The root meaning of parousia appears to be, being near at hand. If the term may be translated either coming or presence, the stress of meaning may be weighted toward presence in the sense He has arrived and now is with us, rather than He has made a trip from a far-distant place.

Also, the description of the parousia given in the twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew enables us to understand that the parousia of Christ will be open to the nations of the earth, will be preceded by tremendous signs, and will be accompanied by exceedingly great fanfare, as is suitable for the appearing of the King of all kings. This is true also of the description of the parousia given in the fourth and fifth chapters of the Book of I Thessalonians.

When we emphasize the presence and appearing dimensions of the term parousia we move in the direction of manifestation or revelation. This is an important direction to take because in so doing we are able to tie together other important passages that describe the Day of the Lord: Isaiah 34:4; Joel 2:30; II Thessalonians 2:8; Revelation 1:7; Revelation 6:14; and so forth.

The present-day "secret rapture" theory emphasizes the coming of the Lord from a far distant place in order to carry us back to that distant place. The "rapture" doctrine does not include an open transfiguration either of Christ or His saints. There is no manifestation of Christ's power and glory, at least not as far as the world is concerned. Therefore the so-called "secret rapture" is not a parousia, a presence.

The Apostle Paul uses the term parousia in I Thessalonians 4:15, tying the "rapture" passage to Matthew 24:27—"the coming (parousia ) of the Son of Man."

By every principle of biblical interpretation, Matthew 24:27 is far from being a "secret rapture." Also, the events in Matthew 24:27, and in the balance of the chapter where the term parousia appears two additional times, will occur "immediately after the great tribulation of those days," that is, immediately after the great tribulation period (Matthew 24:29).

In fact, the twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew is the answer to the question asked by the disciples: "What will be the sign of thy coming (parousia ), and of the end of the world?" (Matthew 24:3).

The parousia is the coming of the Lord in the sense of the emerging of the bodily presence of Christ from the invisible spirit realm and His appearing in majesty before the eyes of mankind. There will be no secret coming of the Lord except into the personalities of His disciples in the spiritual fulfillment of the Old Testament feast of Tabernacles (John 14:18-23).

The parousia is not as much the return of the Lord from a long journey as it is the making visible to the physical realm what has been active and influential in the earth throughout the two thousand years of the Christian Era.

To be continued.