1 Corinthians 15:51–52

Context

First Corinthians is a letter that Paul wrote to the church at Corinth, and chapter 15 addresses the resurrection of the dead. Because some of the Corinthians were saying "that there is no resurrection of the dead" (15:12), Paul argues for the resurrection of believers on the basis of Christ's resurrection (15:12–34). He then explains the nature of the resurrection body (15:35–49). In verse 50 he states that "flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God." In this passage he then presents, as a "mystery," how that transformation will take place. Here "mystery" refers to something that people cannot discover on their own but that God has revealed. "Sleep" is a euphemism for death. The verses that follow, 53–57, conclude the chapter by celebrating victory over death.

Interpretation

Most denominations read this passage as follows: at Christ's Second Coming, believers who have died will be raised with incorruptible bodies, and believers who are alive at that time will have their bodies transformed without passing through death. Views diverge on how this event relates to the other events of the end times.

• The Dispensational premillennial reading: This view identifies the event with the meeting in the air described in 1 Thessalonians 4, that is, the rapture. Proponents of a pretribulation rapture distinguish the "last trump" here from the seventh trumpet of the Book of Revelation.
• The historic premillennial reading: This view holds that the rapture occurs at the same time as the Second Coming, after the Great Tribulation, and takes the "last trump" to be the trumpet sounded at the Second Coming.
• The amillennial reading: This view is widely held in the Reformed tradition. It regards the Second Coming, the resurrection, the transformation of the living, and the Last Judgment as a single event occurring at one time and does not assign a separate time to the rapture. The background of each view is discussed in the article on the Millennium.
• The question of "we": Some scholars argue, on the basis of Paul's use of "we," that he expected the Second Coming to occur within his own lifetime. Others counter that "we" refers to believers of every age.

Debates and Issues

• Manuscripts: The wording of verse 51 varies among Greek manuscripts. In addition to "We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed," readings such as "We shall all sleep, but we shall not all be changed" are also attested. Modern critical editions and most translations follow the former reading.
• Verse division: The Korean Revised Version places the phrase "in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump" in verse 51. In the Greek text and in many English translations, this phrase belongs to verse 52. The Greek expressions rendered "in a moment" and "in the twinkling of an eye" mean "an instant too brief to be divided" and "the blink of an eye."
• Use out of context: The passage is sometimes used as a basis for calculating the date of the rapture. Many churches and theologians criticize such use, pointing to Mark 13:32: "But of that day and that hour knoweth no man."

In the Korean Church

• At funeral services and memorial services, 1 Corinthians 15 is frequently read as a text proclaiming the hope of the resurrection, and this passage is often included.
• It is cited together with 1 Thessalonians 4 in sermons on the Second Coming and the rapture.
• Part III of Handel's oratorio Messiah contains a recitative beginning "Behold, I tell you a mystery" and an aria known as "The trumpet shall sound." The texts of these two pieces are drawn from this passage, and they are sung when church choirs perform Messiah.

Related Passages

• 1 Corinthians 15:53–57
• 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17
• Philippians 3:20–21
• Matthew 24:30–31
• 1 Corinthians 15:22–26