Ohio Independent Baptist, February 1968

PLEASE... Subscribe for a friend ... Do it now! Glimpses of Truth from the Greek New Testament {A Study on the word, "Parousia") by Dr. George Lawlor ord paruusia i a particularly im1portant e Te lament becau e it d ignates the f our rd Je u !hri t. 0£ all ,the ex- ur in ,the New Te tament criptures u d t de cribe •tihe econd coming, thti word parou ia i perhap the mo t significant and forceful. 1t i a note of pecial inter t that it i used of botlh a peot · of the Lord' return. It appears in I Thess. 4: 15 l den te 11:he rapture: '' the coming (parousian) of t he Lord ..." In II The . 2: 8, it describes the revelation of bri t in power and glory: "and shall de troy wirth the brightn of Hi coming (parousias) ." In both instances, the word refer ,to the visible, personal presence of our Lord Je u hiri t. Hence, it bears a pairiticuliar importance in the e day Wlhen the literal, personal return of the Lord of glory from heaven is being ridiculed and denied. Most Interesting Background The background of this word and i1ts use in secular reek contemporary with ~ts New Testament us,age are extraordinarily interesting. ~he word had the geneml en e of "presence," or the "arrival in per on" of some– one. Hence, one would use 1t to descri!be the "presence" of his relatives at a family gathering, or nhe "personal arrival" of a friend to _keep an appoi,ntment, or even the "pre ence" of trials or misfor,tunes at a given time in one's e:,c;perience. A city official sent a mes age to a friend in which he s•aid: "The repair o.f wihat has been wept aw.ay by the river requires my presence (parousia) ." A man wrote to his brothers who were expected to at– tend a special gathering and said: "We await your pres– ence" (arrival: parousia) . There i another letter in which a woman declares that her husband "sware in the presence ( parousia) of ,the bishops ,and his own brothers" that he would perform a cerlf:ain duty. The Apostle Paul uses the word with this common mearuing in several pas- ages. In I Cor. 16:17, he speaks otf the "coming" ( parousia) o.f Stephanas and others ; while in II Cor. 7: 6, he is comforted by the "corning" (parousia) of Titus. In II Cor. 10: 10, he refers to his ow,n appearance, and speaks of certain who taunt him, saying that however impressive hi letters may be, his "bodiily presence (par– ousia) is weak." Furtiher, in Phil. 2: 12, he Uflges the Philippians to be as obedient in his absence from them as they were duriing h~s "presence' (parousia) wi,th them. Of particular signifiicance, however, is the use and t!he force of ,this word .in the papyri and helleruistic Greek to describe the arrival, or the visiit of a king, emperor, or some other per on of high autihor,i,ty. ,in a town or prov– ince. For such a personal vi it, prepanations mu ,t be made. A special tax w_as imposed in some dnstances, in order that upon the king's a rrival (parousias) he should be pre ented with a golden crown. A cert,aiin Appenneus writes that he has prepared for the "visiit ( parousian) of Chrysi ppus" by laying in a number oif birds for his con umption. Another record peaks of the "visit" (par– ousias) of King P,tolemy Philometor and Queen Cleo– patra to Memphi , and still another specifically makes FEBRUARY, 1968 PAGE 14 mentiion f ··the 80 artabae of whe,ut which mu t b1 collected for King P.tol·emy's visit" (parousian). A paipy,ru of 6 A.D. how that Chris,tians were aware of the teoh nical meaning of the word , for it con,t,ains ,a petition b. certa,in Chri tian in behalf of the "arriv;a,l" (parousia of an au.thoritaitive official. A bill found among th1 Tibtuni papyri , dated near the end of the 2nd. cerrtur: B. . mentions the "arrival (parousia) o.f the King; while an ostraca piece of t he same date rnckons up th expenses o.f ithe "vi it (parousia) of the Queen." New coin were truck to commemoralt:e the "vis·iit' (parousia) of the king. _This wa done a.fter tihe vis,it of Hadrian into many places in hi s empire; and wher Nero Caes,ar vi ited Corinth, coins were made to corn memorate his "advent." The word was also used t< deno,te the "invasjon" (parousia) of an area by a genera and hi army, as in the case of tihe "invasion" (parousia of Asia by Mithradates. The "v,isit" of a scion of th< Royal House, Gaius Caesar, a grandson of Augustus, tc the Province of Cos in 4 A.D., was dated t!he beginnini of a new em; and in Greece a new era was s• a.id 1:o ham begun wi,th the first ''\nisit" (parousia) of Hadrian to tha region, in 124 A.D. , and great monuments were erecte< in Athens as a commemoration of tha.t no1laible event. Designates His Second Coming Such is this ignifioant word which ,is used ,in ,the Ne1,,1 Testament Scriptures .to des,ignate tihe second coming o Christ. It is found in Ma.tt. 24:3, where the apostles asl the Lord "and what sihall be the sign of thy coming?' ( parousias) . The word a'1 o occurs in verses 37 and 39 Thi can only refer to Hi second coming. We find i again in l Cor. 15:23 , where reference is made by Pau to the order of the resurrection: "a.literward they tha are Chri t's at His coming" (parousia). It js important that we note carefully ~hat tihe wore is used of the Lord's second coming, ,to m:ige us on tc the preparatuons that must be made for His arrival, fo1 thait great hour when we shall appear in His persona, presence: "And now, little children, a1bide in Him; that when He shall appear we shall have confidence, and !Ilo1 be ashamed before Him art: His coming" (parousia) (I Jn 2.28). We should observe closely its use as a reason fo1 S'l:anding firm and 1:rue under pressure and trial and no1 hastening 1:o strike back and retaliate in like manner: "Be pat ient therefore, brethren , unto ,the coming (par– ousia) of the Lord ." (Jas. 5:7) . The day is fast ap,proach– ing when the Lord Himself will right all wrongs. We should also no.Luce with care ,that it ,is used as the greatesl of all events, the wonderful hope of ,tJhe future, for which we mu st pray, which we must desire and long for, and whicih we must be eX!peoting momentarily, "Looking f01 and hasting unto the coming (parousiar) of the day of God" (II Pet. 3: 12). Irrespective of current theological, eschatologioal trend which find no room for the literal personal return uf Chri t , we look for His arrival ,in person, and His p<'rsonal presence ( parousia) in the earth. THE OHIO INDEPENDENT BAPTIST