When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again!

I’m sure that I’m dating myself by telling you that I remember this old WWII song, “When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again”. For those of you who are too young to remember, here is the first verse:

When Johnny comes marching home again, hoorah, hoorah,

We’ll give him a hearty welcome then, hoorah, hoorah,

The men will cheer, the boys will shout, the ladies, they will all turn out

And we’ll all feel gay when, Johnny comes marching home.

One of my brothers’ was named John. He was the first male in my immediate family, to ever serve in the Armed Forces. He served during the Korean war, but while he was away, I saw many WWII movies that sang that song, and it resonated with me, because of his name and because as a wide-eyed little girl, I was in love with my big brother, who was the strongest man in the world!

I’ll never forget the first time my elder brother, John, came home on ‘leave’. He had written my mother a letter and had given her the day and time of his arrival. She had made arrangements for relatives to pick up my brother at the train station. She had told the family, what time he should arrive. However, because I could not tell time, I anxiously sat in the living room window, and watched until nightfall for his arrival. I could hardly wait. I refused to go outside and play; refused to eat at the dinner table; refused to do anything other than to watch and wait for the ‘coming of my big brother’; and oh, what a reunion that was for me. When I saw those headlights pull up in the front yard of the house, I knew that he would burst through that front door, scoop me up in his arms, and toss me up in the air, as he had often done before he left. It is with similar anticipation that I watch and wait for the soon coming of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

Today, I’m combining lines 11 and 12, because they must be read and explained together, in order to gather a fuller understanding of the second coming of Christ and what it means for the believing Christian. Let us read these two lines now:

Line 11: To meet Him gladly up in the air, to leave death behind and go with Him where – 

Line 12: There will be no more sickness, or sorrow, or pain, no more death, just life and eternal gain. 

We’re told in Scripture that when Jesus comes, he will “come with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead, in Christ will rise first:”  I Thessalonians 4:16-17.  We discussed this at length in our last segment. However, let us take this a little further. Remember, that we established in John 11:11-14 (when referring to Jesus’ explanation of Lazarus’ death) that the dead are sleeping a special sleep. However, when Jesus showed up at his tomb, He called Lazarus forth from that sleep. He also referred to himself, as the “Resurrection and the Life” John 11:25.  Therefore, it is no stretch of the imagination when we read I Thessalonians 4:17  about how Jesus returns, and how He will wake up or resurrect His sleeping saints and catch them up into the air to meet Him; for His feet will not touch the earth when He comes the second time. It is so important to note that part of the Scripture in I Thessalonians 4:17, also, Jesus will take them with Him, as He returns to heaven.

Another issue Jesus cautioned His followers regarding was deception and the impersonation of His second coming. He gives clear instructions in Matthew 24:4-5; 24:23-27

"So now where is he taking them?” You might ask. Well, according to the following Scriptures, He is taking them to be with Him, in the mansions that He has prepared for them, in His Father’s house, and we are not to trouble ourselves about this transition, whatsoever. We have been assured that this will happen, both by Jesus and by His attending angels.  John 14:1-3; Acts 1:8-11

Then comes the bonus to this resurrected life; for many, just being saved would be good enough. However, once we’ve been resurrected and taken to heaven, we will find that there is no more sickness, sorrow, or sighing; no pain, no bills, no con men; nothing that will disturb our peace, will be found. We will never have to say good-bye to saved loved ones again; there, we will have found Utopia, and it will last forever. Rev. 21:1-5

I tell you, this is some of the best news in the world! Please go and tell somebody about what you’ve read. It will make you feel good all over, just like it did to me. HalleluYah!

All Scriptures are taken from the KJV – King James Version Bible

First posted on the Internet – 11/25/16

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