Tuesday, May 12, 2009

5-11 In the Twinkling of an Eye

Download this episode (18 min)   
Did you get all that good sunshine yesterday! That was great. Now I can’t say that I got a lot of it, but I did get outside for a while… between climbing upstairs, down in the basement, back upstairs, then into the attic. Hey! I’m still working on our rental remodel. Meanwhile Susan got a lot of Sunshine! She was outside working on our backyard. She is a workaholic! What a job she is doing. It’s going to look good. And did you know that Sunshine is good for making Vitamin D! But only if you don’t shower for 48 hours! No kidding! At least that’s what I read on the web. Can’t believe everything you read, now can you. But who knows.

Today's Scripture reading is 1 Samuel 20:1-23; Hosea 8; Romans 16
To Listen to Today’s Reading http://timewithgod.podbean.com - Archives can be found at http://timewithgod.mypodcast.com

Today’s thought comes from 1 Corinthians 15: 50 Now this I say, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. 51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory."

Sign over the nursery, “We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed!” This is incredible. This is the moment of transformation. This is the mystery unveiled. I suppose you have always wondered how our transformation to our new body is going to happen, Wonder no more. It will be instantaneous. “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.” Before you can blink or say “hello!” it will be over. An eye blinks in about 400 milliseconds, or 4/10th of a second! That’s fast… but the hand is faster than the eye, or so I’ve been told, until I checked the Greek for the word “moment.” It is the word “atomos.” It is the smallest fraction that the Greeks had that they believed could not be divided into a smaller element. That’s fast! One millisecond you will be the old you, aches, pains, guilt, anguish and earthly, the next millisecond you will be the new you! You will say, “Something changed! What was it? It happened so fast!” When will it happen? At the last trumpet. This is the trumpet of 1 Thessalonians 4:16, calling the dead in Christ to rise. There we find that there will also be a loud shout from heaven as Christ descends, and a call from the archangel. They all seem to happen contemporaneously. So I suggest that six things happen so fast that you will not be able to process them… sort of like an accident that happens in your peripheral vision. One second traffic was normal, you spin around and see a three car pile up that happened so fast you really didn’t see it. #1 Christ descends from heaven. This descent is not a slow, floating, peaceful descent… it is “now you see it, now you don’t” speed! Suddenly he appears. #2 Jesus Himself shouts, calling for the dead to rise. #3 The archangel also shouts. In fact, I’m guessing all of heaven is shouting. #4 At the same time the trumpet will sound. #5 The Dead in Christ rise in a flash. #6 Believers who are alive are caught up into heaven. All this happens instantaneously, so fast your head has no time to spin. Now you see us, now you don’t, because we are with the Lord!

Dear Father. Thank you for the promise of the resurrection. I can’t even begin to imagine how staggering this event will be. I can’t imagine how wonderful this event will be. Here I am waiting, knowing that you can change me. Thank you for your Son Jesus, His death, and the promise of eternal life.

To God be the glory, great things he has done

5-11 In the Twinkling of an Eye

Posted by Dennis Kreiss at 9:59 AM |  MAKE A COMMENT  

<< Home