Turmoil, division and anarchy: where is God?

The Prime Minister has seen off the challenge to her leadership and secured another 12 months before she can be challenged again. But has this changed anything at Westminster?

The failed leadership coup has shown that one third of the parliamentary Conservative Party is against their own Prime Minister, reflecting the division in the nation that is becoming increasingly vociferous.

Britain is not alone in being a divided nation. France is in an even more serious situation with open warfare on the streets and widespread social dissatisfaction with the ruling elite. President Macron is fighting for his political life in a battle that looks even more dangerous than Theresa May’s. The rise of populist movements in Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Hungary, Poland and even in Germany, is threatening the stability of the European Union.

These political eruptions make it increasingly difficult for Brussels to make concessions to the Brexit deal, despite signs that they would like to help Theresa May in her search for a solution that would win the vote in the British Parliament.

So what’s going on? Why did 117 Conservative MPs vote against their own leader? Is it possible to solve the Irish border situation and get a Brexit deal that satisfies everyone? We could add at least a hundred more unanswerable questions to the mounting pile of imponderable conundrums facing us in the world today. It seems that in every part of the world there are social, political or economic problems, or even open conflict threatening to destabilise the globe – and that’s without throwing in environmental problems like climate change!

Need for Spiritual Clarity

How do we read the situation facing us as we send off our Christmas greetings and contemplate the frightening prospect of another year with all the old problems unresolved and even more on the horizon? Is there something very simple that we are all missing? Is there another dimension that would enable us to see the whole thing from a different perspective? It’s like watching snooker on a black-and-white television – it just doesn’t make sense; you can’t know what’s going on. Change to colour TV and suddenly it all becomes clear.

It seems that in every part of the world there are social, political or economic problems, or even open conflict threatening to destabilise the globe.

Paul describes this situation: he says that there are some things that can only be understood if they are viewed from a spiritual dimension. He says: “The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Cor 2:14).

Among the hundreds of prophecies in the Bible, the one that makes the most sense in our present situation is the little word from Haggai 2:7 that we have quoted lots of times in Prophecy Today UK and in the old printed magazine of the same name: it is that God is shaking the nations.¹ And not only the nations; that prophecy says that God will also shake the whole of the heavens and the earth – in other words, all of Creation. Why would God do such a thing? There has to be a reason!

Clearly God does not want to see the destruction of his Creation and the annihilation of human beings. But the Bible makes clear that God will do what is necessary to soften hard hearts and get people’s attention – because he desires all people to come to a knowledge of him and respond to his offer of salvation.

Anarchy Arising

There are plenty of other passages of Scripture that speak about terrible destruction coming upon the nations of the world. Since the invention of atomic weapons and other weapons of mass destruction, passages such as Isaiah 24, which describes the devastation of the earth’s surface, have taken on a new significance.

I am not saying that God is warning us of the imminent risk of nuclear warfare. But I do foresee that large parts of the world are moving into a highly disturbing time of anarchy – of the challenge to law and order, of urban warfare – even repeating the kind of civil war that has devastated Syria in the past seven or eight years.

In Britain the demand for a ‘People’s Vote’ may sound innocuous, but it could very quickly lead to the kind of open conflict on the streets of London and other cities similar to that which is taking place on the streets of Paris.

Prolonged and Confusing Battle

In order to understand the significance of the battle within the Conservative Party, which is a reflection of the division in the whole nation, we have to see the spiritual forces that are at work. This is a battle between post-modernist, globalist, atheist forces, born in the 18^th-Century Enlightenment, and Britain’s centuries-old Judeo-Christian heritage. In the last decades, it is the latter that has been losing ground in this battle. The Brexit crisis has simply brought everything to a head; the outcome will determine the future, not only of Britain but of the whole Western world.

In order to understand the significance of the battle within the Conservative Party, which is a reflection of the division in the whole nation, we have to see the spiritual forces that are at work.

This is why it is such a prolonged and confusing battle that is so difficult to understand. It is actually a battle between the forces of darkness and the forces of light. I am not saying that all the politicians who voted against the PM are the goodies and the others are the baddies – or vice versa! I doubt if many of them really understand the true nature of the battle and the spiritual significance of what is happening in our lifetimes.

We are moving towards what Christians call the end times – the turbulent days foretold in Scripture leading up to the Second Coming of Christ. We can only understand what is happening in our daily news bulletins when we see it in the context of the whole revelation of truth in the Bible. I believe this is why so many Christians are getting into small groups to study the Bible and to pray together in these confusing days.

D-Day

The secular humanists are fighting very hard to keep Britain locked into the European Union: this is why they have seized upon the Irish border as the weakest point in the Brexit agreement: a way for them to continue to exercise power over Britain.

It is becoming increasingly clear that the best solution would be for Britain to leave with no deal at all, which would also save paying £39 billion to the EU. It would probably cause some economic disruption for a short period but in the end would lead to far greater prosperity and new opportunity to seek the blessing of God upon the nation.

We greatly need to pray to God to protect Britain in the turbulent days leading up to D-Day – 29 March 2019.

Editorial note: Do visit our ‘Pray for Britain’ section on the website, where new prayer resources have been uploaded since last week. Please also consider attending a number of special prayer days coming up soon:

• Saturday 26 January: A Day of Prayer and Fasting for God to Deliver our Nation from Chaos! The SSE Arena, Wembley, 10am-6pm. Organised by David Hathaway and Eurovision. Dr Clifford Hill will be speaking.
  
• Monday 18 – Wednesday 20 March: Issachar Ministries conference, ‘Brexit: Hardship or Harvest?’. Swanwick, Derbyshire.
• Friday 29 March (Brexit Day): A Day of Prayer in Westminster. Organised by Issachar Ministries. With Dr Clifford Hill, David Hathaway and others.

See the News Page for further details of these events and to book tickets.

Notes

1 See also Hebrews 12:25-27. 

The institutional Church has capitulated completely to transgender ideology.

At the General Synod meeting in July 2017, the CofE formally agreed to welcome and affirm transgender individuals, as part of Justin Welby’s agenda of ‘radical inclusion’. At the time, the Synod agreed merely to ‘consider’ how to go about this (official theological debates are not expected to conclude until 2020) and the idea of a new liturgy was later rejected. Now, somewhat confusingly, a guidance document has been released for clergy, adapting existing liturgy to mark gender transition.

Some are already claiming it to be compulsory, prompting calls for clarification from the House of Bishops, which produced the document in conjunction with three transgender vicars.¹

The guidance not only asks clergy to welcome transgender individuals ‘unconditionally’ into their congregations; it instructs them to celebrate gender transition with a special service conveying the Church’s blessing on the person’s new gender and new name. So the CofE now calls for transgenderism to be celebrated as part of our God-given human diversity!

Statements of opposition have been released from such as GAFCON and Synod member Andrea Williams, CEO of Christian Concern, who remarks that the guidance “continues the Church of England’s devastating trajectory towards an outright denial of God and his word”.

Indeed, it is difficult to see the document as anything else but another step towards – or off – a cliff from which there may be no possibility of return for Britain’s established Church.

Affirmation and Celebration

The guidance starts with the unequivocal statement: “The Church of England welcomes and encourages the unconditional affirmation of trans people, equally with all people, within the body of Christ, and rejoices in the diversity of that body into which all Christians have been baptized by one Spirit.”²

It goes on to make suggestions for services to mark gender transition, recommending readings and including advice for rites, gifts and certificates. There is no mention at all of the age of participants; one is left to assume that if you are old enough to be confirmed in the Church of England, you are old enough to change your gender and receive a formal blessing from your vicar.

The CofE now calls for transgenderism to be celebrated as part of our God-given human diversity!

At least there can be no allegations of obfuscating the issue: the CofE’s position is as plain as day and makes no attempt to concede anything to those who hold faithfully to the Bible’s teaching on these matters.

As previously with the issue of homosexuality, Christian welcome and care are conceived of only in terms of affirmation and celebration, as if the former were not possible without the latter.

Unsurprisingly, then, the guidance omits mention of the deep psychological, physiological, emotional, social and spiritual issues which accompany transgenderism and which – one would think – would be of central importance to address in ‘pastoral’ guidance to clergy seeking to discharge proper care for their congregants. Only last month, a tortured trans person wrote to The Telegraph in protest of the Government’s proposals to make transition easier, saying “I would not want others considering such drastic, irreversible action to end up like me, lost in a twilight world of fear and loneliness.”³

In its celebratory stance, the guidance rejects any sense that change may be necessary, as it is with everyone - not in order to come to Christ but as the only possible consequence of receiving Christ - as unfair, unequal and un-Christian. It therefore leaves by the wayside that part of the Gospel which involves repentance, turning away from ungodly lifestyles and being set free from the power of sin to live a completely new life of righteousness, with the help of the Holy Spirit.

Hijacking Baptism

Except that, oddly enough, that part of the Gospel isn’t left by the wayside entirely. Instead, it is inverted and appropriated, particularly through the hijacking of the concept of baptism, which the guidance document recommends that clergy reference as part of their celebration services.

Baptism is commended to unbaptised transgender individuals as the “natural liturgical context for recognizing and celebrating their identity in Christ and God’s love for them”. Those who have already been baptised are encouraged to re-affirm their commitment under their new name, with the sprinkling of water and the use of anointing oil.

Our established Church is misappropriating one of the deepest and most profound symbolic acts God has given humankind.

The guidance states that “it is important not to give the impression of a second baptism”, since baptism is a statement of faith in Christ and should only be done once. However, its mere referencing as part of marking gender transition confuses the issue of identity and implies strongly that transition should be viewed as a profound spiritual step worthy of public celebration; even as comparable with/part of receiving ‘new life’ in Christ: “In the journey of a trans person this liturgy will probably constitute a watershed in their Christian discipleship.”

So, our established Church is misappropriating one of the deepest and most profound symbolic acts God has given humankind, not only to mark something other than Christian conversion (that alone is deeply disturbing) but to affirm practices and lifestyles which the Bible clearly teaches are part of our fallen nature and sinful world – things that should be shed upon receiving Christ.

The depth of this perfidy is difficult to verbalise. Theologian Ian Paul argues, “not only is [baptism] central to Christian understandings of initiation and discipleship, baptism actually enacts bodily death and bodily resurrection in the immersion in and coming up out of the water. We tamper with these foundational understandings at our peril…Fools rush in where angels fear to tread”.⁴

Inverting the Gospel

As part of their services, clergy are encouraged to offer individuals some kind of written commemoration, like a certificate or an inscribed Bible, to mark the occasion – using their new name and preferred gender pronoun, of course.

Outrageously, the guidance actually tries to justify this biblically, saying “It should be noted that the giving or adoption of a new name has a long history in the Judeo-Christian tradition as may be evidenced from Scripture.” Later, passages such as the changing of Sarai’s name to Sarah, or Jacob’s name to Israel, are recommended for use in the service.

It would be laughable if it were not so awful. Again, we see transgenderism not only being celebrated, but being made equivalent to a life-changing spiritual milestone - even to the biblical concept of leaving behind one’s former life as part of Godly spiritual transformation.

This amounts to little more than a hijacking of Christianity to serve transgender ideology, in a barefaced inversion of the Gospel that should be untenable to any believing CofE member – congregation or clergy.

Heaping Judgment Upon Itself

Caught up in all this, of course, are well-meaning members of the CofE who are trying avidly to avoid a Christianity that forces people with gender confusion to suffer in silence or feel rejected by God. But responding with a Christianity that sanctions and encourages this confusion (and all the demonic life upheavals to which, unchecked, it can lead) as somehow a normal expression of being made in God’s image, to be embraced and celebrated as part of a faithful Christian life, is simply abusive of those who are suffering, who are in desperate need of God’s loving rescue. It is not real love and it is not true Christianity.

This ill-conceived ‘guidance’ document goes beyond a poor understanding of Scripture to an inexcusable warping of the Gospel, affirming practices which deny and deface God’s beautiful, deliberate creation of man and woman: even deigning to call these practices biblical. Truly, the CofE is calling good evil and evil good.

This guidance document goes beyond a poor understanding of Scripture to an inexcusable warping of the Gospel.

It is a frightening fulfilment of Romans 1:32, that “Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them” (my emphasis).

The CofE is harming the vulnerable and heaping judgment upon itself – as is already evident from its plummeting membership and deep divisions. And the unbelieving world justifiably heaps contempt on its pathetic attempts to curry favour.

Thankfully, it is the Lord’s responsibility to sort out this dire situation. Nevertheless, believing Christians can at least defend those ministries who support people trying to escape and recover from LGBTQ+ lifestyles, as well as ‘dissenting’ clergy who take a stand against the prevailing direction of the Synod. God help us all.

References

1 See the official press release for more information.

2 Read the guidance document here.

3 Read the full letter on this page.

4 Wisdom and folly: the bishops’ guidance on transgender welcome. Blog post, 13 December 2018.

The danger of losing the heart and soul of Christmas

It’s that time of year when we’re all so busy rushing about Christmas shopping that we fail to stop and think what it’s all about – that Jesus is the reason for the season.

We’re caught up in a whirl of almost mindless acquisition that mirrors much of Western society. But we can’t take any of it with us (to the next life), so why are we so frantically running after those mostly material things?

As I write, my dear mother, aged 95, is clearly seeing out her last days during which we will be doing all we can to bring comfort and peace in the midst of her pain. And I’m so glad that, in his official role as ‘curer of souls’, her vicar has been round to pray with her.

There’s nothing like such times to help us focus on what really matters – a person’s soul. That is now our chief concern, as it always is for our family, friends and neighbours.

Be Rich Towards God

Several members of my far-flung family have lost money in business in recent years, and are no doubt struggling to come to terms with that.

Similarly, much of the virtual civil war over Brexit revolves around the issue of finance. City-slickers and others who thrive on trade with Europe care little for the nation’s soul, its health, its sovereignty; they seem more concerned about the depth of their pockets. But neither staying nor leaving is likely to be a cure-all for our economic ills.

It is foolish to ignore the spiritual side of your life and leave your Maker out of the picture.

Jesus told the parable of the rich fool who built bigger barns to store his surplus grain without considering his soul or consulting his Creator. His goal was “Eat, drink and be merry!” The result was disaster. He may have been rich, but suddenly he had nothing – and God said to him: “You fool! This very night your soul will be required of you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?”

Jesus adds: “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for himself but is not rich towards God” (Luke 12:16-21). Indeed, “What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul?” (Mark 8:36).
It is foolish to ignore the spiritual side of your life and leave your Maker out of the picture. As with my family, financial hardship is already hitting a growing number of Westerners who have relied too long on a life of plenty. Further financial icebergs are sure to sink our misplaced hopes and dreams. But if you place your trust in the Lord, you will avoid hitting the rocks (see Psalm 46:1-3; Matt 7:24-27; Isa 54:11).

Trust in Him

The company for whom I worked most of my full-time career in journalism has just gone into administration. I had suspected something was seriously wrong when my pension fund was taken over by a ‘protection’ scheme. “So is my pension secure?” I ventured to ask the new owners. “Yes or no?”

Not surprisingly, the long-winded legally-phrased answer left me none the wiser. So, with pensions apparently going pear-shaped, I’ll keep trusting God – that’s certainly the best pension plan!

With many of us in the West finding far too much comfort and solace in material possessions of late, it’s no wonder we’ve lost focus on our souls, perhaps stopped meeting with other Christians or even forgotten the staggering glory of the Christmas story that tells of how God came down to live among us and be our comforter and strength. His name is Jesus, which means the One who saves, but he’s also Emmanuel, which means God with us.

With many of us in the West finding far too much comfort and solace in material possessions, it’s no wonder we’ve lost focus on our souls or even forgotten the staggering glory of the Christmas story.

Stay Heavenly-Minded

The slaves who worked the cotton fields of America’s Deep South had little solace in this life as they literally slaved away for hours on end under a hot sun. Instead, Heaven became their hope and comfort, even while they were still on this earth, as they sang of a brighter day and a better tomorrow: ‘Swing low, sweet chariot, coming for to carry me home’ with reference to the way the great Prophet Elijah was taken up to Heaven as he was going about his earthly business for the Lord (2 Kings 2:11).

The song is now more usually associated with England rugby matches as fans stir up their swashbuckling heroes at Twickenham. It was adopted as the national team anthem after it marked a turnaround of their fortunes 30 years ago, following a long losing run in what was then the Five Nations Championship.

With the apparent help of boys from a Benedictine school, who sang it whenever a try was scored following a tradition at their school games, England turned a 0-3 half-time deficit into a stunning 35-3 victory over Ireland.

And by the time the national team returned triumphantly from the 2003 World Cup in Australia, their plane was dubbed Sweet Chariot.

But the song surely needs to become the cry of all our hearts; and not just at rugby matches. For such heavenly-mindedness is bound to make us more earthly use as we spend time worshipping God, loving our neighbours and keeping a loose hold on our material belongings.

Be Still and Know

In the midst of the hurly-burly run-up to Christmas, I can think of no better way to conclude than by quoting today’s (12 December) More Precious than Gold devotional written by Mother Basilea Schlink, founder of the Evangelical Sisterhood of Mary, a German-based international order set up in the wake of World War II specifically to bless the Jewish people.

Heavenly-mindedness will make us more earthly use as we worship God, love our neighbours and keep a loose hold on our material belongings.

The verse on which she focuses is Psalm 46:10 (CEV): “Our God says, ‘Calm down, and learn that I am God!’”

Mother Basilea adds: “Only in quiet waters does God cast his anchor. God only draws near to a soul that enters quietness, a soul whose thoughts and feelings have been stilled. So avoid all loud behaviour and agitated speech, for they drive away the presence of God. Let everything be still within you and, where possible, around you. Then God will draw near and speak with you.”

Christmas carols sow seeds in Michigan.

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

*****

Dear Friends and Family,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

May you and yours have a safe and Happy Christmas!

Syd & Liz Doyle

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

Chris Foster reviews ‘The Genesis Genealogies’ by Rev. Abraham Park (2010, re-issued posthumously 2015, Periplus Editions).

The title of this little gem of a book might make one think, at first glance, that the contents will be dry, specialist and unapproachable, but it is actually quite the opposite. Be prepared to be surprised!

Taking seriously Deuteronomy 32:7’s instruction to “Remember the days of old, consider the years of all generations,” this eye-opening book from Korean pastor-theologian Abraham Park is a step-by-step, in-depth, chronological study of all the generations listed in Genesis 1-11.

This is the first book in a five-volume ‘Redemption Book’ series, which traces God’s outworking of redemption through the course of human history and which helped to earn Rev Park an honorary doctorate from America’s Knox Theological Seminary. ‘The Genesis Genealogies’ covers the years from Adam to the Exodus.

Illuminating genealogical passages that modern readers frequently skip through or consider tedious, Rev Park’s writing is partly academic but also partly devotional. He argues that the often-ignored details of the genealogies are actually “saturated with historical and redemptive significances”, revealing things about God’s longer-term salvation plan for the whole world.

Names and their Significance

Park painstakingly explores the names listed in the genealogies, looking at their meanings in relation to that period of history and to God’s overarching covenant plan. As a result, the book is full of nuggets of interesting and illuminating information.

Thus, we find that Peleg means “division, separate, split” (p160), because it was during his time that the Tower of Babel was built and the population of the world was divided by God, their languages confused. We also discover that Peleg’s father, Eber, has a name which comes from the same root as the word ‘Hebrew’ and that it means “the one who crossed over”. What did he cross over? He crossed over the great River Euphrates, away from where the Tower of Babel was being built. Not only that, but Park has researched Eber’s life and has discovered that he established and ruled a vast kingdom called Ebla, which seems to correspond with the land promised to Abraham in Genesis 15!

Park does not confine himself only to Abraham’s line, however, but also explores ‘ungodly’ lineages proceeding from such as Cain, Ham, Ishmael and Esau, using this to talk about our own sinfulness and the biblical separation between godly and ungodly. Readers are also invited to cross over, as Eber and Abraham did, purposefully separating ourselves from sinfulness and stepping forward to wherever the Lord takes us.

Illuminating genealogical passages that modern readers frequently skip through or consider tedious, Rev Park’s writing is partly academic but also partly devotional.

A Real Eye-Opener

The book is divided into five parts and inside the cover is a clearly-set-out table showing the chronology of the Patriarchs from Adam through to Joseph, marking their births and deaths in relation to one another and to key events (particularly the Flood). Just studying this table is a real eye-opener. For instance, it’s fascinating to realise that Adam’s grandson Enosh was still alive when Noah was born, and that when Noah died, Abraham was already 58 years old.

Of course, this leads to the question of whether the whole Bible can be believed as an accurate record of human history – an issue which divides Christians today. Park clearly states (p26) that while “Everything in this world changes constantly”, “the living Word of God is eternally unchanging” and true. Moreover, Park exhorts us to pass on to our children and grandchildren the treasures to be found in the scriptures and the amazing mystery of God’s plan of salvation throughout the generations, fulfilled in Yeshua the Messiah.

The biggest weakness of the book, in my opinion, is that as well as a table of the generations, it would have been very helpful to include a map (or maps) showing where the various tribes and people groups moved and settled, to aid understanding. However, I have still learnt a huge amount from this book about themes of which, previously, I had little or no understanding, and have received new insights into the workings of God through the thousands of years that humankind has been on earth.

‘The Genesis Genealogies: God’s Administration in the History of Redemption’ (254pp, paperback) is available from Amazon for £7.13. Also available in hardback and Kindle forms.

Other titles in the Redemption Book series: The Covenant of the Torch, The Unquenchable Lamp of the Covenant, God’s Profound and Mysterious Providence and The Promise of the Eternal Covenant. Find out more about Rev Park (1928-2014) and the series by clicking here.

Foundations of the meaning of 'repentance' are found in the Hebrew language, the language of the Old Testament and, by implication, the language of the entire Bible. Indeed, the principle of repentance has been a full part of Judaism for many centuries.

The key Hebrew word is tshuva, translated 'to return'. When someone has sinned there is a need stop sinning and return to the ways of God. This can apply to an individual or a community, even a nation. It is a process of turning away from what is wrong and turning to what is right in God’s eyes.

Conviction of Sin

The process begins with a conviction of sin. In a framework of law, it is a matter of conscience when a person recognises that laws are being broken and take steps to put this right. Putting it right could involve making compensation of some kind to someone who has been harmed as a result of the lawless deeds. The Covenant that God made with Israel was based on law and the principle of justice summarised in the maxim 'eye for eye and tooth for tooth', which defined the need of justice for those wronged.

In the New Covenant, the righteousness of God’s law is not compromised, but the giving of the Holy Spirit brought a new way of conviction of sin. When a person is first convicted of sin and, as a result, desires to please God, this conviction is a ministry of the Holy Spirit and the process of repentance is empowered by the Holy Spirit. Whether by the conscience trained by the knowledge of God’s laws, or by the conviction of the Holy Spirit, repentance has the same meaning: an active rejection of wrongdoing, involving sorrow for the sins committed, and a return to the ways that please God.

Thus repentance is active and not passive, and it is something that a person can only accomplish for himself. We cannot repent for another person, and we cannot repent for a nation.

Identification and Intercession

Whilst we cannot repent for another person, we can identify with their condition. This is particularly relevant when that person is blind to what he/she is doing. If we ourselves have been forgiven of sin or if we have experienced something that someone else is doing, we know where they are and we can “sit where they sit”. We can, as it were, stand by them in prayer and pray for them with heartfelt feeling. This ministry of intercession is also helped by the Holy Spirit. Whilst we cannot repent for a person, we can pray for them in a way that pleases God.

Confession

Daniel’s prayer for his people in Daniel 9 is not a prayer of repentance. It is a prayer which involves confession (Daniel 9:4). It was a prayer of depth, involving supplications and fasting (Daniel 9:3). In Daniel’s case it was a prayer at a time of fulfilment of God’s promise to bring an end to the Babylonian captivity after the 70 years prophesied by Jeremiah (Daniel 9:2). We must, therefore, be careful not to try to extract a formula from this prayer as if simply following the pattern of prayer God will definitely answer in the same way for our own nation. Nevertheless, there is a pattern for this prayer in which Daniel confessed the sins of his people – sins that had taken them to captivity.

Britain Today

Law changes have contributed to the sinfulness that is rampant in our nation. Laws that protected have been changed to make “legal” what is contrary to God’s laws. All this after the hundreds of years of God’s blessings and protection when, step by step, God’s laws were written into our statute books. Clearly we are a nation that must repent and return to what is good. Britain does not have the same covenant as Israel and only Israel can seek God according to the answer that God gave to Solomon in 2 Chronicles 7:14. But when Jeremiah visited the Potter’s House (Jeremiah 7) God spoke the following principle that applies to any nation:

“The instant I speak concerning a kingdom, to pluck up to pull down, and to destroy it, if that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it”. (Jeremiah 18:8-9)

Only God knows whether He inspired the leaders of the nation to cause us to found our constitution in a Coronation Oath. The Oath includes the promise made by the Monarch on behalf of the nation, to the utmost of their power to maintain the laws of God and the true profession of the Gospel, and this Oath puts Britain in a position as close to covenant with God as a Gentile nation can achieve.

Repentance to Britain as a whole means a return in every way to the position made on Oath to God.

The Call to Prayer among Christians

Christians, above all other members of our nation, understand the nature of our nation’s sins. Their call is to commit themselves to prayers of intercession and confession, asking God to send a Spirit of repentance across the nation. This is not the first time this has happened. Prayer has been the call to God’s people prior to every revival. In revivals God begins to answer prayer by calling His own people to repentance. The testimony of previous revivals is that the Gospel then goes forth afresh and others are called to repentance. There is no limit to the wave of repentance that can then gradually sweep through a nation, with the result that a wave of desire to be restored to God’s ways can ensue.

Returning to God

The principle of Tshuva is to return. At one level this is to return to the ways of God, but this is not the full objective. God is calling His people to return to Him. He longs for our deeper fellowship and He longs for our nation to return both to His ways and to fellowship with Him.

This is the process of repentance that God is calling us to in this very day.

First published by Issachar Ministries Trust, Office 5, Shannon Court, Sandy, Beds SG19 1AG.

There are many calls today to pray for the nation with a spirit of repentance but many Christians find this difficult. How do we repent of things for which we feel no responsibility?

We grieve over family breakdown and the suffering of children, of those who are killed on the streets of our cities and the babies that are aborted from their mother’s wombs. But we feel helpless in the face of the forces of evil that are sweeping through our nation.

How can we respond to calls to pray in repentance?

This is where the prayer in Daniel 9 is of tremendous help.

Daniel was a righteous man who was not one of the leaders in the nation of Israel. He was not personally responsible for any of the sins committed in the nation or for the corrupt policies being followed by the nation’s political leaders, or for the unfaithfulness of the religious leaders.

Daniel did not even live in Israel: he was in exile; but he received detailed accounts about what was happening in the land of his birth and he was desperately concerned for its welfare and for the moral and spiritual condition of his fellow countrymen.

A Covenant-Keeping God

Daniel’s prayer begins with acknowledging the nature of God – that he is a covenant-keeping God of love.

He then identifies with the sins of the nation, even though he himself had not in any way been involved in them. He was nevertheless a citizen of Israel whose leaders and people had disobeyed the commands of God and thereby had put the nation outside the protection of God. They had brought upon themselves all the consequences of disobedience promised in Deuteronomy 28 from verse 15.

The Righteousness of God

Daniel’s prayer acknowledges the righteousness of God in bringing disaster upon the nation as a result of the things that had been done by its leaders and people.

But he does not say “They have sinned” – he says “O Lord, We and our Kings, our princes and our fathers are covered with shame because we have sinned against you.”

God’s Mercy

Daniel then speaks of God’s mercy and his willingness to forgive even in the face of deliberate disobedience.

He acknowledges, “We have not obeyed the Lord our God or kept the laws he gave us through his servants the prophets. All Israel has transgressed your law and turned away, refusing to obey you.”

True Repentance

Of course Daniel could not repent on behalf of the whole nation. We can only repent for ourselves. But by identifying with the sinful nation Daniel then could pray positively asking God for his help: “O Lord, in keeping with all your righteous acts, turn away your anger and your wrath” (v.16). He is then able to pour out his heart before the Lord on behalf of his sinful nation:

“Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For your sake, O Lord, look with favour on your desolate sanctuary. Give ear, O God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the City that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy.

“O Lord, listen! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, hear and act! For your sake, O my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name” (vs.17-19).

Ungodly Laws

In praying this prayer we need to have in front of us the list of ungodly laws that have been passed in Britain since the 1950s to remind us of the things that as a nation we have put upon the Statute Book of the nation. Laws such as:

• the Abortion Law 1967 that has polluted the land with the blood of the innocent:
• the Sunday Trading Act 1993 that directly opposes God’s command to observe a Sabbath Day:
• and the Marriage (Same-Sex Couples) Act 2013, that made homosexual practices equal to the marriage of men and women which is part of God’s act of creation.
  

Prayers of Repentance

Our prayers of repentance acknowledge that we are part of a nation that has deeply offended the God of Creation and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We are ashamed to be part of such a nation that has known the truth for many generations and has deliberately turned away from the word of God to embrace idolatry, lies and deception and is now steeped in corruption and unrighteousness that fully deserves the judgement of a righteous God.

The Faithful Remnant

We nevertheless cry to him whom we know to be a covenant keeping God of love and mercy; that he will hear the prayers of the faithful remnant in our nation and help us to make his word heard in Britain once again, that there may be a turning in repentance in the nation and that times of prosperity and blessing may come upon the land and upon our people.

First published by Issachar Ministries Trust, Office 5, Shannon Court, Sandy, Beds SG19 1AG.

There are many calls for repentance in the nation in recognition of the ways in which we have rejected the word of God and strayed from the paths of righteousness. But what does repentance mean? Are we calling for people to apologise to God or to feel sorry for things that have been done? What is the biblical meaning of repentance?

Metanoia

The word as originally used in the New Testament is μετανοιω (metanoia). A good example in the teaching of Jesus is in Luke 17:3 where Jesus says “If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him.” Jesus then elaborates this by saying that it doesn’t matter how many times your brother sins against you in a single day and says “I repent”, you must forgive him.

Change of Mind

In order to understand this teaching, it is necessary to look at the original Greek – καὶ ἐὰν ἑπτάκις τῆς ἡμέρας ἁμαρτήσῃ εἰς σὲ καὶ ἑπτάκις ἐπιστρέψῃ πρὸς σὲ λέγων· μετανοῶ, ἀφήσεις αὐτῷ. Literally this reads: “And if seven times a day he sins against you and seven times returns to you saying I repent, you must forgive him.” The word μετανοῶ (metanoia) in this context means – to undergo a change in frame of mind and feeling. It is not an apology: it is a declaration of a basic change of mind and sentiment.

Change of Practice

The word is used in a similar context by John the Baptist when preaching in the desert of Judaea. He declared “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near!” (Matt 3:2). Here, the word ‘metanoia’ is used specifically meaning, “to make a change of principle and practice, to reform.” There is no suggestion here of apologising for the past or calling upon people to say that they were sorry for their past actions.

This is a demand for action: it is calling for a change in personal and corporate values leading to reformation.

Change of Heart

The same word, ‘metanoia’ is used by John the Baptist in his preaching. He is looking for a right outcome through a change of heart in the people. His call in Matthew 3:8 “produce fruit in keeping with repentance” is specifically a call for 'a change of mode of thought and feeling – repentance'. It is more in line with the teaching of Jesus regarding forgiving those who sin against us but change their attitude and thoughts.

Paul uses ‘metanoia’ in a similar way in Acts 20:21 where he says “I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus”. The repentance he was looking for was an inward change of heart similar to his exhortation in Romans 12:2, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” That is the kind of change Paul wanted to see. He believed that to be true repentance.

Reformation

There are two other places where ‘metanoia’ is used in the New Testament that give a different understanding of the word but which add to our grasp of what is meant by ‘repentance’ in the Bible. The first is found in the teaching of Jesus in Luke 15:7 where he tells a parable of the lost sheep and the good Shepherd who goes out into the countryside searching until he finds his lost sheep. He then carries the sheep home on his shoulders and calls his friends and neighbours to rejoice that the lost sheep is now safely restored to its rightful place in the flock.

Jesus says that in a similar way there will be rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents – who experiences a practical reformation – whose actions show a change of life, rejecting the values of the world and coming into the Kingdom. This teaching is one of Jesus’ ‘parables of the Kingdom’ where the emphasis is upon life-changing experiences that are practically demonstrated in the lifestyle of the believer.

Reversing the Past

Yet another use of the word ‘metanoia’ in quite a different setting is helpful to study. It is found in Hebrews 12:17. Here we read μετανοίας γὰρ τόπον οὐχ εὗρεν – “for of repentance he found no place”. This is referring to Esau having sold his inheritance-rights and then changing his mind. Esau wanted to reverse the past – metanoia – to carry out a basic change, but he was unable to do so.

Summary

This brief look at the way ‘metanoia’ is used in the New Testament shows a wide variety of uses.

All of them, however, involve ‘change’ in some way, which gives a very different meaning to that of our modern use of the word ‘repentance’. We usually think of repentance as meaning that we feel sorry for what we have done, which involves us in some form of apology.

But the New Testament use of the word is associated with ‘action’ – a ‘change of heart and mind’ leading to actions of ‘transformation’.

That is true repentance in the teaching of Jesus and the Apostles.

First published by Issachar Ministries Trust, Office 5, Shannon Court, Sandy, Beds SG19 1AG.

At Prophecy Today UK, we believe that the nation of Britain, formerly a God-fearing nation, is now a nation under God's judgment. This decline in our national spiritual position has taken place over the course of a generation, not least through the passing of many unbiblical laws onto our statute books. Below is a list of these laws, courtesy of Issachar Ministries (updated November 2019).

UNGODLY LAWS PASSED IN BRITAIN SINCE 1950

1. 1951: The Fraudulent Mediums Act (Deut 18:10-13) abolished the Witchcraft Act 1735. This legalised witchcraft in Britain which had hitherto been banned for centuries and made all occult activities legal which the Bible condemns. Paul says that idolatry is the first step in the corruption of human civilisation (Rom 1:18-32).
2. 1959 and 1964: The Obscene Publications Act (Mark 7:21-23; Eph 5:4-6) coming into force in 1959 (and amended in 1964) was a weak law requiring proof that a publication had a tendency “to deprave and corrupt”. The amendment to the Act in 1977, and the Broadcasting Act 1990, extended the law to cinema and television respectively, preparing the way for an uncontrolled internet.
3. 1967: The Abortion Act (Gen 4:10-11; Ps 139:13) showed society’s total disregard for the principle that human life is sacred as the gift of God from the time of conception. The death penalty for murder had been abolished in 1965 but this Act said it was acceptable to kill unborn babies. About 574 abortions take place daily in British hospitals, bringing to more than nine million the number of unborn children killed since abortions became legal.
4. 1967: The Sexual Offences Act (Lev 18:22; Rom 1:18-32) legalised homosexual acts between consenting men of the age of 21, which was reduced to 18 by the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994. The Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2000 later equalised the age of consent at 16 for both homosexual and heterosexual acts.
5. 1968: The Theatres Act (Prov 15:26; 1 Thess 4:7) virtually abolished ‘censorship of the theatre’, although public performances of plays require licensing, and obscene performances are prohibited. The Act allowed nudity and explicit sexual acts on stage.
6. 1969: The Divorce Reform Act (Mark 10:2-12) opened the way for easier divorce by introducing the principle of the irretrievable breakdown of marriage as the sole ground for divorce, to be proved by adultery, unreasonable behaviour, or desertion; or by two years' separation with consent to a divorce, or five years' separation without consent to a divorce.
7. 1972: The European Communities Act (Deut 27:17; 32:8) and subsequent related legislation took Britain into the European Economic Community (EEC), and later into the European Union, thereby giving away our sovereignty and control over our borders and our laws. The implementation of Brexit, beginning with the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, is still in progress.
8. 1989: The Children Act (Deut 4:9; 6:6-7) aimed to increase the protection of children, but it effectively removed the traditional concept that parents are the best judges of their children's welfare.
9. 1990: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act (Ex 23:7; Ps 106:37-40; Ecc 11:5; Jer 7:31) reduced the age at which an unborn baby could be aborted to 24 weeks and legalised the abortion of ‘disabled’ babies up to birth. Along with the Human Fertilisation and Embryology (Research Purposes) Regulations 2001, it also legalised the creation, storage and use of embryos for licensed laboratory research.
10. 1993: The National Lottery etc. Act (1 Tim 6:10) instituted a State national lottery, effectively encouraging people to gamble and to increase their level of personal debt.
11. 1994: The Sunday Trading Act (Ex 20:8-11) allowed widespread trading on Sundays which went against the biblical principle to observe a day of rest each week. Sunday became just another day like any other, inevitably weakening family life.
12. 1996: The Family Law Act (Mal 2:16; Matt 19:8) replaced the five grounds for divorce in the Divorce Reform Act 1969 with a so-called ‘no-fault’ divorce system. This part of the Act was later repealed but those in favour of this change continue to lobby hard.
13. 1999: The Finance Act (Isa 61:8; Mal 2:13-15) removed the Married Couple’s Allowance for under-65s, further degrading the value of marriage.
14. 2004: The Gender Recognition Act (Gen 1:27; 2:23; Isa 5:20) granted transsexual people legal recognition as members of the sex opposite to their birth gender, either male or female.
15. 2004: The Civil Partnership Act (Matt 19:5; Eph 5:3) granted civil partnerships rights and responsibilities very similar to that of civil marriage.
16. 2005: The Gambling Act (Prov 13:11; 1 Tim 6:9-10) substantially deregulated the gambling industry, allowing betting shops, slot machines, internet gambling and gambling adverts to proliferate.
17. 2006 and 2010: Equality Acts (1 Cor 6:9-10) The 2006 Act created the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and the 2010 Act drew together all the other acts that had relevance to equality and human rights and brought British law into line with EU Equal Treatment Directives.
18. 2008: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act (Gen 2:24; Deut 6:4-9; Matt 19:4-6) recognised same-sex couples as legal parents of children conceived through the use of donated sperm, eggs or embryos, and replaced the reference to the need for “a father" with “supportive parenting”. It also legalised the creation of animal-human hybrid embryos for research and paved the way in 2015 for Britain to be the first country in the world to lawfully allow embryos to be genetically modified to have three or four parents.
19. 2013: The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act (Rom 1:18-32; 1 Cor 7) redefined traditional marriage which had always been between a man and a woman. It allowed two persons of the same gender to enter into legally recognised marriage. This Act crossed a red line in British parliamentary history and came fully into force in 2014.
20. 2019: The Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education, and Health Education (England) Regulations (Gen 2:24; Deut 6:4-9; Prov 22:6; Matt 19:4-6) were made under the Children and Social Work Act 2017 and were notably introduced with the intent that primary schools were to be strongly encouraged to cover LGBT content in their teaching, with no parental opt-out.
21. 2019: The Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc) Act (Gen 2:24; Ps 106:38; Isa 10:1-2; Matt 19:4-6) was passed in Westminster in the absence of a functioning devolved government, taking advantage of Northern Ireland’s political weakness to impose abortion and same-sex marriage on a province that historically has held to biblical values more faithfully than the rest of the UK.

This list of ungodly laws is published as a pamphlet by Issachar Ministries. It is available on application to www.issacharministries.co.uk - or ring the office on 01767 223270.