Has God revealed a way forward for the nation?

Editorial introduction: While at Issachar Ministries’ recent prayer conference at The Hayes Conference Centre in Derbyshire, our Editor-in-Chief received a word from the Lord about the spiritual significance of the DUP. This word has been written out in letter form and sent today to Prime Minister Theresa May. In the letter, she is asked to consider praying with the DUP MPs for a way forward for the nation.

We copy the main text below and ask for your prayers that its message will be received as the Lord intends.

***

Dear Prime Minister,

A certain man walked through a nearby field and discovered a jewel of immense value. He sold everything and raised funds to buy that field. That was a parable that Jesus told about the Kingdom of God (Matt 13:44). You, Prime Minister, have within your grasp the precious jewel that Jesus described: it is the 10 MPs in the DUP, who are all committed Christians. They represent the only province in the United Kingdom which has adhered steadfastly to biblical standards on life issues.

They are despised and rejected by many of their fellow MPs in the House of Commons. But God loves to use those who are considered of no account. He raises them up to use them for mighty miracles, as is told in many biblical accounts. Gideon, for example, said that he was the least in his tribe, itself low-ranked by all the others – yet he was used mightily to save his own nation.

In numerical terms the DUP may not have much political significance, yet they are pleasing in the sight of God for their determined stand for biblically-based values – the true ‘British values’ that once defined our entire nation. I believe that this is why they have been elevated to the position of influence within the Government that they now hold.

The DUP represent the only part of the United Kingdom that has rejected the relentless advance of secular humanism and defended family values, for instance by refusing to allow abortion to pollute the land with the blood of the innocent. Northern Ireland has seen more than its fair share of the shedding of innocent blood through the years of the Troubles that divided the community and wreaked havoc in so many families and individual lives. Maybe it is because they have seen so much bloodshed that they defend fiercely the right to life of unborn children, and resist steadfastly the pressure to conform to postmodernist standards that have become the new normal in the rest of the UK.

Prime Minister, whether or not you personally support all of their political decisions, your Christian upbringing will have given you a knowledge of the teaching of the Bible which the DUP openly and publicly try to uphold. They are the priceless jewel that is within your grasp – the values of the Kingdom of Heaven which this nation so desperately needs.

Their value may not be recognised by most of their fellow MPs, but if you were willing to invite them into your home to spend time praying with you, I believe that you would immediately find the answer to the most intractable problems that you face.

There is a way through that will enable you to deliver Brexit to the British people, to whom you are utterly devoted. The DUP – this little group of Bible-believing Christians – are your jewel in the crown, given to you at this time, I believe, to help you find a way forward. Their value to you and to the British nation is priceless.

I’m sure you know the many accounts in the Bible showing that God loves to use those deemed small and insignificant to carry out his greatest miracles. In that way he gets all the glory, as happened with Gideon’s 300 and when Jesus used five bread loaves to feed 5,000. But this has also happened more recently, as I well remember from my boyhood. Prime Minister Churchill acknowledged that in the face of certain defeat, with our troops stranded on the beaches of Dunkirk, our nation was only saved by the hundreds of little boats who responded valiantly to the call to rescue our men, accomplishing what the big ships could not.

In the current impasse, you truly need a miracle. But you have available to you a little group of Bible-believing Christians who represent the voters of Northern Ireland. I believe they hold the key to the conundrum that has defeated the finest brains in our Parliament. They bring a divine element of revelation into a situation that otherwise seems impossible.

Please allow them to sit with you, to pray with you and to seek the way of the Lord, to break through the impasse that has paralysed Parliament for far too long, as you yourself have acknowledged. Only through prayer and the power of God can our nation move forward into a new and blessed future – and in this regard, this small group of Northern Ireland MPs can help you in ways that no-one else can.

Yours sincerely,

Rev Dr Clifford Hill

Editor, Prophecy Today UK / Director, Issachar Ministries

Paul Luckraft reviews ‘Biblical Church’ by Beresford Job (Bethany Publishing, 2007).

This excellent book challenges the traditional way that Christians do ‘church’, and explains what should be in place instead. The author aims to show that the church-going practices Christians generally observe are based upon teachings that have little or nothing to do with the Bible. Rather, they originated with men who led the Church after the Apostles were dead and the writings of the New Testament had been completed.

Though now over ten years old, this remains another useful resource for Christians who are currently ‘out of church’ – or who are seeking to rethink their current approach to church.

Delving into Ecclesiastical History

The book is in three parts. The first, called Traditions, starts by reviewing the Jewish ‘traditions of the elders’, which Jesus opposed. The author draws heavily on the teaching of others in these early chapters and the material may be familiar to many, but it forms a necessary background to his argument: that we have made the same mistakes, by building our own church traditions.

In chapters 4 and 5, Job looks in detail at the traditions of the early ‘Church Fathers’. He focuses on six from the two centuries after the Apostles: Clement of Rome, Ignatius, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Tertullian, and Cyprian of Carthage. Job is clear that they didn’t get everything wrong; in fact, he praises them for spreading the good news and preserving the truth of the Gospel in the face of heresy. For this they deserve honour and respect.

But Job does take issue with the church practices they introduced, which stemmed from a fundamental flaw regarding leadership. By introducing a clergy/laity divide, they created a new priesthood and layers of hierarchy which led to further errors.

This new system of ecclesiastical power and authority made it inevitable that any teachings introduced from the top would be readily accepted - whether in line with Scripture or not. In time, without the necessary input from Scripture, it was unavoidable that the Church would morph into a human organisation you could join, rather than a living organism - Christ’s Body.

Job traces how over several centuries, the Church morphed from a living organism – Christ’s Body – into a human organisation.

Job’s revealing analysis of modern-day church is summarised helpfully with a ‘Not-To-Do’ list: things which believers unquestioningly accept but which actively go against Scripture (p100).

In Chapter 8, he considers common objections to his argument: God still seems to bless such churches. The Holy Spirit is still at work. So why cause trouble and upset people? Here the author offers an honest assessment of these questions, but remains adamant that the status quo means we are missing out on God’s best!

Discovering Biblical Church

Part Two, entitled Biblical Church, is more positive in outlook and considers in detail what biblical church should look like. The author repeatedly stresses that he is not drawing a contrast between true and false churches, but between biblical and unbiblical practices.

He highlights four key areas that, for him, make up the minimum for a biblical church:

• Leadership should reflect that in Acts, with elders as overseers, not a ruling hierarchy;
  
• Home meetings are best for developing fellowship and deep relationships;
• Worship should be led by the Spirit and reflect the unity of the Body of Christ, and
  
• The Lord’s Supper should be celebrated with a proper meal, not just a quick snack of tokens.
  

Like Steve Maltz’s work on Hebraic church, Job emphasises function over form. Get the function right and the correct form of church practice will emerge.

Job acknowledges that biblical churches are not guaranteed to be problem-free. They can still be unloving or undisciplined. But if they have the right ‘shape’ then there is greater opportunity for the Lord to change people.
The author closes Part Two with a chapter entitled ‘What the Experts Say’. He wants to show that all he has been proposing is not just his opinion but is backed up by theologians.

The author repeatedly stresses that he is not drawing a contrast between true and false churches, but between biblical and unbiblical practices.

What to Do?

Part Three brings something new and special to the growing debate on ‘out of church’ Christianity: If you do want to change, how do you go about it?

Job offers many pieces of good advice and some sound ground-rules, drawing on his own experience and testimony. For those who end up leaving their current churches, he insists there is no need for unpleasantness and advises on how to leave peacefully, retaining bonds of fellowship with those who remain. He also stresses that changing to meeting in a home may not itself be the answer – and that any attempt to start up a new form of church should be preceded by and birthed in prayer. Seeking the Lord, and asking what he wants, is vital.

Job is down-to-earth and practical, not romantic: he explains that for Christians wanting to pursue radical transformation in their church practice, it is important to take it slowly and learn to walk before you can run, learning to listen to others and growing in patience.

His list of ‘Dos and Don’ts’ is particular useful, as are his FAQs and chapter of advice on how to look for outside help (however, despite its good general suggestions this has been removed from the Kindle version since its mentions of specific people are now out of date). The key, he suggests, is to seek out those with maturity and a strong sense of morality: just being well-meaning or having a ‘ministry’ may not be enough to guarantee a good start-up or later growth.

This book is a worthwhile addition to the growing literature on ‘alternative’ forms of church that seek greater fidelity to Scripture. Nobody is claiming to have published the final word on this issue, but this book will undoubtedly be a worthwhile, thought-provoking addition to the shelves of anyone in a quandary over it.

‘Biblical Church’ (288 pages, paperback) is available from Amazon for £8.96. Also on Amazon Kindle. Find out more at www.house-church.org.

When the sadness of mourning is tinged with joy and gladness

With the tragic news of the teenager apparently encouraged by Instagram posts to commit suicide amidst evidence of the widespread availability of such material on social media,¹ here is a message of hope for depressed people desperately needing help.

I’m finally back home after a fraught and frantic, but fruitful, six weeks of saying goodbye to my dear mum, who died three days before Christmas, aged 95.

I am assured she is with the Lord as she made a personal confession in her last days while struggling with a combination of regret and pain. And if I had any doubt about the final state of her soul, my believing father-in-law confirmed matters in a call from his Hampshire home by telling us of a vision he had within minutes of her passing in the early hours of 22 December. He saw an angel covering her tomb as if to welcome her into the heavenly kingdom.

In Christ Alone

I had earlier encouraged mum to pray after me (out loud) something resembling a traditional sinner’s prayer, but with an emphasis on trusting in the blood of Jesus for the forgiveness of her sins.

She had been a churchgoer most of her life but, as I shared with the congregation in her north London church at her funeral last Friday, her faith was more intellectual than personal and it was only because of what Jesus had done for her on the Cross that she was now safe in his arms.

There is hope for depressed people desperately needing help.

I realised many might have taken offence, but the Gospel is an offence – especially to our pride – as it teaches that the qualification for Heaven is not about ourselves or our own supposed goodness. It is entirely about Jesus, and the blood he shed for our sins. It was on this basis that the thief on the cross next to him qualified for paradise.

Such is the generosity of our Saviour who, in the parable of the workers in the vineyard, paid those who were hired for the last hour of the day the same as those who had borne the burden of the work in the heat of the day (Matt 20:1-16).

Giving up our Lives

In a world preoccupied with self and doing things ‘my way’, it is not a popular message.

As I shared with my brothers, sister, son, daughter and in-laws who descended on the family home from Australia, New Zealand and the north of England, following Jesus is about giving up your life, your independence, and handing it over to him.

Jesus said: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?” (Mark 8:34-36)

It is only in following this advice that you will find perfect peace, along with the power and presence of God in your life. And yet most of us opt for struggling on in our own strength, stubbornly refusing to give up our independence.

Such a choice leads only to death and destruction, disharmony and a disconnect with our Creator, who made us in his image so we could enjoy fellowship with him, both now and forever.

And yet because Linda (my wife) and I have experienced this wonderful relationship for a total of 87 years between us, we had the joy and privilege of being able to share its truths with family at a traumatic time in their lives, offering the “God of all comfort” (2 Cor 1:3) and the hope of eternal life to all who trust him.

Only when we follow Jesus, giving up our lives to him and handing over our independence, do we find perfect peace.

Sharing the Hope

I was even able to share this hope with the funeral director – that we are assured of mum’s eternal destiny only through her trusting in the blood of Jesus prefigured in the Jewish Passover.

My son was duly asked to read the New Testament lesson (1 Cor 12:1-11) last Sunday, which prompted a wide discussion on our faith, and of its Jewish roots. And I was asked to read the Old Testament lesson (Isa 62:1-5) – “For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent…” How fitting that was, in view of my love for Israel!

And my elder brother was grateful for a copy of my book, A Nation Reborn,² to take back to Sydney.

I was also able to encourage a delightful Jewish mother and daughter to trust God in the midst of their anxieties over Brexit on one of several visits to a local Italian restaurant. As St Paul encouraged the Roman Christians through all the trials they had to endure, “In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us” (Rom 8:37).

In a beautiful passage about the joy of those who trust in the Messiah, the Prophet Isaiah wrote: “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…to save you’” (Isa 35:3f).

References

1 Daily Mail, 23 January 2019.

2 Published by Christian Publications International and also available on Amazon.

Searching for reality in a 'post-truth' age.

The famous words of Pilate at the fake trial of Jesus have echoed down the centuries – what is truth? These words have taken on new significance in the 21^st Century with the development of social media and the spread of ‘fake news’. Paul defines truth in very simple terms: as the good news of salvation (Eph 1:13). Jesus says that he himself is truth. He says “I am the way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6). By this statement Jesus means that anyone who knows God, knows truth.

If truth is so central to the purposes of God, it is small wonder that it is under attack from the powers of darkness that are presently ruling the world. It is as though a huge blanket of cloud is covering humanity and preventing clear perception and rational thinking. The evidence of this can be seen in every part of the world.

In America, division over immigration has led to parts of Government being shut down because of President Trump’s dispute with Congress over the wall he wants to build between the USA and Mexico. Europe too is wracked by disagreement over immigration and the many other problems besetting the EU project: in Germany there is mounting fear over the failing economy and the future of the Euro. In France there are growing social problems, with millions taking to the streets before Christmas in populist demonstrations against the policies of President Macron.

These problems are not going away and there are similar tensions in other EU states. But, arguably, none have such potentially far-reaching consequences as the divisions over Brexit.

No Alternatives?

At the moment Brexit arguments in Britain have not spilled over into the streets, although there are plenty of noisy groups in Westminster demonstrating around Parliament day after day. The major upheavals are inside Parliament where confusion reigns supreme.

The Prime Minister insists that the deal she has negotiated with the EU is the only deal and there is no Plan B. But Parliament has voted to take back the initiative by insisting that if her deal is voted down by Parliament next week, she must come back to the House of Commons in three days with a further plan.

If truth is so central to the purposes of God, it is small wonder that it is under attack from the powers of darkness that are presently ruling the world.

Although there appears to be no valid alternative to Mrs May’s deal, there is probably a majority of MPs who want to ensure that Britain does not leave the EU with no deal at all. The EU fears a ‘No Deal’ more than Britain does, but our politicians appear blind to this. If the MPs make it impossible for ‘No Deal’ to happen, they strip the Prime Minister of the most powerful weapon in negotiations with Brussels.

The Netherlands alone say that they will lose more than £2 billion in trade if there is no deal between the EU and Britain. Germany is desperate to sell their cars in Britain, without which their economy would be in serious trouble; and the EU itself urgently needs the €39 billion promised in the divorce bill, without which the Euro currency is likely to fail. Many of our MPs seem completely unaware of the power they hold over the EU, which is part of the blindness afflicting leaders of our nation.

The Consequences of Rebellion

This blindness to truth is not simply a political, economic or social issue: it is fundamentally a spiritual problem resulting from Britain’s rejection of her biblical foundations. Though this rejection is not recognised, its consequences can be seen throughout the life of the nation.

One obvious example is that every week there are young people dying on the streets of London through a wave of knife crime, drugs, gangs and lawlessness that is spilling across to other cities. This is a national issue, but our politicians are too busy arguing over Brexit to notice what is happening on our streets.

But this wave of violence is directly linked to our rejection of God. We have rejected the biblical foundations of Britain’s value system, so we are no longer able to recognise truth. For 50 years we have allowed the nation to be driven by secular humanist activists who have deliberately undermined traditional family life, promoting divorce, cohabitation, sexual perversion, abortion-on-demand and more recently, transgenderism. These policies have all been based on a lie – the lie that all types of family are equal.

This blindness to truth is fundamentally a spiritual problem resulting from Britain’s rejection of her biblical foundations.

There have been scores of sociological research reports demonstrating that only faithful marriage as the Bible describes it produces happy, stable and successful family life for both adults and children. But this truth about families has been wilfully ignored or rejected by post-modernist agitators who have done untold harm to British children.

Every child who dies on the city streets of Britain is in some way a victim of the post-modern, secular humanist, pro-LGBTQ+ policies that have deliberately aimed at destroying family life in the nation in this ‘post-truth’ age.

Spiritual Blindness

The greatest crime in Britain today is the blindness of our leaders, in both Church and state, to recognise the sickness of the nation and the root of its problems.

I have been responsible for no less than eight sociological reports to Parliament on family life in Britain during the past 30 years. They have set out clearly the consequences of following policies based upon the false concept of ‘equality’. But successive Governments have been blind to TRUTH.

This blindness is a spiritual malady. It is not a lack of intellectual capacity. It is plain and simply a spiritual force of darkness, given a foothold through rebellion and rejection of God’s word, that makes it impossible to understand and accept TRUTH.

This is why our MPs are in such utter disarray over Brexit. There is no shared vision because they are blinded to TRUTH. The plain fact is: no political solutions to the nation’s problems can be found until there is repentance for what has been done to the nation; and new openness to the word of God. What will it take? Is it a matter of more prayer, or more truth-telling – or must more disaster be allowed to come upon Britain?

At this time, it is vital that the faithful remnant of God’s people seek to understand what he is doing and pray and act in line with his will. Elsewhere in this week’s issue of Prophecy Today UK is an article to this end, entitled ‘A Word for 2019’. Please do read this and bring it before the Lord in prayer, seeking how you might respond.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Church and State Collude

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Veil of Deception

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

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

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

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

Spiritual, Not Political

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

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

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

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

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

The People’s Vote

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Facing Turmoil

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Nation Under Judgment

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

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

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

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

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

Pray for Mercy

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

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

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

Trump vs Macron and the battle for all our futures.

These days, I am routinely and necessarily suspicious of the BBC. So when Auntie reports a major international speech given by the most powerful man in the world by poking fun at him, it makes me want to listen to the speech in full and see what I’ve missed!

The speech was given by President Donald Trump to the annual UN General Assembly meeting in New York. The UNGA brings together in one room world leaders of vastly different political backgrounds, from 153 nations. Since a lot of politicking is done off-camera, the podium is the tip of the iceberg; a nonetheless vital indicator of a more extensive reality just below the surface.

Podium Wars

It is fascinating to watch Trump’s speeches and the reactions of other world leaders. Ever since his arrival on the world scene, things seem to have become more threatening and unstable – or more exciting and hopeful, depending on your perspective. He has certainly succeeded in exposing to the air an ideological war that has been raging in the West for decades.

As with ‘populist’ movements like Brexit, such an open challenge to the left-wing secular humanist orthodoxy is usually decried (by left-wing secular humanists) as divisive. But what else should be expected of any attempt to stand against the prevailing direction of Western politics?

And if Trump embodies one side of the ideological war, the other is embodied by French President Emmanuel Macron, whose UNGA speech was essentially a point-for-point rebuttal of Trump’s. This article looks at some of the key issues over which they tussle, putting them both into biblical perspective.

Polar Opposite Views

President Trump dedicated much of his speech to a solidly conservative defence of nationhood, vowing to “never surrender America’s sovereignty to an unelected, unaccountable global bureaucracy” and to reject “the ideology of globalism.”

His argument was that whilst supra-national organisations like the UN have “unlimited potential”, they cannot and should not replace the “beautiful constellation of nations”, since “Sovereign and independent nations are the only vehicle where freedom has ever survived, democracy has ever endured, or peace has ever prospered.”

If Trump embodies one side of the ideological war for the West, the other is embodied by French President Emmanuel Macron.

Meanwhile, President Macron took the podium to exalt the virtues of global government as the only way to solve mounting international crises and ensure prosperity for all. He argued that “nationalism always leads to defeat”, blaming it for two world wars, genocides and countless worsening global emergencies.

He then claimed that we are witnessing a “crisis of the Westphalian world order" (i.e. a world of individual sovereign states) and “this is a turning point” where we need “a new world order” based on “new rules” and “a re-forging of the global collective system”.

Trump addresses the 73rd session of the Assembly, 25 September 2018.While Macron waxed lyrical about international co-operation, Trump criticised the dangerous lack of accountability of global institutions (e.g. the ICC, the WTO). Declaring that they have “no jurisdiction, no legitimacy and no authority”, he then proclaimed:

America is governed by Americans…we believe in the majesty of freedom and the dignity of the individual. We believe in self-government and the rule of law. And we prize the culture that sustains our liberty - a culture built on strong families, deep faith, and fierce independence.

Macron denounced this thinking as ‘isolationism’. He argued that populist movements championing democracy are mere expressions of frustration from groups ‘left behind’ by the modern world. To combat this, he argued, what is needed is not insular nationalism, but more and better globalism.

These are just a few examples; I recommend comparing the full texts of both speeches (links below).

More Than Different Opinions

Importantly, Trump and Macron do not simply represent different opinions about how government should be done: they embody two diametrically opposed worldviews.

Underlying Trump’s defence of national sovereignty is a biblical valuation of individual dignity and freedom, as given by God. From this starting point, the role of government is to protect and encourage individuals, not least by investing in the structures (also God-given) that enable them to flourish, such as the family, the rule of law and the nation itself.

Underneath Macron’s ‘new world order’ is precisely the opposite: a firm belief in the pre-eminence of the universal rather than the individual. The role of government is then to impose freedom from the top down, not by protecting units like the family and the nation, but by subordinating them to a ‘universal’ moral and political system:

I believe in universal values…I think there should be unconditional protection of our values…Let us address the crises, let us work together…mindful of the principles guided by our history and the principle of universality and universalism.

Under Trump’s defence of national sovereignty is a biblical valuation of individual dignity and freedom, as given by God. Underneath Macron’s ‘new world order’ is precisely the opposite.

Digging even further down, underneath these different claims lie very different visions for humanity’s future, and very different beliefs about human nature and God.

Macron’s vision is the realisation of a world where poverty, disease and conflict are gone, climate change is reversed and prosperity is enjoyed by all. Appealing though all this sounds, it is grounded in a utopian fantasy: the creation of heaven on earth, without God, humanity dictating its own morals and working out its own salvation.¹ Both history and Bible prophecy testify to the terrible ends of such millennial dreams.

Trump’s world-view is not nearly so grandiose. He does not assume that a universal utopian vision is necessary, possible or desirable, but instead concerns himself with unleashing individual potential: enabling people to make the best of a fallen world, responsible for their own lives before God.

This does not preclude impulses to international co-operation; it just does not prescribe them as the way to humanity’s ultimate self-realisation.

The Spiritual Dimension

These two men and their two speeches remind me that ultimately there are really only two worldviews, or two directions in which to move: to pay respect to the God of the Bible and his created order, or to write God out of the picture, revising the world accordingly.² Whichever side wins out will change the lives of millions, even billions of people.

The biblical context of all this, of course, is the spiritual battle spoken of in Ephesians 6:10-19. This invisible battle is for the hearts, minds and eternal destinations of all mankind. It is therefore fundamentally a battle for the freedom of the Gospel to be proclaimed, heard and accepted. Satan’s strategy is to deceive with counterfeit offers of salvation and freedom, working meanwhile to close down opportunities for the truth to be heard.

One day, Macron’s vision of a ‘new world order’ will be realised, temporarily (Rev 13), though Satan’s attempts to achieve this through history have so far been allayed. By God’s grace, until the appointed time the Holy Spirit is acting as a restraint, safe-guarding our freedom to proclaim the Good News:

For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendour of his coming. (2 Thess 2:7; also 2 Pet 3:9)

In these two men, and in these two speeches, we are reminded that ultimately there really are only two worldviews.

For Believers

Why is it important to understand the battle raging between our political masters, especially if God ultimately scoffs at their posturing and plotting (Ps 2)? It’s important because it should jolt us out of complacency and galvanise us:

• To make bold use of our Gospel freedoms while we still have them,
  
• To take care that we are not deceived into aligning ourselves with ideologies behind which lie the ‘powers of this world’s darkness’,
  
• To be deliberate in applying God’s truth to our political thinking and acting, and
  
• To pray with understanding, listening to the heart of God and (if so called) yielding ourselves to the vital ministry of intercession.
  

It is a mistake to poke fun at Trump instead of listening to what he has to say. This is a debate – nay, a war – about human nature and purpose, and ultimately about God. Ephesians 6 makes no provision for Christians sitting on the side-lines: it is a call to arms.

Listen to/read the full speeches:

• President Trump: text / video

• President Macron: text / video (quotes taken from the latter)

Notes

1 In this schema, the major evil is not sin, but the freedom which has allowed inequalities to flourish and resources to be abused. The only solution, therefore, is the submission of freedom to the ‘greater’ goals of equality and unity. The biggest potential threats to this are sovereign nation-states or movements of people that might use their independence to deviate from this agenda.

2 Nowhere do these worldviews clash more voraciously than on Israel, although I have not included this example here. Israel will always be at the crux of the global battle for truth and freedom, because she stands for the inevitable fulfilment of God’s covenant purposes and the soon return of Messiah.

The doctrine of baptisms. (Part 1)

We can’t close our eyes to the serious state of the nation.

Twice this week I’ve used the train for journeys to London and Manchester and seen at first hand the chaotic state of our railways. On Monday I went to our local station from which I can usually get a fast train to London – a half-hour journey which took nearly 4 hours and included going part of the way in a bus calling at a succession of local stations.

The ticket office said the bus was provided because they had no idea when the next train would come! My journey took about the same time as the stagecoach took in Queen Victoria’s reign - oh, what great progress we have made in 200 years!

Then I listened to the report of Yesterday in Parliament where the nation’s political leaders were discussing Brexit. Were these really responsible adults dealing with the nation’s affairs shouting abusively at each other? The words ‘chaos’ and ‘confusion’ were the only way of describing the scenes in the House of Commons as everyone was speaking at the same time and no-one was listening.

I picked up a newspaper and glanced at the headlines: High-Street Meltdown, TSB Banking Crisis – Customers’ Accounts Forged, Carillion Costs Taxpayers £1½ million, Sexually Transmitted Diseases Increase, Criminal Justice System Breaking Down, NHS Facing Funding Crisis. I could go on with a catalogue of bad news stories guaranteed to leave us all depressed. But we cannot simply close our eyes to the serious state of our nation. We can’t all take antidepressants and pretend that all is well. At some point we have got to face up to what’s gone wrong.

In this magazine our objective is to tell the truth - even when it is not politically correct to do so!!

In this issue of Prophecy Today we are publishing two significant articles – one is about our Prime Minister Theresa May and the other is about the plague of political correctness that is polluting the whole value system of the nation. These are both must-read articles which I hope our readers will recommend to their friends. In this magazine our objective is to tell the truth - even when it is not politically correct to do so!!

At the Root

At my meeting in Manchester we were talking about the problems facing young people in inner-city areas. One social worker said, “The root of all the problems with the kids is family breakdown – fatherlessness, insecurity, lack of identity, poverty, drugs, guns, knives, gang warfare – the whole cycle comes back to family breakdown”.

But family breakdown is just one result of the nationwide abandonment of our Christian faith, along with the biblical values that were part of the foundations upon which the nation was built and gave guidance and direction to our behaviour: to the way we treat each other, to the way we do business, to life in the home, in school, in the workplace, and among our friends and neighbours.

The problems in our nation are not economic, or political, or educational, or mental health, or physical health, or all the other things we blame like poverty, discrimination and injustice. At root, all these problems come back to the same cause: it is the spiritual state of the nation.

We have no absolutes anymore. Our previous absolutes – TRUTH, JUSTICE, LOVE – these were derived from the nature of God as revealed in the Bible. But when we abandon these absolute, basic values, the bottom drops out of our lives: we have no firm foundation upon which to base anything.

When we abandon the absolute, basic values revealed in Scripture, the bottom drops out of our lives: we have no firm foundation upon which to base anything.

Facing Up to Reality

There is a telling passage in the Bible found in Deuteronomy 28 that God gave to his covenant people Israel. From this we can learn some lessons for ourselves: It tells us what happens when we turn away from God’s teaching:

The Lord will send on you curses, confusion and rebuke in everything you put your hand to, until you are destroyed and come to sudden ruin because of the evil you have done in forsaking him. (Deut 28:20)

We can see all these things taking place right now in the life of our nation – and in all those nations in the Western world where our Judeo-Christian heritage of many centuries is being despised and rejected with devastating consequences.

We will never solve the problems in the economy, or in politics, in health, or in marriage and personal relationships – until we face up to the spiritual issues that are the root causes.

Transformation is Still Possible!

The Prophet Haggai back in the year 520 BC got it right when he told the people of Jerusalem, “This is what the Lord Almighty says: give careful thought to your ways. You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it” (Hag 1:5-6).

He went on to say that the cause of all their problems was because the people had turned away from God – if they would get God back into the centre of their own individual lives and in the corporate life of the nation, all these things would change dramatically.

God is saying the same thing to us today – to our political leaders, to our educators, to our businessmen, to our community leaders and to each of us personally. If we truly seek to get into a right relationship with God, he will respond to us immediately; just as the father ran to greet the prodigal son when he returned home in the story that Jesus told. The transformation of the nation begins with each one of us.

Welby, the wedding and the Gospel

My colleague Charles Gardner has written a splendid piece on the Royal wedding, eulogising the sermon from Bishop Curry that made such a great contribution to the union of Harry and Meghan. It was a powerful message delivered with great skill and passion that captivated not only the congregation in St George’s Chapel, Windsor, but countless millions watching the service around the world.

At the risk of being a spoilsport and dubbed a ‘prophet of doom and gloom’, I want to offer a few thoughts to go alongside what Charles has written. I too watched the wedding on TV and I was delighted with the charismatic message delivered by the Bishop. And I was really pleased that he did not only speak about love in a sentimental, romantic context, but he spoke about the love of God and got some Gospel into his message.

I applauded him for taking the opportunity of presenting the Gospel in simple words that would have communicated clearly to probably the largest congregation any preacher has ever faced. It was certainly good for Christianity.

Changes in the Church

My concern was not with the message but with the whole event and with the enormous changes that are taking place within the Church – especially the Church of England as our state Church. The last time a prince of the realm wanted to marry a divorced American lady whose ex-husband was still living, it resulted in the abdication of King Edward VIII. 

My concern is not with the message but with the whole event and the enormous changes taking place within the Church.

That was the 1930s and much has changed since then. But Harry and Meghan’s wedding could not even have taken place 10 years ago, when Dr Rowan Williams was Archbishop of Canterbury and Prince Charles wanted to marry Camilla Parker-Bowles whose ex-husband was still alive – something that was directly against the teaching of Jesus (Luke 16:18).

I remember discussing it with Rowan at the time. He was steadfastly against allowing a full Anglican wedding service and Charles and Camilla had to go to Windsor Town Hall and have a civil ceremony, after which they went to St George’s Chapel for a blessing.

Now, everyone is so delighted that the Royal family have accepted a beautiful, racially-mixed young lady into their midst that no one takes any notice of her divorce. I believe it is right under exceptional circumstances that the Church should offer a full wedding service where someone has been divorced – I have done this myself – and I don’t know the circumstances of Meghan’s former marriage, so I’m in no position to make any comment on this. My concern is really with Archbishop Justin Welby who has said publicly that it is his intention to make the Church of England ‘more inclusive’.

Gospel Truth?

It was Welby who advised Harry and Meghan to have Bishop Curry as their preacher, knowing full well that Curry is an advocate of same-sex marriage and the propagation of the LGBT code of immorality. I know that the Archbishop sent out guidelines to all CofE primary schools last year urging teachers to encourage the children to cross-dress in preparation for living in a gender-free society. 

What message is the Church sending to the world?

So, I wonder what Welby’s next move will be in undermining our Judeo-Christian heritage? How far does he intend going in promoting the LGBT agenda, destroying biblical truth and promoting an apostate Church?

Yes, it was a lovely wedding and only the British could put on such an amazing pageant in such an historic setting, blessed by perfect weather. It was great to have a national celebration in the midst of the dark Brexit-laden days we are enduring. It was great for the public to enjoy such a celebration and it was good for the national image worldwide. My only concern is: what message is the Church sending to the world? Does the Church of England even know the truth of the Gospel it is supposed to proclaim?