Twinkling of an eye..

[visionary]

In Hebraic thought, evening twilight is understood as a transitional period between day and night. It is currently understood that it is evening twilight as long as two stars of medium magnitude are visible, but it is night upon the appearance of a third star of medium magnitude. In ancient times, some understood that night begins in a moment in time which is impossible to determine called the twinkling of an eye. This is interesting, as Paul prophesied that the righteous would be resurrected in the twinkling of an eye.

1 Corinthians 15:51-52 Behold, I tell you a secret; We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet, for it shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

Paul's use of the phrase the twinkling of an eye aligns perfectly with the ancient understanding. The exact moment night begins therefore remains a little mysterious in Hebraic thought. In contrast, the modern world subdivides evening twilight into three definitive subcategories. Evening civil twilight begins at sunset and ends when the center of the sun is 6° below the horizon.

Civil twilight

Nautical twilight is when the center of the sun is between 6° and 12° below the horizon where navigation via the horizon at sea is not possible.

Nautical twilight

Astronomical twilight is when the center of the sun is between 12° and 18° below the horizon where the sky is dark enough for astronomical observations. Morning civil twilight begins when the center of the sun is 6° below the horizon and ends at sunrise.

Astronomical twilight

 

[SAM Wis]

Good observations! I hadn’t thought of comparing/connecting Paul’s “twinkling” with the onset of night.
You have quite a strong presence and evidence of much thought and understanding in this forum! I am not quite sure what direction you are going with this topic, but I wonder if I might add a few thoughts that you have prompted?
Yes, I see the distinctions and differences in understanding of evening/transition time as you listed. Even after 12 years of learning and moving toward Torah observance, I’ve still had a recent discussion about what exactly we use to determine when “night” begins; especially when it is the end of a Shabbat or Shabbatan . Is it the appearance of stars, or when we can no longer see the sun, even if it is buildings or trees blocking the view? Or is it when Greenwich time reaches a certain time declared to be sunset? Or is it 6 pm in Israel time or 6 pm wherever you happen to be? Before the advent of clocks, there was not standardization of minutes or hours but rather the length changed with the lengthening or shortening of the day, correspondingly. Not wanting to fall into legalistic interpretations, yet trying to be obedient, we have still revisited the topic a time or two in light of what we have learned since we first began.

I think perhaps it was the Rabbis that determined it was the appearance of the 2 then 3 stars that defined the time, and no wonder because of all the practical implications in how to observe. I can’t think of a specific Torah reference for that. Do you know where it might be?

And of course, there is similar and ongoing speculation and talk of just when that “twinkling of the eye” transition will happen for those who honor Yeshua Messiah.


A few related thoughts you are probably already familiar with:
In Hebraic understanding, each day begins with the night;
It was evening and it was morning…for each day as recorded in Genesis/Beresheit 1.
A beautiful metaphor for many things; beginnings that are shrouded in darkness and mystery only to burst forth with joy in the morning.
The earth was become formless and void, bursting forth as the light was separated from the darkness and the upper waters separated from the lower waters.
Seeds that must die in the darkness of the ground to burst forth in life.
Messiah in the darkness of the tomb, bursting forth as the Light of the World.

That transitional time can also be spoken of I think, as “between the evenings” the time that the Pesach celebration was to take place. The modern thought is that it is between the time the sun actually sets and the time of full darkness. Ancient sources look as though it is the time from “high noon” until dark, since from that highest point, the sun is already in the process of setting toward evening; and for Pesach, the time of the sacrifice of the lambs. And of course, The Lamb.
I didn’t see a Hebrew counterpart for the Greek word translated as twinkling when quickly checking just now. If there is one, that would probably be enlightening here, too!

And thinking of being the the dark, waiting for the moment of light also makes me think of Yom Teruah, waiting for that sliver of new moon before the shofars sound. The Last Trump also being associated with the transition of the "twinkling of an eye."
Erev for evening, is twice translated as mingling, giving a possible picture of the mixing or intermingling of the light with the dark that happens between the two. Not fully dark; not fully light. A time of possibilities, good or bad. Makes me think of the prohibition against mixing as well. Perhaps also Yeshua’s warning via the angels to the assemblies that we should not be a mixture of hot and cold; lukewarm.
Thanks for your thoughtful observations that prompted mine! Hope I didn't wander too much. It is later than I thought!

 

[visionary]

Noo.. this is great.. I like the way you think... I didn't know that the last trump is also associated with the transition of the "twinkling of an eye".. learn something new every day.

There is also a "twinkling" that happens just at the moment of sunset.. it is a green flash.. but I could not find anything in scripture to use it as a reference to that moment... If you’re watching the Sun dip down on the horizon you might see a green dot appear just above the Sun for just a second.

Green Flash Sunset

Green flashes can occur at sunrise or sunset, and to see one, you need to have an unobstructed view to the horizon. They occur because the light from the Sun is refracted – or bent – as it passes through the Earth’s atmosphere, following the curvature of the Earth. Higher frequency light (bluer light) is bent more than lower frequency light. This is happening all the time, but we’re seeing all the colors of the light spectrum at the same time. But when the Sun is right at the horizon, the redder hues of the color spectrum are blocked by the horizon of the Earth, while the higher frequency wavelengths are still following the curve of the Earth. While the redder light is blocked, the green and blue light is still visible, so we see the green flash.

But this just might be nothing more than a wild goose chase in the learning process.. that's ok.. this is cool.

 

[Gxg (G²)]

Amazing perspective to consider...as most think twinkling refers to an instaneous return but it could be radically different from the perspective of nightime

 

[SAM Wis]

But this just might be nothing more than a wild goose chase in the learning process.. that's ok.. this is cool.

This is indeed COOL!!!

I will have to try to hang around at sunset to see what I can see.
Thanks!

 

[Lulav]

Good observations! I hadn’t thought of comparing/connecting Paul’s “twinkling” with the onset of night.
You have quite a strong presence and evidence of much thought and understanding in this forum! I am not quite sure what direction you are going with this topic, but I wonder if I might add a few thoughts that you have prompted?
Yes, I see the distinctions and differences in understanding of evening/transition time as you listed. Even after 12 years of learning and moving toward Torah observance, I’ve still had a recent discussion about what exactly we use to determine when “night” begins; especially when it is the end of a Shabbat or Shabbatan . Is it the appearance of stars, or when we can no longer see the sun, even if it is buildings or trees blocking the view? Or is it when Greenwich time reaches a certain time declared to be sunset? Or is it 6 pm in Israel time or 6 pm wherever you happen to be? Before the advent of clocks, there was not standardization of minutes or hours but rather the length changed with the lengthening or shortening of the day, correspondingly. Not wanting to fall into legalistic interpretations, yet trying to be obedient, we have still revisited the topic a time or two in light of what we have learned since we first began.

I think perhaps it was the Rabbis that determined it was the appearance of the 2 then 3 stars that defined the time, and no wonder because of all the practical implications in how to observe. I can’t think of a specific Torah reference for that. Do you know where it might be?

And of course, there is similar and ongoing speculation and talk of just when that “twinkling of the eye” transition will happen for those who honor Yeshua Messiah.


A few related thoughts you are probably already familiar with:
In Hebraic understanding, each day begins with the night;
It was evening and it was morning…for each day as recorded in Genesis/Beresheit 1.
A beautiful metaphor for many things; beginnings that are shrouded in darkness and mystery only to burst forth with joy in the morning.
The earth was become formless and void, bursting forth as the light was separated from the darkness and the upper waters separated from the lower waters.
Seeds that must die in the darkness of the ground to burst forth in life.
Messiah in the darkness of the tomb, bursting forth as the Light of the World.

That transitional time can also be spoken of I think, as “between the evenings” the time that the Pesach celebration was to take place. The modern thought is that it is between the time the sun actually sets and the time of full darkness. Ancient sources look as though it is the time from “high noon” until dark, since from that highest point, the sun is already in the process of setting toward evening; and for Pesach, the time of the sacrifice of the lambs. And of course, The Lamb.
I didn’t see a Hebrew counterpart for the Greek word translated as twinkling when quickly checking just now. If there is one, that would probably be enlightening here, too!

And thinking of being the the dark, waiting for the moment of light also makes me think of Yom Teruah, waiting for that sliver of new moon before the shofars sound. The Last Trump also being associated with the transition of the "twinkling of an eye."
Erev for evening, is twice translated as mingling, giving a possible picture of the mixing or intermingling of the light with the dark that happens between the two. Not fully dark; not fully light. A time of possibilities, good or bad. Makes me think of the prohibition against mixing as well. Perhaps also Yeshua’s warning via the angels to the assemblies that we should not be a mixture of hot and cold; lukewarm.
Thanks for your thoughtful observations that prompted mine! Hope I didn't wander too much. It is later than I thought!

You can just go here for proper calculation, understanding that they subtract 18 minutes before actual.

 

[Lulav]

In Hebraic thought, evening twilight is understood as a transitional period between day and night. It is currently understood that it is evening twilight as long as two stars of medium magnitude are visible, but it is night upon the appearance of a third star of medium magnitude. In ancient times, some understood that night begins in a moment in time which is impossible to determine called the twinkling of an eye. This is interesting, as Paul prophesied that the righteous would be resurrected in the twinkling of an eye.


Paul's use of the phrase the twinkling of an eye aligns perfectly with the ancient understanding. The exact moment night begins therefore remains a little mysterious in Hebraic thought. In contrast, the modern world subdivides evening twilight into three definitive subcategories. Evening civil twilight begins at sunset and ends when the center of the sun is 6° below the horizon.

Civil twilight

Nautical twilight is when the center of the sun is between 6° and 12° below the horizon where navigation via the horizon at sea is not possible.

Nautical twilight

Astronomical twilight is when the center of the sun is between 12° and 18° below the horizon where the sky is dark enough for astronomical observations. Morning civil twilight begins when the center of the sun is 6° below the horizon and ends at sunrise.

Astronomical twilight

Think of this in today's world. The resurrection of the death happening just as night falls?:o

 

[visionary]

Think of this in today's world. The resurrection of the death happening just as night falls?:o

Are you thinking about their tripping around the city like the first batch did when Yeshua was in the grave..

 

[Lulav]

That's what came to mind, that and Michael Jackson's Thriller video!

Cause this is Thriller, Thriller night..................

 

[Gxg (G²)]

Yeshua did say that it would be like a thief in the night:

Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him (Matthew 24:42-44).
​

But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. 40 You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him (Luke 12:39-40).

1 Thessalonians 5:2
for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.
1 Thessalonians 5:1-3

2 Peter 3:10
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.
2 Peter 3:9-11
​

And with the night theme and His telling others to stay alert, it'd make sense for his return to be something occurring during the watches of the night. But as it's always the case that it's night in one part of the world while it's day time on the other, perhaps it'd be the case that the possible coming at night will be during night in a place like Israel. Again, the last part is speculation..but it's just a guess.

The other possibility is that perhaps His return will come on the back-end of a great catastrophe when the Sun goes out and becomes blackened. In Revelation 6:12-14/ Revelation 6 , it notes how the Sun itself will turn black--effectively making it night everywhere on the planet--while the other stars fell out of the sky as judgement from the Lord. And all of that preceded the return of the risen Lord/the New Resurrection

 

[Lulav]

and a new beginning can happen when he says:Let there be light" and there is no longer any darkness.

And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there

and

And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle , neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light : and they shall reign for ever and ever.

 

[visionary]

The heavens roll up like a scroll

 

[visionary]

Think of this in today's world. The resurrection of the death happening just as night falls?

The earth shakes, the bodies in the ground stir, and through the dirt they come, some to immortality, some in their decay to see Yeshua come in His Glory, whom they pierced.

 

[dfw69]

Yeshua said to one church that he will give them the bright and morning star .... I wonder if that was a reference to the timing of the rapture

 

[visionary]

Because of another thread discussing the twilight... I thought of this thread.

 

[YHWH_will_uplift]

Because of another thread discussing the twilight... I thought of this thread.

Wow...great insight sister I love it! Thanks for sharing your link!