The Shout Heard Around The World

“For the Lord Himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore, comfort one another with these words” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18).

When Christ returns it will not be a silent night like His first appearing. His shout of command will open graves to the four corners of the earth. The “voice of the archangel” is described in Ezekiel as… “the noise of great waters, as the voice of the Almighty, the voice of speech, as the noise of an army” (1:24). Add to this the “shofar” of God and we have an event that will shake the world.

I once had a teacher who was soft-spoken. But when he grew tired of his unruly class, his roar could be heard outside the school and down the block. God has offered eternal pardon from sin, death, and judgment, through the blood of His Son – it’s a death not to be mocked and a Gift not to be ignored. “Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel” was His commission. He alone grants eternal life through forgiveness of sins. And His resurrection guarantees the end of evil. The "still small voice" of grace will end in a roar.

The Lamb who was slain returns as the Lion… “He shall give a shout, as those who tread grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth. A noise shall come to the ends of the earth, for the Lord has a controversy with the nations” (Jeremiah 25:30,31). But He will gather first, those who have received Him as Lord, into His Heavenly Home.

Keep sharing Christ.

(Devotional by Lisa Cataford)