Zephaniah 1:14

"The great day of Jehovah is near, it is near and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of Jehovah; the mighty man crieth there, bitterly."

The blatant and persistent sins of the chosen people were "the voice" that proclaimed the near approach of judgment; and, if it was true of ancient Judah, is it not also true that when the same wickedness is rampant in the whole world that such is "the voice" of the approaching final Judgment of all men? Of course it is.

"We live in times when these "signs" are all about us. Whether they portend the declining days of our culture and the beginning of another era, or the soon coming of the "Final Day" is irrelevant. In either case, we would be fools not to share with the prophets (of both Testaments) the sense of urgent need for preparation and repentance."[37]

This 14th verse, and to the end of the chapter, is a detailed enlargement upon the terrors of eternal judgment, presented in the hope of breaking through the persistent indifference and complacency of the people of God.