The Lamp Keeps Burning Until the Savior Returns
Messages from around the world are warning: Jesus is coming soon, and His people need to be ready. Through visions, prophecies, and signs, Jesus has repeatedly reminded us that time is running out.
The Return and the Aftermath
When the Lord returns, few will be ready, and many believers, even entire churches, will be left behind. Many prophets have seen terrifying visions of entire churches left behind, with the exception of children. This reality will be terrifying to believers who have not been taken away.
Unfortunately, many churches today rarely address the topics of the Lord’s return, the end of the world, or the tribulation. They often focus on fun and entertainment, instead of calling the congregation to repent of all sins, sorrow, and weep before God. This will lead to great anger from the believers left behind toward the leaders for not preparing them.
How to Be Ready?
Being taken by the Lord is not easy. Just as Queen Esther had to prepare seriously and spend a lot of time to give her body for the wedding, we must also:
Surrender completely and obey Jesus.
Repent and cleanse ourselves from sin daily.
Diligently ask God to remove things in our lives that need to change.
Take up your cross and follow Jesus (Matthew 16:24): This means giving up your old life and giving it to God. This is necessary for the “bride” of Jesus.
The rapture will separate those who know God in Spirit and truth from those who know God only in tradition and form. Jesus warned in Matthew 7:22-23 that on that day many would say, “Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name, cast out demons in your name, and done many miracles in your name?” But the Lord would reply, “I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness!”
After the angels sound their trumpets, it will be too late to repent. Jesus can only bring into His Kingdom those who are ready and living holy lives. The time to repent is now, not later.
The Great Tribulation and Its Terrible Consequences
Those who are not taken by the Lord into heaven will have to go through the Great Tribulation – a time of suffering of the greatest magnitude ever (Matthew 24:21). During this time:
Persecution and Murder: Followers of Jesus will be persecuted and killed (Matthew 24:9).
Hearts of men grow cold: Love for God will grow cold as evil increases (Matthew 24:12).
War and destruction: Nation will turn against nation.
Scarcity: There will be severe scarcity, to the point where people will have to work all day just to get enough food (Revelation 6:6).
Chaos and demonic violence: Social order will be lost, the world will be in chaos, and many demon-bound souls will be on the loose.
The Great Tribulation must be avoided at all costs.
God’s Pure Bride
Jesus will return to bring a bride who is beautiful, pure, and holy (Ephesians 5:27). He is looking for a radiant, spotless, holy, and sinless church. He is not returning to the “adulterous woman” who married the world.
According to Choo Thomas in “Heaven Is Real,” Jesus said that only those with pure and obedient hearts will be taken:
Pure: Keeping yourself free from addictions, lusts, and all the pollution of the world.
Obedient: Following what God’s Word says (John 13:17).
To be ready, you must put Jesus first in everything in your life. “Without holiness, no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14). Matthew 5:20 also warns: “Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.”
Things That Make You “Unready”
God’s Word is very clear that entering the Kingdom of Heaven is very difficult. You will NOT BE READY if:
You are sleeping with your girlfriend/boyfriend.
You secretly watch pornography.
You are worldly or lukewarm.
You hold grudges or are unforgiving.
You worship idols, pray to idols or saints.
You do not keep the Sabbath holy, work or do business on that day.
Your oil lamps do not have enough oil and burn dimly (example of the ten foolish virgins).
You are a believer who has lost “salt” and lives like the rest of the world.
You are stealing a tithe from God.
The Parable of the Great Wedding Feast (Luke 14)
This parable shows three main reasons why many people will not be ready to attend the Great Wedding Feast of the Lamb:
“My land” (Possession): Value wealth more than the Lord’s Supper.
“My oxen” (Work): Too busy with their career, not interested in the Lord’s Supper.
“My Wife” (Relationships): Prioritizing wife, family, and friends over the Lord’s feast.
For these reasons, many will be left out of the wedding feast of Jesus.
Stay Awake and Faithful To be ready for the Lord’s return, you must not fall into spiritual sleep. Focus everything on Jesus, do not let the distractions of the world distract you. Do not fall into temptation and compromise with sin (Luke 21:36): Pray a lot so that you do not fall into temptation. Do not turn your back on God at the last moment: Remember Lot’s wife, who, although she left Sodom, turned back and became a pillar of salt (Genesis 19:26). Do not give up at the last lap of the race. Watch and pray (Luke 21:36): So that you can escape what is about to happen and stand before the Son of Man. Do not neglect your calling: No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the Kingdom of Heaven (Luke 9:62). Jesus is a God of love, who is heartbroken for lost souls and wants to save many from eternal hell. If we ignore this desire and fail to witness to lost souls, we are missing Jesus’ passion. Every believer must do his part to build the Kingdom of God. The Marriage Supper of the Lamb will be the greatest celebration in Heaven, but it will also be the worst time on earth. It is a feast that no believer should miss. No one knows the day or hour of the Lord’s return (Matthew 24:36). Jesus will return like a thief in the night, at an hour no one expects (Revelation 16:15). Right now, God is restraining many evils on earth. But after Jesus takes His children to heaven, His restraining power will be gone (2 Thessalonians 2:7). The world will soon be plunged into darkness. Revelation warns us of the rise of the Antichrist and the mark of the beast 666. Many will be tortured to receive the mark of the beast 666, and many will be killed for refusing it. Rejecting this mark is absolutely essential to salvation, for there is no forgiveness or second chance for anyone who has this mark. During the tribulation, God’s wrath will be poured out on the earth, causing devastation and suffering throughout the world. “If those days had not been shortened, no human race would be saved” (Matthew 24:22). However, Revelation 7:9-14 shows us a great crowd from every nation, tribe, people, and language standing before the throne and before the Lamb. These are the people who have come out of the Great Tribulation, having washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb. Revelation 20:4 also speaks of the souls of those who were beheaded for their testimony to Jesus, who did not worship the beast and did not receive its mark. They will live and reign with Jesus for 1000 years. Keep your lamps burning, stay awake and faithful, and be ready for the day of the Lord’s return!