The Day of Christ

(Note: The Restrainer should be read before moving on to the below study. The Restrainer lays the foundation for the below.)

Some may try to equate the phrase ‘the day of Christ’ with the Old Testament’s, Day of the Lord. It is possible that they are the same, but I think in the context of Paul’s writing to the Thessalonians, the Day of Christ points to a specific aspect of the Day of the Lord.

First of all, we must take the context of the verses in our passage. It would seem that the Day of Christ involves ‘the coming of the Lord Jesus and our gathering together unto him’. The Day of the LORD encompasses a much broader scope than just these two related events.

The Coming of the Lord Jesus

The coming Paul refers to here is the ‘Parousia’ (parousiva) of the Lord Jesus. This refers to His coming, with special emphasis on the physical presence of the Lord. His coming again will be in the full glory of the reality of His real bodily presence among His people and on the earth. This physical coming of Jesus is connected with His gathering His people to Himself.

The term Parousia needs to be defined so that we have a real understanding of what is implied by Paul’s use of the word. If you are familiar with Strong’s Concordance, parousia is number 3952. The HELPS Word-studies gives us the following.

3952 parousía (from parōn, "be present, arrive to enter into a situation") – properly, coming, especially the arrival of the owner who alone can deal with a situation (cf. LS).
3952 (parousía) is a "technical term with reference to the visit of a king or some other official, 'a royal visit' " (Souter) – "hence, in the NT, specifically of the Advent or Parousia of Christ" (A-S).
[3952 (parousía) is "used in the east as a technical expression for the royal visit of a king, or emperor. The word means literally 'the being beside,' thus, 'the personal presence' " (K. Wuest, 3, Bypaths, 33).]

As we can see, the term Parousia is not just a coming, but technically, it points to the actual physical presence of a King or Monarch. It also implies that the coming is for a purpose. This King is not just passing through on his way to another place, but has come to do business. Parousia is the idea that the Owner-King has personally come to take matters into His own hands and deal with a situation.

Parousia In The New Testament

In order to gain an even clearer picture of the use and meaning of this word, parousia, it is very helpful to see how it is used in the whole of the New Covenant writings.

Below are the instances where it is used, and we can see that it is used to describe the coming and the physical, bodily presence of someone. Where the word Parousia is used in the verse, it is noted in italic and underlined.

Read More . . .

Matthew 24:27 For as the lightning flashes from the east, and is seen even to the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
Matthew 24:37 As the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
Matthew 24:39 and they didn't know until the flood came, and took them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
1 Corinthians 15:23 But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then those who are Christ's, at his coming.
1 Corinthians 16:17 I rejoice at the coming of Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus; for that which was lacking on your part, they supplied.
2 Corinthians 7:6 Nevertheless, he who comforts the lowly, God, comforted us by the coming of Titus;
2 Corinthians 7:7 and not by his coming only, but also by the comfort with which he was comforted in you, while he told us of your longing, your mourning, and your zeal for me; so that I rejoiced still more.
2 Corinthians 10:10 For, "His letters," they say, "are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech is despised."
Philippians 2:12 So then, my beloved, even as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
1 Thessalonians 2:19 For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Isn't it even you, before our Lord Jesus at his coming?
1 Thessalonians 3:13 to the end he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.
1 Thessalonians 5:23 May the God of peace himself sanctify you completely. May your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Thessalonians 2:9 even he whose coming is according to the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
James 5:8 You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
1 John 2:28 Now, little children, remain in him, that when he appears, we may have boldness, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.

If we look at the verses that are not addressing the coming of the Lord, we get a real picture of what parousia tells us. In the following verses, we see that it is used to describe the physical presence of someone.

Hence, these verses note the coming and the physical, bodily presence of someone, who is present to address a need or concern.
So the Parousia of the Lord Jesus is the bodily, physical presence of Jesus Himself, on earth, to deal with the rebellion of man against God and to set things right on the earth. It is a coming to bring judgement and restoration.

Close . . .

The Parousia, Then . . .

The first action taken by the Lord Jesus when He physically returns, is the gathering together of all His people. Paul puts these two events in a specific order, the Parousia of the Lord Jesus Christ, then our gathering together unto Him. Paul states the same pattern in his first letter to the Thessalonians, when he says,

1 Thess 4:14-17
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain (the remnant) unto the coming (parousia) of the Lord shall not prevent (go ahead of) them which are asleep.
16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven 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 which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet (with the idea of greeting) the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

In the above verses, the main point that Paul is making, is that those who have died in the Lord, will come with Him at the Parousia and shall be raised physically and immortal from the dead first. Then, those who remain (lit. 'the remnant'), will then be changed and caught-up with them, to meet the Lord in the air (lit. "lower atmosphere").

Here we have the Parousia of the Lord Jesus, the dead in Christ are raised incorruptible first, then the remnant will be changed.

There is another passage of Paul that is key to understanding this event. In I Corinthians 15, the resurrection chapter, Paul reveals the manner of our change from mortality to immortality, from a state of corruption to a state of incorruption. This change of state happens in “a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.” Here is the full passage that Paul states this truth.

1 Corinthians 15:51-54
51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
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.
53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

In I Corinthians 15:51-54, Paul deals with our state of change from corruption to incorruption, then in I Thessalonians 4:14-17, he deals with the manner of our catching-up.

Jesus Himself said . . .

Matt 24:29-31
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:
30 And then shall appear the sign (wonder) 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 from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

In the above passage spoken by Jesus, He states that after the tribulation of those days, shall appear the wonder, or miracle of the Son of Man in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth shall mourn. Who are the tribes of the earth and why do they mourn? This is a reference to Zechariah 12:10.

Zech 12:10
10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.

Notice in the sequence of events, the Son of Man, Jesus the Messiah, comes so that He is visibly seen by all the inhabitants of the earth, then He sends His angels with a great blast of the shofar (I Thess. 4:16; I Cor. 15:52; Matt. 24:31), to gather His People from the four winds, which is a reference to the entire earth.

Close . . .

The Parousia First, Then The Gathering Together

When we look at the relationship of the gathering together of the saints with the Parousia, we will see that the Parousia occurs first, then the gathering together happens next.

1 Thess 4:15-17
15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming (parousia) of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven 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 which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

This passage is the most quoted when it comes to speaking of what has been called ‘The Rapture’. But many have failed to notice the sequence of the events.
1. The Parousia of the Lord occurs.
2. The Lord descends from heaven with a shout (lit. “a word of command, a call, an arousing outcry”), with the voice of the archangel and the Trump of God.
3. The dead in Christ rises first.
4. The living remnant is changed (I Cor. 15:52) and then both the resurrected and the changed living are caught-up together, to meet the Lord in the air.

Matt 24:29-31
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:
30 And then shall appear the sign (wonder) 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 from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

1. After the Tribulation . . .
2. The Sign or Wonder of the Son of Man appears (the Parousia).
3. He is recognized by the tribes of the earth for who He is.
4. With the sound of the shofar, the angels gather together His elect saints from the four winds (the whole earth), from one end of heaven to the other.

1 Cor 15:22-23
22 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 firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's, at his coming.

Christ is referred to as the “firstfruits from the dead”. In verse 23, Paul notes that first Christ is raised from the dead, as the firstfruits, then at His coming (the Parousia), those that are His will be raised up from the dead.
If we compare this with I Thessalonians 4, where we are told that the dead in Christ with rise first, then this verse in I Corinthians 15 points to the same time, the Parousia of the Lord Jesus.

I Thessalonians 2:19
19. For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?

Paul is encouraging the Thessalonian believers that they are his hope, his joy and crown of rejoicing in the presence of the Lord Jesus at His Parousia. In the next chapter of the same letter, Paul continues this thought, saying,

1 Thess 3:12-13
12 And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you:
13 To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.

Where Paul states, “at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints”, the phrase ‘with all his saints’ points to the aspect of Jesus Christ being in the company or in the midst of His saints.
There is a timing element involved with the word ‘with’ (the Greek word, meta). The TDNT states this about the preposition, meta.

3326 metá (a preposition) – properly, with ("after with"), implying "change afterward" (i.e. what results after the activity). As an active "with," 3326 (metá) looks towards the after-effect (change, result) which is only defined by the context.

Strong’s states this,
“A primary preposition (often used adverbially); properly, denoting accompaniment; "amid" (local or causal);”

The Greek preposition meta ‘looks toward the after-effect’, i.e., it points to the ‘results after the activity’. What is the activity? Obviously it is the Parousia of the Lord. So the after-effect of the Parousia is the saints being with the Lord.
The Parousia of the Lord happens first, then comes the gathering together of the saints. The “after-effect” of the Parousia is the Lord Jesus being with His saints.

Summary

According to Paul in 2 Thessalonians, chapter 2, there are two events that must occur before the Parousia of the Lord and our gathering together unto Him, i.e. The Day of Christ. These two events are the falling away and the revealing of the man of sin.

The fact that these two events must precede the Day of Christ means that they are holding back or restraining this blessed coming of the Lord. Paul indicates that the “mystery of lawlessness is already at work”, i.e., the falling away or the apostasy was already in operation. This leaves only the revealing of the man of sin, the anti-christ, to occur.

How will the man of sin reveal himself? He will “appear out of the midst” and be known and recognized when he “sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is god.” This means when a man sets himself up in the Temple of God, in Jerusalem, and proclaims himself as god, or of divine status and is to be worshipped, then the man of sin will be recognized by true Christians, for who he really is.

We are told in the book of Revelation, that this will be the case. Revelation, chapter 13 states,

4 And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast (cf. 2 Thess. 2:9): and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?
5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.
6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.
7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

John is in perfect step with Daniel’s prophecy. John states that,

The whole world will worship the dragon and the beast. The dragon is Satan (Rev. 12:9), who gives his power to the Beast, the anti-christ.
He spoke great things against the Most High, i.e., he blasphemed God.
Power was given him to continue 42 months, i.e., 3 ½ years.
It was given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them, or as Daniel says, “to wear out the saints” (does this point to Paul's use of 'those who remain' or 'the remnant' in 2 Thessalonians 2?).
All who dwell on the earth, whose name is not written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, shall be deceived and worship the Dragon and the Beast. This is the great delusion spoken of by Paul in 2 Thess., chapter 2.

In order for this scenario to be fulfilled, there first must be a temple in Jerusalem for him to sit in. When we see Israel erect the end of days temple in Jerusalem, then we can begin to watch for the unveiling of this man of sin, the anti-christ, the beast, who will demand to be worshipped by the whole world.

Make no mistake about it, the true followers of Jesus will see this man and will know him for who he is, the agent of Satan.

If one were to look at what Paul says in I Thess. 4:15, he refers to those who are “alive and remain” unto the coming of the Lord. The word ‘remain’ is very interesting. It literally means, remnant. Paul is saying that those who are the living remnant at the Parousia of the Lord, will be changed (I Cor. 15:52). The idea of remnant means “the part of something that is left when the other parts are gone.” So we are told that only a remnant of Christians will be alive at the Parousia of the Lord.

At the end of this 3 ½ years, the Parousia of the Lord Jesus will occur. Jesus will come and “send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds.” This seems to indicate that the Coming of the Lord, His Parousia, will occur after the 3 ½ years of the man of sin. After the man of sin has wore out the saints. Jesus said, "After the tribulation of those days,". If the gathering together of the saints, i.e., the rapture, happens at the Parousia of the Lord, then this places this gathering together after the 'tribulation'. This seems to exclude the idea of a pre-trib rapture.

When the Lord is “with His saints”, then “the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.”

Notice that Jesus comes “to be glorified in His saints”, which again points to the idea that at the time of the Parousia, He gathers together His people and is glorified in them. Notice also that He is to be “admired in all them that believe.” The term “admired” literally means ‘to be awestruck or astonished out of one’s senses’. When the saints are gathered unto the Lord, it will be a mind-blowing, jaw-dropping experience for them. They will finally see and experience the One In Whom they have believed in a way that they could never have imagined.

This is the destiny for all true believers in the Lord Jesus. The destiny for those “that know not God and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ” is not so glorious or desirable.

Larry Wishon
June, 2011