1 Corinthians 15:51-57
“Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”
King James Version
The mystery of the instant transformation of believers at the resurrection, Paul's most detailed rapture/resurrection passage.
Fulfillment References
1 Thessalonians 4:16 Revelation 11:15 Philippians 3:21
How Traditions Read This Prophecy
Apostolic (Oneness) PentecostalThe apostolic hope: at the last trump the dead in Christ rise incorruptible and the living are changed in a moment. The same Jesus who said 'I am the resurrection, and the life' (John 11:25) — the one God manifest in flesh — raises and transforms His own. The victory over death is 'through our Lord Jesus Christ' (v. 57), the one saving Name into which we are baptized (Acts 2:38).
JewishBodily resurrection (techiyat ha-metim) is a core article of faith (Dan. 12:2; Mishnah Sanhedrin 10:1). Paul, trained a Pharisee, writes from this hope, though Judaism does not attach it to Jesus.
CatholicA primary witness to the resurrection of the body and the transformation of the living at Christ's coming — the body 'raised incorruptible' (cf. the Catechism).
ProtestantThe classic resurrection-and-rapture text — 'we shall all be changed' at the last trump. Interpreters divide over whether this trumpet equals 1 Thess. 4:16 (one event) or is distinct, shaping pre-, mid-, and post-tribulational views.
AcademicPaul's apocalyptic eschatology; the 'mystery' (mysterion) and trumpet imagery draw on Jewish apocalyptic. Most scholars hold Paul expected the change of both dead and living at an imminent end.
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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.