The Night Before The Rapture (inspired by Clement Clarke Moore’s “A Visit from St. Nicholas”) 'Twas the night before the Rapture, and all through the land, Not a believer was worried because their salvation was planned; The crosses were hung on the mantle with care, In hopes that Jesus soon would be there. The Christians were nestled all snug in their beds, While visions of Paradise danced in their heads; And mamma in her bible, and I in my prayer, Had just settled our brains and laid our souls bare. When up from above there arose such a clatter, I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter; Away to the window I flew like a flash, Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash. The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow, Gave a lustre of midday to objects below; When what to my wondering eyes did appear, But a gathering of angels filled with good cheer! And out of their midst a Figure did spring, I knew in a moment that this must be our King. More rapid than lightning He flickered in flame, And he whistled, and shouted, and called Christians by name: "Now, Daniel ! now, Megan ! now Spencer and Beth! And, Robert ! and, Margaret ! and, Stephanie and Seth!” He did not stop until every name did He call; Then loudly shouted, “Now come away! come away! come away all!" As leaves that before the wild hurricane fly, When they meet with an obstacle, and blow through the sky; So likewise, down through the stratosphere the angels flew, And surrounded the Christians, all in good cheer too— And then, in a twinkling, I heard from Above, A Thundering Voice filled with Absolute Love. As I drew in my head, and was turning around, Down through the heavens He came with a bound. He was as bright as a candlestick, from His head to His foot, And His clothes were not tarnished with ashes nor soot; And all our sins, He happily flung into the sea, As far as east is from west – we were separated from iniquity. His eyes—how they twinkled and burst forth like fire! His countenance was striking as He beckoned us higher! He radiated Strength and Virtue, with His visage aglow, And His beard and His hair were as white as the snow. His flaming appearance was perfect, as were His teeth, And the smoke, it encircled His head like a wreath; Spike marks emanated from His hands and His feet, The healed wounds conveying that His victory was complete! He was beautifully-effulgent, and as captivating as can be, It was all I could do to contain my utter glee; A wink of His eye and a twist of His head, Evoked euphoria without a word being said. And He held us all so firmly in the palm of His hand, This was so far beyond what we could all understand; And pointing His finger at all those that He chose, He gave us a nod, and up to Heaven we rose. The Trumpet blew and through the air gave a whistle, And away we all flew like the down of a thistle; We then heard Him exclaim, as we flew out of sight— “Merry Christmas to all, on this fantastical Rapture night!” I pray that it is so!! Humbly Lovely and timely! Thanks for posting! TR Yes indeed what a special night that would be to leave this earth Christmas Eve or Christmas Day! :whistle: You have me pondering Jesus calling each of us by name ... those are a lot of names to shout out from Pentecost to Dec 2020. Of course those who were blessed with popular names ... it will apply to many saints but what about those with unpopular names? Will there be a time lapsed to get the attention of each individual that its time to fly? :unsure: Or will it just be a general command: For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Also thinking of the saints in heaven ... they are in some temporary body right now and at the Rapture ... looks like they will be alerted its happening waaaay before us ... because they will probably hear God the Father say “Son, go get the children” and watch Jesus descend in the clouds. Can you just picture them all joyously looking over the balcony in heaven ... and then in a twinkle of an eye ... BAM they are reunited into their gloried bodies and now in the clouds with Jesus as they wait for us to join them. There is a pause from them getting their glorified bodies and the alive group getting theirs ... so I wonder if they will tease us and say ... what took you so long? B-) Also wondering about this passage in Revelation 1:5-8 is this a summary of the entire book? Check out verse 7 “behold, He cometh with clouds, every eye shall see him” is that in reference to 2nd Coming only or both the Rapture and 2nd Coming? :unsure: 5. And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, 6. And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. 7. Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. 8. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. Thanks, Humbly! A real pick-me-up! :flyup: Love this poem! May the Lord bless us all while we wait. Love in Christ? I love it when we talk Rapture rather than politics! Just goofy that way! Seems to me that if the Lord chooses to personalize His call by calling us up by name, He could easily do so simultaneously in an instant! He personally has responded to all those that have called upon His name! Why could'nt He call us by name as well! Again, whenever it does occur, it will be a most glorious event! Kinda like dad yelling out the back door saying: dinner time! TR What a wonderful poem and clever. Wouldn't that be something. The best Christmas present ever for His Bride. Complete with the Bethlehem star appearing 4 nights before. I'll be home for Christmas... :whistle: I'm dreaming tonight And although I know I'll be home for Christmas Christmas Eve will find me Please have faith Christmas Eve will find me A guy can dream, right? 😉 :flyup: What a great and precious poem that turns back to what the real meaning of this holiday we celebrate references, not a little round, obese man in a red suit. The Savior! As he calls his Bride! Thank you! Humbly :prayer-hands: Arthur - our citizenship is not on this earth but a Home to heaven from were we await our savior ... thank you, I will dream of this home tonight and pray that my eyes will see it before I wake .... :prayer-hands: Thanks all! Although I have always loved the wonder and magic of Christmas -- with Santa Claus, elves, reindeer, Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the rest of the Peanuts characters -- I love the coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, even better!!! Jesus Christ is an unbelievable reality that we can only dream about right now. But soon, to all us believers, there will be a good night! The sooner the better! Humbly
Of a place that I love
Even more than I usually do
It's a long road there
I promise you
You can count on me
Please have faith
And pain and sin erased
And present myself before Thee
Where the love light gleams
And I'll be home for Christmas
If only in my dreams
And pain and sin erased
And present myself before Thee
Where the love light gleams
And I'll be home for Christmas
If only in my dreams
If only in my dreams
