The Death of Death

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

Certain members of the Corinthian congregation denied the future resurrection of the righteous. Paul responded by stressing how necessary our resurrection is and pointing to Christ’s Death and Resurrection as the precedent for our bodily resurrection. We will be raised from the dead when he “arrives.” His appearance will mean nothing less than the termination of Death itself. Death will cease to occur after that final day.

Paul revealed something new in his defense of the resurrection. Believers still alive on that day will be transformed and receive immortal bodies. He also described the key events that will precede the ‘Parousia’ or “arrival” of Jesus.

[Photo by Georg Arthur Pflueger on Unsplash]

The Apostle began 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).

From his perspective, the central issue was the absolute necessity of bodily resurrection. Each of his arguments is crafted to support this proposition. Moreover, its basis is Christ’s past resurrection.

If there is no future resurrection, “not even Christ has been raised.” 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, and it is pivotal to the teachings and salvation hope of the Church.

Paul next 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 will deliver the Kingdom to God and bring to nothing all rule, authority, and power.”

The raising of the dead began with Jesus, the “firstborn of the dead,” and it will be consummated when he returns to raise us from the dead and “gather his elect from the four winds of heaven” - (Matthew 24:31, 1 Corinthians 15:23, 2 Thessalonians 2:1).

HIS RETURN

Paul uses the Greek noun ‘Parousia’ (παρουσια) for the “coming” or “arrival” of Jesus. For example, in his first letter to the Thessalonians, he linked 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, the resurrection of his saints, and the termination of Death. The latter is the “Last Enemy” that must be destroyed. Then he will deliver the "Kingdom” to his God and Father. After that, 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 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 fully equipped for life in the Spirit. That body will not be subject to disease, decay, and death. The evidence for this hope is the glorified body of Jesus.

We, likewise, will inherit glorified bodies. Our life in the coming age will be an embodied existence, not life in a disembodied state - (1 Corinthians 15:35-50).

The new “mystery” revealed in the passage is that believers who remain alive when Jesus returns will be physically transformed. They will not experience death. Our salvation hope rests on belief in this 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:

• The Era of Salvation- (The Gospel of the Kingdom announced by Jesus of Nazareth offers salvation and life to men and women of every nation and people)

• Abolishing Death - (Christ’s real Death and bodily Resurrection are foundational and indispensable to the Apostolic Faith)

• Final Events - (The future arrival of Jesus will be a day of great finality)