And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. Luke 4:5
"It is interesting that there are just three “moments” mentioned in the
New Testament and that there are three different Greek words so
translated, each used one time only in the Bible. Furthermore, each of
these three “moments” is used in a context that is anticipatory of the
future.
First of all, Satan tempted Jesus by flashing before His eyes a vision
of the whole world, offering it to Him immediately without His having to
endure the cross, if He would rule it for the devil. Here the Greek
word for “moment” is stigme, meaning a “point,” like a period
after a sentence. In an infinite “timeline,” it would be just a dot on
the line, a “point” in time.
Satan’s apparent dominion over this world,
though it lasts six thousand years or so, is only a moment compared to
eternity, and Jesus knew this was a poor bargain.
One day, in fact, He will return to reclaim the world from Satan. At
that great day, “we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling
of an eye” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52).
In this passage, the unique word is atomos,
meaning an indivisible particle. That is, in an “atom of time,” too
instantaneous to measure, we shall be changed to be like Him in “his
glorious body” (Philippians 3:21).
Right now, however, our bodies are weak and easily beset with pain and
sickness. Nevertheless, we are assured that “our light affliction, which
is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal
weight of glory” (2 Corinthians 4:17). The word here is parautika,
referring specifically to the present moment. What we must endure “here
and now” is so brief compared to the eternity “then and there” that it
is not even “worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be
revealed in us” (Romans 8:18)." HMM
