Parousia is a Greek word meaning "coming" or "presence," specifically referring to the anticipated return of Jesus Christ.

1. "Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left." Matthew 24:40
2. This is part of a discourse that began when Jesus' disciples asked "what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?"
3. There has been much disagreement regarding who are taken and who are left.
4. Jesus equates his second coming to the great flood epic, AKA Noah's flood, found in the book of Genesis.
   • God commands Noah to build an ark in which he, his family, and a representation of every kind of creature were to be saved from the flood.
   • Those without knew not what was about to happen. Life proceeded normally until Noah entered the ark. "The flood came and took them all away."
   • Based on this comparison, some Christian scholars say the ones taken (i.e. destroyed) will be the unsaved people at Christ's coming.
   • Those who are left are the righteous that will remain on Earth to be part of Christ's thousand-year kingdom.
   But there is a problem with this scenario. It is found earlier in the 24th chapter of Matthew.
5. "And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other." Matthew 24:31
6. This would seem to indicate that the "taken" doesn't refer to the judgment and destruction of the unsaved people of Earth.
7. To confirm this we need to corroborate the verse above with other references to the second coming in the New Testament.
   • Heaven is where we are taken at his coming, not left on Earth during the millennium: "I am going... to prepare a place for you... that you also may be where I am." John 14:2-3
   • At his coming the "dead in Christ" are resurrected and, along with those who are still alive, are changed in an instant from mortal to immortal beings. 1 Corinthians 15:51-53
   • We will be "caught up together... in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever." 1 Thessalonians 4:17
   • And what of the Earth at Christ's second coming: "The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare." 2 Peter 3:10

1. The beast, the false prophet, and the kings of earth unite to confront Christ and the armies of heaven at his Second Coming. Revelation 16:12-16, Revelation 19:19
2. The beast and the false prophet are captured and cast into the lake of fire, and the kings of earth are destroyed by the sword issuing from the mouth of the Lord. Revelation 19:20-21
3. The dragon (Satan) is caught, bound, and locked away in the Abyss where he will be imprisoned for a thousand years "to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore." Revelation 20:1-3
4. There appears to be a contradiction when comparing verse 3 with verse 5, which states, "The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended."
5. Some expositors claim that this is proof that Christ, along with his elect (those who did not worship the beast), rule on Earth during the millennium. Revelation 19:15, Revelation 20:4
6. This idea, however, runs counter with what is written in John's Gospel, Paul's epistle to the Thessalonians, and Peter's second epistle, as quoted above. These support the idea that heaven is where the elect spend the millennium.
7. When the thousand years are completed, Satan is freed from the Abyss and allowed to deceive the nations once more to gather them for the final battle. Revelation 20:7-8
8. "The nations" refers back to verse 5 which points to the resurrection of the unsaved at this time. Why would God bring them back to life unless to give them another chance at redemption?
9. The deceived, Satan's army, surround "the camp of God’s people, the city he loves." But fire from heaven consumes them. Revelation 20:9
10. Considering all the evidence based on scripture, this would indicate that Christ and his elect have returned to Earth upon conclusion of the millennium.
11. Satan is captured and cast into the lake of fire "where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown." Revelation 20:10
12. The great white throne judgment: The books are opened, one which is called "the book of life," and all souls who have lived on Earth are judged by what is written in them.
13. Hereafter, death is no more the destiny of humanity as "death and Hades (the grave) were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death." Revelation 20:14

1. The language and imagery in the book of Revelation are heavily symbolic and, as such, an accurate interpretation and understanding is somewhat questionable.
2. Therefore, I will rely on what is written in the Gospels, the Lord's own words, and the New Testament epistles for the best understanding of the events at Jesus' Second Coming.
3. Lastly, I have this to say about the "Lake of Fire". This phrase occurs nowhere else except in the book of Revelation. It is also called "the second death". It is, therefore, an ending of all that has afflicted humanity and the world, not a literal lake where the damned are tormented forever.