There is a sound that has echoed through the hills of Alabama for generations, a sound that predates our statutes and our steeples. It is the sound of the watchman, the blast of the shofar, and the uncompromising voice of truth. Yet, a curious development has arisen within our own city gates. The City of Roanoke has recently moved to amend its noise laws under a designation that should give every discerning soul pause: Ordinance 666. While the world may dismiss this as a mere numerical coincidence or a clerical happenstance, the student of the Word knows that nothing is truly accidental in these closing hours of the dispensation.
The document itself, recently uploaded to the official city domain, is a study in administrative confusion. Riddled with typographical errors such as “Therefopre” and “Amemded,” it stands as a testament to the “confusion of tongues” that often accompanies the efforts of man to legislate the atmosphere. This ordinance seeks to control “any loud or excessive noise,” specifically targeting “signaling devices.” To the secular ear, this is a matter of mufflers and motor vehicles; to the remnant, it is a broad net that could easily be cast over the sacred signals of our faith. We must ask ourselves if we are prepared to allow the “Administrative Spirit” to define what is noise and what is a “Midnight Cry.”
The Bible reminds us in the book of the prophet, “Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand;” (Joel 2:1). When the city uses an ordinance bearing the very number of the Great Adversary to regulate the “signaling devices” of its people, the irony is not only “crazy”—it is prophetic. We do not fear a ticket, for our citizenship is in a higher Kingdom, but we must remain vigilant. We must ensure that in the quest for “comfort, health, or safety,” our local leaders do not inadvertently sign away the right to sound the alarm. As this notice is posted for its “two consecutive weeks,” let it serve as a different kind of sign to those who are looking for His appearing. We shall continue to watch, we shall continue to pray, and we shall certainly continue to blow the trumpet in Zion, regardless of the numbers assigned by the hand of man.
Copy Of Letter Sent To Mayor and City Council:
Date: April 15, 2026
To: The City Council and Mayor of Roanoke Location: Roanoke City Hall, 809 N Main St, Roanoke, AL 36274 Subject: Notice of Religious Observance and Inquiry Regarding Ordinance 666
To the Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council,
I am writing to you as a resident of Roanoke to provide formal notice of a recurring religious observance and to seek clarification on the application of Ordinance 666—specifically Section 1(A) regarding “signaling devices”—to protected religious expression.
In accordance with the biblical mandate to “blow the trumpet in Zion” (Joel 2:1, KJV) and to hallow the Sabbath, it is my intention to sound the Shofar (a biblical trumpet) every Friday at sunset. This act is a sacred signal to mark the beginning of the Sabbath, a day of rest and holiness unto the Lord.
The Holy Scripture is clear on the duty of the watchman to provide a “voice of warning” and a “signal” to the people (Ezekiel 33:3-6). As this ordinance seeks to regulate “signaling devices” and “loud and excessive noise,” I am requesting a formal determination on the following:
- Does the City of Roanoke intend to classify the sounding of a Shofar at sunset for the purpose of marking the Sabbath as a violation of Ordinance 666?
- Does the City acknowledge that this “signal” is a constitutionally protected exercise of religious liberty, even as it falls under the jurisdiction of a decree numbered “666”?
The sounding of the trumpet is not a “disturbance of the peace,” but an invitation to the peace of the Sabbath. To silence this signaling device under the banner of Ordinance 666 would be to silence a fundamental tenet of my faith and a practice observed by the faithful for millennia.
I look forward to your written confirmation that the City of Roanoke will respect this religious signaling and that Ordinance 666 will not be used to infringe upon the “Midnight Cry” of the watchmen in this community.
In Defense of the Truth,
TheLordsReturn.com