15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.
- Paul's First Letter to the Thessalonians 4:15-18
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 (see Wikipedia).
Paul's special revelation regarding the dramatic return of Christ must have been startling to the church at Thessolonica. Although it appears his point in this statement was to provide reassurances for the survivors of those who had died in their faith prior to Christ's return, Paul's parousia provided a glimpse into the apocalyptic worldview that would later be picked up by John as he recorded his spectacular vision in the book of Revelation. There is little doubt that Paul's words were influenced by the words of Jesus himself in referring to his later return, just as John's vision was influenced by (and indeed, lifted word-for-word from) the Old Testament prophets. These eschatological worldviews merged in the early church and carried into the christian era the persistent theme of a conquering messiah whose mission is to purge the world of unbelievers upon his victorious return.
This morning, I sat through the fifth or sixth sermon in a series derived from Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians. The last two messages have focused on the parousia, and these sermons mirrored in many ways the message of a 12-sermon series on the apocalypse which was delivered last summer. I have lately found myself squirming uncomfortably during any message on this topic, a response which in my earlier life would have been attributed to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. What is absent from that equation, however, is a sense that I am somehow on the wrong side of the fence on this issue.
I have long taken exception to many of the eschatological views embraced by the American evangelical church. I can't speak knowledgeably about the church worldwide, or about the orthodox church in general, but the evangelical church in America seems to have codified the anticipated events of the "last days" in a way that trumps reason, stretches the imagination, and extends its hand far beyond the ethical boundaries of today's world. If I had to put a single face on this particular world view (and there are many to choose from) it would be that of Tim LaHaye, author of the Left Behind series of books, videos, and (unbelievably) video games. Dr. LaHaye has successfully capitalized on the apocalyptic world view in much the same way that Hal Lindsay, author of The Late, Great Planet Earth, did in the 1970's. LaHaye's tactics have employed a masterful fear-based marketing scheme, and he undoubtedly owes much of his success, directly or indirectly, to the current war on terror. The events centering around the middle east serve to bolster the claims that Christ's return is at hand: A righteous, Christian nation facing the evil of terrorism abroad; Israel fighting for its very survival against surrounding enemy nations; the occupancy of Jerusalem and the temple by Muslim forces; the increasing globalization of governments and economies; the potential for nuclear annihilation. All the cards are falling into place, and Christ's return is imminent. Or is it?
For a moment, let's assume that the LaHayean vision, appending that of Jesus, Paul, and John, is accurate. What does this mean for Christian believers, and for the world at large? Paul refers to "we who are alive, who are left" as the ones who will be privileged to meet Him in the air. What happens to the rest of the people, under this view, is well described by John in Revelation. To be succinct, God destroys them. All of them. They receive the same fate as the "deceiver", Satan, the "father of lies" who is cast into the lake of fire. Of course, this is only after being inexorably tortured through plague, tribulation, and general madness and mayhem on earth. This, of course, is good for "we who are alive, who are left". It is not so good for those that are not "we". So the question becomes, who are "we", and what is the criteria for inclusion in the "we" group, and its subsequent escape into paradise?
And so we are faced with a truly ethical dilemma. Christ's return is imminent, at which time billions of souls will face cruel torture and eternal damnation by a furious God. Some of us will escape, and others won't. The criteria for escaping the madness consists of "believing" in some way, ostensibly by associating with others who share a common world view. I can't speak for anyone else, but the scenario seems to be inextricably obtuse and generally irreducible. Belief in anything, after all, is really just a particular way of thinking about something to the extent that it will move you to action. As a result, no small part of the criteria for escaping this holocaust depends on what (or how) a person thinks, and with whom they associate. Granted, how a person truly believes will impact how they behave toward other human beings. But it's generally accepted in the evangelical church that a person is saved by grace (belief) alone and not by works (behavior). And so we're really back to a system of evangelism that moves people to respond out of fear, believe in a certain way, and associate with a certain group of like-minded people. All of this, of course, is based on criteria which can be neither known nor measured, but upon which hangs their eternal fate. This I would call a nightmare scenario.
The truth be known, many religions, including Islam, share an apocalyptic world view as recorded in their holy books. One would be wise to observe that the LaHayean version is no less vindictive than the ultimate return of Allah to take final vengeance upon all infidels. What is truly frightening is that their particular apocalyptic vision has moved beyond the "belief" stage, and is well into the "action" stage. Acquisition of nuclear weapons may be all that is needed for Allah to fulfill his prophecies.
What makes me squirm during those sermons is the sense that the church has missed something big here. Our focus on the "Left Behind" fantasies drains resources, creates fear, and causes the church to urgently move people toward "belief" which, in many cases, has little impact upon their ability or willingness to truly impact the world today, here and now.
I'm not really sure what Parousia means, or what it means to say that Christ will return. I know I struggle with Paul's and John's statements in the context of the modern world. I am sure, though, that one of the roles for me as a Christian is to become a truly ethical person: that is to spend my remaining days increasing the joy and abating the suffering of those people whom God brings into my life. Fear does nothing to incubate true ethics, and a false sense of urgency does even less.
