Public Appearing of the Lord Jesus

The third occasion of the opened heavens is deeply solemn. "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." It is the day when God will bring His first-begotten into the world once more to establish His throne and His kingdom. He will deal with men for their sins and rejection of His grace. The world has not seen Jesus since the day of Calvary, but it will see Him yet again. (His disciples alone saw Him during the forty days of Acts 1:3.) "Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him. Even so, Amen." Rev. 1:7.
He is called Faithful and True and this is in connection with judgment. Not a word spoken concerning judgment for the ungodly will fall to the ground; all will be solemnly accomplished. He judges and makes war in righteousness. Men will have no ground for complaint on that score, but what will righteousness, unmingled with mercy, mean for them?
He is clothed with a vesture dipped in blood. This is not the blood of atonement, but of foes as declared by the prophet in Isa. 63:3. "His name is called The Word of God." for He is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of men's hearts. He also bears another name on His vesture and thigh, "King of Kings, and Lord of Lords." The time will then have arrived for the world-kingdom to become our Lord's and His Christ's, and He shall reign forever and ever.
In all this glory, He has companions, for the heavenly armies follow Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen and clean. Here we have the heavenly saints in whom He will be glorified and admired, the objects of His grace and the sharers of His throne. Angels attend, as it says in 2 Thess. 1:7. They are His ministers who do His pleasure, but they do not reign: "unto angels hath He not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak." Heb. 2:5.