For believers

Three Greek words for one hope

• Parousia (παρουσία), “presence” or “arrival”. In the Greek world it described a king’s official visit to a city. The apostles chose it for Christ’s return: Matthew 24:3 and 24:27, 1 Corinthians 15:23, 1 Thessalonians 4:15, James 5:7-8.
• Epiphaneia (ἐπιφάνεια), “appearing”, the visible shining forth of glory: 2 Thessalonians 2:8, Titus 2:13.
• Apokalypsis (ἀποκάλυψις), “unveiling”, what is hidden made plain: 1 Corinthians 1:7, 1 Peter 1:7.

What the Church teaches

• The Creed. “He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.”
• The Catechism. Paragraphs 668-682 set out Christ’s coming in glory, the final trial of the Church (675) and the Last Judgement (678-679).
• Watchfulness, not date-setting. “But of that day and hour no one knows” (Matthew 24:36). The Church warns against anyone who claims to know the date.

Still to write

• The constitutional directives of the Celestial Church of Christ on the Second Coming, with primary sources.
• The Church Fathers on the Parousia: Irenaeus, Augustine, Cyril of Jerusalem.
• Approved private revelations, clearly marked as non-binding.