Weekly Devotional

Strength Series: "The Promise of the Spiritual Body" (Volume I Devotional #008)

“For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.” I Thessalonians 4.15-19

Did you know, my brothers and sisters in Christ, one day you are going to fly through the air? Yes indeed! It says it right there in the Word of God by the Apostle Paul to the Church of the Thessalonians. Think of it in your minds eye, “in a moment…”¹

…Oh boy, this traffic is crazy, and this guy just cut me off, “in the twinkling of an eye…”² and then all of the sudden…

…Oh man, the coffee machine is not working again in the office, ahh, I wonder if I have enough time to get to the coffee shop before my shift starts?…”In the twinkling of an eye…”³ and then all of the sudden…

…Oh Lord, I hate this body, I cannot do all the things I used to, I haven’t got the strength I need to get all the things I need to do today. This sickness is really taking its toll…”in the twinkling an eye…”⁴ and then all of the sudden…

…Father, how can you love me after everything I have ever done?…”In the twinkling of an eye…”⁵ and then all of the sudden…

The first thing you notice is everything around you takes on a different hue of color, the yellows, the reds, the greens and all the colors of the Rainbow⁶ you see all around you brighten, and then you remember, the promise, and as you begin to ponder in your mind the Rainbow Covenant of God many things happen all at once.

Your body begins to become warm. A warmness that is strong and you know that it seems you are going to burn up,⁷ but instead it is warmness meant to clean,⁸ a warmness that feels so good that the possibility of ever being cold again is not even a thought or worry. A purifying, not just for your mind, but to just get released from the bondages of the materials and powers of this world around you,⁹ much like being snatched up¹⁰ very quickly¹¹ from being in a swimming pool of water.

All of the sudden, you realize that just as all these things are happening around you and to your earthly body, all of the thoughts you have ever had of the Rainbow and what the Word of God says of it in these few moments¹² have been simultaneously accompanied with all the thoughts you have ever had in life. Every thought and prayer to God, every question, every event, every moment from your birth up until the present have been brought to the forefront of your mind. Just as quickly as the thoughts and inquiries that enter your mind, all of the answers are given, all the information was given, and all mystery of your existence was removed.¹³ More importantly than all of that, you possessed no doubt that everything that had happened in your earthly existence was all as it should be, there were no regrets,¹⁴ no shame, no guilt,¹⁵ no anger or hurt,¹⁶ it was all gone, completely and totally under the blood of Jesus Christ,¹⁷ Who is the image of the invisible God,¹⁸ the Great I AM.¹⁹

Then suddenly, the warmth that had become fire, begins to dwindle within yourself²⁰ and you begin to look around. You immediately notice the men and women who were once around you are now like trees²¹ where they stand and all the emotions you had once felt surging through your mind and heart are beginning to be seen through the lens of the full ripeness of the fruits of the Holy Ghost,²² full love and self-control. As the full peace of Jesus Christ fills your heart like no other time in your life, you feel the strength of God enter your bones and in every muscle of your body, the strength of a thousand of the strongest warriors, the strength of that like Samson²³ enters your body. As you look down at your arms, you noticed your skin glowing²⁴ and that you are clothed with the whitest of the whitest robes you had ever seen before, so white it is nearly blinding to the eyes.²⁵ The material is of the finest silk and linen you had ever felt before on your skin.²⁶ It is at this point you completely realize you have entered into eternity, time is no longer existent, your new body, you now possess, would have allowed you to do an infinitesimal amount of things during this time, but it was “in a moment…”²⁷

“…in the twinkling of an eye,”²⁸ you heard the sound you have been waiting for all your life, the trumpet of God, and the voice of an archangel, “Blessed are those who are called to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb!”²⁹

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Prayer: Father of Heaven and Earth, we praise You, Father, for this Day to come to past. Let us , Father, look to Jesus, Your Son, as the sole desire of our hearts and minds everyday of every moment. Please, Father, while we wait for You, help us to do Your will for our lives, and help us, Your Church to love one another, as we should, so that the world may see the simplicity of our fellowship in Your Holy Ghost and may the Triune God be glorified throughout all the Earth. We pray this in Jesus’ mighty name. Amen.

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1. I Corinthians 15.52a, NKJV.

2. I Corinthians 15.52b, NKJV.

3. I Corinthians 15.52b, NKJV.

4. I Corinthians 15.52b, NKJV.

5. I Corinthians 15.52b, NKJV.

6. Read: Genesis 9.12-17.

7. Read: Exodus 3.2, 24.17; Deuteronomy 4.24, 9.3; Mark 12.26; and Luke 20.37.

8. Read: Matthew 3.12; Luke 3.17; and I Corinthians 15.42-46.

9. Read: Ephesians 4.20-24 and I John 2.16-17.

10. Read: I Thessalonians 4.17.

11. Read: I Corinthians 15.52-54.

12. “These few moments” is being referred by the author as defined by the Word of God to the words “twinkling of an eye…” (I Corinthians 15.52b, NKJV), which is the time that it takes for a human eye to blink. It is has been measured by scientists as approximately 100 to 150 milliseconds. To grant the reader a different perspective of the amount time it takes for the human eye to blink, 100 to 150 milliseconds is equal to 10 to 15 percent of a second.

13. Read: Mark 4.11; John 15.15; and I John 2.20.

14. Read: II Corinthians 7.10.

15. Read: Romans chapter 8.

16. Read: John 14.15-26.

17. Read: Ephesians 2.13; I John 1.7; 5.6; and Revelation 1.5.

18. Read: Colossians 1.15

19. Read: Exodus 3.14.

20. Read: John 17.22.

21. Read: Mark 8.24.

22. Read: Galatians 5.22-23.

23. Read: Judges 15.14-17.

24. Read: Exodus 34.34-35 and II Corinthians 3.7-11

25. Read: Isaiah 61.10; Revelation 7.9, 13-14.

26. Read: Ezekiel 16.10.

27. I Corinthians 15.52a, NKJV.

28. I Corinthians 15.52b, NKJV.

29. Revelation 19.9, NKJV.