When Jesus was here on earth, He told His disciples, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also” (John 14:1-3). What a thrill it is to know that one day, Jesus will return to earth and take those who are redeemed to be with the Father. This promise of the Lord’s Second Coming is wonderful news for believers. What a hope we have!

When we speak of the Lord’s return, a question that often comes up is: “When will the Rapture happen?” The Bible does not tell us exactly when Jesus will return. In fact, Scripture says that no man knows the day or the hour. Only God knows the exact moment of the Rapture. However, the Bible does tell us the signs that will indicate when His coming is near, and we see those signs happening now.

That unanswered question has troubled many people. Because no firm date is given, to some the Rapture does not seem like a real event, or not likely to happen anytime soon. This can lead them to neglect God’s instructions, or to believe there will be time to obey the Lord later. That way of thinking is dangerous. Christ’s return is a real event, and it will have real consequences in each of our lives.

There is a much better question to ask ourselves today: “Am I ready?” We cannot know when Jesus will return, but we can know that we are ready for that event. Being ready for the Rapture means that our sins have been forgiven and we are serving God faithfully. That is where our focus must be. If we embrace the reality of the Rapture and diligently prepare for it, we can look forward to that day with great expectation.

Living in expectation

When we have a definite plan to go somewhere, we take action accordingly. For example, we may take time to research the place we are going, request time off work, purchase tickets, and make many other arrangements. In short, we behave and speak as though the trip will really happen because we fully expect that it will.

Having that type of certainty is how we should approach going to Heaven. Paul wrote to the Thessalonians about Christ’s promise to return, and we can tell by the words he chose that he knew this promise was sure. Paul wrote, “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). I love that Paul said “we” which are alive and remain, rather than a more general term such as “some” or “they.” This promise was clearly personal to Paul. And he did not say that he “hoped” to go with the Lord, but that we “shall” be caught up! Paul had a firm hold on the promises of God, and we can too.

In Matthew 24, Jesus revealed what the world would be like before His return. One of His comments compared the time of His return to the days of Noah. He said, “For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark” (Matthew 24:38). Noah preached about the coming destruction for about 120 years, and then one day, he entered the ark and the prophecy became reality. That is what it will be like when the Rapture happens. Many of the prophecies Jesus gave have already been fulfilled—those have become reality, and soon the Rapture will as well. When we see the end times signs continue to unfold, they are a reminder to us that it is almost time for our trip to Heaven.

Preparing diligently

After Jesus spoke about the signs of His return, He told the Parable of the Ten Virgins (Matthew 25:1-13). The ten virgins were waiting to be called to a wedding. They all knew the bridegroom was coming for them soon, though his arrival was delayed. They also knew they needed to have their lamps ready so they could leave during the night.

The ten continued to wait until at last there was a cry in the night, “The bridegroom is coming! Go out to meet him!” The virgins all stood up and trimmed their lamps. However, five of them had no oil. There was no flame in their lamps, so they were not ready to go with the bridegroom.

In this parable, the virgins represent believers, the bridegroom is Christ, and the bridegroom’s arrival is the Rapture. The fact that all ten virgins had lamps indicates that they all wanted to go to the wedding, and at one point, they were ready. However, five of the virgins were foolish and through carelessness allowed their lamps to run out of oil. We could compare them to people who receive salvation, but afterward neglect to live as God has instructed. They want to go to Heaven, but they have not stayed ready. The lesson for us is that spiritual carelessness is foolish and dangerous. We must each examine ourselves and make sure we are not neglecting the Lord’s instructions. The Rapture is a real event that will happen one day, and spiritual laziness could cause us to miss it.

At one point in the parable, the foolish virgins asked the wise for help saying, “Give us some of your oil.” Imagine someone saying to a saved friend, “Give me some of the Spirit of God in you. Give me some of your salvation.” Of course, it is not possible to grant that request; we can only receive those things from God, and the time to seek them is now, not at Christ’s return. In the parable, the wise virgins told the foolish, “No; go to those who sell oil and buy for yourselves,” but by then it was too late. The five foolish virgins missed the wedding. May we learn from their mistake and choose to be diligent in our spiritual preparations.

A reality check

In our humanity, we can forget many things, including the nearness of eternity. Thank God, He gives us reality checks from time to time. He did that for me last February when I suffered a major stroke. Some people would say, “You don’t need to worry about dying; you’re young and healthy,” or, “You’re too young for a stroke.” Such statements are not from God’s Word. When God wants to take us, He will take us.

On the day I had my stroke, when it became evident that I was experiencing a major health crisis, I was taken to a hospital. There, at one point I tried to get on my knees to pray, but my legs did not work. I could tell that my body was dying. I called for nurses but they did not answer, so I just started to pray. However, I was not praying to be healed; I saw that Heaven was near and I wanted to go! My cry to Jesus in that moment was, “On this last step, hold my hand!”

I am glad I knew in that moment that my soul was ready to meet the Lord. That was not the time to try to take care of unfinished business with God. Right now we have time to pray. But one day, and it may be soon, that time will be over.

When my wife arrived to see me at the hospital, I told her, “I am not afraid; I want to see Jesus.” I thank God for a godly wife because she looked at me and said, “You are not going anywhere yet. The people of God are praying.” The Lord answered prayer; He brought me back and gave me additional time to live for Him. The use of my legs and everything in my body was restored. The Lord healed me completely!

This was a reality check for me. If the Lord’s promise of healing is this real, then so is His promise to return for His people. Even before that happens, any one of us could enter eternity by death. In an hour when we think not, this life will be over. We need to be ready!

It is time to decide

When Christ returns and the saints are caught up together, what a grand fellowship we will have in the sky! At the same time, many unsaved will immediately go to prayer. They will show up at churches without an invitation and rush to the altars, but they will find that it is too late. They will face a time of great tribulation, and there is no promise of a way of escape at that point.

It is our choice whether or not we will spend eternity with the Lord in Heaven, and the time to decide is now. Jesus will forgive anyone who comes to Him in repentance, and that simple prayer is all it takes to become ready for His return. After we have settled that most important question of “Am I ready?” we can look forward with great hope to our imminent journey to Heaven.