Where the Rays of Heaven’s Sunrise Reach: The Cry That Ended 400 Years of Silence
The house was small, the village smaller, and the night had been long—four centuries long. Then came a cry. Not the cry of the Messiah (not yet), but the cry of a baby born to a barren woman and a doubting priest. And with that cry, the silence of God shattered like dawn over the Judean hills . Elizabeth ’s neighbors expected the child to be named Zechariah Junior. Tradition demanded it. But when the Holy Ghost begins a new thing, He does not ask permission from family custom. “His name is John ,” the mother declared. The mute father wrote the same on a tablet, and instantly his tongue sprang free after nine months of divine discipline. The first words out of Zechariah’s mouth were not apology but prophecy: “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel , for He hath visited and redeemed His people!” Church, when God names something, the debate is over. He named that child “John”—the LORD is gracious—before he ever drew breath. And He has named every blood-washed believer “redeemed,” “forgiven,...