The words of this prophecy came to Paul Slennett at an Intercessors for Britain meeting in 1989. He was woken abruptly in the night and found himself writing the words as if they were being dictated. I helped Paul to test the prophecy and we then wrote a book together entitled Earthquake in the City.

Despite being closely involved in the publication of the prophecy I, nevertheless, am endeavouring to take a neutral position in writing this article, including it in this series for the purpose of communal testing. If it is from God, then it carries a serious warning which must prompt a response. Even if at this late stage it is shown to be an invalid prophecy, then it must be rejected.

The Big Picture

Over the last few weeks an overall picture of what God is saying to our nation may have been building up as we have taken seriously the task of testing prophecies about Britain given over many years. Aspects of these prophecies may be especially relevant in light of the coming Referendum on 23 June, relating to our membership of the EU.

If we have our Bibles open while testing these prophecies, and if the prophecies themselves are valid, we should find that they fit well into the overall framework of prophetic fulfilment in which we live. For any age there are particular details within the general picture and to fill in these details is one reason why God may speak.

Another reason why God has spoken through prophecy through the ages is that at such times his own people have become rather negligent in discerning the times. Unfortunately, it is at such a time that the prophetic voice is often rejected. "Why should God speak through that man or woman and not to me?", might be the response, or, "We are doing fine, so why am I being confronted with these rantings?" or, plain and simple, "I don't want to listen". The prophetic task is never easy, and testing prophecy is just as hard as delivering it.

Sometimes God speaks through prophecy when his own people have become negligent in discerning the times.

Paul Slennett's Prophecy

The following is Paul Slennett's prophecy, in full:

My children, the alarm bells are sounding all over Europe, for judgment is being spoken out over the nations. Over your nation, Great Britain, a mighty earthquake is about to occur, an earthquake that will swallow up the whole City. Whole companies and city institutions will collapse in this earthquake, some never to rise again.

My judgment that has been withheld for so long must now be unleashed on your nation in order that my church repent and lead this nation in repentance, for I am a righteous and holy God, just in all my ways, a God who longs to show mercy, but one who will no longer tolerate the unrighteousness of my dear church. It is out of love that I visit this nation with judgment - you must know that this must always be the case. My children, repent now before it is too late, for already the day of my return draws near and you must not be found wanting, like the virgins who did not fill their lamps with oil; but awake, my children, and be my watchmen, and speak with a prophetic voice of the judgment that is about to come upon the nations.

If you repent and turn from your wicked ways, I will visit your nation, Great Britain, once again, not with judgment, but with revival power, and I will protect you from all the strategy of the enemy.

In regard to Europe, come out of her, my dear children, for she will align herself with the Beast and the False Prophet who will arise and appear for just a short while. My children, take heart, for I am with you always. Do not give up, but pray without ceasing and see the salvation of your God.

Weighing and Testing

Here are some points to consider:

• To whom is the prophecy addressed? 'My children' seems to imply that it is to the Church within the nation.
• What are the 'alarm bells'? When the prophecy was presented to the leaders of an Intercessors for Britain meeting, there were unusual weather patterns over Europe, but much more has happened since then. If valid, perhaps the prophecy was given much earlier than was thought at the time. Did God foresee, in 1989, the border and migrant problems in Europe and also the fragile economic conditions that are visible now? What else might these warning bells be?
• What would the nature of the earthquake be? This has caused much discussion, especially during the writing of the book. With physical earthquakes in many other countries, could this be a physical earthquake coming even to London, or is it a metaphor for a financial shaking? We have already experienced financial shaking and economists predict there is more to follow.
  • On the side of the physical earthquake, the very weekend when Kingsway were about to decide whether to publish the book, a national newspaper contained a warning from the British Geological Survey that Britain is overdue for a major earthquake, which we received at the time as a prophetic confirmation. Such earthquakes have occurred historically around once every 200 years. The mainstream media occasionally report with some sensationalism an impending, devastating quake,¹ although experts can never predict with accuracy when, where and with what magnitude such an event may occur. However, it remains that a significant earthquake occurring in Britain is a scientific possibility.
  • When we consider the way God gave advanced warning of the Hillsborough stadium disaster and our recent reflections on how we might have brought warning, we realise how important it is to test this part of the prophecy. Additionally, there have been some Christians who have had dreams or visions of buildings collapsing in London, but what is the Lord really saying? Perhaps if we prayerfully test this prophecy together then he will give further insight and take away our uncertainties.
• It was while this prophecy was being tested, during the writing of the book, that insight was given concerning the centrality of the Coronation Oath to our nation, against which we can assess the nation's falling away from God's ways, especially in the liberalisation of many of our laws.
• Notice that a condition is given in the third paragraph (which we look for in relation to Jeremiah 18:7-8).
• The reason why it is particularly important to test this prophecy at this time is that it includes a clear injunction to come out of Europe. During the writing of the book we reasoned that the only way out would be if a treaty could be re-negotiated, but at the time we foresaw no way, outside of an act of God, for such an opportunity to come about. Now, with such an opportunity, do we really see this as given by God?
• It may seem alarming to speak of the Beast and the False Prophet in regard to the EU, but is this similar to what Boris Johnson spoke about (in a more political way) last weekend, when he warned about the EU fulfilling, in a different way, what the Nazis had in mind?
• If the prophecy is valid then what is the timing? How does it fit with the overriding prophecy from Haggai concerning the shaking of the nations, which we believe is imminent (if not happening right now)? Could it be that we are being shown no less than the fall of cities in the anti-Christian world foretold in Revelation 18:19? Could this be the importance for Britain of taking a first step to repentance by coming out of the EU?

If this prophecy is correct it will fit into the general picture of other prophecies that we can see being fulfilled. Please join us in testing it very carefully, and do contribute to the discussion.

References

1 E.g. see Connor, S. Expert predicts 5.5 magnitude earthquake could hit London at any time. The Independent, 16 September 2010.