Do not be hasty to point the finger at MPs.

No-one can deny that the nation is in a great crisis. The antics in the House of Commons in the past couple of months have been exposed to the world through television and reports in the British press. It has not been a pretty sight to see all our politicians shouting at each other and no-one listening to anyone else. Passions have been reaching fever pitch, yet no clear majority view has been emerging.

The plain truth is that nobody knows what to do or how to solve the problems that face the nation. Most of our MPs know what they do not like, but they are short on solutions.

The massive majority of the vote to reject Theresa May’s deal brought together people with vastly opposing views; but they were all in agreement on one thing – they did not like what was on offer. Even the Remainers who prefer to stay within the European Union voted against the deal because it would have reduced Britain to the status of having to observe EU rules and regulations without having any say in their formulation.

No Standard of Truth

As we have said many times in these editorials, there are no political solutions to the problems confronting the nation and this is the reason why there is such confusion. Our MPs do not understand the issues, because they have lost the objective standard of truth provided by the biblical foundations of our Judeo-Christian faith that has provided stability and direction for the nation over many centuries.

Without that standard of truth there is no yardstick for measuring different proposals. It allows the propagation of lies and the use of fear to promote proposals that have no basis in truth, such as the fear of leaving the EU with ‘no deal’. It is said that this will collapse the British economy. But less than half of our exports are linked to the European Union and Europe sells us £95 billion more in goods annually than we sell to them!¹ That’s the trade deficit with the EU.

As we have said many times in these editorials, there are no political solutions to the problems confronting the nation and this is the reason why there is such confusion.

It is clearly a pack of lies that our economy will collapse! Once we are free of obligations to the EU, we can do deals with the rest of the world and our economy will flourish if we put our trust in the Lord. But the truth is hidden from the British people by the lies of those who have no trust in God and no understanding of the way he blesses a nation that is founded upon righteousness and the teaching of the word of the Lord.

Lack of Vision

But who is to blame for the fact that our politicians have little or no knowledge of biblical teaching? Why are there so few voices in Parliament championing Judeo-Christian values? And why do only a minority of committed Christians engage in politics?

The simple answer to these questions is that church leaders and preachers do not rightly handle the word of the Lord, so the truth of God’s word does not get embedded in the lives of churchgoers, let alone those who have loose connections with the Church.

This is largely because most preachers lack prophetic vision - they no longer fearlessly declare the word of the Lord in their churches, or prophetically relate biblical teaching to social and national issues. They give nice, cosy little homilies on biblical themes that lack the dynamic thrust of the two-edged sword of the Lord. So, we now have a generation of closet Christians with no mission to transform the nation. If the whole word of the Lord is not heard in church, it will not reach out into the nation.

Silent Church

Let me put a plain question to all those of you who go to church regularly: when was the last time you heard the minister address national issues in the context of the word of God? Do you regularly hear from the pulpit the teaching of the Bible – both the word of God through the Prophets of Israel and the Gospel proclaimed by Jesus and taught by the apostles – expounded and applied, not only to personal and local issues, but also to national issues that our politicians and leaders are having to face?

In your church do you pray for the nation? Do you have intercessions for those in authority (1 Tim 2:2), where you pray for your town council, or your city council, or your Member of Parliament, or the Government, or the Queen?

If the whole word of the Lord is not heard in church, it will not reach out into the nation.

Why is the Church so silent on national issues and so separated from the world in which we all live? When was the last time you heard a sermon unpacking the Bible and applying its truth to current issues? Do you ever hear the preacher explaining the word of the Lord revealed through the Prophets in the Bible – Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel?

When did you last hear the basic teaching of the Torah expounded in your church?

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. (Deut 6:4-7)

This surely shows that responsibility for passing on the faith rests not only with church leaders, but with ordinary believers. Do you impress biblical teaching in your conversation with your children or grandchildren? Do you talk about the word of the Lord at home and when you walk along the street?

We have no right to criticise our Members of Parliament for not knowing biblical truth if we have not rightly handled the word of the Lord in our own family, or among our friends and neighbours.

Reformation Starts with You and Me

Of course, the nation is in a mess; but who is really to blame? In biblical times God always held the preachers and prophets responsible for the nation – as Jeremiah said:

My people do not know the requirements of the Lord…actually the lying pen of the scribes has handled it falsely…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. (Jer 8:7-11)

Can the same charge be levelled at the Church today? Not just the preachers: all of us, to some extent, bear responsibility. Should we not all be weeping before the Lord in repentance? The reformation of the nation does not start in Westminster: it starts in the Church - with you and me.

References

1 Statistics on UK-EU trade. Research Briefing, House of Commons Library, 30 November 2018.

Why at a time of genuine crisis, the Church is conveniently absent.

Our Editorial this week focuses on the contributions of the British Church to our present situation of national confusion, division and existential crisis. By all accounts, there is no united, biblical, prophetic message coming from Christian leaders at this time, though one is sorely needed.

Indeed, there is a strong case for laying the blame for Britain’s predicament (partially if not entirely) at the door of the Church. But how did we get to this point, and where do we go from here?

The furore over Brexit, as we often note on Prophecy Today, forms just one part of a broader, multi-pronged assault on the West’s Judeo-Christian foundations that is telling on nations on both sides of the Atlantic. But while the USA has a strong conservative evangelical wing, well-supported and well-financed, pushing back hard against secular humanism, here in Britain there is no similarly coherent defence of our heritage.

The Christian voice in this country has always been multiple and fractured, which explains why over the past century no united front has been rallied to combat the enemies at our gates. In fact, our gates have largely been left open and unguarded, so the enemy has walked right in and made himself at home.

Shallow Roots

I have been reminded this week that our sorry situation has a long history, going right back to the establishment (or disestablishment) of Anglicanism.¹

Historically speaking, with the notable exceptions of many outstanding individual clergy, theologians and congregants, the CofE’s shallow theological roots have left it unable to withstand the onslaught of centuries of secularisation, two world wars and the pernicious spread of liberal theology. Since the 18^th Century, whilst many revivals have taken place outside church walls, the CofE has gradually become crippled by unbelief and moral and theological incoherence.

Since the 18^th Century, whilst revivals have taken place outside church walls, the CofE has gradually become crippled by unbelief and moral and theological incoherence.

The objective, intellectual and public aspects of the faith have been undermined, tipping the emphasis towards the subjective, the experiential and the private. This has strengthened the notion, popular inside and outside the Church, that faith and politics should not mix and that Christianity should be confined to matters of inner wellbeing, not to the direction of the country.

Thus, the religion of secular humanism, with its false claims of impartiality, has been allowed to ascend to prominence in the public realm, replacing ‘Christendom’, while clergy have been hamstrung by a loss of confidence in their own message. Despite its immensely privileged position, our established Church has been so weakened and divided as to be prevented from speaking the Bible’s wisdom fully and fearlessly, with united voice, into public life.

Joining in the Arson

Canterbury Cathedral.

This loss of confidence in the truth and power of the Gospel has opened up the CofE to all sorts of weird and wonderful theologies and spiritual practices, from New Age labyrinths and meditation to multi-faith celebrations hosting Muslim calls to prayer and pantheistic songs praising Hindu deities.

Instead of using their authority to defend unborn children, the precious covenant of marriage, the authority of Scripture and the unique superiority of biblical ethics, many clergy have been occupied with preaching the green agenda, LGBTQ+ ideology and multi-faith ‘partnerships’. The Gospel has been exchanged for an entirely different message, reframing sin in terms of social and environmental injustice, virtue in terms of ‘tolerance’, and salvation in terms of social service or good works.

In these senses, the established Church is culpable for behaving as Nero legendarily did during the Fall of Rome. Even worse: it has grabbed a torch and joined in the arson.

Warning Signs

And so we arrive at today’s frankly absurd situation where helter-skelters and explicit films are now used in cathedrals to ‘start spiritual conversations’ while genuine evangelists are refused entry.² The CofE’s quest for relevance without the anchor of biblical truth has led it into deep irrelevance.

Tell-tale warning signs – nose-diving membership, worsening splits within the ‘Anglican Communion’ at home³ and abroad⁴ – are ignored or misunderstood. The present Archbishop of Canterbury was last seen appointing a clergyman with big question marks over his views about the resurrection⁵ to lead ecumenical relations with Rome, while the House of Bishops busies itself promoting open celebrations of transgenderism.

The established Church is culpable for behaving as Nero legendarily did during the Fall of Rome. Even worse: it has grabbed a torch and joined in the arson.

Given all this, it is hardly surprising that as the chaos of Brexit unfolds, the established Church is not found reprimanding the country with biblical warnings and reminding it of Gospel truths, but simply telling people to be nice to each other as they disagree and – oh yes – joining in the scaremongering about a ‘no deal’ Brexit.⁶

Other Denominations

It is easy to take aim at the CofE, but other denominations fare little better. The Methodist Church, URC, the Church of Scotland and other long-standing streams have also declined as a result of abandoning truth.

Meanwhile, the smaller networks of ‘new’ churches and the host of independent evangelical and/or charismatic churches that have exploded onto the scene during the last century have failed to galvanise a united prophetic voice to the nation. Many have become institutionalised and remain divided, with their own theological and spiritual problems. Most notably, Replacement Theology has infected churches of all streams, which is not a recipe for right interpretations of Scripture nor for receiving God’s blessing.

So, while there are many instances of individually faithful congregations and leaders, the charge of losing confidence in the truth of Scripture and accepting ‘a different Jesus, a different Spirit and a different Gospel’ (2 Cor 11:4) applies far more widely than just to the CofE – which explains why so many faithful believers today find themselves isolated, unable to find a Bible-believing church.

What Next?

A bleak situation, then. But as we observed last summer with the series ‘Our Book of Remembrance’, God has long had his eye on Britain, blessing and reviving us many times in the past, despite our failures. We do not believe that God has finished with Britain, nor that he is unable to achieve his purposes through-and-despite our splintered, unfaithful, indecisive Church.

What, then, is next? We can all pray for prophetic voices to be raised up to speak Gospel truths into the public realm, but what is also needed is for the faithful remnant to be united and strengthened, for they are currently scattered and divided. For the task ahead, God will need true unity of spirit and purpose, and of brotherly fellowship, to be displayed by his people.

The true ‘ekklesia’ in Britain is no doubt a patchwork collective drawn from many different denominations, as well as prayer groups, house fellowships, isolated believers and new converts. Thankfully, God is more than able to stitch us together in him, by the work of the Holy Spirit, through the prayers of the saints. As one member⁷ of Prophecy Today’s new Facebook community observed this week:

The one very encouraging sign amidst all the confusion and division among both politicians and the public at large, and amidst all the horrendous scare-mongering and media bias on our TV screens and newspapers on an almost hourly basis – is the fact that a good number of Christians all over the country have sensed in their spirits the absolute necessity of being watchmen & women on the walls at this time, interceding before God in heaven for this desperate nation of ours. God IS our only hope in the days ahead, and we cry to Him for mercy. In the beautiful opening words of a revival hymn written by the late Rev Alex Muir of Inverness,

Lord, have mercy on our country
Turn our hearts to You again,
Though we’ve grieved Your Holy Spirit
By our deeds of sin and shame

Though our sins rise like a dark cloud
May our prayers rise even higher
Pleading for divine forgiveness
Pleading for the Heavenly fire.

References

1 See Phillips, M, The World Turned Upside Down, chapter 16 for a useful summary.

2 Exclusive: Evangelical ‘banned’ by Derby Cathedral receives widespread support. Christian Institute, 6 December 2018.

3 Davies, M. More than 100 Oxford clergy criticise bishops’ LGBTI guidance. Church Times, 9 January 2019.

4 E.g. see here.

5 See here and here.

6 See here and here.

7 Tom Lennie, re-printed with permission.

‘Fiddler on the Roof’ story behind Gospel outreach to Jews

With the annual Holocaust Memorial Day fast approaching, it is worth being reminded not only of how many perished, but also of those who escaped the jaws of Nazism – often miraculously.

It is a little-known fact that in spite of terrible persecution in Eastern Europe, thousands of Jewish people were very open to the message of Jesus. In fact, research is currently being undertaken on the so-called ‘Messianic’ believers who died in the Shoah.

Among those who experienced miraculous deliverance from the death camps was Jakob Jocz, a Lithuanian-born third-generation follower of Yeshua who became an evangelist to the Jews of Poland under the auspices of CMJ (the Church’s Ministry amongst Jewish people), a British-based international society already reaping a plentiful harvest of souls throughout Europe and North Africa by the 1930s.

Such was the response to their work that the Warsaw branch CMJ chief Martin Parsons expressed the need for over 700 staff rather than the mere ten suggested at the time.

Miraculous Deliverance

Jocz was sent to Birkenhead, near Liverpool, to train for Anglican ordination, and when he returned to Poland, he wrote: “In spite of anti-Semitism and increasing hatred, the Jews met us in many places with an open mind and with great readiness to hear the gospel.”¹

He added: “Today when the cross is being twisted into a swastika…Jewish men and women flock into the mission halls to hear and to learn about the wonderful Saviour.”

In May 1939, he received an urgent call to England to replace the main speaker of the Church Missionary Society’s annual summer conference, who was unavailable due to illness.

It is a little-known fact that in spite of terrible persecution in Eastern Europe, thousands of Jewish people were very open to the message of Jesus.

In a recent research paper The Rev Dr Jakob Jocz, Dr Theresa Newell writes: “This was indeed a miraculous deliverance as members of his family died at the hands of the Nazis soon afterwards…” Jakob’s father Bazyli was betrayed to the Gestapo and shot to death.

Rich Legacy

The family’s story has something of a Fiddler on the Roof² ring to it. Jakob’s grandfather, Johanan Don, was the local milkman in his shtetl (village) who first encountered the good news of Jesus when seeking medical help for his teenage daughter Hannah (Jakob’s mother) who had been crippled in a fall.

The doctor was a Jewish believer and gave Johanan a Hebrew New Testament. He subsequently became a disciple, but died soon afterwards.

In order to make ends meet, his widow Sarah took in a boarder, a young rabbinic student named Bazyli Jocz. When he read Isaiah 53, he asked his teacher, ‘Who is the prophet speaking about?’ It was of course a situation very reminiscent of the Ethiopian eunuch’s conversion in the Book of Acts (chapter 8). But the teacher was no evangelist, instead hitting him over the head and calling him a ‘detestable Gentile’ for asking such a ‘foolish’ question.

Bazyli was shocked, but undeterred, and after consulting the same doctor who had pointed Johanan in the right direction, he too became a believer.

He duly married Hannah, and Jakob was born in 1906. He became a noted evangelist and theologian whose writings represent a rich legacy of inspiration and encouragement for Christians – all called to preach the Gospel to Jews.

To the Jew First

As the Third Reich stormed across Europe, he wrote a booklet appealing to churches to speak out against the persecution of his people. As an Anglican bishop pointed out in the foreword, “he rightly calls attention to apathy in the church on the subject of missionary effort amongst the Jews.”

Indeed, he challenged the Church to become ‘missional’ as its raison d’etre and to remember the call in that mission is “to the Jew first” (Rom 1:16).

If the Church has no Gospel for the Jews, it has no Gospel for the world.

If the Church has no Gospel for the Jews, he believed, it has no Gospel for the world. He had total confidence in the authority of Scripture and stood on the premise that “loyalty to Jesus Christ is the ultimate test of the disciple”, adding: “Commitment to Jesus Christ makes universalism [the idea that all roads lead to God] impossible.”

He was highly critical of rabbinic Judaism, lamenting that “making Torah into a religion robbed it of life” and saying that the removal of the sacrificial system (following the destruction of the Temple in AD 70) without their acceptance of the “once and for all times sacrifice” of Jesus led Judaism into a pre-occupation with the study of the law. The irony of this, of course, is that the law was anchored in the fact that “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin” (Lev 17:11).

One of his theses was that the early Church was much closer to the Old Testament than rabbinic Judaism is today. And he advocated Jewish believers to fulfil the prophetic call to take the Gospel to all nations.

Life in the Midst of Death

Jakob certainly practised what he preached. It is estimated that, through outreach efforts like his, there were as many as 100,000 Jewish believers in Yeshua by the time war broke out in 1939, many of whom would no doubt have shared the fate of their brethren in the concentration camps but who would also no doubt have shared the life-giving Gospel of their Saviour.³

Notes

1 The Rev Dr Jakob Jocz (Olive Press Research Paper, CMJ) by Dr Theresa Newell, to whom I am greatly indebted for the basis of this article. Find out more about CMJ at www.cmj.org.uk.

2 The musical about Jewish survival amidst the oppression of early 20^th Century Tsarist Russia starring a poor milkman famously played by Topol.

3 Peace in Jerusalem (olivepresspublisher.com) by Charles Gardner, p28.

Paul Luckraft reviews ‘God and My Mobile’ by Nigel Cameron (CARE, 2018)

Last week we reviewed Nigel Cameron’s book ‘The Robots Are Coming’ published by CARE (Christian Action Research and Education). Professor Cameron is a leading Christian thinker on the new technologies and their impact on society.

This week we look at his second book, which is also highly recommended - not just for those with a particular interest in technology but for all Christians who want to be better informed about our digital age.

Despite its title, this book is about more than the mobile phone. It is an exploration of the whole digital explosion (a better term than ‘revolution’) that the author insists is far from over. In fact, “It has hardly started” (p13). Ours is a world unimaginable 40 years ago and which will continue to be transformed year on year.

Christians are going to need to come to terms with a society not only full of technology but driven by it. We will have to occupy the same world as everyone else, but when it comes to technology we will need to learn to “handle it differently” (p15). This book helps us towards that goal.

More Than a Phone

Of course, the mobile phone is more than just a phone and as such represents the whole digital world. In one chapter, Cameron lists 25 things your mobile can do (which may not be a comprehensive list). Moreover, the device we carry about today is already a million times more powerful than the mainframe computers that put a man on the moon, and we need to understand the challenges that this presents.

The device we carry about today is a million times more powerful than the mainframe computers that put a man on the moon.

The fundamental question is whether this century will see technology take over and start to rule over us, rather than vice versa. Throughout his book the author often refers to, and quotes from, the Centre for Humane Technology, a group “run by world-class disaffected leaders from the earlier days of the big tech companies that wants to put technology in its proper place” (p22).

‘Smart’ Lives

After the introductory three chapters, the book divides into four parts. Part 1 describes ‘The Incredible Journey’ of how we got here and is followed in Part 2 by six major challenges. Part 3 focuses on how we live ‘the mobile life’ and the final part asks what are the next steps. The book ends with three useful appendices for further study, discussion and prayer.

The history outlined in Part 1 is fascinating to read and leads us to the point of wondering what it will be like to live in an increasingly ‘smart’ home, where real-world objects are connected to the internet and (through the internet) to each other. These ‘cyber-physical systems’ will be all around us, and everything will eventually get plugged into everything else. One estimate is that we shall soon have 100 connected devices in every home. The house that spies on you is not far away!

The chapter on Amazon’s flagship technology ‘Alexa’ is particularly informative. Machines that listen to us and can speak back are becoming commonplace. Cameron also examines the whole social media phenomenon, explaining how the big companies exploit data for financial gain. As this is a new book, the examples are very up-to-date.

Christians have to occupy the same world as everyone else, but when it comes to technology we will need to learn to handle it differently.

The six challenges are illuminating. We know that our mobiles are immensely powerful portable friends helping us access global knowledge and communication, but here we learn about how they are also designed to distract us and prey on our vulnerabilities.

The author also discusses issues of privacy and security, exploring how we are at the mercy of the wealth, power and reach of the tech tycoons.

A Dangerous Gift?

Cameron believes that the internet should be seen as a gift from God, something to be welcomed that can enhance our lives in so many ways. Yet he is also clear that it has many dangerous features. One he highlights is that it is a breeding ground for fake news, false ideas and pseudo-science. The internet has become a playground for charlatans, eccentrics and other online crazies.

Towards the end of the book he again stresses how our vulnerability becomes someone else’s opportunity: for profit, exploitation or indoctrination. Our attention is deliberately captivated, potentially to the extent that addiction and spiritual wreckage can follow – not just for ourselves but also potentially for our children.

Overall, this is a well-produced book on glossy paper with colour photos. It has good endnotes and a useful glossary of terms, and is well indexed for easy reference. Recommended.

‘God and My Mobile: Keeping the faith in a digital world’ (168 pages, paperback) is available for £8.00 + P&P from CARE.

Torah Portion: Exodus 10:1-13:16

The plagues of Egypt must be one of the Old Testament’s all-time most popular stories – immortalised in Hollywood epics, illustrated Bibles and Sunday School displays around the world.

As a result, we can perhaps become over-familiar with the narrative and de-sensitised to its gritty, terrible reality.

Here was a prosperous, cutting-edge nation – a world leader - brought to its knees by a series of disasters that led government officials to lament to their leader after only the seventh plague, “Do you not yet realise that [the country] is ruined?” (Ex 10:7). We hear the same laments in Parliament and the media today regarding Brexit – but rarely do our officials recognise the hand of God in the nation’s troubles.

Looking back on the miraculous plagues outlined in Exodus, it is easy for the reader to accept their divine origin, as the narrative embeds them in a broader picture of God’s greater purposes. One understands as one reads why the plagues happen and where they are leading. It’s harder to accept today that awful, nation-shaking events might be ‘of God’, and part of a bigger picture which many are totally unable to see – but which the Lord will reveal to those who would truly seek Him.

This week’s Torah portion is immensely encouraging in so many respects, not least because of its many parallels with Britain’s present crises (though I am by no means elevating our experience to that of Israel): a deteriorating national situation, the hearts of leaders only growing harder, the prospect for freedom and good triumphing only seeming to grow dimmer. Encouragingly, in this context God reassures His people that the situation at large has been allowed – and may yet get worse – for specific reasons, “so that I may perform these miraculous signs of mine among them…and that you may know that I am the Lord” (Ex 10:1-2). Not only this, but He gives them specific instructions about how to behave.

In other words, through great national (and international) tribulation the Lord is always working, unfazed, to achieve His purposes. That which appear to the undiscerning as great and terrible disasters may actually be miraculous signs from the Lord which ultimately lead to the rescue of many, the display of His splendour and His great glory.

What matters, then, is not so much the events themselves (life-altering though they may be in a practical sense) but how humans respond. We must expect some to dig in their heels – although, ultimately, even Pharaoh was forced to acknowledge the Lord God of Israel (even if this didn't lead to true repentance and faith). Others, like the Egyptian people, will soften their hearts and respond with openness and generosity, many even joining God’s people in their journey of redemption (Ex 11:3; 12:38).

This week’s portion culminates in the dramatic story of the first Passover, a subject deserving of a thousand ‘Thoughts for the Week’. But there is a little picture just beforehand which is easy to miss. It is of a beleaguered nation suffering in every conceivable way, now covered in a supernatural darkness so thick it can be felt. In the midst of this, somehow, glimmers of hope: for wherever God’s people are, there is light (Ex 10:23).

Author: Frances Rabbitts

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

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

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

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

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

No Alternatives?

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

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

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

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

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

The Consequences of Rebellion

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

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

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

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

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

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

Spiritual Blindness

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

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

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

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

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

Some insights from the Editor-in-Chief at the head of the year.

1. What is God Doing Today?

We are entering a time of immense turbulence that is of great significance in the history of the nation. It is essential to understand what God is doing and not be blinded by what human beings are doing. What is God doing today?

In the past God has spoken to us about shaking the nations. Back in 1986 he highlighted Haggai 2:6 and 7: “I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. I will shake all nations…” Much of what we are seeing today is God’s activity in shaking the nations, exposing corruption and turning upside-down the institutions in which people have put their trust; which is a modern form of idolatry. We need to keep our eyes upon him and understand what he is doing.

There is still a faithful remnant of Bible-believing Christians in Britain who are greatly needed in this time of turbulence. The message that Jesus gave in Nazareth when the scroll of Isaiah was given to him in the synagogue is important. Jesus chose to read from Chapter 61, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news…” The whole of this chapter is significant for the faithful remnant today and it needs careful study. The faithful remnant will be called “Oaks of righteousness” and be “a planting of the Lord for the display of HIS splendour.”

Their task is to “rebuild the ancient ruins”; to recall the nation to the biblical foundations of truth upon which the nation was founded. This requires study and teamwork, working together, honouring one another and in everything keeping our eyes upon the Lord and only doing what he tells us to do. A key Scripture is John 5:19: “The Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing.”

So, what is God doing? What are we seeing all around us in Britain? An excellent description is in Ezekiel 12:2: “Son of man, you are living among a rebellious people. They have eyes to see but do not see and ears to hear but they do not hear, for they are a rebellious people.” This provides the key to understanding what is happening in the nation – a nation that is under judgment, whose leaders have no vision, who rush about in confusion looking for solutions that cannot be found; because there are no political solutions to the spiritual problems in the nation.

It is essential to understand what God is doing and not be blinded by what human beings are doing.

But this is not only the condition of our political leaders. It is also the condition of church leaders of all denominations, most of whom have either been swept up into the maelstrom of secular humanist values in a post-Christian world or have retreated into a cosy little pseudo-biblical world, feeding pastoral comfort to their flock, but have lost the prophetic cutting edge of the Gospel and no longer fearlessly declare the unchanging word of God to a lost generation!

The words of Jesus in telling the parable of the sower applies to the Church in Britain today: “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand” (Matt 13:13). They do not understand because they do not have the Spirit of God. Paul makes this very clear in 1 Corinthians 2:12-14, “The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned” … but the faithful remnant can say “But we have the mind of Christ”.

The faithful remnant in Britain today is largely composed of the older generation: but God is doing something quite remarkable! He is using the spirit of rebellion that is sweeping the nation to bring young people into the kingdom!

There are many signs that thinking young people are tired of the antics of our politicians and in their search for the truth they are rejecting the post-modernist philosophy that has driven society to the point we have reached today. They can see the social disaster vividly portrayed in social media that reflects their world. But God is actually using the spirit of rebellion to work out his purposes.

Young people are joining the faithful remnant and it is in the purposes of God to ensure that his precious word that has been kept in the old wineskins will not be lost, but will be poured out into the new wineskins before the older generation are taken into glory. My own grandson, Mark, who is due to be ordained this year, is an example of this.

2. The Faithful Remnant

The faithful remnant is a stump in the land. Isaiah 6:13 is significant and needs to be studied. As the oak leaves a stump when it is cut down so “The holy seed will be the stump in the land”. Issachar Ministries has a special calling for mobilising and resourcing the older generation of believers.

The Lord has given to Monica and me a living parable. In our garden we had a beautiful old plum tree that bore luscious fruit. In the middle of a very dry summer some six years ago it was heavily laden with fruit when a great storm with a powerful wind blew it down. We had no alternative but to harvest its fruit and then cut it in pieces for our log fire. With great sadness we cut its trunk near to the ground just leaving a stump. To our amazement another tree has grown up from the stump and in the past two or three years it has been producing fruit – not quite the same kind of fruit, smaller but good quality and very eatable.

The faithful remnant is the stump in the land – but that stump can bear good fruit.

The Lord spoke to us through this parable that the stump can produce good fruit, like the potter working at his wheel when Jeremiah called to see him (Jer 18) and the piece of clay he was working could not be fashioned into the intended pot. Instead of throwing away the clay the potter put it back onto the wheel and re-fashioned it into another pot – not the original beautiful vase intended to grace a rich person’s living room, but a useful pot that would bless a busy housewife in her kitchen.

The message for the faithful remnant is that the Lord never throws away any of his people, even when they have messed up their lives. Repentance and reformation are a key part of the Lord’s intention for all his people and it is this message of salvation through death and resurrection that is at the heart of the Gospel. It should always be present as part of the message of hope proclaimed by the faithful remnant.

3. God Holds the Church Responsible

God holds his Church responsible for the state of the nation. This is what we learn from the biblical account of God’s dealings with his covenant people Israel and Judah. A keyword to the institutional churches in Britain for 2019 is Ezekiel 13:4, “You have not gone up to the breaks in the wall to repair it.”

The wall around the city was there to protect all its citizens. The safety of everyone was in peril when there were breaks in the wall that were left unattended. Every walled city in ancient Israel had its engineers charged with the responsibility of constant surveillance. Hence the illustration in Amos 7, where he saw the Lord standing beside a wall with a plumb-line in his hand checking to see if there was a bulge, which would indicate corruption inside the wall that could lead to a sudden collapse such as that foreseen in Isaiah 30:12-14.

It was because Jeremiah had seen the inevitable consequences of the corruption in the nation that gave such an urgent cutting edge to his message: “Your own conduct and actions have brought this upon you. This is your punishment. How bitter it is! How it pierces to the heart! Oh, my anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain. Oh, the agony of my heart! My heart pounds within me, I cannot keep silent. For I have heard the sound of the trumpet, I have heard the battle cry. Disaster follows disaster; the whole land lies in ruins…” This had not yet happened but prophetically Jeremiah could already see the disaster and because he loved his nation and he loved the city of Jerusalem, he could not keep quiet.

This is the kind of urgent prophetic compulsion that is needed in the faithful remnant of Bible-believing Christians in Britain today, if there is to be any chance of saving the nation from utter disaster. It is not too late to save the nation! But the task is urgent. The faithful remnant in the older generation has to be mobilised and stirred into action to ensure that the truth of the Gospel reaches the younger generation. Grandparents are in a unique position in Britain today and they are valued by their grandchildren.

It is not too late to save the nation! But the task is urgent.

These young people understand social media and the multitude of apps on their mobile phones. Their spiritual antennae enables them to detect fake news in a way that is beyond the capacity of the older generation. It is God’s intention to blend the old and the new in a unique way to advance the kingdom.

The message the faithful remnant (old and young) have to declare will not win them many friends but it will have such a ring of truth that it will penetrate the darkness that is enveloping all generations. The word of the Lord in Jeremiah 5:21 needs to be declared and it will be heard through the mouths of the faithful remnant, “Hear this, you foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear. Should you not fear me? declares the Lord. Should you not tremble in my presence?”

The old and the new generations of believers are both needed in 2019 if the nation is to survive the period of intense turmoil that lies ahead. The battle facing us in Britain is a direct clash between the powers of darkness and those of the light. It is essential to understand the nature of this battle and much can be discerned from the life and ministry of Jeremiah.

In Jeremiah 5:3 he recognised that God had sent many warning signs to the nation: “You struck them, but they felt no pain; you crushed them but they refused correction”. He saw that they were only the ordinary people, so he went to the leaders, religious and political, “but with one accord they too had broken off the yoke and torn off the bonds” that connected them with the Lord God of Israel.

Jeremiah recognised that it was primarily the religious leaders of Judah who were responsible for the godless state of the nation: “Both prophet and priest are godless; even in my temple I find their wickedness, declares the Lord” (Jer 23:11). He describes this in some detail:

Among the prophets of Samaria I saw this repulsive thing: they prophesy by Baal and lead my people Israel astray. And 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. They are all like Sodom to me, the people of Jerusalem are like Gomorrah... (Jer 23:13-14)

In understanding the spiritual battle erupting in Britain, much can be discerned from the life and ministry of Jeremiah.

This is what is happening in Britain among some of its church leaders who have embraced secular humanist values and are teaching lies to the people: devising celebrations for transgender people in the name of God instead of teaching them the truth and calling for repentance and change. They even pollute the minds of little children by encouraging them to cross-dress and to question their God-given gender created in the image of the God of Creation. God will hold to account the wickedness of these church leaders.

But even in the midst of judgment, the faithful remnant must proclaim a message of hope. Psalm 81 is a key to understanding this blend of judgment and hope. It begins with singing joyfully to God and moves into its message of warning and hope with the keywords “If only!”

Hear, O my people, and I will warn you – if you would but listen to me O Israel! You shall have no foreign God among you; you shall not bow down to an alien God. I am the Lord your God who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth and I will fill it…If My People would but listen to me, if Israel would follow my ways, how quickly would I subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes!…You would be fed with the finest of wheat; with honey from the rock I would satisfy you… (Ps 81:8-16)

This is the message that needs to be proclaimed by the faithful remnant – the message of warning and of hope – if my people. It is the same message that Solomon received at the dedication of the First Temple (2 Chron 7:14). If those who are faithful in declaring the word of the Lord put their trust in him and are prepared to embody the message in their lifestyles as well as to fearlessly declare it through every media at their disposal, it will make an impact in the nation in the turbulent post-Brexit days ahead. We may yet see the promises of blessings given through the prophets coming into our nation.

Even now, declares the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning. 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 have pity and leave behind a blessing… (Joel 2:2-14)