The enigma that is Donald Trump

Will it survive the turmoil?

A plea amidst the shouting and turmoil

A message of hope and caution

Are these days a window of opportunity from the Lord?

On the need to guard our hearts.

Not a day seems to go by at the moment without some drastic event or other filling our newspapers and screens – not helped, of course, by 24/7 broadcasting, Twitter and every other way in which modern technology allows us to access events all over the world almost in real time. The effect on our hearts, minds and spirits can be overwhelming. We are on information overload - more so than any other generation in human history.

This week, continuing demonstrations in Hong Kong against Chinese tyranny have vied for airtime with growing instability in Kashmir, more devastation in Syria, the US-China trade war, a possible arms race between the US and Russia and escalating tensions with Iran in the Gulf. And of course we cannot and should not forget the mass murders of Christians happening across North Africa virtually every day, though they go largely unreported.

Never mind Brexit and Project Fear: the global ‘birth pangs’ heralding the return of our Messiah genuinely seem to be increasing in both frequency and intensity.

Bloodshed Follows Bloodshed

Perhaps most shocking of all this week has been news of the two mass shootings in the USA, claiming 22 lives in Texas and nine in Ohio, both carried out by deeply disturbed young men (aged 21 and 24, respectively). At the same time, at home we heard of a young child being hurled off a high viewing platform at the Tate Modern in London, allegedly an unprovoked attack by a teenage boy.

Surely God’s lament through the Prophet Hosea to morally degenerate Israel is pertinent: “There is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgment of God in the land. There is only cursing, lying and murder, stealing and adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed” (Hos 4:1-2).

Children Plotting to Kill

When our children and young people are plotting to kill, something is drastically wrong: this very concept is awful and provocative, and should be prompting searching questions.

But when the US shootings were first reported, I reacted probably in much the same way as many did: a few moments thinking how terribly regrettable it all was, before getting on with my day. It wasn’t until I read a testimony from the family of one of the victims, daring to forgive the perpetrator with true Christian grace, that I was actually brought to tears and prayer.

How easy it is, unless special care is taken, to grow accustomed to the gradual encroachment of evil as an ordinary part of everyday life.

How easy it is, unless special care is taken, to grow accustomed to the gradual encroachment of evil as an ordinary part of everyday life. We’ve seen it all too many times before; our hearts gradually harden to it, often imperceptibly. But the above verses from Hosea carry a warning: the spread of evil in a society and the departure of love are two sides of the same coin.

Pondering these things, I was reminded of Jesus’ salutary warning in Matthew 24, that “Because of the increase in wickedness [in the times of the end] the love of most will grow cold – but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved” (v12). Let’s consider this more for a moment.

Global Cooling?

How, precisely, might an increase in wickedness around the world threaten the love in our own hearts? Jesus’ description of love ‘growing cold’ here is translated using a Greek word (psuchó) meaning to breathe or blow on something in order to cool it down. Basic science teaches us that warm objects lose their heat when they are exposed to a cooler environment. Just so, spiritually: spending too much time immersed in contemplating the world’s evil is enough to cool the love in anyone’s heart even to numbness.

But another way objects can grow cold is by going underground, hiding away in places where neither day nor night can permeate. Just as the love of God in our hearts can be chilled by constant contemplation of evil, so a total refusal to acknowledge or face up to the realities of evil can have the same effect. This deliberate avoidance hardens hearts in self-defence.

A third way in which things grow cold is through inactivity, which perhaps speaks for itself as a spiritual problem. And a fourth way is through isolation – simply by not being near other sources of heat. Many Christians in Britain are finding themselves in a season of spiritual isolation at the present time; though God-given, these nevertheless come with their own challenges and are not intended to be permanent.

The spread of evil in a society and the departure of love are two sides of the same coin.

Staying Warm

Jesus followed his outline of the terrible days which will precede his return (Matt 24) with a series of parables designed to teach his disciples how to ‘stand firm to the end’, their hearts alive and warm: strengthened by time in the warmth of God’s presence, invigorated by the knowledge of his truth, goodness and victory.

These emphasise the need to be found prepared and filled with the Holy Spirit, faithful and active, wise, watchful and alert. Elsewhere in the New Testament the Apostles join the call for faithful, holy living (e.g. 2 Pet 3; 1 Tim 4; 2 Tim 3:1-4:5).

But, “over all these virtues put on love” (Col 3:14). It’s a cliché, but the fire of real, God-given love is the first and best antidote to these days in which we find ourselves.

Battling with cancer, Billy Graham's daughter urges support for endangered Israel

Nearly three-quarters of a century has passed since the Red Army liberated the notorious Auschwitz death camp on 27 January 1945, a date now marked by the annual Holocaust Memorial Day here in Britain and elsewhere.

It is held with the intention of ensuring that it never happens again. But alas, anti-Semitism is back to haunt us, proving the point often made that we never learn from history.

Taking Sides

In the UK, we face the dreadful possibility of having a Prime Minister with strong anti-Israel sympathies if the party currently holding onto power by the skin of its teeth does not get its act together.

In the US, they have witnessed the ghastly spectre of a congresswoman who took ‘swearing in’ quite literally as she launched a profanity-laced tirade against President Trump upon taking office.¹

Democrat Rashida Tlaib and Representative Ilhan Omar are the first two Muslim women elected to Congress, with the latter having already expressed her opposition to Israel.²

Anti-Semitism has also been cited among issues affecting the Women’s March movement in America.³ In fact, it is on the rise worldwide, with left and right forming an unholy alliance against God’s chosen people.

Anti-Semitism is back to haunt us, proving the point often made that we never learn from history.

On the other hand, there is increasing support for Israel from unexpected quarters. Take Brazil, for instance. Its new President, Jair Bolsonaro, has boldly declared his intention of following the US lead in moving his embassy to Jerusalem. And Wilson Witzel actually requested the sound of a shofar to accompany his inauguration as a Brazilian state governor, so strong is his support for the Jewish state.⁴

Sheep and Goats

So, what does this mean? Nations, communities and individuals are lining up for battle (whether knowingly or not) in anticipation, no doubt, of the day of judgment when the sheep are separated from the goats (see Ezek 34:17; Matt 25:31-46; Joel 3:2) on the basis of how they treated the Jewish people.

In the midst of all this, the silence from most leaders of the Christian Church has been deafening – just as it was in Germany and elsewhere during the Shoah. I guess this is largely because of the dangerous and heretical Replacement Theology that has certainly swept through much of the British Church.

We should be witnessing stirring calls from our pulpits to stand with the Jews, but somehow church leaders don’t see the connection. That’s because they have been disconnected from the roots of their faith, and have forgotten that we worship the God of Israel, who has sent his Son as Messiah, first for the Jews and also for the Gentiles.

We owe them everything – the Law, the Prophets, the Patriarchs, the entire Bible (Luke being the only Gentile author) and most of all Jesus, who will soon return as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah (Rev 5:5).

As the world lines up for battle, the silence from most leaders of the Christian Church has been deafening.

Message of Warning

Anne Graham Lotz.

That the Jewish state is once more under severe threat was illustrated by the surface-to-surface missile fired into Israel by Syrian-based Iranian forces on Sunday.⁵ Thankfully, it was successfully intercepted.

Anne Graham Lotz, daughter of the late evangelist Billy Graham, is currently suffering severe side-effects from cancer treatment which she believes could be a message for Israel.⁶

Recalling that God had some of his prophets live out the message he gave them, she wonders if her current life and death battle relates to the Jewish nation, reborn just a week before she came into the world.

“The warning I feel deep within is that Israel is in danger of a surprise attack in this, her 70^th year,” she writes, urging them to return to the Lord (Joel 2:12-14) and us Gentiles to pray for the peace of Jerusalem “and for the whole House of Israel”.

If we truly love Jesus, we will love the Jews – as many of our Arab friends testify on finding peace and reconciliation at the Cross. Wake up, Church!

References

1 Jerusalem News Network, 6 January 2019, quoting INN.

2 Ibid.

3 Ibid, quoting Algemeiner.

4 JNN, 6 January 2019, quoting Jerusalem Post and INN.

5 JNN, 23 January 2019, quoting Israel Today.

6 Joy! News (South Africa), 17 January 2019, sourcing Steve Warren at www1.cbn.com.

Searching for reality in a 'post-truth' age.

The famous words of Pilate at the fake trial of Jesus have echoed down the centuries – what is truth? These words have taken on new significance in the 21^st Century with the development of social media and the spread of ‘fake news’. Paul defines truth in very simple terms: as the good news of salvation (Eph 1:13). Jesus says that he himself is truth. He says “I am the way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6). By this statement Jesus means that anyone who knows God, knows truth.

If truth is so central to the purposes of God, it is small wonder that it is under attack from the powers of darkness that are presently ruling the world. It is as though a huge blanket of cloud is covering humanity and preventing clear perception and rational thinking. The evidence of this can be seen in every part of the world.

In America, division over immigration has led to parts of Government being shut down because of President Trump’s dispute with Congress over the wall he wants to build between the USA and Mexico. Europe too is wracked by disagreement over immigration and the many other problems besetting the EU project: in Germany there is mounting fear over the failing economy and the future of the Euro. In France there are growing social problems, with millions taking to the streets before Christmas in populist demonstrations against the policies of President Macron.

These problems are not going away and there are similar tensions in other EU states. But, arguably, none have such potentially far-reaching consequences as the divisions over Brexit.

No Alternatives?

At the moment Brexit arguments in Britain have not spilled over into the streets, although there are plenty of noisy groups in Westminster demonstrating around Parliament day after day. The major upheavals are inside Parliament where confusion reigns supreme.

The Prime Minister insists that the deal she has negotiated with the EU is the only deal and there is no Plan B. But Parliament has voted to take back the initiative by insisting that if her deal is voted down by Parliament next week, she must come back to the House of Commons in three days with a further plan.

If truth is so central to the purposes of God, it is small wonder that it is under attack from the powers of darkness that are presently ruling the world.

Although there appears to be no valid alternative to Mrs May’s deal, there is probably a majority of MPs who want to ensure that Britain does not leave the EU with no deal at all. The EU fears a ‘No Deal’ more than Britain does, but our politicians appear blind to this. If the MPs make it impossible for ‘No Deal’ to happen, they strip the Prime Minister of the most powerful weapon in negotiations with Brussels.

The Netherlands alone say that they will lose more than £2 billion in trade if there is no deal between the EU and Britain. Germany is desperate to sell their cars in Britain, without which their economy would be in serious trouble; and the EU itself urgently needs the €39 billion promised in the divorce bill, without which the Euro currency is likely to fail. Many of our MPs seem completely unaware of the power they hold over the EU, which is part of the blindness afflicting leaders of our nation.

The Consequences of Rebellion

This blindness to truth is not simply a political, economic or social issue: it is fundamentally a spiritual problem resulting from Britain’s rejection of her biblical foundations. Though this rejection is not recognised, its consequences can be seen throughout the life of the nation.

One obvious example is that every week there are young people dying on the streets of London through a wave of knife crime, drugs, gangs and lawlessness that is spilling across to other cities. This is a national issue, but our politicians are too busy arguing over Brexit to notice what is happening on our streets.

But this wave of violence is directly linked to our rejection of God. We have rejected the biblical foundations of Britain’s value system, so we are no longer able to recognise truth. For 50 years we have allowed the nation to be driven by secular humanist activists who have deliberately undermined traditional family life, promoting divorce, cohabitation, sexual perversion, abortion-on-demand and more recently, transgenderism. These policies have all been based on a lie – the lie that all types of family are equal.

This blindness to truth is fundamentally a spiritual problem resulting from Britain’s rejection of her biblical foundations.

There have been scores of sociological research reports demonstrating that only faithful marriage as the Bible describes it produces happy, stable and successful family life for both adults and children. But this truth about families has been wilfully ignored or rejected by post-modernist agitators who have done untold harm to British children.

Every child who dies on the city streets of Britain is in some way a victim of the post-modern, secular humanist, pro-LGBTQ+ policies that have deliberately aimed at destroying family life in the nation in this ‘post-truth’ age.

Spiritual Blindness

The greatest crime in Britain today is the blindness of our leaders, in both Church and state, to recognise the sickness of the nation and the root of its problems.

I have been responsible for no less than eight sociological reports to Parliament on family life in Britain during the past 30 years. They have set out clearly the consequences of following policies based upon the false concept of ‘equality’. But successive Governments have been blind to TRUTH.

This blindness is a spiritual malady. It is not a lack of intellectual capacity. It is plain and simply a spiritual force of darkness, given a foothold through rebellion and rejection of God’s word, that makes it impossible to understand and accept TRUTH.

This is why our MPs are in such utter disarray over Brexit. There is no shared vision because they are blinded to TRUTH. The plain fact is: no political solutions to the nation’s problems can be found until there is repentance for what has been done to the nation; and new openness to the word of God. What will it take? Is it a matter of more prayer, or more truth-telling – or must more disaster be allowed to come upon Britain?

At this time, it is vital that the faithful remnant of God’s people seek to understand what he is doing and pray and act in line with his will. Elsewhere in this week’s issue of Prophecy Today UK is an article to this end, entitled ‘A Word for 2019’. Please do read this and bring it before the Lord in prayer, seeking how you might respond.

Christmas carols sow seeds in Michigan.

This time last year, we brought you news of our evangelist friends Syd and Liz Doyle and their efforts to share the Gospel in Dearborn, Michigan, through Christmas carolling outreach. This year we are pleased to share another update from the same mission.

*****

Dear Friends and Family,

"Joy to the world, the Lord has come" echoed up the streets of the highest concentration of Arabs outside the Middle East, Dearborn, MI., on the first two Saturdays of December 2018. Despite cold, wet weather, 185 people from many different churches, ages and ethnicities came with us to sing Christmas carols. We had 25 groups made up of our own international team of Koreans, Chinese, Canadian, English, Irish and Americans and gave out about 450 gift bags! We prayed with many families and had a great time sharing “Peace on Earth and goodwill to all people!”

We carolled in a beautiful Lebanese Bakery. A large gathering of Egyptian Christians joined in singing the well-known songs of Christmas. A woman in a hijab called us over to her table to talk with us about the lighting of the Christmas tree in her hometown, Bethlehem.

One young woman, driving by, saw us walking down the street with our Santa hats and tinsel wrapped around us and pulled over to ask for a song. After singing “Jingle Bells” to her little son in his car seat we sang “Joy to the World” while she recorded the whole encounter on her cell phone. It’s our custom to not only give a gift bag with a Christmas ornament, candy, a Jesus film DVD and this year a booklet especially prepared in Arabic and English to explain the Christmas story, but we offer to pray for any needs. She asked we pray for the safe delivery of a baby she was carrying.

At one Yemeni home, tears freely flowed as we prayed for family members still in that war-torn country beset with famine and cholera.

We met families from Iraq, Iran, Syria, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Algeria, Lebanon, Palestine, Pakistan, and even Brazil. Some families invited us into their homes. Children often interpret for their parents. At one Yemeni home, tears freely flowed as we prayed for family members still in that war-torn country beset with famine and cholera.

Another reason we went carolling was to invite the neighborhood to a Live Nativity staged by the Springwells Church right in the center of Dearborn. The church was transformed into the scenes of Nazareth, Bethlehem and Jerusalem. Live animals were housed outside under a tent. Nearly 200 people attended and at least 75 Muslim people came to our feedback areas to ask questions and get more information. We were delighted to spend time answering questions and sharing together our understanding of the Christmas message.

OSyd and Liz Doyle.ne Afghan family, new to the USA, had never heard the Christmas story. When talking with some children from Yemen, we asked what they felt the most important gift ever given by God was. After visiting the Live Nativity the first child said “family,” the second, “love”. Finally a little girl of 10 said, “The most important gift God ever gave to us was JESUS!”

She is right: “For God so loved the WORLD that He GAVE His only begotten Son, that who ever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

There are many more stories - you can watch some of the action on cbn.com (coverage begins at 8:34) as CBN interviewed us for ‘The Global Lane’ programme.

Altogether: 9 gatherings, 185 carollers, 25 teams, 7 caroling times, a live Nativity, 3 parties, 550 gift bags given out, and CBN coverage! About 1600 people personally talked to and prayed with and 28 nations were touched as carollers from USA, China, Korea, Japan, Canada, Ireland and England sang to people of all ages from Iraq, Egypt, Palestine, Iran, Algeria, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Syria, Italy, Lebanon, Brazil, Mexico, Columbia, Morocco, Yemen, Kurdistan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, & Kuwait! We prayed with some to receive Christ- only God knows the total outcome!

May you and yours have a safe and Happy Christmas!

Syd & Liz Doyle

Find out more about Syd and Liz Doyle at Nations Light Ministries website.

The mid-term elections and the battle for America's soul.

The mid-term elections in the USA have attracted a vast amount of attention not only in America but also in Britain and elsewhere in the world. The highest voter turnout in 50 years for mid-term elections confirms their importance in the mind of the general public, where the media have portrayed the elections as a popularity contest for the Trump presidency.

Both Republicans and Democrats had something to cheer in the outcome of the elections and for Donald Trump personally it was a confirmation of his presidency. With this level of support, if he had been up for re-election this year, he would have been successful.

But the elections were also a triumph for America’s electoral system, whereby although the Republicans increased their majority in the Senate, they lost their majority in the Lower House of Congress, which will strengthen the Opposition and enforce greater scrutiny of all government decisions. These are the checks and balances of democracy in action - and will ensure that the White House cannot force through measures without them being carefully weighed by elected members.

Of course, Trump boasted that in marginals where he had campaigned on behalf of the Republican candidate, there had been significant victories. He was also able to claim with a degree of accuracy that the American economy has improved significantly in the first two years of his presidency, particularly providing more jobs for blue-collar workers, from whom he derives much of his support.

Bias and Bitterness

It was notable in Britain how the BBC stressed the negative aspects of the elections and underplayed Trump’s achievement. They celebrated that without a majority in Congress he will not be able to get his policies approved, which could lead to gridlock in Government procedures. But this is all part of the BBC’s bias against right-wing populism which undermines the hold on power exercised by the left-wing ruling elite in most parts of the Western world.

Both Republicans and Democrats had something to cheer in the outcome – but it was notable in Britain how the BBC underplayed Trump’s achievement.

Many reports have noted the bitterness of the rhetoric on both sides of the political divide in the US in the lead-up to the mid-term elections. This bitterness was not just because they were seen as a test of Trump’s popularity. There is a far deeper significance in the political battle that is raging not only in the media, but right across the public sphere in every state in the USA: underneath is a spiritual battle between left-wing secular humanist values and conservative Bible-based values.

America is at war with itself over God: it is as simple as that!

Reversing Values, Rejecting Truth

Put in its biblical context, it is a battle between light and darkness, between right and wrong, between goodness and evil.

The Bible has a lot to say about this battle. It was put neatly by the Prophet Isaiah, who one day startled the residents of Jerusalem by standing up in a public place in the city and singing what in Hebrew would have come over as a rap song! Its theme was about a vineyard which did not grow good grapes and only yielded bad fruit. So, the owner decided to destroy the vineyard.

It was only towards the end of the song that the people realised that this was a parable and the vineyard was really the House of Israel, whom God would no longer protect because “They have rejected the Torah [teaching] of the Lord Almighty and spurned the word of the Holy One of Israel. Therefore the Lord’s anger burns against his people” (Isa 5:24).

The Prophet went on to list the injustices and wickedness of the nation that were an offence to God. Isaiah said “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter” (5:20).

Underneath the political battle raging right across the USA is a spiritual battle – America is at war with itself over God.

It was this reversal of all the values of personal and corporate behaviour that was so offensive to God. Israel had turned upside-down the whole basis of society so that no one could trust a neighbour or know that a promise would be fulfilled. Fake news, lies and deception were everywhere, so God was threatening to remove his protection over the nation, leaving them open to attack from their enemies.

These same warnings ought to be sounding loud and clear in Western nations today, where biblical values were once held high but have now been spurned.

Christians Caught in the Battle

Christians are caught up in this battle between right and wrong, light and darkness. Though the spiritual battle is black and white, however, in practice things are of course more complicated, because humans are complex and imperfect beings.

This makes for difficult decisions: for instance, can American Christians support a President who is a self-confessed adulterer and who has numerous moral blemishes to his record? Clearly, Trump is standing against the ultra-left-wing, secular humanist establishment and upholding biblically-based social values, even if his own personal behaviour has often been objectionable. But does that make him trustworthy?

Is he a sinner who has recognised the good of biblical values and so surrounded himself with evangelical advisers who constantly pray with him? Is he a genuine God-seeker, who has even recognised the importance of supporting Israel, moving the American Embassy up to Jerusalem? Or is he simply an astute businessman who has spotted a way of winning power?

These were the questions that evangelical American voters had to face on Tuesday. None of us knows all the answers, of course, but we can all see the great and worsening divide in the US today as part of the spiritual battle that is raging across the Western world, including throughout Europe and in Britain with the Brexit battle nearing its climax.

We can all see the great and worsening divide in the US today as part of the spiritual battle that is raging across the Western world.

The polarising of Western societies reflects the diametrically opposite spiritual forces battling behind the scenes. Surveying this astonishing political landscape, it could be argued that the ground is being laid for the last great battle prophesied in Scripture, between the anti-Christ and the Messiah. Thankfully, we know the end of the story: “the Lord Jesus will overthrow [the anti-Christ] with the breath of his mouth and destroy [him] by the splendour of his coming” (2 Thess 2:8)!

The question we must all answer meanwhile, is which side of this ultimate battle we – and our family, friends, neighbours and colleagues - will be on.