The Watchman

 “Son of man, I have appointed you as a watchman for Israel.” Ezekiel 3:17

Unfortunately, the Worldwide Church of God and most of its descendants have appropriated God’s designation of the prophet Ezekiel as a “watchman for Israel” as a Divine Commission for them to preach news headline prophecy to the English-speaking peoples of the earth. Hence, it is refreshing and notable when we see a leader within one of the splinters who rejects this traditional Armstrongist interpretation of the above passage from the book of Ezekiel.

Even so, we should note up front that there is some trepidation in deciding to offer any praise for anything presented by anyone who is still a part of one of these groups. After all, any praise from the author of this website could become the “kiss of death” within a culture that has been accustomed to looking at things through the eyes of Herbert Armstrong and his minions! So, let’s hope that any attention which this post generates within that culture is positive, and that it generates a greater inclination among those folks to embrace a more honest assessment of the proper Christian role as a watchman.

In a blog post entitled “EZEKIEL’S TIMELESS MESSAGE - WHAT IS THE REAL “WORK OF THE WATCHMAN”?,” Pastor Vance Stinson of the Church of God International wrote: “According to some, the work of the watchman involves ‘watching’ for prophetic fulfillments in the daily newspaper and assuming prophetic significance for every earthquake, drought, flood, or other disaster that makes the headlines. Incredibly, even when a particular ‘watchman’ has a long history of failed predictions, people will continue to follow him, claiming that he has some special ‘anointing,’ which is reflected in his oratory skills and ‘gift’ for analyzing news events ‘in the light of Bible prophecy.’ The ‘watchman’ shouts a loud and reverberating ‘I told you so!’ on the rare occasion of an accurate prediction, but seems to easily forget the many times he was wrong. Beware of those who come along and, with the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other, attempt to read prophetic fulfillments into the headlines. Such are the tactics of the false teachers Jesus warned His disciples about.” Can we all say, “AMEN!”

A little later in the same post, Mr. Stinson wrote: “The tactics of today’s sensationalists have changed little. They insist that Jesus’ admonition to ‘watch’ is a command to watch for prophetic fulfillments in the daily headlines. That is not what Jesus meant! To ‘watch’ is to be alert, or prepared. Jesus said, ‘Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming’ (Matthew 24:42). This does not mean that we should watch for prophetic fulfillments in the headlines so that we will know how much time we have left before the Second Coming. It simply means that we should make sure we are prepared at all times because we do not know when Christ will return. The command to ‘watch’ is another way of saying, ‘Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil...[and] that you may be able to withstand [or stand your ground] in the evil day, and having done all, to stand’ (Ephesians 6:11, 13).” Once again, I couldn’t have said it better myself! Let’s hope that other ACOG leaders embrace Mr. Stinson’s understanding of these important concepts!