His Parousia
The arrival of Jesus in glory will mean the resurrection of the dead, the commencement of the New Creation, and the final judgment.
Several Greek terms are applied in the New Testament to the return
of Jesus at the end of the present age, including parousia
(“arrival”), erchomai (“coming”), and epiphaneia (“appearance”). But
regardless of which term is used, in each instance, it is singular and refers
to only one “coming” of the “Son of Man.” Nowhere does Scripture refer to two or more comings of Christ - [Photo by Christian De Stradis on Unsplash].
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, Paul was
“comforted by the arrival of Titus” – (1 Corinthians
16:17, 2 Corinthians 7:6-7).
The first use of parousia for his return is in the
version of the ‘Olivet Discourse’ recorded in the gospel of Matthew.
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 and its environs. It will be global in scale and all nations will
experience it. He will arrive “upon the clouds in great power and glory”
to dispatch his angels to gather his disciples to himself - (Matthew
24:30-31, 25:31-46, Zechariah 12:10-14, Revelation 1:7).
Judgment
will occur at that time, not years or centuries after his “arrival.” The
godly “will inherit the kingdom,” and the ungodly will be cast “into
everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his angels.”
Prior to his “arrival,” it will be “just as in the days
of Noah” before the great flood. Men were “eating, drinking, marrying
and being given in marriage” until the flood came suddenly and destroyed
them all. This describes normalcy - men and women going about their daily
business as if nothing catastrophic would even occur (“They observed not
until the flood came and took them all away” - Matthew 24:37-39).
In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul responded to some voices
that were denying the future resurrection of the righteous. In the process, he
listed 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 Thessalonians, Paul described how they would become his “crown
of boasting” at the parousia of Jesus when he
arrived “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 along with those saints still alive
on that day 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).
The parousia will coincide with the “Day
of the Lord,” the time when believers will be “gathered together”
to Christ. But that day will not occur until after the “apostasy” and
the unveiling of the “man of lawlessness” whom the “Lord Jesus will paralyze
with the manifestation of his arrival” - (2 Thessalonians
2:1-9).
According to Peter, his 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” 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 will make way for the “new heavens and the new earth according to his promise in which righteousness dwells.” His parousia will result in the destruction of the present world order and inaugurate the new one.
The New Testament tells a consistent story. His “arrival” will
be universal - all men and women will experience it. It will be marked by
celestial and terrestrial upheaval. Jesus will gather his people to himself. The
final judgment will occur when the righteous inherit everlasting life, and the
ungodly receive everlasting punishment.
His “arrival” will mean the final defeat of God’s enemies
and the consummation of His unopposed reign. Death will cease, and the New
Creation will be unveiled in all its glory. All these events occur at the parousia or
“arrival” of Jesus.
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