Mucus plug. What does it mean?

Ana

So yesterday I had my midwife check and see if I was dilated. I was 1 cm dilated, and had a membrane sweep done. My midwife explained that it’s suppose to help dilate me more. The first picture is after the sweep and she said that was normal and was called a bloody show. The second picture is what happened when I went to the bathroom and wiped, and I was told it was my mucus plug that came out. What does this mean? I looked it up and it said that labor is coming in the near future. How soon?