We look set for a turbulent autumn and a winter of discontent.

Our political masters are back from their summer break, refreshed and reinvigorated and ready to set the world right. But do they come back to Westminster with any fresh ideas, or is it back to the same old policies, antagonisms and graft? Both main parties are riven asunder from top to bottom with division so we look set for a turbulent autumn and a winter of discontent, with the Brexit battle absorbing the Tories and anti-Semitism troubling Labour.

The resignation of Frank Field from the Labour Party whip and the bitter criticism of Jeremy Corbyn by Margaret Hodge are signs of the deep trouble in the parliamentary Labour Party. The outbursts from Boris Johnson, Jacob Rees Mogg and other strong Brexiteers who say that Theresa May’s Chequers plan is dead in the water are all adding to the sense of confusion and turmoil surrounding Westminster at the moment.

Signs of Judgment

But these are classical biblical signs of judgment. Deuteronomy 28 gives a list of curses that would come upon Israel if they turned their backs upon the word of God and got heavily into idolatry and rejection of the truth.

One of the consequences would be “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). This prophecy was certainly fulfilled in 586 BC when Jerusalem including the temple, the palace and all the great houses of the city were destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian army.

Coronation Oath

Of course, Britain is not in a covenant relationship with God as was the nation of Israel; but our Sovereign, on behalf of the nation, swore an Oath of Allegiance to the God of the Bible in her Coronation Ceremony in 1953. Since then, as a nation, we have steadily turned away from biblical truth, passing one law after another that is directly against the word of God such as: The Abortion Act 1967, The Divorce Reform Act 1969, The Children’s Act 1989, The Sunday Trading Act 1993, The Gender Recognition Act 2004, The Equality Acts 2010, and The Marriage Same-Sex Couples Act 2013.

"We have steadily turned away from biblical truth"

Warnings

It is simply not possible to do all these ungodly things without bringing upon the nation the retribution we deserve. Another warning in Deuteronomy 28:28 says, “The Lord will inflict you with madness, blindness and confusion of mind.” We are certainly seeing this among our politicians today. We have had the truth in the Bible for centuries and as a nation we have chosen to discard it and go our own way.

In so doing, Britain, that had been under the protective cover of God for 1,000 years, moved outside that cover of protection and what we are seeing today is the result. There is no greater example of the rejection of the ‘God dimension’ in public life than Jeremy Corbyn’s behaviour in regard to the Jews and Zionism. 

Zionism

Zionism is the recognition of God’s covenant with Israel that is at the heart of our Judeo-Christian faith. The promise goes right back to the time of 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 12:2-3).

Has Corbyn never read the Bible? As leader of a major political party in Britain whose Sovereign has sworn on oath to uphold the word of God in the Bible, he surely should have some understanding of what this means and of his own responsibility for upholding biblical truth.

It is a simple historical fact that the people of Israel occupied the land of Israel for many hundreds of years until the Roman army slaughtered half a million Jews and drove the remainder out of the land, destroying Jerusalem, renaming it ‘Capitoline’ and renaming the land of Israel – ‘Palestine’ – ‘land of the Philistines’ – as a deliberate insult to the Jews. That was in AD 135 and they remained scattered across the globe until their land was restored to them in 1948. Until that date the hope of returning to their traditional homeland had been expressed in the term ‘Zionism’ since the 1890s. It was endorsed by British Foreign Secretary Lord Balfour in a 1917 Declaration which was endorsed by Lloyd George and Winston Churchill and became part of British foreign policy.

Anti-Semitism

But anti-Semitic prejudice has plagued the British Foreign Office ever since the 1920s and that is what we see reflected in Jeremy Corbyn and his followers today. Their get-out-of-jail-free-card added to the international definition of anti-Semitism this week allowing them to criticise Israel is a pathetic cover for the anti-Jewish prejudice at the heart of their policy. But the prejudice they are trying to conceal is not just a social attitude. It is, at root, a hatred of God and of the Covenant he made with the people of Israel through whom he has given his teaching (Torah) and revealed his nature and purposes in the Bible; and as Christians believe – He has also given us the Messiah, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Hope

Is there any hope for Britain? Of course there is! Bible-believing-praying Christians should be asking God to use this time of confusion to cause people to recognise our need of God’s help. The 100 young people who have died on the streets of London since the beginning of this year are evidence of a sick society that can only be cured by crying out to God for help. We have reached the stage in the corruption of society that only spiritual revival can cure! None of our problems can be solved by human ingenuity because at root they are spiritual rather than social problems that only God can solve.

None of our problems can be solved by human ingenunity.

Shaking the Nations

It is not only Britain that is in desperate need – the USA similarly is going through a time of political and social upheaval with President Trump under siege in the White House, and Democrats and Republicans hurling insults at one another in the run-up to the November mid-term elections.

Germany, Italy and many other European nations are also going through a period of political turmoil; so too is Australia. Throughout the Western world there are many signs that the great shaking of the nations prophesied in Scripture (Haggai 2:7 and Hebrews 12) are coming true in our generation.

We are rapidly moving towards the time when the situation will become so desperate that Christians will be battering the gates of heaven with their prayers calling upon God to send spiritual revival as the only hope of saving the nations from destruction!

The subject of God's judgment is a tricky one for Christians and as such it is often avoided - but what does Scripture teach us?

The subject of judgment is a tricky one for Christians and as such it is often avoided, lest we put people off God by positioning him as vindictive, just waiting for an opportunity to trap us in our errors and pour out his wrath.

The Bible teaches us that God is pure and holy and unable to compromise - yet also full of compassion and love. He will shake the nations if necessary - or leave us to our own devices, like the father in the parable of the prodigal son. Yet, also like this father, he mourns for his child and desires redemption and restored relationship.

Through a full and balanced reading of Scripture we come to know the emotions of our God that bring mercy balanced with justice in the context of judgments that can shock, punish, bless or restore individuals and nations.

Judgment in Hebrew: mishpat

When we talk of 'judgment', what do we actually mean? The Hebrew word for judgment is mishpat. It is a word with legal connotations, meaning a verdict (either favourable or unfavourable). Judgment of God is not only associated with woe and punishment – it can also be to do with blessing. Simply put, biblical 'judgment' refers to the judicial decisions God makes as he interacts with mankind. Our closest analogy is a court of law where a judge sums up the evidence and makes a decision concerning right and wrong, justice and mercy.

This, however, is an insufficient picture, because it sets God into a framework of constantly presiding over a law court. His relationship with mankind is deeper than that, being founded on pure love and desire for fellowship with the people he created. God as judge is active in his responses to the world situation - not passively judging from afar.

The Hebrew language is more verb-orientated than noun-orientated - the Hebrew words for judging and judgments imply action. Unlike human judges, who endeavour to stand back from the circumstances presented to them in order to make an impartial decision, God interacts with his creation with his own righteous agenda, working to bring about his own purposes.

Nevertheless, it is important for us to know that judgments of God can be favourable or unfavourable, depending on the circumstances of our walk with him.

God is active and involved in the world situation, not passively judging from afar.

Judges Appointed by Moses

God also gives his people some responsibility to make judgments themselves. For instance, Moses appointed judges. The Hebrew word for these judges is shophatim, derived from the same root word as mishpat. Exodus 18 contains the account of the appointment of these first judges from the elders of Israel.

Moses was to "teach them the statutes and laws, and show them the way in which they must walk and the work they must do" (18:20) and the elders were to "judge the people at all times ...every small matter they shall judge...the hard cases they brought to Moses" (18:22, 26) who stood before God for the people (18:19).

Some disputes were to be settled as in a court of law, but this was just a part of the picture. The main purpose of the judges was to help the people of God to understand how to walk with him, according to his teaching (Torah). The picture is of people desiring to have a close walk with God and wanting to get it right. The elders settled the simpler interpretations of Torah and Moses, who was the intercessor for the people, took the hardest cases to God.

In Moses' time, judges were appointed to help the people understand how to walk closely with God. They wanted to get it right.

With this picture in the background, we can begin a balanced study of what else the Bible says about the judgments of God. We can also form an idea of God's vision for justice and mercy for all nations.

The Big Picture

God's first decision (judgment) regarding the world was to create it! Into the world he placed people with free wills. How he weighed up the risks and the consequences is not in our ability to understand, but his decision was made with the logic of Heaven.

The first consequential judgment came at the Fall, when God judged to send mankind forth from Eden into this imperfect world environment. Our need to struggle against sin and to experience sickness and all other evils is a consequence of God's judgment on Adam's and Eve's sin. Additionally, that same satan that tempted Adam in the Garden of Eden and Jesus in the wilderness (Matt 4) is allowed by God to tempt us too (James 1:13-15, 4:7-10, Luke 22:3, 22:31).

God has decided that this will remain the condition of the world until the time he returns and brings in a new heaven and a new earth, as described in the Book of Revelation. We may not understand this fully, but we must accept the nature of this world's imperfections, both physical and spiritual, and – crucially - discover God's purposes in them. Indeed, how mankind responds to these circumstances gives rise to further judgments from God.

The Great Flood

The Great Flood at the time of Noah indicates the seriousness of our need to seek God and follow his ways. The consequences of mankind using their free will to walk away from God brought the judgment of the Flood.

Yet what was in God's heart when he "was sorry that he had made man on the earth" (Gen 6:6)? Scripture says that "he was grieved" (Gen 6:6). This is the same God who looked on his creation and judged "that it was very good" (Gen 1:31). The judgments of God well up out of the emotions of his pure heart. The results can be catastrophic - but God suffers too.

God's judgments well up out of the emotions of his pure heart. The result might be catastrophic for humans – but God suffers too.

Covenants and Conditions

When God made covenants with Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David, and through Jeremiah, he established parameters for his judgments.

One of the 'biggest' words in the Bible is if. God's covenants with Noah and Abraham placed responsibility upon God himself. There were no ifs. God's decision (judgment) was to ensure seedtime and harvest for all generations so that he could draw a covenant family to himself, whatever it would take for him and for us to accomplish this.

Yet conditions for human beings were also made clear within this overall plan - especially in the covenant made with Moses – conditions not for ensuring its ultimate fulfilment (God's responsibility), but laying out the consequences for their obedience and disobedience within it. So, up until the coming of Messiah, Deuteronomy 27 and 28 were the conditions for God's covenant with Israel. These passages are full of ifs: blessings for obedience and consequences for disobedience.

Studied carefully, we can discern that God will bring about growing hardship for his people if they disobey the terms of the covenant, bringing initial signs in the physical environment and eventually, if necessary, even removing them for a time from their Promised Land. Later, the Prophets were sent to remind Israel of the covenant and interpret the signs of judgment around them (eg see Amos 4, which can be read alongside Deuteronomy 27 and 28).

In the Mosaic covenant God laid out conditions for his people – blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience.

Yet, always remember the heart of God for his people. It was not with a vindictive attitude that God sent his people to exile in Babylon. The tears of Jeremiah over fallen Jerusalem (read the Book of Lamentations!) are a prophetic insight into the sadness of God. This sadness can be contrasted with the joy of God over his people when his judgments have brought blessing (reflected wonderfully in many Psalms and in the Song of Songs).

Removing Protection

When God sent Israel into captivity, he took away the nation's protection and allowed their enemies to prevail. He always takes responsibility (read Habakkuk, for example); he ensured that those who were used to sift Israel were themselves to be judged (see, for example, Ezekiel 35). But this principle of taking away protection is a key to understanding many of God's corrective judgments in the world today, as well as in the history of Israel (eg Num 14:9; Ezra 9:9; Ps 64; Isa 25:1-4, 30:13).

If we reject the protection of God, or if he himself removes it, we are vulnerable to the dangers of the world and of our unseen spiritual enemies, and also the consequences of our own sin and foolishness.

The judgment of God, therefore, is often outworked when he takes his protection away, so that we discover our need of him. We are in a fallen world, subject to temptation and the results of evil all around – but remember that this is the world where God sent Adam and Eve because of their own rebellion against him. In a way, then, we can bring judgment on ourselves by rejecting the protection of God. This applies to belief in Jesus too, and the invitation to eternal life through faith in him (John 3:18).

Conditions for Israel

There is always a way back - even for a nation. It is not God's desire to punish, but to redeem. Solomon prayed to God when the Temple was consecrated; God answered and gave conditions for the restoration of Israel, even if they were scattered across the earth. The prayer and God's response (2 Chron 6-7) should be read in full - carefully.

There is always a way back – even for a nation. God's desire is not to punish, but to redeem.

The verse that is well-known is 2 Chronicles 7:14, "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 will forgive their sins and heal their land." The history of Israel (whether within God's blessings or curses) depends on their living by faith and obedience according to the Torah given through Moses. Yet, even at the extremity of God's judgments, God has covenant promises which means he will never abandon them completely.

Though the above show God's character, compassion and forgiveness and therefore give hope to any nation, the context of the passage is a promise directly for Israel as God's chosen nation. Sometimes we of another nation would like to read it as directly to us, but that would mean that we have a covenant with God like Israel has. We must not take this lightly or become fanciful and confused. The principles for any nation are found in Jeremiah 18.

Conditions for Any Nation

Jeremiah was shown at the potter's house that, like a potter re-modelling clay, God could re-model even a Gentile nation. The promise was similar to 2 Chronicles 7:14 but subtly different. We might think that we could read 2 Chronicles 7:14 as being that if Christians pray earnestly then God would heal their land. However, Jeremiah 18:7-10 requires that the nation as a whole repents and seeks God. Of course Christians can intercede, but ultimately the nation must come to God as a whole.

Rather than 2 Chronicles 7:14, it would be more realistic for Christians to place their hope in and quote "If that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring on it" (Jer 18:8).

Nevertheless, the God of judgment is also a God of redemption and signs of his judgment always come with hope. Indeed, we can see God's judgments as having the purpose of redemption, being designed to turn hearts back to him.

God's word contains promises of hope to both Israel and to Gentile nations – his judgments always have the purpose of redemption.

Favour Before Woe

This is "the year of the Lord's favour" (Isa 61:2; Luke 4:18-19) and not yet "the day of vengeance of our God" (Isa 61:2b). This is the period of God's covenant purposes when he is holding out a hand of mercy to all that will turn to him from any nation.

When this phase of God's purposes for redemption is over, his promised judgments will be termed woes because they will have the purpose of punishment rather than refinement. This is what we find in Revelation 18. Though this day will come we are not there yet! This is important to remember because the way we understand the judgments of God influences the way we understand his character.

Justice and Mercy

The weeping of Jeremiah over Jerusalem, recorded in the Book of Lamentations, is echoed in the weeping of Jesus over Jerusalem (Luke 19:41-44) and is to be borne in mind as we read Luke 21 and Matthew 24. The judgments of God, first on Jerusalem in 70 AD, and on Israel in exile since then, and the mighty signs and judgments in the world and on all nations are necessary. They are in the context of a gathering from all nations of God's covenant people as the Gospel goes out. James understood the balance in God's heart when he wrote "mercy triumphs over judgment" (James 2:13).

This points us to the Cross of Jesus Christ where, in the judgment of the Father, the Lord took all the pain of the sin of the world upon himself. (Selah – pause and reflect)

Furthermore, the immense happenings in this world described by Jesus in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21 are not so much judgments, but signs of the Lord's return (Matt 24:3). We draw near to the momentous climax of this world's existence – no wonder there is such a shaking! Such is needed to draw mankind's attention to God and his covenant purposes.

The immense shakings going on in the world are not so much judgments as signs of the Lord's return.

Without compromise God is moving through history, gathering his community who will experience the reverse of the Fall, whilst the wider consequences of human sin bring us to the climax of history - Jesus' return and God's final judgment of all people.

The Prophetic Task

So what is God doing and why? Well, we need only glance at current world affairs to know that God is not careless about our world and is working out his own purposes – including his chief goal of preparing a people of his own for the time of Jesus' return.

Though his ways are beyond our full understanding, we can gain insights that are sufficient for our day-to-day lives. Let us as a prophetic people be sure to understand the heart of our God so that we can truly understand the times and know what must be done.

Prophets not only understood God's words and relayed them to others, they also gained God's ear. Edmund Heddle looks at this profound intercessory relationship...

It was the special privilege of the true Old Testament prophets to stand in the council of the Almighty to listen to his words. It was this access that ensured the accuracy and authority of the prophecies they spoke.

But this access also gave them the privilege of gaining the ear of God as they interceded on behalf of their people and ensured the success of their intercession. God spoke to them and they spoke to God. Both of these aspects need to be kept in mind if we are to gain a true understanding of what a prophet is.

First Bible Prophet an Intercessor

The earliest example of a prophet interceding occurs in Genesis 20:7, which is where the first reference to a prophet in Scripture occurs. In a dream God told Abimelech, king of Gerar, to hand back Sarah, Abraham's wife, and said that Abraham's intercession would save him from certain death "because he is a prophet" (Gen 20:7, 17).

There is however an earlier reference to Abraham praying when he interceded for the wicked city of Sodom (Gen 18:22-23). Six times Abraham besought God to spare Sodom and each time God accepted his prayer. What an encouragement today to pray for our increasingly immoral society! It was a sad commentary on Sodom's widespread homosexuality that there were fewer than ten righteous men in the city and so the inevitable judgment fell, a lasting warning to the cities that are moving in that direction before our eyes today.

Abraham's intercession spared kings and cities judgment- what an encouragement today to pray for our increasingly immoral society!"

Prayers of the Writing Prophets

The close link between prophesying and interceding is also found in the writing prophets of the Old Testament. We find Amos asking God's pardon for Israel and for respite from the utter destruction caused by a divinely ordained plague of locusts (Amos 7:1-2).

In similar fashion Joel cries to God for the ending of the drought which has caused the "seed to shrivel under the clods" and the wild beasts to cry out because "the water brooks are dried up" (Joel 1:17-¬20). In contrast, Hosea calls down an awful judgement on the homes of Israel by requesting "wombs that miscarry and breasts that are dry" (Hos 9:14).

Habakkuk's Fiddle!

In his long prayer forming the whole of Habakkuk 3, the prophet expresses his absolute confidence in Yahweh, no matter how many calamities might befall him or however bad things might become. One quaint old commentator advises his readers to strum away on 'Habakkuk's Fiddle' when we are facing days of trouble.

Hebrew scholars tell us that the rhythm of the last part of this prayer is very beautiful, consisting of short lines of three words each and obviously intended to be set to music. He says that he will wait patiently until the day of calamity overwhelms the nation that was invading his land (Hab 3:16b).

Amos interceded for God's pardon, Hosea called for judgment and Habakkuk expressed his complete confidence in God, whatever the future might hold."

The Prophet's Arguments with God

Ezekiel wrestles with God and hints that his reputation is at stake if he utterly wipes out the remnant of Israel (Eze 9:8-11; 11:13-16). The reputation of Yahweh is one of the strongest arguments advanced by the prophets in their interceding for God's people. It was used by Moses several times, as he argues that the surrounding nations would conclude that Yahweh had failed to bring his people into the Promised Land (Ex 32:12; Deut 9:25-29).

A variation of this argument, also used by Moses, was to remind God of his promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and to tell him that he dare not break them. A similar argument that Yahweh would bring disgrace to his name if he let his people down had been used by Joshua at the defeat of Ai (Josh 7:9). These arguments are just as strong today if we adapt them to our New Testament understanding of the character and promises of our Heavenly Father and the victory of his Son, our Saviour.

Many prophets interceded by reminding God of his character and promises- and by arguing that his reputation was at stake. These arguments are just as strong today"

Prayer's Powerful Effect

Of all the prophets, Elijah is chosen as the example of the powerful effect of a righteous man's intercession (James 5:16-17) and it is from this New Testament account that we learn that the disastrous three and a half years' drought in the reign of King Ahab happened in answer to Elijah's praying. Had we only the narrative in 1 Kings 17, we should not have known the part that his prayers had in bringing about the drought, as a judgement upon the idolatrous activity of the wicked Queen Jezebel.

As this three-year period came to an end the power of Elijah's praying was again demonstrated when, after total failure on the part of Baal's prophets to bring fire from heaven, God answered his servant's prayer by causing the enormous power of his lightning falling from heaven to consume not only the wood and the sacrifice but also the soil and the stones!

In 1 Kings and James, we find that Elijah's powerful intercession caused drought in Israel for three and a half years, brought down fire from heaven and then finally brought rain"

Having brought about this convincing demonstration of Yahweh's superiority, Elijah tells the king that rain was on its way. Yet again Elijah turned to prayer, bending down to the ground with his head between his knees, having first climbed to the top of Carmel. After six reports from his servant that there was not a cloud in the sky, when he looked the seventh time a cloud no larger than a man's hand convinced him that torrential rain was about to fall.

Intercessor's Options

From the foregoing stories it is clear that, on occasion, a prophet may in prayer invoke the judgement of God upon a sinful nation whereas at another time he may terminate the judgement. An example of both options may be found in the story of Elisha, Elijah's successor. He invoked blindness on Israel's enemy, but later prayed that their vision might be restored (2 Kings 6:18-20).

There is in fact another option, making three in all. Elisha could ask either (i) that God would bring judgement to reveal his displeasure (eg Elijah in 1 Kings 17:1), or (ii) that God would pardon his people and rescue them from judgement (eg Moses in Numbers 11:1-3), or again (iii) that God would modify the intensity of his judgement (eg Ezekiel in Ezekiel 11:13) so as to avoid their total overthrow.

It might well be asked which option that today's intercessors should adopt, though they are not left without direction: "For the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought...the Spirit intercedes...according to the will of God" (Rom 8:26-27).

Moses - Intercessor for Israel

Moses is the supreme example of a prophet who was also an intercessor. Moses prayed for Israel at least four times during the wilderness wanderings and secured the mercy and pardon of God for his sinning people. They turned to idolatry, they constantly grumbled, they wanted to return to Egypt and on one occasion were about to stone Moses and his few faithful companions. But time and time again Moses' intercession secured them God's deliverance (Ex 32:9-14; see also Deut 9:20-29; Ex 32:30¬-34; Num 14:13-19 & 21:7-9).

Moses' example of fervent, vicarious intercession has only been surpassed by that of Jesus."

The fervency of Moses' intercession – "I lay prostrate before the Lord for these forty days and forty nights, because the Lord had said he would destroy you" (Deut 9:25) - and the vicariousness of his pleading as he says to God "forgive their sin - and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book..." (Ex 32:32), together with his refusal of the divine suggestion that the people should be wiped out so that God could make a new nation of him, form an example for today's intercessors to emulate, though never to surpass. Only one has ever done that when "in the days of his flesh he offered up prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears" (Heb 5:7).

Other Prayers of Moses

Moses' intercession bringing victory to Israel over the Amalekites is the classic story of the power of the intercessor (Ex 17:8-16). Moses' prayers also secured mercy for Miriam his jealous sister (Num 12:13), God's presence in their onward pilgrimage (Ex 33:12-¬16) and a new leader to take over from him (Num 27:15-23).

When we see the achievements that result from praying for others we are ashamed that we so often neglect this part of the prophetic ministry and cry out with John Calvin "what deep-seated malice against God is this, that I will do anything and everything, but go to him and remain with him in secret prayer!".

Another Prophet Intercessor

Psalm 99:6-8 refers to Samuel as another intercessor who called on the name of the Lord to have mercy on his people. When the Israelites were terrified at the impending attack of the Philistines, they begged Samuel to pray for them. God's thunder was his answer and the enemy was routed (1 Sam 6:7-10).

When the people sinned against God by demanding a king, to be like the other nations, the Lord showed his displeasure by sending thunder and rain, seldom experienced at that particular season. This was in answer to Samuel's praying. However, when they repented, Samuel (though personally rejected by their demands for asking) magnanimously assured them that he would not cease to pray for them and would continue to teach them the "good and right way".

Are we guilty of giving up praying because we have been rejected?"

For Samuel to cease to pray would have amounted to "sin against the Lord" (1 Sam 12:23). Are we guilty of giving up praying because we have been rejected? Samuel's attitude is one which today's intercessors would do well to copy.

Courageous Praying

The prophet Daniel is well known for his faithfulness in continuing to pray even when the threat of being thrown to the lions had been made. "He kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed...as he did afore time" (Dan 6:10). Most of his prayers are concerning the hidden mysteries God was gracious enough to unveil to him. But chapter 9 contains his prayer of confession, which is an aspect of prophetic praying we have not so far mentioned.

In the context of reminding Yahweh of his promise through the prophet Jeremiah to restore his people to their land after seventy years, Daniel confesses vicariously on behalf of God's sinful nation. A most important part of the prophet's intercession is to 'stand in the shoes' of the people being prayed for as prayer is offered on their behalf.

When Prayer is Forbidden

Jeremiah's prophecy contains a number of prayers for God's people (Jer 14:7-9; 19-22; 42:1-7). But the time came when it was too late to pray and Jeremiah was forbidden to do so. God's order to his servant was "do not pray for this people, or lift up cry or prayer for them, and do not intercede for them, and do not intercede with me, for I do not hear you" (Jer 7:16; see also 11:14, 14:11). How important that prayer should be offered before it is too late!

Prophet's Privilege

If we are to speak for God, we need first to speak to God."

Everyone knows that it is the responsibility of the prophet to speak God's word to whoever he is sent. Sometimes that word can be hard and condemnatory - unless the prophet has also interceded for whoever is on the receiving end of the prophecy. If we are to speak for God, we need first to speak to God. Then only will the prophets of today really copy the example of the prophets of the Bible.

First published in Prophecy Today, Vol 2, No 4, July/August 1986.

'Preparing for the Economic Storm: the Church in an Age of Austerity' by Derrick Burns (New Wine Press, 2013, 158 pages, available from Roperpenberthy for £8.99)

This is a well-researched and informative book on an important current topic: the turmoil in national economies that threatens to turn into a global storm. The author provides many relevant facts and figures and a perceptive analysis of those countries most in financial trouble. Helpfully, he states early in his book the key questions he will attempt to answer: what is God doing? How does he use economic storms? How can we prepare for tough times? What kind of church does God require and how can we raise up new leaders?

The author outlines how the Western world has worshipped capitalism and economic prosperity, and boldly declares that such idolatry brings nations down. Already cracks are beginning to form. Unrestrained corporate greed and a short-term gain mentality mean excessive spending will inevitably continue, both individually and nationally. This can only lead to more debt and eventual collapse, though he is cautious as to when and how seriously.

The situations in Greece, Spain and France come under scrutiny, as does the severity of the challenges the United States now faces. The spotlight also falls on the United Kingdom which has forsaken its calling to the gospel and turned its back on God, following materialism and consumerism instead. Consequently, we are heading for the same storms.

The call of this book is for God's people to free ourselves from idols of greed and be ready for the coming storms"

The author recognises this is part of the shaking of the nations as predicted in Hebrews 12:26. In particular, "God is deliberately allowing the economic storms to challenge Western idols built on money, self-centredness and success". (p74) The call is for God's people to free ourselves from these idols now in order to be ready for the storms and to be able to help others who will struggle in these difficult economic times. We must heed the warning signs and shake off complacency before the storms hit.

The book contains many references to historical figures and events as well as key Biblical passages, in particular the fat and lean years in the Joseph account. The aim is to bring prophetic insight and practical wisdom to bear on personal lifestyles as well as on national issues. Indeed, a main strength of the book is the wealth of practical advice for individuals, churches, charities and other organisations, advice designed to create a new focus and flexibility to adapt to changing times. This guidance is important otherwise we might feel helpless in the light of his stern message.

The author stresses the need for the church to be thinking now about what kind of mission we will face in the future and how to father new spiritual leaders for the next generation. Mature Christians must help equip newer believers and build up gifts of prophecy and discernment.

The Church needs to prepare and be ready- not just for changing times, but for new opportunities for the gospel."

The overall message of the book will be an eye-opener for those not aware of how God acts in judgement, but there is also reassurance. God does provide in times of hardship. His Kingdom operates according to a different economy. If we understand the times and what God is doing then there will be great opportunities for the gospel.

Here is an illuminating challenge to prepare for a more difficult future than we might otherwise contemplate. It is a prophetic book in that it analyses the present in clear Biblical terms. Alarm bells should ring but not in an over-alarmist clamour- this is a book to read prayerfully and then share, not shelve.

Edmund Heddle continues his series on prophecy by looking in depth at the ministry of Elijah.

The religious life of Israel reached an all time low during the reign of Ahab (873-851 BC) and the Bible's verdict on him reads, "he did evil in the sight of the Lord more than all that went before him" (1 Kings 16:30).

Prosperous Times

Politically, Ahab was one of Israel's strongest kings. Whilst he reigned, Israel was at peace with Judah, Moab paid large sums of tribute money regularly and he twice defeated Benhadad, King of Syria. Internally, it was a time when prosperity and materialism flourished. In the excavation of the site of Ahab's palace archaeologists unearthed items of furniture made of ivory encrusted with gold.

Disastrous Marriage

Bur while in these ways his reign was successful, from the point of view of the worship of Yahweh, it was a time of unmitigated disaster. Ahab's father, Omri, had arranged that he would marry a heathen princess, Jezebel, daughter of the Zidonian king. No sooner had Ahab come to power than Jezebel, with the help of 450 heathen prophets, set about introducing into Israel the idolatrous worship of the Phoenician god Melkart, better known to us as 'Baal'.

Ahab was one of Israel's strongest and most prosperous kings. But in God's eyes, his reign was disastrous."

And as if this was not enough, she also brought over from Sidon four hundred more prophets to perform in Israel the licentious orgies of the goddess Ashtoreth. In her determination to establish this heathen religion she persecuted the followers of Yahweh and did not hesitate to kill numbers of his true prophets.

Wicked Queen

"Everything we know about Jezebel shows her to have been a woman born to dominate, a very fountain of burning energy, passionate, self-willed, determined, stopping at nothing to effect her ends. To all this was added a religious devotion bordering on fanaticism".¹ She was determined to promote the worship of Baal and took advantage of the fact that in an agricultural country like Israel, a god who was said to bring good harvests would have a special attraction.

An 8th Century BC carving from Syria depicts Baal as a weather-god holding an axe and a thunderbolt.

Crisis Prophet

To deal with such a situation, God brought on to the scene the prophet Elijah, considered by many to be the greatest of the prophets. Very little is known about his antecedents. He is introduced in Scripture as "Elijah the Tishbite from Tishbeh in Gilead" (1 Kings 17:1). We have no exact date for his birth, his appearance in Israel or his translation to heaven, but he must have prophesied for at least twenty years in the reign of King Ahab.

This man who emerged from the rough pasture lands bordering the wilderness came to be recognised by his garment of hair with a leather girdle (2 Kings 1:8). He spent much time in solitude with only occasional visits to the peopled cities. He appeared and disappeared with such startling suddenness that no one knew where to find him at any particular time (1 Kings 18:10, 12).

Elijah spent much time in solitude, appearing and disappearing very suddenly according to the leading of the Spirit of God."

However, when Ahab's steward, Obadiah, expressed his exasperation at Elijah's sudden disappearances, his words reveal that Elijah's movements were to be traced to his direction by the Spirit of God. It was the Spirit's direction that ensured that at every critical juncture Elijah was always at hand, ready to go into action as the conscience of the nation.

False Religion

With a name like Elijah (meaning Yahweh is God!), it was inevitable that he would find himself on a collision course with Jezebel, Baal and his false prophets. In fact he precipitated this by praying that God would fulfil his threat to withhold rain from the land of Israel, seeing his people had turned to idolatry (Deut l l:16, 17).

Prayer for Disaster

If we had only the Old Testament record, we would assume that when Elijah told Ahab that there would be no rain on Israel for three years he was merely passing on a direct revelation from God. It is the New Testament which reveals that this situation had come about in answer to Elijah's prayer (James 5:17).

In one sense, Ahab was right when he referred to Elijah as the 'troubler of Israel' (1 Kings 18:17), though Elijah rightly pointed out that the real cause of the drought was the disobedience of Israel's kings and their idolatry in Baal worship. Elijah is not the only prophet who has been blamed for an event because he prophesied it would happen!

Elijah actually prayed for disaster to befall Israel because of her disobedience."

Carmel Confrontation

Elijah then proposed that a public demonstration be staged on Mount Carmel to prove whether Baal, the Zidonian weather-god or Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob was the real god. By challenging Ahab and the prophets of Baal to such a confrontation, Elijah joined the ranks of prophets like Samuel, Nathan, Gad and Shemaiah who had the courage to confront kings who were acting contrary to God's will. But Elijah did so in such a way as to instigate the classic encounter for all time between Yahweh and all idol gods.

Carmel, meaning 'garden', or 'park', is proverbial in Scripture for its natural beauty and majesty (Isa 35:2). It was on its wooded headland that rose high above the Mediterranean Sea that Elijah challenged the people to choose once and for all between Yahweh and Baal. The nature of the challenge focussed on the preparation of two bulls for sacrifice with the understanding that no fire should be kindled by the worshippers. Elijah gave first place to Baal's prophets and they cried out to their weather-god to ignite the fire by "fire from heaven"- i.e. lightning (Gen 19:24; 1 Chron 21:26).

Elijah instigated a classic encounter between Yahweh and idol gods, challenging the prophets of Baal to prove his existence."

Religious HysteriaStatue of Elijah / see Photo Credits

Although they cried from early morning till noon there was no response. At this point Elijah began to mock them for their failure to get any response from Baal. "Pray louder!" he suggested: "Maybe he is day-dreaming or relieving himself, or perhaps he's gone on a journey! Or maybe he's sleeping and you've got to wake him up!" (1 Kings 18:27 TEV).

This provoked them to a continuous ranting and raving which went on until the middle of the afternoon; meanwhile they cut themselves with their lances and tried to appease their god with the shedding of their own blood. But all to no avail as the Scripture states pathetically: "no-one answered, no-one heeded" (1 Kings 18:29).

Prayer Answered

Then came the turn of Elijah, but first he ordered that the sacrifice and wood were to be soaked with water. All eyes must have keen riveted on the lone prophet as he quietly prayed to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel and offered three reasons why he should answer by fire.

These were that all present might know (i) that Yahweh was God in Israel, (ii) that Elijah was his servant and had acted in obedience to his instructions, (iii) that God had turned their hearts back to their true God. In striking contrast to the day-long screaming of Baal's prophets, Elijah prayed quietly and at once the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the sacrifice...the wood...the stones...and the water that was in the trench. When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said: Yahweh, He is God! Yahweh, He is God!

Courage Rewarded

What Elijah accomplished on Mount Carmel must never be underestimated."

After such an exposure of the futility of idolatry, the false prophets were put to the sword. For Elijah there could be no compromise. To him, the spiritual life of the nation was at stake and he, to his eternal credit, had been willing to stand alone as the only effective opposition to the evil religious policies of the royal court. What might have happened if Jezebel had been allowed to go on unchallenged, no one can say.

What Elijah accomplished on Mount Carmel must never be underestimated. It was at the risk of his own life that he stood up for the true God. If he had failed that day on Carmel, his fate would have been the same as that meted out to Baal's discredited prophets.

A Man Like Us

Whatever may be our reaction to Elijah's subsequent panic-stricken running away to escape the threats of Jezebel, we must not let it for one moment detract from our admiration of his courage on Carmel. Rather, we must let the fact that Scripture tells us that he was a "man with human frailties like our own" (James 5:17 NEB) deepen our appreciation of both his outstanding courage and his temporary lapse into gripping fear.

Elijah was 'a man just like us', with weaknesses as well as strengths, moments of failure as well as moments of success."

Naboth's Vineyard

Having seen how Elijah dealt with the false religion of Baal, we turn to see how he dealt with the evil acts of Jezebel and Ahab in the matter of Naboth's vineyard (1 Kings 21). In Jezreel there was a vineyard owned by a citizen named Naboth. Because it was so close to the palace, King Ahab wanted it and planned to make it his herb garden. He approached the owner with a fair offer of purchase or exchange, but Naboth refused and Ahab went back to the palace in a fit of the sulks. Jezebel found him sulking and soon discovered why.

It is important to notice that Naboth was not just being awkward. From the law of Moses it is clear that Israel was considered to be God's land. The Israelites were his tenants and one of the conditions of their tenancy was that their allocation of land must remain in the possession of their family. In cases of extreme necessity they might have to part with it temporarily, but even then only until the year of Jubilee. Naboth knew that once the King got hold of it, he would never see it back and so he refused the king's offer.

Wicked Frame-Up

When Jezebel discovered the reason for Ahab's sulking, she scornfully asked him who was ruling Israel and before he could reply she had arranged a frame-up which resulted in the execution of Naboth and the confiscation of all his property, on a trumped up charge.

Flushed with success, she bade Ahab go and take possession of the vineyard he so much wanted. As he didn't go he was confronted by a well-known figure and Elijah quickly pointed out that Jezebel's action had outraged the principles of justice laid down by Moses for Israel. He said that such a crime had sealed their doom and Jezebel and Ahab would die along with all their posterity - a threat that was carried out to the letter (1 Kings 21:21-22; 2 Kings 10:1-11).

In the matter of Naboth's vineyard, Elijah was responsible for prophesying the doom of both Jezebel and Ahab."

Yahweh's Council

Elijah was distinguished from the rest of men by his special relationship with Yahweh. He stood before him as a trusted official (1 Kings 17:1) listening to what he was going to do and discovering what his part in carrying it out might be. This is the picture behind the frequent mention in the Elijah stories that the word of the Lord had come to him (1 Kings 17:1-2, 8; 1 Kings: 1; 1 Kings 21:17, 28-29). Both his movements and his messages were dictated by Yahweh.

Elijah to Come

The closing words of the Old Testament promise that Elijah was to come again to prepare the way for the Messiah. The Gospels show that this promise was a frequent topic of conversation during the ministry of Jesus (Matthew 17, 10-13). Zechariah had been told that his son, John the Baptist, would minister in the "spirit and power of Elijah" (Luke 1:17).

Although Jesus regarded John the Baptist as a fulfilment of Malachi's prophecy, his words seem to leave open the likelihood that there will be other Elijahs in the future. If ever there was a day when an Elijah witness was needed in the nations of the world it is surely today!

First published in Prophecy Today, Vol 2 No 2, March/April 1986

References

1 Fleming, J,1950. Personalities of the Old Testament, Charles Scribner's Sons, p171.