The Greek term parousia (par-oo-SEE-ah) appears twenty-four times in the New Testament, most often concerning the coming of the Lord. While parousia may be translated "coming" there also is the concept of "presence." The emphasis appears to be not as much on the return of the Lord from a far distant place as on the manifestation of what always has been near at hand and already is true to a great extent in the saints. The Mount of Transfiguration witnessed a parousia of the Lord in that what already was present was revealed more clearly.
The parousia is Christ’s bodily appearing, His presence, the manifestation of what is not far from us but concealed in the present hour.
