Gather and sanctify the people and let the Lord Jesus Christ come. 

Joel 2:15-16

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“Blow the trumpet in Zion, consecrate a fast, call a sacred assembly; Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children and nursing babes; Let the bridegroom go out from his chamber, and the bride from her dressing room.” Joel 2:15-16

Mount Zion refers to the heavenly realm where God’s throne resides, as the following quote shows: “Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father’s name written on their foreheads.” Revelation 14:1 Zion is the heavenly home of those who follow Jesus Christ. It is also where the Seventh Trumpet sounds to announce the Day of the Lord and the second coming of Jesus Christ. An angel from Heaven blows the Seventh Trumpet in Zion. “Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!” Revelation 11:15

At the sound of the Seventh Trumpet and the return of Jesus Christ, all Believers will join our Lord Jesus and live with Him forever. Those who died as Christians will rise first, followed by those who are still living when He comes back. They will all meet Him in the air in a split second. The resurrection, the “rapture”, and the return of Jesus are essentially one event. “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.” 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18

We prepare for the return of Jesus Christ by fasting, or refraining from, activities or behaviors that alienate us from God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. We are sanctified as we live for God through Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit, set apart from the worldly culture. We consecrate our body as the temple of the Holy Spirit by recognizing God’s authority over us. We receive the forgiveness of our sins through Jesus Christ as we admit our need for Him as our Lord and Savior. The Holy Spirit empowers us to walk in Holiness as Jesus Christ lives in us. “consecrate a fast, call a sacred assembly; Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children and nursing babes;”

The New Jerusalem, our eternal home in the new heaven and earth, is the bride of Jesus Christ, the Bridegroom. All believers are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb, “Let the bridegroom go out from his chamber, and the bride from her dressing room.” “Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” Revelation 21:2 The husband, or Bridegroom, is our Lord Jesus Christ. “Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’” And he said to me, “These are the true sayings of God.” Revelation 19:9

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“….to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets,
‘I will not impose any other burden on you, except to hold on to what you have until I come.’
“I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.”
Revelation 2:24-25, 3:11