1Thessalonians 4:16-17, “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.”

     Did you know that there is nothing that has to happen prophetically in the Bible for the above verse to take place? In other words, Jesus could come back at any time. Many Bible preachers are saying that they do expect Him to return soon. We can’t know that for sure but when Jesus tells us to “watch” for His appearing, then that’s exactly what we ought to be doing.

     Unfortunately there are many Christians who want to postpone the rapture. There are many who really don’t believe this great event could occur at any time. We go on with our lives, making plans for the future yet not making sure that our lives are in order. We postpone doing what we ought to be doing for the Lord and fill our schedules with self-serving distractions.

     In Matthew 25 the Lord speaks of a complacent, sleeping church when he comes. The parable of the 5 wise and 5 foolish virgins describes this condition. “While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.” (Matt.25:5) Is that not the condition of the church today? I wholeheartedly believe that apathy and complacency is alive and well in our churches. We’re more concerned with the economy than with Jesus coming!

     If only we as Christians could take a bigger, more “macro” view of our lives and existence, we might start living as we should. Instead of focusing in and worrying about temporary matters like 401K’s and social security, step back and see a bigger reality. There is a dimension that is invisible to us that co-exists with our “reality.” It is a dimension of spiritual battle, evil vs. good, Satan vs. Jesus Christ. It is a battle for the souls of men. It is a battle to defeat the Christian in his/her struggle of life. Your enemy Satan wants you to sleep, to become complacent in your Christian walk. It is not always blatant sin that scars the believer, lukewarmness and idleness are just as devasting. Satan has won a battle with the lukewarm Christian doing nothing for God.

      Now is the time to take inventory, Christian. Are you ready to meet your Lord if He were to come right now? We all have to give an account of our lives to Him. Many of our works will be burned up with His fiery judgment of them. Many of us will only have ashes to lay at His feet. Today is the day to get things right, to repent, to prepare. His coming may be today!