While on an expedition to the South Pole, British explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton left a few men on Elephant Island, promising that he would return. Later, when he tried to go back, huge icebergs blocked the way. But suddenly, as if by a miracle, an avenue opened in the ice and Shackleton was able to get through. His men, ready and waiting, quickly scrambled aboard. No sooner had the ship cleared the island than the ice crashed together behind them. Contemplating their narrow escape, the explorer said to his men, “It was fortunate you were all packed and ready to go!” They replied, “We never gave up hope. Whenever the sea was clear of ice, we rolled up our sleeping bags and reminded each other, ‘The boss may come today.'”

The word “maranatha” is a Syriac expression that means: “our Lord comes.” It was used as a greeting in the early church.” When believers gathered or parted, they didn’t say “hello” or “goodbye” but “Maranatha!” They did this to remind each other that “the boss might come today.” How important for us as Christians to be “packed and ready to go!”

This is what the apostle John has been trying to communicate to us throughout the apocalypse: Jesus, the boss, may come back any day and we must always be packed and ready to go. The Book of Revelation forces us to ask ourselves the question: is my soul ready for Christ’s return? What must we do to get ourselves ready for Christ’s return?

The Book of Revelation began with Jesus saying, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, who is and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” (1:8), and now we see similar words repeated at the end of the book, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” Both statements refer to Jesus’ sovereignty over time and remind us that Jesus will come again. The Book of Revelation has revealed to us what God has done in the past and what God is doing in the present to get us ready for what he is going to do in the future. As verse 6 says, these words are trustworthy and true and the purpose of the whole book is to get us ready for Christ’s return.

So, the Apostle John decides to end his book with an epilogue—a concluding speech that is spoken directly to the audience. The epilogue contains three final exhortations to get us ready for Christ’s return. They are based on prior themes in the Book of Revelation, each of which includes an interjection concerning Christ’s coming. Let’s see what we need to do to get ourselves ready for Christ’s return.

1.) We get ready for Christ’s return by worshipping God alone! (7-9)

The first thing that we need to do to get ourselves ready for Christ’s return is to worship God alone. After Jesus interjects the words “Behold, I am coming soon” in verse 7, John tells us that when he had seen and heard all of these things that he fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had shown them to him. But the angels stopped him, reminded John that he was just a fellow servant, and commanded him to worship God alone.

Worshipping God alone is one of the major themes throughout the Book of Revelation. Each of the seven churches to whom this book was addressed was struggling with idolatry. The Roman government constantly pressured Christians to pay homage to the emperor, worship the gods of the pantheon, and conform to the pagan culture. They constantly faced the temptation to compromise their faith. They had to decide if they were going to cave to the pressure of idolatry or if they were going to worship God alone.

We face the same pressures and temptations of idolatry today. Idolatry is to worship or make something more important than God. American Christians typically struggle with the idols of money, sex, and popularity! The world tells us: “Financial security will fulfill you! It’s your body, do whatever you want with it! You will be happy if people like you!”

Just as John was tempted to commit idolatry by worshipping an angel, sometimes we are tempted to elevate the things that God has given us over God himself. Some people build their whole lives around their job rather than the one who gave them the job. That is idolatry. Some people put their family ahead of the one that gave them their family. I have heard many people say things like, “My spouse always comes first! My children are my first priority! I would do anything for my family!” That is idolatry!

If you want to be ready for Christ’s return, worship God alone. Make him your top priority! Put him in first place in your life! Build your life around him!

2.) We get ready for Christ’s return by repenting from our sin. (10-16)

The second thing that we need to do to get ready for Christ’s return is to repent from our sin. The angel commands John not to seal up the words of this prophecy—the Book of Revelation—because the time for Christ’s return is drawing near. Then in verse 11, we have this rather strange exhortation from the angel for the vile to continue to do what is vile and for the holy to continue to be holy. The angel uses this rhetorical device to shock the unsaved into thinking carefully about the choices they are making in light of the soon return of Christ. This statement is balanced with verse 14, where Jesus pronounces a blessing on those who wash their robes, which is a metaphor for turning away from sin in repentance.

Jesus says that those who repent from their sin are the ones who “have the right to eat from the tree of life and may go through the gates of the city”—both references to heaven. Jesus makes it perfectly clear that repentance is absolutely necessary for entrance into heaven. He contrasts this with a partial list unrepentant sins that will keep people out of heaven. All of these sins were common in the Roman Empire. “Dogs” refers to false teachers who lead people away from God’s truth. “Those who practice magic arts” refers to people who attempt to engage the spiritual world through some other means than Jesus Christ. “The sexually immoral” refers to people who engage in sexual behavior outside the sacred bonds of marriage. “Murderers” refers to people who unlawfully take the life of another human being. “The idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood” refers to people who worship someone or something other than God and twist God’s truth.

All of these sins are common in our world today too. People who persist in their sin and refuse to repent will be left out of heaven. But people who confess their sins, agree with God that they are wrong, ask his forgiveness, and turn the other way will experience eternal life in heaven. The truth is that we are all sinners. We have all sinned against God and our fellow human beings in multiple ways, and it is absolutely essential that we repent to gain salvation for our souls.

Have you repented from your sins? Have you washed your robes in the blood of the Lamb? Are you ready for Christ’s return?

3.) We get ready for Christ’s return by staying focused on heaven. (17-21)

The third thing we need to do to get ready for Christ’s return is to stay focused on heaven. In verse 17 we see an invitation from the Holy Spirit and the bride (the redeemed people of God) to come and partake of the free gift of the water of life. The water of life, as we learned from Rev. 22:1, is a metaphor for the ultimate satisfaction that we experience in heaven.

Then John warns his readers not to add any words or take any words away from this prophecy, or God will take away their share from the tree of life in the holy city, which are both references to heaven. This prophecy keeps Christians focused on heaven—that place of perfect peace and prosperity, where there is no more sin, pain, or death.

Just like Christians in the ancient world, it is easy to take our eyes off heaven. It is easy for us to become distracted by the cares of this life. It is easy to get bogged down by the pains, difficulties, and frustrations of this present world. But we are reminded to continue to look toward heaven and think about the perfection of that place, and we will be ready for heaven.

A rural housewife, Fay Inchfawn, who lived a generation ago, wrote these lines on her need and expectancy of God’s presence which speak to us of the more sophisticated frustrations of our modern day:

Sometimes, when everything goes wrong;
When days are short and nights are long,
When wash day brings so dull a sky,
That not a single thing will dry.

And when the kitchen chimney smokes,
And when there’s none so “old” as folks;
When friends deplore my faded youth,
And when the baby cuts a tooth

While John, the baby last but one,
Clings round my skirts till day is done;
And fat, good-natured Jane is glum
And butcher’s man forgets to come.

Sometimes I say, on days like these
I get a sudden gleam of bliss.
Not on some sunny day of ease
He’ll come…but on a day like this.

Dear friends, make no mistake about it, Jesus is coming soon! Are you worshipping God alone? Have you repented from your sins? Are you staying focused on heaven?

The boss might return today? Are you packed? Are you ready for Christ’s return? Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus!