PAROUSIA

Isaiah S. David

ABSTRACT
Parousia is generally considered as the event that will usher in
the second coming of Jesus Christ. Although the time is not
known but Christians wait and are hopeful for the second
coming of this great King. It is a key factor among the Christians
and its significance is seen in the Lord’s Prayer that God’s
kingdom will come and this is expected to be brought about at
the second coming ofJesus. The figure of the Son ofman coming
in the clouds to take power, authority, sovereignty and dominion
in the book of Daniel and in the apocalyptic writing all refer to
the second coming of Jesus. His coming will put an end to the
present corruption, banditry and all vices experienced now.
Luke and the other gospels emphasized the coming of the
kingdom of God which Christ’s return will bring. The second
coming of the Son of God is shrouded in the nearness of the
kingdom of God.

1.0 PAROUSIA

1.1 MEANING
he word Parousia has been generally accepted in
Christendom to mean the second advent of Jesus Christ.
Kreitzer (1977:856), explained that the word Parousia is a
quais-technical term usually used with reference to the future
coming of Jesus Christ in glory at the end of the world as the
consummation of the saving actions of God and as the culmination
of the eschatological process.
The basic meaning of the word however is derived from
the verb napcipi (Pareimi) which means “to be present”. As a
result the word Parousia originally meant presence. Since,
however, napcqu (Pareimi) can take on the sense of “come,
approach, Judge 19:3 LXX, Parousia frequently means “arrival as
the onset of presence”. This is the sense that Parousia usually has
in the NT; except in few passages such as 1 Cor. 16:17; 2
Cor.l0:10; Phil.2:12 where Parousia refers to the presence of the
apostle or his fellow worker.
More importantly (and much less precisely). Kreitzer
(1977:856) agreed that the term is often equated with the second
coming of Jesus Christ on the clouds of glory, based mainly on
passages which occur in Gospels (such as Mt.24:3, 27, 37, 39) and
Pauline Epistles (such as 1 Cor.l5:23; 1 Thes.2:19; 3:13; 4:15;
5:23; 2 Thes.2:1,8-9).
Parousia is important in that it serves as an intersection of
Christian understanding of Christology (Doctrine of Jesus Christ),
eschatology (doctrine of last things) and soteriology (doctrine of
salvation) as the supreme moment of revelation of Jesus Christ as
Lord for all the created order to see, as the culmination of God’s
eternal purposes as they are worked out in human affairs and as
the time which the world is judged and believers are granted
resurrection existence and are ultimately limited with their Lord.
No other single idea has endangered so much theological
debate over the centuries as has the Parousia, given that it has
challenged Christians to think afresh about the meaning and
significance of eschatological hope. Parousia stands as an
important theological crossroads at which many strands of NT
theology and hermeneutical debate come together. To engage in a
discussion of the Parousia of Jesus Christ, seemingly at any point,
is to enter an exegetical minefield; yet to refuse to engage in such
a discussion is to run the risk of overlooking a central feature of
NT teaching, one which may infact go a long way towards
clarifying many other critical issues of Christian faith and belief.
1.2 CLASSICAL USAGE OF PAROUSIA
The use of the word Parousia is not limited to the Bible.
Wikipedia said in Hellenistic literature, Parousia has a double
usage as it can be used in both sacral and official contexts: It refers
to both epiphany of God and the official visit of an emperor or
some other high ranking official to a provincial city. The word can
also be used for the arrival of a ruler at a place, as is evidenced by
inscriptions in Egypt, Asia Minor, etc. Kreitzer (1977:857)
explained that both Parousia and adventus are used with reference
to the arrival of Emperor in a province, such as the visit of
Emperor Hadrian as proclaimed on Roman imperial coinage. The
key thing to observe here is how the term is used non-
eschatologically.
Wikipedia further elucidates the use of Parousia in a non-
eschatological sense or what Kreitzer (1977:857) called “Christian
eschatology. Wikipedia further explained that from the Ptolemaic
period to the second century of the Common Era “Parousia” was
used in the East as a technical expression to denote the arrival or
visit of a king or emperor and celebrated the glory of the sovereign
publicly. In memory the visit of Emperor Nero to the cities of
Patras and Corinth, advent coins were struck that carried the
legend Adventus Augusti Corinth.
The Greek word Parousia here correspond to the Latin
word advent. The numerous journeys of the Emperor Hadrian
were celebrated by many advent coins, and often new eras were
recorded from date of the Parousia. In physical presence, Parousia
in astrological usage refers to the presence of a planet at a point on
the Zodiac.
Whatever Parousia may mean in classical usage, it is
believed in modem theology that Parousia invariably means the
second coming of Jesus Christ.
1.3 PAROUSIA: THE JEWISH BACKGROUND
Parousia was not an idea that sprang as a result of the
expectation of the second coming of Jesus Christ in the New
Testament. The idea was much older than the New Testament.
Kreitzer (1977:856-857) explained that the concept of Parousia of
Jesus Christ is best viewed as a development of the generalized
hope for the future which is found throughout the OT, particularly
within the Prophetic literature. It is to be seen as intimately related
to Gods promises to His people that a better future awaited them, a
time when injustices would be righted, the world order
transformed and divine values made to hold sway in human lives.
Within the NT these ideas are particularly associated with
expectations of the coming of the kingdom of God and are given
explicit Christological context.
There is much to suggest that the idea of an imminent
arrival of the Kingdom of God was a foundational idea and the
core message of the preaching and teaching of Jesus of Nazareth.
Yet in so far as his own messianic self-understanding led him to
see his life and ministry as the means of bringing the Kingdom of
God to earth, it can be said to be realized in the present. It is
therefore reasonable to infer that the idea of the Parousia, as it is
expressed in various writings of the NT is an extension of Jesus’
own thought although understandably it shows signs of Christian
expansion and development.
The researcher sees the idea of Parousia as coming from
the Jews background in which they expected that God’s kingdom
will soon come to destroy their enemies and establish His
kingdom in which the Jews will have a place. The imminent
fulfilment of this expectation was delayed and when Jesus came
the expectation was renewed in Him since it has not yet been
fulfilled. This idea was further supported by Kreitzer (1977:858)
that thus the idea of Parousia has been understood as an act of
vindication, a time of visitation, a decisive moment of judgement,
a time of deliverance and the climatic event of consummation.
The idea of imminent Parousia was spread in almost all
Pauline writings that if one could read into Paul’s heart from his
writings he expected the coming of Jesus Christ within the first
century. So the Pauline letters are especially significant in this
regard, in as much as they stand as the earliest extant Christian
writings. We see within Paul’s letters how the apostle
reinterpreted the Jewish idea of the Day of the Lord (Amos 5:18;
Is.2:6-22; Zech. 14:3-5) and reshaped it christologically.
We can also detect the same process of reinterpretation
going on in a variety of subsequent Christian writings, especially
with regard to Zech. 14:3-5; the same OT theophany is explicitly
cited in Didache 16:7 and applied to the Parousia of Jesus Christ.
Many other Jewish documents of the first and second century AD
also helped to provide an understanding of the idea of the
Parousia.
In short, Christian declarations about the coming of Parousia of
Jesus Christ arise out of Jewish eschatological thought about the
coming of the Kingdom of God. At the same time it appears to be
rooted more in theophanic descriptions than in Messianic belief,
although it is difficult to draw hard and fast distinctions between
these focal points, so intertwined are they within Christian writing,
apparently from the first century.
Such a consideration helps to explain how frequently it
happens that confusion reigns in NT writings when it comes to
identifying who it is that comes (God or Christ?) in judgment at
the final consummation to keep in mind as well, since the term
Parousia was used in the larger Hellenistic world at the time when
many of the NT writings were being produced.
There is a thin line between the coming kingdom of God
and the second coming of Jesus Christ. Kreitzer (1977:858) said
the boundaries of these ideas are difficult to define. At times one
dimension, one facet of belief in the Parousia may be focused
upon more than another, but collectively they constitute the multi­
dimensional nature of Christian proclamation about the Parousia,
the advent of Jesus. This researcher is of the view that Christian
expect the second coming of Jesus to usher in the kingdom of God
that will override all inadequacies experienced in history.

1.4 PAROUSIA: THE NT USAGE

Morris, in his article on Parousia in International Standard
Bible Encyclopedia, Revised Edition, explained that the word
Parousia is a Greek word used by the theologians as a technical
term for Christ’s return at the end of the age. The basic meaning of
Parousia is “presence”, from which “coming to be present”
derives. In the NT it sometimes simply means “presence” (eg 2
Cor. 10:10), but the more usual meaning is “arrival”, “coming”. In
six instances it is used of common human arrivals of Paul
(Phil. 1:26), of Titus (2 Cor.7:6), of Stephanus and his friends (1
Cor. 16:17). It refers once to the coming of “the lawless one” (2
Thes.2:9) and once to that of “the day of God” (2 Pt.3:12). On all
other occasions the term is used of Christ. Once of his coming at
the incarnation (2 Pt.l:16) and fifteen times of His coming again
at the end of age (eg. Mt.24:3).
Wuest in his article on Parousia in Thayer’s Greek Lexicon
argued that although the word was used in the East as a technical
expression for the royal visit of a king or an emperor, the word
Parousia literally means “the being beside, thus, the personal
presence.” Therefore in the NT, Parousia means the advent, i.e 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.
Souter agreed with Wuest that Parousia (from paron, be present,
arrive to enter into a situation) - properly, coming, especially the
arrival of the owner who alone can deal with a situation. In the
NT, Parousia specifically means the Advent of Jesus Christ.
Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary Explains that
Parousia is a Greek word that refers to the second coming of the
return of the Lord Jesus Christ at the end of this age to set up His
kingdom, judge His enemies, and reward the faithful. The Greek
word literally means, “a being alongside”, hence “appearance or
“presence”. Christians are “looking for the blessed hope and
glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ
(Titus 2:13). This blessed hope of the Parousia, or second coming,
sustains believers in a godless age.
Wikipedia elucidates the word Parousia as it corresponds
to the Latin word advent. The numerous journeys of the Emperor
Hadrian were celebrated by many advent coins, and often new eras
were reckoned from date of the Parousia. If this is true, the
researcher sees the major reason why Christians believe in the
Parousia as it will usher in a new era from the date of the return of
Jesus Christ.
Radi who noticed that the word appeared 24 times in the
NT said the basic meaning of the word Parousia is to be derived
from the verb pareimi which means to be “present”. Thus Parousia
originally meant presence. Since, however, pareimi can take on
the sense of “come”, (Judges 19:3 LXX) the word frequently
means “arrival as the onset of presence. This is the sense that
Parousia usually has in the NT; only in 1 Cor. 16:17; 2 Cor. 10:10;
Phil.2:12 is the presence of the apostle or his fellow worker
intended.
In regard to the meaning of arrival, one can further
distinguish between the general concept and the specific use of the
word. Only 2 Cor.7:6,7 (Phil. 1:26) speaks of a common arrival. In
Thes. 2:9 and 2Pt.3:12, where the Anti-Christ and the day of the
Lord respectively are the subjects of the coming, the use of
Parousia approaches the more specific usage. In other occurrence
Parousia means Christ’s coming at the end of time.
Since Parousia is linked to the official visit of an Emperor
or some other high - ranking official to a provincial city; whether
Christian technical usage arouse from sacred or administrative
usage cannot be answered with certainty. Christ is anticipated as
the Saviour, official Parousia terminology with its sacral elements
probably stands closest to Christian usage to which all other usage
refers.

2.0 THEOLOGICAL USAGE

Wikipedia opined that the word Parousia is mainly used in
Christian theology to refer to the second coming of Christ. Moore
agrees that is clear that the Parousia was a concept of great
importance for the early Christians. They spoke about it in a
variety of ways and referred to it often, probably more often than
to any other singly doctrine in the NT. They looked with eager
longing for the day when Jesus would return. The twentieth-
Century the Theologian Karl Barth only suggested that the
Parousia is not limited to the second coming of Jesus but includes
not only Resurrection Sunday but also Pentecost as well. As such
Barth concluded that the NT Parousia is not limited to Christ’s
final return.

2.1 OTHER MEANINGS OF PAROUSIA

There are other meanings to Parousia. Radi says the word
Parousia itself talks about resurrection of the dead or world
judgment but apart from these accompanying events is described
more specifically only in Mark 13:24-27 par Matthew 24:29-31;
Luke 21:25-27; 1 Thes.4:16f; 2 Thes.l:7-10; Rev.l4:14-16; 19:11-
16. The motifs treated in these texts are derived from OT and
Jewish Salvation expectations, which anticipate an earthly
personality such as the Messianic King (Num.24:7, 17 LXX with
Judges 24:1 etc. further 2 Sam.7:12f, 16; Jer.23:5; Micah 5:1 or
Yahweh Himself (Micahl:3; Isaiah 59:20; 63:19; 64:1; 66:15) or a
transcendent redeemer figure with human features whose arrival,
especially in apocalyptic writing, is portrayed in vivid colors. The
figure of the coming son of man is of decisive influence (Dan.7:13
LXX). His advent from heaven (Acts 3:20f; Phil.3:20; 1
Thes.l:10; 2 Thes. 2:7) is the heart of the NT concept of Parousia.

2.2 JESUS AND THE PAROUSIA IN THE GOSPELS

Moore states clearly that the NT does not attest any unified
conception or attitude concerning Christ’s Parousia. Jesus Himself
anticipated the imminent establishment of the Kingdom of God
(Mark 1:15; 13:28f; Luke 6:20-23; 11:20), but the early Church
specifically anticipated his impending Parousia on the basis of the
Easter experience and the possession of the Spirit. The near
expectation, already focusing on the exalted Jesus is reflected by
traditional formulas (1 Cor. 16:22; Phil.4:5). Paul shares the
horizon of apocalyptic hope and appropriates the corresponding
formulas of Church languages. (l.Cor.l5:23; 1 Thes.2:19; 3:13;
4:15; 5:23).
While examining the teaching of Jesus, there are critical
problems that need to be examined. It will be found helpful, in
studying the bitter controversies that have raged around Christ’s
teaching about the future, to remember that the Apostolic idea of
the word “Messiah” is the only definition that the word has, that
for instance, “Messiah” and “Saviour of the World” are not quite
convertible terms, or that a redefinition of the Messiah as a moral
teacher or an expounder of the will of God does not rest on
“spiritualizing” of term, but on a destruction of it in favour of
“Prophet”.
Now the three expressions, “Messianic Work”, “Coming of
the Kingdom” and “Parousia” are only three titles for one and the
same thing, while the addition of “Son of Man” to them merely
involves their being taken in the transcendental form possible.
Infact, this is the state of affairs found in the synoptic. Christ
predicted the coming of the Kingdom. He claims the title of its
king. The realization of this evidence, we find His use of the title
Son of Man. From all this the doctrine of Parousia follows
immediately, even apart from the passages in which the regular
apocalyptic symbolism is used.
The contention may be made that this symbolism in the
Gospels has been drawn out of other sources by the evangelists,
but even if the contention could be made out, it is possible to
begin with the a prior assumption that “no same man would
conceive of himself as an apocalyptic being walking the earth
incognito,” and to refer to later tradition everything in the Gospels
that contradicts this assumption. But then there are difficulties.
The various concepts involved are mentioned directly so often that
the number of passages to be removed grows alarmingly large.
Then the concepts interlock in such a way as to present a
remarkable firm resistance to the critical knife; the picture is much
to consistent for an artificial product. Thus there are a number of
indirect references (the title on the cross, the “Palm Sunday”
procession, etc) that contradict all we know of later growths. And
finally the most undeterred critic finds himself confronted with a
last stubborn difficulty, the unwavering conviction of the earliest
Church that Christ made the eschatological claims.
It is conceivable that the apostles may have misunderstood
Christ in other matters, but an error in this central point of all (as
the apostles appraised things) is hardly in the realms of critical
possibility. On the whole, such an attempt to force a way through
the evidence of the documents would seem something surprisingly
like the violence done to history by the most perverse of the older
dogmatics.
In the Christian hope of the coming of Christ and the
ushering in of God’s kingdom, the father is the judge in Mtt. 10:32,
33, but the Son in the parallel passage in Luke 12:8, 9 and in
Matt.l3:41, 16:27; 25:32, probably in Matthew 24:50 parallel
Luke 14:46; Mark 8:38 and its parallel Luke 9:26 the judge is
uncertain. At all events, the eternal destiny of each man depends
on Christ’s attitude, possibly with the father’s (invariable)
ratification considered.
Many people have connected the Parousia with the fall of
Jerusalem but how far can this be? It is not easy to say. Various
sayings of Christ about the future were certainly grouped by the
Evangelists; compare Mt.24 with Mark 13 and Luke 17:20-37; or
Luke 1731 with Mark 13:15, 16. Remembering what the fall of
Jerusalem or its immediate prospect would have meant to the
Apostles, the tendency to group the statements of Christ will be
realized. Consequently, not too much stress should be hid on the
connection of this with the Parousia, and in no case can the fall of
Jerusalem be considered to exhaust the meaning of the Parousia.
Moore, asked if Jesus taught that He would return within
the lifetime of His hearers? Attempts to find this in the words of
our Lord usually center on passages such as Mark 9:1 and
Matthew 10:23. In Mark 9:1 Jesus says, “Truly I say to you, there
are some standing here who will not taste death before they see
that the Kingdom of God has come with power”. The coming of
the Kingdom with power is taken to mean Parousia with its
attendant events. But the passage is far from being an
unambiguous reference to the Parousia.
Many see reference to the Transfiguration and hold that the way
the Evangelists arrange their material shows that this was their
view. Those who espouse “realized eschatology” read it as
expressing the truth that the Kingdom has come already. Others
think of an event such as the destruction of Jerusalem or the Day
of Pentecost.
It is therefore clear that Jesus’ saying in Mark 9:1 does not
offer clear proof that Jesus expected to return during the life time
of his hearers.
In Matthew 10:23, Jesus says, “you will not have gone
through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes”. This
is a puzzling passage, and again many interpretations have been
proposed. For example, some see a reference to the exaltation of
Jesus in the Resurrection, others to the events associated with the
fall of Jerusalem. S.S Smalley explained the best interpretation.
“In this case we are presented with a further example of the double
perspective already encountered in the teaching of Jesus, in which
the fall of Jerusalem becomes proleptic of the end”.
It is clear that neither of these passages, then, proves that
Jesus expected an early Parousia. An examination of other
passages would yield the same conclusion. Running throughout
the teaching of Jesus in a tension between the present and the
future, and there is no point in trying to minimize it. Neither side
of this tension may safely be neglected, non may the tension be
dismissed by asserting that for Jesus “the future” meant “the
immediate future”. The simplistic line of ascribing to Jesus the
expectation that all would be over within a year or two resolves
the problem no more than interpreting His teaching as pure
apocalyptic or pure realized eschatology.
2.3 LUKAN ESCHATOLOGY
Moore, observed that a further problem arises with the
Luke’s eschatology. A common view among scholars posits that
Luke inherited a tradition containing teaching about the
imminence of the Parousia, but that by the time he wrote Luke -
Acts, the non fulfillment of this expectation had become an
agonizing problem. Luke’s solution was to minimize the teaching
on the imminence of the Parousia and to replace it with something
else. H. Conzelmann asked, “If Luke has definitely abandoned
belief in the early expectation, what does he offer on the positive
side as an adequate solution of the problem?” And he answered,
“An outline of the successive stages in redemptive history
according to God’s plan.” According to H. Flender, Luke replaced
a belief in an imminent Parousia with an emphasis on two things:
the heavenly reality and earthly history. A problem exists, in that
“redemption has become an event in the past.
His solution is to give simultaneous expression to the
supernatural mystery and the earthly visibility of Christ and his
history. E. Kasemann held that Luke replaced the vivid
expectation of the Parousia with an emphasis on the Christ
institution, resulting in what is called “early Catholicism”. This
researcher sees that since Kasemann failed to explain what “early
Catholicism” is, it will be wrong for him to assume everybody will
understand without individual’s guess work. There is no link
between early Catholicism and Parousia. Parousia as earlier
defined had to do with presence, arrival of an emperor in which
Christians are expecting the visible return of Christ and therefore
the idea of early Catholicism is hereby rejected in its entirety.

2.4 LUKE AND OTHER GOSPELS COMPARED

There is need to look at the difference between Luke and
other Synoptisits and this should not be exaggerated, however,
Moore, says Matthew and Mark also know of a delay before Jesus
comes, and imminence is not their total eschatology. Further, it is
simply not true that Luke’s interest is in the institution rather than
eschatology. To start from the beginning, Luke refrains the word
of John the Baptist that speaks of the coming judgment (3:9, 17).
Luke sees the approach of the Kingdom of God in the ministry of
Jesus and reports that Jesus instructed the seventy to say, “the
Kingdom of God has come near to you” (Luke 10:9 cf similar
words to the twelve in Mtt.l0:7). The words “nevertheless know
this, that the kingdom of God has come near,” are reported by
Luke (10:11) but are lacking in Matthew’s similar passage
(Matt. 10:14). Luke alone has the passage about the servants being
ready for the master’s return (Luke 12:35-38; cf w39 parallel
Matt.24:43).
Luke records a note of urgency in connection with
judgement and the coming of the Son of Man (Luke 13:6-9; 18:8).
In the great eschatological discourse he distinguishes more clearly
than the other synoptists between those sayings that refer to the
Parousia and those that refer to the fall of Jerusalem. After the
words, “And then they will see the son of man coming in a cloud
with power and great glory,” only Luke adds, “Now when these
things begin to take place, look up and raise your hands, because
your redemption is drawing near” (21:27). Further, Luke retains
some words that look for the Parousia on definitely as any in the
NT: “Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away till all
has taken place” (21:32). Similarly, in Acts 1:11 he records the
angels’ prediction that Christ would come back in the same way as
He went.
Luke reports Peter’s words about looking for God to send
Christ at the appointed time (Acts 3:20) and about Christ being the
judge of the living and the dead (10:42); he also has Paul’s words
about God judging the world by Christ (17:31). Acts ends with
Paul “preaching the Kingdom of God” (Acts 28:31).
In the face of this evidence it is difficult to maintain that
Luke had no interest in the Parousia. He omits some teaching
about it that is found in the other synoptic Gospels, but he also has
some references to it that the others lack. Luke has his own way of
dealing with the Parousia and its associated events. Although he
gives the Parousia a different emphasis from some of the other NT
writes as he brings out its significance in his own way, he certainly
does not abandon it.

2.5 PAULINE ESCHATOLOGY

Moore, continued that those who hold that the first century
Christians thought of the Parousia as taking place within their
lifetimes usually appeal to Paul’s word, “then we who are alive,
who are left, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to
meet the Lord in the air.” (1 Thes.4:17). It is argued that these
words show that Paul expected to be alive at Christ’s return. But
exactly the same line of reasoning, if applied to other passages
(e.g. 1 Cor.6:14; “God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by
his power”, so also 2 Cor.4:14; Phil.3:ll; cf Acts 20:29; 2
Tim.4:6), would show that Paul expected to be dead at that time.
As early as 1 Thes.5:10 Paul saw his own death as a possibility.
Christ “died for us so that whether we wake or sleep” ...
This simply demonstrates that Paul had the habit of
classifying him-self with those to whom he wrote. Such
expressions prove nothing about his expectation of being alive at
the Parousia.
Furthermore, Paul’s exhortations to upright living in his
early writings (e.g. 1 Thes.4:l-12; 2 Thes.3:6-12) imply an
interval before the Parousia during which his correspondents could
practice these ethical virtues. And Paul nowhere indicates the
length of the interval. That his expectation of the Parousia did not
fade is clear from its presence in Philippians, which all agree is
among the later letters (e.g. Phil.1:6; 2:16; 3:20; 4:5).

3.0 SIGNIFICANCE OF PAROUSIA TO THE 21st

CENTURY CHRISTIANS
The 21st Century Christians are still hopeful of the
imminent return of Christ in a visible way. Every day we pray,
“thy kingdom come” and this reminds them of the soon coming of
Christ which will usher in the beginning of God’s Kingdom where
there will be no more insurgency, corruption, oppression,
kidnapping, armed robber, banditry, cultism and bad governance.
The coming of Christ that will usher in God’s kingdom will bring
about peace.
In line with the NT, the 21st Century Christians take
account the fact that the NT does use the language of imminence
such as we have in Rev.22:20, “surely I am coming soon”. To the
Christians, these words could have been written long ago but the
hope of Christ’s soon coming keeps on burning that the Parousia is
near although on God’s time scale but expected by the Christians
to be very soon. To live in the conviction that the Parousia is
imminent does not mean to be in a continuous ecstasy of
enthusiasm. It does, however, mean to have a deep seated hope
and to occupy one-self in doing what pleases the master so that
when He comes He will find them ready.
Many books of the NT except Galatians, Philemon, 2 and 3
John mention the soon coming of Christ as a great king who will
put an end to all the injustices on the poor and put an end to all
their pains and sorrows. Christians have kept this hope since the
early Church and that hope has kept the Church united and
strongly bonded together. It is possible some Christians in the
early Church had expected the Parousia during their time but the
delay is to allow the 21st Century Christians take part in the
glorious coming of the great king. The long delay could have
weakened the faith of some early Church Christians but there is no
doubt many Christians of the 21st Century are still very much
expectant.
The soon coming of the Kingdom of God is the first
important teaching in the New Testament. It will be the
consummation of the whole process by salvation that Jesus Christ
inaugurated when He came to earth. The death of Jesus, the means
whereby men’s sins are put away, shows the depths of God’s love
(John 3:16; Rom.5:8) and the determination to bring Salvation to
sinful men.
The Parousia provides assurance that the work that was
begun at the cross will not be allowed to fail. In His own good
time God will bring this world with all its evil to an end and will
bring in that perfect Kingdom where His will is completely done.
The purpose of the Parousia is not to cause Christians to
occupy themselves with working out the precise way in which
these prophecies will be fulfilled. Rather, it is God’s assurance
that He will allow nothing to stand in the way of the final
fulfilment of His purpose. Christ will return. All evil will be put
away as “the kingdom of the world” becomes “the Kingdom of
our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever
(Rev. 11:5).

CONCLUSION
Parousia has been interpreted to mean the second coming
of Jesus Christ. In the Old Testament there is a figure of the Son of
Man coming from the clouds. It is also true that the Jews were
expecting the coming of the Kingdom of God whereby God will
take away power from the enemies and humiliate them.
 In the New Testament, there is a repeat of the figure of one
coming from the clouds. The early Church expected the Coming
of Christ very soon. Paul in his writing wrote as if the coming of
Jesus Christ will take place during his time.
There is a clear evidence that the figure of the Son of Man
coming in the clouds in Daniel 7 and the Son of Man in the
Gospels all point to the second coming of Jesus Christ in His
glory. Paul descried this second coming vividly in 1 Thes.4:13-18.
The most debated question is that of the time of the Parousia.
The second coming of Jesus is associated with the word
Parousia. We need to look at the coming of Jesus in the manger in
Bethlehem and infer some conclusions. When Jesus first came it
was the prophet that said some one was coming. Isaiah and Micah
were very specific in their prophecies. Although they died before
the fulfilment of the prophecy but at God’s appointed time Jesus
was bom. In the same way the disciples of Jesus and Paul said
Jesus was coming again. There has been prophecies of the coming
of the Son of God and all these refer to Jesus as the Son of Man
who will come in the clouds.
Jesus is coming back but no one knows the time just as he
did at the first time and His coming will usher in the Kingdom of
God where there will be no insecurity, corruption, insurgency,
kidnapping, robbery, Boko Haram, ISWAP, wanton killing of
human beings without any regard and bad governance. This is the
Messianic age that the Christians have long waited for. It will truly
and surely come but only at God’s appointed time.
 REFERENCES

Kreitzer, L. J. (1977), Parousia, Dictionary of the Later New

Testament & Its development, A Compendium of
Contemporary Biblical Scholarship, Leicester, Inter
Varsity Press.

Moore, A. L. Parousia, International Standard Bible Encyclopedia,

Revised Edition, Bible Soft, PC Study Bible Version 5,
CD.

Parousia, Nelson Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Bible Soft, PC

Study Bible Version 5, CD.

Parousia, Wikipedia Dictionary

Http/www.Parousia, Retrieved 13th May, 2019

Radi, W. Parousia, Exegetical Dictionary of New Testament,

Bible Soft, PC Study Bible Version 5, CD.

Schneider, G., Ilapsipi, Exegetical Dictionary of New Testament,

Bible Soft PC Study Bible Version 5, CD.

Souter, Parousia, Thayer’s Lexicon, Bible Soft, PC Study Bible

Version 5, CD.

Wuest, K., Parousia, Thayer’s Greek Lexicon, Bible Soft PC

Study Bible Version 5, CD.
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