In a new feature for Prophecy Today UK, we summarise our pick of the week’s happenings to inform your prayers.

At Prophecy Today UK we are aware that the world is moving very quickly and it is difficult to keep up with all the latest developments – especially when the material circulated by our mainstream media is increasingly far from reality and definitely not devoted to a biblical perspective!

Though we are not a news service, we want to help keep you informed by passing on updates and reports as we are led. This will be a selective, not an exhaustive, round-up, which we hope will be helpful for your prayers. At the base of this article we have also listed a number of Christian news sources which may also be of interest to you.

Society & Politics

• Anti-Semitism in the UK rises to record levels. Reported incidents in Britain during 2016 rose by more than a third to record levels, according to the Community Security Trust (CST). See full report from Arutz-7.
  
• ‘Gay slang’ service used at CofE college: A CofE theological college apologises after trainee priests hold an evensong to mark ‘LGBT History month’ and swap traditional liturgy for blasphemous gay slang. Read more here.
  
• NHS pays £70 million compensation to parents of disabled children. Said parents have sued the NHS for “wrongful birth”, saying they would have aborted their children had they known of their abnormalities earlier on. Read more here.
  
  • Good news: Lord Shinkwin’s Disability Equality Bill, which aims to reduce the abortion limit for disabled children from full term to 24 weeks progressed to report stage this week. Find out more and email your MP about the bill by clicking here.
    
• UK families among most unstable in the developed world. Marriage Foundation reports that rates of family breakdown in Britain are extraordinarily high, among both married and cohabiting couples. Click here for more information.
  
  • Studies prove that marriage is healthier than cohabitation: A study from the Institute for Family Studies shows that cohabitation is less stable for families than marriage. Another study from Bowling Green State University finds that cohabitors are more likely to be victims of domestic violence than married couples.
    
• Latest issue of HEART Newspaper now out: The February/March issue of HEART Christian News is now available, including articles on the Aisling Hubert abortion doctor case and the Balfour Declaration. Find out more by clicking here.
  

World Scene

• Pro-Life protests in the USA this weekend: As anti-Trump protests continue across the US and Europe, a mass pro-life protest is also being arranged for this weekend, targeting 200 Planned Parenthood clinics. Read more here.
  
• Pakistani police formally recognise murder of 12-year-old Christian girl: the rape and murder of Tania Mariyam was originally ignored until pressure from British Pakistani Christians drew attention to the injustice. Read more here.
  
• New Christian petition platform to launch: The British Pakistani Christian Association is building a new online petition platform for Christians to help them sidestep religious censorship, after their own petitions for justice were censored by secular providers. The site will launch next week and can be found here.
  

Israel & Middle East

• Gaza clashes prompt fears of escalation: Recent exchanges of fire at the Gaza border, all initiated by Hamas, have led Israeli Cabinet ministers to warn of a likely escalation of the conflict in the coming weeks. Read more here. On Wednesday night ISIS also fired four rockets into Israel from the Sinai Peninsula.
• Barnabas Fund submits formal complaint over BBC false reporting: The complaint followed BBC comments about President Trump’s recent statement on Syrian refugees, but has been overturned by the Trust. The dispute arises over discrimination facing Syrian Christians seeking refuge in the USA. Read more here.
• UK Parliament again sets itself against Israel. On Thursday the Commons uniformly condemned Israeli settlement-building in so-called ‘occupied’ territories and re-affirmed its commitment to establishing a “state of Palestine”. The motion was unanimously agreed. Find out more here.
  

Upcoming Events

• Marriage Week (7-14 February) is well underway, celebrating and affirming marriage. Find out more, including events and how to get involved, by clicking here.
• Celebrate Tu B’Shevat (11 February), Jewish New Year for trees, by planting a tree in Israel! Find out more here.
• ‘As One’ National Prayer Conference (13-15 March): Swanwick, World Prayer Centre. “Listen to God and pray in the new season.” Click here to find out more.
  
• Hope for Our Nation (18 March): Christian Concern host a day event at the Emmanuel Centre, Westminster. “Do you want to see society changed by the gospel of Jesus Christ? Come and understand today's challenges, and be equipped to bring hope to our nation.” Find out more and buy tickets here.
  
• ‘What are we teaching the Children?’ Conference (25 March): Find out how current education policy is influencing children in Britain and how Christians can respond, with Voice for Justice. Emmanuel Centre, Westminster. Click here for information and tickets.

Recommended Sources

We also recommend the following news services for regular updates from a Christian perspective:

• Christian Concern (UK)
  
• Christian Institute (UK)
  
• JNN News (Barry and Batya Segal, Israel)
• Family Watch International
• Barnabas Fund
  
• Kehila News (Israel)
  
• Saltshakers (Steve Maltz, UK)

Things are getting tougher for Christians in the West. But what we face is nothing compared to millions of our brothers and sisters elsewhere in the world.

Many Christians both in Britain and in the USA have suffered for their faith in one way or another in recent years. Street preachers have been arrested for quoting passages of Scripture that don’t accord with political correctness.

Doctors have lost their jobs for refusing to do abortions and nurses have been disciplined for praying with patients. Air hostesses have been forbidden to wear a cross and bakers have been fined for refusing to write a pro-same-sex-marriage message on a wedding cake.

We make a lot of fuss about these things saying that persecution of Christians is now taking place in Western nations. Certainly, Christians are having to learn to live in societies that are now hostile to the Christian faith, which is a new experience in nations that have enjoyed Gospel freedom for centuries and have taken a leading part in worldwide missionary activities. A handful of Christians have actually suffered for their faith, but this is not persecution! It does not come anywhere near martyrdom!

Christianity Being Wiped Out in the Middle East

Since the beginning of this year, thousands of Christians in Mosul, northern Iraq have been faced with the stark choice between converting to Islam or being killed. Many have been beheaded and vast numbers have fled their homes, joining the hundreds of thousands of Christians who have been driven from their homes in Syria and other parts of Iraq. According to the Open Doors World Watch List, the situation for Christians is not much better in Iran, Saudi Arabia and Yemen, and even worse in Afghanistan and Pakistan.¹

The extent of the tragedy taking place today in the Middle East is indescribable! Christianity is virtually being wiped out from the whole region where the Gospel was first preached and where communities of Christians have lived and worked for 2000 years.

The tragedy taking place today in the Middle East is indescribable.

Why is it that we make such a fuss about a handful of Christians who have experienced hardship in our nation (not to belittle their suffering in any way) but there is no outcry about what is happening worldwide with vast numbers of Christians being savagely murdered?

Though accurate statistics are notoriously difficult to find, the Centre for the Study of Global Christianity in the United States estimates that 90,000 Christians died in 2016, targeted because of their faith – that is one every six minutes!² Meanwhile, around 500 million believers live in areas of the world where they are unable to express their faith freely.³

Hundreds of Millions Facing Persecution

Christians are jailed in Pakistan on trumped-up charges of blasphemy against Islam, whilst Pakistani Christian girls are systematically targeted for rape and murder; churches are burned and worshippers are slaughtered in Nigeria and in Egypt. Approximately 215 million Christians are reported to be currently experiencing ‘high’, ‘very high’, or ‘extreme’ persecution in different parts of the world today.⁴

North Korea is said to be the most dangerous place to be a Christian with large numbers languishing in jail and regularly suffering brutal torture. But, according to an Open Doors report, it is Islamic militant extremism that remains the global dominant driver of Christian persecution.⁵

The report says that 35 out of the 50 countries on the 2017 World Watch List are Muslim-majority nations where systematic persecution of Christians is taking place. The killing of Christians by Muslims in Nigeria last year rose by 62%.⁶

Around 500 million believers live in areas of the world where they are unable to express their faith freely.

The Western Church is Silent

Why are church leaders in the West so pitifully quiet about the persecution of our brothers and sisters in Christ? Why do we hear nothing from our church leaders? Why do we hear nothing from the Archbishop of Canterbury, bishops in the Church of England or the leaders of the Methodist Church, the Baptist Church, the Catholic church and other denominations?

Prince Charles has done more than the leaders of the churches to draw public attention to the incredible suffering of Christians in many parts of the world. He even devoted his contribution to Thought for the Day on BBC Radio 4 just before Christmas to speaking about the plight of Christians.

It surely is nothing less than a scandal that the Western churches remain so silent whilst their brothers and sisters are cruelly slaughtered or tortured and imprisoned simply because they refused to renounce their faith in Jesus, their Lord and Saviour.

Prince Charles is perfectly right in saying that Christians are the most persecuted people in the world. According to the International Society for Human Rights, a secular group with members in 38 countries, 80% of all acts of religious discrimination in the world today are directed at Christians.⁷

Why are church leaders in the West so pitifully quiet about the persecution of our brothers and sisters in Christ?

Leaders Must Speak Out

Yet still we hear nothing from church leaders in the USA, or Britain and Europe! Why is this? Is it because most of the killing of Christians is the work of Muslims and church leaders are afraid to say anything that might incur the wrath of Islamic leaders – especially if they are based in the oil-producing parts of the Middle East? Is it global politics that is shutting the mouths of Christian leaders? Or is it simply a case of ‘out of sight, out of mind’?

Church leaders should be seeking dialogue with Islamic clerics, who are the only ones who have the authority to say that the verses in the Qur’an calling Muslims to fight against Jews and Christians are not valid today. It is these verses that are used by terrorists to justify their actions: such as “Fight against those to whom the Scriptures were given (Jews and Christians) as believe in neither Allah nor the Last Day, who do not forbid what Allah and his Prophet have forbidden, and do not embrace the true faith, until they pay tribute willingly and are utterly subdued.” (Surah 9:29).⁸

But Christians should not be waiting for Church leaders to act – they should also be seeking dialogue with their Muslim neighbours. A good starting point is to compare the teaching of Jesus with that of Muhammad quoted above. Jesus said:

You have heard that it was said, ‘love your neighbour and hate your enemy’. But I tell you love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. (Matt 5:43-44)

Church leaders should seek dialogue with Muslim clerics, and Christians should also be seeking dialogue with their Muslim neighbours.

We Can Each Respond

There are many other things Christians can do, such as responses suggested by Open Doors, which include prayer, writing to persecuted Christians, signing petitions, writing letters to local papers, writing to MPs and generally raising the subject with friends and neighbours and promoting discussion in the public square. We could even offer to take a refugee family into our home – or is that asking too much?

Jesus warned his followers that there would be persecution in the last days but he also said that God would hold us accountable if we do nothing to care for our brothers and sisters who are suffering and in need. Jesus said that when he returns in glory and brings the nations before him he will say to those who ignore the needs of others:

I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison you did not look after me. (Matt 25:42-43)

References

1 Open Doors Country Profiles.

2 Hallett, N. Christians most persecuted religious group in the world, study says. Breitbart, 28 December 2016.

3 Ibid.

4 Weber, J. ‘Worst Year Yet’: The Top 50 Countries Where It’s Hardest to Be a Christian. Christianity Today. 11 January 2017.

5 Open Doors: Persecution Trends.

6 See note 4.

7 Sherwood, H. Christianity under global threat due to persecution, says report. The Guardian, 13 October 2015.

8 There are many similar verses in the Qur’an. Click here for more information.

There was a serious flaw in Luther’s understanding of the Bible.

From reports of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s meeting with his British counterpart Theresa May, it seems that the UK government doesn’t really believe Iran is a threat to world peace or, for that matter, that God’s chosen people are worth supporting to the hilt.

In defying a call for fresh sanctions against Iran, Mrs May indicated her continued commitment to the nuclear deal which Mr Netanyahu believes to be highly dangerous, saying: “Iran seeks to annihilate Israel, it seeks to conquer the Middle East, it threatens Europe, it threatens the West, it threatens the world.”¹

I am reminded of the indelible link between Bible-believing Christians and comfort for Israel (Isaiah 40) – and where this is lacking, it is through ignorance.

The Goods and Evils of the Reformation

In a year that we are celebrating the 500^th anniversary of the Reformation, sparked off by Martin Luther, we should be thankful that it opened the way to an understanding of the Bible that had a hugely civilising effect on the West, the heart of his rediscovery being that salvation in Christ comes through faith alone, not by good deeds.

Sadly, however, there was a major flaw in Luther’s understanding in that he failed to grasp that God had not forsaken the Jews despite their overall rejection of Christ. And it is widely reckoned that his anti-Semitic statements sowed the seeds of the Holocaust. Indeed, Anglican clergyman Simon Ponsonby has said that Nazism was a legacy of Luther, who had called for the urgent expulsion of Jewish people from Germany in his last sermon.²

The Reformation had a hugely civilising effect on the West - but sadly Luther may also have sowed the seeds of the Holocaust with his anti-Semitic statements.

A Different Luther

But a 20^th Century hero named after him, Martin Luther King Jr, had a very different view which certainly does not chime with current political correctness.

When people criticize Zionists, they mean Jews. You’re talking anti-Semitism!

Those with a different agenda try to re-write history by claiming, for example, that this quote is a hoax. But it comes through unscathed on closer examination.³

“Peace for Israel means security,” said King, “and we must stand with all of our might to protect its right to exist, its territorial integrity. I see Israel as one of the great outposts of democracy in the world, and a marvelous example of what can be done, how desert land can almost be transformed into an oasis of brotherhood and democracy. Peace for Israel means security and that security must be a reality.”⁴

Returning to a Biblical Agenda

Judging by the strong Christian content of his inaugural speech along with the make-up of his cabinet including several Bible-believing Christians as well as Jews, I am most encouraged by the new US President Donald Trump.

On important matters of politics, as in society as a whole, the Bible trumps all other agendas. And we are much nearer to being on the right track in world affairs when its ethos and principles begin to dictate policy once more – as it did 100 years ago when the (mostly) evangelical Christian members of David Lloyd George’s War Cabinet understood the importance of a re-born Israel. That led to the Balfour Declaration, promising that the British Government would do all in its power to facilitate the re-creation of a Jewish state in the Holy Land.

That it happened was clearly part of God’s plan, and the Bible’s agenda, but now the world condemns Israel for stealing land from the Palestinians. Yet, in addressing Israel’s restoration, a recurring theme of the Bible, the prophet Amos writes: “I will bring my people Israel back from exile… and will plant them in their own land, never again to be uprooted…” (Amos 9.14f).

I’m told that, earlier this week, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson took the trouble to show Mr Netanyahu the very desk at which Balfour wrote and signed the declaration.

That both Balfour and Trump have come under ferocious fire is because they have challenged the fashionable so-called ‘anti-fascists’ of the anti-God brigade.

On important matters of politics, as in society as a whole, the Bible trumps all other agendas.

Challenging Anti-Semitism

Canon Andrew White, the 'Bishop of Baghdad'.

Canon Andrew White – the clerical equivalent of Trump when it comes to plain-speaking – put it perfectly when he said that “the world is anti-Semitic because it is anti-God. This land (Israel) is God’s land…”.⁵

Also known as the Vicar of Baghdad, the Anglican clergyman has stood up to brutal terrorists while negotiating the release of hostages and has become the voice of reconciliation amidst the hatred and bitterness of Middle East conflict.

In an interview with this month’s issue of the Israel Today magazine, he added: “The conflict exists because Israel’s opponents are fundamentally anti-Jewish. One cannot merely say that they are only opposed to Israel; after all, Israel represents the essence of Judaism. No Judaism, no Israel. No Judaism, no God!”

Speaking of his experience in Baghdad, where he built up a church of over 6,000, he said: “At first the Iraqi Christians were against Israel, as were the Muslims. I was shocked by this and decided to enlighten them…about the Jewish roots of their faith.”

And it was as a result of this that they developed a love for Israel.

Canon Andrew White has spoken our recently about the need to love Israel.

A New Reformation

Hatred of Israel is due in large part to biblical illiteracy. So it is surely time for a new reformation which sees the word of God restored to its rightful place as the sure foundation for all who claim to be followers of Jesus.

It is revealing that among Christian denominations that have taken issue with Israel are the Presbyterians and Methodists, who are in serious decline both spiritually and numerically.

Israel also needs to restore their relationship with God, as they did in Jehoshaphat’s day. But Christians are called to help with this process by praying for the peace of Jerusalem (Psa 122:6) and by sharing the gospel with them both in word and deed (Rom 1:16).

Notes

1 Cowburn, A. Theresa May urged by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to back fresh Iran sanctions. The Independent, 7 February 2017.

2 Peace in Jerusalem (p157), quoting Simon Ponsonby addressing the CMJ (Church’s Ministry among Jewish people) Conference at Swanwick, England, in 2013.

3 See Kramer, M, quoted in Yes, MLK really did say the quote that anti-Zionism is anti-semitism... 21 January 2013, Elder of Ziyon.

4 Schachtel, J. The forgotten MLK: An ally of the Jews and Israel. Conservative Review, 16 January 2017.

5 Schneider, A. INTERVIEW: Canon Andrew White on Christians in the Middle East. Israel Today, 3 January 2017.

In the wake of the closure of the Dubs scheme to bring in unaccompanied minors from the Calais migrant camps, how should Church and state respond?

The Government has come under fire this week for ending the ‘Dubs’ scheme to allow unaccompanied minors from the Calais camps to enter the UK.

Lord Dubs, himself a refugee from Nazism who came to the UK on the Kindertransport, who introduced the scheme, is outraged at the decision to end it. The Archbishop of Canterbury was described as “shocked” over the decision and has asked the Government to reconsider.¹

The Government’s argument, put forth by Home Secretary Amber Rudd, is that the French authorities did not want the scheme to continue because, "It acts as a pull. It encourages the people traffickers."²

So, is the UK really failing in its responsibilities?

Pledges for Syria

It has also been pointed out that the UK is one of the largest international donors to refugee aid as well as to humanitarian aid in general.

Britain hosted a conference last year to raise support from the international community to aid the crisis in Syria. Huge pledges were forthcoming (£9.6 billion in grants, £32 billion in loans), but a year on, which nations have actually put their hands in their pockets?³

• The US, Germany, the European Union and the UK have actually out-given their initial pledges. The next highest donors on the list are the Netherlands, Japan and Norway.
  
• Canada, Belgium and Spain have given more than they pledged.
  
• Ireland has also exceeded its pledge, giving now the same as Saudi Arabia, which has only given a fraction of its pledge.
  
• Little Estonia has donated more than China, not proportionally, but in actual cash. China promised £28m but has only given £2.4m. Estonia has given £2.6m.
  

There is a total list of 48 donor countries, but the top four, including the UK, have significantly out-given the others. We are also in it for the long haul, with pledges going up to 2020. Saudi Arabia and China are notably absent from this phase of giving.

Discerning a Right Response

Now, comparing ourselves to others is not the way to set our obligations. We are accountable to the Lord for our behaviour in every sphere of life. Comparing ourselves to others and pointing out their faults will not win favour with God.

So how should the British Government balance economic and social realities with our Geneva Convention obligations to refugees?

Christian campaigners point to the Bible’s commands regarding foreigners and those in need:

Iraqi refugee children at a camp in Syria. See Photo Credits.He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt. (Deut 10:18-19)

So I will come to put you on trial. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud labourers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive the foreigners among you of justice, but do not fear me,” says the Lord Almighty. (Mal 3:5)

No stranger had to spend the night in the street, for my door was always open to the traveller… (Job 31:32)

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. (Matt 25:25-36)

It is also worth noting that tithing was intended to help (among others) foreigners:

At the end of every three years, bring all the tithes of that year’s produce and store it in your towns, so that the Levites (who have no land allotted to them or any inheritance of their own) and the foreigners, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied, and so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. (Deut 14:28-29)

When you have finished setting aside a tenth of all your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe, you shall give it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, so that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied. Then say to the Lord your God: ‘I have removed from my house the sacred portion and have given it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, according to all you commanded. (Deut 26:12-13)

However, Scripture is also full of encouragements to be wise and discerning in all our ways.

In the light of all this, what do you think our Government should do? What should the Church do? Leave your comments below and have your say.

References

1 High Court challenge to UK's child refugee efforts. BBC News, 10 February 2017.

2. Ibid.

2 Coughlan, S. Who really paid up to help Syria? BBC News, 10 February 2017. All further quotes from here.

As another Dead Sea Scrolls cave is discovered this week, we ponder whether Jesus or John the Baptist might have had connections with the Qumran Community.

Did John the Baptist or Jesus have any connection with the Qumran Community? This is a question that has interested biblical scholars for generations.

There are no direct references in the New Testament to the religious community that lived among the rocks and caves overlooking the Dead Sea. But there are many possible links that are still being explored as more is being discovered from the Dead Sea Scrolls that are still being translated.

The Qumran Community

The Qumran Community was composed of a particular group of Jewish people who most probably were part of the Essene Sect, of which both Josephus the Jewish historian and Philo of Alexandria wrote. It is interesting, however, that the name ‘Essene’ has not appeared in the Dead Sea Scrolls that have been discovered and published to date.

The Essenes were a strictly Torah-observant group who had broken with the Temple worship in Jerusalem because they believed that the priesthood of that day was corrupt and had betrayed both God and the people. As a result, they had become a separatist group who had withdrawn into the desert in order to “prepare in the desert the way of the Lord”.

There they sought to serve God by entering into what they called the ‘new covenant’ relationship, and they awaited the coming of a prophet and the ‘Messiah of Aaron and Israel’ who would ‘expiate their iniquity’. There is no doubt that the prophet they hoped for was the One promised to Moses in Deuteronomy 18:18; but there is some difficulty in knowing whether they were looking for one Messiah or two.

It is evident that there was both a priestly and a kingly understanding in their Messianic hope. However, clearly they did not ascribe a unique saving role to their Messiah such as is given to Jesus in the New Testament.

The Qumran Community were probably an Essene sect, a strictly Torah-observant group of Jews who sought true devotion to God.

The Dead Sea Scrolls

The Qumran Community left behind a considerable number of documents. Discovered between 1947 and 1956 in caves or holes in seven different locations around Qumran (on the north-west shore of the Dead Sea), these consist of 818 documents - many of them fragmentary - of which only some 40% have been officially published to date.

Caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered - now part of the West Bank. See Photo Credits.These documents include scrolls and fragments of books or passages from the Old Testament covering every book of the Hebrew canon (except Esther), commentaries on biblical writings – the most important of which are undoubtedly those covering their theological beliefs – and details concerning their lifestyle and community rules.

Prof Marvin Wilson, who has done much to introduce Gentile believers to the Jewish roots of their faith, has noted that the majority of the biblical texts found cover the three books of Deuteronomy, Psalms and Isaiah, illustrating that these were the most popular and generally well-known Old Testament books around the time of Jesus. He has linked this to the fact that not only are these the three books from which Jesus most often quoted, but that the majority of Old Testament quotations appearing in the New Testament are also taken from these books.

Connection with John the Baptist?

Whether or not John the Baptist had any connection with the Qumran community is unknown, and cannot be proved either way. Prof Joseph A Fitzmyer has conjectured that, in the light of Josephus’ statement in his Jewish War that the Essenes were known to take other men’s children while yet pliable and docile and mould them according to their ways, John might have been brought up in the Community following the death of his elderly parents. We know from Luke 1:7 that Zechariah and Elizabeth were elderly at the time of John’s birth, so it is quite possible that he was orphaned at an early age.

That is, of course, speculation. But we do know from the Synoptic Gospels that John came out of the desert of Judea and preached his message in the area of the Jordan River only a few miles north of Qumran.

Luke 3:2 tells us that the word of God came to John in the desert and all four Gospel writers make the point that he saw himself as fulfilling Isaiah 40:3 in that he was the “voice of one calling in the desert: ‘prepare the way for the Lord’.” The fact that this was the same Scripture which the Qumran community used to define their role may be significant.

The Dead Sea Scrolls include commentaries on biblical writings and details concerning the Qumran Community’s lifestyle.

John’s Message: Repentance, Refining and Judgment

John came “preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Luke 3:3). This was a new message, for although the rite of baptism was used as a means of publicly confirming Gentile proselytes into Judaism, it was not specifically linked with sin, repentance, or forgiveness.

For the Qumran community, however, the practice of baptism and ritual washing was extremely important. According to the Dead Sea Scrolls, entering into ‘the covenant’ was linked to ‘entering into the water’. They saw this as being linked to purification from sin but, unlike John, they did not appear to see it as doing away with sin in the sense of forgiveness. It is, however, quite conceivable that, in giving John his unique message of the ‘baptism of repentance’, the Lord was building on an understanding that John had first learned from the Qumran Community.

In the well-known passage in Matthew 3, John prefaces the appearance of Jesus by telling his hearers that whereas he baptised in water, the One who will come after him will baptise with Holy Spirit and with fire (Matt 3:11). Again, there is a passage in one of the Dead Sea Scrolls which says that “God will purge by his truth all the deeds of human beings, refining by fire for himself some of mankind”. It continues by saying that the purpose of the refining is “to cleanse them with the Holy Spirit from all wicked practices, and to sprinkle them with the Spirit of Truth like purifying water”.

John undoubtedly linked fire with judgment, as is clear from Matthew 3:12, but he differed from the Qumran Community statements in that he applied the refining work to Jesus.

The Essenes emphasised refining and judgment - John the Baptist built on this, applying this work to Jesus.

Perhaps too, the strong element of judgment in John’s message was fuelled by the Qumran teaching that the Community members were the ‘true Israel’, ‘the sons of light’, ‘the Israel that walks in the way of perfection’ – and that those who were not part of their number belonged to the company of the ‘sons of darkness’ whose only future was “an abundance of affliction…because of the furious wrath of the God of vengeance”.

John’s message, as stated in Matthew 3 and Luke 3, where he spoke of the coming wrath, “the axe is already at the root of the trees” and the burning up of the chaff with unquenchable fire shows that he linked God’s judgment with the coming of Jesus.

Contact with the Outside World

As with the Qumran Community, John evinced a strong dislike for the Jerusalem priesthood. He referred to both the Priests and the Pharisees as “a brood of vipers”. In many ways, it could seem strange for one whose parents were of the tribe of Levi, although both “upright in the sight of God” (Luke 1:6), to be so publicly outspoken about the representatives of Israel’s religion. But if John’s righteous indignation partly arose from the influence of Qumran, it would be better understood.

From the Qumran writings published to date, none of Jesus’ teaching bears much direct relationship to their thinking, although he would obviously have known all about them. Prof. David Flusser of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem has suggested that, in his parable of the Unjust Steward in Luke 16, Jesus is seeking to contrast how he expects his disciples to behave to the ways of the Essenes. The ‘sons of light’ would have no involvement of any kind with those whom they considered outsiders.

The Upper Room

Additionally, there are those who believe that the “large upper room, all furnished” of Luke 22:12, was part of an Essene guesthouse in Jerusalem. They were known to have small communities in various towns and cities (Damascus was one) and they did have a base in Jerusalem where there was a ‘gate of the Essenes’ and where they offered hospitality to those outside their sect.

The man carrying the jar of water in Luke 22:10 was doing work normally done by a woman in those days and therefore was possibly an Essene since, according to both Josephus and Philo, they were an all-male celibate society.

It is possible that the upper room used for the Last Supper was part of an Essene guesthouse in Jerusalem.

Reference is also made to “a large guest room” (Luke 22:12) which conceivably points to a guesthouse of some size which may well have belonged to the Essenes. That it was an Essene guesthouse would also fit in with the assertion that Jesus celebrated his last Passover the day before the recognised Feast Day that year (see John 13:1 and 18:28). This is because the Essenes were known to have followed an ancient solar calendar – references to which may be found in Ezekiel 45:18-20 - which fixed all the feasts on the same day each year. The rest of Judaism followed a lunar calendar which moves the feast days around from year to year.

The Essenes found serious fault with this practice, which they believed was not in keeping with God’s original instruction and was another reason why they broke away from the Temple worship in Jerusalem. For Jesus to have wished to celebrate the Passover on the day with which they were in agreement would have made them happy to lend him their guest room for that purpose.

Part of Our Heritage

One of the main Essene practices was ‘community living’, the basis of this being a ‘community of goods’ – having everything in common, as at Qumran. They were unique in this practice in Israel at that time, so it is of great significance that in the early Church, the first Jewish believers in Jesus the Messiah should immediately after Pentecost organise themselves along the same lines (Acts 2:44-45).

There is no doubt that this group of people who withdrew to the desert to worship and follow the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, did so with devout and sincere hearts. Whether they could be rightly classed as being of the ‘remnant of Israel’ – those who, like Zechariah, Elizabeth, Joseph, Mary, Simeon and Anna were looking for “the consolation of Israel” (e.g. Luke 2:25) - is perhaps open to question. Nevertheless, they are part of that rich Jewish heritage from which our faith has sprung and to which we owe so much.

Maureen Trowbridge reviews ‘What Am I Worth?’ by Marion Daniel (New Wine Press, 2010)

In this, Marion Daniel’s second book, the author begins by asking questions about the difference it would make to each of our lives if we understood our worth as a person. She outlines many issues which have a lack of self-worth at their root, and throughout the book seeks to show the difference God’s love and grace can make.

Causes of Poor Self-Worth

The first chapters consider the origins of poor self-worth, covering many possible influences including society, the media, our culture of success, plus the all-important effects of family and friends. Linked in with these are our environment and circumstances. Each of these factors affect our way of thinking and what we believe about ourselves.

However, God looks for different attributes in the lives of those who trust Him. The author shows how the way to right living and Godly thinking is to align ourselves with the Word of God and with the Father, who does not see us as the world sees us, or as we see ourselves (1 Cor 1:27-29).

What difference would it make to each of our lives if we understood our worth as a person?

Humility Key

There are helpful chapters on the power of God’s encouragement, as well as on how to lift our eyes off ourselves and our inadequacies and become focused on God instead.

Further on in the book, it is suggested that “humility is the key to self-worth”. The Apostle Paul, for all his intellectual skill and learning, realised that his spiritual power was in God alone, who gives grace to the humble. Having been made alive in Christ, Paul could then be used in the service of the Lord (Gal 2:20).

Prayers and Declarations

At the end of each chapter there is a helpful summary and the author also includes prayers which will enable readers to seek God’s help to change their hearts and minds.

In the last chapter there are ‘biblical declarations’ of who we are in Jesus Messiah. We are encouraged to keep reading these, which will help to transform our thinking about ourselves.

The way to Godly thinking about ourselves is to be aligned with the Word of God and with the Father, who does not see us as the world does.

This book will certainly strike a chord with many who struggle with their own sense of self-worth. It provides a biblical framework through which they can alter their perception of themselves and develop an understanding of what has hindered them in the past.

What Am I Worth? (128 pages) is available for £6.99 from Sozo Books. Also available on Kindle.

Jesus' disciples were watching Him praying. When he ceased, they asked Him to teach them also how to pray - maybe like He did. We may wonder what it was that they saw in Him that made them want to emulate their Master. I think it may have been His approach to such a holy God. Maybe they were reminded of the seraphim in Isaiah's vision (Isa 6).

In the phrase we are thinking of this week, Jesus focused on His Father's Name: ‘Let Thy Name be hallowed’ (made holy, venerated, sanctified). Personal names in the Bible convey the nature, character or calling of the person. So Jesus was placing as pre-eminent this aspect of His Father: His holy nature, His pure character, His Name, which should be kept holy in the lives of all His disciples.

The One True God is…Holy, Holy, Holy

God has hundreds of names in Scripture, all of which reflect aspects of His being, His character and His nature. The first name mentioned (Gen 1:1) is the plural name of the One true God - Elohim¹ - the all-powerful one, who created all things (Isa 45:21; Eph 3:9).

We see this aspect of God's nature in Isaiah's vision of the seraphim above God's throne, continually praising His thrice-holy Name – “qadosh, qadosh, qadosh” (Isa 6:3), a word derived from qadash, meaning ‘beyond, separate from, totally-other-than’. God's essence is more than and beyond description – words fail us, and we fall in worship. In modern terms, He is utterly special.

This great and awesome Name is a person – He is HOLY (Ps 99:1-3). This tells us of two central features of His Name: His total transcendence, and His perfection. He truly is infinite, awesome, and alone worthy of our worship.

We Too Are to Be Holy

Yet He desires that we take something of His Name upon ourselves. Three times He says that we too are to be holy: “Be holy, because I am holy”, and then, “Be holy, because I the Lord your God am holy”; and again, “Be holy to Me, because I the Lord am holy” (Lev 11:45; 19:2; 20:26). Can you see the difference, the goal? We are to be holy to the Lord, our awesome God.

But how can we know such a holy God? Only through His self-revelation. He revealed His Name and His nature in fullness in His Son, Yeshua (Col 1:19, 2:9), so we can know His holy Name in His Son Jesus, who confirms this: “No-one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). He alone is the Way to know the Father.

He Would Have Lives Set Apart from the World and to Him, for All to See His Nature

The Father desires that we partake of His holy nature to make His Name known to the world, that all may see Him in His Son, Messiah Jesus. In the same way that He set apart His chosen people Israel from other nations (Deut 7:6; Lev 20:26 - to be My own), He also calls believers in Jesus to be separated from the world's values and separated to the Lord.

We should seek to distinguish between the sacred and the profane, the divine and the ordinary, the holy and the common, and to embrace His Name in our daily lives. In the Tanakh this is shown as not wearing mixed clothing of linen (symbol of purity and separation) and wool (symbol of worldly sweat) (Deut 22:11; Lev 19:19; Ezek 44:17). Jesus encourages us through the cleansing of His Word to obey Him, both to remain humbly in the Lord Jesus (in His holy Name) and to allow Him to remain in us, bringing His holy nature into our lives. The fruit of this will be that people may see in us a reflection of the holy God, and bring the Father glory (John 15:3-5, 8). God's holy nature in Jesus was seen by His disciples, and those that we meet can know His holy Name (His nature and character) through the holy lives that we live.

But rather than blind obedience, God desires relationship. To draw near to Him, we need to know before whom we stand, and be transformed by the renewing of our mind (Rom 12:2), yielded to our Lord Jesus, walking His way in holiness, so that we may worship (= serve) God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire (Heb 12:28-29).

Will We Show His Name to be Hallowed?

These are some more Names of our awesome God: He is Omniscient (He knows all things - past, present and future - and cannot be deceived), Omnipotent (He is all-powerful and cannot be overcome), Omnipresent (He is always with us and cannot be avoided) and Transcendent (He is beyond description and cannot be excelled) - all aspects of His holiness - and He is the only most holy God.

The question is: to know Him, how much of ourselves will we give Him? Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life, so we need look no further. He says, simply, “Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father, for I and the Father are one” (John 14:9, 10:30); “Come to Me…and I will give you rest - learn from Me” (Matt 11:28, and thus of My Father); and, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10).

We hallow God's Name when we seek the Lord Jesus, when we live lives that honour Him and when we serve His desire to draw people into the Kingdom of His Son. Time is short now, for He is coming back, as He promised. Be blessed in this precious search for Life.

Author: Greg Stevenson

References

1 Hebrew nouns have a dual form for 'two' items, and a plural form for 'three or more'. The Bible progressively reveals God as a unity of three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In the Hebrew Bible (the Tanakh), when the reference is to the One True God, the plural noun Elohim uses a singular verb - God is echad - one, and indicates both unity and intensification in the subject.

A great and perhaps overtly obvious tragedy of Western culture today is that nothing is sacred. In fact, one could go even further and say that the defining feature of our ‘progressive’, post-Christian society up to this point has been the systematic, deliberate dismantling of everything that was ever considered sacred or held in high esteem – whether in the name of academic criticism, political protest, philosophic exploration or artistic expression.

There is a natural and logical process at work here. When we hallow God’s Name, we are declaring as sacred – set apart, holy, worthy of special honour – His very character and person, as both Clifford Denton and John Quinlan have intimated recently on this page. This means that we naturally hallow His laws and standards. We hallow His desires and plans. We hallow His way above our own.

But when we rebel against God, the inverse process takes effect. We desire to hallow our own ways above His – and so we set about proving that nothing is sacred, that no-one is set apart, so that we do not have to answer to any higher calling or standard than our own. We find any way we can to avoid acknowledging that there is a Being higher than ourselves who might deserve our worship or obedience.

Unsurprisingly then, as the West has abandoned its Judeo-Christian heritage, rejecting the set-apartness of God, every boundary He has asked us to respect has been transgressed, and every relationship He has ordained has been twisted or polluted.

Living Counter-Culturally

For Christians trying to live obediently in this environment, holding fast to principles that are being warped and inverted by the rest of the world, things can easily get demoralising. Living out the reality of hallowing God’s Name in every area of our lives is difficult. We cannot expect to receive any help from the world around – life is now set up to encourage us away from hallowing God’s Name; we are swimming against a very strong tide, requiring both courage and strategy on our part.

The exciting thing, however, is that living to hallow God’s Name immediately makes us counter-cultural: we naturally stand out with a distinctive way of life that others will notice and envy. As we honour His Name and treat it as sacred, so the Holy Spirit imprints something of that same sacredness on our lives, for we exist in His Name. So, living in a way that hallows God’s Name requires great courage – but we should also take great courage because of the opportunities it provides for witness.

Drawing Near to God’s Name

It is here, in this call to shine our light in the midst of darkness, that God’s Name takes on new significance for us. As well as being worthy of the utmost honour and respect, Scripture tells us that His Name is our salvation (Acts 4:12), our path (Micah 4:5) and our strong tower (Pro 18:10).

In other words, as well as deserving to be set apart and honoured above all others, God’s Name is something with which we each need to engage. If His Name is our salvation, we must learn to depend upon it with our entire beings. If His Name is our path, we must learn to walk in it humbly. If His Name is our strong tower, we must learn to run into it to find safety and shelter.

This is the paradox of the Kingdom: that that which is holy and set apart is simultaneously that which we are called to draw near and know closely, intimately. We are to hallow God’s name and yet also hide ourselves in it. We are to be His devoted and humble servants – and yet also His beloved children. We are instructed to fear Him – and we are also commanded to love Him with our entire beings. His Son, Jesus Messiah, is Lord of Lords and King of Kings – and yet also our brother and friend. He is glorified over and above all Creation – yet He is also Emmanuel, God with us.

The crux of true Christianity – what the world desperately needs to see at this time - is the holding of these two perspectives together, simultaneously. If we have the former without the latter, we risk ‘religion without relationship’, so to speak. We miss something of the closeness God desires to have with His people. If we have the latter without the former, we reduce God to our level and – like the rest of the world – make what is sacred profane.

No Compromise

The only Church that will thrive in the midst of such a Godless, honourless, hopeless culture as we currently endure is the Church which will devote Herself to loving the Lord with Her whole being, without compromising on hallowing His Name as sacred and set apart, and living accordingly.

Only then will we become ambassadors of the eternal truth that there is One who is sacred, there is a Name that deserves to be hallowed - and there is Someone who is worthy of all honour and praise.

Author: Frances Rabbitts

Balfour Declaration motivated by Cabinet’s Christian faith.

A political document blamed by many for today’s Middle East crisis was motivated by the evangelical Christian faith of a uniquely international, cross-party, British war cabinet.

This was the claim of Jerusalem-based Canadian Rev Dr David Schmidt in a London lecture last week marking the centenary of the 1917 Balfour Declaration.¹

This refers to a letter to Britain’s Jewish leaders, signed by Foreign Secretary Lord Arthur Balfour, promising that the Government would do all in its power to facilitate a return to their ancient land of God’s chosen people who had been scattered throughout the globe for some 1,800 years.

They weren’t at the time in a position to do so, for the region then known as Palestine was under Turkish Muslim control, but the situation changed within weeks following the capture of Jerusalem by British and Allied forces under the command of General Edmund Allenby.

Balfour: God’s Plan and Israel’s Destiny

So it was that a brief 130-word letter became the basis for British rule of the territory, subsequently confirmed by the League of Nations (the UN’s predecessor) until such time as the Jews were ready for independence. But Britain later reneged on its agreement in a bid to appease Arab opposition. However, it did not stop the eventual creation of a Jewish state in 1948.

As a Bible-believing academic, Dr Schmidt is convinced that, far from being an embarrassing relic of the British Empire responsible for the current regional conflict, as many claim, the Balfour Declaration was part of God’s plan and Israel’s destiny, as foretold by the Old Testament prophets. “I believe what is written in the Bible regarding the Jewish people and prophecy; that the Jews would be exiled and scattered throughout the world, and in the last days return to the land in unbelief.”²

Such a time would be marked by an increase in travel and knowledge (Dan 12:4), among other phenomena, but specifically by fierce opposition of the nations to an independent state of Israel (Zech 14:2, Ps 2:1-6).

Dr Schmidt is convinced that, far from being an embarrassing colonial relic, the Balfour Declaration was part of God’s plan and Israel’s destiny.

Force of Christian Zionism

Various theories have been put forward for the motivation of David Lloyd George’s ten-strong War Cabinet of 1917 – such as empire expansion, remorse over Jewish persecution and even gratitude for the war efforts of Zionist leader Chaim Weizmann, a top biochemist who had developed an important chemical ingredient for gunpowder.

But Dr Schmidt is convinced that Christian Zionism was at its heart, defining Zionism as the belief that Jews remain God’s chosen people and that they have a right to live in the land of Israel.

Though from different social backgrounds and representing all contemporary political parties, these magnificent ten were, for the most part, non-Conformist evangelical Christians – there were no Anglicans – who were familiar with the Old Testament and aware of biblical prophecy. Ironically, the only Jewish member strongly opposed the policy. Many Jews at the time saw it as being herded into a ‘ghetto’. But their opposition gradually faded as the Zionist movement gained momentum.

Lloyd George was the main figure behind the declaration, said Dr Schmidt. Though “ethically challenged” – he had a mistress, for one thing – the Welsh-born Liberal Prime Minister was raised on the Bible and retained a sentimental attachment to biblical values while not always living up to its high ideals.

Balfour too was steeped in the Bible from his Scottish Presbyterian childhood, believing that Christian civilisation owed an immeasurable debt to Judaism. He was motivated by what he called “the desire to give the Jews their rightful place in the world” and even gave theological lectures at Cambridge University.

He was highly accomplished, having already served as Prime Minister, and declared on his deathbed that aiding Jewish restoration was possibly the most worthwhile thing he had done. And he asked that the inscription on his tombstone should read, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith,” quoting the Apostle Paul in 2 Timothy 4:7.

Balfour was steeped in the Bible from his Scottish Presbyterian childhood.

Lloyd George’s War Cabinet

Also in the cabinet was Jan Christian Smuts, a Boer general in the South African War. Raised in the Reform Church, his early life was filled with Bible teaching and he predicted that, in generations to come, a great Jewish state would arise once more. In fact, Smuts argued for the biblical restoration of Israel all his life. He was the only Cabinet member who lived to see the re-born state when, as South African Prime Minister, he was the first to recognise the new country after the United States.

Edward Carson, a fiery criminal lawyer from Ulster, opposed Lloyd George on many other issues, but not this one.

Andrew Bonar Law, a Canadian raised by a Presbyterian minister, became Prime Minister in 1922, but died of cancer soon afterwards.

Labour politician Arthur Henderson was converted to Christ through the famed evangelist Gypsy Smith and was also a wholehearted supporter of the Balfour Declaration, as was fellow Labour member George Barnes, who loved the Jewish people.

Support also came from Alfred Milner (brought up in Germany) but George Nathaniel Curzon raised early objections. As a former Viceroy of India, he understood how the Muslims could rise up in opposition and believed the Jews would struggle to live in such “a desolate place”.

Edwin Montague, meanwhile, was opposed both to the declaration and to Zionism in general despite being a Jew himself, because it would force a nationality on people who had nothing in common, and become a Jewish ghetto.

Lloyd George’s ten-strong war cabinet were, for the most part, non-Conformist evangelical Christians.

Failure of Appeasement

In answer to questions, Dr Schmidt suggested that the failure of British foreign policy was not in supporting the Jews with their Zionist cause but, in having done so, trying to appease the Arabs as well so that in the end they pleased no-one.

The composition of the cabinet was also ironic, I believe, in that none of the many Christians among them were Anglicans, and yet it had been the Church’s Ministry among the Jewish people (CMJ), an Anglican society, who had done much to influence politicians about Jewish restoration since its founding in 1809 by William Wilberforce and others. In fact, the London meeting last week was sponsored by CMJ on behalf of the Balfour 100 (Christian) Committee.

Dr Schmidt holds a PhD in Middle Eastern political history focusing on the Balfour Declaration and the British Mandate, and has lived in Israel with his wife Susan since 1989.

Notes

1 Held at the City Temple, Holborn, on 25 January 2017. Hosted by CMJ UK.

2 He made the point that the early Jewish Zionists were not religious – “they were proud of the fact that they did not go to synagogue; they were in a sense Jewish atheists…” But now, he says: “Every year in Israel people are more spiritual and observant,” fulfilling Ezekiel’s prophecy of the dry bones coming to life.

Ever wondered what it would be like to do church ‘Hebraically’?

Book your place now and join the movement to find out!

We are delighted to bring you a roundup of Steve Maltz’s 2017 Foundations conferences, which offer fantastic teaching, worship and fellowship all geared towards helping Christians discover the Hebraic roots of the faith.

Foundations North-West: Friday 24th – Sunday 26th February 2017

Abbot Hall Hotel, Grange-Over-Sands, Cumbria

Theme: Does the church really understand Israel and the Jewish people?

Cost: £185 per person (ensuite), £165 per person (standard)

***Last-minute places still available, see below for booking information***

Foundations 8 Annual Week-Day Conference: Monday 3rd – Friday 7th April 2017

Abbot Hall Hotel, Grange-Over-Sands, Cumbria

Theme: Livin’ the Life!

Cost: £300 per person (ensuite), £260 per person (standard). Short break deals and concessions available.

***BOOK NOW and secure your place with a £60 deposit – see below for booking information***

Foundations South: Friday 11th – Sunday 13th August 2017

High Leigh Conference Centre, Hoddesdon, Herts

Theme: Controversies!

Cost: £200 per person (ensuite), £170 per person (standard)

Booking: Booking not yet open.

***CANCELLED*** Foundations South Wales: Friday 8th – Sunday 10th September 2017

Foundations North: Friday 24th – Sunday 26th November 2017

Willersley Castle Hotel, Matlock, Derbyshire

Theme: The Hebraic Jesus

Cost: £180 per person (mostly ensuite)

Booking: Booking not yet open.

Booking Information

To book your place, visit www.foundationsconferences.com, email Steve Maltz at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or call 020 8551 1719.