I WILL COME AGAIN

"And if I go and prepare a place for you, I WILL COME AGAIN, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." John 14:3

When this age-abiding promise was first uttered by Jesus to his apostles, it did not make sense. To the naturally minded men who followed Jesus, they assumed the logical move would be for Jesus to take charge as a King, throw off the yoke of Roman bondage, exalt the Jews and bless the world. Why should he leave now? There was work to be done here. When Jesus spoke of his death and strangely of his leaving, the idea simply did not fit into their expectations.

But as they wended their way along the path to Gethsemane, Jesus had assured them,

No other doctrine is discussed more in the New Testament-over one third of its writings deal with this momentous event. How our hearts trill at the hope of being united with the returned Lord, our heavenly Bridegroom, seeing him as he is, living with him and experiencing his love forevermore-and the reality of reigning with him (Rev. 20:5) in a kingdom that extends to the ends of the earth, bringing "peace like a river and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream." Isa. 66:12

Long have faithful Christians prayed with the Apostle John, "Even so, come, Lord Jesus." Centuries have passed. Seemingly nothing has happened. But suddenly our day is charged with an air of expectancy.

Few would question that we are living in an unprecedented time of human history. Most Bible-believing Christians feel we are living in the very time the Bible says Christ is to return. There is a surge of interest in prophecy-a revival of interest in the second advent. Many speak of the imminent coming of Christ. This expectancy is based on our Lord's Great Prophecy recorded in Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 17 and 21. Many believe that the nearness of Christ's return is indicated by such signs as the following: Israel restored (Matt. 24:32; Jer. 16:13-18); knowledge and travel increased (Dan. 12:40); evils exposed as never before (Luke 12:2; 1 Cor. 4:5); infidelity rampant from university to pulpit (Luke 18:8; 2 Tim. 4:1-4); men seeking pleasure, morality rotting (2 Tim. 3:1-5, 13); strikes, walkouts (James 5:1-4); racial strife, riots (Zeph. 1:7-9)' juvenile delinquency (2 Tim. 3:2); wars and war preparations intensified (Joel 3:9-11); men crying fearfully for peace (1 Thess. 5:3, Luke 21:26); trouble everywhere (Matt. 24:21,22).

But let us take a closer look at our Master's words and see what these signs really prove.

Coming or Presence

W. E. Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words: Parousia, literally, a presence, para, with, and ousia, being denotes both n arrival and a consequent presence with."

Robert Young's Analytical Concordance to the Bible: Parousia, a being alongside, presence."

 Moulton and Milligan's Vocabulary of the Greek Testament Foreword: "Parousia, as applied to the return of the Lord, is simply the anglicizing of the Greek word which literally means 'presence.'"

The Bible Definition

The phrase "parousia of the Son of man" in Matthew 24:27 means the same as the phrase, "in the days of the Son of man" in Luke 17:26. the "days of the Son of man" (Luke 17:26) refers to the time that Christ is present, just as the "days of Noah" would refer to the time when Noah was present among his wicked generation. Therefore, parousia in Matthew 24:37 should be translated "presence of the Son of man" instead of "coming" of the Son of man."

This is further confirmed by the Apostle Paul's usage of the word. The thought of "presence" is plainly shown by the contrast with "absence" in Philippians 2:12. "Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence [Greek, parousia] only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." This is also shown in 2 Corinthians 10:10. Every New Testament scripture in which parousia is used is listed in Appendix A.

Evangelical and Fundamentalist Consent to "Presence"

Christianity Today (a well-known evangelical magazine) published a series of essays on "Fundamentals of the Faith." the essay in booklet form on "The Second Advent of Christ" had this to say about parousia: "let us look at the Greek words used in the New Testament for the idea of the return. First of all, there is the word parousia, which means basically 'presence.'"

No doctrine is more frequently mentioned in the New Testament that Christ's second advent. Yet, few doctrines have been as greatly fragmented into such diversified concepts. Much of the beauty of this doctrine has been wrested from the grasp of God's people. All secular Greek dictionaries define parousia, "presence." Most Biblical dictionaries likewise define parousia, "presence." Most current fundamentalist and evangelical writings on the second advent usually begin by correctly defining parousia, "presence." Then a strange thing happens. Somehow the word "coming" replaces "presence." Incorrect theology requires parousia to be translated "coming," but Scriptural harmony requires that it be translated "presence."

"Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth"

Our purpose in this work is to set aside all theories of men and ascertain from the Scriptures, and the Scriptures alone, the glorious beauties of this momentous event. The faithful Christian is to "study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (2 Tim. 2:15). The Word of Truth was originally written in Hebrew and Greek. But now the average Christian is no longer dependent upon the translators or scholars to determine the meaning of a specific Hebrew or Greek word in a given text. In fact, many of the new "translations" are mere paraphrases of former translations, with little or no consideration given to the Hebrew and Greek manuscripts. Further, even the best translations have some flaws since they are the works of man.    The ready accessibility of Biblical concordances, Hebrew and Greek dictionaries and lexicons in libraries and Bible bookstores is one of the blessings of our day. With the Bible in one hand and a concordance and lexicon in the other, the average Christian can verify the meaning of original words in the Hebrew Old Testament or Greek New Testament manuscripts. He can be a "workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15    For many centuries, the church has been on a rough and stormy sea longing for the blessed haven of Christ's return. Now, with the chart and compass of God's word, the Christian can trace the various independent lines of prophecy and see the blessed haven just before him. As there is the danger of shipwreck upon reefs just beneath the water's surface along many shorelines, so the Christian must be his own mariner avoiding the ensnarements of unscriptural or even partially Scriptural theories on the second advent. As a "workman that needeth not to be ashamed," he will utilize, whenever necessary, the tools that make the Hebrew and Greek texts of Scripture readily accessible.

If this work inspires the reader to a deeper search of the Scriptures on this subject, then it will have made a contribution to the fellowship of believers.

A Secret Presence Before "Every Eye Shall See Him"

Luke 21:25 refers to "signs" in the plural.

The Scriptures show that the first stage of our Lord's parousia, presence, will be secret. "The day of the Lord will arrive [will be here, Greek, heko-see Strong's, Young's or Vine's] as a thief." 2 Peter 3:10, Rotherham A thief enters a house quietly, doing a secret work. Consequently, the first works of our returned Lord are during a secret presence. The world will, at first, be unaware that Christ has returned. "But ye brethren are not in darkness that day should overtake [implies, a period of overlapping] you as a thief." 1 Thess. 5:4 Later, his presence will be made manifest to all. The Scriptures use another Greek word, apokalupsis, to describe this revealment to all. "The Lord Jesus shall be REVEALED [apokalupsis] from heaven in flaming fire taking vengeance." 2 Thessalonians 1:7-8 It is in reference to this revealment to all, that Scriptures like Revelation 1:7 apply; "He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him." Christians, who are not overcharged with the cares of this life, will experience the joys of discerning the signs of his secret presence (Luke 21:34-36), before they are "caught up together" with him.

Later chapters will consider in Scriptural detail both the thief-like presence and subsequent revealment of the returned Christ to all mankind. See Appendix C for detailed discussion of "Every eye shall see him."

Signs of Christ's Presence

And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Luke 17:26, 27.

The point of comparison is not between the arrival of Noah and the arrival of our Lord. It is not even between the coming of the flood and the coming of our Lord. The comparison is between the days of Noah before the flood and the days of the presence of our Lord before the tribulation with which this Gospel Age ends. In both periods, the people were in ignorance of the coming trouble. The days of the Son of man are the days of his parousia, presence-invisible and unknown to the world. Therefore, we should expect to see signs of Christ's presence before the tribulation.

Third, these signs are to be recognized by faithful Christians as a proof that Christ is present. This precludes the instantaneous gathering of the living church at Christ's return. The dead in Christ are raised "first" when Christ returns, but the "living in Christ" remain on earth for a period of time after his return and see signs of his thief-like presence. The Scriptural teaching of the living saints being "caught up together" with the returned Lord will be considered in detail in a later chapter.

There are many proofs of Christ's presence, fourteen of which are here considered.

Israel Restored

Matthew 24:32, Mark 13:28 and Luke 21:29 all say when "the fig tree putteth forth leaves ye know that summer is nigh." Matthew and Mark follow this by saying, "so likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things know ye that it is near, even at the doors." Some claim that the word "it" in Matthew 24:33 and Mark 13:29 should be translated "he" and feel the verse means that when Israel (the fig tree) brings forth leaves, then not "it," but "he" (Christ) is near at hand. This plainly is not correct. The "it" refers back to the "summer" in the previous verse. When the fig tree shoots forth, then "summer is nigh." Summer is the kingdom time of favor on earth that follows the destruction of the present social order by Christ. Christ is already here when the fig tree returns to life. His presence brings about the restoration of Israel and the destruction of our present evil world to make room for his kingdom that will rule from the rivers to the ends of the earth.

Can we be certain that the "it" refers to the kingdom and not to Christ? It is wonderful how the Bible is its own interpreter. Again, the Bible interprets a key word by means of a parallel account.

In the Luke 21:29-31 account, verse 31 replaces the word "it" of Matthew and Mark with the phrase "kingdom of God." Compare Luke 21:29-31 with Matthew 24:32, 33 and Mark 13:28, 29.

And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; when they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is nigh at hand. So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. Luke 21: 29-31

Many Christians will agree that the fig tree, Israel restored, is the greatest sign of our Lord's prophecy. Actually, Israel's reappearance is a proof that Christ is present.

Jerusalem No Longer Trodden Down

Jerusalem, in this passage, has been generally interpreted two ways. One: "Jerusalem" is the literal city. Therefore, the maximum extension of fulfillment would be 1967 when the old city, Biblical Jerusalem, was captured and became a part of the modern Israeli State.

The other interpretation is that "Jerusalem" is symbolic of the Jewish people, and that the incipient fulfillment began when World War I resulted in the guarantee of a national homeland for the Jews.

Jerusalem, ceasing to be trodden down of the Gentiles, was given by Jesus as a sign of his parousia. Parousia means presence, not coming. Therefore, whichever application we place on "Jerusalem," Christ must now be present because Jerusalem is no longer trodden down by the Gentiles.

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