WHEN THE HEAVENS OPEN — WHO RETURNS WITH JESUS?
Revelation 19 records a moment unlike any other in Scripture. This is not a call to repentance, not a warning to flee, and not the catching away of believers. It is the public return of Jesus Christ to the earth, and the passage itself raises an unavoidable question:
Who is with Him?
The answer is not assumed.
It is defined by Scripture.
1. HEAVEN OPENS — THIS IS A RETURN, NOT A DEPARTURE
📖 “And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse;... moreWHEN THE HEAVENS OPEN — WHO RETURNS WITH JESUS?
Revelation 19 records a moment unlike any other in Scripture. This is not a call to repentance, not a warning to flee, and not the catching away of believers. It is the public return of Jesus Christ to the earth, and the passage itself raises an unavoidable question:
Who is with Him?
The answer is not assumed.
It is defined by Scripture.
1. HEAVEN OPENS — THIS IS A RETURN, NOT A DEPARTURE
📖 “And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True…”
(Revelation 19:11, KJV)
John does not see people going up.
He sees heaven opened and someone coming down.
This immediately distinguishes Revelation 19 from passages like 1 Thessalonians 4, where believers are caught up. Here, the movement is the opposite. Jesus is returning from heaven to earth.
This alone establishes that anyone accompanying Him must already be in heaven.
2. JESUS IS NOT RETURNING AS THE LAMB
📖 “…and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.”
(Revelation 19:11)
The Jesus of Revelation 19 is not described as suffering, pleading, or inviting. He is described as judging and making war.
📖 “And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.”
(Revelation 19:13)
This is not the blood of the cross.
This is the blood associated with judgment (Isaiah 63:1–3).
So the context is clear:
this is the Second Coming, not the rapture.
3. THE ARMIES FOLLOWING HIM ARE IDENTIFIED
📖 “And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses…”
(Revelation 19:14)
Notice three facts the verse itself gives:
• they are already in heaven
• they follow Him
• they return with Him
These are not people being gathered. These are people returning.
4. CLOTHED IN FINE LINEN — SCRIPTURE DEFINES THIS
The description is not vague.
📖 “…clothed in fine linen, white and clean.”
(Revelation 19:14)
The Bible does not leave “fine linen” open to interpretation.
📖 “For the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.”
(Revelation 19:8)
This definition appears in the same chapter.
Fine linen is not said to be angels.
Fine linen is not symbolic language.
Fine linen is explicitly identified as saints.
Angels are never described this way anywhere in Scripture.
This is why the image states plainly:
CLOTHED IN FINE LINEN — NOT ANGELS
5. THESE ARE NOT EARTHLY SAINTS — THEY ARE GLORIFIED
The saints in Revelation 19 are:
• in heaven
• riding horses
• clothed in clean white linen
• returning with Christ
This requires glorification.
📖 “Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God.”
(1 Corinthians 15:50)
📖 “We shall all be changed…”
(1 Corinthians 15:51)
You cannot ride from heaven to earth with Christ in judgment unless you possess a glorified body.
Therefore, these saints are not awaiting resurrection.
They are already resurrected or translated.
6. THE TIMING IMPLICATION IS UNAVOIDABLE
Revelation 19 occurs after the Tribulation.
Yet the saints are already:
• redeemed
• clothed
• glorified
• present in heaven
📖 “When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.”
(Colossians 3:4)
You cannot appear with Him unless you are already with Him.
This is why the statement is biblically sound:
YOU CAN’T RETURN — UNLESS YOU WERE FIRST TAKEN
That is not a slogan.
That is a logical conclusion drawn from Scripture.
7. WHAT THE CHURCH IS — AND IS NOT — DOING HERE
Revelation 19 does not describe:
• the Church being judged
• the Church being purified
• the Church being rescued
It describes the Church returning in glory.
📖 “God hath not appointed us to wrath…”
(1 Thessalonians 5:9)
The wrath falls on the earth.
The saints return with Christ, not under that wrath.
8. WHY THIS MATTERS FOR BELIEVERS TODAY
This passage teaches:
• Jesus is returning literally
• Saints will return with Him
• Redemption precedes judgment
• Victory precedes warfare
This is not escapism.
This is biblical expectation.
📖 “Looking for that blessed hope…”
(Titus 2:13)
Revelation 19 teaches that among those who return with Jesus are glorified saints, identified by their fine linen, while angels are also present but described separately. The fine linen is defined in the chapter itself as “the righteousness of saints” (Revelation 19:8), indicating completed redemption and glorification prior to the return. Their presence with Christ at this moment shows that redemption precedes judgment, and that judgment is now imminent.
The Bible does not leave this unclear — it simply requires careful reading.
📖 “Rightly dividing the word of truth.”
(2 Timothy 2:15)
✠ Sir John Scivoletti ✠
✠ Turco Joan of Arc Priory ✠
✠✠Act and God will Act (Actus et Deus Act)✠✠
