9. THE GLORIOUS APPEARING

9. THE GLORIOUS APPEARING

Are you weary from living in this world filled with injustice, pain, and sorrow? Do you tire of struggling with temptation, dealing with difficult people, and enduring society’s incessant assaults on that which is godly or biblical? Have you experienced moments when you wished Jesus would hasten His return and make all things right?

We trust that is indeed the case with you…that you are among those that live in eager anticipation of the “glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.” (Titus 2:13). As Christians “our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior” (Philippians 3:20). We don’t fit in this present world, and as our love for Christ grows, our affections for the world should correspondingly diminish.

The return of Christ will have two phases – the rapture, in which the church is taken up to heaven before the Tribulation, and the return, in which Christ and the church will descend victoriously upon the earth. That there are two phases is very evident when we observe that there are at least 15 differences in the descriptions of Christ’s coming that cannot be reconciled into one event.

1. Revelation 19:11-16 provides the most glorious description of Christ’s return in the entire Bible.  Verse 11 describes Christ as seated on “a white horse….. called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.” John’s vision portrays Jesus as the conqueror on His war horse, coming to destroy the wicked, to overthrow the Antichrist, to defeat Satan, and to take control of the earth (2 Corinthians 2:14). True to His word, Jesus will return to earth, and He will judge in righteousness. The phrase “wages war” appearing only here and 2:16, vividly portrays the holy wrath of God against sinners (Psalm 7:11). God’s patience will be exhausted with sinful, rebellious mankind.

2. In Revelation 19:12 Christ is described as “His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself.” John could see the name, but was unable to comprehend it.

Nothing escapes His penetrating vision, so His judgments are always just and accurate. “Many crowns” show Christ to be more powerful than either Satan (12:3) or the beast (13:1).

3. The name given to Christ in Revelation 19:13 is “The Word of God.” Only John uses this title for the Lord. As the Word of God, Jesus is the image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15); the express image of His person (Hebrews 1:3); and the final, full revelation from God (Hebrews 1:1, 2).

4. In Revelation 19:14 “The armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses.” 1 Thessalonians 3:13 and 4:14 tells us that the identity of these armies is “His saints.” They are composed of the church (v. 8), tribulation saints (7:13), Old Testament believers (Jude 14; Daniel 12:1-2), and even angels (Matthew 25:31). They return not to help Jesus in the battle (they are unarmed), but to reign with Him after He defeats His enemies (Revelation 20:4; 1 Corinthians 6:2; 2 Titus 2:12).

5. According to Revelation 19:15 “out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron.” This symbolizes Christ’s power to kill His enemies (Revelation 1:16; cf. Isaiah 11:4; Hebrews 4:12, 13). That the sword comes out of His mouth indicates that He wins the battle with the power of His word. Swift, righteous judgment will mark Christ’s rule in the kingdom. Believers will share His authority.

6. The special title given to Christ in Revelation 19:16 is “KING OF KINGS AND
LORD OF LORDS.” It is His full majestic name in His glorious position relative to the earth, visible for all to read. It is a title for God (1 Timothy 6:15; Deuteronomy 10:17; Psalm 136:3) that emphasizes His sovereignty over all other rulers to whom He has delegated authority.

7. When Christ returns He will do battle with “the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him.” According to verses 20-21 the outcome of this battle will be “the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh.”

8. We should be looking forward to the return of Christ to establish His rule on earth. This should cause a spiritual excitement in us about living in this future kingdom.

(a) We will be with Jesus always.

(b) We will be reunited with our loved ones and spend eternity with them.

(c) There will be no more sickness and no more death.

All Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version of the Bible, © 1979, 1980, 1982, 1990, Thomas Nelson, Inc., Publishers.

©2013 Kenute P. Curry. All rights reserved.