The first of a two-part critical analysis of the growing British ‘revival’.

The Turning is an evangelistic campaign that was begun in Reading, UK in 2016 by the local Gate Church.

Following a prescribed method of street outreach imported from the States, a total of 1,850 people accepted the invitation to pray to accept Christ over a four-week period in the Berkshire town. It was seen as a miraculous response.

Based on these results, The Turning has become a national initiative, with churches and mission groups in over 230 towns and cities reportedly requesting to become involved.¹

The Turning has support from the World Prayer Centre and accompanying resources have been produced in conjunction with the Bible Society. The London Mission Collective is looking to roll out The Turning across the capital. In Scotland, The Turning website boasts the support of “national leaders of: The Baptist Union of Scotland, Assemblies of God, Apostolic Church, Destiny Church, Scottish Network Churches, [and the] Redeemed Christian Church of God”.²

There are a number of positive aspects to The Turning. It challenges believers to step beyond the safety of their cosy fellowships and reach out to a world that is spiritually dying. It is firing believers with enthusiasm to share with those who know nothing of Christ. And it inspires churches of differing streams to come together, working as a team.

However, while I totally applaud the heart-desire behind The Turning, I have concerns about its roots and methodology. Does it represent a true revival, a widespread ‘turning’ back to God? Read on and make your own mind up!

The Roots

The Turning was brought to the UK by American ‘revivalist’ Tommie Zito, whose website boasts an international ministry of ‘awakening’ countries, ‘hallmarked’ by “the heavy Glory of God, unique signs and wonders and an unprecedented anointing to mobilize and equip the [Body] to win souls.”³ These are substantial claims – but do they bear out in reality?

Zito was hosted by Reading’s Gate Church, led by Pastor Yinka Oyekan. Much of the information in this article has been gleaned from Oyekan’s personal 2017 report on the outreach.

While I applaud the heart-desire behind The Turning, I have concerns about its roots and methodology.

‘The Turning’ uses a formula of evening meetings for believers, followed by morning outreach on the street aided by a simple script. It encourages believers of all ages and backgrounds to engage in mission. I applaud Oyekan’s concern that church not be a spectator sport and understand his frustration at fellowships not being geared towards large-scale outreach. However, in justifying his own approach, he also disparages virtually all traditional methods of evangelism and accuses Reading churches of hitherto squandering God’s grace.

Broad Street, Reading. See Photo Credits.

Oyekan claims that God has for some time been looking “to release this evangelistic grace” but has “not found an Apostolic or denominational outlet to land in”⁴ – until the Gate Church started The Turning. Again, these are significant claims about his own ministry and about other churches that warrant further exploration.

Worryingly, Oyekan’s report implies strongly that the success of the ‘outpouring’ depends to some extent on believers and churches embracing practices associated with the ‘NAR’.⁵ Oyekan claims that the Reading churches that welcomed The Turning were made more receptive by their previous embrace of ‘soaking’, a practice associated with the Toronto Blessing. Oyekan praises Christians who “have stood in the fire of the outpouring”⁶ (i.e. participated in each evening’s ‘soaking’ session). He himself is a self-confessed disciple of Bill Johnson,⁷ founder and leader of Bethel Church in Redding, California, which has received criticism for its New Age overtones.

All this implies that churches participating in The Turning are not just buying into an outreach campaign, they are buying into a particular stream of charismatic Christianity – a stream that many Christians find to be at least partly, if not totally, heretical. Those who express concern are branded ‘resistant’ to the things of God.

It remains to be seen how these roots impact The Turning’s practical, on-street encounters. However, they are signs that should prompt further, prayerful investigation, not acceptance of the campaign at face value.

The Method

Oyekan dedicates several pages of his report to discussing the pros and cons of using a script as a basis for outreach. He admits openly that The Turning’s script is “virtually identical to the one formulated by Dr Rodney Howard Brown [sic] in his book “The Great Awakening, Power Evangelism Manual””, and that “The evangelist we invited, Tommie Zito, was a disciple of Dr Rodney Howard Brown [sic]”.⁸ It is unclear exactly why Oyekan believes Howard-Browne to be a worthy source of inspiration, but the fact that he does is another warning sign.⁹

The script takes the form of a short introduction, followed by three short Scripture verses quoted in succession. A prayer is offered, during which the subject is invited to repeat a version of the ‘sinner’s prayer’. Emphasis is placed throughout on being quick; the entire process can be over in a few minutes. The subject continues on his/her way – now apparently a new creature in Christ - and another ‘response’ (‘decision’) is recorded.

Churches participating in The Turning are not just buying into an outreach campaign, they are buying into a particular stream of charismatic Christianity.

Those who take issue with the script are casually dismissed: Oyekan admits that “one pastor was in tears as he felt it was deficient in its gospel proclamation. Emotionally, the script touches on everyone’s pride…”.¹⁰ In other words, those who are humble accept The Turning; those who dare to criticise it must have a prideful heart.

This lack of self-reflection is concerning, but Oyekan goes further, suggesting that local leaders surrender their authority and get on board with The Turning without dissent: “it is strongly advisable that the leaders humble themselves and acknowledge that their need of a grace from Christ is no less necessary than that of their flocks”.¹¹

Oyekan then takes aim at traditional evangelistic tracts which, in his view, focus too much on explaining people’s need for salvation, appealing “primarily to the intellect” rather than to the heart.¹² What is needed instead are touchy-feely, emotional ‘encounters’ of God’s love. Somewhat confusingly, however, Oyekan later admits that The Turning script needs more scriptural content and that it has been revised since the Reading outreach in 2016.

Obsession with ‘Decisions’

One of my main operational concerns with The Turning is its near obsession with clocking up ‘decisions’ (or ‘responses’ as Oyekan prefers to term them). Each day of the campaign in Edinburgh, Oyekan inserted in huge bold type on his Facebook page the number of decisions recorded. Scores of his followers exulted enthusiastically over such an amazing move of the Spirit – signs of a great spiritual awakening.

I, on the other hand, could in no way rejoice over such statistics. What ‘decision’ did the individuals make? Were they presented with the true Gospel? Do we really expect hundreds of people to truly be spiritually regenerated within a few short minutes of being approached?

I think we need to be wary of instant decisions. Christ calls for a deeper response – one which may not be so easily ascertainable. It’s not that a decision is in itself wrong, but it cannot be taken as synonymous with a true conversion.

I think we need to be wary of instant decisions. Christ calls for a deeper response – one which may not be so easily ascertainable.

Oyekan actually admits that Tommie Zito was happy to let the outreach happen without any follow-up whatsoever. However, Oyekan rightly disagrees with this and states that since the goal is to make disciples, not converts, follow-up is vital. Though Gate Church had “no credible follow-up plan” in 2016,¹³ an emphasis on follow-up is now much more visible on The Turning website, so one hopes that this aspect of the outreach is now receiving proper investment.

Click here to read part 2 of this analysis.

About the author: Tom Lennie has a long-standing interest in revival and has authored a trilogy of historical studies on Scottish revivals: ‘Land of Many Revivals’ (1527-1857), ‘Glory in the Glen’ (1880-1940) and the newly-published, ‘Scotland Ablaze: The Twenty-Year Fire of Revival That Swept Scotland 1858-79’ (December 2018). His interest in The Turning was sparked by reports of the Reading ‘outpouring’ and fuelled further by its arrival in Edinburgh, his home city, as well as by the involvement of several acquaintances.

References

1 The Story of The Turning, World Prayer Centre, 1 February 2017.

2 The Turning, Scotland.

3 See Zito's website, here.

4 Oyekan, Y. The Turning Learning Review: ‘The Outpouring’, p7. All further quotes and page references are from this document, which is also available at http://theturning.eu/learning-review/.

5 p6. ‘NAR’ stands for ‘New Apostolic Reformation’, a short-hand term for a group of ministries that promote teachings from the 1940s Latter Rain Movement.

6 p10, p20.

7 p26.

8 p12.

9 For more information on this, see Blessing the Church?, chapter 4: ‘From North Battleford to Toronto’.

10 p13.

11 p7.

12 p14.

13 pp18-19.

Paul Luckraft reviews ‘The Forgotten Jesus’ by Robby Gallaty (Zondervan, 2017).

The author’s main contention in writing this book is that our understanding of Jesus has been shaped by many different cultural influences and that Christians today, especially in the West, are largely ignorant of the fact that Jesus was a Jewish man living in a Jewish world and observing Jewish customs.

Gallaty aims to help us rediscover this forgotten Jesus and to be able to place what he said and did within a more meaningful context.

High Definition

For the author, entering the Jewish world of Jesus is like getting high definition television. Once you view the gospels in this way, the extra clarity and precision means you can’t go back! Nothing is more exciting than “the experience of learning to apply a Hebraic hermeneutic to the Bible” (p23).

But this is not just a matter of information and insight, valuable though that is. The book builds up towards a key question – which Jesus will you choose? Furthermore, by seeing Jesus as the disciples did, we can better appreciate (and perhaps begin to emulate) the “revolution that would eventually transcend the sprawling Roman Empire and change the world” (p202).

Easy to Read

The book is easy to read and contains nine chapters. The first three provide a foundational look at the 1^st Century world in which Jesus lived. In particular, it illustrates the difference between Western (Greek) thinking and a Middle Eastern (Hebraic) mindset, as well as connecting Jesus with prominent Old Testament figures such as Abraham, Joseph and Moses, and providing some information on the centuries between the Testaments.

In the central three chapters, Gallaty sheds light on Jesus’ upbringing and early life, and explores the connections between his ministry and what was commonly known by those who heard him teach.

The final three chapters explain the Messiahship of Jesus and how he was ultimately rejected and sentenced to death. His final days contain many intriguing elements usually lost on traditional Christian teaching but which can be illuminated by a new Hebraic perspective.

For the author, entering the Jewish world of Jesus is like getting high definition television. Once you view the gospels in this way, the extra clarity and precision means you can’t go back!

Why This Book?

There are now many books helping us understand the Jewishness of Jesus, so why buy this one? Overall Gallaty has put together a very full compilation of such treasures. He acknowledges that he has drawn on many sources and that much of what he says can be found elsewhere. However, he has packed a huge amount into a relatively short book without being too concise or patchy.

He is also aware that the Jewish Roots movement has produced much that is based upon conjecture and speculation - perhaps following the thrill of the new rather than giving it sufficient scrutiny. Gallaty asserts that we “cannot just take what we read and hear as if it is verifiably true” (p203), but need to exercise discernment.

In this Gallary is successful. Clearly he has treated his sources with caution and produced a book that can be trusted: not only to affirm what is written of elsewhere, but also to add some extra thought-provoking gems. What did Peter actually hear when the cock crowed? What were those swaddling clothes really like, and why were they readily available and appropriate? And when Jesus quoted the first line of Psalm 22, was he intending us to understand even more than just the agony of his forsakenness?

The books ends with recommended resources (books and websites), a 260-day Bible reading plan and good endnotes. It does not, however, include an index, which would have been useful for those wanting to treat the book as a resource in its own right rather than a one-time read.

Overall this is a worthwhile addition to any collection of books on the Hebraic background to Jesus and the gospels.

‘The Forgotten Jesus: How Western Christians Should Follow an Eastern Rabbi’ (224pp, paperback) is available from Amazon for £9.99. Also available on Kindle and as an audiobook. Find out more on the book’s website.

Robby Gallaty is Senior Pastor at Long Hollow Baptist Church in Hendersonville, Tennessee.

Torah portion: Genesis 32:3-36:43

Through just two weeks we have covered more than 20 years of Jacob’s life. The majority of that time he was in Padan Aram. At the beginning of the account Rachel was a young girl, and Leah her older sister. Jacob served Laban for 14 years for his two wives. His sons and his daughter were born and Jacob acquired large flocks and enough servants to help him, and then began his journey back to Canaan.

This week we pick up the story of the journey back to the Promised Land. It was not an easy journey in the physical sense with such a large community and such large flocks, and it was not an easy journey in the spiritual sense either. God was moulding the character of Jacob.

Caught in a Crucible

He had made an enemy of his brother Esau 20 years previously and now he had to face him. He had made an enemy of Laban over the 20 years in Padan Aram and now he had to escape from him. He had family enemies behind and before him. He was in a crucible. But this was surely God’s doing.

Jacob had met with angels at Bethel (Gen 28:10-22) and angels were with him on his journey home (Gen 32:1). He had a supernatural experience wrestling with a ‘man’ at Peniel, through whom he was blessed but by whom he walked with a limp for the rest of his life.

Later, his much-loved wife Rachel died in childbirth at Ephrath (Bethlehem). What earthly sorrow to achieve the higher purposes of God!

As it turned out, despite all his fears and human scheming, Jacob was able to come to an agreement with Laban and was reconciled with Esau. Despite his humanity, which God was moulding along the way, Jacob was brought out of these seemingly impossible circumstances, though crucially this was via a period of brokenness.

Being Moulded by God

We too are moulded by God through circumstances - and let us not forget that God’s purposes are higher than our survival on this earth. We are being prepared for a heavenly Kingdom where all the striving will cease, where all the evils of this world will be gone and where we will be made perfect.

Jacob had a significant role in the covenant purposes of God. Like Isaac and Abraham before him he was the bearer of the covenant promises. God’s working in the lives of these three patriarchs was different for each one, but to the same purpose: of making them the forefathers of all who live by faith.

Each of us personally is called to enter into this family of faith and be moulded by God according to His purposes for us. This takes us to the teaching of the Apostles in the New Testament where we are reminded constantly that our characters are being moulded to be more like our Saviour Yeshua (Jesus). For example, Peter exhorts us in 1 Peter 4:12-19), beginning:

Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when his glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.

The whole world is suffering many trials and we can compare this with the crucible in which Jacob found himself with Laban behind and Esau before him. This is especially so for Jacob’s physical offspring Israel (named after Jacob’s new name given at Peniel, which has the connotation of struggling with God).

God is fulfilling His covenant purposes and that is the chief reason for all earthly struggles. All who are called into covenant relationship with Him are gradually being perfected through a walk of faith in Yeshua, and one day will emerge through these struggles into glory: that is the chief goal of God.

Author: Clifford Denton

We need to be honest about the root causes of our national problems.

In last week’s Editorial we said that successive Governments have undermined the central importance of marriage and family, thereby damaging the social stability of the nation. This is a major reason why we are now seeing so many children and young people who have no understanding of right and wrong and whose behaviour is uncontrollable. And this is why so many young people are dying on our city streets in a wave of knife crime, drugs and gang warfare.

20 years ago, I was working with Home Secretary Jack Straw MP, compiling a report to Members of Parliament on the health of the family in Britain. It was presented in July 1998 at a meeting in the Moses Room (appropriately) - with its great wall murals depicting Moses receiving the 10 Commandments.

Mr Straw promised a White Paper stressing the importance of measures to strengthen family and marriage in Britain. In a Green Paper, Supporting Families, he had correctly stated that marriage was the most reliable framework for raising children: but this caused dissension from LGBT members in the Cabinet which prevented him from issuing the White Paper or taking any concrete measure to support and strengthen married families.

The rallying cry of the secular humanists driving Government policy was “the family is not deteriorating, it is only changing”. They said that all kinds of family are of equal value. This was the beginning of Government policy focusing upon ‘equality’. Hence the value of the married couple family could not be taught in school in case a child from a single-parent family was made to feel inferior.

The rallying cry of the secular humanists driving Government policy was “the family is not deteriorating, it is only changing”. They said that all kinds of family are of equal value.

In defiance of all the evidence, children were taught what is now known as ‘alternative facts’ (laying the groundwork for ‘fake news’!). This was a milestone in the reshaping of Britain in accordance with secular humanist objectives.

Church and State Collude

At that time, the Lords and Commons Family and Child Protection Group recognised that child poverty, ill health, drug abuse, mental health problems and youth crime all stem from marriage failure and family breakdown. The evidence was said to be conclusive and incontrovertible, but ‘political correctness’ prevented the Government dealing with these root issues. In the Foreword to the Report The Cost of Family Breakdown it was stated:

Different sexual and child rearing lifestyles are decisively not ‘equal’ in the sense of ‘equality’ that is applied in all other areas of legislation; that is, ‘equal’ in their average results for good or harm on the present population and on generations to come.

Although the Report was received warmly by MPs on both sides of the House and in the Upper House, there was no change in Government policy. It was as though a veil was drawn over the eyes of politicians of all parties shielding them from the truth.

Worse was to come: at the time this report was published in July 2000, an Education Bill dealing with what pupils should be taught in school about sex and child-rearing was going through Parliament. A peer attempted to include Jack Straw’s statement in Supporting Families saying that “marriage is the most reliable framework for raising children”.

The Government fiercely opposed teaching children the truth that married families are the most reliable unit for raising children. There were extraordinary scenes in the Lords with the largest turnout of the session. No fewer than 234 peers voted against the Amendment, including nine bishops! It was a very tight vote and if the nine bishops had voted the other way it would have been carried. So, the Church of England’s representatives in Parliament voted against holy matrimony being taught to children in the schools of Great Britain!

In 2000, Church and State colluded to destroy family and marriage on one of the saddest days in our Parliamentary history.

Church and State colluded to destroy family and marriage on one of the saddest days in our Parliamentary history. Therefore, surely, in the sight of God, the Church of England must be held responsible for what we are now seeing on our city streets!

Veil of Deception

The veil of deception is still over the eyes of senior Church leaders today. I have seen evidence showing that the Bishop of Liverpool, a strong LGBTQ+ supporter, is using his power to prevent evangelical clerics from being appointed to Liverpool churches.

The Methodist Church has appointed a homosexual man as their National Director of Evangelism with the specific intention of creating more LGBTQ-friendly inclusivity; and the Methodist Central Hall in Westminster has banned evangelist David Hathaway from hiring it. He held a prayer meeting there last month but evidently said some things that were unpopular with some of the staff.

As I said in my recent book, The Reshaping of Britain,

The intensity of the great shaking of the nations is increasing rapidly. We may all soon be engulfed in a modern ‘Babylon’ of unbelievable intensity. But God is offering to Christians the most incredible opportunity, because only those who have put their trust in him will be able to stand and be overcomers.

Spiritual, Not Political

What we need to recognise is the hand of God in the deepening national crisis! Truth being upturned in the public square, confusion over Brexit, violence on the streets, soaring mental health problems, public institutions on the verge of collapse: all speak of a nation under judgment – both Church and State.

We have turned the word of God upside-down and he is saying, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight” (Isa 5:20-21).

We need to recognise the hand of God in our deepening national crisis!

As the Brexit crisis deepens and the confusion among politicians increases, we have to recognise that there are no political solutions to our problems, because they are primarily spiritual.

The cleverest politicians in the land will not solve the present crises! The only solution – the only way forward for the nation – is repentance and turning to the word of God. If we do this, whether we have a deal OR no deal, God will reach out and restore peace and prosperity to Britain. But if we simply continue as we are today, the result can only be catastrophe.

The People’s Vote

The people of Britain are being offered a choice at this astonishing juncture in our national history. This is the true ‘people’s vote’!! Joshua presented the same choice to the people of Israel: “choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve” (Josh 24:15). To the people of Britain, the choice is whether we will serve ourselves, and the pagan gods of the European Union, or the God of the Bible who has preserved us and so richly blessed our forefathers in times past.

To Christians in Britain, the choice is whether we will stand up and declare the truth, or stay silent. The good news is that it is always in times when God shakes the nations that the greatest opportunities for evangelism are presented.

Women’s March anti-Semitism should be a wake-up call.

Two weeks ago I wrote about how American Jews fail to see left-wing anti-Semitism for the true threat that it is, not least because they have not had a problem comparable to the anti-Semitism crisis in the British Labour Party to wake them up to reality.

Perhaps I spoke too soon, for an anti-Semitism crisis of sorts is definitely brewing on the left in America. Remember the Women’s March, the annual national marches in the US (and now elsewhere) ostensibly championing women’s rights, but also hosting all sorts of other left-wing causes? Well, this week, March founder Teresa Shook called upon its current leaders to resign, citing their fostering of anti-Semitism.

Shook’s concern was the close association of these leaders (who include Palestinian American Linda Sarsour) with Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, infamous for his vociferous anti-Semitism as well as anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric and racism against white people. Last month, Farrakhan dared to declare “I am not anti-Semitic, I am anti-termite”. He has previously described Hitler as a “very great man”.¹

So far there has been an official apology from the Women’s March to Jewish and LGBTQ+ members, but there has not yet been any clear condemnation of Farrakhan or obvious disassociation with him. Celebrities are beginning to withdraw their support from the March, a human rights award has been stripped from it and people are starting to ask: why is it so hard for the March leaders to denounce this abhorrent man?²

General Bemusement

The willingness of left-wing activists to associate with radical Islamists in the first place seems utterly contradictory, but prescient commentators have seen it coming.³ Anti-Semitism (or attitudes that tend that way) is part of the common ground between these apparently disparate factions.

People are starting to ask: why is it so hard for the March leaders to denounce the abhorrent Louis Farrakhan?

Many left-wingers fail to grasp this and are left scratching their heads, trying to understand how on earth their ‘progressive’, ‘tolerant’, ‘liberal’ politics is suddenly found housing anti-Semitic comments and behaviours. Like much of the Labour-supporting left in Britain, they just can’t get their heads around it: ‘how has it come to this?’ they ask. Some write it all off as a terrible mistake, an anomaly, or even a conspiracy (as the Women’s March founders did in their initial response to Ms Shook’s comments, accusing her of trying to ‘fracture’ the movement). Their critics call it hypocrisy, but are no closer to understanding it.⁴

The more astute recognise that though the ‘progressive’ left and Islamists seem worlds apart, they actually have some things in common, which explains their otherwise bizarre tendency to cross-pollinate. This can plunge concerned leftists into an existential crisis, as with many Jewish Labour MPs and supporters in Britain.

In Pursuit of Godless Utopia

As usual, Melanie Phillips is ahead of most in understanding this strange situation. She argues that Islam and the ‘progressive’ left, just like fascism and communism, are utopian in outlook: each in their own way seeking to bring about the perfect world, each believing themselves to be the noblest of causes. This means that each are also totalitarian: “Because their end product is a state of perfection, nothing can be allowed to stand in [the] way”.⁵

Ultimately, they are each, she goes on to argue, about building heaven on earth without reference to the God of the Bible: they are belief systems that hinge on rejecting him. That is where they begin to find common ground with each other.

For Christians, understanding all this from a spiritual perspective is quite simple. Every political, philosophical or religious movement that rejects God and his ways becomes the domain of “the prince of the air”, no matter how well-intentioned their beginnings. Promising freedom, love and unity, they cannot deliver these things, which are only found in God. Instead, they deliver tyranny, aggressive hatred and division.

The more astute recognise that though the ‘progressive’ left and Islamists seem worlds apart, they actually have some things in common, which explains their otherwise bizarre tendency to cross-pollinate.

They also tend towards a rejection of everything on earth that points to God, whether his created order, his word, his land or all those who are bound in covenant to him, who testify to his existence and truth. And so, sown into the heart of each and every movement of this kind is the intrinsic possibility of both anti-Semitism and Christian persecution.

These tendencies work out differently depending on the movement in question, whether far-right fascism, fundamentalist Islam, or ‘progressive’ secular humanism and its identity politics, included in which is the (frighteningly intellectual-sounding) ‘intersectional feminism’ that underlies the Women’s March.⁶

No Surprises Here

The Women's March leaders, who have been called on to step down. See Photo Credits.

As I wrote last year, instead of protesting real gender injustice, the Women’s March seeks only to protest and destroy biblical notions of womanhood, family and sexuality. Pro-life women are hounded and ousted. Anti-establishment anarchy and vulgarity are abiding themes, part-funded as it is by hard-left anarchist billionaire George Soros. While likely containing well-meaning individuals, the movement broadly represents a wholesale rebellion against Judeo-Christian values.

In this context, it should really be no surprise that anti-Semitic people and attitudes are welcomed within its ranks, particularly under the guise of ‘legitimate’ criticism of Israel (click here for a list of the kinds of anti-Semitic groups that have joined hands under the Women’s March umbrella). It may not seem on obvious concern for a gender-focused campaign, but the attraction is a common focus on perceived ‘injustice’ and ‘oppression’, underneath which is shared anti-Western, anti-Judeo-Christian, revolutionary sentiment.

Ms Shook asserts that the current leaders have “steered the movement away from its true course”. I beg to differ. This is not a case of a perfectly useful political campaign being maliciously hijacked by a few bad eggs. It’s about root ideological issues pervading the entire movement.

The Women’s March joins hands with anti-Semitic people and groups because of a common focus on perceived ‘injustice’ and ‘oppression’, underneath which is shared anti-Western, anti-Judeo-Christian sentiment.

It should also, therefore, be no surprise when Women’s March figure-heads are found befriending people like Louis Farrakhan. It’s not just Farrakhan: remember also that the 2017 March was co-organised by a convicted Palestinian terrorist (since deported) and a former Communist Party leader who is also a long-time supporter of the violent Black Panther movement. Again, join the dots and you will find a shared ideological revolt against Western civilisation and its founding association with Scripture.⁷

That is why it is so hard for the Women’s March leaders to denounce Farrakhan. At root, they are in agreement with him, or on their way to being so. It’s also why it’s so hard for Jeremy Corbyn to denounce Labour anti-Semitism: at root, he agrees with it. These hard-leftists are not odd-balls that accidentally found their way into the left-wing: they are simply being consistent in their ideological commitment, following it through to its logical conclusion.

That is why the anti-Semitism crisis in the Women’s March is a shot across the bows for American Jews: it says something about the likely future destination of the entire US left. The question is, will they have eyes to see?

References

1 Firscht, N. The Women’s March and the anti-Semitism blindspot. Spiked, 22 November 2018.

2 Singal, J. Why Won’t Women’s March Leaders Denounce Louis Farrakhan’s Anti-Semitism? Intelligencer, 7 March 2018. Left-wing associations with Farrakhan didn’t start with the Women’s March – Obama notoriously fraternised with the Islamist leader back in 2005.

3 I recommend Melanie Phillips’ The World Turned Upside-Down (2010, Encounter Books), particularly chapters 11 and 12.

4 E.g. see note 1.

5 The World Turned Upside-Down, see note 3, pp219-220.

6 Intersectional feminism is a fairly recent move within the feminist movement to take into account other layers of identity that women experience in addition to their gender, including race, sexuality, class, etc. It is an attempt to understand people as multi-faceted, each with a unique experience of power relationships in the world (i.e. each one can claim to be oppressed in their own way/in compound ways). What this translates to practically is the uniting of the feminist movement with other left-wing causes to jointly condemn ‘oppression’.

7 The alliance between the radical left and Islam may be temporarily convenient for both parties, but ultimately Islam has no respect for secular identity politics and its various victim groups. Once dominant, it would undoubtedly crush both feminism and the LGBTQ+ movement.

Christian envoy pays tribute to music teacher whose harmonica saved him from the Holocaust

The appointment of Israel’s first ever Christian Arab ambassador is partly thanks to a Jewish musician who, alone among his family, survived the Holocaust.

In a recorded speech following his installation as the Jewish state’s top envoy to Muslim-majority Azerbaijan, George Deek paid tribute to the man he named only as Avraham who became his music teacher.¹

It was because he played the harmonica so beautifully that his life was spared; a Nazi officer took him home to entertain his guests.

When he finally found refuge in Israel, he chose to use the means of his rescue – his music – to bring hope to others including Arab children like George, who duly learnt both flute and clarinet.

Responding to Tragedy with Hope

George’s moving story contradicts much of the narrative spewed out by the mainstream media about the Arab-Israeli conflict, especially the refugee crisis.

His family, who have lived in Jaffa (or Yafo) for 400 years, fled the city in 1948 in response to the warning from Arab leaders that Jews would turn on them when the new-born nation was attacked by the surrounding states, but that they would be free to return when Israel was defeated.

His grandfather, also George, had married in haste before fleeing to Lebanon, but when he realised that Israel had not been defeated and Arabs were not being persecuted, he managed to return and even got his electrician’s job back from Jews he had befriended before independence.

While acknowledging that it was indeed disastrous for the 700,000+ Palestinians who subsequently became unwanted refugees, he noted that 800,000 Jews had been more or less forced out of Arab nations at the same time – a fact that is now conveniently forgotten.

George’s moving story contradicts much of the narrative spewed out by the mainstream media about the Arab-Israeli conflict, especially the refugee crisis.

The Jews were absorbed into Israel, but the Arabs were not accommodated in the same way by the very states whose leaders had persuaded them to leave, thus creating an ongoing UN-backed stalemate in which the refugees are being used as political pawns.

“The Palestinians are held captive by chains of resentment,” he said.

By contrast, the Jews had responded to the tragedy of the Holocaust by securing their future. With respect to his music teacher, “he chose life, not death; hope rather than despair” and began teaching the very thing that saved his life to bring hope to others – especially amidst the tension that existed in Jaffa between Arabs and Jews.

Referring to the way in which Avraham spoke little and reluctantly of his tragic past, which he suggested was reflective of the general response of Jews to the Shoah, he said: “Only when they had secured their future did they allow themselves to look back at the past.”

By God’s Grace

Under the shadow of that great tragedy, Jews were able to build a country that leads the world in many areas. At the same time Israeli Arabs are the most educated Arabs in the world, occupying highly influential positions as judges, doctors, MPs enjoying the right to criticise the Government, and diplomats like him.

George is not Israel’s first Arab ambassador – that distinction went to Ali Yahya, who was appointed Ambassador to Finland in 1995. And I have personally met Ishmael Khaldi – Israel’s first Bedouin diplomat.

Towards the end of his speech, George quoted the words of the Jewish patriarch Joseph, who reacted to the betrayal of his brothers in selling him to slavery by forgiving them and saying: “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives” (Gen 50:20).

Israeli Arabs are the most educated Arabs in the world, occupying highly influential positions

Joseph emerged as saviour of his people, rescuing them from famine after becoming Prime Minister of Egypt. He was a picture of the Messiah to come, who would be given over by his brothers to being nailed to a cross but who will also one day reveal himself to them as “the one they have pierced” (Zech 12:10), forgiving and cleansing them of their past sins.

Like so many of his cousins, George might well have become a Palestinian refugee without rights or citizenship, but – through God’s grace – he is an Israeli diplomat representing one of the most thriving economies on the planet.

Joppa: Start-point for Reconciliation

Jonah's Jaffa - a tribute to the whale that brought him back. Photo: Charles Gardner

I particularly like this story because of the crucial part played by the harmonica, an instrument I love to play myself and which can wonderfully enhance worship of God. And I also like it because of its setting in Jaffa, known in Bible times as Joppa.

It was this time last year that my wife Linda and I got to know the city, which lies at the southern end of the Tel Aviv metropolis. And it was an awesome experience to discover afresh the vital role it had played in the biblical era.

It is where the Prophet Jonah caught a ship for Tarshish in his vain attempt to run away from God’s call to preach to the cruel Ninevites – there is a life-size sculpture of a whale (complete with fountain) near the seafront.

Jonah too was a picture of the Messiah to come. For Jesus declared to his opponents that his credentials would be proven through the ‘Sign of Jonah’ (Matt 12:38-40), who was buried for three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish before being resurrected on the beach.

Joppa could hardly have been a more strategic place, leading to reconciliation at the Cross for both Jew and Gentile.

The harbour at Jaffa where Jonah boarded ship. Photo: Charles GardnerJoppa was also a key location for the early Church, and of another resurrection – Tabitha (or Dorcas) was raised from the dead there through the prayers of Peter (Acts 9:36-43). It was also the town of Simon the Tanner, in whose home Peter had the heavenly vision that was to open the way for the Gospel to the Gentile world with his visit to the Roman centurion Cornelius some 40 miles up the coast in Caesarea (Acts 10).

It could hardly have been a more strategic place, leading to reconciliation at the Cross for both Jew and Gentile. And now, 2,000 years later, an Arab Christian there finds hope – and status – in a Jewish world.

Who would have thought a Jewish state would appoint a Christian envoy to a Muslim country! Pray for George. God is surely at work.

Watch George Deek’s testimony here.

References

1 Israel appoints its first ever Christian Arab Ambassador. Christians United for Israel, 16 November 2018.  

Paul Luckraft reviews ‘Two Minutes Added On’ by Stephen Bishop (Zaccmedia, 2018)

Stephen Bishop’s latest book is a sequel to his previous book, ‘Time: Full Stop or Question Mark?’. When interviewed for Prophecy Today he said he felt there was more to say on this topic and that he would be exploring certain aspects further which may result in another book. So, here it is!

The title is based upon a sporting analogy (added time at the end of a football match) and is intended to show that “God’s work is not constrained in an unyielding timeframe…when the whistle is blown to end the match is down solely to the referee” (p4-5). God is the final arbiter. He may add on time in our situations or say when no more time is left.

As before, this is an easy read in several short chapters which opens up possibilities for further reflection. Each chapter ends in this fashion with ‘points to ponder’ which makes it not only suitable for personal devotion but also for group discussion.

Discerning God’s Timing

There is a straightforward structure to the book. After the introduction, a foundational chapter looks at the healing of the paralysed man who was lowered through the roof while Jesus was teaching in a crowded house. This ‘interruption’ could be seen either as a disruption to Jesus’ busy schedule or an unexpected opportunity to perform a new work of God, unplanned and unforeseen. How do we respond when such interruptions come our way? Jesus’ attitude was to find ‘extra time’ for this individual.

The heart of the book (chapters 3-9) takes us through seven passages from John’s Gospel in order to explore the time elements found there. The key message in all of these is that in following Jesus we must be prepared to allow him to shape our time. It may not always be easy “to discern God’s timing in respect of action that we need to take, but He is able and willing to show it to us if we ask” (p25).

How do we respond then unforeseen interruptions come our way? Do we find ‘extra time’?

There is a good example of how Jesus accepted delays and rearrangements when his talk with a Samaritan women created an unexpected opportunity for further ‘evangelism’. When the Samaritans urged him to stay he spent two days with them, delaying his original plan to return to Galilee, but with the result that many more become believers (John 4:40-41). There was no sense that this would make him late for his ‘next meeting’! Indeed, his next miracle (healing the official’s son) was performed ‘right on time’ (John 4:49-53).

Other passages considered also show that Jesus’ perspective on time was very different from that of his disciples. He seemed untroubled by the ‘ticking clock’, unconcerned that time may be ‘running out’. Sometimes things happened after ‘a long time’ (e.g. healing the invalid at the pool) or late in the day (e.g. feeding the 5,000), but Jesus always understood God’s timetable.

Practical Lessons

For us, time pressures often create anxiety or urgency, even panic. We may react by rushing into Plan B because there is not enough time now for Plan A. Yet, we need to learn that “No countdown is outside God’s control or ability to miraculously intervene” (p59).

Equally we may have to put aside what we think is our ‘right’ to not have to wait. When God ‘puts us on hold’ we must accept this and learn to trust him.

The book concludes with three postscripts on passages taken from Acts. The author intends these to be ‘launch pads’ to show us that like the early believers we can also “take practical steps to personally experience God move outside our conception of time” (p5).

Jesus’ perspective on time was very different from that of his disciples. He seemed untroubled by the ‘ticking clock’.

The treadmill of routine need not be our constant expectation. What may start as ‘just another day’ may become extraordinary in God’s timing. Equally, periods of waiting and wondering can also have their value. We need ‘in between’ times for spiritual rest and re-evaluation. The Book of Acts was not always a mad dash from one miracle to another. Even Paul was set aside or held up at times (e.g. Acts 9:9, 16:6-8).

Overall, this is a useful book which repays thoughtful reading.

‘Two Minutes Added On’ (130pp, paperback) is available from Amazon for £6.99. Available on Kindle for less. Click here to read our review of Stephen’s other book, ‘Time: Full Stop or Question Mark?’, and click here to read our interview with the author.