In our lives whenever we strive in faithfulness and obedience to God to be good, the devil is there to deceive and destroy.
The Editorial Team’s thoughts ‘In This Day and This Hour’ [1] are timely and awesome: “It is beyond question that the integrity of the United Kingdom and the great company of Covenant Nations in all their aspects have been undermined during the past seven decades… We are a people in crisis, desperately looking for positive guidance and leadership that will remove us from the deepening quagmire of destruction in a spiritual vacuum.”
Godly leadership focusing on moral regeneration, spiritual revival and the worship of Almighty God, is the only answer to this evil crisis.
I remember when Boris Johnson did not approve of a national day of prayer which was requested, unlike King George VI who requested seven days prayer from the British Nation and the whole Empire during the total evil of WWII. Almighty God honoured the King’s faithfulness. A Godly leader. We urgently need Godly leaders.
Read with great interest the truth and excellent research of the Editorial [2] ‘The Covenant Nations Now a Latter-Day Noah’s Ark for Illegal Migration’, where a dreadful picture is revealed.
From this Editorial: “The conditions in the world extant in 2021 are now vividly akin to those that existed in the days of Noah and significantly, also in the days of Lot, when violence filled the earth and every man did that which was right in his own eyes both in moral standards and sexual perversion, that is, until the waters of the great Deluge came and took them all away. (Luke 17.26-29)”
Further this truth: [3]“Dominating the global news channels is a spirit of fear and panic being produced over ‘climate change’ and the intensive campaign to vaccinate the entire population of the earth…”
Faithfulness of Covenant Nations to Almighty God has decreased since the 1960’s. My recent article: [4]”Up until the 1960s this ministry was effective. Now we need to remember again:
2 Chronicles 7.14-15
“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered…
This embraces all the above and the truth: [5] “…the true Israel of God today in the world represents only about one tenth of the world’s population – a tithe if we like to think of it when it comes to mixing ourselves and our culture with other nations. Our turbulent world needs strong borders in all aspects of national and spiritual life.”
Further, the article: [6]“The Force in our Midst Defying Almighty God while Christian prelates deny the Power of His Covenant Word” is precisely what I wish to address: [7] “Millions of Christians thinking and commonsense patriotic people today are being hounded out of their peaceable living by a ‘woke’ culture that is undermining the very foundations of society in the covenant nations. This may seem to be a very sweeping statement; it is nevertheless true and is a fact that must be faced by discerning minds as a matter of priority importance.”
All of the above confirms the crisis. Remember the truth from Holy Scripture repeated for emphasis:
2 Chronicles 7.14
“…if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
As we will see later, when Elizabeth I was enthroned, Almighty God blessed England (Ephraim) and Britain became Great Britain through faithfulness to Almighty God!
Thus, from the above Editorial the problem facing all Covenant Nations is to encourage moral regeneration and spiritual revival. When we are faithful and obedient to Almighty God, He deals with the rest, and indeed our ‘rest’, His peace, the Queen’s peace is real:
Matthew 11.28
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
All of these problems have occurred before. History repeats itself. I remember a previous Editorial [8]focusing on: “…national unfaithfulness to its lawful husband – ‘the Queen-in-Parliament under God.’ Treason by instalments, or a slow coup d’etat (as Tony Benn said), did not comply with our national covenants under the Coronation Oath 1953 (Act) and seven or eight great statutes of the Realm, as none of them was repeated, causing an ever-increasing conflict on the Statute Book.” What is significant, in the fact history repeats itself, is the decision by Mary I in 1554: [9]“Significantly it was in November-December 1554 that Henry VIII’s Act of Supremacy was repealed, restoring the supremacy of the Pope over the Church of England, which was celebrated by the Feast of Reconciliation as a new holy day.”
Thus, it is critical to remember history. In October 1517, Martin Luther nailed 95 Theses of reforms to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg. On the continent there were several reformers. By the power of the Holy Spirit Cranmer’s heart was changed and during the 1540s he focused on the word of Almighty God. The Apostle Paul recorded:
2 Timothy 2.15
“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.”
Cranmer, through the Holy Spirit’s inspiration, effectual calling and grace, knew and believed Jesus’ words:
John 15.16
“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last…”
Cranmer knew his position in Jesus as Paul records:
Ephesians 1.3-4
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love…”
As a Hebrew of Hebrews, Paul knew his position and who Jesus is:
Hebrews 1.1-3
“In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.”.
It is all about Jesus and His saving grace. Luther knew his Scripture that:
Acts 4.12
“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”
The Pope’s encyclicals do not take precedence over Holy Scripture. The 39 Articles (1562) Book of Common Prayer 1662 state:
Article 6 – Of the Sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures for salvation:
Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation: so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, be believed as an article of the Faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation.
Article 25 – Of the Sacraments:
Sacraments ordained of Christ be not only badges or tokens of Christian men’s profession, but rather they be certain sure witnesses, and effectual signs of grace, and God’s good will towards us, by the which he doth work invisibly in us, and doth not only quicken, but also strengthen and confirm our Faith in Him. There are two Sacraments ordained of Christ our Lord in the Gospel, that is to say, Baptism, and the Supper of the Lord.
Paul continues:
Hebrews 9.11-12
“When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation. He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption.”
Hebrews 9.24-28
“For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.”
Cranmer, with Luther’s thoughts, edited and compiled the Prayer Books of 1549 and 1552. The latter Book, re-issued one hundred years later, 1662, was true to Cranmer and Luther’s glorious truth from all Scripture I have quoted in this article.
The 1552 Prayer Book Holy Communion Service focused on Holy Scripture as St John records:
1 John 1.5 – 2.3
“This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive usour sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives. My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defence – Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands.”
‘The whole world’ above is not universal salvation but salvation for the believing elect in all Nations of God’s world. This truth is still in service today in the Book of Common Prayer 1662.
Cranmer was in the will of the Father, as was The Son, Our Lord Jesus:
Matthew 26.39
“Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, ‘My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.’”
John 6.37-39
“All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day.”
With the assistance of several Continental reformers to whom he gave refuge, Cranmer changed doctrine or discipline in areas such as the Eucharist, clerical celibacy, the role of images in places of worship, and the veneration of saints. Cranmer promulgated the new doctrines through the Prayer Book, the Homilies and other publications.
After the accession of the Catholic Mary I, Cranmer was put on trial for treason and heresy. Imprisoned for over two years and under pressure from Church authorities, he made several recantations and apparently reconciled himself with the Catholic Church. I believe Cranmer was seeking time – time for the Holy Spirit to convict his accusers of their error. The Apostle Paul understood this:
1 Corinthians 9.19-22
“Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some”.
Our Lord Jesus taught:
John 16.8
“When the Holy Spirit comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment.”
While this would have normally absolved him, Mary wanted him executed, and, on the day of his execution, he withdrew his recantations, to die a heretic to Catholics and a martyr for the principles of the English Reformation. Cranmer’s legacy lives on within the Church of England through the Book of Common Prayer and the Thirty-Nine Articles, an Anglican statement of faith derived from his work.
Spiritual revival began with Cranmer and has been encouraged by the faithful Church in faithful Covenant Nation Britain (Ephraim) that has been ministering for centuries. I remember, again, the Preface (pg x) of the Book of Common Prayer 1662:
“…There was never any thing by the wit of man so well devised, or so sure established, which in continuance of time hath not been corrupted: that all the whole Bible (or the greatest part thereof) should be read over once every year; intending thereby, that the Clergy, and especially such as were Ministers in the congregation, should (by often reading, and meditation in God’s word) be stirred up to godliness themselves, and be more able to exhort others by wholesome doctrine, and to confute them that were adversaries to the truth…”
In the crisis defined in the Editorials, Covenant Nations need to stand firm in the power of the Holy Spirit who was honoured for centuries:
Ephesians 6.10-13 and 17-18
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armour of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests”.
[1] The Covenant Nations Vol 5 No 6, 2021 p10-11
[2] The Covenant Nations Vol 5 No 7, 2021 p5
[3] Ibid
[4] Ibid p20-22
[5] The Covenant Nations Vol 5 No 7, 2021 p5
[6] Ibid p6
[7] Ibid
[8] The Covenant Nations Vol 4, No 12, 2019 p5
[9] Ibid