The third passage pertaining to the rapture of the church is 1 Corinthians 15:50-58. These verses deal with the change in the nature of the bodies of the raptured saints.
Verse 50 declares the necessity of this change, stating that flesh and blood are unable to inherit the kingdom of God, and decay cannot inherit immortality. The background to this statement is found in Genesis 2:17 and is further developed in Genesis 3:17-19. Because of sin, man has become subject to corruption and mortality. All humans beings are seen as guilty, by imputation, of participating in Adam’s sin (Rom. 5:12-14). Mankind is under the sentence of death, where the physical body is subject to corruption and mortality. The sin nature is in it, and the results of sin are evident in the death of the body. This kind of body, subject to sin, mortality, death, and corruption, cannot enter into the eternal state. A change will be necessary (resurrection or translation) before the bodies can enter the kingdom of God.
In verses 51-52, the change is described. The emphasis is on the rapidity of the event. It will be done “in an instant.” The Greek word for “instant” is “atomos.” The word “atom” originates from this term. The emphasis is that the change will happen in an “atom” of time. It will be that quick. Furthermore, it will be “in the twinkling of an eye.” This is not a reference to blinking, but rather to a sudden flash of recognition. It is like seeing a person, and then in a sudden flash recognizing who he is. Hence, the expression also emphasizes the rapidity of the change.
According to verse 52, the problem that keeps the dead body out of heaven, corruption, will be changed through the resurrection, and the body will become incorruptible. The mortal living will put on immortality through translation. The change from corruption to incorruption and from mortality to immortality results in the final victory over death.
This little study is based on a much longer chapter in Dr. Fruchtenbaum’s “Footsteps of the Messiah,” available at www.ariel.org. If you want to find out what the believer’s new body will look like, please refer to pages 145-148 of this book.
Tomorrow, we will be looking at the timing of the rapture.