The parousia is the appearing of the Lord. It is the Day of the Lord, the Day of Christ. To the best of our knowledge, no passage of the Scriptures teaches that the Lord Jesus will come from a distant place and return with the Church to that place prior to the parousia (or at any other time.).

Rather, the coming, or presence, of the Lord is an open revelation of what always has been close at hand.

The disciples who are alive on the earth at the coming of the Lord will be revealed in glory with the Lord. They are part of the parousia and appear with the Lord. Yet they already were here at the time of His return.

Consider: they are here on the earth; yet, in the Day of Christ, they will be revealed in glory. This is what took place in the case of the Lord Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration. He was here on the earth. Yet, in the parousia on the Mount of Transfiguration, Christ was revealed in glory.

The parousia will be an open, lightning-like shining forth of what to this point has been concealed by the flesh of the saints and by the material realm in general—especially the sky. This is as true of I Thessalonians 4:15-17 as it is of any other passage where the term parousia is employed.

Heaven is all around us. We cannot see God or the Lamb or the elect angels or the saints in light because of the "veil" of the material realm. In the parousia the veil of the flesh will be rent, the veil of the sky will be rolled back, and what always has been true will be witnessed by all men.

And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. (Revelation 6:14)

The whole earth is filled with God's Glory but we cannot see it, as was true of Gehazi before Elisha prayed that his eyes would be opened (II Kings 6:17).

The nations of the earth will not be able to draw near to the form of the manifested Christ, for even the Apostle John fell as one dead when Christ appeared to him on Patmos. But the saints will be like Christ in that day and will behold Him as He is.

People great and small, rich and poor, will flee from the Face of God and the wrath of the Lamb. They will take cover "in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains" (Revelation 6:15). The meek of the earth will come to the Light for salvation.

Emphasizing the appearing aspect of the parousia ties us into Colossians 3:4:

When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. (Colossians 3:4)

Now, here is a fact that ought to be given more emphasis. The appearing of Christ and our appearing will take place at the same time. His parousia and our parousia will take place together.

The appearing of the saints is an important event as far as the righteous peoples of the earth are concerned. They cannot approach Christ directly, but the meek of the earth can come to the members of the Body of Christ. When we are revealed the nations can come to us and be saved (Isaiah 60:1-5).

To be continued.