The third thing the Lord will do during His parousia in the air will be to marry His overcomers (Rev. 19:7-9). At His judgment seat, He will make clear who the overcomers and the defeated ones are. He will marry the overcomers, leaving the defeated ones in shame, in a position of punishment to be disciplined. Because the defeated ones are not perfected, they need to be disciplined. The marriage of Christ to His overcomers will be on the way of His parousia.
Following the wedding is the wedding feast. This wedding feast will be the kingdom of a thousand years (Luke 14:8a; Matt. 22:2, 11-14). The feast will last one thousand years, which is one day in the eyes of God (2 Pet. 3:8). The entire kingdom is a feast. We should remember that on the way of His parousia, Christ will do three things: rapture the majority of the saints, judge all the saints at His judgment seat, and marry His overcomers. This also, as the part of the Lord’s parousia in the third heavens, is the secret aspect of His coming in the air.
Now we come to the open aspect of Christ’s parousia, presence, coming, to the earth. As we have seen in Matthew 24:27, Christ’s parousia will be like the lightning coming forth from the east and shining to the west. His coming will be around Jerusalem where Antichrist and his armies will be (Zech. 12:9; Rev. 19:19-21; Matt. 24:28). Zechariah 12:9 says that at that time the Lord will destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. Revelation 19 tells us that Christ as the heavenly Warrior with His married bride will defeat Antichrist, the kings under him and their armies, and the false prophet at Armageddon (vv. 11-21; 16:14, 16). Matthew 24:28 says, “Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures shall be gathered together.” Antichrist and his evil armies, who will war against the Lord at Armageddon, will be, in the eyes of the Lord, the corpse good for the vultures’ appetite. Both the Lord and those who trust in Him are likened to the vultures, eagles (Exo. 19:4; Deut. 32:11-12; Isa. 40:31), and the swift destroying armies are also likened to the flying eagles (Deut. 28:49; Hosea 8:1—NASB). Therefore, the vultures here, raptorial of the eagle kind, must refer to Christ and the overcomers, who will come as a swift flying army to war against Antichrist and his armies and destroy them, thus executing God’s judgment upon them at Armageddon.
The open aspect of Christ’s coming will be at Jerusalem, where the tribes of Israel will be (Zech. 12:10-11; Rev. 1:7). As we have seen, Christ, together with His newly married overcomers, will come to defeat and destroy Antichrist and his followers (Rev. 19:11-21; 17:14; 14:17-20). His coming will be to save the whole house of Israel. Romans 11:26-27 and Zechariah 12:10-14 describe this. When Christ returns, the house of David, the whole house of Israel, will repent and be saved by Christ.
His coming will also be to judge the nations, to prepare the “sheep” to be the people on the earth in the millennium. Matthew 25:31-46 shows that when Christ comes in His glory, all the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will divide the sheep from the goats. By doing this Christ prepares the sheep to be the people on the earth in the millennium.
In the open aspect of Christ’s coming, He will cause Satan to be bound and cast into the abyss (Rev. 20:1-3). The abyss is a bottomless pit into which Satan will be cast and bound for one thousand years. Christ’s coming will also bring His kingdom to the earth and establish it as the kingdom of a thousand years (Dan. 7:13-14; Luke 19:12; Rev. 11:15; 20:4, 6). In Daniel 7:13 and 14, we are told that Christ as the Son of Man comes to God the Father to receive the kingdom from Him. Luke 19:12 also tells us this. After He receives the kingdom, He comes back with the kingdom. Revelation 11:15 says that at the Lord’s coming back the kingdom of the world will become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ. The Lord will establish His kingdom on earth as the kingdom of a thousand years.
This message presents a brief yet full and proper picture of the second coming of Christ. We have to realize that there will be different judgments given by the Lord during and after His second coming. The main judgment will be the judgment concerning who will enjoy eternal salvation and who will suffer eternal perdition. This judgment will occur at the great white throne after the millennium (Rev. 20:11-15). In John 5:29 the Lord calls this “the resurrection of judgment.” But there will be another judgment at the judgment seat of Christ (2 Cor. 5:10) before the millennium. This judgment is not concerning our eternal salvation or eternal perdition. This judgment is concerning our reward or punishment. We have to be clear about these types of judgment.