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.
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 actually is very much like it. In the Bible, the church is often referred to as Christ’s bride.
The Apostle Paul writes: “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church” (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 He 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 many times, then the Spirit of God is grieved. And 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)
What happens after Christians are taken?
Well, we are 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 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!
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.
Learn more about the End Times.
Read the book of Revelation in the Bible.