1 Corinthians 15:52

[headheart]

Dear John, Ron or Jaltus and Company.

It seems I am destined to remain trapped within the ether of this cave, called Theology Web Campus, yet each time I find myself in the spider's web, I end up coming back to Biblical Languages 301. I am really, really, really, really struggling with this passage.

I think for starters, I need to clear a few elementary points, and this will require that I get an accurate rendering of the language (you should know my story by now, I am NOT a Greek student, or fluent in Hebrew, but I can speak Afrikaans ;) plus a few solid commentaries, dealing with the possible ideas expressed by this passage.

One more stanza.

Previously I asked for a translation of some certain words from the entire chapter, and after scouring the Archives, I discovered that John Reece, had in fact done this circa. 2003, and though the discussion seemed to hedge around issues with aspects of the chapter, it did not answer my own questions. So I would appreciate a good translation of ... 1 Corinthians 15:52 , as well as a commentary, or two, or three, or four, or more. Take your time, but not too long, for I might be gone in the 'blinking' of an eye. ;)

This is from the division that the English Standard Version calls, 'Mystery and Victory'

50 I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,

52 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.

53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 54 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?”

56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

From: The English Standard Version

I have so many questions about, what the Lord's apostle is expressing here. The theological dust has me coughing and spluttering, choking up and going red in the face.

I know this is NOT a Theological forum, but I would appreciate it, if these questions are allowed to float around inside your mind, when you are considering your choice of commentary quotes. Obviously, I would love a fuller unveiling, of what Paul is describing, but I realize the constraints of this forum, and I welcome any and every insight.

Dear TWebbers, please don't use this thread as a place to force one or more of the Millennial views, as I am more interested in getting to the language and commentaries of those who have gone the distance and have received accreditation for it.

I always try to keep my posts short and to the point, but here are the question to keep in mind, as you are posting up your reply with regard to the SINGLE PASSAGE: 1 CORINTHIANS 15:52

Question 5:
Is Paul teaching 'Immortality of the Soul' ?

Question 6:
What is this 'last trumpet' that Paul is talking about?

In anticipation,
Eric J. Sawyer
(ex. headheart)

[headheart]

Add 1: Summary of Opening Post

The simple version of this question is:

Please assist me with the translation of 1 Corinthians 15:52 , as well as a few commentaries -- with regards to the meaning of the phrases 'the dead will be raised imperishable' and 'the last trumpet' ?

Obviously, I am hoping that all the other bits and pieces that I posted in my opening post, will be considered as part of this. :halo:

Sincerely,
Eric J. Sawyer

[John Reece]

So I would appreciate a good translation of ... 1 Corinthians 15:52 , as well as a commentary, or two, or three, or four, or more.

In the Greek text, 1 Corinthian 15:52 is the second half of a sentence that begins with verse 51.

NA27 Text (1 Corinthian 15:51-52):

⁵¹ ἰδοὺ μυστήριον ὑμῖν λέγω· πάντες οὐ κοιμηθησόμεθα, πάντες δὲ ἀλλαγησόμεθα, ἐν ἀτόμῳ, ⁵² ἐν ῥιπῇ ὀφθαλμοῦ, ἐν τῇ ἐσχάτῃ σάλπιγγι· σαλπίσει γὰρ καὶ οἱ νεκροὶ ἐγερθήσονται ἄφθαρτοι καὶ ἡμεῖς ἀλλαγησόμεθα

Transliteration:

⁵¹idou mystērion hymin legō; pantes ou koimēthēsometha, pantes de allagēsometha, en atomō̧, ⁵² en rhipȩ̄ ophthalmou, en tȩ̄ eschatȩ̄ salpiggi; salpisei gar kai hoi nekroi egerthēsontai aphthartoi kai hēmeis allagēsometha

Translation (NRSV):

⁵¹ Behold, I tell you a mystery: We all shall not sleep, but we shall all be changed, ⁵² in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

Analysis (Zerwick):

μυστήριον : (< from μυέω initiate) secret rites ; in the New Testament the secret mystery of the divine plan.
κοιμηθησόμεθα : future deponent of κοιμάω be/fall asleep, also in sense of die.
ἀλλαγησόμεθα : future passive of ἀλλάσσω change.
ἄτομος : (< ἀ- + τέμνω cut) in-divisible, instant of time so short as to preclude division, a flash.
ῥιπή : (< ῥίπτω throw) a rapid movement such as a twinkling of an eye.
σάλπιγξ, -ιγγος, ἡ : trumpet ; blast on the trumpet, trumpet-call.
σαλπίσει : future of σαλπίζω play the trumpet ; of a trumpet sound.
ἐγερθήσονται : future passive of ἐγείρω to enter into or to be in a state of life as a result of being raised, be raised, rise (BDAG).
ἄφθαρτος : imperishable, immortal.
ἀλλαγησόμεθα : future passive of ἀλλάσσω change.

According to D. A. Carson, "the best commentary on the Greek text of 1 Corinthians is Anthony C. Thiselton (NIGTC, 2000)" ― whose commentary on 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 I will present in several parts, beginning with my next post.

[headheart]

I will present in several parts, beginning with my next post.

Thank you so much, John.

Sincerely,
Eric.

[John Reece]

From The First Epistle to the Corinthians (NIGTC; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000), by Anthony C. Thiselton (page 1293):

The major question raised by πάντες οὐ κοιμηθησόμεθα turns on Paul's view of eschatological imminence: strictly it could mean either (i) none of us shall sleep, i.e., the parousia will intervene before any believer dies; or (ii) not all of us shall (as some of us shall) sleep, i.e., the parousia will come in the lifetime of some of us; or (iii) Not all of us shall sleep, i.e., the parousia will interrupt human history at some point sooner or later (time unspecified). The first is clearly excluded by Paul's comments about some of the Corinthian Christians having died already (especially 15:29; cf. also 11:30, which presumably alludes to premature death from "weakness or sickness"). The second view is usually associated with a theory of radical development in Paul's theology from an imminent eschatology in the earlier letters to a quasi-realized eschatology supposedly from "we who are alive and remain" (1 Thess. 4:15), together with a questionable exegesis of 7:29 and this verse. It is a pity that it is necessary repeatedly to call attention to J. Lowe's decisive demolition of the developmental theory of Paul's eschatology as long ago as 1941. Lowe demonstrates that the polarities of "eager expectation" and of an emphasis on the eschatological nuance in the present occur in earlier and later epistles without clear distinction. Whitely and others have endorsed his study. The third view reflects Paul's major concern in verses 51-52: in Whiteley's words, "It is perfectly clear that here, as in 1 Thess. St. Paul ascribes to survivors and deceased the same ultimate fate," i.e., all humans, whether alive or dead at the last resurrection, will undergo transformation.

[John Reece]

Continued from Thiselton's commentary (bracketed translations in single quotes added):

Paul does indeed want Christians to "sit light" in the world, as eschatological pilgrims ready for the call home, or for the parousia, at any moment. This remains a theme in the earlier 1 Thess 4:13-18 and the later Philippians 3:20-21 equally. Philippi, like Corinth, was a Roman colony on Greek soil; both communities would understand the allusion to a heavenly πολίτευμα ἐν οὐρανοῖς ἐξ οὗ καὶ σωτῆρα ἀπεκδεχόμεθα κύριον Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν, ὃς μετασχηματίσει τὸ σῶμα τῆς ταπεινώσεως ἡμῶν ['commonwealth in heaven from which also we eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our humble body']. Paul no more asserts that the Thessalonians or the readers of 1 Corinthians are necessarily that last generation (although they might be) any more than the Philippians, who also eagerly wait for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ (...). Karl Mannheim's view that the "chiliastic mentality" is "always on tiptoe waiting for the propitious moment" (the καιρός [kairos]) is well captured by the understandings of Paul's mind-set by Albert Schweitzer and Martin Werner. It is true that there is a link between κυριακὴ ἡμέρα ['the Lord's day'] and ἡμέρα τοῦ κυρίου ['the day of the Lord'], that Paul holds a dynamic world view with his eyes upon the End, and that in general institutional concerns arise only in the service of the gospel. Nevertheless, as Arthur Moore also observes, "On the thesis of Consistent Eschatology [i.e., the view that history contradicted the early kerygma] it remains a problem why the Christian sect did not go the way of other disappointed apocalyptic groups when the chosen Messiah had failed them ... finally dying out." Paul does see "the whole [waiting] on tiptoe ..." (Rom 8:19, J. B. Phillip's gloss-translation). But this mind-set rests not upon a statement about eschatological imminence but upon a presupposition concerning its genuine possibility.

[John Reece]

Continued from Thiselton's commentary:

Elsewhere I have argued emphatically that the logical grammar of eschatological expectation concerns (following Wittgenstein) a stance and appropriate behavior. not a set of chronological beliefs. In 1 Thessalonians 4 and 1 Corinthians 15 the exclusion of we or not all would simply denote a lack of seriousness in regarding the issue as genuinely possible as well as open: Paul's concern is God's orderly plan for humankind as a corporeity, and for believers as the corporate body of Christ. It does not matter, he urges, whether you have died or are still alive at the end time: all of us (equally) will undergo transformation. "There can, to his [Paul's] mind, be no distinction between the two groups." [Kennedy] Further, "transformation and resurrection are seen as two parts of the same event." [Holleman] This part of Paul's declaration serves to give assurance equally that those who have died lose nothing that will be experienced by those who will still be alive at the parousia, and conversely assures those who might survive that they, too, like the dead, share in the same experience of resurrection-transformation. In spite of the arguments by some to the contrary, Paul offers this double assurance, with the proviso that no one can be exempt from the utterly necessary transformation. Paul uses the future passive indicative of ἀλλάσσω, to change, to alter, or the passive, to have one's condition or form changed. M. E. Dahl argues that in some respects this is a weak word for change. This is so, however, because it denotes change of form following earlier incorporation into the new creation. At the same time the context confirms that we should not underestimate its force.*

*The important point safeguarded by Dahl is that change does not disrupt or destroy continuity of identity Nevertheless, the force of transformation or change is clearly entailed; cf. BAGD 39; Grimm-Thayer, "to cause one thing to cease and another to take its place," in 1 Cor 15:51-52 "to transform" (28).

[John Reece]

Continued from Thiselton's commentary (brackets added):

There may be two distinct nuances to Paul's use of μυστήριον ['mystery'] in verse 51a. It would accord with his use of the term elsewhere to denote what was once hidden but has now been disclosed by divine revelation. On the other hand, many interpreters explain it in a way which is closer to its modern meaning in English. Paul cannot and does not say more about the precise nature of the change. He knows that Christ's own resurrection mode of existence provides the model (cf. also Philippians 3:20-21), but much more than this we cannot know. It may be that Paul uses this word consciously to convey both senses of the term. Alternatively the latter nuance may sufficiently account for its use.

[John Reece]

Continued from Thiselton's commentary:

The change or transformation will be instantaneous, ἐν ἀτόμῳ (τέμνω, I cut, with alpha privative), denoting that which is indivisible, i.e., in an instant, the smallest conceivable moment of time, ἐν ῥιπῇ ὀφθαλμοῦ indicates very rapid eye movement. Most frequently it denotes a rapid, darting glance out of the corner of one's eye, but since ῥίπτω simply means to throw, it may have a wider meaning as well. With different nouns, outside the New Testament it can denote the rapid wing movement which causes the buzz of a gnat or the twinkling (cf. AV/KJV) of a star. This is the only occurrence of the word in the New Testament, and although NRSV, NJB, REB, and NIV follow AV/KJV's twinkling of an eye, this translation depends on modern recognition of the phrase as itself a metaphor for instantaneousness. Strictly the sparkle or change of light of an eye is a process, and rests on transferring the metaphor of a twinkling star. Collins translates in the blinking of an eye, which preserves the creative metaphor but avoids dependence of a tradition of understanding.

[John Reece]

Continued from Thiselton's commentary:

The last trumpet intensifies the metaphor of suddenness, adding the dimension of divine decree and ordered signal. In both testaments (Exo 19:16; Zechariah 9:14; 1 Thessalonians 4:16) manifestations of God are associated with the sound of the trumpet. Additionally, however, the trumpet awakens a sleeping army to be urgently aroused to activity, including possible battle when the alert is sounded. In view of its military background, with which readers would be entirely familiar, sound would be universally interpreted less as the sound of a musical note than as a loud signal for all to hear. The trumpet announces the moment of a change, in accordance with the timing of God's royal decree. The form of the future σαλπίσει is late Greek (σαλπίζεται is not used). In apocalyptic literature the trumpet is a standard image for announcing a new beginning decreed by God (cf. Rev 11:15). As Collins (closely with Wolff) writes, "'Last' the final, eschatological trumpet sound ... the passing of the present order of reality." Ambrosiaster understands the trumpet sound as a sound of triumph when the battle is over. Bruce cites similarly the "great trumpet" for the return of the exiles in Isa 27:13 (cf. Mat 24:31) and that of the year of Jubilee (Lev 25:9), as well as the apocalyptic trumpet of the Lord's descent from heaven in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). Augustine also alludes to 1 Thessalonians 4:16: it denotes "a clear signal" which Paul elsewhere calls "the voice of the archangel and the trumpet of God" (1 Thessalonians 4:16).

[John Reece]

Continued from Thiselton's commentary (translations in brackets added):

Once again we encounter ἄφθαρτοι ['imperishable'] as characterizing the raised mode of existence. In verse 42 we translated this as decay's reversal on the ground that it stood in semantic opposition to φθορά ['decay'], which in turn translated in the LXX the Hebrew terms for emptiness, fruitlessness and degeneration or corruption. The negation of this, we argued, is not simply a static state of incorruption, but a dynamic process of ethical, aesthetic, and psychosocial flourishing, purpose, and abundance (...). Although the semantic opposition is not explicit here, incorruption does not adequately convey what the absence of this destructive process entails for a process directed by the Spirit. The σῶμα ['body'] will be raised without degenerating decay at the very least; perhaps Paul means also here the reversal of decay, i.e., flourishing.

That's the end of Thiselton's commentary on verses 51-52 of 1 Corinthians 15.

[John Reece]

From The First Epistle to the Corinthians (NICNT; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1987), by Gordon D. Fee:

51... The concern of Paul's argument is with the nature of the body that believers will assume at the resurrection. The contrasts that have been set up, however, are not between the corpses of the dead and their reanimated bodies, but between bodies in their present earthly expression vis-à-vis their transformation into the likeness of Christ's glorified body. Thus he asserted (verse 50) that the body in its present form cannot "inherit the kingdom." Even though this may still refer to the body "that is sown," the logical consequence is that what is true of the dead is equally true of the living. The perishable body, either dead or alive, cannot inherit the imperishable life of the future. Paul, therefore, now turns to emphasize that point with regard to the living. They, too, must be changed before they are fitted for immortality. The Corinthians, of course, would have been plumping for a nonsomatic immortality; but for Paul the resurrection of Christ and his present somatic heavenly existence exclude their option. Hence the solemn asseveration: "Listen, I tell you a mystery."

As elsewhere in the Pauline corpus, "mystery" does not refer to what is currently hidden, but to what was once hidden but has now been revealed through Christ. The heavenly existence of Christ in a pneumatikon sōma ("supernatural body") means that yet another "mystery" is now revealed to God's people. The content of that mystery is found in the pair of clauses that follow, the first of which probably sustains a concessive relationship to the second: "Even though we will not all sleep, nevertheless we will all be changed." Two further observations need to be made.

First, Paul has already expressed himself similarly in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. There in particular it is difficult to avoid the plain sense of the language, that he expected to be among the living at the Parousia. That does not mean that he lived in intense, eager anticipation of it, as is sometimes maintained, but that he simply expected it to happen within his lifetime. Similar language prevails here, but on an even lower key in terms of expectation. He uses "we" chiefly because nothing else would make sense, especially in the first clause. In a letter where he easily falls in and out of this usage, especially when he wants to include himself with them in the benefits of salvation, it is hardly possible that this clause could have been expressed in either the second or third person. Thus it says very little about Paul's expectations with regard to the Parousia; what it says is that he is currently among the living.

Second, Paul's emphasis is on the necessary "change" that will happen to all, both the living and the dead. Not all will die since by the nature of things some will be alive at the return of Christ, but all, including those alive at the time of the Parousia, must be transformed so as to bear the likeness of the man of heaven. It is probably this latter reality that is the content of the "mystery." It may be that Paul is pressing this point as a direct word against the Corinthian point of view; however, it is just as possible that it flows naturally as the logical concomitant of the argument to this point. In either case, such a word is unlikely to be received enthusiastically in Corinth.

[John Reece]

Fee's comment of verse 52:

With the three prepositional phrases that begin this verse Paul indicates the nature and time of the transformation. It is clear from similar usage in 1 Thessalonians 4:16 that he intends the time of the Parousia. However, since the emphasis here is on the transformation that all experience, there is no mention of the coming of the Lord himself or of believers' rising to be with him. Thus, in place of language referring to the shout of victory, the emphasis here is on the instantaneous nature of the transformation: "We will all be changed in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye."

What marks the Parousia is the blowing of "the last trumpet," imagery that had been taken up into Jewish prophetic-apocalyptic in a variety of senses to herald the approaching day of judgment (Joel 2:1), to announce the coming of the Lord (Zechariah 9:14), to summon the people of God from the four corners (Isa 27:13). Since it is such common imagery for the heralding of the End, it may carry no metaphorical freight whatever in this instance. On the basis of the next clause, however, it is arguable that the imagery is that of summoning the dead from their graves. It is the "last" trumpet not because it is the final in a series, but because it signals the End.

With an explanatory "for," the next clause basically repeats the concerns of verses 51-52a by spelling out what they entail. First, "the trumpet will sound," repeating what has immediately preceded. With that, secondly, "the dead will be raised imperishable." Although this language has not been frequent in this section of the argument (verses 35-58), its appearance here, as in verse 42, indicates that this has been the concern right along. People die partly because they live is perishable bodies. But with the coming of Christ, all that changes. They are raised, still with bodies, but bodies that have been made over into their "imperishable" form. Third, along with the resurrected dead, "we [= the living] will be changed." These last two clauses, which in their own way repeat verse 51, have no interest in chronology, although they are expressed in the same order as in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17. For all practical purposes the events transpire at the same time ― at the sound of the eschatological trumpet.

[headheart]

John,

I am beginning to understand why, you did not want to attempt the whole of 1 Corinthians 15.
I don't know if I told you this before, though I have quoted from 'The New Bible Commentary', which I got from my Father when I was nineteen, one which I have kept in spite of the fact that the cover began to fall apart. I was overjoyed to discover that Dr. Carson had edited the 21st Century edition of the same. The only problem is that it seems, someone borrowed it from the library and well it has been three years now, and it was never returned. So you can guess the rest -- I am going to get myself a brand new copy, just as soon as my financial situation begins to improve.

As I am not sure if you are finished yet, I want to thank you in advance, for as always you have brought a substantial collection of brilliant thinkers to the table.

God bless you my friend.
Eric.

[John Reece]

As I am not sure if you are finished yet, I want to thank you in advance, for as always you have brought a substantial collection of brilliant thinkers to the table.

I am finished, Eric.

It's always a pleasure to hear from you and to have you prompt interesting research.

Blessings,

John