Coming
Coming [1]
( παρουσία, being present) OF CHRIST, a phrase employed,
(1.) literally, in reference to our Lord's first appearance in the flesh ( 1 John 5:20; 2 John 1:7), or to his future appearance at the last day to fulfill his promises to raise the dead and judge the world in righteousness ( Acts 1:11; Acts 3:20-21; 1 Thessalonians 4:15; 2 Timothy 4:1; Hebrews 9:28).
(2.) Metaphorically, Christ is said to come when his Gospel is introduced or preached in any place by his ministers ( John 15:22; Ephesians 2:17); when his church or kingdom is visibly or powerfully established in the world ( Matthew 16:28); when he bestows upon believers the influence of his spirit, and the peculiar tokens of his love ( John 14:18; John 14:23; John 14:28); when he executes his judgment on wicked communities who reject or corrupt his Gospel ( 2 Thessalonians 2:8); and when his providence calls us away from the world by death, as preparatory to the judgment of the last day ( Matthew 24:42). The basis of this metaphorical usage in regard to the coming of Christ is the same as in relation to the coming of God; that as he governs the world, every specific act of his providence and authority indicates his presence in a more striking manner to human conception, on the principle that no agent can act where he is not. See ESCHATOLOGY.
