Twinkling or Blinking of an Eye
Twinkling or Blinking of an Eye
By Dennis Huebshman
This message is dedicated to all the procrastinators out there, who are buying into satan’s lie that there’s plenty of time to accept Jesus – but just do it later. Also, for those who believe – and I have actually heard people say this – that they can call out to accept Jesus when the trumpet sounds, and the shout from the archangel is heard. (any emphasis is mine)
There’s numerous definitions on the internet about “Twinkling/Blinking” of an eye. One of the easiest to understand is on “Discovery World”. First, the “Twinkle”. This is the time it takes for light to enter the eye, reach the back of the eye, and be reflected back out. Light travels at 186,000 miles per second, so the Twinkle is about one billionth of a second.
The “Blinking” is a bit slower. A blink lasts somewhere between 300 and 400 milliseconds, or considerably less than half a second.
Taking both of these into consideration, and understanding why the Apostle Paul used this term, defies anyone to be able to react anywhere close to the given time frame. Depending on the translation, the Bible uses “Twinkling” or “Blinking” of an eye, but both mean the same thing – it’s super-fast!
Now for the verses these actions refer to. In 1 Corinthians 15:51-53, “Behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep (die), but we shall all be changed, (52) in a moment, in the Twinkling of an Eye (ESV), at the last trumpet (not a judgment trumpet of Revelation). For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. (53) For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and the mortal body must put on immortality.” (Note: the soul, which has been with Jesus since death, will be reunited with the body. Philippians 1:21)
Next, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17, “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. (Those bound for the judgment of Revelation 20:11-15) (14) For since we believe that Jesus died, and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep. (15) For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. (16) For the Lord Himself will descend from Heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead (very important) In Christ will rise first. (17) Then, we (all believers) who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet Jesus in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.”
All of this would seem that it would take a considerable amount of time to accomplish. After all, every believer that has died since Calvary, will be raised up, no matter how much of the earthly body remains. God knows where every molecule of each believer is. Their earthly remains will be joined by their Spiritual souls that went to be with Jesus at the instant of their death. The thief on the cross that asked Jesus to “Remember me” is one example of a soul being with Jesus when he died. (Luke 23: 40-43)
Once the body and soul are reunited on their way up to meet Jesus in the clouds/air, there will be an instant conversion to an eternal, immortal body, designed to last forever in Heaven with Jesus and all the Saints.
For all true believers that are still alive at the call, body and soul are still together. As we ascend to be with Jesus, we will be converted to our forever bodies as well Once everyone gets to Jesus, we will all be taken to our Home in Paradise, to wait for the 7-year wrath to end. Thing is, I believe we won’t be concerned about the tribulation/wrath, as we will still be in awe of seeing our Jesus up close and personal.
Also, we will become a part of the “Army of the Lord” (Revelation 19:14), to return with Him to witness His put-down of the antichrist and false prophet. I believe we will witness them being tossed into the Lake of Fire as it’s first residents. (Revelation 19:20) Then will come Jesus’ millennial reign, and afterward the final judgments. It will be wonderful to see all those who will be joining us in our eternal home.
On the other hand, I don’t believe I would really want to witness the Great White Throne Judgment. That one is for the Father, who is totally faithful and just and true to His word. He will be His keeping His promise that all who did not accept Him pre-Calvary, and all who did not accept Jesus from Calvary forward, would be separated into torment forever. It’s the sin that is unforgivable.
Before this even takes place, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit knows the majority of all who will have ever lived on this earth will be at the last judgment. (Matthew 7:13-14) Satan will be the third resident of hell (Revelation 20:10), and without doubt will receive the harshest eternal punishment of all. He will be followed by his demons, who were the fallen angels that followed him in his rebellion against God. For them, there is no pathway to forgiveness, as they had already been in the glorious presence of the Lord God Jehovah. The Lake of Fire was designed specifically for them as given in Matthew 25:41. They had the free-will to stay with the Father, or choose to follow Lucifer, just as we have that free-will today. They made an eternal decision they will regret forever. Then, that long line of all humans that are bound for the Lake of Fire to suffer forever.
The biggest claim of unbelievers is that there is no way God can complete the “Harpazo” or “Rapture” in such a short period of time. In Luke 18:27, Jesus points out that what’s impossible for men is totally possible for God.
If our Creator can start with absolutely nothing, and create our earth and everything on it, including all living creatures; and can create all the heavens within just six days; then He is capable of accomplishing all that is given in a “twinkling/blinking of an eye”. We serve a mighty God who is not bound by our human limitations. For those who just don’t want to understand this, it becomes easier to follow satan, and his lure of what this earth has to offer. They give up the “eternal life” to spend eternity in hell for the temporary life here.
Our Heavenly Father wants a relationship with all of us, and in His “letter” to us, it’s given in such passages as John 3:16-18; Romans 5:8; Romans 10:9-13; 2 Peter 3:9, 1 John 5:12 and many others. He makes it clear Jesus is the only path to Salvation as given in John 14:6; Acts 4:12; Romans 8:1 and Ephesians 2:5-9, just as a few examples.
The Father will turn no one away who truly calls out to receive the “gift” supplied to us by His Son, Jesus, at Calvary. We must admit we are sinners, as we all are (Romans 3:23), believe that Jesus is our only Savior, and that He died on that cross for our sins, confess to Him our sins and ask His forgiveness, and for the Holy Spirit to come live within us until we get Home. There is no price we can pay, or deeds we can do to earn our Salvation. That’s saying Jesus did not complete His mission on the cross for us.
All who call on the name of the Lord will be saved. (Joel 2:32; Acts 2:21 and Romans 10:9-13) We need to turn from our habitual sinful ways, and seek a relationship with the Savior through reading from His word, and talking (praying) to Him daily. When, not if, we sin after receiving Him, we have a pathway to forgiveness in 1 John 1:8-10.
The “Twinkling/Blinking” could happen at any second. Just looking at the condition of this world today, everything spoken of by Jesus, Paul and others is very much here. Don’t make the mistake of believing you can wait to hear the call before asking Jesus to be your Savior. It will be long over before you even realize it took place. Today, right now, would not be too early to call on Him.
Ahava B’Shem Yeshua (Love in the name of Jesus)