Brexit

6-25-16 Medford

Introduction – The monumental event that has taken place in Britain has taken center stage in world news and pretty much left me with as a mandate for today’s sermon topic.

• It has also left in its wake a global shock wave that has left everyone, even political experts, and pollsters (which are usually accurate), wondering what the future will hold.
• Stock markets around the world experienced major downturns.
• On Wall Street, the U.S. stock market lost all of the previous year’s gains in a single day yesterday.
• No one knows where this all will lead, although there are, of course, many predictions that vary in degrees on a wide continuum from positive to negative.
• Of course, Bible prophecy provides a source of information that can offer some understanding to students of the Bible.

SPS – What are the potential consequences of Britain’s landmark decision for Britain, Europe, the U.S. and other nations?

In preparation for this sermon, I watched several hours of discussion on TV news channels and called my friend Melvin Rhodes, a UCG member who grew up in England and is a very knowledgeable on Bible prophecy.

• From these sources, I gleaned somewhat of an overall picture of the meaning and possible consequences of what has been dubbed as Brexit (an abbreviated form of British exit).
• Mr. Rhodes also referred me to his blogs on WordPress (melvinrhodes.wordpress.com).
• I will read from his 6-24-16 post and comment with observations I gleaned from other news sources.

The most important election this year has already taken place.  No, I haven’t forgotten the one in November that has still to take place here in the United States.   Nor am I overlooking the election in Australia next week.

The referendum in the United Kingdom on membership of the European Union was a once in a lifetime vote that will actually lead to significant change, something that normally doesn’t follow a general election.

The British people voted yesterday to leave the European Union.  Or, rather, 52% of those who voted, opted to “Leave;” 48% voted to “Remain.” Even that does not reveal the whole story – London and Scotland voted to “Remain.” The English voted overwhelmingly to leave. London, a city which, at best, is only 50% ethnic English, voted to remain.

The pace of change that is taking place right now is staggering.   Britain is OUT; so is David Cameron, who resigned this morning; it’s only a year since he led the Conservative Party to a surprise win in the last election.  It’s less than two years since the Union with Scotland was secured in the Scottish referendum.  Scotland voted yesterday to stay in the EU.  The First Minister of Scotland is now insisting that Scots be given another opportunity to vote on leaving the UK.  What a change in just a few months!

Even the Leader of the Opposition Labor Party may choose to resign – while he supported continued membership of the EU, the party’s supporters did not.

London’s first Muslim Mayor is even talking of the capital city somehow maintaining a special relationship with Europe.

The prospect of the United Kingdom breaking up is a serious one.  Only England (outside of London) and Wales voted to “Leave.”   Even Gibraltar, the first British territory to vote, voted overwhelmingly to “Remain” – the Spanish Prime Minister, seizing an opportunity, is now calling for joint British and Spanish control of the peninsula.

Meanwhile, there is turmoil on the international financial markets, which will likely continue until some sort of an agreement is reached between the UK and EU, reassuring markets.

• Businesses in Britain and Germany are likely to prevent politicians from “killing the goose that lays the golden egg” and allow the brisk trade to continue.
• But how to make this work could pose challenges.

It’s a big mess all around!

POSSIBLE CONSEQUENCES

1. Changes could come to the EU.  Other nations may withdraw, forcing change on those that remain.   Financially, the European Union received a lot of money from the UK. This spigot will be cut off.  To paraphrase Margaret Thatcher, the EU has finally run out of other peoples’ money!

• 70% of French citizens favor France withdrawing from the EU.
• How many other nations follow Britain’s lead remains to be seen.

2. The future of the European Union itself is also uncertain.   One thing is absolutely clear – the bureaucrats who control the Union are out of touch with the common people.   Demands from the people of other countries for their own referendum will increase.   Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission, is calling for a quick resolution of uncertainty, hoping to stop any contagion.   Anti-Establishment revolutions, even non-violent ones, have a habit of spreading from one country to another.

• Ex. recent civil wars in Middle East nations.
• We are living in a time of widespread social unrest and political instability.
• “populism” – “Populism is a political position which holds that the virtuous citizens are being mistreated by a small circle of elites, who can be overthrown if the people recognize the danger and work together. The elites are depicted as trampling in illegitimate fashion upon the rights, values, and voice of the legitimate people” (Wikipedia).
• Older people (who remember the good times of the past) vs. youth who have fallen for liberal promises with no historic foundation of better times.
• A WWII veteran in England on a British news program, when he heard the result of the election, he was crying, “I fought in WWII for England’s freedom from European domination, and now we are free again, and I’m so thankful to live to see this day.”
• Zeitgeist (from German Zeitgeist, literally "spirit of the age," from zeit "time" + geist "spirit") = “the defining spirit or mood of a particular period of history as shown by the ideas and beliefs of the time.”

NRS 1 Corinthians 2:12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit that is from God….

3. Scotland is more likely to leave the United Kingdom, taking England and Wales back to the seventeenth century.  Northern Ireland’s future is also uncertain.
4. Germany will emerge from this as a more powerful force in Europe. This was one concern some British people had. Ironically, by voting to leave, they will have helped strengthen Germany as the dominant power in Europe. As the EU progresses, fulfilling its goal of an “ever closer union”, it will inevitably mean a greater role for Berlin.

• Germany is accomplishing in the EU what Hitler tried to do in WWII.

5. The referendum was an anti-establishment vote.  For 43 years the British people have lived under the growing authority of the bureaucratic socialist super-state that is the EU, having to comply with thousands of dictates they did not want.  

The BBC announced yesterday that the European Union wants to ban the electric tea-kettle, on the grounds that it is not energy efficient.

This is the latest example of the petty bureaucracy that is typical of the EU.   The socialist superstate wants to regulate every aspect of people’s lives.

They have been meddling in people’s lives for decades. Now, their meddling has become decidedly personal. When they want to regulate the English cuppa, it’s definitely time to vote “Leave.”

They should remember that tea was a major factor in the American struggle for independence!

• Even in the U.S., the Trump phenomenon is an outgrowth of widespread dissatisfaction with “the establishment.”
• “differences but a common theme” (comment of one political analyst)
• Rejection of the political elite and political systems that “are not working.”
• It’s no longer simply Democrats vs. Republicans.
• Donald Trump has defied and vilified many, even his own Republican Party, to the delight of many U.S. citizens who identify with his outspoken anti-establishment rhetoric, despite his many inaccurate statements.
• What effect will Brexit have on the U.S. presidential election?

6. The vote was a vote against globalization. The driving force in western thinking, since World War II, has been globalization. Multiculturalism, free trade deals, massive numbers of immigrants, have all profoundly changed the western world; yesterday’s vote was the first big sign that the people are hitting back. Half the people (actually a little over half) feel that they are missing out and don’t like the way things are going. That’s true in other countries as well as the UK.
7. Migration was a major issue. People don’t like the sheer numbers of Syrians, Iraqis, Poles, Bulgarians, Rumanians, Pakistanis, etc that now live in Britain.  

• The Brits and other nations oppose mass influx of destitute refugees who pose an economic burden with no positive contributions to the national economy.
• Yet another concern is the infiltration of terrorists.
• Cultural differences pose yet another problem.
• Ex. several cases of rape of British girls by Middle Easterners.
• The new Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, a Muslim whose family migrated from Pakistan, sensing this significant change in national thinking, campaigned against a Brexit and now wants London to continue an association with Europe.

In this context, it’s interesting to note the prophet Daniel’s observation about the interracial condition of the ancient Roman Empire and of its modern-day successor founded by the Treaty of Rome:

Daniel 2:42-43  And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile. 43 As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay.”

Whereas America was a melting pot, the European Union was a union of 28 different nations and cultures, each with its own languages and customs. Mixing was never going to be as successful as in the United States.

8. Yesterday’s vote could start a populist movement – even the US may follow in November. Presidential candidate Donald Trump, on a private visit to Scotland, said this morning that Brexit is a good thing: “the British have gotten their country back.” Brexiters have a lot in common with Trump, who may capture the mood of Americans in the same way.

• Cp. Trump’s slogan (“Make America Great Again”) & British “Put Britain First.”
• Both promote nationalism
• He exposes and opposes the establishment.
• Trump also opposes immigration of Muslims.
• He has likely made points with the British by supporting the decision to leave the EU and publicly praising them as our most faithful allies.

Hillary Clinton supported the “Remain’ campaign but was out of touch with the people.  (There was no reason for her to get involved in the first place.)   President Obama warned on a recent visit to the UK that if the country left the EU it would go to the “back of the queue” (a British term) to wait for a new trade deal with the US.   Trump today said that will not happen if he becomes president, that the UK has been a close ally of the US for decades and deserves better than that.

9. However, financial concerns are justified.  The pound dropped 10% in hours, even before the final tally was realized (trading continued in the Far East due to the time difference) and stock markets are in freefall.  But this was to be expected.   It should soon calm down.  

• Opinions vary re. how the U.S. economy will be affected and for how long.
• Some see Friday’s massive drop on Wall Street as an overreaction because the U.S. economy remains strong.
• The dollar is also strong, which ironically is an economic liability because it raises the cost of exports to other nations because of an unfavorable exchange rate of their currencies relative to the dollar.

10. The vote for Brexit will have an international effect as well as a domestic one.   Relations between the EU and Russia may change.  The Mayor of Moscow today said that without Britain, the EU will be less likely to continue economic sanctions on the country.

Today we are witnessing a seismic shift in world history.   We don’t see those every day. What we are seeing is England waking up to the consequences of globalism.   Others will follow.   But, the world has changed in the last 43 years.   Whereas the UK was a constant in the pre-EU world, it no longer is.   The EU offers Scotland and Ireland a viable alternative.   The Brexit could mean the end of the United Kingdom….   The country has not been this divided in centuries and will likely see further division ahead.

Europe has already meant the end of David Cameron, who joins his two Conservative predecessors, John Major and Margaret Thatcher, in being brought down by divisions over Europe.   Whoever replaces him as prime minister will have to try and unite the party and the country at a very difficult time in history.

At the same time, there is going to be a lot of lingering bad feelings, in both British major parties and between the UK and the rest of Europe.  Mr. Juncker has just announced an emergency meeting of the other 27 leaders of the EU, to take place on Wednesday. We will soon see what the EU has in mind for a Europe without the UK.

One other factor that Mr. Rhodes does not mention is the fact that terrorists seek to exploit weaknesses in nations.

• ISIS has called for attacks on Berlin (EU leading nation) and Brussels (seat of government).
• Jihad (holy war) against “the Crusaders”)
• 2-23-02 sermon “September 11th in Prophecy” by Melvin Rhodes
• Remember that Germany has already allowed thousands of Middle Eastern refugees to immigrate to Germany, so how many terrorists were able to gain entry along with them?

Could this be a significant development of the prophesied end-time battle between “the King of the North” vs. “the King of the South?”

NKJ Daniel 11:40-45  At the time of the end the king of the South shall attack him; and the king of the North shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter the countries, overwhelm them, and pass through. 41 "He shall also enter the Glorious Land, and many countries shall be overthrown; but these shall escape from his hand: Edom, Moab, and the prominent people of Ammon. 42 "He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. 43 "He shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; also the Libyans and Ethiopians shall follow at his heels. 44 "But news from the east and the north shall trouble him; therefore he shall go out with great fury to destroy and annihilate many. 45 "And he shall plant the tents of his palace between the seas and the glorious holy mountain, yet he shall come to his end, and no one will help him.

• “attack” = “push at” (KJV) – “gore” (Exodus 21:28, Exodus 21:31, Exodus 21:32).
• Connection between gore & goad
• Will terrorist attacks by ISIS goad the EU to the point of military invasion of much of the Middle East in attempt to purge the area of terrorism?
• At this point, terrorist attacks are on the increase, including individual acts of violence.
• Latest ISIS advice = don’t come here; you can be a soldier in the nation where you live.
• Will the Catholic church enforce their solution of the Jew-Arab conflict by seeking to impose their brand of Christianity?

Revelation 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

• What religious power is beheading Christians today?
• Why would a professing Christian organization put to death someone for their “witness to Jesus?”

Let’s consider the possible connection of the Brexit vote to Bible prophecy:

Revelation 18:1-4 After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his glory.  2 And he cried mightily with a loud voice, saying, "Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird!  3 "For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury."  4 And I heard another voice from heaven saying, "Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues.

• Someday, Brits may look back in retrospect and understand a much greater reason to be thankful for the decision to leave the EU.

Conclusion – Time will tell the answers to these questions and the present uncertainties in world conditions.

• In the meantime, a tense world awaits with trepidation how yesterday’s economic fallout will last and how bad it will be.
• Investors have the weekend to consider their response, which will determine the severity of the effect on the stock market.