The End of Death

The arrival of Jesus at the end of the age will result in our resurrection and the end of the last enemy, Death - 1 Corinthians 15:24-28.

Certain members of the Corinthian congregation denied the future resurrection of the dead. In response, the Apostle Paul explained that bodily resurrection is fundamental to Christian salvation, and he pointed to Christ’s past death and resurrection as the precedent for our own resurrection.

Jesus was our pioneer, the champion who conquered death for us. Because of his “obedience unto death,” God resurrected him; death could not hold that righteous man. Christ has voided the sentence of death that was imposed on all men, “and illuminated life and immortality.” We remain mortal and continue to die. However, like our forerunner, death will not have the final word - (Philippians 2:8, 2 Timothy 1:10, Hebrews 12:2).

• “God raised him, having loosed the throes of death, because it was not possible that he should be bound by it” – (Acts 2:24).

• “For it became him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. <…> Since the children are participants in flesh and blood, he also himself, in like manner partook, of the same; that through death, he might nullify him who held the tyranny of death, that is, the Devil; and might deliver all those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage” – (Hebrews 2:10, 14-15).

• “I am the Living One, and I was dead. And behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades” – (Revelation 1:17-18).

[Photo by Georg Arthur Pflueger (Marburg) on Unsplash]

Christians will be raised from the dead and receive immortal bodies when Jesus arrives – at his ‘Parousia’ - and that day will result in the abolishment of death itself. And Paul revealed something new, a “mystery.” Believers who are still alive when Jesus returns will be transformed and receive immortal bodies. They will not experience death – (1 Corinthians 15:1-58).

In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul describes several key events that will precede or coincide with the ‘Parousia’ of Jesus. He begins his discourse 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).

Resurrection is necessary to complete our salvation, and all of Paul’s arguments in chapter 15 support this proposition. Our hope of salvation is based on the firm foundation of the past death and resurrection of Jesus:

• “For I delivered to you first of all that which also I received, that Christ DIED FOR OUR SINS, according to the scriptures; and that he was buried; and that HE HAS BEEN RAISED on the third day, according to the scriptures” – (1 Corinthians 15:3-4. Note the allusions to Isaiah 53:10-12 and Psalm 16:10-11. Compare Acts 2:24-36, Romans 4:25, Galatians 3:13).

If we are not raised from the dead in the future, then Christ himself was never resurrected, and therefore, preaching the Gospel is pointless. It becomes an empty and powerless message. “The resurrection faith depends on the resurrection faith; otherwise it is empty” (F. F. Bruce, Jesus: Lord and Savior, 1986, page 122).

In fact, the hope of resurrection is pivotal to the message of salvation, and this teaching must not be compromised or abandoned:

• “But if there is no resurrection of the dead, neither has Christ been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then is our preaching vain, your faith also is vain. Indeed, we are found false witnesses of God, because we witnessed of God, that he raised up Christ, whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, neither has Christ been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain. You are still in your sins!” - (1 Corinthians 15:13-17).

Paul argues that “all of us will be made alive, but each in his own order.” Jesus was the “first fruits.” That is, he rose first, and the rest will follow when he arrives. The first fruits offering represented the future full harvest. Originally, it was offered by the Levitical priests at the start of the grain harvest. The first fruits offering made in the Temple was of the same substance as the entire harvest - (Leviticus 2:14, 23:10).

Thus, the resurrection of the dead began with Jesus. Elsewhere, the New Testament designates Christ as the “firstborn of the dead.” When he returns, the process of resurrection will be brought to completion. This description refers to the fact that Jesus was the first one resurrected, but he will certainly not be the last. The term appears several times in the New Testament and is based on a passage from the Psalms:

• “And I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth” - (Psalm 89:27).

• “Christ is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, THE FIRSTBORN FROM THE DEAD; that in all things he might be preeminent” – (Colossians 1:18).

• “Jesus Christ, the Faithful Witness, THE FIRSTBORN OF THE DEAD, and THE RULER OF THE KINGS OF THE EARTH” – (Revelation 1:5).

THE ARRIVAL OF THE SON

In 1 Corinthians 15:23, Paul uses the Greek noun ‘Parousia’ (παρουσια) for the “arrival” of Jesus. He applies the same term to this event in his two letters to the Thessalonians, where Paul also links the gathering of his saints to the “arrival” of Jesus from Heaven - (1 Thessalonians 2:19, 3:13, 4:12-15, 5:23, 2 Thessalonians 2:8).

• “Now, we beseech you, brethren, concerning the arrival [‘Parousia’] of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together unto him” - (2 Thessalonians 2:1. Compare Matthew 24:31 [“Then the sign of the Son of man will appear in heaven. <…> And he will send his angels to gather his elect from one end of heaven to the other”]).

• “But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits; then they that are Christ's, at his arrival [‘Parousia’]. Then the end comes, when he will deliver the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he will abolish all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign until he has PUT ALL HIS ENEMIES UNDER HIS FEET. The last enemy that will be abolished is death. For HE PUT ALL THINGS IN SUBJECTION UNDER HIS FEET. But when he says, ALL THINGS ARE PUT IN SUBJECTION, it is evident that he is excepted who did subject all things to him. And when all things have been subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him that subjected all things unto him, that God may be all in all” - (1 Corinthians 15:23-28).

And so, the arrival of Jesus will mean the end of the present age and the subjugation of all opposition to Christ. The final enemy yet to be destroyed is death itself, that is, death as a reality and inevitable process that lays claim to every man and woman. Only when the “last enemy” is overthrown will Jesus deliver the completed kingdom to his God and Father.

Paul’s purpose in 1 Corinthians is not to describe every detail of the events that will precede the return of the Son of God. He introduces specific subjects because they support his larger argument for the resurrection of the righteous dead.

Jesus was raised as the forerunner of all his brethren who have ever died, and this same Jesus has become the guarantor of our resurrection. We will participate in the same kind of resurrection as he did, but at the appointed time. The end of death will coincide with his arrival. The curse of Adam’s sin and the sentence of death have been invalidated. Therefore, death will not hold us, and on the Last Day, we will shout in triumph:

• “DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP IN VICTORY! OH DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? OH DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” – (1 Corinthians 15:54-57, citing Isaiah 25:8 and Hosea 13:14).

• “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us” – (Galatians 3:13).

• “And the curse will be no more. And the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city. And his servants will serve him. And they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads” – (Revelation 22:3-4).

Resurrection does not mean the resuscitation of decayed corpses. Our mortal bodies will be transformed into another kind of body, one equipped for life in the Spirit. It will not be subject to disease, corruption, or death. The evidence for this is the glorified body of Jesus. We, likewise, will inherit glorified and immortal bodies:

• “So, also, is the raising of the dead. It is sown in corruption. It is raised incorruptible. It is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. So also it has been written: THE FIRST MAN BECAME A LIVING SOUL. The last Adam, a life-giving spirit” - (1 Corinthians 15:42-45. Compare Genesis 2:7 and 1 John 3:2).

• “Behold, I tell you a mystery. We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet, for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed” - (1 Corinthians 15:51-52).

The mystery revealed by the Apostle Paul is that believers who remain alive when Jesus returns will be physically transformed and receive immortal bodies without experiencing death. Both living and dead (but now resurrected) saints will receive immortality.

Thus, the salvation hope of the Church is based on belief in our future resurrection, a belief built on the unshakable foundation of the past death and the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth.

• “Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me, though he dies, yet he will live” – (John 11:25).

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[Citations of Old Testament passages in this article are based on the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, the Septuagint (see the links here and here). Text printed in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS represents quotations and verbal allusions from the Old Testament. The Septuagint is represented by the Roman numeral for ‘seventy’ or LXX based on the Latin name of the translation, ‘Interpretatio septuaginta virorum’]

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SEE ALSO:

• The Revelation of God's Sons - (Redemption includes our resurrection and the new creation, and the Spirit is the guarantee of the future inheritance)

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

• Resurrection and the Spirit - (The covenant with Abraham is fulfilled in Jesus, including the gift of the Spirit, our Resurrection, and new creation – Romans 8:1-30)

• The Age of the Spirit - (The gift of the Spirit is foundational to the New Covenant. It is the beginning of the New Creation and the gathering of the nations)