In the previous installments of this new series, we have pointed out that at the time of the final revival of the ancient Roman Empire in Europe, God’s Church will be busy, with renewed strength, to fulfill its end-time commission to preach the gospel of the Kingdom of God in all the world as a witness, prior to Christ’s return. As the European power will only survive for a short time, so the preaching of the gospel will likewise be short-lived.
We showed that both the last revival of the Roman Empire [through the raising up of the ancient Chaldeans, and their subsequent defeat] and the preaching of the gospel are described as the Work of God. We then concentrated on God’s Work, as it relates to the preaching of the gospel.
In this installment, we will discuss that God’s end-time Church has been given the Work of warning the nations, which is actually part of the proclamation of the gospel message.
We read in Amos 3:4-9, 13-14:
“Will a lion roar in the forest, when he has no prey? Will a young lion cry out of his den, if he has caught nothing? Will a bird fall into a snare on the earth, where there is no trap for it? Will a snare spring up from the earth, if it has caught nothing at all? If a trumpet is blown in a city, will not the people be afraid? If there is calamity in a city, will not the LORD have done it? Surely the LORD God does nothing, Unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets. A lion has roared! Who will not fear? The LORD God has spoken! Who can but prophesy? Proclaim in the palaces at Ashdod, And in the palaces in the land of Egypt, and say: ‘Assemble on the mountains of Samaria; See great tumults in her midst, And the oppressed within her… Hear and testify against the house of Jacob,’ Says the LORD God, the God of hosts, ‘That in the day I punish Israel for their transgressions, I will also visit destruction on the altars of Bethel; And the horns of the altar shall be cut off And fall to the ground….’”
Notice carefully! God is telling us that He will reveal to His servants what is going to happen, and they must prophesy or proclaim what they hear. This does not mean that God must tell them directly, face to face, what they must speak; rather, He HAS already told us, in the pages of the Bible, what will happen. The above-cited Scripture speaks, in context, of calamity which God will bring on the House of Jacob or Israel. It will be His Work! As this is an end-time prophecy, God’s Church is to proclaim and warn the nations of Israel, in hopes that some will repent and change their ways, so that they could be spared.
We read a timeless prophecy in Psalm 64:9:
“All men shall fear, And shall declare the work of God; For they shall wisely consider His doing.”
Ultimately, all will declare the Work of God, but today, it is basically only those in the Body of Christ who understand and wisely consider His doing and, with the fear of God, proclaim and warn about what He will soon accomplish.
Psalm 73:28 is even more encompassing, stating:
“But it is good for me to draw near to God; I have put my trust in the LORD God, That I may declare all Your works.”
ALL of God’s works include, of course, the warning message to the nations that God’s wrath will be upon them soon, but also, that Christ will return soon to end the madness of man’s incompetent rule.
We find another Scripture in the Bible about God’s commission to His end-time Church to proclaim and prophesy about God’s Work of punishing all nations—in this case, modern Babylon:
Jeremiah 51:1-11 tells us this:
“Thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, Against those who dwell in Leb Kamai, A destroying wind. And I will send winnowers to Babylon, Who shall winnow her and empty her land. For in the day of doom They shall be against her all around. Against her let the archer bend his bow, And lift himself up against her in his armor. Do not spare her young men; Utterly destroy all her army. Thus the slain shall fall in the land of the Chaldeans, And those thrust through in her streets. For Israel is not forsaken, nor Judah, By his God, the LORD of hosts, Though their land was filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel.’“Flee from the midst of Babylon, And every one save his life! Do not be cut off in her iniquity, For this is the time of the LORD’S vengeance; He shall recompense her. Babylon was a golden cup in the LORD’S hand, That made all the earth drunk. The nations drank her wine; Therefore the nations are deranged. Babylon has suddenly fallen and been destroyed. Wail for her! Take balm for her pain; Perhaps she may be healed. We would have healed Babylon, But she is not healed. Forsake her, and let us go everyone to his own country; For her judgment reaches to heaven and is lifted up to the skies. The LORD has revealed our righteousness. Come and let us declare in Zion the work of the LORD our God. Make the arrows bright! Gather the shields! The LORD has raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes. For His plan is against Babylon to destroy it, Because it is the vengeance of the LORD, The vengeance for His temple.”
This passage describes the Work of God—His punishment of modern Babylon through the modern Medes—which must be proclaimed by His Church “in Zion”—that means, it must also be proclaimed IN the Church of God. It includes the warning message to come out of or flee from Babylon (compare Revelation 18:4)—not having anything to do with its evil conduct, culture and philosophies, in order to save our physical and—even more importantly—our spiritual lives.
We have read in prior installments that God will do His Work by reviving the modern Chaldeans—Babylon—to punish Israel.
In Habakkuk 3:2-9, God is asked to revive and make known His Work in the midst of the years:
“O LORD, I have heard your speech and was afraid; O LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the years! In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember mercy. God came from Teman, The Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah. His glory covered the heavens, And the earth was full of His praise. His brightness was like the light; He had rays flashing from His hand, And there His power was hidden. Before Him went pestilence, And fever followed at His feet. He stood and measured the earth; He looked and startled the nations. And the everlasting mountains were scattered, The perpetual hills bowed. His ways are everlasting.”
We see here that the context is His return and the last plagues poured out on mankind. Just prior to that, He is asked to revive His Work of raising the Chaldeans and of having His Church preach the gospel and warn the nations. In the midst of the years could refer to the 3 ½ years of the Great Tribulation which will precede the Day of the Lord and the Coming of Christ. Then the proclamation will become really powerful, but it must occur earlier, BEFORE the houses of Israel and Judah will be destroyed at the very beginning of the Great Tribulation—in fact, their destruction sets in motion the Great Tribulation.
We saw earlier, in Amos 3, that proclaiming the warning message has been associated with blowing a trumpet—the trumpet of war. The following Scriptures tell us more about the duty and commission of God’s Church to blow the trumpet of warning.
We read in Jeremiah 4:5-8, 11-16 about the coming destruction of the modern Houses of Israel and Judah through the modern King of Assyria—the beast; and we read about the commission to “blow the trumpet” of warning:
“‘Declare in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say: “Blow the trumpet in the land”; Cry, “Gather together,” And say, “Assemble yourselves, And let us go into the fortified cities.” Set up the standard toward Zion. Take refuge! Do not delay! For I will bring disaster from the north, And great destruction.’ The lion has come up from his thicket, And the destroyer of nations is on his way. He has gone forth from his place To make your land desolate. Your cities will be laid waste, Without inhabitant. For this, clothe yourself with sackcloth, Lament and wail. For the fierce anger of the LORD Has not turned back from us…
“At that time it will be said To this people and to Jerusalem, ‘A dry wind of the desolate heights blows in the wilderness Toward the daughter of My people– Not to fan or to cleanse–A wind too strong for these will come for Me; Now I will also speak judgment against them.’ Behold, he shall come up like clouds, And his chariots like a whirlwind. His horses are swifter than eagles. Woe to us, for we are plundered!’ O Jerusalem, wash your heart from wickedness, That you may be saved. How long shall your evil thoughts lodge within you? For a voice declares from Dan And proclaims affliction from Mount Ephraim: ‘Make mention to the nations, Yes, proclaim against Jerusalem, That watchers come from a far country And raise their voice against the cities of Judah.’”
We will address those watchers later.
Now notice Isaiah 58:1:
“Cry aloud, spare not; Lift up your voice like a trumpet; Tell My people their transgression, And the house of Jacob their sins.”
Hosea 8:1 adds: “Set the trumpet to your mouth! He shall come like an eagle against the house of the LORD, Because they have transgressed My covenant And rebelled against My law.”
Joel 2:1-3, 10-15 points out:
“Blow the trumpet in Zion, And sound an alarm in My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; For the day of the LORD is coming, For it is at hand: A day of darkness and gloominess, A day of clouds and thick darkness, Like the morning clouds spread over the mountains. A people come, great and strong, The like of whom has never been; Nor will there ever be any such after them, Even for many successive generations. A fire devours before them, And behind them a flame burns; The land is like the Garden of Eden before them, And behind them a desolate wilderness; Surely nothing shall escape them…
“The earth quakes before them, The heavens tremble; The sun and moon grow dark, And the stars diminish their brightness. The LORD gives voice before His army, For His camp is very great; For strong is the One who executes His word. For the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; Who can endure it? ‘Now, therefore,’ says the LORD, ‘Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.’ So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the LORD your God, For He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm. Who knows if He will turn and relent, And leave a blessing behind Him– A grain offering and a drink offering For the LORD your God… Blow the trumpet in Zion, Consecrate a fast, Call a sacred assembly…”
God’s Church needs to blow the trumpet in Zion which includes the Church itself. When we read that the LORD says to return to Him, He speaks through His Church.
But the warning message is not only directed towards the Houses of Israel and Judah. The trumpet must also be blown to warn modern Babylon, as God has decreed to carry out His Work against them:
Jeremiah 51:27-29 says:
“Set up a banner in the land, Blow the trumpet among the nations! Prepare the nations against her, Call the kingdoms together against her: Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz. Appoint a general against her; Cause the horses to come up like the bristling locusts. Prepare against her the nations, With the kings of the Medes, Its governors and all its rulers, All the land of his dominion. And the land will tremble and sorrow; For every purpose of the LORD shall be performed against Babylon, To make the land of Babylon a desolation without inhabitant.”
We read in Joel 2 that God executes His Word, and we read above that God’s purpose against Babylon shall be fulfilled. This is another way of saying that His Work will be accomplished and that we must proclaim it by blowing the trumpet. We are also reminded of the fact that the warning message must be clear—the blowing of the trumpet must be accurate, bold and convincing. We read in 1 Corinthians 14:8: “For if the trumpet makes an uncertain sound, who will prepare himself for battle?”
Jeremiah 6:1, 9, 17 adds another important aspect when describing the duty of His Church to warn the nations:
“O you children of Benjamin, Gather yourselves to flee from the midst of Jerusalem! Blow the trumpet in Tekoa, And set up a signal-fire in Beth Haccerem; For disaster appears out of the north, And great destruction… To whom shall I speak and give warning, That they may hear? Indeed their ear is uncircumcised, And they cannot give heed. Behold, the word of the LORD is a reproach to them; They have no delight in it… Also, I set watchmen over you, saying, ‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’ But they said, ‘We will not listen.’”
We read earlier, in Jeremiah 4, that watchers from a far country will come and raise their voice against the cities of Judah. Here we are introduced again to God’s watchmen who blow the trumpet and encourage the people to listen to it.
Even though most will not listen and heed the warning of the watchmen, God’s Church must still fulfill its commission to warn them—as a witness or testimony against them. Those who are entrusted with proclaiming the warning message are called “watchmen.” They are to carefully watch world events and proclaim the impending dangers which can clearly be seen by those who take note with understanding and comprehension of the signs of the times.
Ezekiel 33: 7-12 elaborates on this.
“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. 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. 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. Therefore you, O son of man, say to the house of Israel: ‘Thus you say, “If our transgressions and our sins lie upon us, and we pine away in them, how can we then live?”’ Say to them: “As I live,” says the LORD God, “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?”’
“Therefore you, O son of man, say to the children of your people: ‘The righteousness of the righteous man shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression; as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall because of it in the day that he turns from his wickedness; nor shall the righteous be able to live because of his righteousness in the day that he sins.’”
We can clearly see that it is the solemn duty of the “watchmen”—God’s Church in these last days—to warn the people, including the House of Israel, of their sinful ways and implore them to change so that they won’t die. Once the warning message has been proclaimed, the responsibility is with the hearers to heed.
The role of the watchman is not limited to just warning the Houses of Israel and Judah. We read in Isaiah 21:6, 8-10:
“For thus has the LORD said to me: ‘Go, set a watchman, Let him declare what he sees.’ Then he cried, ‘A lion, my Lord! I stand continually on the watchtower in the daytime; I have sat at my post every night. And look, here comes a chariot of men with a pair of horsemen!’ Then he answered and said, ‘Babylon is fallen, is fallen! And all the carved images of her gods He has broken to the ground.’ Oh, my threshing and the grain of my floor! That which I have heard from the LORD of hosts, The God of Israel, I have declared to you.”
The watchman declares what he sees and comprehends. Habakkuk 2:1-3 adds:
“I will stand my watch [Revised English Bible: “at my post”] And set myself on the rampart, And watch to see what He will say to me, And what I will answer when I am corrected [or: “and what He will answer concerning my complaint”]. Then the LORD answered me and said: ‘Write the vision And make it plain on tablets, That he may run who reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry.”
The watchman is even to plead with God to bring back His Son very soon who will then rule from Jerusalem, and in the process, to prepare the people for Christ’s Second Coming. We read in Isaiah 62:6-7, 10:
“I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; They shall never hold their peace day or night. You who make mention of the LORD, do not keep silent, And give Him no rest till He establishes And till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth. Go through, Go through the gates! Prepare the way for the people; Build up, Build up the highway! Take out the stones, Lift up a banner for the peoples!”
This reminds us of Christ telling us to pray daily to the Father: “Your Kingdom Come!”
In the next installment, we will talk about the connection between aspects of the Work of God and our salvation.
(To be continued)
Lead Writer: Norbert Link
