Over lunch today, I read, in the fine magazine Israel My Glory, an article entitled "Thank God for 'Reveille.'" Author Peter Colon framed his discussion of the proof, the power and the promise of Christ's resurrection with an account of Winston Churchill's 1965 funeral -- a funeral with an astonishing conclusion.
I've searched and searched for a recording to share with you. Surely one exists, but apparently even the news media of that far less skeptical era didn't feel compelled to report on it. The best I could find was the report delivered by Billy Graham on the occasion of Richard Nixon's funeral:
"Years ago, Winston Churchill planned his own funeral. And he did so with the
hope of the resurrection and eternal life which he firmly believed in. And he
instructed after the benediction that a bugler positioned high in the dome of
St. Paul’s Cathedral would play Taps, the universal signal that says the day is
over.
"But then came a very dramatic moment as Churchill had instructed. Another
bugler was placed on the other side of the massive dome, and he played the notes
of Reveille, the universal signal that a new day has dawned and it is time to
arise.
"That was Churchill’s testimony that at the end of history, the last note will not be Taps, it’ll be Reveille. There is hope beyond the grave because Jesus Christ has opened the door to heaven for us by his death and resurrection."
I can't imagine a more moving or compelling testimony to the power of the gospel -- and it was delivered without a single word!
I've searched and searched for a recording to share with you. Surely one exists, but apparently even the news media of that far less skeptical era didn't feel compelled to report on it. The best I could find was the report delivered by Billy Graham on the occasion of Richard Nixon's funeral:
"Years ago, Winston Churchill planned his own funeral. And he did so with the
hope of the resurrection and eternal life which he firmly believed in. And he
instructed after the benediction that a bugler positioned high in the dome of
St. Paul’s Cathedral would play Taps, the universal signal that says the day is
over.
"But then came a very dramatic moment as Churchill had instructed. Another
bugler was placed on the other side of the massive dome, and he played the notes
of Reveille, the universal signal that a new day has dawned and it is time to
arise.
"That was Churchill’s testimony that at the end of history, the last note will not be Taps, it’ll be Reveille. There is hope beyond the grave because Jesus Christ has opened the door to heaven for us by his death and resurrection."
I can't imagine a more moving or compelling testimony to the power of the gospel -- and it was delivered without a single word!
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