In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

39 2 Parousia: The Future Coming of the Lord Jesus in Glory The return of Christ will be neither a terrifying act of power, nor a compensation for a long, drawn-out frustration, but the fulfillment of a gift guaranteed from the beginning and already secretly present. —B.Sesboüé1 The universe will end in a whisper. —T.S.Eliot The future coming of Jesus Christ in glory is generally called the Parousia (a Greek term derived from the verb pareimi, “to be present”).2 The term Parousia is to be found in many books of the New Testament that refer explicitly to the future coming of Christ at the end of time.3 In Greek and Roman literature Parousia often refers to the solemn entrance of a king or emperor into a province or city, as a conqueror proclaiming victory, or as a quasi-divine savior-figure inaugurating a new age.4 The term epiphaneia, used for example in Matthew’s Gospel to designate the manifestation of the newborn Jesus to the Kings (2:1–12), has a similar meaning. The Greek term apokalypsis, usually translated as “revelation,” is similar, besides being the title given to the last book of the New Testament. However, Parousia, as it is used in Scripture and Christian theology, evokes something more definitive, public, universal, victorious, and incontrovertible than the other terms mentioned. Some authors have suggested that to translate Parousia as “return of Christ” is not quite correct,5 in the sense that the risen Christ has 1. B.Sesboüé, “Le retour du Christ dans l’économie de la foi chrétienne,” in Le retour du Christ, ed. C.Perrot (Bruxelles: Facultés universitaires Saint-Louis, 1983), 121–66, here 149. 2. On the New Testament doctrine of the Parousia, see the studies of A.Feuillet, “Le sens du mot Parousie dans l’évangile de Matthieu. Comparaison entre Matth. xxiv et Jac. v, i–xi,” in Background of the New Testament and Its Eschatology, ed. D.Daube and W.D.Davies (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1956), 261–80; “Parousie,” in Dictionnaire de la Bible, Supplément 6 (1960): 1331–419; A.Oepke, “παρουσία,” in TWNT 5, 856–69. 3. See Mt 24:3,27,37,39; Acts 7:52; 13:24; 1 Cor 15:23; 1 Thes 2:19; 3:13; 4:15; 5:23; 2 Thes 2:1,8,9; Jas 3:7,8; 2Pt1:16;3:4,12.PaulalsousesthetermtospeakofthecomingofTitus(2 Cor7:6–7)andhimself(Phil 1:26). 4. See A.Oepke, “παρουσία,” 858. 5. Thus W.Kasper, “Hope in the Final Coming of Jesus Christ in Glory,” Communio (English ed.) 12 40 The Object of Christian Hope never strictly speaking “left” the world he redeemed, with a view to “returning ” to it later on, for he remains fully present, though hidden, in his Body, the Church. With the Parousia, or “second coming,” however, the presence and action of Christ will no longer be discrete, hidden, patient, and silent, as it was for the first coming, when the Word became incarnate and lived among humans, and as it is some degree in respect of his actual presence in and through the Church. When Christ comes in glory, his presence will become decisive, public, and definitive for humanity as a whole. Before attempting to understand what the glorious, definitive coming of Jesus Christ at the end of time involves, we wish to note that this central affirmation of Christian faith and hope—that Christ will return in glory to judge the living and the dead—has itself been called into question, especially in recent centuries . And this in spite of the critical role it plays in theology, liturgy, ethics, and spirituality. Will the Parousia Ever Take Place? Hope in the Parousia as a certain, albeit future, event has been contested in recent times in four areas: cultural anthropology, philosophy, science, and biblical exegesis. Let us examine them one by one. The Anthropological Issue: Fear of the Parousia For many centuries Christians have associated the return of the Lord Jesus at the end of time with fear rather than with joy, with anguish rather than with hope. And understandably so. For many believers the notion of the resurrection of the body6 is considered at best uninspiring, at worst as a return to the prison of the body.7 It may even be perceived as the very opposite of salvation, at least for the more Platonically minded. The destruction and renewal of the cosmos, accompanied with spectacular...

Share