I was sent the below scan of an article which I understand appeared in the ‘Sunday Life’ newspaper on Lord’s Day 8th November. At the very commencement of the article it states ‘Rev Ivan Foster says today . . .’ That is an unmitigated falsehood for I did not speak to that newspaper on Lord’s Day 8th or on any other day. Similar statements most likely appear elsewhere in the article; they also are untrue.
I repeat, I have never given an interview to the ‘Sunday Life’. I have spoken to those who have identified themselves as reporters from that newspaper, but only to say that I do not give interviews to ‘Sunday newspapers!’
Now I have spoken with Hugh Jordan on the phone on a number of occasions, stretching back quite a few years. They have been amicable conversations, arising from him contacting me to ask about an article he had come across on my ‘Burning Bush’ website. We very recently had just such an informal conversation. Mr Jordan questioned me about my writings on Bible prophecy in which I set the view that the Bible indicates that the kingdom of the final Antichrist would occupy the territories within the borders of the old Roman Empire. This is based upon what it stated in Daniel 2:31-45 and chapter 7.
He gave me no indication that he was preparing an article for a Sunday newspaper but rather it was but a conversation in the same vein as previous discussions. That was unethical of him.
I would not wish to stop people quoting from my articles on the ‘Burning Bush’, as long as the quotations are accurate and honest! This article purports to be an interview that I gave and that is not the case.
Many
Many who have preached or written on these portions of Holy Scripture, including Free Presbyterian ministers, have stated that since neither Scotland nor Ireland were in the old Roman Empire neither would they be part of the Antichrist’s empire. This would require a break up of the United Kingdom, with Scotland and Northern Ireland leaving it and therefore a united Ireland would be the result.
Considering the present currents and movement in the political world, with the agitation for Scottish independence, the constant advancing of the amalgamation of the political and economic structures of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, often the result of Unionist ‘initiatives’, such as the DUP’s Donaldson custom’s innovation which has raised barriers and restrictions between us and the rest of the UK, and also the new UK Prime Minister, Mr Andy Burnham’s much publicised desire to rejoin the European Union — long seen by many as the embryo of the Antichrist’s kingdom — it is not hard to see just where events in this part of the world are heading.
During these conversations, I believe I can truthfully say that as well as discussing various topics from the Word of God, I pressed upon Mr Jordan his need of repentance and faith in Christ’s atoning death and a complete dependance upon the cross work of the Saviour if he was ever to escape hell and enter heaven. I quoted many Bible verses in support of my witness.
At no time during the phone conversations did Mr Jordan indicate to me that he was contacting and speaking to me as a reporter for the ‘Sunday Life’. Had he done so, our conversations would have ended immediately. Perhaps that is why he never informed me of his links to ‘Sunday Life’!
As for the photograph that is used, it is not a recent one. It is most likely from the files of the ‘Belfast Telegraph’. It was not given to Mr Jordan by me for I never possessed a copy.
I just want to make clear that all that is in this article could be gleaned from my articles, freely available and dating back many years, on my website. I did not give an interview to the ‘Sunday Life’, as is clearly inferred in the article, and I am disappointed with the lack of forthrightness on the part of Mr Jordan.
Should he ever phone me again, I will strive to make that clear to him!
Rev Ivan Foster (Rtd)
Monday 9th November 2026