Participation in the Parousia

For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. (Matthew 24:27)

The Greek term parousia appears twenty-four times in the New Testament, most often concerning the coming of the Lord. While parousia may be translated "coming" there also is the concept of "presence." The emphasis appears to be not as much on the return of the Lord from a far distant place as on the manifestation of what always has been near at hand and already is true to a great extent in the saints. The Mount of Transfiguration witnessed a parousia of the Lord in that what already was present was revealed more clearly.

The parousia is Christ's bodily appearing, His presence, the manifestation of what is not far from us but concealed in the present hour.

The Greek term parousia (pronounced par-oo-SEE-ah) appears, as we have stated, twenty-four times in the New Testament. Its meaning is, being near at hand.

Parousia is the word that commonly is employed for the coming of the Lord: as in Matthew 24:27; I Corinthians 15:23; I Thessalonians 4:15; II Thessalonians 2:1; James 5:7; I John 2:28; and others. Parousia also may be translated presence, as in II Corinthians 10:10 and Philippians 2:12.

For his letters, say they, are weighty and powerful; but his bodily presence [parousia] is weak, and his speech contemptible. (II Corinthians 10:10)

Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence [parousia] only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. (Philippians 2:12)

If we are to understand the meaning of parousia we should note that in the two preceding verses the Apostle Paul is contrasting his presence and his absence, not his coming and his going. Presence is an important concept to maintain when we are interpreting the Greek word, parousia.

The coming of Christ is the presence of Christ.

In this booklet we are using the word parousia instead of the English term, coming. We have four reasons for doing so:

By employing the term parousia we are able to distinguish between Christ's appearing to the world, and His secret appearing to His disciples. Christ's secret coming to His disciples is described in John 14:18-23. This is a coming in the Spirit to the saints in fulfilment of the last three of the feasts of the Lord (Trumpets, Day of Atonement, and Tabernacles). It is not the parousia because the parousia is the bodily presence of Christ.

By using parousia we tie together I Thessalonians 4:15 and the twenty-fourth chapter of the Book of Matthew. The twenty-fourth chapter of the Book of Matthew uses the term parousia four times.

Those who teach the "pre-tribulation rapture" separate the fourth chapter of I Thessalonians from the other passages that describe the Lord's parousia. There is nothing of lexical significance, context, Scripture, or logic to warrant such a separation. Paul, in I Thessalonians, Chapter Four is describing the one parousia of the Lord.

... What shall be the sign of thy coming [parousia], and of the end of the world? (Matthew 24:3).

... We which are alive and remain unto the coming [parousia] of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. (I Thessalonians 4:15)

Since Paul uses parousia in I Thessalonians, Chapter Four (the passage on which the "rapture" teaching is based), there is no reason to interpret this as a special secret "rapture" of the saints. In this passage, Paul is describing the open manifestation of Christ to all the world as set forth in the twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew.

To be continued Participation in the Parousia 2

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