Some biblical commentators have claimed that Paul’s language in 1 Corinthians 15:51 is referencing an imminent eschatology. Imminent eschatology is a belief that the final events of human history already occurred in the first century CE. By contrast, future eschatology is the belief that the end of the world comprises future events that have not yet happened.
Our primary task is to analyze what the critical Greek New Testament text actually says (not what we would like it to say), and then to ascertain if there are any proofs in it of an imminent eschatology. Let’s start by focusing on a particular verse that is often cited as proof of Paul’s imminent eschatology, namely, 1 Corinthians 15:51. It is alleged that this verse seems to suggest that Paul’s audience in Corinth would live to see the coming of Christ. But we must ask the question: what in the original Greek text indicates that Paul is referring specifically to his immediate audience in Corinth and not to mankind collectively, which is in Christ? We can actually find out the answer to this question by studying the Greek text, which we will do in a moment.
At any rate, it is often asserted that the clause “We shall not all die” (in 1 Corinthians 15:51) does not square well with a future eschatology. These claims come from biblical interpreters who emphasize the historical context of the verse but who often end up misinterpreting it by adding material that is not even mentioned in the original text. For starters, the plural pronoun “we” seems to be referring to the dead, not to people who are alive in Corinth (I will prove that in a moment). And yet, on the pretext of doing historical criticism, these biblical commentators usually go on to concoct a fictitious narrative (independently of what the text is saying) about how Paul is referring to the people of Corinth who will not die until they see the “Parousia” (or the Coming of Christ).
But, textually speaking, where does 1 Corinthians 15:51 mention the Corinthian audience, or that they will still be alive to see the Parousia? None of these premises can be found in the textual data.
As I will demonstrate, based on Paul’s words and phrases, this particular example does not prove an imminent eschatology. In first Corinthians 15:51, the use of the first-person plural pronoun “we” obviously includes Paul by virtue of the fact that he, too, will one day die and rise again. In fact, there is no explicit reference to the rapture or the resurrection taking place in Paul’s lifetime in 1 Corinthians 15:51.
In the remainder of this commentary, I will demonstrate the internal evidence (textual evidence) by parsing and exegeting the original Greek New Testament text. Commentators often claim that the clause “We shall not all die” implies an imminent eschatology. Let’s test that hypothesis. Paul actually wrote the following in 1 Corinthians 15:51 (according to the Nestle–Aland Greek New Testament, 28th edition):
πάντες οὐ κοιμηθησόμεθα, πάντες δὲ ἀλλαγησόμεθα.
My Translation: “We will not all sleep, but we will all be transformed.”
In the original Greek text, there is no separate word that corresponds to the plural pronoun “we.” Rather, we get that pronoun from the case endings -μεθα (i.e. κοιμηθησόμεθα/ἀλλαγησόμεθα). The Greek verb κοιμηθησόμεθα (sleep) is a future passive indicative, first person plural. It simply refers to a future event. But it does not tell us when it will occur (i.e., whether in the near or distant future). We can only determine that by comparing other writings by Paul and the eschatological verbiage that he employs in his other epistles. Moreover, it is important to note that the verb κοιμηθησόμεθα simply refers to a collective sleep. It does not refer to any readers in Corinth!
Similarly, the verb ἀλλαγησόμεθα (we will all be transformed) is a future passive indicative, first person plural. It, too, means that all the dead who are in Christ, including Paul, will not die but be changed/transformed. The event is set in the future, but a specific timeline is not explicitly or implicitly given, or even suggested. Both expressions (i.e. κοιμηθησόμεθα/ἀλλαγησόμεθα) refer to all humankind in Christ or to all the elect that ever lived (including, of course, Paul as well) because both words are preceded by the adjective πάντες, which means “all.”
In other words, Paul references “all” the elect that have ever lived, including himself, and says that we will not all perish but be transformed. We must bear in mind that the word πάντες means “all,” and the verb “we will all be changed” (ἀλλαγησόμεθα) refers back to all who sleep in Christ (πάντες κοιμηθησόμεθα). Thus, the pronoun “we,” which is present in the case endings (-μεθα), is simply an extension of the lexical form pertaining to those who sleep in Christ (κοιμηθησόμεθα). So, the verb κοιμηθησόμεθα simply refers to all those who sleep. Once again, the adjective πάντες (all/everyone)—in the phrase “We will not all sleep”— does not refer to any readers in Corinth.
There is not even one reference to a specific time period in this verse (i.e., when it will happen). And the plural pronoun “we” specifically refers to all the dead in Christ (πάντες κοιμηθησόμεθα), not to any readers alive in Corinth. And that is a scholarly exegesis (or interpretation) of how we go about translating the meanings of words accurately while maintaining literal fidelity. It’s also an illustration of why we need to go back to the original Greek text rather than rely on English translations when doing interpretive work.
Conclusion
What commentators often fail to realize is that the first-person plural pronoun “we” includes Paul because he, too, is part of the elect who will also die and one day rise again. Koine Greek—the language in which Paul wrote his epistles—is interested in the so-called “aspect” (how), not in the “time” (when), of an event. First Corinthians 15:51 does not suggest specifically when the rapture & the resurrection will happen. And it strongly suggests that the plural pronoun “we” is referring to the dead, not to Paul’s intended readers who, by contrast, are alive in Corinth.
Some biblical commentators are simply trying to force their own interpretation that doesn’t actually square well with the grammatical elements of 1 Corinthians 15:51 or with Paul’s other epistles where he explicitly talks about the Day of the Lord (2 Thessalonians 2:1-12) and the last days (1 Timothy 4:1; 2 Timothy 3:1 ἐν ἐσχάταις ἡμέραις), a time during which the world will look very different from his own. The argument, therefore, that 1 Corinthians 15:51 is referring to an imminent eschatology is not supported by the original Greek text.
What is more, if we compare the Pauline corpus with the eschatology of Matthew 24 and 2 Peter 3:10, as well as with the totality of scripture (the so-called “canonical context”), it will become quite obvious that all these texts are talking about the distant future! That’s why it is important to parse the Greek in order to demonstrate that the specific time period suggested in 1 Corinthians 15:51, especially in the phrase “all who sleep” (πάντες κοιμηθησόμεθα), is not a reference to Paul’s contemporaries in Corinth but rather to a future event.
The same type of exegesis can be equally applied to 1 Thessalonians 4:15 (concerning the resurrection and the rapture) in order to demonstrate that the verse is not referring to Paul’s audience in Thessalonica but rather to a future generation that will be alive during the coming of the Lord (but that’s another topic for another day):
ἡμεῖς οἱ ζῶντες οἱ περιλειπόμενοι εἰς τὴν παρουσίαν τοῦ κυρίου.
“we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord.”
If that were the case—that is, if the New Testament was teaching that the first-century Christians would live to see the day of the Lord—it would mean that both Paul and Jesus were false prophets who preached an imminent eschatology that never happened.
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