Mercy Before Midnight

A Wake-Up Call

Dear reader, I’m not trying to start a debate or win an argument. I’m saying this as plainly as I can, because I believe it with all my heart: Jesus is coming back for His people very soon. Exactly when, nobody knows. But we know that the Bible didn’t leave us in the dark about what the last days would look like, and when you read those passages and then look at the world we’re living in, it’s hard to shake the feeling that we’re watching it unfold in real time. You can feel the world changing. The season is turning, like the air shifting before a storm. A lot of people don’t want to face how close we are, but the Lord always keeps His word. Jesus is coming back.

That should make somebody stop and think for a minute or two. But most of the time it doesn’t, because people treat it like background noise, like a vague weather report you hear and forget. They scroll, they swipe, they go right back to whatever they were doing. Some people laugh and make jokes about Jesus coming back. Some turn it into an argument about pre-tribulation or post-tribulation, because arguing feels safer than obeying. Others shrug it off as another doomsday prediction. And the truth is, a lot of people don’t want to sit with it for too long, because Jesus is coming back. When you accept that, life can’t stay the same. It means changing how we live, and that’s exactly what most people don’t want to hear.

I’m saying this as someone who needs Jesus just as much as you do, and I’m writing this as someone who knows how easy it is to get swept away in the riptide of wickedness that is called the modern era. I adjusted to the times instead of submitting to Christ, and I know how easy it is to say “tomorrow” and call that a safe move. Tomorrow isn’t guaranteed to any of us, and “Tomorrow I’ll get around to Jesus” is a kind of logic that keeps us comfortable in our sins. Jesus loves us very much, and that’s why He warns us to stop living our sinful lifestyles and get ready, because the warning is mercy. Please recognize this: God’s mercy is an open door, not a couch. We can sit in our sins for years and keep waiting for tomorrow, or we can walk through the door and embrace Jesus right now.

When people talk about the rapture, some get hung up on the word “rapture.” The word isn’t the point. The event is. People argue about the timing, but the event itself is not up for debate: Jesus is coming back for His people. The Bible teaches that Jesus will return, the dead in Christ will rise, living followers of Jesus will be gathered, and we will be with the Lord forever. If that sounds like good news to you, take it as God's grace. If it sounds like a threat to you, don’t brush it off. Pay attention. What’s one thing that you keep protecting? The thing you hide, excuse, and manage discreetly so that nobody else notices? The porn habit nobody knows about? The person you just can’t forgive because that would cost you pride? The private messages you hope your spouse doesn’t find? The alcohol or drug addiction that you call “stress relief,” even though it’s how you avoid reality? The mud-slinging you think of as “genuine concern”? The little white lies you keep telling just to keep your image clean and things running smoothly? If you felt a sting while reading that, that sting is grace. If you’re in a spiritual coma, God is being kind to shake you awake before the trumpet announces His return.

That’s why people shouldn't laugh off Jesus coming back. Because when He arrives, the cover comes off. Secret sin won’t stay comfortable, and you won’t be able to hide from God anymore. A lot of folks would rather keep the secret sin incognito and block Jesus out. But God is still allowing people time to make things right. Not because it’s not a problem, but because He loves us and wants people to be spared from judgment. Let’s take a look at 1 Thessalonians 4. The Apostle Paul is not writing to freak people out about doomsday. He’s writing to Christians who were upset, worried about family and friends in the early Church who died before the Lord’s return. He let them know: “For the Lord Himself will descend from Heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16) “Then we who are alive… will be caught up together with them… to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.” (1 Thessalonians 4:17) “Therefore encourage one another with these words.” (1 Thessalonians 4:18) Now that’s comfort with a purpose. If you belong to Jesus, you are not holding onto a world that will take everything away from you. Death does not win, and separation doesn’t last, because Jesus keeps His own in His watchful care. Take a breath and let that sink in.

Now let it wake you up, because Paul does not describe this as quiet and easy to miss. He describes a commanded announcement, an archangel’s voice, and the trumpet of God. Nothing about that is casual or noncommittal. That’s a wake-up call you won’t be able to ignore. Paul ties the same trumpet language to resurrection and transformation in 1 Corinthians 15: “We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed… at the last trumpet.” (1 Corinthians 15:51–52) The trumpet is an announcement. In the Bible world, trumpet sounds meant attention and urgency. The point is simple: God is not whispering this so people can pretend they didn’t hear. And because people hide behind complexity, we will keep the timeline as simple as the Apostle Paul keeps it: Jesus descends, the dead in Christ rise, believers are gathered, we meet the Lord, and we are with Him forever.

Now here’s where love and earnest warning meet again. Some people don’t want to take the rapture seriously because they’re “just not into prophecy.” Plenty others don’t want to hear about it because they don’t want sin to end. They want Jesus the shoulder to cry on, not Jesus the King. They want forgiveness without obedience. They want a Jesus that stays out of their business. God loves you way too much for that kind of false religion. So He warns you again and again. The Bible is clear about deception. Paul says, “Let no one deceive you in any way… the man of lawlessness is revealed…” (2 Thessalonians 2:3). Deception works best on people who want darkness. If you want sin, you will find voices that tell you sin is fine. Little by little, your conscience gets quieter. That’s why you don’t play games with “tomorrow” or “later on.” Bring it into the light now, while you still can, because tomorrow is never guaranteed. Here’s what I’m trying to say: be ready. I’m not predicting the day or the hour of Christ’s return. I’m saying, from my heart to yours, be ready, because Jesus really is coming back for His people.

Since we’re keeping it real, here’s what turning to Jesus looks like in everyday terms. If you feel trapped and ashamed, don’t run. Come into the light anyway. Stop lying. Stop making excuses for your sins. Stop calling sin a “struggle” when you know it’s a repetitive choice that you keep making. Bring it to Jesus without your alibi. Cut off the supply line of sin. You already know what I mean. Remove access to sin. Delete the app, block that phone number, change your routine, break the pattern. Make it right with the someone you did wrong. Say I’m sorry and mean it. Humble yourself. If you were a good Christian and you backslid, for whatever reason, dust yourself off and get back to where you left Jesus. God is not waiting to slap you for leaving. He’s been waiting on you because He wants to forgive you and show you love. He has given you time because He wants you to have a clean mind and be free from slavery.

Here’s the key verse one more time: “For the Lord Himself will descend… the dead in Christ will rise first… Then we who are alive… will be caught up… to meet the Lord… Therefore encourage one another with these words.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16–18). Now back to that one thing you protected. The one that you said is “not really a big deal.” Get yourself somewhere alone for just five minutes. Turn off the phone and forget about whatever else you have going on for a little bit. Be real with yourself and Jesus too. He already knows, but be real. Say that sin by name in your mind or whisper it out loud where nobody but you and Jesus can hear it. Tell Jesus what it is, without the backstory. Then be done with it. Leave it there with Jesus and say amen. Don’t wait until the time feels right. Say yes to Jesus now. Then do what He says. Obedience is how you get ready and stay ready. Jesus really is coming back. That’s relief to His people, and it’s a warning to anyone drifting out in compromise. And it’s love for you right now, because as long as you still have breath and the Lord is still calling you, it’s not too late to turn to Him.