Something good in UK’s ‘marriage’ Act for Christians?

Nero_1The coffee-time conversation with Steve continues. Nina and Simone catch up with us on our way to the cafe’s bar for fresh, full mugs and hear Steve exclaim,

“What! What on earth’s good for believers about the ssm Bill?”  The startled looks our wives dart at each other convey;  “What on earth have our men been talking about?”

Back in our secluded corner, Steve summarises our conversation and he’s ‘champing at the bit’ to take charge. I want to steer it another way but Simone beats us to ‘the off’.  As a solicitor she brings a fresh view.:

Legal eagles’ views

“How the Bill was rushed through and given royal assent clearly smacks of censorship in a totalitarian state. A barrister and senior lecturer at the University of London wrote a splendid professional paper quite relevant to this issue. David McIlroy explains why a democracy’s legal system can’t have a morally neutral playing field. I noted his opinion that,

A public square from which religious influences are excluded is not a neutral public square. It is a public square in which all influences bar the secularist ones have been censored.  That is not a public square in which everyone’s voice is heard and everyone’s views are respected, it is a public square in which religious voices are silenced and anti-religious views are imposed.  This is not a tolerant society, it is a tyrannous society.

“What he also says about the double-importance in a Christian society of how the Last Judgement affects the law is especially interesting…I recall bits like:

…It means today’s rulers are understood, and (should) understand themselves, to be answerable  to a higher authority in their actions. They know they will be judged for how they exercised their power and this accountability is the foundation of accountability to the people.

…citizens know the ultimate judge isn’t the government but almighty God, and this contributes hugely to human freedom.

“It’s an exciting summary of how Christianity has provided a sound basis for secular law..”

“I know, Simone, I’ve got a copy thanks to a fellow blogger – an excellent document! And I wrote about examples of creeping tyranny back in 2009!”  [See 1 & 14 below]

“Also Richard, contrary to what you said about Archbishop Welby and bishops being overwhelmed in the House of Lords, the barrister who founded Christian Legal Centre issued them a written challenge over his version of events and concluded:

I am surprised that the Church of England appears to be vacating the public square when it comes to the issue of marriage. Given the rich teaching of Scripture and strong tradition of marriage, this is something that the CofE should be able to comment on clearly, intelligently and winsomely. Marriage is something to be celebrated, promoted and, at this time, preserved. At a time when the nation needs to hear a prophetic voice on marriage, the CofE’s message is sadly mixed and, as a result, unclear.

“The account of her corresponding with him and CoE’s response laments their inability to copy the politicians’ action in ensuring full attendance for voting.” [2]

Raising my finger, “I like her bit on ‘prophetic voice’ as I was struck by the sharp contrast between the Telegraph’s report on Welby’s ‘cop-out’ and what Sharon Stone taught and did [3] – the first started my morning and the second closed it in a much Godlier way!

“Also, in one of many debates on that other blog I pointed out that wise leaders would wait and watch what happens to other countries before foisting it on the British public. It’s opening Pandora’s Box – next will come legal recognition of bigamy, bestiality and paedophilia, as in the customs that defiled ancient Canaan which God spoke against when Hebrews took it over as the land ‘vomited out its inhabitants’.”

“I’ve read John McTernan’s excellent teaching on those socially sanctioned practices,” . adds Simone. “I said to Stan to read too” nodding at her husband. [4]

Nina expresses her deep concern over Her Majesty giving assent to the Bill in view of her Coronation oath “to maintain the laws of God and profession of the Gospel”.

My long spoon lances a hole in the cappuccino’s thick froth as I respond, “Being a constitutional monarch, there was absolutely nothing she could have done about its passing into Law as the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act.

“But from my perspective as lookout on the walls – as it were – our national leader became much more motivated to introduce the Act – come hell or high water – by President Obama during his state visit. So it’s possibly a result of that influence…”

“I’ve read,” reports Simone, “Obama is a long-standing ‘gay pride evangelist’, as can be seen in his recent call to African nations to be ‘converted’. Their righteous leaders have repudiated his overtures…on fact they’re sparked a real backlash!” [5]

“That’s so,” I add. “I’ve followed it all closely through Bill Koenig, a Christian White House journalist.  Cameron’s now copying Obama as an ‘evangelist’, which His Grace Cranmer scathingly lampoons [6]. He notes Cameron’s clearly stated intention [7]:

Only other thing I wanted to say is that I know that the job isn’t yet fully done. It is something to celebrate that Britain is now – and it’s official – the best place to be gay, lesbian or transgender anywhere in Europe. That is a great achievement. That’s not my measure; that is an inter-nationally recognised measure. But there’s still a lot more work to be done.

“God is not and will not be mocked and these national leaders are treating Him with the utmost of contempt. Unless they humble themselves, repent deeply and renounce their ways there is very little hope for their future – but God may have mercy.”

“But at least they’ve not committed the unpardonable sin,” interjects Nina, to which Steve asks, “What’s that?”

She replies, “That’s saying a work of the Holy Spirit is of Satan. In my opinion, many believers have unwittingly done that when attributing God’s presence and His work to the demonic! Some think so about a Canadian whom we know. Whilst at a church in Bath, he sensed God wanted to heal and that evening I was able to walk and dance again – I went from permanent disability to normal ability in an instant! As we all love Jesus, then that could not have been of the devil.” [8]

“Now,” I ask, “Do you want the good or the not-so-good news first? Let’s keep the best for last – after some opinions encountered in fellow believers.”

Not-so-good points

“I’ll try to be brief on what’s very unsettling to my spirit. As I don’t want to have a closed mind on this issue I’d monitored Gillan Scott’s several well-balanced posts on the topic, to which some readers gave a window upon the state of their souls.

“Whatever gay folk say and do they’re no different to any believer for we’ve fallen short of the glory of God and are deeply loved by Him, otherwise Jesus wouldn’t have died for them too. So we love them too as individuals  but, as with all sin, we don’t like their sin but hate it for what it is and does in preventing their accessing the fullness of life in Christ.

“Some who claimed to be Christians, however, were not only very supportive of this anti-Biblical Bill but also muddled and confused about what scripture says – even twisting its meaning – as well as being ignorant of sin!  One pastor to the gay community even tried to explain why I’m mistaken!

“One regular pundit couldn’t understand what’s wrong with redefining marriage! We got the measure of one another when I commented: if that were correct there was no need for me to have repented of having been in the occult.”

“Just an aside and reminder,” whispered Simone, “I’d like to check the dangers of yoga as its spirit may be messing around with me.”

I continued, “My remark met a haughty, incredulous retort, ‘Upon what basis do you equate same-sex relationships with occultism, Richard? Your logic is seriously skewed, to put it mildly…!’  It was both sad and amusing because the answer was simple…so very simple.

“I parried it by alluding to the oft-quoted legal totem of ‘equality’, as well as its proper  mathematical meaning, and took precise aim: ‘Your own logic has missed the point, to put it bluntly…The basis of my equation is straightforward, namely ‘equality of sin’ (ie. ‘missing the mark’).’ We ended up agreeing to disagree.

“But there were lamentable tales of some dear folk engaged in unions they think the Lord has ok’d and then wonder why things went wrong. For example, the miscarriage of a child being carried by one of a female partnership – a terribly sad state brought about by sin to their detriment. It reminded me of sin crouching ‘by the door’ to take Cain and make him murder his brother Abel. (Genesis 4:6-7)

“The accounts and opinions come with a sense of despoiling. I recalled Nathan Morris’ strong preaching on Jesus’ admonition to the early churches infected by sexual sin of their needing to be cleansed from wearing defiled robes. No wonder many wise and anointed preachers sound the alarm bells.” [9] & [10]

THE GOOD POINTS

“From a Christian standpoint, the good things of this Act are not so much the adverse  ones but more the scriptural ones. We can, for instance, be most positive about these facts.:

  1. This Bill and Act were never in the Conservative Party’s election manifesto. Thus, in my opinion, the electorate as a whole can’t be held responsible for the revolt against God and traditional values and the consequences.
  2. In requiring and enforcing the Queen’s compromising of her Coronation oath her Prime Minister actually took upon himself the full personal responsibility before God for having broken and contravened it – I wouldn’t like to be in his shoes for deliberately being ignorant in such a gravely foolish action.
  3. David Cameron and everyone voting for the Bill is personal accountability to their Maker for going against His revealed and express will for all mankind – no matter whether they believe in God or not. I pray they’ll have personal revelation on this and take the opportunity to repent before they take up their post-mortem existence – as happened to me when I stood on the trapdoor down to hell [11  In Your wrath remember mercy, Lord.
  4. The sweeping international attempts to redefine the meaning of marriage are so intensely orchestrated that even conspiracy theorists would be left dumbfounded. Therefore, it is and can only be a dark spiritual phenomenon – not one of God but from the one who’s always wanted to usurp His place. But its time on earth is now very short so it wants to take as many humans it can and prevent their salvation.
  5. This so-called cultural change was announced well in advance, in fact 2,000 years ago by no less a person than Jesus Christ himself!”

“How do you make that out?” thrusts Steve with one of his bespectacled glares that reminds me of a hen pecking seed. I hear ‘tap-tap-tap’ and turn to see a solitary man at the next table tapping on his tablet. His face and sound mirrors my friend’s and I gently smile. But then I grin in self-deprecation over my natural tonsure as I reply:

“Off the top of my head…a couple of Jesus’ sayings spring to mind.:

“First of all, His teaching about persistent prayer (Luke 18:8) refers to a time like today; one lacking in not only personal but also corporate faith – as widely shown in ditching Christian values for purely hedonistic aims. This is what Jesus foresaw:

Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”

“Secondly, He instructed His disciples about the coming of the Kingdom of God and to expect exceptional consequences for socially sanctioned wickedness (Matt 24):

But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. 37 But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 38 For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39 and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 

“Dr Luke’s carefully collected account of Jesus’ life from witnesses adds (Luke 17):

Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; 29 but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. 30 Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.

“Also, His apostle Paul confirmed that Jesus told him the same about a future ‘Last Days’ great apostasy or falling away from faith in God. One of his letters to the early Greek church in Salonika (2 Thessalonians 2) refers to it this way:

Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. [Emphasis RB]

“Paul carries on with extra details to the gospels, which you can check yourself.

“Moreover, rabbinical teaching is said to confirm the connection between Noah’s time and today’s. Five years ago two separate people on a radio show spoke about the ancient Babylonian Talmud’s interpretation of Genesis and the cause of the Flood. ‘America’s Rabbi’, Aryeh Spero, said the Talmud’s writings show, “before the Flood people started to write marriage contracts between men…which is more than homo-sexual activity…in other words, giving an official state stamp of approval, a sanctifica-tion of homosexual partnership.”

“Rabbi Spero went on to say, “Even in ancient Greece they did not write  marriage contracts between men.  There was homosexuality, and it was wrong, but  there was not an official ‘blessed’ policy. … Marriage is ‘sanctification’ (not  simply a partnership).”  He said to confer the title of sanctification and holiness upon this behaviour is “probably one of the greatest sins of all that  one does against God’s plan for this world.”

“Another source quotes from the Midrash Rabbah Genesis, a specific commentary upon the Torah, and from the Second Book of Enoch, both of which support the claim about the real events of the ‘days of Noah’, from which we may infer they’re the festivities of which Jesus knew and was referring to. I’ve not yet completely cross-checked those sources, but I can let you have them for checking. [12&13]

“Also the widespread persecution of Christians in Africa and Middle East connects into the Daniel 7 end-times prophecy!” [14]  On top of that, the status of Jerusalem is being discussed in Washington. With three major aspects of prophecy now at the fore we’re definitely entering the End-Times, as stated at the outset of my writing four years ago – The End-Time Is Now In Play – maybe you’d like to check it out?” [15]

Nina adds, “What’s going on proves the Bible is absolutely true and correct!”

“We’re definitely entering into times foreseen by the Lord Jesus and His first apostles as well as Old Testament prophets. What’s happening across the world has been written about and we know the outcome – the return of King Jesus for His Bride.  It can’t be much longer now…As Jesus said when teaching about signs of the end of the Age.:”

“Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.” (Luke 21:28)

Sources:
  1. Theos website article, Is Secular Law Possible?
  2. Challenge issued to Archbishop of Canterbury.
  3. Revd Dr Sharon Stone: Britain is at a crossroads.
  4. Homosexuality vs Holiness – Ordinances of the Amorites.
  5. US and British promotion of LGBT rights sparks backlash
  6. Exporting gay marriage – the ‘gospel’ of St Dave.
  7. Prime Minister thanks campaigners and workers.
  8. From Disabled to Enabled – how Jesus healed Nina’ spine.
  9. Are ‘Christians’ leading homosexuals to hell?
  10. Steve Hill: Warning for this hour – stop spiritual avalanche.
  11. Part 2 of From Death to Life.
  12. WND Janet Porter: How SSM Points to the End of the World.
  13. End-Times Prophecy Watch: Days of Noah:
  14. Muslim Persecution of Christians.
  15. The End Time is Now In Play.

The difference between good and bad secularism – a challenge to secularists

Courtesy Watcharakun at Freedigitalphotos.comVery well said sir. Your closing remarks support the question raised in yesterday’s post on Britain taking a totalitarian tack! Thank you Gillan for the link to the full article, which I too highly recommend, and enjoy your summer beak my friend.

An interview with Pakistan’s only Christian MP

“Whenever I was in the company of my party colleagues – most of whom were rigid Muslims with long beards – they urged me to tell them about my religion. If I did not tell them it would be too unfair to my religion, my Christ.” Asiya Nasir

I was immediately struck upon reading the above remark in the Evangelical Alliance’s magazine Idea because we’d returned from Hull where a Muslim man had demanded of his Christian friends, “Why have churches kept quiet about knowing Jesus?” (brief report here). These are only a couple of the increasing reports of Jesus Christ revealing Himself to Muslims and conveying His love for them (see Footnote 3).

The following EA interview is thus most significant and encouraging news in view of the rising severity of persecutions and murders of Christians across most Muslim nations.

60 seconds with Asiya Nasir MP

Asiya nasir_dave landrum

Asiya Nasir is the only Christian MP in Pakistan. Dr Dave Landrum, director of advocacy at the Alliance, met her to talk about what’s going on in her country.

DL: How did you get into politics?

AN: My great, great grandfather settled in the province of Balochistan before independence before. I was educated there, a teacher there, and wanted to be a professor, but God had His own plan. I never thought of becoming a politician, though my father was in the House and twice contested elections there. It was not a decent thing for women in Pakistan. In the 2002 elections he asked me to replace him. It wasn’t an easy decision for me; I had three children. But my husband supported me. I thought that somebody had to enter politics, if we wanted to bring change to the system, change in the rule of politicians. The party I joined was a right-wing Muslim Islamic party, right wing. Many of my community criticised me for joining that party. It was seen as anti-Christian or anti-minority, but I was really surprised firstly when I met my party leader as he really warmly welcomed me.

Was it difficult being a Christian in this context?

I knew I was in Christ, and knew my foundation was really strong. I felt I needed to identify myself with Christ, and felt I should never hide myself from people. Whenever I was in the company of my party colleagues – most of whom were rigid Muslims with long beards – they urged me to tell them about my religion. If I did not tell them it would be too unfair to my religion, my Christ. I told them. And slowly and gradually people became interested in it. Many of my ministers asked me and my husband to get some Bibles for them.

Many Christians go into politics, but break under the pressure as they do not have the foundations of a personal relationship with Christ. But, for you it was the opposite?

Yes, because in all difficult situations I realised he was the only anchor for me. I cannot find shelter anywhere else except him. I know eventually everything will perish, but one will remain. His name will remain, so we have to glorify His name. I will not be an MP forever. I will be here until He wants me to be here – no one can denounce me or remove me.

Shahbaz Bhatti was a Pakistani politician and a Christian who was killed for his outspoken criticism of the country’s blasphemy laws. Do you fear for your life?

No, I don’t fear. I have no fears. I do not fear death because I know He has given us everlasting life, life after death, so why should I fear? Each one of us has to die some day, with the tablet in the hospital or with a bullet. So why not die for His name? ) Someone once asked me how many bodyguards I have. I said only one – my Lord Jesus. I don’t have any bodyguards because I have never received any threats. Jesus says you are not called for this, you are called to be bold, courageous and truthful, honest, so I am only afraid of that threat, not of anything else. But I have never ever received any threat.

Pakistan seems to need more secular government and civil society whereas the UK may need less. Any comment on the difference between the two countries?

We need balance, not religious extremism. There is debate in Pakistan about how we can segregate state and religion. Many think religion does not affect affairs of state, but I say no, you cannot segregate for a long time. To some extent religion needs to be involved in the affairs of state. I don’t think you can ever really separate. My party always appreciates me because I don’t have secular ideas. The debate in Pakistan is whether we are going to be a secular state not theocratic. I say no, it should not be theocratic but also not a secular state. We need a pluralistic culture, need freedom. I believe in freedom of religion and don’t want to impose religion on me or others, everyone should be free. I don’t want to go and preach my religion but not practise, I want to practise first and want others to learn from my life. If they are impressed with my life they will convert or learn from my religion. Even in Pakistan we have a lot of diversity, religions should not want to impose. My party is religious but does not believe in imposing on others, they have never asked me to convert or put on a veil.

Is the gospel spreading in Pakistan?

The Christian Church is very fast growing in Pakistan. Pentecostals are growing more. Churches are full. There are not enough places to put people. People are trying to set up new churches. People are bringing their friends, giving room for prayer in houses.

Footnotes

  1. Photo credit and original post re-published by permission of Idea (visit here).
  2. Those stirred by this courageous lady’s faith through adversity may wish to visit Wilson Chowdhry’s website and blog at British Pakistani Christian Association.
  3. For more about Muslims meeting Jesus see closing part of All Hail The Lamb.
  4. The next post explains my interest in this important interview.

Hassan Rouhani is no “moderate.” He was endorsed by the only Iranian leader ever to publicly call for Israel to be destroyed by nuclear weapons.

Joel RosenbergIn view of recently concluded elections in Iran am re-posting another of Joel Rosenberg’s well-informed pieces. Readers will want to read his follow-up which includes insights from one of his contacts, an Iranian Christian leader. This may be accessed at the foot of Joel’s post or via this link.  PLUS THIS from BBC Watch > ‘Over the past few days my Twitter timeline has been dominated by Iranian ex-pats tearing out their virtual hair at the portrayal of the new Iranian president-elect  by much of the Western media (including the BBC) as a “moderate” and a “reformer”.  This might be a good time to remember that not too long ago various talking heads were using the same terms to describe Bashar al Assad.’

joelcrosenberg's avatarJoel C. Rosenberg's Blog

You’ve really got to hand it to Iranian Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The man is one of the most evil tyrants on the face of the earth. He is pursuing nuclear weapons to wipe Israel and the U.S. off the map. He wants to usher in the caliphate of the Twelfth Imam and bring about the apocalyptic End of Days. Yet he is desperately trying to prevent Israel — or any other country — from launching preemptive military strikes and neutralizing Iran’s nuclear weapons program. Thus, Khamenei is trying to use the rigged current presidential elections to recast Iran as suddenly moving in a more “moderate” direction, and thus persuading the West to ease up on economic sanctions and pressure Israel to back off.

And the Western media is totally buying it.

Consider the headlines this morning, all of which are declaring Hassan Rouhani (also spelled “Rowhani”) as the frontrunner and a “moderate” who could be the best answer…

View original post 866 more words

On the evidence of 2 or 3 witnesses a matter shall be confirmed…

Detail from Eagle-eyed by John Mark LongThus states Deuteronomy 19:15 (NASB) about testifying at an inquiry, or any other situation. This principle was also used at the first church council in Jerusalem, whereof Dr Luke recorded the decision to allow Gentile (non-Jewish) believers in Jesus Christ to be in fellowship with Jewish believers:

28 It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: 29 You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. [Acts 15]

Are there times when the Lord draws your attention to certain scriptures and principles by their repetition, even through another person or something else?  For me this can happen one day after another, or even during a church service. My latest should be shared but first, if you’ve not read the previous post’s comments, please let me explain.:

PS to previous post

After publishing that last post I had some reservations about its tone and how it had grown beyond a brief ‘roundup’ of the first two press sources, with my remarks of 2011, into a piece with more depth. I’d run off a hardcopy of the draft to check over lunch and the idea dropped into mind it would be better to start with scripture, specifically verses from the closing chapter of Paul’s earliest letter (to the church in Galatia).

Having done that I also included a bit from Bill Koenig before some of Walid Shoebat’s  main piece.  To clarify it all a conclusion was needed but, devoid of any earlier thought whatsoever, I found myself referring to Obama’s LGBT agenda. And this flowed straight into revisiting Galatians 6 with a pointer for this month as, ‘God is not mocked month’!

I wasn’t sure about it. Could I unwittingly have put a prophetical timing on this issue?

The next morning I read Beth’s contribution to that post and in which she referred to Dutch Sheets’ Reaction to the Election.  I’ve quoted him occasionally but was unaware of this, which he concludes with Holy Spirit’s reply about unanswered prayers, as follows:

“Your prayers and worship did prevail…though not in the way you wanted. Because of them, however, I will now deal with this man who has mocked Me and My laws.”

Two more friends of mine had dreams in which Barack Obama was named Belshazzar (see Daniel 5). This was the ruler in Babylon who saw a hand writing on the wall of his palace—as he and his friends were mocking God. The ominous message written by the hand of God was, “You have been weighed on the scales and found deficient.” The writing went on to say Belshazzar’s reign would end.
I don’t know what form the judgment of the Lord will take, but I am quite confident that God has put up with all of the mocking He intends to from Barack Obama, and that Daniel 5 is now his passage. I say this without malice or ill will, but nonetheless, confidently.

Also in my email was advice of Gillan Scott’s latest on the voting for same-sex marriage in the House of Lords. I opened up his webpage to scan its full content and at the close was reader Hazel’s brief comment, which closes,

If you replace the word gay with sodomite, the Bible is quite clear about it. God is not mocked.

WOW – two sisters and myself witnessing independently to a specific theme that the renowned intercessor and prophetical prayer warrior had received of the Lord. Ancient scripture attests that this is one way a matter is confirmed, or as in some translations, ‘established’.

Therefore, I can only conclude He is about to move in a significant way, AND we were prophetically informed only last week of the “coming great clash between the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of light”, as reported herein. Most interesting times…

SO, WATCH OUT!

Let’s lift up our heads for our redemption draws nigh…the Lord bless you and keep you.

Is Obama’s impeachment now on the cards?

Do not be deceived and deluded and misled; God will not allow Himself to be sneered at (scorned, disdained, or mocked by mere pretensions or professions, or by His precepts being set aside.) [He inevitably deludes himself who attempts to delude God.] For whatever a man sows, that and that only is what he will reap. For he who sows to his own flesh (lower nature, sensuality) will from the flesh reap decay and ruin and destruction, but he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. [Galatians 6:7-8 Amplified Bible]

Lots of national news and personal thoughts fill my mind in getting back into the swing of blogging. And where did May go? There was lots happening and I want to write on the ‘new season’, especially on the Lion of Judah, as well as the 60th anniversary of Her Majesty’s Coronation on 2nd June 1953.

shoebatAfter dealing with email, however, maybe I ‘sense’ someone’s got something significant and open my ‘Favourites – Blog’ and click at the foot of its long list. This opens to Walid Shoebat’s  site (ex-member of PLO and Muslim Brotherhood, now born-again Christian). I found his Barack Obama’s Blue Dress? is a good summary of posts about the ‘Uber-Scandal’ gathering around the US President.

I beg indulgence of my American readers familiar with their administration’s failures, and of readers elsewhere for not recounting the full background. A couple of pre-blog emails (The Gravity of Current Events and Revelation on Israel) of 2011 refer to the possibility of Obama’s impeachment.  Other issues, especially many unanswered questions about Benghazi, gave rise to my reservations over the 2012 election, as outlined in If I were an American citizen…

In commenting upon my short post on its results, Tony asked for my ‘take’ on Obama’s re-election. I replied, “Maybe it’s (God’s) intention a 2nd term will either enable Obama to repent or make corrections?”  (The latter seems to have happened regarding Israel, but I kept a tight rein on my thoughts that re-election may allow time for Gal 6:7-8 to be applied with its consequential outcome – it’s better to bless and be gracious, for the Lord will work out the detail.)

New York Times’ Jonathan Weisman summarises what’s facing Capitol Hill this week after a week’s recess and Congress’ ability to balance its twin responsibilities of legislating and of investigating.  How that works out may make the difference between landmark legislation for Obama, or his being consumed by charges relating to several scandals:

…House leaders and committee chairmen appear to be giving themselves over to an expanding and aggressive oversight effort — on the I.R.S., the Justice Department’s targeting of reporters, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr.’s statements to Congress on that targeting and the Sept. 11 attack on the United States Mission in Benghazi, Libya.

The previous week, Bill Koenig had opened his Inside The White House briefing with, Obama’s slow-coming judgment is picking up steam:

The judgment against Barack Obama and our nation — which elected him — has been exceedingly slow in unfolding, but does have deep foundational consequences. Many of us were surprised that there weren’t more major judgment-type events in his first year in office and through his first four-year term. In many ways, events and activities seemed to go smoothly with no apparent bumps in the road, even his re-election efforts went very smoothly, but the damage to infrastructure being done daily was considerable.

williamkoenig-web[1]Koenig briefly recaps upon Obama’s immediate implementation of an LGBT agenda whilst taking his oath of office on January 19 2009 and his appointment of numerous activists to key positions. He briefly covers financial and diplomatic issues and what the Lord put on his heart about national accountability for having elected this leader. Then he closes with a brief summary, Acceleration of events:

The recent acceleration of pressure on Israel — both overt and covert; Obama’s defiant support of Planned Parenthood; his public support of the Morning-After Pill for young women 15 years old and up; his continued and active public endorsement of LGBT; have been followed by the Benghazi debacle which has ensnared the White House, the National Security Council, the State Department, the Pentagon and the CIA; the public disclosure that the US Justice Department was wire-tapping media figures; and the discriminatory actions of the IRS against certain Christian and conservative groups and the revealing of the extreme bias of those responsible… (emphases added)

I understand there may be a connection between the two emphasised matters. The IRS took inordinately longer than normal to grant tax-exemption approval to many Biblically based opponents to Obama’s policies. Eg. Billy Graham’s evangelical association and its humanitarian aid associate Samaritan’s Purse (see Politico). His son Franklin sent a strong letter direct to the President and concluded,

‘I believe someone in the Administration was targeting and attempting to intimidate us. This is morally wrong and unethical – indeed some would call it ‘un-American’.

That’s extremely irregular in any leading democracy but it suggests deep corruption lies at the heart of US federal government!

Yet more

Today, Walid Shoebat adds yet another indictment to the pile in what could be the straw to break the camel’s back.:

The signature of senior IRS official Lois Lerner sits at the bottom of a letter addressed to the Barack H. Obama Foundation (BHOF) in general, Malik Obama in particular. The letter – dated June 26, 2011 – not only granted the BHOF tax-exempt status in record time but did so retroactively to April 30, 2008.

In back-dating the tax-exempt status of Malik’s organization more than 27 months, Lerner committed a crime – a serious one.

However, she didn’t just commit a bureaucratic snafu. Lois didn’t just cross a line of legality by back-dating Malik’s tax-exempt status to a point in time that violated the law. You see, the issue for Lois involves the matter of whom she granted that status to. (Click to read full article)

Just who is this Malik Obama – none other than Barack Hussein Obama’s brother. AND what does he do? In drawing to a close, Shoebat claims.:

We now know that Malik is in bed with a government – Sudan – that has been identified by the U.S. State Department as a State Sponsor of Terrorism and that President Omar al-Bashir is a genocidal maniac; Malik works with him. (Click for detailed account)

With Nixon, it was the tapes. With Clinton, it was his own DNA. With Obama, will it be a letter that implicates his own flesh and blood?

A recent radio show discussed all these very serious issues and stressed that Sudan is, globally, one of the four worst terrorist states. As Shoebat comments about the show.:

If we had one critique, …it’s just so difficult to wrap your head around just how big this Uber-Scandal is (even if you don’t factor the president into the equation).

Conclusion

My coverage of these disreputable matters may seem a tad gross but it is important for my readers to appreciate what’s happening and it’s relevance to Biblical understanding. I’m aware of details known to White House press circle about Obama’s proclamation in his first term of officially designating every June as ‘LGBT Pride Month’. To say the very least, those details are unsettling.

As the Word of God is alive and active and does not return to Him void of accomplishing His purpose, perhaps He’s designated June 2013 as God Is Not Mocked Month ??

Footnote: Galatians 6:8 uses ‘phthoron’ meaning ‘corruption’ for ‘decay’ – how apposite! (Scripture4All Greek Interlinear Bible)

Archbishop of Canterbury’s approach to banking continues to win admirers

Courtesy of James Mark Long, www.propheticartists.comVery interesting news indeed Gillan, especially in the light of prophetic words for 2013 about working with God ‘to restructure governmental and legislative structures’. Also, your concluding paragraphs mirror that prophet’s emphasis upon seeing issues from God’s perspective.

How Margaret Thatcher’s Christianity changed the face of Britain

Gillan, your review is appreciated and I’d honour Mrs Thatcher as a sister in the Lord and past PM. However, as a civil servant supportive of the PM’s monetary principles I was adversely affected by a ferocious drive that blinkered her ability to achieve her aims satisfactorily for all involved.
So I am not a fan. But it is heartening to learn that Margaret Thatcher’s political stance was based upon Christian beliefs, as in the personal touch recounted by His Grace Cranmer. Also from personal experience, it’s even better to know that she chose a far better and thoroughly blessed realm for her post-mortem existence.

God is in the House(s)

Courtesy of James Mark Long, www.propheticartists.comAmen, and Lord may Your Holy Presence come and put the rising spirit of rebellion and anarchy under Your feet…Thank you to Gillan, for I believe this is more timely than we may conceive, and to Richard Parkhouse for your contribution too.

Chatting over morning coffee…

… at a garden centre with ‘C’ yesterday covered some points about this blog. So, if you too had thought of them you may like this paraphrase of our chat.:

First

As a subscriber to this blog my long-time friend had opportunity to see the reblog from God and Politics I’d posted only earlier that morning. So, his first remark was,

“Praiseworthy as it is, what’s Christians Against Poverty got to do with your blog? Your by-line is Looking for signs of Jesus’ return…?”

My answer was; Christians need to be aware that the sociopolitical spectrum acts not only as a backdrop to but also as indicators which validate prophesied signs. ‘Aware’, that is, of global and, especially, Middle-Eastern events lining up to fulfill prophecies of  two or more millenia ago. [This one of the major planks demonstrating the distinctive authority and reliability of Judeo-Christian scripture.]

More importantly, to prepare ourselves for our role in the return of the King of Kings, Christians should be concerned about, if not actively improving, the political and social scene. Thus my blog covers not a few Parliamentary-related issues, which is where my cyber-friend Gillan’s work is particularly important.  It’s also a way of taking an evangelical stand, as evident from  his comments upon my reblog,

 …It’s great to be able to share this sort of news telling people about the Gospel in action.

Furthermore, I recounted for the first time to my brother the open vision on the state of the nation with which I’d been presented in 2004. I’d heard the Lord’s observation and intention about Britain. Validation of the vision resulted in my later emails encouraging friends to take a stand upon the emerging Rock, Jesus Christ.  [For full details click on Comments upon the collapse of Society.   Recognised prophetical voices had already spoken of a global shaking, as well as a sifting within the wider church per Hebrews 12 – click for related posts in this blog.]

Secondly

I took the opportunity to share with ‘C’ how the Lord ‘communicates’ whilst I’m blogging. Although I’ve got a long list of material and try not to be deviated, other things often grab my attention, as though being presented to me!   So, I was very pleased to find this suitable free image from a quick google search.

By way of illustration, I told ‘C’ of inexplicably spotting an old, unread email and knowing it should go in Monday’s Newsmix. Without vetting it as normal however, I’d inserted it after just a cursory scan. Only afterwards in  taking a hardcopy ‘to lunch’ did I find it to be an ideal choice.

Such discoveries can often be inter-connected, as though the Lord is sewing a thread in a tapestry. (Hence, the ‘train of thoughts’ on Abiding in God’s Word.)

Thirdly

‘C’ was most uneasy, to put it mildly, to have learnt from this week’s posts about the US President’s unusually radical Cairo Speech.  He expressed surprised at a June ’09 date of my reference because I’ve blogged for only 15 months. So I said my old emails had been inserted for reference purposes (see About).

DSC_4610edAlso, reflecting upon Raymond Stock’s conclusion I’d realised it echoed the opinion of Sir  Winston Churchill in 1899 about the unchanging, dangerous nature of Islamic fanaticism. [Source; The River War unabridged 2-volume edition. I quoted from this under the sub-head ‘Yes and No, Prime Minister’ following on from my thoughts on PM Cameron’s comments on Al Qaeda.] This increasing irrationality was recognised over 110 years ago and too many leaders have failed to learn the lessons of history. According to the well-known proverb, they’re certain to repeat its mistakes!

BUT…

How does it all fit into last November’s prayer request and prophetic word for President Obama? The Lord has all things under His hand and I’m suitably chastened to recall He expects us to pray for leaders.

So, our prayer blessing and decree for yesterday morning is quite fitting.:

The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life (Proverbs 14:27)

We decree that the reverential fear of the Lord will fall upon those who are in positions of authority in our nations. We bless the fountain of life as it flows through the corridors of power, bringing life and refreshing wherever it flows. [Courtesy: House of Glory: Keep Praying and Bless]

Amen.

Thank you Gillan for drawing attention to this Christian action of walking in the huge footsteps of our past pioneering evengelicals.

A really good morning coffee

DSC_0210-1edBit slow off the starting blocks this morning – Kitty jumped all over us at 4am as the local fox must have been nosing around the path behind our back garden. With a surname like ours, perhaps she thinks she’s also a guard dog-cum-cat?

After defrosting a freezer we went to our local shops 5 minutes walk away and were pleased to find the long-closed greengrocery had re-opened. Great to be able to get better fruit and veg in dedicated shop instead of over-priced, poorer quality food in supermarkets. (We’d take a weekly drive to nearby towns for visiting their greengrocer.)

Upon return and winding up the PC it was time to catch up on daily digital mail. Cartoons have always caught my eye. So first was Kenny T’s Morning Story and (vintage) Dilbert and today’s Three Brothers was so very appropriate as a modern version of the parable of the talents and initiative.

Couldn’t help but respond with a comment and, whilst I jotted it, Nina called, “Coffee’s ready”. We treated ourselves to very light and tasty Danish apricot pasties – also known as; ‘yum-4my-tum’!  I don’t always get a daily paper but, on impulse, used a voucher for the Telegraph. Naturally it’s front page cartoon first – and Matt brings hilarity, as ever!

With coffee and munch I flick-scan the newspaper’s contents and am AMAZED to find that last night they covered my main topic of yesterday’s blog, as you’ll see from copy below, or read digital version with comments here.: Continue reading

Monday’s newsmix

Many items in my electronic in-tray vied for my attention on booting up this morning after our 3-day weekend offline. Some get ditched quickly, others relating to this blog deserve study, the rest make good background info.

If they’d be of interest to you too, here’s a few.:

1. America’s withdrawal from the Middle-East under ‘The Obama Doctrine’ –  Lee Smith, the critically acclaimed author of The Strong Horse: Power, Politics and the Clash of Arab Civilizations briefed the Middle-East Forum on the dangers of ‘extrication’ from this region. He argues that the major problem with this policy is of the vacuum being filled by others who are not always friendly powers. Libya is cited as an example. Click here to read brief, one-page synopsis.

2. Obama’s new Secretary of State seems to think he can encourage Egyptian reform by rescuing Egypt from its impending financial calamity. (Shhh… let’s pretend that’s not happening back home, like the swathe of ‘sequester’ defense cuts!)  And whyever not, his boss gave the Muslim Brotherhood the all-clear when he popped into Cairo so soon after his inauguration. Yet President Morsi is far too preoccupied with spreading MB control the rot nationwide. (Debka’s exclusive report refers)

3. By the way, an unusually large locust swarm (of Biblical proportions) has hit Egypt.

4. According to John McTernan, terrorist group Hamas has warned President Obama against any plans to visit the Temple Mount during his trip to Israel later this month.

5. Joel Rosenberg reckons Iran already has nuclear weapons, according to one expert’s analysis.  This wouldn’t be surprising as Iran has cleverly duped the West all along.

Finally, do you recall Watergate? 

One of the ace journalists who investigated Richard Nixon was Bob Woodward. This weekend’s report from Bill Koenig not only quotes him, but also reports other reputable journalists as having encountered severe problems with the administration.:

Bob Woodward notes that POTUS is showing “a kind of madness I’ve not seen in a long time“.  Editor-in-chief of National Journal, Ron Fournier, had to rebuke a senior White House official.  This indicates deep, deceptive issues and manipulation of the media at the heart of American politics, as here.:

“The way the president’s availability to the press has shrunk in the last two  years is a disgrace,” said ABC News White House reporter Ann Compton, who has  covered every president back to Gerald R. Ford. “The president’s day-to-day  policy development — on immigration, on guns — is almost totally opaque to the  reporters trying to do a responsible job of covering it. There are no readouts  from big meetings he has with people from the outside, and many of them aren’t  even on his schedule. This is different from every president I covered. This  White House goes to extreme lengths to keep the press away.” [Source: Politico, Obama The Puppet Master – emphasis added.]

As an accredited Christian reporter at The White House, Bill Koenig’s conclusion is worthy of due regard.:

This is a problem that is coming to the surface, and hopefully the media that have fawned over Obama and helped him get elected twice will see that they have been duped. The fact is that those who are bold don’t get emails answered or are not called on for questions in White House press briefings or press conferences with the President. However, some of the liberal media has come to the White House defense very likely for favor that will come from that.

I don’t think this last item may be news to my States-side readers?

[Hand Pressing News Icon by Watcharakun, courtesy of Freedigitalphotos.net]

Counting the cost of the S-S Marriage vote

Courtesy of James Mark Long ; propheticartists.comGillan, a commendable commentary in view of the controversial circumstances.
In all this, three facts point to the ignored core issue and to the truth of scripture. These are: 1. people deny their sin, thereby making God a liar and repudiating what Jesus did for them on the Cross (1John 1:8-10)  2. many believers are unclear, confused and even deceived (2Tim 3, Matt 24) 3. the underlying role of the EU in this confirms its link with the ‘end of days’ messianic vision in Daniel 7 (see Cranmer).
Behind those facts (not to mention hatred of righteous expression and twisting of many definitions!) one can discern the source and strategy outlined in Revelation 13. Oh by the way, the technology for implementing the Mark of the Beast (666) is ready and waiting! (John McTernan 666 Surveillance System, updated with more items including Britain’s superdrone.)

Two brief recommended readings

1. United Kingdom’s decrease of values

A few posts ago I referred to a careful critique of an item on the Conservative Party and Israel by the Telegraph’s chief political editor Peter Oborne. He has now done a further analysis of this governing party’s loss of its core values and which His Grace Cranmer rates as, “one of the most perceptive analyses of the contemporary Conservative Party in a very long time”.  You may therefore like to read this review on Cranmer’s blog. (The cartoon refers to Her Majesty’s attendance at a Cabinet Meeting as part of her Diamond Jubilee celebrations.)

2. God’s Kingdom increase in China

If you’ve not yet read the very well written article to which the previous post linked then I would urge you to do so now.  The underground church’s strategy for the Islamic bloc of nations and the Jews is most inspirational in view of the vision that blessed me in 1992 (as here).  Also, the fact these marvellous things started after a Holy Spirit visitation in 1988, years before coming to Toronto and then to Brownsville was new to me.

In addition, this exceptional report reminded me of the extensive footage from China shown in The Finger of God dvd, as well as the true stories of Brother Yun and of the tremendous visions bestowed upon non-Christian orphans and street urchins in Yuman province.  These may be read in The Heavenly Man and in Visions beyond the Veil, the details of which may be read below.:

BroYun reverseBroYun coverVisions_Veil coverVisions_Veil reverse

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.The Lord bless you as you read…

Weekend catch-up: UK events

A few paragraphs to update the last posts and temporarily ‘close the lid’ on the matter.: [PS. inserted below on Wed 19 Dec]

1. David Cameron

This will be no small furore’, I observed here over his decision to introduce legislation to change the millenia-old understanding of marriage and, therefore, mentioned political aspects. Clerics had been dealing with this for some time and on Friday the political blogger Cranmer was scathing of the contemptuous way in which a Prime Minister had treated the Anglican Church. I note he links his final paragraph to an informative article I’d also read by the editor of The Spectator (Fraser Nelson) and thereby concluded:

His Grace prophesied earlier this year that gay marriage would turn out to be Cameron’s Poll Tax. He was wrong: it is the Poll Tax, hunting ban, Clause IV and the Iraq War all rolled into one. It is a disaster for both the country and the Conservative Party: Cameron has pitched the State against the Church and started a culture war of which there will be no end, there will be no end, there will be no end.

In an op-ed in Saturday’s Telegraph Charles Moore eloquently outlined some legal complications of Cameron’s decision:

Because he gave too little thought to the depth of the issue, he did not bargain for the trouble he is starting to get. And because no proper preparatory official work is ever done nowadays, there is confusion and embarrassment over what the new law will actually say.  This week, poor Maria Miller, the minister on whose desk this has landed, was unable to tell MPs how gay adultery will be defined in law. There will be lots more questions like that. One I like is, Will the heir to the throne be allowed to have a gay marriage? If he is male, will his husband be King too?  If, by surrogacy, their union is blessed with a child, will that child, though of the blood royal, be excluded from the succession?  If so, how, in the name of equality, can that be right?

In his sanguine manner, Moore then asks about some collateral effects of the new Act of Parliament and considers political nuances behind Cameron’s decision (he’s not the first to connect it with mimicking Barack Obama). Moore then drives his argument to the irrefutable impossibility of same-sex weddings bringing the principal and tangible benefit of matrimony (as originally conceived and designed, I’d add!)…

Children exist because of men and women.  Homosexuals may love one another just as much as anyone loves anyone else – and all disinterested love is a social good – but their domestic arrangements make no difference to the human future.  Marriage is all about the human future (emphasis mine). It is mankind’s main investment in it.

He consequently concludes:

If you are conservative, you respect the past in order to secure the future.  It is not easy to see how a policy which puts homosexual rights at the apex of public morality can possibly do that.  Strange that the head of a party which calls itself Conservative is leading us down a cul-de-sac in the history of mankind.

Today’s (Monday) Daily Telegraph’s front page refers to ‘a cross-party rebellion’ and the centre page displays a letter signed by over 50 Parliamentarians written “in support for the institution of marriage as defined in law as a union between a man and a woman”. Furthermore, they state:

At the last election, none of the three main parties stood on a platform to redefine marriage. It was not contained in any of their manifestos, nor did it feature in the Coalition’s Programme for Government. These facts alone should have led to extreme caution on the part of those calling for this change to be made(emphasis mine).

[PS: 19 Dec – see objections from the Muslim Council of Britain and Cranmer’s take on this and the related sickening hypocrisy and inequality from liberal brigade’s claptrap.]

2. Maria Miller

Also on Saturday the same paper quoted Sir Alistair Graham, the ex-chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, as stating that the minister who announced the  new matrimonial law would be “vulnerable to having to stand down as a minister” if she is disciplined by an inquiry into her claims for a second house where her parents lived.
This is only the latest in the Telegraph’s deep investigation into the outrageous scandal of widespread theft from the public purse by MPs. So Sir Alastair is reported as saying,

“My view is that ministers are in a key leadership position and if they are found to have broken the rules they can no longer continue to be part of the Government. We really can’t have a situation where the taxpayer is putting MPs parents in special position of being subsidised by public funds.”

3. Census 2011

The results of last year’s Census for England and Wales brought to light details of the massive immigration that has occurred as a result of the previous Labour government’s  bad management and poor policies.  Also, atheists have crowed over its findings upon religious belief. This aspect is capably covered by Gillan Scott in Census 2011: Atheist vs Christians and what the numbers don’t tell us.

Perhaps, in view of my dealings earlier this year with the lady behind the HOTS vs ASA issue, a humanist and two men with closed attitudes towards verifiable healings, you may care to dip into that post with its several informative contributions?

Don’t miss the boat!

La NinaHave you ever missed a bus, or a boat? Can you imagine how annoyed people were at not getting on board Noah’s huge boat when mighty prolonged rains brought sweeping, widespread flooding?  But he’d been warning them a long time. All they wanted to do was their own thing and not change because ‘all the people had corrupted their ways’. In fact, ‘the earth was filled with violence because of them’ (Genesis 6).

The only ones to survive were Noah and his family because he had time for God and walking with him. Many moons later a number of his descendants were to again corrupt their ways and, again, only a righteous family escaped the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.  Lot and his daughters got away but what was wrong with the lot Lot left behind?

In renouncing the abominable sins of Jerusalem the visionary prophet Ezekiel, or rather the Living Lord God, explained what was disagreeable about those ‘losers’:

Look, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughter had pride, fullness of food, and abundance of idleness; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty and committed abomination before Me; therefore I took them away as I saw fit. (Ezekiel 16:49-50 NKJV – emphases RB)

My previous post referred to Jesus’ prophecy that the attitudes of people everywhere will again be as in ‘the days of Lot’ – and then He will return in all His glory and power in the company of the heavenly host of angels and all saved souls.

PRIDE

The unsavoury aspect of this attitude within government has now been reported by my friend Gillan Scott. His blog publishes and comments upon an email from the previous Equalities Minister : ‘Lynne Featherstone proudly takes credit for railroading gay marriage legislation’.

On the face of it her remarks rightly convey a sense of relief in an objective achieved. But this post, which deserves to be read in its entirety, reveals how spiritually dead at worst, or clueless at best, our national leaders really are – and many commentaries lack an appreciation of the gravity of the situation. Our politicians urgently need to be raised to fullness of life in all its abundance because this email shows how this deathly attitude has sought to prevail throughout national life.

Therefore, I added the following to the debate on God and Politics in the UK:

‘The minister’s email conveys the woeful ignorance of the implications and price to be paid. I believe Rev Billy Graham’s late wife said something along the lines that if LGBT agenda becomes legally ‘right’ then God would need Sodom & Gomorrah’s forgiveness!

‘But Jesus said their inhabitants would have repented and lived had they witnessed His miraculous works, whereas His fellow Jews refused. Therefore, He decreed “…it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgement than for you” (Matt 11:20-24).  So, if not just pockets of ‘God’s Presence’ but the wider church starts doing ‘the greater works’ Jesus spoke of, then there will be hope for modern disbelievers awakening to spiritual – NOT religious – realities. (Bless them Lord out of their ignorance of the difference.)

‘The core of the issue is ‘LGBT Pride’, and this arrogant attitude is proudly displayed in the email. Those in Christ know God’s attitude to the proud. Pride was found in the king of Tyre and likened to that of Satan (Ezekiel 28) and is ruled by the Spirit of Leviathan.

‘What the Lord told Job about Leviathan is instructive in implying a link with ‘equality’ : “..Nothing on earth is his equal – a creature without fear. He looks down on all that are haughty; he is king over all that are proud”. (NKJV has ‘king over all the children of pride’) Job 41.34 NIV.’

Does David Cameron’s decision line up with the Bible?

Eagle-eyed, detail therof: John Mark Long propheticartists.comWHAT THREAD links Prime Minister Cameron, yours truly and a revivalist – and scripture? This evangelist’s already arranged funeral was cancelled because he did not die of cancer. His wife had even bought the burial plot!)  To learn more, please carry on reading.

WHICH DECISION? The one to go ahead with redefining marriage to include same-sexes and by a consenting religious organisation (except for specific ones). After Mr Cameron’s decision was announced last Friday many felt angry, deceived and betrayed (see Links below). This will be no small furore. The first casualty is the consultation exercise which totally ignored over 500,000 objections and 64,000 agreements – see Ministers accused of ‘sham’ consultation over gay marriage. The main headline in my Daily Telegraph of 11th December reads, Ministers ‘dishonest’ over gay weddings.

And today’s front page headlines of Gay weddings are not the answer, Cameron told (in MP’s open letter) and The minister and a warning to the Telegraph before expenses story, PLUS editorial and item on the legal challenge and op-ed comment Does he not care who he’s losing? all indicate increasing unease within Conservative  party ranks. I particularly like the ominous warning from the minister ‘for redefining marriage’ over her expenses and implementation of the Leveson Report, ie. gagging the press!! [PS. The investigation continues, as here, and may lead to an interesting outcome, maybe ‘fall’?]

Moreover, is all this going to be part of the ‘holy shaking’; ie. of everything not of God?

Friday

I’ve not taken up time keeping apace of developments, save for occasionally keeping an eye on some debates online. Eventually, I commented on Stuart James’ popular blog upon his item on the PM’s response to Anglican mainstream (see post), and we sent a letter to David Cameron. After learning on Friday about his decision I recalled my unanswered comment, which reads as follows:

“I rarely dip into this topic but would be interested if anyone could furnish answers (on a postcard) to some simple questions:

1: what did Jesus say about marriage? 2: did he define who should be married?  3: on what grounds did he make any comment? 4: what does Jesus have to say about our PM’s proposals? 5: how would the PM respond to these questions? 6: if a Christian, how will the PM respond to Jesus?”

D CameronOn this blog I’ve commented upon Mr Cameron’s support of Christianity and was therefore disappointed to learn about his decision. I tried not to be judgemental towards him or others, or to speculate upon how he’d answer my questions, especially that of accounting for his actions before Jesus Christ. But I considered him to be completely out of order. Were the PM to be given a preview of his judgement as had I, he’d realise the error of his false assumptions and become deeply convicted and repentant about his sinfulness – as indicated in my personal account of this inevitable event awaiting all disbelievers.

How, therefore, could someone who holds his own future life in jeopardy be fit to lead a Christian nation?  And, furthermore, unwittingly would thus bring the consequences of such a governmental decision upon the whole population? David Cameron has, more or less, associated himself with those who stick fingers up to the Holy God and to Jesus Christ, the one He sent to deliver us from such unrighteousness.

Saturday

Early Saturday brought a realisation that, although highly unwelcome, David Cameron’s intention may accord with holy writ – but not as one may surmise. Almost everything of what little I’ve read on this issue is personal opinion and where the Bible is mentioned it’s usually belittled, taken out of context or misunderstood, even by some confused and scripturally uninformed Christians!

Nevertheless, I awoke at peace over this highly contentious issue, as though having an insight from God’s perspective.  I recalled what Jesus said in the Gospels about sifting and the harvest of unsaved souls.

After teaching the public in parables Jesus explained their meaning to his disciples (see Matthew 13). The one about the field of wheat and tares is significant. Tares, or ‘darnel’, are identical to wheat and are indistinguishable until the grain appears. Jesus gave this explanation of that parable:

He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. 39The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. 40Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. 41The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness 42 and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

On the occasion of their eating the Passover meal (‘Last Supper’) Jesus again spoke about sifting to his leading disciple, knowing that one (Judas) had already been sifted and taken by the adversary (as at Luke 22.3):

 Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.(Luke 22 vv 31-32 NIV)

John records his master’s reference to the betrayer during an intimate prayer-time that reveals Jesus’ identity and mission (contemplate John 17). In praying for the disciples  the way He spoke of Judas Iscariot strikes the reader with reverential fear of God:

While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled. (John 17.12 NIV – emphasis mine)

Now, that parable means ungodliness is ripening throughout nations at the same time as many are coming to faith in Christ, and that the Church is ripening into how it should display Christ. So the harvest is ripe and will be gathered but only after the ungodly has first been removed and eradicated from within the mixture. Thus, the unwarranted and unauthorised attempts to redefine what God ordained; ie. marriage between man and woman, are leading into – if we’re not already part of – that End-time scenario.

[PS. I’d forgotten all about the prophetic word for 2012 entitled ‘A Ripening Season’ from Dr Sharon Stone, which goes into detail about the developing ‘shaking’.]

The instruction, again with metaphorical reference to wheat, about sifting indicates that God will use whomsoever He will to achieve His purpose – and it could be inimical to our own survival. He’s used many rulers and persons in authority, some of whom came to acknowledge Him, but we have no knowledge that they gained life everlasting. So what of our national rulers David Cameron, Barack Obama, et al.?

But such thoughts were merely in passing as they led into Jesus’ description of what the world would be like just before He returns. Read what the careful doctor Luke recorded of Jesus’ prophetic words, which the New King James Version prints under a sub-head, The Coming of the Kingdom:

The days will come when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. 23 And they will say to you, ‘Look here!’ or ‘Look there!’ Do not go after them or follow them. 24 For as the lightning that flashes out of one part under heaven shines to the other part under heaven, so also the Son of Man will be in His day. 25 But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. 26 And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: 27 They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. 28 Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; 29 but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. 30 Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed. (Luke 17:22-30)

Now Jesus didn’t refer to people having beliefs or Godly practices but were doing what so ever they desired whilst utterly ignorant of the gravity of their dire situation. Their situations were grave because, in the day’s of Noah, ‘The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time‘ (Genesis 6.5).  In the day’s of Lot ‘ the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous…’ (Genesis 18.29). There was no need for Jesus to spell it out because his disciples were familiar with the holy writings.

Who can deny this is the same today?  ‘Wickedness’…thousands murdered by Islamists just because they’re of a different religion, millions of babies murdered, children viewing and circulating pornographic images as well as committing murder, millions are sexually promiscuous, commit adultery and/or deny or ignore their obligation to their creator…etc etc. In Sodom and Gomorrah sodomy was legally permissible and practised in public and was thereby a societal ordinance, as it has become today.

I think it’s only because of the existence of millions of righteous people (ie. who believe God) around the world that His grace continues, and so we don’t yet receive the penalty we deserve for all our obnoxious behaviour. (Abraham’s pleas in Genesis 18 refer.)

BUT the truly better news is that such undesirable conditions mean Jesus’ promised return is very, very close.  As revealed in January this year,

“…I am setting the stage for that which I have foretold in My Word and it will quickly and swiftly come to pass. For the days are coming when the lawless one shall be revealed and the son of perdition shall take his stand.

“Let my people know that those who are lukewarm, those whose hearts are far from Me, even this year satan will seek to sift you – but they will not hear My voice!… (emphases mine – read full post here.)

See also, Follow-up on recent prophetic words concerning the return of Jesus.

AND the fact this Parliamentary announcement has been made during Advent is also of significance. As noted in my previous post, Advent’s principal focus is upon the Second Coming, or return of Jesus Christ to reign and rule, as well as to judge of the world. So there seems to be a connection with the PM’s decision and what Jesus said about the days of Lot.

FURTHERMORE, the arrangement for consenting (my term) religious bodies to marry same-sex people will greatly facilitate the SIFTING within churches, as considered  above. Thus, ‘churches’ that compromise and are disobedient to Jesus’ commands as in The Great Commission (Matt 28) will no doubt be pruned as unfit to become His Bride.

Sunday

In view of the preceding two day’s events described above, a third day brought more from a totally different source.  We decided to spend the evening catching up with the 5 hour Revival Reunion of leaders and evangelists from the Brownsville and Bay of the Holy Spirit revivals.

steve-hill-portraitSteve Hill, the renowned evangelist from Brownsville days, took the lead speaking upon the effects of living in or near the city of Sodom. Under a strong unction Steve taught about how the Days of Lot apply to today!   This message begins at 3hr 10m here, and in tears Steve explains.:

 Forgive me, this message has never been preached except alone with Holy Spirit…and I have cried and cried and  cried as revelation after revelation was downloaded into my spirit…by the One who wrote these words..

When Steve drew to a close, hundreds of Christians attending the Reunion had come to deep repentance and a personal re-commitment to their Lord. Thus, it was necessary to cleanse and purify the Church by the blood of Jesus Christ.

Conclusion

To sum up, a scriptural appreciation of current events suggests that David Cameron’s decision on redefining marriage does line up with the Bible, BUT not how people would think!  However, as he has no mandate whatsoever from the people or his party for his actions, he has assumed personal responsibility for them with all the consequences that ewill bring – a most invidious position.

After a ‘coincidental’ walk-through of pertinent scriptures on subsequent days, it appears the Lord is indicating that the Church needs to be aware of the full implications of living in the Days of Lot and of Noah and to seek His face, as well as to intercede for our leaders and nation.

PS. Please read Steve’s account of his miraculous recovery from terminal cancer – and his very recent vision about a warning for the Church at this hour, which opens.:

This is coming to you from a man who has just passed through the valley of the shadow of death. Since my close call with eternity just a short while ago everything has become clearer. I can hear His whisper. Unabated obedience has become my mandate. That is why I’m writing this word from the Lord…(cont’d in The Spiritual Avalance)

Note: in view of its great importance in the light of debates within the Church and in the blogsphere over the recent vote in Parliament, I have ‘re-blogged’ the full article here.

A few good links:

echurch – a good introductory overview that refers to the legal implications

Cranmer – Roman Catholic Church to Cameron: “You are out of your depth”

Cranmer – Cameron not only redefining marriage, he’s constricting Conservatism

God & Politics – Gillan Scott’s first comments on Cameron’s decision with debate

God & Politics – Today is the day Government seizes control of marriage

God & Politics – A prayer for marriage

Has the women bishops vote triggered a bigger crisis in the CoE?

Gillan Scott could have written this helpful post especially for those who, like myself, wish to be aware of developments within the CoE but who haven’t been able to do so. He is to be commended for having dug into reviews and and published an informative overview. More importantly, in answering his own question Gillan’s sound logic gives due regard to the perilous impact of likely legislative issues and, more appropriately, he closes to suggest major changes may be on the way – which wouldn’t be surprising in view of several prophecies for this year and the near future! [Details > CooperMorris, Meyer, Stone in JanNov.] So I agree – Church of England: “Wake up and watch out!”

More than 6 million so-called ‘evangelicals’ voted for Obama. Why?

Joel provides a useful analysis of the US election results with interesting observations. No 6 doesn’t surprise me but is nevertheless shameful regarding non-existent Biblical convictions in voters. Regretfully, it’s confirmed by comments about the elections from some UK believers who seem somewhat clueless about the spiritual dynamics.
Last Sunday, Maryland’s Rev Harry Jackson stressed, “Vote Vertical Values!” But USA now continues with a man who professed that his decision on gay-marriage was based upon his family’s discussion, NOT upon prayer and submission to his Saviour. Hence, my reservations about his personal faith – we can but pray for a Damascene revelation and obedience to the Living Lord God Almighty. Amen

joelcrosenberg's avatarJoel C. Rosenberg's Blog

[CORRECTED VERSION: In the first version of this column, I incorrectly reported a figure of 25 million evangelicals voting for Obama in 2012. The actual number, as now noted below, is about 6.4 million. Please forgive my error.]

As the smoke clears from the wreckage of the Romney defeat on Tuesday, some intriguing yet disturbing facts are coming to light.

* Fewer people overall voted in 2012 (about 117 million) compared to 2008 (about 125 million).

* President Obama received some 6.6 million fewer votes  in 2012 than he did in 2008 (60,217,329 in 2012 votes compared to 66,882,230 votes in 2008).

* One would think that such a dynamic would have helped Romney win — clearly it did not.

* Incredibly, Governor Romney received nearly 1 million fewer votes in 2012 than Sen. John McCain received in 2008. (In 2008, McCain won 58,343,671 votes. In 2012, Romney…

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