1 Corinthians 15:25-27
“For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.”
King James Version
Paul welds Psalm 110:1 ('sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool') to Psalm 8:6 ('thou hast put all things under his feet'): Christ 'must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.' The kingdom is current, its completion scheduled, its final conquest named.
Fulfillment References
Psalm 110:1 Psalm 8:6 Revelation 20:14 Hebrews 2:8-9
How Traditions Read This Prophecy
Apostolic (Oneness) PentecostalThe Man Christ Jesus reigns until every enemy — death last of all — is under the feet of the humanity God prepared; then God is 'all in all' (v.28): the mediatorial economy complete, the one God unveiled.
JewishPsalm 110 in its own setting enthrones the Davidic king with God's backing; its afterlife as Christianity's most-quoted verse is a defining point of divergence.
CatholicChrist reigns now from the right hand; the subjection of all things proceeds through history until the general resurrection destroys death.
ProtestantThe 'until' governs every eschatology: amillennialists hear the present session, premillennialists a reign consummated in the age to come — all agree death dies last.
DispensationalThe mediatorial kingdom runs to its millennial completion; the subjection of 'all things' is displayed on earth before the handover of v.28.
AcademicPsalm 110:1 is the NT's most-cited OT text (~20 uses); Paul's Ps. 110 + Ps. 8 combination reappears in Heb. 1-2 — again suggesting a common early exegetical tradition.
Scholarship & Sources
On Psalm 110's NT dominance, Hay, Glory at the Right Hand; the Ps. 110/Ps. 8 combination in Fee (1 Corinthians, NICNT) and Heb. 1:13-2:9.
Open the full interactive entry →Cross-references, Hebrew/Greek, Dead Sea Scrolls notes, study tools and multi-tradition analysis in the interactive explorer.
Bible Prophecy Explorer · based on J. Barton Payne’s Encyclopedia of Biblical Prophecy catalogue · an openly Apostolic (Oneness) Pentecostal study resource — all traditions presented fairly. Pastor: C. Myles Young, PhD · Bishop: Nathaniel J. Wilson, Ed.D.