The Parousia

An In-Depth Study on the Second Coming of Christ

The Parousia

God’s Sovereign Prophetic Plan for Israel

―He makes the nations great, then destroys them; He

enlarges the nations, then leads them away. ‖

(Job 12:23)

SovereignOne who is in a position of authority to command others

―I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who testified the good confession before

Pontius Pilate, that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until

the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which He will bring about at the proper time—

He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, ‖

(1 Timothy 6:13–15)

1. Israel: the people and nation chosen by God to deliver the Messiah (the human Word) and the Bible (the written Word)

2. Gentile Nations: non-Jews both beloved (the Church) and hated, and used by God for His purposes

The Nations in Prophecy

The Past and Present of Israel

"And I will put enmity between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the

head, And you shall bruise him on the heel."(Genesis 3:15)

The Godly Line

Seed of WomanChildren of God Adam/Eve

Israel bears Christ(Rev. 12) Seth

Jesus Christ Abraham

Note: many more Descendents betweenSeth & Abraham

Satan‘s Attempts to Stop the Godly Line

Cain kills Abel (Gen. 4)

Corrupted mankind (Gen. 6)

Murder of all baby boys in Egypt (Ex. 1)

Godly line gets down to 1 – Joash preserved (2 Chron. 21)

Haman inspired to murder all the Jews (Esther)

Herod murders baby boys (Matt. 2)

God‘s Election of Abraham/Israel

―Now the Lord said to Abram, ―Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father‘s house, To the land which I will show you; And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; And I will

bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.‖

(Genesis 12:1–3)

―If the Abrahamic Covenant is unconditional in nature (not dependent upon Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and their physical

descendants, the people of Israel, meeting conditions for the fulfillment of its promises), then every promise of that covenant must be fulfilled—including the promises that Israel would be given forever

the land described in Genesis15:18, and that the Abrahamic Covenant would be an everlasting covenant for Israel. This would mean that Israel would last forever as a people and that God has a

future for that nation and its land. It would also mean that the biblical prophecies concerning the future of Israel and its land are to be

interpreted literally and that the Dispensational-Premillennial view of those prophecies is correct.‖

- Renald Showers, The Abrahamic Covenant (Part 2)

God‘s Unconditional Covenant with Abraham

―After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, ―Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; Your reward shall be very great.‖ Abram said, ―O Lord God,

what will You give me, since I am childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?‖ And Abram said, ―Since You have given no offspring to me, one born in my house is my heir.‖

Then behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, ―This man will not be your heir; but one who will come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir.‖ And He took him outside and said, ―Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.‖

And He said to him, ―So shall your descendants be.‖ Then he believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness. And He said to him, ―I am the Lord who brought you out

of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess it.‖ He said, ―O Lord God, how may I know that I will possess it?‖ So He said to him, ―Bring Me a three year old heifer, and a

three year old female goat, and a three year old ram, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.‖ Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, and laid each half opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds. The birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, and Abram

drove them away. Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, terror and great darkness fell upon him. . . . It came about when the sun had set, that it was very dark, and behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a flaming torch which passed

between these pieces. On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, ―To your descendants I have given this land, From the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river

Euphrates‖ (Genesis 15:1–18)

―An unconditional covenant can be defined as a sovereign act of God whereby God unconditionally obligates Himself to bring to pass

definite promises, blessings, and conditions for the covenanted people. It is a unilateral covenant. This type of covenant is characterized by the formula ―I will‖ which declares God's

determination to do exactly as He promised. The blessings are secured by the grace of God.‖

-Arnold Fruchtenbaum

The specific promises of God to give the land to Abraham and his descendants is repeated twenty times in Genesis alone (12:1–3, 7–9; 13:14–18;15:1–18; 17:1–27; 22:15–19; 26:2–6, 24–25; 27:28–29,

38–40; 28:1–4, 10–22; 31:3, 11–13;32:22–32; 35:9–15; 48:3–4, 10–20; 49:1–28; 50:23–25). Note that once an unconditional covenant was established, no conditions could be added to it afterwards (cf.

Gal. 3:15).

God‘s First Prophecy of Persecution

―God said to Abram, ―Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and

oppressed four hundred years. ―But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out with many

possessions. ―As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age. ―Then in the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete.‖ ‖

(Genesis 15:13–16)

God‘s Conditional Mosaic Covenant Curses

―You shall become a horror, a proverb, and a taunt among all the people where the Lord drives you.‖

(Deuteronomy 28:37)

―Moreover, the Lord will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth; and there you shall serve

other gods, wood and stone, which you or your fathers have not known. ―Among those nations you shall find no rest, and there will be no resting place for the sole of your foot; but there the Lord will give you a trembling heart, failing of eyes, and despair of soul. ―So your

life shall hang in doubt before you; and you will be in dread night and day, and shall have no assurance of your life. ―In the morning you shall

say, ‗Would that it were evening!‘ And at evening you shall say, ‗Would that it were morning!‘ because of the dread of your heart which

you dread, and for the sight of your eyes which you will see. ‖ (Deuteronomy 28:64–67)

―Diaspora‖ Prophecies Come True

• Israel drifted away from God• Neighboring enemies began to slowly take over the land God gave Israel• 2 Kings 17:6 and 18:11 record first Diaspora (―sowing‖, ―scattering‖) with

Assyria• Second Diaspora occurred in 587 B.C. (2 Kings 25:11); Babylon• Jeremiah 52:30 records third Assyrian Diaspora in 582 B.C. • In 587 B.C., the Babylonians captured Jerusalem and took the Jewish

tribes of Judah and Benjamin away. • Jews were subjected to the Greeks and Romans

Jesus Prophecy Concerning Israel‘s Destruction (A.D. 70)

―Jesus came out from the temple and was going away when His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him. And He said to them,

―Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down.‖‖

(Matthew 24:1–2)

―But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her desolation is near. ―Then those who are in Judea must flee to the

mountains, and those who are in the midst of the city must leave, and those who are in the country must not enter the city; because these are days of

vengeance, so that all things which are written will be fulfilled. ―Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days; for

there will be great distress upon the land and wrath to this people; and they will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations;

and Jerusalem will be trampled under foot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. ‖

(Luke 21:20–24)

Jesus Prophecy Comes True

―When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, ―If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have

been hidden from your eyes. ―For the days will come upon you when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, and surround you and hem you in on every

side, and they will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of

your visitation.‖ ‖ (Luke 19:41–44)

Titus surrounded the city on April 9. He cut off all supplies, trapping scores of Jews who had been in Jerusalem for the Passover. The Romans then built

embankments all around the city, starved those inside, and finally overthrew the city in early September.

Jesus Prophecy Comes True

To crush a Jewish revolt (which was precipitated by tension between the Jews and Greeks), Titus and the Roman army attacked Jerusalem and murdered many Jews (Josephus records 1.1 million died). The Jews were then taken captive and pushed into all the nations. The Romans also burned the temple, with the fire becoming so

hot that the stones literally crumbled. The Romans sifted through the rubble to obtain the gold and precious stones from the temple and shoveled all debris aside,

fulfilling Jesus prophecy of not one stone being left upon another:

―Behold, your house is being left to you desolate! ‖ (Matthew 23:38)

―Among those nations you shall find no rest, and there will be no resting place for the sole of your foot…‖

• Islam rises in 600A.D; Jews in Arabia and North Africa killed & persecuted• In the 11th century, the Crusades begin against Islam, but Jews also targeted.

One battle cry was ―Kill a Jew, save your soul.‖ • In the 12-1300‘s, the Jews were blamed for the Black Plague in Europe; literally

one-half of the Jews were murdered because of it• In 1490‘s, Spain forced 800,000 Jews into the Sea where they drown or died

from exposure• In the 1800‘s, Russian Jews were murdered or forced to immigrate if they didn‘t

join the Russian church• During World War I, Russian Jews were accused of spying and sent to Siberia

―So your life shall hang in doubt before you; and you will be in dread night and day, and shall have no assurance of your life…‖

―I know my destiny. Someday my name will be associated with the

memory of something monstrous‖- Frederick Nietzsche

5 Million Jews in

Israel

100 Million+ Arabs Surrounding Israel

―So your life shall hang in doubt before you; and you will be in dread night and day, and shall have no assurance of your life…‖

―Our basic aim will be to destroy Israel‖ – Nasser of Egypt, May 1967

―Those who think they can revive the stinking corpse of the usurping and

fake Israeli regime by throwing a birthday party are seriously mistaken … Today, the reason for the Zionist regime‘s existence is questioned, and

this regime is on its way to annihilation.‖

- Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

"Behold, He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.‖

(Psalm 121:4)

Israel‘s Prophetic Timetable

――Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make

atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy place. ―So you are to

know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeksand sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in

times of distress. ―Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come

will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined. ―And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in

the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out

on the one who makes desolate.‖ ‖ (Daniel 9:24–27)

―Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city…‖

The Separation of ―Sevens‖

49 Years 434 Years 7 Years

7 weeks 62 weeks 1 week

Clock began in 445 B.C. with Artaxerxes allowing Nehemiah to rebuild Jerusalem.

Clock begins again with signing of false peach treaty between Israel and Antichrist; Tribulation officially begins for Israel with the rest of the world affected

The Separation of Nations

483 Years 2000+ Years 7 Years

Focus on Israel Focus on Gentiles/Church Focus on Israel

Messiah ―cut off‖ – Jesus Christ crucified and died.

Church removed in Rapture; Israeli treaty signed with Antichrist; God‘s plan now switches back to Israel

Isaiah‘s Prophecies of Israel‘s Re-gathering

―Then it will happen on that day that the Lord Will again recover the second time with His hand The remnant of His people, who will

remain, From Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath, And from the islands of the sea. And He will lift up a

standard for the nations And assemble the banished ones of Israel, And will gather the dispersed of Judah From the four corners of the

earth. ‖ (Isaiah 11:11–12)

―Before she travailed, she brought forth; Before her pain came, she gave birth to a boy. ―Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Can a land be born in one day? Can a nation be brought forth

all at once? As soon as Zion travailed, she also brought forth her sons.‖

(Isaiah 66:7-8)

Jeremiah‘s Prophecies of Israel‘s Return

―Therefore behold, days are coming,‖ declares the Lord, ―when it will no longer be said, ‗As the Lord lives, who brought up the sons of

Israel out of the land of Egypt,‘ but, ‗As the Lord lives, who brought up the sons of Israel from the land of the north and from all the

countries where He had banished them.‘ For I will restore them to their own land which I gave to their fathers. ‖

(Jeremiah 16:14–15)

The Jews have always looked at the Egypt exodus as their prime example of God‘s deliverance, but Jeremiah says that will change in the future, and instead the Jews will look to their regathering from all

the nations God drove them as the number one example of God‘s power and promise keeping.

Ezekiel‘s Prophecies of Israel‘s Return

―Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‗Thus says the Lord God, ―It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for My holy name, which you have profaned among

the nations where you went. ―I will vindicate the holiness of My great name which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord,‖ declares the Lord God, ―when I prove Myself holy among you in their sight. ―For I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands and bring you

into your own land. ―Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. ―Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. ―I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you

will be careful to observe My ordinances. ―You will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers; so you will be My people, and I will be your God. ‖ (Ezekiel 36:22–28)

Valley of the Dry Bones

―The hand of the Lord was upon me, and He brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; and it was full of bones. He caused me to pass among them round about, and

behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley; and lo, they were very dry. He said to me, ―Son of man, can these bones live?‖ And I answered, ―O Lord God, You know.‖ Again He said to me,

―Prophesy over these bones and say to them, ‗O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.‘ ―Thus says the Lord God to these bones, ‗Behold, I will cause breath to enter you that you may come to life. ‗I will put

sinews on you, make flesh grow back on you, cover you with skin and put breath in you that you may come alive; and you will know that I am the Lord.‘ ‖ So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold, a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to its bone. And I looked,

and behold, sinews were on them, and flesh grew and skin covered them; but there was no breath in them. Then He said to me, ―Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, ‗Thus says

the Lord God, ―Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they come to life.‖ ‘ ‖ So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they came to life and stood

on their feet, an exceedingly great army. ‖ (Ezekiel 37:1–10)

Valley of the Dry Bones

―Then He said to me, ―Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel; behold, they say, ‗Our bones are dried up and our hope has perished. We are completely cut off.‘

―Therefore prophesy and say to them, ‗Thus says the Lord God, ―Behold, I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves, My people; and I will bring you into the land of Israel. ―Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves and caused you to come up out of your graves, My people. ―I will put My Spirit within you and

you will come to life, and I will place you on your own land. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken and done it,‖ declares the Lord.‘‖

(Ezekiel 37:11–14)

Amos‘s Prophecies of Israel‘s Return

―In that day I will raise up the fallen booth of David, And wall up its breaches; I will also raise up its ruins And rebuild it as in the days of old; That they may possess the remnant of Edom And all the nations who are called by My name,‖ Declares the Lord who does this. ―Behold,

days are coming,‖ declares the Lord, ―When the plowman will overtake the reaper And the treader of grapes him who sows seed; When the mountains will drip sweet wine And all the

hills will be dissolved. ―Also I will restore the captivity of My people Israel, And they will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them; They will also plant vineyards and drink their wine, And make gardens and eat their fruit. ―I will also plant them on their land, And they will not again be rooted out from their land Which I have given them,‖ Says the Lord your God. ‖

(Amos 9:11–15)

Notice that Israel will not be moved out of her land once established (v. 15)

Zechariah‘s Prophecies of Israel‘s Return

―Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‗Behold, I am going to save My people from the land of the east and from the land of the west; and I will bring them back and they will live in the midst of Jerusalem; and they shall be

My people, and I will be their God in truth and righteousness.‘ ‖ (Zechariah 8:7–8)

Note that this prophecy was made AFTER the return from Babylonian captivity.

Exact Fulfillment of Prophecy

• World War I prepared the land for the Jews as control of the land passed from the Turks to Britain. The Holocaust then motivated the Jews to return. In May 1948, the nation of Israel was re-established just as God had predicted in Isaiah 11. What Biblical scholars had pointed to for many years (and laughed at because of it) happened.

• On May 14, 1948 Israel declared her independence and the nation was recognized and established in one day as Isaiah said. The very next day, the nation was attacked and the war of her independence was fought just as predicted also (with the birth pains coming after the birth).

―When you are in distress and all these things have come upon you, in the latter days you will return to the Lord your God and listen to His

voice. ‖ (Deuteronomy 4:30)

―For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say, ‗Blessed is He who comes in

the name of the Lord!‘ ‖(Matthew 23:39)

Luke‘s Outline of Israel‘s History

The destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 (vv. 21:20-24a) (called ―the days of vengeance‖ )

The times of the Gentiles (v. 24b)

Future Tribulation for Israel (vv. 24: 25-26)

Second Coming of Christ to rescue elect Israel (vv. 24:27-28)

―and they will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations; and Jerusalem will be trampled under foot by

the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. ‖ (Luke 21:24)

• The Gentile domination of Jerusalem likely began with Nebuchadnezzar in 587 B.C.

• Last king of Judah was Zedekiah in 586 B.C.• ―times of the Gentiles‖ was certainly in effect in A.D. 70• Will continue into the Tribulation: ――Leave out the court which is outside

the temple and do not measure it, for it has been given to the nations; and they will tread under foot the holy city for forty-two months. ‖ (Rev. 11:2)

―and they will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations; and Jerusalem will be trampled under foot by

the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. ‖ (Luke 21:24)

―For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these who are the natural branches be grafted into their own olive tree? For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has

happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, ―The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will remove ungodliness from

Jacob.‖ ‖ (Romans 11:24–26)

At the end of the Tribulation, God will graft back in His believing remnant.

Future Peace/Tribulation for Israel―And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of

the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction,

one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.‖(Daniel 9:27)

―Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling to all the peoples around; and when the siege is against Jerusalem, it will also be against Judah. ―It will come about in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples;

all who lift it will be severely injured. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it. ‖

(Zechariah 12:2–3)

―It will come about in all the land,‖ Declares the Lord, ―That two parts in it will be cut off and perish; But the third will be left in it. ―And I will bring the third part through the fire, Refine them as silver is refined, And test them as gold is tested. They will

call on My name, And I will answer them; I will say, ‗They are My people,‘ And they will say, ‗The Lord is my God.‘ ‖ ‖ (Zechariah 13:8–9)

Future Protection and Persecution―A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman

clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; and she was with child; and she cried out, being in labor

and in pain to give birth. Then another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red

dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems. And his tail swept

away a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the

woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child. And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron; and her child was

caught up to God and to His throne. Then the woman fled into the wilderness where she had a

place prepared by God, so that there she would be nourished for one thousand two hundred and

sixty days. ‖ (Revelation 12:1–6)

Future Protection and Persecution

―Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will

arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that

time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued. ‖

(Daniel 12:1)

God‘s Redemption of Elect Israel

―I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He? May it never be . . .

all Israel will be saved‖ (Romans 11:1, 26)

God‘s Promise to Israel Kept

―Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‗It will yet be that peoples will come, even the inhabitants of many cities. ‗The inhabitants

of one will go to another, saying, ―Let us go at once to entreat the favor of the Lord, and to seek the Lord of

hosts; I will also go.‖ ‗So many peoples and mighty nations will come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the Lord.‘ ―Thus says the Lord of

hosts, ‗In those days ten men from all the nations will grasp the garment of a Jew, saying, ―Let us go with you, for we

have heard that God is with you.‖ ‘‖(Zechariah 8:20–23)

Replacement Theology and Psalm 105

―He has remembered His covenant forever, The word which He commanded to a thousand generations, The

covenant which He made with Abraham, And His oath to Isaac. Then He confirmed it to Jacob for a statute, To

Israel as an everlasting covenant ‖ (Psalm 105:8–10)

It is difficult to understand how anyone could read the above and reach the conclusion that the Abrahamic

covenant is not unconditional and that Israel has been set aside by God.

―Of the many peculiar phenomena that characterize the present generation, few

events can claim equal significance as far as biblical prophecy is concerned with

that of the return of Israel to their land. It constitutes a

preparation for the end of the age, the setting for the coming

of the Lord for His church, and the fulfillment of Israel‘s

prophetic destiny.‖- John Walvoord

The Parousia

God’s Sovereign Prophetic Plan for Israel