How does one help prepare the world for the second coming of Christ?
I think it will be hard to prepare the world for the second coming of Christ. Scripture describes the second coming as a surprise event to the world. Jesus says that the second coming will come upon the world, and they will mourn (Matthew 24:30).
They mourn because they realize after the fact that they had missed the coming of the Son of Man. They are unprepared for his coming. He also says that no one knows the day that he will return (Matthew 24:36). How do you prepare a person for a surprise?
People living in the day that the Lord returns act like the people in Noah’s day where they acted like it was an ordinary day (Matthew 24:38-39). They were unprepared for the flood, like the people in the coming of the Son of Man will be unprepared for his arrival.
They will be surprised when two people are doing something together, one is taken and the other is left (Matthew 24:40-41). Then Jesus tells believers to be awake and ready for that day (Matthew 24:42), but he doesn’t say anything about the world being prepared.
First Thessalonians 5:2 describes the day of the Lord as coming like a thief in the night. People will not be prepared for it according to Scripture. I point out these passages to show that people will be surprised by the Lord’s coming.
The only thing we really can do is witness to others around us and pray that the Holy Spirit awakens their spirits to hear the word of God and the gospel. I don’t mean to paint a bleak picture of this day. But for those in the world who have not turn to Christ, it will unfortunately be God’s day of judgment for them.
People don’t tend to listen to messages of judgment very well. We must speak the truth in love. We must tell them the truth, but do it in a tactful way. And we must love them, truly love them from the bottom of our hearts, to tell them the truth in that loving way.
This is the most important job a Christian does, to reach out to those around them and proclaim the gospel. This is the only way a person will be rescued from the second coming of the Lord. He has given us a certain amount of time to witness to others.
But we can only witness. The Holy Spirit must do the work of bringing a person to Christ. We can’t force people to become believers in Jesus. We can preach the gospel. Those who listen to the gospel, and the Holy Spirit works in their hearts, will be saved from that day, and able to be alert and aware, ready for the Lord’s return.
