“Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.” (1 Corinthians 15:24–26, KJV)
The other day I was talking with a man who was concerned about the way things are going in our society. His concern had to do with global issues like the war in the Ukraine, domestic issues such as some of the progressive ideologies that seem to be sweeping our younger generation, and the big push towards socialism by a certain political entity. He asked my opinion on the matter, wondering if these were signs of the end times. So, we got into a discussion pertaining to biblical eschatology, that is a study of the things to come.
I went on to tell him that it was my opinion that these things could play into some sort of end times scenario, but I was not prophet. Perhaps they should be signs for everyone to wake up regarding their eternal destiny. However, he wanted to know how soon the end would come. I told him that I did not know. A man named Harold Camping had predicted many dates regarding the day of judgment, the rapture, and etcetera. Yet, none of his prophecies of these things ever came to be true.
Then I gave this man my prophetic utterance. Yes, the end was definitely coming and it was closer that day than it was the day before. The big issue was not if or when the end would come. The big issue was would he be ready. I told him I was because I was trusting in Jesus. He concluded our talk by stating, “Pray for us ones who are not ready.” Kind of sad when you think about it.
In this section of the letter to the church at Corinth, Paul dealt with the truth of the resurrection and its importance. Having done this, he now looks at what will happen after the resurrection. From this section we can conclude that sometime after the resurrection of the saints, the end will assuredly come. He stated, “Then cometh the end.”
Now, there are many opinions regarding the events to come. Paul’s writing here can be viewed in two ways. Some consider that the end will come immediately following the resurrection of the saints, while others see that there is a time period before the end will come. There is no time to get into these in this short devotion, so we will be content to look at the facts Paul presented here.
First, there will be a resurrection of the saints. Second, sometime after this the Lord will “put down all rule and all authority and power.” He will put an end to the devil’s evil world system. Moreover, He will subdue and put an end to all of those who are enemies of God, those who are not believers.
Thirdly, when all evil is purged from the creation, the Lord will destroy the last enemy, which is death. Death will no longer reign when all the enemies of God are eliminated, because death will no longer be necessary. It is the last enemy.
Now, as I mentioned, there are many other events that Paul did not mention here. These are things like the tribulation, the millennial reign of Christ, the final judgment, and more. Yet, the important thing that one must glean from these words is this. Will you be ready for that day? There is only one way to be ready, it is by trusting in Jesus Christ alone for eternal life. One must believe the fact of the gospel, that He died to pay the penalty of our sin and rose again the third day. It is by true faith that one is saved and will be ready for that day.
Renewing the Heart 