Are All Christians to Fall Asleep in Death?

A Misunderstood Text Restored

Are Christians All to Fall Asleep in Death?
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Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall all fall asleep, but we shall not all be changed in a moment, in [the] twinkling of an eye, in the last trump.—1 Corinthians 15:51,52, RVIC

James Parkinson

The above Scripture may seem strange to many Christians, as it is diametrically opposite to most English translations of the Bible, from the King James (KJV) until now. However, this translation is the reading of two-thirds of the best Greek manuscripts. Indeed, the KJV reading will seem strange to readers of the Armenian New Testament, Douay, and other Bibles translated from the Latin (see boxed text at the top of the next page).

We should not make theology try to teach the apostle, but have the apostle teach us. Hence, it is our duty to try to understand this passage.

In religions that believe in an immortal soul, including heathen religions, there is no concept of sleeping in death for a long period of time. So there would be no difference in experience between those who died long ago, and those who die at the end of the age. But those who understand that souls are not immortal, that when people die they really are dead, also understand there can be a difference. Some “sleep” in death longer, and others not so long. That is the point Paul considered in these words to brethren in Corinth. He refered to the matter as a “mystery”—known to the initiated (consecrated), but not to the world.

Then Paul explained the distinction. We (faithful Christians) shall all fall asleep (in death). But only those who die at the end of the age will be changed “in a moment,” in a twinkling of an eye—the shortest possible interval of sleep. This change will not be simply at the last trumpet, but during the last trumpet. That is, there is a duration for the last trumpet.

The Last Trump[et]

Paul drew from Joshua’s seven-day siege at Jericho, where seven priests with seven trumpets went with the army around the city once each day, except on the last day when they went around seven times. Joshua rose early on the first day and then the priests took up the ark of the covenant. This symbolizes that Jesus’ resurrection, followed by the holy spirit coming at Pentecost, began the Gospel age of the church.

Note the sequence of events in Joshua 6:15, 16,20. After (1) “they rose early” and marched seven times around the city on the last day, (2) sounding the trumpets, there was one more long blast of the trumpet. Then (3) Joshua commanded the people to shout, and (4) they shouted. As a result the wall fell and Joshua conquered the city. This symbolizes that during “the last day” of the Gospel age Babylon will fall. Thus, Joshua’s seven-day siege depicts the entire Gospel age (and on into Christ’s thousand-year kingdom).

The seven priests blowing the seven trumpets shows us that the seven messengers blowing the seven trumpets in Revelation 8-11 also span the Gospel age. Seven circuits of Jericho on the last day show that “the last day” is divided into the seven last plagues of Revelation 16.

Paul interpreted the Jericho events as a type in 1 Thessalonians 4:16 in reverse sequence. “The Lord himself shall descend from heaven, (4) with a shout, (3) with the voice of the archangel, (2) and with the trump of God: (1) and the dead in Christ shall rise first.” Paul worked back to his subject, “they rose early,” a type of the resurrection of the faithful. Thus, we are shown that, just as the first six days depict periods of the Gospel age which are decades or centuries long, “the last day” is also expected to be at least decades long.

While the expression, “the last days” refers to multiple periods of the Gospel age, the expression, “the last day” is associated with resurrections (John 6:39,40,44,54; 11:24) and judgment (John 12:48). “The last day,” like “the last trump,” Gospel age “harvest,” and “the seven last plagues,” refers to the last period of the church here on the earth. It is during this period that each faithful saint finishing his earthly training at death, is evidently “changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye,” during the last trumpet—during the seven last plagues.

Each faithful one must die to lose the terrestrial body—an earthy body—and then be resurrected in a celestial body—a heavenly body (1 Corinthians 15:40-50). All the faithful are to receive the divine nature, even as did their Lord Jesus Christ (Hebrews 1:1-3). Yet there is a difference between two groups of them, according to when one dies. The faithful who died during the first six periods of the Gospel age were to sleep in death until the seventh period began. But those who fall asleep in death during the seventh and final period are to be raised in the blink of an eye—the shortest interval of “sleep.” Thus in the harvest chapter, Revelation 14, it says, “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from henceforth: yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; for their works follow with them” (Revelation 14:13, ASV). For their works to follow with them implies no significant time between death and resurrection. In other words, “in the twinkling of an eye.”

The rest of 1 Corinthians 15:52 may thus be understood: For the trumpet shall sound [from the beginning of the last day until the completion of the church], and the dead [from earlier in the Gospel age] shall be raised incorruptible [and like their Lord, invisible to humankind], and [thenceforth] we [the church in the flesh during the last day, one by one] shall be changed at death [from human nature to divine nature].

Why the Change of Words?

Why would a scribe change “We shall all fall asleep ...” to “We shall not all fall asleep ...”? In fact the text is theologically sensitive. Bruce Metzger expresses the UBS GNT4{FOOTNOTE: United Bible Society Greek New Testament, Version Four.} committee’s belief that the change was the other way around—that the KJV reading is the original: “Because Paul and his correspondents had died, the statement [we shall not all fall asleep] seemed to call for correction.”

However, the more likely reason for a change was that the growing popularity of the immortal-soul teaching was deemed incompatible with “... but we shall not all be changed in a moment ... in [during] the last trump.” Quality support for the latter reading is geographically widespread: Egypt, Armenia, and (by inference) Italy; while quality support for the KJV reading is only Egyptian (B, 81, Coptic versions).{FOOTNOTE: B refers to the “Vaticanus” manuscript, sometimes called “Vatican 1209,” from the mid fourth century. It is the basis of the Westcott and Hort Greek New Testament text. Erasmus knew of it in 1533. It was one of the spoils Napoleon brought to Paris until 1815, where its value first became widely known. “81" refers to a minuscule manuscript from A.D. 1044. It is from Alexandria.} Hence, the change was most likely made in Alexandria, Egypt (where the B and 81 manuscripts were likely written), and later exported across the Mediterranean Sea to Byzantium/Constantinople, and from there to the rest of the world.

It is quality vs. quantity to determine the genuine reading here. Quality is to be preferred. Many later copies of a less reliable manuscript do not increase its value. Theology and eschatology should not determine the text, but be determined by the text.

What is this Mystery?

A mystery is something known to the initiated, but not to outsiders. Several mysteries are mentioned elsewhere in the New Testament: the kingdom of God, that Gentiles may become part of the body of Christ, the conversion of Israel after the body of Christ is completed, etc. (Mark 4:11; Romans 11:25; Ephesians 3:3-6). Yet the mystery here is not even the change in nature from earthy/ human, to celestial/divine, as described in 1 Corinthians 15:40-50. This mystery is that those already asleep in Christ are resurrected at his return, while those still in the flesh after his return will be resurrected one-by-one as they die.

IMPORTANT SIDEBAR TO THIS ARTICLE

Five Readings

The evidence for five different manuscript readings of 1 Corinthians 15:51,52 is:

(a) “We shall all fall asleep, but we shall not all be changed in a moment” —

w Sinaiticus, mid fourth century manuscript

w Ephraemi, C, fifth century manuscript

w Alexandrian, A, early fifth century manuscript

w 1739, tenth century, the best minuscule in the epistles

w 33, ninth century minuscule, specially good in Paul

w 0243, good quality uncial manuscript, tenth century

w the Armenian (arm) version, fifth century

(b) “We shall all be resurrected, but we shall not all be changed in a moment”

w Latin Vulgate, Bezae, D, sixth century. This reading is evidently a corruption of the one above, probably by Marcion, ca. 130 A.D.

w Vatican 1209, B (see footnote 2, bottom of next page)

w 81, the Coptic versions (see footnote 2, bottom of next page)

w 575 lesser Greek manuscripts.

(d) “We shall not all fall asleep, but neither shall we all be changed in a moment”

w p46, ca. 200 A.D., Chester Beatty Biblical Papyrii. This reading is attested by our oldest manuscript but by too little else to be considered the original reading.

(e) “We shall all fall asleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment”

w Six or seven poor Greek manuscripts. This reading has virtually no credible evidence and is necessarily therefore rejected.

The high-quality Greek manuscript evidence supports reading (a) above reading (c) by a three-to-one margin (and Vatican 1209 has no priority over the Sinaitic and Ephraemi manuscripts in Paul’s epistles). Thus reading (a) is to be accepted as the original reading.