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SELAH 9
Where is the wise? Where is the Scribe ? Where is the disputer of this age ?
Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world ?
A chance frustrated but foolish remark by the writer - which those who read on will hopefully forgive - was to the effect: `Come, blow away that which purports to be Church life'. However in self-justification the remark was `birthed' in our continuing desire for Believers to live in the full Scriptural life of the one Body of Christ, fractured as it is by the many sects, fellowships and denominational churches in whichever towns or cities they live. Today this is known as `Churches Together', but surely this title shows the opposite of the One Body of Christ for it is a group of independent churches in `togetherness' - provided they remain so! Added to this mix there is also an increasing problem of natural cultures, which are inherrent in us all, bringing secular values into the Scriptural values of Church life. Some may welcome such moves, calling it `Unity in Diversity', although we cannot find any justification for `diversity' in the Body of Christ Jesus in Scripture! The problem intensifies as one dominant natural culture overwhelms the lesser, causing not only division but also a dilution of the truth of Scripture, for Natural Cultures must diminish as the unity of Scriptural Culture grows into its Fulness of Life. To be specific: The English natural culture is being overwhelmed by American natural culture, both of which have no place in Scriptural life, but it does pervade the `Western Church' which is in `captivity' at the end of a Probation Period. For sure we need to be aware of natural cultures in order to understand how the Lord is outworking His purpose in the events of the national life of a nation, but that should be the extent of its infiltration into the spiritual life of `the Church'.
A Scriptural example of this `mix of cultures' can be found in Israel's captivity in Babylon. Israel, with its God-given `culture' of a separated people unto God, found themselves in a strange land where they wept as they remembered Zion. Everything was destroyed and only their beloved Torah remained, and so in order to protect dilution of the sacred text which gave the people an awareness of God the Rabbis developed the Talmud as a `hedge around Torah'! This was developed over a long period of time and became the authoratitive word of God - in short, the Oral Law became the dominant authority over the written unchangeable Law. The Talmud is composed of commentaries on Torah - men's contradictory opinions, traditions and myths drawn from the surrounding Babylonian culture. A Selah here seems appropriate whilst we return to the different national cultures mentioned earlier, and for that we must turn to the Western philosophers - we will call them `secular Rabbis' - in order to keep the illustration of Israel, mentioned above, in mind, for although the `West' is not in captivity in Babylon it is in `captivity' to Greek thought and culture.
Western philosophers draw heavily on past wisdom, which today still pervades Western political and cultural democratic life, and it certainly `surrounds' the closed Canon of Scripture. Some say this is the West's Judaic/Christian heritage, but in truth it is a Judaic/Greek culture. The philosophers of an Anglo-Saxon persuasion say that what distinguishes a man from animal life is his fight for `recognition' of his self-worth! Not that man wants recognition of himself, for man is aware of himself, but his great desire is for recognition of his self-worth by others!. Natural desires, such as food, shelter and self-protection, are common to all animal life but recognition of self-worth by a man's peers is what sets man above all other animal life. The ultimate expression of that desire is that man is prepared to die to gain recognition - that `supreme sacrifice', giving his life for his country'. The philosophers say that `We shall remember them' is the ultimate cry for recognition of a man's self-worth by his peers. There are numerous lesser examples of this need for recognition, such as engraved stones on buildings, laid by eminent citizens of the day, and streets named after worthy citizens - but we are mindful that this is an `In Brief'!
Modern philosophers reach back into antiquity to the works of Plato, Aristotle and Socrates. Plato's great work, `The Republic', was a search in conversation for the perfect form of government. Later his student, Aristotle, produced his own great work, `Nicomachean Ethics', which was a search for `the Great Souled Man' whose `ethic' was man's desire, his well-being, his happiness, yet kept within the bounds of moral choice. From those two works of Greek philosophers has come the two opposing cultures of the Anglo- Saxon philosophers. The first-mentioned work of the Greek philosophers, `The Republic', has formed the evolving democratic form of government in `the West'. It has been said that the great cry of the 18th century French Revolution of `Liberty, Equalty, Fraternity' was brought to fulfillment in 1806 at the Battle of Jena when Napoleon's armies defeated the Imperial Forces of Austrian nobility and the pronouncement of the 1st Republic of France which, ironically, was in Napoleon's mind to be a great Eurasian Empire. At that time this 1st Republic was seen to be the ultimate point of world history for it was the beginning of what is now called liberal social democracy - first spoken of in Plato's `Republic' in his search for the perfect form of government. Certainly there would be other wars and unrest, but modern philosphers saw these as merely a tidying-up of this final perfect system of world government by an ` elite of equals' who are needed to govern equally. This has been described as, `the artifice (duplicity) behind the art of politics' - or as George Orwell put it, `All animals are equal; some are more equal than others'! Be that as it may, later philosophers have sought to explain this deep-seated, but unspoken, need of man - recognition of his self-worth by others - and this is deeply embedded in the natural culture of Anglo-Saxon man.
We now turn to the second great work we mentioned earlier, that of Aristotle, whose great teacher and mentor was Plato - you will recall that in his work he was seeking for the perfect form of govenment. Aristotle now turned from abstract philosophy to the practicality of human life, that is, how to live a good life in order to create good life in which happiness or well-being for the individual was the highest aim of man. The `Great Souled Man' would create the greatest well-being for others and was capable in himself of exercising proper moral choice. The `thought' behind both Plato and Aristotle had the same purpose but a different approach: For Plato it was through a self-effacing elite amongst equals in good government; For Aristotle it was through the individual exercising proper moral choices. But as mentioned earlier, later philosophers developed these ancient works, with the first Anglo- Saxon `branch' developing its reason that man's greatest need is recognition of his self-worth by others . . even to the point of losing his life in order to achieve his aim, which was the superiority of his self-worth, which caused the `master-slave' paradox of the search for equals. (In their turns the master needs the slave and the slave needs a master, thus both are equal in their needs.) The `master-slave' concept developed into an equal community governed by consent by elite equals and today takes the form of Anglo-Saxon `liberal social democracy' modelled on the English `Mother of Parliaments'. The other Anglo-Saxon branch of philosophers was greatly influenced by the 18th century French Revolution with its cry of `Liberty, Equality, Fraternity' and it absorbed those cries into Aristotle's philosophy, bringing in governments by individual `Great Souled Men' exercising proper moral choice - which helped to form that other great Anglo-Saxon culture, that of America!
Thomas Jefferson was an American Minister of State at the time of the French Revolution and an early admirer of its purpose. He was close to many of its leaders who would go on to issue `The Constitution of the First French Republic', and the influence on the second `branch' of Anglo-Saxon philosphers together with the ideals of the French Revolution, which can be clearly seen in `The American Declaration of Independence' drafted by Thomas Jefferson and finally adopted by Congress in 1776, and we quote:
" We hold that truth to be self-evident, that all men are created equal . . . . with inalienable rights . . . . amongst which are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. "
This Declaration would form the early basis for `The American Constitution' and was its own form of Anglo-Saxon national culture, which is distinctly different from the Anglo-Saxon culture from which it was cut off through that Declaration of Independence.
Into that early formation of American governance came the work of a 16th century Italian philosopher by name of Machiavelli. Unlike other philosphers who sought the good in others Machiavelli worked on the basis of `Not what man should be, but what he is', Machiavelli saw that the driving nature of man was to dominate others. He proposed a system of government using those `driving forces' to work against each other, thereby nullifying both and thus achieving stable government `by the people, for the people' - as long as the political system allowed opposing sides to strive, and strive continuosly, for dominance, all would be well! This is seen in today's American political system of checks and balances, which was brought in by the Founding Fathers and allows the people to pursue individual wealth and happiness whilst dominant political forces continue the endless round of electioneering and forming a distinctive Anglo-Saxon American culture. This is summed up by another 18th century philospher, Jeremy Bentham: `The greatest happiness of the greatest number determines right from wrong'! We have laboured long to show two philosophical trains of thought, both springing from the ancient Greek philosophers Plato and Aristotle, which have formed the present Anglo-Saxon world powers - primarily England, with its National Parliament of liberal social democracy, and America, with its Democratic Congress governing its people but continually at strife through continuous electioneering with the aim of preventing a dominating force from emerging to control `the happiness' of the individual.
As we have said in a previous `In Brief', this is man's history - a line of world events with a beginning and an end. However we need to see this `line of history' within the arc of His-story, which has no beginning or end for it is eternal. Within the line of world history God's `chosen people', that is, Redeemed and Unredeemed Israel, live out their natural lives as a people belonging to God. But, as with all natural people, His Israel, both Redeemed and Unredeemed, sometimes slip from their high calling, resulting in a gracious God releasing a refreshing through the Holy Spirit to encourage them to complete their journey. These refreshings which we find throughout Scripture are of a fourty-year duration, hence the title for them of a `probation', an encouraging yet a testing time of the peoples' character. Such Probations always start with a tangible sense of God within a Temple setting, for that is where God dwells in Heaven, releasing His refreshing to His earthly Temple. Since the resurrection of Jesus His Body on earth is a Temple made up of Redeemed Living Stones joined together through the Holy Spirit as the one people of God, which we call `the Church'. Such a Probation began in 1967 with the freeing of Jerusalem by British armed forces, which was then declared to be `the Undivided, Eternal City of Israel'. We suggest this will be the last Probation, the last refreshing that will occur before the Lord comes in the air to call away His Redeemed people to enable Him to return to Jerusalem after the Great Tribulation to reign with His newly redeemed people in His earthly Kingdom for one thousand years.
This Probation was also the time when the two strands of National Culture that we have set out above `met' together in Anglo-Saxon England. For sure the release of the Holy Spirit in 1967 was world-wide, a gracious act of God to bring about the last great in-gathering before the Tribulation of Unredeemed Israel, but it was centred on these Britannic Isles where two strands of natural life of the nations of Anglo-Saxon Britian and America, the two dominating countries of the past four hundred years, were brought together. Some twenty years earlier these Isles were used to amass the greatest army ever recorded in world history when in 1944 this great `Amarda' (for England was in effect a floating amarda) set out to invade Europe, driving the German armies to defeat, thus achieving God's purpose of saving a Remnant of His Unredeemed Israel from total oblivion. England, devastated by war, was left with tens of thousands of American troops, for `the Cold War' kept America locked into Europe. It was therefore only natural for `American Anglo-Saxon Churches' to move in to meet the spiritual needs of those troops, and so the two strands of `Church life' met in these Isles. Both strands, deeply embedded, that is, enmeshed, in their respective natural cultures, were ready for the great refreshing move of the Holy Spirit in 1967 - one `strand', deeply conservative in spiritual and natural life, the second `strand', with emphasis on indivualism and freedom in both spiritul and natural life.
Both interpreted this Move from their own perspective, the results of which are seen in the religious life of Great Britain today - the English Anglo-Saxon strand with its insistence of the restoration of its Judaic-Christian heritage, either watching helplessly as churches empty or alternatively embracing the `American strand' in order to retain its diminishing flock. As we have said above, if this 1967 outpouring of the Holy Spirit was the last one before the Lord comes for His people, then as with all Probations it has ended with the English Anglo-Saxon Church in `captivity' - this time to the American Anglo-Saxon Church which has overwhelmed it. Clearly this is all within the Providence of God and will be used for His purpose in purging the natural culture out of the English Anglo-Saxon Church so as to allow its Spiritual Culture to emerge from the captivity it is in. It will then be ready to receive His Unredeemed Israel, which will be trapped in Europe, into the natural culture of these Isles. The `Brexit Problem' is for that same purging of Political England to take place, ensuring its own freedom from its `captivity' in Europe. After this spiritual purging of the English Anglo-Saxon Church there will come its restoration to the sole Truth of Scripture so that it can achieve its calling. Finally free from the `shackles' of natural culture it will be `the Light set on a hill' which is its calling. The `overwhelming' spiritual power that lays behind the American Anglo-Saxon strand of Church life will be seen for what it is - shallow entertainment for individuals seeking `the pursuit of happiness, wealth and freedom'.
The Lord is calling for His `Nehemiahs' . . His cupbearers . . to come to the `English Church' to rebuild once again `the gates and walls of Jerusalem'. That work started at the Sheep Gate through which the sacrificial sheep entered on their way to the Temple. The way to the Father is through the `Gate of the Lamb', the Lord Jesus, by the work of the Holy Spirit. This is truly the Alpha and Omega of God's final work in this Age!
Selah!
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