The Church needs to return to the whole word of God – for the nation’s sake.

“Where there is no vision, the people perish” – so says an ancient proverb in the Authorised Version. The NIV translates it “Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint” (Prov 29:18).

Both of these statements are good descriptions of what is happening in Britain today, in Parliament and in the streets around Westminster. There is no clear vision in our Government or among our elected representatives. And the people in the street merely shout slogans at each other expressing contrary views. Why is this? And why is this happening at such a crucial period in the history of the nation?

The simple answer is that we are living in a generation that has abandoned truth. Everywhere, we are surrounded by lies and deception. Social media is full of it and our newspapers cannot be trusted – they all have their own agendas to promote. Even the BBC, that was founded upon biblical principles of declaring truth to the nations, has succumbed to the epidemic of ‘fake news’, promoting ideology while pretending to be impartial.

Listening to BBC Radio 4, the flagship of national news broadcasting, is painful today as the interviewers constantly interrupt those they are questioning, trying to force their own views (which are clearly biased towards ‘remaining’ under the dominion of Brussels and undermining every attempt to get a clear and clean Brexit).

Unexpected Co-operation

There was, however, a significant shift in the House of Commons this week as panic at the prospect of leaving the EU with no deal gripped MPs of all parties and persuasions. This caused them to move from simply declaring what they won’t accept, to searching for some common ground. It was a major change of attitude which brought agreement that Government and Opposition parties will combine in the search for an acceptable deal. Of course, this should have happened two years ago - it might have avoided the current impasse with Brussels that looks impossible to solve at this late hour.

We are living in a generation that has abandoned truth.

It certainly looks as though our MPs have left it too late in coming to a common agreement in time to find an acceptable arrangement with the EU. The Prime Minister may be given the impossible task of going back to Brussels and attempting to re-open negotiations which the 27 other members of the EU consider closed.

Is there any hope? Certainly, for we believe in the power of prayer. Many Christians came together in meetings all over Britain last Saturday, observing a call to pray for the nation.

Dr Hill and David Hathaway, Wembley Arena, 26 January 2019.Faithful, believing prayer is never wasted and it may be that it was the day of prayer that influenced the MPs to move towards a more positive position, searching for a way forward together.

Different Theologies

But I have to be honest about my own involvement in the Day of Prayer. I was given the privilege of leading the opening slot at a large prayer meeting in the Wembley Arena which brought together Christians from a wide variety of church backgrounds both on the platform and in the hall (it was live-streamed and is still available on Youtube). The format of the meeting was good, following the biblical example of Daniel’s prayer – beginning with worship and confession before coming before the Lord with our requests.

In my experience this is the first time that leaders of the black and white churches of Britain have come together on the same platform confessing their division, asking God’s forgiveness and seeking his blessing upon the nation. I have been working with Africans and African-Caribbean churches for more than 50 years and longing to see relationships of love and unity that would release spiritual power into the nation.

The leaders of these churches came to Wembley last Saturday but they did not invite their large congregations so it was a mainly white congregation in the Arena. There was a sense in which they were just dipping their toes in the water before fully committing themselves to working together. This is a start – but there is much more work to be done.
Leaders pray for unity, Wembley Arena, Saturday 26 January 2019.

I am by no means criticising those who organised the meeting at short notice which was a valiant attempt to reproduce the kind of united praying church that succeeded in praying the nation to victory at Dunkirk and in the 1940 Battle of Britain. But it was nonetheless apparent that there is still a lack of clear, unified vision in the Church, even among believing charismatic evangelicals.

It may be that the lack of clear vision on Saturday was the result of cultural differences in the approach to prayer and worship. But I personally have never found these to be a barrier: I can worship in different cultures – and levels of sound! The thing I did find difficult was sharing the platform with those who have very different theologies: especially leaders who are expecting imminent revival.

Return to Biblical Truth

I made a statement that there will be no revival in the nation until there is repentance in the Church and I believe that to be true. Jeremiah faced a similar situation from false prophets who were telling the people of Jerusalem not to worry about the threat from the Babylonians because God would protect the city. Jeremiah told the truth that God would not protect a city full of idolatry, immorality, greed, lies and deception. He called for confession and repentance and this should be our call to the nation today. But it will never be heard in the nation until it is proclaimed in the Church first of all.

The Wembley meeting was a great start, and I believe it really affected the political realm in the following days, but it also revealed the enormous need for Christians of all traditions to search the scriptures in a common endeavour to recover biblical truth – starting with defining the very nature and purposes of God.

The Wembley meeting was a great start, but it also revealed the enormous need for Christians of all traditions to recover biblical truth.

The Church has glibly taken over God’s covenantal promises to Israel without ever understanding God’s true purposes and how he intends fulfilling them. We need to go back to Isaiah 55 and study carefully the word of the Lord,

As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth it will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

Replacement Theology must be swept from the Church, along with the false teaching, prophecy and spiritual practices of the so-called ‘New Apostolic Reformation’ (NAR) that are muddying the spiritual waters and creating confusion in the Church. The only way to find clear vision with which to give a lead to the nation is for the Church to return to biblical truth and declare the whole word of God.

Prayer Day at Wembley Arena, Saturday 26 January.

When the Church has failed the nation, how can believers pray?

Christians across Britain are gathering for prayer this weekend in meetings in towns and villages, responding to the crisis in the nation. There is no central coordination of these meetings. They are simply a spontaneous reaction to the growing anxiety in the nation to the turmoil in Parliament as we get nearer to the date for leaving the European Union. I am due to speak at an all-day meeting in Wembley Arena, organised by David Hathaway’s Eurovision ministry and which is being live-streamed on the Eurovision website.

The meetings will no doubt bring together Christians who voted different ways in the 2016 Referendum, but the common cause today is to pray for a divided nation and for our political leaders who are striving to find agreement on an acceptable plan for leaving the EU.

Many of our politicians are among the 48% of the nation who voted to remain in the EU and they are still seeking ways to reverse the decision, but it is becoming increasingly obvious that a second referendum would plunge the nation into an unprecedented period of division and uncertainty, possibly even triggering violent confrontation bordering on civil war, stoked by social media.

The Days of Dunkirk

The present crisis is being referred to in the press as something we have not seen since the days of Dunkirk. This is a good parallel because in 1940 the nation recognised that there were no human solutions to the situation facing us, with our army stranded on the continent and the rest of Europe already conquered by the Nazis. Only divine intervention could save Britain from invasion and defeat.

The whole nation was called to a Day of Prayer by the King, joining together to call upon God for a miracle, which Prime Minister Churchill acknowledged in Parliament after an armada of little boats rescued our soldiers from the beaches of northern France.

The difference today is that we are no longer a God-fearing nation and it is only the Bible-believing faithful remnant who will be praying. But God is not a democrat looking for a majority. He loves to work through small numbers, as he did through Gideon’s 300. The big question for Christians today is how do we pray? We know perfectly well that our nation is ungodly and that few of our parliamentarians are born-again believers. So, how should we pray?

The present crisis is being referred to in the press as something we have not seen since the days of Dunkirk.

Record of the Church

I believe the answer lies in looking at the record of the Church in the affairs of the nation over the past decades of social change. In the immediate post-World War II period, the state Church had an Archbishop, Geoffrey Fisher, who was a high-ranking Freemason more interested in the Masonic Grand Lodge of England than in the affairs of Britain. He certainly had no interest in evangelism.

Fisher was followed by Michael Ramsay who was just as bad, and took no interest in the affairs of the nation during his 13 years as Archbishop, while Acts of Parliament were passed of enormous significance in changing Britain’s culture, such as the Race Relations Act, the Abortion Act, the Theatre Act, the Divorce Reform Act and the European Communities Act, which took Britain into the EU. When all these momentous bills were debated, the Church of England was silent. The only bill that Ramsay engaged with in the House of Lords was the measure to legalise homosexual acts, which he publicly advocated.

But Ramsay’s example of political silence was reflected across the whole Church in those days. I have wept before the Lord many times for my own failure to speak about what was happening in the nation. I was the Minister of a large London church preaching to 500 people on a Sunday in the 1960s, but I was not even aware of the Abortion Act that has been responsible for killing nearly 9 million unborn babies. I bitterly regret that I did nothing at that time.

Worse Than Silence

When I was a young man, church leaders were all telling young people not to get involved in politics, which was considered the domain of the devil. This was in total contrast to the Victorian era when the Bible was quoted regularly in Parliament. But in the 20^th Century, evangelicals came to consider social action to be alien territory. We left politics to others so we should hardly be surprised at what we’ve got today. But the Church of England’s record is worse than just silence.

In the 20^th Century, evangelicals came to consider social action to be alien territory: we left politics to others.

In the year 2000 an Education Bill was going through Parliament and a peer introduced an amendment calling for schools to teach that faithful marriage is the ideal form of family. This was fiercely opposed by Tony Blair’s Government who were strongly influenced by LGBTQ+ activists. The vote in the House of Lords was very close - but nine bishops voted with the Government. If they had voted the other way, the amendment would have been carried.

In the report to Parliament The Cost of Family Breakdown,¹ it was noted that the Church’s official representatives had voted against faithful monogamy as the ideal for family life despite massive evidence showing that all other forms of the family give inferior outcomes for children.

Confession and Weeping

Christians who are coming before the Lord this weekend to pray for the nation should recognise that we are all part of the wider Church that has failed to take an active role in getting the Gospel into the affairs of the nation during the decades when the greatest social changes have taken place.

Our prayers should be prayers of confession, weeping before the Lord as Jeremiah wept over Israel in his day, “Oh, that my head were a spring of water and my eyes a fountain of tears! I would weep day and night for my people” (Jer 9:1).

Jesus wept over Jerusalem, and if we love our nation we too should be weeping before the Lord. The words of the Prophet Joel give us hope for the future: “Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. Who knows? He may turn and have pity and leave behind a blessing” (Joel 2:13-14).

References

1 See Foreword by Norman Dennis, pp3-4. Download the full report here.

Do not be hasty to point the finger at MPs.

No-one can deny that the nation is in a great crisis. The antics in the House of Commons in the past couple of months have been exposed to the world through television and reports in the British press. It has not been a pretty sight to see all our politicians shouting at each other and no-one listening to anyone else. Passions have been reaching fever pitch, yet no clear majority view has been emerging.

The plain truth is that nobody knows what to do or how to solve the problems that face the nation. Most of our MPs know what they do not like, but they are short on solutions.

The massive majority of the vote to reject Theresa May’s deal brought together people with vastly opposing views; but they were all in agreement on one thing – they did not like what was on offer. Even the Remainers who prefer to stay within the European Union voted against the deal because it would have reduced Britain to the status of having to observe EU rules and regulations without having any say in their formulation.

No Standard of Truth

As we have said many times in these editorials, there are no political solutions to the problems confronting the nation and this is the reason why there is such confusion. Our MPs do not understand the issues, because they have lost the objective standard of truth provided by the biblical foundations of our Judeo-Christian faith that has provided stability and direction for the nation over many centuries.

Without that standard of truth there is no yardstick for measuring different proposals. It allows the propagation of lies and the use of fear to promote proposals that have no basis in truth, such as the fear of leaving the EU with ‘no deal’. It is said that this will collapse the British economy. But less than half of our exports are linked to the European Union and Europe sells us £95 billion more in goods annually than we sell to them!¹ That’s the trade deficit with the EU.

As we have said many times in these editorials, there are no political solutions to the problems confronting the nation and this is the reason why there is such confusion.

It is clearly a pack of lies that our economy will collapse! Once we are free of obligations to the EU, we can do deals with the rest of the world and our economy will flourish if we put our trust in the Lord. But the truth is hidden from the British people by the lies of those who have no trust in God and no understanding of the way he blesses a nation that is founded upon righteousness and the teaching of the word of the Lord.

Lack of Vision

But who is to blame for the fact that our politicians have little or no knowledge of biblical teaching? Why are there so few voices in Parliament championing Judeo-Christian values? And why do only a minority of committed Christians engage in politics?

The simple answer to these questions is that church leaders and preachers do not rightly handle the word of the Lord, so the truth of God’s word does not get embedded in the lives of churchgoers, let alone those who have loose connections with the Church.

This is largely because most preachers lack prophetic vision - they no longer fearlessly declare the word of the Lord in their churches, or prophetically relate biblical teaching to social and national issues. They give nice, cosy little homilies on biblical themes that lack the dynamic thrust of the two-edged sword of the Lord. So, we now have a generation of closet Christians with no mission to transform the nation. If the whole word of the Lord is not heard in church, it will not reach out into the nation.

Silent Church

Let me put a plain question to all those of you who go to church regularly: when was the last time you heard the minister address national issues in the context of the word of God? Do you regularly hear from the pulpit the teaching of the Bible – both the word of God through the Prophets of Israel and the Gospel proclaimed by Jesus and taught by the apostles – expounded and applied, not only to personal and local issues, but also to national issues that our politicians and leaders are having to face?

In your church do you pray for the nation? Do you have intercessions for those in authority (1 Tim 2:2), where you pray for your town council, or your city council, or your Member of Parliament, or the Government, or the Queen?

If the whole word of the Lord is not heard in church, it will not reach out into the nation.

Why is the Church so silent on national issues and so separated from the world in which we all live? When was the last time you heard a sermon unpacking the Bible and applying its truth to current issues? Do you ever hear the preacher explaining the word of the Lord revealed through the Prophets in the Bible – Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel?

When did you last hear the basic teaching of the Torah expounded in your church?

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. (Deut 6:4-7)

This surely shows that responsibility for passing on the faith rests not only with church leaders, but with ordinary believers. Do you impress biblical teaching in your conversation with your children or grandchildren? Do you talk about the word of the Lord at home and when you walk along the street?

We have no right to criticise our Members of Parliament for not knowing biblical truth if we have not rightly handled the word of the Lord in our own family, or among our friends and neighbours.

Reformation Starts with You and Me

Of course, the nation is in a mess; but who is really to blame? In biblical times God always held the preachers and prophets responsible for the nation – as Jeremiah said:

My people do not know the requirements of the Lord…actually the lying pen of the scribes has handled it falsely…From the least to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; prophets and priests alike all practice deceit. They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. (Jer 8:7-11)

Can the same charge be levelled at the Church today? Not just the preachers: all of us, to some extent, bear responsibility. Should we not all be weeping before the Lord in repentance? The reformation of the nation does not start in Westminster: it starts in the Church - with you and me.

References

1 Statistics on UK-EU trade. Research Briefing, House of Commons Library, 30 November 2018.

Why at a time of genuine crisis, the Church is conveniently absent.

Our Editorial this week focuses on the contributions of the British Church to our present situation of national confusion, division and existential crisis. By all accounts, there is no united, biblical, prophetic message coming from Christian leaders at this time, though one is sorely needed.

Indeed, there is a strong case for laying the blame for Britain’s predicament (partially if not entirely) at the door of the Church. But how did we get to this point, and where do we go from here?

The furore over Brexit, as we often note on Prophecy Today, forms just one part of a broader, multi-pronged assault on the West’s Judeo-Christian foundations that is telling on nations on both sides of the Atlantic. But while the USA has a strong conservative evangelical wing, well-supported and well-financed, pushing back hard against secular humanism, here in Britain there is no similarly coherent defence of our heritage.

The Christian voice in this country has always been multiple and fractured, which explains why over the past century no united front has been rallied to combat the enemies at our gates. In fact, our gates have largely been left open and unguarded, so the enemy has walked right in and made himself at home.

Shallow Roots

I have been reminded this week that our sorry situation has a long history, going right back to the establishment (or disestablishment) of Anglicanism.¹

Historically speaking, with the notable exceptions of many outstanding individual clergy, theologians and congregants, the CofE’s shallow theological roots have left it unable to withstand the onslaught of centuries of secularisation, two world wars and the pernicious spread of liberal theology. Since the 18^th Century, whilst many revivals have taken place outside church walls, the CofE has gradually become crippled by unbelief and moral and theological incoherence.

Since the 18^th Century, whilst revivals have taken place outside church walls, the CofE has gradually become crippled by unbelief and moral and theological incoherence.

The objective, intellectual and public aspects of the faith have been undermined, tipping the emphasis towards the subjective, the experiential and the private. This has strengthened the notion, popular inside and outside the Church, that faith and politics should not mix and that Christianity should be confined to matters of inner wellbeing, not to the direction of the country.

Thus, the religion of secular humanism, with its false claims of impartiality, has been allowed to ascend to prominence in the public realm, replacing ‘Christendom’, while clergy have been hamstrung by a loss of confidence in their own message. Despite its immensely privileged position, our established Church has been so weakened and divided as to be prevented from speaking the Bible’s wisdom fully and fearlessly, with united voice, into public life.

Joining in the Arson

Canterbury Cathedral.

This loss of confidence in the truth and power of the Gospel has opened up the CofE to all sorts of weird and wonderful theologies and spiritual practices, from New Age labyrinths and meditation to multi-faith celebrations hosting Muslim calls to prayer and pantheistic songs praising Hindu deities.

Instead of using their authority to defend unborn children, the precious covenant of marriage, the authority of Scripture and the unique superiority of biblical ethics, many clergy have been occupied with preaching the green agenda, LGBTQ+ ideology and multi-faith ‘partnerships’. The Gospel has been exchanged for an entirely different message, reframing sin in terms of social and environmental injustice, virtue in terms of ‘tolerance’, and salvation in terms of social service or good works.

In these senses, the established Church is culpable for behaving as Nero legendarily did during the Fall of Rome. Even worse: it has grabbed a torch and joined in the arson.

Warning Signs

And so we arrive at today’s frankly absurd situation where helter-skelters and explicit films are now used in cathedrals to ‘start spiritual conversations’ while genuine evangelists are refused entry.² The CofE’s quest for relevance without the anchor of biblical truth has led it into deep irrelevance.

Tell-tale warning signs – nose-diving membership, worsening splits within the ‘Anglican Communion’ at home³ and abroad⁴ – are ignored or misunderstood. The present Archbishop of Canterbury was last seen appointing a clergyman with big question marks over his views about the resurrection⁵ to lead ecumenical relations with Rome, while the House of Bishops busies itself promoting open celebrations of transgenderism.

The established Church is culpable for behaving as Nero legendarily did during the Fall of Rome. Even worse: it has grabbed a torch and joined in the arson.

Given all this, it is hardly surprising that as the chaos of Brexit unfolds, the established Church is not found reprimanding the country with biblical warnings and reminding it of Gospel truths, but simply telling people to be nice to each other as they disagree and – oh yes – joining in the scaremongering about a ‘no deal’ Brexit.⁶

Other Denominations

It is easy to take aim at the CofE, but other denominations fare little better. The Methodist Church, URC, the Church of Scotland and other long-standing streams have also declined as a result of abandoning truth.

Meanwhile, the smaller networks of ‘new’ churches and the host of independent evangelical and/or charismatic churches that have exploded onto the scene during the last century have failed to galvanise a united prophetic voice to the nation. Many have become institutionalised and remain divided, with their own theological and spiritual problems. Most notably, Replacement Theology has infected churches of all streams, which is not a recipe for right interpretations of Scripture nor for receiving God’s blessing.

So, while there are many instances of individually faithful congregations and leaders, the charge of losing confidence in the truth of Scripture and accepting ‘a different Jesus, a different Spirit and a different Gospel’ (2 Cor 11:4) applies far more widely than just to the CofE – which explains why so many faithful believers today find themselves isolated, unable to find a Bible-believing church.

What Next?

A bleak situation, then. But as we observed last summer with the series ‘Our Book of Remembrance’, God has long had his eye on Britain, blessing and reviving us many times in the past, despite our failures. We do not believe that God has finished with Britain, nor that he is unable to achieve his purposes through-and-despite our splintered, unfaithful, indecisive Church.

What, then, is next? We can all pray for prophetic voices to be raised up to speak Gospel truths into the public realm, but what is also needed is for the faithful remnant to be united and strengthened, for they are currently scattered and divided. For the task ahead, God will need true unity of spirit and purpose, and of brotherly fellowship, to be displayed by his people.

The true ‘ekklesia’ in Britain is no doubt a patchwork collective drawn from many different denominations, as well as prayer groups, house fellowships, isolated believers and new converts. Thankfully, God is more than able to stitch us together in him, by the work of the Holy Spirit, through the prayers of the saints. As one member⁷ of Prophecy Today’s new Facebook community observed this week:

The one very encouraging sign amidst all the confusion and division among both politicians and the public at large, and amidst all the horrendous scare-mongering and media bias on our TV screens and newspapers on an almost hourly basis – is the fact that a good number of Christians all over the country have sensed in their spirits the absolute necessity of being watchmen & women on the walls at this time, interceding before God in heaven for this desperate nation of ours. God IS our only hope in the days ahead, and we cry to Him for mercy. In the beautiful opening words of a revival hymn written by the late Rev Alex Muir of Inverness,

Lord, have mercy on our country
Turn our hearts to You again,
Though we’ve grieved Your Holy Spirit
By our deeds of sin and shame

Though our sins rise like a dark cloud
May our prayers rise even higher
Pleading for divine forgiveness
Pleading for the Heavenly fire.

References

1 See Phillips, M, The World Turned Upside Down, chapter 16 for a useful summary.

2 Exclusive: Evangelical ‘banned’ by Derby Cathedral receives widespread support. Christian Institute, 6 December 2018.

3 Davies, M. More than 100 Oxford clergy criticise bishops’ LGBTI guidance. Church Times, 9 January 2019.

4 E.g. see here.

5 See here and here.

6 See here and here.

7 Tom Lennie, re-printed with permission.

Is there any hope for Britain?

Over the New Year holiday, I spent some time seeking the Lord for his word to Britain and I was strongly led to what God said to Ezekiel at a time when Jerusalem was in turmoil. He said, “Son of man you are living among a rebellious people. They have eyes to see but do not see and ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious people.”

This message meant that people could not see what should have been blindingly obvious. The nation was facing disaster but her leaders, both religious and secular, were running around like headless chickens, fighting one another but not taking any positive steps to deal with the situation.

Jeremiah (unlike Ezekiel) was actually in the city. He was driven to despair. “Your own conduct and actions have brought this upon you,” he said. “My people are fools…They have no understanding. They are skilled in doing evil; they know not how to do good” (Jer 4:18-22). Both Ezekiel and Jeremiah knew that the nation was under judgment which the people had brought upon themselves by deliberately turning away from the truth of the word of God.

In Britain, we are in a similar situation. The scenes of turmoil in the House of Commons in the run-up to Christmas were a vivid illustration of the mood in the nation – it is a mood of dissatisfaction with everything; yet no-one has any idea what to do about it! It is in this situation of major disagreement among our political leaders that the voices of the mob in Westminster streets calling for a ‘people’s vote’ should be ringing alarm bells everywhere. Such a vote would spread dissension and conflict across the land.

People bring judgment upon themselves when they deliberately turn away from the truth of the word of God.

Social Problems Side-lined

The Brexit debates in Parliament for the past two months have been so all-consuming that major social issues affecting the welfare of the nation have been woefully neglected. A review of school exclusions was delayed which could have helped to deal with the crisis of knife crime that claimed the lives of more than a hundred young people on the streets of London in 2018.

The Green Paper on social care was also kicked into touch despite the crisis in the NHS, the shortage of beds and elderly people not being cared for in the community. Many other urgent social issues have been side-lined by the Brexit rows that have split the Conservative Party and exposed the weakness of the Opposition.

These are all signs of the serious moral and spiritual issues that underlie the great Brexit debate that is dividing the country. What is being exposed is the lack of an overriding standard of truth by which all issues can be judged.

It is because truth has been eroded from the public square and the forces of darkness have been allowed to spread deception that we are seeing the very thing that both Ezekiel and Jeremiah saw in Jerusalem. 500 years later Jesus saw the same thing when he wept over Jerusalem that both leaders and people were blinded by deceit. He said “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand” (Matt 13:13).

Good for Evil, Evil for Good

In Britain, we have not only abandoned truth, but we have actually embraced lies and deception. Even our language has changed to accommodate opposite values. Children and young people call good things ‘wicked’ and evil things that are harmful to them are celebrated as good. It is a rebellious generation that has no understanding of ultimate values. This is why we are seeing knife crime ruling city streets, as gang life is substituted for family life; loyalty to the gang for the love of parents and siblings.

Urgent social issues have been side-lined by the Brexit rows, which have split the country and exposed its lack of an overriding standard of truth.

Also driving society deeper into deception are the false values of LGBTQ+ that have been embraced by politicians from all our political parties. We are led by a Prime Minister who was the chief architect of radical changes when she was Home Secretary, driving the Same-Sex Marriage Bill through Parliament despite the opposition of more than a hundred MPs of her own party and all the warnings that were sounded across the nation.

That legislation, more than five years ago, marked a tipping-point in the nation: Britain went from at least nominally acknowledging the biblical foundations of its social value system to adopting a system based upon the total denial of truth. It was ignoring the clear warnings given in the Bible – “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter” (Isa 5:20).

You cannot ignore fundamental standards of truth that are part of the creation of the universe without bringing disaster upon society. But this is exactly what we have done in Britain and this is the reason why we are seeing the turmoil in our Parliament that is reflected across the nation.

The plain fact is we have brought judgment upon ourselves, one of the consequences of which is listed in Deuteronomy 28:28 as “madness, blindness and confusion of mind”, which we can see clearly by watching the debates in Parliament.

Hope for the New Year

But the Bible does not only warn us of the consequences of rejecting truth. It also sets out the remedy. Jeremiah was given a promise from God that applies to any nation at any time: “If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned” (Jer 18:7).

The circumstances of the giving this promise should give us great hope and encouragement as a message for the New Year.

You cannot ignore fundamental standards of truth that are part of the creation of the universe without bringing disaster upon society.

Jeremiah was told to go to the potter’s shop where he watched the potter at work. The clay he was using simply did not run in his hands so he was unable to form it into the shape in his mind. He stopped the wheel and Jeremiah probably expected to see him throw that obstinate bit of clay into the dust across the floor of his workshop. But instead, the potter patiently kneaded it back into a ball, put it on the wheel and carefully made it into a pot. It was not the beautiful vase he originally envisioned but it was a useful pot that would no doubt serve a busy housewife.

From this, Jeremiah learned a message about God’s love and forgiveness. We all of us mess up our lives at some point; but God never abandons us, in the same way as the potter did not throw away that bit of clay. When we confess our sinfulness and our need of his love, he immediately re-makes our lives, as the potter re-shaped the clay.

This is the message of hope that God wishes to convey to us for 2019.

Advice for petitioning Heaven at this dark time in our nation.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Church and State Collude

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Veil of Deception

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

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

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

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

Spiritual, Not Political

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

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

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

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

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

The People’s Vote

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

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

London launch celebrates Dr Hill’s most significant book yet.

We are pleased to report the successful launch of The Reshaping of Britain, a new book by Rev Dr Clifford Hill, Prophecy Today’s Editor-in-Chief and Director of Issachar Ministries.

On the evening of Wednesday 3 October, around 100 delegates at London’s Institute for Contemporary Christianity enjoyed talks from the author and two of his long-standing ministry associates, a Q&A and a book signing, all washed down with canapés and drinks. The event, chaired and organised ably by Wilberforce Publications (the publishing wing of Christian Concern), was supported in prayer by many groups and individuals around the country – for which we are deeply grateful.

Addressed by the author, the audience were treated to the personal story behind the book, gaining an insight into the life of a man brought by the Lord into Britain’s corridors of power to proclaim truth, and to experience at close quarters events and decisions which have accelerated vast changes in our national life. Though The Reshaping of Britain is not a memoir or an autobiography, it is nevertheless deeply personal, traversing 60 years of ministry amongst politicians and church leaders including four archbishops. These 60 years, of course, also happen to cover a period of profound upheaval and transformation in the nation. With such a track record and a background in both theology and sociology, Clifford is likely the only person who could have written a book of such scope.

The audience were treated to the personal story behind the book, which traverses 60 years of ministry amongst politicians and church leaders that also happen to be years of profound national upheaval.

As part of his address, he highlighted the role of Parliament in systematically dismantling the godly heritage of centuries with a steady stream of ungodly laws (listed in the book). But, more than this, he emphasised the culpability of the Church in allowing - even encouraging - the waywardness of the nation.

Not only has the Church failed in its duty to declare the truth in the public realm and call our political leaders to account, but it has often directly blocked moves to promote and defend godliness in the nation. Clifford testified, at times with obvious emotion, of instances when the established Church single-handedly blocked laws that would have protected and promoted causes such as marriage and the family. His evident passion and grief over this gross dereliction of duty was picked up on later by his friend and colleague, David Noakes, who commended Clifford’s testimony warmly as being the weightier because of his evident care for Britain’s welfare, proven time and again over the course of many decades.

David reminded those listening that, to individuals who truly care enough to seek the Lord’s own heart for Britain and listen to his word, God will reveal more and more of his work in the nation – and the good purposes behind it.

Courtesy of Christian Concern / Wilberforce Publications.Ending his address on a positive note, Clifford explained to those present that after 30 years of “stomping the country preaching repentance and warning”, often being disparaged as a prophet of doom and gloom, in the last two months he has felt the Lord start to speak about the possibility of revival – not instead of difficulty and calamity, but coming through it. Eschewing a focus on himself and his own work, he pointed those listening upwards, to the heart of our Creator and Heavenly Father who desires to seek and save the lost.

Taking his cue from this forward-facing finish, ministry advisor Dr Peter Carruthers wound up the addresses with some reflections on the way ahead. He reminded the audience that being men and women of Issachar (a nod to Issachar Ministries) involves not just understanding the times, but knowing what to do about them (1 Chron 12:32).

A short Q&A allowed the audience to voice their thoughts, with questions ranging from the end times through education to Brexit. Then, those attending were free to browse the book stall and queue to have their copies of The Reshaping of Britain signed by the author.

To those who truly care to seek the Lord’s own heart for Britain and listen to his word, God will reveal more and more of his work in the nation – and the good purposes behind it.

Galvanised to reflect - now with an enriched perspective - on both the anguish and the opportunity that mark the times in which we live, the room became alive with faith-full discussion. Meanwhile, the mindless commotion of Oxford Street, just outside the door, provided a relentless reminder of the timeliness and urgency of this important book.

Following the launch, Clifford reflected: “I am so grateful to have the opportunity of sharing some of my journey and I pray that it will encourage others to stand firm for the faith and to declare the truth in love, which I feel sure the Lord will use to bless his people.”

We warmly commend to you The Reshaping of Britain (345pp, paperback), now available for online purchase from Amazon. Also available from Issachar Ministries for £12 plus £2.50 P&P. Click here for more information.

Trump vs Macron and the battle for all our futures.

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

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

Podium Wars

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

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

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

Polar Opposite Views

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

More Than Different Opinions

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Spiritual Dimension

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

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

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

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

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

For Believers

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

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

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

Listen to/read the full speeches:

• President Trump: text / video

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

Notes

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

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

Why has God blessed Britain so much?

As we bring our short series to an end it is clear that we have barely scratched the surface of what God has done for Britain.

When God cut a covenant with Abraham, that he would be the father of many nations, and even when Jesus suffered on the Cross, making the New Covenant available to the whole world, it nevertheless remained hidden just how much God would do for nations such as ours. Yet history is full of testaments to God’s loving kindness towards the people of the British Isles.

But why have we chosen to write a book of remembrance, echoing Malachi 3:16?

Pleasing God Through Obedience

One reason is that we learn from the Book of Malachi that it pleased God for the people of Judah to recall his goodness to them (Mal 3:16-18). So, surely our remembrances might please God today in the same way – it is a good thing to do at any time.

Secondly, remembering is a principle built into the yearly cycle of the Feasts of the Lord. For example, at Passover deliverance from Egypt is remembered, which in New Covenant terms brings remembrance of the Lord’s sacrifice for sin – “Do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19). Quite simply, if we do not remember, then we will forget.

History is full of testaments to God’s loving kindness towards the people of the British Isles.

Thirdly, we live in days of great decline from the ways of God, particularly in Britain. In such days we can easily meditate only on the negative aspects of our times. Remembering God’s help in times past can give us a balanced perspective and, indeed, kindle our hope again, leading to thankfulness and renewed prayer:

Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, Lord. Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy. (Habakkuk 3:2)

Fourthly, we live in a generation where more and more people, especially the young, have little knowledge of what God has done for us in the past. They must be taught.

Understanding His Deeper Purposes

But I think there is also another reason, deeper down, to be understood. As we set out all that God has done and consider it in prayer before him, we may find that he grants us a new perspective on what he is doing now, today.

God is always moving forward in fulfilment of his covenant promises. Historically, Britain has been greatly used as part of this – as a base for sending forth the Gospel message around the world, and also in helping to fulfil God’s purposes for Israel – working to prevent satan from annihilating the Jewish race in World War II, and participating (albeit imperfectly) in enabling the Jews to re-establish the land of Israel.

If we can understand some deeper reasons behind the blessings God bestowed upon Britain, we might wake up to what he is doing in our day.

As we consider what God has done for us in the past, we may find that he grants us a new perspective on what he is doing now, today.

As the nations fall into disarray, having had 2,000 years of opportunity for hearing the Gospel, the scene is set for God’s final plans for Israel to be fulfilled prior to the return of the Messiah. To put the past in perspective might enable us to understand where the time-clock of covenant history is now, so that we might participate in rather than oppose the work of God today.

Would God be pleased with us if, in our Bible study and prayer groups, we spent some more time recalling past blessings and asking him to show us how to prepare for and pray concerning the future? I think this is the deeper reason why we have been led to begin writing our Book of Remembrance.

This is the final instalment in our short summer series 'Our Book of Remembrance'. You can read the rest of the series by clicking here.