By Gordon Coulson
The Parousia, or Coming of Christ, is central to the minds of believers. All Christians have wanted to know when their Lord would return to bring this present evil age to an end, and to begin a new age of righteousness and justice under his kingship. For centuries, Christians have been praying that “…your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven.” The Parousia, or Coming of Christ, is the answer to this prayer.
The Parousia is connected to the many prophecies regarding the coming of the Messianic age and the destruction of this wicked system. We cannot discuss the Parousia apart from these prophecies, especially those in Daniel, Revelation and the Gospels, for it is these very prophecies that point to Christ’s eventual coming and the conclusion of the present age.
There are several sometimes conflicting ideas regarding the outworking of prophecy and the Parousia. Some believe it has already occurred. Others believe it is yet future. We will examine the main schools of interpretation and identify their strengths and weaknesses. Finally, we will present what we believe to be the strongest view based on scripture. Only then can we attempt to answer whether the Parousia is past, present or future.
According to Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon, parousia has two meanings: presence, and the presence of one coming, hence the coming, arrival, or advent. The following scriptures illustrate all the uses of the word in the New Testament, apart from the Coming of Christ. Considering these instances of parousia apart from Christ’s coming will help us to understand the use of parousia with respect to his coming. All quotations are from the NIV unless otherwise noted.
17I was glad when Stephanas, Fortunatus
and Achaicus arrived (PAROUSIA), because they have
supplied what was lacking from you. (1 Cor
6But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming (PAROUSIA)
of Titus, 7and not only by his coming (PAROUSIA) but also by the
comfort you had given him. (2 Cor 7:6)
10For some say, "His letters are weighty and forceful, but in person (PAROUSIA)
he is unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing." (2 Cor
25Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with
all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, 26so that through
my being with you again (PAROUSIA) your joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on
account of me. (Phil 1:26)
12Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed--not only in my
presence (PAROUSIA), but now much more in my absence--continue to work out your
salvation with fear and trembling (Phil
2:12)
9The coming (PAROUSIA) of the lawless one will be in accordance with the
work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and
wonders, 10and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are
perishing. (2 Th
2:9)
In all cases parousia refers to a personal presence or arrival of a particular individual or individuals. In the last case (2 Th 2:9), parousia refers to the manifestation of the “lawless one”, who Christ will do away with. Many commentators believe this was at least initially fulfilled in the wicked popes of the Roman Catholic Church. In fact, the apostle John states that there was, even during his time, “many antichrists”—individuals who where subverting the faith. So again, we have a personal presence or arrival.
Reviewing the use of parousia in these instances gives us insight into the use of the word with respect to our Lord’s return. We read in Luke 21:
5
When some were
speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts
dedicated to God, he said, 6 “As for these things that you see, the
days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown
down.” 7 They asked
him, “Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about
to take place?” 8 (Luke 21:5-7, NRSV)
The disciples knew from previous discussions that he, as
king of God’s kingdom, would rule over the earth at some future time, and that
they would rule with him under his headship.
They wanted to know when they could expect his return. To the disciples, the Parousia meant the coming arrival of Christ at the consummation of
the age. He would return to establish
the dominion of the
The word parousia also has another connotation. According to Liddell and Scott’s Greek-English Lexicon, parousia is used at times in secular Greek literature to refer to the “visit of a royal or official personage.” The coming of Christ, therefore, describes the arrival of a king. And this is exactly how he is described in Revelation 19. A king whose eyes are a fiery flame, riding a white horse, with a sword protruding from his mouth to shepherd the nations, accompanied by a heavenly army. He is King of kings and Lord of lords. He comes in his father’s name to battle God’s enemies. The nations wage war against this great king, but are soundly defeated. In chapter 20 Satan is thrown into a prison for 1000 years, and God’s righteous reign, through His son Jesus Christ, begins. Jesus Christ has returned, and now he reigns supreme over the earth.
In the bible, then, parousia refers to the personal coming or arrival of an individual or individuals. The Parousia of Jesus Christ, therefore, is the personal arrival of Christ as King of God’s Kingdom, with the objective of establishing his reign over the earth. In this way, God’s will is done on earth as it is in heaven, and our prayers are finally answered.
End-time prophecy is closely linked to the Parousia. The prophecies in Daniel and Revelation and
other bible books, as well as our Lord’s own prophecies in the Gospels, present
signs and patterns that would alert true Christians to the time they were
living in, with respect to God’s purposes and the return of Christ. The Lord himself, after prophesying of the
destruction of
When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your
redemption is drawing near. (Luke 21:28, NIV)
It is important, then, to watch for the fulfillment of these prophetic signs. Only in this way will we be able to lift up our heads, as we see our redemption is near. There are several different views respecting these end-time prophecies, especially the book of Revelation, which is the most difficult. They are the Preterist, Futurist and Historical schools of prophetic interpretation.
The Preterist school originated with the Jesuit Alcasar in 1604 in reaction to the Protestant view of the
Papacy as the Antichrist. It was adopted
by Grotius and Hammonds, improved by Bossuet, the great Papal champion, and then Hernnschneider, Eichhorn and
others of the German critical school, followed by Heinrichs
and Moses Stuart of the
According to Preterism, the end-time prophecies, with the
exception of perhaps the last two chapters of Revelation, were fulfilled with
the destruction of
Note the disciples questions to Jesus in Matthew 24:
1Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to
him to call his attention to its buildings. 2"Do you see all
these things?" he asked. "I tell you the truth, not one stone here
will be left on another; every one will be thrown down."
3As Jesus was sitting on the
To the Preterist, the disciples’ question regarding the
temple’s destruction had only one application—to the destruction of
There are two main schools of Preterism—The German Rationalist and the Roman Catholic. We will consider the German rationalist school. The Roman Catholic approach was probably more of an attempt to cast doubt on the Protestant idea of the Pope as Antichrist rather than a serious theory of interpretation.
German Preterist View
of Revelation
In the German school, the 144,000 of Rev. 7 are Christians
converted from among the Jews. The unsealed
Jews, then, are the objects of God’s wrath.
This idea appears to be supported in Rev. 11, where the inner temple,
representing the good things of Judaism, is preserved in Christianity, while
the outer temple, representing the mere external parts of Jewish worship, along
with the Holy City Jerusalem, are abandoned; trampled by the Gentiles as it
were. In the
The woman riding the seven-headed beast in Rev. 17:3-6 is
the seven-hilled imperial city of
Analysis
Is the temple in Revelation really the Jewish temple at
In Rev. 6:9 there is a description of an altar. Could this be the brazen altar found in the Jewish temple-court? We note that under the altar are the souls of those slain for the Word of God, and for their testimony. They are given white robes and told to wait a little while longer until the number of their fellow slaves are filled. Now clearly these are Christian martyrs, since these are the only martyrs after Christ God would approve of. Therefore, the altar here must mean the altar of Christian sacrifice, not the altar in the Jewish temple. The martyrs under the altar are a reference to the ashes of the sacrifice in the original altar in the Jewish temple, but in this case, the meaning is Christian.
In Rev. 8:3 there is a reference to an altar, a golden censer and incense--all articles of the Jewish temple. Yet, we are informed that the smoke of the incense was added to the prayers of the saints, meaning the Christian saints. So again, the symbolism is of the Jewish temple, but the meaning is Christian. Similarly in Rev. 11:2, even leading Preterists, like Professor Moses Stuart understand that the inner temple, which was measured by John, has a Christian, not a Jewish significance.
What about the references to the 12 tribes? Are these Jews or Christians? In Rev. 21, we see the New Jerusalem
descending out of heaven from God to the earth.
The
Another problem for the German Preterist view of Revelation is the religious profession of those who were to suffer through the plagues mentioned therein. In Rev. 9:20, they are specifically described as idolaters, those that “…do not repent of the works of their hands, so as not to worship demons, and the idols of gold and of silver and of brass and of stone and of wood…” This does not describe the Jews of the late first century. It is well know that they regarded idols as an abomination. In fact, they were willing to bare their necks to Roman swords rather than have Roman idols in their temple.
Then there is the problem of the two witnesses in Rev.
11:3-12. Who are they? They cannot be Jews, because Jesus grants
authority to them so they can prophesy. He
would not grant authority to those that do not recognize his Messiah-ship. Yet they cannot be Christians either, because
it is a known fact of history that Christians escaped from
There is also a problem with the view of the woman sitting
atop the seven-headed beast as
The German Preterist view of Revelation depends on the
various temple symbols, worshippers, and objects of God’s wrath being the
Jewish temple and the Jews respectively.
It must be so if the destruction of
When Was Revelation
Written?
The Preterist view depends on the writing of Revelation being prior to 70 C.E. Otherwise, the Apostle John is prophesying about events that have already passed, which is no prophesy at all! However, what does the historical record say? If it can be established that John wrote the Revelation after 70 C.E., then the argument for Preterism falls flat.
Iranaeus (130-202 C.E.), in Against Heresies:
We will not, however, incur the risk of pronouncing positively as to the name of Antichrist; for if it were necessary that his name should be distinctly revealed in this present time, it would have been announced by him who beheld the apocalyptic vision. For that was seen no very long time since, but almost in our day, towards the end of Domitian's reign.
Since Domitian reigned from 81–96 C.E., and Iranaeus says John was given the Revelation ‘…towards the end of Domitian’s reign’, then this puts the date of its writing clearly after 70 C.E., probably in the 90’s C.E.
Other early Christians who confirm a Domitian date for Revelation are Eusebius Pamphili (260-341 C.E.), known as the “Father of Church History”, Hippolytis, who wrote around 236 C.E., Victorinus (270 C.E.), Jerome (340 – 420 C.E.) and Sulpitius Severus (360 – 420 or 425 C.E.). All these sources agree on the Domitian date for Revelation, which means it was written after the destruction of Jersusalem in 70 C.E. In addition to the many previously-mentioned problems for Preterism, this is really the nail in the coffin in my view.
Examining the Gospel
Accounts (Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21)
It certainly appears that much of what Jesus prophesied in
the Gospels regarding his return was fulfilled.
There were false Christs. There were wars and reports of wars. There were plagues and famines and
terrors. The temple indeed was
destroyed—not a stone was left upon a stone.
There was persecution of Christians.
Those in
However, several items in this prophecy were not
fulfilled. There were no reported signs
in the sun, moon and stars and the nations of the earth were not dismayed at
the roaring of the sea (Lk
Certainly the destruction of
Jesus further says that his coming would be just like lightning from the east flashing to the west (Mt. 24:27). Anyone who has ever been in a lightning storm knows it is frightening and awesome—the sky is lit up from the power of it—there is no mistake about what is happening. Additionally, he says in verse 30 that “all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory.” None of these things occurred in 70 C.E. There are no reports of the nations seeing any such phenomena. Finally, Jesus states that after this tribulation, he would send forth his angels to gather his elect. History shows that over 1900 years later, his elect has still not been gathered. Although many religious organizations have claimed that only they are the true religion and are performing the gathering work, these claims have all proven false. We are still awaiting Christ’s return to gather us, his elect, to himself.
But what of the fulfillments of Jesus’ prophecy in the
Gospels with respect to the destruction of
Note that the disciples appear to ask two questions of their master: when will the temple be destroyed, and what is the sign of your return? In Matthew we read:
"Tell us," they said, "when will this happen
[temple’s destruction], and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end
of the age?"
Similarly, Luke reports:
They asked him, “Teacher, when will this be, and what will
be the sign that this is about to take place?”
The Holy Spirit may be making a distinction here between the
two events, even if the disciples were not aware of it. In his answer, then, Jesus addresses both
questions. He prophecies the destruction
of Jerusalem, and at the same time, gives them signs which would indicate his
imminent return, well beyond 70 C.E.
There would be an initial and a final fulfillment of this famous
prophecy on the
Conclusion
Preterism asserts that all, or most, of the prophecies
concerning Christ’s return were fulfilled in 70 C.E. with the destruction of
In 1585 the Jesuit Ribera
propounded a Futurist view of end-time prophecy, and like the
The Futurist view can be summarized as follows. The two witnesses in Revelation will be
raised up in the future to prophecy for 3 ½ years, but be killed by the beast,
or Antichrist, who is generally viewed as an evil individual yet to be revealed. The Antichrist will reign for 3 ½ literal years,
at which point Christ returns and destroys him and the false prophet.
Analysis
The first problem with this view is that it requires a gap in prophetic fulfillment of over 1900 years, while we await the future events described in Revelation and other books to be fulfilled. Is this assumption warranted? Is this how God has dealt with His people and this world in the past?
Consider the first prophecy in the bible, Genesis 3:15. After Adam and Eve’s disobedience, God promises to “…put enmity between you [Satan, in the form of the serpent] and the woman [God’s faithful worshippers]. He [the promised seed] will bruise you [Satan] in the head, you will bruise him in the heel.” God promises to provide a seed that would destroy Satan’s power and right Adam’s wrong. How is this prophecy being fulfilled? What is God’s method?
We note that the promised seed is developed gradually and in
more detail over the course of the history of God’s people. God makes a covenant with Noah, and brings a
flood upon the wicked as a type and pattern of judgment to come. The promised seed would come through Noah, in
particular his son Shem. God renews his
promise to Abraham, and prophesies that all the families of the earth will be
blessed through his seed, and that Abraham’s natural seed would inhabit the
At the close of the 70 years of Israel’s captivity in
Babylon, as predicted by Jeremiah, Daniel prophecies of the 70 weeks, or 490
years, whereby the Messiah should come, be cut off, and the Jewish city and
temple destroyed by a Prince that would arise.
We note that Jesus then expands on this prophecy when speaking to his
disciples on the
We see, then, that God’s method is to be involved intimately with the details of His people’s lives and history, as His purpose gradually unfolds over time according to prophecy. Thus, as believers, we can look back and see our Heavenly Father’s care and direction over His worshippers, as well as the related events on this earth, and our understanding of His purposes is refined progressively.
However, when our Lord gave the Apostle John the Revelation, Futurists contend that God had changed His methods. Although John is clearly told to write the “things which you have seen, the things which are, and the things which will take place after these things” (Rev. 1:19), Futurists contend that there is a silence of some 1900 years prior to these things taking place. This does not follow the precedents set in prior prophecy. Let us look at Daniel as another case in point.
All the prophecies in Daniel prefigured events that were to
commence immediately or very nearly after the vision given. In Daniel 2 we have the statue with the head
of gold, silver breasts, belly and thighs of bronze, legs of iron, and feet
partly of clay and partly of iron. A
stone cut out of a mountain is thrown at the feet of the statue and destroys
it. This statue proved to represent the
kingdoms of
As to the Futurist’s view that references to
To the Futurist, the seals in Revelation 6 refer to the Gospel preaching, wars, famines, pestilences, persecutions and revolution, similar Christ’s prophecy in Matthew 24. The Futurist sees the seals in Revelation parallel the events in Christ’s prophecy. However, there are many problems with this. The rider on the white horse cannot be confidently identified with Christ or the gospel preaching. For one, the rider carries a bow, often associated with enemies of God’s people. Second, the Greek word for crown that he wears is stephanos, which can mean a wreath or garland an athlete receives for winning a race at the games. It is not the same word used for crowns, diadeemata, or diadems, which is definitely a kingly ornament that Jesus wears in Revelation 19:12. The fact that the horse is white does not mean our Lord must be riding it. There is no mention of the color of the robes of the rider. The contention that he is dressed in white is an assumption only. Jesus referred to the Pharisees as “white washed tombs”, beautiful on the outside but rotten inside. Paul called the hypocritical high priest a “white-washed wall”. Although the color white is generally associated with holiness, it can also mean a false righteousness, or hypocrisy.
As to the second seal, the red horse, it is men that slay one another, implying civil war, where in Matthew, the wars involve nation against nation. The third seal, the black horse, cannot mean famine, as the Futurists suggest. A quart of wheat or three quarts of barley are available for a denarius, or a day’s wages, and there is oil and wine available as well, although perhaps expensive in price. We are simply told “do not damage the oil and the wine”, not that these items were not available. Rather than famine, this seal probably represents economic problems, perhaps including inflation and economic depression, or economic slavery. So we see, then, that the parallels between the seals in Revelation 6 and the signs in our Lord’s prophecy in Matthew 24 break down upon closer examination.
What about the Antichrist thought by Futurists to arise and
plague the Saints for 3 ½ years? The
problem with this view is that the Antichrist in prophecy is associated with
First, the hindrance Paul refers to in 2 Thessalonians 2:7,
which is preventing the full manifestation of this Antichrist, was generally
understood by the early church to be the Roman government. This implies that when that government was
out of the way, which happened in the 6th century, the Antichrist
would make his appearance. History shows
that when the
Second, the fourth beast in Daniel’s vision, from whose
ten-horned head the little horn of Antichrist arose could only refer to
Third, the city of
Conclusion
In our day, many religious groups and leaders have made
predictions which have failed the test of time.
However, this should not cause us to abandon our attempts to understand
prophetic fulfillment in history. As we
have seen, the Futurist approach has serious problems. It ignores prophetic precedents, namely, that
God tends to work out his purposes in history in successively greater detail. The Futurist view forces prophetic
fulfillment to be silent during the dark ages, when enormous political,
religious and sociological changes were occurring on the earth, in seemingly
striking prophetic fulfillment. This
view also ignores the fact that Antichrist is closely associated with
However, we should not discard the Futurist view
completely. There is precedent for
multiple fulfillments of prophecy. For
example, there were prophecies in the Old Testament regarding the destruction
of the Babylonian empire.
The Historicist school looks at prophecy as being fulfilled
continuously throughout history, as God’s sublime purpose is worked out. We have already seen, in the case of the prophecy
of the Promised Seed (Ge
First Seal (White Horse) 96 - 180 C.E. --
Second Seal (Red Horse) 185 - 284 C.E. --
Third Seal (Black Horse) 200 – 250 C.E. – Excessive taxation and depression
Fourth Seal (Pale Horse) 250 – 300 C.E. – Death and decay of the empire
Fifth Seal (Martyrs) 303 – 313 C.E. Christian Martyrs under Diocletian
Sixth Seal 313 – 381 C.E. – The True Faith extinguished
Seventh Seal 386 C.E. onwards – The 7 trumpet judgments
At this point
Trumpets 1-4 signal the fall of the
Trumpet 1 – Gothic invasions of Alaric who overran the western empire burning the vegetation
Trumpet 2 – Gothic invasions of Genseric who invaded via sea destroying Roman ships
Trumpet 3 – Gothic invasions of Attila who came via the rivers and waterways pillaging
Trumpet 4 – The
Trumpets 5 and 6 signal the collapse of the
Trumpet 6 signals the invasions of the Turks. The previous Muslim armies had been stopped
at the
Regarding the 1260 days of the reign of the beast, most Historicists view this as 1260 years. The actual start and end dates vary, but most put it from the mid 500’s to the fall of the Papacy’s temporal power at the hands of the French Revolution in the late 18th century. Even Catholic scholars admit that the Papacy’s temporal power ran approximately 12 ½ centuries.
Historicists consider the Beasts of Revelation 13 and 17 to
be the Papacy. The seven heads are the
seven forms of government through which
Analysis
Certainly the fulfillment of the Seals and Trumpets one
through six is striking, along with the rise of Papacy and the 1260 days of its
evil rule. As discussed under Futurism,
the dividing of
Seeing the sixth seal as the end of the temporal reign of
Papacy with the outbreak of the French Revolution exclusively, is a case in
point. In
With regard to the Two Witnesses, there is a problem with seeing them as the faithful remnant of true Christians, or as the Old and New Testaments during the dark ages. The reason for this is that after their witnessing of 1260 days, or 1260 years in the Historicist view, they are killed and their corpses left in the open for 3 ½ days. However, after their 1260 years of witnessing, history shows that it was Papacy that was killed—it lost its temporal power—and a veritable explosion of biblical knowledge and witnessing for Christ occurred; quite the opposite of what you would expect.
Having the beast of Revelation 13 and 17 both represent
Papacy presents problems as well. The
beast of Rev. 13 has diadems upon its head, whereas there is no mention of
diadems in chapter 17, and the beast in chapter 17 has a harlot sitting upon
it, whereas the chapter 13 beast does not.
It is more likely that the description of these two beasts are both of
Can the Two Horned Beast, that ‘had two horns like a lamb,
but spoke like a dragon’ represent the Catholic Priesthood? Beasts always represent kingdoms in prophecy,
and horns usually represent constituents of those kingdoms. It is more likely that the Lamb-Beast
represents a power closer to home—perhaps the
Seeing the image of the beast as the
Despite these problems with interpretation, the Historicist view remains a powerful and useful tool in understanding unfolding prophecy. The problems with interpretation are an indication, not that the method is flawed, but that events are continuing to unfold, and so we can not be certain yet of their meaning.
Although there are several problems with the interpretations of the Historicist school, they are minor in comparison to the problems with the Preterist and Futurist views. The problems with Historicism are problems of interpretation, whereas the problems with Preterism and Futurism point to flawed methods.
Our original question was: When could we expect the Parousia, or return of Christ--past, present, or future? If we accept the argument that Preterism is seriously flawed, then we must say confidently “future”, whether we believe Historicism or Futurism is correct, since both schools expect a future return of Christ. If we are convinced that Historicism is the correct method for prophetic interpretation, then we should continue to watch and pray. Many parts of the prophecies in Daniel, the Gospels and Revelation, and other bible books, have been fulfilled, yet we remain unclear on those remaining parts. It is possible that some are being fulfilled today, in the cauldron of the world’s religions, politics, wars and social and economic upheavals. We won’t know for sure until we look back on them. We must therefore ‘keep on the watch’, because we do not know the day or hour of our Lord’s return. We must be vigilant and faithful, abiding in the love of Christ, reflecting that love to our brethren and our neighbors as we serve our God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. When he does appear in glory for judgment, let us not be ashamed, but rather, pray we will hear him say:
“Well done, good and faithful servant. Come, enter the joy of your master.”
References
1. Horae Apocalypticae, E.B. Elliot, www.historicism.com
2. The Parousia, James Stuart Russell, www.preteristarchive.com
3. Sorting Out Matthew 24, Anthony Buzzard, www.mindspring.com/~anthonybuzzard
4. The Parousia of Christ, Bruce Terry, www.bible.ovc.edu/terry/doctrine
5. Introduction To The Book Of Revelation, G.E. Ladd, http://gospelpedlar.com
6. On the Futurity of the Seventieth Week, Robert H. Gundry, http://gospelpedlar.com
7. Preterism & Bible Prophecy—Is all prophecy already fulfilled?, Fred G. Zaspel, http://gospelpedlar.com
8. Christian History and its Preterist Presuppositions, www.preteristarchive.com/churchhistory
9. Countdown to the
10. Daniel 9 and the 70 Weeks, Anthony Buzzard, www.mindspring.com/~anthonybuzzard
11. Daniel Eleven and Twelve—Ultimate Rebellion and Final Solution, Anthony Buzzard, www.mindspring.com/~anthonybuzzard
12. Historicist vs. Futurist, Irvin Baxter Jr., www.endtime.com/03_oldsite/ezine/jan_feb00/
13. A Review of Professor Stuart on the Apocalypse: With Occasional Reference to the 14. Commentary of Professor Cowles, Enoch Pond, www.historicist.com/articles
15. Problems with Preterism, Steve Wohlberg, www.historicist.com/articles2
16. The Problems of a Pre-70 Date of the Apocalypse, Otto Nordgreen, http://folk.uio.no/otton
17. The Problem with Preterism, Michael D Macon, http://home.wmis.net/~ixthys
18. Defense of the Orthodox View of the Second Coming of Christ, Mitchell Dick, www.preteristarchive.com/CriticalArticles
19. The Revelation of Jesus Christ, R.E. Streeter, Pastoral Bible Institute