mystery, excitement, encouragment

Here's another acrylic work from Ross Conklin, titled, "The Coming of the Lord."

"Behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we who are alive and remain shall be changed and caught up together with the Lord in the air. So shall we forever be with Him." This is the main theme for this piece, coming from 1 Corinthians 15: 51-52. Beginning in verse 15 and continuing to verse 58, that chapter speaks extensively of the resurrection of the dead to be with Christ, and of the nature of the resurrection body, different from our current bodies.

Ross illustrates this event, showing the trumpet being blown, and believers joining Christ, above the trumpet blower, in the air. Ross shares his excitement about this event, as with his previous pieces, in his choice of palette; the bright, nearly primary colors making our hearts race just a bit, and we are encouraged, as mentioned in 1 Thessalonians 4: 13-18:

"Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words."

Thanks for sharing, Ross!