About "parousia"

> Perhaps, but then that would mean that the
> word "presence" is insufficient to
> convey the entire meaning and
> "coming" would be the best choice.

You'll have to take that up with the translators. It's a tough job to be faithful to the original languages and still try to keep us all happy by tilting towards our particular favorite doctrines.

About "collapsing universe" language

> Well don't look now, but that universe didn't
> collapse entirely.

That's what I mean. Prophetic language is figurative. The stars aren't LITERALLY going to fall from the sky; the heavens aren't LITERALLY going to roll up like a scroll and disappear. But the powerful luminary figures of Temple worship were about to take a tumble, and the Old Covenant was about to be done away with. Several places in Scripture, the temple is described as a microcosm of "heaven and earth" (Temple imagery is full of examples, but also Psalm 78:69 says that "[God's] sanctuary is like the high heavens; like the earth which He has established forever". Isa. 51:15,16 compares the establishment of the Mosaic Covenant with "planting the foundations of the heavens, and laying the foundations of the earth". Jer. 4:23-31 describes "heaven and earth" -- the worshiping community of Judah -- as having returned to a pre-creation chaos by their disobedience). Jesus is drawing on the same symbols to answer the disciples' questions about the coming destruction of the Temple.

> In fact's it's stronger
> than it ever was before and on the verge of
> ruling the world at the moment.

> Thank God Jesus will come back to stop it.

When I start thinking the world is really looking bad, a litte history lesson always makes me appreciate just how good we've got it.