Prayer – Lord, reveal to us this mystery of
transformation. It is so exciting that we have this promise for our mortal
bodies to be transformed into immortal bodies—just like Yours was, Jesus.
Immortal! We will live forever—forever serving You. What can I do to get ready?
I feel like I’m ready now. Come quickly, Jesus. Glory be to the Father...and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
The Scriptures tell us, "The first man, Adam,
became a living person." But the last Adam—that is, Christ—is a
life-giving Spirit. What comes first is the natural body, then the spiritual
body comes later. Adam, the first man, was made from the dust of the earth,
while Christ, the second man, came from heaven. Earthly people are like the
earthly man, and heavenly people are like the heavenly man. Just as we are now
like the earthly man, we will someday be like the heavenly man. What I am
saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that our physical bodies cannot inherit
the Kingdom of God. These dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever.
But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we
will all be transformed! It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an
eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who
have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed.
For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never
die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies. Then,
when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never
die, this Scripture will be fulfilled: "Death is swallowed up in victory….(Isaiah
25:8)" 1 Corinthians 15:45-54 (Underlined for emphasis.)
Meditate. Are you looking for a wonderful secret?
Transformed! Changed from mortal to immortal. No more
dying. How can that be? With God, all things are possible. How and when this
transformation will take place is still a wonderful secret. God has
revealed to us that we will be changed…in the blink or twinkling of
an eye. So fast that we won’t even know it is happening, but we will know
that we are changed. Even the dead in Christ will be transformed to immortal—raising
first. Will we see them? Probably, since we will perhaps be living still. God
has told us—promised it. The twinkling of an eye is just a moment of time. From
mortal bodies that will die or are dead—to immortal bodies that will last
forever.
Will transformation happen without any planning or preparation
for all the believers? Jesus told His disciples and us to…be prepared for we
don’t know just when exactly all this will happen. Read Mark 13 to obtain more
clues as to the end times that Jesus described.
And since you don't
know when that time will come, be on guard! Stay alert! Mark 13:33
When we are changed, will we be just like Jesus was after
His resurrection? I think so. God requires purity—to come before Him. Even the
priests in the earlier Temple days could not touch or go near a dead body. As
immortals we will be pure, like those priests and like resurrected Jesus. We
will also have the righteous character and eternal qualities of Jesus Christ—with
the pure and blameless lives that we strive for now.
Is food important to you? It is such an important part of the life of my family and me. I’ve noted a wonderful thing that post resurrection Jesus got hungry and ate food. That tells me we will be eating for eternity! How wonderful can that be? What will heavenly food be like? Will it just be manna like God provided to the Hebrew people after they left Egypt on their Exodus to the Promised Land? God provided Adam and Eve with a variety of fruits and vegetables in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2).
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| Buffet banquet at a hotel near the Dead Sea. Israel |
According to the book of Revelation we know that there will be trees in Heaven that will provide fruit for us to eat. Yes, we will be eating in Heaven in our immortal transformed bodies. There will be a time of a banquet feast with our Heavenly Father.
The LORD God made
all sorts of trees grow up from the ground—trees that were beautiful and
that produced delicious fruit. In the middle of the garden he placed the
tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Genesis 2:9 (Underlined
for emphasis.)
Then the angel
showed me a river with the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the
throne of God and of the Lamb. It flowed down the center of the main street. On
each side of the river grew a tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit,
with a fresh crop each month. The leaves were used for medicine to heal the
nations. Revelation 22:1-2 (Underlined
for emphasis.)
Let us be glad and
rejoice, and let us give honor to him. For the time has come for the wedding
feast of the Lamb, and his bride has prepared herself. She has been given the
finest of pure white linen to wear." For the fine linen represents the
good deeds of God's holy people. And the angel said to me, "Write this:
Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb." And
he added, "These are true words that come from God." Revelation
19:7-9
Our transformation to an immortal spiritual body will be the
final step for us in God’s eternal plan for mankind. He will ultimately reveal
to us this mystery—and we will live through our transformation to immortality.
Is there a family member or friend that you still need to tell about Jesus?
Will you be ready if our transformation happens tomorrow, the next day, or next
year?
Verses of Salvation ~ I pray that your love will
overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and
understanding. For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you
may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ's return. May you
always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character
produced in your life by Jesus Christ—for this will bring much glory and praise
to God. Philippians 1:9-11
© 2023 Text, photos, and illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All
rights reserved.
All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless
otherwise noted.
New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale
House Foundation.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream,
Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm.
Books by Mickey M.
Hunacek
Available as e-books or paperbacks at Amazon.com
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