The Last Enemy

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.

Belief in the resurrection of the saints is central to the Christian doctrine of salvation. This is especially so in the writings of Paul, who leaves us in doubt as to when this blessed event will occur: the arrival of Jesus Christ from heaven.

Paul identifies death as ‘the last enemy’. This is an accurate label, not only because death will be the final enemy abolished chronologically speaking, but because death is humanity’s ultimate enemy, the power that enslaves every man and woman. Regardless of our social, economic, or political status, or our righteous deeds, we all die in the end.

The same concept is found near the end of the Book of Revelation, although there are no direct literary links between the fifteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians and Revelation. Because Jesus has “the keys of Death and Hades,” both Death and Hades are thrown into the Lake of the Fire after the Beast, the False Prophet, and Satan – (1 Corinthians 15:26, Revelation 1:18, 20:14-15).

[Photo by Ümit Yıldırım (Istanbul) on Unsplash]

Jesus is our champion who conquered death by dying the same death common to all men. Because of his “obedience unto death,” God resurrected him, vindicating his righteous life. Death could not hold him. Because of his obedient death and resurrection, Jesus voided the sentence of death that hangs over every man like an executioner’s axe. It is the Nazarene who “brought life and immortality to light,” and by the time of his return, he will remove the “curse” caused by Adam’s sin and all of its negative effects on humanity and the creation – (2 Timothy 1:10, Hebrews 2:14-18, Revelation 22:3).

In the first chapter of the Book of Revelation, the victory and present reign of Jesus are linked to his past death and resurrection. Christ is the Faithful Witness, the Firstborn of the Dead, and the Chief Prince of the Kings of the Earth - (Revelation 1:4-6).

Jesus is the Living One who died and now lives forever. Having conquered his enemies through his death, the resurrected Christ has authority even over Death and Hades.

John was commanded to send the written record of his visions to the churches of Asia because of Christ’s victory over death. Unlike the Prophet Daniel, who was told to shut and seal the book, John was commanded to write down all that he saw and to send it to the churches:

• “I am the Living One, and I was dead. And behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have THE KEYS of Death and of Hades. Therefore, write the things that you saw, and the things that are, and the things that will come to pass after these” – (Revelation 1:17-19. Note the verbal allusion to Isaiah 22:22).

• “But you, O Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, even to the time of the end” – (Daniel 12:4. Compare Daniel 8:26, Revelation 1:3, 22:10).

Jesus is the only man who has conquered death; therefore, he is fully qualified to encourage the Christians of Asia to persevere in their testimony, even if doing so results in imprisonment and death (“He who is the first and the last declares these things, he who was dead and lived” - Revelation 2:8, 3:7).

Christians who remain faithful will partake of “the tree of life” in the City of God. They will not be harmed by “the Second Death.” Their names will be written in the Book of Life, and Christ himself will proclaim their names before the divine throne. They will become pillars in the Sanctuary of God. They will see God, and His name will be written on their foreheads. The victorious saints will sit with Jesus on his Father’s throne - (Revelation 2:7, 2:11,3:5, 3:12, 3:21, 21:8, 22:1-2, 22:4).

IN CORINTH

We remain mortal and continue to die. However, like our forerunner, Jesus Christ, 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 for him to be held 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).

We will be raised from the dead and receive immortal bodies when Jesus arrives, his ‘Parousia’, and that moment will mean the abolishment of death itself. And in his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul reveals something new, a “mystery.” Believers who remain alive when Jesus returns will be transformed and receive immortal bodies. They will not know death – (1 Corinthians 15:1-58).

Paul describes several key events that will precede or coincide with the arrival of Jesus, but he first poses a rhetorical question to his audience:

• “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 of 1 Corinthians support this proposition. Our hope is based on the firm foundation of the past death and resurrection of Jesus. Our faith is based on this historical fact, which also fulfilled scriptural promises:

• “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 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. This offering was of the same substance as the entire harvest that would soon follow - (Leviticus 2:14, 23:10).

And so, 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 have the pre-eminence” – (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 JESUS

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 Christ - (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. Note the repeated allusion to Psalm 110:1).

The arrival of Jesus will mean the end of the present age and the subjugation of all the opponents of Christ. The final enemy that will be destroyed is death itself, that is, death as a reality and inevitable process. Only when this “last enemy” is overthrown will Jesus deliver the completed kingdom to his God and Father.

Paul’s purpose 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 concerning the resurrection of the righteous dead.

Jesus was raised as the forerunner of all those who have ever died, and this same Jesus is the guarantor of our resurrection. We will participate in the same kind of resurrection as he did, but at the appointed time. 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).

However, 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 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 saints will receive immortality.

The salvation hope of the Church is based on belief in our future resurrection and everlasting life in the New Heavens and New Earth. This belief is built on the unshakable foundation of the past death and the bodily resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, and we must live our present lives accordingly.

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

• “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth are passed away; and the sea is no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband” – (Revelation 21:1-2).

• “And he showed me a river of water of life, bright as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the midst of the street. And on this side of the river and on that was the tree of life, bearing twelve manner of fruits, yielding its fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there will be no curse any more” – (Revelation 22:1-3).

• “Seeing that these things are thus all to be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in all holy living and godliness, looking for and earnestly desiring the coming of the day of God, by reason of which the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? But, according to his promise, we look for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells” – (2 Peter 3:11-13).

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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:

• Jesus Vanquished Death - (Christ’s Death and Resurrection are foundational and indispensable to the teachings of Jesus and the Apostles)

• Salvation for All Men - (The Good News announced by Jesus of Nazareth offers salvation and life to the men and women of every nation)

• The Age of Salvation - (Jesus announced the salvation of God offered to men and women of every nation, marking the commencement of the Age of Salvation)

• Le Dernier Ennemi - (L'arrivée de Jésus à la fin de l'âge signifiera notre résurrection et la fin du dernier ennemi, la mort - 1 Corinthiens 15: 24-28)