The Last Enemy

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

Certain members of the Corinthian congregation denied the future resurrection of the righteous. In response, Paul stresses how necessary our resurrection is by appealing to Christ’s past Death and Resurrection. His resurrection is the precedent for the future consummation of our salvation. We will be raised bodily from the dead when he “arrives.” His sudden appearance will mean the termination of Death itself.

After the return of Jesus, Death will be no more; “Death will be swallowed up in victory.” This understanding contradicts any concept that envisions a future interim period during which death still occurs.

[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 from Heaven.

The Apostle begins his defense with the 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).

The heart of the matter is the absolute necessity of bodily resurrection. All of Paul’s arguments are crafted to support this 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. Our coming resurrection is based on the past resurrection of the Son of God. Furthermore, bodily resurrection 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,” which 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, the “firstborn of the dead,” and at his “arrival,” this process will be consummated - (1 Corinthians 15:23).

HIS RETURN

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 the "Kingdom” to his God and Father, after which, God will be “all in all” - (1 Corinthians 15:24-28).

Paul’s purpose is not to present all the details related to the return of Jesus. Specific subjects are introduced because they support his argument for the resurrection of the righteous dead.

Jesus was raised as the “first fruits” of those who “sleep.” Logically, dead believers will participate in the same kind of resurrection that he did, though only 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 cessation of death will coincide with Christ’s “arrival.” 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, therefore, death will be no more.

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

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

Our hope of final salvation rests on belief in the future resurrection and life in the New Creation, which, in turn, is based on the past death and bodily resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. Belief in the resurrection - Christ’s past and our future resurrection - is foundational to the Apostolic Faith of the New Testament.

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SEE ALSO:

• The Final Harvest - (The saints will be assembled before Jesus on the Last Day, and the wicked will be collected for judgment and cast from his presence)

• The Holy City - (New Jerusalem will be populated to fulfill the promise to bless all nations through the Patriarch, Abraham– Revelation 21:24-22:5)

• His Salvation Offer - (The Good News announced by Jesus of Nazareth and preached by his Church offers salvation to men and women of every nation and people)