The Parousia of Jesus

It all climaxed around 323-325 CE at the Council of Nice (Nicea). Up to this time, Christianitiy’s primary concern was survival and avoiding martyrdom. The (nominal?) conversion of Emperor Constantine changed the status quo.

Nicea was convened so that the leaders (the earliest Bishops) of the nascent church gathered to argue and debate the “nature” of Christ. Was Jesus a man, was he God, or was he a man who became God, or God who became a man? What or who exactly was Jesus? What did it mean that Jesus was both God and human simultaneously? One of the prime actors was a person known as Arius of Alexandria (256-336 CE). Arius taught that since God existed in time before Jesus was born, Jesus and God could never be consubstantial (of the same essence) as the Father. Rather, Arius believed that Jesus was “Begotten by the Father” and thus could not be equal with God, but “subordinate” to God and who not of the same substance as God. Jesus was God, but He was the “first-born” of all creation, of “similar” substance as God, yet uniquely different. The two Greek words were homoiousion and homoousion, with just one letter ‘I’ or iota between them. Another key passage was John 3:16 where Jesus is referred to as the “only-begotten” Son of God. The Greek term here is monegenes. It is often referred to as being something or someone that is asexually produced, but in theological terms it means it is something or someone that is uniquely born or created.

The debate had raged for years. Finally, the Council of Nicea hammered out a final statement of belief that today, we refer to as the Creed of Nicea.

We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten of the Father [the only-begotten; that is, of the essence of the Father, God of God,] Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father; By whom all things were made [both in heaven and on earth];

Who for us men, and for our salvation, came down and was incarnate and was made man; He suffered, and the third day he rose again, ascended into heaven; From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. And in the Holy Ghost.

But as for those who say, “There was when he was not and Before being born he was not and that He came into existence out of nothing or who assert that the Son of God is of a different hypostasis or substance to alteration and change these the Catholic and Apostolic church anathematizes.

Now for most people today in the various churches and denominations, a lot of the nuances and key words and concepts of the Nicene Creed are totally foreign. This is also true with many of the clergy. But, to trained experts in historical theology it is full of meaning.

It is in those final passages where it states that Jesus will return from heaven “From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.” These final passages therefore indicate that (and as will be discovered in this book), Christians have long before this believed, expected, hoped, and looked for Jesus to return. In fact, it will be seen that almost from the beginning of Christianity in the first century of the Common Era, the church has taught and looked for the anticipated second return or appearance (Parousia) of Jesus. This was an almost universally held belief and assumption.

Like those early Christian controversies, many theories have abounded over the last 2,000+- years. According to Luke 19:13, Jesus commanded His followers to “Do business with these until I come back.” While 2,000 years seems a long time, in comparison to the eternal ages, it is just a blink of an eye. In the last 100-150 years a few major denominations have their roots and origins in “Adventist” teachings and doctrines and many other people have come to accept very commonly held beliefs in peculiar doctrines and teaching about the “rapture” and events such as Christian fundamentalism and evangelical teachings regarding certain “dispensations” of biblical time. The Christian landscape continues to be full of land mines” and there seems to be a great deal of confusion regarding biblical models of interpretation.

A corresponding and parallel problem is the development of multiple variations of theological belief regarding biblical prophecy. Often, some of these theories have been presented to the general populations as fact, regardless of solid biblical, historical, linguistic or theological training on the part of the proponent. The record needs to be corrected. The author’s thesis is that humanity needs to begin earnest, prayerful, and sincere mental, physical and spiritual grounding for the sole greatest event since the resurrection of Jesus which is His Parousia (appearance). The time is quickly approaching, and Jesus may be “at the very door” and will soon appear in the heavens above to raise the righteous dead and to transform the living church or Ekklesia into His own glorious Imago Dei.