The Church and Its Call Up
To answer the question regarding the location of the Church through millennial days we must first enquire where Christ will be. For His promise to us is sure, “Where I am, there ye may be also” (Joh 14:3).1
Consider for a moment how the words “come up hither” (Rev 4:1) must have been for the exiled apostle as that lonely Lord’s Day was forever transformed by the voice from heaven. While John might not have immediately understood the implication, most who read this article will likely agree that it’s a preview of a greater future call-up, the Rapture of the Church.
As previously noted, just as with His first advent, the second coming of Christ will involve both a private and public appearance. First, the Church is summoned to the air where Christ will personally “receive” us unto Himself (Joh 14:3; 1Th 4:17). Then shall be His public manifestation to the world, when “every eye shall see Him” (Rev 1:7). In Scriptures referring to the believer’s departure from this scene, the Holy Spirit did not so much place the emphasis on our being “in heaven” but being “with Christ.” Paul, writing to the Corinthians concerning the death of a believer, didn’t speak of being absent from the body and at home “in heaven,” but rather “present [at home] with the Lord.” Again, to the Philippians, His desire was not to depart and be “in heaven” but to “be with Christ, which is far better.” Likewise, the apostle, addressing the Thessalonians concerning the great future beyond the Rapture, didn’t state that so shall we ever be “in heaven” but “with the Lord.” Following the Rapture, we shall be in heaven, but, as we will see, after a few short years, we will “with Christ” “come down” “out of heaven” “from God” to “reign on the earth!”
The Church and Its Coming Down
Few and distinct are the occasions when Scripture records the heavens being “opened,” and we do well to trace the theme. The final mention (Rev 19:11) reveals the breathtaking moment when at the culmination of the Great Tribulation, the Mighty Warrior King on His white horse is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance upon the great impostor (Rev 6:2) and all those who know not God and obey not the gospel (2Th 1:8). But who are the armies coming with Him, described as clothed in “fine linen, clean and white” (Rev 19:14)?
Although angels are often observed as dressed in “white” or “white linen” (Joh 20:12; Rev 15:6) and do accompany Christ’s return with a specific ministry (Mat 24:31; Mar 13:41; 2Th 1:8), this company is noted as clothed in “fine linen [bussinos], white and clean.” The distinction is important, as this “fine linen” is identified as being the “righteousness [acts] of the saints” (Rev 19:8) and is linked directly to “the bride hath made herself ready.” Surely this is the Church having been at the Bema, something in which angels are not included. Fascinatingly, the only other people group described as dressed in “fine linen” (bussinos) is “the great city” Babylon (18:16). This final administration of evil on planet earth, headed up under the Man of Sin, stands in stark contrast to the Church, which is also depicted as a “city” (Rev 21). If Babylon was clothed in fine linen through unrighteous acts, the Church, being the true bride and ultimate administration of millennial government with Christ, is arrayed “holy and without blemish” (Eph 5:27).
The Scripture is plain: In that day, we shall leave heaven and, as “Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall [we] also appear with him in glory” (Col 3:4). The truly “great city,” the “holy Jerusalem,” shall “descend out of heaven from God” (Rev 21:10), and Christ “shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe” (2Th 1:10). The prophecy of Enoch given millennia prior shall be fulfilled: “Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon all” (Jud 14-15). “These [ungodly] shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful (Rev 17:14).
The Church and Its Consolidation Upon
As the disciples stood on the Mount of Olives awestruck by our Lord’s ascension, angelic messengers brought these men firmly back to earth. “Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven” (Act 1:11). Although there’s some conjecture as to whether Bozrah or the Mount of Olives is the exact location of the Lord’s return, both the Old and New Testaments make it supremely clear that Christ will physically return to this planet, where He will establish His kingdom, reigning in and from Jerusalem. In that day, the heavens will be opened and communication from earth to heaven will be unfettered. No demonic forces will interrupt angelic ministry (Dan 10:13), but a “ladder” will be “set up on the earth” (Gen 28:12), with “angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man” (Joh 1:51). Scripture here shows beyond argument that the location of Christ will be upon the earth. Other Scriptures such as Ezekiel 43:7-9, Joel 2:27, 3:17, Zechariah 2:10-11 and 8:3 all testify to the Lord’s “dwelling forever” in Jerusalem, in the midst of His people. For 1000 glorious years, “every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts” (Zec 14:16).
If Abraham, Isaac and Jacob shall sit with Christ in the Kingdom, and Job upon the Millennial earth will behold Christ with his own eyes, how much more shall we, to whom the promise has been given, “Where I am, there you may be also,” be with Him. How heartwarming to know that the prayer of our Lord so long ago, “Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory” (Joh 17:24), shall be perfectly fulfilled. The disciples were assured by Christ that they would sit, eat and drink at His very table in the kingdom, and would sit upon 12 thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel (Luk 22:30). Likewise, to the Church, our Lord Himself declared, “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne” (Rev 3:21).
“He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches” (v22).
1 Bible quotations in this article are from the KJV.
