The second concept is that Jesus Christ will not return alone but will be accompanied by saints who have been trained for war. If we desire to be in that company we will have to live a victorious life today. The greater part of the army of the Lord is in the spirit realm today. There will be a few who will be alive on the earth. These will be immortalized and caught up along with the resurrected army when the trumpet of war sounds, provided they have been living in iron righteousness, fiery holiness, and stern obedience to the Father.

If we would be with Him when He appears it must be true that He has become our life. It appears today, in America at least, it is not true that Christ indeed has become the life of most of the Christian churchgoers; because to have it be true of us that Christ is our life we first must have assigned our adamic nature to crucifixion with Christ.

Since daily crucifixion and resurrection with Christ is not being preached it is not being practiced.

War

We have stated that the Church of Christ is heading toward war, not toward a time of play in Heaven. There is a Heaven and I have no doubt it will prove to be more wonderful than anything we can imagine. But we must realize that before the heavens can rejoice, Satan must be cast down from his position of preeminence. And Satan cannot be cast down until the saints on earth overcome him by the blood of the Lamb, the word of their testimony, and by loving not their life to the death.

Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short. (Revelation 12:12—NIV)

The nineteenth chapter of the Book of Revelation is the clearest description in the Bible of the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ to the earth.

I will start by setting forth those who will be with Him when He appears. These are a firstfruits of the Christian Church. The remainder of the Church does not appear until the end of the thousand-year Kingdom Age. Then the entire Church, the firstfruits and the remainder, will descend from Heaven as the holy city, the new Jerusalem.

Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear. (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.) (Revelation 19:7,8—NIV)

The saints who are qualified and competent to ride into battle with Jesus Christ in the Day of the Lord are not dressed in imputed, ascribed righteousness, the righteousness of the Person and behavior of Jesus Christ. They are arrayed in bright, clean linen, a garment that was sewn in Heaven as Christ was formed in them, shaping their behavior from within their personality.

To be continued.