Prophecy given by David Noakes at the Intercessors for Israel Conference, Jerusalem, January 2003. It was specifically addressed to the nation of Israel and was accepted by the ministers and leaders to whom it was given in 2003. We are publishing it having tested it ourselves. However, we also encourage you to weigh it thoroughly yourself too. 

Strengthen my people in the knowledge of their God and of his Word. Bring to them the whole Counsel of God that they may not be taken by surprise or deceived in the days to come.

Do not fear Islam for this principality shall not prevail. It has thrown down the gauntlet of challenge to the God of Israel and I have accepted the challenge.

This power will be put to shame and destroyed for I have taken the battlefield. Stand with me and fight for I am with you to overcome. Islam will fall, but not at once for the cup of iniquity is not yet full to the brim. There will be a lengthy struggle and it will involve many nations.

Do not fear the conflict or the hardships. There will be shaking and upheaval and turmoil but I have warned you in advance in my Word that this will be so. In the battle set your eyes on Me and remember that this is not your lasting home. Your destination and your inheritance is in the Kingdom cut out of the Rock without human hands and in the Eternal City that has unshakeable foundations whose Builder and Maker is God.

Comfort yourselves with the knowledge of this truth and let your encouragement come from Me alone. Do not fear the wars that must yet come but rather fear the peace that will finally result. It will not be My peace but a counterfeit peace inspired by the spirit of Babylon.

Prepare my people for these days with the knowledge of my revealed truth. Teach them the whole Counsel of God and pray that they and many others will not be deceived in the time before the 'lamb of peace' is revealed in its true colours as the 'dragon of destruction'.

The strategy of the adversary is to wear down by continual attrition to the point where in the weariness of conflict that desire for rest will make your people willing to accept a false peace which will prove in its working to be the deadliest weapon of all. Your nation will desire this peace and the world will desire to impose it upon you but do not be deceived. Prepare my people to watch and pray and keep alert: strong in the knowledge of the whole revelation of my Word until I come, for only then will your nation receive true security.

About the author: David Noakes was a solicitor in London until he joined Clifford Hill’s ministry in 1984. He has been part of the Prophetic Word Ministries/Prophecy Today team since that time, although he has also exercised an independent ministry speaking at conferences both in Britain and overseas. He has visited Israel many times and until recently was chairman of Hatikvah Film Trust, working with Hugh Kitson making films about Israel. He is a well-known Bible teacher with an established ministry and remains an official advisor to Issachar Ministries (Prophecy Today UK's parent charity).

Clifford Hill looks at questions of trust surrounding the recent Russian plane crash, noting similarities between today's threats and life in the time of Jeremiah.

The human tragedies behind the crash of the Russian passenger airliner over the Sinai Desert are incalculable. The loss of all 224 people on board plunged the whole city of St Petersburg into mourning as most of the returning holidaymakers came from there.

Tourists Stranded

The knock-on effect in the cancellation of returning flights for British tourists stranded in Sharm el-Sheikh is a small inconvenience in comparison with the terrible loss of life suffered by the Russian people.

Was the British Government right in suspending flights to and from Sharm el-Sheikh? The Egyptian Government was understandably furious because of the effect upon its tourism industry, which is the strongest part of its economy. But any government's first commitment is to the safety of its own citizens, so the UK has surely been right in taking steps to ensure the safety of flights home for the thousands of British holidaymakers who were potentially at risk.

Questions of Trust

Tributes outside Pulkovo airport, St Petersburg.All of this raises major questions of trust. We all put our trust in others every time we leave our own home. If we are travelling by bus or train or boarding an aircraft, we put our trust in the driver or the pilot. But even when we drive our own car on the road we are dependent upon other motorists obeying the rules and not endangering our lives. We have to trust other people every day in a multitude of circumstances.

We all also know that there are risks involved in travelling today. If terrorists are determined to get a bomb on board an aeroplane they will find a way of doing it - even if it is simply paying a crooked bag-handler working at the airport.

Trust is at the heart of all our human relationships; from travelling in safety to business transactions. Businessmen need to be able to trust the word of those with whom they are signing contracts or the whole economic activity of society would be impaired. Even in simple everyday things there has to be trust. If we cannot trust the shopkeeper to sell us healthy food or trustworthy goods, life would come to a standstill.

Trust Breakdown

If trust breaks down the whole life of the community breaks down. But that was the situation in Jerusalem in the time of the prophet Jeremiah (around 600 BC, a turbulent period in history). In chapter 9 he describes the breakdown of trust. He says,

Beware of your friends; do not trust your brothers. For every brother is a deceiver, and every friend a slanderer. Friend deceives friend, and no one speaks the truth (Jer 9:4-5).

Jeremiah warns the citizens of Jerusalem: "You live in the midst of deception". The dire scene that he describes has some similarity to the situation facing us today. On the international front there was a growing threat of terrorism and at home there had been a catastrophic collapse of faith and morality.

Jeremiah describes a scene much like our own today, with a domestic collapse of faith and an international threat of terrorism.

The Assyrian Empire based at Nineveh (which today is called Mosul and is the capital of the Islamic State) had just been overthrown by Nebuchadnezzar (609 BC), the ruthless dictator of the rising Babylonian Empire. The Assyrians had been a byword for cruelty and the Babylonians were already outdoing them. Their army was on the move through Syria and threatening the tiny state of Judah and its capital Jerusalem.

Both the political and religious authorities assured the people that there was nothing to worry about because God was on their side! They said that as long as the Temple stood in Jerusalem, God would never allow an enemy to enter the gates of the City because it was his special shrine. Jeremiah could see everywhere lies and deception, greed and corruption, immorality and injustice. He publicly proclaimed that God would not defend the City so long as it was full of evil and faithlessness. He said,

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. 'Peace', 'Peace', they say, when there is no peace. (Jer 8:10).

In Jeremiah's time, the authorities assured the people that God would protect them – but Jeremiah proclaimed that they were deceiving themselves.

Urgent Warnings

As the Babylonian merciless murderers drew closer, burning and raping cities and even destroying the countryside on their way towards Jerusalem, Jeremiah's warnings became even more urgent. He told the people that they were putting their trust in a building created by human hands instead of the God of Creation who had made a covenant with their forefathers which they were now breaking. As anxiety increased among the people, instead of turning to God in repentance, they turned to different forms of idolatry and divination.

Recent research shows that less than half the population in Britain now believe in Jesus and only about 10% are regular churchgoers.¹ This means that we are not only abandoning our heritage of Christian faith that has protected this nation for hundreds of years, but it means that there are fewer people of faith praying for the nation and ensuring a covering of protection over the land at the very time when the threat of terrorism is rising.

In modern Britain, our Christian heritage is being abandoned, leaving less and less people to pray for the protection of the nation.

In Jeremiah's day his warnings went unheeded. In 587 BC the army of terrorists broke through the walls of Jerusalem and ran amok through the City tearing down the Temple and all the great buildings, slaughtering the people as they went from street to street. An eyewitness wrote,

The Kings of the earth did not believe nor did any of the world's people, that enemies and foes could enter the gates of Jerusalem. But it happened because of the sins of her prophets and the iniquities of her priests, who shed within her the blood of the righteous (Lam 4:12).

Real Wisdom

This should be a strong warning to us. Where do we put our trust? Is it in politicians; or bankers and brokers; or social reformers; or educationalists; or philosophers? But these are just fallible human beings and what we are facing are no less than demonic spiritual forces that cannot be overcome with physical force or human wisdom.

The threats we face today cannot be overcome with physical force or human wisdom. So in what - or whom - will we place our trust?

As Jeremiah said of the people in Jerusalem, "Since they have rejected the word of the Lord, what kind of wisdom do they have?" (8:9) In Britain today we face a similar question – what kind of wisdom do we have as we face the rising tide of destruction that threatens us? If God would allow it to happen to Jerusalem, why do we think it cannot happen to us in Britain? Surely our only hope is to re-discover the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ whom as a nation we have so wilfully and stupidly abandoned.

Weighed in the Balance

The warning signs are everywhere to be seen. The writing is on the wall for Britain and the nations of Europe that have despised their great Christian heritage. We are being weighed in the balance as God is slowly withdrawing his covering of protection. The midnight hour approaches for Britain and Europe.

Will there be repentance and turning before catastrophe strikes? That is still a question. We may not have long to wait for the answer. But what are we doing to warn our families and friends and others to help save our nation?

References

1 Jesus 'not a real person' many believe. BBC News, 31 October 2015.

'Peace in Jerusalem: But the battle is not over yet!' by Charles Gardner (Olive Press, 2015, 241 pages).

As the world responds to the attacks in Tunisia, France and Kuwait, Islam faces an internal crisis of identity. Clifford Hill asks: who are the true Muslims?

"Islam is a Religion of Peace." These were the words of Prime Minister, David Cameron, broadcast to the world immediately after he heard the news of the indiscriminate killing of 30 British tourists sunbathing on the beach in Tunisia. He said that the man who carried out this atrocity was not a true Muslim because "Islam is a religion of peace".

On the BBC News this statement was immediately followed by an interview with an expert on Islam who said that some Muslims use Ramadan as a "season of war" to further the cause of Islam against unbelievers. It was also reported that the Islamic State has been urging Muslims across the world to target Westerners and promising that Allah will reward 'martyrs' tenfold during Ramadan. Their definition of a 'martyr' is one who dies while killing non-Muslims – especially Jews and Christians.

But the Islamic State does not restrict their activities to killing Westerners. The suicide bomber who blew himself up in a mosque in Kuwait was targeting Shia Muslims whom the Sunnis regard as unbelievers: Which raises the question: who are the true Muslims?

Sisi's Call

President Sisi of Egypt has called for a "Revolution in Islam... to stop making enemies of the whole world". He said "We need a religious revolution" to reinterpret the texts that came from the time of Muhammad's warlike rise to power.

This important statement was reported in the New York Times on 1 January 2015, but as far as I am aware has been given no publicity in the British press. Why the silence? Are British journalists so afraid of offending Muslims that they dare not report a call from a prominent Muslim to sort out the problems of violence in their religion?

Jihadist Fighters

If an all-out war between Western culture and Islam is to be avoided Islamic scholars have to face fundamental questions about their faith. The jihadist fighters in the Islamic State in Syria and Northern Iraq claim to be the only true Muslims.

If an all-out war between Western culture and Islam is to be avoided, Islamic scholars have to face fundamental questions about their faith."

This is no doubt the reason why a whole family of 12, including three generations, have gone to join them. It is not only hot-blooded teenagers who are attracted to ISIS, but those who want to live in a genuine Muslim state. The jihadists say that those Muslims who oppose them have been corrupted by Western values and are not true Muslims. They claim that they are spreading Islam by force in exactly the same way as Muhammad and that he is their role model. So who are the true Muslims?

Qur'an Verses

There are plenty of verses in the Quran to support the jihadists. The man who murdered the defenceless tourists on the beach at Sousse can justify his actions by quoting, "It was not you, but Allah, who slew them. It was not you who smote them: Allah smote them so that he might richly reward the faithful. Allah hears all and knows all" (Quran 8:17).

In the same way the ISIS fighters in Iraq who are beheading their captives can justifiably claim to be doing exactly what Muhammad did in April AD 627, when he slaughtered the whole Jewish population of Banu Qurayza near Medina. This is recorded by ex-Muslim historian M A Khan who says,

The surrendered Jews offered to go into exile like the Banu Nadir tribesmen exiled two years earlier. Muhammad rejected the proposal; instead, he decided to slaughter all their adult males, some 800 to 900 of them. Their adulthood was determined by the growth of pubic hair. The women and children were captured as slaves and their homes and properties were as usual confiscated and distributed amongst the Muslims. The Islamic god gave an emphatic sanction to these barbaric atrocities by revealing: "Some ye slew and ye made captive some. And Allah caused you to inherit their land and their houses and their wealth, and land ye have not trodden. Allah is ever able to do all things" (Quran 33.26 – 27).

A trench was dug at the marketplace; and in Muhammad's presence, those 800 – 900 captives were brought to the brink of the trench with their hands tied behind and were beheaded with swords before pushing the dismembered bodies into it. Muhammad himself chopped off the heads of two Jewish leaders. The spectacle went on from morning through the day and continued by torchlight into the night. [M A Khan, Islamic Jihad, p35]

Islam in Crisis

Today, the whole of Islam is in crisis. It clings to its mediaeval roots while trying to exist in an advanced secular liberal culture that cherishes freedom of speech and respects individual choice, equality and tolerance. Islam respects none of these things- with the result that multitudes are leaving it.

Islam is suffering an internal crisis of identity, as extremists force its followers to ask who the true Muslims really are."

In Indonesia, 2 million Muslims are converting to Christianity every year. In Europe and America, millions of Muslims have settled in the West because they are looking for a better life, but their imams are repeating verses from the Quran forbidding them to make friends with Jews or Christians. These ordinary Muslims are only looking for a quiet life, to earn a living, raise their families and live at peace with their neighbours. They too are asking the question, who are the true Muslims?

Peaceful Majority

Most Muslims in the West are embarrassed by the acts of terrorism carried out in the name of Islam. But the Islamic scholars refuse to consider any revision of their Scriptures which were written for a mediaeval society and have little or no relevance in a modern urban industrial technological society. This article from the Middle East Media Research Institute gives an indication of the internal battle that is going on within Islam.

We should be calling upon Islamic scholars to examine their scriptures and give definite rulings that the historical narratives associated with the teaching of Muhammad and the early days of Islam are no longer valid today. They need to declare definitively what the valid beliefs and practices are for true Muslims today and separate them from mediaeval practices that are no longer central to Islam in the 21st century.

The future peace of the world depends, not upon stepping up the efficiency of the security services in Muslim-majority nations where Western holidaymakers go, or putting up the barriers at home, but on the willingness of Islamic scholars to give definitive answers to the question: who are the true Muslims?

Battle of Values

David Cameron is perfectly right in saying that this is a battle of values: it is an ideological clash between a mediaeval religious narrative and a modern secular narrative: emanating from Islamic State, Al Qaeda, the Taliban, Boko Haram and similar organisations that insist on following the teaching of the Quran and the example of Muhammad. They believe that they are the only true Muslims and they are prepared to fight brutal war to enforce their ideology on others.

The greatest danger facing the West is in escalating the war in the Middle East. There are strong voices in the British Government advocating all-out war upon the Islamic State – bombing them in Syria as well as Iraq. But this is entirely the wrong tactic. It is the same mistake as the Crusaders made 1000 years ago. And it will harden attitudes and drive more young men to abandon the West and fight for the jihadists.

War on the Middle East is the wrong tactic - the same mistake the Crusaders made 1000 years ago - it will only harden attitudes. We need to present a different narrative."

A Different Narrative

The only way to win this war is on the ideological front: by presenting a different narrative. It is here that the teaching of Jesus to love our enemies is the greatest weapon that we have. There is nothing in the New Testament that encourages Christians to fight and everything points to putting our trust in God.

Many Christians believe that God has allowed millions of Muslims to come into the West so that they may experience at first-hand a different ideology. Christians have to say to Muslims that Western values are not Christian values! This throws a great responsibility upon Christians to live in accordance with the teaching of Jesus, to love our new neighbours and to show the power of a living faith that transforms lives of bitterness and hatred into love and gentleness.

The teaching of Jesus to love our enemies is the greatest weapon we have. It is up to Christians to show practically its power to transform lives."

If this is God's strategy for bringing peace and harmony into a world of darkness, there has to be a renouncing of violence by Western nations as well as positive action by Christian churches to reach out to the Muslims in their neighbourhood: not only speaking about the love of God, but showing that love practically in their lives.

Charles Gardner reports on an inspirational conference bringing Jew and Gentile together in the peace and reconciliation of Christ.

With the Middle East engulfed in flames, a story of peace and reconciliation was unfolding last week in Manchester, where delegates from all over the Arab world came together for a unique conference aimed at building bridges between Arabs and Jews who have become followers of Jesus.

As Iran continues its aggressive stance against Israel, threatening to wipe the Jewish state off the map, Iranian refugees and asylum seekers now living in Britain embraced their Jewish 'brothers', some of whom had travelled from Jerusalem to meet with them. Also present was a sizeable contingent of Egyptians along with representatives from Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq, Lebanon and Algeria. Others wanting to join them had been unable to get visas.

Highway of Peace

As part of the great untold story of the Middle East, the three-day conference was hosted by the Church's Ministry among Jewish people (CMJ), a 200-year-old Anglican society specifically dedicated to spiritual revival in Israel. Other key figures behind the event were Robert Sakr and Michael Kerem, along with Rev David Pileggi, rector of Christ Church in Jerusalem.

Although working mainly among Jews since its founding in 1809 by slave trade abolitionist William Wilberforce and members of the Clapham Group, CMJ has also consistently reached out to Arabs over the years and, in 2012, held their first At the Crossroads conference at their Jerusalem headquarters to enable Jew and Gentile to express their oneness in Christ and work together to spread the gospel, on the basis of a prophecy from Isaiah 19 (v23-25) of a "highway" of peace and reconciliation from Egypt to Assyria via Israel.

The 'At the Crossroads' conferences aim to bring Jew and Gentile together to express their oneness in Christ and work together to spread the gospel."

This highway, which includes much of the modern-day Arab world, represents the very path travelled by Abraham, father of the Jewish race, and so it's perfectly appropriate that it is also the road to peace for Isaac and Ishmael, the sons of Abraham.

Iranians Pray for Jewish Rabbi

At the second At the Crossroads conference, held in Jerusalem in 2014, a number of UK-based Iranians were turned back at the Israeli border and so missed out on a chance to meet with other Muslim-background converts from all over the region. And so, UK at the Crossroads was arranged to encourage and inspire those who would struggle to enter Israel.

David Friedman, a Messianic rabbi from Jerusalem, was delighted that so many Iranians had turned up for the conference – they have established thriving churches throughout England – and implored them to join him in praying for barriers to be broken between their two countries.

"We need to get together and pray for our two nations," he said. Reminding them of a time in ancient days when a Persian king opened the door for his people to come back home, he prayed that God would so pour out his Spirit that hatred of Israel (among the authorities) would be melted by love. The alternative was a nuclear conflagration that would destroy not only the Middle East, but possibly the entire world.

Before he had finished speaking, the Iranians responded by coming forward to pray for him, and for Israel! It was an awesome moment- something akin to an earthquake in reverse as a shattered and broken world is put back together again, with all the pieces mended.

An Israeli Messianic rabbi implored people to pray for barriers to be broken between Iran and Israel. Iranians responded by coming forward with an awesome offer of prayer."

United in Jesus

Sessions were interspersed with times of worship in Arabic, Farsi (the language spoken in Iran), Hebrew and English, creating a beautiful atmosphere of shared love and identity. Communication may have been a challenge at times, but you only had to look in each other's eyes to know you were one in Christ who, in the words of St Paul, destroys the dividing wall of hostility, creating "one new man" out of the two, thus making peace and reconciling both of them to God through the cross (Eph 2:14-16).

Beirut-based Robert Sakr, one of the visionaries behind the conference, said: "There's no such thing as a peace process apart from Jesus. In the 55 years I've lived in the Middle East, there has been no political solution."

There's no such thing as a peace process apart from Jesus." ~ Robert Sakr

Turkish Christians Apologise for Armenian Genocide

The conference also heard how Turkish Christians recently met with a group of Armenians to apologise for the genocide that took place 100 years ago.

Admitting a mistake goes very much against the grain in the Middle East, but they embraced in the name of Jesus and a Turkish pastor, Ali Pektash, got down on his knees to wash the feet of an elderly Armenian, apologising for what his grandparents had done, whereupon the Armenian responded by washing the feet of his Turkish brother-in-Christ.

"Forgive me for what my people have done in killing, torturing and forcefully converting and expelling you from our land," Ali told his hosts, asking them to pray that the curse he believed had come upon his nation as a result would be lifted.

The Armenians, along with a group of Yazidi Kurds, duly prayed for their visitors and forgave them. And when two pastors who had been at loggerheads with each other saw what happened, it melted their hearts and they were reconciled.

Focus on the Wheat

Robert Sakr frankly admitted that he didn't understand what was happening in the Middle East today, with borders being wiped out and bloodshed on a horrific scale. "But I know that God is in control and that the harvest will come in an environment of both persecution and blessing."

Referring to Jesus' parable of the weeds (Matt 13) in which he explains that the weeds, planted by an enemy, should be left to grow with the wheat until the harvest, Robert said that while organizations like CNN and the BBC were focused on covering news about the weeds, "we must take care of news about the wheat".

"We're the 'good news' people; our job is telling people what God is doing, not the enemy." He said Zionism and Arab aspirations are incompatible. "But God has the last word. For 67 years some of the smartest people in the world have tried to solve this problem. It's a puzzle. But I'm focusing on the crop of wheat which is growing and expanding. Israel was a spiritual desert when I was growing up. Now there are so many believers. We need to focus on the wheat. Yes, unimaginable evil is being perpetrated in today's world. But what God is intending to do in our day is beyond our wildest imaginations."

Edmund Heddle looks at the deep symbolism behind the Spirit's descent on Jesus 'like a dove'...

We cannot answer the question 'What is a prophet?' adequately until we turn our attention to Jesus, the Prophet, and discover the secret of his prophetic ministry. Moses foretold the coming of a prophet like himself and yet greater (Deut 18: 15-19). The early church believed that Jesus was that prophet (Acts 3:22-23, 7:37). Jesus referred to himself as a prophet (Matt 13:57, Luke 3:33) and his contemporaries certainly regarded him such (Matt 21:11, Luke 7:16 and John 4:19).

Jesus and the Spirit

It is highly significant that Jesus' prophetic ministry did not commence until after the Spirit had descended on him, immediately following his baptism by John in the Jordan River. Jesus was the Son of God and the Word from all eternity, yet as man he had to receive and rely upon the Spirit of God to carry out his ministry as a prophet. If this was true of Jesus, how much more must it be true for us!

Jesus' prophetic ministry did not start until after the Spirit had descended on him. If this was true of Jesus, how much more must it be for us!"

Who saw the Dove?

What is the special significance in our being told that the Spirit descended on Jesus 'like a dove'? Some have been content to see this as a reference to the innocence and harmlessness of the Spirit, along the lines of Jesus' words in Matthew 10:16, "Be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves". But there is a much deeper meaning in this phrase 'like a dove', if we let the biblical references fill out its meaning.

Who saw the dove? According to Matthew and Mark the dove was seen by Jesus (Matt 3:16-17, Mark 1:10-11). Luke mentions the descent of the dove but does not say who actually saw it. John's gospel however indicates that the dove was also seen by John the Baptist, and that this was the pre-arranged sign by which he would recognise the Messiah (John 1:31-34). It is to be noted that none of the gospels indicate that the dove was seen by the crowds standing by.

A Real Dove?

We need also to note that the gospels do not say that it was a dove, but that it was 'like a dove'. As on the day of Pentecost, the Spirit revealed himself like rushing mighty wind and like tongues of fire, so here it does not say that an actual dove flew down and alighted on the newly baptised Jesus. It was real to Jesus and his forerunner John, and deeply significant to these two, both of whom had minds that were soaked in the stories and teaching of the Old Testament.

The Spirit's descent 'like a dove' would have been deeply significant to both Jesus and John the Baptist."

The Brooding Dove

We have only to turn to the second verse of the Bible to read: "The Spirit of God was hovering over the waters." Some translators prefer 'brooding' to 'hovering', but both words describe the activity of a bird. The Talmudic comment on this verse reads: "The Spirit of God who moved on the face of the waters like a dove." Those who are familiar with Milton's Paradise Lost will recall the lines "...and with mighty wings outspread, dovelike sat'st brooding on the dark abyss".²

The descent of the dove on our Lord marks him out and qualifies him to be the one to bring mankind out of the chaos of a fallen world and into the "new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells" (2 Pet 3:13). The dove is symbolic of the mighty creative power of God, which rested in fulness on Jesus. Yet at the same time it reveals the quietness of such power; expressed beautifully by Dr Alexander McLaren in the words: "The Spirit of God was brooding over chaos and quickening life, as a bird in its nest by the warmth of its own soft breast."¹

Dove with Olive Branch

The second Bible reference to the dove occurs in the story of Noah's flood (Gen 8:6-12). Because of the spread of man's violence and the unheeded preaching of Noah, God's judgement fell on all except those who took the God-provided way of escape (Gen 6:11-13; 2 Pet 2:5). After the floodwaters had receded and the Ark had come to rest on Mt. Ararat, Moses sent out two birds. The raven, a bird of prey, flew off and stayed away, doubtless feeding on what had died. The dove returned to the Ark as the earth was still covered with water.

Seven days later the dove was again sent out and this time returned with a freshly plucked olive leaf. The dove bearing the olive branch was messenger of hope to the prisoners in the ark, telling them that judgement was past. The raven, in contrast, was too intent on gorging itself that it brought no message.

The dove's descent marks Jesus out as the One to bring order out of the world's chaos, hope out of despair, life out of death."

Augustine put it like this: "As the dove did at that time bring tidings of the abating of the water so doth it now of the abating of the wrath of God upon the preaching of the Gospel." The dove that comes to us with a leaf plucked from the tree of life is symbolic of the redemptive power of our Saviour and of the good news that through him we have escaped judgement and have been reborn into his new creation.

Poor Man's Sacrifice

In the Old Testament system of sacrifices, the only bird that was allowed to be offered was the dove. The rich were required to bring a bull or a lamb, but the poor man (as in the case of Jesus' parents) could bring a pair of doves (Lev 1:14-17, Luke 2:24). We know that doves were acceptable offerings from the stories of Jesus cleansing the temple and his overturning the benches of those selling doves (John 2:14-16, Matt 21:12-13).

St. Cyprian sums up his understanding of the doves' acceptability as a sacrifice in the following words: "A dove, a gentle joyous creature, with no bitterness of gall, no fierceness of bite and no violence of rending claws".³ The Spirit who came on Jesus was the Spirit of sacrifice, the Spirit that led him eventually to offer himself without blemish to God (Heb 9:14). The voice from heaven that accompanied the descent of the dove declared that Jesus after living thirty years in Galilee was totally acceptable to God.

Jesus' submission to baptism by John in the Jordan and the descent of the dove upon him are the negative and positive aspects of his Spirit of entire self offering; of his oneness and identification with the sinful race he came to save and of his complete consecration to achieve their eternal salvation cost what it might.

In the Old Testament, the dove was the only bird acceptable as a sacrifice. The Spirit who came on Jesus was the Spirit of self-sacrifice, leading him to offer himself on our behalf- an offering with which God was 'well pleased'."

Spring and Lovers

The Song of Songs tells us that the dove is the herald of spring and is associated with lovers:

Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, and come with me. See! the winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land...My dove in the clefts of the rock, in the hiding places on the mountainside, show me your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet and your face is lovely (Song of Solomon 2:10-12, 14).

The Hebrew word for dove comes from the word yayin, which contains the ideas of effervescence and intoxication and refers to the warmth of doves' love-making. There is a 'twoness' about doves. The poor man's offering was a pair of doves. Doves live in pairs and lay a clutch of two eggs, "nurturing their young together; when they fly abroad hanging in their flight side by side; leading their life in mutual intercourse; giving in concord the kiss of peace with their bills; in every way fulfilling their unanimity" (to quote from St. Cyprian again⁴).

The coming down of the dove on Jesus symbolises our Lord as the lover of our souls, desiring to become one with his bride- the Church."

Their twoness becomes oneness, or as St Paul says to the Ephesians (5:31-32), "the two shall become one". Paul says he is referring to Christ and his bride, the church. The coming down of the dove on our Lord reveals him to be the lover of our souls who cannot be content until we respond to his eternal love-making.

The Dove Prophet

As well as the direct references to the dove in Scripture we have examined, there is a very instructive one, which is not immediately apparent. The Hebrew word for dove is 'Yonah' or 'Jonah': the name of a prophet who tried to escape from the responsibility of declaring God's message to the city of Nineveh. When Jonah was sent he disobeyed but the One on whom the dove came acted in absolute obedience, when his Father told him to leave heaven and travel to our earth with the message of God's pardoning love.

Jesus is the true and perfect Jonah, the final dove-prophet."

Sinful Jonah, when sent by God, disobeyed and found himself jettisoned into a storm of judgement. Yet in the incredible mercy of God he was saved by being swallowed up and vomited out! Sinless Jesus was completely obedient to God's instructions and yet found himself overwhelmed by the storms of judgement and death. But he rose again! Furthermore, the only sign he would give his generation was the sign of Jonah (Matt 16:4). Jesus is the true Jonah, the final dove-prophet, the missioner of God. It was when John saw the dove descend on him that he recognised his cousin to be nothing less than the Son of God, the Lamb of God and the Baptiser in the Holy Spirit (John 1:29-34).

Dove-Prophets Today

Those who are prophets today must be careful to make sure that the Spirit that is inspiring their speaking is truly the Dove.

A possible reaction to man's rebellion and violence and to its inevitable consequence of divine judgement and punishment, is that we become harsh in our attitudes, judgmental in our speech and separatist in our relationships. But we are not to manifest the spirit of the raven, but the Spirit of the Dove.

Those prophesying today must not manifest the harsh spirit of the raven, but the endlessly loving Spirit of the Dove."

Dove-prophets are to be endlessly loving, always seeking unity and togetherness. They must sacrifice their own plans and preferences for the greater joy of announcing forgiveness to those who would otherwise perish. They are to be ever hopeful; convinced that the last word is with the God who will yet have heaven and earth as he intends.

Commenting on the descent of the dove, Dr. Alexander McLaren said of Jesus: "Since he was a man, he needed the Divine Spirit. Since he was sinless, he was capable of receiving it in perfect and unbroken continuity."⁵ If he needed the Dove, so much more do we- and the thrilling truth is that our need has been met. Every Christian prophet today may by faith receive the Spirit in fullness; the Spirit that is 'like a dove'.

References

1 Commentary on Mark 1:9-10

2 Vol. 1.

3 Treatise 1, section 9.

4 See previous note.

5 See note 1.

First published in Prophecy Today, Vol 1, No 4, 1985.

The 70th anniversary of VE Day is a nostalgic event for many of our older readers. After five years of war, hardship, rationing, bombing, destruction and death, a new day had dawned with endless possibilities. But could the past really be left behind?

Most British cities bore the scars of bombing but the whole of Europe had been trampled on by tanks and infantry and its cities left in ruins. Was there any hope of a return to normal? Most people could not even remember what normality was.

Britain was still at war in the Far East; it would be another year and two atomic bombs before the war with Japan ended. The cost in human life was enormous. The Second World War with Europe and Japan cost Germany 7,000,000 lives, France 550,000 lives, Britain 450,900 lives, the USA 420,000 lives, Russia 25,000,000 lives, China 15,000,000 lives and Japan 2,500,000 lives.¹

Was it all worth it?

Certainly the scourge of Nazi Fascism had to be cleared out of Europe and the ruthless imperialism of Japan had to be cleared out of the Far East, or between them they would have ruled the world and there would have been no freedom for anyone. But what kind of freedom had been won? The ink was hardly dry on peace treaties with Germany than Europe was plunged into the Cold War with the Soviet Union, and it was not long before hostilities broke out in Korea, followed by war in Vietnam.

The 20th century was the bloodiest in the history of the world and the weapons of mass destruction acquired by many nations (including some of the world's most unstable nations such as North Korea and Pakistan) now make the 21st century highly dangerous too."

Present-day conflict zones in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen and Aden, Nigeria and South Sudan are all claiming lives and appear to have no solution.

Will there ever be peace?

Pacts and treaties do not provide the answer because they can be easily torn up and discarded. The problem lies in human nature. We are born self-centred and aggressive- as anyone can testify who has seen a baby in a temper tantrum, or a group of infants wanting the same toy in a nursery.

The problem of warring nations will not be solved until we deal with the problem of human nature, and there is only one power that can deal with that: the power of God the Creator."

The problem of warring nations will not be solved until we deal with the problem of human nature, and there is only one power that can deal with that: the power of God the Creator. He made our human nature and only he can redeem it. He sent Jesus our Lord and Saviour for this very purpose, but we crucified him and rejected his teaching. But God, who alone can bring good out of the worst human disaster, raised Jesus from the dead and through him new life is available to everyone.

This is the message Christians have to bring to the world. God has not only given us the message, but the power to deliver it through the Holy Spirit. What are we waiting for?

References

1 Conservative estimates derived from multiple sources, see World War II casualties.