​“And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the Judgment.” Hebrews 9:27
 
It Is Appointed for Men to Die and Face Judgement
To some the doctrine of Eternal Judgment is a great comfort. To others it is a terrifying concept. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God.
 
Man Knows Not His Time
The world was informed that the longest ruling dictator in Africa, Marxist terrorist, Robert Mugabe died in a hospital in Singapore. How various people reacted to this news speaks volumes.
​
​DA Leader Praises Murderous Dictator
DA leader, Mmusi Maimane, sent his condolences to the family of “former President Mugabe. May his soul rest in peace.” Mmusi Maimane claims to be a Christian and a democrat, yet he calls the brutal dictator “President” and assumes that “his soul [will] rest in peace!” DA leader, Mmusi Maimane also described Mugabe as “a liberator!” One wonders where Maimane has been since 1980? Has he not noticed the tragic destruction of neighbouring Zimbabwe under the despotic tyranny of ZANU and Mugabe?

Promised Paradise but Delivered Perdition
The eulogies from leaders praising Robert Mugabe are in sharp contrast to the celebrations in Zimbabwe over the demise of the Marxist dictator, who promised them a paradise and delivered perdition. “While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage.” 2 Peter 2:19
 
Fake Leaders and Fake News
The Fake Leaders and Fake News reports: “guerrilla leader”, “hero”, “liberated his people from colonialism”, “instituted land reform”! Audacious, outrageous, deception and dishonesty are pervasive. The lamestream media has again disgraced itself as the purveyors of fake news and Marxist propaganda.
 
“A Perfect Human Being”
EFF leader, Julius Malema called Mugabe a “Hero”, “Liberator” and “a perfect human being”! “president” Emmerson Mnangagwa praised Mugabe as an “icon of liberation.” “It is with the utmost sadness that I announce the passing on of Zimbabwe’s founding father and former president Comrade Robert Mugabe.” So said the new dictator who seized power from his previous leader in a 2017 coup.
 
Newspeak Propaganda
Incredibly Mnangagwa described the deceased dictator as a “National hero!”, “Comrade Mugabe was an icon of liberation, a pan-Africanist who dedicated his life to the emancipation and empowerment of his people. His contribution to the history of our nation and continent will never be forgotten. May his soul rest in eternal peace!” Calling Mugabe “a great teacher and mentor.” And “a remarkable statesman of our century!” Mnangagwa instituted an official mourning period.
 
Facts Can Ruin a Good Story
Riddled with so many lies and hypocrisies, this is worthy of study to refute every phrase. Marxists do not believe that man has a soul, nor do they believe in “eternal peace!” Mugabe’s actual contribution was tyranny, brutality, cruelty, massacres, starvation, corruption, hyperinflation and the systematic destruction of a once safe, stable, productive country that used to be self-sufficient, even exporting food, to a disastrous basket state, beggar nation dependant on foreign aid and charity to even survive. More than half of all Zimbabweans have voted with their feet, a vote of no confidence in Mugabe’s ZANU ruled failed state, by fleeing endemic corruption and brutality in Zimbabwe to neighbouring countries.
 
Self-Serving and Selfish
Mugabe was not dedicated to “emancipating and empowering” the people of Zimbabwe! Mugabe was one of the most corrupt, self-serving and selfish leaders in history. Living in opulent decadence, feasting on giraffe meat while his destitute people starved. Mugabe enslaved and disempowered the people of Zimbabwe.
 
Rhodesia Was Not a Colony
Yet, ANC president, Cyril Ramaphosa’s, described the despot as “a champion of Africa’s cause against colonialism who inspired our own struggle against apartheid!” Well, Mugabe never fought against colonialism because Rhodesia was not a colony. Rhodesia was a self-governing country from 1923, Independent from 1965 and a Republic from 1970. Rhodesia was self-funded from the beginning, providing its own security. Rhodesia never needed British funding, nor British troops. Rhodesia never needed any foreign aid.
 
Mugabe Never Liberated Anybody
Mugabe waged a brutal terrorist war against black civilians, white farmers, Christian missionaries and Red Cross ambulance workers. Mugabe never liberated anybody. Mugabe was a Marxist terrorist, dictator and corrupt blood diamond criminal.
 
Inspiration for the ANC
His communist corruption certainly inspired the ANC “struggle” for state capture gangster-state looting of our country though. Mugabe’s tactic of distracting attention from his government’s failures and atrocities, by make scapegoats of the small minority of whites and promising free land, also inspired the disastrous ANC policy of EWC (Expropriation Without Compensation).

Insulting the Intelligence of their Readers and Viewers
Western media have also insulted the intelligence of their readers, or viewers, with misleading reports like this Associated Press (AP) article: “Former Zimbabwean leader, Robert Mugabe, an ex-guerrilla chief who took power when the African country shook off white minority rule and presided for decades white economic turmoil and human rights violations eroded its early promise has died in Singapore.” AP writers, Farai Mutsaka and Cristopher Torchia claimed: “Mugabe enjoyed strong support from Zimbabwe’s people…!”
 
Truth Does Not Fear Investigation
How can any journalist be so ill-informed, or dishonest, as to lie so blatantly! No, Mugabe did not enjoy popular support. Millions of Zimbabweans celebrated his fall from power. As another point of fact: Mugabe was never a guerrilla. Mugabe had the popular ZANLA guerrilla leader, Josiah Tongogara, murdered, 26 December 1979, so that he could lead ZANU. Mugabe was a politician, never a soldier, not even a guerrilla/insurgent.
 
A Travesty of Justice
Nor did Mugabe “take power”, it was handed to him by British governor, Lord Soames (son-in-law of Winston Churchill), after a very flawed “election” where all agreed that, in terms of the Lancaster House Agreement, Mugabe’s ZANU should have been disqualified for its systematic “intimidation” (terrorism) of the voters and flagrant violations of the accord and electoral code of conduct. As Ian Smith declared: “We were never defeated by our enemies, we were betrayed by our friends.”
 
Reality vs. Rhetoric
Most importantly, Mugabe was not an innocent victim of “economic turmoil and human rights violations”! Mugabe was the prime human agent responsible for the socialist policies which destroyed the robust economy inherited from Rhodesia. Mugabe initiated the communist revolution that violated human rights, including the Gukurahundi massacres of tens-of-thousands of civilians in Matabeleland, the chaotic farm invasions, the blood diamond wars in the Congo and Zimbabwe’s own blood diamond scandals in the Marange diamond fields, South East of Zimbabwe, since 2008. “Destructive forces are at work in the city, threats and lies never leave its streets.” Psalm 55:11
 
Learning from the Mistakes of Others
At “independence”, Mugabe declared to Newsweek: “We are not going to make the same mistakes the rest of Black Africa has made. We are going to learn from their mistakes.” It is hard to think of anything he learned… except how to lie, steal, cheat and murder. What mistakes, or crimes, did Mugabe fail to implement?
 
Mugabe’s True Legacy of Corruption, Brutality, Starvation and Disease
Starvation, disease, corruption and brutality were the hallmarks of Mugabe’s Marxist ZANU in Zimbabwe. Hospitals ran out of medicine. Shops ran out of food. Fuel stations ran out of petrol. Banks ran out of money. Water failed to flow though the pipes. Electricity power failures became the norm. Tuberculosis, HIV, Cholera and Malaria spread like wildfire. Zimbabwe’s cholera epidemic reached 10 X (1,000%) the African average, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). Zimbabwean life expectancy plummeted under Mugabe, from over 60 years in 1980, to 37 years for men and 34 years for women by 2006, the lowest in the world.
 
Ignoring Disastrous Track Record
Yet, despite his disastrous track record, Mugabe was elected president of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), Chairman of the African Union (AU and UN “Goodwill Ambassador” for the World Health Organisation (WHO)! The intense suffering of the people of Zimbabwe apparently did not matter to the AU, UN, SADC, or CNN and the BBC for that matter.
 
Truth is Stranger than Fiction
It all sounds like a bizarre Monty Python comic satire. The lunatics are running the asylum. If this was part of a scripted plot in a fiction film or book, it would be dismissed as: “Unbelievable!”
 
Why was Mugabe in a Hospital in Singapore?
The fact that Mugabe died in a hospital in Singapore is most revealing. Mugabe and his destructive socialist policies had so destroyed the once advanced and excellent hospitals built up by Rhodesia that he had to fly to previous British colony Singapore where free enterprise provides better health care than any socialist state. Why did Mugabe not go to a Zimbabwean hospital? Or, a communist state? Or, at least an African hospital? Why Singapore, far away in Asia? What an indictment on the catastrophic communist failure of Mugabe and ZANU!
 

The Bolshevik Broadcasting Corporation
Yet, as they once praised Joseph Stalin, Mao Tse Tung and Fidel Castro, the BBC gushed with ridiculous praise for Mugabe: “broadening access to health care and education for the black majority!” Are there no genuine investigative journalists left at the BBC? As anyone who has actually lived in Zimbabwe could testify: Mugabe’s thug’s looted hospitals, closed hospitals, burned schools, beat up teachers, kidnapped and brutalised students and closed schools. The health care and education standards were vastly better for black people in Rhodesia. Zimbabwe became a failed state under Mugabe lowering life expectancy to almost half that of Rhodesia and taking a country with the lowest unemployment in Africa (under 4%) to the highest, 95% unemployment! That was even after half the population had fled the country! “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” John 8:32. “Hate evil, love good, establish justice in the gate…” Amos 5:15
 
Blasphemous Bolshevik False Prophet
Mugabe blasphemously boasted that he had beaten Jesus Christ, by rising from the dead more times than Christ, who had only risen from the dead once! Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life. “When Justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous but terror to evildoers.” Proverbs 21:15. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God.
 
Witnessing to Mugabe
I have been asked: “Have you shared the Gospel with Mugabe?” Yes, we have. I have written to him and one of our Board Members, Bishop Bwanali Phiri, met with and prayed with Robert Mugabe and presented him with the gift of a Bible.
 
How Are We as Believers to Respond to Death?
The Bible mandates capital punishment for murder, rape and kidnapping. Believers are to pray the imprecatory Psalms of justice against the wicked. God will ensure justice in eternity. “For I, the Lord, love justice. I hate robbery.” Isaiah 61:8
 
The Choices Before Us
We are in the middle of a world war of worldviews.
​A battle for the mind. A battle for the heart.
A battle for the future. The choice before us is clear:
The lies of the world, or the truth of the Word of God?
Indoctrination or education?
Communism or Christianity?
The broad road to destruction, or the narrow way to life?
Heaven or hell?
The grace of God, or the wrath of God?
 
Is Jesus Christ your Saviour and Lord?
If not, He will be your Judge.
 
“It is appointed unto men once to die and after that to face Judgement…” Hebrews 9:27
 
Dr. Peter Hammond
Frontline Fellowship
P.O. Box 74 Newlands 7725
Cape Town South Africa
Tel: 021-689-4480
Email: mission@frontline.org.za
www.FrontlineMissionSA.org
www.hmsschoolofchristianjournalism.org
 
See also:
Zimbabwe Celebrates as Mugabe Falls
Mugabe’s Blood Diamonds
Mugabe Tsunami in Zimbabwe
The National Suicide of Zimbabwe

​The Abortion Holocaust
1.6 Million babies have been killed in South Africa through abortion, legally, officially, often with taxpayer’s money, since Nelson Mandela legalised it on 1 February 1997. How can any nation seriously expect God to bless us when the nation is defiled with the blood of the innocent?

Deception and Depravity Destroys Democracy
“…your lips have spoken lies, your tongue has muttered perversity.” It is not only the politicians who have spoken lies. The lie has become a pillar of the state. Bearing false witness is standard fare for the mainstream media. SATV, the BBC – the Bolshevik Broadcasting Corporation, CNN – the Clinton News Network, Slime Magazine and Newspeak, Useless News and World Report, the Sunday Crimes, “All the news that’s fit to print” they say. “Without fear or favour”, they claim. Yet lies and deception are the tools of their trade. They bear false witness, re-writing history, twisting truths, re-arranging reality, victimising the villains and villainising the victims. Demonising whites, trivialising the main issues and making mountains out of molehills, exaggerating minor issues and promoting disinformation. Scapegoating, distracting and distorting seem to be their primary job description. “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil… Who justify the wicked for a bribe and take away justice from the righteous man!” Isaiah 5:20-23

Degenerate Entertainment Industry Degrades Society
Superficial, sensational and immoral material predominates in the modern entertainment industry and it is producing an increasingly superficial, selfish, mindless and immoral generation. The Arts have been debased and depraved, elevating the disgusting and celebrating ugliness. “…their thoughts and their foolish hearts were darkened.” Romans 1:21. “…those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved… all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” 2 Thessalonians 2:10,12. “Your tongue has uttered perversity” Not satisfied with the deviant being declared normal, they are now determined to have the normal declared deviant. Not satisfied with toleration, they now demand approval, applause, conformity and funding for their perversity.

Disinformation and Propaganda Deceive and Distract
State textbooks concentrate on twisting reality and re-writing history. Politically correct myths, anti-white, anti-western, anti-missionary, anti-crusades, anti-Reformers, anti-colonial, politically correct myths, legends and disinformation predominates. “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting.” Romans 1:28. “He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God?” Micah 6:8

Sunday 9 November is the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. Please mobilise your family, friends, church and school to focus on the Persecuted Church this month.

Over 400 million Christians live under 66 governments which severely restrict religious freedom and persecute believers. Every year an average of 300,000 Christians are killed for their Faith.

Serving the Persecuted
During the last 33 years of missionary work I have had the privilege of serving the persecuted Church in Mozambique, Angola, Romania, Albania, Rwanda, Sudan, Northern Nigeria, the Congo and Zimbabwe. During this time I have endured aerial bombardments, ambushes, artillery and rocket barrages, and I have been arrested and imprisoned for missionary work.

Speaking up for the Persecuted
Some of what Christians suffer in Marxist and Muslim lands has been documented in; Faith Under Fire in Sudan; Holocaust in Rwanda; In the Killing Fields of Mozambique; Slavery, Terrorism and Islam - The Historical Roots and Contemporary Threat and in documentary films that we have helped to produce such as: Sudan: The Hidden Holocaust and Terrorism and Persecution - Understanding Islamic Jihad.

Setting Captives Free
Whatever we bind will be bound, whatever we loose will be loosed. By the power of prayer, and through persistent pressure, we can see the powers of darkness limited, prison doors opened and captives set free.

Jesus said: "For I was hungry, and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me. Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or imprisoned and come to You? And the King will answer and say unto them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, in as much as you did it to one of the least of these brethren, you did it to Me.'" Matthew 25:35-40

"And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honoured, all the members rejoice with it. Now you are the Body of Christ, and members individually."
1 Corinthians 12:26-27

"Remember the prisoners as if chained with them - those who are mistreated - since you yourselves are in the Body also."
Hebrews 13:3

Visit the www.idop-africa.org website for articles, news, PowerPoints and videos, to mobilise your church, or school to pray for the persecuted.
Dr. Peter Hammond

Livingstone Fellowship
P.O. Box 74
Newlands 7725
Cape Town
South Africa
Tel: 021-689-4480
Email: mission@frontline.org.za
Email: info@ReformationSA.org

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A Christian Response  

"While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption."
​2 Peter 2:19

The African Union calculates that every year over US$148 Billion is stolen from the continent by its leaders. That works out to more than a quarter of the continent's entire Gross Domestic Product lost to corruption - every single year.

The World Bank reports that 40% of Africa’s private wealth is held offshore. Global Financial Integrity calculates that Africa has lost well over US$900 Billion since 1970. That is far in excess of total Development Assistance given to Africa during that same time. More than US$300 Billion of Western aid has been sunk into Africa, yet most states are effectively bankrupt, weighed down by debt, and failing to provide even minimum public services.

One Person Can Make a Difference
Under Nahu Ribadu, Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission secured 250 convictions and recovered over US$5 Billion in stolen public funds.

Trade Not Aid
The president of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, advocates trade, not aid. He is convinced that it is essential for Africa to end dependency on foreign aid, as foreign aid fuels corruption. Corruption is the second most prevalent crime on the continent. Leaders need to become more accountable to the taxpayers. More auditors are needed. Anti-corruption reforms are essential. As leaders steal seven times more than the total value of foreign aid poured into Africa each year, it is clear that far more valuable than any foreign aid would be to end the endemic corruption which is looting the resources of this great continent.

Stealing from the Poor
Every week our newspapers are awash with scandals about elected official’s and public servant’s extravagant lifestyles and outrageous expenditures. Yet, despite the state raking in over R600 Billion in taxes each year they continually run at a deficit. Taxpayers wonder where all this money is going when there are so many schools without books, children taught in the open air, hospitals short of medicines and hospital patients going hungry because the provincial government has not paid the service providers.

Looted Treasury
The Auditor General of South Africa reported over R20 Billion in unauthorised spending for the last fiscal year. Only 3 of 39 government departments had clean audits. The police Special Investigating Unit reports that at least R30 Billion was lost to government corruption last year. The finances of 5 provinces in South Africa are in severe disarray. Heading the list of provinces spending way beyond their means was Limpopo Province. Even with over R2 Billion overspent, the Limpopo government was not able to pay doctors, nurses, teachers, social workers, and other public sector employees.

Scandals
The former president of Cricket SA has been engulfed in a corruption crisis. The Arms Deal of 1999 continues to make headlines, along with the Travelgate abuse of public finances by members of parliament, the conviction on corruption charges of former National Police Commissioner, (and ex-president of Interpol), the Chief of Police suspended for corruption investigations, and traffic police under investigation for buying illegal licences. The examples of unscrupulous politicians who squander taxpayers money with impunity, stealing from the poor, in the name of uplifting the poor, is endemic.

Bankrupt
If the provinces were commercial enterprises, they would have been declared insolvent and liquidated to settle their debts. All too many politicians seem to view positions in government as an opportunity to enrich themselves at the public expense. The toxic mixture of politics, business and greed is sabotaging development, costing jobs and eroding the economy.

Corruption Worldwide
Nor is this a problem only for the world. Patrick Johnstone of Operation World reports in The Future of the Global Church, that of US$390 Billion given to Christian causes worldwide, $25 Billion was embezzled.

Up to 20% of the global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is spent on bribery, over US$1 Trillion a year. Up to 50% of all aid to developing countries is stolen before it can reach its intended recipients. World wide, an estimated US$400 Billion is lost to corruption. Every year over 10% of humankind are forced to pay a bribe.

“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 I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
2 Chronicles 7:14

Is there such a thing as national guilt? Should we take part in a National Day of Repentance?

Africa Christian Action has been organising National Days of Repentance in South Africa for the last 11 years. Every 1 February ACA marks the anniversary of the legalisation of abortion in South Africa by hiring a hearse and marching in mourning clothes, carrying little coffins, crosses, flowers and simple placards stating: Abortion Kills Babies. A huge Pro-Life trailer brings up the rear of the funeral procession marking the milestones of life in the womb and declaring how many babies have been killed so far through abortion in South Africa. The Scriptures are also boldly quoted on the trailer: “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves.” Proverbs 31:8 and

“Now CHOOSE LIFE so that you and your children may live.”
Deuteronomy 30:19

When the procession reaches Parliament a Prayer Vigil is held where Scriptures are read, Hymns are sung and Psalms and Prayers of Repentance are prayed for the national sin of abortion.

Is Corporate Guilt Real?
Last year a number of individuals, including some pastors, informed us that they didn’t think a National Day of Repentance was Biblical, because they did not believe that there was such a thing as corporate guilt. Some also added that they did not believe that one could pray for the sins of others, we can only confess our own guilt.

Moses Interceded for the Nation
However, Moses prayed for Israel after their sin in worshipping the golden calf (Exodus 32:11-14; 34:6-9; Deuteronomy 9:18-29; Psalm 106:23). Moses identified himself with sins he did not commit:

“Pardon our iniquity and sin, and take us as your inheritance.” 
Exodus 34:9

After Israel’s rebellious refusal to enter the Promised Land, after the bad report of their scouts, Moses interceded for Israel:

“Pardon the iniquity of this people, I pray, according to the greatness of Your mercy, just as You have forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.” 
Numbers 14:19

Prayerlessness is a Sin
The prophet Samuel declared that it would be a great sin for him to fail to pray for the nation.

“Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you…” 
1 Samuel 12:2

Ezra Led the Nation in Repentance
Ezra 9 records a Prayer of National Repentance. Although Ezra had not personally committed most of the sins he was repenting of, on behalf of the land, he fully identified with the sins of his people. He tore his garment and his robe, plucked out some of his hair, fasted and fell on his knees, spreading out his hands to the Lord (Ezra 9:3-5). Ezra prayed:

“O my God, I am too ashamed and humiliated to lift up my face to You my God; for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt is grown up to the heavens…We have forsaken Your commandments…”
Ezra 9:6-10

Nehemiah Repented for the Nation
When Nehemiah, in exile, heard of the trouble and disgrace of Jerusalem, he wept and mourned, fasted and prayed (Nehemiah 1:3-4). Nehemiah prayed:

“Lord God of heaven, O great and awesome God, You who keep Your Covenant and mercy with those who love You and observe Your commandments…I pray before You now…and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against You. Both my fathers house and I have sinned. We have acted very corruptly against You, and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, nor the ordinances which You commanded…”
Nehemiah 1:5-7

In Nehemiah 9 we read the corporate prayer of the Israelites as they confessed their national sins before the Lord.

Jeremiah Repented on Behalf of his Nation
Jeremiah confessed the national sins of his people:

“For we have sinned against the Lord our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even to this day, and have not obeyed the voice of our God.”
Jeremiah 3:25

“O Lord, though our iniquities testify against us, do it for your Namesake; for our backslidings are many. We have sinned against You.”
Jeremiah 14:7

“We acknowledge, O Lord, our wickedness and the iniquity of our fathers, for we have sinned against You.”
Jeremiah 14:20

Daniel Repented on Behalf of his Nation
The great prophet Daniel also prayed a prayer of national repentance on behalf of his people, confessing sins which he was not personally guilty of.

“O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His Covenant and mercy with those who love Him and with those who keep His commandments, we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even departing from Your precepts and Your judgments. Neither have we heeded Your servants the prophets who spoke in Your Name…O Lord, to us belong shame of face, to our kings, our princes and our fathers, because we have sinned against You…we have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in His Laws, which He set before us by His servants the prophets. Yes, all Israel has transgressed Your law, and has departed so as not to obey Your voice; therefore the curse and the oath written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, has been poured out on us, because we have sinned against Him…Let Your anger and Your fury be turned away from Your city Jerusalem, your holy mountain; because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people are a reproach to all those around us…O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and act!…” 
Daniel 9:4-19

The Scripture records that Daniel’s vicarious prayer of national repentance led to a dramatic Spiritual breakthrough. The angel Gabriel appeared to him with instructions from the Lord (Daniel 9:20-23). Daniel received a tremendous vision and prophecy. He also was informed about a great Spiritual conflict which had raged with demonic forces (Daniel 10:13). When we engage in national Repentance we are involved in Spiritual warfare (Daniel 10:20).

God is Looking for Intercessors
The Word of God is clear:

“So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land that I should not destroy it…” 
Ezekiel 22:30

The Prophet Hosea taught that spiritual bondage comes from national sins:

“My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; because you have forgotten the Law of your God, I will also forget your children…Harlotry, wine and new wine enslave the heart. My people ask counsel from their wooden idols, and their staff informs them. For the spirit of harlotry has caused them to stray, and they played the harlot against their God. They offer sacrifices on the mountain tops and burn incense on the hills, under oaks, poplars and terebinths, because the shade is good. Therefore your daughters commit harlotry, and your brides commit adultery…Therefore people who do not understand will be trampled.” 
Hosea 4:6-14

National Guilt was Taught by the Lord and His Apostles
The principle of national sin is taught by the Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew 23:31-38.

The Apostle Paul accepted the reality of national guilt (1 Thessalonians 2:14-16). The Apostle Peter also wrote of the

“corruptible things…received by tradition from your fathers…” 
1 Peter 1:18

The National Repentance in Nineveh
A most dramatic example of national repentance is found in the Book of Jonah. The Prophet Jonah was a reluctant missionary, but he finally went to proclaim God’s Word to his enemies, the Assyrians, in the great capital city of Nineveh. Incredibly,

“the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth from the greatest to the least of them…” 
Jonah 3:5

The king himself put on sackcloth and ashes and issued a decree:

“But let man and beast be covered with sackcloths and cry mightily to God; yes let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. Who can tell if God will turn and relent, and turn away from His fierce anger, so that we may not perish?”
Jonah 3:8-9

God’s Word to a Nation
The Word of the Lord came to Jeremiah to go down to the potters house and there it was revealed to him:

“The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down and to destroy it; if that nation against whom I have spoken turns from it’s evil, I will relent of the disaster I thought to bring upon it. And the instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it, if it does evil in My sight, so that it does not obey My voice, then I will relent concerning the good with which I said would benefit it.” 
Jeremiah 18:7-10

Almighty God, our Creator and Eternal Judge, controls the destinies of nations. National problems are not primarily political, but Spiritual (we get the government we deserve). We create and aggravate our own problems through disobedience to God’s holy Law. It is human greed, pride, lust, hatred and selfishness that underlies the corruption, immorality and crime in society. It is man’s desire to be independent of God, free of moral restraint and liberated from ethical considerations that has led to the breakdown of moral standards, the break up of modern families and the sell out of countries to terrorism and tyranny.

Our problem is sin. We have violated the Laws of God.

Sins to Repent of
God says: “Thou shalt not commit murder.” Abortion is murder. Since 1 February 1997 the ANC government of South Africa has been responsible for the killing of over 700,000 babies – with tax payers money – illegally. An average of 20,000 other South Africans are also murdered every year.

God says: “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” The present South African government has legalised pornography and prostitution and abused tax payers money to fund Love Life in schools – to teach children to be fornicators and whoremongers. Child abuse and rape have exploded and tens of thousands of families have been split apart by rampant divorce.

God says: “Thou shalt not steal.” Along with the crime wave of house break-ins, armed robberies and car hijackings, has come an unprecedented tidal wave of corruption with Black Economic Empowerment scams, fraud and extortion, tearing the economic foundations of the country apart.

God says: “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.” Much of the state news media and history books are bearing false witness, rewriting history, to glamorise mass murderers such as Vladimir Lenin, Mao Tse Tung, Fidel Castro, and Che Guevarre; while vilifying Christians with false accusations. It is as Karl Marx declared: “The first battlefield is the rewriting of history.”

God says: “You shall not covet your neighbour’s goods.” But greed, envy, malice and covetousness are officially sanctioned and promoted. Many have a sense of entitlement for things they have not worked for. Senior cabinet ministers have gone on record enthusiastically praising and supporting Marxist dictator Robert Mugabe’s ZANU-PF regime and the national suicide in Zimbabwe. Senior government officials have publicly stated their desire to see similar confiscations of productive white farms in South Africa, just like the land invasions of Zimbabwe.

In the Bible, sin is very specific. It is a violation of the laws of God (Exodus 20). We are guilty when we disobey one of God’s commandments. Sin is failing to worship God alone, it is making or worshipping an idol, taking God’s Name in vain, desecrating the Sabbath, dishonoring our parents, taking an innocent life, committing adultery, stealing, bearing false witness and covetousness.

The Blessings of Obedience
In Leviticus 26 we read God’s commandments and warnings to a nation. The blessings of obedience are spelt out, and the disastrous consequences of disobedience. “You shall not make idols for yourselves; …You shall keep My Sabbaths…Walk in My statures and keep My commandments…Then I will give you rain in it’s season, the land shall yield it’s produce and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit…I will give peace in the land…And the sword will not go through your land…For I will look on you favorably and make you fruitful, multiply you and confirm my covenant with you…”

The Curses of Disobedience
However, Leviticus 26:14-46 spells out some of the catastrophic consequences of violating God’s commands: “But if you do not obey Me, and do not observe all these commandments, and if you despise My statutes,…terror…wasting disease and fever…Those who hate you shall reign over you…Your highways shall be desolate…You shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy…I will scatter you among the nations and draw out a sword after you; your land shall be desolate and your cities waste; you shall perish among the nations, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up and those of you who are left shall waste away in their iniquity in your enemies lands…But if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers, with their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to Me, and that they also have walked contrary to Me…If their uncircumcised hearts are humbled and they accept their guilt – then I will remember My Covenant…”

Warnings to the Nation
Deuteronomy 28 also lists the national blessings of obedience and curses of disobedience.

“If you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above the nations of the earth. And all His blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obeyed the Voice of the Lord your God.” 
Deuteronomy 28:1-2.

Those nations that are obedient to God’s Law are promised peace and prosperity, productivity and fertility, rain at the right times and victory in battle.

However,

“If you do not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all His curses will come upon you and overtake you.”
Deuteronomy 28:15

Catastrophic Consequences for National Sin
Some of the national consequences of national sin include: infertility, famine, drought, poverty, confusion, defeat and disaster. “The Lord will strike you with…fever, with inflammation, with severe burning fever…the alien who is among you shall rise higher and higher above you, and you shall come down lower and lower…moreover all these curses shall come upon you and pursue you and overtake you, until you are destroyed, because you did not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which He commanded you…Then the Lord will bring upon you and your descendants extraordinary plagues – great and prolonged plagues – and serious and prolonged sicknesses…”

Bloodshed Pollutes the Land
The Word of God warns us not to pollute the land in which we live:

“For blood defiles the land, and no atonement can be made for the land, for the blood that is shed on it, except by the blood of Him who shed it. Therefore do not defile the land which you inhabit…” 
Numbers 35:33-34

In Deuteronomy 21 a case of an unsolved murder is dealt with.

“If anyone is found slain…and it is not known who killed him, then the elders of the surrounding towns are required to carefully investigate and if they cannot bring the murderer to justice they need to solemnly declare: Our hands have not shed this blood, nor have our eyes seen it. Provide atonement, O Lord, for your people of Israel, whom you’ve redeemed, and do not lay innocent blood to the charge of your people Israel…so you shall put away the guilt of innocent blood from among you when you do what is right in the sight of the Lord.” 
Deuteronomy 21:7-9

Abortion is an Abomination
Life begins at conception and abortion is the violent taking of an innocent life. How can we pray for national blessings when our nation is guilty of the shedding of innocent blood?

“Deliver those who are drawn toward death, and hold back those stumbling to the slaughter. If you say, ‘surely we did not know this’, does not He who weighs the heart consider it? He who keeps your soul does He not know it? And will He not render to each man according to his deeds?” 
Proverbs 24:11-12

“Open your mouth for the speechless, in the cause of all who are appointed to die.” 
Proverbs 30:8

Confession of Sin is Commanded

“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 
1 John 1:8-9

Personal Guilt and Responsibility
The Prophet Ezekiel teaches that the sins of the father will not bring judgment on those who turn away from that sin and repent of their personal sin, and of their parental or ancestral sins. Children must not be punished for the sins of their parents, unless they choose to walk in those sins (Ezekiel 18).

Both the Prophets Ezekiel and Jeremiah address the false assumption of Judean exiles in Babylonia that they were exiled from the land of Israel because of their parents sins and not because they personally deserved it. Ezekiel made it clear that the exiles had been walking in those very same sins as their fathers which had brought on the judgment of exile from the land. Those who refuse to repent of, and turn away from, their sins, and the sins of their parents, will not escape judgment.

We are a Royal Priesthood
God’s people are “

a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness and into His marvelous light.” 
1 Peter 2:9

We may not personally have been involved in the sin of abortion, but as priests of God we can intercede on behalf of our friends, family members and neighbours. And we can identify with the selfishness, complacency, lust, greed, unbelief and hard-heartedness that leads to the sin of abortion.

“He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.” 
Proverbs 28:13

The Book of Common Prayer includes the Reformation tradition of Corporate Confessional prayer, including for national sins. When Moses had interceded on behalf of the people of Israel

“the people mourned greatly…For we have sinned!” 
Numbers 15:39-40

National Days of Repentance
I remember shortly after my conversion to Christ in 1977, South Africa experienced a severe drought. The President called for a National Day of Repentance and Humiliation before God. As a new Christian I was most impressed when I joined the masses of people pouring out of the workplaces during lunch hour and filling the churches in Central Cape Town to overflowing. In was the first time that I had ever experienced such an intense time of earnest heart-searching prayers of repentance. And when the rains came just a couple of days later I was awestruck!

Yet, it is a sad fact that despite some serious times of drought experienced at different times over the last twenty years, none of the last three Presidents of South Africa have seen fit to call for a National Day of Prayer and Repentance.

My father, who fought in the Second World War, remembered that King George VI had called the people of Great Britain to National Days of Prayer and Repentance four times. Yet, sadly, his daughter, Queen Elizabeth II, in 55 years as the Queen of England, has not once called for a National Day of Prayer. The last time Britain had a National Day of Prayer was during the Second World War.

Reformation and Revival
It is time for us to look at God’s Law and His Words to a nation afresh. We need to structure our repentance according to the Ten Commandments. And we need a Biblical understanding of repentance. Repentance is not merely “feeling sorry” for our “failings and weaknesses.” What God calls wicked, we should not try to redefine as some kind of “mistake.”

Biblical repentance involves: conviction, contrition and conversion. A change of mind. A change of heart. And a change of life. Repentance involves a change of lifestyle and a change of behaviour.

“Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.” 
Isaiah 55:6-7

“Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die…?” 
Ezekiel 18:31

“Repent therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.” 
Acts 3:18

God’s Mercy or God’s Judgment

“See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commands, decrees and Law; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land…this day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life so that you and your children may live. And that you may love the Lord your God, listen to His voice and hold fast to Him.” 
Deuteronomy 3:15-20

Dr. Peter Hammond

Livingstone Fellowship
P.O. Box 74
Newlands 7725
Cape Town
South Africa
Tel: 021-689-4480
Email: mission@frontline.org.za
Email: info@ReformationSA.org

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