Borrowing from Hamlet’s famous line, “To be or not to be?”, reading Paul’s approach to the resurrection of the dead creates another dilemma: To be or not to be – raptured?
For instance, take Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians, covered in Module 5 in this course: In 1 Thess 4:13-18, Paul is preparing the Thessalonians for what he thinks is Jesus’ imminent return. And with descriptive words, Paul explains that, whether alive or dead, all believers will be swept up into the sky to meet Christ. And as previously discussed in this class, the imagery that Paul uses has been a core tenet in dispensationalism (Senior 1679) – and a career saver for Kirk Cameron.
Following this passage alone, Jesus will apparently sweep up all the physically living and dead into heaven. Yet is there still room for a non-literal / spiritual meaning? Could the word dead – A.K.A. fallen asleep – have a two-fold meaning? That is, regardless of believers being physically dead or alive, they must also be spiritually alive in Christ? After all, isn’t that the whole point of salvation – to be raised from spiritual death and have new life through Jesus’ death and resurrection? (Brown 464).
I Corinthians may help resolve the bodily versus spiritual resurrection mystery. In 1 Cor 15:12-50, Paul begins with this question: “But if Christ is preached as raised from the dead, how can some among you say there is no resurrection of the dead?” Simply put, if Christ was able to rise from the dead, then He can make resurrection possible for anyone else (Senior 1620). Does that settle the issue now? Not quite.
Paul presses on with this point by using a similar message to the one given in 1 Thess 4:13-18. Except, in this case, Paul explains why death exists in the first place, and that Jesus’ resurrection from the dead will not only save those who have died, but also destroy death itself when Jesus returns (1 Cor 15:20-28).
Still, throughout Paul’s discourse on the parousia and resurrection of the dead, he connects Christ’s resurrection with humans having lived and died in sin. Paul traces this back to Adam, who represents the curse of physical and spiritual death, and is used as a literary parallel to Jesus’ conquering death through his resurrection (Senior 1621).
That said, perhaps the resurrection of the dead is two-fold after all? Or is there yet another twist in this mystery?
Consider 1 Cor 15:44 and 15:50-58: In verse 44, Paul draws on a seed-plant analogy to illustrate the human body’s purpose: “It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is a spiritual.” Then, in verse 50, Paul quite plainly states, “This I declare, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does corruption inherit incorruption.”
Therefore, the resurrection of the dead may not only have a two-fold meaning, but may also mean that physical bodies will be – no pun intended – left behind?
According to Brown, Paul was not muddied about the resurrection of the dead; he understood it as an actual, eschatological event. Brown even points out that Paul refers to the resurrection as “bodily” in 1 Cor 15:35-50 (524). Yet in verse 22, Paul also says, “For just as in Adam all will die, so too in Christ shall all be brought to life.” From a more literal standpoint, this verse could still have multiple meanings:
A.) Beginning with Adam, all believers who have physically died will be raised up bodily (though not flesh and blood).
B.) Those with faith in Christ, yet have physically died, will be raised up.
C.) All people who are spiritually dead can find new life through Jesus’ resurrection. What’s more, they will be bodily resurrected – in a new form — whether alive or physically dead.
D.) All of the above?
E.) None of the above – it’s all spiritual?
I’m calling Kirk Cameron…
Works Cited
Brown, Raymond. An Introduction to the New Testament. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1997.
Senior, Donald, et al. The Catholic Study Bible. Oxford University Press, 2016.
Ignatius Press. Holy Bible. Revised Standard Version, Second Catholic Edition. Ignatius Pr, 2016.