and the corruption of human beings, not least through the internet’s transmission of pornography and the degradation of human bodies through sexual perversion, violence and drugs.

These twin forces of global destruction – violence and moral corruption – are the fruit of the spiritual forces of darkness or ‘principalities and powers’ against which the Bible warns us.

Jeremiah has a telling phrase:

This is what the Lord says: let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord. (Jer 9:23-24)

This is where wisdom truly resides!

Wake Up!

The populist movement we are seeing today is not just a social movement of underclass protest; it is the result of God shaking the nations. God is alerting us to danger. He is drawing our attention to the fact that humanity is heading for global disaster.

The populist movement today is not just a social movement of underclass protest – it is the result of God shaking the nations.

The populist movement is just a small symptom showing that ordinary people know there is something wrong. But will the leaders of the nations pay heed? Will the elite secular humanist intelligentsia who have been the driving force behind globalisation and the undermining of Western Judeo-Christian heritage for decades take heed? Will they open their spiritual eyes and understand what is happening before it is too late?

Much depends upon whether the churches in the Western nations have sufficient strength and spiritual insight to stand for truth and righteousness against the forces of darkness. We cannot expect to see repentance or understanding in the world until there is first repentance and understanding in the Church, which must mediate the truth at this pivotal time.

The Apostle Peter says in the Bible:

The day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. (2 Peter 3:10)

Was this just a flight of fantasy? Or did Peter know something that we don’t?

There is a great spiritual battle raging for the soul of the West.

These are dangerous days for the USA and for Britain. Both are seeing an unprecedented level of social and political unrest. Both have had national referendums, democratically conducted. But both are now seeing these democratic resolutions challenged.

In the US, Donald Trump is said to be the most unpopular choice of President in living memory and street protests against his election have been taking place in cities across the country. More than 4 million people have signed petitions calling upon the Electoral College to reverse the decision of the people and appoint Hillary Clinton as President-elect.

Technically this could happen. Donald Trump is not yet President-elect: he has been nominated by vote of the people, but it is the Electoral College that actually makes the appointment of President-elect. They meet on 19 December 2016, when the representatives from the states who are committed to vote for Donald Trump could, in theory, change their minds and vote for Hillary Clinton on the grounds that she won the popular vote.¹ These rebel delegates would incur a personal fine if they did this, although there will be plenty of Democrats only too willing to pay their fine. But it is highly unlikely that this will happen, despite the petition and despite the vehemence of the street protests.

In a similar way, the Lib Dems in Britain, backed by Tony Blair, are campaigning for a second referendum to overturn the decision taken on 23 June this year, which they do not like. They want to remain in the European Union regardless of its restrictions upon national sovereignty. It is strange that a Party that has always championed democracy is now seeking to undermine democracy and to defy the will of the people.

UK and US Similarities

There are many similarities between the situation in the USA and that in Britain. This was perceived by Donald Trump during his campaign when he said that the outcome of the vote would be "Brexit plus plus plus". No doubt this is the reason why, as part of his celebrations, he invited Nigel Farage as the first British politician to meet him. There are strong similarities between the US presidential election and Brexit. In both cases, evangelical Christians played a large part in the outcome. I cannot prove this statistically, although one report from the States estimates that as many as 80% of white evangelical voters chose Trump.²

Both the USA and Britain are experiencing unprecedented levels of social and political unrest.

Christians in the US are happy that the Vice President-elect, Mike Pence, is a committed Christian and they are praying that Donald Trump will also commit his life to the Lord. They voted for him, not because they thought he was a good man, but because they believed that in some way God was going to use him to break the dominance of the secular humanist liberal elite that has been driving America for decades. And this is very similar to the motives of British Christians who voted for Brexit in order to get Britain out of the increasingly evil influences of the EU.

Battle for the Soul of the West

Many Christians on both sides of the Atlantic have a sense that a great spiritual battle is raging over our nations that is essentially a battle for the soul of the West, which has been witnessing its centuries of biblical heritage rapidly draining away under the impact of a toxic mixture of Marxism, secularism, humanism and Satanism. What is becoming abundantly clear is that this is not a battle against flesh and blood but against what Paul aptly described as "the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms" (Eph 6:12).

There is a desperate need today for committed Christians who understand the times in which we are living and who are able to engage in prayer that is directed by a clear understanding of the nature of the battle; and who are also willing to be witnesses to the truth in their sphere of influence, so that the word of God is directed into the life of the nations both at a grassroots level and into the arteries of power.

In order to gain the level of understanding required for the incredible times in which we are living, we need Godly revelation. This was something of which Moses had foresight. At a critical point in his life, with half a million people to feed in the desert, he cried out to God that he just couldn't carry on. God appointed 70 elders to share the burden of leadership and the Spirit of God came upon them so that they prophesied (Num 11:24-25). God had already given Moses a definition of prophecy as declaring the word of God [being his mouthpiece] (Ex 4:5-16).

Moses then expressed a wish that has prophetic significance for our day. He said "I wish that all the Lord's people were prophets" (Num 11:29). That is what we greatly need today – all God's people knowing the word of God and having the ability to declare it openly among their friends and neighbours, and more widely when they have the opportunity.

Christians on both sides of the Atlantic have a sense that a great spiritual battle is raging over our nations - a battle for the soul of the West.

Need for Divine Strength

There are many stories in the Bible showing how, when those with leadership responsibilities got to the end of their strength and cried out to God, miracles happened. It happened with Moses several times. It also happened with King Jehoshaphat, who realised that the tiny army of Judah could not face the vast army coming against him. He led the whole nation in prayer that ended with a cry for help "For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you" (2 Chron 20:12).

The response from God was "Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours but God's." It is when we admit our powerlessness to deal with the situation that God is able to take over and exercise supernatural power. St Paul found this many times in his own life when God said to him "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Cor 12:9). Paul's own testimony was "When I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Cor 12:10).

For Those in Power...

It is this divine strength that is needed by our leaders in these testing days, but it is not easy for politicians to express weakness. This is where they need the prayer support of Christians who understand the times. We should be giving special prayer covering to the meeting of the Electoral College in America on 19 December and the inauguration of the new President on 20 January 2017.

We should also be praying for Prime Minister Theresa May in Britain and all the politicians and civil servants who are engaged in the negotiations to get Britain out of the European Union. This is already a giant spiritual battle in the heavenlies and on the ground in Brussels and other European capitals. But if the battle is God's, it is more than possible that he will do something spectacular in Europe before the completion of the Brexit negotiations! Right now, the greatest need is to mobilise prayer among Christians.

There is a desperate need today for Christians of understanding and wisdom, who are able to pray strategically and witness to the truth in their sphere of influence.

References

1 Forster, K. Hillary Clinton voters call on Electoral College members to stop Donald Trump. The Independent, 17 November 2016.

2 Bailey, SP. White evangelicals voted overwhelmingly for Donald Trump, exit polls show. Washington Post, 9 November 2016.

Clifford Hill asks: why?

Donald Trump's election as the 45^th President of the United States has been hailed as the greatest political upset in the country's 240-year history. But what is its significance? Opinion is sharply divided. Is this the death of democracy, or the start of a new era of prosperity and justice in the USA? Trump has no political experience; he is a businessman used to hiring and firing and exercising autocratic rule. How will he manage as head of state?

This is just one of a multitude of unknowns, with commentators across the political spectrum speculating about what the unexpected result might mean for freedom, justice, peace, the economy, the environment and a host of other hot topics.

President Hollande of France, on hearing the news of Trump's election said that the world is entering a time of great uncertainty. This contrasted Theresa May's message of congratulation in which she looked forward to working closely with the new President and refreshing the 'special relationship' between Britain and the US.

Champion of the Forgotten?

Trump's numerous references to Brexit during his turbulent campaign struck a similar note to that of the 'Leave' campaign in Britain. And, just as Remainers in Britain are continuing to oppose Brexit, so too the Democrats are demonstrating against the President-elect.

Trump's anti-establishment pronouncements appealed to the disconnected, the alienated and the powerless – to those who felt that they were the forgotten underclass who didn't matter to the privileged elite. This is just what happened in Britain, where people felt alienated from the lawmakers of Brussels and wanted the freedom to make our own laws. Both Brexit and Trump appealed to the disenfranchised masses.

Trump's anti-establishment pronouncements appealed to the disconnected, the alienated and the powerless.

Student protest at University of Connecticut, Wednesday. See Photo Credits.But isn't this exactly what Jesus did? Read Matthew 23 where Jesus addressed the crowds warning them against the religious authorities who "tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them" (Matt 23:4). Jesus said some outrageous things about the rulers in his day, "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous...You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?" (Matt 23:29-33).

The crowds of ordinary people loved Jesus and followed him everywhere he went. It was the authorities who hated him and who eventually crucified him, even manipulating a crowd to condemn him. But the ordinary people who were suffering oppression and injustice at the hands of the powerful elite - the poor who struggled to feed their families and felt powerless in a system that benefited only the rich – they all heard the words of Jesus with joy!

Trump's Messianic Appeal

Now, before you pick up stones to throw at me, please hear me out! I'm not likening Trump to Jesus! I'm looking at the situation in the nations today and looking for some biblical precedents. The Bible shows many similarities between Jesus and the Prophet Jeremiah. He was told that there were many things in the nation that had to be "uprooted, torn down, destroyed and overthrown" before there could be any creative building up in the national life (Jer 1:10). Jesus had a similar message. They both warned of coming disaster upon the nation unless there was radical change.

Despite all his vulgarities and obnoxious statements, Trump has had a 'messianic' appeal to the crowds in America who feel disenfranchised and forgotten by those who control the system. The vote for Trump was a vote against the 'establishment'; it was a vote for change, primarily among blue-collar workers and so-called 'middle America'. They are bitterly disappointed with Obama who promised so much change, but after his eight years in power they feel worse off than before.

Despite all his vulgarities and obnoxious statements, Trump has had a 'messianic' appeal to those who feel disenfranchised and forgotten.

It is this same anti-establishment spirit that is spreading across Europe today and will eventually lead to the break-up of the European Union. Protest groups in each of the EU nations are rising in support and significance, as will probably be seen in the Presidential election in Austria next month. But the protest movements do not only have political and social significance, they also have implications for the moral and spiritual future of the Western nations in a day when the threat from both secular humanism and Islam is rising.

Biblical Hopes

Most evangelical Christians in Britain have welcomed Brexit as providing an opportunity to re-emphasise basic biblical values, moral and spiritual, that have been neglected in recent decades under the impact of the secular humanist social revolution. So too evangelical Christians in America - while disliking Trump as a man - have embraced the opportunity for change!

Already, two Christian organisations, Family Watch and the National Organisation for Marriage, have welcomed the new President and outlined their expectations which include:

• the appointment of judges to the US Supreme Court, who will reverse rulings on same-sex marriage and enact laws to protect the unborn child, reversing Obama's policy of easy abortions right up to birth;
• the change of Obama's gender identity directive allowing public toilets to be used according to felt gender identity;
• the reversal of Obama's policy of coercing other countries into accepting same-sex marriage as a condition of receiving US aid;
• the appointment of a Presidential Commission to examine the harmful effects on public health of internet pornography.

If changes of this nature take place during a Trump presidency, many Christians will feel justified in having voted for him. But it does seem strange that an autocratic billionaire becomes the champion of the poor and a self-confessed immoral, racist bigot becomes a 21^st-Century social reformer carrying the expectations of the moral majority! What a strange world we live in!!

Perhaps Most Importantly...

But why has God allowed Trump to triumph? Could there be a deeper reason that has nothing to do with Trump's moral promises, or America not being ready for a female President (as some commentators have said)? Hillary Clinton not only represented the status quo – the political elite who have dominated Washington for decades – but she and her husband were advocates of the Two-State solution to the problems of Israel and the Palestinians, which would reduce still farther the tiny piece of land occupied by the Jewish state. For the Palestinians, such a reduction would only be a step towards the total annihilation of Israel – their ultimate objective, backed by all the Arab states.

Trump has publicly stated his intention of moving the American Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and recognising Israel's historic right to the land of their forefathers. The word of God states unequivocally the promise given to Abraham "I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you" (Gen 12:2).

With events in the Middle East moving dangerously towards an Arab conflict with Israel, to have an American President who is a friend of Israel could be extremely significant for the future of world events.

An American President who is a friend of Israel could be extremely significant for the future of world events.

Call to Prayer

Yes, as President Hollande said, we are undoubtedly moving into times of great uncertainty. Surely the greatest need among Christians is to study the word of God to understand the times, and increase our commitment to prayer – praying for our leaders, upholding our brothers and sisters and covering our nations.