Theresa May replaces David Cameron as Prime Minister and forms a new Government - but what will her leadership be like?

It used to be said that "a week is a long time in politics" – now political change is measured by the hour! The incredible changes that have taken place in the past three weeks since the Referendum have left the whole country breathless. The political landscape at Westminster has been turned upside-down. Only Jeremy Corbyn remains unchanged (at the time of writing!)!

It is really sad to see the tumultuous upheavals in the Labour Party at a time when we need to have a strong Opposition in order to make democracy work. Government should always be challenged when proposed legislation is under consideration. A strong and effective Opposition ensures such scrutiny for the good of the whole country. It ensures that we are not being ruled by a one-party system that favours those already in power.

Not Just the Privileged Few

The new Government being set up by Prime Minister Theresa May signals a wholesale change from David Cameron's Government, which was often accused of being a posh boys club. May's inaugural statement on reaching Downing Street said "The Government I lead will be driven not by the interests of the privileged few, but by yours."¹ This was a brave statement for an incoming Tory Prime Minister, and sounded more like the sort of thing that Harold Wilson or Jim Callaghan would have said.

Theresa May's new Government signals a wholesale change from David Cameron's.

In the same speech she had signalled her intention of working for social equality.

That means fighting against the burning injustice that, if you're born poor, you will die on average 9 years earlier than others. If you're black, you're treated more harshly by the criminal justice system than if you're white. If you're a white, working-class boy, you're less likely than anybody else in Britain to go to university.

If you're at a state school, you're less likely to reach the top professions than if you're educated privately. If you're a woman, you will earn less than a man. If you suffer from mental health problems, there's not enough help to hand. If you're young, you'll find it harder than ever before to own your own home.²

It may be that Mrs May has been impacted by the biblical values that she would have heard many times in her childhood from her Anglican clergyman father. Biblical values always favour the poor and powerless because they are based upon the two central values of love and justice that are part of the nature of God. Of course, it's part of our human nature to prefer love to justice, but if we wish to be righteous in the eyes of God we have to embrace both: we cannot have one without the other.

Our new Prime Minister has signalled her concern for those who are not the favoured ones enjoying the fruit of prosperity and good health: those who need assistance to enable them to achieve their full potential and contribute to society. A society that cares for its weaker members in biblical terms is 'a just society'. That is the kind of society that God blesses with peace and prosperity.

Our new PM has signalled her concern for the poor and powerless in our society – has she been influenced by biblical values?

A Transformed Future?

The prophets in the Bible roundly condemned those who misused their power to oppress others and gain personal advantage. Amos berated those who "oppress the righteous and take bribes and deprive the poor of justice in the courts" he said that God would not even listen to their worship or their prayers. "Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps. But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never failing stream!" (Amos 5:12, 23-24).

If Theresa May has appointed men and women to her Cabinet who share a commitment to lead Britain out of the entanglement of EU laws and regulations – re-enacting those that are just and righteous, and discarding those that are not – the future for Britain could be totally transformed in the next decade. It could become a land of peace and prosperity in a world of inequality which would be a model for other nations.

The Seeds of Destruction

The new PM comes to power at what keen observers see as the most difficult and threatening time since the days of World War II. The tensions in Europe are growing daily with increasing social unrest in many nations within the European Union, where inequality and poverty are the daily lot of millions and the financial crisis and austerity policies are impacting unfairly upon the poor. Far right parties are vying for power – a recipe for revolution; while the banks in Italy, Portugal, Spain and France are struggling and Deutsche Bank in Germany is heavily exposed to all of them.

May comes to power at what is the most difficult and threatening time since the days of World War II.

You don't have to be a Marxist to see that Marx was right when he said that capitalism contains within itself the seeds of its own destruction – what he didn't say was that those seeds are greed and corruption. America is engulfed in election fever, faced with the choice between a 'corrupt' Democrat and a 'lunatic' Republican (that's how they describe each other!) so the future looks highly uncertain.

Both Europe and America, bastions of Western civilisation, are coming apart at the seams while the Islamic world continues to tear itself apart with increasing violence in the Middle East. Tensions are growing between Russia and the West: and in the Far East China's ambitions to take possession of all the islands in the South China Sea and North Korea's nuclear ambitions pose a very real threat of war.

Everything That Can Be Shaken...

If we add to all this political and social instability the effects of climate change, drought and famine, storms and floods, hurricanes and earthquakes – the only conclusion is that the world is highly unstable and the biblical prophecies are coming true. We are indeed seeing God shaking everything in the world of nature and among the nations. The prophecy of Haggai 2:6-7 is being fulfilled in our lifetime – "This is what the Lord Almighty says: in a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. I will shake all nations".

Surely it is time for Christians to seek the Lord to discover why God is shaking everything and what he is saying to his people today. Maybe this is the time when Britain can truly become a nation used by God – a nation founded upon biblical values of love and justice and exercising a powerful influence for good in the highly unstable world that faces us.

Wise word for the week -

"History teaches us that men and nations behave wisely when they have exhausted all the alternatives." – Abba Eban (Israeli diplomat)³

References

1 Statement from the new Prime Minister Theresa May. Prime Minister's Office, 13 July 2016.

2 Ibid.

3 Quoted in The Week, 7 July 2016.

The latest revelations from the Panama Papers are damaging the Prime Minister's credibility.

Next week promises to be a very lively week in Westminster, with the Prime Minister fighting for his political life following revelations of his offshore investment - and charges that Number 10 brought forward the announcement of the publication of the EU leaflet to deflect attention from David Cameron.

Officially, Parliament is still on its Easter holiday break. But from all over the country, breaking news today (Friday 8 April) shows MPs on both sides of the House highly disturbed at what is going on in the government. The publication of the so-called 'Panama Papers' is rocking Downing Street because David Cameron's father is said to be one of those named in the database of Mossack Fonseca, the Panama-based law firm. The leaked documents are said to show how the law firm helped rich clients to launder money, dodge sanctions and evade tax.

Damaged Credibility

There is no suggestion that David Cameron or his father were involved in illegal financial deals but the very fact that it took some days for the PM to admit that he had personally owned some shares in his father's firm is damaging to his credibility. He has stated that he sold the shares in 2010 before he became Prime Minister and that he complied with all the UK tax requirements when cashing in his investment.

Further damage to the Prime Minister's standing comes from the advanced publication of the government's EU Referendum leaflet which is to be distributed to every household throughout Britain - at a cost to the taxpayer of nearly £10 million. Already the leaflet is being heavily attacked for the veracity of its claims, which are said to be highly biased in favour of recommending the public to vote to stay in the European Union.

The very fact that the government is going to such extraordinary lengths to try to persuade voters to stay within the EU is profoundly disturbing. It is more likely to make people question the reasons why they are using such heavy-handed tactics.

The extraordinary lengths to which the government is going to persuade voters to stay within the EU are profoundly disturbing.

Doubting the Government

There were already many doubts about the 'new deal' the Prime Minister had said that he would negotiate with all the member states of the EU. He had boasted that he aimed to see a 'reformed Europe' which he could present to the British people. In pursuit of this reform he toured the capitals of Europe and spent hundreds of hours in discussion with EU leaders. But the resultant deal was certainly not a 'reformed Europe'.

Now, with this government leaflet that appears to be little more than EU propaganda and the Prime Minister's personal reputation being damaged, public trust in the government's handling of the Referendum may well wane.

A Nation Under Judgment

Many Christians believe that Britain is already a nation under judgment, following so many unrighteous Acts of Parliament that have steered the nation away from its biblical heritage into the paths of secular humanism. When a nation has embraced the Judeo-Christian faith for hundreds of years - as we have done in Britain - and then turns away from the truth, there are inevitably dire consequences in its spiritual and moral welfare which affect the social and economic health of the whole population. Quite simply, this is what has happened in Britain.

There is a severe warning in scripture to those who deliberately turn away from the truth: "The Lord will send on you curses, confusion and rebuke in everything you put your hand to, until you are destroyed and come to sudden ruin because of the evil you have done in forsaking him" (Deut 28:20). I know that these words were said to Israel who are a people in a special covenant relationship with God. But in Jeremiah 18, there is a similar warning that applies to all nations. It says this: "If at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it" (Jer 18:9-10).

When a nation embraces God for centuries and then turns away, there are inevitably dire consequences.

Confusion and Rebuke

Clearly our government is being severely shaken, with many backbench MPs even considering refusing to vote for the budget because of the distorted 'facts' in the EU Referendum leaflet – "confusion and rebuke" would be a good description of what is likely to be happening in our parliament in the next few days.

What can Christians do? Certainly we should be praying for our leaders. But also we should be calling for a clear presentation of the facts about the EU and not standing for attempts to scare people to remain under its jurisdiction. It is time for honesty and truth from our leaders. This is the only way that trust can be restored.

The Prime Minister has fired the starting gun: what he calls 'the debate of our lifetimes' has begun. Politicians on both sides of the Referendum debate have been falling over themselves to give TV interviews and write newspaper articles.

With the date now fixed as 23 June 2016 we face something like 120 days of wrangling, during which the public is likely to get bored - especially if the debate descends into personal abuse similar to the Presidential Election Campaign in the USA.

In this magazine we have already raised a banner stating our belief that the Referendum offers a unique opportunity for Britain to take a bold step of faith in shaking off the shackles of the European Union and regaining our ability to shape our destiny as a nation.

One thing we do promise our readers – we will not be trotting out the same old arguments week after week, or entering into the minutiae of 'The Deal' negotiated by David Cameron, or debating whether in fact Britain will be 'safer, stronger and richer' by staying in the EU.

No Real Reformation

We acknowledge that the PM has worked extremely hard for many months in trying to persuade the leaders of all the European States to back his proposals. We do not doubt the PM's sincerity and commitment, but in his reports to the House of Commons and numerous other statements it cannot be claimed that the EU have made any significant concessions that could justify asking the country to endorse an agreement with a 'Reformed' European Union.

There does not appear to be any significant reformation! There is no change to the Common Agricultural Policy which is strangling the life out of British farming, such that farmers have the highest rate of suicide of any occupation and the dairy farming industry is likely to be wiped out.

There is no change in the Fisheries Policy which forces our fishermen to throw thousands of fish back into the sea in order not to exceed their quotas, whilst we buy fish caught by foreign fishermen in our own waters. Britannia certainly does not 'rule the waves' around our shores since we gave away our sovereignty to the EU. And there is no change in the predominance of the European Court of Justice, that takes precedence over our own legal system (itself developed over the past 800 years, since Magna Carta).

In this magazine we have already raised a banner stating our belief that Britain should take a bold step of faith in shaking off the shackles of the European Union.

Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire/Press Association ImagesMichael Gove said last week "EU rules dictate everything, from the maximum size of containers in which olive oil may be sold (five litres) to the distance houses have to be from heathland to prevent cats chasing birds (five kilometres)."¹

He said, "Individually these rules are comical...As a Minister I've seen hundreds of new EU rules cross my desk, none of which were requested by the UK Parliament, none of which I or any other British politician could alter in any way and none of which made us freer, richer or fairer".²

Speaking of his personal frustration with the restrictions placed upon us he said "Every single day, every single minister is told: 'Yes Minister I understand, but I'm afraid that's against EU rules'."³

Our Greatest Concern

Our greatest concern in this magazine is with the spiritual state of the nation and whether or not decisions regarding its future destiny are in line with the word of God and are likely to have his blessing.

We were greatly concerned during the prolonged negotiations leading up to the Maastricht Treaty, when there were a number of attempts to get some reference in the Treaty to the centuries-long Judaeo-Christian tradition shared by all the nations of Europe. This was vehemently resisted by the secular humanists who have gained power among the unelected officials in the European Union.

Attempts to get the EU to recognise the continent's Judaeo-Christian heritage have long been resisted by secular humanists.

Their atheist values have had a fundamental effect in promoting the secularisation of Britain. A recent example is a 2010 case law challenge to the EU 'Charter of Fundamental Rights' (that became binding in December 2009) from Austria which, though unsuccessful, did lead the European court to affirm same-sex relationships as a valid form of family life protected by fundamental human rights:

61. Regard being had to Article 9 of the Charter ["The right to marry and the right to found a family shall be guaranteed in accordance with the national laws governing the exercise of these rights"]...the Court would no longer consider that the right to marry enshrined in Article 12 must in all circumstances be limited to marriage between two persons of the opposite sex...⁴

This opened the door for a challenge to the law in Britain restricting marriage to persons of the opposite gender, paving the way for the Same-Sex Marriage Bill.

UnGodly and Repressive System

When nations deliberately reject the truth of God's word, they put themselves outside the blessing and protection of God. This is what has happened in Europe, which has gone from being the most Christian continent in the world to the most secular.

Today the nations of Europe are facing multiple problems as they struggle to cope with a vast influx of migrants, high unemployment and growing social discontent, compounded by the desperate attempts to maintain the Euro (which are causing incredible suffering to the poor in countries such as Greece, Spain and Portugal).

Of course they all want Britain to stay to help prop up this ungodly and repressive system, which is why all the leaders spent so much time trying to shuffle together a few crumbs for our Prime Minister to take back to London and claim it as a new deal in a "reformed Europe". This is so far from the truth as to be laughable if it were not so serious.

The Prime Minister's 'new deal' is so far from genuine reform as to be laughable – if it were not so serious.

Politicians and leaders of big businesses are combining to try to scare the voting public into remaining in the EU. But the greatest fear is not in leaving, but in staying within a failing organisation. The warning signs have been there for a long time. Now we have the opportunity of escaping before the collapse comes - like Lot getting out of Sodom, or Abraham leaving Ur.

Of course it leads us into unknown territory, but this is where trust in God is far more important than making pacts and treaties with other nations. Jeremiah had to warn the politicians in his day that making treaties with other nations would lead to disaster. He said "The Lord has rejected those you trust; you will not be helped by them" (Jer 2:37). Sadly, the leaders and the people refused to listen and only a few years later Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians who had invaded the land.

The big question facing us today in Britain is whether or not there is sufficient trust in God for him to be able to lead the nation into ways of righteousness and prosperity.

A Faithful Remnant

God is not dependent upon numbers! He loves to work out his salvation with just a handful of people who are totally committed to him like Gideon's 300; and like the 120 disciples on the Day of Pentecost who shouldered responsibility for the 'Great Commission', taking the message of God's salvation to all the world.

God is mobilising the faithful remnant in Britain today to intercede to save the nation. As the prayers of the faithful saved the nation at the time our soldiers were rescued from Dunkirk and our airmen won the Battle of Britain against the might of the Nazi war machine, so too faithful believing prayer has the power to influence the destiny of the nation.

God is mobilising the faithful remnant in Britain today to intercede to save the nation.

We are being offered just such an opportunity to put our trust in God. Even though we will be treading unfamiliar paths; if we are doing this through trust in God, he will respond and ensure that blessing will come upon the nation.

God is Faithful

The God of Creation, who holds the nations in his hands, is faithful to keep his promises. He says:

I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. (Isa 42:16)

He also promises when we put our trust in the Lord, "Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, 'This is the way; walk in it'" (Isa 30:21).

The faithful remnant of believers in Britain today have the opportunity to bless the nation through their prayers and through their witness; that if we put our trust in the Lord he will lead us, not only into ways of righteousness but into times of prosperity and happiness.

References

1 Apps, P, EU Referendum: Michael Gove's full statement on why he is backing Brexit. The Independent, 20 February 2016.

2 Ibid.

3 Ibid.

4 Schalk and Kopf v. Austria (case), European Court of Human Rights. A summary can be found on Wikipedia.

Prophecy Today UK sends an open letter to Her Majesty the Queen.

Despite all the problems our nation has faced over the last year, we at Prophecy Today found a little encouragement over the Christmas season to hear the Prime Minister's affirmation of Christian values in our nation and also the Education Secretary's resolve to promote the Christian heritage of Britain in our schools.

Most of all we were greatly encouraged by the Queen's Christmas message - perhaps the most overtly Christian message of her reign. The message can be accessed for three more weeks on the BBC website and is worth listening to several times as an encouragement and as a prompt to our New Year prayers for the nation.

The Board of Prophecy Today UK has sent a short letter to the Queen, copied in full below.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth
Buckingham Palace
London
SW1A 1AA

Your Majesty,

We at Prophecy Today UK would like to thank you for your 2015 Christmas Broadcast. In these challenging days it was so refreshing and encouraging to hear such a clear message of hope and love founded firmly on the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

We would also like to encourage you as you enter another year of service to our nation, and to assure you of our ongoing prayers for you, your family and the Government.

Yours sincerely,

Dr Clifford Denton

Chairman
Prophecy Today UK

On behalf of the Ministry Board and our Supporters

The Editorial Team of Prophecy Today want to express their compassion and concern for all the families who have suffered in the terrible events at Sousse in Tunisia.

The news that most of the holidaymakers on the beach were British and that the number of dead is likely to exceed 30 has numbed the nation. The carnage on the beach shown in a multitude of photos on the media resembled a war scene and the list of dead and injured appearing on the Internet has sent a shockwave right across Britain.

In an interview this morning on BBC Radio Four's Today Programme Prime Minister, David Cameron said that the Islamic State had declared war on us.

He said, "I think that frankly, we are a target. They have declared war on us, they are attacking our people at home and overseas whether we like it or not... They are attacking our way of life and what we stand for."

He warned, "There are people in Iraq and Syria who are plotting to carry out terrible acts in Britain and elsewhere and as long as ISIL exists in those two countries we are at threat." He said that Britain is the second most active country in launching air attacks upon the Islamic fighters. But he added that it wasn't enough to "destroy [IS] at source".

He said "We have to deal with this appalling radical narrative that's taking over the minds of young people in our country. It's a battle of our values and our narrative against their values and their narrative. We have to get that right as well as the military end of things." [emphasis added]

The Narrative Battle

The Prime Minister is right in saying that the real battle is to do with values. But he is wrong to speak about a military defeat of the Islamic State. You cannot defeat an ideology by weapons of war: it can only be successfully tackled with a counter-ideology that is more powerful and compelling.

If a full-scale war between Islamic radicals and the West is to be avoided, we have to act now before the situation deteriorates further. We have to recognise the nature of the ideological conflict between the values being propagated by radical Islam and those of the West which are still based predominantly upon our Judaeo-Christian heritage.

You cannot defeat an ideology by weapons of war, only by a counter-ideology that is more powerful and compelling."

The right way to deal with this situation is for Quranic scholars and Biblical scholars to come together and examine their Scriptures. We have to stop these foolish statements about "we all worship the same God". This is clearly untrue as even a cursory comparison of the teaching of Jesus and Muhammad shows.

One of the sayings of Muhammad is, "The recompense of those who make war on Allah and his messenger and exert themselves to cause corruption in the land is that they should be killed or crucified, or that their hands and feet on opposite sides should be cut off." (Quran 5:37)

This is in strong contrast to the teaching of Jesus, "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbour and hate your enemy'. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" (Matthew 5:43).

It is this basic contrast in values that lies at the heart of Islam and Christianity which has to be faced. At the same time we are warning against an escalation of the war in the Middle East and calling for a dialogue between the scholars of Islam and Christianity.

Call for Dialogue

We know, of course, that there have been many periods in history when those who claim to be followers of Jesus have not followed his teaching as in the atrocities of the Crusades. And we know that the vast majority of Muslims are peace-loving people who follow those parts of the Quran that advocate peace rather than war.

Our call is for the scholars of both Christianity and Islam to come together and solve what David Cameron rightly describes as a 'clash of values'. We do not see this as some kind of attempt to harmonise the two religions, but rather to highlight the differences in social values that may lead at least to peaceful co-existence and counteract the attraction of the Islamic State's propaganda that is currently attracting young Muslims.

In Prophecy Today we will elaborate this call for dialogue further later this week, in an article entitled "Who are the true Muslims?" In the meantime we ask all our readers to pray for the families of those who have lost loved ones and also for the protection of the nation from further terrorist attacks as we come up to the 10th anniversary of the 7/7 London bombings of 2005.