“And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, ‘Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.'” Revelation 4:1
When John the Baptist came on the stage of history, he was one who was characterized as, “the voice of one crying in the wilderness: prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths straight.” (Is. 40:3) Though Isaiah, many years before the coming of John wrote this of him, yet in the gospels we find the fulfilment of His specific calling, and the uniqueness of His person. That which is very striking about John the Baptist, beyond his clothing of camel’s hair, was the fact that he came as a voice “CRYING in the wilderness.” The flame of the Spirit of God in him could not and would not refrain His ministry to the people of Israel, and eventually to the world, for it concerned the coming of the Messiah, the Chosen Lamb of God, who would take away the sin of the world by the sacrifice of Himself. HIs message was so important that the meager speaking of it, or teaching of it, was not enough to awaken the people to the great fact that the Messiah was at the door, and a reckoning among the people had to occur if they would be prepared to recognize and receive Him.
When Jesus did come, after having begun His ministry, there came a day when He stood up in Jerusalem during the celebration of a feast and CRIED, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” (Jn. 7:17) Here the Messiah had come, and the intensity of His message to the people to whom He had come to save, was of paramount importance. It was by His CRY that He sought to arouse their attention, seeking to penetrate their blindness, unbelief, and darkness. Like the intensity with which John spoke, so the Lord Jesus spoke with even more power. Time was running out to finish His ministry, to lay the groundwork for the salvation of all those who would believe in Him for it, and to accomplish it perfectly so that the Father would accept it. There had to be the CRY of His heart and soul so that many would hear and respond in repentance and faith.
When John the Apostle was on the Isle of Patmos, in exile, there would come a time when, as he worshipped the Lord on the Lord’s day, being in the Spirit, that he heard a voice behind him. That voice was coming from the same Lord with whom he had walked and communed with before his death and resurrection. Many were the days when John heard Jesus teach in a calm, quiet, but authoritative voice. This day was different, because the voice was loud, “as a trumpet.” (1:10) Why? It was because of the intensity of the message, and the time in history in which it came with stark clarity and conviction. The Message was one directed to the churches of John’s day, scattered throughout Asia Minor, and now, applying to the entire world. It was a message which communicated a new, clear, and overwhelming vision of who Christ IS, WAS, and IS TO COME. Jesus said in this loud trumpet-like voice: “I am the Alpha, and the Omega, the First and the Last.” (1:11) Christ is laying the basis for the faith of the church, a faith upon the clear and accurate, certain vision of Himself. This vision would be essential for believers of that day and now, to overcome the things coming upon the world. The message also had for its purpose to reveal the righteousness of God, the glory of Christ, and the saving, sanctifying work of the Spirit in the last days.
The Apostle John heard again this clear, penetrating voice as a trumpet also, when the Lord was to reveal to him of things to come.
Dear Father, Enable us to hear well. In Jesus’ name, Amen.