In 1917, Bible students were thrilled when the British, assisted by her “young lions” began pushing the Turks out of Palestine. That October, the success of the legendary cavalry charge by the Australian troopers of the 4th Light Horse Brigade against the strategically placed Beersheba, opened the doorway to Jerusalem. “This was the last important cavalry charge in history and the last to win a resounding victory that altered the course of a war.” Then in November came the thrilling Balfour Declaration: “His Majesty’s government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people…” Again it fell to the Australian young lions to be the first to enter Jerusalem on December 11th 1917. Here was clear evidence of the hand of God in the affairs of men. Brother Ladson wrote in the December issue of The Christadelphian concerning the Balfour Declaration:
“The declaration of the sympathy of the British Government in the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jews, has thrilled to the hearts of the Brethren of Christ the world over. There would be few ecclesias where, on the Sunday morning following the Declaration, the theme would not be joyfully enlarged upon, and the whole service in prayers, hymns, and anthems, be warmly touched with the emotion generated by such a vindication of our faith.”
The news of the taking of Jerusalem on December 11th just made it into the January 1918 issue – again there was great rejoicing. Brother Ladson wrote:
“Dear brethren and sisters,
We rest on the solid rock of the Word of the One Who changes not. Christ will return according to his word, the gates of Jerusalem will lift their heads to welcome the entry of a greater than the British general, but in this present victory we have that which warms our hearts and strengthens our hands anew, seeing that it is in the line of the revealed programme. There is much to be done, and the time is short; let us realise that the Lord must come to his household before he is revealed to the world, so that before another year has passed – yes, before another month has passed – our call may come.”
Here we are, over 90 years further on and how much more of the “revealed programme” we have been privileged to see. We have witnessed the hardening of the British government against the returning Jews, leading to them wiping their hands of the situation and yielding control to the UN, which led to Israel’s rebirth as a nation in 1948.
Britain’s decline
We have seen the decline of Britain as a power as America took over as the world’s superpower. Yet, as Brother Thomas gleaned from the prophetic Word, Britain still has a role to play. This is not the place to examine the scriptural ground for the basis of Britain being Tarshish and America, Australia, Canada and India playing the role of ‘her young lions’ (Ezek 38:13 rv). Brother Billington’s book Cry of the Prophets—Tarshish in Bible Prophecy from CSSS agents is an excellent study of this subject.
Thirteen years of Labour government rule had left its mark on the financial fortunes of Britain. North Sea oil reserves were running out, a bloated civil service was swallowing up ever increasing sums of money together with generous pension schemes that could only be funded by higher taxes on a shrinking working population. Corruption and nest lining by our politicians had grown to scandalous proportions. One could be forgiven for looking to America to play the role we had traditionally associated with Britain.
Should we write Britain off as a past power that had played its part and was now disappearing into obscurity like countless powers before her? Hold on! God’s Word holds sure! This spring we have seen quite remarkable changes following the UK elections in May. We have written in detail in the Bible Magazine of the Conservative-Liberal Democrats coalition government that eventually emerged following the elections. Also of the remarkable fact that just as Britain’s government was in abeyance, the EU was driving forward far-reaching bailout plans for Greece and other faltering members of the euro – steps which will inevitably lead to a greater integration of the eurozone members – or the collapse of the euro! We aren’t, at the time of writing, even 80 days from the launch of Britain’s first coalition government for 65 years on May 11th, yet there is a quiet air of optimism here over Britain’s future.
Britain and India
In Old Testament times there appear to have been two Tarshish powers – one in the west accessible from Joppa (Jonah 1:3) and one in the East accessible from Ezion-geber (1 Kings 9:26). We read of the ships of Solomon going on a three year round trip to the eastern Tarshish.
“For the king’s ships went to Tarshish with the servants of Huram: every three years once came the ships of Tarshish bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks” (1 Kings 10:21).
Peacocks point to India as the destination of these ships. Britain’s history with India goes back over 400 years! Queen Elizabeth I granted a royal charter establishing the East India Company in 1600. Since India’s independence in 1947, ties have strengthened between the two countries. There are over 1.6 million people of Indian origin living in Britain, and India is second only to the US as the largest overseas investor in Britain.
Bible students have long seen a role for India as part of the “young lions” associated with Britain – others being America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. These nations are – largely – favourably disposed to Israel, although subject to the particular leader in power at the time. So it was thrilling to see the new British Prime Minister following up his election promise to build ties with the Commonwealth countries and India in particular. He made India his first major destination, following a brief, but important visit to America to re-establish that long-standing special relationship.
The visit to India at the end of July was a spectacular affair. His decision to take with him three of his four most senior cabinet ministers, together with his higher education minister, marked this out as an unprecedented trip. They were accompanied by the most high-powered team of UK business leaders ever assembled.
“Cameron’s aim is not just to win contracts for British firms, but to establish a strategic relationship in which our scientists, engineers, designers and entrepreneurs will work with their Indian counterparts and combine British innovation and Indian costs to sell to the rest of the world.
India is the world’s second fastest-growing economy. It is expected to overtake China as the fastest-growing within 40 years, and also replace it as the world’s greatest population with more than two billion people by 2050. As its population rises, so too will its number of highly educated graduates and skilled engineers – already qualifying at the rate of 160,000 per year.
Britain’s largest manufacturer (Tata, owner of Jaguar Land Rover and Corus steel) is Indian, India’s 700 companies in the UK are our largest job creators, UK businesses owned by British Indians generate £10 billion in turnover, and our richest man, Lakshmi Mittal is an Indian” (Daily Telegraph 23 July 2010).
Britain finds more oil
These finds have come at a psychologically good time for Britain. Recent discoveries in the North Sea have been rather small and so potential investors have chosen to take their drilling rigs elsewhere. Maybe there will be still more discoveries to boost Britain’s finances in these difficult economic times as these reports indicate.
“Estimates of reserves in a new North Sea discovery have been raised for the second time in two weeks and the third in a month after further drilling found more oil in an area that had been regarded as a poor prospect.
The four-field Catcher complex, is now estimated to contain up to 350m barrels and with more wells planned could emerge as the biggest North Sea discovery in a decade. Recent discoveries have been in the ‘tiddler’ category with reserves of between 20m–30m barrels (Daily Telegraph 5 Jul 2010).
Drilling on the UK’s continental shelf grew by 86% in the second quarter of the year from the year before, according to research by consultancy Deloitte.
It seems companies are finding funds easier to come by, evidenced by data published by industry body Oil & Gas UK flagging a planned £6bn spending spree on new developments in 2010, and possibly more than that in 2011. It could hit £60bn over the next decade, said the report’s author Mike Tholen” (ShareCast 9 July 2010).
UK economy grows at the fastest pace in four years
Britain was one of the last countries in Europe to come out of recession, but growth has been surprisingly strong since, as this headline declared.
“The quarterly leap in gross domestic product (GDP) was almost double the 0.6pc expected by the City and the highest since the first quarter of 2006, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.
The stellar advance, driven by huge growth in business services, finance and construction, comes amid a global debate over the impact of austerity measures on the economy and could be taken to vindicate Chancellor George Osborne’s decision to push ahead with his planned fiscal squeeze.
Overall the UK posted its strongest annual growth – 1.6pc – since before the recession at the beginning of 2008 and much better than the 1.2pc growth forecast for the year produced by the Office for Budget Responsibility.
Within the services sector, business and finance posted its strongest rise in almost three years – advancing 1.3pc over the quarter, as the City emerged from the aftermath of the banking crisis.
Construction bounced back from a snowbound first three months to the year to grow at a huge 6.6pc, its fastest quarterly pace since 1963” (Daily Telegraph 23 July 2010).
Britain is seeing a growth of inward investments – overseas companies investing in Britain.
“Britain remained Europe’s top destination for foreign direct investment in 2009, attracting more than a fifth of all new projects in the region. London remained the most popular European city for inward investment for an eighth year running, underlining the importance of business in the capital for the UK economy.
London secured 263 projects , far outperforming its closest rivals in Europe. Paris came second with 99 projects and Madrid third with 55” (Reuters 2 June 2010).
Britain and the Middle East
Is Britain being prepared by the angels for her latter-day role as a supporter of Israel and active in the Middle East, working with her commonwealth friends in the Sheba-Dedan area of the Arabian Peninsula? We know that the pendulum of history swings back and forth. Britain was the active power in the 19th and 20th centuries, but faded out of the picture since WWII. It is clear from Ezekiel 38:13 that there is to be a role for Britain again in this region. Under the present government, this could be achieved. Two years ago, David Cameron, then leader of the Opposition party, addressed a dinner of the Conservative Middle East Council. [My emphasis in this section]
“Conservatives must come to office steeped in an understanding of the complex politics of the Middle East. We must take the remaining time we have in Opposition to build on that understanding – and I know from my own visits to the region that nothing beats seeing a country at first hand and hearing from the politicians and decision-makers who live there. Recent events, not least the war in Iraq and the ongoing Middle East Peace Process, mean that Conservatives must seek the widest of perspectives in seeking to gain a grasp of Middle Eastern politics. That is why William Hague has called for Britain to forge a new approach in our relations with the Middle East. He wants Britain to begin a longterm effort to elevate our contacts with our many friends in the Middle East, many of whom feel that they have been somewhat neglected by their old friend, Britain, in the last decade. A new Conservative Government will put that right – and we are starting to put it right now, from Opposition” (David Cameron 10 June 2008).
William Hague, the new British Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary, in a major speech to parliament setting out the Coalition party plans had this to say.
“The Middle East is a region of great opportunity and promise where we have many friends and potential allies. We have long called for the elevation of British links with many of the countries of the Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf, not only diplomatically but in matters of culture, education, commerce and security. We will now take forward the work of developing that long-term initiative” (Hansard 26 May 2010).
In a speech on July 1st to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office staff he said:
“I can announce today that the Prime Minister has launched a joint taskforce with the United Arab Emirates as part of our efforts to elevate links with the Gulf. It will develop options for strengthening our ties across the board.”
It will be interesting to see where Mr Cameron’s next major visit takes him.
Britain and the Commonwealth
Under the Labour government the role of the Commonwealth in British affairs was largely ignored. That has now changed. The fact that William Hague’s appointment to the post of Foreign Secretary was the first to be announced by David Cameron as he put together his government, indicates the importance of this highly prized position. The fact too, that use is being made of the full title – Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary also is of great interest to the watchmen on Zion’s walls. Is the tide turning at last? It would appear so. The Conservatives want to direct their attention on rebuilding the neglected links with the Commonwealth. In Hague’s July 1st speech referred to above, he set out in detail their new foreign policy. The world had changed and Britain needed to change to engage in a “networking world”.
“The case for the UK embracing the opportunities of the networked world is very strong. We are richly endowed with the attributes for success. We are a member of one of the world’s longstanding global networks – the Commonwealth – which spans continents and world religions, contains six of the fastest growing economies and is underpinned by an agreed framework of common values. The previous Government in my view appeared oblivious to this aspect of the value of the Commonwealth, not even mentioning it in a strategic plan published for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 2009. We are also the world’s sixth largest trading nation even though we comprise just 1% of the world’s population; second only to the USA in the amount of money we invest abroad and always outward looking and intrepid in nature. One in ten British citizens now lives permanently overseas. We have unrivalled human links with some of the fastest growing countries of the world … The English language gives us the ability to share ideas with millions – perhaps billions – of people in the biggest emerging economies and – if we so choose – to build networks across the world. It is staggering that in India 250 million school and university-aged students – four times the entire population of the United Kingdom – are now learning English. This underlines the essential importance of the work of the British Council and the BBC World Service, which give Britain an unrivalled platform for the projection of the appeal of our culture and the sharing of our values.” (Foreign and Commonwealth Office)
Britain and Israel
After the many ways that Britain supported the return of the Jews to their homeland, it was disappointing to see how Britain turned her back on her responsibilities, especially during and after WWII. But we don’t have to look for new interpretations of our traditional understanding of prophecy – we have to wait in patience. The time will assuredly come when all things will be fulfilled. At a time when on one level the US seems to be cooling her relationship with Israel (though as far as military support is concerned recent events have shown that that special bond is still strong), we look for the Old Lion to set the initiative. Is that time at hand? We have a new leader who has spoken passionately about his affinity to Israel and has a Jewish ancestry. Last year he said:
“If I become Prime Minister, Israel has a friend who will never turn his back on her … I passionately believe in the right of Israel to exist, to defend itself and to live in peace and security” (CFI Annual Business Lunch, 18 June 2009).
William Hague had earlier spoken of his party’s support for Israel.
“The unbroken thread of Conservative Party support for Israel that has run for nearly a century from the Balfour Declaration to the present day will continue. Although it will no doubt often be tested in the years ahead, it will remain constant, unbroken, and undiminished by the passage of time” (Speech to the Balfour dinner, 3 Nov 2008).
Cameron’s criticism of Israel in his July speech in Turkey over Gaza and its blockade did however come as a surprise. It certainly is what his Turkish audience wanted to hear, but it will have disturbed his Israeli contacts. Perhaps it will lead to an invitation to visit Israel and see things through their eyes!
How much longer?
We live in a godless world that is ripe for the judgments of God. Israel faces constant criticism; it is not difficult to contemplate many nations assembling against Jerusalem. The time is short, as Brother Ladson exhorted in 1918 and his exhortational warning still stands firm. Before Messiah reveals himself to the world, he will come to gather his household. We may not see another year pass before that day comes. There is nothing that has to take place before our Master comes; the final pieces of the prophetic jigsaw will fall into place after our call to the Judgment Seat.