Christian Life 

Storms over Britain: who is to blame?

In the political domain the 'finger-pointing' of our blame-game culture has been much in evidence. Clifford Hill looks 'under the surface' of the deluge through a spiritual lens.


by Clifford Hill
Feb. 2014



Storms
 

The closing ceremony of the Olympic Games 2012 in London broadcast to the world a demonic incantation calling upon the spirits of the underworld to flood Britain. These are the words they used:

Olympics closing ceremony"I call upon the spirit of Autumn. The spirit of water, of the ebb and flow of emotion; of open seas and running streams, of cleansing rain; spirit of the evening sun, of twilight and of Autumn. I call upon the spirit of Winter. The spirit of earth, of the womb of creation; of the night and the snows of winter, deep roots and ancient stones".

It was deeply offensive to Christians to hear words of pagan rites being broadcast to the world as representing the spiritual heritage of our nation. If it was offensive to Bible believing Christians how much more offensive it was to God!

For far too long we have allowed secularists, humanists and spiritists to speak out unchallenged as though they are representat ives of the spiritual and cultural heritage of this nation. When the closing Olympic ceremony was broadcast to 750 million viewers acro ss the world it was a deliberate insult to Christians and a serious denial of the God of Creation who has blessed this nation for hund reds of years and brought us through the 20th century - the most violent in world history - with two world wars that threatened our ver y existence as a nation.

In 1940 the whole nation was called to prayer at the time of the Battle of Britain when the remnant of our army was miraculousl y rescued from Dunkirk across the Channel: and a spirit of confusion caused Hitler and the German High Command to fail to follow up with their victory in France by an invasion of England. Winston Churchill, addressing Parliament, stated that this was a miracl e and an answer to prayer. Some three months later when the German air force had failed to defeat the RAF the nation was called once aga in to a day of prayer, thanking God for his protection of our small island.

The closing Olympic Ceremony 2012 was a disgrace and a deliberate insult to the God of our fathers. He would be fully justified in saying that we had invoked the spirits of the Earth to flood the nation and now we are suffering the consequences. It is time t o call the nation together for prayer once again - but this time in repentance and asking God's forgiveness that we have spat in his face and spurned the God who has loved us and protected us in times past and who is still calling out to us now and warning us of the gr eat danger that lies ahead.

The storms over Britain today are a foretaste of the tsunami of economic and social chaos that will descend upon us in the near future unless there is a spiritual change in the life of the nation


Clifford HillThe Rev Dr Clifford Hill MA BD PhD is a sociologist and theologian. His pastoral ministry has been in inner-city areas of London including a long ministry in the East End during which he also held a Senior Lectureship in the Sociology of Religion in London University.
He was the founder of the Newham Community Renewal Programme, one of the largest urban mission organisations in Britain. He also founded Prophetic Word Ministries which had an extensive international ministry from 1982 to 2005 with its flagship magazine, Prophecy Today. [The magazine continues now under a new title 'Sword', a new editor and the focus is on declaring God's Word into the church in the belief that the judgements which Dr. Hill warned of are now self-evident.]

Clifford is the author of more than 30 books, covering a range of subjects including race and community relations, socio-political studies, biblical commentaries and research studies on the family, as well as many journal papers, tapes, CDs and other resources, including some written jointly with his wife Monica. Their latest joint venture is a study guide of the Seven Churches of Revelation - Ephesus to Laodicea.

Other articles can be found at the Issachar Ministries web site.

Clifford Hill, 14/02/2014

Feedback:
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(Guest) 17/02/2014 21:17
Relax Penny and others - I stand wrongly accused I am not a hyper critical, hyper Calvinist with a very narrow viewpoint.
I am a sinner saved by grace and in no position to personally and critically judge anyone - I am a born again Christian who believes the Bible.
The editor is doing what is common among Arminians - he is attacking the person - rather than attacking the scriptures on which I stand.
Bring it on Ed...bring it on....I have nothing to lose...absolutely nothing to lose...which I would not count as gain.
Penny Lee 17/02/2014 21:23
Guest - you have criticised Ed for 'attacking the person' yet you infer in your previous post that I 'moulded scripture to support my own understanding.' It is the reverse which is true - my understanding is based on these scriptures! Now, I accept that my humanity may confine me to a reduced, or even erroneous, interpretation at times but, in that, I am not any different to everyone else - including yourself, dare I say!
Penny Lee 17/02/2014 21:26
Incidentally, your last link doesn't work. Even if it did though, it is still another human perspective so how can you assert that it is a 'true' exposition? Is it not only true when it agrees with your opinion?
mini (Guest) 05/03/2014 09:24
Penny, Jesus DID die for everyone, not just for those .who will be saved. He carried the sins of every man, woman and child who ever lived, in His own body to the cross
Penny Lee 05/03/2014 12:40
Mini - I already said that I believe Jesus died for everyone and that everyone has the opportunity to be saved. However, it is the 'Gift of salvation' and, like any gift, you have to agree to accept it, which most don't.
John Miller 05/03/2014 15:26
Penny I believe that the confusion in the minds of some is that they do not distinguis between the scriptural truths of substitution and propitiation.

Scripture is definite in stating that Christ made propitiation for all (1 John 2:2). This means that in the death of Christ God was propitiated for every sin that His creature man had committed. Because of that He is able to extend the offer of salvation to all (John 3:16).

Scripture never states that Jesus bore the sin of all. That may seem a contradiction but in fact it is a fact that defines the difference between these two great biblical truths. I can only claim Christ as my substitute if I have received Him as my Saviour. On the other hand any unrepentant sinner is in the position whether he/she admits it or understands it of having Christ as the One who has propitiated God in relation to their sin and sins. That is why God's judgement of the sins of unrepentant sinners cam be sovereignly and righteously suspended. Christ's death has taken away sin from God's presence allowing Him to patiently and graciously extend mercy to sinners, while at the same time "commanding all men everywhere to repent", (Acts 17:30-31) and warning of judgement to those who refuse.

Because of the narrowness of our human appreciation of the majestic, eternal purpose of the Eternal God who dwells in eternity we sometimes have difficulty in distinguishing what belongs to God's ways with man in sovereign grace and the responsibility that He has placed on man to respond to His love.
(Guest) 05/03/2014 19:25
Scripture never states that Jesus bore the sin of all
/
Not true.
"He is the propitiation for our sins: and not ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world”
(Guest) 06/03/2014 09:12
"He is the propitiation for our sins: and not ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world”
'the whole world' - as in both Jew and Gentile.
God has His elect in both the Jewish and the Gentile camps - this is the intended meaning of 'the whole world'
(Guest) 06/03/2014 09:42
this is the intended meaning of the whole world
/
Is it?
Editor 06/03/2014 09:42
Sorry folks. The recent postings bear all the signs of this thread mutating into the tiresome Arminian/Calvinist debate on how we are saved. Further posts relating to the A/C question will be deleted.
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Christians Together in the Highlands and Islands > Christian Life > Is there any word from the Lord? > Storms over Britain: who is to blame?