His Parousia
The arrival of Jesus means the resurrection of the dead, the commencement of the New Creation, and the final judgment.
Several Greek terms are used in the New Testament for the return of
Jesus. They include parousia (“arrival”), erchomai (“coming”),
and epiphaneia (“appearance”). Regardless of which one is used, in each case,
it is singular, referring to only one future “coming.”
The term parousia is applied
to the return of Jesus most often in the letters of Paul, though not
exclusively so. It signifies an “arrival” rather than the process of someone or
something “coming.”
For example, in the city of Corinth,
Paul was “comforted by the arrival
of Titus” – (1 Corinthians 16:17, 2 Corinthians 7:6-7).
ACCORDING TO JESUS
The first use of parousia
for his return is in the version of the Olivet Discourse recorded in the gospel
of Matthew. According to Jesus, just as lightning flashes from east to
west, “so shall be the arrival
of the Son of Man” - (Matthew 24:27-28).
At that time, the creation itself
will be disrupted, and “all the tribes of the earth will smite their breasts.”
The event will not be limited to Judea. It will be global if not cosmic in scale.
All nations and peoples will see and experience it.
He will arrive “on the
clouds in great power and glory” and dispatch his angels to gather his “elect”
to himself - (Matthew 24:30-31, 25:31-46, Zechariah 12:10-14, Revelation
1:7).
Judgment occurs at that time, not years or centuries later. The godly “inherit the kingdom,” and the ungodly are cast “into everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his angels.”
Prior to his “arrival,” life
will be “just as it was in the days of Noah” before the great flood when
men were “eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage” until
the flood came suddenly and destroyed them all. This describes normalcy – men going
about their daily business as if nothing catastrophic would ever occur - Matthew
24:37-39).
ACCORDING TO PAUL
In his first letter to the Corinthians,
Paul responds to voices that are denying the future resurrection of the
righteous. In the process, he lists several events that must transpire at or
before the “arrival” or parousia of Jesus, including:
- The consummation of the kingdom of God.
- The bodily resurrection of dead believers at Christ’s parousia.
- The subjugation to Jesus of all “rule and all authority and power.”
- The cessation of death, the “last enemy.”
- The bodily transformation of believers who remain alive at the time - from mortality to immortality.
To the Thessalonian church, Paul
describes how the saints will become his “crown of boasting” at the parousia
when Jesus arrives “with all his saints.” On that day, believers will be
wholly sanctified and made blameless before him - (1 Thessalonians 2:19, 3:13,
5:23).
At his “arrival,” dead believers will
be resurrected and assembled with those saints who are still alive for “a
meeting of the Lord in the air” as he descends from heaven. He will be
accompanied by the sound of a great trumpet and the “voice of an archangel.”
Thereafter, believers will “be with the Lord forevermore” - (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17).
In his second letter to the Thessalonians,
Paul locates the parousia on the
“day of the Lord” when believers will be “gathered together” to
Christ. That day will not occur until the “apostasy” occurs and the unveiling
of the “man of lawlessness” whom the “Lord Jesus will paralyze with the
manifestation of his arrival”
- (2 Thessalonians 1:5-10, 2:1-9).
ACCORDING TO PETER
Peter writes that the parousia will
mean nothing less than the “day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly
men.”
Like Paul, he links the “arrival”
of Jesus with the “day of the Lord,” the time when “The
heavens will pass away with a rushing noise…and the earth and the works therein
will be discovered…the heavens will be dissolved and elements becoming
intensely hot are to be melted” - (2 Peter 3:3-14).
On that day, the old order makes
way for the “new heavens and the new earth according to his promise in which
righteousness dwells.” His Parousia results in the destruction of
the present order and the inauguration of the new one.
The New Testament tells a consistent story. The “arrival” of Jesus Christ will be universal - all men and women will see and experience it.
And that day will be marked by
celestial and terrestrial upheaval. Jesus will gather his people to himself. The
final judgment takes place when the righteous are vindicated and inherit
everlasting life, and the ungodly are condemned and receive “everlasting destruction.”
His “arrival” will mean the
final defeat of God’s enemies and the consummation of His unopposed reign. Death
will cease forever, and the New Creation will be unveiled in all its glory. All
these events occur at or just prior to the parousia or “arrival”
of the Son of Man “on the clouds of heaven.”
