The Parousia: Welcome Him!
For the best part of a thousand years, Christians have spoken of there being three comings of Christ: in the flesh at Bethlehem, in our hearts daily, and when He comes in glory at the end of this era. The season of Advent has long been celebrated as a time to ponder all three of these ‘comings,’ and to be alert to the signs that lead up to His return.
Jesus spoke so much about the Parousia because He wants it to be a living hope in our hearts. The actual phrase the Second Coming is not used in Scripture; instead the Greek text refers to parousia which then became widely known by the Latin word adventus.
Parousia speaks of a ‘coming alongside’ as when a royal king or governor comes into a province not as a constitutional monarch, waving politely from the balcony, but as an absolute monarch to rule.
The actual phrase ‘the Second Coming’ is not used in Scripture: the Greek refers instead to parousia, which most of us know from the Latin adventus: Advent – or Coming. Parousia speaks of a ‘coming alongside,’ as when a royal king or governor comes into a province: not as modern constitutional monarchs do, as they wave politely from the balconies of their palaces, but as an absolute monarch to rule and reign. It is an event the New Testament has much to say about, and it is good to make it a living hope in our hearts.
Linda's lovely song Welcome Him, which we have not featured before, is an Advent song that looks forward to the Parousia of Jesus.