Not Left Behind
The recent Pope is put out to pasture,
And my thoughts turn to the Christian Rapture,
Saint Malachy's prophecy comes to mind,
Christians praying not to be left behind.
Pope Benedict XVI's successor,
Will be the last Pope before the Rapture,
I wish to be 'caught up', not left behind,
To face 'Tribulation', amongst the blind.
In the Book of Revelation, you'll find,
That those who are not 'saved' are left behind,
According to the ancient prophecy,
Petrus Romanus has the 'papacy'.
I strive to be one who's not left behind,
During the Apocalypse, the End Time,
A time of famine, disasters, disease,
Hatred, crime, war, political unease.
Greed, persecution in every nation,
Seven years of 'great tribulation',
It will be hell of a different kind,
And I hope to be gone, not left behind.
Copyright ⓒ Chris Ryall 2013
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Floating Title Line
The shock resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, the timing of the lightning strike on St Peter's Basilica straight afterward, the prophecy of St Malachy (12th century), and the Book of Revelation have all come together in my mind to form this poem. The title is based on the book series (Tim LaHaye and Jerry B Jenkins) and movie (series) of the same name, Left Behind. A new version of the movie is being made starring Nicholas Cage. Something is definitely going on, and the discussion forums on this topic are going viral ...
Something I also tried doing in this poem was to 'float a line' through every stanza - this time, backwards. The line ending in the words 'left behind' starts off as the bottom line in the first stanza, and moves upward in each stanza until it's the top line in the fourth stanza, and then it finds itself back at the bottom in the last stanza. It's a cycle, and I think that this world has come full cycle as well. But this poem is just an opinion, and not a judgement of anyone else's beliefs. Warmest regards,
Chris
Chocolates for breakfast
Leaking Pen
Dear Chris
The cycle is complete, I love your invented technique in this poem, quite a challenge for the student to undertake truly yous, my Mom is a devout Catholic, and she is stunned by the news of the pope's resignation, but at the same time she is looking forward to new election without a funeral this time around, I want to wish you and Mandy happy valentine as you perform new wedding vows, we are a day ahead, we started celebrating too many chocolates for breakfast
Truly
Paul
Chocolates with Coffee
G'day Paul,
I also had chocolates this morning, with my coffee. And I'm cooking my wife's favorite meal tonight - spaghetti bolognese (using Aussie mince) with red wine (in the sauce). I'll also be drinking red wine tonight in plentiful amounts! LOL. It's Valentines Day after all. Ha ha. Any excuse for a drink! Heh. I hope your Valentines Day was everything you wanted it to be. Enjoy the end of your week, my friend, and have a great weekend! :-D
Thanks very much for your kind words regarding my poem. I've used this technique before, but forwards, where the 'floating line' starts at the top and moves its way down. It suited my purposes in this poem to go backwards. Yes, the Pope took the world by surprise with his sudden, unexpected resignation, the first in over 600 years to do so. Supposedly, the next Pope will be the last, if you believe in the prophecy that has proven to be fairly accurate since it was published in 1590. Then it's 'Rapture Time'! :-o
Warmest regards,
Chris
I Love this
Chris I love this...I don't also want to be left behind...we will all make it to that great place called Heaven, but concerning the Malachy's prophecy, it may or may not be true, I refer you all to read St. Paul's writing in 2Thessalonians 2:1-3...Thanx and Godbless you all.
The Bible and the Prophecy
Hi Ewharen,
I really appreciate your thoughtful comment on my poem, and sharing the bible with me. I read 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4, and if anything, it seems to support Saint Malachy's prophecy. That is, the last Pope (after Benedict XVI) will be on St Peter's Throne when the 'End Times' begin. But it doesn't necessarily happen straight away.
Firstly, a 'covenant of Peace' will be made with Israel (coincidentally, President Obama is flying to Israel this March to do just that), and then a 'world leader' will emerge, who will gain so much power that he will claim to be (the new) 'God' (in 'the temple of God'). There is talk at this very moment of a 'one world religion' and a 'one world currency'. More scarier is the fact that RFID chips are now being used by the Vatican (as of January 2013) that will be placed in every ID card, and must be used to buy or sell anything in the Vatican. Other governments will follow, as the main argument against that system has been on religious grounds. This is what the bible refers to when it talks about the 'number of the beast' (not 666 for the devil, but rather the fact that people will be marked in a way so as to allow them to buy and sell commodities, and be tracked wherever they go).
All these things indicate 'the End Times' which precede 'the rapture'. By the way, I'm not Catholic (although I was raised as one for the first 20 years of my life), but I am a fervent Christian, and I am not scared at all about being 'caught up', but rather embrace it. I'm not a conspiracy theorist either, but I try to keep tabs on what is going on in the world. And I love matching spiritual prophecies with the bible and modern-day events. The movie series, Left Behind, (available on YouTube for free by the way) is a very accurate portrayal of what the bible predicts will happen.
When you combine all this with the increasing number of wars, crimes, earthquakes, super-storms, typhoons, tsunamis, floods, and famine, etc, it all seems rather ominous. I loved the fact that there was a huge lightning strike on St Peter's Basilica only a short time after Pope Benedict made his announcement. It gave me goosebumps. LOL
Thanks again for your feedback on my poem. Take care and best wishes. God bless.
Kind regards,
Chris
Thanks
Thanks, Best wishes to you too. God Bless You.
Warmest Regards,
Ewharen.
The Pope
The Pope comes from Marktl, a village about 10 km from where I live. They have brewed a beer in his honour, so
I think I will buy a crate before they pick a new one. I`m not a Catholic, but I`d like to see an African Pope.
And I like the poem too....
Papal Beer
Hi Leslie,
Any excuse for a beer is fine by me. LOL. I suppose having a Benedict Beer would be a rare thing - enjoy! Yes, I agree - an African Pope would be a great idea; perhaps it might help to bring peace to that region. However, then again, considering that a large number of Africans are Muslim, it might bring division and violence as well. I think religion in general is dangerous. I saw something on Facebook that I really liked: "Jesus is my savior, not my religion." That's exactly how I feel. I'm glad you liked my poem - thanks very much for your kind feedback - much appreciated. Have a great weekend.
Take care, and best wishes. Regards,
Chris