1 Cor 15:52, "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."
What a glorious thought! That so very soon, we will be caught up in the rapture of the church. Most of us believe that the rapture will happen in the "twinkling of an eye" as the apostle Paul wrote. That our bodies will be changed from corruptible to incorruptible in a moment of time. Have you ever wondered, "just how fast is that?" Well the dictionary shows us that the "twinkling" of an eye is 1/100th of a second, the batting of an eyelash. But careful study of the scriptures shows us otherwise. Let's take a look.
The original Greek word for moment is 823 atomos (at'-om-os); from 1 (as a negative particle) and the base of 5114; uncut, i.e. (by implication) indivisible [an "atom" of time]: KJV-- moment.
It is the word from which we derive our modern English word of "atom". It literally means: uncut, indivisible, an "atom" of time. In otherwords, this time frame, or "atom" of time cannot be measured by human means. It cannot be divided or cut. It will happen so fast, that there is no measure of time for it. What is the only time frame that cannot be achieved by human means? It was the speed of light, until a few weeks ago. When a team of scientists created laser that sent a pulse of light through a vacuum that was faster than the speed of light. The laser beam had already exited the chamber, before the end of the laser beam had entered the chamber. Let that bake your noodle for a while, sure did mine.
But still this frame can be measured, so then we can divide this time frame into even smaller parts. So this does not correspond with Paul's statement. So what else is there? What other time frame is there that man has not and cannot measure? If you think hard enough, you are already hard at work exercising it! The speed of thought! It cannot be measured because there is no distance to be traveled. The same instant that the thought occurs, it is received, and translated to be understood.
Let's look at this more closely. This is the way that God has moved throughout the Bible. In Acts 2:2, "And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting." The word here, suddenly, in the original Greek is 869 aphno (af'-no); adverb from 852 (contraction); unawares, i.e. unexpectedly: KJV-- suddenly.
It means unawares, unexpectedly, without warning. In other words, the next thing that they knew, there was a sound from heaven. They didn't hear the sound coming from a distance, they heard it at the time that the Holy Ghost fell. When there is a sound coming from a distance, like a train, you may not be able to see it, but you can definitely hear it! But the ones in the upper room did not even hear this sound from Heaven, not until it was upon them in the power of the Holy Ghost.
Let's look at another scripture, Acts 8:38-40, "And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing. But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Caesarea."
Wow! That's some means of transportation! No trains or airplanes for Philip. He is riding on the HolyGhost Highway #777.
Notice the scripture says that when THEY were come up out of the water. Philip was there in the water with the eunuch, together. But the word says that the eunuch, after they came up out of the water, SAW Philip no more! If Philip had been moving at the speed of light, the eunuch would have seen him taken away. He would have seen him as a blur of light. Just like we can see the rays from the sun, even though they are traveling at the speed of light. But the eunuch didn't see anything! Talk about a disappearing act (I bet Houdini didn't even have an act that could top that!).
The word here, caught, is 726 harpazo (har-pad'-zo); from a derivative of 138; to sieze (in various applications): KJV-- catch (away, up), pluck, pull, take (by force). So we see that God just siezed him from the situation and placed him somewhere else. This word is used a total of 37 times in the entire Bible. 5 of which are speaking of the rapture or a type of the rapture, including 1Thes 4:16-17: "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."
The other 32 time that this word is used, all have different various meanings. But in all 5 of these places, the same definition is applied in the Greek.
Now when Jesus appeared to Mary, he said that "he had not yet ascended to the Father". Then a few days later, he appeared to Peter and some other disciples on the Mount with Moses and Elijah in his glorified body. The nearest star is several light years away. It would have taken Jesus, traveling at the speed of light, several light years to ascend to Heaven and then several light years to descend back down again. But this happened in mere days of time. By the same token, the Disciples did not wait for several light years for the Holy Ghost to fall, but days alone.
Now if we have the same glorified bodies that Jesus had here on Earth. We will be able to do things that he did also. Things like walking through walls, or traveling at the speed of thought! Want to go visit Uncle Joe and Aunt Bertha over in Timbuktu? No problem, just as quickly as you think it, you will be there. Just imagine. No more waiting for traffic signals and bad drivers! No more toll booths and road construction. This highway has been under construction for some 6000 years and is designed by the best architect ever!
John wrote in Rev 4:1-2, "After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter. And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.
He said that "immediately" he was translated into Heaven. The Bible says in Heb 11:5, "By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God."
Translated here is 3346 metatithemi (met-at-ith'-ay-mee); from 3326 and 5087; to transfer, i.e. (literally) transport, (by implication) exchange (reflexively) change sides, or (figuratively) pervert: KJV-- carry over, change, remove, translate, turn.
So this says that it is to "change sides, to transport, exchange, remove, turn". The American Heritage Dictionary defines "translated" this way: "to move from one place to another without rotation". Without rotation? Let's look at what rotation is: "a single complete cycle of motion." So putting all this together, we get this: to move from one place to another WITHOUT MOVING. Talk about awesome!!!! In fact, the same dictionary gives a synonym for transport. I bet you can guess what it is? You guessed it! RAPTURE!!!!! Our God is indeed an awesome God!!!
This is just one of the many things that God has in store for us. Just one of the many things to look forward to. What an event to be able to be apart of!