For this week's Bible study, we'll be finishing up First Corinthians

Finishing First Corinthians

[1^st Corinthians chapter 15, verses 50-58; 1^st Corinth. 16]

This week we will finish our chronological study of First Corinthians, chapters 15 and 16. Last week you will recall the apostle Paul comparing the first Adam with the last, who was and who is Jesus Christ. He moves on to another topic, almost as an afterthought, but it turns out to be one of the more prophetic writings of either the Old Testament or the New Testament. I will begin at verse 50 where we left off last week.

“I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed – in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: 'Death has been swallowed up in victory'. 'Where, oh death, is your victory? Where, oh death, is your sting?' The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” ( 1 Corinth. 15, verses 50 – 58, NIV)

Paul reminds the Corinthian church one more time that humankind, in its physical existence, can never enter heaven where God dwells. But then he does something interesting; he gives this early Christian church something to look forward to as far as the end of one's physical life is concerned. He begins to prophesy about life after death, describing how the process will seem to most of us as we experience it. There are a number of ways this is being interpreted in the modern church, particularly if we go outside of the mainstream denominations. Many say and teach that these verses are a prophecy for the Rapture of the church, which is the taking up of the modern church during the reign of the Antichrist in the books of Matthew, Revelation, Daniel, Ezekiel, and others. There is much disagreement about the timing of the Rapture that I will not write about today, since I regard that as a separate topic. On the other hand, when Paul wrote, “For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will all be changed.....”, there can be no doubt that he was prophesying about the dead being raised at Christ's return (which, in case there is anyone that hasn't been paying attention, could happen just about any time now, just keep following the news regarding the Middle East like I do).

My main concern about the way the Rapture of the Church is currently being taught is how many churches are convinced that the Rapture will come just as soon as the Antichrist comes to power. Moreover, what about those preaching a pre-tribulation rapture? You know, those are the ones who say the church will be taken up at the beginning of the Great Tribulation, and that the Bride of Christ will escape it. What if the Antichrist comes to power and we're all still here? What if the Rapture doesn't happen until weeks, months, or maybe up to a year or two after the Antichrist comes to power? The Bible prophesies about that in the Book of Tribulation, not once but twice. The first is in chapter 6, verses 9-11, which reads: “When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the Word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, 'How long, sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?' Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed”.

Then again in chapter 13 and verse 7, it reads, “He was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them”. What will all those who have believed in a pre-tribulation rapture do then? I hope that some, if not all, of them will realize they may have to undergo one final time of testing by the Lord before being called home to glory. I am deeply concerned that the many who think God will just come along and scoop them up will become discouraged and fall away after the Antichrist comes to power, which could be only months away. Or, they might change their minds and take the mark of the beast to preserve their lives and the lives of their children, mistakenly believing they are “doing the right thing”. That would be an extreme tragedy if it were to occur, and I hope these words that I write will be sufficient warning to my brothers and sisters to be vigilant, to be prayerful with much thanks, and to remain filled with the Spirit during these tumultuous last days.

With another eloquent description of the Rapture of the Church, “For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality”, Paul is exhorting us all to draw ourselves continually closer to God by preparing ourselves as pure vessels in which an immortal being can dwell. And it is we, the transformed Christians, who will become immortal beings and live with the Lord in New Jerusalem forever and ever. By working hard at becoming imperishable vessels and immortal beings, we engage in a dress rehearsal of how we will spend eternity. Paul praised God for this when he wrote, “But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ”. Paul ends this paragraph by encouraging the entire congregation to continue to press onward toward the goal of being one with Christ, and to let nothing stand in the way of their relationship with God through the saving power of Jesus Christ. “Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” These words apply to us more than ever as we navigate our way through the stormy waters of living in the last days. Never get tired of doing the right thing and living for Christ, because our work is never in vain. Paul then closes out the remainder of this letter with a few words about the collection of the offering at these churches that bear close scrutiny.

“Now about the collection for God's people: Do what I told the Galatian churches to do. On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made. Then, when I arrive, I will give letters of introduction to the men you approve and send them with your gift to Jerusalem. If it seems advisable for me to go also, they will accompany me.” (1 Corinthians 16: verses 1-4, NIV)

When Paul writes them to “do as I told the Galatian churches”, he is referring to a passage in the book of Galatians, but I will save that for when we get there, since we'll be studying the 2^nd book of Corinthians first (Galatians comes right afterwards, OK?). There are two things that are noteworthy here, the first being Paul's mentioning setting aside church collections “on the first day of every week”. Keep in mind here that the calendar that we use today has only been around since the third century CE. Since Paul, a Jew and a former member of the Sanhedrin, went by the Jewish calendar, which has been in existence for 5,000 years, he used the Jewish Sabbath as his guide, which is from dusk Friday to dusk Saturday. My point is that the day on which we celebrate the Sabbath today, Sunday, is actually the wrong day of the week from a purely historical perspective when compared to the way in which the original Apostles and Jews were celebrating the Sabbath 2,000 years ago. Keep this in mind each week as you attend services on Sunday morning.

The second noteworthy thing Paul mentions in these closing verses of 1^st Corinthians is the amount that is to be given at each offering. Paul wrote, “ On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income.......” Notice that Paul did not specify an amount to be given, nor any certain percentage of one's income, but he only said that their gifts should be “in keeping with his income”. In other words, if you can't afford to tithe a full 10% of your income like what is specified in the Old Testament, or Law of Moses, and in quite a few modern churches, then that's okay – just give whatever you can and ask the Lord to bless your offering and receive it, knowing that it will still be enough. You need not worry – there are no cash registers or pocket calculators in heaven. God isn't counting your change to see how much you can give. He doesn't want our money, He doesn't need it anyway, but He does want each and every one of us. He wants our love and devotion, our worship and our praise, and our dedication and our service to His cause. And the cause of the Lord is the cause of eternal justice, a worthy cause any day of the week.