The Voice of the Archangel
1 Thessalonians 4:16 (NIV):
The Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
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I like the second one of the three signs of Christ's coming again.
"With the voice of the archangel."
There are only three angels named in the Bible.
- Gabriel, who announced the births of John the Baptist and Jesus. Gabriel is obviously a messenger angel.
- Satan, the fallen angel, told about in Revelation. He leads the bad angels who revolted against God. Paul tells us that Satan fell because of his pride.
- And Michael, the archangel, the chief of the angels, a warrior angel.
So it is Michael, then, whose voice we will hear just before Christ's second coming.
First, there will be the loud command, calling us to attention, to stop what we're doing and look up.
Second, Michael, the archangel, will speak. We will hear the voice of the head angel, who will lead God's good angels in the final battle with Satan and his bad angels, as told about in the Revelation to John.
What will Michael say to us at Christ's second coming?
I think it might be something like what was said at Jesus' baptism or his transfiguration. "This is God's beloved Son. Listen to him!" It may be something simpler, such as, "Look up! Christ is about to come down from heaven!"
I will be looking up, but I will drop to my knees, too, in the presence of my Lord and Savior.
Anyway, the voice of the angel will certainly be something to which we can look forward.
We are closer now to Christ's second coming than at any time. God delays this event, not out of disinterest, but out of mercy, giving us extra time to get right with Him.
Tomorrow's post: The Trumpet Call of God
