The Return of Christ: A Day When Billions Will Die!

The destruction of the the great whore, Mystery, Babylon the Great has signaled the fulfillment of the seven plagues and the temple in heaven is once again open to men: the Bride, the 144,000 and the Martyrs. All the redeemed which stood silent before God and His wrath, now breaks out in spontaneous praise, for it is done. We have been taught from Scripture that we are not to rejoice over the disaster of another: why? We cannot see the "why" because we do not know the "end". The one you and I may sinfully rejoice over may have their name written in the Lamb's Book of Life and what has happened is to drive them to the cross. It is ill-advised to mock a child of the King, even in ignorance. What makes this praise for a disaster fallen upon mankind different; is that we now have the mind of Christ and we now possess a perfect understanding of the requirements of godly Truth and righteousness. Our praise will be 100% God centered and unabashed. Remember to love God is to hate evil and when evil has been given its due, we will learn to love our Redeemer deeper and in ways unimaginable in this corruptible flesh. I look forward to being a part of a chorus whose voice shall resound like thunder.

First let's understand the symbolism of the Jewish wedding; an incredible picture of the Bride (the Church) and her Groom. I am going to highlight only and if you desire to see it in more detail, I would suggest checking out www.wildolive.co.uk as a reliable source.

• First, the betrothal, which included a marriage contract and a 'Bride Price' which would be offered to the Bride.
• Second, the acceptance, the Groom would pour a cup of wine and wait for the Bride to drink it. If she drank it, the proposal would be accepted and sealed as if married. The Groom would then give gifts to His future Bride and then take His leave.
• Third, the Groom would then announce that He was going to His Father's house to build a Chuppah, a wedding room and would return only when His Father was satisfied that the preparations for the wedding were complete. The Groom's return would be unannounced.
• Fourth, the Bride kept a lamp, always trimmed with oil beside her bed and a veil so when the Groom came calling it would show that she was spoken for (bought with a price).
• Fifth, when the wedding party arrived at His Father's house, the Bride and Groom would enter the Chuppah for a seven day honeymoon.
• Finally, when the seven days were complete, the Marriage Supper could begin.

Let us define our honeymoon with Christ.

1 Peter 4:17 "For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end of them that obey not the Gospel of God?"

1 Corinthians 3:13-14 "Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward."

Do not be deceived: we shall give an account for our works as a servant of our Lord while we lived this side of heaven. I do not say there will be weeping and wailing but there shall be a deep cleansing and the only reason we could even mentally survive such a time is that we will have sinless flesh and the mind of Christ. We will rejoice in His overpowering love and grace and we shall be really set free at last. Two things to consider:

1. Revelation 19:7 - "...and His wife (the Bride) has made herself ready."
2. Revelation 19:8 - "...arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of the Saints."

There will be millions and millions of us and our Lord shall address us individually for He cares for us as He would a child. It could by earth count, take years and in the timeless frame of heaven we will have all the time we need with Christ to come to a more perfect intimate knowledge of our King. When our time is complete, the white garment we shall wear will be our righteousness, our veil that shows to whom we belong. The only righteousness we have this side of heaven is Christ's alone, but when He is finished with His cleansing work, we will be able to take ownership of our newly won righteousness. I cannot imagine what it will be like to be perfectly righteous; oh, this dreaded flesh with which I war on a constant basis, may it be gone forever.

One other thing: the dining hall for the wedding supper will have to be beyond huge. I believe it will be held in the New Jerusalem, which is completed prior to His return and will dominate the New Heavens and Earth of the millennium. Remember: not only the Bride shall be in attendance but there will be a great number of guests; the Martyrs and the 144,000. They are not the Bride, for Christ did not return for them and their duties during the millennium are not the same as ours.

One more thing: how long will the supper last? From when the great whore is judged until our Lord mounts His steed: days or weeks, the Word is silent but no one will be left out or go away hungry.

The Victor:

The King of Kings; the Messiah, our Lord Jesus Christ.

• He is called Faithful and True.
• In righteousness He judges and makes war.
• His description: His eyes were as a flame of fire; He wore many crowns; His clothing was baptized (bapto₉₁₁ - to immerse) in blood; His own.
• He had three names: one written that no man knew, another, KING OF KINGS, and LORD OF LORDS written on His thigh and He was called The Word of God.

We know that from Revelation 1, His hair is white and His feet are as burnished brass and along with a bloody robe, His appearance would make His enemy's hearts fail by that alone. I really dislike it when people make drawings showing our Lord in some kind of human form with dark hair, little bit of blood spots on His robe; looking like a Jewish carpenter that just got promoted to a high office. He is King of Kings and His appearance before John struck such fear in John that he collapsed as if dead. If the glorified Christ should walk into our earthly assemblies today; women would faint for lack of modesty and the men would hide their faces in shame for their lack of respect in both dress and decorum. It will only be the fact that we will have new bodies and a new mindset, that we will be able to be in the presence of the glorified Jesus.

Salvation is not on His mind but that "He should smite the nations; and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and He treadeth the wine-press of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God." Scripture does not have much to say about the battle itself other than it was over before it began. By the sword of His mouth; by His Word alone He shall annihilate the armies of the Beast and the kings of the earth. A call will go out the birds of the air to come and feast upon the flesh of those slaughtered for God has called them to the supper of the great God.

Note: I do not believe that the bride is a part of the armies of heaven and neither are the 144,000 or the martyrs. The bride of the king never goes to war and the rest have their assigned duties. The armies of heaven are commanded by the archangel Michael and only Christ commands the redeemed from among men.

The Defeated:

The Beast and the false prophet are the day's biggest losers for they get a thousand year head start over all the wicked, including Satan, by being thrown alive into the Lake of Fire. All those who have received the mark or have worshiped the image of the Beast, along with the Devil will be cast into the pit. Only Satan will be actually released for a short season; the rest will remain in the abyss until the White Throne Judgment. As I have discussed before; they will be joined in the pit by the goats when Christ sits in judgment over those who have neither the mark nor worshiped the Beast but took no care in providing for the seed of Israel.