The old adage “a week is a long time in politics” is now laughable, as the political scene changes day by day and hour by hour.

Rebellion – not revival – is a key sign of the times.

How to pray in a time of upheaval.

The nations of Europe are still reeling from the results of the EU parliamentary elections. It is not only Britain that has produced surprise results; all over Europe people have expressed their frustration with the establishment and looked for alternatives. The battle for power between Macron and Merkel may now be in full swing, but in both their countries voters have expressed their discontent with their rulers and their desire for change.

In Britain the Brexit battle continues relentlessly with more Conservative hopefuls throwing their hats into the ring to be the next Prime Minister – even though the role is a poisoned chalice. No doubt each of them thinks they could do better than Theresa May, who bravely went to Brussels this week to greet other crestfallen leaders facing uncertain futures.

Tory leadership hopefuls. PA/PA Wire/PA ImagesUndoubtedly the Lord is fulfilling his promise to shake all the nations! The prophecy in Haggai 2 includes shaking the physical universe as well as the structures and foundations of the nations. I’ve quoted it many times, but it is so central to contemporary issues that we need to keep it in the forefront of our discussion of what’s happening today:

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, and the desired of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord Almighty. (Hag 2:6-7)

I know that our political masters don’t recognise that God has any place in what is happening among the nations, but God actually laughs at their stupidity and blindness. It would do all our leaders good to read Psalm 2 and meditate on it for a few minutes each day before they open their mouths in public.

The plain fact is that God is not only in charge of the climate upheavals that are causing such anxiety to many people (witness the unprecedented 500 tornadoes that have ripped through the USA just in the past 30 days¹), but he is also allowing the incredible levels of uncertainty and anxiety in the social and political lives of the nations.

Undoubtedly the Lord is fulfilling his promise to shake all the nations!

Admitting the Problem

If we share the beliefs of the biblical prophets, who saw the hand of God in everything that happened around them, we have to ask: why is God shaking everything? – from our weather patterns to the major institutions in society: our familiar high street stores, our banks and post offices, our social services and our health services, our political parties and even our churches, where we see ‘For Sale’ notices on great old buildings where our parents were married and their children were blessed.

With all the familiar things in life being shaken, it is small wonder that the levels of mental health problems are overwhelming our health authorities. In Britain we have such a crisis of mental health that even Royalty have joined in to share their stories in an attempt to reassure the public that there is really nothing wrong - that we all have times when our minds are sick, when we are unable to think clearly and give way to our fears and anxieties.

When are we going to wake up to the fact that there is something seriously wrong, and we ought to be concerned? We ought to be asking major questions about what is happening in our lifetime. Why is there such dissatisfaction, such anger, such disagreement and such division in society? The dissatisfaction is not just among the deprived who envy the rich and the powerful. It is also among those who have plenty and who have good jobs and homes and cars and multitudes of gadgets, none of which gives them real satisfaction.

The uncomfortable truth is that there is something in our human nature, put there by the God of Creation, that makes us long for a relationship with the Creator. We are lonely in the universe without any connection with its Maker. But, collectively, Europeans have abandoned that connection. They have chosen to discard their spiritual heritage and to go it alone, so they are at the mercy of the spiritual forces of darkness that roam the universe and plague its occupants.

When are we going to wake up to the fact that there is something seriously wrong, and we ought to be concerned?

Deserving of Judgment

In Britain the European Parliamentary election (that we did not want!) has dramatically highlighted the division in the nation. We may expect to see an increase in conflict during the next five months as those who are determined to prevent Britain leaving the European Union intensify their activities.

As we get nearer to the deadline of 31 October and the parliamentary battle advances, it will be reflected upon the streets. The worst possible outcome would be the revoking of Article 50 and a second referendum, which would undoubtedly inject further hatred and violence into the public sphere.

Let’s face the facts: we are part of a nation richly deserving judgment. Every working day a black bag full of babies is taken out of the back door of our hospitals and thrown into the incinerator. We are just like the Moabites, who threw their babies into the fire - a heinous sin that God roundly condemned.

The latest sin is the grooming of our children, which is a national act of child abuse! Just last month an Education Bill was nodded through our Parliament, too occupied with Brexit to study it carefully, which brainwashes juniors and presents pornography to senior students; even advocating ‘threesomes’ for getting the most exciting sexual experience – with cartoon illustrations.²

We may be near the final point of depravity described by Paul:

Since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity…they invent ways of doing evil… (Rom 1:28-32)

Nevertheless, there is still a powerful remnant of Bible-believing Christians in Britain who could stand in the gap between God and the coming disaster if they were fully aware of the situation and understood how to pray into it.

There is still a powerful remnant of Bible-believing Christians in Britain who could stand in the gap between God and the coming disaster if they were fully aware of the situation and understood how to pray into it.

How to Pray

We must not ask God to stop shaking the nations just because we don’t like what’s happening today. We have to recognise why God is shaking the nations.

It surely has to be to warn the nations that we are heading for self-destruction, and that only repentance and turning that can save humanity from unbelievable disaster. Perhaps it was with this in mind that Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit, saying: “When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment” (John 16:8).

All Christians in the Western nations can see (if they open their eyes) that our civilisation is crumbling. But we have yet to realise that there are no political solutions to the problems facing humanity! Only God can heal the nations! But the greatest fault lies in the blindness of the Church, whose silent leaders do not declare the word of the Lord with the first call to Christians to repent. The writing is on the wall and judgment is already starting at the household of God.

As we approach the season of Pentecost, we should all be praying for a fresh outpouring of the Spirit of God to open eyes that are blind and bring a fresh spiritual awakening – beginning with ourselves.

References

1 Read more at Sky News.

2 This can be seen online, though I will not give the link here.

God is working his purposes out.

Yesterday I had the privilege of speaking to a packed fringe meeting at the Church of England Synod in Westminster. There were a number of bishops and clergy of all ranks and the general atmosphere was one of deep concern for the state of the nation. The meeting was in Church House alongside Westminster Abbey and I think we were all aware of events across the road, where our politicians are struggling with seemingly intractable problems.

If any of those attending the meeting came expecting, or even hoping for, easy answers or joyful tidings, I’m afraid they would have gone away disappointed. The primary message I had to give was that God holds the Church responsible for the moral and spiritual state of the nation. I had been asked to speak about my latest book, ‘The Reshaping of Britain: Church and State since the 1960s’. I spoke about the last four Archbishops of Canterbury who I’ve known and worked alongside; and I spoke about the lack of a prophetic voice from the Church giving leadership to the nation in a time of revolutionary social, economic and political change.

It was not a comfortable message and in the short time of discussion it was clear that there are no easy answers to the situation. How do you bring creative, biblically-based change into an organisation as massive as the Church of England? I was only able to repeat what I’ve said so many times that there will be no revival in the nation until there is repentance in the Church. Of course, this is no easy message for those who are dealing with a multitude of pastoral problems in their congregations.

Right Understanding

One of the clergy asked, “Should we be encouraging young people in our churches to go into politics?” I know it is a very lonely and difficult place for Christians in the House of Commons at present. If there were a significant number of those who uphold biblical values and whose trust is in God, it would undoubtedly change the dynamics of politics and that should be a future hope and objective for all church leaders.

But I think it would take away a lot of our fear about the present political mess in the nation and our vast array of social problems if we simply understood what is going on. This means discerning the difference between the social engineering that has been driving the nation for the past 40 or 50 years generated by secular humanist advocates, and what is divine activity initiated by God.

It would take away a lot of our fear about the present political mess in the nation and our vast array of social problems if we simply understood what is going on.

Most Christians do not think in these terms because we do not rightly handle the whole word of God. We concentrate upon the Gospels and Epistles, but neglect to study the biblical Prophets, whom God used to reveal his nature and purposes to humanity in preparation for the coming of Messiah. Without a thorough understanding of this background we can never understand what God is doing in the world today. I said yesterday that this should be the major concern of church leaders today.

Listen to this from Isaiah 45:7: “I am the Lord, and there is no other. I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the Lord, do all these things.” All the Prophets recognised that God creates disaster! But he is more than ready to change disaster into prosperity!!! In fact, that is God’s purpose! He is longing to see his children enjoying the blessings of those who uphold righteousness and live by the standards of truth he has revealed in his word over many thousands of years.

Shaking All Things

God is at present shaking all the nations, as he first revealed to the Prophet Haggai in 520 BC, the significance of which for today is explained in the New Testament in Hebrews 12. You can see this in the upheavals and bitter Brexit divisions in Britain, in the rise of the populist movement in many countries throughout Europe, and in the fear of the Brussels elite at what may happen in the EU election in May this year.

You can see it in the USA, where there has never before been such bitter division between Republicans and Democrats. You can see it in the upheavals in South America, in Venezuela; similarly in Africa, especially in Nigeria in recent days, in the Middle East, in the distressing humanitarian crises in Yemen and Syria, and in many other parts of the world.

It is not only the nations that are being shaken, but all the great institutions in which we human beings put our trust – including the Church! Right now, the Roman Catholic Church is being torn asunder by having to face the sexual sins of its clergy over many decades that are being revealed to the public. Successive Popes have delayed the day of reckoning for many years, but the Vatican is having to face the uncomfortable truth that a system of forced celibacy in a social climate of sexual libertarianism is a recipe for disaster! Large numbers of clergy have misused their spiritual power for sexual gratification, exploiting vulnerable children and adults. The day of judgment has arrived, and this has not just been brought about by social pressure, but by the judgment of God.

All the Prophets recognised that God creates disaster! But he is more than ready to change disaster into prosperity!

For Love

Why is God shaking everything? It may be amazing to those who do not study the whole word of God – but when God brings judgment upon the evil institutions of humanity it is an expression of his LOVE!

God so loved the world that he gave his own Son to save humanity from self-destruction. But our tiny minds simply cannot comprehend the magnitude of God’s purposes without the divine inspiration of the Holy Spirit to flood his truth into our lives.

Let me give a small illustration of the great truth that I’m trying to convey. For more than 30 years I have been trying to teach a basic sociological truth that when you weaken and undermine the family, you destroy the social fabric of society, because the family is the linchpin holding everything together. This is what we have done in Western society and this is the underlying cause of knife crime, gang warfare, drug use, bullying, depression and suicide. We have crucified truth and produced an age of fake news, lies, hatred and violence, driven by the forces of darkness that we have embraced.

But amidst all this, God is working out his purposes to bring human beings to the point where they recognise that they have no solutions to the problems they have created. When they begin to cry out ‘O God, what has gone wrong?’ God knows they will be then open to the truth. He is calling upon his Church to be ready for a great spiritual awakening! Not a revival of the old institutions that we call churches, but a genuine new openness to the truth, met by a Church that genuinely both lives and declares the unchanging word of God.

That is the way disaster will be turned into prosperity! And the good news is that we may not be far from the turning point!

Turmoil, division and anarchy: where is God?

The Prime Minister has seen off the challenge to her leadership and secured another 12 months before she can be challenged again. But has this changed anything at Westminster?

The failed leadership coup has shown that one third of the parliamentary Conservative Party is against their own Prime Minister, reflecting the division in the nation that is becoming increasingly vociferous.

Britain is not alone in being a divided nation. France is in an even more serious situation with open warfare on the streets and widespread social dissatisfaction with the ruling elite. President Macron is fighting for his political life in a battle that looks even more dangerous than Theresa May’s. The rise of populist movements in Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Hungary, Poland and even in Germany, is threatening the stability of the European Union.

These political eruptions make it increasingly difficult for Brussels to make concessions to the Brexit deal, despite signs that they would like to help Theresa May in her search for a solution that would win the vote in the British Parliament.

So what’s going on? Why did 117 Conservative MPs vote against their own leader? Is it possible to solve the Irish border situation and get a Brexit deal that satisfies everyone? We could add at least a hundred more unanswerable questions to the mounting pile of imponderable conundrums facing us in the world today. It seems that in every part of the world there are social, political or economic problems, or even open conflict threatening to destabilise the globe – and that’s without throwing in environmental problems like climate change!

Need for Spiritual Clarity

How do we read the situation facing us as we send off our Christmas greetings and contemplate the frightening prospect of another year with all the old problems unresolved and even more on the horizon? Is there something very simple that we are all missing? Is there another dimension that would enable us to see the whole thing from a different perspective? It’s like watching snooker on a black-and-white television – it just doesn’t make sense; you can’t know what’s going on. Change to colour TV and suddenly it all becomes clear.

It seems that in every part of the world there are social, political or economic problems, or even open conflict threatening to destabilise the globe.

Paul describes this situation: he says that there are some things that can only be understood if they are viewed from a spiritual dimension. He says: “The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Cor 2:14).

Among the hundreds of prophecies in the Bible, the one that makes the most sense in our present situation is the little word from Haggai 2:7 that we have quoted lots of times in Prophecy Today UK and in the old printed magazine of the same name: it is that God is shaking the nations.¹ And not only the nations; that prophecy says that God will also shake the whole of the heavens and the earth – in other words, all of Creation. Why would God do such a thing? There has to be a reason!

Clearly God does not want to see the destruction of his Creation and the annihilation of human beings. But the Bible makes clear that God will do what is necessary to soften hard hearts and get people’s attention – because he desires all people to come to a knowledge of him and respond to his offer of salvation.

Anarchy Arising

There are plenty of other passages of Scripture that speak about terrible destruction coming upon the nations of the world. Since the invention of atomic weapons and other weapons of mass destruction, passages such as Isaiah 24, which describes the devastation of the earth’s surface, have taken on a new significance.

I am not saying that God is warning us of the imminent risk of nuclear warfare. But I do foresee that large parts of the world are moving into a highly disturbing time of anarchy – of the challenge to law and order, of urban warfare – even repeating the kind of civil war that has devastated Syria in the past seven or eight years.

In Britain the demand for a ‘People’s Vote’ may sound innocuous, but it could very quickly lead to the kind of open conflict on the streets of London and other cities similar to that which is taking place on the streets of Paris.

Prolonged and Confusing Battle

In order to understand the significance of the battle within the Conservative Party, which is a reflection of the division in the whole nation, we have to see the spiritual forces that are at work. This is a battle between post-modernist, globalist, atheist forces, born in the 18^th-Century Enlightenment, and Britain’s centuries-old Judeo-Christian heritage. In the last decades, it is the latter that has been losing ground in this battle. The Brexit crisis has simply brought everything to a head; the outcome will determine the future, not only of Britain but of the whole Western world.

In order to understand the significance of the battle within the Conservative Party, which is a reflection of the division in the whole nation, we have to see the spiritual forces that are at work.

This is why it is such a prolonged and confusing battle that is so difficult to understand. It is actually a battle between the forces of darkness and the forces of light. I am not saying that all the politicians who voted against the PM are the goodies and the others are the baddies – or vice versa! I doubt if many of them really understand the true nature of the battle and the spiritual significance of what is happening in our lifetimes.

We are moving towards what Christians call the end times – the turbulent days foretold in Scripture leading up to the Second Coming of Christ. We can only understand what is happening in our daily news bulletins when we see it in the context of the whole revelation of truth in the Bible. I believe this is why so many Christians are getting into small groups to study the Bible and to pray together in these confusing days.

D-Day

The secular humanists are fighting very hard to keep Britain locked into the European Union: this is why they have seized upon the Irish border as the weakest point in the Brexit agreement: a way for them to continue to exercise power over Britain.

It is becoming increasingly clear that the best solution would be for Britain to leave with no deal at all, which would also save paying £39 billion to the EU. It would probably cause some economic disruption for a short period but in the end would lead to far greater prosperity and new opportunity to seek the blessing of God upon the nation.

We greatly need to pray to God to protect Britain in the turbulent days leading up to D-Day – 29 March 2019.

Editorial note: Do visit our ‘Pray for Britain’ section on the website, where new prayer resources have been uploaded since last week. Please also consider attending a number of special prayer days coming up soon:

• Saturday 26 January: A Day of Prayer and Fasting for God to Deliver our Nation from Chaos! The SSE Arena, Wembley, 10am-6pm. Organised by David Hathaway and Eurovision. Dr Clifford Hill will be speaking.
  
• Monday 18 – Wednesday 20 March: Issachar Ministries conference, ‘Brexit: Hardship or Harvest?’. Swanwick, Derbyshire.
• Friday 29 March (Brexit Day): A Day of Prayer in Westminster. Organised by Issachar Ministries. With Dr Clifford Hill, David Hathaway and others.

See the News Page for further details of these events and to book tickets.

Notes

1 See also Hebrews 12:25-27. 

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

Brexit’s woes in spiritual perspective.

I knew I had to write about Brexit in this week’s editorial, so this morning I listened to the news more carefully – a depressing experience. I turned to my Bible for a word of comfort.

It fell open to the fall of Jerusalem and the Lamentations of Jeremiah. The word of the Lord came to me strongly, “This is the nation that has not obeyed the Lord its God or responded to correction. Truth has perished; it has vanished from their lips…The Lord has rejected and abandoned this generation that is under his wrath” (Jer 7:28-29).

Of course, that was written to Israel, a nation in a covenant relationship with God, but Jeremiah was also given a promise for all nations: “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).

With these scriptures in mind we can turn to Brexit and ask what God is saying to us and to the people of Europe. What is God doing to work out his purposes today?

Rebellion Leads to Destruction

We cannot deny that Britain and the nations of the European Union have all turned away from the word of God. Though they have had the Gospel for more than a thousand years, each of these nations has been invaded by secular humanist philosophies that have devoured their good Judeo-Christian heritages. Europe has adopted an atheistic culture and God-denying policies that have, in large measure, brought us to the disastrous situation we face today.

The European Union is imploding under the weight of multiple crises. Its leaders are terrified of seeing Hungary, Poland, Italy and other key nations breaking away from the union as populist movements gain momentum across the continent.

The European Union is imploding under the weight of multiple crises.

In desperation, the Brussels gravy train, frightened that it is going to lose power and wealth, is trying to close ranks, punishing Britain in order to frighten off rebel elements in other nations. Of course, British politicians should know that they will never get a good deal from Brussels! The EU’s tactic now is to delay and delay – always holding out the hope of a deal but never actually concluding one, so that Britain continues to pay vast sums into EU coffers, but never actually walks away free.

The EU elites are exploiting the confusion they know surrounds British politicians of all persuasions in Westminster. But Christians should not be surprised at this confusion - because it is a classic sign of the judgment of God promised upon those who deliberately turn away from his truth: “The Lord will inflict you with madness, blindness and confusion of mind…You will be unsuccessful in everything you do” (Deut 28:28-29).

The Shaking of the Nations

For those who are familiar with the whole word of God in the Bible, it is obvious that we are going through a period which was revealed to the great Prophets of Israel more than 2,500 years ago. God said that there would come a time when he would bring judgment upon all the nations by shaking everything – the world of nature, politics and every structure of society: which is precisely what we are seeing today (see Haggai 2:6-7, cf. Hebrews 12:26-27).

As well as economic and political turbulence and societal breakdown, we are also seeing incredible storms, hurricanes and tsunamis hitting many parts of the world – as well as earthquakes and famines. The terrible wars and bloodshed in Syria and much of the Middle East, the upheavals taking place in Venezuela, Brazil and many other parts of the world, are all evidence of the great shaking of the nations.

Jeremiah’s Revelation

The great revelation that was given to the Prophet Jeremiah is one that we ought to be studying today. Jeremiah was facing the destruction of his country and the demolition of his city, Jerusalem, by the Babylonian army. His prayer (Jer 32) enabled him to see beyond the immediate tragedy and understand what God was doing: how, through it all, he was working out his purposes.

It is obvious that we are going through a period of worldwide shaking, revealed to the great Prophets of Israel more than 2,500 years ago.

The prayer began with the words, “Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you!” Then Jeremiah came to his central conundrum: although he knew that Jerusalem was going to be destroyed, he had been told by the Lord to buy a field at Anathoth - already enemy-occupied.

In his prayer Jeremiah said to God, “Though the city will be handed over to the Babylonians, you, O Sovereign Lord, say to me, buy the field with silver and have the transaction witnessed” (Jer 32:25). God’s response revealed to Jeremiah the significance of this symbolic act: “As I have brought all this great calamity on this people, so I will give them all the prosperity I have promised them. Once more fields will be bought in this land…because I will restore their fortunes, declares the Lord” (Jer 32:42-44).

Jeremiah realised that God had to allow a whole generation to suffer judgment before they would repent and be open to the truth. This is the way that God has always dealt with nation-wide rebellion – starting with Israel’s grumbling in the wilderness. And it enables us to understand what he is doing today in allowing the turmoil that is enveloping the nations.

God’s ultimate purpose, of course, is to see as many as possible come to a knowledge of salvation in Jesus – restored to right relationship with God and able to enjoy all the blessings he has to bestow upon his children. But persistent rebellion only brings more destruction.

If we are truly to understand the ‘Brexit Battle’, we have to see it in the context of the purposes of God revealed to us in the Bible. This is not just a little political wrangle. We are at a major crossroads in the history of the world and the unfolding and working out of the purposes of God.

Being Careful in Prayer

This is why Christians need to be very careful how they pray. We have said many times before on Prophecy Today that if we pray “Peace, Peace” when the Lord is saying “There is no peace!” we will actually put ourselves against God. We have to understand God’s nature and purposes and ensure that our prayers are aligned with what he is doing today.

Jeremiah’s prayer enabled him to see beyond the immediate tragedy and understand what God was doing: how, through it all, he was working out his purposes.

If we do this, declaring God’s truth and his good purposes to our godless generation so that people can understand what has gone wrong, and if this leads to a spirit of repentance and turning away from the ways of darkness, Britain will undoubtedly see days of revival come through this time of great shaking. This is the other message we have been emphasising recently on Prophecy Today.

Bible-believing Christians will undoubtedly ask, where does the Second Coming of Christ fit into this scenario? The answer is that it is not for us to know the times the Lord has set in his own timetable: but we may be nearer to that event than any of us knows. We have to obey the command of Jesus to “Watch and pray”.

Our leaders have a veil over their eyes.

Up to 50,000 people attempted to break through the border between Gaza and Israel this week according to press reports. Their use of smoke and mirrors, petrol bombs, incendiary kites and other weapons must have been a terrifying experience for the tiny detachment of Israeli part-time soldiers guarding the border to protect Israeli citizens from slaughter.

But far from giving a factual picture of events, the BBC, The Guardian and others¹ poured out their anti-Semitic invective against Israel.

The BBC had been preparing for this event for a long time and sent some of their senior reporters to give maximum cover to criticise Israel. In the event there was no breakthrough and no massacre.

Though each life lost is a heart-rending matter, it is to the credit of those defending the border that relatively few died, and most casualties were known terrorists. Hamas called off the protest the next day after Egyptian intervention; but not before they achieved their objective of getting anti-Israel propaganda into the Western media and calling for a UN enquiry - even at the expense of lives of their own people.

The Creation of the Gazan Refugees

The whole Gaza issue is tragic, both for the people who live there and for Israel. But it has been deliberately created as the front line in the drive to destroy Israel. The Palestinians themselves are despised by the Arab nations. Before they were brought together in the 1960s, there never was a Palestinian nation.

Historically, before the Jewish resettlement began in the early 20^th Century, Palestine was a largely barren land. According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica 1900, there were less than 100 trees in the whole of Palestine with a sparse population of nomadic Arabs living in tents, whose goats ate every bit of vegetation. The absentee land-owning Arabs were only too willing to sell land to the Jews in those days.

The whole Gaza issue is tragic, but it has been deliberately created as the front line in the drive to destroy Israel.

When the state of Israel was created in 1948 the neighbouring states of Jordan, Egypt and Syria combined their armies, ordered any non-Jewish residents to leave their homes and go to two newly created refugee camps at Jericho and Gaza so that their forces could clear the land and drive the Jews into the Mediterranean. What they now call their ‘catastrophe’ was the failure of their armies to defeat the tiny group of Holocaust survivors who, in successive conflicts, went on to retake Jerusalem and to clear the whole land of foreign fighters.

With 70 years and a high birthrate the dreadful conditions in Gaza have been created by the Arab nations, who could easily have solved the situation by taking in the Palestinians. But even the small groups who succeeded in crossing the River Jordan and settling in Jordan and Syria were never accepted and today live in separate enclaves, denied citizenship. This is the measure of hypocrisy among the Arab nations who simply use the West Bank and Gaza situations for political purposes – in their drive to destroy Israel.

Leaders Without Knowledge

The Gaza issue was debated in the House of Commons this week with the usual mixture of anti-Israel and friendly comments. I was particularly disappointed to hear Alistair Burt, Foreign Office Minister for the Middle East, whom I’ve counted among my friends for the past 25 years, making a politically-correct bland statement.

The UN Security Council has strongly condemned Israel's activity at the Gaza border. See Photo Credits.As a Bible-believing evangelical brother I was hoping that he would put some backbone into the Foreign Office and declare that the time has come for Britain to implement the policy it advocated 100 years ago in the Balfour Declaration and move the British Embassy up to Jerusalem, alongside that of the USA.

But postmodernism, with its Darwinian and Marxist roots, has not only driven radical change to the social and personal values of the nation, but has spread a veil over the eyes of the leaders of both Church and state, so that they are unable to perceive the truth. They are like the leaders whom the Prophet Isaiah referred to as ‘blind watchmen’ who “all lack knowledge” (Isa 56:10). They cannot see the big picture because they do not understand the purposes of God and what is happening in the world today.

Postmodernism has spread a veil over the eyes of the leaders of both Church and state, so they are unable to perceive the truth.

Our leaders are part of a generation of biblical eunuchs: they have no understanding of the ways of God because they have turned their backs upon the word of God. For years we have been living upon the spiritual capital of our 19^th Century Victorian Bible-believing forefathers; but it is not enough to support us today, as the world moves onto the cusp of the most incredible period of turmoil since the creation of the world. There is a desperate need for people to hear the word of God before it is too late.

Coming Judgment

In the spring of 1986 there was a gathering of men and women with prophetic insight who met in Israel for a time of prayer and seeking God, to understand what is happening in the world today. One day I was standing alone with Lance Lambert on the top of Mt Carmel looking up at a remarkable sight I’d never seen before, of a complete rainbow encircling the sun; although Lance said it’s not unusual in Israel. We both received words which we shared with others in the evening meeting.

I was led to the prophecy in Haggai 2:6:

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 and the desired of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord Almighty.

I said that the USSR, the mighty communist empire that appeared all-powerful in 1986, would very soon collapse. Three weeks later the Chernobyl nuclear power station blew up which began the disintegration of the Soviet Union.

That same evening Lance Lambert gave one of the most remarkable prophecies of our time. He said:

It will not be long before there will come upon the world a time of unparalleled upheaval and turmoil. Do not fear for it is I the Lord who am shaking all things. I began this shaking with the First World War and I greatly increased it through the Second World War. Since 1973 I have given it an even greater impetus. In the last stage, I plan to complete it with the shaking of the universe itself, with signs in the sun and moon and stars. But before that point is reached, I will judge the nations, and the time is near.

It will not only be by war and civil war, by anarchy and terrorism, and by monetary collapses that I will judge the nations, but also by natural disasters: by earthquakes, by shortages and famines, and by old and new plague diseases. I will also judge them by giving them over to their own ways, to lawlessness, to loveless selfishness, to delusion and to believing a lie, to false religion and an apostate church, even to a Christianity without me.

Our leaders are part of a generation of biblical eunuchs: they have no understanding of the ways of God because they have turned their backs upon the word of God.

Need for the Word of God

This next stage in the history of the world has now been reached. Most of the nations of the world are conspiring to hate Israel, as foretold in the word of God: “Come, they say, let us destroy them as a nation, that the name of Israel be remembered no more” (Ps 83:4).

The Prophet Zechariah received a revelation that the day would come when the focus of the world would be upon Jerusalem. He said:

This is the word of the Lord concerning Israel…I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will be besieged as well as Jerusalem. On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure [rupture] themselves.

Never has there been a greater need for biblical truth to be brought into the affairs of the nations than today, with the nations armed with weapons capable of destroying the world and driven by a spirit of hatred and destruction.

Jeremiah foresaw the fall of the mighty Babylonian Empire and that Babylon would become “a heap of ruins, a haunt of jackals” (Jer 51:37), as it is today. So, in our lifetime, unless the nations of the world study the word of God and bring their policies in line with his truth, they will create a catastrophe that will engulf the world.

The great question is: – Will the Bible-believing faithful remnant in the Western nations break their silence and declare the word of the Lord to bring life and light to this generation, and hope for our children and grandchildren?

Notes

1 For further information on this, we recommend UK Media Watch, a watchdog seeking to hold the British media to account for their biased treatment of Israel.

The resignation of Jacob Zuma in its bigger picture.

The resignation of Jacob Zuma as President of South Africa is the latest event in a great shaking of the nations of that Continent. Many South Africans hope that Cyril Ramaphosa who replaces Zuma will deal with the corruption that has spread through Zuma’s nine years in power and quell the widespread social unrest that has destabilised the country.

South Africa’s woes are repeated in many other parts of Africa. It is only three months since Mugabe was ousted from power in Zimbabwe after many years of corruption and cruel oppression. The man who did most to expose Mugabe’s disastrous policies, Morgan Tsvangirai, sadly died this week after bravely fighting Mugabe’s violent oppression of democracy.

Nigeria has the largest economy in Africa and the greatest amount of natural resources but is riven asunder by political corruption and social unrest. The inept leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari has allowed racial divisions in Nigeria to thrive to a dangerous degree. The threat of civil war has never been far away in Nigeria since the disastrous Biafran war of 1967-1970.

Perhaps the most tragic situation in Africa today is to be seen in South Sudan, the newest country in the world that was created in a severance from the northern, Islamic part of Sudan. Instead of South Sudan being a prosperous Christian country enjoying peace and protection from Islamic terrorism, the Christians have descended into tribal warfare that has devastated the economy, created massive refugee camps and brought deadly famine to millions of people.

But Christians in South Africa are already seeing hope, as Charles Gardner reports:-

Rainbow of Hope

Jacob Zuma’s resignation as South Africa’s President coincided with a literal downpour of heaven’s blessings as the drought-stricken land was drenched by an all-night cloudburst in the Northern Cape.

Zuma’s longstanding refusal to resign threatened the stability of an embattled nation already facing serious economic and social problems.

Cyril Ramaphosa is being sworn in as his replacement as I write, and I am hopeful of a brighter future for the ‘Rainbow nation’ that showed such promise following the success of its first-ever multi-racial elections in 1994. But the legacy of peace, prosperity and reconciliation left by Nelson Mandela was thrown to the winds of tribalism and strife that mirrored much of what has been going on in the rest of Africa.

Zuma’s refusal to resign threatened the stability of an embattled nation already facing serious problems.

The dawn of the New South Africa was preceded by a very worrying time when civil war looked a real possibility – and was widely predicted by the media – as the Zulu-led Inkhata Party threatened not to cooperate with the transition talks.

Thankfully, South Africa’s many Christians flooded sports stadiums to pray for a resolution, and Christian leaders like Michael Cassidy were used by God to broker peace. The nation was pulled back from the brink as a result, relatively little blood was spilt, and a wonderful new era dawned.

The Bandwagon of Political Correctness

Tragically, in recent years, lack of righteous leadership, along with non-cooperation with all parties of goodwill, has left a trail of destruction in its wake – violence has become rampant (especially in rural areas), along with corruption, unemployment and disease. And with the ruling African National Congress party strongly influenced by Marxism, South Africa has inevitably climbed onto the bandwagon of political correctness where anything goes except good, honest living according to God’s standards.

Part of the Government’s PC dogma is a thoroughly nonsensical accusation that Israel is now practising the ‘apartheid’ that so blighted South Africa, and they are using this as an excuse to downgrade diplomatic relations with the Jewish state.

The irony of the earlier threat to peace posed by Inkhata is that Zuma is a Zulu. But I don’t wish to taint the rest of his people – the country’s largest ethnic group – with his alleged corruption. They are a wonderful tribe; I was virtually brought up by a lovely Zulu woman, Agnes Nzimande. Indeed, they were once great warriors, who even defeated the British at the Battle of Isandhlwana in 1879, and their present King, Goodwill Zwelithini, is reputedly a believing Christian who has bravely challenged the Government over their anti-Semitic stance against Israel, urging them against loosening ties.

In the past, South Africa has been pulled back from the brink of civil war by the prayers of faithful Christians.

Wrong relationships have caused all these problems; politicians have allowed themselves to be influenced by the wrong people, leading to division and corruption. But we worship a God who is, above all, a God of relationships.

He himself is not alone, but acts in harmony with the Son and the Holy Spirit, and he calls us into a relationship with him. And when this happens, we also come into a right relationship with others. The greatest commandment, according to Jesus, is to love the Lord with all our heart, soul and mind; and to love our neighbour as ourselves (Matt 22:37-40).

Putting Things Right

But there is now another rainbow of hope on the horizon. Before I had even heard the news of Zuma’s fall, my wife and I were still in bed having a WhatsApp conversation with friends in South Africa, who were touring the Northern Cape encouraging farmers to keep trusting God through these difficult times, especially the long-running drought that has blighted the country for so long. Not surprisingly, there has been much prayer for rain.

Our friends were travelling to a distant farm to hold a Bible Study on the eve of Valentine’s Day. On arrival, they could see a black cloud heading their way, and during the evening there was an almighty downpour. The heavens opened and the farmers were ecstatic. They rushed outside to measure it, and reported that they hadn’t seen that much rain in ten years

But more was to come! Our friends left the farmhouse at 10:45pm, but due to the downpour and their planned route being rendered impassable, they had to make a 100-mile detour over very rough roads to return to base.

It took them all night. Their truck got stuck in deep mud, and it must have been a frightening experience watching a river of floodwater rushing past as they prayed for help, which eventually came - complete with a tow-bar - to extricate them from the mire.

Their ordeal was matched with much joy, of course, because these God-fearing farmers have been faithfully praying for an end to the drought for a long time. The picture above was taken next morning – a rainbow (promise of God’s faithfulness) of hope now hangs over the land, no longer parched but drenched by the goodness of God.

And it stands as a reminder that South Africa and all the other nations on that great Continent’s long-term hope is to put their trust in the only One who can supply the rain, while at the same time putting their relationships right – first with God, and also with one another.

Prophetic warnings given within the charismatic movement during the 1970s and '80s.

After last week’s study examining biblical definitions of prophecy and false prophecy, this week Clifford Hill turns to the kinds of prophetic words that came to define the charismatic movement in the latter part of the 20^th Century.

This article is part of a series, republishing the 1995 book ‘Blessing the Church?’ (Hill et al). Click here for previous instalments.

Two Strands of Prophecy

An examination of prophecies coming out of the charismatic movement reveals two strands. On the one hand there have been prophecies giving warnings of difficult days and testing times.

Secondly, by contrast, there have been prophecies with promises of revival and restoration, predicting good times and days of prosperity.

We look this week at those prophesying testing times and the shaking of the nations.

Warnings

Some of the earliest prophecies giving warning of difficult days ahead were given in the mainline churches. The following, for example, was given in 1975 at an international conference of Catholic Charismatic Renewal Groups:

Because I love you, I want to show you what I am doing in the world today. I want to prepare you for what is to come. Days of darkness are coming on the world, days of tribulation…Buildings that are now standing will not be standing. Supports that are there for my people will not be there. I want you to be prepared, my people, to know only me and to cleave to me and to have me in a deeper way than ever before. I will lead you into the desert…I will strip you of everything that you are depending on now, so you depend just on me.

A time of darkness is coming on the world, but a time of glory is coming for my church, a time of glory is coming for my people. I will pour out on you all the gifts of my Spirit. I will prepare you for spiritual combat. I will prepare you for a time of evangelism that the world has never seen…And when you have nothing but me, you will have everything: lands, fields, homes, and brothers and sisters, and love and joy and peace more than ever before. Be ready, my people, I want to prepare you…¹

Prophecies coming out of the charismatic movement follow two strands: either giving warnings of difficult days or promising revival and prosperity.

Another prophecy, even more specific in its warnings of economic and social upheaval, came from Catholic charismatic renewal groups at a national meeting in the USA in January 1976:

Son of man, do you see that city going bankrupt? Are you willing to see all of your cities going bankrupt? Are you willing to see the bankruptcy of the whole economic system you rely upon now, so that all money is worthless and cannot support you?

Son of man, do you see the crime and lawlessness in your city streets, and towns, and institutions? Are you willing to see no law, no order, no protection for you except the protection which I myself will give you?

Son of man, do you see the country which you love? Are you willing to see no country, no country to call your own except those I give you as my body?

Son of man, do you see those churches you can go to so easily now? Are you ready to see them with bars across their doors? Are you ready to depend only on me and not on all the institutions of schools and parishes that you are working so hard to foster?

Son of man, I call you to be ready for that.

The structures are falling and changing. It is not for you to know the details now, but do not rely on them as you have been. I want you to trust one another, to build an interdependence that is based on my Spirit. This is an absolute necessity for those who would base their lives on me and not on the structures of a pagan world.²

There were many prophecies of a similar vein in the mid-1970s. One came from the USA and was addressed specifically to church leaders. It was given at an inter-denominational charismatic renewal conference which was attended by leaders of most of the mainline churches, including Pentecostals, but with the exception of the Assemblies of God. The prophecy was a strong word calling for repentance:

The Lord has a word to speak to the leaders of all the Christian churches. If you are a bishop or a superintendent or a supervisor or an overseer or the head of a Christian movement or organization, this word is for you. The Lord says:

You are all guilty in my eyes for the condition of my people, who are weak and divided and unprepared. I have set you in office over them, and you have not fulfilled that office as I would have it fulfilled, because you have not been the servants I would have called you to be.

This is a hard word, but I want you to hear it.

You have not come to me and made important in your lives and in your efforts those things which were most important to me; but instead you chose to put other things first. You have tolerated division among yourselves and grown used to it. You have not repented for it or fasted for it or sought me to bring it to an end. You have tolerated it, and you have increased it.

And you have not been my servants first of all in every case, but you have served other people ahead of me, and you have served your organization ahead of me. But I am God, and you are my servants. Why are you not serving me first of all?

I know your hearts, and I know that many of you love me, and I have compassion on you, for I have placed you in a very hard place. But I have placed you there, and I call you to account for it. Now humble yourselves before me and come to me repentant, in fasting, mourning, and weeping for the condition of my people…³

Some of the earliest prophecies giving warning of difficult days ahead were given in the mainline churches.

Another prophecy coming from within the mainline churches in the early days of the renewal movement was delivered in Canterbury Cathedral at an international Anglican conference on spiritual renewal in 1978. The message not only referred to things that were wrong within the Church but also gave an uplifting message of God's desire to restore and renew his Church.

Within this mighty edifice the stones cry out.
The stones beneath your feet cry out;
The stones beside you cry to heaven,
And these that soar to heaven cry out too.
The stones cry out - of glory and of shame.
They cry out - of time when cloud and fire
From God on high came down
And filled this place.
And some saw that and some saw not.
Some had their lives transformed;
Some went on and plodded on the way
And saw no vision of night or day,
To take them in the new and living way
Which called them on.
These stones cry out - have always cried
In thousand years of love, grace, power
And of the great consuming fire of God.
But I say to thee –
That I have greater things to make
Than this great building.
I have a living work to do
With stones that live
In infinite and gracious detail
In the quarry of my heart.
I look upon the stones that I have made,
And they are wayward stones.
From their surface chisel oft has glanced aside
And that which I did purpose has been marred;
And yet I stoop again with broken tool
To take the stone that I have made
And work again upon that stone,
That it may be as I have
Long desired that is should be...
And let these stones cry out
Of what the living stones must be...
That you may truly High exalt the Saviour's name.⁴

Ten years later also in Canterbury Cathedral, Patricia Higton gave a more specific warning that the desire for unity and good relationships with people of other faiths was leading the Church dangerously towards multi-faith worship.

I have been speaking to you of unity. And yes, you are beginning to understand that you must reflect my divine nature in its harmony. But I would say to you I am a God of creativity. The unity which I long to see amongst my children will be a diamond with many facets. Each facet will reflect something of my revelation but is of little worth unless part of the whole. So there must be a glad recognition that you belong together and need each other. But again I would warn you, my children, that my enemy is seeking to bring about a unity which is not based on my word. It will appear to have as its goal the peace of this world, but it is not centred on the cross of My Son.

I am warning you of these things for I would not have any of you deceived by wandering down the path of acceptance, leading to toleration of any form of worship which does not uphold my name and my word. The end of that path is that many will one day worship a Christ who is not my Son. The very stones of this building will witness this terrible thing, unless my church repents.⁵

This warning went unheeded and the prophecy was fulfilled the following year when a 'Festival of Faith and the Environment' was held at Canterbury Cathedral. People of all faiths and philosophies were invited to participate and were encouraged to join a 'pilgrimage' walk from temples and shrines of other faiths culminating in a multi-faith celebration in the Cathedral.

Other messages not only warned about what was wrong within the Church but also gave an uplifting message of God's desire to restore and renew it.

The multi-faith festival brought protests from evangelicals of all denominations. The protest within the CofE was led by Tony Higton, a leading Anglican charismatic, Director of ABWON (Action for Biblical Witness to Our Nation) founded in 1984. An open letter to the leadership of the Church of England opposing multi-faith worship was signed by over 2,000 clergy, which sent shock waves through the hierarchy, and the activities of Cathedral Deans who were arranging a number of multi-faith activities came to an abrupt stop. This is an indication of the power of prophetic witness to influence Church policy even in days when scant respect is paid to biblical correctness.

Five years prior to the Canterbury festival, a new magazine, Prophecy Today was launched in London by the ministry which I lead. From the beginning it carried an uncompromising biblically-based message. Its editorial policy statement reads:

It is published with the intention of conveying the word of God for our times to the people of God, and through them to the nations of the world.

We define prophecy as the forthtelling of the word of God. This was the task of the prophets in ancient Israel. It is the task of the church today…Christ wants his church to be a prophetic people proclaiming his word to his world. It was for this reason that the Holy Spirit was given to the New Testament community of believers.

We also believe that the present world situation is so serious that the very existence of mankind is under threat. In all the nations a spirit of violence and disorder appears to have been loosed that is disturbing family life, disrupting the community, overthrowing moral and social stability and threatening to lead to worldwide destruction. We believe that the root problems facing mankind are not simply economic, social or political, but spiritual, and that the Gospel is the only answer.

We note that in times of crisis in ancient Israel God used the prophets to alert people to danger and to correct their ways…so today we believe God is longing to use his church in this prophetic role in the world. The most urgent need for the nations is not to hear the opinions of men, but to hear the word of God. It is as a contribution towards the prophetic task that Prophecy Today is published.⁶

By the early 1990s Prophecy Today had reached a circulation in excess of 16,000 - the largest circulation of a Christian bi-monthly magazine in the UK. With each copy being read by an average of three persons this means that Prophecy Today was read by approximately 50,000 in the evangelical/charismatic churches. Typical of the warning note it sounded was the following prophecy:

The nation is sick and heading for massive disaster, but I hold my church primarily responsible for the moral and spiritual life of this nation. You are the watchmen of the nation and you have not been faithful upon the walls of the cities to discern the onslaught of the enemy or to blow the trumpet to warn the people of danger, so the enemy has been allowed to come in like a flood and pervade the land.

The land has been polluted by the shedding of innocent blood, by violence and pornography, by adultery and sodomy, by corruption and injustice, by greed and avarice, by oppression and unrighteousness, by lies and deceit, by witchcraft and idolatry and by a lack of compassion for the poor and powerless.

In the face of all this evil and corruption your voice is still not heard in the nation. The prophetic declaration of the word of God is not heard upon the lips of the leaders of the church. It is for this reason that the church languishes, its numbers are in decline, its finances are unhealthy and there is disunity, discord and a lack of vision.

Now is the time to repent. Now is the time to recognise your faithlessness and the way you have strayed from the paths of righteousness and failed to uphold my word in the nation. If you will now repent publicly of your own sinfulness and declare my word within the church and in the sight of the whole nation, the people will respond. If you refuse to hear this word and harden your hearts against me, you will bring upon yourselves terrible consequences as the days darken across the nations.⁷

Several prophecies that were influential in the charismatic movement were given at an international conference in Israel in April 1986. These were the first to give forewarning of the shaking of the nations, which would be accompanied by a worldwide harvest as the Church continued to expand rapidly in many nations.

The 1986 Carmel conference forewarned of the shaking of the nations, which would lead to worldwide harvest for the Church.

The shaking of the nations would be through both political and economic upheaval. One of the prophecies said that the great shaking was about to begin with the Soviet Union. Three weeks later the Chernobyl nuclear power station erupted which began the shaking of the USSR and led to its eventual demise. The following is a small part of one of the prophecies. It referred specifically to the downfall of Gorbachev and the collapse of the Communist empire:

I, only I, can overcome this evil regime. But through the prayers of my people I will break the power of this man. For this reason you should pray for your enemies. I will send a famine. It will bring the Kremlin to their knees and make them open to my word.⁸

Four years later this prophecy was fulfilled in the breakup of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact countries of Eastern Europe. It was the famine caused by the Chernobyl meltdown which began the whole process.

Next week: Prophecies of revival and good times.

References

1 Published in New Covenant, February 1978. Charismatic Renewal Services, Ann Arbor, Michigan, p4.

2 Ibid, p5.

3 Ibid, p6.

4 I am indebted to Patricia Higton of Time Ministries International (Essex) for the record of this prophecy.

5 Ibid.

6 Prophecy Today, published by PWM Trust (Bedford). Published in each edition of Prophecy Today since March 1984.

7 Prophecy Today, Vol 10 No 4, July/Aug 94.

8 Prophecy Today, Vol 2 No 4, July/Aug 86.