Our third reason for the use of parousia is to emphasize the presence of the Lord. When we add the thought of presence to that of coming we gain an important concept concerning the return of the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus is here now, in the Spirit. The parousia is His bodily appearing, His presence, not primarily His return from a far-distant place.

The Judge already is at the door. It remains only for the sky to be rent, and the bodies of the saints to be transformed, in order for the nations of the earth to behold the risen Christ. He is not far away. He is here. His body has not as yet been made visible to the saints or to the nations.

Christ is with us now and also in us, but His bodily presence has not been revealed as yet.

The parousia is eternal. It is Christ with us. The new Jerusalem is the eternal form of the parousia. The coming, the parousia, of the Lord and His saints is just that—a coming, a presence. We know of no verse that sets forth a return of Christ and His saints to Heaven.

There are several passages in both the Old and New Testament that speak of the coming of Christ to the earth. The coming of Christ will result in the coming of the saints, not the going of the saints.

Our fourth reason for the use of the Greek word parousia in place of the English term coming is to emphasize the appearing of the saints. The "rapture" doctrine has removed an important aspect of the parousia, the manifestation of the saints. One of the most important aspects of the parousia of Christ is the parousia of the saints.

Apart from the coming, the parousia, the appearing, of the saints with Christ, the nations of the earth would be unable to profit from the coming of the King. It is the saints who will release the peoples and things of the material realm from the prison into which God has cast them because of man's obedience to Satan.

Having given our four reasons for using parousia in place of coming, let us proceed to describe the parousia and our participation in it.

The Apostle Peter uses the term parousia in connection with the transfiguration of the Lord.

For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming [parousia] of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. (II Peter 1:16)

Jesus had said, "But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God" (Luke 9:27).

Eight days later the transfiguration took place. The transfiguration was the "kingdom of God" of which Jesus spoke.

It is quite possible that Peter used the word parousia to mean that although Jesus was walking on the earth He was not present in the power of His kingdom except for the period of the transfiguration.

Jesus was here in Person, but He was not present in the sense of the revelation or manifestation of His Divine glory as the Son of God except for the moment of the transfiguration. While Jesus was radiant with glory during the transfiguration He was present. The parousia was occurring.

To be continued.