In the Twinkling of an Eye: "Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." I Corinthians 15:51-52.
Someone has said that the average person blinks somewhere between 10,000 to 20,000 times a day. In one of those times, Jesus could return! That is an awesome thought.
In the twinkling of an eye, Jesus is going to step from His throne in glory at the right hand of the Father in heaven and make His way back to this earth. First Thessalonians 4:16-17 says, "For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord."
Christians refer to being caught up as the rapture. The Greek word for this is harpagδsometha and it means a catching away. The picture of this coming promise reminds me of a metal scrapyard near my childhood home. Now, what does a scrap yard and the rapture have in common? Well, let me illustrate.
In that scrap yard, there was a great magnet on a crane that would pick up metal. If you swung that magnet across the ground, not every piece of metal would rise – only that which was made of iron. Why is that? Because the iron has the same nature as the magnet.
In the same way, if you have the same nature as Jesus Christ, then when He comes again, you’re going up whether you’re beneath the ground or on top of the ground. Simply said, if you've been heaven-born you will be heaven-bound.
That sounds fantastic, but what assurance do I have this will happen?
The Saving Work Of Our Lord: The second coming of Jesus Christ is necessary to fulfill the purpose of God. The incarnation without the coronation would be like height without depth and east without west. And our salvation without our glorification is no salvation at all. His resurrection is the pledge of our resurrection.
The Sure Word Of Our Lord: There are all kinds of prophets and psychics who think they know what’s going to happen in the future, but they don’t know. The devil himself doesn’t know. Only God knows the future. Jesus said, “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only” (Matthew 24:36). The key is He is coming – and the Word of God promises that.
How can you tell that it is close?
Jesus said, “For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Matthew 24:38-39).
Life will be going along as usual and then suddenly, Jesus is going to come. That’s the reason Jesus said, " Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh” (Matthew 24:44).
Why is He coming again?
First of all, it is a rescue. Before God allows the great tribulation, He is going to take His church out. Before God declares war on this world, He's going to call his nationals home.
Second, it is for a reunion. All believers are going to be caught up together to meet the Lord in the air. And the songwriter says we'll sing and shout and dance about, the Lamb will dry our tears – we'll have a grand homecoming week the first ten thousand years.
By Adrian Rogers. © 2006 Love Worth Finding Ministries. Website. www.lwf.org.
Dr. Adrian Rogers, preacher/teacher of Love Worth Finding Ministries, and one of America's most respected Bible teachers. Under his 32 years of pastoral leadership, Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, TN, grew from 9,000 members in 1972 to more than 29,000. Most important to Dr. Rogers have been the tens and thousands of believers who have had their faith strengthened and thousands of others who have for the first time entered into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Dr. Rogers passed away on November 15, 2005.