Death, the Last Enemy

The arrival of Jesus at the end of the age will mean the resurrection and the end of the Last Enemy, namely, Death - 1 Corinthians 15:24-28.

Certain members of the congregation in Corinth denied the future resurrection of the righteous. Paul responded by stressing how necessary our resurrection is and by appealing to the past Death and Resurrection of Jesus. His resurrection was and remains the precedent for our future resurrection and life in the coming age. We will be raised bodily when he “arrives,” and his appearance will mean nothing less than the end of Death itself.

[Photo by Richard Bell on Unsplash]

Paul revealed something new in his defense of the resurrection. Believers still alive on the Last Day will be transformed and receive immortal bodies. He also described the key events that will precede the ‘Parousia’ (παρουσια) or “arrival” of Jesus. The Apostle began with a rhetorical question:

• “If Christ is proclaimed that he has been raised from among the dead, how say some of you there is no resurrection of the dead?” – (1 Corinthians 15:12).

From Paul’s perspective, the heart of the matter is the absolute necessity for bodily resurrection. All his arguments are designed to support that proposition, and its basis is the past resurrection of Jesus.

If there is no future resurrection, then “not even Christ has been raised,” and if that is the case, then the Gospel is null and void. Thus, our coming resurrection is based on the past resurrection of the Son of God. Furthermore, it is pivotal to the teachings and salvation hope of the Church.

Paul then argues that “all will be made alive, but each in his own rank” or “order.” Jesus was the “first fruits” - He rose first - The rest will follow “at his arrival.” That event will constitute “the end when he delivers up the Kingdom to God and brings to nothing all rule, authority, and power.”

Thus, the raising of the dead began with Jesus of Nazareth, the “firstborn of the dead,” and at his future “arrival,” this process will be consummated - (1 Corinthians 15:23).

HIS ARRIVAL

Paul uses the Greek noun ‘Parousia’ for the “coming” or “arrival” of Jesus. For example, in his first letter to the Thessalonians, he links the resurrection of dead believers to the “arrival” of Jesus from Heaven - (1 Thessalonians 4:12-15, 5:23, 2 Thessalonians 2:1, 2:8).

His ‘Parousia’ will mean “the end” of the present age, the subjugation of all his enemies, and the termination of Death. The latter is the “Last Enemy” that must be destroyed. Only then will he deliver his now completed "Kingdom” to his God and Father, after which, “God will be all in all” - (1 Corinthians 15:24-28).

Paul’s purpose was not to describe in detail all the events that will accompany the return of Jesus. Specific subjects are introduced because they support his argument for the bodily resurrection of the righteous dead.

Jesus was raised as the “first fruits” of those who “sleep,” their forerunner and the guarantor of their own resurrection. Dead believers will participate in the same kind of resurrection that he did, though at the appointed time. In the conclusion of his argument, Paul returns to the subjects of the resurrection and the end of Death:

• (1 Corinthians 15:51-58) - “We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed… During the last trumpet, for it shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”

The end of death will coincide with the “arrival” of Jesus. That day will mark the final overthrow of all God’s enemies and the consummation of His rule. After that, there will be no more enemies to conquer, and death will be no more. The curse of Adam’s sin will be invalidated forever, and therefore, Christ’s resurrected saints will shout in triumph:

• “Death is swallowed up by victory! Oh Death, where is your victory? Oh Death, where is your sting?” – (1 Corinthians 15:54-55).

The bodily resurrection does not mean the resuscitation of corpses. Our mortal bodies will be transformed into another kind of body, one that is equipped for life in the Spirit. It will not be subject to disease, decay, and death. The evidence for this hope is the glorified body of Jesus Christ, our “first fruits.” We, likewise, will inherit glorified bodies. Our life in the coming age will be an embodied existence, not a disembodied state - (1 Corinthians 15:35-50).

The “mystery” that is revealed in Paul’s discussion is that believers who remain alive when Jesus returns will be physically transformed and receive immortal bodies. They will not experience death.

The salvation hope of the Church is based on belief in our future resurrection and life in the New Creation, which, in turn, is based on the past Death and the bodily Resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth.

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SEE ALSO:

• Jesus Conquered Death! - (Paul reminded Timothy of the resurrection of Jesus and his victory over death since false teachers were denying the future resurrection of believers)

• Final Events - (In explaining the resurrection, Paul lists key events that will precede or coincide with Christ’s arrival at the end of the age)

• Salvation and Resurrection - (Central to the future hope of the Apostolic Faith is the bodily resurrection of the dead when Jesus arrives to gather his saints)

• La Mort, le Dernier Ennemi - (L'arrivée de Jésus à la fin de l'âge signifiera la résurrection et la fin du Dernier Ennemi, à savoir la Mort - 1 Corinthiens 15: 24-28)