HEAVING VOLCANO

Any attempt at “understanding the times” must include watching the events in the Middle East. That part of the world reminds me of a heaving live volcano, constantly drawing attention to itself with outbursts of fiery and dangerous lava, and ever threatening to burst open with a massive explosion. I have a further image of that area: some time ago I had a prophetic picture of the Middle East with Israel at its centre, encircled with hurricanes representing its neighbouring states. The hurricanes were getting ever stronger and more violent and were building up into a huge whirling vortex. Whether you take the image of a volcano or a huge hurricane, however, the meaning of both is the same; the Middle East has huge potential for destruction in the world.

I have been asking myself one question in particular. Why is it that events over the last few years in the Middle East have brought about a huge exodus of Christians from the area?
At one level this seems easy to answer. For example, the decade-long war in Iraq has actually made that country unsafe for Christians. Whereas under Saddam Hussein, a secularist, they had some protection, now, despite the U.S. presence, Christians have been openly and violently targeted by Islamists and some two thirds have had to leave, fleeing largely to Syria and Turkey. Over this last year, with the overthrow of Mubarak, Egypt has now become less safe for Christians for the same reason as in Iraq, and again large numbers of them have fled, many to the West. The trend can be seen elsewhere in the Middle East.

However, one can ask the question, Why this exodus of Christians? at a another level. Does it indicate the development of a deeper purpose in the mind of God? The region has been, of course, for a long time violently and profoundly anti-Semitic and anti-Israel; there is no readiness to accommodate any Jewish national presence. This antagonism, centred in great measure in Iran, is much deeper even than the bitter antagonism directed at Jews in Twentieth century Europe. And now the region is becoming increasingly hostile to Christians (oddly enough this is true even in Israel, despite the large increase of Messianic Jewish Christians). This hostility is real and growing even though reports are constantly coming through of many conversions of Muslims to Jesus in the most extraordinary and miraculous of ways. Is God taking his people out of a cauldron? I hesitate to offer any answer.

However, as far as I can see, all this intense hostility and antagonism both to Jew and Christian can only be indicative of some profound spiritual undercurrent, or, more accurately, some profound spiritual struggle – even an “end time” struggle. The deeper question is, therefore, where is this struggle leading and how will it develop? How violent will it become and how widespread will be its effect? Will it actually lead to a major crack in the Muslim world? To attempt an answer to these questions would be pure conjecture and speculation. The only thing that is certain is that we must keep our eyes and prayer on this part of the world, constantly giving it up to God since clearly it is here that he is working out some major purpose as history inexorably gets closer to its end. We might well pray something along the lines, “Lord, we are watching a volcano about to erupt. Thank you that you are controlling it, watching over your people and are ready to show mercy in the world”. We should certainly pray for the Christians who are homeless and suffering.


To be continued.



Bob




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NATIONAL BANKRUPTCY

When I wrote the booklet “The Contemporary Countdown to Chaos” during the summer the spectre of national bankruptcy over Europe began to appear very menacingly. This last week, after two months of relative absence, it has returned with more menace than ever. Previously it had been confined to smaller countries like Iceland and Southern Ireland, now it is looming over larger countries, most notably Greece and even Italy.

I was utterly taken aback by stark reality of what was happening, "rich" European nations actually facing bankruptcy. When nations go bankrupt, there is no place to run to for help. They can be too big to “bail out”. Italy certainly is. Perhaps in the light of what I had written in the pamphlet, I should not have been taken aback at the development. But I was. It wasn’t so much that I was surprised as that I was appalled, appalled at nations so steeped in debt that they could no longer afford the interest on their debts; nations enjoying standards of living that they could no longer afford, whilst, at the same time, these standards were being perceived as basic “rights”, and civil disturbance was threatening. The “fall out” from the economic explosion of 2008 really was widely and very dangerously making itself felt. I suppose I knew it would happen, but it came none the less as sickening confirmation of the severe word of judgement which rests on the western nations.
This week there is a lull whilst the new Greek and Italian governments try to get organised, but the spectre will be back.

Whereas clear thinking and wisdom belong to God and are his gifts, confusion is always a mark of God’s displeasure, and confusion is so evident in the European leadership. It arises from a fundamental failure to know what really needs to be done with this collapse of solvency. Should solvent nations risk the “bail outs” that might well drag them under water? Are those “bail out”s simply throwing good money after bad? Is there sufficient money anyway for a big enough “bail out”? Even if the countries which need such help agree to put austerity measures into place, will those measures actually restore prosperity? There is, therefore, a veritable maelstrom of uncertainty and confusion facing European leadership, as it walks an uncertain road where it has not walked before.

We should not presume there is some easy economic answer to the problems, not even on the issue of what austerity measures should be imposed to restore economies. The very people who we might think ought to know the answer to that last question, the economists, are themselves divided. Even the IMF (International Monetary Fund) itself, with all its expertise, has destroyed economic growth in a considerable number of nations on which it has imposed restrictions that have proved too severe. So even the IMF has many and powerful critics. The truth is that pulling the economic levers to put a nation back on its feet is a very delicate process and a process for which there is no definitive text book. Thus getting the austerity measures wrong in Europe (and Britain) could do more damage than ever. The problem is not just an economic problem either. Austerity measures inevitably involve huge social issues of anger and discontent, making it a very difficult political problem. That has been immensely evident in the last week or so in the Euro-zone. Yes, confusion and uncertainty are everywhere.

All this gives me a deep sense of the European nations “hanging in the balance” before God. One feels the bottom could fall out. The scenario is a fearful one.

Bob




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GOOD GOVERNMENT

“The powers that be are ordained of God”, writes St. Paul. That means God conceives of government as a necessary thing for humanity. Why is it necessary? The simple answer is that built into humanity is a terrible tendency for people to hurt each other. Government in the purpose of God is there to prevent that happening. However, there are powers that seek to frustrate that purpose, and all too frequently we see bad government as well as good government, bad government which is self-seeking, fear inspiring and ruthless. When that happens the hurt becomes multiplied.

What makes for good government? Essentially there are two sides to that question, each seemingly opposite to the other. On the one hand good government seeks to release people into freedom. It seeks to provide space and opportunity where people may fulfil their lives. On the other hand government is there to restrain people. People are to be restrained when they pursue what is evil and unjust. In Paul’s words, government “bears the sword”, in order to bring restraint, and to do so forcibly if necessary. These two different sides of government, release and restraint, are not really opposed, however, but belong together since people can never be truly free if evil is not restrained.

Good government cannot operate properly, therefore, without a clear outline of what is evil and to be restrained and what genuinely belongs to human freedom and is to be promoted. That outline is provided by Law. So, in the case of ancient Israel, fundamental to the exercise of good government was the Law God gave at Sinai. It was essentially a “moral” law, a law of behaviour. It was a law of moral restraints designed to secure genuine freedom. At the heart of all good government there must always be this “moral” law. Good government cannot opt out of “moral” law. If it tries to do so it ceases to be effective as true government. There can be no hazy, “please yourself” moral law. There are many areas where choice is legitimate but moral law is not one of them.

The obligation laid on good government is first and foremost to make sure the nation is educated in the precept and practice of its moral law. It is then obliged to restrain behaviour which does not conform to its law and is harmful.

When government becomes confused about moral law it is in danger of becoming bad government. The modern secular government is confused. One of those areas of confusion has to do with sexual behaviour. It has effectively abandoned any kind of restraint. It has encouraged the notion that sex is a private and personal matter for each person to do as they please; permissiveness is a freedom! This is maintained not withstanding the obvious hurt and harm that results. In this way moral law has become personal moral permissiveness. Sex education bears the stamp of this confusion, and is actually an education for permissiveness – it deals with the how but never the why and the when of sex; restraint and self-control are notions not to be mentioned. There is no control over the exploitation of sex in the culture of the times. It contrasts very sharply with the law as we have known it for many generations, “do not commit adultery; do not commit fornication”.

Government is equally confused about coveting and stealing when it comes to the world of finance and business. When coveting and sharp practice becomes institutionalised in our financial structures it is time for government to restrain.Good government is obligated to do so. The opposition against such restraint is of course extremely strong and among the influential and powerful people who benefit. But government needs to be stronger. Over the last two or three decades it has actually acceded to the removal of carefully built laws of restraint on the indulgence of financial greed, so that regulation is virtually non existent. All this has been done under the specious cloak of reformed and liberal economic theory, in the same way that sexual permissiveness has been allowed under the cover of specious theories of what really belongs to human freedom. More to the point here, the confusion over sexual morals has actually been caused in no small measure by the failure to restrain the world of money making from making full use of sex in its quest for profit and riches.


Pray for good government.




Bob




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