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Home Restoring the Kingdom to Israel - Part 1By Tony Pearce - Light for the Last Days‘Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?’ (Acts 1.6). This was the last question the disciples asked the Lord Jesus just before He ascended into heaven. How extraordinary that they should ask a question about Israel at such a time! I have a Thompson Chain Reference Bible which I find invaluable in the way it links verses throughout the Bible in chains according to themes. But I have to disagree with Mr Thompson over this verse which he links with ‘dumb questions’ asked to satisfy idle curiosity. In fact this was not such a dumb question. As Jewish men awaiting the coming Messiah, and disciples of Jesus, the events of Jesus’ death and resurrection had caused some radical readjustment to their thinking on this issue. Jesus Himself had explained to them the significance of His crucifixion and resurrection: ‘‘These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which are written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.’ And He opened their understanding that they might comprehend the Scriptures. Then He said to them, ‘Thus it was necessary for the Messiah to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning in Jerusalem.’’ Luke 24.44-47. He refers to the three sections of the Jewish Bible, the Torah, Nevi’im (Prophets) and Chetuvim (Psalms / Writings) and shows how they all point to Himself as the Messiah. Speaking of the crucifixion He would no doubt have referred to such passages as Isaiah 53 which speak of the Servant of the Lord, who is identified by early Rabbinic writers as the Messiah, suffering and dying as a sacrifice for the sins of the world: ‘All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. … For He was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people He was stricken.’ (Isaiah 53.6, 8). The resurrection is also implied in this passage: ‘He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.’ (Isaiah 53.10). This must have been a wonderful Bible study for the disciples who generally misunderstood Jesus when He told them He was going up to Jerusalem to be put to death and to rise again on the third day (Matthew 16.21-23). This did not fit in with the Jewish expectation of the Messianic King who would come as the Son of David to deliver Israel from Roman oppression and bring in the visible Kingdom of God, reigning in power from Jerusalem. When Jesus spoke of His coming death in John 12.31-3 the people listening responded: ‘We have heard from the Law that the Messiah remains forever: and how can you say the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?’ Jesus had told them the Son of Man being lifted up meant His death, so the implication of this question is that the crowd listening to Jesus could not relate to such a concept of Messiah and asked Him what He was talking about. This was because they were looking for the Reigning King Messiah not the Suffering Servant Messiah of Isaiah 53. The Reigning King Messiah is prophesied in Isaiah 2.1-4 and this is the result of His ministry: ‘Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established on the top of the mountains and all nations shall flow to it. Many people shall come and say, ‘Come and let us go to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob: He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths.’ For out of Zion shall go forth the Law and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and rebuke many people; they shall beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.’ To this day Rabbinic Judaism is still pointing Jewish people to the Reigning King Messiah as the hope for the world, and for the most part has dismissed the Suffering Servant Messiah from the picture altogether. Since the time of Rashi, an 11th century Rabbi, the generally accepted view of Isaiah 53 in Judaism is that it refers to the sufferings of the Jewish people, not the sufferings of the Messiah, although there are significant Rabbis who deny this interpretation of Rashi and affirm that Isaiah 53 is a prophecy of Messiah. There is also a line of Rabbinic interpretation which sees two different Messiahs coming, one known as Messiah ben Joseph (son of Joseph), who suffers and is humiliated as Joseph did in Egypt and one known as Messiah ben David (son of David) who reigns victoriously as David did. With this background the disciples’ question in Acts 1.6 makes sense. They were in effect saying, ‘OK Jesus, we understand now that you had to suffer and die and be resurrected to fulfil Isaiah 53 and other passages in the Bible. Will you right now complete the Messianic programme by fulfilling Isaiah 2.1-4? Will you drive out the Romans and establish the visible kingdom restored to Israel, bringing peace to the nations?’ Not such a dumb question after all! Jesus’ response to the question is interesting. He could have solved in one sentence the question which is still a controversy amongst Christians – ‘Has the Church replaced Israel?’ He could have said, ‘Forget about Israel, that is finished now. God has made a new covenant with the Church and the prophecies about Israel are null and void and need to be re-interpreted as prophecies about the church.’ But He didn’t. The only issue He was really correcting the disciples about was the timing of the event. They wanted the kingdom restored ‘Now’, but Jesus said, ‘It is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the Father has put in His own authority’ (Acts 1.7). In other words He is saying, ‘Don’t bother yourselves with trying to work out the timing of this event because only the Father knows when it will happen.’ This implies that the event, the restoration of the kingdom to Israel will happen, but at a future unknown date which only the Father knows. He then goes on to tell them their programme for the here and now (which they had been told before, but not really understood): ‘You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.’ (Acts 1.8). The reference to an unknown date should alert students of the Bible to the second coming of Jesus. In Matthew 24.36 Jesus says about His return: ‘But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.’ Therefore there is some connection between the restoration of the kingdom to Israel and the second coming of Jesus as Messiah. The fact that there would be a second coming was made absolutely clear to the disciples before the crucifixion (Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21), but as with many things they were slow to understand the meaning of His words. What Jesus is saying in Acts 1.7-8 is that in the present age the priority for His disciples should be world evangelism, although the kingdom would be restored to Israel after His second coming. This conversation is followed immediately by the ascension of Jesus into heaven in which a ‘cloud received Him out of their sight’ (Acts 1.9). Does this mean it was a cloudy day at the time? No. The cloud refers to the glory cloud, known as the Shekinah (a Hebrew word derived from the verb ‘shaken’ to dwell, meaning the place where God dwells). At significant times in Israel’s history, notably the dedication of the Tabernacle and of the Temple (Exodus 40.34-38 and 1 Kings 8.10-11), the glory cloud came down to demonstrate the Lord’s presence with His people. As the disciples watch Jesus depart they are told by the angel: ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus whom you have seen go into heaven will so come in like manner as you have seen Him go into heaven.’ Acts 1.11. Here they are told that the same Jesus is going to return, but not in the way He came the first time. When Jesus came the first time He came with His glory veiled, taking on the form of a servant (Philippians 2.5-11). This fulfilled Isaiah 53.2 which says: ‘He had no form or comeliness; and when we see Him there is no beauty that we should desire Him.’ This means that the outward appearance of the Messiah at His first coming would not be different from that of other men. You could pass Him by in the street and not realise there was anything remarkable about Him. His power would be shown by His deeds and His teaching and above all by His resurrection from the dead, but not by how He looked outwardly. Therefore believing in Him would be something received by faith, not something obvious to everyone: ‘He was in the world and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name; who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.’ John 1.10-13. The disciples did see His glory on one occasion on the Mount of Transfiguration when they saw Him with His face shining like the sun and His clothes as white as the light (Matthew 17.1-8). On this occasion they saw the Lord Jesus as He really is – the Holy One of Israel, the Son of God. For the rest of the time His glory was veiled. If He had been walking around Nazareth with His face shining like the sun it would have been hard not to recognise Him as the Messiah, which was not His purpose at His first coming. In that case no one would have dared to put Him to death, which was the purpose of the first coming. Going back to Acts 1, Jesus is going to come in the same way He departed, in the glory cloud. In other words this time He is coming as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He will come in fulfilment of the prophecy of Daniel 7.13: ‘I was watching in the night visions and behold One like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away, and His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed.’ Jesus applied this prophecy to Himself on two occasions. Firstly in the context of His own teaching on the second coming in Matthew 24.30 and secondly at His trial in Matthew 26.64. On the latter occasion He has been put under oath by the High Priest to answer the question whether He is the Messiah, the Son of God. He replies by quoting this verse of Daniel which is the reason the High Priest condemns Him to death for blasphemy. So there is no doubt the High Priest understood the significance of Jesus applying these words of Daniel to Himself. In the context of Daniel’s prophecy the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven is connected to the ‘little horn’ speaking ‘pompous words’ and being given to the ‘burning flame’ (Daniel 7.8, 11). The little horn is the antichrist who according to this prophecy of Daniel will arise out of the fourth beast (Rome) and persecute the saints in the last days of this age. According to Revelation 19.20 at the second coming of Jesus the beast (antichrist) and the false prophet will be thrown straight into the lake of fire. Following this victory over the allied forces of evil, the kingdom will be given visibly to Jesus as Lord and all nations will serve Him as prophesied in Isaiah 2.1-4. This will be the restoration of the Kingdom to Israel, and Jerusalem will be the seat of His authority (Isaiah 2.3). That is why Jerusalem today is the focal point of world conflict, the ‘burdensome stone for all peoples’ according to the prophecy of Zechariah 12.3, as we shall see in our next edition when we will look at the significance of the place of the Lord’s return, the Mount of Olives, and its connection to the prophecy of Zechariah 14. Restoring the Kingdom to Israel – Part 2The Significance of Jerusalem.In our previous edition we looked at the last question the disciples asked the Lord before He ascended into heaven, ‘Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?’ We saw that Jesus’ answer to the question implies a restoration of the kingdom at the time of His second coming, when He will come ‘in like manner’ to the manner in which He ascended into heaven, in the clouds of glory as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. This is in contrast to His first coming when His glory was veiled, as He took upon Himself the form of a servant in order to fulfil the prophecy of the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53. In this article we look at the significance of the place of the ascension and the return of the Messiah. The ascension took place from the Mount of Olives on the eastern side of Jerusalem: ‘Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey.’ (Acts 1.12). In the book of Zechariah we read of the events of the last days of this age in chapters 12-14. At the climax of this period we read: ‘Behold the day of the Lord is coming, and your spoil will be divided in your midst. For I will gather all nations to battle against Jerusalem; the city shall be taken, the houses rifled, and the women ravished. Half of the city shall go into captivity, but the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then the Lord shall go forth and fight against those nations as He fights in the day of battle. And in that day His feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, from east to west making a very large valley; half of the mountain shall move toward the north and half of it toward the south. Then you shall flee through my mountain valley, for the mountain valley shall reach to Azal. Yes you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Thus the Lord my God will come and all the saints with you.’ Zechariah 14.1-5. The end of this age will come when the Lord stands on the Mount of Olives having won the victory over the allied forces of evil that come to fight against Jerusalem in the last days. This will be followed by the 1000 year reign of the Messiah when ‘the Lord shall be King over all the earth’ (Zechariah 14.9) fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah 2.1-4, 11-12 and Revelation 20. So Zechariah has the Lord standing in the same place from which Jesus ascended into heaven when the angel said ‘This same Jesus will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.’ Acts 1.11. Obviously this is not a coincidence. In Zechariah’s prophecy we see that the focal point of the end time conflict is Jerusalem: ‘Behold I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations are gathered against it.’ (Zechariah 12.2-3) In verse two Jerusalem is a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples. In verse three it is a heavy stone for all peoples bringing all nations into the conflict. Since the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948 following the UN resolution in 1947 Jerusalem has been a focal point of the conflict between Israel and the surrounding peoples, but also one which has involved all ‘all nations’ through the UN and the various international peace conferences aimed at resolving the issue. As a result of the first Arab-Israeli war in 1948 Jerusalem became a divided city with the Old City under Jordanian control and the western half of the city under Israeli control. Access to the holy places and the Jewish Quarter was forbidden to Jewish people from 1948 to 1967 when as a result of Israel’s victory in the Six Day War Jerusalem was united under Israeli rule. In 1973 Egypt and Syria made a surprise attack on Israel on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. Had they won that war no doubt the Jewish state of Israel would have ceased to exist and Jerusalem would have returned to Arab rule. In fact Israel reversed early losses and ended up with its armies on the road to Cairo and Damascus. The United States then intervened to draw up a peace agreement. Following the Yom Kippur war the Arab oil producing states restricted oil production in order to put pressure on the West over Israel and Jerusalem. This led to recession in the industrialised world, showing that what happens in the Middle East is vital to the interests of the whole world. In 1974 the PLO adopted the 10 Points Phased Doctrine. This strategy aimed to set up a mini-state as the first step in ‘liberating Palestine’. The statement of the Palestine National Council said, amongst other things: ‘Once it is established, the Palestinian national authority will strive to achieve a union of the confrontation countries (i.e. the surrounding Arab countries), with the aim of completing the liberation of all Palestinian territory and as a step along the road to comprehensive Arab unity.’ In other words this state would be a springboard for the final goal, which is the elimination of Israel. Given
the fact that the UN was involved in the establishment
of the State of Israel and that the Americans and
the Europeans were concerned to preserve Israel,
it was clear that this goal of destroying Israel
would need a plan to change the perception of the
West. Instead of seeing Israel as ‘David’
fighting the Arab ‘Goliath’, they needed
to see Israel as the Goliath oppressing the Palestinian
David. As a result a very successful propaganda
campaign has been waged to this effect. At
the present time the Palestinian Authority is being
led by Mahmoud Abbas who is presented as the moderate
face of Palestinian politics. In his election campaign
in January 2005 Abbas said, ‘We are choosing
the path of peace and negotiation. If there is no
peace here, there will be no peace in the Middle
East or the rest of the world.’ He pledged
to deliver deceased PA Chairman Yasser Arafat’s
promise of Palestinian statehood. ‘Israel
must pull out of all Palestinian lands occupied
in 1967,’ he told supporters in Ramallah.
‘We cannot compromise on Jerusalem. A state
that is cut up by settlements cannot be a state.
Everything Yasser Arafat said and believed in his
life is a legacy and we will do all our best to
implement it.’ Statements by US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice in her recent visit to the Middle East make it clear that the US in now backing a Palestinian State which will comprise most of the territory of Judea and Samaria (the West Bank). As far as the Palestinian Authority and the Arab Muslim world are concerned the land required for peace is the whole territory that Israel gained in 1967, including the Old City and surrounding areas of Jerusalem that were under Jordanian control from 1948 to 1967. When Israel took the Old City of Jerusalem in 1967 Moshe Dayan said, ‘We have retaken our holiest places, never again to depart.’ Much of the area surrounding Jerusalem has been developed by Israel since 1967 with settlements which are towns or extensions of Jerusalem in themselves. Therefore the redivision of Jerusalem to the borders of 1948 is almost unthinkable to most Israelis. As Zechariah says, Jerusalem is a ‘very heavy stone burdening all nations.’ We also have to consider the question of ‘What kind of peace?’ Israelis note that a whole generation of Palestinians has been brought up to hate Israelis and that many programmes on the Palestinian media are given over to incitement to murder. Palestinian Media Watch, an Israel-based organization that monitors incitement in Palestinian society, has compiled a presentation entitled ‘Kill a Jew - Go to Heaven’. It accuses the Palestinian media of dehumanizing Jews similar to ways the Nazis did. A fundamental message broadcast in sermons, academic discourse and even children’s shows, according to report co-author Itamar Marcus, is that ‘the Jews are an evil force, and it’s inherent to the Jews, and therefore they have to be killed.’ Nathan Sharansky stated, ‘As in Nazi Germany, there is an entire ‘culture of hatred’ in Palestinian society today, from textbooks to crossword puzzles, from day camps to TV music videos. Calling for the murder of Jews, as Jews, is the end result.’ In the official Friday sermon broadcast on February 4th 2005, senior Muslim figure Ibrahim Mudyris explained that the diplomatic process can only achieve a return to the borders Israel had before the 1967 war. The final stage, he said will be the destruction of Israel ‘the way Muhammad returned there as a conqueror.’ All of this ties in with the passage in Zechariah 12. The surrounding peoples are politically and psychologically laying siege against Judah and Jerusalem, seeking ultimately the elimination of the Jewish state and the return of Jerusalem to Arab Muslim control, either through diplomacy or through armed struggle. All the nations are involved through the United Nations and international diplomacy led by the USA. They are also involved through the world religions, especially Judaism, Christianity and Islam which all have an interest in what happens in Jerusalem. The stage is therefore being set for the fulfilment of Zechariah 12-14 which involves the nations coming against Jerusalem to battle at the end of days, a temporary fall of part of Jerusalem to the invading forces and the return of the Messiah in power and glory. In Zechariah 14 we read that this event will be coupled with a great earthquake causing the Mount of Olives to split in two. Such a major earthquake would also have a devastating effect on the present city of Jerusalem. In February 2004 there was a earthquake measuring 5 on the Richter scale in the Jordan Rift Valley. It shook Israel and the surrounding area and caused a crack to appear in the Knesset building half an hour before the Israeli cabinet was scheduled to meet to discuss pulling all Jews out of the Gaza Strip and handing the territory over to the Palestinians. This was followed a few days later by a partial collapse of a section of the south side of the Western Wall, causing the women’s prayer area to be closed for a few days while it was repaired. On the evening of the earthquake Israeli Channel 2 TV reported that geologists believe a major earthquake could strike Israel without notice, and based on research predict the arrival of ‘the big one’ within the next 50 years. Channel 1, screening a map highlighting areas of the capital believed to be especially susceptible to damage in the event of a major quake, pointed out that the Al Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock - both straddling Israel’s Temple Mount - were most at risk. Active fault lines run throughout the small Jewish state due to the tectonic structure of the Dead Sea Rift that runs the full length of Israel. According to the ‘Risk Management Solutions’ which monitors the possibility of earthquakes in the region, the Jordan Valley Fault ‘has a high probability of generating a major earthquake. Research suggests that the Jordan Valley Fault generates magnitude 7 or larger earthquakes every 1000 years. The last major event on this segment occurred in 1033, increasing the current probability of a major earthquake.’ All of this makes it very significant that the Hebrew prophet Zechariah foretells a final, cataclysmic earthquake when the Messiah comes to Jerusalem, an event that will split the Mount of Olives in two, from east to west, creating an enormous valley. The book of Revelation 16.18 too speaks of a coming earthquake such as ‘had not occurred since men were on the earth.’ Before the Messiah actually comes to the earth to fulfil Zechariah 14, we read in Zechariah 12.10: ‘I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on me whom they have pierced and mourn for him as one mourns for his only son’ (Zechariah 12.10). At the end of days as the final conflict rages around Jerusalem the remnant of Jewish people there will look upon ‘the pierced one’ and understand that He is the only one who can fit the empty space in their lives and fulfil their hopes of the Messiah. There are references in the rabbinic writings to this being a Messianic prophecy also. Commenting on Zechariah 12:10, Rabbi Alshech writes: ‘For they shall lift up their eyes unto me in perfect repentance when they see him whom they have pierced, that is Messiah, the Son of Joseph. For our rabbis of blessed memory have said that he will take upon himself all the guilt of Israel, and then shall be slain in the war to make an atonement.’ This prophecy fits in exactly with the message of Jesus. He is revealed in the Gospel as the only Son who has been ‘pierced’, dying by crucifixion, in order to redeem the world, and who will come the second time to judge the world according to how we have responded to his message. Jesus gave His teaching on His second coming on the Mount of Olives, just outside Jerusalem (Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21), the same place Zechariah says the Lord is coming to in order to save Israel. Jesus ascended into heaven from there and the angel spoke to the disciples saying: ‘This same Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven’ (Acts 1.11). The event described in Zechariah when Israel looks on one who has been pierced will be the same event as Jesus points to in Matthew 23.39 when He says concerning Jerusalem, ‘You shall see me no more until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’’ When Jesus is welcomed and accepted as Messiah by the Jewish people, He will come to the earth and finally bring peace to Israel, to reign as King over all the earth in fulfilment of Zechariah 14.9 and of Isaiah 2.2-4, which speaks of the time of universal peace on earth following the Messiah’s return. For further teaching on this subject order ‘The Messiah Factor’ by Tony Pearce available for £7 including postage. Will we end up in the Underground Church? Jayne Ozanne, a senior figure in the Church of England and a departing member of the Archbishops’ Council, wrote a report which was leaked to the Times in December 2004 stating that a ‘time of great persecution coming, which will drive Christianity all but underground in the West’. She refers to an established Church that ‘will continue to implode and self-destruct’. She concludes that her Church ‘bears all the hallmarks of an underground movement, indeed it will become an underground resistance movement’. Certainly the established church is in disarray with bitter divisions over homosexual clergy and women priests and a lack of leadership that does not take a stand on anything of importance. In fact the whole of the British establishment is in a state of terminal crisis as the fiasco over Prince Charles’ wedding to Camilla Parker-Bowles has shown. This has further compromised the Church of England, with Charles being refused a church wedding but offered a blessing after the service. According to its own laws on divorce and remarriage Charles and Camilla are ineligible for a church wedding since both were responsible for the breakdown of their previous marriages. Therefore logically they should not be offered a blessing. However as Charles is scheduled to become head of the Church when he becomes King this creates a bit of a problem. On one level this shows the absurdity of the monarch being the head of the church. Charles is a follower of all kinds of alternative philosophies and at one time seemed more attracted to Islam than Christianity. He has stated that he wants to be the defender of faiths not of the faith, which means that he accepts the view that all gods are equal and that he rejects the statement of the Lord Jesus ‘I am the way, the truth and the life and no one comes to the Father but by me’. So the best thing to do would be to recognise that the Protestant Oath by which the Monarch is committed to uphold the Protestant Faith as Head of the Church of England is unworkable because there is no guarantee that the Monarch will believe in the Protestant Faith. This would mean that the Church of England is disestablished so it becomes just another denomination. Since most of the Bishops of the Church hardly ever stand up for biblical Christianity this would hardly be a loss to the cause of the Gospel in Britain today. On the other hand the established church and the monarchy have been a defence against the inroads of Catholic dominated Europe into the affairs of these islands. As this defence crumbles, the way is now being paved for the takeover of Britain by Europe as we surrender our independence to the European Union. The old establishment which is now withering away was far from perfect, but it was much better than the new establishment which is taking its place. The Sunday Telegraph (2/1/05) carried a picture of the 25 commissioners of the European Union under the title ‘Do you recognise your rulers?’ It pointed out how much power these anonymous bureaucrats have over every part of our national life today. They include three former communists among them Dalia Grybuskaite, a Latvian educated in Leningrad in the Soviet Union who is now in charge of the EU budget. Increasingly public life in Britain and throughout Europe is being regulated by ‘political correctness’ which exists as a kind of control over what people can say and teach publicly on issues like sexual morality. It is here that Bible believing Christians are under pressure, especially those who work in public areas like teaching, the media, social services and health care. If you say that you believe homosexual practice to be morally wrong you risk extreme hostility and even dismissal at work. With this in mind it is very concerning that the government is considering bringing in a ‘citizenship ceremony’ for 18 year olds. A Home Office document said this should be a ‘focal point for activities that promote inclusive citizenship.’ Chief inspector of schools, David Bell, said that at this ceremony pupils should make a statement of being ‘intolerant of intolerance, illiberalism and attitudes that demean certain sections of the community, be they women or people living in non traditional relationships.’ It should also lead to acceptance of different faiths, cultures and alternative lifestyles. Behind these smooth words is a hidden catch. You must accept as valid homosexual partnerships (even marriages) as being equal to heterosexual ones or you are not a part of the Brave New Britain which the ceremony is initiating you into. Those who refuse to sign up may be branded as bigots who are not worthy to be citizens and therefore become a target for hatred and persecution. It is the same tactic as was used in the Soviet Union creating a loyalty to the regime and isolating and persecuting dissenters, especially Christians. Under the Soviet system basically two kinds of Christianity emerged. There were official or registered churches which toed the line and operated within limits imposed by Soviet state power - no evangelism outside church, no teaching children under 18, no teaching on contentious issues (e.g. second coming of Christ), no criticism of Soviet regime or communist ideology. And there were unofficial or unregistered churches which for the most part met in secret under persecution but refused to submit to the dictates of the communist system. Is something similar beginning to happen here? If the churches submit to ‘political correctness’ they will in effect limit the issues they can speak out on. They will speak out against racism, but not about persecution of Christians in Muslim countries for example. They will accept the wrong idea that there are many ways to God and you should not evangelise people of other faiths. They will teach that Roman Catholicism is just another denomination of the church and that the Reformation was a mistake. They will not give biblical teaching on homosexuality and related issues for fear of being homophobic. They will condemn fascism but say nothing against those who are corrupting our children with amoral sex education aimed at destroying the family. They will do all this because they want to be accepted by the powers that be and so they are emerging into the ‘official churches’ of the new Europe. On the other side are those who see what is happening (a tiny minority at the moment but hopefully they will grow as the reality becomes more and more apparent). They will form the equivalent of the unregistered or underground churches of the former Soviet Union and refuse to toe the line. Let us pray to God that we might have the courage shown by those like Georgy Vins, Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand, Aida Skripnikova and the Ten Boom
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