Shedding light on Christ's presence

"When the Son of Man shall have come in His glory ...[,] [He] will separate men one from another" (MATTHEW 25:31, 32).


THREE days before Jesus' death, four of his disciples approached him and asked him in all sincerity, "Tell us, when will this happen? And what will be the sign of your coming [Greek: parousía] and of the end of the world?" In the 2nd volume of Scripture Studies (pages 154 to 156), Charles T. Russell wrote: "parusia means present and should never be translated as coming or future or arrival. ... it [does] not mean coming, as being on the way, but present, having arrived ... [Jesus] says, 'As the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming (parousia, present) of the Son of Man be.' Note that the point of comparison is not between the coming of Noah and the coming of our Lord ... The point of comparison is thus between the time of Noah's presence among the people 'before the flood' and the time of Christ's presence in the world at His Second Advent, before the fire - the extraordinary tribulation of the day of the Lord [Jehovah], with which this age comes to an end" (Matthew 24:37).


The "presence of our Lord"

What, then, is meant today by the biblical expression "the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ"? (1 Thessalonians 5:23). A Greek explains that the expression "presence," parousía, "became the official expression for the visit of eminent officials, especially also of kings and emperors in the province." Accordingly, this expression refers to the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ as King since 1914, that is, after His enthronement in Heaven. He is invisibly present to carry out as reigning King the prophetic command: "Go into subjection in the midst of your enemies" (Psalm 110:2). Since about 1914, people on earth have now been feeling the effects of Christ's invisible presence as King.

This is the time when Jesus comes as Jehovah's executor of judgment to destroy unrighteous people and deliver the righteous (Matthew 24:21, 29-31). The apostle Paul wrote about this time of destruction that relief will come to those who suffer tribulation "at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, when he takes vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the good news about our Lord Jesus" (2 Thessalonians 1:7, 8).

The sign

1,900 years ago, the disciples serving as light bearers asked Jesus for a sign or evidence of his future presence in royal power. In his response, recorded in Matthew, chapters 24 and 25, Jesus named a combined sign consisting of all the details presently seen throughout the earth. The arrival of this sign would mean a time of tribulation and great trial. Jesus said warningly, "See to it that no one misleads you, for many will come on account of my name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will mislead many. You will hear of wars and reports of wars; see that you are not frightened. For these things must come to pass, but it is not yet the end" (Matthew 24:4-6).

Jesus also spoke of there being unprecedented wars. In fulfillment, two of them were called world wars: The first lasted from 1914 to 1918 and the second from 1939 to 1945. Further, Jesus predicted food shortages as well as earthquakes in one place after another.
Since Jesus' kingship extends over the whole earth, true worship extends to all continents. His presence (parousía) as king is a time of worldwide visitation (1 Peter 2:12). Meanwhile, is there a capital or center where Jesus can be visited? Jesus answered this question by predicting that false Christs would arise in anticipation of his presence. He said warningly, "Therefore, if anyone says to you, 'Behold! He [Christ] is in the wilderness,' do not go out; 'Behold! He is in the inner chambers,' do not believe it. For just as lightning goes out from eastern regions and shines over to western regions, so will be the presence [parousía] of the Son of Man" (Matthew 24:24, 26, 27).

Jesus, the "Son of Man," knew better than anyone else on earth where he would be found at the actual beginning of his presence. He would not be here or there, that is, in any particular place on earth.