That great day of God Almighty – Part 4: Behold, I come quickly. 

The Parousia

In the book of Revelation, we read 6 times that the Lord will “come quickly”.

1. Rev 2:5 I will come unto thee quickly.
2. Rev 2:16 I will come unto thee quickly.
3. Rev 3:11 Behold, I come quickly.
4. Rev 22:7 Behold, I come quickly.
5. Rev 22:12 Behold, I come quickly.
6. Rev 22:20 Surely, I come quickly.
  
In Matthew chapter 24 the Lord Jesus describes that His coming will be “as lightning”.

Matt 24:27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
 
Because we know that a visible flash of lightning travels at the speed of light, we can deduct from reading Matthew 24:27 that the Lord’s coming will occur at the speed of light. The Greek word that was translated as the word “coming” Matt 24:27 is the Greek noun “Parousia” (Strong’s 3952).  The word “Parousia” is used 16 times in the New Testament when speaking of the return of Christ. In Corinthians 15:52, we are also given a time clue in regard to the Parousia; that it will occur “in the twinkling of an eye”. This time clue harmonizes with Matt 24:27 in regard to the Parousia occurring at the speed of light. We know that light travels at the speed of 186,000 miles per second, or 700 million miles in per hour. We also know that our planet Earth has a circumference of 24,901 miles, therefore, we can know that light can travel around the world 7.49 times in one second, and if you divide one second by 7.5 times you get .133 seconds. Therefore, we can say that if the Parousia were to start at one end of our planet, it could travel around the world in .133 seconds, which is about one tenth of a second.

Corinthians 15:52 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.

Both passages of Matt 24:27 and Corinth 15:52 describing the Parousia as occurring in a fraction of a second harmonizes with the 6 instances found in the book of Revelation telling us the Lord will “come quickly.”  With that said, the next question is, “Will the world experience some type of warning sign that the Parousia is about to occur?”  As I searched the Bible for an answer to this, I compiled a list of 4 scenarios regarding the Rapture and Last Day.
  
#1.  Luke 17:34-36 I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
  
#2. Matthew 24:38-39 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage , until the day that Noah entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

#3. Luke 17:28-30 Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.

#4. 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

In scenario #1 we see that two people are in bed, two people are working, and two people are in the field when the Rapture occurs, and no advance warning is indicated in that scenario. In scenarios 2 and 3 we see that the world is going on "business as usual" until the Last Day and no advance warning is indicated there. In scenario #4 we are told that Christ comes as "a thief in the night" when people are proclaiming "peace and safety", and no advanced warning is indicated there as well. When a thief comes to rob someone in the middle of the night, the plan is always that noone should be aware that the thief is coming to rob them, and the thief will come in as "quietly" as possible so as not to bring attention to himself. In other words, the thief is never going to give you an advanced warning that he is going to come to rob you. The scenario of the thief coming at night as well as the other 3 scenarios listed above do not mention any type of advanced warning signal prior to the Parousia. On the contrary, these scenarios give us a picture that everything will be continuing “business as usual” while the world is proclaiming "peace and safety" until Christ comes suddenly as a thief in the night. 2 Peter 3 also tells us that the coming of Christ as a thief in the night is also the day in which the heavens, or the cosmos, will be destroyed by fire.

2 Peter 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
   
Could this really be the truth? Could it be that we will not get an advanced warning signal and that the Parousia and the destruction of the cosmos (the passing away of the heavens) will occur suddenly in a split second? That would be truly merciful of God to do this in order to spare the suffering of billions of innocent lifeforms that exist in the world. Our planet Earth contains billions of human babies and children as well as trillions of innocent animal lifeforms that would be spared much agony if the Parousia were to occur suddenly, in a split second. But what about that age old belief that we will see the Lord coming in the clouds of glory? In Matthew 24:30 we read:
  
Matt 24:30 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.
   
Let’s take another careful look at the sequence of events found in Matthew chapter 24:
   
Verse 27 - For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

Verse 28 - For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
 
We can know for sure that the event described in verse 28 will occur immediately after the Parousia because this is also backed up by a passage found in Luke 17.

Luke 17:  34 I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. 35 Two women shall 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 left. 37 And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.
 
In Luke 17:37 the disciples ask the Lord Jesus where these people are being taken to and few people would argue that this passage is describing the Rapture of the true believers that will occur in the Parousia. We must not forget, that at the Parousia, not only will the true believers be Raptured, but the resurrection of the dead will also occur simultaneously. This is a doctrine that has been widely misunderstood by many Christians who teach about those being left behind. It is widely taught by many denominations that when the Rapture occurs, the unsaved will be left behind in their human existence, and it is also widely taught by Premillenniasts that the world will continue for another 1000 years after the Rapture occurs. However, the Lord Jesus has very clearly taught us in John 5 that there will be a resurrection of the dead on the Last Day, of both the saved and the unsaved, and that when it occurs it will produce 2 very different circumstances.

John 5: 25 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. 26 For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; 27 And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. 28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, 29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.
    
We also see this separation described in Matthew 13.

Matt 13: 47 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: 48 Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. 49 So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, 50 And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
   
You can see from reading Matt 13:50 that the unsaved that are severed from the just are cast into hell where they experience a conscious existence there. The Lord Jesus clearly tells us in verse 50 that there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth there. The wailing describes the audible cries that will be heard and the gnashing of teeth is an expression that describe the great anger that will be displayed by the unsaved there. I truly believe that all the doctrines that teach that the unsaved will not be cast into a place of torment and punishment are doctrines that have been created in order to spare us from the horrible truth and reality of hell and that it is coming for billions of people on Judgment Day.

The Bible clearly teaches that at the Parousia, everyone will be translated into their celestials bodies. In 1 Corinthians we read about celestial bodies.

1 Corinth 15: 39 All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds. 40 There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. 41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory. 42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: 43 It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: 44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
  
Then in Matthew verses 28 and 29 we read:

Verse 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, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken.

Verse 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.  

I believe that verses 29 and 30 are speaking of events that will occur after the Rapture and resurrection of the dead, and I will be discussing this topic in Part 5 of this study, but for now, since the Lord has taught us that His coming will be as lightning, I would like to end this study with some interesting facts (both scientific and Biblical) concerning lightning.
     
#1 - A bolt of lightning can reach temperatures of 54,000 degrees °F in a split second.
 
#2 - Because the temperature of our Sun is only 10,000 °F and the temperature of lightning 54,000 °F, that makes lightning 5.4 times hotter than the surface of the Sun.

#3 – Lightning rapidly heats the air in its immediate vicinity to about 36,000 °F, which is 3.6 times hotter than the surface of the sun.

#4 – A large lightning bolt (as long as 5 miles in length), can contain 1,000,000,000 Volts of electricity. This is enough electricity to power a 100 Watt light bulb for 2 months.
      
#5 - The average peak power output of a single lightning stroke is about one trillion watts — one terawatt (1012 W), and the stroke lasts for about 30 millionths of a second (or 30 microseconds).
   
#6 – Thunder and lightning are often used in Scripture to describe God’s wrath against rebellious people.

#7 - Lighning is use in Scripture to describe God. Matt 28:3 His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow.  Rev 4:5 And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.  Rev 11:19 And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.
     
The Bible states in 2 Thessalonians that the unsaved will be destroyed with the brightness of God’s coming.
       
2 Thess 2:8 And then shall the transgressor be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming.