How do we prepare for the end times? In this article, we will see what will happen in the future as prophesied in the Bible for Jesus’ second coming.
If you haven’t already, please read the article End Times first to understand the basics before diving into more details here.
Like the days of Noah and Lot
Jesus said: “And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.
It was the same as happened in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building; but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed” (Luke 17:26-30).
God spoke to Noah and he built an ark in preparation. God sent angels to rescue Lot, and they travelled out from the city of Sodom in preparation. So it will be for Christians during the end times. Only those who are prepared will be saved. Everyone else is doing business as usual, and Jesus indicates that those who are not ready will be swept away.
So God wants us to be prepared. What do we need to do? Being prepared for a Christian is to do God’s will until He comes. Jesus told a parable about preparedness and what His second coming is like.
Second Coming: Whisked away to a Wedding
“Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were prudent. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps.
Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep. But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. The foolish said to the prudent, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’
“But the prudent answered, ‘No, there will not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut. Later the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open up for us.’ But he answered, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.’ Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.” (Matthew 25:1-13)
Jesus’ second coming is compared to a Jewish wedding feast. It is actually very much like it. In the Bible, the church is often referred to as Christ’s bride (Ephesians 5:31-32).
So according to Jewish wedding tradition, the bridegroom after his engagement, goes to prepare a place for his bride-to-be (their future home). As he goes to prepare a place for her, the bride waits for her bridegroom. He could come to get her at any time.
So that’s why Christ said, “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:2-3).
And Jesus also said, “Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour” (Matthew 25:13).
Christ’s second coming to get His bride is called the Rapture. Those who are Christians on earth (who are ready) will be raptured. The timing is unknown, because the Bridegroom will come to surprise His bride.
To get an idea of what a Jewish wedding is like, watch a fun musical called Beloved Thief: A Jewish Love Story.
Be prepared with oil
Notice how the virgins needed to be prepared with lamp and oil in order to see at night where to go to meet the bridegroom. The foolish virgins didn’t have enough oil. The oil symbolizes the Holy Spirit. Those who didn’t have enough oil are ones who quench the Spirit.
The Bible says, “Do not quench the Spirit” (1 Thessalonians 5:19). We can quench the Holy Spirit by repeatedly not doing what He says – basically telling Him to be quiet. If we do so, then the Spirit of God is grieved. And over time, we cannot hear what God says.
On the other hand, the prudent virgins are prepared with oil. They have the Holy Spirit working in their lives, and they hear God’s instructions and do them. In order to be like the prudent ones, we need to not only be hearers of God’s word but be doers of God’s word.
“But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.” (James 1:22)
Something to do
Just as in the days of Noah, there was something to do to prepare, so we also must do God’s will until He comes.
Jesus said: “For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.
Who then is the faithful and sensible slave whom his master put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions.
But if that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My master is not coming for a long time,’ and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards; the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 24: 44-51)
What is doing God’s will then? It is to stay away from evil and practice His word.
Doing God’s will also involves learning from God, and teaching others to do the same. It is not to be a hypocrite, who is a person who teaches others to do something but doesn’t do it himself.
If we become hypocrites and mistreat other people, then we are what Jesus calls an “evil slave” (Matthew 24:48). An evil slave is not a true believer, but a hypocrite. And an evil slave will be treated like an unbeliever, because of his hypocrisy.
Therefore, an evil slave will not be raptured or go to heaven. So we must be careful to not only be hearers of God’s word, but be doers of His word also. This means we must practice what we read in our daily lives.
Somewhere to go
Jesus warned His disciples to be ready to go at a moment’s notice. Just as the prudent virgins were immediately ready to go once they heard the shout from the bridegroom’s party, so also we must be ready to go.
“But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.'” (Matthew 25:6)
This means we need to be able to drop everything at a moment’s notice.
“On that day, the one who is on the housetop and whose goods are in the house must not go down to take them out; and likewise the one who is in the field must not turn back. Remember Lot’s wife. Whoever seeks to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.” (Luke 17:31-33)
So we must leave everything and go out from our homes to meet the Bridegroom. The Holy Spirit will give anyone who is physically weak the help and strength to leave.
What happens after Christians are taken?
Christians who are ready will be taken to a wedding feast: “those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast” (Matthew 25:10).
This is the wedding feast for Christ and His church. All the saints who have believed in Christ during the age of the church will be wedded to Him (this includes people who have died in Christ as well as those who are still alive when He comes). All the saints who lived during Old Testament times and everyone written in the Lamb’s book of life will be invited to the marriage supper of the Lord (Revelation 19:7-9). This wedding feast will be completed before the end of the Tribulation on earth (which lasts about seven years).
1. Together with Christ
We will know Jesus in a way that is currently a mystery. “For He says, ‘The two shall become one flesh.’ But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him” (1 Corinthians 6:16-17). This is a spiritual oneness we will experience with Christ in a way that surpasses the love of husband and wife who become one flesh. Being one spirit with Jesus is much better than the earthly concept of marriage. In fact, the earthly concept is based on a model of the heavenly concept, not the other way around.
“I am my beloved’s,
And his desire is for me.” (Song of Songs 7:10)
2. A great party
A great party in heaven will occur at this time. Friends of the bridegroom will attend the wedding feast. John the Baptist said, “You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent ahead of Him.’ He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice” (John 3:28-29).
So all the saints from Old Testament times will be there. And there will be others who will join this party as well (e.g. believers who come out of the Tribulation Revelation 7).
And what can we say about a festive celebration in heaven?
“Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard,
And which have not entered the heart of man,
All that God has prepared for those who love Him.” (1 Corinthians 2:9)
3. Christ will judge and reward His people
Christ will judge His people and reward them.
“For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work.
If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.” (1 Corinthians 3:11-15)
So there will be a judgement for the people of God, and Jesus will reward each one according to what he has done. If anyone’s work remains after testing, that person will be rewarded. If anyone’s work does not stand against God’s standard, he will suffer loss but he himself will be saved.
4. New bodies
For those who are children of God, we will all receive new incorruptible bodies at the last trumpet.
“Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.” (1 Corinthians 15:51-53)
Those who are unprepared
Being prepared is really how we should live everyday. Because we don’t know what will happen tomorrow, whether we will live to see tomorrow or whether Christ would come tomorrow, we ought to be prepared everyday in anticipation of meeting Christ.
Afterall, meeting Christ is something we should look forward to if we truly love Him.
For those who are unprepared, that is, those who are NOT doing God’s will when He comes, Jesus tells them: “Truly I say to you, I do not know you” (Matthew 25:12).
Why does He say that?
Jesus clarifies: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness’” (Matthew 7:21-23).
So he who knows the right thing to do but does not do it, and keeps practicing evil, will be cast out. What does God want you to do in your own life? Is He telling you to practice faith, to love others, to spend time with Him, and to follow His commandments? Let’s do what He says!
Jesus also said: “I tell you, on that night there will be two in one bed; one will be taken and the other will be left. There will be two women grinding at the same place; one will be taken and the other will be left. … And answering they said to Him, ‘Where, Lord?’ And He said to them, ‘Where the body is, there also the vultures will be gathered'” (Luke 17:34-35, 37).
Those “Christians” who are not raptured will be taken by bad people (vultures), because where the dead body is (which is comprised of fake Christians), there the vultures (evil ones) will be gathered.
So if Christians do not do God’s will and try to keep their old way of life, their ears will be dull and they will be unprepared to go out to meet the Lord. Therefore, these unprepared ones will be taken instead by workers of evil.
“Whoever seeks to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.” (Luke 17:33)
Q: In Matthew 24, Jesus said those in Judea must flee to the mountains. In Luke 17, Jesus said to leave in general. What does He really mean?
Jesus warned Jewish people to flee before the 70 AD invasion
In Matthew 24:15-18, Jesus said: “Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. Whoever is on the housetop must not go down to get the things out that are in his house. Whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak”.
Here, Jesus was speaking to the Jewish people living in Israel (Judea).
This is made more clear in Luke 21: “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her desolation is near. Then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those who are in the midst of the city must leave, and those who are in the country must not enter the city; because these are days of vengeance, so that all things which are written will be fulfilled. Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days; for there will be great distress upon the land and wrath to this people; and they will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations; and Jerusalem will be trampled under foot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled” (Luke 21:20-24).
So Jesus was talking to people living in Judea at that time to warn them against the Roman invasion that would happen in 70 AD. At that time, the Romans invaded Jerusalem. If any Jewish person living in Judea did not flee in 70 AD, he would have been stuck in a siege by the Romans and likely killed by them. There was “wrath to this people” (Luke 21:23), because they did not recognize the time of their visitation by God.
Jesus wept over Jerusalem and said: “For the days will come upon you when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, and surround you and hem you in on every side, and they will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation” (Luke 19:43-44).
So this occurred in 70 AD when the Romans besieged and leveled Jerusalem. All Israel was dispersed from that time on until very recently when Israel came back as a nation to their own land in 1948. “The times of the Gentiles” (Luke 21:24) are almost over, because Jerusalem will be great again and the Messiah will reign from Israel forever.
Warning for Jewish people to flee when they see the abomination of desolation
In these prophecies, there is also a reference to the near future when another temple will be built in Jerusalem. In the new third temple, sacrifices to God will resume. But the evil one will come into the temple and declare himself to be God.
Daniel talked about the abomination of desolation: “And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate” (Daniel 9:27).
So after the rapture of the church, in the middle of the Tribulation, the evil one will put a stop to sacrifices and stand in the temple to claim to be God. “Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains” (Matthew 24:15-16).
Notice how Jesus said “let the reader understand”. The true Christians would have been taken by God in the rapture, while the unready ones will be taken by evil ones and perished. Only new Christians are left. But they will be hampered to spread the gospel, because of the persecutions during the Tribulation. So may the Jewish people who read the Scriptures understand, because this will save their lives.
When the abomination of desolation is standing in the holy place, the Jewish people should flee to the mountains again according to Matthew 24:15-18, and God will provide a way for them in the wilderness to nourish and protect them from the evil one (Revelation 12:1-2, 5-6).
Warning for Jesus’ disciples to be ready to drop everything and leave
On the other hand, in Luke 17:30-33, Jesus tells His disciples to be ready to leave when Jesus comes for the rapture.
“It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed. On that day, the one who is on the housetop and whose goods are in the house must not go down to take them out; and likewise the one who is in the field must not turn back. Remember Lot’s wife. Whoever seeks to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.” (Luke 17:30-33)
We must drop everything and be ready to follow Him. Remember how Jesus called His first disciples? They dropped everything and followed Him.
“After that He went out and noticed a tax collector named Levi (Matthew) sitting in the tax booth, and He said to him, ‘Follow Me.’ And he left everything behind, and got up and began to follow Him.” (Luke 5:27-28)
During the rapture, those who are on earth and ready need to drop everything to follow Him, and meet the Lord in the air.
“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18)
Q: Jesus said this generation will not pass away until He comes again. Surely everyone died from the generation that saw Jesus. How come Jesus hasn’t come yet?
Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place” (Matthew 24:34).
Not everyone has died from the generation that saw Jesus face-to-face.
The Bible says that the apostle John has not died.
“Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them; the one who also had leaned back on His bosom at the supper and said, ‘Lord, who is the one who betrays You?’ So Peter seeing him said to Jesus, ‘Lord, and what about this man?’ Jesus said to him, ‘If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!’ Therefore this saying went out among the brethren that that disciple would not die; yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but only, ‘If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you?’
This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and wrote these things, and we know that his testimony is true.” (John 21:20-24)
It is very likely that apostle John, who wrote the book of John, is one of the two witnesses in the end times. John, along with Enoch, have not died yet. Enoch was taken up by God because he was pleasing to Him (Hebrews 11:5). And apostle John has not died either, according to the Bible.
God in His supernatural power can keep John alive until Christ comes again.
What we all need to do
We all need to do the right thing according to the word of God. Having heard what we ought to do, let’s practice these things.
Jesus gives us instructions and warns us, saying, “Be on guard, so that your hearts will not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day will not come on you suddenly like a trap; for it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of all the earth. But keep on the alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man” (Luke 21:34-36).
Therefore, do not squander life in self indulgence or drunkenness or the concerns of this world, but be ready to follow God and do His will.
Jesus can come at any time. We need to have the strength to escape all these things that are about to take place (the Tribulation), and to stand before the Son of Man.
Learn more about the End Times.
Read the book of Revelation in the Bible.