Ezekiel 33:1-6

“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.”

In the last few months, I have seen and heard some things that make me wonder. There is a growth of Calvinism that has just taken off in the past few years. It is rampant here in Southern Ontario. The idea that Jesus only died for a select few is heresy at best. I have heard some even speak about babies, and if they die, then only the ones that God knew would be in the elect go to Heaven. All others are damned to Hell.

This is not the character of God. He would never eternally damn the innocent with the guilty. In 2 Peter 3:9, we are told that God is “not willing that any should perish.” If Calvinism is true, then this verse would be a lie. God actually desires that no man shall perish. Over and over again, we hear the call of “whosoever will” can come. The Jews were astonished to find out that salvation was granted to the Gentiles as well in Acts 10.

Ezekiel tells us in these passages that we are to be the watchmen. Why be watchmen if God has already determined who will die and who will live? We are told to blow the trumpet and warn the masses of God’s grace and also of God’s wrath. Once we are faithful to warn, then they are responsible for what happens to them.

One thing I seem to notice about Calvinists is that they are always sure that they are the chosen ones. Often, their kids are as well, but they are not sure about you and yours. This is arrogance shrouded in fake humility. They are in, and you are on the outs with God. But this is not the truth of the Bible. So, let us be faithful watchmen and watchwomen as we see the Day of the Lord getting closer and closer.

1. Watch the Heavens

We are to keep an eye on the heavens. Jesus will call us to Him soon, and we should be living each day ready to be called. This means that we should be loving the Lord openly and with great fervor. We should love our siblings in the Lord with the same fervor, and by this, we can draw some to the Gospel, John 13:34-35. Read the scriptures, know what to look for, and keep our hearts from being deceived.

One of the things that seems to be growing is a lot of people claiming to have some ‘new’ or ‘special’ revelation from God. They do not. God has revealed to us, in the completed Bible, all we need to know, and nothing is to be added. Beware of people who want your money so that they can tell you what God has for you. They are fleecing you, for the most part. Even if someone is genuine, check the scriptures before you swallow their message.

Sadly, there are a lot of Christians who do not understand or even desire to understand the end of the church age. There are a lot of churches that shy away, and frankly, there are a lot of men who simply refuse to study and/or teach about the end times. It is hard work; it takes reading and studying, and it requires a commitment to search the scriptures. A lot of men are not ready to step into the next phase where Jesus comes as a Righteous Judge and makes war and executes judgment. But we are called to warn the people, yes, even the “so-called” saved people, that judgment is coming. Jesus will judge the saved and the lost.

Look at 2 Corinthians 5:9-11:

“So, we aspire to please Him, whether we are here in this body or away from it. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive his due for the things done in the body, whether good or bad. Therefore, since we know what it means to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men. What we are is clear to God, and I hope it is clear to your conscience as well.”

2. Watch the People Around Us

Are you prepared spiritually and scripturally to share the Gospel? In these last days, are you ready to tell someone how to be saved, how to be ‘born again’? Sadly, most of us are not. One of the most important things for the watchmen was to know which trumpet sound to blow; was it a trumpet for war or peace? Was it a trumpet to scatter or gather?

As we get closer and closer, there will be people wanting to know about the Lord Jesus. Some will want to make fun; others will want to repent. Can you help the ones who want to repent? What we know for sure, according to the passage in Ezekiel, is that we will be held accountable for how we warned and even if we warned. God expects us to warn the people around us of the heaven to gain and the hell to shun. Are you and I doing that?

Here is a question for you: could you lead someone to faith in Jesus? Do you know what verses you would use?

Philip, in Acts 8, took Isaiah 53 and taught the Ethiopian Eunuch about Jesus. Could you have done that? Sadly, a lot of us Christians really could not do that. Here are some of the verses that you should have committed to memory; these will help you be prepared: John 3:16-18; Romans 3:10, 23, Romans 5:8, Romans 6:23, Romans 10:9-10; Ephesians 2:8-9 and any others that you can think of. You should know the story of the ‘thief on the cross,’ his simple act of faith and belief – no baptism, no tithing, no church membership, nothing – just Jesus.

Take responsibility for those around you, pray for them that God would open their eyes, and be prepared to help them see once their eyes are opened. The Bible, the Word of God, is your only tool, Romans 10:17. Consequently, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. You cannot and will not argue nor philosophize a person into Heaven. Share the Scriptures, and the Holy Spirit will take the TRUTH and change lives. If they refuse the free gift of eternal life in Jesus once they have heard, that is on them; you have done your job, dear watchman. Be prepared!

God bless you,

Dr. Sean Gooding
Pastor of Mississauga Missionary Baptist Church

How To Connect with Us

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Matthew 25:1-14

“Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. ² And Jesus said to them, ‘Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another that shall not be thrown down.’ ³ Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, ‘Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?’

⁴ And Jesus answered and said to them: ‘Take heed that no one deceives you. ⁵ For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. ⁶ And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

⁷ For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. ⁸ All these are the beginning of sorrows. ⁹ Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. ¹⁰ And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.

¹¹ Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. ¹² And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. ¹³ But he who endures to the end shall be saved. ¹⁴ And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.'”

We live in a world of lies. You cannot trust anything that the mainstream media tells us; you cannot trust advertising; you cannot trust most of the stuff you hear, even in religious services online and in person. In many cases, you cannot trust your doctor and the care that he offers. Many have learned the hard way not to trust many mechanics. I can go on, but you get the picture.

There are some questions that I have in my mind, and they make me think: why is the file for the JFK assassination still sealed? It has been more than 50 years; who can still be alive to face prosecution? Did the government know that the 9/11 hijackers were going to try to steal planes and do something? Why did Building 7 fall when it was never hit? Why were we lied to about the fake Russian files on Trump? Why were we lied to by our health officials about COVID? How did they get the whole world to follow along? I can go on, but I hope that a picture will form.

The whole world system is built on lies. Jesus told us that ‘Satan is the father of all lies’ (John 8:44). In the passage that we are focusing on today, Jesus tells the disciples a few times not to be deceived. Don’t fall for the lies. Then, He gave them a sign to show them the truth as opposed to a lie; He gave them the sign of the destruction of Jerusalem. This is a well-documented event in history showing the fall of Jerusalem in and around 70 AD. They could trust His truth, as He had proven that He knows even the future, not just the now.

Deception is exactly where the world is right now. We are being set up by the world system to accept the lies that will cover up the Rapture and the rise of the Antichrist. It is not a coincidence that there have been hundreds of reports about aliens and UFOs. Apparently, these things have been classified for decades and maybe even longer, but all of a sudden, they are being allowed to be shown. Why? What are they preparing us for?

The next big global catastrophic event will be the Rapture. Millions, maybe even Billions, will disappear, and they need a plausible explanation with which to fool the masses and assay any signs of panic.

In the verses above, Jesus is asked about the end, and the very first thing He says is, “Do not be deceived.” He goes on, and in verse 11, we are told that false prophets will come and deceive many. We have seen that already; the government will put out its ‘experts’ to convince us of what we are being told. Then they set about with the peer pressure that makes us feel like idiots even if we know better. They can make you question the very clear, blatant truth that is right in your face.

How do we build a defense against deception?

We know the truth! Read the Bible cover to cover. Study, keep reading it over and over again, and that truth will begin to settle in our minds and your memory; this is the way that we counter lies. Jesus is the TRUTH. The entire Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, is about Him. If you know the Bible, you will know HIM, and if you know Him, you will know the truth. Not only do we have the Bible, but all of us who are saved have the Holy Spirit in us. When we pair the knowledge of the scriptures with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we get this from John 16:13:

“However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.”

Notice that the Holy Spirit will guide us into ‘ALL TRUTH’—not just some of it, but all of it. Sadly, too many Christians have become lazy and stopped reading their Bibles and attending actual Bible-teaching churches – the ones that open the Book, teach the doctrines of the Old and New Testament, and seek to equip us to be disciples (followers) of Jesus. Too many churches have descended into entertaining the people of God rather than helping them transform into the image of Jesus.

You and I have no excuse for ignorance; God painstakingly intended the writing of the scriptures; he preserved them and made sure that we got them mass-produced and provided for free. If anyone were to call me or any of the pastors I know and ask for a Bible, we would give them one free of charge. Countless organizations hand out free Bibles all over the world. If you want to know the truth, you can. Most people don’t want to see the truth, as it runs against what they already believe.

Once people become accustomed to being lied to, the people who tell the truth become the enemy. Jesus was the enemy of the Pharisees and the other religious leaders because they had deceived the people into seeing them as holy. They were not, and Jesus called them out on it. They killed Him; they will try to kill us. See verse 9 of the text. True, truthful Christianity will never be popular. Beware of ‘a Christianity,’ that is.

Don’t be deceived; God has provided us with the absolute truth. The closer we get to the Rapture, the more important the truth will be.

God bless you,

Dr. Sean Gooding
Pastor of Mississauga Missionary Baptist Church

How To Connect with Us

On Facebook (live broadcast of Sunday’s Message at 11 am): https://www.facebook.com/MississaugaMissionaryBaptistChurch

Join us on Zoom every Sunday (10:30 am) for Sunday Service AND every Tuesday at 8:00 pm for Bible Study: Meeting ID: 700 794 460 Passcode: 032661; https://us02web.zoom.us/j/700794460?pwd=M3NFRG91ZW5Sa2Z3amVyWkFnYXd6QT09

Online: https://www.mmbchurch.ca

Email: support@mmbchurch.ca

Sign Up To Be A Part of Our Bible Study Community: www.mmbchurch.ca/drawclosertogod