The Greek noun stigme means a point, mark, or instant of time — the briefest possible moment. Related to stigma (a mark or puncture), stigme when applied to time means a point in time — what we would call an instant or moment. It appears only once in the New Testament (Luke 4:5).
Though stigme occurs only once in the New Testament, its context is unforgettable. During Jesus' temptation, the devil takes him to a high place and 'showed him in an instant (stigme chronou) all the kingdoms of the world.' The phrase stigme chronou — 'a moment/point of time' — emphasizes the supernatural, vision-like quality of this temptation. All the world's power and glory compressed into a single dazzling instant. This single use of stigme illuminates something important about temptation: the devil offers eternal glory for a temporal moment of compromise. The kingdoms of the world, shown in a flash, in exchange for one act of worship. Jesus' refusal models the believer's call to evaluate not in the instant of temptation but sub specie aeternitatis — from the perspective of eternity. The related word atom (atomos, G823 — 'in a moment') in 1 Corinthians 15:52 describes the resurrection: 'in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye... we will all be changed.' The instant of temptation and the instant of resurrection — both stigme moments — but with infinitely different outcomes.