Beginning note: For the verses presented I’ve included them in the King James version for my “King James only” brothers. Personally, I tend to gravitate to the ESV first but read KJV as well. No translation is perfect, but, really, any “word for word” translation is a good starting place.
First thing to establish in analysis of these verses is the audience. Paul is writing to the non-Jewish “Gentile” church at Thessalonica for the entire letter. Even though this letter is addressed to a certain group of believers, yet, I believe it is intended for all believers.
1 Cor 15:22-23 (KJV): “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But every man in his own order; Christ the first fruits; Afterward they that are Christ’s at his παρουσία (parousia). 24 Then cometh the end when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he hath put down all rule and authority and power”
Discussion: Did you read that we are made alive at the parousia! That’s the resurrection of ALL believers. (except Enoch and Elijah) Also then come the end! Closely following we have more detail in 1 Cor 15:52. (1 Thes 4:17 will tell us the order.)
1 Cor 15:52 (KJV): “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”
Discussion: Did Paul say “last trumpet”? – should we take him literally? Given his pattern I think we should look at it literally first. . That means no more trumpets. But hey, are not there trumpets in Revelation 8 and 9? And furthermore, it is not silent. Doesn’t sound secret. Incorruptible glorified bodies? Awsome!
1 Thes 2:19 – Not much related to timing or procedure here.
1 Thes 3:13 – (KJV) “To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in the holiness before God, even our Father, at the parousia of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.”
Discussion: He is coming WITH HIS SAINTS. – Where else does he come with his saints?
What comes to my mind is Zechariah 14:4-5. If you have never read Zechariah 12, 13 and 14 it will really help you understand Revelation. Awesome section of scripture. I’ll include the pertinent part to the current discussion here.
Zech 14:4-5 here: (KJV)
“And his feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. 5 And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquaked in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come and all his saints with thee.”
Next scripture:
1 Thes 4:15 – (I’ll add 14, 16 and 17 for context and clarity) – (KJV) “For this we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 15 For the we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the parousia of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 16 For the Lord himself shall descend with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up (harpazo) together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. “
Discussion: I don’t think anyone would deny that this is the “rapture” (harpazo) verse and section but we also see it coupled to the parousia with resurrection and also with the gathering of saints. Remember 1 Cor. 15:23. We saw resurrection happening at the parousia in that verse as well. Again, there is a trumpet and now add shouting too!
Ok, now to the next parousia verse.
1 Thes 5:23 – … and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming (parousia) of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Not much to add here. Now on to another verse and this time from list two.
1 Cor 1:7-8 (KJV) “So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the apokalypsin of our Lord Jesus Christ. 8 Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Discussion: We will certainly need confirming even more as the days progressively get more difficult to the end. Let see what the next one on the list two shows us.
2 Thes 1:7-10 (KJV) “And to you who are troubled with the rest of us, when the Lord Jesus shall be apokalypsei from heaven with his mighty angels, 8 in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and who obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence (prosopon) of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; 10 When he shall come (erchomai) glorified with his saints and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.”
Discussion: The church is troubled when Jesus and his angels start hurling fire on His enemies. Now we see he brings his mighty angels with him. We will see that again in the synoptics coming up. Lets move onto Peter’s Epistle for the next verse.
1 Peter 1:7 (KJV) “That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory unto the apokalypsei of Jesus Christ.”
Discussion: While your finger is on that verse I encourage you read the whole section from verse 3 to 9 which is usually entitled “A living hope”. We hope in Him. The one who keeps his promises! Further in 1 Peter we find the next verse.
1 Peter 4:12-13 (KJV) “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you as if some strange as though some strange thing happened unto you: 13 But, rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings, that when his glory shall be apokalypsei, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.”
Sounds like we will be suffering until he is revealed.
Now switching back to parousia the next verse Paul lays out considerable detail on the timing of events.
2 Thes 2:1-5 (KJV) “Now we beseech you, brethren, by the parousia of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathering together unto him, that ye not to be quickly shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by a spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us as that the day of Christ is at hand. 3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away (apostasia) first, and that man of sin (anomia) be revealed, the son of perdition. (apolia) 4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you the things?”
I know Paul is really getting going and you want to continue but what he has given us is a complete thought that he adds to later. So let’s unpack it. First he gives the “what” and that’s what we’ve been studying thus far, the parousia, where we are gathered to him (or snatched- “harpazo’ed” if you prefer) from 1 Thes 4:15-17 where we see them go together (not 7 years apart)
Now, he tags on other terms to this event which are “day of the Lord” and “that day”. The “day of the Lord” is not some other event he references. The “day of the Lord” is what he is talking about right now and he is putting the gathering and the parousia together under that heading. (Luke refers to it as “His day” in Luke 17.) Next he tells that this day will not come until two things happen first, namely, the falling away (apostasy) and the revealing of the “man of sin” (lawless one).
John refers to this “man of sin” as “antichrist” in the first of his epistles which is the name that is generally assumed.
Paul also goes on to say that he will sit in the temple of God. Many point to the fact that, as Paul points out in Corinthians, believers are the temple of the Holy Spirit, that is true but remember Jesus himself points out in Matthew 24 that the abomination of desolation will “stand” in the holy place in the lead up to his parousia.
Matt 24:15.16 (KJV) “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand) 16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:”
Jesus is referring back to Daniel 11:31 that prophesied of a physical happening that occurred during the Greek occupation of Jerusalem in 160 BC. Given that it happened once physically, and that Jesus acknowledged that it would happen again, why should we not assume it will happen physically again? We know that the temple will be an apostate temple (because believers are the real temple) and Paul says there will be apostasy and strong delusion. It seems to fit to me. Given also that there is no Jewish temple yet for the “man of sin” to sit in , I think the concept of immanency of his return now is out of the question. Well, for now at least.
Now that I’m done with the rabbit trail, let’s review the order.
Revealing and Apostasy precede Parousia and Gathering.
Now let’s add in verse 6.
2 Thes 2:6 (KJV) “And now you know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let until he is taken out of the way.”
Discussion: So, from AD 51 (Paul’s letter) to now (2025+) we have been in a period where we have not seen of the “man of sin”. Right?
Let’s review and put the timing together:
1 – Restraining of “man of sin” (before) 2 Thes 2:6
2 – removal of restaining and thus the revealing of “man of sin“ and apostasy 2 Thes 2:3 (before)
3 – parousia and gathering of “Ones that are Christ’s ” 2 Thes 2:1 also 1 Cor 15:23 (remember – church at Thessalonica is the audience of this letter) 2 Thes 1:1
Don’t misunderstand what Paul is saying by presenting the events in reverse order with “A and B” not happening until “C and D” not happening until “E”. Don’t leave A and B dangling out there unanswered.
A-parousia & B-gathering – not until
C – apostasy & D – revealing – not until
E – The restraint of “man of sin” released
Now we will discuss who or what the “restrainer” is. We see from the grammar it is a “he” and a “what”. Many will say it is the Church and the Holy Spirit that are taken out of the way but that conjecture forgets or ignores that Paul already addresses what happens to the church in verse one. Saying the restrainer is the church essentially makes Paul say Jesus removes the church, reveals the “man of sin” and removes the church again. Impossible! Also, let us consider the work of the Holy Spirit, can anyone be saved after his removal if he is removed? Remember, Paul also says in 1 Cor 12:3 “… no man can say that Jesus is the Lord but by the Holy Ghost.” Consider also the Greek word used in the text it is mesou which is often translated as middle or between. The Spirit doesn’t need to totally leave. He can just step aside out of the middle and let the “man of sin” do his thing.
If you want an in-depth analysis of the restrainer I direct you to a teaching of you-tube by Michael Heiser. He is incredible in his analysis. To boil it down he demonstrates it is God the Father who does the restraining. Waiting for the appropriate time to let the “man of sin” do his desires. Remember it is the Lord who lets Satan afflict Job for a time. (Job 1)
We have one more usage of the word parousia in second Thessalonians which is the very next verse in our passage.
2 Thes 2:8-11 And then shall that Wicked (anomia) be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his parousia. 9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders. 10 and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish, because they received not the love of the truth, that they may be saved. 11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie. “
Discussion: Think about it. The Lord can’t slay him if the has not been revealed before the parousia happens. So Satan is toast at the parousia. Awesome!
Now to the next of our focus verses. These few are from the synoptic gospels.
Matt 24:2-3 (KJV): “And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? Verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of thy parousia, and of the end of the word?
Discussion: Okay, now I’m pulling from Matthew and as one of my dispensationalist sisters said, “Matthew is written to just the Jews, We need to go to Luke because it is written to the Gentiles”. For one, I’m including some pertinent Luke references because it is generally taught that his book is written to the “Gentile Church” And secondly, all of the disciples are already part of the ” Church” so Matthew’s account really does apply – I will explain to you why I say this in section 5.
Reading after this point in Matthew, he shares the signs or events that Jesus informs them of which are quite perilous including the Abomination of Desolation in 24:15 which corresponds to 2 Thes 2:4 and Daniel 11:31 that I referenced earlier in this section. Finally, in verse 27 Matthew gets to parousia the disciples asked about.
Matt 24:27-31 (KJV): For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth unto the west so shall also the parousia of the Son of man be. 28 For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together. 29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven. 30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect (chosen) from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
(I’ll explain term “elect” further in section 5 of this study)
Matt 24:37 (KJV): “But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the parousia of the son of man be. 38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and given in marriage, until the day Noe entered into the ark. 39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away, so shall also the parousia of the Son of man be. 40 Then shall two be in the field, the one shall be taken, and the other left. 41 Two women grinding at the mill; the one taken, and the other left. 42 Watch therefore…”
Discussion: I’m going to delay discussion of this Matthew section until we read the next passage. Also I will delay reading and discussion of 2 Peter 3:4 until after the Luke passages.
Luke 17: 24-30 (KJV): “For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day. 25 But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation. 26 And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the son of man. 27 They did eat, they did drink, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. 28 Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot, they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; 29 But the same day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. 30 Even thus shall it be in the day the the Son of man is revealed.” (apokalyptetai) Now skipping to 35-37 “… 35 Two women will be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. 37 And they answered and said to unto him. Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.”
Discussion: I know these are sections of scripture carry a wide range of interpretation but please listen to my reasoning and conclusion. The first thing is, we see the exact same examples of Noah, women at the mill, men in the field as we see in Matthew. I can’t believe that these are different addresses with one to the Jew and the other to the Gentiles. We will see that some parts of the “Olivet discourse” in Matthew were put in Luke 17 but other parts of it ended up in Luke 21 as you will see in the next reading. Mark even includes parts of it.
Hypothetically, if Luke is written to the church (Gentiles) then I find it interesting that he stresses the destruction that happens on the very same day in some of the examples he includes. Luke also includes the disciples’ question of where are they taken and Jesus’s answer, although cryptic, points to death on the day. People are not going to be standing around dumbfounded that people just disappeared for no apparent reason, they are going to awestruck that hordes of people have just been slain by the “brightness of his coming” and turned into bird food! Speaking of being a feast for eagles, is not there a feast for fowls in Revelation 19:17 & 18?
Luke 21: 6-7 & 25-28 (KJV): “6 As for these things of which ye behold, the days will come, in the which there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. 7 And they asked him, saying, Master, but when shall these things be? And what sign will there be when these things shall come to pass? …. 25 And the shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of all nations, with perplexity; the sea and the wave roaring; 26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken and then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 and when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.”
Discussion: Jesus is coming with great power and great cosmic and terrestrial disturbances when he comes for the audience of Luke’s gospel account. Not in secret. In the very last verse, 28, Jesus says “lift up YOUR head for your (church – my insertion) redemption draweth nigh” that in King James speak means very soon (not past) – doesn’t sound like he is coming in secret.
Consider another aspect of Matthew 24 and Luke 2. In both accounts Jesus makes the very same statement about the temple being destroyed and his disciples asked the very same question. If this was a different sermon of Jesus’, why would they ask the same thing again since they already received the answer the first time they asked it? These are, of course, not different disciples.
Let’s not forget John Mark and his chapter 13. Here we also see the same question about the temple being destroyed and an answer given. A look at all the other events he includes that the first two accounts have already described.
Deception, False Chists, Nation against nation, persecutions, gospel preached to all nations, hated by all men, abomination of desolation, warning flee and not go back, false prophets showing signs wonders, celestial disturbances, Christ coming on the clouds, gathering His chosen, parable of a fig tree, exhortation to watch,,,
Even though Mark doesn’t include the second question of what is the sign of his coming, I believe we don’t need to “split the hair” of his not including it because, as you see, Jesus clearly answers that question even though it is not asked here.
I hope the texts and the intuitive logic that I have shared thus far are sufficient to convince you that Jesus comes only at the end of the perilous events in these chapters. As you study the whole chapters of Matthew 24, Mark 13 and major portions of Luke 17 and 21 you will see the many overlaps. Following is a list of the events presented in this teaching and the verse that contains it connected to parousia, apokalypso or erchomai
(Side note: Daniel 12 provides a description of this event with the essentials of trouble and also of the deliverance for the sleeping and the remaining believers. I’ll cover this in a later section.
| Event | Parousia | Apokalyptei | Erchomai,O.T. |
| gathering of alive saints | 1 Cor 15:23, 2 Thes 2:1, Matt 24: 31,40,41 | Luke 17:30&35 | Mark 13: 26&27 |
| Resurrection | 1 Cor15:22,23,52 1 Thes 4:16 | (Daniel 12:2) | |
| Visual appearance of Jesus | Matt 24:30 | Luke 17:24, 21 1 Peter 1:7 | Matt 13:26 |
| Bringing of passed saints with Him | 1 Thes 3:13,4:15 | (Zech 14:5) | |
| Bringing of angels | Matt 24:31 2 Thes 1:7 | Mark 13:27 | |
| Abomination of desolation | Matt 24:15 2 Thes 2:4 | Mark 13:14 | |
| Slaying of Antichrist | 2 Thes 2:8 | ||
| Slaying of the wicked | 1 Thes 5:3 2 Thes 1:8, 2:10 | Luke 17:27,28,37 | |
| Grinding at the mill interrupted | Matt 24:41 | Luke 17:35 | |
| The trumpet (last) | 1 Cor 15:53, 1 Thes 4:16, Matt 24:31 | ||
| A shout | 1 Thes 4:16 | ||
| Lightning like or celestial events | Matt 24:27 2 Thes 2:8 | Luke 17:34 Luke 21:25 | |
| Tribulation, Distress or Satan’s wrath | Matt 24:29 | Luke 21:23 | Mark 13:24 |
| Lying signs and wonders | 2 Thes 2:9 Matt 24:24 | Mark 13:22 | |
| Other deceptions | 1 Thes 5:3, Matt 24:4,11,24 | Luke 17:23, 21:8 | Mark 13:5,22 |
| Strong delusion (from God) | 2 Thes 2:11 | ||
| Exhortation to watch | 1 Thes 5:6 Matt 24:42 | Luke 21:36 | Mark 13:33-37 |
When you add it all up it is amazing all our Lord Jesus Christ can do with one visit. All the prophecies he culminates together at the next focal point of history. Wow!
For those who have studied the prophecies concerning Christ’s first coming in detail and traced how all the prophecies came together in one week it is mind blowing. But then again, we have an amazing God!
This next couple verses kind of ties things together and it comes from a letter you might not expect to relate to the parousia. We usually point it to refute reincarnation but I believe it relates here.
Heb 9:27-28 (KJV) ” And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgement: 28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shell he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.”
(It’s really pretty simple, two times, not three. Even a medical technician like me can understand it. If it still doesn’t make sense I suggest reading section #5)
Remember the grieving Martha when Jesus told her that her brother would rise she knew the right answer as recorded in John 11:24 stating (KJV) “…I know that he shall rise in the resurrection at the last day.”
When you get to the part of this study you will see in the book of Revelation that the transition point from the last (7th) trumpet to the vials is the perfect event to insert back into the parousia as defined by our focus verses. Satan’s man has been doing his thing up to that point and at that point we are given our glorified bodies before the wrath comes out on him and his armies.
I know the thought of us going through the tribulation (satan’s wrath – not God’s) can be overwhelming. With a little side step over to John’s Gospel, where Jesus when he shares his last meal with his disciples he makes some clear but comforting statements and also makes a prayer to the Father for not only his 12 disciples but for all of his followers to come throughout the end of the age.
John 16:33 (KJV) “These things I have spoken to you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
Also the prayer in John 17:15 (KJV) “I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. ”
I speak to God’s provision for his people and in those times and being an overcomer in section 12.
Nestled in with all the synoptic accounts of the Olivet discourse you may have noticed that Jesus tells a parable about a fig tree. Many acquainted with biblical prophecy will already understand why so I’ll just include that later in section 7.
Now, on to the last parousia used. This time by Peter.
2 Peter 3:3,4 (KJV): “3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, 4 And saying, where is the promise of his parousia? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.”
Discussion: You’ve made it this far. The author that had the idea of following the Greek word parousia through the scriptures is Michael Snyder. His book where he includes this with other arguments and teachings is called “The Rapture Verdict” I recently saw an interview with him in a you tube video and found it brilliant and wanted to share it to help as many people discover this truth in scripture.
Another point I found intriguing about his teaching has to do with this verse. He points out that non believers, as events become more perilous, who identify the pre-tribulation rapture teaching as something universally taught by Christians are going to fulfill this prophecy when they use the fact of our still being here as justification for there non-belief in Christs’ promises and an opportunity to scoff. To that end, there will even be professed Christians that scoff. I believe it’s part of the deception that Satan his been working on for a long time to lull us into false sense of security.
Yet, I still love my brothers and sisters who believe differently than I do even though they may scoff at my teaching as many of my friends are comfortable with what they’ve been taught by the Lahaye books or movies and/or teachers they admire. I hope they don’t lose faith when they see the Antichrist and curse their teachers as they see they been taught a fairy tale. Or take “the mark” figuring it can’t be the mark because they are still here. That is why I am writing this teaching to plead with them to consider my arguments. Even other Christians who have have not decided their own “rapture verdict” may find this teaching helpful as it seems straight forward to me. If I am wrong I’ll be delighted to see Jesus earlier than I expect. (…let God be true and every man a liar.)