23But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming, 24then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. 25For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. 26The last enemy that will be abolished is death. 27For He has put all things in subjection under His feet. But when He says, “All things are put in subjection,” it is evident that He is excepted who put all things in subjection to Him. 28When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that God may be all in all.
So when will the great harvest be? Christ as the first fruits came, died, and was resurrected in the first century A.D., but the resurrection of the rest of humanity will take place at second coming of Him who is the first fruits. This is not to be confused with the rapture (1 Thess. 4:13–18), but His return at the very end to judge the world (Rev. 20:11–15).
What all interpretations of eschatology (the study of end-times prophecies) have in common are the fundamental truths! He will ultimately prove Himself to be sovereign over all. Paul bypasses some “lesser” events like the rapture and tribulation (depending on one’s interpretations) and goes directly next to the resurrection, his focal point for the Corinthians.
After the resurrection comes “the end” (vs. 24), described as Christ handing over everything to God the Father (trinitarianism is clearly in view). This only makes sense if we see the span of time between the creation and the end times as being a period of delegated authority to His image bearers, with Christ as the human par-excellence (incarnation is clearly in view) leading through His authority everything back to its recognized place under the authority of God the Father. Even death, the ultimate control over life, is taken out of the picture (Luke 12:4–5, see also Ps. 110:1, Heb. 1:13).
Life as we know it now will not keep on going forever and ever. God will wrap things up (see Heb. 1:12). He will bring His sovereign control over all things into full manifestation. His purposes in creation will come full circle and the Sovereign, Creator God of all, will finally be seen in his “all in all.” In the end, God will show His unmitigated, unobscured sovereignty in all His glory. There will be nothing left that is not fully subject to Him and seen in every level and in every dimension to be submitted to Him. That is the hope that transforms everything now. We are called to live in light of that glory, the glory we now see in the “first fruits,” Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
Glory to God in the highest!
0 Comments