Categories
Eschatology Hermeneutics

Another Look at 1 Corinthians 15

In last week’s article in this Eschatology series, we linked to an article discussing 1 Corinthians 15 and the Rapture. Today, we look at a rebuttal of the Dispensational Premillennial Rapture.

If it weren’t for 2 Corinthians 15:50, I probably would have never begun to question premillennialism. I find in this verse an explicit denial of one of the essential tenets of all premillennial theories. Premillennialism must have people entering the future kingdom in their natural, unglorified bodies. This is due to the fact that a lot of people are said to rebel against God and Christ at the end of the millennium (Rev 20:7-10).

But where do these folk come from if premillennialism is true? The only explanation is that these rebels are the children of those who originally entered Christ’s millennial kingdom. Since, however, people who experience resurrection cannot procreate (Luke 20:34-35), then there must be saints who somehow enter the kingdom without having experienced glorification. Everyone agrees that,

If there are no people who enter the premillennium unglorified, then premillennialism is untenable and simply cannot be correct

Well, I find clear and irrefutable evidence that such is the teaching of 1 Corinthians 15:50, “Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.” All commentators are agreed that Paul is speaking here of glorification, the transformation of one’s physical body into a body like Christ’s. The only real point of contention is, what exactly does Paul mean when he refers to “the kingdom of God”?

The context makes it clear that the “kingdom” in view is the one which is established directly after Christ’s return. Paul amplifies verse 50 by saying: “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 imperishable, and we will all be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality” (vs. 51-53).

I find it curious that most people start quoting these verses as if Paul’s logic begins in verse 51

But it is clear that verses 51 through 53 do not form a complete thought in themselves. Instead, they serve to explain why “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God” (v. 50). As such, the “kingdom” which is in view is the rule and reign of Christ directly after He returns to earth. If so, then premillennialism is ruled out as an option.

The only way out of this is for premillennialists to claim that verse 50 refers to the New Heavens and New Earth. This is a strange maneuver because in verses 42 to 49 Paul discusses the resurrection of the righteous dead. And he does so again in verses 51 to 57. Thus, these verses refer to events that occur in connection with the return of Christ.

Are we really to believe that verse 50 stands alone in its context, so that it looks 1000 years beyond the events of its surrounding discussion?

This strains the principles of interpretation too much. It is much more natural to believe that verse 50 is intimately connected to the verses that precede and follow it. The only reason why we would believe that its claims are out of place is if our system doesn’t let it stand in its context. Here is clear example of where premillennialists are doing what they accuse amills and postmills of:

Letting a system interpret the Scripture instead of the Scripture interpreting the system

Charles Hodge comments on this verse:

“The common millenarian [i.e. premillennial] doctrine is, that there is to be a literal resurrection when Christ shall come to reign in person upon the earth, a thousand years before the end of the world, and that the risen saints are to dwell here and share with Christ in the glories of his reign. But this seems to be inconsistent with what is taught in I Corinthians xv. 50. … It is here expressly asserted that our bodies as now constituted are not adapted to the state of things which shall exist when the kingdom of God is inaugurated. We must all be changed. From this it follows that the spiritual body is not adapted to our present mode of existence; that is, it is not suited or designed for an earthly kingdom” (Systematic Theology, Vol III, 843).

4 replies on “Another Look at 1 Corinthians 15”

I may be missing the point entirely here, Dave; but let me pose this to you to see if I am actually getting the point.

I see no problem with having a Premillenial rapture view in light of I Cor. 15:50-57.

I think my belief hinges on the word “inherit.” There is a difference between the following two groups in the Millennial reign of Christ:

Group A – Imperishable
Glorified.
Reign WITH Christ.
These are the ones who INHERIT the Kingdom.

Group B – Perishable
Those who were alive (in earthly body) when Kingdom was ushered in.
Those who did not bow to the image of the beast.
They are under the subjection of those who reign (Chiefly Christ.) And as such have NOT INHERITED the kingdom, but are a part.

We’ll talk later about Daniel and Ezekiel…and Matthew…and I haven’t even gotten to Revelation…

Chris

I may be missing the point entirely here, Dave; but let me pose this to you to see if I am actually getting the point.

I see no problem with having a Premillenial rapture view in light of I Cor. 15:50-57.

I think my belief hinges on the word “inherit.” There is a difference between the following two groups in the Millennial reign of Christ:

Group A – Imperishable
Glorified.
Reign WITH Christ.
These are the ones who INHERIT the Kingdom.

Group B – Perishable
Those who were alive (in earthly body) when Kingdom was ushered in.
Those who did not bow to the image of the beast.
They are under the subjection of those who reign (Chiefly Christ.) And as such have NOT INHERITED the kingdom, but are a part.

We’ll talk later about Daniel and Ezekiel…and Matthew…and I haven’t even gotten to Revelation…

Chris

You’ll have to do more explaining on that point, Chris.

The thrust of the passage is, when Christ comes, “We must all be changed. From this it follows that the spiritual body is not adapted to our present mode of existence; that is, it is not suited or designed for an earthly kingdom.”

Paul is speaking about (and to) Christians. Look at the pattern of Paul’s argument:

What is sown is perishable (the now); what is raised is imperishable (at Christ’s second coming). v42
It is sown in dishonor (the now); it is raised in glory (at Christ’s second coming). v43
sown in weakness (the now); it is raised in power (at Christ’s second coming). v43
sown a natural body (the now); it is raised a spiritual body (at Christ’s second coming). v44
If there is a natural body (the now), there is also a spiritual body (at Christ’s second coming). v44
The first man Adam became a living being” (the now); ithe last Adam became a life-giving spirit (at Christ’s second coming). v45
….
Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust (the now), we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven (at Christ’s second coming).

And Paul is still using this contrast and emphasizes it even more — to encourage believers so that we are joyful NOW in this life!

Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall 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 imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.

When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:
“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
55 “O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”

As for the word “inherit”, Paul is saying our mortal bodies (as they are now) cannot inherit the Kingdom (in its consummated form) but only when “we shall all be changed” will we be able to “inherit” the kingdom in its consummated form.

On a side note, in its natural reading (without importing other passages ala Rev 20), there is no hint of a millennium.

Question, where does Paul mention unbelievers in this passage?

Thanks for the comment. I have at least one reader 🙂

Let’s see if I can present this clear enough; all verse quotations I use are from the NASB. Sorry it is a bit long but it took that much to say what I had to say. Sorry if I get vehement, I don’t mean to be, but sometimes I come off that way. I’ll start with your first post (regarding I Corinthians 15) where you quote Ken Stiles:
“. . . There will be no non-glorified people in the eternal state.”
I totally agree; however, I Cor. 15 is NOT TALKING ABOUT THE ETERNAL STATE. I Cor. 15 is talking about “THE KINGDOM OF GOD.” These are two different future states. I will explain my view of the conditions during the kingdom which may be accounting for some of the misunderstanding. I can see I differ greatly in view of current pre-millennialist explanations (note I said explanations, not views.) In other words; I don’t think like anyone else you know about who is a pre-millenialist.

A quote from your second post states:
“The only way out of this is for premillennialists to claim that verse 50 refers to the New Heavens and New Earth.”
I don’t think it’s the only way out. And it is MOST CERTAINLY NOT REFERRING TO THE NEW HEAVENS AND NEW EARTH. It would be a breach in context as you say; and would be erroneous on a logical, systematic, and Biblical level. We’ll get to my view in a minute, but do you have the rapture and Kingdom starting at the same time? And at what point does this happen in relation to the tribulation? It cannot be before or just who would Christ be ruling over?

Also in your second post you quote Charles Hodge:
“We must all be changed. From this it follows that the spiritual body is not adapted to our present mode of existence; that is, it is not suited or designed for an earthly kingdom.”
This statement to me is just absurd. I understand spiritual body to be the body which would be like Christ’s. We are going to be raised LIKE HIM. So we would be like Christ’s risen body after the crucifixion. Just how was his body “not suited” for earth? He was able to somehow materialize outside of the linen wrappings. He ate fish. It seems as though he could appear and disappear at will. I agree this is a body not DESIGNED for earth, but certainly would not have any hindrances on earth. It would, in fact, be quite superior.

In your rebuttal to my post you state:
“The thrust of the passage is, when Christ comes, ‘We must all be changed. From this it follows that the spiritual body is not adapted to our present mode of existence; that is, it is not suited or designed for an earthly kingdom.’”
I disagree; the thrust of the passage is to correct their doctrine regarding resurrection in general; not what the conditions are during the kingdom. I will show this later with the breakdown of the paragraphs in I Cor. 15.

Another quote from the rebuttal:
“Paul is speaking about (and to) Christians.”
I completely agree. The “we” in the passage are those who have accepted Christ as Savior after the rejection and crucifixion. These are the ones who will be raised and Inherit the kingdom.

Another quote from the rebuttal:
“On a side note, in its natural reading (without importing other passages ala Rev 20), there is no hint of a millennium.”
I agree; duration of the kingdom is not given here. Actually though, I would like to refer you back to your second post:
“If it weren’t for 2 Corinthians 15:50, I probably would have never begun to question premillennialism.”
I believe you meant to say I Corinthians there. Anyway, YOU are the one who states THIS PASSAGE makes pre-millennialism impossible. It is you originally who are lining this passage up against a systematic theological view of pre-millennialism and saying it doesn’t fit; you are the one brining in that context. This is a paragraph (not so much defining the kingdom) that is combating the wrong doctrine which led to wrong behavior for the Corinthians.

Another quote from the rebuttal:
“Question, where does Paul mention unbelievers in this passage?”
He doesn’t! They don’t inherit or become resurrected. Only ones who benefit from Christ’s victory over death are His to save and have inherit the kingdom with Him. Those are the ones who are NOT the “we” in the passage.

Now I will break down (rather boil down) each paragraph starting with I Cor. 15:3
Vv3-11 Jesus appeared after death.
Vv12-19 How then do you say there is no resurrection? (This cheapens grace and makes our faith worthless.)
Vv20-28 Christ will Reign! (Rough timeline given.)
Vv29-34 Bad company corrupts good morals. (Wrong doctrine leads to wrong actions. Eat and Drink!)
Vv35-41 With what body you ask?
Vv42-49 Sown naturally; raised spiritually.
Vv50-57 We WILL be resurrected.
Vv58 THEREFORE be Steadfast, Immovable, Abounding in WORK of the LORD! It is not in vain!

The whole thrust is that some came in and said there is no resurrection. This led them to live a loose lifestyle. Paul tells them Christ WAS raised. And so will YOU who believe in Him. With what body they ask? Paul tells them, it’s the one God gives them. One that goes from natural to spiritual (sown naturally, raised spiritually.) Since you WILL be raised (therefore), be working for the Lord (steadfast, immovable, and abounding in work!)

Note the timeline given in vv20-28
V23-26 specifically
1. Christ the first fruits
2. After that those who are Christ’s at his coming
3. Then comes the end (when He hands over the kingdom to God and Father.)(When He has abolished all rule and all authority and power.)
4. Last enemy is death
Christ has been raised already. The rapture would be when he calls those who are his. THEN he hands then kingdom to God. It isn’t stated when the kingdom is handed to Christ, but for Christ to hand it to the Father, it must have been given to Christ as some point in time. I would assume it is between His coming and handing it back to the Father.

Ok. Now, I will lay out how I see things happening.
1. Rapture – Christ calls up those who are His, these will be resurrected and caught up bodily if dead IN CHRIST (imagine those cremated being reconstituted), or caught up bodily and then given body like Christ (Spiritually sown.) Those who are unbelieving are left behind.
2. Tribulation – some time after the rapture, the 7 year tribulation also known as Daniel’s 70th week begins. Marriage supper of the Lamb takes place now with Christ and those who were His at His coming, all in resurrected form.
3. Kingdom – after end of tribulation, the anti-Christ has been put down and all armies gathered for the battle at Megiddo, God the Father (Ancient of Days) gives to Christ all EARTHLY rule (this is the stone smashing Nebuchadnezzar’s statue in Daniel and in Dan 7:11 “Then I continued to watch because of the boastful words the horn was speaking. I kept looking until the beast was slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire.”) Those who survive the tribulation will continue on living (in NATURAL BODY) and be ruled ON EARTH by a resurrected Christ and His resurrected believers from the Rapture. It is possible that a non-believer at time of rapture could (during the tribulation) become a believer and make it into the millennial kingdom. This person would have missed out on the resurrected body because he wasn’t a believer at time of rapture. He’ll have to wait and be judged later to become glorified. He did not inherit the kingdom, because he was not one of the “WE” spoken of in I Cor. 15. He will still be changed, just not until AFTER the kingdom.

Leave a Reply to Chris Engel Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.