According to Paul in Ephesians 5:27 the Lord will return to a bride without spot, wrinkle-free, holy, and blameless. How can this happen? I’ve been around the body of Christ long enough to realize how great a mess it is.
In my mind maybe God would just snap his fingers and miraculously make his entire Church holy prior to his return. But the Lord made it very clear in Revelations 19:7, “THE BRIDE HAD MADE HERSELF READY.” It is the bride’s responsibility to prepare herself for the wedding.
Jesus released a prophetic warning for the last day’s church in Matthew 25 that among the 10 virgins 5 were foolish for they did not make the necessary preparation. Foolish means knowing what to do but having no sense to do it.
So when the foolish ones heard at midnight (not a convenient hour) that the Bridegroom was on his way, they had to go out somewhere and find some oil to buy for their lamps. When they returned, it was too late… the door was shut.
The foolish ones failed to recognize that the returning Lord would come at an unexpected time. They simply were not ready. Some may say the foolish ones could be compared to those who have not made that definite decision to live for the Lord or others may say it seems that all the virgins were ready at one time but the foolish ones became lazy and careless and that’s why they no longer had oil. But either way, the lesson is that they were not prepared; they were not in the right relationship with the Lord. They were caught off guard and were denied to enter.
The Lord warns us many times to ‘Be ready”. He says in Luke 18:8, “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” We are to live a life of faith, dependent on the Lord.
Brothers and sisters, we all know the signs of our Lord’s return are here! It would be foolish to live our lives “business as usual” like nothing significant is happening. Each one of us has a personal responsibility to cooperate with the Holy Spirit for the sanctification of our BODY, SOUL, and SPIRIT.
“Let us rejoice and exalt him and give him glory because the wedding celebration of the Lamb has come. And his bride has made herself ready.” (Revelation 19:7)