We Must Cry Aloud and Spare Not

The biblical prophets were rarely appreciated by the people of their day. Yes, there were times when certain individuals and factions appreciated them, but in the end, many prophets suffered martyrdom—as did Jesus Christ, the only perfect man to ever walk this earth in the flesh. Why? The answer is simple: They proclaimed a message of obedience to God and warned of the consequences that would befall any who rejected Him and His truth.

God commissioned the prophet Ezekiel to confront a people with a message that they would reject: “But the house of Israel will not listen to you, because they will not listen to Me; for all the house of Israel are impudent and hard-hearted…. Do not be afraid of them, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they are a rebellious house” (Ezekiel 3:7–9).

The prophet Isaiah was instructed to “cry aloud, spare not; lift up your voice like a trumpet; tell My people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins” (Isaiah 58:1). That was not a popular commission, and the Israelite people rejected this prophet of God, too. People do not want to hear that their behavior is wrong. They would rather hear comforting words—that God accepts their behavior. Is this not what Isaiah tells us?

Now go, write it before them on a tablet, and note it on a scroll, that it may be for time to come [the end-time], forever and ever: that this is a rebellious people, lying children, children who will not hear the law of the Lord; who say to the seers, “Do not see,” and to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us right things; speak to us smooth things, prophesy deceits. Get out of the way, turn aside from the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us” (Isaiah 30:8–11).

The evangelist Timothy knew what the last days before Christ’s return would be like. The description he was given is not pretty, but it is certainly accurate regarding our modern Western world. “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!” (2 Timothy 3:1–5).

Perversity, Exclusivity, and Inequality

Sadly, we see from our nations’ leaders—politicians, industry presidents and CEOs, the media, and academia—an effort to race ahead of competitors in promoting behaviors that only a generation ago were not even discussed in polite society. We are seeing biblical values abandoned, dismissed, and ridiculed.

We hear the refrain, “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusiveness”—which sounds good to the naïve who are not aware of what its promoters mean by it. Diversity and inclusiveness here are code words for acceptance of ungodly behaviors. The trinity sacred to “progressives” would be more honestly stated as “Perversity, Exclusivity, and Inequality.”

Consider the indoctrination of our children by schools and social media. The alphabet list of historically recognized unnatural behaviors is always growing, but is commonly shortened to something like LGBTQIA+, and we ought to note most carefully the latter two designations. “The ‘plus’ is used to signify all of the gender identities and sexual orientations that letters and words cannot yet fully describe” (“What Is LGBTQIA+,” GayCenter.org). How truly remarkable it is that activists have yet to “discover” all the ways human sexuality may be “expressed”!

The letter A is interpreted more than one way, with Ally being one interpretation, albeit less common. This is where courage comes in. The first chapter of the biblical epistle to the Romans describes in perfect detail what we see happening before our very eyes. The Apostle Paul warned that God’s wrath is coming on this world for its rejection of God, and because evil people suppress eternal truths. “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them” (Romans 1:18–19).

Paul explained that men and women who reject God would lose themselves to immoral behaviors. He gave a list of sins and warned that it is not only wrong to do those things, but also to “approve of those who practice them” (Romans 1:32, cf. vv. 24–31). We must not hate people—and there is never a time for a true Christian to commit violence—but we must hate sinful practices and not celebrate or excuse them. In this sad world, we must muster courage to speak the truth in love.

The True Gospel Message

Dr. Roderick C. Meredith, the late Editor in Chief of this magazine, wrote Fourteen Signs Announcing Christ’s Return. Consider that the following passage was penned in 1993:

We, along with most of our fellow English-speaking nations around the world, are in for a time of national calamity—actually, national punishment—unprecedented in the annals of modern human history. Month by month, year by year, more and more things will somehow go wrong for us. Our national debt will increase. Our immorality and crime rate will increase. Our cities will become even less safe, increasingly being racked by lawless hoodlums, gang warfare, and race riots—and, finally, food riots, because of the impending drought and famine prophesied to strike our nations (p. 39).

The signs Dr. Meredith identified are more prevalent today than when he wrote those words. And, as those of us who knew him recognized, he was fearless in “telling it like it is.” We must be, as well.

But, as Paul wrote in Romans 1, so many suppress the truth. We see this happening fairly often when a station or government censors all or part of one of our telecasts. Too often it is under the guise of not being fit or “safe” for our youth, but nothing we say can possibly match what our children are subjected to in school.

Timothy was commanded by his mentor, the Apostle Paul, to preach the truth. Even in his day, Paul warned that a time would come when people would not accept truth and would instead seek leaders who would tell them what they wanted to hear. “The time will come,” he wrote, “when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables” (2 Timothy 4:3–4).

Tomorrow’s World will continue to speak the truth in an age that does not want to hear the truth. This we must do, but we also want our readers to know that despite all the bad news around and ahead of us, God is in charge—and there is a happy ending. When mankind comes near to self-annihilation, Jesus Christ will return and stop our insanity. He will then reward His resurrected servants with positions of authority to rule on this troubled planet. That is tomorrow’s world, the Millennium—the thousand-year reign of Jesus Christ.

The Kingdom of God is proclaimed in the books of the prophets and in the New Testament. It is the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the same message His servants have proclaimed. It is the message of the Tomorrow’s World telecast and the magazine you are reading. I pray that you will heed that message.