Paul, the apostle, wrote, “Then cometh the end, when he shall deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have abolished all rule and all authority and power” (l Corinthians 15:24). There is no doubt about it, Jesus is coming. When He comes, the end of the world will also come – at which time Jesus will deliver the kingdom, which is the church, to the Father (Matthew 16:18-19; Colossians 1:13-18). Have you ever thought about what you might be doing when He does come? Ultimately, nobody could possibly know the answer to that question, because nobody knows when the end will come (Matthew 24:35—25:46; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11; 2 Peter 3:8-10).
However, what if, when the Lord comes, He comes on a Sunday morning, Sunday evening or Wednesday night? What would you say then? There are some people that you could say, without a doubt, “I know exactly where they would be and what they would be doing; they would be at church (i.e., in the assembly) gathered together with other saints, worshiping God and studying His Word.” While some can find almost any excuse for missing church, these would not miss services for anything, not even and especially the end of the world.
What will come of those who have little to do with the kingdom or church now? Will they suddenly become interested at Christ’s coming? No doubt, “Yes.” In Matthew 25:1-13, Jesus taught that when He comes for the kingdom of heaven (the church), some will be unprepared. The parable is about Christians who had made some preparation to enter heaven, but they did not make full preparation. Suddenly, they will want to be with faithful saints in heaven, but the door will be shut!
Obviously, going to church or assembling with the saints does not comprise all the preparation that one must make. Yet, one cannot make proper preparation for heaven if assembling with the church is not important to him or her. Jesus is coming for the church! Will you be ready?
