1 Corinthians 15:50-58
In the Twinkling of an Eye
50 I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
55 “Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
Micah 2:1-13
Human Plans and God’s Plans
1 Woe to those who plan iniquity,
to those who plot evil on their beds!
At morning’s light they carry it out
because it is in their power to do it.
2 They covet fields and seize them,
and houses, and take them.
They defraud people of their homes,
they rob them of their inheritance.
3 Therefore, the Lord says:
“I am planning disaster against this people,
from which you cannot save yourselves.
You will no longer walk proudly,
for it will be a time of calamity.
4 In that day people will ridicule you;
they will taunt you with this mournful song:
‘We are utterly ruined;
my people’s possession is divided up.
He takes it from me!
He assigns our fields to traitors.’”
5 Therefore you will have no one in the assembly of the Lord
to divide the land by lot.
False Prophets
6 “Do not prophesy,” their prophets say.
“Do not prophesy about these things;
disgrace will not overtake us.”
7 You descendants of Jacob, should it be said,
“Does the Lord become[a] impatient?
Does he do such things?”
“Do not my words do good
to the one whose ways are upright?
8 Lately my people have risen up
like an enemy.
You strip off the rich robe
from those who pass by without a care,
like men returning from battle.
9 You drive the women of my people
from their pleasant homes.
You take away my blessing
from their children forever.
10 Get up, go away!
For this is not your resting place,
because it is defiled,
it is ruined, beyond all remedy.
11 If a liar and deceiver comes and says,
‘I will prophesy for you plenty of wine and beer,’
that would be just the prophet for this people!
Deliverance Promised
12 “I will surely gather all of you, Jacob;
I will surely bring together the remnant of Israel.
I will bring them together like sheep in a pen,
like a flock in its pasture;
the place will throng with people.
13 The One who breaks open the way will go up before them;
they will break through the gate and go out.
Their King will pass through before them,
the Lord at their head.”
St. Paul in his first epistle to the Corinthians, writes about salvation in our LORD Jesus Christ...And he writes about how it happens quickly...St. Paul says, "Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet...For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed...For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality...When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”...“Where, O death, is your victory?...Where, O death, is your sting?”...The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law...But thanks be to God!...He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ...
St. Paul says we will have a sudden victory into immortality an the time of redemption, at the time of the last trumpet...And as we read the Book of Micah, it reminds me what St. Paul has told us about this great promise of salvation, and the quickness of the LORD in this respect...The Prophet Micah has warned us of our coming judgment for our sins...But then in his verses starting with verse twelve, a sudden change...The scene has abruptly shifted, and now quickly is the promise of deliverance...Our Father will gather His children and bring them together with Him...Much like a shepherd would do for His sheep...Almost in St. Paul's flash and blinking of the eye the scene Micah painted has shifted...And in this flash we go from the worst of times to the best of times...Deliverance will happen in the twinkling of an eye...The speed will be Godspeed...And we are in God's hands...