What will happen if we leave Europe? Perhaps the question we should ask is: what will happen if we don't?

The media is focused on the political, financial and social implications of a possible Brexit – legislation, trade, migrants. However, we are the spiritual leaders of the nation and so we must consider the spiritual and moral implications too. We should be asking questions such as: what is the EU's ethos? Does it uphold our Judeo-Christian heritage? Has it retained the foundations of Christian Europe or is it humanist (man-centred) in outlook?

Controversial Symbolism

Many Christians have noted symbols used by the EU and drawn sinister conclusions about their intent. A popular view is that the Strasbourg Parliament building was based on the painting The Tower of Babel by Pieter Brueghel the Elder (though the architects actually were inspired by Roman amphitheatres).

To add to the confusion, the 'Many Tongues, One Voice' poster used by the Council of Europe bears a resemblance to the Brueghel painting and certainly the slogan implies a reference to Babel. Some have pointed out the poster's use of inverted stars, which are also symbols used in witchcraft. However, the Council of Europe is a separate organisation to the EU¹ and so the Babel imagery cannot be said to have been deliberately used by the EU at all.

A controversial image which is used by the EU is the statue of Europa from the tale by the Roman author Ovid, about a woman ravished by Zeus or Jupiter. It depicts a woman riding a beast, leading many to point to Revelation 17's woman riding a beast, also known as the prostitute 'Babylon', with whom the "kings of the earth" commit adultery and who intoxicates the inhabitants of the earth (Rev 17:1-2).

This image has also appeared on various Euro coins and postage stamps. In Revelation this woman is an archetype of those who war against God's people: "I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of God's holy people, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus" (Rev 17:6).

One controversial image which is used by the EU is the statue of Europa, which depicts a woman riding a beast, leading many to point to Revelation 17 and its prophesied war against God's people.

Post-Christian Europe

Yet we do not need to observe statuary, buildings or symbols to recognise that we are living in post-Christian Europe and that biblical values are blatantly set aside by governments. This is not a hidden agenda - it is done openly. The list below of Ungodly laws passed in Britain since 1950 (Issachar Ministries, published elsewhere on prophecytoday.uk) demonstrates that the British government is quite capable of enacting a humanistic agenda without the EU's assistance.

The jury is still out on whether the EU provides a layer of protection in this context, or whether it exacerbates the problem. For instance, the Christian Legal Centre takes its appeals to Europe when they do not succeed here (for example, Aisling Hubert's gender abortion case, as reported in the last issue of HEART²). However, limiting our sovereignty to one government's laws is preferable, arguably, to having two such levels of humanistic legislation to battle.

The issue of UK sovereignty goes beyond legislation, in any case. We need to consider our position strategically for the end times. Leaving the EU gives us the ability to act unilaterally with regard to Israel and without being forced to provide troops for the EU army. When the nations surround Jerusalem (Luke 21:20), we do not want our nation to have been compelled to be there.³ We want to ensure that British citizens have the chance to be among the 'sheep' rather than the 'goats' of Matthew 25:31-46.

The issue of UK sovereignty goes beyond legislation – we also need to consider our position strategically for the end times.

Erasing God and Christianity

Since October 2004, we have been bound to Europe constitutionally by The Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe. When the Constitution was being written, Pope John Paul II pleaded for recognition that as a "new institutional order, Europe cannot deny its Christian heritage, since a great part of its achievements in the fields of law, art, literature and philosophy have been influenced by the evangelical message."⁴

The Pope called for a strong reference to Europe's Christian roots in the preamble.⁵ Bishops and religious leaders backed up the Pope, including Rabbi Aba Dunner, secretary general of the Conference of European Rabbis, who stated, "I would love to see the word 'God' in there, in some form or another."⁶ Critics argued that a Judeo-Christian reference did not resonate with secular Europe and pointed to another problem: what of the continent's Muslim populations?

One Irish priest commented, "First Brussels will remove our independence, then they will give us mandatory abortion and euthanasia and homosexual 'unions...And that is all seen as enlightened and touted as Europe's commitment to 'equality and justice.' But without our sovereignty - we will be powerless to resist."⁷

Here is the Preamble to the Constitution, with no mention of our Judeo-Christian heritage:

DRAWING INSPIRATION from the cultural, religious and humanist inheritance of Europe, from which have developed the universal values of the inviolable and inalienable rights of the human person, freedom, democracy, equality and the rule of law...⁸

Note the deliberate use of the word 'humanist', with the word 'religious' undefined and sandwiched uneasily between references to culture and humanism. Despite the Pope's and others' requests, there are no references in the Constitution to God or Christianity.

The EU's constitution makes no mention of the great debt owed by Europe to its Judeo-Christian heritage – despite numerous calls for its acknowledgment from prominent religious figures.

Pluralism, Rights and Freedom

Note too the use of the word 'pluralism' in the list of the Union's values (below) and the emphasis on humanity's dignity, rights and freedom, without ultimate responsibility to any higher authority.

In the EU Constitution's Article below about Freedom of thought, conscience and religion, the phrase "in public or in private, to manifest religion or belief, in worship, teaching, practice and observance" is being flouted continually, as the UK's Christian Legal Centre's growing case-load bears witness. Recently, it was reported that a Christian student has been expelled from a social work course at Sheffield University over his biblical views on marriage and sexual ethics, which he posted on Facebook. How can it be said that he is allowed to express his beliefs publicly?

It seems that there is a clash between the Union's Article on Values and the Article on Freedom of thought, conscience and religion. You are free to express your religious views - but only insofar as they do not offend anyone who holds a different opinion. The EU claims to protect freedom of religion but recent cases show that where these values clash with cherished anti-biblical values, Christians are unlikely to be supported.

We also need to think about whether the EU has been an institution worthy of our allegiance and respect. The European Parliament's well-documented history of corruption and misappropriation of funds speaks for itself.

Not Rejecting Europe's People

A vote to leave is not just a vote for self-preservation by Christians. It is a vote for the future stability and security of our nation, for whom we stand accountable before God spiritually.

A vote to leave should not be considered to be a rejection of Europe's people or our mandate to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth. A Brexit should not mean descent into national introspection and 'little Englander' protectionism. A Prophecy Today UK reader reminded us that in 1947, Smith Wigglesworth (an outstandingly anointed man of God and pioneer of the Pentecostal movement) prophesied about the UK and Europe:

When the Word and the Spirit come together, there will be the biggest movement of the Holy Spirit that the nation, and indeed the world, has ever seen. It will mark the beginning of a revival that will eclipse anything that has been witnessed within these shores, even the Wesleyan and the Welsh revivals of former years. The outpouring of God's Spirit will flow over from the UK to the mainland of Europe, and from there will begin a missionary move to the ends of the earth.¹²

We do not need to remain politically and economically bound to Europe to forge strong spiritual ties. When we were a self-determining nation trading across the world, we led the world in missionary endeavour. Let's seek spiritual union with Christians across Europe but leave an increasingly ungodly political union.

UNGODLY LAWS PASSED IN BRITAIN SINCE 1950

1. 1951: The Fraudulent Mediums Act (Deut 18:10-13) which abolished The Witchcraft Act This legalised witchcraft in Britain which had previously been banned for centuries and made all occult arts legal. Through this Act Britain allowed all kinds of spiritual activities to be acceptable. Alien spirits and witchcraft activities are offensive to God and we are severely warned against them in Scripture. In Romans 1:23-29 Paul says that idolatry is the first step in the corruption of human civilisation which leads to "sexual impurity" and other "shameful lusts" and "every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity".
2. 1959: The Obscene Publications Act (Mark 7:21-23) was a very weak Act and had the effect of making it more difficult to prosecute pornographers, as lawyers had to prove that the publications had "a tendency to corrupt and deprave". Defence lawyers were able to ask the jury if they had been corrupted and depraved by exposure to a book, film or video. Most jurors did not want to say that they had been 'depraved'. The defence were able to claim that it was a 'public good' and an 'educational' value. The Act's Amendment in 1977 (Col 3:5-6) and The Broadcasting Act 1990 extended the law to cinema and television respectively, preparing the way for the Internet. This Act allowed all kinds of offences to be screened into our homes that certainly are an offence to God.
3. 1965: The Murder (Abolition of the Death Penalty) Act (Lev 24:17-22) removed the death penalty from the Statute Book for all kinds of murder and sent a message through the nation about the social acceptability of violence.
4. 1967: The Abortion Act (Gen 4:10-11). We had abolished the death penalty for murder but in 1967 we said it was acceptable to murder unborn babies. Doctors were now allowed to perform abortions if they complied with certain conditions. About 450 abortions take place daily in British hospitals, bringing to more than 6 million the number of unborn children killed since abortions became legal.
5. 1967: The Sexual Offences Act (Lev 18:22, Rom 1:22-27) was a further offence to God and directly against the Word of God where homosexual practices are said to be detestable to God. It decriminalised homosexual acts between consenting men over the age of 21, if done in private. (a) In 1994, the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act reduced to 18 the homosexual age of consent. (b) In 2000, the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act equalised the age of consent for homosexual and heterosexual sex at 16. This Amendment Act was brought in against the wish of the vast majority of the population and against the stern opposition of the House of Lords. The Government used the Parliament Act, which is only to be used for extreme measures of constitutional importance, to drive this through. This virtually abolished Clause 28 and allowed homosexual acts to take place between young people of sixteen years of age and upwards. Both boys and girls were thus allowed to be exposed to paedophiles and sexual predators and children in schools were taught that all forms of sexual intercourse were allowable according to each individual's wishes.
6. 1967: The Obscene Publications Act Amendment (Eph 5:4-6, Rom 13:13) further opened the way for all kinds of pornography and literature to be published of an explicit sexual nature.
7. 1968: The Theatres Act (Prov 15:26, 1 Thess 4:7) abolished 'censorship of the theatre', although the public performance of plays requires licensing, and obscene performances are prohibited. This Act allowed nudity and all kinds of explicit sexual acts on stage. The effects of this Act in removing censorship were long-lasting and soon began to have a wide effect upon the arts and media.
8. 1969: The Divorce Reform Act (Mark 10:2-12) introduced the principle of the irretrievable breakdown of marriage as the sole ground for divorce, to be proved by adultery, unreasonable behaviour, or desertion; or by two years separation with consent to a divorce, or five years separation without consent to a divorce. In other words, it opened the way for easy divorce – the floodgates were opened by this Act for widespread marriage breakdown.
9. 1972: The European Communities Act, the EC (Amendment Acts of 1986 and of 1993) (Ps 9:10,17) took Britain into the European Economic Community (EEC), and by which the Single Market and Maastricht Treaty both became law. All these measures contributed to increased political control over Britain by unelected non-nationals in Europe.
10. 1989: The Children Act (Ps 127:3-5). Despite the good intention of this Act to increase the protection of children, it had the fundamental effect of removing the traditional concept that parents are the best judges of their children's welfare. Grandparents were no longer recognised in the kin structure of the family that were reduced to 'significant others', thus promoting the breakdown of traditional family life.
11. 1990 Amendment to the Abortion Act (Jer 7:31, Ps 106:37-38) reduced the age at which an unborn baby could be aborted to twenty weeks and legalised the abortion of 'disabled' babies at a much later stage than that. King David spoke about God knitting him together in his mother's womb and Jeremiah speaks about being called into ministry from the time of his conception (Jer 1:5). This Act showed our society's total disregard for the principle that life is sacred as the gift of God.
12. 1990: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act (Ecc 11:5) legalised the creation of embryos for experimentation or storage in laboratories. This Act also amended the Abortion Act 1967, resulting in abortion on demand for handicapped babies right up to the time of birth.
13. 1993: The Sunday Trading Act (Ex 20:8-11) allowed widespread trading on Sundays which was directly against God's command to observe a Sabbath day, a day of rest each week. There was a marked increase in the number of shops opening on Sunday (20% of all shops in October 1994, and 54% by July 1999). It produced an acceleration in the closure of neighbourhood shops, an expansion of Sunday work and general increase in traffic and pollution. Sunday became just another day like any other day which inevitably weakened family life and reduced church attendance.
14. 1994: The National Lottery Act (1 Tim 6:10) instituted a state national lottery. It pays out 50% of its taking to winners, but is an intrinsically regressive form of voluntary taxation, as the burden falls most heavily on the poor. Further, many of the 'good cause' recipients, who receive 28% of the takings, have agendas wholly opposed to Biblical values. The National Lottery has become an obsession for millions of people wanting to get rich quick and it encourages people to gamble, often with money they cannot afford.
15. 1995: Licensing Sunday Hours Act (Deut 12:5, Mark 2:17) virtually abolished Sunday observance and was another direct Act against the Word of God – more or less legalising anything to happen on Sundays, but with some restrictions on the number of hours that shops could open for business.
16. 1995: Removing Prohibitions on Advertisements (Rom 1:24) legalised sexually explicit images that had previously been regarded as obscene. It marked yet another stage in the corruption of society by exposing the nation to obscenities.
17. 1996: The Family Law Act (Mal 2:16) replaced the five grounds for divorce in the Divorce Reform Act 1969 with a so-called 'no-fault' divorce system. The Lord Chancellor announced in 2001 that this part of the Family Law Act would not be brought into effect and would be repealed in due course.
18. 1997: The Amsterdam Treaty (Ps 2:1-2) further eroded national sovereignty, bringing Britain increasingly under the rule of a humanist, anti-Christian code of law. This was one more step in Britain being ruled from Brussels rather than by our own elected Members of Parliament. It was selling our birthright for a mess of pottage.
19. 1999: The Finance Act (Is 61:8) scrapped the already low value of the Married Person's Allowance for the tax year 2000/2001, thereby signalling the government's lack of esteem for marriage. It was a further step towards the degradation of marriage and the breakup of family life in Britain.
20. 2001: Regulations to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 (Ex 23:7) permitted embryo research for developing treatments for serious diseases. Effectively, this allows cloning of human embryos and experimenting with creating human life.
21. 2004: The Civil Partnership Act (Matt 19:5, Eph 5:3) granted civil partnerships in the United Kingdom rights and responsibilities very similar to that of civil marriage. Civil partners have the same property rights as married heterosexual couples with the same pension benefits and social security rights. They also have the rights of parental responsibility for partner's children as well as 'tenancy' and 'next of kin' rights with a formal process for dissolving partnerships which is similar to divorce in the case of marriage.
22. 2004: The Gender Recognition Act (Gen 2:23, Is 5:20) granted transsexual people legal recognition as members of the sex opposite to their birth gender, either male or female. This allowed them to acquire a new birth certificate recognising their new gender within the law and allowing them to marry a person of the opposite sex. The Act required applicants to have transitioned two years before the issue of a certificate but it made no requirement for sex reassignment surgery to have taken place. The act was a further assault on God's act of creation of human beings in his own image, both male and female.
23. 2013: The Marriage (Same-Sex Couples) Act (Rom 1:6-27, 1 Cor 7) redefined traditional marriage which had always been between a man and a woman. It allowed two persons of the same gender to enter into legally recognised marriage. This Act crossed a red line in British parliamentary history. It passed a law that directly contradicted God's act of creation in creating men and women as complementary human beings to be united in a faithful marriage covenant through which the physical expression of love would produce the procreation of children to ensure the health and well-being of future generations of the human race. The passing of this Act was said to be under strong duress from the European Union upon British politicians.

This list of unGodly laws is published as a pamphlet by Issachar Ministries (reproduced here with permission). It is available on application to www.issacharministries.co.uk - or ring (01767) 223270.

References

1 "The Council of Europe, founded in 1949, is a regional intergovernmental organisation whose stated goal is to promote human rights, democracy, and the rule of law in its 47 member states, covering 820 million citizens. The organisation is separate from the 28-nation European Union, though sometimes confused with it, in part because they share the European flag. Unlike the European Union, the Council of Europe cannot make binding laws." Taken from The Council of Europe, Wikipedia.

2 Girl who fought for unborn babies has to pay costs of £50,000. HEART of Sussex, 3 February 2016.

3 Luke 21:20 was a warning about the destruction of Jerusalem by Rome in 70 AD. However, Hebrew prophecy has more than one application and so this is often applied to the end times as well.

4 Anderson, MJ. Ungodly Ways: The Dark Side of the European Union. CRISIS Magazine, 1 June 2003.

5 Ibid.

6 Ibid.

7 Ibid.

8 Read the Treaty by following this link.

9 See the Christian Legal Centre website.

10 Christian student expelled from social work course over views on marriage. News release, Christian Concern, 27 February 2016.

11 See for example Pancevski, B. £11.5bn of EU aid 'lost to incompetence and graft'. The Sunday Times, 17 January 2016.

12 We are grateful to a reader of the website for reminding us of this.

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.

This magazine believes that Britain needs to take a step of faith and vote to leave the EU.

The first signs of hope for the future are beginning to creep into the British press as journalists right across the political spectrum dismissed the draft agreement with the EU as a Cameron con-trick designed to keep Britain in the European Union.

After racking up thousands of air miles travelling around European capitals trying to reform the European Treaty, the Prime Minister failed to achieve his primary objective of securing British control over our own borders. He also failed to stop the massive burden upon our welfare system of child benefit payments made to East European migrants working in Britain, sent for the support of their children back home.

Europe Will Not Relinquish Power

The temporary break upon welfare payments to migrant workers is dependent upon Britain proving that the strain upon our economy is unsustainable. But even this is dependent upon Brussels - the EU still retains control of the final decision. There is a hint that Britain might be allowed the right to block any EU laws that are considered detrimental to the best interests of our nation. But again, in this the EU maintains control, as Britain would have to persuade at least 14 EU member states to agree!

In the opinion of this magazine, the European Union is clearly not going to relinquish any of its power to Britain or any other single nation-state, as this would undermine its ultimate objective of total control over Europe through the establishment of a European Super-State.

Ultimate ObjectivePrime Minister David Cameron with President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz, Thursday 4 February. Steve Parsons/PA Wire.

This objective of a 'United States of Europe' was there right at the beginning, in the 1972 foundation of the 'European Common Market' which Edward Heath signed in 1973 on behalf of the British people. Before signing, Heath was told by the Lord Chancellor, Lord Kilmuir, that Britain would suffer a loss of sovereignty in three respects:¹

1. Parliament would surrender some of its functions
2. The Crown would lose some of its power
3. Our courts of law would be subordinate to the European Court of Justice

Heath ignored this and deliberately lied to the British public, saying "There is no question of eroding any national sovereignty".² Behind the scenes, however, his government wholeheartedly endorsed the Werner Report which laid out plans for "the ultimate creation of a European federal state".³

Back in 1972, European leaders agreed that there would be a slow motion takeover of national governments. The Treaty of Rome in 1986 followed by the Maastricht Treaty took huge steps towards the formation of an EU Constitution that enforces its laws over all nations within the European Union.

Slowly but surely, the EU has formed a massive unelected bureaucracy that exercises control over member states. The EU is already well on the way to achieving its ultimate objective of forming a European State with its own currency, its own parliament, its own defence programme, space programme, banking system, legal system and Supreme Court - through which it can exercise control over all its member states, in the same way as the Soviet Union exercised totalitarian control over its satellite states.

The EU is well on its way to achieving total control over all its member states – in the same way as the Soviet Union exercised totalitarian control over its satellite states.

For the past eight months our Prime Minister has been touring the capitals of Europe trying to get a deal that he can present to the British people that will persuade us to stay under the control of Brussels. The plain fact is that David Cameron has discovered that the European Union is incapable of reform! It will never surrender its control!

Myth of Economic Ruin

Will our Prime Minister have the courage to admit the truth to the British people? If he does not, in the next five months we can expect to see a deliberate campaign of deception orchestrated by Number 10 of even greater magnitude than was inflicted upon the nation by the Heath Government back in 1973. They will primarily play the 'fear' card – warning Britain's workers that their jobs will be in peril; warning the public that prices of ordinary household goods including food will all go up; warning that our trade will suffer because EU markets will be closed to us.

All this is a pack of lies because Britain pays into the EU far more than we gain! Back in 1972 by joining the European Common Market, Britain was forced to break all its Commonwealth Preference Trade Treaties which had disastrous effects upon the economy of countries such as New Zealand who supplied much of our lamb and butter. We have never apologised to them!

The government may well play the fear card that our economy and quality of life will be in peril if we leave the EU. But all this is a pack of lies.

The British Commonwealth has roughly a third of the world's total population. By leaving the EU we would be able to trade freely with the Commonwealth, without being constricted by the controls exercised over us by Brussels. We would be free from the Common Agricultural Policy which has almost brought our dairy farmers to bankruptcy, as well as the disastrous Fisheries Policy which has oppressed our fishermen and given away our rights to fish in our own waters.

By exiting we would be freed from the immense burden upon our economy of paying billions of pounds into the EU to support a corrupt oppressive system run by unelected officials, who every year fail to get a clean audit report on their accounts.⁴

Step of Faith Required

If David Cameron does go ahead and allow the British people to choose their own future in June 2016 the question then would be: will the public have the courage to take a great step of faith and choose freedom, or will they voluntarily choose to be enslaved by a corrupt totalitarian system?

This is where faith really matters! If we were truly a God-fearing nation prepared to put our trust in the Lord, we would have no fear in going forward under our own traditional British constitution, which has defined the relationship between Government and people for 800 years (since the signing of Magna Carta) and which is reaffirmed in our national Coronation Oath.

If we were truly a God-fearing nation, we would have no fear in stepping out on our own.

If we were a God-fearing people, we could draw comfort and strength from the record in the Bible of God's dealing with his covenant people Israel and his promises that apply to all nations. Through the prophet Jeremiah, God promised: "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).

Are We Prepared to Lead the Way?

Bible-believing Christians know that God has been warning Britain for a long time that we have been allowing secular humanist politicians to pass legislation that is offensive to God, driving the nation towards the breakdown of family life with disastrous social consequences.

Through hardships of storm and flood and economic austerity, God has been warning us that as a nation we are heading for unimaginable disaster! But in his mercy, we are now being offered an opportunity to shake off the atheistic secular controls of Brussels and put our trust in God. If we are prepared to take a step of faith by leaving the European Union and repenting for the past, God will undoubtedly bless the nation.

The Church should be leading the way in this by public repentance for our share of responsibility for the godless state of the nation - and by proclaiming our confidence in the Lord that if we turn to him, he will undoubtedly bless the nation with prosperity and the healing of our social divisions and broken relationships - bringing love and joy and faithfulness into family life.

We are being given an opportunity to shake off the secular controls of Brussels and put our trust in God. Will we take a step of faith – and will the Church lead the way?

The forthcoming referendum gives the nation the opportunity to choose our future in the same way as Joshua presented a choice to the people of Israel to choose to live under the slavery of men or under the blessing of God. He said, "Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve...But as for me and my household we will serve the Lord" (Josh 24:15).

References

1 PRO/FO 371/150369, EEC Relations with UK, 1960.

2 White Paper, 1971.

3 Quote from PRO/FCO 30/789, Sub-committee of official committee on monetary aspects of UK entry to EEC, 1970. The Heath Government's positive response: PRO/CAB 164/771, Informal talks with the European Commission and the exchange of views with member countries during the negotiation period, 1970.

4 Waterfield, B and Dominiczak, P. EU auditors refuse to sign off more than £100billion of its own spending. The Telegraph, 4 November 2014.

Is Euroscepticism a sign of a deeper dissatisfaction with the direction in which Britain is heading?

Over the next few months the question of whether Britain should be in or out of Europe is no doubt going to occupy a great deal of the news media. David Cameron's publication of the demands that he intends presenting to the European Council were a surprise only for the mildness of what he expects to achieve.

Mild Demands

In his letter to European Council President Donald Tusk, the Prime Minister set out his four key objectives for the re-negotiation of Britain's place in Europe. They are: –

1. Protection of the single market for Britain and other non-Euro countries
2. Boosting competitiveness by setting a target for the reduction of the 'burden' of red tape
3. Exempting Britain from 'ever-closer union' and bolstering national parliaments
4. Restricting EU migrants' access to in-work benefits such as tax credits

With such a mild set of demands an impartial observer could be forgiven for wondering what all the fuss is about! In any case, to get any meaningful changes in the EU's governing treaties before 2017, when Cameron has promised a referendum, is quite impossible. His demands are far too modest to satisfy those who want to see substantial differences in Britain's relationship with Europe.

The demands will be formally debated by the EU leaders at a summit next month, although no doubt most of the EU leaders were already well aware of what our Prime Minister is asking. He has had extensive talks with Angela Merkel, who has already indicated that she would go a long way to make concessions that will keep Britain in the EU - provided nothing infringes on the free movement of people within the Union.

Battle for Greater Independence

One thing David Cameron has already made clear to the rest of Europe is that Britain is totally opposed to any closer political union within the EU. But whether he can achieve greater independence and - in particular – freedom to control our own borders, is very doubtful. Perhaps the greatest danger is that the EU leaders will collectively conspire to make the achievement of even the smallest concessions look extremely difficult so that Cameron is able to claim a magnificent victory in the face of fierce opposition.

David Cameron might have made it clear that Britain opposes closer political union within the EU, but will he manage to achieve greater independence for the UK?

Our Prime Minister could then put his 'hard-won' victory to the British people and achieve a 'Yes' vote for staying in the EU without actually ever having achieved what the Eurosceptics want – greater independence so that we can make our own laws and re-gain our national sovereignty, for which we fought two world wars. They want to be able to trade with Europe without being under the heel of Brussels.

Deeper Dissatisfaction

But is there not a deeper reason why so many people want freedom from the European Union? A recent poll reported on the Conservative Home website says that more than two-thirds of Conservative Party members are likely to vote for Britain to leave the EU. Why is this? What is making people so dissatisfied with the present situation?

Could the reason for this dissatisfaction be the vague sense of having lost our national heritage? The older generation, in particular, has lived through the most incredible period of social change in our history. The changes have not only been in technology and scientific discovery that have given us space travel, the internet, heart transplantations and weapons of mass destruction; but also radical changes to our whole culture and national way of life. It is now hard to define 'British values'– what it is to be British.

What is making people so dissatisfied with the present situation? Could it be the vague sense of having lost our national heritage – what it means to be British?

Change of Pace

Even our humour and entertainment have changed beyond all recognition in the past decade or so - as looking at old films from the 1970s or 80s confirms. I was never very keen on films such as the 'Carry On' series, but at least they were harmless slapstick nonsense - although many of their subjects would fall foul of our politically correct restrictions today. Moreover, you could take the children to see them without blushing at the filthy language that litter so many films and TV programmes today!

Many of today's Eurosceptics are really looking for 'the good old days' when life was a lot simpler and the pace was not so hectic. One of my friends who works on a TV news programme told me the other day that she has on average 500 emails a day! I usually have 40 or 50 a day (plus 2 or 3 scam phone calls) but even that I find a drain on my time and a huge test of my patience and endurance!

Abandoned Foundations

We are not going to be able to put the clock back or make radical changes to our national way of life whether we stay in the EU or whether we wave goodbye. The plain fact is that as a nation we have abandoned the most valuable part of our heritage that has been part of the foundations of this nation for hundreds of years. What I'm referring to is our biblical heritage: the values and principles that were enshrined in the nation that gave us freedom and justice and schools and hospitals and welfare programmes. Rights and obligations were built into our unwritten national code: respect for other people, plus honesty, truthfulness, integrity, faithfulness, loyalty, love and generosity.

All these things were part of being a good citizen; they were taught in church and school, so that they became part and parcel of being 'British'. They were taken for granted as part of the national character. This is what we have lost through the onslaught of secular humanism and the aggressive campaigning of cultural anarchists who care nothing for truth and integrity, but care only for themselves and the achievement of their destructive objectives – especially destroying family life.

Our biblical heritage enshrined principles of freedom and justice into our nation – but we have taken these things for granted as part of 'British' character, and now they are being lost.

Spiritual Rebirth

Whether we stay in the EU or get out may not make much difference to the cultural life of the nation. The only way to bring about fundamental change is through a spiritual rebirth: the rediscovery of the spiritual dynamic that can set us free from the powers of darkness that are driving us towards an ever greater national catastrophe. Our young people are being threatened by indoctrination with evil and corrosive values that, if left unchecked, will spread a social cancer across the nation. Many people no longer recognise ultimate values of truth and integrity but are being seduced by the nihilistic hedonism of the age.

But the tide could still be turned if all the Christians in Britain would be active in sharing their faith! Angela Merkel recently spoke of her strong evangelical Christian faith and called upon German Christians to be more active in speaking about their faith with their new Muslim neighbours coming from the Middle East in such large numbers. It would be great to hear more of this kind of witness from our national leaders.