You are doomed!

 

The prophet Isaiah said,

You are doomed! You call evil good and call good evil. You turn darkness into light and light into darkness. You make what is bitter, sweet and what is sweet you make bitter. (Isaiah 5:20 GNT)

Scrolling idly through social media, I came across a video where a teacher was showing her teenage students how to calculate 1+1. The teacher, much to her students’ dismay, went through a whole long process from square roots to algebra, resulting in a host of complex numbers before arriving at the answer, 2.

This was meant to be funny, and it was but it got me thinking about all the things that are happening in the world these days, with leaders of nations trying to bamboozle us with their long, drawn-out explanations to justify the outcome of their actions. At least after her convoluted calculations the teacher ended up with the correct answer but the answers these leaders proffer just don’t add up; even the simplest of solutions are murky.

The problem is that it’s not just world-leaders, some of our religious leaders, church members, co-workers, and even some relatives are also guilty of the same disorder. They and perhaps some of us are all falling prey to the topsy-turvy malaise as described by Isaiah. He was warning the Israelites of the day, and this warning is still applicable for all of us today.

Sadly, we are seeing this back-to-front discourse happening in real time every day and it seems to come so easily for some. People have no qualms about calling evil good and good evil, feel no shame in turning darkness into light and light into darkness, and couldn’t care less about making the bitter, sweet and the sweet, bitter.

Isaiah’s severe denunciation, “You are doomed!”, may have been made centuries ago but we must take heed. We must pay attention and not become victims to this wrong-side way of life.

Remember that there will be difficult times in the last days. People will be selfish, greedy, boastful, and conceited; they will be insulting, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, and irreligious; they will be unkind, merciless, slanderers, violent, and fierce; they will hate the good; they will be treacherous, reckless, and swollen with pride; they will love pleasure rather than God; they will hold to the outward form of our religion, but reject its real power. Keep away from such people. (2 Timothy 3:1-5 GNT)

Nowadays falsehoods are being offered and accepted as truth.

Someone says a thing and you instantly believe without searching for the truth for yourself. And if more than one person says it, after all, lies, rumours and gossip often spread like wildfire, and you accept them wholesale as the truth, then you’re more than willing to suffer third-degree burns. If you don’t keep away from such people, you are doomed!

When you worship the created rather than the Creator, you’ve stepped onto a path of damnation. But God is merciful and patient with you, because he does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants all to turn away from their sins (2 Peter 3:9 GNT), so He always gives you a warning.

Isaiah’s was a statement of fact concerning the future. You are doomed, speaks of coming distress. Even so, it’s no casual proclamation, there is severity in this warning, and you must see it as a clear sign that something is terribly wrong and immediate correction is necessary. The doom will only befall you if the unacceptable behaviour is not changed.

Be keenly aware that there are satanic forces at work blurring the lines between good and evil, light and dark, holy and unholy and acceptable and unacceptable. We cannot afford to remain of the world if we are to escape being the lost of the world.

The world seems to have too much influence over the church these days; the church has to go back to the days when it affected the world. Revival is required and repentance is necessary otherwise we are all foredoomed to life outside of God’s care.

We have to be the true witnesses for Christ that carry the life changing message of the Gospel not only in our mouths but also in our actions and behaviour. The church cannot play its part in saving the world if it is behaving just like the world and condoning the things of the world.

Beloved, I’m sure you don’t ever want to be told “You are doomed!”, I know I don’t.

Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
And see if there be any grievous way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting! (Psalm 139:23-24 ESV)

Amen †

 

Shelley Johnson “You are doomed!” ©2026 April 12, 2026