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,
If I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come again.
Dazed, these words made little impression on
his little band. But forty days later on Mt. Olivet,
huddled together in amazement with eyes turned
heavenward, straining to catch the last glimpse of
their ascending Lord, this promise came alive. “I
will come again.” Yes their beloved Master
would return. The Apostles wove that glorious
theme into the fabric of their ministry and their
very lives.
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 Biblebelieving 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 , L u k e 2 1 : 2 6 ) ; t r o u b l e e v e r ywh e r e
(Matt. 24:21,22).
But let us take a closer look at our Master’s
words and see what these signs really prove.
Page 2And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the
disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell
us, when shall these things be? and what shall
be the sign of thy coming [Greek, parousia],
and of the end of the world? Matthew 24:3
Coming or Presence
The Greek word translated “coming” is parousia.
It really means “presence.” If parousia means
“presence,” then the fulfillment of the signs of this
prophecy would mean that Christ is not coming
shortly, but he is already secretly here as a “thief in
the night.” Remember, the Scriptures show that
Christ’s initial return would be a thief-like, secret
presence (1 Thess. 5:2; 2 Pet. 3:10; Rev. 16:15) before “every eye shall see him.” The following dictionaries (standard works in fundamentalist and
evangelical bookstores) confirm this definition of
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
However, we are not confined to dictionary definitions. The Lord has provided a Scriptural definition for the Greek word parousia. Parousia appears
in Matthew 24:27 where it is mistranslated
“coming.” The following chart compares its parallel citation in Luke 17:26, providing the Bible’s
own definition for parousia.
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”
The Emphasized Bible translated by Rotherham is
published by Kregel, an evangelical publishing
house. Rotherham relates his struggle with the
word parousia in the third edition of his translation.
Although contrary to his theology, he acknowledged that parousia means “presence” and so translated it in every occurrence. He states on p. 271 in
the Appendix:
In this edition the word parousia is uniformly rendered ‘presence’ (‘coming,’ as a
representative of this word, being set aside).
The original term occurs twenty-four times in
the N.T., viz.: Matthew 24:3, 27, 37, 39; 1
Corinthians 15:23; 16:17; 2 Corinthians 7:6,
7; 10:10; Philippians 1:26; 2:12; 1 Thessalonians 2:19; 3:3; 4:15; 5:23; 2 Thessalonians
2:1, 8, 9; James 5:7, 8; 2 Peter 1:16; 3:4, 12
and 1 John 2:28. the sense of ‘presence’ is so
plainly shown by the contrast with
‘absence’ (implied in 2 Cor. 10:10, and exPage 3
Matthew 24:37 Luke 17:26
But as the days of
Noah were,
=
As it was in the
days of Noah,
so shall also the
parousia of the Son
of man be.
=
so shall it be in the
days of the Son of
man.pressed in Phil. 2:12) that the question naturally arises,—Why not always so render it?
The more so, inasmuch as there is in 2 Peter
1:16 also, a peculiar fitness in our English
word ‘presence.’ This passage, it will be remembered, relates to our Lord’s transformation upon the Mount. The wonderful manifestation there made was a display and sample of ‘presence’ rather than of ‘coming.’ The
Lord was already there; and, being there, he
was transformed (cp. Matt. 17;2,n.) and the
‘majesty’ of his glorified person was then
disclosed. His bodily ‘presence’ was one
which implied and exerted ‘power’; so that
‘power and presence’ go excellently well together—the ‘power’ befitting such a
‘presence’; and the three favoured disciples
were at one and the same moment witnesses
of both.
Harry Rimmer (D.D., Sc.D.), who was styled
“Fundamentalism’s outstanding spokesman” until his death, admitted that the word parousia
meant personal presence. In his book, The Coming King, he observed that the Greek word
parousia is used 13 times in describing the return
of Christ and not once does it have the thought of
“coming.”
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 fra gmented 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”
Historically there is not a single Protestant concept of the second advent that has an unbroken lineage back to the time of the Reformation. Since that
time, Bible-believing Christians have fluctuated
among a number of conflicting concepts.
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
Page 4danger 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”
Having observed that the word parousia means
presence and not coming, Matthew 24:3 properly
reads: “What shall be the sign of thy presence and
of the end of the world?”
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
Page 5
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 “E