‘’ his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters.’’ Revelation 1:15
In several parts of the bible, the voice of Jesus or YHWH is described as a ‘loud roar, the voice of raging waters or Thunder.’ Revelation 1;10,
And in Hebrews 12:19 Paul describes the voice the Israelites heard and their response to it: they could not stand it.
‘’And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard intreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more:’’
It is shear joy knowing Jesus and God the Father intimately through his written word and by his Holy Spirit, however, beyond that, there is one urgent reason to get intimate with YHWH: so you can recognise his voice when he speaks and calls. So we can stand it because it is a familiar voice and to discern it from the elements.
‘’Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision!
For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.
The sun and moon will grow dark,
And the stars will diminish their brightness.
The Lord also will roar from Zion,
And utter His voice from Jerusalem;
The heavens and earth will shake;
But the Lord will be a shelter for His people,
And the strength of the children of Israel.’’
Joel 3:14 - 16
An intimate relationship with the Lord grows by relating with him through his words in the bible, prayer and spending time in worship. Paul (then called Saul Acts 26;15) heard Jesus speak but did not know who was talking to him. This is consistent with John 10:3 -4 where Jesus (the good shepherd) says:
‘’The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.''
Followers of Jesus, recognise his voice because they know him.
Only those who know his voice will recognise ‘’the thundering call’’ from the skies for what it is: ‘’a call to glory, the voice of the Word – the shout of Jesus!’. That call will be heard by all: living and dead but not all will follow or accept it for what it is: a call to come out - to ascend. Even now, some cannot discern the voice of Jesus from the voice of the god of this world’s systems – the devil. There are many sounds (‘voice’ can also be translated as sound) in this world and none are without significance. They fight for attention - your attention. Be careful what captures your attention. We practise discernment by putting every voice through the test of God’s word.
‘For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace’ Romans 8:6
''For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.’’ 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
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