Encouragement amid the battle for Britain.

Two years ago, I reported that I believed God was telling me to stop praying for the nation, which upset some people. But the reason was because God was shaking everything – and we believed that more shaking was to come. He was going to shake the banks, industries, high street stores, political parties, Government - all the human institutions in which people put their trust. I warned about the danger of praying against the will of God, by praying “Peace, peace” when the Lord was saying “There is no peace”.

Today, everything is being shaken like never before! Our objective remains to pray that the shaking will be effective! But also, I believe God is encouraging us to begin to look beyond the present crisis to the times of blessing and prosperity that will follow if there is repentance and turning right now – which is the object of the great shaking.

The thing I find most encouraging is the enormous amount of prayer in the nation – clear, focused, mature prayer, from Bible-believing Christians.

Truth and Hope

Earlier this week, my wife and I were guests at the Annual Meeting in London of Transform Work UK, an organisation that Monica and I founded nearly 20 years ago. It gave us the opportunity of reminiscing and bringing a word of encouragement to them. We had the joy of listening to reports from Christian leaders in commerce and industry of what God is doing today.

Transform Work UK (TWUK) provides a link and purpose for thousands of praying Christians in their places of work. We spoke of the founding principles that warned against the danger of becoming little groups who just did ‘Sunday Church’ on weekdays. From the beginning, the objective was to get the Gospel into the workplace, to make an impact upon the economy, to make a difference in working conditions, to benefit employees: in short, to establish both biblical truth and biblical ethics in industry and commerce.

The thing I find most encouraging is the enormous amount of prayer in the nation – clear, focused, mature prayer, from Bible-believing Christians.

We reminded them of one of the founding members, Jeff, who worked for the Audit Commission. Jeff couldn’t stop sharing his faith with anyone who would listen and over lunch one day he talked to one of the Board Members about the biblical values of integrity, faithfulness, loyalty and love for one another at the heart of the Gospel. This led to the setting up of ‘Christians in the Audit Commission’ as part of their Human Resources. They were given an office and direct access to the Board and to the Chairman, who said that these were the ethical values that needed to be at the heart of the Audit Commission’s work.

It was thrilling this week to hear reports of regional group leaders (known as ‘Ambassadors’) from around the country and news of the impact Christians are making in industry and many other parts of the workplace today.

We heard from Christians in banking, in the motor industry, in local and national Government, in the railway network and numerous others. One man related how he had just led someone to Christ during his lunch hour.

There is even a praying group in 10 Downing Street, and a young man in Theresa May’s constituency enthusiastically reported how his group prays for her on a daily basis.

Great Need for Prayer

I have no doubt that prayer is playing a major part in the struggle to complete a satisfactory Brexit deal. All discerning Christians have known for a long time that the battle to untangle Britain from the tentacles of the European Union would be long and hard, because it is not simply a political tussle - it is a major spiritual conflict.

At the beginning of the TWUK meeting I gave them a scripture which I believe was a word from God for them. It was “Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtain wide, do not hold back; lengthen your chords, strengthen your stakes. For you will spread out to the right and the left” (Isa 54:2).

I did not know that Ros Turner, the leader of TWUK, had based her annual message on Jeremiah 29, where the word of God to the exiles in Babylon was to build houses and plant gardens, to increase in number and not to decrease. The same word also instructed the exiles to pray for Babylon, which must have seemed outrageous to the people of Israel whose land had been overrun by this enemy. But that was part of God’s good plan for their future prosperity.

I believe God is encouraging us to begin to look beyond the present crisis to the times of blessing and prosperity that will follow if there is repentance and turning.

I believe that God is now telling Christians in Britain to pray not only for Brexit, but for Brussels! Yes, pray for Brussels! The EU leaders are incredibly worried about the possibility of Britain leaving without a deal which would have a terrible impact upon the EU economy. Of course, they are holding out to the last minute to try to stop Britain leaving the EU; just as are the secular liberal elites in the Westminster Parliament – by any means necessary. Of course, delaying Brexit or forcing another referendum in the current climate of violence and social media hatred would bring violence onto the streets of British cities and chaos across the nation.

Never has there been a greater need for prayer – focused, targeted prayer - since the days of Dunkirk and the 1940s’ threat of Nazi invasion! Nor has there been a greater need to mobilise the little groups of praying Christians in the workplaces, in homes and churches across the nation!

God Longs to Forgive

The next few weeks is going to be the most important time in the history of Britain since the Second World War. Christian intercessors - alone, in small groups or in large gatherings - could focus their prayers with words from Jeremiah 29, praying specifically for repentance and willingness to seek agreement in Brussels and Westminster.

To my surprise, I believe God is saying that he has not finished with Europe, which used to be the most Christian continent in the world, taking the Gospel to many nations. Despite its gross backsliding, God is longing to forgive and to restore. Britain’s departure from the EU will cause an enormous shaking which could be God’s way of opening eyes that are blind.

Through the mountain of prayer that is ascending to heaven from Britain and all over Europe right now as the nations are gripped with anxiety for the future, God is at work using this situation to work out his good purposes. And if we will allow him, he will guide the decision-making and ensure his good plans will give both a future and a hope to Britain and to Europe.

His word is “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord” (Jer 29:13-14).

Jeremiah begins his prophetic ministry.

“Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, now I have put my words in your mouth. ‘See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant’” (Jer 1:9-10).

This was Jeremiah’s ordination: it was God’s act of initiating him into the ministry that he was to fulfil. His calling to ministry had been from pre-birth, when the Spirit of God began preparing him for ministry in his mother’s womb. Now, the moment had arrived when God spoke to him directly about the kind of ministry he was to fulfil.

Six Verbs, One Ministry

The six verbs in this sentence, four negative and two positive, indicate the direction Jeremiah’s ministry was to take. God was warning about the corrupt moral and spiritual state of the nation. This was so severe that much had to be torn down and removed from the nation’s life before there could be a positive outpouring of God’s blessing which would bring prosperity upon the land and its people.

These six verbs outline the whole of the ministry that Jeremiah was to fulfil over a 40-year period in Jerusalem. It would be a time of great turmoil and suffering. The uprooting and tearing down was to get rid of the greed, injustice, immorality and idolatry at the heart of the nation. Jeremiah eloquently describes this in his famous Temple Sermon in chapter 7. Corruption, greed and injustice were everywhere among the people and the leadership - both political and religious, from the King to the Chief Priest.

As Jeremiah said in one of his earliest declarations “From the least to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; prophets and priests alike all practice deceit. They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. ‘Peace, Peace’, they say, when there is no peace” (6:13-14).

The corrupt moral and spiritual state of the nation was so severe that much had to be torn down before there could be a positive outpouring of God’s blessing.

An Almond Tree and a Boiling Pot

Jeremiah’s ordination was immediately followed by a question from God: “What do you see, Jeremiah?” “I see the branch of an almond tree,” he replied. He probably spoke out loud saying the word ‘almond’ in Hebrew (shaqed), which sounded like the word ‘watching’ (shaqad). The pun was not lost on Jeremiah and the Lord immediately responded “You have seen correctly, for I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled.”

This was just the kind of confirmation that the young man needed. It was his first test, showing that he was correctly interpreting the word of the Lord, which indicated that he was ready to receive a revelation of the task that lay ahead. A second question prepared the way for a major revelation: “What do you see?” asked the Lord; “I see a boiling pot, tilting away from the North,” Jeremiah answered.

Some biblical scholars believe that Jeremiah received some kind of picture or ecstatic vision in responding to each of these two questions. But this is unlikely – Jeremiah was not an ecstatic visionary like Ezekiel or Habakkuk. Jeremiah broadly stood in the same type of ministry as Amos, Micah and Hosea, who did not see pictures but heard God speaking his word to them. They were watchmen observing what was happening around them. They then spread it before God to give them understanding, while listening for his word in response. They were then able to declare with authority, “Thus says the Lord!”

At the beginning of Jeremiah’s ministry, seeing an almond tree simply confirmed his calling: that he was now ready to interpret rightly the things that God brought to his attention (later on, for example, he was told to go to the potter’s shop and watch the potter at work through which God would speak to him). In this first revelation he probably saw a housewife pouring out a pot. He noted each detail – even the direction in which the pot was pouring, and from this God gave him the warning that judgment was going to come from the ‘Land of the North’ which was the popular term for Babylon, whose army always skirted around the Golan Heights to the Sea of Galilee and entered Judah from the North.

Jeremiah, like Amos, Micah and Hosea, did not see visions but heard God’s word by observing what was happening around them, spreading it before God and listening for his response.

Judgment and Warning

From that moment, Jeremiah knew that disaster was on the horizon for the nation, as God was warning that he would not protect an unrighteous city filled with the blood of the innocent, with violence and murder on its streets as well as immorality and greed among the priests, and idolatry even practised in the Temple.

Jeremiah knew that his ministry was to uproot and tear down these abominable practices by telling both leaders and the people that God was deeply offended by their lifestyles. Jeremiah’s task was to call for repentance with the promise of forgiveness, while at the same time warning about the consequence of failing to listen.

Jeremiah had to declare that God was a covenant-keeping God who would undoubtedly protect his people and ensure their survival. But he was also a God of righteousness who would withdraw his protective covering over the land and the people, for a time, if they did not heed the words of warning that he was giving through his spokesman.

From this first direct encounter with God at the beginning of his ministry, Jeremiah knew the end from the beginning. Judgment and disaster would inevitably fall upon the land, the people and the city of Jerusalem. Even the Temple would be destroyed, although everyone believed it was inviolable as the dwelling-place of God.

From the beginning of his ministry, Jeremiah knew that he was going to meet bitter opposition. The word came to him, “Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them.” He received an assurance that God would give him extraordinary strength in the face of extraordinary opposition. Right from the beginning, he received a promise that was to strengthen and sustain him throughout his long and turbulent ministry: “They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declared the Lord (1:17-19).

Jeremiah was to declare that God was a covenant-keeping God who would not forsake his people, but he was also a God of righteousness.

Seeking the Lord’s Heart

It is this kind of ministry that we attempt to fulfil in Prophecy Today and Issachar Ministries: watching what is happening around us on the national domestic scene and observing the wider picture of what is happening among the nations in Europe and around the world, then spreading all this before the Lord and spending time listening for his response, so that we can know the word of the Lord for our times.

This is what the elders of the Tribe of Issachar did who came to King David at the time of his ordination, offering their services as watchmen and intercessors.

Of course, we don’t claim to be unique in this kind of ministry. We believe that all God’s people should be desiring to understand the times, and we are always open to hear from others who are seeking similarly to hear the word of the Lord.

But as Jeremiah was constantly troubled by false teachers and false prophets who gave words out of their own imaginations, promising peace and prosperity when God was calling for repentance and warning that disaster lay ahead, in the same way today there are many false teachers proclaiming another Gospel, and false prophets promising revival and glad tidings of peace and prosperity, when God is actually calling for repentance and turning.

This is why in recent weeks we have warned about the false teachings and false prophecies of the ‘New Apostolic Reformation’ (NAR). Of course, their messages are popular with the people, as were the false prophets in Jeremiah’s day. But those who know the whole word of God in the Bible and who genuinely seek for truth will surely recognise the true word of the Lord.

As Jeremiah declared in the letter he sent to the exiles in Babylon, the solemn promise of God is: “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord (29:13-14).

This article is part of a series. Click here to read other instalments.

Britain toughens up over Iran-backed group threatening Israel.

Amidst the ongoing shame of anti-Semitic revelations surrounding the Labour Party, it is no small comfort to hear of positive moves in the opposite direction from Theresa May’s Tory Government.

Following an apology of sorts from Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt over Britain’s disgraceful treatment of Jews during our charge of Palestine, Home Secretary Sajid Javid this week announced the full banning of Lebanese terror group Hezbollah, who have long been committed to wiping Israel off the map.

The Government has finally accepted that there is no distinction, as previously claimed, between the group’s political and military wings.

Israel the Divider

At long last we are seeing a clear dividing line between the two main parties which, for the past two decades, have become more or less indistinguishable from one another on many important issues, including the dreadful liberal social engineering which has seen the Judeo-Christian values of our society progressively replaced by those of aggressive minorities.

But now – over Israel – a gaping chasm has opened up, and Opposition Leader Jeremy Corbyn had better watch out. A supporter over the years of the IRA, North Korea, Eastern European and other socialist dictatorships, he has also famously referred to Hezbollah, along with equally frightening neighbours Hamas, as ‘friends’.

This certainly suggests that he shares their vision for Israel’s destruction, as apparently does Seumas Milne, Labour’s head of strategy and communications, who is considered so influential that he has been referred to as ‘Corbyn’s brain’.

According to The Mail on Sunday,¹ Milne’s links with terrorist groups dedicated to destroying the Jewish state are decades old. A party staff member, speaking anonymously, said: “Seumas has been supporting groups that deny Israel’s right to exist for many years.”²

At long last we are seeing a clear dividing line between our two main parties: over Israel, a gaping chasm has opened up. 

A Crisis of the Soul

Javid said: “My priority as Home Secretary is to protect the British people. As part of this, we identify and ban any terrorist organisation which threatens our safety and security…”

It will now be a criminal offence to be a member of, or to invite support for, Hezbollah, carrying a sentence of up to ten years’ imprisonment.³

Much of what goes on within the ranks of today’s Labour Party could surely be interpreted as “inviting support for Hezbollah”. Only last Sunday, Labour Deputy Leader Tom Watson revealed he had received 50 new complaints relating to Jew-hatred in the previous week!

Speaking on The Andrew Marr Show, Watson urged his boss to address “a crisis for the soul of the Labour Party”.

As I’ve said before, the position taken on Israel by nations, governments and even individuals or church denominations will inevitably have a bearing on their respective fortunes. This is based on a crucial promise in the early pages of the Bible (Gen 12:3) – that if you bless the seed of Abraham, you in turn will be blessed, but that if you curse them, you will come under judgment.

Britain has been under a curse since the time immediately before, during and after World War II when we refused entry to their ancient homeland for many of those Jews trying to flee Nazi Europe, while at the same time betraying our pledge to resettle them there through repeated appeasement of Arab demands.

Righteous Intervention

But a light has dawned at the Foreign Office, and we pray it will grow ever brighter. However, this is not just a political issue; it is intensely spiritual. And it is thanks in some measure to the efforts of Christians United for Israel UK (CUFI) that we have got this far.

Their current campaign, Operation Mordecai, is aimed at alerting Government to the grave threat posed to Israel and the West by Iran – supporter of Hezbollah, who have thousands of rockets on Israel’s northern border ready to fire at the Jewish state.

It was Mordecai who heard of a plot to destroy the Jews of ancient Persia and successfully persuaded his niece, Queen Esther, to intervene.

CUFI know full well the importance for Christians of standing with Israel. But there is a deafening silence from the Church in Britain as a whole. Israel Today journalist Ryan Jones told me: “It always amazes me how even many Christians still don’t grasp Israel’s importance when they can see how much impact policies and positions regarding the Jewish people have on the politics of the world’s greatest powers. How else can one explain the fact that tiny Israel and the Jews are consistently major election issues in the US, UK and other powerful nations?”

The position taken on Israel by nations, governments and even individuals or church denominations will inevitably have a bearing on their respective fortunes.

For the Gospel’s Sake

Clearly, today’s Jews are also under threat from hard-left politicians gaining momentum in our country. But this predicament is just the latest example of centuries of European persecution, as was brought home this week in a moving personal documentary on the Jews of Leeds by Simon Glass,⁴ some of whose Lithuanian ancestors were taken out and shot, along with the rest of their community, by invading Nazi soldiers.

CUFI and others have helped to unveil a modern plot against the Jews. But this isn’t just about preserving freedom, fairness or even lives. We need to clear the obstacles to the preaching of the Gospel – to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile (Rom 1:16).

When Rees Howells and his Bible College students fought the great battles of World War II on their knees in Wales, they were mindful that Hitler’s regime blocked the path to fulfilling Christ’s Great Commission.

The Marxist, atheist agenda of the rising tide of hard-left MPs is a demonic distraction from our chief calling. And we desperately need to lance this poisonous boil – not as an end in itself, but so that we can concentrate on focusing the attention of both Jew and Gentile on the destiny of their souls.

The Gospel is the absolute priority for our nation. As St Paul wrote: “Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” (1 Cor 9:16).

References

1 The Mail on Sunday, 24 February 2019.

2 Quoted by United with Israel, 25 February 2019.

3 Christians United for Israel UK, 25 February 2019.

4 A Very British History, February 25 2019, BBC4.

Part II: Aftermath and prospect.

Western media coverage of the March of Return peaked in May 2018, but the protests have continued. To date, almost a year later, over 180 lives have been lost and thousands of rioters are still gathering at the border.

The tragedy has played out well beyond the original plan, with much damage done to Palestinians as well as to Israel’s civilians, environment and international reputation. Senior Israeli officers and ministers have summarised the events as a military win but a big PR loss for Israel. This week, the UN has chosen to blame the IDF for its handling of the situation, accusing Israel of possible ‘war crimes’.¹

That said, Hamas has not realised its ultimate goal of storming through the fence and on into Israel, flooding it with 1.9 million ‘returning refugees’. In January, Israel announced the start of a massive upgrade of the border fence, the above-ground part of which will be 6 metres high and equipped with ‘smart’ technology. The new fence will likely minimise violent attempts to break through, but also draw international criticism and be held up as another symbol of Israeli ‘apartheid’.

One Battle, Many Fronts

In recent months, military and intelligence resources in Israel have been split between the ongoing violence at the Gaza border and the discovery of sophisticated tunnel systems beneath Israel’s northern border with Lebanon. One suspects co-ordination by Iran, a major backer of both Hamas and Hezbollah, as the tunnels were constructed partly while the Gaza spectacle was drawing the IDF’s attention.

NBC reports the tunnels’ connection to Hezbollah fighters “coming home from the war winding down in Syria, where they helped prop up President Bashar al-Assad as he battled rebels trying to unseat him. Fears are running high that as the battle-hardened militants return to an estimated arsenal of 100,000 rockets and missiles, they will intensify their focus on their original foe: Israel.”²

Back in Gaza, violent Islamist incitement has only continued. As 2018 was drawing to a close, Khaled Meshal (former Chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau) stated on al-Jazeera TV (Qatar):

A country cannot be liberated and rights cannot be restored without resistance. It is not possible. Without resistance, the occupation cannot be defeated or forced to retreat. Every means of power must be put to use…

Today we are being called and preparing to force Israel to retreat from Jerusalem and from the West Bank. Allah willing, this is on the way to its retreat from all of Palestine…The West Bank spans over 5,600 square kilometres, and has mountains and valleys. I'm from there, I know the landscape. It has everything necessary for guerrilla warfare. Why are we not preparing for that?3

To date, almost a year after the March started, thousands of rioters are still gathering at the border and the tragedy has played out well beyond the original plan.

Anti-Semitic rhetoric in Gaza is encouraged by Islamic clerics around the world. On 29 December, on al-Watan TV (Turkey), Egyptian cleric Sameh Al-Juba proclaimed:

Allah forbids you to deal justly and kindly with…those who fight us because of religion and who drive us out of our homes, like what is happening in Palestine…Those must not be treated kindly or justly. Jihad is the only way to deal with those people. It is blood for blood, and attack for attack. [The Quran says:] "Whoever attacks you, attack him in the same way." This gives ample justification for the men of the resistance and the mujahideen in Palestine to retaliate twofold against this occupying enemy, until our countries are purified.⁴

Struggling for Support

Gazans protest against Abbas, 24 February 2019. Mohammed Talatene/DPA/PA ImagesBut, underneath the threats of genocide, the Palestinian cause is struggling. Mahmoud Abbas, the President of the Palestinian National Authority in the West Bank, is ageing and ill. Most Palestinians want his resignation, yet no successor is apparent. The longer this remains the case, the more likely his eventual retirement or demise is to trigger internal instability.⁵

Relations between the West Bank and Gaza – culturally very different enclaves – remain at an impasse, with successive reconciliation attempts falling through. At the end of January, Abbas, with the backing of Egypt, announced increased sanctions against Gaza which will restrict imports, prevent money transfers and reduce openings of the Rafah crossing into Egypt.⁶

The economic pressures are also enormous. The cutting of substantial funding from the USA and Australia has coincided with international backers like Qatar, Turkey and Iran being increasingly distracted by their own issues.⁷ The Arab world is fractured and re-structuring - and leading Sunni states including Egypt and Saudi Arabia are drawing closer to Israel. Meanwhile, in a spat over his rewarding of terrorists and their families, Abbas has refused to accept further tax payments collected on his behalf by Israel, which represent the PA’s most important source of income.⁸

All this, sadly, is likely to mean more violence in the short-medium term, but whether Palestinian leaders manage to deflect it successfully towards Israel, rather than themselves, remains to be seen. Dr Mohsen Mohammad Saleh, a pro-Palestinian political expert from Lebanon, predicts escalation, whichever way things go.⁹ He also predicts a growing role for diaspora Palestinians to champion the cause abroad, even while things collapse at home.

Indeed, since ‘Palestine’ is the ‘cause celebre’ of the Western left-wing, we can assume that whatever happens in the Middle East, in Europe and North America the encouragement of anti-Semitic attitudes and behaviour (e.g. the chanting of genocidal anti-Semitic slogans at such events as the British Labour Party Conference¹⁰) will continue. In the West, the PR war for Israel’s right to exist continues unabated and relatively undisturbed by on-the-ground Middle East politics.

This is because Palestinian aggression is but one manifestation of a global war on Israel, driven by an underlying hatred of the God of the Bible, whose faithfulness to his own promises is proclaimed to the world by the modern re-establishment of the Jewish people in their historic homeland.

Underneath the threats of genocide, the Palestinian cause is struggling.

Remembering Ordinary Palestinians

The victims in all this are not only the Jews, however, but also ordinary Palestinians, especially in Gaza. Though many (not all) continue to support Islamist aggression against Israel, it would seem that the majority know no better – understandably, given the systematic anti-Jewish indoctrination they receive from birth.

98% of the Gazan population are Muslim, living under the sway of imams, with only about 1,200 Christians and no Jews amongst them. There is no free press and disagreement with Hamas results in imprisonment and torture. How can they hear the Gospel, let alone understand Jewish perspectives?

They remain ignorant of God’s promise in Genesis 12:3 to Abraham, whom they revere as patriarch, prophet and ‘Friend of Allah’. That promise is repeated to Jacob in Isaac’s blessing (Gen 27:29), in a variant form to the nation of Israel under Moses (Ex 23:22) and through Balaam (Num 24:9). It promises that God himself is against those who fight against the Jewish people: ‘I will curse them that curse you’.

So far as the Gospel is concerned, the Christian TV channel SAT7 broadcasts in Arabic across the region, but its effects in Gaza are not publicly known. There is no doubt that the Holy Spirit is active in the Muslim world, not only through social media and satellite TV but through dreams and visions that are bringing many to Christ.

Our best prayers for the Palestinians should be that the Lord himself will open their eyes to his truth and bring them into real freedom – something the March of Return, even in its most idealistic form, could never have offered.

Part 2 of 2. Click here to read Part 1.

References

1. UN disgraces itself; accuses Israel of “war crimes”, ignores Hamas terror at Gaza border. CUFI, 28 February 2019.

2. Bruton, FB and Goldman, P. Discovery of Hezbollah 'attack tunnels' rattles a northern Israeli town. NBC, 27 January 2019.

3. Former Hamas Leader Khaled Mashal Calls for West Bank "Guerrilla Warfare," States: "I Resist, Therefore I Am". MEMRI, Clip No. 6891, 12 December 2018.

4. Egyptian Cleric Sameh Al-Juba on Muslim Brotherhood TV: The Jews Are Treacherous and Should Not Be Dealt with Kindly or Justly. MEMRI, Clip No. 6945, 29 December 2018.

5. According to some commentators, this instability may have already begun.

6. WATCH: Hatred of Israel not enough to unite Fatah and Hamas. World Israel News, 30 January 2019.

7. Qatar is also showing signs of impatience with Hamas, refusing to pay Gaza’s electricity bill beyond April because key infrastructural investments have not been made. While Qatari cash is still coming into the Strip, attempts are apparently being made to route this into humanitarian needs rather than giving it straight to Hamas. Read more here and here.

8. Israel freezes funds to PA after Abbas refuses to stop payments to terrorists. CUFI, 22 February 2019.

9. Saleh, MM. Political Analysis: The 2019 Forecasts for the Palestine Issue. Al-Zaytouna Cenre, 28 January 2019.

10. According to the Jewish Chronicle, at the Labour Party’s Annual Conference on 26 September, “it seemed there were more Palestinian flags being waved than at a Hamas rally in Gaza, or at the opening session of the Palestinian Parliament at Ramallah. The vote by party members to debate Palestine was the fourth most popular after housing, schools, and justice for the Windrush generation. The subject of “Palestine” gained more votes (188,000) than Brexit and the National Health Service. The chanting by Labour activists included the Hamas and Islamic Jihad slogan “From the river to the sea, Palestine shall be free”.” 

Paul Luckraft reviews ‘Plan A’ by Paul Parkhouse (ICEJ, 2017).

Subtitled ‘What modern Israel reveals about the original and unchanging purposes of God’, this short book aims to unpack the reasons behind “an event unparalleled in human history” when “one of the world’s most famous ancient nations suddenly reappeared on the map” (p6, 7). This was not just any nation, but God’s original covenant nation – which makes this event well worth exploring.

Parkhouse’s key concern is to unpack why God’s salvation plan for the world still needs Israel (this may be baffling to some, but for others it is equally puzzling that the common Christian understanding of God’s plans includes no present or future need for Israel).

The author sets out to refute those theologians such as Karl Barth who claim that “The first Israel, constituted on the basis of physical descent from Abraham, has fulfilled its mission now that the Saviour of the world has sprung from it and its Messiah has appeared…Its mission as a natural community has now run its course and cannot be continued or repeated” (p21, quoting Barth’s Church Dogmatics).

This common view is based on a misunderstanding of the nature of covenant, which Parkhouse explores. Jesus initiated the New Covenant in his own body and blood, but not in isolation from the other covenant promises which God had previously made.¹ It is also important to realise that the New Covenant was originally promised to the Jewish people (see Jeremiah 31 and Ezekiel 36). God has to be faithful to all he has covenanted to do if his plan is to reach fulfilment.

‘Divine Delay’

Using the biblical Feasts as a roadmap to guide us through the details of God’s overarching salvation plan, Parkhouse points out that it was always God’s intention that there should be “a long pause between the new covenant being established in Israel and Israel being established in the new covenant” (p68). This ‘divine delay’ comes with a certain amount of irony. Its primary purpose is to allow the Gentiles to come in fully – but it has become one of the main reasons Gentile Christians use to demonstrate that God must have replaced Israel with the Church.

It was always God’s intention that there should be “a long pause between the new covenant being established in Israel and Israel being established in the new covenant.”

Parkhouse makes it very clear that there is no alternative to ‘Plan A’ and that Satan has never been able to derail it, nor will he be able to stop its future fulfilment. It is secure within the purposes of God and we can remain confident that God will see it through.

Invitation to Investigate

The re-emergence of Israel is a sign for our times, and one that must be investigated just as Moses needed to take a closer look at the bush that burned but was not consumed. When he did examine the phenomenon in more detail, Moses discovered that at the centre of the bush was God himself. We are invited to make a similar discovery concerning Israel today.

Overall, the author provides plenty of scriptures and uses them well to bolster his arguments. The book is well written and is of a size and style that makes it useful to give away.

‘Plan A: What Modern Israel Reveals about the Original and Unchanging Purposes of God’ (94pp, paperback) is available on Amazon for £4.99 or from ICEJ. Also on Amazon Kindle for £1.99.

Notes

1 Only one of these (the Mosaic covenant) was superseded by the New Covenant – for further reading on this see for example ‘By God, I will: The Biblical Covenants’ by David Pawson (Anchor, 2013).

Torah portion: Exodus 27:20-30:10

Tetsaveh ('You shall command')

Our portion this week focuses chiefly on the outward appearance of the High Priest. How thoroughly God designed the garments of Aaron! There is much to consider in the symbolism, from the blend of the colours to the materials. Books have been written on this subject and we can take time this week to meditate on it afresh.

The ministry of the High Priest was to go into the presence of God on behalf of the people, bearing their sins before the Lord in prayer. The seriousness of this is shown by the precise detail of what we read this week concerning Aaron. But as High Priest (of the Levitical order), Aaron was a type and shadow of Yeshua, so all this detail also points to our Great High Priest (who is of the order of Melchizedek). Our understanding of Aaron’s ministry must set a foundation for us to understand Yeshua’s High Priestly ministry.

This is what the writer to the Hebrews set out to explain to us. Why not make this your parallel reading for this week, focussing especially on Hebrews 7:25 – Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

Our Earthly Ministry

But this week’s Torah portion also contains another type and shadow, right at the start. In comparison with the detail concerning the High Priest, it can easily be missed, yet it is of considerable importance. It is in the first verse of the passage, Exodus 27:20, which instructs the Priests to keep the lamp of the Tabernacle burning continually. Surely this points to what the Lord said in the Sermon on the Mount: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matt 5:16).

Whilst Yeshua HaMashiach continues His perfect ministry of the Great High Priest interceding on our behalf, should we therefore consider the condition of His Body on earth, in light of this? In this darkening world, how well are we keeping the light of truth and love burning before men? Contrast, for instance, the glory of the risen Lord expounded on in the first chapter of the Book of Revelation, with the following letters to the seven Churches in Asia. How well are we doing?

We might think that God is pleased with the magnitude of our singing new choruses, or the accuracy of our personal theological understanding. But unless this turns into a living witness of unity in love and truth, manifested in loving personal relationships, strong families living in the Lord’s way, and the many other aspects of our walk with God that draw people to Him, then our light is dim.

Yeshua our Great High Priest is perfect in His ministry for us, but what of our ministry in His name, on this earth? Food for thought this week.

Author: Clifford Denton

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!

 Jeremiah's call to ministry.

“The word of the Lord came to me saying, ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations’” (Jer 1:4).

This was Jeremiah’s personal testimony which laid the foundation for his life’s work. His ministry was not a personal career choice; it was a response to the compulsion to declare the word of God, similar to that which Paul felt when he declared “Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel” (1 Cor 9:16).

The phrase “The word of the Lord came to me” means ‘came into being’ or was ‘birthed’ within him. This birthing actually took place in the womb, where the Spirit of God began forming the word of God in the unborn child from the moment of conception. Before the tiny body of Jeremiah began to take shape within the womb of his mother, God was planning to use him as a prophet to the nation.

From the moment of conception, God was moulding the character of the man he was preparing for the most difficult and exacting ministry of any of the biblical prophets. Before he was born, Jeremiah was set apart for this special task of conveying the word of the Lord to the nation in the most critical period of its history since its formation in the wilderness, under the prophetic leadership of Moses.

A Prophet in a Priestly Family

Like the Prophet Samuel, whose mother gave him to the Lord while he was still in her womb, Jeremiah must also have had a special mother – a woman of prayer and faith. We know nothing about her except that she was the wife of a priest, a descendant of Zadok and Abiathar, whose heritage went back to the time of Eli and Samuel.

Like the Prophet Samuel, whose mother gave him to the Lord while he was still in her womb, Jeremiah must also have had a special mother – a woman of prayer and faith.

Abiathar had been King David’s chief priest. He was dismissed by Solomon in an effort to prevent opposition to his taking the throne from his older brother Adonijah who he murdered (1 Kings 2:25-27). Abiathar and his descendants were exiled from living in Jerusalem to live in the village of Anathoth. Although only two miles distant, it was a million miles away in terms of social influence. Jeremiah was raised far away from the aristocratic priestly families of the Temple.

Jeremiah’s family must have suffered from a strong sense of social inferiority which made them incredibly sensitive to having a pariah amongst them. The priest’s role was to maintain the religious traditions of the nation and to oppose any changes, whereas the role of the prophet was to challenge the status quo in the name of God. To have a prophet in a priest’s family would have been seen as a tragedy, and as Jeremiah notes, even his own family sought to take his life, but God revealed their plot to him (Jer 11:18-23). As Dean Inge once said, a priest is never so happy as when he has a prophet to stone!

God’s Creation from Conception

Jeremiah’s testimony that the word of the Lord was birthed in him from the time of conception is a recognition that the pre-birth period in the womb is of great importance for character formation. Yet in contemporary Britain, 8.7 million babies have been destroyed since the legalisation of abortion in 1967. We are a nation steeped in the blood of the innocent – throwing away as unwanted, unloved and uncared for, the most precious gift of life that only God can give.

The record of Jeremiah’s birth shows that God knows each one of those whom he creates in his own image from the moment of conception. At the end of every working day in our hospitals, a black bag full of babies is taken out of the back door and thrown into the incinerator. What is God saying to the men and women who care so little for the gift of each tiny life? How many great men and women who could have served the nation have been burnt in the fire – who could have discovered a cure for cancer, become a great preacher or a righteous Prime Minister? What if Jeremiah’s mother had aborted him?

The record of Jeremiah’s birth shows that God knows each one of those whom he creates in his own image from the moment of conception.

Jeremiah speaks of God’s horror at the detestable practices of burning babies in the fire in the Valley of Ben Hinnom outside Jerusalem. He links this directly with God’s judgment coming upon the nation (Jer 7:30-34). This is a sobering thought for us today.

Only a Child

When the call of God came to Jeremiah, his response was “Ah, Sovereign Lord, I do not know how to speak; I am only a child.” But the Lord said “’Do not say, “I am only a child”. You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you’, declares the Lord” (Jer 1:7-8).

Jeremiah was probably still in his teens when this message came to him and he protested at his youthfulness and his inability to undertake such an enormous task. Yet, as the son of a priest he would have been schooled for the priesthood; an important part of which would have been learning the Torah – the teaching that God gave to Moses. He would also have been taught the history of the nation and would have learnt to understand God’s dealings with his covenant people.

Jeremiah’s training for the priesthood was part of God’s intended preparation for his prophetic ministry, despite the fact that his family did not know that they were training a prophet – not a priest! It was probably at this point, as a teenager, that Jeremiah began refusing to undertake the duties of a priest. The word of the Lord was already stirring within him, alerting him that he would not be taking his turn as a minor priest on duty in the Temple. He was destined to preach outside the Temple, not inside its precincts!

If this was the first time that Jeremiah had distinctly heard the Lord speaking directly to him, it was right that his reaction was that he was unfit for such a task. Like Isaiah of Jerusalem some 200 years earlier, who had felt his own inadequacy and cried out “For I am a man of unclean lips and I live among a people of unclean lips”, Jeremiah also recoiled from the awesome task of taking the word of God to the nation. But immediately the word came “Do not say, ‘I am only a child’. You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you.”

Jeremiah’s training for the priesthood was part of God’s intended preparation for his prophetic ministry

Trusting the Promise of God

Then came the promise in which Jeremiah was to trust for the rest of his life; “Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you”.

The very fact that he was going to need divine power to rescue him must have been a daunting experience for the young man. Certainly, that promise would be put to the test as Jeremiah later faced angry mobs, or outraged priests, or a cruel king. But the God who had watched over Jeremiah’s earliest character formation in the womb was a God who keeps his word and never forgets his promises.

There would be many times when Jeremiah’s faith would be severely tested, but the strength of the Lord was always sufficient for him, even when he was in the stocks being pelted by a mob, or dropped down a well to sink in the mud. God never deserted him and always enabled him to bring the word of the Lord to a generation who had ears to hear but never heard, and who had eyes to see but never saw.

They had minds to understand, but were never able to interpret what they saw or heard because they rejected the word of God through his chosen one. This would eventually bring tragedy upon the nation.

What is happening today when God is clearly shaking the nations and the whole natural Creation? Will the prophetic word of God be heard in the land and heeded by men and women in time to prevent tragedy? Or, will our generation, like that of Jeremiah, live to see the warnings of God ignored and tragedy unfold?

This article is part of a series. Click here to read other instalments.

Nine MPs resign over Corbyn leadership

Jeremy Corbyn’s abject failure to deal with anti-Semitism within his party has helped spark Britain’s biggest political split in 40 years.

And one of his MPs has even suggested that Israel could have funded the resignation of seven Labour MPs, which has since swelled to nine. Ruth George made the comment on Facebook before withdrawing it with ‘unreserved’ apologies, saying she had no intention of “invoking a conspiracy theory”.¹

Meanwhile the Jewish Labour Movement also threatened to quit the party. Wes Streeting, a Labour MP and vice-chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group for British Jews, warned that such a move “would be a nail in the coffin for the Labour Party itself”.²

Anti-Semitism, or Brexit?

The so-called ‘Gang of Seven’ – joined on Wednesday by Labour Friends of Israel chair Joan Ryan and on Friday by Ian Austin – said they were ashamed of Mr Corbyn’s leadership, condemning his handling of Brexit and anti-Semitism.

Luciana Berger, the heavily-pregnant Jewish MP who had been subjected to death threats necessitating bodyguards at last year’s party conference, said she could no longer remain in a party that was “institutionally anti-Semitic”.³

But the hiatus is as much about the vexed issue of Brexit as anything else, which makes the future even less certain for bewildered British voters.

The MPs, who have formed a new Independent Group already bolstered by several disaffected members of the Conservative Party, appear to be represented by some ardent Remainers, whose issue with Mr Corbyn is at least as much about his leadership on this issue as it is over his anti-Semitism.

So while initially perceived as an opportunity for Theresa May to consolidate her negotiating position with Brussels, it now looks like the British political ship is being stranded in troubled waters with diminishing hopes of finding a safe harbour.

Jeremy Corbyn’s abject failure to deal with anti-Semitism within his party has helped spark Britain’s biggest political split in 40 years.

Winds of Change

A quickly conducted poll suggests the new group could become very popular. If so, it may stir up fresh waves of EU support that could leave both Parliament and the people more confused – and frustrated – than ever.

Certainly, the reputation of politicians is at an all-time low, but at least this breakaway movement offers the apparent consolation that there are still men and women of principle who are prepared to stand up to the bullies.

And in the sense that these resignations are likely to prove a death-blow to Mr Corbyn’s hopes of becoming Prime Minister, they have done us all a favour.

But the winds of change are blowing dangerously strong across these isles, and we need to batten down the hatches in anticipation of a very choppy crossing to calmer seas and national stability.

Luciana Berger. Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire/PA Images.Bullying Culture

As for Ms Berger, leaving the party has obviously been a painful decision for her – she is the great-niece of Manny Shinwell, a much-loved major figure of the Labour Party who was a member of the Attlee Government in the immediate post-war era.⁴

But there is a sense of déjà vu about her departure as Shinwell resigned the Labour whip in 1982 for similar reasons – in protest against hard-left infiltration by the Trotskyite Militant Tendency. And Momentum, Militant’s apparent successor, is behind the bullying culture that has led to Ms Berger’s break with the party.

However, with reference to the 17.4 million people who voted for Britain to leave the EU in the 2016 Referendum, Daily Mail columnist Richard Littlejohn makes the telling point: “If most Labour MPs had displayed the same kind of resilience standing up against Momentum as they have in resisting the popular vote for Brexit, Corbyn would be long gone by now.”⁵

The esteemed journalist also pointed out that he had made a TV documentary exposing anti-Semitism in the Labour Party 12 years ago, long before Corbyn came to prominence, and that “most Labour MPs I approached for comment didn’t want to know”.

Corbyn’s Jewish Problem

Meanwhile, Part II of the Mail on Sunday’s serialisation of an explosive new book on Corbyn – Dangerous Hero, published this week by William Collins – exposes further highly damaging instances of the Labour leader’s ruthless push for power.

Tracing the roots of Corbyn’s view of the Jews, author Tom Bower writes: “Since he disdained materialism, culture and anything spiritual, he was an empty vessel, uneasy with a race complicated by its history of survival over 2,000 years of persecution.

“Jews in London were the victims of discrimination by all classes, including the working class – a truth that did not quite fit Corbyn’s Marxist theory of history.”⁶

It now looks like the British political ship is being stranded in troubled waters with diminishing hopes of finding a safe harbour.

He adds: “The truth is that Corbyn’s antagonism towards Zionism is one of the most consistent – and toxic – lines of his career. To him, Jews aren’t victims of racism and oppression but rather racist oppressors themselves.”

And Jewish Chronicle Editor Stephen Pollard writes in the same paper: “As this devastating biography shows, supporting terrorists who want to murder Jews and allying with the most rancid anti-Semites in Britain has been a lifelong obsession for Mr Corbyn.”⁷

Our Cornerstone

The only way to ensure survival amidst all the hatred and division we are witnessing is for the country to turn back to the God who saved us from disaster at Dunkirk. But that only happened after our leaders acknowledged our peril without his help, by calling for national prayer.

He can – and will – do it again if we humble ourselves before him, seeking his forgiveness for our wilful rebellion against his ways.

The nation as a whole has forsaken faith in Jesus, the “chosen and precious cornerstone” of our civilisation which, when removed, causes the structure of society to collapse into a heap of rubble (1 Pet 2:6; Isa 28:16).

The scriptures explain that this capstone would be laid in Zion (i.e. Jerusalem/Israel) “and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame”. And while this vital stone is ‘precious’ to believers, it also causes men to stumble and fall (1 Pet 2:8; Isa 8:14) “because they disobey the message”.

I’m sure Jesus weeps over London as he wept over Jerusalem when he said: “If you…had only known on this day what would bring you peace…” (Luke 19:42).

Peace amidst the tempest is found only on the rock of Christ, the Jewish Messiah, who stilled the storm on Galilee with a word. Or as someone commented on the Israel Today site – www.israeltoday.co.il – “Peace is not complicated when you follow the Prince of Peace.”

References

1 Mail Online, 20 February.

2 Ibid.

3 Daily Mail, 19 February.

4 Ibid.

5 Ibid.

6 The Mail on Sunday, 17 February.

7 Ibid.