Jesus is Returning Soon!

Some people today who believe in Jesus Christ are speaking words of warning about an imminent rapture of the Church from the earth. They are talking about the second coming of our Lord Jesus, when He returns for His bride. While I look forward to His coming, I believe this word is a partial truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Lord gave me two dreams that He wants me to share with the Church right now to help her be ready for events that will soon be occurring on the earth. These dreams address specific Bible prophecy about Christ’s return and a move of the Holy Spirit that we will soon witness for those who are waiting and ready.

The first dream I received was on November 14, 2023. In this dream, I was in a house church, or something like one, located near a beach. We were in a prayer meeting in a back room or upper room, other than the sanctuary, waiting for something, perhaps the Holy Spirit. My wife and a few others were there with me. Other professing believers were not in prayer but were present in the sanctuary below us when whatever we were waiting for finally arrived. I cannot describe in words exactly what I experienced, but God was moving powerfully in and around us.

We were ushered out of the upper room in rows of two. There were a male and a female in a group of two, like a marriage ceremony. This power came rushing into the room like the Holy Spirit did in the Book of Acts. It was as if the Spirit of Christ came to where we were, whisking us off with Him as we followed Him out of the room and down into the sanctuary. He was moving quickly, so we had to walk fast to keep up with the procession. We were circling inside the walls of the sanctuary, picking up the people inside while proceeding forward. If they chose to join us, they would follow behind us in the procession.

There were some people whom I recognized ahead of me, and there were about thirty people ahead of them whom I did not recognize. There were about thirty people who joined our procession through the sanctuary, following behind us. We were going to go all the way around the inside of the sanctuary, but it was only half full. Some people did not want to walk the entire way, so they were waiting for the procession to come back around to pick them up. I knew a few of these people personally, so I grabbed them and said, “Come on, let's go!” We headed out of the building and towards the beach.

Many of those professing Christ in the sanctuary did not really want to go. They did not want to get out of their seats. When the Spirit of Christ came, it happened quickly, and He was leaving, whether we went with Him or not, because He was not waiting. I did not want to be left behind, and I kept saying, “Come on, let's go!” I knew not everyone would follow me, but I wanted those who were closest to me to go at least, so I grabbed them. Those who were in the procession were moving quickly enough to keep up, but it was happening so fast that the procession began to lose its pace and get sloppy. All we could do was stay with the group ahead of us, so we did not get left behind. I wanted everyone in the church to go, but it was all I could do to keep myself with the groups ahead of me. I woke up, so I am not sure how it ended.

Jesus spoke about a wedding procession in Matthew 25:1-13. In this parable, Jesus describes ten maidens who were waiting for their bridegroom to come for them. All the maidens fell asleep while waiting for the bridegroom, and when he arrived, only five of them were prepared and ready. Five of them had been foolish because they did not bring extra oil for their lamps, but five were wise because they did have extra oil with their lamps and were prepared for the bridegroom’s arrival. The foolish maidens asked the wise maidens for some of their oil, but the wise maidens told them to purchase their own, or there would not be enough oil for all of them. While they were out buying their oil, the bridegroom came and went, taking those maidens who were awake, ready, and had gone out to meet him.

The maidens who went with the bridegroom were not simply waiting on him to pick them up. The scripture says that they went out to meet him on His way into the wedding feast. If this parable is about those of us who are waiting for the return of Jesus for His bride, we must consider the fact that the maidens went out to meet him on the road. How do we go out to meet Jesus when He returns? Jesus spoke about His second coming in Matthew 25:31 when He talked about the Son of Man coming in all His glory. He said He would separate the sheep from the goats, and the way that He would recognize their difference is found in verses 34-46.

Jesus tells His sheep, “Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.” He was acknowledging their love for Him. They are not aware of ever having done these things for their King, but Jesus clarifies His statement to them by saying, “Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters of Mine, you did it for Me.” Who are these brothers and sisters Jesus is speaking of? Jesus tells us in Matthew 12:50, “For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother, and sister, and mother.” He is making a distinction between caring for His family and those who are not of His family.

Jesus addresses the goats in the same manner, but He casts them out because they did not love Him in this way. They did not love the brothers and sisters of Christ as unto Him. They did not love the brethren, especially those who were in need. They did not love Christ’s family, those who do the will of the Father. Matthew 7:22 says there will be many who come before Him on Judgment Day and will claim Him as their Lord. They will offer up a defense saying, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?” Jesus said He will declare to them, “I never knew you; LEAVE ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.” We cannot love Jesus and practice sin or lawlessness. Jesus said in John 14:23-24, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.” You might be asking yourself, “What does this have to do with waiting on the return of Jesus?”

According to Jesus, if we love the Bridegroom, Jesus, we will show Him by loving His brothers and sisters. We will be out on the street where they are, and when Jesus returns, He will find us loving Him, not waiting for Him behind the walls of some church building, hoping Jesus will come and save us. The maidens went out to meet the bridegroom on His way to the wedding feast. They did not wait for him to come knocking on their door. The maidens who had enough oil were able to shine their light so they could follow him to the feast. If the foolish ones had stayed awake, they would have had enough time to buy more oil before the bridegroom arrived. As it was, they found themselves unprepared, lacking enough oil for their lamps.

What is the oil in this parable, and what is it used for? It was the fuel for the lamp to light the way for the maidens to go into the wedding feast. The oil is the anointing of the Holy Spirit that burns as a fire within us, being a light in a world of darkness. It is the Spirit of Christ who lights the way for all mankind to return to the Father. It is the presence of God, the Light of the world, the manifest glory of the Lord living in us.

You might notice that all the maidens had oil in their lamps, but five of them did not have enough to get into the wedding feast. Because they had fallen asleep and had not brought “extra” oil, their oil ran out. The wise maidens fell asleep as well, but they had extra oil with them, so they were able to go out still to meet the bridegroom. The oil of the Spirit comes with time spent in intimate prayer, worship, and by the grace of God. It comes with living a life of holiness, separated unto God. The Spirit of Christ will not abide within those who “practice lawlessness.” Why would He? As Jesus said, He will come to live in those who love Him and obey His words, not those who constantly live in disobedience towards Him.

One of the best ways to be ready for the return of Jesus Christ is to stay awake, so we can keep track of the amount of oil we have with us. If we are not spending time with the Holy Spirit and are allowing our spirits to fall asleep and our flesh to take over, we will run the risk of being short of oil when the Bridegroom returns. I had a dream on July 13, 2025, that helps to make this very point.

I was once again in the upstairs room of a church that had a large meeting area. I was watching something on television, and the Holy Spirit told me He wanted to have a meeting with me later in the evening. He told me the Church had already gone home for the night, but He wanted to meet me soon. I heard another professing believer in the background obnoxiously laughing out loud, as if someone had said something funny, even though they had not. This fake laughter had occurred two days in a row, and as I listened to this obnoxious noise, I began to feel someone in church leadership pushing me from behind, making it difficult for me to walk a straight line.

The Holy Spirit asked me if I was still upstairs because there were many people downstairs picking up their kids and heading home. The meeting was scheduled for 7:30 pm, and the Holy Spirit said He would see me at that time if I was still there and awake. I told Him that I would be awake, of course, and then I woke up from my dream.

In the first dream, the Spirit of Christ came to me in the upper room while I was in prayer. I was awake and waiting on Him while being filled with the oil of His Spirit. I was loving my brothers and sisters in Christ by warning them and encouraging them to come with me. We left the building and went out to the beach. It was a wedding procession, but it was not leaving the earth. It was moving quickly, and those who did not choose to follow were left behind. Those professing believers who were resting in their chairs in the sanctuary mostly missed out on the procession because they were not ready. They were caught off guard and could not respond to my shouts of alarm, as the foolish maidens in the parable also could not respond to the cries of alarm, “Behold, the groom! Come out to meet him!”    

Professing believers in the Church are being distracted by the news and entertainment of the world today. They are more concerned with man’s approval than in preparing for our Bridegroom as portrayed in my dream by the television in the upper room and the obnoxious laughter from someone so concerned about what someone else thought of them that they would laugh loudly at something that was not even funny. There are also those in leadership who are not leading from the front as an example for others but are pushing from behind and forcibly trying to control their congregation. They are trying to force their congregations to “buy” their own oil instead of showing them how to bring “extra” oil with them.

It may be challenging sometimes to spend time with the Holy Spirit when we become tired of waiting. However, we need His oil to renew our lamps, so when He comes, we will be ready. We need to be renewed by the oil of His Spirit, so we can love our brothers and sisters as Christ loves us. If we are being forced into positions by man when we are not being called into those roles by God, we might find ourselves being out of place, like in a market, trying to buy oil when He returns. I do not want to be pushed out of place by someone, and I do not want to run out of oil because I did not bring extra oil and fell asleep. Gratefully, we can share in His blessings of alertness and oil by submitting our will to our Father and allowing Him to do “His work” in us while waiting on His Son’s return.

Many believe the Church will be taken from this world before the Great Tribulation, so the Bride of Christ will not need to suffer. What would bring Jesus Christ more glory, for the Church to be taken from this world before calamity, or for her to be willing to walk through the fire because of her love for Him? This will only be possible with the power and authority of Christ dwelling in us. Who holds the greater power and authority, a maiden or a wife?

The Spirit of Christ is coming to the earth to prepare His bride, as it says in Ephesians 5:25-27, “As Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.” Those maidens who are awake, prepared, and who come out to meet Him will be brought into the wedding feast and will be presented to Him as the Bride of Christ.

The Bride of Christ will walk the earth victoriously as a warrior bride, married to a warrior King, bearing the mark or seal of Christ upon her heart. This will most likely require the Church to be here during the Great Tribulation. Jesus told us we would suffer for His name's sake, and when we do, we should rejoice. There have been many believers throughout history who have been martyred and suffered greatly for Christ, so why would we be any different? There are many believers in the world today who are suffering and dying because of their love for Jesus. Those who have already died and suffered for Christ make up a part of the future Bride of Christ. The rest of us who are still alive but who will join them are waiting for our Bridegroom to return to the earth. 

For those who do not feel that they can suffer and still be victorious, I would say to them that there is no real victory without some suffering. Psalms 23:5 says, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows.” We can rejoice in the presence of our enemies because of the oil of His Spirit. When we spend intimate time with Him in worship and in prayer, our cup of oil overflows as we learn to show Him love by loving His brothers and sisters even more.

The rapture story and end-time prophecy are for the unbeliever more than for the believer. Jesus told us that we are to love God with our whole heart, mind, soul, and strength, and to love others as Jesus loves us. Aren’t we supposed to be living like this every day of our lives? End-time prophecy is relevant for people who are not living for God right now, so that they might come to repentance and give their lives to the Lord. We should always be living with urgency to share Christ’s Gospel with others, not only because time is running out.

If we are already awake and being a light unto the world, sharing His Gospel every day with others, being filled with the oil of the Holy Spirit, and loving God and others, especially our brothers and sisters in Christ, we will be ready when He returns. We should always be prepared because our day of rapture or end time might very well be today. When we die, our spirit is raptured from our body, and our time here on earth comes to an end. We are taken to stand in front of our Creator and King on that day, so live every day as if it is the day of your rapture, and if and when it happens, you will be ready.