After the firstfruit is reaped and the overcomers are taken up, during the tribulation Christ will descend with them to the air. Then He will catch up the majority of the saints in clouds (1 Thes. 4:16-17). Here we have two different times and locations. The firstfruit and the over-comers are taken to the throne in the heavens before the tribulation; the majority of the saints are taken to the air toward the end of the tribulation.
The catching up of the majority of the believers in clouds is the reaping of the harvest in Revelation 14:14-16. Verse 14 says, “I saw, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud One sitting like the Son of Man, having a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand.” The sharp sickle in the Lord’s hand indicates that He is the One who reaps God’s field.
Verse 15 continues, “Another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, Send forth Your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is ripe.” The harvest of the earth is God’s people on earth, the believers in Christ (1 Cor. 3:9). At His first coming the Lord Jesus sowed Himself into His believers (Matt. 13:3-8, 24). All the believers since that time who have received Him as the seed of life have become the crop of God on earth. The first ripe ones will be reaped as the firstfruit to God, whereas the majority will ripen with the help of the sufferings in the great tribulation and will be reaped near the end of the tribulation. The suffering of the great tribulation will be like the parching sun, drying the earthly water from the believers who will be left on earth in the great tribulation that they may ripen.
Finally, verse 16 says, “He who sat on the cloud thrust His sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped.” This reaping is the rapture of the majority of the believers who will be left on earth to pass through the greater part of the great tribulation.
After all the saints have been caught up to the air, Christ will set up His judgment seat. He will judge all the believers, assigning them either a reward or some kind of punishment. Second Corinthians 5:10 says, “We must all be manifested before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may be recompensed for the things done through the body, according to what he has practiced, whether good or bad.” Christ’s judgment of believers at His coming back will not be concerning their eternal salvation but their dispensational reward. At that time the Lord “shall both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and make manifest the counsels of the hearts, and then there will be praise to each one from God” (1 Cor. 4:5).
Romans 14:10 tells us that “we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God.” This will take place before the millennium, immediately after Christ’s coming back for the judgment of the resurrected and raptured believers with respect to reward in the millennial kingdom. Therefore, this judgment will take account of how the believers have lived before the Lord and what work they have done for the Lord after they were saved.
Next, in His work at His coming back Christ will marry the overcoming saints. This is described in Revelation 19:7-9. Verse 7 says, “Let us rejoice and exult, and let us give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife has made herself ready.” The marriage of the Lamb is the issue of the completion of God’s New Testament economy. God’s economy in the New Testament is to obtain for Christ a bride, the church, through His redemption and divine life. By the continual working of the Holy Spirit through all the centuries, this goal will be attained at the end of this age. Then the bride with the overcoming believers will be ready.
The words “His wife” in Revelation 19:7 refer to the church (Eph. 5:24-25, 31-32), the bride of Christ (John 3:29). However, according to Revelation 19:8 and 9, the wife, the bride of Christ, here consists only of the overcoming believers during the millennium, whereas the bride, the wife, in Revelation 21:2 is composed of all the saved saints after the millennium for eternity. The readiness of the bride depends on the maturity in life of the overcomers. Furthermore, the overcomers are not separate individuals but a corporate bride. For this, building is needed. The overcomers are not only mature in life but also built together as the bride.
Revelation 19:8 goes on to say, “It was given to her that she should be clothed in fine linen, bright and pure; for the fine linen is the righteousnesses of the saints.” “Righteousnesses” does not refer to the righteousness we receive for our salvation. The righteousness we receive for salvation is objective so that we may meet the requirement of the righteous God. The righteousnesses of the overcoming saints are subjective so that they may meet the requirements of the overcoming Christ. The fine linen with which the overcomers are clothed is equal to the marriage garment in Matthew 22:11 and 12.
Revelation 19:9 concludes, “Blessed are they who are invited to the marriage dinner of the Lamb.” The marriage dinner of the Lamb is the marriage feast in Matthew 22:2. It will be a reward to the overcoming believers. Only the overcomers, not all the saved ones, will be invited to it. The foolish virgins in Matthew 25:8-13 will miss it. However, after being dealt with by the Lord in the kingdom age, they will participate in the New Jerusalem for eternity. Hence, to be invited to the marriage feast of Christ, which will usher the overcoming believers into the enjoyment of the millennium, is to be blessed. The overcoming believers invited to the marriage dinner of the Lamb will also be the bride of the Lamb. Therefore, at His coming back Christ will marry the overcoming saints.
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