We come at last to the climax of the Tribulation Period, and the end of the Battle of
Armageddon. Jesus Christ will literally, physically, and visibly, return to the Earth as the King of
Kings and the Lord of Lords. The last two segments of the previous chapter were devoted to the
signs in the sun, moon and stars, and the Great Earthquake. These events happen virtually at the
same time dramatically punctuating Christ’s glorious appearing. Now, when we gaze at the Lord
himself, all the wondrous events in the heavens and on the Earth are suddenly not important!
The Glorious Return of Christ
I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful
and True. With justice he judges and makes war. 12His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head
are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. 13He is
dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. – Revelation 19:11-13
Jesus himself spoke of this magnificent event. As stated earlier, Jesus did not mention the
rapture in his Olivet Discourse, but he spoke plainly of his return in glory.
At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will
mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great
glory. 31And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from
the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. – Matthew 24:30-31 (See also Luke
21:27.)
Jesus also said that angels would come with him in Matthew 16:27; and Matthew 25. In
the context of those passages, especially Matthew 25, the angels will be employed to gather the
nations for the Judgment of Sheep and Goats, which will be discussed later.
The Church Returns with Christ
The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white
and clean. – Revelation 19:14
In the Bible, angels are sometimes dressed in white. But these riders are mentioned as a
separate group from the angels. Like the Lord Jesus, they are sitting on white horses.
Earlier in Revelation there are strong clues about who these people might be:
Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me,
dressed in white, for they are worthy. 5He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I
will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my
Father and his angels. – Revelation 3:4-5
In this passage, the message to the Church at Sardis, those dressed in white are true
believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. They are those whose names will not be blotted out of the
Book of Life!
White clothing is also in view from another perspective in the message to the Laodicean
Church.
I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes
to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can
see. – Revelation 3:18
These are self-righteous members of the apostate church. They do not realize that
spiritually they are “wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.” What they need is salvation, which
is expressed as gold, as white clothes, and as salve for their eyes. This is the Church to which
Jesus needed to say:
Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will
come in and eat with him, and he with me. – Revelation 3:20
The white linen is symbolic of righteousness. It is not self-righteousness, because Isaiah
64:6 says,
All of us have become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;
we all shrivel up like a leaf,
and like the wind our sins sweep us away.
The Apostle Paul spoke of a righteousness, not of our own, ―but that which is through
faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith” (Philippians 3:9).
Righteousness is a gift of God for those who have put their faith in Christ. It is seen as
part of the “Armor of God” in Ephesians: “Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around
your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place” (Ephesians 6:14).
The white clothing of this heavenly army is not the only evidence that believers of the
Church Age will return with Christ. In Colossians 3:4, the Apostle Paul confidently asserted that,
“When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.‖
A similar thought was expressed by Paul to the believers at Thessalonica.
May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God
and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones. – 1 Thessalonians 3:13
The expression “holy ones” is the Greek word hagios or “saints,” which is Paul’s normal
description of believers in Christ (Romans 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:2; 2 Corinthians 1:1, etc.).
Notice that it cannot refer to the martyred Saints of the Tribulation, because their resurrection is
specifically stated to be at Christ’s coming, at the beginning of the Millennium, or thousand year
reign of Christ (Revelation 20:5).
It should also be noted that there is a specific purpose in our coming with Christ at his
Glorious Return. Revelation 20:6 explains it this way: ―Blessed and holy are those who have part
in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of
God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.”
The “holy ones” who return with Christ from Heaven and the resurrected martyrs from
the Tribulation period will assist Christ the King of Kings.
The Objects of his Wrath
Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them
with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. –
Revelation 19:15
This passage should be correlated with Revelation 14:14-20. In those verses two
metaphors portray Christ’s conquering activities. Both of these are compared to the harvesting of
crops. The first metaphor is that of harvesting wheat (“a sharp sword”). The second is that of
harvesting grapes (“He treads the winepress”).
These harvests are final, concluding judgments since a very large fraction of the total
population of the earth has already been destroyed by cascades of civil war, famine, plagues and
cosmic disasters that hit earth like trip-hammer blows in the second half of The Tribulation
Period.
It has been proposed by some Bible scholars that two different groups are in view in these
two harvest events. It is not a matter about which we can be dogmatic, but it is likely that the first
harvest (of wheat) is that of the nations of the world, while the second harvest (of grapes) relates
to Israel.
