When History Starts Repeating: A Watchman’s Cry From Isaiah 51–53

What the Holocaust Museum, today’s global climate, and Isaiah’s warnings stirred in my spirit. This isn’t about politics; it’s about humanity, history, and the cost of ignoring what God is trying to show us.

Introduction

I am not a “me too” person. I don’t jump on bandwagons, and I resist the pressure to echo whatever everyone else is shouting. There are so many needs in this world—among the saved and the unsaved—and the enemy’s agenda to rob, kill, and destroy humanity seems to increase by the day.

But something happened yesterday that I cannot stay silent about.

At the Holocaust Museum

I visited the Florida Holocaust Museum here in St. Petersburg. I’ve been to the one in D.C. twice—my parents were founding members—but this time, something struck deeper than I expected.

Before I could even finish the museum, grief began rising like travail. I felt overwhelmed by the weight of it all… as if I simply could not bear one more image, one more artifact, one more reminder of the hatred, dehumanization, and atrocities committed against the Jewish people.

And yet, what pierced me most—just as it did in 2016 and now again in 2025—was how clearly the patterns of history are repeating.

I Resent the Misuse of Labels… But Tactics Are Another Story

Let me be clear: I resent the free and reckless use of the words “Nazi” and “fascist.” I don’t believe in cheap comparisons.

But I must admit—the tactics we are seeing in today’s world bear disturbing similarities.

Not identical outcomes.

Not identical governments.

Not identical leaders.

But similarities in tactics.

This distinction matters.

What people often welcome as “restoration” or “law and order” can just as easily be exploited by evil. The German people were desperate for rescue, stability, and hope… but the “rescue” they embraced came at a devastating price.

The Illusion of Safety, Until It Isn’t

The Jews of Germany felt safe.

They felt respected (for the most part).

They were patriotic.

They were part of the fabric of society.

Until suddenly they weren’t.

Until it was unsafe.

Until warnings came too late.

Until the system that once protected them turned against them.

We must not pretend this could never happen again.

Our Own Nation Has Given Warning Signs

Remember the trap of January 6.

Remember years earlier when veterans were labeled domestic terrorists (Janet Napolitano, Clinton’s AG).

Remember when Christians and right-to-life advocates were added to “extremist” watchlists.

Remember when the current administration’s Attorney General attempted to prosecute parents as domestic terrorists simply for speaking at School Board meetings or praying at abortion clinics.

And hear me clearly — this is not a left–right issue.

This is not Democrat versus Republican.

This is a mankind issue.

When government—any government, under any party—begins labeling its own citizens as threats for simply believing, speaking, or standing for moral conviction, that is a human-rights warning sign, not a political one.

We cannot ignore the cumulative pattern.

Wake Up: Isaiah’s Cry, and Mine

As I’ve been reading Isaiah—especially chapters 51–53—I can’t shake the urgency in those passages. I used to wonder how, in Revelation, hearts could grow so cold and hardened as darkness increased. How could blindness and deception spread so quickly?

Now I understand.

I see it happening.

I hear it in conversations.

I feel it in the spiritual atmosphere.

People becoming offended.

People becoming numb.

People becoming stubborn.

People becoming deceived.

Isaiah cried out, “Wake up!”

And I feel that same cry within me.

Rebuild and Defend — Nehemiah’s Blueprint

In Nehemiah’s time, they rebuilt the temple and defended it at the same time.

Surely we can rebuild and defend at the same time:

• rebuild our personal temple

• rebuild the corporate temple

• defend both

We cannot afford passivity.

We cannot afford silence.

We cannot afford spiritual apathy.

What Each Watchman Carries

Every watchman is designed uniquely.

Each carries a voice shaped by experience, calling, and assignment.

Each speaks differently to:

• the saved

• the unsaved

• the wounded

• the complacent

• the next generation

• their particular demographic

The point is not uniformity.

The point is obedience.

God’s message must go forth through all of us.

Preparing Our Hearts for What’s Coming

People still don’t know who they are.

People still don’t know how to walk in power, love, and a sound, disciplined mind.

People don’t know how to recognize spiritual tactics.

People don’t know how to discern deception.

It is time—past time—to prepare our hearts.

To face our pain.

To let go.

To receive healing.

To move forward.

To walk in the authority, power, and love of Christ.

My Prayer Today

Lord, have mercy on us.

Isaiah 51:22 — remove from our hand the intoxicating cup that made us stagger.

Let us no longer drink from the bowl of Your anger, but awaken with clarity.

Strengthen Your watchmen.

Open blind eyes.

Soften hardened hearts.

And hasten the day when we will cry out with joy at Your triumph over evil.