The Scripture
"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." (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, KJV)
"Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." (Matthew 25:34, KJV)
"He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it." (Isaiah 25:8, KJV)
The Heart of It
The heart of this song is the certainty of the homecoming. Paul does not describe the end as a hope that might come. He describes it as a fact that will: the Lord Himself shall descend, the dead in Christ shall rise, and we which are alive and remain shall be caught up to meet Him. There is a shout, the voice of the archangel, and the trump of God, and then the sweetest phrase in all of Scripture for the weary pilgrim, "and so shall we ever be with the Lord." The point of the whole story is not merely rescue. It is nearness that never ends.
What awaits us on the other side of that trumpet is not a stranger's mercy but a Father's inheritance. In Matthew 25 the King does not say to His own, "I will consider your case." He says, "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." The place was ready before we ever drew breath. We are not scrambling toward an uncertain reward. We are walking home to a room that has had our name on it since before the beginning.
This is why the album can close in joy rather than dread. The saints who rose when they were named, who shone and fed and stood watch, are not marching toward oblivion. They are marching toward a welcome. The King who is coming is the King who prepared the kingdom, and the same voice that called us out of sleep will call us in through the door.
The whole of Scripture sang of this long before Paul. Isaiah promised that He will swallow up death in victory and wipe away tears from off all faces. Paul tells the Corinthians a mystery, that we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump (1 Corinthians 15:51-52). And John sees the end of every tear, when God shall dwell with them, and shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, with no more death, neither sorrow (Revelation 21:3-4).
More Witnesses: Latter-day Scripture
Latter-day scripture adds its glad witness to the homecoming. In the Book of Mormon, King Benjamin speaks of the blessed and happy state of those who keep the commandments of God, for they are received into heaven to dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness (Mosiah 2:41). This is the inheritance Matthew 25 promises, seen from the far side of the door. Alma describes the same rest for the righteous, who at death are received into a state of happiness, of rest and peace, where they rest from all their troubles and from all care and sorrow (Alma 40:11-12).
The Doctrine and Covenants echoes Paul's trumpet almost word for word. There the Lord teaches that at His coming the saints who are alive upon the earth shall be quickened and caught up to meet Him, gathered to the Lord in the clouds (Doctrine and Covenants 88:96-98). The gathering Paul foretold to the Thessalonians is confirmed again: the living saints will not be left behind but lifted to meet their King in the air. Across these witnesses the promise stands as one. This life is the doorway, and home is on the other side.
How the Song Carries It
"We're Going Home" begins where the album began, with the trumpet, but the sleeper has become a saint standing with the men and women who rose when He named them. The pre-chorus lifts the horns and the head at once, and the chorus is a homeward march and a roll call together, gathering the album's own title into its final breath: Calling all saints, calling all saints, we're rising up to Him.
The second verse turns to each listener personally, for this is the moment made for you, before the world began. Then the bridge places the closing scripture on the King's own lips, "Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared," and the final chorus resolves the whole story with every knee bowing as the King comes now.
The Lyrics
The trumpet that first called you
is sounding once again.
But now you're not the sleeper,
now you're standing with the men and women
who rose up when He named them,
and answered to the call.
Look up, the sky is opening,
this is the end of all.
Sound the horns, the King is coming,
lift your head, the day has come.
We're going home, we're going home,
the journey's at its end.
Calling all saints, calling all saints,
we're rising up to Him.
You are chosen, you are called now,
it's time to stand and shine:
we're going home, we're going home,
to the King, to the King divine.
This is the moment made for you,
before the world began.
Every step of preparation
was leading to this land.
Come, ye blessed of My Father,
inherit the kingdom prepared.
Rise, O saints, and enter,
the glory that you shared.
We're going home, we're going home,
and every knee will bow.
Calling all saints, calling all saints,
the King is coming now.
A Blessing
May the Lord who descends with a shout find you awake and unafraid, and may the trump of God be to you the sweetest sound you have ever heard. May you hear the King say, "Come, ye blessed of my Father," and may you enter the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. And in that day may every tear be wiped away, and may you ever be with the Lord. Go in peace.
Scripture References
- 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
- Matthew 25:34
- 1 Corinthians 15:51-52
- Revelation 21:3-4
- Isaiah 25:8
- Daniel 7:18
- Mosiah 2:41 (Book of Mormon)
- Alma 40:11-12 (Book of Mormon)
- Doctrine and Covenants 88:96-98