The Midnight Cry visualizes the second coming of Christ. Will it be at midnight? Maybe. But as this song and the Bible remind us, no one knows the time. This meditation poses the question, Am I ready to meet the son of god when he returns.
“Midnight Cry: When Jesus Comes Again” was written by the Day brothers, Charles Robert Day, Jr. (Chuck) and Gregory Alan Day (Greg) in 1986. Greg and Chuck attended a church service at their parents’ church where the Rev. Billy Swain was preacher. The title of his message was “The Midnight Cry.”
Chuck wrote that title down on the back of a business card. Later that afternoon the brothers were discussing the sermon and decided to write a song based on what they had heard in church that day. Chuck wrote and Greg played on the piano . . . line by line. They completed the song in less than an hour and when they performed it at a church service, the song was well received. The Gold City touring group and Ivan Parker recorded the song which became an instant success.
However, the amazing force behind the writing of this song was the providence of God. When Greg was 7 years old, a visiting preacher in his local church asked him to come down to the front of the church during a service. The preacher told Greg, “Son, this may not mean anything to you now, but one day when you are older, God will give you songs that will change lives.” That is exactly what has happened!
Follow the words to this popular gospel song.
I hear the sound of a mighty rushing wind
And it’s closer now than it’s ever been
I can almost hear the trumpet as Gabriel sounds the chord
At the midnight cry we’ll be going home
When Jesus steps out on a cloud to call His children
The dead in Christ shall rise to meet Him in the air
And then those that remain will be quickly changed
At the midnight cry when Jesus comes again
I look around me, I see prophecies fulfilling
And the signs of the times, they’re appearing everywhere
I can almost hear my Father, as He says, “Son, go get my children”
Oh yeah, at the midnight cry, the bride of Christ will rise
When Jesus steps out on a cloud to call His children
The dead in Christ shall rise to meet Him in the air
And then those that remain will be quickly changed
At the midnight cry when Jesus comes again
And then those that remain will be quickly changed
At the midnight cry, oh yes, at the midnight cry, yes
At the midnight cry when Jesus comes again
Jesus comes again
The focus of the hymn is the second coming of Jesus to take God’s children home with Him. The phrase “when Jesus comes again” is repeated several times in the lyrics and that phrase will be the focus of our meditation.
What the Bible tells us
There are a number of places we could go in God’s word for understanding of this glorious event. Jesus himself has some things to say about His second coming as recorded in Matthew and John. Also, Paul wrote about the second coming of Jesus. So, we will be using their writings for this meditation. Before we look in the Book, let’s review the fundamentals in the lyrics regarding Jesus’ second coming.
- Christ will come again!
- Prophecies are being fulfilled!
- He is coming to get God’s children . . . the bride of Christ!
- We will be changed!
- It will happen quickly . . . when we are not expecting it!
Now let’s see what Jesus, John and Paul have to say about the second coming as we examine selected passages from the Old and New Testaments.
In John chapters 13 and 14, Jesus is preparing His disciples for His death and departure from the world. At the beginning of chapter 14 we find those very familiar words about preparing a place for us. And, He says; “I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” These are Jesus’ own words promising His second coming with a purpose that includes gathering God’s children . . . the bride of Christ, and taking them home to be with Him in heaven.
There are a vast number of books devoted to prophecies fulfilled. So, I will just mention a few relevant ones here. In Isaiah 40 verse 3, we find the following.
A voice of one calling: ‘”In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.”
Isaiah 40:3
All four of the gospels indicate that John the Baptist is the fulfillment of this prophecy. Isaiah 53 is the classic prophecy of Jesus becoming our savior by His sacrifice for our sins. Jesus provides a prophecy about the timing of His second coming in Matthew chapter 24:
And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations and then the end will come.
Matthew 24:14
Nations here does not refer to human defined countries but to all people groups. Current estimates are that there are approximately 7,000 unreached people groups. These unreached people groups comprise approximately 3 billion of the world’s population. So, there is a great deal of missionary work and evangelism that must take place before this prophecy of Jesus will be realized.
However, Jesus is very clear on one critical point. He is not coming back for everyone!
In Matthew 25, He indicates that He, as King, “will separate the people one from another as the shepherd separates the sheep and the goats.” He separates us . . . the righteous from the unrighteous. And, the righteous go with Him to eternal life. But, the unrighteous “will go away to eternal punishment.”
Paul describes this same aspect of Christ’s second coming in 1 Thessalonians 4 and 5. Those in Christ will be made new!
Paul confirms this in 1 Corinthians 15 as follows.
I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?’The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 15: 50-57
This truth is also presented by John in Revelation chapter 21:
He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
Revelation 21:5
We are made new by Jesus as He comes to get His own . . . the children of God.
Meaning of the midnight hour
When does this happen? It happens at the midnight hour! In other words it happens when we are least expecting it. Jesus was clear on this in Matthew 24 and 25. Let’s look at some verses.
But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
Matthew 24:36
As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
Matthew 24: 37-39
Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.
Matthew 24:42
So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
Matthew 24: 44
Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.
Matthew 25:13
Jesus is consistent on this point. He told several parables to emphasize this issue of timing. Some of the verses above are taken from those parables. We must be ready because we don’t know when He will return.
What does this mean for us?
Bishop J. C. Ryle, who served as Bishop of Liverpool from 1880 until his death in 1900, offers some great thoughts regarding the implications of “The Midnight Cry.” I am taking these exhortations from his book entitled “Old Paths” (which I highly recommend along with “Holiness” and “Assurance”). Ryle suggests that we carefully consider the following
- Do not neglect my own soul! (Mark 8:36)
- Few are saved! Shall I be one of the few? (Matthew 7:13 – 14)
- We all were once spiritually dead! Will I be found among the living at the “midnight cry”? (Ephesians 2:1)
- Are my sins forgiven? (1 John 1:7 and Psalm 32:1)
These are four basic spiritual areas of self-examination. What will be my spiritual condition in the “Midnight Hour” when the trumpet sounds and Jesus comes again at a time when I least expect Him?
My prayer is that we will all be found ready to go with Him!
Amen.
Hymns for Him 