In Christianity, Parousia means the (Second) Coming of Christ. In the Greek language parousia means "appearance and subsequent presence with" and in the ancient Greco-Roman world it referred to official visits by royalty. It was appropriated by Christians as a specialized term for Jesus' glorious appearance and subsequent presence on earth—primarily his final return at the end of the world, but also his return upon the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. The history of Christianity is difficult to extricate from that of the European West (and several other culture-regions) in general. ... Jesus, also known as Jesus of Nazareth or Jesus the Nazarene, is the central figure of Christianity, in which context he is known as Jesus Christ (from Greek Ιησούς Χριστός) with Christ being a title meaning Anointed One. He is also considered a very important prophet in Islam and a manifestation of... In the Judeo-Christian religious tradition, Glory (from the Latin gloria, fame, renown) is used to denote the manifestation of Gods presence. ... The Temple in Jerusalem or the Holy Temple (Hebrew: בית המקדש, transliterated Beit HaMikdash) was built in ancient Jerusalem in c. ...

The Gospels contain several apparent predictions of Jesus regarding his return at the end of the world. These include: Matthew 16:27, 24:26-28, and 24:37-41; Luke 17:22-37; John 14:3. Jesus says that he will "come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he will reward each one according to his behaviour," (Matt 16:27) and that this will occur suddenly, "like a lightning strike in the east and flashing far into the west" (Matt 24:27).

It is sometimes argued that Jesus mistakenly stated that his return would occur during the lifetimes of some of those in his audience because both Matthew and Mark include the statement, "before this generation has passed away all these things will have taken place" (see Wandering Jew) Indeed, C.S. Lewis called this "the most embarrassing verse in the Bible" (although he also considered Jesus' contiguous statement, "But as for the day or hour, nobody knows it, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son; no one but the Father," to be exonerating). However, in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus' prediction of the destruction in AD 70 of Jerusalem, including the Temple—marking the end of the Old Covenant, and the beginning of Jesus' messianic kingdom on earth (the Church)—appear to be conjoined, and possibly confused, with his statements regarding the end of the world. References to the two events are not kept distinct. Also, in all three synoptic Gospels, the destruction of Jerusalem is described in highly symbolic apocalyptic language, in keeping with prophecies of the Old Testament, thus increasing the likelihood of misinterpretation. The Wandering Jew by Gustave Doré The Wandering Jew is a figure from Christian folklore. ... Clive Staples Lewis (November 29, 1898 – November 22, 1963), commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis, was an author and scholar. ... This article needs cleanup. ...

The interpretation of parousia is important in the doctrine of Jehovah's Witnesses, as these hold that the Parousia has already happened, and instead of an apocalyptic Second Coming it is to be interpreted as an unseen presence (despite parousia only being used in Greek to mean a visible, tangible presence), and the visible events of the final times will occur at a later date. Look up Armageddon in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Armageddon refers, generally, to end times or Earth ending catastrophes in various religions and cultures. ...

The study and use of the term parousia was revived in the late 19th century with the growth of preterism and the publishing of James Stuart Russell's book The Parousia, A Careful Look at the New Testament Doctrine of the Lord's Second Coming. Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... Preterism is a variant of Christian eschatology which deals with the position of past-fulfilment of the Last Days (or End Times) prophecies in varying degrees. ... Look up book in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

See also

• Summary of Christian eschatological differences

To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

References

• Explanatory text in The New Jerusalem Bible (1990). Doubleday. ISBN 0-385-14264-1
• Lewis, C.S. (1960). The World's Last Night and Other Essays. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. ISBN 0-15-698360-5
• Heindel, Max, How Shall We Know Christ at His Coming?, May 1913 (stenographic report of a lecture, Los Angeles), ISBN 0-911274-64-2 www