Index of Parousia newsletters Downloaded from: http://www.scriptorium.org/products/newsletters.html PAROUSIA 1 Fall 1996 "What's in a Name" by Roger Best, news and letters. Click here to download PAROUSIA 2 Winter 1997 "Are We Experiencing the Birth Pangs?" by Roger Best, news. Click here to download PAROUSIA 3 Spring 1997 "The Meaning and Significance of Koloboo in Matthew 24:22" by Charles Cooper, news and letters. Click here to download PAROUSIA 4 Summer 1997 "Hermeneutic: Key to Understanding Scripture" by Charles Cooper, news. Click here to download PAROUSIA 5 Fall 1997 "Legs to Stand On" by Charles Cooper, news and letters. Click here to download PAROUSIA 6 Winter 1998 "Theological Winds of Change: Significance for the Rapture Question, Part 1 of 2" by Charles Cooper, news and letters. Click here to download PAROUSIA 7 Spring 1998 "Dispensational Foundations: Acts, Joel, and Revelation, Part 2 of 2" by Charles Cooper, news. Click here to download PAROUSIA 8 Summer 1998 "That Other Gospel" by Charles Cooper, news. Click here to download PAROUSIA 9 Fall 1998 "The Parousia of Jesus Christ" by Charles Cooper, news and letters. Click here to download PAROUSIA 10 Winter 1999 "Surviving the Tribulation: Fight, Flight, or Faith? The Jerusalem Discourse of Christ, Luke 21:5-38l" by Charles Cooper, news and letters. Click here to download PAROUSIA 11 Spring 1999 An Interview with Robert Van Kampen, news and letters. Click here to download PAROUSIA 12 Summer 1999 "The Prophetic Pillars of the Prewrath Position, Part 1: The Timing of the Seventieth Week of Daniel" by Charles Cooper, news and letters. Click here to download PAROUSIA 13 Winter 2000 "The Prophetic Pillars of the Prewrath Position, Part 2: The Rapture Initiates the Day of the Lord" by Charles Cooper, news and letters. Click here to download PAROUSIA 14 Spring 2000 "The Prophetic Pillars of the Prewrath Position, Part 3: The Salvation of Israel Occurs After the Seventieth Week of Daniel Ends" by Charles Cooper, "Sharing the Prewrath Rapture Position" by Roger Best, news and letters. Click here to download PAROUSIA 15 Summer 2000 "The Prophetic Pillars of the Prewrath Position, Part 4: God Almighty Takes Back His Rule of Earth After the Seventieth Week of Daniel, But Before Armageddon" by Charles Cooper, news. Click here to download PAROUSIA 16 Fall 2000 "The Prophetic Pillars of the Prewrath Position, Part 5: The Battle of Armageddon Occurs Thirty Days After the Conclusion of Daniel's Seventieth Week" by Charles Cooper, "Examining the Twenty-four Elders" by Gary Vaterlaus, news and letters. Click here to download PAROUSIA 17 Winter 2001 "Pseudo-Ephraem and the Didache: Weighing the Evidence" by Charles Cooper, "Thy Kingdom Come: The When and How" by Gary Vaterlaus, news and letters. Click here to download PAROUSIA 18 Spring 2001 "The Troubler of Israel: The Correct Interpretation of Jeremiah 30:7" by Charles Cooper, news. Click here to download PAROUSIA 19 Summer 2001 "Amillennialism: Examining its 'Origens'" by Gary Vaterlaus, "Prophecy Under Fire: Critics & Critiques" by Charles Cooper, Meet a Berean - Pastor Randy Umberger. Click here to download PAROUSIA 20 Fall 2001 "Examining an Amillennial Interpretation of Revelation 20:1-6" by Gary Vaterlaus, "Whose Wrath Is It?: Prophecy Under Fire" by Charles Cooper, Meet a Berean - Pastor Eric VanBuskirk. Click here to download Parousia 1 THE SIGN MINISTRIES NEWSLETTER / FALL 1996 What’s in a Name? We are thankful to God for the help and encouragement so many of you have been to us over the past couple of years. Thousands have called us on our toll free number, and many have also written with questions concerning end times and ques- tions concerning the availability of materi- al. It is not our intent to have just another newsletter, but we do feel an obligation to each one of you who have contacted us. As we introduce our newsletter to help keep you informed of our ministry, the materials we have available, and a study from God’s Word, it might be well in this first quarter- ly issue to give you the significance of the publication’s name: Parousia. In Matthew 24:3 the disciples ask Christ, “What will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” The Greek word that is translated coming in this verse is parousia. It is also used in reference to Christ coming again in a number of passages continued on page 2 Parousia — page 2 24:30, “and then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory,” we have the word erchomai because we have the movement of Christ in relation- ship to the clouds in the sky. including 1 Thessalonians 4:15; speaking of an event. Parousia “For this we say to you by the always speaks of the event in We can summarize it by saying word of the Lord, that we who general with reference to Christ’s that parousia speaks of an event, are alive, and remain until the second coming. For example heko of a person’s presence, and coming of the Lord shall not pre- when we speak of Christ’s first erchomai of a person’s movement. cede those who have fallen coming, we think of His birth, So you see the Greek word asleep.” We see it in Matthew His childhood, His ministry, His parousia translated “coming” 24:27; “For just as the lightning death, and His resurrection all as speaks of all that goes on within comes from the east, and flashes part of that coming. In the same the second coming of the Lord even to the west, so shall the com- way parousia speaks of His sec- Jesus Christ. ing of the Son of Man be.” and ond coming and all the activity The parousia, again in 2 Thessalonians 2:1, that will take place within that the event of The parousia, the “Now we request you, brethren, event. Christ’s sec- event of Christ’s with regard to the coming of our ond coming, Lord Jesus Christ and our gather- In the general event of Christ’s begins with second coming, ing together to Him.” second coming—His parousia— the rapture of begins with the there will be specific and differ- the elect, the It is significant that in all these ent actions of movement: Christ gathering up rapture of verses the Greek word parousia is will lead protected Israel out of of the saved used, for there are two other Bozrah and up to Jerusalem at into the pres- the elect Greek words that are also trans- the end of the seventieth week of ence of our lated coming, they are heko and Daniel, and Christ’s will come Savior. We eagerly anticipate that erchomai. So let’s take a look at with His armies at Armageddon. coming and believe that the these words and understand their These are two examples of His events that lead up to that com- interrelationship so we can see movement within the event of ing could begin at any time. why parousia is used in the above His coming. Two Greek words, Israel is back in her land and she verses. heko and erchomai, need to be controls the city of Jerusalem; the examined to understand this stage is set for the prophecies of “The Greek noun parousia (usual- movement. Heko is a verb and the Word of God yet unfulfilled ly translated coming) has the pri- means “to come” or “to be pre- to take place. mary meaning of ‘presence,’ and sent” and is used only three times often the derived connotations of in the New Testament. It is used Since our ministry is one that is ‘coming or advent’—that is, of in Revelation 2:25 to encourage focused on end time events, becoming present by one’s those in the church at Thyatira which include the coming of arrival or appearance. In other and it is used twice in Revelation Christ, we felt that Parousia words, the term itself does not 3:3 as a warning to the dead would be an appropriate name carry the idea of movement, church at Sardis. The word that is for our quarterly newsletter. Our although that idea is often used in all other places is erchomai prayer is that it will be a help and implied.” (The Sign, chapter 16, which is also a verb and has no encouragement to each one of endnote 6, page 502). In other corresponding noun; it always is you. words parousia does not speak of used of persons and of their movement, from one place to movement from one place to another but is a noun and is another. For example in Matthew Parousia — page 3 New Books The Sign in Spanish The Sign (La Señal) is now available in Spanish hav- ing been published by Editorial Unilit. In an Coming Soon attempt to support this effort we now have a Sign Ministries representative stationed in Mexico City. Two new books by Robert Van Kampen are in process and will soon Bob and Serena Myers, formerly missionaries in be available for your study and help. The first is tentatively titled The South America, are establishing a ministry in Latin Rapture Question Answered - Plain and Simple. This book is a comparison America teaching the pre-wrath rapture to believers of the biblical arguments in the Olivet Discourse, the Thessalonian who speak the Spanish language.