The Apostle Paul, himself the Apostle of the Gentiles, when writing to Gentile
Churches or to individuals, holds forth the hope of the Lord's coming as that
which is public, open, and manifest. Thus he describes believers as “looking for
that blessed hope, and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus
Christ” (Titus 2:13). In writing to Timothy, he thus addresses the man of God: “I
give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ
Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession, that thou keep this
commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ”
(1 Timothy 6:13,14). In 2 Timothy 4:1, “the appearing and the kingdom” of our Lord
are spoken of as truths of primary importance; and what they are to believer is
shown by verse 8; for there the apostle says of our hope, “Henceforth there is laid
up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord the righteous Judge, shall give
me at that day; and not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing”.
This passage is enough to show that those who are looking to the coming of
Christ in His manifest glory, have the true hope of his advent. Not a word or a
hint is there on St. Paul's part that this coming shall be a secret thing: it is
a manifestation in glory. One of the events of that point of time is the destruction of “the man of sin, whom the Lord shall consume with the
Spirit of His mouth, and destroy with the brightness (or manifestation) of His
coming” (2 Thessalonians 2:8). This is the same word as in the passages
previously cited; in all these it belongs to our Lord's second coming; in its
only other occurrence it relates to His first coming, when the apostle speaks
of God's “purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the
world began, but is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus
Christ” (2 Timothy 1:9,10). It is from the word rendered “appearing” (επιφανεια) that we derive our English
term epiphany, applied to our Lord manifestly set forth as the incarnate Son of
God.
The same Apostle speaks of the coming of Christ, for which the Church
waits, as a revelation; thus the Corinthians are described as “waiting for the
coming (margin, revelation) of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 1:7). The
hope of the Thessalonians was “rest...when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed
from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them
that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ; who
shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord,
and from the glory of His power; when He shall come to be glorified in His
saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among
you was believed) in that day” (2 Thessalonians 1:7-11). If then the coming
which the Church expects can be secret, then equally may all these particulars
be secret also: but if secrecy is here intended as to the hopes of the Church,
what words could be used which should unequivocally express open publicity?
Even if it were true that the writings of other apostles were “Jewish”, surely
those of the Apostle of the Gentiles could not be so restricted: and thus the
point that our hope is the manifest appearing of our Lord (and no supposed secret
coming) when proved by the teaching of St. Paul, ought to carry conviction even
to those who introduce and teach such groundless distinctions.
It has indeed been said [5] that our hope is the coming of the Lord
signified by another term (παρουσια),
which is, they say, more strictly presence; and in contrast to this, they say,
is His shining forth (επιφανεια), the
word found in passages already cited, and rendered appearing; this, they say,
is the Jewish hope. But, First, παρουσια,
the word said to be connected with our hope, is habitually used for “coming” in
ordinary expressions: thus, “the coming of Stephanas” (1 Corinthians 16:17); “the
coming of Titus” (2 Corinthians 7:6, see, too, verse 7); “my coming to you
again”(Philippians 1:26).
Second. This word, which is said to imply a hope for the Church of a
secret coming, is that which is used in Matthew 24 (the very chapter which some
would represent to be Jewish), in speaking of our Lord's public and glorious
appearing. In verse 3, the disciples ask, “What shall be the sign of thy
coming?” Our Lord, in His reply, says, “As the lightning cometh out of the
east, and shineth even unto the west, so shall also the coming of the Son of
Man be” (27). “Then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn and they shall see
the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (30). This, then, is that coming which shall be as the lightning in open
visibility. “As the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of
man be. For as in the days that were before the flood, they were eating and
drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into
the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall
also the coming of the Son of man be” (37-39). Is this a secret coming known
only to the Church, and not affecting others?
Third. The word επιφανεια, which, on the supposition now under
consideration, has to do with the visible appearing of our Lord at some period
subsequent to the rapture of the Church, is that which, in Titus 2:13; 1 Timothy
6:14; 2 Timothy 4:8; is given as the hope of that very Church, whose existence
on earth at the time is denied by such theories. This word is not used, except
in 2 Thessalonians 2:8, in connection with others besides the Church.
When one event is spoken of in various aspects, different words may be rightly
used; and thus παρουτια is the most general term for that one coming of our Lord,
which is the object of the Church's hope. Those who have mystified the minds of
the uninstructed by incorrect teaching as to the use of the words of Scripture,
incur a solemn responsibility; they obtain an advantage as teachers, based
wholly on rash assertions; the best that can be supposed of such is that they “understand
neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm”. But they are responsible for misleading
others by their assertions, for the sin of ignorance is still sin. [6]
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[5] So little had I heard of this argument on the words επιφανεια and παρουσια for many years (ever since 1839, when it seemed to be
abandoned for other theories), that I should have scarcely thought it needful
to notice it, had I not found that it was again revived. I well remember how
some used to press it, and how unspiritual they thought the endeavour to show
how these words are really used in the New Testament. It is one of the cases in
which the attempt has been made to misrepresent the facts of Scripture, and in
which the uninstructed and unwary have been misled.
