SILVER SPACESHIPS
Well, I dreamed I saw the silver space ships flying In the yellow haze of the sun,
There were children crying, And colours flying, All around the chosen ones.
All in a dream, all in a dream, The loading had begun.
They were flying Mother Nature’s Silver seed to a new home in the sun.
Flying Mother Nature’sSilver seed to a new home.
Neil Young; After The Gold Rush
It’s amazing how some song lyrics haunt us over time. The words just seem to “ring a bell” deep in our souls, we find ourselves singing them to ourselves, and taking special note of them when we hear them sung, and we say, “that’s one of my favorite songs”. I’m going to take the liberty to say what I think is the cause of this phenomenon: it’s because they contain a truth that meets our immediate needs, even if we’re not totally aware of what that need is. We may not even understand the meaning of the line, or the whole purpose of the song, but we cherish that particular phrase, and find ourselves saying unconsciously, “Yup, that’s what I believe!” or, “I wish that were true.”
The reason for this phenomenon, I think, is that our conscience is tuned to listen for truth, especially a truth that might apply to our own lives, and the conscience sort of “highlights” a phrase just like we might highlight a line in a book.
I believe that the reason songs become popular is because they contain phrases that do this sort of thing to many people.
Having said all this, what is it about this song that made it so popular to so many people? Once again, I believe it is because we all “identified” with that song, we said in our hearts, “yes, if that situation were true, if Earth were doomed and there was a great evacuation…would I be one of the ones chosen to go?”
The loading had begun.
This is not the first time this theme has been dealt with: for instance, many years ago there was a book written called When Worlds Collide. It appeared that an asteroid the size of a planet was destined to hit the earth in the near future, and so the nations of the world mobilized to prepare for an evacuation. However, there would not be time to evacuate everyone, there was only time to build two spaceships. Millions of people were asked to contribute to the building of these ships, but only a handful of them would be destined to go who would go would be determined by drawing lots. Everyone must have thought while they were working, “I hope I get chosen to go!”
There were children crying
Such an idea has been a theme in art and music and literature in all cultures. We call such apocalyptic themes myth, or science fiction, and we on the one hand know that they are fiction, but on the other hand they strike such a chord that we are fascinated by the implications. Fact is, such a thing could happen, but we have no certain way of looking into the future to find out.
However, there is an ancient book that prophesies that just such an event will occur. The Bible tells us that there will be an Apocalypse, a great disaster that will engulf the world in a horrendous war that will end at the Battle of Armageddon. The earth will be ravaged by flood, famine, earthquake, and war disasters of such magnitude that Jesus Christ said in Matthew 24:21 “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.”
Now here is my point. The reason such themes strike a chord is because they are premonitions of a truth recorded in one of the most ancient of books. The Bible says such things will happen. And even more astoundingly, the Bible says that while many will be killed, some will be rescued from this disaster. Jesus Christ will mount an evacuation, an airlift more astounding that the Silver Spaceships in Neil Young’s dream. The details are revealed in such passages as 1 Thessalonians 4:16:
“ 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.”
There will be an airlift. Christian people have known about it for centuries. As a matter of fact, details of it have been tucked away in Christian literature and hymns and popular songs. For instance, years ago there was a popular song called The Great Speckled Bird. Here are some of the lyrics:
What a beautiful thought I am thinking
Concerning a great speckled bird
Remember her name is recorded
On the pages of God’s Holy Word
She is spreading her wings for a journey
She’s going to leave by and by
When the trumpet shall sound in the morning
She’ll rise and go up in the sky
When He cometh descending from heaven
On the clouds as He writes in His Word
I’ll be joyfully carried to meet Him
On the wings of that great speckled bird
There will be an evacuation. There will be an airlift. Some will go and some will stay behind. And although they will not be precisely silver spaceships (the real truth is even more exciting) the results will be the same. The question is, will you go, or will you stay? Do you want to be ready? Then let someone show you from the Bible how you can be. Perhaps you already are ready. Then rejoice in the truth and pass it on to others!
ANALOGYMAN
The Great Speckled Bird Lyrics By Rev. Guy Smith Illustration by: Leo Morey, 1933 for Into The Meteorite Orbit by Frank K. Kelly