Watching and Warning

Doom and Gloom or Warnings?

Some people regard me as a “Doomster”! Apparently I am always putting out doom laden warnings and miserable critiques of the church. Also, I apparently bang on seemingly endlessly about certain subjects such as end times, prophecy, young Christians, and so on. My problem is that I am a watchman as in Ezekiel 33. I am one of thousands of such watchmen and women from all walks of life and all around the world.

What does a watchman do? In old times, a watchman on the walls of a city watched for three things.  He watched out for attackers, for weather problems that would bring danger, and for anything else likely to endanger the citizens of his city. If he failed at his job he could endanger the king and all other residents of the city. If he survived then he would probably have been put to death anyway for failing in his job. Thank goodness times have changed.

On top of being a watchman, I am a prophet too – the two go hand in hand these days as you cannot really be one without also being the other. So what do I look out for? What is my job description in today’s terms? One aspect is the sense in which Ezekiel 33 means it. Another is the sense in which Jesus spoke when He said that we could interpret signs of the weather but we could not interpret signs of the times.

So how can I describe a watchman’s job in this day and age?

Well, the vast majority of prophets/watchmen that I know are united in believing that we are in the end times spoken of so clearly in the Bible. Our principle job, therefore, would appear to be in interpreting the times and warning of what lies ahead. As an ancillary to that, I see the job as being that of preparing ourselves, and encouraging the church to prepare for the coming end times. The parable of the wise virgins in Matthew 25 is a warning to every single one of us both individually and corporately. We all need to be prepared for Jesus to return any second of any day soon. The Bible tells us that the trumpet shall sound and Christ shall return in the clouds for His Bride – 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18

Having said all that, prophetically, the Lord warns His prophets about everything, (Amos 3:7). This is not to say that every prophet hears the same thing as every other prophet. No, the Lord gives His messages out to some prophets and the others are to weigh the prophecy and agree it or reject it. In this way the prophets help the church to discern what is good and what is not worth heeding.

The Lord also asks me, and this is personal, to speak out on certain issues affecting the preparation of the Church. This is why I speak a lot about End-Times; about the next generation of leaders; about Holy Spirit and our general ignorance of Him; and about prophecy being neglected within the church. As are the vast majority of prophets, I am only too aware of the truth in the saying that a prophet is without honour in his own country. Also like the vast majority of other prophets I tend to share a lot with other prophets rather than with everyone.

I promise you that, what I put out is the tip of the iceberg as the Lord shares with us warnings, visions, and dreams for “later” – whenever that may be.