Letters to the Church

The New Testament predicts several key events that will occur before the arrival of the Son of Man in glory . The New Testament predicts several events that will occur before Jesus returns. They will be the culmination of the period between Christ’s Ascension and his arrival, a period characterized by many deceptions, occasional persecution, and apostasy. Before this age ends, an especially destructive deceiver will appear in the Church, the final apostasy will take place, and Satan will launch his final attempt to destroy the Body of Christ.

Paul continued his discussion about Christ’s arrival by addressing what will occur on the Day of the Lord – 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3. The Apostle Paul discusses the “ arrival ” or ‘ Parousia ’ of Jesus and the Day of the Lord in chapters 4 and 5 of  1 Thessalonians . In Chapter 4, he declares that both dead and living Christians will be gathered to meet the Lord as he descends from Heaven. In Chapter 5, Paul links that and related events to “ the Day of the Lord ,” and he explains how that day will affect the godly and the ungodly.

Paul revealed a mystery to the Corinthians. Believers who remain alive when Jesus returns will be transformed and receive immortal bodies . Certain members of the Corinthian congregation were denying the future resurrection of believers. Paul responded by stressing the necessity for resurrection. He also appealed to Christ’s past Death and Resurrection as the precedent of our resurrection. We will be raised bodily when he “ arrives <…> at the last trumpet ,” and those saints still alive will be transformed.

Salvation includes the bodily resurrection of the saints and life in the New Creation, which will occur when Jesus arrives . Central to the doctrine of salvation is the promise of  redemption . God will not abandon what He first created, and both the term and the concept mean the  recovery of what was lost . The universe is enslaved by sin and condemned to decay and death. In God’s redemptive plans, the end state of redeemed things and persons is vastly superior to their original state, and this principle is epitomized in the promises of bodily Resurrection and New Creation.

The arrival of Jesus at the end of the age will mean our resurrection and the end of the Last Enemy, Death  - 1 Corinthians 15:24-28. Certain members of the Corinthian congregation were denying the future resurrection. Paul responded by stressing how necessary resurrection is, and he pointed to Christ’s past Death and Resurrection as the model and precedent for our future resurrection.  We will be raised bodily when Jesus “ arrives ,” and his appearance will mean the overthrow of death itself.

The arrival of Jesus will mean vindication and rest for the righteous, but everlasting loss for the wicked - 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10. The “ revelation ” of Jesus from heaven will result in the vindication and reward of the faithful but the loss and punishment of those who reject the Gospel, including men and women who abandon and betray the true faith. Christ’s return will result in “ just judgment ” for the righteous and the unrighteous.

The saints will be gathered and assembled before Jesus on the Last Day, while the wicked will be collected for judgment and cast from his presence . On the Last Day, both the righteous and the unrighteous will be assembled before Jesus, the former for vindication and salvation, and the latter for judgment and punishment. This time of judgment is linked to Christ’s “ arrival ” when he will resurrect the dead and terminate the “ Last Enemy, Death .”

Jesus will arrive and gather his people on the Day of the Lord, and in the New Testament, this event becomes the Day of Christ . In his second letter to the Thessalonians, Paul refutes claims that the “ Day of the Lord ” is imminent. That day will not arrive until the “ Apostasy ” and the “ revelation of the Man of Lawlessness, the Son of Destruction .” Jesus will destroy this Master Deceiver at his “ Arrival ” or ‘ Parousia ’, an event the Apostle links to this final great day.

In explaining the resurrection, Paul lists key events that will precede or coincide with the arrival of Jesus at the close of the present age . Paul outlined the events that will occur at or shortly before the “ arrival ” of Jesus in  1 Corinthians . The Greek noun ‘ Parousia ’ or “ arrival ” is one of several terms Paul applies to the future coming of the Lord in his letters. Regardless of which term is used, the Apostle always refers to one “ coming ,” one “ appearance ,” one “ revelation ” and one “ appearance ” of the Son of God, not two or more.

Rumors about the Day of the Lord caused alarm and confusion in the Thessalonian congregation – 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2. The Apostle Paul addresses false claims about “ the Day of the Lord ” in his second letter to the Thessalonians. Incorrect information concerning Christ’s return was disrupting the congregation. Paul attributes the disinformation either to a “ spirit ,” word (‘ logos ’), or a letter, “ as if from us ”; supposedly, from Paul and his coworkers.

In the New Testament, the return of Jesus at the “ end of the age ” is portrayed as a singular event of great finality. His “ arrival ” or ‘ Parousia ’ will be accompanied by celestial and terrestrial upheaval, the appearance of the New Creation, the resurrection of the righteous dead, the judgment and punishment of the ungodly, the “ gathering of his elect ,” and the cessation of Death itself. Decay and mortality will be replaced by immortality, and nothing will ever be the same again!

The arrival of Jesus will mean the resurrection of the dead, the commencement of the New Creation, and the final judgment . Several Greek terms are applied by the New Testament to the return of Jesus, including ‘ Parousia ’ (“arrival”), ‘ erchomai ’ (“coming”), ‘ apokalupsis ’ (“revelation”), and ‘ epiphaneia ’ (“appearance”). Regardless of which one is used, it is always singular in number, it always refers to only one future “arrival,” “appearance,” “revelation,” or “coming.”

Jesus will arrive on the Day of the Lord at which time the dead will be raised, the wicked judged, and death will cease . Paul discusses aspects of Christ’s future arrival in his letters to the Corinthians, including the “ Day of the Lord ,” the consummation of God’s Kingdom, the resurrection of the dead, the bodily transformation of saints still alive when Jesus comes, the judgment of the wicked, and the end of death itself .

Paul responded to concerns about the dead in Christ by pointing to the resurrection that will occur when Jesus arrives from Heaven .  In his first Letter to the Thessalonians, Paul reassured the congregation concerning the participation of saints who die before the ‘ Parousia ’ in the glories of that day. According to him, BOTH dead and living saints will assemble and “ meet ” the Lord as he descends from Heaven. Thereafter, they will be with Jesus “ forevermore .” He wrote these words in response to believers who were sorrowing over the deaths of fellow saints.

Paul concludes his first Letter to the Thessalonians with a series of exhortations calling on the disciples of Jesus to pursue righteous living in the interim between their conversion and his “ arrival ” from heaven. He ends by summoning the congregation to pursue complete sanctification, an exhortation with verbal links to the preceding sections of the Letter.

In  Second Thessalonians , Paul addresses rumors and claims that the “ Day of the Lord has set in ." False information about the “ arrival ” of Jesus was disrupting the Assembly, and this disinformation was being attributed either to a “ spirit ,” word (l ogos ), or a letter “ as if from ” the Apostle Paul and his coworkers.

Central to the hope of the Apostolic Faith is the bodily resurrection of the dead. This will occur when Jesus appears at the end of the age . The biblical faith is forward-looking. Foundational to the doctrine of salvation is the resurrection of the righteous dead. That event will also mark the arrival of the New Creation. The New Testament links the resurrection of the saints to two events. The past Resurrection of Jesus, and his arrival at the end of the age. Our salvation will remain incomplete until Christ raises us from the dead.

Jesus will return from Heaven at the “ end ” of the present age accompanied by great power and glory. His “ arrival ” or  Parousia  will result in the consummation of the Kingdom of God, the judgment of the ungodly, the resurrection and vindication of the righteous, the unveiling of the New Creation, and the termination of Death. Thus, the coming of the “ Son of Man on the Clouds ” will be an event of  GREAT FINALITY .

Jesus will deal with the “ Lawless One ” at his “ arrival ” or Parousia . In describing this, Paul employs language from Daniel’s vision of the “ little horn speaking great things ,” originally, an image representing the Seleucid ruler who attempted to destroy the Jewish faith and nation through deceit and persecution.

Paul does not provide detailed information about the times and seasons since the Lord will arrive like a thief in the night – 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3. Paul continues discussing the “ arrival ” or ‘ Parousia ’ of Jesus Christ in Chapter 5 of First Thessalonians , where he addresses the question of its timing and how it will affect the prepared and the unprepared. Rather than signs and timetables, the Apostle reminds his readers that “ the Day of the LORD ” will come like a “ thief in the night .”