General Christianity

1 Corinthians 15:20–28

1 Corinthians 15:20–28 · 1 Corinthians 15:20–28

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American Standard Version (1901), eBible HTML transcription; verified complete selected verses on 10 September 2026.

Public-domain American Standard Version (1901). eBible identifies this English edition as public domain. Historical verse text retained; modern navigation, cross-reference callouts and editorial footnotes excluded; whitespace normalized.

20 But now hath Christ been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of them that are asleep. 21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; then they that are Christ’s, at his coming. 24 Then cometh the end, when he shall deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have abolished all rule and all authority and power. 25 For he must reign, till he hath put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy that shall be abolished is death. 27 For, He put all things in subjection under his feet. But when he saith, All things are put in subjection, it is evident that he is excepted who did subject all things unto him. 28 And when all things have been subjected unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subjected to him that did subject all things unto him, that God may be all in all.

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Does “until” put an end to Christ’s kingdom?

interpretation

On: For he must reign, till he hath put all his enemies under his feet.

Source quotation · Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lecture XV, §§ 27–33; Edwin Hamilton Gifford’s revised translation (1894)

27. And shouldest thou ever hear any say that the kingdom of Christ shall have an end, abhor the heresy; it is another head of the dragon, lately sprung up in Galatia. A certain one has dared to affirm, that after the end of the world Christ shall reign no longer; he has also dared to say, that the Word having come forth from the Father shall be again absorbed into the Father, and shall be no more; uttering such blasphemies to his own perdition. For he has not listened to the Lord, saying, The Son abideth for ever. He has not listened to Gabriel, saying, And He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of His kingdom there shall be no end. Consider this text. Heretics of this day teach in disparagement of Christ, while Gabriel the Archangel taught the eternal abiding of the Saviour; whom then wilt thou rather believe? wilt thou not rather give credence to Gabriel? Listen to the testimony of Daniel in the text; I saw in a vision of the night, and behold, one like the Son of Man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days.….And to Him was given the honour, and the dominion, and the kingdom: and all peoples, tribes, and languages shall serve Him; His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom shall not be destroyed. These things rather hold fast, these things believe, and cast away from thee the words of heresy; for thou hast heard most plainly of the endless kingdom of Christ. 28. The like doctrine thou has also in the interpretation of the Stone, which was cut out of a mountain without hands, which is Christ according to the flesh; And His kingdom shall not be left to another people. David also says in one place, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever; and in another place, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundations of the earth, &c., they shall perish, but Thou remainest, &c.; but Thou art the same, and Thy years shall not fail: words which Paul has interpreted of the Son. 29. And wouldest thou know how they who teach the contrary ran into such madness? They read wrongly that good word of the Apostle, For He must reign, till He hath put all enemies under His feet; and they say, when His enemies shall have been put under His feet, He shall cease to reign, wrongly and foolishly alleging this. For He who is king before He has subdued His enemies, how shall He not the rather be king, after He has gotten the mastery over them. 30. They have also dared to say that the Scripture, When all things shall be subjected unto Him, then shall the Son also Himself be subjected unto Him that subjected all things unto Him,—that this Scripture shews that the Son also shall be absorbed into the Father. Shall ye then, O most impious of all men, ye the creatures of Christ, continue? and shall Christ perish, by whom both you and all things were made? Such a word is blasphemous. But further, how shall all things be made subject unto Him? By perishing, or by abiding? Shall then the other things, when subject to the Son abide, and shall the Son, when subject to the Father, not abide? For He shall be subjected, not because He shall then begin to do the Father’s will (for from eternity He doth always those things that please Him), but because, then as before, He obeys the Father, yielding, not a forced obedience, but a self-chosen accordance; for He is not a servant, that He should be subjected by force, but a Son, that He should comply of His free choice and natural love. 31. But let us examine them; what is the meaning of “until” or “as long as?” For with the very phrase will I close with them, and try to overthrow their error. Since they have dared to say that the words, till He hath put His enemies under His feet, shew that He Himself shall have an end, and have presumed to set bounds to the eternal kingdom of Christ, and to bring to an end, as far as words go, His never-ending sovereignty, come then, let us read the like expressions in the Apostle: Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam till Moses. Did men then die up to that time, and did none die any more after Moses, or after the Law has there been no more death among men? Well then, thou seest that the word “unto” is not to limit time; but that Paul rather signified this,—“And yet, though Moses was a righteous and wonderful man, nevertheless the doom of death, which was uttered against Adam, reached even unto him, and them that came after him; and this, though they had not committed the like sins as Adam, by his disobedience in eating of the tree.” 32. Take again another similar text. For until this day…when Moses is read, a vail lieth upon their heart. Does until this day mean only “until Paul?” Is it not until this day present, and even to the end? And if Paul say to the Corinthians, For we came even as far as unto you in preaching the Gospel of Christ, having hope when your faith increases to preach the Gospel in the regions beyond you, thou seest manifestly that as far as implies not the end, but has something following it. In what sense then shouldest thou remember that Scripture, till He hath put all enemies under His feet? According as Paul says in another place, And exhort each other daily, while it is called to-day; meaning, “continually.” For as we may not speak of the “beginning of the days” of Christ, so neither suffer thou that any should ever speak of the end of His kingdom. For it is written, His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. 33. And though I have many more testimonies out of the divine Scriptures, concerning the kingdom of Christ which has no end for ever, I will be content at present with those above mentioned, because the day is far spent. But thou, O hearer, worship only Him as thy King, and flee all heretical error. And if the grace of God permit us, the remaining Articles also of the Faith shall be in good time declared to you. And may the God of the whole world keep you all in safety, bearing in mind the signs of the end, and remaining unsubdued by Antichrist. Thou hast received the tokens of the Deceiver who is to come; thou hast received the proofs of the true Christ, who shall openly come down from heaven. Flee therefore the one, the False one; and look for the other, the True. Thou hast learnt the way, how in the judgment thou mayest be found among those on the right hand; guard that which is committed to thee concerning Christ, and be conspicuous in good works, that thou mayest stand with a good confidence before the Judge, and inherit the kingdom of heaven:—Through whom, and with whom, be glory to God with the Holy Ghost, for ever and ever. Amen.

Catechetical Lectures · Edwin Hamilton Gifford’s revised English translation, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, volume VII (1894), edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace; CCEL transcription. The Cyril volume’s original division title identifies Gifford, and his preface dated 26 May 1893 explains his revision of R. W. Church’s 1838 translation. Lecture XV, complete sections 1–33 across two research packets, divided at section boundaries. Main prose verified against the hosted text. Footnote callouts, publisher/editor notes, page numbers and HTML formatting removed; whitespace normalized. Section numbers, wording and punctuation retained, including apparent transcription readings. Continuation sections 1–2 and 20–33 retain complete main prose. In section 2 the extraction join “saiththe” is separated as “saith the”; section 27 restores “Galatia” from original printed page 113, NPNF II.7, corroborated by the original scan at Internet Archive niceneandpostnic07unknuoft/page/n192.jpg. Other continuation prose is checked against CCEL, without claiming whole-lecture print collation.

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Public-domain historical English translation: 1894 NPNF edition, Gifford revision of Church’s 1838 translation. The division title and signed 1893 preface identify the translation. No modern New Advent wording is substituted; selected text is CCEL’s historical transcription.

Connected readings

Daniel 7: oppressive kings and an everlasting kingdom

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2026-09-11T02:50:38+00:00

The last enemy and the final judgment

interpretation

On: The last enemy that shall be abolished is death

Source quotation · James E. Talmage, Jesus the Christ, sixth edition (1922), chapter 42, THE CELESTIAL CONSUMMATION.

The vanquishment of Satan and his hosts shall be complete. The dead, small and great, all who have breathed the breath of life on earth, shall be resurrected—every soul that has tabernacled in flesh, whether good or evil—and shall stand before God, to be judged according to the record as written in the books.[1593] So shall be brought to glorious consummation the mission of the Christ. "Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For he hath put all things under his feet."[1594] Then shall the Lord Jesus "deliver up the kingdom, and present it unto the Father spotless, saying—I have overcome and have trodden the wine-press alone, even the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God. Then shall he be crowned with the crown of his glory, to sit on the throne of his power to reign for ever and ever."[1595] The earth shall pass to its glorified and celestialized condition, an eternal abode for the exalted sons and daughters of God.[1596] Forever shall they reign, kings and priests to the Most High, redeemed, sanctified, and exalted through their Lord and God JESUS THE CHRIST. [1593] Rev. 20:11-15. [1594] 1 Cor. 15:24-27. [1595] Doc. and Cov. 76:107, 108. [1596] Note 3, end of chapter.

Jesus the Christ · Sixth edition, Deseret Book Company, Salt Lake City, 1922. Project Gutenberg 22542 transcription. Historical transcription. Paragraph line wrapping normalized; typographical emphasis markers removed. Footnote numbering retained. Original author omissions retained.

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Public domain in the United States: the reproduced English editions were published in 1919 and 1922. Text from Project Gutenberg; no modern editorial commentary reproduced.

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2026-09-11T05:43:37+00:00

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