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Writer's pictureclay werner

The Sound That Still Circles the Globe

On August 27th, 1883 the loudest noise ever made on earth occurred- the eruption of Krakatoa in modern day Indonesia. Clearly heard over 3,000 miles away, a ship captain that was only 40 miles away said that “so violent are the eruptions that the ear-drums of my crew have been shattered.” This means that if that sound originated today where I live in Athens, GA, it would be clearly heard in Ketchikan, Alaska; San Francisco, California, the entirety of central America, all the way down to Peru on the South American Continent, and all the way north to Iceland.


Let’s give this sound a little more perspective. If you put your ear right next to a jackhammer, you’d experience 100 decibels. The human threshold for pain is 130 decibels. Keep in mind, a 10 decibel increase in sound is perceived as twice as loud. “The Krakatoa explosion registered 172 decibels at 100 miles from the source. This is so astonishingly loud, that it’s inching up against the limits of what we mean by ‘sound.’” The pressure wave of the explosion reached almost 700 miles per hour and went around the globe an entirety of 4x’s.

Now, in comparison, listen to what Psalm 29 says about the sound of God’s voice:


4 The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty. 5 The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars; the LORD breaks the cedars of Lebanon… 9 The voice of the LORD makes the deer give birth and strips the forests bare, and in his temple all cry, "Glory!"


Psalm 29 is comforting God’s people by showing his power to protect them and give them peace. Many in the Ancient Near East took refuge in the pagan idols Baal or Ashteroth, but Psalm 29 is displaying for everyone to see and hear the greater power of this King’s voice. Glory indeed.


Yet, an even louder eruption had occurred centuries before. When the darkness had created an eerie silence after the crucifixion and burial of Christ, life powerfully erupted from the clutches of death and rather than a shockwave of destruction, a message of forgiveness, reconciliation, and renewal began to circle the globe. It continues to circle the globe, reaching every tribe, tongue, nation, and language. The King’s voice can still be heard, giving life to all those who trust in him, “Peace be with you,” (John 20:19).


Have you heard it from where you are right now?





**Information for this story was found here.

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