Descent of Jesus from Heaven to the air to rapture the saints and His return to the earth to judge the Devil through the war of Armageddon are different from each other.

When the first three and a half years of the Great Tribulation end, and shortly after the martyrdom of the saints with the appearance of the Antichrist, the Lord would descend from Heaven. At this time, the saints who had been asleep in their tombs and the saints who have survived through the Tribulation without receiving the mark of the Beast and by defending their faith will all be resurrected and lifted up to the sky, and meet the Lord in the air. From this moment on, the saints will always be with the Lord. The Lord does not descend to the earth at this time. Why? Because the plagues of the seven bowls that would judge Satan and the Antichrist still remain to be poured on this earth.

The Apostle Paul thus told us in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, "Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord." The saints who fought against the Antichrist and were martyred to defend their faith would participate in the first resurrection, meet the Lord in the air, not on this earth, and enter Heaven's marriage supper of the Lamb with Jesus Christ, who has become their Bridegroom.

After this, God would command His angels to pour the plagues of the seven bowls filled with the wrath of God, which He had held in patience since the creation, on the Antichrist, his followers, and all the sinners of this world still remaining on this earth. The world will therefore face plagues of immense proportions, the likes of which it had never seen before. The saints who meet the Lord in the air would now praise the Lord in the air for the plagues of the seven bowls that would be poured on this earth.

Having taken part in their resurrection and rapture through the Lord, they would stand in a sea of glass mingled with fire to praise the righteous judgment that God brings to this earth. Therefore, the saints who were martyred and participated in their resurrection and rapture through the power of the Lord would praise the Lord endlessly, for the salvation that He has given them, and for His judgment of the Antichrist and his servants brought by His omniscient and omnipotent power.

As the angels holding the seven bowls pours each of the bowls, everyone on this world would suffer greatly, from the plague of foul and loathsome sores; the plague of the sea turning into blood; the plague of the water turning into blood; the plague of being scorched by the heat of the sun; and the plague of darkness and pain. When the sixth angel pours his bowl on the great river Euphrates, its water would be dried up, preparing the way for the kings from the east. A great famine would ravage throughout the earth from this plague, bringing the greatest suffering to the mankind. And demons would run rampant, inciting people's hearts through the Antichrist and the false prophet.

Then, the spirits of demons would incite the kings of the earth for war and gather them to a place called Armageddon to battle against the Almighty God. It is here that the last war between Satan and God is waged. But because Jesus is God the Almighty, He would descend from the air sitting on a white horse with His army, overcome Satan, and throw the Beast into the lake burning with fire and brimstone (Revelation 19:11-21). Because Jesus Christ now has the absolute power as the Lord of the second coming, He appears on this earth to judge the world and to destroy the Beast.

As such, we must realize that when Jesus Christ descends from Heaven at the time of the saints' rapture, He does not descend onto this earth, but rather He comes into the air to lift up the saints to His place, allowing them to meet Him in the air and to enter the marriage supper of Heaven. When the Lord returns onto this earth, He does so to triumph over Satan and his army standing against God with His Word of power through the Battle of Armageddon, to cast the Devil into the lake of fire and brimstone, and to kill off all his remaining followers. This is the second coming of the Lord. We need the correct knowledge and faith that can differentiate between the Lord's descent to the air and His second coming onto the earth.

Yet many people think that the Lord would make a nonstop descent to this earth when the rapture happens. This is factually incorrect. When the rapture happens, the Lord does not come onto the earth, but to the air. In other words, He lifts up and receives the saints in the air.

As such, you must shed yourself of the thought that the Lord would come again onto this earth at the rapture's time, and instead realize, based on the written Word, that the rapture of the saints would come when the seventh angel sounds his trumpet.