A new era has begun in British politics.

Will we see unrest on the streets?

If the nation is in a mess, who is primarily responsible?

Where is the prophetic voice that is so desperately needed?

We should not be surprised at the scenes of chaos in Parliament. Each of the MPs has been voted as a representative of the people. A rebellious Parliament is a reflection of a rebellious nation. The chaotic scenes are simply a reflection of a nation in chaos. We have rejected the venerated heritage of our fathers and what we are seeing is the result of our own folly.

The House of Commons is a reflection of family life in the nation. There is hardly a family in Britain that has not been affected by breakdown. Millions of children suffer from the disruptive behaviour of their parents; they lose the security of home life and they lose their friends, their education is disrupted and their life chances lessened. Millions of children now suffer mental and emotional problems because the nation has lost its moral and spiritual compass.

The Bible that provided the basis for personal and corporate behaviour is no longer taught in our schools to all children and is absent from the vast majority of homes; so family life no longer reflects the values of truth, integrity, faithfulness and loyalty.

This is why we have a chaotic and dysfunctional Parliament. It all starts in the family! If children are brought up in loving, stable and secure families and taught biblical values at a young age, the chances are very high that they will grow up to be stable and trustworthy adults, speaking the truth and making a good contribution to the community.

The House of Commons is a reflection of family life in the nation: dysfunctional, rebellious, chaotic.

50 Years of Change

For 50 years this nation has been steadily eroding its biblical foundation that made it a great nation and what we now see in our dysfunctional, rebellious Parliament is the result. Both the Leader of the Opposition and our Prime Minister have been notorious rebels throughout their political careers. They now shout at each other across the despatch box, the world looking on with amazement to see the famous ‘Mother of Parliaments’ torn asunder by 650 rebels in utter disarray.

For the older generation who were brought up with biblical values of gentleness, respect and unselfishness – (God first, others second, self last) – it is simply excruciating to watch this generation of overgrown, unruly infants tearing the nation apart with their mindless behaviour. I can echo the words of the Prophet Ezekiel: “Son of man, you are living among a rebellious people. They have eyes to see but do not see and ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious people” (Ezek 12:2).

Who is to Blame?

When everything goes wrong in the nation, the biblical principle is not to blame the politicians but to blame the religious leaders. Listen to this, also from Ezekiel: “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock. I will remove them from tending the flock so that the shepherds can no longer feed themselves” (Ezek 34:10).

And from Jeremiah: “Among the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen something horrible: they commit adultery and live a lie. They strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that no one turns from his wickedness” (Jer 23:14).

As a senior churchman who has worked alongside the last four archbishops of Canterbury (Donald Coggan, Robert Runcie, George Carey and Rowan Williams), I have been a close observer of church leadership in the nation since the mid-1970s.

I saw at first-hand what a group of unbelieving bishops did when Donald Coggan made an impassioned ‘call to the nation’ to return to biblical values in 1975. They hounded him out of office, vowing that they would oppose any other Bible-believing evangelical getting into Lambeth Palace – hence the appointment of Robert Runcie, the most liberal Archbishop we have ever had, at a time of radical social change when the prophetic voice of the Church was desperately needed.¹

When everything goes wrong in the nation, the biblical principle is not to blame the politicians but to blame the religious leaders.

No Prophetic Voice

Today we have a group of 25 Church of England bishops publishing a statement about Brexit that is full of political correctness but has no Gospel in it. It has no prophetic call to the nation to turn to God. In fact, there is no mention of God!!! No call to prayer, no call to ‘repentance’, no recognition of our departure from the word of the Lord which is why the nation is in such trouble!

The bishops reflect the same secular humanist, globalist spirit as the rest of the establishment who are defying the referendum and trying to keep Britain locked into the European Union.

Replacing Israel

If church leaders would only bother to read the Bible – the whole Bible, not just little bits of the New Testament – they would understand the nature of the spiritual battle that is raging across Britain and much of Europe today.

In their ignorance, they think that the Church has replaced Israel, so they don’t bother to study the Old Testament. Therefore, they do not understand the lessons we can learn from the history of Israel: they don’t know what the prophets refer to as the ‘deeds of the Lord’ and they don’t understand the way God is working out his purposes today – how he is shaking the nations, even sending natural disasters that we label ‘climate change’. They don’t understand why God is doing all these things – in fact they do not even recognise that God is active today in the world he created! The Church is silent at a time when the word of the Lord is desperately needed.

We are a nation under judgment - that is why there is such confusion. There are strong warnings in the Bible about the consequences of rejecting the teaching God has given to us: “The Lord will send on you...confusion and rebuke in everything you put your hand to…” (Deut 28:20). This is what we are seeing in our Parliament and on our city streets. The only hope is for repentance and turning to God - but when will the prophetic voice be heard? Do we have to wait until catastrophe envelops the nation?

References

1 See Clifford Hill, The Reshaping of Britain. Wilberforce Publications, 2018.

Frances Rabbitts reviews Samuel Burgess’ timely defence of Britain’s political heritage.

Mention the word ‘conservatism’ these days in the context of politics and many will automatically assume you are referring to the Conservative Party. The word may also trigger an adverse reaction, as it has gathered some negative connotations: unfettered greed, elitism, obstinate refusal to accept change.

In this timely, concise volume from Wilberforce Publications, Samuel Burgess pares away the vagaries and peculiarities of party politics from the much longer-standing (even ancient) political/philosophical tradition of conservatism, acknowledging where the former and the latter have coincided over the years, but also where they have parted company.

In so doing, Burgess ‘rediscovers’ conservatism as a rich heritage of principles and values with a huge amount to offer in modern-day Britain. His contention is that politics is a moral endeavour (being concerned with the bettering of individual, civic and national life) and that only conservatism is morally substantial enough to guide us in the days ahead.

A Valid Philosophy for Our Time

At 190 pages this is a relatively slim volume, but the prose is considered, eloquent and thought-provoking. Complex subjects are dealt with cogently, though it is by no means a light read.

Burgess starts by dispelling the myth that conservatism is just about preserving the status quo, unpacking its substantive principles, its historic roots in English common law and its debt to the ‘father’ of modern conservatism, Edmund Burke, who is quoted regularly thereafter. Eight subsequent chapters consider matters of civic importance in Britain today, including the idea of the nation-state, the market, freedom under law, culture, religion, the environment and even the idea of beauty, showcasing in relation to each the virtues of a truly conservative approach.

Burgess does not provide comprehensive accounts of these subjects (or the book would be far longer than it is) but offers succinct outlines in accordance with his core argument. As such, this is a book that will start conversations more than finish them. But Burgess undoubtedly achieves his overall goal: to set conservatism back on the table as a valid philosophy for our time (and, presumably, to remind those who ally themselves with the ‘Conservative’ Party what they ought to be standing for).

Burgess ‘rediscovers’ conservatism as a rich heritage of principles and values with a huge amount to offer in modern-day Britain.

Refreshingly Constructive

In unpacking the goods of conservatism it is obviously necessary to highlight how and why other approaches have failed. Burgess strikes a good balance, not indulging in excessive debunking of philosophies like liberalism and socialism but letting the virtues of conservatism speak for themselves. As such, the book is a refreshingly constructive, uplifting read.

The beauty of conservatism, according to Burgess, is that it is not so much a grand political project as a common-sense set of principles, rooted in an objective view of reality and morality (i.e. truth really exists, as do objective standards of good and evil). These principles can be applied to the specifics of any issue or circumstance. Conservatism is therefore a creative, flexible philosophy which allows for society to develop according to the uniqueness of individual places and people – provided they remain rooted in the soil of morality. Conservatism is, according to Burgess, “a political expression of a belief in moral order” (p162).

Unlike liberalism and socialism, conservatism recognises that human nature contains both good and evil and seeks to harness this complex, messy moral reality for the betterment of society. This realism gives conservatism appeal to everyone, not just to Christians. However, throughout the book we catch glimpses of conservatism’s Christian roots – for instance its understanding that true freedom is not about license and permissiveness, but about deference to legitimate authority and flourishing within good moral boundaries.

As the chapters unfold, we discover that conservatism is a friend of gradual, organic change (rather than overnight revolution) and is innately social, recognising the importance of kinship and community. Indeed, we discover that conservatism has people and their best interests at its heart.

Because each chapter is relatively brief given the depth of the subject material, it would have been good to have some further reading recommended at chapter ends. In places, Burgess could also do more to connect his comments back into his main argument about conservatism, especially for readers without a grounding in political philosophy. But these criticisms are minor and do not detract from the overall worth of the book.

Unlike liberalism and socialism, conservatism recognises that human nature contains both good and evil and seeks to harness this complex, messy moral reality for the betterment of society.

High Stakes

Today, the stakes are high. Transnational governance threatens to supersede the nation-state, libertarian individualism is leading to community disintegration and aggressive secular liberalism is stifling freedom of speech. We desperately need to recover a more reasonable, positive, common-sense approach. More than this, we need to have the confidence to put morality and belief back at the heart of politics, recognising that this is the only route to social order and true flourishing.

These are complex issues, but Burgess provides a robust, hopeful defence of why conservatism’s framework for a flourishing society is unparalleled. Today, we seem intent on throwing away its hard-won benefits, accrued over centuries, and these will not be recouped overnight. Our challenge is not to recreate the past, however, but to learn from it and look to the future. The first step is to re-envision ourselves, strengthening our confidence in values which have been much derided and ‘deconstructed’ in recent years. In this, Burgess has done us all a great service.

Whether or not we can recover what has been lost without wholesale repentance and return to belief in God, Burgess leaves unanswered. Nevertheless, the book remains an empowering reminder that Christian beliefs birthed a rich political tradition in Britain with much to commend itself to our modern age. Conservative principles are grounded in timeless truths and will still be standing when all other ideologies have crumbled.

This book is a must-read for those in government, for anyone concerned about how to blend faith with politics and for all who seek a better understanding of how Judeo-Christianity has blessed our politics in the past and could yet do so again.

‘The Moral Case for Conservatism’ (2019, Wilberforce Publications, paperback, e-book) is available online for £10 (£5.49 on Kindle).

You may also be interested in Samuel Burgess’s first book:

‘Edmund Burke’s Battle with Liberalism’ by Samuel Burgess (2017, Wilberforce Publications)

The British people benefit from an extraordinary political heritage, but few know very much about it, or about the debt we owe to the faithful individuals who went before us and helped to create it. 18^th-Century Irish statesman Edmund Burke is one such giant, on whose shoulders we now stand.

In this, Samuel Burgess’s first book, we are treated to an in-depth look at the ‘father’ of modern conservatism and his political legacy. Edmund Burke sought to uphold a biblical approach to politics at a time when the tyranny and moral anarchy of the French Revolution were threatening to spill across the Channel into Britain, ideologically and physically.

Burke’s political defence of the realm was influential at the time, but his was also a prophetic voice. Though libertarianism was rejected in the 18^th Century as too radical, it enjoyed a resurgence in the late 20^th Century and now dominates our politics, media, language and culture, paving the way once again to coercion and authoritarianism.

Burke’s political defence of the realm was influential at the time, but his was also a prophetic voice.

In seven chapters, Burgess unpacks Burke’s Christian beliefs and how they shaped his approach to politics. As he goes, Burgess shows how unique the Christian conservative tradition is in its beliefs about humanity and the world and what it offers in an era of political turbulence and confusion.

In the latter part of the book, there is some similarity with material in ‘The Moral Case for Conservatism’, but the difference in focus between the two means that both books are still worthwhile purchases. ‘Edmund Burke’s Battle with Liberalism’ lays a good historical foundation for ‘The Moral Case for Conservatism’ and the books can be seen as companion volumes.

Burgess’s first book is perhaps a little less accessible and more academic than his second, but no less important. Apart from anything else, it is a solid encouragement that the path we tread today has been trodden before: that great men of faith have gone before us, battling the same powers, learning the same lessons and shining a light on the way forward which we would do well to heed. Edmund Burke is not a well-known name outside the realm of political theory, but it ought to be. We owe him much.

‘Edmund Burke’s Battle with Liberalism’ (180pp) is available from Amazon for £9.99 (paperback) or £4.99 (Kindle). Find out more on the Wilberforce Publications website.

God will hear the cries for justice – but will we?

It seems that our divided, weakened, chaotic Government is able to unite, occasionally, over things that really matter. Like matters of life and death. Last week, the Commons voted overwhelmingly to pass a measure which included the imposition of legalised homosexuality and abortion on Northern Ireland, where a strong biblical stance on the latter has hitherto saved 100,000 lives.

This week, despite impassioned speeches from pro-life peers and outcry from tens of thousands of Northern Irish citizens, the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation) Bill passed through the House of Lords with ease, including a further amendment from Baroness Barker agreeing even more relaxed abortion rules. The amended version was passed by the Commons on Thursday, 328 to 65.

The bill was intended to allow more time for Stormont to reconvene its devolved government, but has been hijacked to serve both pro-abortion and LGBTQ+ agendas. Taking advantage of Stormont’s political crisis, politicians in Westminster have displayed utter contempt for devolution by taking Northern Ireland’s social matters into their own hands (an amendment to give members of Stormont a say was not passed).

In a display of flagrant political opportunism, our MPs have fast-tracked through Parliament the imposition of one of the world’s most extreme abortion laws on Northern Ireland presumably because, like the BBC and the rest of the metropolitan liberal class – they genuinely believe they are morally right. They have a duty, in the ominous words of the BBC, to make sure that Northern Ireland is ‘brought into line’ with the rest of the UK.¹ They must ‘force the people to be free’.

On the Altar

Two biblical incidents have come to mind in these last few days as I have been pondering this truly terrible state of affairs. One is the infamous time in the history of Judah when the nation had degenerated to such an extent that even the kings began to sacrifice their children in pagan fire – affirming a practice for which Israel had already been judged (2 Kings 17:17) and which the Lord detests.

Both Ahaz and Manasseh sacrificed their sons to the Canaanite god Molech (see 2 Kings 16, 21), incinerating them just as today’s aborted babies are incinerated, looking to safeguard their own prosperity just as today’s parents choose abortion because children are considered too expensive, too inconvenient.

These kings provoked the Lord’s fierce anger and helped to seal his judgment upon Judah, with the promise that Jerusalem would be wiped out “as one wipes out a bowl – wiping it and turning it upside-down” (2 Kings 21:10-15, 23:26).

Both Ahaz and Manasseh provoked the Lord’s fierce anger and helped to seal his judgment on Judah by sacrificing their sons.

If this was the case for God’s covenant nation, how much more is judgment inevitable for Britain? To the Lord “a day is as a thousand years and a thousand years are like a day” (2 Pet 3:8). Here children have been sacrificed on the same altar of convenience and prosperity for more than 50 years – and now we are exporting this detestable practice around the world – not just to Northern Ireland, but to poorer nations through our international aid and development programmes.²

Cries Drowned Out

When children were sacrificed in the flames to Molech, priests standing around the family would bang and clap, making so much noise that the child’s screams were drowned out.³ Just so today, the moral claims of the unborn are being drowned out by a cacophony of voices affirming to parents that they are doing the right thing – that it is their right to choose.

Meanwhile, the majority of people in the UK (who support a reduction in the upper limit for abortion, not its extension) are also being distracted from the cries of the unborn by a chattering, chaotic media class determined to keep all the focus on Brexit, on money matters, on Trump, on climate change, on sport…on anything else, really. “‘But I have been watching!’ declares the Lord” (Jer 7:11).

Your Brother’s Blood

This brings me to the second passage that has been on my mind this week: the story of Cain and Abel. Abel may not have been murdered in the womb, but he was murdered in secret, where his screams could not be heard, and by a blood relative, Cain. Adam and Eve may not have witnessed the attack, but the Lord saw, and the Lord heard:

Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”

“I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

The LORD said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. (Genesis 4:9-11, emphasis added)

The word used for ‘cries out’ in this passage is the same word that is used to describe the Israelites crying out to God for deliverance from Egyptian slavery and from the oppression of the Canaanites. It connotes a screaming out for justice, for help, for intervention. In that vein, it is also the word used to describe the summoning of fighting men to go to war (e.g. Judg 7:23, 10:17) – a rousing call for aid in a time of distress. The implication in the story of Abel is clear – the spilling of innocent blood shrieks out to God’s sense of justice, summoning a fierce response.

As our MPs and peers casually nod through contemptible, murderous legislation, you can be sure that the blood of the innocent will scream out to the Lord – and that it has been doing so, from British soil, since 1967. How long will the Lord delay his response? Surely the chaotic turmoil of our current Parliament is the very least that we deserve – and likely only the beginning of judgment to come.

The blood of the innocent has been screaming out to the Lord from British soil since 1967.

Saving Souls

Elsewhere in this week’s issue of Prophecy Today, our editorial comments on the importance of Britain changing her attitude towards Israel and taking opportunities to confess our historic failure to support the Jewish people. This is indeed of vital importance to our nation’s future. But before God, do we not also deserve to be torn apart for what we are doing to these little ones – and for all the other ways in which sin is being allowed to pervade and corrupt our culture? If we supported Israel wholeheartedly, but did not repent in these matters, would he let us go unpunished?

For Christians, juggling these various claims on our prayers can be overwhelming. But the final point that needs to be made is this: the Gospel must head up our struggle for truth in all of these areas. Without the Gospel, we are fighting a losing battle on every issue – from abortion to freedom of speech, from sexuality to euthanasia.

“You have one business on earth,” said John Wesley to his fellow Methodists, “to save souls”. How much was Britain’s godly culture a wonderful outflow of the evangelical labours of such as Wesley? Conserving its last vestiges may buy us some time, but we cannot recoup what has been lost without true revival touching this land once again. This means not just political activism on our part, but Gospel witness. If the cries of the blood of the innocent do not galvanise us to this end, what will?

References

1 See here.

2 E.g. see here and here.

3 According to the Midrash.

Britain continues to abandon its biblical heritage.

A dysfunctional House of Commons voted in Westminster this week to impose same-sex marriage and abortion upon the people of Northern Ireland – the only part of the United Kingdom that respects biblical teaching on these issues. MPs, aided and abetted by a rebellious Speaker of the House, took advantage of the fact that Britain at present is effectively without a fully functioning Government, to pass amendments to the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation) Bill.

The amendments threaten to impose LGBTQ demands upon the people of Ulster by 21 October this year unless the Stormont Government has been reinstated. The DUP, who are the main representatives of the people of Northern Ireland in the House of Commons, and the only Bible-believing political party in the British Parliament, strongly opposed the measures, but they were nevertheless approved by large majorities.

Sinn Fein (who refuse to take their Westminster seats), the political party with whom the DUP have to cooperate if the Northern Ireland Assembly is to be reactivated, immediately expressed approval of the Westminster votes, which is unlikely to make it easier for Stormont to rise from the ashes after 2 ½ years of dormancy. The future for Northern Ireland is further complicated by Brexit and the failure to agree a solution to Irish border issues in the event of Britain leaving the European Union.

The Shaking of the Political Scene

The political scene in the United Kingdom is also struggling to cope with strong opposition to Brexit from Scotland, and growing demands from the SNP for another Scottish Referendum, with the threat of breaking up the Union. Adding all these political tensions together presents a graphic scene of dysfunction over the whole of the United Kingdom where we have a powerless Prime Minister with only days to run and two men vying to be the next leader of the Conservative Party, neither of whom appear to have the outstanding qualities required to unite the nation in a time of crisis.

Adding all the political tensions together presents a graphic scene of dysfunction over the whole of the United Kingdom.

But what about the official Opposition? The most shocking revelations of the week came in the BBC Panorama programme investigating the rise of anti-Semitism in the Labour Party since the advent of the Corbyn leadership. The evidence all came back inexorably to Corbyn himself and his personal hostility to Israel and ambivalent attitude towards Jews. Clearly the Labour Party itself is falling apart and, like the rest of the House of Commons, it is utterly dysfunctional and unfit to be Her Majesty’s Opposition at a critical time in the nation’s history.

See Credits

Another big story of the week has been the unpatriotic action of a Sunday newspaper in publishing leaked reports from the British Ambassador in Washington that have done immense harm to Anglo-American relationships resulting in the Ambassador’s resignation. Boris Johnson’s hesitation in giving unqualified support to the Ambassador in his televised leadership encounter was quite understandable. The subject is far too sensitive for an off-the-cuff verdict. I’ve no doubt that Sir Kim Darroch’s assessment of the dysfunctionality of the Trump Administration is accurate. But the difference between the White House and the Westminster Parliament is simply that Westminster has been exposed to the world whereas Washington has so far been more successful in covering any cracks.

Hypocrisy and Rebellion

But perhaps an even more significant story of the week has been the intervention of Sir John Major saying he would take court action to stop Parliament being prorogued in order to achieve Brexit by the end of October. Why should we listen to the opinions of a man who strongly campaigned to remain in the EU and was not renowned for his moral integrity?

The plain fact is we have a Parliament that is refusing to honour the wishes of the nation as expressed in the 2016 Referendum to leave the European Union. Parliament is in rebellion against the will of the nation and has been totally unable to find collective agreement on any issue concerning Brexit. It has therefore proved itself to be utterly dysfunctional and unable to provide effective government of the nation. Surely such a parliament should be prorogued if that is the only way to achieve the will of the people – that is democracy!

Parliament is in rebellion against the will of the nation.

I went to a meeting of the Lords and Commons Family and Child Protection Group in the House of Commons on Wednesday. The whole of Parliament Square was choked with hundreds of taxis on strike blocking the traffic, and protest groups with all their different messages. It really was a pathetic scene of confusion matching the scene inside Parliament and indeed the condition of the buildings themselves with an abundance of scaffolding!

The Fall of the Empire

Looking back at history it is astonishing to think that the nation at the head of the British Empire, upon which the sun never set, has now come to this pathetic situation where our Parliament is in greater disarray than many banana states, and even the pound is almost at the lowest ebb it has ever been. We are not making a case for colonialism, but simply highlighting the obvious fall in the influence of the nation on the world stage. How are the mighty fallen! What has brought Great Britain to this critical state?

There is only one answer to this question. It is there, written large in the history of the nation – the abandoning of the Judaeo-Christian biblical heritage that was established by our forefathers and for which millions of young men gave their lives to preserve in two world wars during the last century.

The abandoning of its Judaeo-Christian biblical heritage has brought Great Britain to a critical state today.

I lived through one of those wars – as a child I remember the bombing, the bloodshed and the hardship – we even had to grow our own food and keep hens in the back garden – but we were leaner and healthier then than we are today with our fast-food culture and our overindulgence.

Hope in Humility

In wartime we were united in faith: we were a praying nation, and we were fighting to uphold standards of righteousness and truth. Today, we have a rebellious generation that does not even know the meaning of truth. As Jesus said: “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand” (Matt 13:13). We have “exchanged the truth of God for a lie” (Rom 1:25).

Is there any hope? As a patriot I would love to be able to answer that affirmatively! But, after many years of studying the Bible and the history of God’s dealings with his covenant people Israel, I have to say that the only hope for the nation lies in repentance and turning back to the truth. For Israel, it only came after the tragedy of exile in Babylon, so it may be that we have to experience tragedy befalling Britain before eyes are open and people cry out, “O God, what has gone wrong?” Then, there can be a spiritual awakening transforming the nation and its fortunes.

The only hope for the nation lies in repentance and turning back to the truth.

The words of the Prophet Joel offer hope even in a desperate situation: “Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. Who knows? He may turn and relent and leave behind a blessing” (Joel 2:13-14).

Will you join thousands gathering today to intercede for Britain’s future?

Today in Westminster, a capacity congregation is gathering in the Emmanuel Centre to pray and intercede for the nation, while others are assembling in smaller groups around the country.

While the entire Brexit process has been bathed in prayer by faithful intercessors since before the Referendum in 2016, the need for prayer has only increased as the spiritual battle has intensified. Today (Friday 29 March 2019) should have been an historic day of freedom for Great Britain – a sort of ‘independence day’. But instead, the long and drawn-out struggle for Brexit continues.

Battle-weary though many undoubtedly are, the need to come before God on behalf of our nation, ‘standing in the gap’ not only for our national self-determination but also for the millions in spiritual darkness across our islands, has never been greater. With confession and repentance our central themes, please join with us today in searching for the heart of God and praying in line with his will.

If you would like to pray according to the programme being used in Westminster, its details are below along with a link to download the full document. However you are led by the Lord to pray, our fervent hope is that today the hundreds in central London will be joined by thousands upon thousands of brothers and sisters across this land, raising our voices in chorus to Heaven in this dark hour, petitioning the Lord for the mercy we so little deserve, but so desperately need.

Day of Prayer for the Nation

Westminster schedule

From 9:00am              Registration

10:00 – 10:45am       Worship

10:45 – 11:25am       SESSION 1: Government and Brexit

11:30am – 12:10pm SESSION 2: Church

12:15 – 12:55pm       SESSION 3: Israel and Antisemitism

1:00 – 1:40pm           SESSION 4: Secular Humanism

1:45 – 2:25pm           SESSION 5: Life issues

2:30 – 3:10pm           SESSION 6: Families

3:15 – 3:55pm           SESSION 7: Global Sexual Revolution

4:00 – 4:40pm           SESSION 8: Education

4:45 – 5:25pm           SESSION 9: Islam

5:30 – 6:00pm           SESSION 10: Unity and Spiritual Awakening

6:05 – 7:30pm           Summary and Challenge

The full programme includes session comments and starter points for prayer: click here to download.

European nations pay for defiance of God’s plan

As Christmas draws near, the gloomy prospects of Brexit proposals are somewhat overshadowing the bright lights of Britain.

Virtual civil war has broken out within the ranks of the political class, but there is a general blindness to the real cause of our troubles, which lies with our relationship – not with Europe – but with Israel.

Nations are trying to tamper with God’s dwelling-place on earth and are suffering serious injury as a result.

As writer and theologian Frank Booth reminded me, after Donald Trump moved the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in 2017 in recognition of the obvious, European leaders May, Macron and Merkel joined the voices raised against the decision. Look at them now!

Zechariah 12:3 says: “I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock [or heavy stone] for the nations; all who try to move it will injure [or grievously hurt] themselves.”

And Booth asks: “How can anyone who knows the slightest thing about the history of Israel deny Jerusalem as her natural historic capital?”

Signs of the Times

In the bleak midwinter, a popular carol, seems an apt description of the view ahead of us in the UK. But the hymn should also remind us of what life is really about, especially of how – 2,000 years on – we are still profoundly affected by the Christ child who came into the world to save us from our sin.

Bethlehem may have been his birthplace, but Jerusalem – just six miles away – was and is the key to the world’s future. It was there that our Lord died as the perfect sacrifice for sins, where he rose from the dead three days later, where he subsequently ascended to Heaven after appearing to more than 500 witnesses, and where he will return - probably in the very near future judging by the many signs of his coming already being fulfilled.

Nations are trying to tamper with God’s dwelling-place on earth and are suffering serious injury as a result.

The most obvious of these has been the re-birth and rise to prominence of the State of Israel, symbolised in the Bible as the fig tree (see Matthew 24:32-34). The blossoming of the fig tree has come about as a result of the return of Jews from every corner of the world to the land promised them some 4,000 years ago. All the world has witnessed this phenomenon, fulfilling an abundance of ancient prophecies (e.g. Jer 23:7f; Jer 31:16f; Ezek 36:24; Isa 43:5-7).

But as the scriptures also predicted, they would not be welcomed back to their homeland by their neighbours – hence the current upheaval in the Middle East.

So how does this affect the UK and why is this issue – and not Brexit – the source of our difficulties?

Britain’s Capitulation

Britain has been granted the inestimable privilege (by God himself and through international treaties) of facilitating Jewish repatriation. This was thanks to godly men like Wesley, Wilberforce and their evangelical successors, whose influence caused the Government of 1917, led by David Lloyd George, to issue a promise to do all it could to make this possible through what came to be known as the Balfour Declaration (signed by Foreign Secretary Lord Balfour).

Despite later reneging on this pledge and betraying the Jews – even refusing entry (to then British-controlled Palestine) to thousands of would-be immigrants trying to escape the Nazis – we at least got the ball rolling which enabled a reborn Israel to rise from the ashes of the ‘Valley of Dry Bones’ (Ezek 37) that was the Holocaust.

But as we kept caving in to Arab intimidation, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict worsened and our great empire – on which the sun never set – began systematically to fall apart in direct fulfilment of Genesis 12:3, promising blessing to those who bless the seed of Abraham and cursing to those who don’t.

In addition, Joel 3:2 guarantees judgment on the nations that have scattered his people and divided up their land. All the talk now is of a ‘two-state solution’, carving up territory designated (both by God and international treaties) as belonging to the Jews.

Jerusalem the Key

Jerusalem is the key to all this. Plans for dividing the city into east and west in order to achieve peace are actually a recipe for further bloodshed, as Israel’s enemies want all of it.¹ The last great war, the Bible says, will be over the status of Jerusalem, not Europe or the Far East.

Australia’s lukewarm attempt to please both sides of the divide by only recognising West Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, and holding off acceptance of East Jerusalem as the Palestinian capital until a two-state solution is found, will cut no ice with God, who spits such lack of commitment out of his mouth as English folk might do with tepid tea (see Rev 3:16).

Australia’s lukewarm attempt to please both sides of the divide will cut no ice with God, who spits such lack of commitment out of his mouth (Rev 3:16).

While this position might be seen as a step in the right direction, Australia’s Pentecostal Christian Prime Minister Scott Morrison should note what has happened to Britain, Germany and France since Donald Trump’s brave decision to move his embassy to Jerusalem.

Taking their cue from the politically correct secularists, May, Merkel and Macron defiantly refused to follow Trump’s example, and all three are now in grave difficulties.

Open warfare over Brexit threatens to bring further chaos to Britain including the distinct possibility of a Government led by Jeremy Corbyn, an ally of terrorist groups wishing to obliterate Israel and who shows no sign of lancing the boil of anti-Semitism within his party.

Merkel, meanwhile, has a fragile hold on power as Germans express great frustration with the problems caused by mass immigration, and deadly street riots – led by a movement reported to be grossly anti-Semitic – have erupted in Paris in protest at Macron’s ‘reforms’.

Reaping the Whirlwind

Such a triple calamity can be traced back, quite simply, to defiance of the God of Israel and of his commandments which have formed the basis of Western civilisation.

We are reaping the whirlwind of anti-Semitism and godlessness after shamefully turning our backs on the God who bought our redemption when his Son was brutally murdered in his very own city (Ps 48:1-3).

The Bible is clear that our security as nations and individuals depends on our attitude to Jesus, to the Jews and to Jerusalem (John 3:16; Gen 12:3; Ps 122:6).

References

1 See also Senior Palestinian negotiator: all of Jerusalem on table, World Israel News, 18 December 2018.

Britain has a choice ahead.

I have been looking at things we published in Prophecy Today back in 2016, prior to the Referendum and the vote to leave the European Union. Amongst the many comments and articles about the EU and about Britain, its heritage and present social and spiritual condition, we also published what we believed to be an authentic prophecy given by David Noakes.

Although we left readers to assess whether or not they believed this to be a genuine word from God, we clearly felt that there was the truth in it, or we would not have published it. We therefore believe it is right to revisit it at this crucial time in the nation’s history.

We now face the appalling prospect of a second referendum, which is being continually pushed by the BBC in all their news bulletins and interviews - or another general election, in which there is a strong possibility of Jeremy Corbyn becoming Prime Minister.

Let’s review the situation. Theresa May has rightly won the respect even of her strongest opponents, however grudgingly, for her resilience and persistence in the past two years of hard bargaining with the officials of the European Union, succeeding in agreeing a deal with them which has now been presented to the British Parliament and will be voted upon in the near future.

The deal itself is vastly complex and is set out in 500 pages of legal language that makes it difficult to summarise and assess. It sets out the financial settlement with Brussels for allowing the UK to leave the EU; the establishment of a transition period, giving businesses and individuals time to adjust; and it establishes the rights of EU citizens in the UK and UK citizens in the EU at the end of the Brexit period. 

We now face the appalling prospect of a second referendum, which is being continually pushed by the BBC in all their news bulletins and interviews.

The Irish Question

The most controversial part of the deal is the agreement over the border between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic, to ensure that Britain cannot gain a competitive advantage over the rest of the EU.

Anti-Brexit protesters in Westminster. See Photo Credits.

There is agreement between the two sides to make every endeavour to secure a satisfactory agreement during the transition period. But if no agreement is reached, a temporary backstop would come into effect whereby all EU rules and regulations would apply keeping Northern Ireland effectively within the European Union – a situation that could only be resolved by joint agreement. In other words, Northern Ireland could only be joined up to the rest of the UK with the permission of the EU! This of course is quite intolerable to the DUP and to all Brits who uphold the Union of the United Kingdom!

What a strange quirk of history that the Irish question, which has bugged the English since the time of Oliver Cromwell, should be the main stumbling block to our agreement in getting out of the European Union! It has long been a joke among Westminster politicians that if they ever discovered the answer to the Irish question, the Irish would change the question! They have done just that now. It is no longer a question of whether or not there should be a border, but how the border should operate.

But we cannot blame the Irish for the problems of the European Union, which conflict much more deeply with the foundational values of our democratic civilisation. For centuries these ‘British’ values have been founded upon biblical principles of truth, integrity, faithfulness, righteousness, liberty and freedom of expression. It is because these values were being threatened by the European Union and its unelected cabal of Eurocrats, dedicated to secular humanist philosophies and the principle of ‘ever-closer union’, that many people in Britain voted to leave.

What a strange quirk of history that the Irish question, which has bugged the English since the time of Oliver Cromwell, should be the main stumbling block to our agreement in getting out of the European Union!

Revisiting Prophecy

So, what is God saying to Britain today in the face of the utter chaos in our House of Commons, where every MP has a different point of view and there is no shared vision? We hardly need to remind our readers that where there is no vision, the people perish! (Prov 29:18) or, to use the Living Bible’s translation – “Where there is ignorance of God, the people run wild.”

Our greatest problem in Britain today – and the reason for this absence of vision - is the lack of understanding of even the basics of biblical truth. It is now a whole generation ago that we ceased to teach schoolchildren the basics of the Bible. This is why this present generation is suffering so much from knife crime, guns and gangs in our cities. And this is why there is such a vast amount of mental disorders, depression and suicide among young people – and adults.

A whole generation has been raised without any understanding of basic truth. Now they are even being told that they can choose their own gender – the one fixed point of reference that they have in their childhood! Indeed, we are a nation thoroughly deserving of judgment! We are certainly on the road to ruin unless there is a fundamental change in social policy, currently driving the nation to disaster.

We need to read again the central paragraph of the prophecy given to David Noakes in November 2015 (published in April 2016):

Rather than rely on Me and my faithfulness to you, you chose, for worldly purposes, to join yourself to an institution [the European Union] which has denied my Name and refused to acknowledge Me in its councils. My fierce anger is upon that institution on account of its rebellion, its defiant rejection of me and its hardness of heart towards my ancient people Israel.

I warn you now that the European institution will not repent, even though I bring disaster and destruction upon it. I urge you, O Britain still beloved by Me for the sake of your godly forefathers, come out of her, so that you may not be caught up in that same destruction, for I am even now arising in judgment to bring to nothing what she has sought to achieve. If you will separate yourself from her declared rejection of God, I will have mercy upon you and restore my hand of protection; and I will use you once again to bring light to many lost in the darkness which is now steadily increasing.¹

Our greatest problem in Britain today – and the reason for this absence of vision - is the lack of understanding of even the basics of biblical truth.

Choice Ahead

The choice facing the British nation today is a choice between re-asserting our independence as a sovereign state and (crucially) putting our trust back in God for the future, or being driven onto the rocks of destruction through social chaos and violence. This will inevitably follow if the secular humanists continue to get their way – particularly if they succeed in forcing the nation to hold a second referendum.

It does not really matter whether we leave the EU with Mrs May’s deal or with no deal. If we put our trust in the Lord, blessings and prosperity are guaranteed for the future of the nation. The one thing to be avoided at all costs, is a second referendum. The prayers of all Christians should be directed to this end.

References

1 Read the full prophecy here.