These days, some simple things we enjoyed (and took for granted) in 2019 are no longer there, and we all have our examples. One such example at our church is “special music.” For the most part, we don’t have that as a naturally-occurring element in every service anymore, although we have had more occasions lately.
I remember attending a workshop for church singers once, or maybe this principle is resident in my brain because it was a report from someone who attended it. The precept was:
Never sing a song that doesn’t apply to you.
This had to do with testimony songs: for instance, the kind that talk about living a decadent lifestyle before coming to the Lord—if that really didn’t happen to you. It is by far more practical to stick with already-written songs about the goodness and grace of Jesus than to sing the ones that mention your former lifestyle. It’s even hard to do the ones that say something like “I’m just a man… “ if you’re a woman.
It is even a little bit questionable to have a whole congregation singing a song about how “I love you with my whole heart,”… if some people in attendance have never even been in a church before. Except that somehow, over time, learning songs like that in church and singing them with everybody else can cause them to become internalized and eventually come true.
There is a song that everybody but me likes, and I dislike it for the aforementioned reasons. You may have guessed what it is from looking at this post’s title. But it is the imaginings of the songwriter about what Heaven will be like, and what he will do when he stands before the Lord. (Dance, kneel, sing, keep silent… ?)
The thing is, I have my own imaginings, and they’re not the same as his. I just don’t have a song for it, and I wouldn’t expect others to sing it with me if I did. But here are my musings about what the Rapture might be like, or what I would like to see—if I could have my say-so.
I have imagined the Rapture, and I know there are those who would rather not read yet another post about it. But the subject excites my imagination and gives me hope. Paul says in 2 Timothy:
“Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.”
~2 Tim. 4:8
I love the very thought of His appearing, and hope to see that happen in my lifetime. So, according to this verse, what is waiting for me? A crown! Yes, there is a special crown awaiting those who are still saying, in the face of many naysayers, “My Jesus is coming to get me!”
My friends and I were all saying “Maranatha!” when I was in high school, during the Jesus Movement, and flashing each other the “one way” symbol, pointing up to Heaven with raised index finger.
We studied Revelation and speculated on when the Rapture might be. I have an audio tape that Eric recorded for me the year we got married, where he was dreaming of our future together and saying we might have to live in a cave someday, but that he would get me a kitten. Pastor Chuck Smith, though he has passed on to his eternal reward, has been castigated, and people say he has been entirely discredited, because in one of his recorded sermons, he gave a year he believed would be the time of Christ’s return. (Gasp!) Truth be told, I also have done a bit of “date setting” -- but my folly was not recorded and used as required curriculum in Bible colleges.
“But Margie,” you may say, “you were in high school about 50 years ago. Isn’t that too long to wait expectantly? Can’t you just move on from that, and accept that it probably isn’t going to happen, at least in your lifetime?”
Nope! Every day that passes makes me one day closer to Jesus’ return. And it still excites me!
So, I imagine what the crown will look like. I imagine what it will be like when He, the Righteous Judge, places it on my head. I just don’t think there will be a barrel of them at Heaven's door so everybody can grab one on their way in. They will not be mass-produced plastic, made in China, with fake gems. No, these crowns will be more real than anything we have touched in this life. And Jesus will put one on my head.
I imagine what it will be like going up. Here’s a popular old toe-tapper song about “That Great Gettin’ Up Morning.” by the Gaither Vocal Band. Enjoy!
In That Great Gettin' Up Mornin' (Live At Bon Secours Wellness Arena, Greenville, SC/2018)
The song mentions chariots a-comin’. This is a reference to Elijah, the prophet of God who was taken up to Heaven without dying, a picture of the Rapture of the saints. There are some misunderstandings about this trip, however. Elijah didn’t get a chariot ride, and neither shall we. The fiery chariot and fiery horses were a way to separate Elijah from Elisha, like a police barricade. And then Elijah was taken to Heaven in a whirlwind.
“Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.”
~2 Kings 2:11
That doesn’t seem to be the way we’ll go, but it had to be a pretty uplifting experience!
The song also mentions the white robes. There are several places in Revelation that mention our white garments, white robes, or fine linen, clean and bright.
“‘Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.’
“And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.”
~Revelation 19:7-8
In fact, we’ll have white horses to go with the white robes, when we come back again to earth as Christ’s wife and also as Christ’s army. I wonder about my white horse—do I get to keep him, or will he be a rental, like Shadowfax in the Lord of the Rings? And what will my white robe look like? I can only imagine—I know it will be very beautiful!—but something tells me it won’t pick up rust stains, the way my white clothes do when washed in Burrows well water.
I had conversations a long time ago with my good friend Ayelet, who lives in the Judean hills in Israel. She told me that I just had to see Jerusalem, and if I never got to do it in this life, that I should fly over it on our way up during the Rapture. We promised each other that I would fly over that way and join up with her before making my final ascent, and the picture in my mind is still a vivid memory.
I have also imagined what various skeptics will do, those whom I know are Christians but who say they don’t believe in the Rapture. Will they be kicking and screaming with a terrified look on their faces when they are “snatched away”? Because even if they don’t get the crown I mentioned, I can’t imagine that God would leave them here when it’s time to go. Or, will they relax and rise, just as happy to escape this broken world as I am?
I have imagined folks I know, my brothers and sister in Christ, who have Charcot-Marie-Tooth Syndrome, Huntington’s Disease, weak hearts, bad knees, bum backs, Alzheimer’s, PTSD, chronic fatigue, partial deafness and blindness, Parkinson’s, vaccine injuries, cancer, and more, who will suddenly be in no more pain. All knee braces and canes, walkers, wheelchairs, hearing aids, dental plates, pacemakers, and glasses will stay here. There isn’t any need for any of that in Heaven. My friends will all be set free.
There will be no more food allergies, no gluten intolerance. There will be plenty of food, but no more obesity, no more belly fat. We will have new, glorified bodies, with no more itchy skin or ridged fingernails from psoriasis, no more malfunctioning hearts or kidneys… or anything! I have looked in the mirror and tried to imagine what I will look like without saggy skin with wrinkles, sores, and stretch marks, and without any broken teeth. Will I even get some of my hair back? No glasses?
I have imagined flying in an airplane, looking out the window and down at the clouds, and seeing Jesus standing there. Maybe folks on airplanes will be among the first to spot Him! If the Rapture happens while I’m flying, will I be one of the first to be with Jesus? Will I go down to Him or up to Him?
I have imagined being in a car driving alongside a graveyard when the Rapture happens, and seeing our own dead ancestors popping out before we ever go. Will I recognize any of them?
I have imagined the Wedding of the Lamb, and its accompanying feast—it will be such a grand time!
Have you ever wondered why the book of the Song of Solomon is in the Bible? Aside from being the best song Solomon ever wrote (Song of Songs), it has other significance. It talks about married love, and yet, though there is a strong yearning for each other in the song, the lovemaking doesn’t reach the expected conclusion. This is where it touches upon the holy. Our Jesus longs for us right now, with the longing of a bridegroom, watching over us with divine anticipation. But the fulfillment hasn’t happened yet.
This is not just about us, the Church, as we wait for the fulfilment of Jesus’ promise to return—and for most of us, that is probably no more than 50 years—it is also about Jesus, who has literally been waiting over 2,000 years before He could finally have His bride, the Church.
How will I feel when He says to me:
“You are all fair, my love, And there is no spot in you.”
~Song of Solomon 4:7
Or when I say:
“His left hand is under my head, And his right hand embraces me.”
~Song of Solomon 2:6
So this is what I imagine. There is a great multitude who will be arrayed in white robes. There will be people of every tribe and every tongue, who will be in Heaven worshiping our King Jesus and praising Him for His salvation. But it will be to me as if I am the only one, and the instant I am translated into Heaven, I will be in His warm embrace. There will be no delay either, and no long lines. I will not get to pass by Jerusalem, nor will I be smugly watching those who didn’t think there would be a Rapture. In the twinkling of an eye, I will snatched up, to be with my Savior, my Bridegroom, forever.
That’s it.
I should write a song …
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