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First Corinthians 15:23-28

Having reviewed the evidence for the resurrection of Christ - many infallible proofs (Acts 1:3) - Paul then
stated it a joyous proclamation - Christ is risen from the dead - the firstfruits of those who have fallen
asleep.
The firstfruits shows Jesus to be the first one to be raised in a glorified body - THE Son of God - as well as
the guarantee for all those who are born again, sons of God - that their bodies will just as surely be
glorified.
Paul showed the Corinthians that this was no less than the plan of God for His creation of mankind. It was
through the first man, Adam, that God obtained men in the flesh - through natural birth. But death passed
through upon all born in Adam, due to sin.
In order to obtain living sons, a second birth was needed - a spiritual birth - through which men receive
righteousness and eternal life for their bodies - as they unite themselves to Gods second man, Christ, by
faith. Gods plans are always accomplished; His will is always done. This is why resurrection is absolutely
assured for all those who died, believing into Christ.
Having shown the certainty of resurrection, Paul continues now by showing just when resurrection will be
completely accomplished. What Paul is pointing out to the Corinthians is that through raising Jesus from
the dead, God has already set in motion the final defeat - of Death itself.
Well continue our study in verse 23, but I want to read from verse 20 again, to get Pauls full thought here.
[First Corinthians 15:20-28]
In verses 20-22, Paul has indicated that the resurrected Christ is the guarantee that all who die believing in
Him will be raised from the dead in like manner - in a glorified body of spirit-life.
Because Paul supports this by referring to Gods plan for all mankind - accomplished through the two men,
Adam and Christ - we understand that when Paul spoke of those who have fallen asleep in Christ, he meant
this in the broadest sense possible - this is true for all the believing dead through time, from Adam forward.
But as we enter Pauls next section of thought, he begins in verse 23 to qualify a subset of the believing
dead. Notice in verse 22, it was, In Christ all shall be made alive but in verse 23, Paul begins with, But
each one. The subset here is those who are Christs at His coming.
Now, we might quickly assume that this would mean the church - when Christ comes for us. But if we
consider the passage in context, we will see that Paul cant be referring to the church.
Verse 23 and verse 24 are a single sentence in the Greek. Verse 24 begins with the word, Then - which is
mid-sentence, indicating a continuation. The word comes, in the NKJV is in italics; it is not in the
original; this phrase would more literally read, then is the end.
Paul did not intend the content of these two verses to be consecutive, but concurrent. He is qualifying what
will be going on at the time of Christs coming - that is, at the time of His return. Paul would want to
qualify this in order to specify which return of Christ he is speaking about.

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Christ will descend from heaven, to catch up the church - His bride - to Himself, in the air, and then bring
her to their heavenly home. What do we call that? The Rapture.
But in little more than seven years from that time, Christ will return again, this time to the earth, to rule
over His kingdom -And what is that called? The Second Coming - His second coming to the earth.
So which return is this? Well, we see that Paul qualifies this return as the end, when Christ delivers the
kingdom to God the Father; when Christ puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. When will
Christ do that? When He returns to the earth, at His Second Coming.
As we learned last week, thats when He will be setting up His kingdom on the earth; and thats when He
will call the dead out of the graves - those who are Christs - and they will be resurrected, in bodies of
glory. That was the first resurrection that we learned of last week, which Jesus called the resurrection of
Life (Jn 5:28-29).
Is the church part of that resurrection? No; when the resurrection of Life takes place, the church will
already have been caught up to meet her Lord in the air - the Rapture - and she will already have been in
her heavenly home, the New Jerusalem, for seven bliss-filled years. The church is not part of the
resurrection of Life, which will take place on the earth. We are a heavenly people; our citizenship is in
heaven (Phil 3:20).
But death has been overturned for us, as well, right? So why wouldnt Paul mention the church here? We
could say Paul saves the most glorious for last.
Hell speak of the raising up of the church near the end of this chapter, starting in verse 51. And we note
there that Paul switches his pronouns in that passage to the first person plural, we, us - by which he
includes himself and the Corinthian believers in the raising up of the church, as is appropriate.
It makes sense that Paul would not include the church in this part of his discussion - which pertains
specifically to raising the dead. Remember, there are some in the church who will still be alive, when Jesus
returns for His Bride; not all of us will actually be resurrected - for some of us will not have died! So only
some of the church - those believers who have died - will be resurrected.
The church is a special case for another reason. The church has such closeness with Christ that we are
referred to as His Body. Well His body has already been raised, hasnt it? Its part of Him. Paul wrote in
Ephesians that God has made us alive together with Christ, and raised us up together, and made us sit
together in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus (Eph 2:5-6).
God already sees us as raised with Christ (Col 3:1), because of the unique intimate union that the Bride
has, with her Bridegroom - were one. Paul also wrote in Ephesians, we are members of His body, of His
flesh and of His bones. (Eph 5:30).
In this sense, we see that we are actually of Christs resurrection (Rm 6:5) - raised together with Him. This
may be why James refers to the church as a kind of firstfruits of His creation [of mankind] (Jam 1:18).
We are already a completely new creation, in Christ (2 Cor 5:17), from Gods perspective.
Lets return now to what Paul is saying here in this part of chapter 15, concerning Christ and those who are
Christs, at His coming. Notice in verse 23 that Paul says, But each one in his own order.

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The language leads us to expect an extended sequence of some kind, and the word order does sometimes
reflect that. But here, the idea is simply things in turn, and there are only two things that are taking a turn;
Christ, the firstfruits; and then, those who are Christs at His coming.
What Paul is emphasizing to the Corinthians is that only Christ has been raised from the dead, as of yet.
Those who died believing in Him wont be raised until the end - which is when that harvest of sons of God
will be complete.
That harvest of glorified sons of God will be gathered into Christs earthly kingdom, over which Hell reign
for 1000 years. This suggests that the kingdom must be made ready, before the resurrection of Life takes
place. And thats exactly what Paul indicates here, in verses 24-26. Heres the preview.
Christ will return to the earth - His Second Coming (v. 23). That will be the end (v. 24) - the end of Gentile
dominion; the beginning of Christs kingdom. Jesus will subdue all of those opposed to Him (v. 24) - these
are His enemies, as Paul brings out in verse 25.
Then the very last enemy is destroyed - the great enemy of the subjects of Christs kingdom on earth. What
is this enemy, in verse 26? Death. Death will be destroyed; it will no longer reign, over Gods creation of
mankind.
Now that weve had a preview, lets look together at just a few of the things the Scriptures have to say
about this time. Well begin in the Revelation that Jesus gave to the apostle John.
Turn first to Revelation chapter 19. The revelation about things to come - which will take place during the
Tribulation and into the Kingdom Age - occupies chapters 4-22. Its important to understand that this
revelation which John saw was not given in the order that events will occur, but as a series of images, with
their details.
As it indicates from the beginning of the revelation, it was signified - given in signs, pictures - to John (Rev
1:1). The images are mostly symbolic, and often draw on OT imagery, with which John would be familiar.
In chapter 19, John was given to see the return of Christ to the earth - His Second Coming. In reverse
chronology, the first image John sees is Jesus returning as the conqueror, judge and king (v. 11-16). The
second image is the campaign through which He obtained His victory (v. 17-21).
[Revelation 19:11-21]
v. 11 The white horse is a symbol of conquest. So John was being shown the image of a conqueror. This
Conqueror is identified in His person as Faithful and True, and His actions are described as righteous - He
makes only right judgments, and in conflict He is always in the right. Is there any question as to who this
Conqueror must be? The Lord Jesus Christ.
The description continues.
v. 12-13 The description of His eyes, as a flame of fire, speaks of judgment. Jesus will search out all that
is ungodly, to remove it from His kingdom (Jude 15). Notice that there are many crowns on His head. The
idea is that He already has conquered; He already has the victory. This is borne out by His garment, which
is bloodied; the war is over. He has come to judge the nations over which He has had the victory. They are
now His captives.

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John says that this Conqueror had a name written that no one knew, except Himself. In verse 16, this
written name is revealed: King of kings, and Lord of lords. No one knew Jesus by that name, when He
first came - as the humble servant of Jehovah, the Savior. But now Jesus comes as the glorious Conqueror and everyone will know Him by this name.
The Conqueror does not come alone.
v. 14-16 So who are these armies - armies in heaven - that follow the Conqueror? Paul reveals in his
second letter to the Thessalonians that the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels
(2 Th 1:7). Jesus is being shown to John as Jehovah Sabaoth - the LORD of Hosts.
Here are the hosts of heaven, accompanying Jesus, to the earth. They are clothed in fine linen - which is
symbolic in Scripture of righteousness.
The garment of the Conqueror was bloodied. What about theirs? Their garments are white and clean. The
idea is that Jesus alone overcame His enemies, and had the victory (Is 63:1-6). This is borne out at the end
of verse 15: He Himself - alone - tread the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
The Conqueror has conquered; it is done (Rev 16:17). The kingdoms of this world will have become the
kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ (Rev 11:15). This is the end - of Gentile dominion (Dan 2:36-45).
So then, for what reason do the angels accompany Jesus? To execute His judgment, on those remaining on
the earth (Jude 15) - His righteous judgment of the nations - which He communicates to His angels by the
sharp sword that goes out of His mouth - thats His word.
John was next given to see the conquest which led to this victory.
v. 17-18 At the end of verse 17, the oldest manuscripts have the great supper of God. An invitation is
extended to the aerial scavengers, to attend a great feast - the meal is already in the planning. We see
whats going to be served up - it appears to be military rations!
v. 19-21 So here are the opposing forces. You will remember that the beast is the last world ruler, whom
Paul calls the man of sin (2 Th 2:3); some call him the antichrist (1 Jn 2:18). He has by subterfuge taken
Gods land, and positioned himself in Gods capital city, demanding to be worshiped as god (2 Th 2:4).
And the beast is persecuting Gods people, the nation Israel, intent on destroying those who will not bow to
him (Rev 12:13).
It is in this way that the beast and his allies are making war against Him who sat on the horse and against
His army - the Lord Jesus Christ - and His holy angels who, unseen, behind the scenes, are carrying out the
purposes of God.
And the purposes of God at this time include the utter destruction of these enemies. This is realized
through war - the war of the great day of God Almighty, as other earthly kings arrive in the Land with their
own evil intent - to challenge the beast for his conquests - at a place called Armageddon (Rev 16:12-16).
With their weapons of mass destruction, these earthly armies destroy each other (Rev 16:21).
John observes that they were killed with the sword that proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the
horse - that sharp sword, the word of God; in accordance with the will of God - these armies are executed,
through a conflict of their own making.

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But not so for the beast and for the false prophet, who will be his promoter. They will be taken alive. The
Lord Jesus will immediately consume them with the breath of His mouth, and destroy them (2 Thes 2:8) by the word of His judgment. They will be cast alive, into the lake of fire. They will have the place to
themselves for 1000 years, before their handler comes to join them there - the dragon.
This is the subject of a new image, which John was given to see.
[Revelation 20:1-3] So the dragon is clearly identified here. He is the serpent of old. This would
immediately take John back to the beginning of his Scriptures, to the serpent in the garden of Eden (Gen
3:1-15). By the time of this revelation to John, that serpent had become a great big dragon.
And so that there is no confusion, the dragon, that serpent of old, is further identified as the Devil and Satan
- as he already has been for John several times, in this Revelation (Rev 12:9, 12-17).
John himself wrote that the devil sinned from the beginning (1 Jn 3:8), using the serpent to deceptively
issue the temptation to transgress the command of the LORD God. The scope of his project has increased
over the millennia, so that even in our day, he is deceiving the nations. But his deceptions will be far
greater in the end, through his beast and false prophet, and their world order (2 Th 2:9-12).
But Satan will be bound for 1000 years - he will be powerless to carry out any of his deceptions. Notice
that this corresponds to the exact period of Christs reign on the earth. There will be no deceptions during
the Kingdom Age; no lies; no error will be taught; only the truth. The earth will be full of the knowledge of
the LORD as the waters cover the sea (Is 11:9).
Not only that, but by this time, Satans world system will have been completely destroyed. The world
system is shown under the figure of a great harlot in the revelation given to John - the political, economic,
religious system, by which men of the world are seduced, to fulfill their own lusts and desires (Rev 17:1-2).
The harlot is also called Babylon, that kingdom which men had attempted to build up, on the plain of
Shinar - in rebellion against the LORD - to make a name for themselves (Gen 10:8-10, 11:1-9). The
revelation shows that they will finally achieve their kingdom under the man of sin - but in the very moment
of completion, it is utterly destroyed by the LORD (Rev 17-18), as men destroy each other in the final fiery
conflict.
An angel will declare that Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen; and when it goes down, it will take with it
all of Satans angels - the demonic spirits that worked through that system; the fallen system will become
their prison, forever (Rev 18:2).
Meanwhile the Conquering King will take the throne of His glory on earth, signaling the beginning of His
reign. The Lord God Omnipotent reigns; and He will continue to reign forever and ever (Rev 11:15, 19:6).
His people shall be willing, in the day of His power (Ps 110:3) - the nation Israel, purified through the fire
of the Great Tribulation, receive Jesus as their Messiah and King. But there are some from among the
nations who are not willing for His reign over them, and these must first be removed from His Kingdom.
Turn to Matthew chapter 25. Jesus spoke of His Second Coming, at which time He will judge the nations.
[Matthew 25:31-46]
v. 31 Notice that Jesus says the holy angels will be with Him, as we learned in Revelation 19.

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v. 32-33 The right hand is the position of favor and blessing. Nations can also be translated Gentiles.
This is not a judgment of a collective of people - a nation - but of individuals within the Gentile nations.
The nation Israel has already been refined collectively and individually (Matt 24:45-51, 25:14-30).
Jesus then indicates the basis for His judgment of these individual Gentiles.
v. 34-40 So Jesus invites these individuals into His kingdom. Notice that the basis is NOT the gospel; not
believing into Jesus as the Savior. He does not require even that of them. All they had to do was to show
compassion to one of His brethren - even the least of them. Who are the brethren of Jesus? The Jews;
Gods chosen people.
What does Jesus have in mind, here? The Great Tribulation. During that time, His people will be
persecuted beyond measure; so much so that unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved
(Matt 24:22).
If a Gentile acts with any compassion toward any Jew during that time - any act of compassion at all - Jesus
will show compassion to them in return, and allow them to enter His kingdom. If they will submit to Him
now as their King, they will be given this extended opportunity to choose Him as their Lord and Savior and become His true subject.
The fact that they had compassion for another demonstrates that their heart is not completely hardened.
Can you see how gracious and merciful this King is?
But there are some who cannot be shown mercy.
v. 41-46 These are men who can love no one but themselves (2 Tim 3:2). They lack compassion, pity,
caring, even in the face of immeasurable suffering. This proves that their hearts are completely hardened and are therefore incapable of receiving the love of God, in Christ. Having never believed into the Lord,
having shown no compassion even to one of His people, the Lord has no ground to extend His mercy
toward them.
We learn elsewhere that the angels gather these rebels out of the kingdom; they are put to death, to one day
follow the devil and his angels into the lake of fire (Matt 13:40-42, 47-50). The lake of fire wasnt
prepared for men, but men elect to go there, when they harden their hearts against God.
This brings us back to Pauls words in First Corinthians. Jesus at this time will have put an end to all rule
and all authority and power. The beast and the false prophet are cast alive into the lake of fire. Satan is
bound. The world system is destroyed. The demon spirits are imprisoned - forever. And all the stonyhearted rebels have been removed from the kingdom.
So now, Jesus is ready to deliver the kingdom up to God the Father. What exactly is Jesus delivering to His
Father? A kingdom of sons, for the earthly realm.
And once all the enemies of Jesus are put under His feet, the last enemy can be destroyed; the great enemy
of man, Death. To see this, we need to return to Revelation chapter 20.
[Revelation 20:4-6]

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v. 4 We have previously learned back in First Corinthians 6 that those who are seated on these thrones are
twenty-four elders representing the church, who has by now been raised in glory, as the Bride of Christ.
Judgment was committed to them; that is, the authority to render wise decisions, concerning affairs on
earth. The church will rule and reign with Christ from the New Jerusalem, over the earth (Matt 19:28, Rev
2:26, 3:12, 21, 5:10).
Next we read of souls who were put to death for their witness to Jesus, and the context is during the
Tribulation. When the fifth seal was opened, it was revealed to John that these souls were under the altar a Jewish expression for the righteous dead, who are in the place of bliss - in heaven. These souls have been
waiting until the time when the Lord avenged their blood on His enemies, and now, He has (Rev 6:9-11).
John simply writes, And they lived. While on earth, they had believed into Jesus to receive His life eternal life for a body of glory - and then their earthly bodies had been put to death for their faith.
But now the time has come for them to receive their forever living bodies. It is given to these glorified
saints to reign with Christ also - but on the earth, which we gather from the mention of the thousand years.
This is the resurrection of the Tribulation Martyrs.
v. 5-6 The raising of the Tribulation martyrs from the dead, and one other group we will look at in a
moment, constitutes the first resurrection - the resurrection of Life, as Jesus called it - blessed and holy, as
the fulfillment of Gods purposes for them.
This is the resurrection of all the believing dead. Remember, the church had already been caught up to be
with the Lord in the heavenlies, about seven years before this time. These glorified saints will remain on
the earth to participate in teaching the nations about the Lord, during the Kingdom age.
The rest of the dead are unbelievers. Theyre not raised for another 1000 years - at the end of Christs
reign, on the earth. Jesus called that the resurrection of condemnation (Jn 5:29). They will be condemned
at the Great White Throne judgment by Jesus, as they have not received His Life; they have not fulfilled the
purpose for which God had created them. They must be cast in the Lake of Fire - which is the second death
(Rev 20:11-15).
John does not mention here another group of believers, who will be part of the resurrection of Life, but he
would already have known of them from his Scriptures, for Daniel was given to see them. Lets go back
and look at what was revealed to Daniel.
Turn back to Daniel chapter 12. Daniel was given many prophecies about the nation Israel, including
things that would transpire near the end - the end of Gentile dominion. The beast, the man of sin, was
described to Daniel as the little horn (Dan 7:8), the willful king (Dan 11:36). Daniel was given to see his
rise and fall - and his final demise.
This prophecy was given after that end.
[Daniel 12:1-3] Who would Daniels people be, here? The Jews. Michael is an angel of God who is
specifically designated to watch over the nation Israel, in the spiritual realm.
What would be the time of trouble, in verse 1? The Time of Jacobs Trouble; the last 3 years of the
Tribulation, which Jesus called, great tribulation. The tribulation will be the birth pangs for the deliverance
of the nation of Israel, a regenerate nation.

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In fact, at that time, everyone whose name is found to be written in the Lambs Book of Life will be
delivered - this refers to all who believe. Those believers still living will be delivered out of the Tribulation,
into Christs kingdom. And those believers who have died will be delivered, as well; they will be delivered
from death, into the kingdom.
This would include not only those Jews of old who believed into the Coming Christ, but all who believed such as Adam and Eve, Abel, Shem, Noah - theyre also Daniels people, often called the OT saints. These
all had the certain hope that after they died, they would one day be raised in glory.
Job, who was thought to be a contemporary of Abraham, declared, I know my Redeemer lives, and He
shall stand at last on the earth. And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God,
whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!
(Job 19:25-27)
So the OT saints will also be raised in the resurrection of Life. And the description of this is very clear,
here. They sleep in the dust of the earth. They shall awake to everlasting life, and shine like the brightness
of the firmament - theyre in glorified, ever-living bodies. And they will turn many to righteousness - as we
saw for the Tribulation saints, the OT saints will also teach the nations, in the Kingdom age.
But there is another group mentioned here - that awake to shame and contempt. This group corresponds to
the resurrection of condemnation, at the end of the thousand years.
[Return to First Corinthians 15]
Lets read from verse 25 once more.
v. 25-28 So we see that the last enemy, Death, is destroyed. Death is destroyed in the resurrection of Life.
There will be no natural death, in the Kingdom age. Deaths reign over mankind will come to an end.
Paul loosely quotes two OT passages here, to support what he is saying. In verse 25, he is quoting Psalm
110, which prophesies of the Father (represented as Jehovah) inviting the Son (represented as Adonai) to sit
at His right hand, until He makes His enemies His footstool.
The author to the Hebrews says that Jesus is waiting for just that (Heb 10:12-13). But while He is waiting,
Paul indicates here Jesus is already reigning - He must reign, meaning it is right, it is proper for Him to do
so.
Jesus was anointed as King upon His return to heaven (Heb 1:8-9); crowned with glory and honor (Heb
2:9). He is already reigning in heaven, and reigning over His own on earth - the church. One day soon,
that reign will extend to the entire created universe. In light of this assured reality, Paul quotes Psalm 8,
applying it to Jesus - that the Father has put all things under His feet - for it is as good as done.
Paul wants his listeners to be clear that this doesnt include the Father, however - He is excepted. In fact,
when everything is subject to the Son, the Son will continue to be subject to the Father. Father and Son are
equal, but the Son chose to subordinate Himself to the Father in eternity past - and willingly continues in
that position, forever.
What do you think Paul means when he says, that God may be all in all? May be reflects a conditional
state of being; possibility; potential. I can only give you an opinion here, but I believe Paul is referring to
the realization of Gods great purposes, for the created universe.

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The heavens and the earth will have been cleansed - cleansed of all enemies; cleansed of all that is not of
God. Gods will, and only Gods will is done - on earth as it is in heaven (Matt 6:10). Throughout the
Kingdom age, only Gods truth is taught, and Gods peace and Gods righteousness reign.
As men are multiplying on the earth, there can be no more conducive atmosphere for them all coming to
know God, through believing into His Christ - so that God may be all to them - in all of them.
And what would all of this show the Corinthians? It would show them that death is not the end; that the
resurrection of Jesus is the assurance that Gods purposes will be realized for mankind, culminating in the
glorification of the body - including the bodies of those believers that have died.
Through resurrection, Christ has conquered not just sin, but death - a conquest so vast that it extends to all
those who believe in Him.
Reading: 1 Cor 15:29-58, 1 Cor 1:10-17, Acts 2:36-47, Rom 6:3-4, Rom 13:11-14.