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The following letter was submitted to the ‘Belfast Newsletter’ in the early hours of this morning. It is a rebuttal of the deceitful letter the newspaper printed on Saturday from one, Gerry Cullen.

His letter is all part of the white-washing of Irish Republicanism and an attempt to ‘ennoble’ the murderer, Michael Collins.

Please pray that it will be published in full.

Sincerely in Christ’s name,

Ivan Foster

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Sir,

In the ‘NewsLetter’ of Saturday, 27th August, a letter appeared under the heading, ‘Michael Collins would not have backed later IRA murders’. The writer was a Mr Gerry Cullen.

The notion set forth by Mr Cullen would be laughable, were it not seen as part of the ‘sanitising’ of the murderous agenda of Irish Republicanism, both in the early and middle part of the last century. As such his letter is wickedly deceitful!

Michael Collins did not sign the ‘Anglo Irish Treaty’ in December 1921 in order to avoid the “inevitable sectarian slaughter of Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland”, as claimed by Mr Cullen.

Rather, he did so because on the night of December 5th, 1921, Lloyd George brandished two letters in front of the Irish delegation and warned them that a train was waiting at Euston Station and a destroyer at Holyhead to take one of the letters to Belfast to the Northern Ireland prime minister James Craig.

One letter stated that agreement had been reached between Great Britain and the Irish Republic; the other stated that the talks had broken down. In the latter case Lloyd George threatened there would be “immediate and terrible war within three days”.

That is what prompted Collins to sign! No one knew better than he that the IRA, enfeebled after years of conflict, would be utterly wiped out under such an unshackled assault by the British Army!

As he signed, he was heard to say, ‘I am signing my death warrant’. Collins was not prepared to sign his death warrant for the sake of the Protestants or Roman Catholics of Northern Ireland! He was thinking of others, himself included, facing the threatened British Army assault.

Michael Collins was deeply involved in the terrorism unleashed on the Protestants of Northern Ireland following the signing of the ‘Treaty’. (more…)

I will start this final study by thanking those who contacted me to thank me for the previous studies in Matthew 24 under the title of ‘The Beginning of Sorrows.’

These studies arose out my own consideration of the verse 8 and the fact that the Saviour indicated that the ‘Christian Era’ would be one of sorrow for the believer. It is not that the gospel brings grief to those who embrace it, for nothing could be further from the truth. What was said of Samaria upon the entrance of the gospel, may be said of individuals, communities and nations which embrace God’s truth as did Samaria. “And there was great joy in that city,” Acts 8:8.

But not all cities acted so. Things were different on at least one occasion in Ephesus. “And the whole city was filled with confusion,”Acts 19:29. That word ‘confusion’ refers to a riotous situation, not brought on by the gospel but brought about by the enemies of the gospel who sought by riot to stop it being preached.

So it has been over the last 2000 years.

Sincerely in Christ’s name,

Ivan Foster

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THE BEGINNING OF SORROWS, Final Part

“All these are the beginning of sorrows,” Matthew 24:8.

Thoughts arising from my reading of this chapter as part of my daily reading and which form the final section of a brief study of Mathew 24:1-31.

There have been very few periods over the last 2000 years when sorrow did not feature darkly amongst the ranks of the godly. Even in times of revival blessing, those who served the Lord and preached His Word were treated shamefully. The histories of men such as the Waldenses, the Protestant Reformers, the Covenanters, George Whitefield and John Wesley testify to this fact.

This world has never had the wit to realise the greatness of the eternal good that it could enjoy if only it were to receive the message of Christ. Instead, it has treated the messengers with the ‘good news’ of salvation most abominably. In all too many instances they “had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: they were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth,” Hebrews 11:36-38.

Yes, sorrow has followed the gospel like a dark shadow but Christian, remember the words of Paul.

“For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body,” Romans 8:18-23.

I ended our last study by indicating that we will consider the final and glorious sequence of events that will signal the return of the Saviour and our gathering unto Him. (more…)