"And all the people came up after him, and the people piped with pipes, and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth rent with the sound of them...And Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king in Gihon: and they are come up from thence rejoicing, so that the city rang again. This is the noise that ye have heard."
1 Kings 1:40 & 45
And he (Jesus) answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.
Luke 19:40
"What is that?" "I hear a trumpet sound!" "Do you hear that rumbling, groaning noise?" "Does any one else hear that chime sounding noise, or is it just me?" "Wow, that is scary!" These are statements that are being made in many parts of the world recently. Have you heard the reports about strange noises seemingly coming from the earth? Like unusual weather patterns, strange animal die-offs, powerful earthquakes and tsunamis, wars and rumors of war, and many other unusual phenomena worldwide, many are asking the question, "is the end upon us?" It sure does remind one of the words of Jesus! "Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken." Luke 21:26
The end may actually be a misnomer! It is not the end Christians are looking for, but a new beginning! It is the time of a regime change. Not a change that a man nor any group of men can bring. No! It is one brought by the return of Christ, Himself. The Great KING of KINGS is near to returning and taking His rightful, blood-bought place as the LORD of all creation reigning from Jerusalem! Jesus is coming and even the earth seems to bear that out. Jesus is coming to end the age of the reign of sinfulness, but the earth, itself, endures forever. The closest thing in scripture to an end is the new creation of the heavens and the earth after the close of Christ's 1000 year reign.
While listening to a friend, Paul Begley, today on his show "The Coming Apocalypse" that airs daily from 12-3 EST on LBN, the scriptural significance of these strange sounds seemed to jump out from the pages of scripture. Now I know that many are looking for naturalistic explanations! It is the way of man. Most men/women tend to try their level best to explain away all of the power of God because their sinful hearts want to remain in willful rebellion. They can't even believe one come back from the dead--Jesus! "Fish were bigger in Jonah's day, the marshy 3 inch deep, Reed Sea is where Israel crossed, the burning bush is a species indigenous to the region: blah, blah, blah, blah blah!" That universalized, naturalistic rubbish is actually fulfilling the warnings of 2 Peter 3 and Jude, friend. Remain blind if you wish--but you will wish you had trusted Christ in 1000 years! He is not only the coming King, but in 1000 years He, the nail-scarred one who died for you, will be your judge if you reject the mercy and grace he showed you at the cross!
I know some are saying that it is a natural phenomenon. Some say it may be groans caused by problems in the magnetosphere. Some claim it is an interaction to recent solar spikes although the sounds were heard before the recent CMEs. Many ideas will be purported, I am sure. Yet, one must ask the question, why do we not hear of this more often if it is such a natural occurrence? Why is this happening at this time when even the secular world is in such an end-time quandary? The Muslims are looking for the Mahdi, the Jews their Messiah, the Christians know it is the signs of the return of Christ, many others are looking for ancient prophecies from various ancient civilizations to be fulfilled. Bottom line--everyone seems to be expecting something! Well, maybe not the atheist--they have nothing to look forward to except for natural entropy to one day wind down the energy of universe into oblivion. Have you ever stopped to think that natural entropy may be a natural response to the fall of creation caused by the fall of man? Anyway, why are these things happening now on the heels of so many other unusual phenomena and a world on the brink?
First Kings chapter 1 is the real life account of the change of rule from David to Solomon. It also is a shadow of the coming rule of David's greater son--the Son of Man--Jesus Christ. This is the same Son of Man that David also calls "my Lord" which denotes the deity of Christ as well. Before the change, however, an interloper stealing the throne arises, Adonijah. Like Solomon had to remove a usurper from His throne, Christ will also remove the Antichrist from His. What signaled to Adonijah that he was in trouble? He heard the earth rending with the sounds of praises, chimes, and trumpets! Satan, Antichrist, False Prophet, his minions, can you hear--the earth is rending as the True Heir is about to return! You're attempts to thwart His reign are already doomed before they are even started!
This same scenario has actually played out once. Solomon was placed on David's donkey and ridden through the streets of Jerusalem. Again,this was a shadow of the triumphal procession of Christ into Jerusalem on the Sunday before His resurrection. It marked the beginning of the week of His passion. The people were so loud that the scriptures say that the city rang. Matthew's account uses the Greek word krazo to explain the shouts of the people (Isn't that a word that we have in English that the naysayers mockingly call believers?). Jesus then responds to those who hate Him and His rule by saying, "I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out."Is that what is being heard? Is the earth groaning and crying for the return of its Lord? Are the rocks crying out because a God hating world will not praise the Rightful King?
Not only that, but Jesus uses a common first century teaching technique for driving His point into the heart of His enemies. For a Rabbi, what He did not say was often as important as what he said. For instance, If I said "For God so loved..." or "The Lord is my shepherd...", could you finish it? How much more true was this of the teachers in Jesus day? They knew the Messianic prophecies inside and out. Jesus responds to them in Matthew quoting Psalm 8:2a. Believe me, his enemies knew the implications of that entire verse! "Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger." He called them enemies without saying it and they ran off like angered babies! Sounds in the earth are also signs of warning for unbelievers according to Isaiah 66:6. Maybe the earth is telling you that the time of the Antichrist is nearing? Is it just about time for the mark of the beast, 666?
Maybe we are hearing a "natural phenomenon"? Who made the natural, friend? Was it not the Super-Natural Creator? Scripture does certainly tell us that the universe itself groans for redemption. Paul wrote, "For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now (Romans 8:22)." I pray these noises remind you that the uncertain times of the usurper are nearing. The Antichrist and the Tribulation are about to begin! It is also certain that the creation also has a part to play in the return of the Rightful King and its longing for a regime change. The earth will tremble and reel like a drunk man and shake like a tent in the wind. Stars will fall from the sky. The moon will appear as blood, and the sun will be darkened. Then mankind will see the sign of the Son of Man in the sky and cry for those same rocks to cover them. So maybe, just maybe, the groaning earth now is uttering to those who will hear that the Lord is about to come. The rocks are truly crying out, "Hosanna, Blessed is He that comes in the name of the LORD!" Don't put Him off too long. Jesus Christ is Soon 2Come!
