“Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, speak to the children of your people, and say to them: ‘When I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from their territory and make him their watchman, ³ when he sees the sword coming upon the land, if he blows the trumpet and warns the people, ⁴ then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, if the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be on his own head. ⁵ He heard the sound of the trumpet, but did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But he who takes warning will save his life. ⁶ But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand.’
⁷ “So you, son of man: I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore you shall hear a word from My mouth and warn them for Me. ⁸ When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you shall surely die!’ and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. ⁹ Nevertheless if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul,” Ezekiel 33:1-9.

God gave Ezekiel a mandate and that was to warn the house of Israel, and yet many did not heed his warnings.

The blood would have been on his own hands if he had not warned them, and yet he did. I’m certain that many proclaimed Ezekiel as well as Jeremiah and many of the other “true prophets” as doom-and-gloom preachers.

And yet their words were not their own; they were uttered and given out of a communion with the Father.

And so today in this hour, how many would label some as doom-and-gloom preachers or prophets?

Perhaps those who say such things wake up every morning thinking that the robins are chirping and that all is well with the world.

These are those who still have their heads buried in the sand not daring to pull them out lest they see something that might cause their eyes to be opened.

And yet what many fail to see or to understand is that God does prophesy good and merciful things through these very same prophets.

Somehow this group fails to acknowledge this simple fact.

You see, even Isaiah when he was prophesying about Ephraim and then goes on to say how God will wipe away every tear.

As seen in judgment: Isaiah 28.

“Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, whose glorious beauty is a fading flower which is at the head of the verdant valleys, to those who are overcome with wine!
² Behold, the Lord has a mighty and strong one, like a tempest of hail and a destroying storm, like a flood of mighty waters overflowing, who will bring them down to the earth with His hand.
³ The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, will be trampled underfoot; ⁴ and the glorious beauty is a fading flower which is at the head of the verdant valley, like the first fruit before the summer, which an observer sees; he eats it up while it is still in his hand.⁵ In that day the Lord of hosts will be for a crown of glory and a diadem of beauty to the remnant of His people, ⁶ for a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment, and for strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate.
⁷ But they also have erred through wine, and through intoxicating drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through intoxicating drink, they are swallowed up by wine, they are out of the way through intoxicating drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment.
⁸ For all tables are full of vomit and filth; no place is clean.
⁹ “Whom will he teach knowledge? And whom will he make to understand the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just drawn from the breasts?
¹⁰ For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little.”
¹¹ For with stammering lips and another tongue he will speak to this people, ¹² to whom He said, “This is the rest with which you may cause the weary to rest,” and, “This is the refreshing”; yet they would not hear.
¹³ But the word of the Lord was to them, “Precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little,” that they might go and fall backward, and be broken and snared and caught.
¹⁴ Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you scornful men, who rule this people who are in Jerusalem, ¹⁵ because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death, and with Sheol we are in agreement.
When the overflowing scourge passes through, it will not come to us, for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood we have hidden ourselves.”
“Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; whoever believes will not act hastily.
¹⁷ Also I will make justice the measuring line, and righteousness the plummet; the hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters will overflow the hiding place.” Isaiah 28:1-17.

As seen in Mercy and Hope: Isaiah 25.

“O Lord, You are my God. I will exalt You, I will praise Your name, for You have done wonderful things; Your counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.
² For You have made a city a ruin, a fortified city a ruin, a palace of foreigners to be a city no more; it will never be rebuilt.
³ Therefore the strong people will glorify You; the city of the terrible nations will fear You.
⁴ For You have been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat; for the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.
⁵ You will reduce the noise of aliens, as heat in a dry place; as heat in the shadow of a cloud, the song of the terrible ones will be diminished.
⁶ And in this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all people a feast of choice pieces, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of well-refined wines on the lees.
⁷ And He will destroy on this mountain the surface of the covering cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations.
⁸ He will swallow up death forever, and the LORD God will wipe away tears from all faces; the rebuke of His people He will take away from all the earth; for the Lord has spoken.
⁹ And it will be said in that day: “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for Him; we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.”
¹⁰ For on this mountain the hand of the Lord will rest, and Moab shall be trampled down under Him, as straw is trampled down for the refuse heap.
¹¹ And He will spread out His hands in their midst as a swimmer reaches out to swim, and He will bring down their pride together with the trickery of their hands.
¹² The fortress of the high fort of your walls He will bring down, lay low, and bring to the ground, down to the dust,” Isaiah 25:1-12.

You see, our God is not a God of “doom and gloom,” but what parent would not warn his children of the dangers that are out upon the highway where the drivers are reckless and blind to those who might wander out there?

It’s all about preparation people, and of taking heed so that we aren’t living in the darkness without the light of God to show us the way.

 

Selah,
~ Stephen Hanson

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Stephen Hanson of In His Truth Ministries came to the LORD is a special way in 1975 and has prophesied regularly since. In these end-time birthing pangs we are reminded that judgment must first begin with the household of God. Will we be prepared and ready?

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