Reflections of Grace - 1 Corinthians 15:51-52

“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.” — 1 Corinthians 15:51-52

This passage is one of the key sources cited by dispensationalists in order to defend the doctrine of a secret rapture of the church. The secret rapture is a widely held belief which asserts that Jesus will secretly resurrect the dead in Christ and gather up all of the living saints on the earth immediately prior to a “great tribulation.” After this seven-year tribulation, they say, Christ will come back to Earth bodily with his saints and set up his millennial kingdom.

The problem with this view is that Scripture—including the passage above—does not teach the doctrine of a secret rapture of the church. In 1 Corinthians 15, the key issue that the Apostle Paul was addressing was the denial of the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead by some people in the church of Corinth. The rest of Paul’s argument in that chapter, therefore, serves to explain this doctrine, beginning with Christ’s resurrection and applying its relevance to the resurrection of all believers.

Furthermore, Paul even gives us a time line of events in v. 23, stating that the order of the resurrection is, “Christ the first-fruits [referring to his resurrection on the third day, after his crucifixion], then at his coming those who belong to Christ.” He continues in v. 24, “then comes the end…” (emphasis mine).

This same order is found in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, another passage commonly cited by dispensationalists. The conclusion given there is, “and so we will always be with the Lord.” There is nothing about a seven-year tribulation, nothing about a post-tribulation coming of Christ with his resurrected saints to battle Satan and his armies.

Instead, these passages put forth a very simple idea; believers are to live in light of Christ’s coming, the promised resurrection, and the final judgment. For when he comes, the dead will be raised, and the final judgment will take place.

According to Matthew 25, this is where he will separate believers from the unbelievers, welcoming believers into eternal glory, while condemning unbelievers to eternal judgment for their sins.

We will conclude this series next week by considering the millennium mentioned in Revelation 20. But, I encourage you to reflect on this clear teaching of Scripture regarding the end times as we approach that passage.

Whatever Revelation 20 means, it does not contradict what we find elsewhere in the Bible. The only “rapture” the Scriptures speak of is the one that occurs when our Lord returns bodily to this earth to bring the final judgment. As 1 Corinthians 15:24 states, “Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power.” Amen.