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SELAH 2
The great Refreshing of the Holy Spirit
At a Christian Meeting' in early 2018 we were emphatically urged by a sister that `We must pray for Brexit'. Our reply `Why' was received with a startled expression, `Why indeed, but we must'! Without intending to be patronising we had been aware for some time that Christians in particular were more often than not repeating `ad nauseum' remarks such as concerning: `The statue of the Rape of Europe', or `The structure of the EU building in Strasbourg is in the shape of a 16th century printing of Bruges' Tower of Babel, therefore the European Union must be the Seat of the Antichrist which the UK must leave.' Brussels is in fact the shared Seat of Authority of the EU Customs Union, which has increasing political and military ambitions but at present is controlled by 28 sovereign nations. We are aware of course that unrest among these sovereign nations - within which the UK has a high profile - will change the whole structure of the EU, out of which, without a doubt, the Antichrist will arise.
Readers of our Church Letters will recall that we wrote more fully on this in January 2017 and the purpose of this `In Brief' is to remind and fill out what we wrote then. If you no longer have that Letter the full text can be found on our website `northernstyletrust.com' under Church Letters number 11 `You can discern the face of the sky . . .' or by requesting a printed postal copy. In that Letter we wrote that the EU is but a continuation of the 19th century German Customs Union, the so-called `Zollverein', and we quote:
" Formed by a powerful yet fearful Germany in the centre of Europe (which) has been the constant threat to peace. By forming concentric circles of smaller States around itself into a Customs Union it has at the same time dominated and sapped those small States of political and commercial life, and it was the principal cause of the 1914-1918 First World War . . . . It also led to the 1939-1945 Second World War as Germany sought to rebuild a powerful Zollverein centered on old Prussia in a coalition of States against the danger of a then victorious France."
The European Union is the latest attempt to build the Zollverein controlled by a powerful Germany which is still in fear of the resurgent power of its old enemy, France. Readers will also recall that this is a continual struggle that has torn through Western Europe for centuries, the struggle for dominance by old `Merovingian France' and the usurping power of `Carolingian Germany'. History shows that such a `Zollverein' has never brought lasting peace to Europe, and any attempt to rebuild such a union will ensure that war will come again in Europe! As we said at the beginning, our somewhat abrupt remark to our sister's emphatic cry for prayer concerning Brexit was intended to lead her to really consider God's will regarding Brexit and so lead to focussed prayer as a channel of His will. Sadly we didn't have any real hope for that!
However we now want to widen our thoughts on Brexit in the hope that it will lead to focussed prayer within God's will. For that we need to look beyond Europe and ask why it is that Western Europe has dominated the whole of Eurasia since the 16th century, and in a word we suggest that it was the Protestant Reformation of Christianity. At that point in world history Eastern Europe, with the Orthodox Church firmly established, was geographically mostly a vast open plain ringed by mountain barriers which allowed a monolithic empire to control a very large area with no petty kingdoms with national boundaries to threaten imperial power. Religion was a matter of whichever imperial powers ruled, which were considerably longer lasting than with Western nations.
The Western half of Eurasia was a collection of petty kingdoms and City States separated by rivers and smaller mountain ranges, making it easier to control, and over these ruled the institutional monolithic Roman Catholic Church. The Reformation broke this power into smaller national Churches, protected by and giving protection to those smaller petty kingdoms and City States. Together with this religious Movement came the Age of Reason, the Enlightenment, which swept through the whole of Western Eurasia. The `Age of Faith' gave way to the `Age of Reason', with little or no fear of a `vengeful God' through whom the Roman Catholic Church ruled. The Enlightenment allowed innovation and exploration of ideas and commerce which rapidly spread throughout the West, and beyond, as man sought to `conquer the world'. Protestantism encouraged this individualism and this has led to Western Eurasia's dominance of world affairs for the past five hundred years. Now we can return to Brexit and seek a closer understanding of God's will for purposeful prayer.
Today with the European Union building up a new German-centered Zollverein a vast monolithic empire is again being built, with full political and military power! Once its reshaping is complete, through Brexit, there will come a stifling of individualism under the full control of this secular `Counter Reformation' over which the monolithic institution of the Roman Catholic Church will regain its power. These Great Institutions of political and religious power always arise out of a perceived threat of the destruction of a nation's culture, but are always doomed to failure as they seek to bring in the Universal Kingdom of Man. However any resistance to such a `kingdom' will lead once more to persecution and death for any separist groups. Brexit is but the beginning of the last appearance of the Fourth Beast of which Daniel was so fearful. Reformation in the 16th-17th centuries in Western Eurasia brought untold misery and destruction and the coming `Counter Reformation' will be beyond imagination, but its downfall will bring in the Kingdom of Heaven!
Now to bring this closer to home and into Great Britain's `Church life': As Brexit becomes a reality and this country stands alone against not only the monolithic great power of Europe but also against the dark spiritual powers that direct it, there will come a resurgence of Nationalism in this country. Many Christian Ministries will see this as an answer to prayer and a return to the status quo of our `Christian/Judaic heritage' and so become entangled in State power. We recall our earlier comment that institutions arise out of a culture in the sense of political-religious institutions. They have a social-religious purpose rising above individualism, the intention being the control of the social-religious rules that govern their behaviour. Such institutional power is exercised by the elite, which stifles and controls the individual and when resisted brings about persecution for the sake of the Institutions.
The Great Refreshing of the Holy Spirit in the 1960's was a move of God to restore `the saints' long held in the chains of institutional religion. The House Church Movement was such an restoration . . . but it was quickly quashed by the `Church House Groups' of the Institutional Church which remain today, not only in the historic Churches but in the neo-historic churches where such groups have sprung up and are usually limited to considering the Minister's latest sermon! However a move of God is again being seen in numerous small indiviual groups which are emerging for prayer and Bible teaching. But there is a counter-move to bring them under the `encouraging control' of larger ministries - who themselves will be caught up in any `Counter Reformation' and the tightening control of `Religious Nationalism' - and so they will unintentionally thwart the work of God Who is preparing His Church and warning those fledgling groups of what is to come so that they might witness and pray effectively.
We trust that this `In Brief' will lead to reflection and to direction by the Holy Spirit of God's will for our prayers for what lies ahead for His Church. And so in this ending we come back to the beginning, and our reply to our sister, `why do we need to pray for Brexit'. Brexit is not for this nation. This nation is not any more righteous than any other, and by Scriptural standards it is ripe for judgement! Nor is it for the chastening of the `Church', although it is long overdue for chastening! Neither is it for a repeat of a `Rees Howell' movement to `save' the nation from its enemies. If the Church is going to pray for Brexit then it must only be for a separation of these Isles from what is to emerge in Western Eurasia regarding God's broken-off branches of Israel, as it was in Great Britain's last deliverance from Europe. For that He is preparing small praying/teaching groups which are scattered over the country, free from the institutional Churches, both old and new, for they will increasingly come under the control of the State.
Thirty-one years ago, at the time of the great hurricane that hit the southern counties of England, we heard a modern-day `Jeremiah' speaking at a meeting on `God's wind of judgement'. Today such `Jeremiah's speak of God's desire for the country to return to its Christian/Judaic roots - and that without any repentance following the hurricane wind of 1987. What we heard at the meeting was that, at that particular time it was three hundred years since such a hurricane was recorded in these Isles - the year John Wesley was born! We saw in that wind of 1987 the Holy Spirit giving birth to the many `John Wesleys' who would appear at the Lord's time and for His purpose - and it is worth remembering that Wesley's great work was in forming small groups, his classes, free from the stifling institutional Church, for prayer and Bible study and for reaching out to the people with the message of God's love in the Person of Jesus. Now thirty-one years later we are seeing those `John Wesleys' appearing in the many small groups being formed by the Holy Spirit and prepared by Him for God's work following Brexit. But such is the confused state of `prophecy' in today's churches, which follow `every wind of man's imagination', that few can hear the Voice of the Holy Spirit.
It is truly time to pause and carefully think why God wants our urgent and sustained prayer!
Selah!
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You may E-mail us at: derek@northernstyletrust.com or Telephone (01493) 444494 (UK)
Our Web Address: www.northernstyletrust.com
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