When we think about “eschatology” (the study of last things), several things often come to mind about the end of the world as we know it. For many of us this word evokes questions about the millennium, the rapture and being “left behind”, the tribulation, the antichrist, and the mark of beast. It triggers debates about blood moons and Israel along with speculation about heaven and hell. We turn to chapters like Revelation 20 for answers about Christ’s “thousand year reign” and Daniel 9 for clues about the future of Israel, wondering how the waning moments of history will pan out.
These questions are indeed important; what you believe about Israel, the tribulation, and the millennium are the outworking of how you interpret the Bible and how you put the whole Bible together. However, the study of eschatology is much bigger than a small set of discussions related to the final events of history and the timing and sequence of Christ’s return. In one sense, eschatology begins before creation, since it is all about God’s ultimate plan and purpose for creation. And since God’s goal for history is to sum up all things in heaven and earth under the authority of Jesus Christ, and reorder all things under his rule and reign (Eph. 1:10), we can say that is eschatology is Christology. To rightly understand the “last days” and God’s purposes of salvation and judgment in history we must begin with the work of Christ. It is because of Jesus that that Peter can say the “last days” began at Pentecost (Acts 2:14-21) and why Paul said the appointed time has grown short and the end of the ages has already come upon us (1 Cor 7:29-31; 10:11).
Eschatology and Resurrection
If eschatology is centered on Jesus Christ, then we should not reduce our study of the “last things” to John’s apocalypse and a handful of isolated passages. Rather, we should consider what each NT author has to say about Jesus Christ and his kingdom in order to complete our eschatological picture. And one of the many places where we learn what Paul believed about eschatology is his discussion of the resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15. For Paul, the resurrection of Jesus was the beginning of the new creation that will one day sweep through the entire cosmos; it was the event that guaranteed all the eschatological hopes of Israel were being fulfilled in Christ and would one day be fully realized.
In 1 Corinthians 15:20-28 Paul unpacks the significance of resurrection and connects it to the story of redemption and the gospel of God’s coming kingdom. Paul gives us a flyover view where we see how it all started, how it’s going, where it’s all headed, who is in control, and who comes out on top in the end. In verses 20-23 Paul says Christ is the firstfruits of the resurrection and the federal head of humanity. God’s plan of resurrection would happen in the proper “order” or sequence: Christ first, then those who belong to Christ will be resurrected at Christ’s return.
In 24-28 Paul expands on the idea of “order” to show how all creation will also be in the proper order/in its proper place under the reign of the resurrected Christ. These verses describe the conquest of Christ, the culmination of his work, the conclusion of history, and the consummation of the kingdom of God. When Christ returns all his enemies will be destroyed and all things will be in subjection to God.
All Enemies Destroyed
Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death (1 Cor. 15:24-26)
After those who belong to Christ are resurrected at his coming Paul says “then the end comes” (1 Cor. 15:24). The timing here is ambiguous; it either means the end comes when Christ returns and dead are raised, or it could imply that there is another interval between Christ’s coming and the end, just like the extended period of time between Christ’s first and second comings (1 Cor. 15:23). In other words, Paul would be saying, “Believers are resurrected at Christ’s coming, then after a period of time the end comes. For those who think “then” implies an extended period of time between Christ’s second coming (23) and the end (24), this would be when Christ sets up his “millennial kingdom” and reigns on the earth with resurrected believers. They would say only believers are raised when Christ returns and there is another resurrection at the end of the “millennium” when unbelievers are raised.
However, we do not find this view persuasive or compelling. First, just because Paul only mentions believers being raised does not necessarily mean unbelievers are not raised at Christ’s return. It simply means Paul is talking to the Corinthians about the resurrection of believers. Second, in Judaism the idea of resurrection was linked with the “the end” of the world and all things. Resurrection was, as G.K. Beale observes, “almost synonymous with the end, since it was the last event to happen, together with judgment, after which the eternal new creation of the age to come would commence.”1Gregory K. Beale, Union with the Resurrected Christ: Eschatological New Creation and New Testament Biblical Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2023), 76. Thus, we believe the more natural reading suggests that the end comes when Christ returns and the dead are raised and judged. At that time, Christ will hand over the kingdom to God the Father. When Christ returns, the present evil age will pass away and the age to come will finally arrive in all its glorious fullness.
The second half of verse 24 describes what Christ is doing up until the end when he hands the kingdom over. The end comes when he has destroyed every rule, authority, and power (1 Cor. 15:24). The verb “destroyed” is a verb that is often translated “pass away” and is used of things that do not survive the transition from the old world to the new (cf. 1 Cor. 2:8; 13:8; Eph. 2:15; Heb. 2:14). But this is also an implicit description of Christ’s present reign as the risen and exalted Lord. As his kingdom advances through the preaching of the gospel, Christ is presently destroying all powers in the political, religious, and spiritual realms. And the end comes when they have all been destroyed.
The basis for this view is found in 1 Cor. 15:25-26. Christ will reign until God has put all his enemies under his feet. “Until” does not mean he will stop reigning once his enemies have been defeated. When Jesus said, “I am with you always, until the end of the age” he did not mean he would leave us at the end of the age but that his presence with us is guaranteed forever (Matt. 28:20). Similarly, in Matthew 12:20 it says of Jesus, “a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench, until he brings justice to victory;” This doesn’t mean he will start breaking bruised reeds and quenching smoldering wicks once he brings justice to victory! No, it means Christ’s work now and forever, is characterized by such gentleness. The idea Paul is getting at is the guarantee of his Christ’s victory.
Verse 25 is a is a direct allusion to Psalm 110:1 and Ps. 8:6, the most popular and important OT quotations about Jesus as Lord and Christ in the NT: “The Lord says to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.’” Paul’s point is that the resurrection inaugurated the reign of David’s Son and Lord (Eph. 1:20-23). When Psalm 8 and 110 are read in light of Christ’s death and resurrection, we see that their ultimate fulfillment includes the defeat of sin, death, and hell. Christ dealt the decisive blow to death as the firstfruits of the resurrection, and when Christ returns, death will be destroyed and the end will come.
So, when we add 1 Corinthians 15 to our eschatology “puzzle,” we see that Paul understands Jesus’ reign to be a present and inaugurated reality, not something that will eventually happen some day off in the distant future after he returns. Jesus is presently ruling and reigning in the midst of his enemies; Satan, the “strong man,” has been bound (Mark 3:27; Luke 10:18-19; Rev. 20:1-3), and the gospel is conquering the world even as the church faces opposition and persecution.
All Things in Subjection
For “God has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “all things are put in subjection,” it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all (1 Cor. 15:27-28).
In verse 27 Paul is showing us a that death itself is a rule, a power, and an authority that must be defeated. Why must death and the one wields the power of death (Heb. 2:14) be destroyed? because God has put all things under Christ’s feet. At the original creation mankind is given dominion over all things; he is the top of the pecking order. But Death reigned supreme over all creation, until Jesus came (cf. Rom. 5:12-14). Adam’s reign characterized was sin and decay, but Christ’s reign, which began at his resurrection, is characterized by blessing and life. Paul then clarifies that “everything” does not mean the Father himself will be subject to Christ. The One who puts all things under Christ’s feet does not become subject to Christ as a rival power.
The quote in verse 27 is from Psalm 8 again, which is humanity’s role as ruler of creation When combined with Psalm 110, which is about the Davidic king ruling over his enemies, these psalms teach us that “God has in mind that the king will fulfill his original (and ultimate) intentions for humanity.”2Roy E. Ciampa and Brian S. Rosner, The First Letter to the Corinthians, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2010), 772. Our destiny, as those united to Christ, is to be crowned with glory and honor and to receive dominion as we reign with Christ, seated with him, ruling as God intended humanity to rule.
The verb “subjection” in verses 27-28 means being under authority, in a subordinate relationship. It is related to a verb that conveys the idea of bringing about an order to things by putting them in their proper place. The idea is that all things are in the proper order/relationship to Christ (and his church) (Eph. 1:10). In the end, when Christ returns and subjects/destroys death itself the Son will have completed the task set for him by his Father. God will reign over the world through his Messiah and the saints united with him share in his rule and reign (Dan. 7:14, 27), world without end, amen!
Now, at first glance verse 28 sounds strange and possibly heretical, as if the Son is inferior and subordinate to the Father. Some have even suggested that this means that Christ has been eternally subordinate to the Father. But this does not imply inferiority or subordinationism in the Godhead. First, the Father, Son, and Spirit are equal in divinity, power, and glory; they are worshiped and glorified as the One God. Second, Paul is speaking about redemption history, not the eternal relations of origin between the members of the Trinity in eternity past. The focus is the incarnate Christ, mentioned fifteen times in this chapter, and the climax of the work of the incarnate Son when his mission arrives at its perfect end. Third, “Father” and “Son” describe two equally eternal and divine persons, but Father and Son are also covenantal terms (2 Sam 7:14). Thus, in context, it seems that Paul is using these terms to speak of the eternally begotten Son who became the Messianic Son of God, the son of David, the Son of Abraham (Matt 1:1).
Why will the Son be in right relationship to the Father? So God may be all in all. Christ’s resurrection, the destruction of all his enemies, and the subjection of all things under his feet, in proper relationship to God and Christ is “is essential to the realization of the renewed creation in which God is, as he ought to be, all in all”3Ciampa and Roser, The First Letter to the Corinthians, 779. All divine authority, rule, and power is through the Son, and that is precisely how God is all in all. As we worship God and the Lamb, who are seated on the throne, and worshiped as the one God, God is all in all! God’s purpose was “set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite [sum up] all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth (Eph. 1:10; 1 Cor. 8:6)
Conclusion
When we understand eschatology to be all about the work of Christ we realize that the Bible has more to say about the “last things” than in a handful of isolated passages. While there is much we can still say about the “rapture,” the antichrist, the tribulation, and the mark of the beast, one thing seems crystal clear from even a cursory reading of the New Testament: Christ’s reign began with his resurrection, ascension, and the outpouring of the Spirit. This is what all of the preaching in the book of Acts is about. Even the destruction of the temple in 70 AD was a sign that God had vindicated his Son, who truly was the Son of Man, “seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven” (Mark 14:62).
While 1 Corinthians 15 does not tell us everything about the timing and sequence of events leading up to the end of the present age, it does have implications for what we believe about those events. In other words, because of Christ’s resurrection and exaltation, we do not have to wait for Christ to begin to reign and start subduing his enemies in a supposed future millennial kingdom. This view only creates a host of serious problems and results in a “gigantic redemptive-historical U-turn,”. No, Christ reigning and subduing his enemies is precisely what Christ is doing through the gospel and his Spirit-filled church now. And because the risen Christ is presently ruling and reigning, we can know for certain that he will come again in power and glory to defeat Sin, Death, and Hell forever. When Christ returns and the end comes, then what John saw and heard will come to pass:
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away (Revelation 21:1-4).
