"For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of Him who hath subjected the same in *hope, because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that THE WHOLE CREATION GROANETH AND TRAVAILETH IN PAIN TOGETHER UNTIL NOW. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, EVEN WE OURSELVES GROAN...waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body." Romans 8:19-23. *hope: Grk. elpō (to anticipate, usually with pleasure); expectation; or confidence. (Strong's)

There is a tremendous amount of groaning going on here; and not only with creation but with those who are of the firstfruits of the Spirit; and for one reason, they are, no doubt, sick to death of pain, sorrow, suffering, and death! For more than six thousand years death and its horrid cohorts have been large portions of what mankind has been afflicted with, and they are tired of it, naturally and spiritually! But there is a silver lining in this dark cloud. For instance:

"The Lord upholds all who fall, and raises up all those who are bowed down. He will give them meat in due season, as He opens His hand and SATISFIES THE DESIRE OF ALL LIVING." Psalms 145:14-16.

Another verse of the Psalms, David expresses what that desire might be. Speaking for himself, which I am sure speaks also of mankind, he wrote: "As for me, I will behold Thy face in righteousness: I SHALL BE SATISFIED when I AWAKE IN THY LIKENESS." Psalm 17:15.

To be changed from the adamic man that was formed from the dust of the ground to a glorious one of the heavens has been creation's groan since the shroud of death was spread over him and all living thereafter. Since that dark day, creation's groan has always been to break through the veil of humanity, of toil, of pain, of sorrow, and of death and enter that better place of God's celestial glory. Without such a dream, there would have been little hope, or no hope at all. Of course, there is that faction of humanity whose souls are so self-centered and dark that their only hope is to fill their base lives with nothing but lusts of flesh and the desires of their carnal minds.

Paul wrote in Ephesians 4:17-20 that they live according useless vanities with their understanding of true values being dark. They are totally alienated from the life of God. Their hearts are blind to the truth as they give themselves over to lascivious and greed.

Disregarding that crowd of rabble, we know that even with the best of the Adamic man, there are none who can achieve that goal of life that dispels all sorrow, suffering, and death. It is impossible for him to ascend to that great Paradise found only in Jesus Christ. That seed, however, has been sown into the spirit of every soul! Therewith, even without knowing what it is, there is a driving force within that urges man to pursue it.

IN HOT PURSUIT

Over the ages people have moaned, cried for, and pursued their hereafter-dreams in a number of ways. Some have embraced reincarnation, others believed in nirvana, or meditation. Many believe that the rapture is the way to glory, or the dogmas of various religions are assumed to be the ticket to utopian bliss. But God has ignored them all. He chose only His way by which to reveal and impart His glory to creation, and that was and is by His Son, Jesus Christ. He was the One in whom it all began and in Whom it will all end; "For of (Grk. from) Him, and through Him, and to (Grk. into) Him are ALL things." Period!

Isaiah penned these enlightening words concerning creation being drawn back into Him:

ALL nations will flow to the Lord's house, Isaiah 2:2; ALL are commanded to look and be saved, Isaiah 45:22-23; Unto God ALL will bow & every tongue swear, Isaiah 45:23; the highway of God enables ALL flesh to see His glory, Isaiah 40:3-5; ALL will see the salvation of God, Isaiah 52:10; THE EARTH WILL BE FULL of the knowledge of the Lord, Isa. 11:19; Egypt & Assyria will be restored, Isaiah 19:14-25; He will be called the God of THE WHOLE EARTH; The Lord will make unto ALL people a feast; He will destroy the veil that's cast over ALL; and He will swallow up death (ALL DEATH) in victory and wipe away ALL tears; the inhabitants will learn righteousness, Isaiah 54:5-9; HE SHALL SEE OF THE TRAVAIL OF HIS SOUL. Isaiah 53:11.

He also wrote: "Behold, My servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom My soul delighteth; I have put My Spirit upon Him: He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles....and my glory I will not give to another, neither My praise to graven images." Isaiah 42:2 & 8

The Bible makes it very clear, that God chose a special Seed of promise by which to reveal His glory and save His creation, and the covenant that ALL FLESH would be cut off was made with Abraham in Genesis 17 . It was passed down to Isaac and carried on to find its fulfillment in Jesus and His Church (Galatians 3:19-29). The seed of flesh was Ishmael, from the bondwoman of an idol worshiping nation, Egypt. There were no promises made to Ishmael, except God would make him a great nation. That seed did become a great nation, and according to Isaiah, two of his Muslim nations are named that will eventually be brought in with the promised seed:

"In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land: Whom the LORD of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance." Isaiah 19:24-25.

Of course, as long as Ishmael and his descendants are of the bondwoman, they cannot be a part of the kingdom of God; but spiritually speaking, and by the Spirit, their hearts can and will be circumcised. When that takes place, they will be blessed and brought in as well, not as rulers in the Kingdom which is reserved for the family inheritors of the King, but as blessed citizens.

However, without Christ and the appointed time, they will all remain void of the promises of life, liberty, and the mysteries of God. Therefore, if anyone is to know anything about God, it will have to be by and in the Promised Seed. (Galatians 4:22-31, Galatians 5:1).

A large portion of Christians have pursued God's promises of celestial bliss in two major ways, and neither has been successful, which are by way of a rapture or by death. While some know what the scriptures say about it, that creation will be delivered from the bondage of corruption by the manifestation of the sons of God. It is by them that the Promised Seed will be ministered and initialized.

We, however, look to being transformed as we noticed earlier in Romans 11:19 where Paul said we would be changed in the twinkling of an eye, and this will not be by sailing away a rapture. The word is not even found in the Bible; but in the true sense of the word, it does describe something people can experience inwardly. For the meaning of the word is "A deep, joyous feeling; ecstasy; utter delight." This is a legitimate expression that describes what it is like when one finds him or herself seized and spiritually caught up to be one in Christ. The word, however, does not have anything to do with taking a trip to the clouds without the aid of an airplane.

Before there can be a manifestation of the sons of God, there has to be a maturing of them. The atomic change of our bodies then takes place, that is, in a moment (Grk. atomos/atoms) and in the twinkling of an eye. (1 Corinthians 15:52).

IN THE TWINKLING OF AN EYE

The Greek word for twinkling is rhipe and means a jerk of the eye. Its root word is rhipto and is defined as a sudden motion which denotes a sudden hurl. Strong's Exhaustive Concordance. Therefore, the twinkling of an eye speaks more of an action rather than a moment of time or a sparkle of light. It suggests that an action will take place, movement is involved; such as, we may be gazing to the north into a bank of dark storm clouds, and suddenly a blazing streak of lightning strikes to the east. Our eyes would instantly shift in that direction to see it. Our eyes would change direction and refocus. We would look away from the dark clouds (of Adam's religious reasoning) and look to and refocus on the Lightning Bolt (the present revelation of the Life, Light, and Truth of Jesus Christ). This hurling of the eyes and refocusing of our vision away from religious turmoil and darkness to the Way, the Truth, and the Life. This is what rhipe speaks of.

You see, as our attention is refocused due to a burst of light, of spiritual revelation and understanding there is a sudden turning from our former focus, regardless of how precious it was to us. Without even thinking about it, we turn from our old way of thinking and seeing things. We no longer give our old doctrines and dogmas a second's notice; for now, the hurling of our vision is fixed on the glorious new life of Jesus Christ, and we are changed into the very thing we now behold and embrace the truth and glory of God.

When our vision and focus changes, we are changed in a moment, (Grk. atomos; smallest particle whether of time or matter - atoms). Being changed suddenly in our understanding is the meaning of the phrase in the twinkling of an eye. In addition to understanding it denotes vision, perspective, perception, and illumination.

And please know that it has absolutely nothing to do with the rapture, so called. Neither does it have to do the second coming of Jesus. What it has to do with is our change into the image of our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul said absolutely nothing about us being raptured. But he did say that we shall be changed when our eye twinkles, and that transformation will be in a moment (in our atoms, and it could very well be very suddenly).

It is a disservice to people when the clergy declare from their pulpits that this is one of the verses that confirms Jesus will return suddenly to instantly whisk them away into the clouds. And from there, travel millions, perhaps, billions of miles into outer space where the mansions that Jesus built for them awaits in heaven. Dear friends, such is nothing but a widely held unscriptural false belief. It is a myth of gigantic proportions. This myth is only second to the one of eternal damnation and everlasting torment in hell for most of God's creation. How could either have ever entered the mind of man?

No brethren, the believers will not be suddenly changed and whisked up and away. There will be no bursting open of graves that will produce the change. Neither will our change come as a result of simply believing the teachings of the rapture, the resurrection, the manifestation of the sons of God, or any other doctrine, for that matter. It is great to believe that which is true; but we find no place in holy writ suggesting that anyone will put on glorified bodies by believing anything regardless of how true the belief is or how sincere and intensely it is believed.

Of course, regardless of what we might believe, as we have just noticed, there will be most likely an alteration of who and what we are. The scriptures speak of being changed, transformed, transfigured, and depending on how the words are used determines the meaning of each. For instance, the same Greek word, metamorphoō, is used when it speaks of us being transformed and Jesus having been transfigured. And Satan can transform himself into an angel of light; however, the Greek word concerning Satan is metaschēmatizō and means to disguise or masquerade.

Jesus was transfigured instantly, and most likely we shall be when we are changed in a moment, in the smallest particle of matter and measurement of time; but there is a change/transformation that does not take place suddenly.

Paul wrote about this ongoing change. It is a work in progress and is not quite so obvious as the glorious change we are pursuing.

"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory TO glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." 2 Corinthians 3:18. Being changed from glory TO glory is one step at a time rather than an instantaneous event. For instance, we all learned and changed day by day as we progressed through school, from the first grade through the twelfth grade. But after graduation we could put into practice all the changes that were made in us throughout those twelve years. So it must be with us and our process of being transformed and then our final transformation.

"And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." Romans 12:2.

So "that you may prove" suggests that we will be daily working out that which is being transformed in us; but there is more as we note the Greek grammar that deals with moods, voices, imperatives, and passives. And coming from me is truly ironic, since I should be the most unlikely candidate to lecture on such. I say this, because through my grade school, junior high, and high school grammar classes, that subject was like a foreign language to me. Frankly, after high school I still could not outline a sentence, and didn't care to. I did know what nouns, verbs, and adjectives were, but that was about the extent of what I learned from those twelve years of English grammar. To add to this, I hated writing, even letters or post cards to my parents while in Germany for two years. I was once called to my company commander's office and told to write my parents because it had been so long since they had heard from me, and were wanting to know if I was well, or alive. So God called a young man, namely me, to fill a calling of everything in which he had no interest or desire at all – and I am so glad!

After I was born of the Holy Spirit and conscripted into His service, that disdain for learning correct grammar and writing changed. I began to have a compulsion to write what was flowing by the Spirit into my heart. Sometimes on napkins in restaurants while at lunch, or scraps of paper that were accessible. Rather than writing being a grievous chore, it became a driving passion – like love, it was pleasantly irresistible! Isn't God Great!!!

Since having been awakened from that dreamland of abhorring the subject of writing to having a love for it, in one form or another, that is just about all I do now. Since the Spirit of the Lord awakened and gave me a desire for grammar in not only the English language but the Greek and Hebrew as well, this has afforded me with somewhat of a knowledge in this field that can surely help others to understand important points in Biblical translations. Therewith, let me share what the word transformed is in the Greek in the verse mentioned above (Romans12:2).

First, it is in the imperative mood which means that it is a command, it is IMPERATIVE. It is something for us to do. It is something to be obeyed, such as, "Wake up!" or "Pay attention!" Secondly, there is a strange thing about this. The word is also in the passive voice, which means that the action of the verb (be transformed) is done to the subject, and in this case it is you and me. So the action of us being transformed is done by someone else. It is imperative that it is done, yet it is saying that for the most part, it will be passively done by another.

So the point is this. God gives us a command, and then He is the one that carries it out. We submit and He brings it to pass. It is not the will and work of the flesh. It is by His Spirit working in us:

 "...It is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." Philippians 2:13. "Who will have all men to be saved..." 1 Timothy 2:4. "And...if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw (drag) all men unto me." John 12:32.

He is the Master Potter who is in charge of our lives. He is the great God of good and evil who adds cool water to our parched souls. He kneads, spins and shapes us on the wheel to fill His purpose. Lastly, He places us in his fiery kiln, twice. First to permanently fix our form like His, and then He brushes on the colorful glazes for us to be fired once more to reflect His unique glory in each of us.

He tells us to be transformed, and then He does it. What a glorious mystery that we are now grasping with much more clarity!

But back to our boring Greek grammar lesson. The also present tense of transformed in the Greek describes the nature of the action at the time, especially in the imperative mood. The thought of the present tense in Greek is something that is not only present, but is happening continuously. For example, it is like a little girl who is presently pretty; but she does not stop being pretty after that present moment passes. She continues to be pretty each day of her life. So it is likewise with us as we are continuously being transformed.

Romans 8:2 is another verse which speaks of this principle, and the Greek indicates that a process is involved. We will also amplify this verse in order to more clearly see what is being said: For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made, is making, and shall continue making me free from the law of sin and death. The words "hath made" is in the indicative, aorist, active voice or tense which is an undefined action. It could indicate an action that took place in the past, is presently in process, and will continue into the future. This action will work until the goal has been reached for which creation has been anxiously awaiting; namely, to be born into the same liberty of the children of God.

This law of life has certainly yet to become a total reality to what all living has desired. It has made neither we nor humanity completely free from the law of sin and death, this is obvious. However, we can say that the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made us free in many areas and to many degrees, it is still making us free in other areas, and shall continue to make us free from the law of sin and death in all remaining quadrants and levels. This action will continue until there is no more sin, until there is no more death, and until we can triumphantly say — "O DEATH, WHERE IS THY STING? O GRAVE, WHERE IS THY VICTORY?" Whether we can see it or sense it in our inmost being, we are truly a work in progress, and this will be for creation as well!

PRAISE GOD! What a great, immutable law is His life! It is clear that all living is not aware of this pristine goal; but there is something of God within each that is driving them in hot pursuit after it. And they will come to know by experience no more sin, no more tears, no more sorrow, no more suffering, no more death, and the grave shall no longer have victory over any of them when His law of life has accomplished all that it was sent to do. The last enemy, DEATH, ALL DEATH, will have been destroyed FOREVER! It is then that THE DESIRE OF ALL LIVING WILL BE SATISFIED!

Such GOOD NEWS, don't you think?