“The Nature and Definition of the Lord Jesus Christ’s
Second Coming"
The
following three Greek words are used in the New Testament to describe and
define the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ:
Parousia, Epiphaneia and Apokalupsis
Jerome’s
Latin translation called the Vulgate (5th Century A. D.) was
translated from the Greek New Testament and the Greek Old Testament which is
called the Septuagint. The Latin Vulgate was the first translation to use the
terms rapture and advent.
-rapture: To seize (Lat.) from the Greek harpazo:
To catch away
-advent: Arrival (Lat.) from the Greek parousia:
An arrival and continuing presence
These two
Latin words were not adequate to describe in English the true meaning of the
Greek words because they lack the Biblical precision necessary to completely
convey the truth. This inadequacy has contributed greatly to the confusion
surrounding the return of Christ, its timing and events associated with His
Second Coming.
Pre-tribulationists falsely believe in two distinct future comings or
advents of Christ. They say that the Greek word parousia
translated ‘coming’ I Thessalonians 4:15 and the parousia
found in Matthew 24:3 are two different events. They also claim that the I
Thessalonians 4:15 parousia is the rapture at the
beginning of the so called 'tribulation period', and the Matthew 24:3 parousia
refers to the so called 'second advent' at the end of this 'tribulation
period'.
Note:
Terms such as ‘tribulation period’ or ‘the tribulation’ and ‘second advent’ are
not found in word for word translations of Scripture/KJV/NASB/ESV. Therefore,
they are not Biblically definitive terms and should not be used in serious
Bible study. Daniel’s 70th Week, the great tribulation, the second
half of Daniel’s 70th Week and the Day of the Lord/wrath of God
encompass the end times periods of trouble/tribulation and judgment. These
periods of time must be distinguished and studied according to the Bible’s
teaching using these terms. Distinguishing the wrath of Satan (Revelation 12:12) vs. the wrath of
God (Revelation 6:17) is where much of the confusion concerning Rapture timing positions originates.
Parousia
is a precise, technical Greek word. It refers to Christ's arrival and
continuing presence throughout a period of time which begins at the rapture of
the Church continuing through the Day of the Lord's final event the battle of
Armageddon which is followed by His 1000 year earthly reign called the
Millennium. So, it must be understood that parousia is a
precise, technical Greek term having the same meaning every time the word is
used.
When Jesus
comes, He will come [parousia] to rapture the saints
(Matthew 24:29-31; I Thessalonians 4:13-18). Then, He will continue to be
present throughout the entire Day of the Lord described in Revelation 8-19.
Notice, the heavens are rolled back as a scroll in Revelation 6:14 revealing
the throne of God to the entire planet just before Jesus comes [parousia]
and His Day of the Lord wrath also called ‘the wrath of the Lamb’ begins
(Revelation 6:17).
The throne
of God may well remain visible throughout this extended time of judgment of the
planet and its inhabitants. Notice, the throne of God is mentioned seven times
in Revelation 7, once in chapters 8, 12, twice in chapter 14 and then at the
completion of His global judgment in Revelation 16:17 when the Lord announces
from His throne in heaven: “It is done.”
This refers to His global judgment of the planet and its inhabitants
Then, He
brings specific judgment upon one entity, “MYSTERY BABYLON THE GREAT, THE
MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH” (Revelation 17:5) utilizing
the ten horns/kings/nations (Revelation 17:12-18). However, the Lord’s presence
continues throughout this time of supernatural judgment through His Divinely
appointed messengers.
On this one occasion, the judgment of Babylon, His agents are ‘The ten horns’.
However, throughout the history of mankind and the majority of the Day of the Lord His agents are His angels.
The angels deliver the plagues of judgment in the Revelation and are active
throughout this time of supernatural wrath from the God of heaven when the earth
is convulsing and reeling under His mighty hand.
Then, the
heavens open once again (Revelation 19:11) when the Lord Jesus Christ
brings destruction upon the Antichrist and his armies as described in the
following passage (Revelation 19:11-21). His arrival when He raptures the
saints and His continuing presence demonstrated by His supernatural judgments
of the earth executed by His angels throughout the Wrath of the Lamb/Day of the
Lord underlines and emphasizes the definition of the most used word for His
Second Coming [parousia] in the New Testament.
Greek Word Definitions
-Deissman: From the 2nd century B.C. parousia
was used to describe an arrival and continuing visit of a king or emperor.
-Reiter: Prior to 1940's parousia,
epiphaneia, apokalupsis were all considered technical terms
specifying distinct phases of the Lord’s return by pre-tribulationists. Parousia
was described as Christ's appearance in the sky to rapture and epiphaneia/apokalupsis
referred to the return of Christ following the Great Tribulation.
However, as
the following sources indicate, the Pre-tribulationist’s assertions were not
founded upon the ages-old accepted definitions of parousia which is cited in Thayers Greek Lexicon. This
trustworthy lexicon provides the following information:
Thayers Greek Lexicon (1896)
-Parousia: Presence, coming,
arrival, advent-The future visible return from heaven of Jesus, the Messiah, to
raise the dead, hold the last judgment, and set up formally and gloriously the
kingdom of God
-Epiphaneia: To make manifest or
visible or known what has been hidden or unknown
-Apokalupsis: To uncover, lay
open what has been veiled or covered up; to disclose, make bare
Word Study
The first
Greek word, parousia, is found in the New Testament
twenty-four times. Four times in the Lord’s Olivet Discourse: Matthew 24:3, 27,
37, 39, fourteen times in Paul’s letters: I Corinthians 15:23, 16:17; II
Corinthians 7:6, 7, 10:10; Philemon 1:26, 2:12; I Thessalonians 2:19, 3:13,
4:15, 5:23; and II Thessalonians 2:1, 8, 9, two times in James 5:7, 8, three
times in II Peter 1:16, 3:4, 12 and once in I John 2:28.
The Lord
Jesus, James, Peter and John used the word exclusively to indicate the Second
Coming while Paul also uses the word to describe the coming
of Stephanas, the coming of Titus, his own coming,
the coming of the Antichrist and the Second Coming of the
Lord. An arrival and continuing presence is the meaning in
each of the passages where parousia is found in the Word
of God.
The second
Greek word, epiphaneia, is used exclusively by Paul on six
different occasions. Once in
II Thessalonians 2:8 with the other occurrences
recorded in the three Pastoral Epistles: I Timothy 6:14, II Timothy 1:10, 4:1,
8 and Titus 2:13. These references utilizing the word epiphaneia
focus upon the glorious manifestation of the Lord Jesus
Christ at His coming.
The third Greek word, apokalupsis
is a noun appearing eighteen times in the New Testament. The verb form appears
twenty-six times but only one of these twenty-six occurrences: “when the Son
of man is revealed” (Luke 17:30) refers to
the Second Coming of Christ.
However, the noun apokalupsis
is used five times (I Corinthians 1:7; Galatians 1:12; II Thessalonians 1:7; I Peter 1:7, 13, 4:13)
to indicate the Lord’s return with the emphasis focusing upon the
revealing/revelation, unveiling or uncovering of the Lord when He
comes.
Therefore, the Word of God clearly utilizes
three different Greek words to describe three definite aspects of the Lord
Jesus Christ’s Second Coming. Parousia, the most used Greek word
for the Lord’s Second Coming indicates His arrival and continuing presence. Epiphaneia
on the other hand emphasizes His glorious manifestation while apokalupsis focuses upon the revealing, unveiling or uncovering of the Lord.
“The unveiling [apokalupsis]
and glorious manifestation [epiphaneia] of His coming [parousia]
will occur in the clouds.” This simple sentence demonstrates how all three words
can be rightly used to define and describe
the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
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