Letters to the Church

Several Greek terms are used in the New Testament for the return of Jesus at the end of the present age. These include Parousia (“ arrival ”), erchomai (“ coming ”), and epiphaneia (“ appearance ”). Regardless of which one is used, in each case, it is always singular in number, referring to only one future “ coming .” The term Parousia is applied to his return most often in the letters of Paul, though not exclusively so. It denotes an “arrival” rather than the process of someone or something “coming.”

Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians was written in the months following his departure from the city. In his first epistle, he expressed his joy at the good news that the Assembly had remained faithful despite pressure and opposition from the local population. In the second, he declares how he now boasts of the perseverance of the Thessalonians in the faith through and despite multiple “ persecutions ” and “ tribulations .”

The Gospel proclaimed by Jesus is NOT about reforming society, fixing governments, or the surrounding immoral culture. HIS message calls all men and women to repent and join an entirely new and vastly different social order and political reality, namely, the Kingdom of God. Moreover, HIS message subverts the political ideologies of this present “ evil age .” Responding positively to his invitation is paramount considering the approaching end of the age when the existing world order will disappear from the Earth.

In his first epistle, John declares it is the Last Hour , a period elsewhere in the New Testament called the “ Last Days .” As evidence of this, he points to the presence of false teachers who are disrupting the congregations under his care. These deceivers are the products and instruments of the “ Spirit of Antichrist ” that is active already in the world, and these very same men are forerunners of the final “ Antichrist ” who is yet to come.