Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.
who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.
But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ
This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.
Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.
But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory.
This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.
how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly.
Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.
And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
Unless otherwise indicated, all content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Contact me: openbibleinfo (at) gmail.com.