“And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.” (Revelation 19:14 (KJV)

Will we, “the Church the Body of Christ,” return to Earth with Jesus Christ at His Second Coming, as commonly assumed? If not, who are those who accompany Him? Rather than repeating what others believe and teach, we need to look at the Holy Scriptures for ourselves to see what they actually say. If we are going to be Bible believers, we are going to have to look at God’s Word; otherwise, it is not faith, “for faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” (Romans 10:17).

The Apostle John most clearly identified Jesus Christ’s literal, physical, and visible return to Earth to conclude the seven-year Tribulation in Revelation19. We read the following in that chapter:

“And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. [12] His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. [13] And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. [14] And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.” (Revelation 19:11-14)

Verse 14 is wrongly assumed to be a reference to members of “the Church the Body of Christ.” After all, it is believed that these individuals wearing white and clean fine linen are Christians. Verses 7-9 lead many to that conclusion: “[7] Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. [8] And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. [9] And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.” (Revelation 19:7-9)

While Revelation 19:14 (above) is often assumed to be referring to “the Church, the Body of Christ,” but Jesus Himself provides us the correct interpretation regarding who will accompany Him at His Second Coming.

• “When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory” (Matthew 25:31).
• “For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his holy angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works” (Matthew 16:27).
• “Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels” (Mark 8:38).
• “For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father’s, and of the holy angels” (Luke 9:26).

The creatures described that accompany Jesus Christ are angels, not us: angels wear white clothes (Mark 16:5; Acts 1:10). Are we going to believe the words of the Lord Jesus when He says that angels will accompany Him, or will we continue to believe church tradition that the Body of Christ will accompany Him at His Second Coming?

The book of Jude identifies that those returning to Earth with Jesus at His Second Coming are not angels.

“¹⁴And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, ¹⁵To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”

Could Enoch have been prophesying about “the Body of Christ” nearly 5,000 years ago? Of course not, because “the Body of Christ” was kept secret from the O.T. prophets (Rom. 16:25-26; Eph. 3:1-11; Col. 1:24-27). Obviously, Jude and Enoch are referring to angels (the word “saints” simply means, “holy ones,” and this term is not exclusive to humans. Moses wrote about Christ’s Second Coming, where His angels are called “saints.”

And he said, The LORD came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from mount Paran, and he came with ten thousands of saints: from his right hand went a fiery law for them.” (Deut. 33:2)

In Revelation 19, we have two sets of creatures wearing white, and they cannot be confused with one another, and they cannot be confused with us either:

1. Verse 14: “And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.” As we have already proven from the Scriptures, the Lord Jesus identified these individuals following Him, as angels. Either we believe Him or we do not. Angels are God’s armies in heaven. This is never the language used in the Bible to describe Christians.
2. Verses 7-8 say: “[7] Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. [8] And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.” These creatures here, collectively called “she,” are believers, but they are on the earth, and they are identified as the Lamb’s wife. Jesus Christ, of course, is “the Lamb,” and the context is Him returning for the nation Israel. The Lamb’s wife is Israel’s believing remnant, her “little flock” (Luke 12:32), the Messianic Jews who physically survived the seven-year Tribulation period. These Jews will be looking up in the clouds to see Jesus returning (Zech. 12:10, 13:6; Luke 21:25-28; Rev. 1:7). Rev. 19:7-8 and Rev. 19:14 are not to be combined as if they refer to the same group of individuals.

How We Relate to Jesus Christ’s Second Coming:

The Apostle Paul’s epistles, Romans through Philemon, never explicitly state that we come back to Earth. Thus, I prefer to believe the Holy Spirit through Paul than believe the words of any preacher or teacher, any day. What I was taught for years about this doctrine was wrong, and I have no problem discarding error and embracing God’s truth when I see it in His Word. The “Church the Body of Christ” does not accompany Jesus Christ at His Second Coming; Paul would have said it if we did. In fact, our Apostle Paul will not be allowed to enter Israel’s earthly kingdom because Paul blasphemed the Holy Spirit in Israel’s program and cannot enter that kingdom (Matt. 12:31-32). Paul and all other members of the Body of Christ are saved unto heaven, not earth. We have glorified bodies “eternal in the heavens” (2 Cor. 5:1) that is our realm of influence. Our realm is the heavenly places (Eph. 1:20-23). To have us ruling on the Earth means there would be no one to rule in heaven in the places of the fallen angels God removed in Rev.12:7-10.

Despite what church tradition says, we “the Church the Body of Christ” have no relation whatsoever to Christ’s Second Coming. It is very dangerous to confuse the nation Israel with “the Church the Body of Christ.” We are to, “Study to shew ourselves approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). If we are to understand the Bible, we must separate the dispensations from each other. We cannot combine passages that have no relation to one another, mixing Israel’s verses and program with our verses and program, et cetera. This will only lead to heartache and confusion (this is why Christendom is in such a doctrinal mess!).

The rapture may occur at any moment before the seven-year Tribulation begins. God will secretly and instantly will remove from earth all people who have trusted exclusively in Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour, those who have relied completely on Christ’s dying for their sins, His burial, and His resurrection for their justification (1Cor. 15:1-4). Paul describes this in 1Cor. 15:51-58 and 1Thes. 4:13-18.

If God will one day remove “the Body of Christ” from the earth, would it make any sense for us to return to Earth at His 2^nd coming? No, it doesn’t, “the Church the Body of Christ” belongs in the heavenly places (2 Cor. 5:1; Eph. 1:3, 2:6,7; Col. 3:1; 2 Tim. 4:18), just as the nation Israel is God’s earthly people (Exo. 19:5-6; Isa. 11:1ff.; Zech. 8:20-23; Rev. 5:10). Again, God will give us glorified bodies to dwell “eternal in the heavens” (2 Cor. 5:1-5); our glorified bodies will not be meant to function on earth. We are God’s heavenly people. Our rightful place is heaven. Israel is God’s earthly people, which is why Israel will inherit the earthly kingdom. We as members of “the Church the Body of Christ” have no reason to come back to Earth with Jesus Christ at His Second Coming. We have a heavenly hope, not an earthly hope.

At His Second Coming, Jesus Christ will be coming for Israel: we have no involvement in that event. Jesus Christ’s Second Coming with His armies of angels is to rescue Israel from the Antichrist and her other enemies. When we understand dispensational Bible study, we see that we have nothing to do with God’s dealings with Israel. Beginning at the rapture and down through the ages of eternity future, we, “the Body of Christ,” will function in heaven. We will have no need to ever return to earth: earth will be Israel’s territory. Again, Israel is God’s earthly people (Exo. 19:5-6; Psa. 37:9; Matt. 5:5; Rev. 5:10); we “the Church which is His Body” are His heavenly people (2 Cor. 5:1; Eph. 1:3; 2:6-7; 2 Tim. 4:18).

Conclusion:  Jesus Christ clearly identified these creatures returning with Him at His Second Coming, as angels (these are the creatures in white of Rev. 19:14). They are not Christians. There will be some believing Jews waiting on the Earth to receive Jesus Christ as their Messiah King at His Second Coming (these are the creatures in white of Rev. 19:7-8). Israel’s believing remnant will be on the Earth at Christ’s Second Coming, and they will watch Him come back in the clouds (Zech. 12:10, 13:6; Luke 21:25-28; Rev. 1:7). These angels will gather Israel’s believing remnant on Earth (Matt. 24:30-31). The Rev. 19:14 reference to the angelic “armies of heaven,” tells us these angels will obviously fight Satan’s armies on earth when Jesus Christ returns.

- This article was adapted from Shawn Brasseaux -