This week: Some recent prophecies about Britain's relationship with the EU.

It is easy to feel overloaded when confronted with a large number of visions, dreams and prophetic words to test. Our spiritual adversary is quite capable of contributing to this overload, making it very easy for us to switch off. In so doing, however, we are likely to reject true prophecy. It is better to test everything – and hold on to the good (1 Thess 5:21).

We hope that this short series of articles in the weeks running up to the EU referendum is contributing to fellowships testing prophecy together.  Testing is a responsibility of the local Church, and it is likely that prophecies will emerge at this level which support those given at a national level. These will not necessarily be for sending out widely but simply for submitting to local elders for testing.

It is better to test everything – and hold on to the good.

Selection of Prophetic Words

With this in mind, we will not overload our readers with much more – over to you, as it were.

This time, we will feature just a few of the prophecies and reasoned arguments that have come in to the office over the last few weeks. The biblical principle of 1 Corinthians 14:29-33 implies that we can expect more than enough prophetic words. Order is required and self-discipline in reporting and testing prophecy.

Order is required - and self-discipline - in reporting and testing prophecy.

Here then are just a few more insights with the EU referendum in mind, which we can share.

1. Neil Turner (Omega Programme) / Nebuchadnezzar

Neil Turner has presented a biblical analysis based on Nebuchadnezzar's vision of a statue to draw out a reason for the UK leaving the EU. The full article is available here.

I quote two paragraphs that emphasise the reason for the article and the perceived reason why God wants us to be separate from such alliances as the EU:

The purpose of this article is not to argue the case for or against the EU, but to explore Bible prophecy to discern God's will for Britain. Simply, does the Bible have anything to say about Britain or its purposes in the last days? I believe the answer is yes, and for this we must turn to the prophecy of Daniel, given some 2600 years ago, whilst in exile in Babylon...

We must 'pray first for those in authority that we may live peaceable lives', and pray that in God's wrath towards our nation He would remember mercy. The prayer, lodged in my spirit by the Holy Spirit these last 25 years, is that 'God would sever Britain from the European Union, that we might stand alone as a nation before Him in judgment'. I believe, on the basis of Daniel 7, the British Church has the authority and responsibility to pray for exit.

May God have mercy on us.

Neil Turner, April 2016

2. Azusa Now / The Word of the Lord

Arthur Blessitt is well known as an evangelist who walked through many nations carrying a Cross. He participated in a gathering called Azuza Now in May 2016. At a ceremony on 8 May, stones were symbolically laid at a well – and a particularly poignant moment was reported. A full report is available here.

Here is a brief extract pointing to God's displeasure at disunity in the Church:

Arthur Blessitt and the Well – The Meaning

I felt the Lord was saying that the reason behind Arthur Blessitt sharing his testimony and suffering was significant. He is a man wholly focussed on and devoted to the One who mandated him. He is not one who would abandon that mandate when the going gets tough. As Arthur Blessitt shared, we heard his testimony of having been imprisoned, shot at, beaten and abused for the sake of the mandate God gave him. Yet in all these things, he so identified with the message of the cross that he never left his post.

The Lord also revealed that in the very same way that Arthur Blessitt put the cross in the midst of the well and all eyes were fixated upon it, the church needs to once again look to the cross. The church needs to know the Person of the cross and what He stands for. The church needs to preach and represent the cross in a radical way. '

The stones that were laid down blocked the well of contention, racism and division that has caused so much sickness in the Body of Christ in seasons past. There existed so much division and confusion but that well is now blocked and a new well has been erected.

Out of this new well, a new prophetic sound is arising from what the Lord is calling a Jesus movement of those that are moved by Him alone...

The Lord also revealed that many well known prophetic and prayer voices may not currently feel much direction or unction in prayer. This is because God is driving many back to the message of the cross. After looking intently to the cross, the mandates will begin to flow. The people of God will go forth in the strength and power of Elijah, Elisha, and Joshua – in great power and authority.

Let us watch and give the glory to God as He performs these signs. Yes, as we look to the cross we will learn to steward precious Holy Spirit in our midst in a greater way.

Sent to us by Rev Betty King.

3. British justice and personal freedom under threat.

Among other important concerns relating to Britain's sovereignty, justice and personal freedom are both considered to be under threat by the progress to centralise authority in the EU. If you are interested in arguments and evidence to this end, please see articles written by Jonathan Fisher QC, available here and commented on here.

4. A Reasoned Argument from Peter Horrobin of Ellel Ministries.

Peter Horrobin presents a thoughtful analysis of why he intends to vote to come out of the EU. His reasoning is based on parallels from the time of Jehoshaphat. Read the analysis on his blog.

5. Jan Evans / An umbilical cord between Britain and Europe.

The following e-mail was received from a prayer partner in the Lydia Fellowship:

Hi to everyone at Issachar Ministries, I just want to give you this picture that I saw while praying with my LYDIA prayer group. We praying about the EU, the coming elections in June and just seeking the Fathers face, regarding the whole situation. I saw the British Isles with a baby hovering over it, this baby was wrapped in a blanket, the astonishing thing about it all was that it had a massive umbilical cord, this was going across the channel into France.

I then saw over the channel coming from the top of Britain a large pair of silver scissors, but they couldn't fit around the circumference of this umbilical cord. I instantly thought how on earth are they going to cut through that...! We obviously prayed about this situation and what the Father maybe saying to us. I would very much like to hear from you after your prayerful consideration.

Jan Evans, South Wales.

Sifting Out the Truth

These are a sample of the insights we are receiving to test. There are some meaningfully reasoned arguments here as well as direct words. We have also been sent other visions of clouds of judgment coming to our shores, of Donald Trump being God's choice for America and so on. We need to sift the relevant from the not-so-relevant and together discern what God is really saying to us.

Let us use these insights, prophecies and questions alongside all else that we need to test as we move towards the decision point of 23 June. Surely God himself is showing us how important it is for us to make the right decision on that day and to go forward from that point listening to him.

We need to sift the relevant from the not-so-relevant and together discern what God is really saying to us.

Finally, we include an exhortation for prayer from prayer partner Sandy Harvey, sent via the following e-mail to the office:

When I was praying for the upcoming referendum this weekend I believe that God gave me a clear word to help us pray for it in an ongoing, continual way.

I was interceding at the time but I am aware of the enormity of the decision and the importance of fervent prayer at every possible moment in the coming days.

The Word He gave was 'open blind eyes'.

I believe God gave this as a simple strategy to be able to continually pray throughout the day wherever we are and whatever we are doing. Whilst driving, shopping or doing any every day activity if we pray those words, 'Lord, open blind eyes', we are opening a door for Him to work in somebody.

People we see in the street, the man at the petrol pump, the supermarket checkout operator, Lord open her/his blind eyes.'

Firing prayer darts whenever the vote comes to mind.

This was weighed and accepted by my prayer partner. I have also just heard that the intercessors in Israel praying for the UK about the referendum have also been using the same words. 'Open blind eyes.' (I understand that they are also praying and 'unblock ears'.)

Lay all this before the Lord, with Bibles open, and alongside other prophecies, and in a prayerful attitude seek the Lord's wisdom for the future of our nation and our vote on 23 June.

Next time: A personal overview.

What are we to make of the Prime Minister's gaffe?

The Prime Minister's gaffe (or was it deliberate?) had some unexpected consequences. He said that Nigeria was a "fantastically corrupt nation" - not the most diplomatic way of preparing for a conference on combating corruption that he himself was to chair!

The Prime Minister of Nigeria was already in London for the conference but he wisely rejected calls for an apology.

Acknowledging that there is widespread corruption in his country, he said that he would prefer the return of assets in London bought through the proceeds of money-laundering.

First, Remove the Plank...

Millions of dollars and pounds have been stolen from government funds in Nigeria by corrupt officials and politicians and squirrelled away into foreign assets, including mega London property deals. This has been going on for decades with the full knowledge of the Nigerian Government and financial authorities in London.

It is surely an embarrassment to David Cameron to be faced with these facts when hosting a conference seeking to combat corruption: especially following the recent revelations in the 'Panama Papers' which showed that his own family had used the services of offshore banking provided in British colonies.

Nigeria's President would surely be justified in quoting the little parable that Jesus used of the man who wanted to remove the speck of dust in someone else's eye when he had a plank in his own eye (Matt 7:3)! Britain's role as the oldest democracy in the Commonwealth should be that of assisting the newly democratised nations struggling to establish stability and righteous government.

London's complicity in Nigeria's corruption is an embarrassment – Buhari would be justified in asking Britain to remove the plank from their own eye before accusing Nigeria.

Cameron and Buhari at this week's anti-corruption conference, London. See Photo CreditsNigeria's History of Corruption

Nigeria has a history of political instability and corruption. In its short life since independence in 1960 there have been 10 military presidents – six of whom were either assassinated or deposed in a military coup. The first democratically elected president was in 1999 when Olusegun Obasanjo came to power. A devout Christian, his stated aim was to alleviate poverty, reduce government corruption and establish a democratic system that would bring stability to the nation.

Sadly, his efforts to stamp out corruption in government were met with fierce opposition from MPs, including members of his own Government who expected to benefit from government contracts and a wide range of backhanders and personal benefits. The politicians even attempted to impeach the President as they did not like his authoritarian style of imposing reforms upon Parliament.

On my first visit to Nigeria back in the 1980s I was shocked to be stopped by police at a roadblock as we were driving out of Lagos only to be told by my driver that if I did not include some money inside my passport when I handed it over for inspection, we could be sitting in the roadblock for hours. I refused to do so and we were eventually allowed to leave. My driver went on to explain that every civil servant and minor official expected a reward for any transaction - such as applying for a passport, which could be delayed for months unless the clerical officer was rewarded.

Nigeria has a history of political instability and corruption that affects the country today at all levels.

Obasanjo also attempted to deal with religious and ethnic strife, which increased considerably during his presidency when the Muslim-dominated Northern states introduced sharia law. During the presidency of his successor, Goodluck Johnson, radicalism increased and led to the atrocities of Boko Haram and the abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls who have never been found.

The current president Muhammadu Buhari said that David Cameron was right in describing Nigeria as "fantastically corrupt".¹ The scale of corruption is astonishing. Last week Nigerian Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo said that an estimated $15 billion (£10 billion) of government money had been stolen through corrupt arms contracts under the previous Government - and in March this year, an official audit found that Nigeria's state-owned oil company had failed to pay the Government $25 billion which had fraudulently disappeared.²

Corruption Endemic Globally

Unmasking corruption is becoming a worldwide movement as whistleblowers and justice campaigners seek to promote transparency in business and politics and social relationships.

According to Transparency International, more than 6 billion people live in countries that are seriously affected by corruption – which is most of the world's population!³ They say that 68% of countries worldwide have a serious corruption problem which includes about half of the members of the G20, and not a single nation in the world is entirely free of corruption.⁴

A campaign group Unmask the Corrupt says that corruption is "the abuse of high-level power that benefits the few at the expense of the many and causes serious and widespread harm to individuals and society."⁵

According to Transparency International, more than 6 billion people live in countries that are seriously affected by corruption – that's most of the world's population!

What the Bible Says

The Bible is full of condemnation of those who misuse their power and oppress the poor and the powerless. The Prophet Isaiah slams those who turn the moral law upside down, "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness...Woe to those who acquit the guilty for a bribe but deny justice to the innocent" (Isa 5:20-23).

Some of the harshest words Jesus spoke are directed against those who carefully fulfil religious ritual requirements but neglect what he described as "the more important matters" of God's teaching – "justice, mercy and faithfulness". He condemned their actions as those of hypocrites: "You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence" (Matt 23:23-25).

The prophets and Jesus all speak of a time coming when God will deal with the greed and injustice of humanity by shaking everything that we count as important – all the things we have established, such as our democracy, our banks and great finance houses, our pension funds, our National Health Service, our justice system, our armies with their nuclear warheads poised to spread destruction across the earth – all the things in which we put our trust!

Some of the harshest words Jesus spoke were directed against those who act religiously but neglect justice and mercy.

God revealed to the Prophet Isaiah that there would come a day when he would deal with all the pride and arrogance of human beings (Isa 2:12-22) and that this would actually be a demonstration of God's justice. He says "So man will be brought low and mankind humbled, the eyes of the arrogant humbled. But the Lord Almighty will be exalted by his justice, and the Holy God will show himself holy by his righteousness" (Isa 5:15-16).

Isaiah's Apocalyptic Vision

In Isaiah 24 the Prophet describes what will happen when God rises to deal with the wickedness of human beings. It does not make pleasant reading. Earlier generations of biblical scholars used to say that this was 'apocalyptic language' – it was 'visionary imagination' which could never become a reality. But today we know that the arsenal of nuclear weapons possessed by the nations could in fact fulfil the description in Isaiah 24:19: "the earth is broken up, the earth is split asunder, the earth is thoroughly shaken..."

We do not know whether this prophetic vision is given as a warning to humanity or whether it will actually happen at some time. The one thing we do know is that human beings are capable of violent and irrational behaviour and that the nations are armed with incredible weapons of mass destruction. If the North Koreans join the nuclear club the prospects of world peace become increasingly problematic.

Perhaps the London Conference seeking to find ways of combating corruption has greater significance for the future of humanity on this earth than most of us realise. This is surely food for thought – and prayer!

References

1 Nigerian President Buhari 'not demanding' Cameron apology. BBC News, 12 May 2016.

2 Ibid.

3 Corruption Perceptions Index, 2015. Transparency International.

4 Ibid.

5 UnmasktheCorrupt.org.

Linda Louis-vanReed challenges us to understand better the power we have in Christ - and to not be easily overwhelmed by worldly displays of strength.

Although day to day, life appears to be returning to normal here in Ferguson, Missouri, there is a war going on - and it isn't about race.

It's about power.

System in Need of Reform

In March 2015, a report issued by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) was critical of Ferguson's police practices and its 'profit-driven' municipal court system which relied heavily on revenue from traffic tickets to fund the city and its resources (two things which, I regret to say, are not uncommon in the smaller cities and suburban communities of the United States). Negotiations between the DOJ and the city government in Ferguson ensued.

Public meetings were held where, many times, voices promoting peace and reason were drowned out by those whose purpose was to foment dissent, mainly for the benefit of a restless media. Most of those voices were not residents of Ferguson. Nevertheless, they were loud, they were present and they were perceived as powerful.

Clash of Authorities

After seven months of talks, a 407-item consent decree outlining a top-to-bottom re-shaping of basic police practices – everything from how to conduct traffic stops to when to utilise force – was submitted to the City of Ferguson. The caveat was that, should Ferguson refuse to sign the decree as it was, the DOJ would file suit.

Last Tuesday the City of Ferguson agreed to sign the decree, but only if the DOJ agreed to seven 'conditions of acceptance' tailored by the City in an effort to make the extra costs associated with implementing the items within the DOJ document financially bearable.

The following day the DOJ filed a lawsuit against Ferguson. The 'powers that be' prevailed.

Crippling Costs

As for Ferguson, the cost of implementing the reforms spelled out in the consent decree with the DOJ approach around $3.7 million in the first year alone.

Other cities that have entered into a similar consent agreement with the DOJ have been forced to incur costs into the millions to implement similar reforms. In 2015, the Albuquerque Police Department in New Mexico agreed to a settlement following an investigation that determined a pattern of use of excessive force. The first year of reforms could cost the City of Albuquerque up to $6 million.

In Ferguson, reforms being imposed by the Department of Justice will cost the city a quarter of its annual operating budget.

In Cleveland, Ohio, an agreement with the DOJ which requires a new use-of-force police policy and enhanced officer training could cost the City of Cleveland at least $10.6 million in the first year and $7 million for each of the subsequent four years.

But Ferguson, with 21,000 residents and a total annual operating budget of $14.5 million, is smaller by far than either Cleveland or Albuquerque — and its residents are far less able to absorb costs in the millions. Already Ferguson suffers a $2.8 million deficit since the incident occurred.

Costs to cover overtime pay for police and emergency personnel, vehicles and equipment during protests, loss of sales tax revenue from businesses damaged by fires and looting, legal fees, and lost income from municipal court reforms already in place have all but knocked the lock off the city treasury. Jobs are on the line, as power grabs are being made just to be the one on top when the legislative smoke finally clears.

Concern on the GroundAttorney General Loretta Lynch responds to questions in the wake of the DOJ's lawsuit announcement.

In April the city will be asking its voting residents to approve increases to their property and sales taxes. All this at a time when Ferguson businesses are in their first real year of recovery, and property values - according to Breitbart.com - have dropped by 45-50%.¹

Many of the people are concerned. Some are frightened that the City of Ferguson could possibly be legislated into a financial crevasse so deep that the only outcome could be the dissolution of its city charter. They feel helpless and overpowered by a system much larger than they can either understand or affect.

Yet, the majority of residents here are not willing to allow their city to remain broken and tarnished by media reputation, nor by outsiders who come not to visit, but to foment unrest in this historically peaceful, suburban community.

In spite of all the hype, population statistics current for 2015-16 show that Ferguson actually has more residents now than in 2013.² It isn't because families cannot afford to leave – it's because they do not desire to do so.

Working to Rebuild

In the year and a half since the Michael Brown incident I have watched the people of Ferguson work together to rebuild this community, and have been involved personally. People of every colour and background have pooled their money, lent their tools, fed one another, prayed together, traded skills and hired one another to repair fire damage.

Many of the people feel frightened and overpowered by a system much larger than they can either understand or affect. Yet, they are not willing to allow their city to remain broken.

Although an altercation between protesters and one of the vendors on site forced the Ferguson Farmer's Market to close, it is now open and running stronger than ever after just a few months. Drive down the streets and every few buildings have construction projects going on. New facades are being erected, giving the entire community a facelift. People are donating their time and resources to conduct personalised studying sessions for those who dropped out of school and want to re-enter to receive their degree.

Churches Stepping Up

Churches in the area are stepping up in remarkable ways. Through a contact within its body of believers, one church is working with a local company who made 24 permanent positions open to people who are homeless and have no vehicle. Not only did the church use its building to house the job fair for this company, but it also allowed a follow-up hiring workshop, and provided clothing and bathing facilities. Now every morning, those two dozen new employees walk to the church where, for $7 per day, they are bussed to and from their new jobs.

First Baptist Church of Ferguson opened its doors for kids at Christmas so those who attend the Crisis Nursery (an organisation that helps kids and mothers in crisis) could meet Santa, have lunch and receive Christmas gifts for the kids. Over 500 mothers and children attended. I was thrilled to see 64 children receive books from our library that they could keep.

Although so many of these activities seem small in the face of government action and financial ruin, they are examples of people using whatever power they possess to effect permanent change from the ground up.

In the face of government action and financial ruin, ordinary people are using whatever power they possess to effect permanent change from the ground up.

Feeling Vulnerable?

So many of us (if we will admit it to ourselves in those rare moments of self-honesty) feel small, soft and easy to kill. We feel vulnerable to ourselves, vulnerable to one another, to forces of nature, forces of man, to God.

When we turn our eyes away from our Father, from Truth himself, to focus on ways in which we can take our lives and futures into our own hands, we invent whatever facade we believe will best protect us - and we are dismayed when it fails. Like a suit of armour, it is only a hard shell built to protect that which is soft and vulnerable.

As people who serve God, we often get sidetracked into using those human survival skills we have been taught since childhood. We have never given thought to whether or not we, as individuals, possess a proper understanding of 'power.'

True Power

Galatians 2:20 defines it with eloquence and brevity:

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.³

This is our power - this freedom that Christ offers us through him, by his sacrifice for us. When we apprehend that we died with Christ and rose with him to eternal life, when we understand that we are now heirs to the Kingdom of God through his atonement - and as such, we have access to all to which he has access - we understand that we, through Christ, are not disenfranchised.

The freedom offered to us through Jesus' sacrifice and resurrection means that we are not disenfranchised - we are heirs to the Kingdom of God!

We have the power to open our hands to God, with all our deepest desires and best-kept secrets (even about him), and to ask our Father to help us know him, his voice, his words.

We have the power to live our life through his.

We have the power of choice – to not worry, not argue, not indulge our personal strongholds that separate us from God, but to allow ourselves to be open to becoming the son or daughter that God intended us to be.

We have the power to pray, and through that one simple act, we have the power to turn a nation.

References

1 Nolte, J. Months of Media and Protests Devastate Ferguson Property Values. Breitbart, 16 March 2015.

2 Population Demographics for Ferguson, Missouri in 2016 and 2015. Suburban Stats.

3 The Oxford Annotated Bible, RSV

Edmund Heddle unpacks God's requirements for mankind, re-iterated again and again through the prophets and summarised by the prophet Micah: to act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with the Lord.

An important part of the prophet's responsibility, whether in the Old or New Testament, is telling God's people what the Lord requires of them and spelling out the divine requirements. People are forgetful and need constant reminders of their responsibilities. They are sinful and prone to go astray from the right way. They are also exposed to the seduction and attraction of evil forces. All these things apply to groups of people as well as individuals.

There is, however, one area in which the Lord's people seem particularly prone to adopt the wrong ideas - and that is worship.

How to Approach God

The classic passage on this subject is to be found in the prophecy of Micah (6:6-8):

With what shall I come before the Lord and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I offer my first-born, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

George Adam Smith in The Book of the Twelve Prophets writes, "This is the greatest saying of the Old Testament...these few verses in which Micah sets forth the true essence of religion...afford us an insight into the innermost nature of the religion of Israel, as delivered by the prophets."¹

One area in which the Lord's people are particularly prone to adopting the wrong ideas is that of worship.

Micah the Countryman

Micah was one of the prophets who functioned during the 8^th Century BC and was contemporary with Amos and Hosea in the northern kingdom of Israel. While Isaiah was prophesying in Jerusalem, the capital of the southern kingdom of Judah, Micah was a countryman, living in Moresheth, twenty miles south-west of Jerusalem. While Isaiah was a statesman involved with the court circle of his day, Micah denounced the moral and social evils he saw among ordinary people, together with their priests, prophets and merchants.

He foretold the fall of Samaria, capital of the northern kingdom, and told of a glorious future when Jerusalem would become the religious centre of the world, over which the King - to be born in Bethlehem - would reign (Micah 1:6; 3:11; 5:1-4; 4:1-5).

Whilst Isaiah prophesied in Jerusalem amongst men of rank and importance, Micah prophesied in the country to ordinary people.

The Mountains' Witness

Micah presents his teaching on what God requires of his worshippers in the form of a trial in which the Lord's case against Israel is to be heard (Micah 6:1-5). He asks the mountains, that had seen all that God had done for his people, to act as witnesses. What should the people have done to respond to God's faithfulness to his covenant? He appeals to the mountains, those silent, unchanging spectators of human conduct throughout Israel's history, to confirm that he had been faithful to his people, while they in their turn had indulged in witchcraft, idolatry and immorality (5:12-14).

The verdict revealed Israel as guilty and Yahweh as totally innocent. How amazing therefore that Micah should go on to reveal Yahweh to be one who delights in mercy: "Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his people? You do not stay angry for ever but delight to show mercy" (7:18).

How to Worship - Man's Idea

"Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?...with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I offer my firstborn...for the sin of my soul?" (6: 6-7). The popular view of God sees him as a despot who needs to be propitiated by material offerings, provided they are sufficiently large and costly. The prophet even considers the possibility of offering human sacrifice, his nearest and dearest, as was practised at that time (2 Ki 3:27, 16:3; Isa 57:5), although this was strictly forbidden by the Law of Moses (Lev 18:21) and was something that had never even entered God's mind! (Jer 19:5).

The popular view of God sees him as a despot who needs appeasing through human effort – preferably through large, costly material offerings.

Note the increasing exaggeration of these suggestions. First, the prophet proposes burnt offerings with year-old calves. This is seen to be the offering appropriate to a meticulous observance of the Law. The second suggestion, embracing thousands of rams and ten thousand rivers of oil is an excessive fulfilment of the law's requirements. The third exceeds all normal bounds of humanity by putting forward the idea of human sacrifice.

The supreme mistake at the heart of all these suggestions was to suppose that Yahweh, like all other deities, required appeasement through human effort. Even the sacrificial system of Moses was meaningless without the heart devotion of the worshipper (Jer 7:22-24). This is external religion, totally ineffective in bringing forgiveness to the worshipper.

How to Worship - God's Way

He has showed you, O man, what is good...To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God (Micah 6:8)

According to Micah, God has revealed his requirements and we are left neither in the darkness of ignorance nor to the vagaries of human suggestions, such as we have been considering in the two preceding verses. The simplicity of true religion is nowhere described more clearly than it is here. It is a heart response to God for all that he has done, expressed in the three basic elements of 'doing justly', 'loving mercy', and 'walking humbly with the Lord God'.

These requirements apply to all men of all ages, living in all places. Life is to be lived in a right relationship to one's fellow men in all circumstances - social, political, at the work-place and during leisure: avoiding whatever is unfair or wrong but delighting to be of service: and freely and willingly, showing kindness to others.

While false, external religion is totally ineffective, Micah simply expresses the three basic elements of true religion – doing justly, loving mercy and walking humbly with God.

Notice that while we are to 'do' justly, we are to 'love' showing mercy. Mercy must never be grudging or stinted. If justice obliges us to go one mile, mercy will constrain us to do two! (Matt 5:41). A concern that all have their fair share and their just rights makes a sure foundation for society. Sadly, it was the very thing so lacking in Micah's time.

How to Walk with Your God

We have seen that, according to Micah's analysis of the situation, the way to worship God begins with a right and loving relationship with other people. Let us note that it does not stay there. We need to be in right relationship with God as well as with our neighbour. The exalted God who dwells in the highest heaven is also prepared to accompany each step of their earthly life all who will humble themselves to walk at God's pace in his chosen direction (Isa 57:15).

The essential feature is to walk 'humbly'. This is a rare word, occurring only twice in the Old Testament, the other occasion being in Proverbs 11:2. Some scholars stress that its root meaning is 'secretly'. Jesus made it clear that we need from time to time to withdraw from the business of life and to enter the quiet room. He assures us that our Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward us (Matt 6:6).

The God who dwells in highest heaven is prepared to accompany each step of their earthly life all who will humble themselves to walk at his pace and in his chosen direction.

It is however important to preserve the rendering 'humbly'. The spirit of humility is always to be in evidence when weak, sinful men attempt to walk with a perfect and holy God. But the rewards of such an experience are of incredible value, as Enoch found when he walked with God (Gen 5:21-24). If we walk with our God while here on earth, we shall not find it strange when the time comes to leave it. We shall have that lovely feeling, in heaven, of belonging!

Prophets' Chorus

When Micah was given the revelation that we have been studying he became part of a prophets' chorus. For Amos had cried out for justice – "let justice roll on like a river..." (Amos 5:24). And Hosea had exclaimed, "I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings" (Hos 6:6). And we must bring in the 'thrice holy' exclamations that Isaiah heard in the Temple when he was humbled before the majesty of Israel's God (Isa 6:3-5). Micah takes these sentiments from his fellow prophets and weaves them into the call that summarises God's requirement (Micah 6:8).

Approved by the Lord Jesus

On one occasion Jesus was asked. "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?" Jesus replied, "Love the Lord your God...love your neighbour as yourself." The questioner replied, "You are right in saying that God is one and that there is no other but him. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbour as yourself is more important than burnt offerings and sacrifices." When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him. "You are not far from the kingdom of God" (Mark 12:28-34)

In agreeing with the reply given by the teacher of the law, Jesus did not dismiss the Mosaic sacrificial system as being of no significance. It was important in training Israel to understand the ministry of the Messiah and his atoning death on the cross. But once it had been fulfilled, Jesus agreed that the love of God and of one's neighbour took priority. The conclusion reached by Jesus endorsed the statement many years before by the prophet Samuel: "Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice..." (1 Sam 15:22).

The essence of Micah's famous statement is that God has no interest in a multiplicity of empty acts. Offerings and rituals, however splendid and costly, count for nothing in his estimation. Even the Levitical ordinances are valueless unless they express a sincere, heartfelt response to God's grace and mercy. Jeremiah sums it up thus: "When I brought your forefathers out of Egypt and spoke to them. I did not just give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices, but I gave them this command: 'Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in all the ways I command you, that it may go well with you'" (Jer 7:22-23).

God has no interest in a multiplicity of empty acts. His command is that we obey him, and walk with him, and be his people.

Announcing God's Requirements

The prophet's responsibility is to discover what the Lord requires and then to make it his requirement. Three errors may crop up as he does this. First, he may refuse to pass on God's requirement because it is too costly or too embarrassing. Secondly, he may pass on only a part of God's requirement, leaving some things unsaid.

Thirdly, he may add to what God requires, for example by suggesting rituals and procedures that end up by adulterating God's pure will. Today's prophets have a solemn responsibility to make sure that their people know what God is requiring of them. They must also be careful not to misuse their position of privilege by adding their own or other people's ideas to what God actually requires.

The Message of Micah's Name

The name 'Micah' means, 'Who is like Yahweh?', and towards the end of his prophecy he answers that question when he says, "Who is a God like you, who pardons sin?...You do not stay angry for ever, but delight to show mercy" (Micah 7:18). Moses asked the same question after God had brought his people safely through the Red Sea: "Who among the gods is like you, O Lord? Who is like you - majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?" (Ex 15:11). Let our worship clearly manifest both the mercy and the awesomeness of such a great and glorious God.

Prophets have a solemn responsibility to make sure that people know what God is requiring of them – they must not misuse their privilege by adding their own ideas in.

What is your God like, the God who is worshipped in your fellowship? Remember, it is part of the prophet's task to give a clear picture of what the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is like, and what is required of those who profess to worship him.

First published in Prophecy Today, Vol 6, No 1, January/February 1990. Part of our series on the Ministry of the Prophet.

References

1 Smith, G A, 1900. The Book of the Twelve Prophets, Commonly Called the Minor. Vol. 1. Reprint. London: Forgotten Books, 2013. pp418-9.

Most people think that the slave trade happened hundreds of years ago, with little or no relevance to us in modern, multi-cultural Britain. But this view is now being challenged by a growing movement of community leaders, rallied by the newly-formed Movement for Justice and Reconciliation.

REPORT

Most people think of the slave trade as something that happened hundreds of years ago, far away from the UK, with little or no effect on our lives today. The Movement for Justice and Reconciliation (MJR), co-founded by Prophecy Today's own Editor-in-Chief Dr Clifford Hill and launched this past September, is a new charity dedicated to challenging these views and to exploring and addressing the very modern, very real legacies left by Britain's history of slavery and colonialism.

On Tuesday 10 November in the House of Lords, MJR was presented to members of both Parliamentary Houses in what was a truly inspiring meeting. In just two hours, under the insightful chairmanship of Baroness Cox, people from all racial backgrounds and walks of life shared their insights on the contemporary consequences of slavery, in the very building in which the Emancipation Act was passed in 1833.

Indeed, there was a sense of history in the making at this meeting, which united people with a passion for seeing 'history past' re-written in acknowledgment of the pain and injustice of slavery, and for seeing 'history future' re-shaped as positive ways are sought to come to terms with its legacies.

There was a sense of history in the making at this meeting, which called for the re-writing of 'history past' and the re-shaping of 'history future'.

The meeting room was full to capacity, with 48 in attendance. After a warm welcome from Baroness Cox, whose passion for the topic was evident, ten speakers offered short presentations before the floor was opened for questions and comments from other delegates. Presentations were made by MPs, academics and members of the clergy, including: Revd Les Isaac, Professor James Walvin (York University), Jenny Cooper, Khareem Jamal, Revd Alton Bell, Stephen Timms MP (East Ham), Nigel Pocock, Professor John Wolffe (Open University), Bishop Dr Delroy Hall and Revd Dr Clifford Hill.

Thought-Provoking Speeches

As the meeting progressed, slavery went from being an impersonal, overwhelmingly large and historical issue to being grounded in gritty, personal and contemporary insights on mental health disorders, identity denial, shame complexes, dysfunctional families and changes to the National Curriculum.

As the meeting progressed, slavery went from being an impersonal, overwhelmingly large and historical issue into something gritty, contemporary and personal.

Emphasis was put on the emerging research consensus that traumas inflicted on slaves hundreds of years ago (e.g. physical, psychological) have passed down the generations, leaving scars on their descendants in mind, body and spirit. Thought-provoking speeches were made about how black communities in Britain today suffer much greater levels of deprivation, poorer mental and physical health, higher rates of imprisonment and strong senses of hopelessness and despair - to name a few manifestations of the 'curse' of slavery.

After the presentations the floor was opened for comments, giving other delegates the opportunity to contribute. Heartfelt personal stories were mingled with calls for new narratives about slavery in education and the mass media.

Relevant to You

What became apparent as different perspectives were shared is that this issue is relevant to everyone in Britain, regardless of their racial and cultural background. It is fundamentally a white British issue as well as a black Afro-Caribbean issue. It has created a landscape of abundant wealth and grinding poverty, of astounding privilege and undeniable injustice, that defines all of our lives today as much as it did 200 years ago - and as much as Britain is still defined by cups of [colonial] tea, cake with [colonial] sugar, or pomp and circumstance.

This issue is relevant to everyone in Britain, regardless of their racial and cultural background. It's a white issue as well as a black issue.

Yet, not only has the injustice of slavery never been formally acknowledged or apologised for by Britain, but most Britons lack any understanding of how it has profoundly affected their own psyche, culture and quality of life (David Cameron's recent comment to Jamaicans that slavery is something from which we all need to move on are particularly telling). Ignorance and denial remain two of the biggest challenges facing MJR and its partners.

Key Role for the Church

There was a sense of cross-sector unity present at the meeting which could only have been provided by the Holy Spirit – indeed, MP Stephen Timms commented that the Christian passion for justice and love is unmatched in the secular realm, and that this 'unstoppable motivation' makes churches key actors in any future response to this issue.

Several other speakers remarked on the resources that churches can offer in this respect, from therapies and counselling to strong community leadership, to providing senses of hope, family and destiny. Also implied here was the role that Christ alone can play in bringing freedom from all forms of oppression and bondage.

It was recognised that the Christian passion for justice and devotion to community are unmatched in the secular realm – meaning that churches are vital partners in any future solution.

Rallying Call

In all, the meeting provided an uplifting, informative platform from which MJR can begin its vital work. It was generally agreed that there is a long road ahead if these issues are to be properly addressed, and that quick laws and glib statements from politicians will not provide the whole answer. MJR's particular contributions will include research, public promotion and community projects (such as the permanent installation of a replica of the Zong slave ship on the Thames as an educational facility).

What was also evident from the buzz in the chamber and the hallway after the meeting was that it had amounted to far more than a selection of short presentations - it had brought together like-minded, passionate people from vastly different sectors and communities, investing in existing relationships and establishing new ones. William Wilberforce may have left a legacy of unfinished business which has been steadfastly ignored for nearly 200 years, but MJR is certainly rallying a new generation of campaigners, driven by the same passion for justice that Wilberforce himself was given – a passion which is at the heart of God.

MJR is rallying a new generation of campaigners driven by the same passion for justice that Wilberforce himself had – a passion which is at the heart of God.

For more information on MJR, see their website, www.mjr-uk.com.

Clifford Hill takes a look at David Cameron's recent negotiations with Jamaica in the light of Britain's history of slavery and oppression.

David Cameron's visit to Jamaica, where he refused to discuss reparations but offered £25 million towards building a new prison, has not been well received. Bruce Golding, former Prime Minister, described the offer as 'incomprehensible'¹ and urged Jamaica's Prime Minister, Portia Simpson-Miller, to reject the offer. He added that Britain is a rich country whereas Jamaica is a poor country and the offer of £25 million would only cover 40% of the total, leaving Jamaica to find 60% of the cost of building the prison. Jamaica would also have to pay to support the men convicted in British courts but deported to Jamaica.

David Cameron said that the agreement would mean "Jamaican criminals are sent back home to serve their sentences, saving the British taxpayer millions of pounds but still ensuring justice is done."²

But what kind of justice is this? The whole deal is weighted in Britain's favour. Even the £25 million on offer will be taken out of Britain's aid budget, which is supposed to be used for alleviating poverty and distress. But this is typical of Britain's cavalier attitude to justice in the Caribbean for more than 400 years. It was back in 1562 that Sir John Hawkins began the British slave trade, taking the first 300 captive Africans across to the Americas. The Spanish had been involved in this trade for many years but the British soon overtook them as the leading European slaving nation.

David Cameron's offer is typical of Britain's cavalier attitude to justice, suffered by the Caribbean for more than 400 years.

Slavery in Britain

Some slaves were brought to Britain, prompting the first Race Relations Act in British history - not in the reign of Queen Elizabeth II in 1962, but during the reign of Elizabeth I in 1596. It was worded thus:

Her Majesty understanding that there are of late divers blackamoores brought into this realme, of which kinde of people there are alreadie too manie, consideringe howe God hath blessed this land with great increase of people of our owne nation...These kinde of people should be sent forth of the lande. (Acts of the Privy Council, 11 July 1596)³

It was said that the stench of an approaching a slave ship could be smelt in Kingston Jamaica two days before its arrival. The monstrous inhumanity of the Atlantic crossing that could take up to 3 months when facing contrary winds was followed by the unspeakable cruelty facing the Africans on the slave plantations of the Caribbean islands – all to feed the insatiable appetite for sugar in Britain. By 1800, some two thirds of the British economy was in some way dependent upon slavery and most Members of both Houses of Parliament were involved in the trade or plantation ownership.

After Emancipation

Even the Act of Emancipation in 1833 was laced with grotesque injustice for the Africans. The British Government paid £20 million to the 46,000 owners of slaves in Britain for the loss of their 'property'– that is £17 billion in today's money – but not a single penny to the Africans themselves who had suffered centuries of cruelty, oppression, loss of freedom, identity, culture, language and personal dignity.

Even their African names were taken from them which is why Caribbeans all have the names of their former British owners today: part of the legacy of slavery they still bear.

Even the Emancipation Act was laced with grotesque injustice, compensating slave owners but leaving former slaves with nothing. Today, our Prime Minister refuses to even discuss the subject.

'Modern' Britain

But our Prime Minister refuses even to discuss reparations. In fact, during an address to the Jamaican Parliament, Mr Cameron suggested that slavery is now in the distant past and it is time to move on. Former Prime Minister PJ Patterson has since published an open letter to Downing Street requesting a formal apology for Britain's history of slavery in Jamaica, and describing Mr Cameron's 'noble intentions' as being 'jarred' by this offensive suggestion.⁴ Political commentator Don Rojas has suggested that the Holocaust would never be talked about so glibly, and that Mr Cameron's remarks constitute "an insult to the entire Caribbean and black people around the world."⁵

Sir Hilary Beckles, academic and Chair of the Caricom Reparations Commission, even challenged David Cameron about his own family history of plantation ownership, saying: "You are more than a prime minister. You are a grandson of the Jamaican soil who has been privileged and enriched by your forebears' sins of the enslavement of our ancestors".⁶

Investment Needed

I have lived and worked among African Caribbeans for much of my life and I know that what most of them would like is not the distribution of a pot of money, but for Britain to lead the way in investing in the future of the Caribbean Islands by stimulating the economy; helping small businesses; promoting education; founding a university with educational grants for bright students. In fact, Jamaican actor Danny Glover, a keen activist in the reparations movement, responded to Mr Cameron's offer with "keep your prison, give us schools, give us infrastructure, not prisons".⁷

David Cameron's comments that it is time to move on from our history of slavery have been considered offensive and have triggered strong reactions from many prominent Jamaicans.

This is the way we could help to compensate for the gross injustice the islands have suffered for hundreds of years. This would be the most effective way of expressing our remorse for the way our forebears built the cities of London, Bristol, Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds and Birmingham, as well as the great country houses of the rich - on the proceeds of slavery. But to offer to help build a prison is to rub salt in the wounds of those whose lives we destroyed: it is adding insult to injury.

References

1 British Prison Deal to Further Burden Taxpayers - Golding, The Gleaner, Sunday 4 October 2015.

2 UK signs deal to send Jamaican prisoners home, press release, Prime Minister's Office, 30 September 2015.

3 An open letter from Queen Elizabeth to the Lord Mayor and Alderman of London, 11 July 1596, Acts of the Privy Council of England, vol 26 (1596–97), ed. John Roche Dasent (His Majesty's Stationery Office, London: Mackie, 1902), p16–7.

4 PJ Slams David Cameron...Are We Not Worthy? He Asks. The Gleaner, Thursday 8 October 2015.

5 Poyser, A. Cameron is Ignorant, says Danny Glover - American actor/activist calls for discussions on reparations to continue, The Gleaner, Tuesday 6 October 2015.

6 Beckles, H. Open Letter to Prime Minister David Cameron, The Gleaner, Monday 28 September 2015.

7 See note 5

Report: The MJR Launch, 23 September 2015

Last Wednesday's launch of MJR, held at St Mark's Church Kennington, attracted cross-party support and was well received by community leaders and academics alike.

MJR is seeking to bring to public attention a long neglected issue that is still having an impact on society today. The extent to which Britain was involved in colonial slavery and industrial exploitation has largely been airbrushed out of our history books; and the legacy of this involvement has never been fully acknowledged. The Movement for Justice and Reconciliation aims to define the exact nature of this legacy and seek ways to address the resultant issues identified.

At the launch, MJR Trustees outlined the way in which this forgotten part of Britain's history has influenced many areas of today's society. Responses were made by Karen Bradley MP (Home Office Minister for Preventing Abuse and Exploitation); Stephen Timms MP (Shadow Cabinet Minister for Work and Pensions); and Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali (see right, centre), President of OXTRAD (The Oxford Centre for Training, Research, Advocacy and Dialogue).

The launch was described as "a wonderful start on the road to raising public awareness of the legacy of slavery". The 'Case for Legacy' will be presented to a cross-party group in Parliament in November. Further projects, research and events are planned for 2016.

More details of the work of MJR can be found on www.mjr-uk.com.

Clifford Hill looks at the migrant crisis.

We are witnessing today one of the greatest movements of human population in the history of the world. This is the conclusion of population experts as millions of refugees are on the move throughout the world and many of them are heading for Europe. Amnesty International says "We are witnessing the worst refugee crisis of our era, with millions of women, men and children struggling to survive amidst brutal wars, networks of people-traffickers, and governments who pursue selfish political interests instead of showing basic human compassion".¹

More than 100,000 migrants – asylum seekers and economic refugees – have descended upon Europe since the beginning of this year, coming from diverse nations in Africa (e.g. Eritrea, Somalia, Nigeria) and the Middle East (Syria, Afghanistan). This is causing a political crisis among European leaders and a social crisis on the ground.

Experts are concluding that today the world is witnessing one of the greatest movements of human population ever known."

Greece and Italy have borne the greatest burden as boatloads of migrants flow across the seas from Turkey and Libya – a journey fraught with danger as people-traffickers overfill unseaworthy fragile boats and set them adrift in the Mediterranean and the notoriously dangerous waters between Turkey and Greece.

Pressure on ports

Malta, Sicily and the southern ports of Italy are struggling to cope with the human influx. The Italians also are complaining that the rest of Europe is not doing enough to help. They are threatening to block HMS Bulwark from docking in their ports to drop off migrants. But a Downing Street spokesman said "Our ships are there to save lives, not to offer people asylum in the UK".²

Britain is taking the same attitude to the mounting crisis across the Channel in Calais where some 3,000 migrants are desperately attempting to board trucks heading for Channel ferries to Dover. They have already travelled thousands of miles to reach Calais and there is increasing desperation among them. A similar situation is in northern Italy where African migrants are camping out at the French border-crossing near Ventimiglia but are being denied access.

More trouble for Greece

The situation is even worse in Greece where tens of thousands of migrants fleeing the conflict in the Middle East have been landing in the popular island resorts of Kos, Lesbos, Tilos and Symi, adding to the economic woes of Greece, whose government is barely able to feed their own unemployed victims of the banking crisis.

The Greek Interior Minister Tasia Christodoulopoulou, warned "The reception systems there, already understaffed and underfunded, have collapsed. It is no surprise that thousands of destitute migrants are milling around in the streets and squares, searching for food and shelter. We simply don't have the money or resources to provide for all of them. It's tragic, I tell you, tragic! And it's going to get worse, really worse, and Europe isn't batting an eyelid. It's watching this unfold with criminal indifference".³

Colonial past

Why is all this happening today? Could it be that Europe is now reaping the harvest of its past history of oppression? For some 400 years British traders, backed by the Army, carried out a policy of colonisation right across the globe until the British Empire controlled one quarter of the world.

Most of the other European nations did the same, carving up Africa, Asia and the Americas into colonies which provided untold wealth to Europe. In doing so, they ignored tribal territories in creating new nations right across the Middle East and Africa, which today are boiling cauldrons of violence and mass murder from which millions of asylum seekers are fleeing.

Europeans carved up much of the world into colonies and then left them with unstable political systems, crippled economies and huge under-development, from which millions are now fleeing."

Europeans were happy to take the raw materials and cheap labour from their colonies and give them bank loans to enable them to purchase our manufactured goods while withholding technical and industrial patents and failing to help them develop the means of production to compete in global markets.

As a result, in almost all the colonies (except where there was a white majority) we left behind unstable political systems, crippled economies and huge under-development, creating conditions of poverty, unemployment and fragility from which millions are fleeing today.

Scales of justice reversed

The result is a human tidal wave which is now threatening to overwhelm the ageing population of Europe, complicate the continent's fragile economic and political state and irrevocably change its culture. This is not to overemphasise Europe's woes at the expense of the migrants, who are undoubtedly suffering most. It is to draw attention to our largely forgotten colonial history, which may be coming back to haunt us now in ways that will actually transform the fabric of the entire continent.

Could what is happening in Europe be related to what the biblical prophets see as a principle of justice that is built into Creation? The Prophet Jeremiah foresaw judgement falling upon the Babylonian Empire after 70 years and Isaiah said, "The Lord Almighty has a day in store for all the proud and lofty, for all that is exalted and they will be humbled." (Isa 2:12) He went on to declare that when this happens - "The Lord Almighty will be exalted by his justice, and the Holy God will show himself holy by his righteousness." (Isa 5:16)

God's basic principles of justice are built into creation- if we deliberately go against them, there will come a time when the scales are reversed."

The evidence of the Bible shows that God has built into his Act of Creation three basic principles: equality, justice and love. All men and women are created equal in the sight of God and therefore no one has the right to oppress others. Justice and love are part of the revealed nature of God.

When we deliberately go against these basic principles, we actually bring upon ourselves a time when the scales of justice are reversed. When this happens, it is a triumph of the justice of Almighty God, the Creator of the Universe. Could this be what is happening in Europe today? At least in part, is the migration crisis a legacy of colonialism that we ourselves sowed?

References

1 The Times 16.06.15

2 Ibid.

3 The Times 12.06.15

As we approach the 800th anniversary of the signing of Magna Carta, Lynda Rose asks: how real are its freedoms for us today?

On 15 June 1215, with England on the brink of civil war, King John met with the barons at Runnymede and put his seal to what was in effect a peace treaty: Magna Carta. Today, that Charter has become one of the most celebrated and influential documents in history, rightly seen as the foundation for Democracy worldwide. Lord Denning described it as "...the foundation of the freedom of the individual against the arbitrary authority of the despot."¹

But just how real are those freedoms in 21st century Britain? Does the spirit of Magna Carta live on...or has it been destroyed by secular totalitarianism?

Rights for all?

According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which the United Nations calls 'a Magna Carta for all humanity', human rights are:

rights inherent to all human beings, whatever our nationality, place of residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, language, or any other status.²

Those rights include: freedom of belief and religion, the right to life, the right to be treated equally before the law, the right to freedom without imprisonment for just cause, the right to marry and have a family, and the right to education.

Globally, we talk a lot about 'rights' these days. In fact, "It's my right!" has become almost a mantra, justifying any and every imaginable behavior in the worldwide quest for self-fulfillment. But the reality in present-day secular and multicultural Britain is that 'rights' are extremely selectively applied, and increasingly Christians are finding themselves not just marginalized, but no longer allowed to speak in public about their faith.

Ideological war

What many do not realize is that the situation today is the direct result of an ideological war; between Christians on the one hand, and Secularism on the other. It is a war that will allow no quarter, and that has as its goal the complete annihilation of Christianity.

The ideological war being waged by Secularism will allow no quarter: its goal is the complete annihilation of Christianity."

Moral rebranding in the name of tolerance and diversity is part of a much larger strategy that started at around the beginning of the last century, when the Soviet Institute for Social Research – later rebranded the Frankfurt School - identified the Judeo-Christian legacy (seen as both the foundation and buttress of Western society) as the reason why the revolution had not spread, as expected, across Europe. Based on this analysis, they devised a complex strategy aimed at completely destroying the beliefs and institutions on which Western society rested. As well as religion, in particular they targeted the Family, which they identified as one of the main building blocks.

It was a strategy designed to produce mass hopelessness and alienation, destroying faith in God and any idea of transcendent purpose that might provide some sort of unifying force for the common man. In the words of Muzenburg, one of the founders of the movement, "We will make the West so corrupt that it stinks."

In 1969, following the Stonewall riots, this same strategy was taken over and developed by the Gay rights movement, brought to a peak in 1989 by Kirk and Madsen. In their book 'After the Ball: How America will Conquer Its Hatred and Fear of Gays in the '90s', the pair devised a strategy designed to rebrand morality. Their express aim was to recast gays as victims – where necessary rewriting history – to achieve not just acceptance, but to make homosexuality the norm. So began the demolition of the establishment from within.

Moral rebranding in the name of tolerance and diversity is part of a much larger strategy that has been going on for over a century."

A carefully orchestrated strategy

This is not to say that everyone who embraces secularist, humanist or LGBT ideas today is signed up to the Frankfurt School or is deliberately attacking Christianity, but this actually is the agenda that, consciously or unconsciously, such people have been seduced into following. It is an organised and carefully orchestrated strategy for totalitarianism, which wants at base the complete overthrow of Christianity and Western society. Hardly surprising then that freedom of speech is being re-cast to demonise anything that implies criticism of the new dogma, with anything outside of that – whether personal opinion or a quotation from the Bible - being re-cast as hate speech.

It is important that we understand this, because we too, in the name of 'tolerance' and love, have been subjected to psychological conditioning. And, sad to say, many in the Church have succumbed. This is why the Church is weak – because we have lost our way. But endorsement of behaviours prohibited in the Bible, far from demonstrating Christian love, makes us complicit in sin.

Freedom of speech is being re-cast to demonise anything which criticizes the new dogma, re-positioning it as hate speech."

So, what can we do?

First, and most obviously, we have to start by recovering the truths of our faith. Which means that we need to go back and read the Bible. Carefully. And we need to repent where we've gone astray. Because only then will we have the clarity to understand our spiritual heritage, and what God has done for us uniquely in Christ. Only then will we be able to stand against the lies!

Second, we need to fear God rather than man, and to stand up for our faith. Because if we don't, then not only do we betray the One who died for us, but we condemn our fellow human beings to unimaginable torment that will last forever. This is the truth for which we stand guardian.

We need to recover the truths of our faith, reclaiming what has been stolen from us, and standing up for it!

Third, we need to reclaim the language that has been stolen, and refuse to be cowed into accepting the lies and misinformation put about by those who want to drive Christianity from the public arena. Whatever we tell ourselves, we will not remain 'relevant' or retain influence by adapting our message. No, God did not get it wrong, and times have not 'moved on'! The Bible is expression of eternal and transcendent truth, and only by following its precepts will men and women be free and find true fulfillment.

In the words of Jeremiah (6:16):

Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.

In the current ideological struggle, there is no such thing as a safe middle ground where we can remain neutral. Let us make no mistake, this is a spiritual war, and we are either on one side or the other. It's as stark as that. We either defend our rights and our faith – which, as seen in Magna Carta, has made Western society what it is – or we lose those rights altogether, and see a different, intolerant and harsh value system come into force: a system that will only allow the expression of views that validate itself, with everything else suppressed!

In this struggle, there is no such thing as a safe, neutral middle ground. Make no mistake, this is a spiritual war- we are either on one side or the other."

On 15 June, to commemorate the 800th anniversary of the actual signing of Magna Carta, VfJUK is organizing a Rally outside Parliament. We are asking a question: How free are YOU today? And, based on Magna Carta, we are saying enough is enough. Please join us in defending the Christian foundation of this country and our Christian freedoms, as we call for 'real' freedom of speech and of belief. Come yourself, and bring along ten friends – and ask them to invite ten more!

It's time to make a stand for our faith. Together we can make a difference.

For details of the rally, visit the Voice for Justice website, or register to come on Facebook.

References

1 Magna Carta and the Law Society and Bar Council

2 The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Clifford Hill reacts to the result of the General Election...

All the political pundits have been astonished by the result of the General Election. The polls predicted a very different picture with Labour and the Conservatives running neck-and-neck in England but significant gains for the minor parties.

None of this happened. The one place the pollsters got it right was in Scotland where even well-known Lib Dem and Labour political leaders were swept aside in a tsunami of nationalism.

The common factor

The one common factor between the result in England and that in Scotland is that the people have voted for their own self-interest. The Scottish National Party appealed not only to the tribal instinct of Scots but also to their own self-interest, pledging to be a force in Westminster that will ensure that a larger slice of the economic cake will go to Scotland and they will all be better off by having SNP members there to put Scotland first.

The one common factor between the result in England and that in Scotland is that the people have voted for their own self-interest."

South of the border, the Conservatives played the same economic card appealing to people's self-interest; that they will be better off by voting Conservative who are steering the nation towards more prosperous times. It was a message designed to appeal to those who are doing reasonably well and hope to do better.

The real losers

The losers in this election are the poor, the unemployed, the powerless - those who didn't even feel it was worthwhile voting. They knew that they would not get a larger slice of the cake - whoever triumphed at the polls. The millions who live in our inner-city areas and who exist on welfare, or scrape a living on a day-to-day basis with no job security: they are the forgotten multitude who live in ghettos of hopelessness and despair.

The real losers of this election are the poor, powerless and marginalised. What will happen to them now?"

What will happen to the poor and powerless as the nation enjoys increasing prosperity? The legacy of colonial slavery is still rampant among those from an African-Caribbean background, who still carry the names of their British plantation owners and are unable to trace their African roots. Will anyone in the new government stop and ask why there are more young black men in prison in Britain than in university?

Will anyone care for those who still suffer from the legacy of industrial exploitation leftover from the Industrial Revolution and the dark times of 19th century Britain? Will anything be done to change the culture of despair that engulfs whole communities in our big cities?

Deep-rooted problems

One thing is certain: if nothing is done; if no-one cares, deep-rooted sense of injustice and frustration will boil over once again, as they did in the riots that began in Tottenham in August 2011 and spilled over into other parts of London and Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool, Bristol and other cities.

This is the word of the Lord to prosperous Britain- it is the word that Jeremiah gave to the city of Jerusalem at a time of prosperity when the word of God was ignored (Jer 7:4-8):

If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, if you do not opporess the alien, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, in the land I gave to your forefathers for ever and ever. But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless."