When I heard the news last night, just before I went to bed, at first I thought it was referring to a terrorist attack in London several weeks ago. But no–it was a new one. Another one. In just eight minutes, before being shot down by police, three Muslim terrorists killed seven Londoners and injured 48 more in an attack on London Bridge. “This is for Allah!” they cried ( http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4569638/Car-ploughs-20-people-London-Bridge.html).
(Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither His ear heavy, that it cannot hear: but your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear. Isaiah 59:1-2)
We already know, don’t we, what the response will be?
They will treat it as a criminal offense, not an act of war. Prime Minister Theresa May has already blamed it on the Internet (if only it were strictly reserved for liberals!). There will be pious poems. Candle-light vigils.
There will not be any admission that multicultural, value-neutral, Political Correctness hasn’t worked: has, in fact, been a hideous failure resulting in a host of violent deaths. No one in power in Britain will say, “We were wrong!” No one will demand a change of course.
Because leftids who run countries literally do not care how many of their own countrymen get murdered: they will never admit their ideology is fatal foolishness. And so another seven civilians, peaceably going about their business, have become human sacrifices to the idol of Political Correctness.
Some of us have been wondering just what is left of Christianity in Britain. St. Patrick’s birthplace is now the home of Richard Dawkins. Who needs Christ, when they’ve got the State and Science?
Saying to a stock, Thou art my father; and to a stone, Thou hast brought me forth: for they have turned their back unto me, and not their face: but in the time of their trouble they will say [ to me], Arise, and save us.
But where are thy gods that thou has made thee? Let them arise, if they can save thee in the time on thy trouble… Jeremiah 2:27-28
Britain, if Science and the State could save you, they would have done so by now. But you have turned away from the living God who made heaven and earth, who sent His Son into the world to make atonement for our sins.
Ask the works of your own hands to save you. But don’t ask your leaders to admit that they’ve been wrong about their public policies. An idol will get up and walk, before that happens.
God ordained government for certain duties, chief among them being the duty to protect the people from those who would harm them, and to restrain and punish evildoers. A government that cannot–or rather, will not–protect its people has no reason for existing. Of the civil magistrate, St. Paul reminds us, “He beareth not the sword in vain” (Romans 13:4). But if he refuses to use the sword on our behalf, then he has no right to bear it at all.
I am an American, and I grieve for the suffering of the mother country, and her folly.
What strikes me about this is how the immediate response of outrage becomes diluted as the political figures speak out and apply an icing of PC nonsense to sugar coat it out of existence. The bombing in Manchester seemed like a tipping point and I expected Britain to take a collective stand, but within 36 hours or so, they had somehow normalized the murder of teens and tweens.
As I write, I am in a small midwestern city beneath the shade of lovely oak trees. The sound of birds are all around me and it would be hard to imagine more pleasant surroundings. Then my mind travels to what is happening in places that were synonymous with civilization and stability. How can people see these things and take no note of the fact that civilization itself is crumbling.
It’s a lovely article and reminds me to greatly to depend on God..
Thank you
Demonic activity is increasing all over the world in this time we’re now living. Those in power believe the same lie that Eve fell for.
Lately, I’ve found my mind drifting to Matthew 24:11 “many false prophets will arise and lead many astray”. It doesn’t have to be religious prophets, it can be anyone claiming to offer insights and hopes that are not based upon the true hope found in God’s word.
A friend of longstanding became engrossed with the production of wealth and the power of savvy financial dealings. While he formerly relied upon the Bible as a guide, he became evermore convinced that it was vital to trade in precious metals and speculate in currencies. His bible-based ethics have given way to a harsh viewpoint which despises the poor. He has even voiced support for abortion. About a year ago I came to realize that he had completely changed and was no longer guided by Christianity, although he still quotes a Bible verse, now and then, when it suits his purposes. Needless to say, I am no longer actively associating with him.
But it serves to illustrate my point, he has chosen his “Prophet”, in the form of financial gurus and people whom promote harsh business dealings as a way of life. He can have his riches.
Just recently, I have been struck by a truly ugly realization. My entire family was rooted in Christianity upmthough my parent’s generation and most in my generation were raised on the Bible. Flashing forward as my generation are in their 60s and early 70s and the chain has been broken. Many in my family have left Christianity entirely, others go though the motions of church activity seeming to be more devoted to the visible than to the unseen Creator.
The horrible realization which has occurred to me is that many in my family may not choose salvation. It would seem that quite a few are centered on other things these days, focused on the material and away from the spiritual. I always pictured paradise as containing virtually all of my family, but it strikes me that many don’t have time to even give such matters a second thought. While this seems a harsh and even terrible thought, I am reminded of Matt 19:29 “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.”
Amen, come quickly Lord Jesus.
Unknowable, I have the same fears for some in my family and circle of friends. It saddens and worries me for their sakes. The other day I commented on the Strongs definition of destruction. The picture in my mind’s eye was utter desolation and eternal separation from God – a gloomy fog laden forest of dead trees with broken branches. Devastation. The crushing realization brings me nightly to my knees praying for all those who are lost, asleep and backslidden.
What frightens me the most is the resistance of some to see significance in the events of the Middle East. Supercessionism seems to have done its work quite well, because several people I’ve spoken to just cannot imagine that Gog of Magog could have a literal fulfillment in literal Israel. The reason I find this interesting is that there is a massive amount of military activity, just north of Israel involving Syria, the Syrian rebels, ISIS, Russia, the US, Hizbollah and even Iran, not to mention a few surgical strikes emmanting from Israel itself. Add in that Turkey’s ruler has urged Muslims to take the Temple Mount.
Perhaps this has nothing to do with Ezekiel 38, but I find it striking that so many political, ethnic and religious factions are all concentrated in one place at one time. I’m expecting something serious to happen at any time.
I agree that secular idols have replaced the One True God in the minds of many today. But it’s more than the worship of secular idols that’s the problem. Yes, PC and multicult are evils. But they haven’t been actively doing all the killing, any more than the cars and knives and bullets have been doing it. Muslims have been doing it, by means of those cars and knives and bullets (and bombs and airliners, etc., etc., etc.). And they’ve been doing it at the behest of their false god. But we’re not allowed to say that their religion is false, let alone that their religion is what demands that they convert, kill, or subjugate those who don’t share that religion.
You cannot defeat an enemy that you refuse to name or acknowledge as an enemy. Islam is an enemy not only of Christianity but of anything that isn’t Islam. Their own “holy” book says so. They repeat it over and over in their mandatory daily prayers. But we’re supposed to pretend it isn’t so.
I also agree that many hate Christianity so much that they’re willing to worship the worship of this false god as long as the false god threatens the true God. But what of those who truly believe themselves to be Christians and yet will NOT say that Islam is a false religion, that it denies Christianity and aims to destroy it?
I’ll have to leave that question open-ended, because I’m not sure of the answer myself. It probably has something to do with what Lee calls the flatline churches and what Michael Voris calls the Church of Nice.
I think humanists are hoping that Islam will do their dirty work for them.
Interesting points, Phoebe.
My suggestion is that as PC niceness has replaced accurate knowledge, the ability to stand against the truly evil has all but disappeared. In my Father’s Day, no one worried about offending Islam. Nowadays, people are bound by that concern and the price of this is to be seen all around us.
It is not enough to love what is good, we must also stand firm against wickedness.
Phoebe, you said “. . . what of those who truly believe themselves to be Christians and yet will NOT say that Islam is a false religion, that it denies Christianity and aims to destroy it?” That’s dangerous ground. It seems not a big step from there to worship of the beast.
Joel Richardson feels that Islam IS the beast. I don’t see eye to eye with him about everything, but his take on this strikes me as eerily accurate in view of how things are shaping up, globally.
Right now, a lot of people seem beholden to the very people that are behind the evil. It’s almost a Stockholm Syndrome sort of thing. I dunno.
One thing I am certain of is that this situation cannot continue indefinitely. The leaders are minimizing these events, but as they become more prominent it will be impossible to keep any illusion of normalcy. Once people lose faith in the ability of government to maintain social order it will get very ugly, very fast.
Unknowable, as we may have discussed before, I’ve read Richardson too, and thusfar he makes a very good case for Islam fulfilling all the criteria. One thing is obvious – these are not days to sit with blinders on. Ezekiel 38 appears to be coming together. Gog of Magog seems irrationally drawn to the destruction of Israel, the stone of stumbling, which looks like the hooks in the jaws that God promised.
I have reached the same conclusions. This was something I did reluctantly, having been steeped in supercessionism for decades, but it seems to obvious to ignore at this point, and having learned the difference between the Abrahamic covenant and the Law of Moses, it now makes sense.
It’s about God staking out one place on earth to play a role in His purposes and Satan resisting this with all of his fury. When I step back and behold the entire concept it seems obvious, the ungodly of this world will literally attack Israel, bringing themselves into direct opposition with the Creator Himself.
They’ve had plenty of warning; every war involving modern Israel has ended with Israel prevailing, usually decisively so. The Six Day War, the most decisive of them all, is now fifty years past and today’s generation, for the most part, has no notion of what happened then. So the hooks are in the jaws and the issues will be settled once and for all. No more will our God allow His name to be defamed.
I don’t know how these events could be more prominent than they already are.
Agreed! I’m opening the news sites everyday expecting that soon Europe will erupt, likewise for Turkey. Syria already has erupted.
For perspective, and for the benefit of newcomers to the blog, I was raised with a strong expectation of End Times events happening at any moment. As my adult life progressed I began to question the reasoning behind these predictions, not because of any doubt with regard to the Bible, but because the expectations I had been taught were infused with chronologies of dubious reliability.
So, well into adulthood, I came to the opinion that I would live life, worship to the best of my ability and not worry about the End Times. However, in the last year or so it has become obvious to me that SOMETHING has changed in the world, and changed drastically. I don’t want to be a Chicken Little type, but Bible or not, something very big is happening and our civilization is on the line.
Keeping in mind prophecies (no chronology needed) and the fact that Israel has been restored to its land, I can’t but conclude that something of major significance is occurring right now. It’s no longer “around the corner” things are happening today which tell me that we are facing a time of unprecedented trouble.
Amen, come quickly Lord Jesus.
I should add, Britain to the list. I think it is in the process of erupting as we speak.
Is everybody gonna go Hal Lindsay on me?
I’m not completely onboard with old Hal, but I can’t help but think that modern Israel is very significant.
Another thing the flatliners do is prate “All religions are paths to the same God.” What bunk–and totally illogical. The only way two religions that contradict each other can have an equal truth value is if that value is zero.
So if we are to declare that the Christian religion is the truth, then all other religions must of necessity be false. Unless, of course, our is false, too–and if that were the case, why be Christians at all?
Amen, Lee. We serve the One True Living God. All other gods are small g gods. Even Pope Francis is touting that ‘all religions’ trash. It’s dangerous! Chrislam is the next new thing, as if the New Age stuff weren’t enough. As this morning’s hymn said – Our God Is An Awesome God!