Dear Brethren and Friends,
My wife and I had the privilege of visiting the brethren in the San Diego area for the Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread this year and to participate in person at the annual Church conference. It was a very pleasant trip and, not having visited the area since 2019 due to the Covid 19 restrictions, it reminded us of the great country that the USA has been, but now seems to be in terminal decline. Much of the same could also be said about the UK and other English-speaking nations, but it seems that every nation has been affected by the pandemic and other events around the world.
We were also privileged to be able to travel to the far-east at the end of last year to see family and, again, saw another nation troubled by the pandemic but with no social security or pension arrangements which are enjoyed by many nations in the west. They are not alone in not having a safety net when tragedy happens, but they get on with it as best they can. We can have expectations that the government will come to our rescue when disaster strikes while many other countries may appear not to have made any such provisions should crises or calamities arise in their nation. The differences are stark and show how the English-speaking nations have been blessed more than we deserve; particularly, when we see what is happening in our different countries.
But it now seems very clear for those who have eyes to see that such blessings have been, or are being, withdrawn as problems escalate. The UK is currently almost at war with itself with strikes and threatened strikes. Strikes threatened and those already up and running include huge train disruptions up and down the land which could go on for months as the unions dig their heels in; continual daily cancelled flights with chaos at airports with huge baggage backlogs and a threatened British Airways strike. Claims for improvement of work conditions/pay to other workers in different sectors are being dismissed which could lead to further nationwide chaos. Others joining the list threatening strike action are workers at Rolls Royce, barristers [lawyers], teachers, doctors, binmen [garbagemen], postmen and others who have not yet made their intentions clear but who could be added to the list of those whose actions cause so many problems for their fellow citizens. This has all been brought about because of ever-spiralling costs where inflation is expected to peak at 11% later in the year, huge increases in petrol (gas) prices which have virtually doubled in the last 2-3 years, utilities (gas and electricity) costs have gone through the roof with more large increases to come in a few months’ time. The Russian war on Ukraine has limited wheat supplies and there are distribution shortfalls around the world.
On top of that, we read that Covid chaos could cause even MORE misery for Britain as experts warn the virus’s resurgence could add to all the problems that we have.
I have highlighted these matters because I live in the UK and see, close to hand, the ongoing and increasing troubles. Trades unions expect high pay increases which the country can’t afford and a magic money tree is just not available. I’m sure that there are pretty much the same insoluble problems in North America, Australia, New Zealand and other English-speaking nations. Other nations struggle as well and some of these have nuclear and biological weapons which is a worry for many.
Space does not permit any further reporting on these problems which are being replicated around the world. But what we see happening today is a very large self-destruct button because God is not only left out of the picture but ridiculous and idiotic practices are discussed and implemented by a godless society.
The saying “it’s the economy, stupid” was a phrase coined by political strategist James Carville for Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign in 1992 because it was thought that the one thing voters care most about is the health of the country’s economy. That is man’s way but God cares for HOW we live our life.
There are many areas of ungodliness that have now become commonplace that the Almighty will only allow to go on for so long. Let us briefly review some of these areas that are important to God about the way we live our lives and many don’t seem to realise that our behaviour has a very great bearing on how a country will succeed, or fail. The blessings and cursings in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28 show quite clearly that keeping the Commandments of God will reap great rewards and walking contrary to His ways will bring retribution. It seems today that no world leader takes any notice of this cause and effect principle.
Let’s put to one side the economy and look at the behaviour that God sees from on high.
We see the continuation of selfishness at the highest level possible with the abortion-rights activists wanting the right to abort a child for any reason at any time, should they so desire. Little if any consideration is given to the rights of the father and the unborn child itself; it is all about “me, myself and I”. When another person’s life is at stake, then such decisions are of vital importance. We cover the abortion issue in our booklet “The Ten Commandments” and show that abortion is not God’s way. However, God is not in the picture with those strident women who are not interested in anything or anybody other than themselves, it would seem, as they protest on such a matter at the drop of a hat! The recent US Supreme Court decision, overturning Roe v Wade, has shown that the USA is divided on this matter and at the highest levels of government, they are approving vehemently the killing of innocent unborn children. God says that we should not kill or murder but the US government is saying that God does not know what He is talking about!
What must God think about this?
Then we have the nonsense spewed out by some in the “trans” lobby. At a midwifery course in Scotland, a highly experienced midwifery lecturer with a PhD taught students that a male person could give birth. In May this year, the head of trans inclusion at campaigning group Stonewall told an industrial tribunal that “bodies are not inherently male or female. They are just their bodies.” They try and foist their nonsense on others by ignoring the basics of biology. They are a vociferous minority group of people who feel that they know better than everyone else, including the great Creator God who created them in the first place. Such arrogance!
What must God think about this?
The homosexual group Stonewall states on their website that they stand for “lesbian, gay, bi, trans, queer, questioning and ace (LGBTQ+) people everywhere. We imagine a world where all LGBTQ+ people are free to be ourselves and can live our lives to the full.” We have news for them. In the wonderful world tomorrow, when the Kingdom of God will rule on earth, such perversion will simply not be allowed.
This is moral relativism, the idea that there is no universal or absolute set of moral principles. It’s a version of morality that advocates “to each his/her own.” However, God says that there is an absolute set of principles, that is the Law of God which is unchanging. God gives clarity of meaning whereas the whims and wishes of society can, and do, fluctuate between generations.
In the USA in March 2022, Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first black woman to be nominated to the Supreme Court, was asked simply if she “could provide a definition of the word ‘woman.’” “No, I can’t,” she eventually said. “Not in this context. I’m not a biologist.” Here we have a woman nominated for high office who couldn’t, or wouldn’t explain, what a woman is. This shows ignorance, at the highest level and someone who couldn’t be relied on to do even a very basic job.
There is so much more that could be said on all of these issues, and many others, but space does not permit it. Behaviour and the way we live our lives are of paramount importance to the great Creator God but man thinks otherwise which will lead to a time of unparalleled trouble (see Daniel 12:1).
The biblical lessons go unheeded. Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed because of their ungodly behaviour and does anyone think that God has changed His stance on such issues purely because society has, once again, adopted different practices? These cities were razed to the ground. The current immoral behaviour will also incur the wrath of God who does not change (Malachi 3:6).
The Stonewall website also states that “In June, annual marches and festivities occur all over the world to celebrate the diversity of the LGBTQ+ community. Pride Month is distinct from LGBTQ+ History Month annually celebrated in the UK in February.”
The word pride is used which was another reason why Sodom and Gomorrah were obliterated from off the face of the earth because of their immorality (Genesis 19:24) and because of their pride (Ezekiel 16:49). Quite a connection, but the comparison doesn’t stop there. Stonewall also use the rainbow as part of their various programmes but God gave the rainbow as a sign of the covenant between Him and man that He would never again flood the earth (see Genesis 9:11-17).
There is so much wrong being perpetrated on the earth at this time, as outlined above, and in so many other areas, that it is only a matter of time before God says that enough is enough and He sends His Son, Jesus Christ, back to this earth to remedy all of the evils that have permeated society since the dawn of civilisation.
As the people of God, we have to be careful that we don’t fall into the trap of saying, or even thinking, that which is spoken of in 2 Peter 3:3-4: “…knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.’”
Many of us certainly expected Christ to return well before 2022 but it wasn’t God’s time for Him to do so, and He is the master of timing. We read in Matthew 24:36-39: “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.”
It was such an evil time, much like today, and God decided to act then. He will again act when the time is right and we must stay awake to this fact; otherwise, we could be caught unawares if we’re not careful. We pray that that may not happen to any of us.
With Christian love,
Brian Gale (United Kingdom)
