Back in early 2003 a friend and I agreed to seek God together, with no agenda in mind other than to let God set the agenda. After a period of seeking, we concluded God’s guidance was that hard times are coming and we need to prepare.

We spent hours considering this and what form the preparation should take. I don’t intend to relay to you all the detail today other than one aspect: grain mills.

Why grain mills? Because 15 years later in 2018, God’s prompting hasn’t left me but on the contrary seems to have grown. Let me explain.

God’s Prompting to Persevere

I recall one of the prayer times my friend and I shared back in 2003. We were trying to find a sense of rightness about how one might mill grain should hard times overtake us, but didn’t get past such wacky ideas as trying to find someone who owned a wind or water mill. You may laugh!

That weekend I visited a National Trust house and, seeing that the estate included a windmill, went to investigate. What I found inside the mill was the solution to our searching: a little hand-operated modern quern stone (a pair of stones shaped to grind grain into flour) was set up for folks to play with. I thought such equipment had died out after the Iron Age so was surprised to find that they are still manufactured and used in parts of the Third World. With it someone can grind (with about half an hour’s effort) sufficient grain for a family’s daily needs.

After an internet search, we each obtained a Western World equivalent made of metal and plastic, got some sacks of grain and started experimenting. And from there it might have gradually become a fad of yesteryear, but for last summer when I sensed God’s prompting to persevere with working to be a prepared person.

I’d previously bought a sturdier, all-metal hand grain mill with a view to running it by pedal power, but had never progressed beyond sketches of how to do it. Upon telling some farming friends of my project, I was provided with an exercise bike and a pulley wheel off an old engine. The exciting result (well, I’m excited!) you can see in the photo.

A Broader Lesson

Why am I relaying this to you now? Several days ago, I asked God if there was more to it than simply fun and incredibly tasty bread. That same morning, I believe God provided me with an answer from Ecclesiastes 12:1-4. This is the thought that I share for your consideration.

Solomon exhorts his readers to “remember your creator while you are young, before the evil days come…”, referring to old age. Solomon then gives some pictures of these ‘evil days’ and includes “when women stop grinding grain” and “when the noise of the grain-mill fades”.

These few words have been a wake-up call for me, as though my youth is passing me by (I was only 45 years old in 2003 and physically fitter than I am now at 60). Whatever the future brings – we may need grain grinders and much more - this is not just about grinding flour, but about our attitude towards the uncertainty of this life and our calling in Jesus to be watchful, prepared people.

Unless I become a prepared person now, those foretold hard times might well come upon me like a “thief in the night” with all the knock-on consequences for my walk of faith. Now is the time for me to act – not in fear, but in wisdom and through seeking the Lord!

Does this resonate with you?

Author: John Quinlan

A warning sign to the nation.

Carillion’s collapse is not only a disaster for its 43,000 employees but a blow to the whole national economy, with up to 30,000 businesses affected in Carillion’s wider network. Of course, all our politicians have gone into ‘blame game’ mode.

The only MPs who can claim to be guiltless of the policy that led to this Private Finance Initiative (PFI) are those on the far left who opposed this dangerous venture into the state trying to get its public services on the cheap.

The short answer is – it is not possible! There is no such thing as free money.

PFI was an idea generated in John Major’s Government but implemented when Gordon Brown was in charge of the Treasury in Tony Blair’s New Labour Government. So, both our main political parties have egg on their faces for the monstrous folly that has put millions of pounds into the pockets of venture capitalists at the expense of the British taxpayer.

Reckless Debt

At a time when interest rates were high and the Government wished to keep borrowing to a minimum it must have seemed attractive to let private investors put up the capital for big construction projects and to delay purchase of the assets over a period of many years. But buying anything on the ‘never-never’ only delays the pain. We are now told that projects valued at £60 billion are costing the British taxpayer £199 billion.

Both our main political parties have egg on their faces for this monstrous folly

It seems almost beyond belief that our politicians could be so incredibly naive to put our hospitals and schools in the hands of these greedy rogues, who have lined their own pockets at public expense. In simple terms, the Government handed out contracts for the building of hospitals and schools paid for largely by foreign investors, who have leased them back to the Government at exorbitant rates of interest in conditions that make vast profits for the investors.

Even after Carillion had issued ‘profits warnings’ indicating that it was in financial difficulties, Transport Secretary Chris Grayling awarded them a contract on part of the High-Speed Rail (HS2) construction.

Carillion have been in trouble for a long time but instead of following a policy of clearing their debts on each project before moving onto the next, they recklessly increased their debts in a kind of commercial Ponzi scheme, by taking on more contracts to help pay off the interest on earlier commitments. Eventually the point was reached where their debt mountain became so massive, and the profits had all been squirrelled away by greedy management, that it became impossible to pay off the debts and the banks would not lend any more.

Day of Reckoning

This has all the feel of the darker side of capitalism and was probably the kind of operation that Marx had in mind when he said that capitalism contains within itself the seeds of its own destruction. I’m not making a case for Marxism, but simply pointing out that there were some things that he got right.

The fundamental weakness of Marxism lies in its dogma of ‘economic determinism’ which sees all human beings as products of their environment. All thought thereby becomes conditioned by matter, because it is a product of matter in motion, which philosophically sets aside the whole notion of human accountability.

It is beyond belief that our politicians put our hospitals and schools in the hands of these greedy rogues, who have lined their own pockets at public expense.

It was this conviction of human accountability to God that was the driving force behind the ministry exercised by the prophets of Israel recorded in the Bible. Listen to this from the Prophet Amos:

You hate the one who reproves in court and despise him who tells the truth. You trample on the poor…You oppress the righteous and take bribes and you deprive the poor of justice in the courts. (Amos 5:10-12)

Amos then goes on to tell the leaders of the nation who are eagerly awaiting the Day of the Lord that it will be a day of darkness not light, because God is a God of truth and justice who holds human beings accountable for their actions.

It is this accountability to a higher authority that is missing in our secular humanist society today. The very existence of these concepts of truth and justice depend upon our recognition of the God of Creation who built these values into the fabric of the universe. When we take God out of the equation we actually destroy the whole structure of society because there are no ultimate values or accountability. Without God we human beings are on our own to make up our own rules that suit our particular needs at the time.

The Underlying Problem

But we live in a moral universe that we ignore at our peril, as the Carillion debacle vividly portrays. The big question now is whether or not our political masters will have the courage not only to take responsibility for clearing up the mess of the disastrous policy of former Governments, but to recognise the reason why the nation is having to bear the huge cost of this folly.

We live in a moral universe that we ignore at our peril.

Will we recognise that by departing from the ‘gold standard’ of the word of God we have brought all this trouble upon ourselves? And will we come humbly before God seeking his ways that lead to blessing and prosperity?

It may be that God has allowed the Carillion economic disaster to come upon us as a warning sign to the nation that all is not well; and that unless we face up to the bigger moral and spiritual problems in the nation we will never get the economy right or solve the nation’s social problems.

Part 2 of 2: Dismantling the lies.

Israel is so bursting at the seams with archaeological remnants from Bible times that it is remarkable that Palestinian denials of this record are not immediately laughed out of the room.

Every year new discoveries come to light – often by accident as evidence is so abundant - all of which prove that what God’s word says is true. Here are just a few examples.

Whilst excavating in the Ophel area in 2015, just south of the Temple Mount an ancient rubbish dump was exposed, the contents of which were wet-sieved. What came to light was remarkable – 33 tiny clay document-seals, amongst them one bearing the Hebrew inscription “belonging to Hezekiah, (son of) Ahaz, king of Judah.”¹

A further exciting find was announced only a few days ago, on 1 January 2018. Beneath the Roman paving west of the Temple Mount, beside the ruins of a 7^th-Century BC house, another seal was identified, bearing the Hebrew inscription, ‘Governor of the City’ and depicting two men wearing striped robes.²

A 2,700-year-old seal bearing the mark of the governor of the city of Jerusalem has been discovered under the Western Wall plaza, at a site where a First Temple–period building has been found. https://t.co/bGS41jXoko pic.twitter.com/YkIXPBmvby

— Archaeology Magazine (@archaeologymag) January 2, 2018

There are two references to such a title, both during the reign of King Josiah, and both named – Joshua (2 Kings 23:8) and Maleah (2 Chron 34:8).

Among the finds for the Temple Mount Sifting Project, which sorted through the Muslim debris dumps referred to in Part 1 (last week), was a type of iron arrowhead complete with shaft which, according to Dr Gabriel Barkay, “was launched from catapults exclusive to the Roman army” during the siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD.³

Every year new discoveries come to light which prove that what God’s word says is true.

Also particularly striking has been the recovery of fragments of the coloured paving of the Herodian Temple courts, painstakingly reconstructed by Dr Frankie Snyder and announced in 2016,⁴ reminding us of the ‘beautiful stones’ of the Temple drawn to the attention of Jesus (Luke 23:5; Mark 13:1).

Yet another seal was found in the same Muslim debris removed from the Temple Mount. This one, although partly broken, is inscribed in ancient Hebrew, ‘(Belonging to) [….]lyahu (son of) Immer’.⁵ The Immer family was a well-known priestly family around the 7^th-6^th Centuries BC. “Pashur son of Immer” is mentioned in Jeremiah 20:1 as “Chief Officer in the House of God” – a clear reference to the Temple. Its reverse side shows that it was used to seal sacking, possibly a bullion sack of Temple taxes.

Rare seal impression from First Temple priest #FoundbytheSiftingProject pic.twitter.com/VFEnVinweu

— Temple Mount Sifting (@TMSifting) April 3, 2017

As for other examples, there are literally thousands from which to choose, ranging from a Jewish chalk-vessel factory near Nazareth,⁶ to the ruined city of Lachish, excavated in the 1930s by the British archaeologist James Starkey. The city has extensive remains from various biblical periods, and is famous for the letters written in ancient Hebrew on pottery fragments (ostraca).

One message reads, “May YHWH cause my lord to hear, this very day, tidings of good…And may [my lord] be apprised that we are watching for the fire signals of Lachish according to all the signs which my lord has given, because we cannot see Azekah.”⁷ As well as including the ancient unpronounceable name of the LORD, the message clearly ties in with the book of Jeremiah: “‘O you children of Benjamin, gather yourselves to flee…Blow the trumpet in Tekoa, and set up a signal-fire in Beth Haccerem” (6:1) and “when the king of Babylon's army fought against Jerusalem, and against all the cities of Judah that were left, against Lachish and against Azekah; for these alone remained of the cities of Judah as fortified cities” (34:11).

Other aspects discovered by British experts include the Lachish Reliefs, which are a set of Assyrian palace panels which narrate the story of the Assyrian victory over the kingdom of Judah during the siege of Lachish in 701 BC. Carved between 700-681 BC, as a decoration of the South-West Palace of Sennacherib in Nineveh (in modern Iraq), the reliefs are today in the British Museum, along with the ostraca and siege weapons. Sennacherib’s presence at Lachish is noted in 2 Kings 18:14.

Lachish ruins (author's collection) and the Lachish Letter 4 (see Photo Credits).There can be no question whatever of falsification of Jewish history in such cases! Archaeology speaks!⁸ It is high time to mount a widespread challenge to the kinds of rhetoric outlined last week – to educate the Church and to hold politicians and the media to account. To that end I offer the following further comments.

Understanding the Deception

Holding up Palestinian narratives to the light, one principle becomes stark – that of deception. There are those who deceive and those who are deceived.

As noted at the start of last week’s article, Palestinian deception is a complex, intricate web – but two simple, vital things can still be noted about it. The first is the spirit behind it, which is anti-Semitism. Indeed, the very definition of Palestinian nationalism and culture – the crux of what brings them together as a people – is anti-Semitism, or a hatred of Jews and a disavowal of Israel’s right to exist.

In 1977, Zuheir Mohsen, a member of the PLO Executive Council, articulated the goals of their ‘peoplehood’ strategy saying, “The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a distinct ‘Palestinian people’ to oppose Zionism.”⁹

The second thing to note about Palestinian deception is that the main framework through which it is delivered, its language and its cultural and political driving force, is that of Islam.

Here, most Westerners, including myself, are confronted with an impenetrable script - we cannot read Arabic! Establishing the truth about Islamic teaching often feels like trying to catch an eel with bare hands. However, the doctrine of taqqiya forms an important part. Raymond Ibrahim, an American Arabic linguist and political analyst, points out:

According to the authoritative Arabic text, Al-Taqiyya Fi Al-Islam, deception is of fundamental importance in Islam. Practically every Islamic sect agrees to it and practices it. We can go so far as to say that the practice of taqiyya is mainstream in Islam, and that those few sects not practicing it diverge from the mainstream...Taqiyya is very prevalent in Islamic politics, especially in the modern era. [my emphasis]

The very definition of Palestinian nationalism and culture – the crux of what brings them together as a people – is anti-Semitism.

The Qur’an’s Sura 3:28 is acknowledged as the primary source for this doctrine, regarding which Raymond Ibrahim says, “…the Islamic scholar Ibn Kathir (1301-1373) wrote: ‘Whoever at any time or place fears their [infidels'] evil, may protect himself through outward show.’ As proof of this, he quotes Muhammad's companions. Abu Darda said: ‘Let us smile to the face of some people while our hearts curse them.’ Al-Hassan said: ‘Doing taqiyya is acceptable till the day of judgment.’ [i.e. in perpetuity]”.¹⁰

For the Bible-believing Christian, it is not difficult to see that deception goes back to the very foundation of Islam. While Mohammed was in contemplation in 600 AD, allegedly the Archangel Gabriel appeared before him and instructed him to recite verses, which begin with:

In the name of thy Lord and Cherisher,

Who created man, out of a clot of congealed blood… (Qur’an, Sura 96:1-2)

If the Archangel Gabriel really appeared to Mohammed, he would only have spoken the truth. Instead, the apparition’s statement flatly contradicts the word of God (man was created in the image of God from the dust of the earth, Genesis 1:27, 2:7).

Who was the very first to contradict the word of God? Satan himself (‘Did God really say…?’ and then ‘You shall surely not die’, Gen 3:1-4)! And in 1 Corinthians 11:14 we are told that “Satan transforms himself into an angel of light” – not Gabriel then! Poor Mohammed!

Not only does the Qur’an contradict the Creation account, but it strikes at the very heart of the Gospel. According to Surah 4:157-158, speaking of the Jews, “…they said (in boast), ‘We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the Apostle of God’; but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them, and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no (certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him not…”.

The main framework through which Palestinian deception is delivered, its language and its cultural and political driving force, is Islam.

Commenting on Sura 3, Al-Tabari (9^th Century) says that the deceit of Allah applies to the time where the Jews wanted to kill Isa the son of Mary. In order not to be killed, Allah put the appearance of Jesus' face on someone else, who was crucified instead of Jesus. This is how Allah had everybody, even Jesus, deceived.¹¹

Dealing with Deception

The ultimate source of all this is clearly Satanic, “that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world” (Rev 12:9).

For all of us who believe in Jesus Christ, in Yeshua haMaschiach, our starting point in responding should be the recognition that, as Paul reminds us in Ephesians 6:12ff, “We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore put on the whole armour of God…” [my emphasis].

Remember that in applying the verses which follow there has often been an overemphasis on personal, individual equipment and action, whereas battle between armies is rarely, if ever, settled by single combat.¹² We must work together.

In addition to the defensive equipment, there are the weapons of offence: “take…the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end…” [my emphases].

‘All prayer’ is a potent weapon: “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God…” (2 Cor 10:4-5).

So, too, is the word of God, the Sword of the Spirit, long neglected and ill-treated in many of our churches (and outside them a veritable desert!). Precious though the New Testament is, it cannot stand without the Old. Those scriptures were the only ones available to the first generation of Christians. Those were the scriptures familiar to Jesus and used by him, of which Paul said to Timothy, “from a child you have known the Holy Scriptures” and “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God” (2 Tim 3:15-16, my emphases).

For those of us who believe in Jesus Christ, our starting point in responding to Palestinian narratives must be a recognition that we do not battle against flesh and blood.

Those are the scriptures which have been undermined and devalued in the West, including within the Church. How the people of God need to recover confidence in his word – especially if they are to recognise and counter the lies of the enemy! How we need to appreciate that, as archaeologists physically dig into the layers of the past in the Holy Land, thrilling us with insights into God’s dealings with Israel, they are confirming the truth of Scripture and prophecy!

The hour is late. There is a desperate need for teaching on these matters. Well-guided tours of Israel are an enormous help. From such a broad basis we may become better equipped to witness more effectively, speak out publicly, and hold our politicians and the media to account, “speaking the truth in love, [growing] up in all things into Him who is the head, Christ…” (Eph 4:15, my emphasis). God grant that truth prevail!

References

1 For more details, click here.

2 Schuster, R. Governor of Jerusalem's Seal Impression From First Temple Era Found Near Western Wall. Haaretz, 1 January 2018.

3 Artifacts with links to Bible unearthed. Washington Times, 2 January 2006.

4 Flooring from the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Ritmeyer Archaeological Design, 12 September 2016.

5 Archaeological Evidence of the Jewish Temples on the Temple Mount. Temple Mount Sifting Project, 14 October 2016.

6 Ngo, R. Jewish Purification: Stone Vessel Workshop Discovered in Galilee. Bible History Daily, 25 August 2016.

7 For more details see ‘Lachish Letters’ on Wikipedia.

8 To explore this further, I suggest the following sites: Associates for Biblical Research, Bibleplaces (for frequent updates), Israel’s Antiquities Authority, Ritmeyer Archaeological Design.

9 As quoted from: Dorsey, J. Wij zijn alleen Palestijn om politieke reden. Trouw, 31 March 1977.

10 Ibrahim, R. Islam's doctrines of deception. Middle East Forum, October 2008.

11 Deception in Islam. Muslim Hope, December 2008.

12 Interestingly, the shield of faith mentioned by Paul is the thureos of the Roman armies, a curved door-shaped shield, which did more than provide personal protection. Its most effective use was in forming the testudo: “The first row of men, possibly excluding the men on the flanks, would hold their shields from about the height of their shins to their eyes, so as to cover the formation's front. The shields would be held in such a way that they presented a shield wall to all sides. The men in the back ranks would place their shields over their heads to protect the formation from above, balancing the shields on their helmets, overlapping them” (see here). In a sense, it was the forerunner of the tank! And it is a powerful reminder of the corporate nature of spiritual warfare!

All Scripture quotes NKJV.

As of old, Israelis face flak for following Jesus

It is an undisputed fact that the early followers of Jesus – who were mostly Jewish – came under fiery persecution, often from their own people.

Jesus himself was crucified and many of his disciples suffered similar fates, though more generally at the hands of the Romans.

However, the great Apostle Paul was a leading Jewish rabbi who saw it as his duty to persecute the new movement, presiding over the stoning of St Stephen in the process…until his dramatic encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus.

In some respects, things have come full circle since then. Jewish people are once more recognising Jesus as Messiah in significant numbers, and many are experiencing discrimination from their fellow Jews, especially in Israel.¹

Years of Harassment

Among them is Zev Sigulim, from Tiberias on the Sea of Galilee, who has witnessed seven years of harassment from Orthodox Jews and been forced to fly to Cyprus to get married because traditional rabbis refuse to recognise Messianic Jews! Some even refused to circumcise his sons.

This is an ongoing issue for many believers, and a campaign is underway to draw the Government’s attention to this gross injustice. Being Messianic is also a potential hindrance to Jews from the diaspora making Aliyah (immigrating to Israel). And yet this does not apply to Jews who follow Buddhism or some New Age religion.

A campaign is underway to draw the Israeli Government’s attention to injustice against Messianic Jews.

But the likeable young Zev is not himself caught up with any campaign for justice. He accepts that being a disciple of Yeshua (Hebrew for Jesus) has always been costly, and delights in a way of life totally informed by his faith.

Zev Sigulim – no longer ashamed. Photo: Charles GardnerPraying for Boldness

From an Ultra-Orthodox background, Zev has five children and attends a congregation at Netanya on the Mediterranean coast – a one-hour drive away, quite a distance to travel each Sabbath.

A Polish Jew with blond hair and blue eyes, many of his ancestors perished in the Holocaust but his grandmother survived Auschwitz and the family moved to Israel. However, they subsequently emigrated to Toronto in Canada, where his father married a Gentile convert to Judaism and then made Aliyah to Israel, working for a Christian hi-tech company in Tiberias and becoming a secret Messianic Jew.

Tragically, he died soon afterwards in a car accident, but Zev’s mum had in the meantime noticed the change in his life and became sympathetic with this new movement in spite of opposition from the rest of the family – grandfather Jack disowned them.²

Zev’s widowed mother – pregnant with her third child at the time of her husband’s death – was impressed by the compassion and witness of the Messianic Jews of Arad in the Negev desert and also became a believer. It was at Arad that Zev witnessed the constant harassment of Orthodox Jews protesting at their presence in the city.

“There were pickets outside our house for seven years,” he said, adding:

My two brothers and I are all believers in Yeshua. But I grew up ashamed of my faith. Worried about being spat at and barred from certain activities, I kept it to myself. Then, when I was at the Naval Academy, a friend saw me reading the Bible (which is actually very unusual for Jews) and scolded me for not telling him earlier of my faith, saying: ‘Think of all the conversations we could have had.’

It hit me that I had wasted my time and I prayed that God would give me boldness and opportunities to speak of Yeshua. Inevitably, my faith grew.

95% of Messianics come to faith through non-Jews.

Pointing out that 95% of Messianics have come to faith through non-Jews, Zev encourages Gentiles to share the Gospel with Jews, but worries that most Christians don’t know enough about the Old Testament, which is essential for such witness.

Notes

1 It must be said, however, that this does not usually amount to the sort of vicious persecution Christians are currently suffering in the Muslim Middle East.

2 Many Jews see Christianity as their chief persecutor over the centuries, especially in view of the Holocaust carried out in ‘Christian’ Europe.

After the Latter Rain movement.

After charting the outbreak and growth of the Latter Rain Movement, David Forbes now examines how it declined – and what happened next.

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

The Movement in Decline

The influence of the Sharon group soon began to wane, largely because of the increasing criticism of their methods and practices. As early as November 1948, The Sharon Star contained an article by Ern Hawtin which appeared to be in response to the growing unease and in it he complained that “whenever God sends a revival, the enemy, who is the author of confusion, will move, either to hinder its progress, or force its followers into some extreme, that its power might become a reproach to the world or the Church”.

The main accusations being made against the Sharon group concerned their authoritarianism, their insistence that only they, or those appointed by them, had the right to lay on hands for the reception of spiritual gifts, and also their growing tendency to try to influence fellowships and individuals through directive prophecy. They were also accused of allowing novices to prophesy, and general spiritual fanaticism.

However, others who had attended the Sharon meetings in North Battleford took the Latter Rain message to many of the North American cities during 1948 and 1949. Many pastors left their denominations as a result and independent churches began to spring up across the continent. It is interesting to note that in 1950 George Hawtin, who by this time was no longer a major figure in the movement, wrote, in the September issue of The Sharon Star, “A few weeks ago I was presented with a list of almost one hundred LATTER RAIN CHURCHES. I do not know where the list came from, though my own name was upon it...this is fundamentally and foundationally and scripturally WRONG”.

As the 1950s progressed the Latter Rain movement began to lose its high profile, although undoubtedly many continued to follow its various beliefs and practices in independent churches across the North American continent. Its influence did move outside North America, largely perhaps because at a convention held in October 1950 in Toronto, leaders were encouraged to take the 'Latter Rain' message abroad. As a result, various leaders visited India, East Africa, Ethiopia, Japan, New Zealand, and various countries in Europe.

A main accusation against the Sharon group concerned their authoritarianism.

It is difficult to gauge how far the Latter Rain movement impacted the Church in England beyond its introduction into the Apostolic Church. Cecil Cousen and George Evans, pastors in the Apostolic Church in the UK, had gone to North America in 1949 where they both became involved. However, Cecil Cousen appears to have been wary of the Sharon group since, while stating that “the Latter Rain was a real move of the Spirit”, he also said that “the Hawtin brothers very quickly got into very strange doctrines”.¹

Fred Poole, who was an Apostolic Church pastor who had emigrated to North America from South Wales during World War II and had become superintendent of the Apostolic Church in the United States in 1947, also became an active proponent of the Latter Rain movement. Cousen, Evans and Poole all returned to England during the course of 1951 and ministered at a Council Meeting of the Apostolic Church in Bradford. Cecil Cousen's report on that meeting was that “the people accepted the Latter Rain ministry with open hearts…People were baptised in the Spirit, many were healed and filled with the Spirit and demons were cast out, and the blessing of the Lord was there”. Fred Poole recorded that:

The brethren had heard many things about this Latter Rain visitation, but as we gave them first-hand news of what God…has done in our own hearts, there was a melting, a breaking and a crying, as the Spirit witnessed to our simple word of testimony...Latter Rain choruses...were quickly learned and sung, both in council and public services, the Spirit bearing testimony to the precious truths of this 'end-time' visitation.

There was much controversy in the Apostolic Church as a whole over the Latter Rain, which led eventually to Cecil Cousen being asked to resign as an Apostolic pastor. He went on to become a prominent leader in the charismatic renewal movement in Britain and wielded considerable influence within the Fountain Trust.

The Manifest Sons of God Movement

Increasingly many Latter Rain followers went underground as some of the leaders began to promote more and more spiritual excesses. Much of the excess had to do with the Manifest Sons of God movement.

As the 1950s progressed the Latter Rain movement began to lose its high profile.

First set out by George Warnock in his book The Feast of Tabernacles, it was obviously being taught much earlier by some of the Sharon group. In fact, at the beginning of 1949, James Watt felt he had to leave North Battleford as a result of what he described as “teaching, revelation and practice” that was departing from the Scripture, specifically “an extreme position on the manifestations of the Sons of God...”.² However, as the 1950s went by, the doctrine of the 'manifestations of the Sons of God' was carried to ever-increasing extremes by, for example, Bill Britton.

Britton was an Assemblies of God pastor who embraced the Latter Rain movement in 1949 and became one of its aggressive advocates. His teaching focus was very much upon the Manifest Sons of God and the Man Child company of Revelation 12 theories. He believed that the Man Child company represented the end times overcoming Church and was quite scathing that any who did not receive this revelation were doomed as belonging to 'Babylon'.

To become part of this ‘overcoming Church’ one needed to become a 'son' which involved a process of maturing in character, in spiritual gifts and in ministry. This led to immortality as one became a 'manifested son'. Britton wrote many pamphlets and sent out a regular newsletter Voice of the Watchman from his headquarters in Springfield, Missouri. Through these publications Britton influenced many in the Pentecostal and charismatic movements for over 30 years with his promises of a victorious, perfect Church on earth. In a booklet titled The Branch, he writes:

All mankind and all creation is on tiptoe, waiting to see right here on earth the manifestation or the revealing of the sons of God, a church without spot or wrinkle. We will see a perfect church on earth. Can we live for ever? The subject of immortality has disturbed the heart of man for many ages, but only in Christ is this realm of life possible. Fountain of youth, vitamins, water baptism and all other gimmicks to obtain immortality can only fail. He came and overcame, he alone could open the book of life. He alone has immortality, but as joint heirs with him this is our inheritance. This mortal [body] must put on immortality and this corruptible [body] must put on incorruption. We must go after it. We must press towards the mark, defeating the enemy, putting down every spirit that would deter us. This earth must have a witness of this goal being reached. God will put his people on exhibit. People who cannot die, cannot age and against whom no disease can have effect.³

Many found the seduction of believing such powerful and attractive promises more than they could resist.

The 'manifest sons of God' movement promoted teaching eventually attaining to immortality on this earth.

By the time the 1950s ended and the 1960s began, the Manifest Sons of God movement, which had taken in many hundreds of churches and thousands of Christians in America particularly, began to be hit by a number of scandals of one sort or another. The result of this was that many of its adherents simply stopped actively teaching and sharing their beliefs and went underground.

However, most of them did not forsake what they believed and many people who were part of both the Latter Rain movement and the Manifest Sons of God movement surfaced years later in the charismatic renewal movement. They had not changed their beliefs and their teaching but brought them lock, stock and barrel, into the charismatic movement.

Infiltrating the Charismatic Movement

Richard M Riss who wrote what may be described as the definitive history of the Latter Rain movement, and whose research I have used as a primary source, records that “various beliefs and practices of the Latter Rain found their way into the charismatic renewal, including spiritual singing and dancing, praise, the foundational ministries of Ephesians 4:11, the laying on of hands, tabernacle teaching, the Feast of Tabernacles, and the foundational truths of Hebrews 6:1-2. In addition, elements of various eschatological views of the Latter Rain movement were adopted by many charismatics throughout the world.” He then lists 19 ministries in the United States which flourished in the charismatic renewal and openly espoused Latter Rain teaching.

Although the Latter Rain movement may have started as a sincere desire to see God move in revival and it would be wrong to say that, amongst all that went on, God did not touch people's lives deeply, it and the Manifest Sons of God movement were characterised by considerable spiritual excesses. This included:

• experience-orientated theology based upon a false interpretation of Scripture,
  
• an over-emphasis on the gifts of the Spirit - especially prophecy and 'words of knowledge' which were used in directive and manipulative ways both in the lives of individuals and churches,
  
• authoritarianism,
  
• a 'signs and wonders' Gospel,
  
• over-realised eschatology.
  

Also an elevation of particular men (i.e. God's new apostles and prophets) to positions of great power and influence amongst God's people, and division and schism in the mainline denominations and sects leading to the setting up of independent churches.

It would be wrong to say that amongst all that went on, God did not touch people's lives deeply, but both movements were characterised by considerable excesses.

Of course, not everyone in these movements believed everything to the same extent but undoubtedly everyone was to some degree party to these excesses. It is, therefore, very sobering to reflect in retrospect that since many Latter Rain and Manifest Sons of God adherents automatically signed up for the charismatic renewal movement, variations of these aberrancies became part of charismatic doctrine and practice from quite early on.

For example, the Restoration stream within the British charismatic Church was founded on the principle of its leaders being the apostles and prophets 'anointed and appointed' to carry the Church forward to its victorious destiny of the end times. This was the root cause behind the tragedy of 'Shepherding/Discipleship' which decreed that no Church fellowship moved without the direction having been indicated by its 'prophet' and no individual believer made any decision regarding how to live his life without the agreement of the Church 'apostle' or his designated subordinate.

Next week: David Forbes moves on to the 1980s and the emergence of the Kansas City Prophets.

References

1 Riss, R, 1987. Latter Rain. Honeycomb Visual Productions Ltd, Ontario, p95.

2 Watt, JA, 1972. A Historical Analysis of the Development of Two Concepts of "'Presbytery". Seattle, p4.

3 Britton, B. The Branch. Springfield, p4.

Catharine Pakington reviews ‘The Marriage Files’ by Patricia Morgan (Wilberforce Publications, 2014).

I read this book with interest since we live in a time when once-accepted norms about sexual identity, marriage and the family face constant challenge. Until recently, there was an agreed understanding of the definition and role of marriage – but no longer.

Dr Patricia Morgan, a leading sociologist and respected family policy analyst, has brought careful research together on the subject in this scholarly yet readable book, well-supported with extensive references. It was not a quick read but I found that it answered many of my questions and made evidence on the matter accessible.

A Long-Term Perspective

Morgan assesses the historic contribution that marriage, with its responsibility for the procreation and education of children, has made to the stability of society.

Once upon a time, the Government defended marriage on principle - but since no-fault divorce was introduced in 1969/70, marriage has steadily been undermined. Today, this vital biblical institution has been ‘re-defined’, continues to be in decline and faces attack from all major political parties with a tax and welfare system that penalises couples living together.

Dr Patricia Morgan has brought careful research together on the institution of marriage in this scholarly yet readable book.

Throughout the book, Morgan looks critically at evidence from different studies, assessing the extent to which it supports the clear agenda that has been progressed over recent decades. Importantly, we are given the opportunity to test this evidence out for ourselves, so that we can recognise unfounded slogans and distorted statistics when we see them.

Focus on the Children

A particular focus of Morgan’s scholarly research is how the huge changes wrought over recent years have impacted children – whose welfare has largely been forgotten in the clamour for ‘equality’ and ‘rights’.

Repeated studies from different nations confirm that, on average, children thrive best when growing up in an intact, heterosexual marriage with their two biological parents. This also benefits the parents and is good for wider society; for example, marriage is the greatest factor in reducing crime in men.

Morgan outlines the advantages of conjugal marriage as compared to other environments for raising children, and considers why it faces such antipathy, being labelled as patriarchal and outdated.

Shifting Battlegrounds

Finally, Morgan looks in depth at studies supportive of same-sex ‘marriage’, which are often quoted to show public support for such unions or to suggest positive outcomes for children brought into these families. She allows us to consider how the studies have been conducted and how reliable they really are.

She also looks ahead as the campaign continues through educational policies and manipulation of the media to normalise all kinds of relationships. We are told that the LGBT lobby seeks equality, but what we see are the interests of a small minority eclipsing the interests of all others.

A particular focus is how the huge changes wrought over recent years have impacted children, whose wellbeing has often been forgotten.

Indeed, the battleground is moving from combating homophobia to the overthrow of ‘heteronormality’, so all believe that there is nothing special about a male-female family unit. Meanwhile, as the differences between male and female are denied, so fathers are marginalised, mothers are expected to work and childcare becomes the domain of the State.

Looking to the Future

We need to be aware not just of the upheaval taking place in our society but also of the implications for the children caught up in this great social experiment. What are the consequences going to be for future generations?

Morgan’s book is invaluable for its observations as well as for its provision of factual evidence. Well recommended for those who are interested in learning more about this issue.

‘The Marriage Files: The Purpose, Limits and Fate of Marriage’ (276pp) is available for £10.99 (paperback) on Amazon. Also available on Kindle.

Here today and gone tomorrow: news of protests in Iran didn’t last long on our headlines, even though they are still going on.

Since the uprisings started in late December, the Iranian regime has done its best to stop news getting out of the country. But stories have been trickling through of brave, unprecedented risk-taking amongst the Iranian people, standing up to their tyrannical rulers at great risk to themselves. Given that official statistics are purposefully deflated - 22 dead (ground reports say more than 50) and 1,000 arrests (ground reports say as many as 8,000) – you can bet your socks that the official estimate of 42,000 participants is also a fraction of the true number.

This week I’ve been trying to piece these stories together and build up a better picture of what’s been going on. My immediate ports of call were news outlets in both the West and the Middle East. But quite by ‘chance’, my focus was redirected – thanks to a wonderful commentary from one Pastor JD Farag from Hawaii. He picked up on a point that has – as far as I can tell – been ignored by most: that in seeking to understand Iran’s present state and its future, we must take into account the fact that the Iranian Church is growing at a faster rate than almost anywhere else in the world.

Underground Believers

This assertion is not about ethnic Christian groups (e.g. Armenians, Assyrians), but about new converts from Islam. The Gospel is spreading like wildfire amongst Muslims, even though they are forced to pursue their newfound faith in secret, fearing retaliation from their families, communities and authorities. But the number of new believers is so great – possibly as high as 3 million (Iran has a population of 80 million) - that some say it will soon reach a ‘critical mass’ and be forced out into the open. In the meantime, new believers must stay underground.

What does this mean for the protests – and for Iran’s future? At the moment, we can only guess. These secret brothers and sisters, scattered as they are, may be participating in the uprisings (statistics alone suggest that if the 3 million figure is correct, c.300 believers are among those being held in dreadful conditions in Iranian prisons), or even holding positions in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, within which it has long been reported that there are secret house churches!

But you can be sure that their faith in Jesus Christ will be influencing their behaviour wherever they are placed, potentially shaping the course of Iranian politics – and leading them to offer hope to others, again at incredible personal risk.

Glimpses of Hope

All this is by way of saying that our news media do not give us an accurate or complete picture of what is going on in the world – which of course we already knew! But when we catch glimpses of what God is doing, it can change our perspective entirely.

For me, this story has provided a fresh challenge to look beyond the news headlines and always be mindful to find out what the Lord is doing – behind the scenes, quietly, carefully. Knowing that He is building His Church in such a phenomenal way, in the midst of rebellion, corruption and violence, puts a whole new complexion on the situation – and should revolutionise our prayers.

Author: Frances Rabbitts

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One voice in Westminster speaks volumes about Britain's social crisis.

In last week’s editorial we said that family breakdown was at the heart of many of the problems facing the NHS. Those problems continue to hit the headlines today and at least one voice in Westminster has recognised their source.

Lord Farmer, former Treasurer of the Conservative Party and outspoken advocate of family values has called for a ‘Minister for Family Breakdown’ to tackle the huge problems facing the nation.

Michael Farmer, a committed Christian, grew up in a chaotic family with alcoholic parents but became a successful businessman and has since devoted his life to championing the importance of strong and stable families in public policy. In an article in the Daily Telegraph this week he refers to the “devastating effect of family breakdown upon the lives of young people that affect their ability to succeed in life.”

He says that every department of Government is experiencing the costs of family breakdown and the public are at last beginning to recognise the serious problems it causes.

Family Matters

Politicians of all parties are guilty of causing the problems we are experiencing today. A new phase started in the year 1997, when the New Labour Government of Tony Blair had just been elected promising a whole new political arena. A lot of the new MPs were women – dubbed ‘Blair Babes’– some of whom had had a bad experience of marriage, and there was a lot of anti-men sentiment around in Westminster.

Divorce rates were high and family breakdown was just being recognised as a social problem. I was the Research Director of the Lords and Commons Family and Child Protection Group. Jack Straw MP was Home Secretary and he offered Home Office support for the research we were carrying out on the health of the family in the nation.

At least one voice in Westminster has recognised that much of our NHS crisis owes to family breakdown.

Our report ‘Family Matters’ was presented in Parliament in July 1998 at a packed meeting in the Moses Room at which Jack Straw accepted the report and promised Government action to strengthen family life in Britain. But the White Paper he promised he was never able to produce, due to strong opposition in the Cabinet from the rising anti-family lobby, whose mantra was “There’s nothing wrong with the family, it is just changing”. They said that all types of family were of equal value. This was ignoring the truth that had been known since the time of Aristotle, who defined the worst inequality as the treating of unequal things as equal.¹

The Facts IgnoredLord Farmer of Bishopsgate, who has spoken out about the dire consequences of family breakdown. See Photo Credits.

The report noted the complex character of family structures. It stated:

Social analysts now refer to ‘first marriages’, ‘remarriages’, ‘cohabiting couples’, ‘lone-mother families’, ‘lone-father families’, ‘step families’, ‘multi-parent families’ [where children spend some time with one parent and some time with another], ‘multi-sibling families’ [where children from different unions live in a single household with one parent, or stepparent, or other carer]…²

It was noted that these ‘re-constituted families’ not only placed a stress upon the adults involved, but they had strongly negative effects upon the children, in terms of health, education, peer group relationships and life chances.

Research for the Report found that 98% of children involved in persistent youth crime came from broken homes. It concluded that if the present rate of marriage and relationship breakdown continued, it would have catastrophic effects upon the lives of children and young people, and upon the future stability of the national social structure.

Two years later, July 2000, we published another report, ‘The Cost of Family Breakdown’ which stated:

Britain’s children are suffering as never before, family fragmentation is a major cause of poverty, inequality and social exclusion. Yet there are few attempts to engage with ideas to strengthen family and marriage. Research shows that children are twice as likely to suffer adverse outcomes from family breakdown as those from intact families. This is a huge disadvantage in education, emotional and physical health, and in life-chances for employment and personal fulfilment. But ‘political correctness’ produces a kind of conspiracy of silence to ignore the facts, the outcome of which is to institutionalise the disadvantage of children and to promote depression and mental instability among adults.³

All these facts have been known for at least the past 20 years and yet they continue to be ignored by politicians so that generations of children in Britain are being denied the right to a happy, healthy home life that will enable them to be fulfilled in adult life.

It is surely time for our politicians to be held accountable for their crimes against humanity by continuing to ignore the words of Jack Straw MP who stated, “The family is the building block of society and marriage is the ideal form of family life” (in the Green Paper ‘Supporting Families’, published by the Home Office in 1998).

The facts about family breakdown have been known for at least the past 20 years, and yet they continue to be ignored by politicians.

Church Complicity

Sadly, the Church has no better record than the politicians. When Jack Straw’s words were published, an Education Bill was going through Parliament. A Peer introduced an amendment to the Bill in the House of Lords to ensure that “marriage is the ideal form of family life” was included in what should be taught to children. Tony Blair’s Government opposed it (against its own Home Secretary) but so too did nine bishops.

If they had voted for the amendment, it would have been passed. How strange! The official representatives of the Church of England voted against a measure to teach children the value of faithful monogamous marriage! So, the Church colluded with the state to destroy the biblical basis of family and marriage in Britain.

Isn’t it time we Christians acknowledged our part in bringing upon the nation the troubles we are now seeing in our NHS and everywhere else in the life of the nation – our overflowing prisons, our neglected lonely old people, our children who know nothing of the teaching of the Bible about what is right and wrong? Jesus said that it would be better for those who cause children to sin to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied round their neck (Luke 17:2).

It’s time to recognise that the Church has been part of the conspiracy of silence that has allowed the nation to reject its Judeo-Christian heritage. Surely, repentance and weeping before the Lord should be high in our priorities.

But if Lord Farmer is right that there is a shift in public opinion towards recognising the problems created by family breakdown – then surely it’s time for Christians to break their silence and join him in the battle against the powers of darkness!

References

1 ‘Aristotle's Axiom’. Peter, LJ, 1979. Peter's People. NY: Morrow.

2 Click here for the full report.

3 Cost of Family Breakdown. Family Matters Institute, Bedford, 2000, p80.