The Message Britain Needs To Hear

Therefore, if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things have passed away. Look, all things have become new.  All this is from God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ and has given to us the ministry of reconciliation,  that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their sins against them, and has entrusted to us the message of reconciliation.  So we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us. We implore you in Christ’s stead: Be reconciled to God. God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
2 CORINTHIANS 5:17-21 Modern English Version

In this passage we see that God makes all things new.

This new life that is in Him includes reconciliation - we are reconciled to Him through Jesus Christ. Furthermore, He gives us the ministry of reconciliation.

We are tasked with spreading the message of reconciliation; it is our job to do. Such a task doesn't mean that we be wimpy about it. It is not peace on any terms but peace on God's terms. And yet as we see here, He is pleading through us for people to come to Him and receive Him.

It is clear that God is initiating a relationship with humanity. Yet it must be on His terms. Sad to say, some people find this too much of God to ask! However, reconciling with God is a no-brainer - it is we who get all the benefits.

Now this passage speaks of us as individuals. The most important and vital thing anybody has to address is his/her relationship with the One who created us.

But there is a family, community, national and global aspect to all this. God was in Christ reconciling THE WORLD to Himself. Too often we just focus on our own individual self - we need to get back to seeing the world much more from a collective point of view. Too many concentrate on the vertical i.e. their own relationship with God but they neglect the horizontal which is their relationship with others. How remarkable that in the age of social media, we have become more anti-social - like little islands separate from one another who communicate only through a plastic screen. We tweet people we have never met on the other side of the world but neglect our real friends who we used to meet regularly.

In Britain today we need the ministry of reconciliation more than ever - not just between God and man but between ourselves. Husbands and wives, parents and children, Yes voters and No voters, Scots and English. The list goes on...

The problem with separatism is it separates people and creates boundaries and divisions. It is the very opposite of reconciliation. Same with individuality. A selfish, "me first" attitude might work against some weak-willed people. But in the long run, the seeds of selfishness sown will reap a bitter harvest.

This doesn't mean that we have to agree with everybody about everything. For example, Protestants and Catholics can be friends without agreeing on matters of doctrine. Christians and Muslims can reach agreement on certain things without an atmosphere of rancid hate. We should be seeking peace as much as possible with all men - even those we feel we must confront and oppose in certain circumstances.

The ministry of reconciliation is a reminder that our key task is to seek such peace and an ultimate reconciliation. It isn't always easy and can be a bit scary because it requires us to be humble and vulnerable.

In Northern Ireland a man who spent all his life in a confrontational mode switched in his latter years to a transformational one. Dr Ian Paisley was synonymous with "No Surrender!" but in the end realised that reconciliation was the only way forward. Ultimately, he called his arch enemy Martin McGuiness his friend.

I realise this is contentious stuff and many still feel that Dr Paisley went too far. Some would even say he capitulated. But the powerful argument is that no matter how much of a wretch anyone is, they can have the friendship of God through Jesus Christ in a millisecond. The Bible says we love Him because He first loved us i.e. He is the initiator of this friendship.

It is not a valid argument to say that some we seek to befriend will rebuff us so why bother? Or that they will see us as weak and naïve and take advantage of us. How the offer of friendship is received and reciprocated is not the important thing.

Offering the friendship as an ambassador for Christ is.

This is what is required of us - to be reconciled to God and then to be ministers of reconciliation to others.

Remember the words of The Master:

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God.

The UK - A God Thing

So the people of Scotland have spoken and the Union prevails.

More importantly, the Lord has spoken for the Most High rules in the kingdom of men and He it is who has made one of two men and two houses.

Let no-one be in any doubt that the threat the Union faced was real; however, that threat would not have been dissolution of the Union but a time of great travail more than we could bear. All praise to YHWH for sparing us this option.

The disappointing thing is how many believers - and leaders - voted Yes for change, despite the clear warnings of scripture in the matter. I didn't see many saying they sought the Lord's mind on the referendum but you have to wonder would they have heard Him anyway?

Those who did pray on both sides of the vote prayed that God's will be done. Given the prayer was sincere, we can conclude it has been and so the Union is God's purpose for us. Those who are disappointed at the result must therefore accept they have not aligned themselves with this purpose but with a rebellious movement.

Harsh words but I am not called to mince them. The truth frees and liberates and it is time we heard it.

The cross of Christ unites. The blood of Christ unites. Preaching of this in the Protestant Reformation is what directly brought about the Union. By abandoning that Union we would be acquiescing to the forces of secularism. We must revive the Union by reviving our proclamation of a heavenly Kingdom.

The sad thing is that Christians bought into the lie that the referendum is about the voice and will of the people of Scotland. These are carnal concerns. Our focus must be the will and Word of God.

Another lie is that the choice is between self-rule or Westminster rule. The reality is that there are two kingdoms - the Kingdom of God and that of mammon. The people of God who voted for independence took their eyes off the ball in this regard, taking petty grievances about Westminster rule to heart instead of the mind of God. 

We must remember that the Lord is more concerned with injustice than we are. Staying in the Union and being an agent for transformation is far better than leaving in protest and rancour.

Scotland's destiny is in the Union and that Union is God-ordained and forged in covenant.

You may rail against it but you cannot abrogate it. It is wise to align yourself with this truth and be part of what God is doing.

God save the Queen and throw down all rebellion against His anointed monarchy.

Scotland: Mutant Nation

There is significant prophetic importance in a Hebrew word with regards to the present attack on our nation.

That word is shanah, which means "rebel" in its simplest form. As we will see, it means so much more.

Let's look at it in Proverbs chapter 24:-

My son, fear Jehovah and the king; and do not fellowship with those who are given to change; 
PROVERBS 24:21 VW

The words "those who are given to change" here are sometimes translated as the word rebels. The Hebrew word is very interesting. And sobering.

It is the Hebrew word shanah and it means to duplicate but in a perverse or disguised way. It has the meaning to transmute i.e to make a mutant of the original! You could call it a perverse copy of the original.

The meaning is that a previously normal person of loyalty would change into a person not to be trusted - a rebel, in other words.

This change would be a mutation but from good to bad.

Sobering stuff.

Note how it applies to our way of life and how we are governed, as well as to our relationship with YHWH.

This verse in Proverbs is a clear scriptural warning to have nothing to do with those who want to change the form of government or way of life we live under. 

One aspect of this independence campaign in Scotland is that many believe it is stealth republicanism. This has become evident in the latter stages of the separatist campaign. 

It should be noted that Scotland has lived under a kingdom form of governance for literally millenia. A Yes vote could change this to a form of government that is alien to Scotland. This would be a mutation on a national level - and a massive rejection of the Queen.

Precisely what Proverbs 24:21 advises against.

For Christians, another dimension that must be pondered is the Union in relation to God's will and purpose in the earth. If the Union is God-ordained, then voting to break it up is rebellion against Him. It cannot be said any simpler.

If there is any uncertainty over this matter i.e. if you cannot say you are 100% convinced the Union of Scotland and England is not the will of God, then you cannot in good conscience vote Yes. Perhaps this explains why many who profess Christ are happy to study and research and ponder the matter but are reluctant to ask their Master what He wants them to do.

God's will is the only consideration for the Christian in this business of the referendum. 

The Hebrew word shanah is also used in the Word to describe the process of division and separation, particularly by deceitful means:-

He who covers a transgression seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates friends. 

PROVERBS 17:9 VW

The phrase "he who repeats" here is shanah in Hebrew. It means to duplicate but in a twisted, perverse way. In other words, to change the meaning.

We have seen this a lot in the independence campaign as the separatists have twisted facts and statements to suit their purpose. At a human level, it sounds clever in a political argument but it is not the wisdom from above that we are hearing; it is demonic wisdom.

Repeating a matter in this verse is to change and twist things to suit one's purpose.

Look at the effect of this: it SEPARATES very friends.

The shanah are divisive and bring separation. Their very words ("matter" in Hebrew is dabar, meaning word, command, promise) are designed to create splits and factions.

As they disseminate their message, it causes firm friends to be estranged from each other. The effect is the very opposite of God's Word, which brings unity and kinship.

We see this in Ephesians 4:16, speaking of the Body of Christ:-

From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. 

EPHESIANS 4:16 KJV

The word "compacted" here also means to reduplicate but means to drive together forcefully rather than separate.

In other words, the effect of the shanah is to mutate that which is of God i.e. the union and interdependence of the Body into something which is separate and independent.

God brings people into oneness through principles of unity, union and harmony. But the principle of shanah is to rebel against this process. It is the spirit of the loner, the rebel and independent-minded. It is also the spirit of contention, which has its root in pride.

The shanah are arrogantly self-sufficient and brook no disagreement with their pronouncements. What they say goes and no amount of logic or rationale will sway them.

Sound familiar?

To summarise, the shanah are those who want to change our nation's way of life as a Christian kingdom. In the case of the separatist movement, they want to eradicate our status as a Christian kingdom and replace it with a secular republic. Proverbs 24:21 is a powerful argument to reject this utterly.

And the shanah are divisive and separate the closest of friends Proverbs 17:9).

There are many Christians who believe that our British Royal family are descended from the biblical King David. Not all of these Christians are British Israelites, with whom the belief is a key tenet of faith.

You don't have to believe this about the British Monarchy in order to form a compelling Bible-based conviction that messing with our kingdom way of life and the structure of that kingdom is not a wise thing to do.

The words of the Master are enough in themselves to make us steer clear of separation ideologies:-

Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand.

MATTHEW 12:25 KJV

This stark and sober warning should be enough to make us shun the break-up of our United Kingdom.

Desolation and ruin are down the path of separation.

The shanah are among us. Have nothing to do with their poisonous lies and devilish ideology.

And certainly pray that they may be delivered from their condition and brought into unity once more.

Those who have ears to hear, let them hear.

Doomsday - A Prophetic Warning

The 2008 film Doomsday, about a Scotland walled-off from the rest of the world, is a prophetic pointer towards the forthcoming referendum, I believe.

In the film, Scotland is separated from the rest of the UK - and the world - by a high wall. The reason is that Scots have contracted what comes to be called the Reaper Virus. This virus turns people into savage animals and makes them mad before killing them.

The plot was partly inspired by the concept of the Roman walls separating north Britain and, interestingly, this featured in a couple of recent films as well.

A separated Scotland is the counterfeit destiny of the country.

In reference to the Hadrian and Antonine Walls, it was presumed for many years that these were built to keep the barbaric hosts of the north from going south. Some scholars believe in an alternate theory, however, based on the Romans known veneration of the British Isles as a holy place.

The concept of Ultima Thule - the end of the world - applied more and more as you travelled further north. In other words, to the Romans, the northern regions of the British Isles were so holy that they were not to be trod on by common people.

According to this line of thought, some believe that the walls the Romans built were constructed to keep people out of the north, leaving it sanctified and undefiled for a great divine purpose.

We see this in the ancient idea of Albion - the white island - white depicting holiness.

Although the origins of this concept have pre-Christian roots, the Celtic and Culdee saints certainly believed in it. 

We know that there are sacred sites and objects in Scotland. There is Mount Zion in the far north, where God will destroy the vail that is over all nations brought about by the so-called Scottish Enlightenment.

We also have the Stone of Destiny, the Rock that followed Israel in the wilderness and upon which Jacob dreamed of a heavenly portal.

So there is no doubt that Scotland is a holy place. The word holy simply means separated unto.

It was always the purpose of God for Scotland to be a separate land - separate unto Him, that is.

That is not the kind of separation that nationalists are clamouring for in this referendum.

Their separation is the counterfeit one.

They have contracted the Reaper Virus and it is turning them into wild animals.

We see this in God's Word.

My son, fear Jehovah and the king; and do not fellowship with those who are given to change; 
PROVERBS 24:21 VW

This is a clear scriptural warning to have nothing to do with those who want to change the form of government or way of life we live under. One aspect of this independence campaign is that many believe it is stealth republicanism. Scotland has lived under a kingdom form of governance for literally millenia. 

A Yes vote could change this to a form of government that is alien to Scotland.

The words "those who are given to change" here are sometimes translated as rebels. The Hebrew word is very interesting. And sobering.

It is the Hebrew word shanah and it means to duplicate but in a perverse or disguised way. It has the meaning to transmute i.e to make a mutant of the original!

The meaning is that a previously normal person of loyalty would change into a person not to be trusted.

In Daniel chapter 4, King Nebuchadnezzar was given a dream in which he saw himself changed from the king he was - a mighty man in charge of the world's then superpower - to a beast and animal. This lasted for seven years until Nebuchadnezzar understood that the Most High ruled in the kingdom of men.

In Daniel 4:16 the word "changed" is shna in Hebrew - to alter, change.

Let his heart be changed from that of a man, and let him be given the heart of a beast. And let seven times pass over him. 
DANIEL 4:16 VW

It is interesting that many Christians who have said they intend to vote for Yes in this campaign have spoken about having given it much thought and research and study prior to making a decision.

What they haven't said much about is asking the Lord for His will in the matter. Whether it be an absolute dictatorship or a modern democracy, we must learn that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men.

His will is all that is important - not our politics, our ideas, our pet topics or our cultural leanings.

You might find it astonishing that a dear friend and brother of mine was labelled demonic for simply suggesting that people ask the Lord in prayer for guidance in how to vote.

I don't.

I have seen the effects of the Shannah Syndrome or the Reaper Virus in people.

Let us hope that we don't face seven years of living like wild animals virtually cut off from the rest of the world to learn the lesson that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men.

God's purpose for Scotland as the Land of Destiny is separation UNTO Him, not separation that will act as a political, cultural and geographic obstacle to His mighty work in Scotland - a work destined to flow unhindered from the far north.

The separation men are planning will indeed hinder this move.

We must not let the Doomsday scenario happen.

The Holy Island of Albion

The Word Of The Lord To Scotland

A prophetic word from Bill McMurdo

O Scotland

How oft would I have held you to My bosom

And sheltered you under the canopy of My wings

But you would not, preferring instead comforts of your own making

And seeking shelter in your vanities

For I would have drenched you with My glory

But you sought your own glories and basked in the pride of your achievements

Even now you boast in your conceit

And seek your own vainglory

Many times I have reached out My hand to you

Yet you turned your back on Me and shunned the help of The Holy One

You chose to forget MY Name and neglect My Word

I would have fed you with the Bread of Life

But you chose to be the sick man, eating that which does not satisfy

Your forefathers knew Me and I was their boast

You, on the other hand, seek to forge your own destiny

You have been Enlightened with wisdom, yet not that from above

And you plan a future with no place for the One who made you and formed you

I ordained you, Scotland, as chief of the nations

Yet you have abused and misused My trust

You have gone the path of the rebellious

And followed those who praise themselves

The destiny I have for you, you disdain as dung

You prefer instead to follow fancies and fill your life with futile things

You have made idols of blessings

And profaned that which is holy

Yours was a land of bloodshed and tyranny

Therefore I brought peace and security to you

Yet now you seek to be your own

And no longer want to be My covenanted nation and people

You seek to break covenant with Me

And My holy purpose for you

Come back to Me, My land

I, The Lord, do weep for you

And my prophets cry out in anguish

Be the people of The Lord once more

Be the people of The Book once more

And I will crown you with greatness

And engulf you in My glory

Glory is your purpose, My beloved Scotland

Turn not from it, says your God

William McMurdo, Emrys

I Will Make Them One Nation

In what could be called the British Israel dimension of Christian teaching, there is a very powerful and sobering message for Scots who will be voting in September's referendum.

Traditional old-school BI has the Jews as Judah and the Northern Europeans of Anglo, Saxon, Celtic, Scandinavian stock as descendants of the Northern House of Israel who were carried into captivity by the Assyrians and who subsequently migrated across the European landmass into the coastlands of Northern Europe and the British Isles.

More thorough scholarship has modified this view in recent years, both by taking into account the Khazarian origin of many Jews and by allowing for the reality that the vast body of Judahites did not return from Babylonian captivity but that they followed their Israelite kinsfolk on the migratory trail.

This more developed approach has seen the emergence in BI of the broadly accepted teaching that what we call Celts - more properly known as Gaels - are the descendants of Judahites, while Angles, Saxons and Vikings are from the Northern House of Israel.

In essence, then, the Judahite stock is to be found among the Gaelic people in Wales, Ireland and Scotland - along with Cornwall. Anglo-Saxon England is where you will find people of Northern Israel stock i.e. those from Ephraim and Samaria. I use these terms nationally more than tribally in this context.

The re-union of the Jews and Gentiles spoken of in the New Testament - in particular in Ephesians chapter 2 - has long been interpreted as a coming together in the Messiah of Jews and Gentiles. However, this also has to be reviewed and revised to suit more recent developments in scholarship. The traditional view made for a cosy outlook on relationships between the Israeli state and the western powers, particularly Britain and America. 

However, if the traditional view has been replaced, then this effects the ongoing dynamics of relationships between Jews and Christians. In other words, the convenient jigsaw fit of old-fashioned British Israel teaching that unites the two in a Judeo-Christian compact way beyond mainstream Christian thinking is no longer fit for purpose.

Saying that, it is a debate for another place and another time.

Based on the premise that Gaelic peoples are descendants of Judahites and Anglo-Saxons are descended from Northern House Israelites, the Jew-Gentile union spoken of in Ephesians 2 is far more relevant and applicable to Scotland's referendum debate than the dynamics between the west and the Israeli state.

It helps to be aware that the terms "Jew" and "Gentile" are invented terms. In the original languages, "Jew" means Judahite or Judaean and "Gentile" simply means of the nations.

What we call Jews in terms of the Pharisaical religion developed after the return from Babylon is understood more in English but is not found in Greek. There is no distinguishing word in Greek or Hebrew that means "Jew" and not "Judahite".

As we see in Ezekiel chapter 37, God's purpose always incorporated a re-union of the separated Israel peoples:

The word of YHWH came again to me, saying,

"You, son of man, take one stick, and write on it, 'For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions': then take another stick, and write on it, 'For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions':

and join them for you one to another into one stick, that they may become one in your hand.

When the children of your people shall speak to you, saying, 'Will you not show us what you mean by these?'

tell them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his companions; and I will put them with it, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in my hand."'

The sticks whereon you write shall be in your hand before their eyes.

"Say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, where they are gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land:

and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all; and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all;

neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions; but I will save them out of all their dwelling places, in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God.

"'"My servant David shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my ordinances, and observe my statutes, and do them.

They shall dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob my servant, in which your fathers lived; and they shall dwell therein, they, and their children, and their children's children, forever: and David my servant shall be their prince for ever.

Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore.

My tent also shall be with them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 

The nations shall know that I am YHWH who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in their midst forevermore."'"

EZEKIEL 37:16-28 NHEBSYE

Israel and Judah were to be re-united and become one nation and one kingdom under one shepherd.

Many BI scholars believe this was fulfilled when James VI of Scotland and I of England ascended the English throne. Full Union happened a century later and it is important to understand that Scotland and England under the terms of the Act of Union both gave up individual nationhood to become ONE nation and ONE kingdom called Great Britain.

Britain is a Hebrew term, translated as covenant nation or covenant people.

This passage in Ezekiel ties in with the passage in Ephesians chapter 2:-

Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles (nations) in the flesh — who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands —  that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.  But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father. EPHESIANS 2:11-18 NKJV

This passage is understood very simply from a BI perspective as being another way of looking at the two sticks becoming one in Ezekiel. The two men i.e. Israel and Judah would be re-united as one new man in Christ. Israel - that is, Northern Israel - had become Gentilised i.e. of the nations, pagan and outside of the covenant relationship with YHWH. Remember that this Northern House of Israel was divorced from YHWH (see the Book of Hosea) but the Southern Kingdom was not.

Northern Kingdom Israelites were thus "lost sheep" and estranged from the covenant promises. They were regarded as strangers and known as the Uncircumcised to reflect their identification with pagans.

Of course, we see that this mystical re-union of the Northern House of Israel and the Southern House of Judah took place at the cross, accomplished in the blood of Christ. How apt that three crosses make up the flag of this UNITED Kingdom.

Gentilised Israel was adopted back to the status of sonship because Christ took the curse upon Him, allowing these scattered Israelites to be blessed with Abraham's blessing once more.

This is the BI perspective on relationships between Judahite Gaels and English Anglo-Saxons. Jesus removed the enmity and brought union and peace.

Hatred between the Gael and the Saxon is thus enemy seed and must be bound out of our national life. Sadly, hatred has much to do with this coming referendum.

I accept that not everyone has this BI revelation and some may reject it.

However, other powerful scriptural warnings that appeal more to a mainstream way of thinking provide ample warning that voting to split up the UK is a dangerous thing to do.

My son, fear Jehovah and the king; and do not fellowship with those who are given to change; PROVERBS 24:21 VW

Young's Literal Translation calls these people "changers" and it is like something out of science fiction when you examine the Hebrew. The word in Hebrew is shanah and it literally means to transmute i.e. to mutate! It means to become an alter or a double but one changed inside, even though the outward appearance is the same.

It is a bit like the sci fi cult film They Live! where aliens lived among humans undetectable without the use of certain glasses.

The shanah live among us and they are intent on changing things - and not for the better!

I have seen this happen in this referendum debate - devout Unionists going weird and becoming shanah. Of course, John McPhee saw all this would happen and prophesied it.

The Master Himself warned against these things when He said that a divided kingdom was ripe for destruction:-

And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: MATTHEW 12:25

Division - the creation of another vision - is thus a tactic used to conquer people.

These two scriptures on the introduction of change and division, along with the subsequent warnings about both, place a strong burden on those who want to introduce precisely these elements to national life by calling for a separate Scotland to provide overwhelming evidence that they are not being destructive in doing so.

I led with the British Israel argument because it is the most potent and removes all possible argument, particularly when you factor in the BI belief that the British Throne is the continuation of the biblical Throne of King David in the earth.

I accept that for those who struggle to accept this, it is a big ask to swallow it whole. I remember my own fierce resistance to British Israel so won't hold it against anyone who feels that way.

However, there is enough to be found in Scripture to argue an irresistible case for NOT changing things on September 18th.

What is important is the motive or reason for change. My own observation is that much of it is rooted in resentment and anti-English sentiment. Hardly good enough reasons for breaking up a Union that Scots have led and excelled in for over 300 years.

The over-riding argument in the whole matter is that this referendum is not about personal choice or political allegiance. Those who say it is are fools and Christians who see it as a matter of personal whim are grossly carnal.

The truth is that this referendum is all about God's will. In other words, you have to be sure you are on God's side of the fence before you cast your vote.

The reality is that to vote against the will of God in such a matter is very reckless and astonishingly dangerous.

If you are unsure about how to vote, then don't. But pray His will be done. You can vote AND pray this but remember the key issue is not what we think is best - it is what the will of God is on the matter.

Yvonne Hall made a good point about asking ourselves if the Act of Union was a business deal type of agreement for a season or a binding covenant. Only an idiot would say it was anything other than a covenant, given that Britain means covenant land.

The issue we must not skirt around is that it is for those who desire change and division to make a valid case for such. This case must be much more compelling than blaming Westminster for all our societal ills, particularly when there are worryingly anti-English undertones to the argument.

Another way of looking at it is will Scotland be a better place spiritually if separation was obtained? In a sense, this is the same as asking is it God's will?

What is remarkable is that in the nation where God's sovereignty over the land, people and rulers was demonstrated perhaps greater than at any other time in post-biblical history by the Reformation and all that it entailed, we are entertaining the notion of changing our destiny as a country with very little thought given to God's will in the matter.

In ancient times, God made the leader of the then world superpower mad until he acknowledged the eternal truth that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men and giveth it to whomsoever He will.

Let's hope that the 2008 film Doomsday about a Scotland separated from the world because its inhabitants contracted a disease called the Reaper Virus that made them mad was not a prophetic omen.

Let us also hope that the deciding factor in Scotland's destiny has more to do with what God's people say and do in the courts and Throne Room of heaven than in the ballet box booths.

Further reading

The Scottish Referendum - Biblical Considerations with Yvonne Hall

United We Stand  - A British-Israel Perspective On Scottish Independence