Bible Strands
1 Corinthians 15:26
The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Paul writes to the Corinthian church amid a dispute over the resurrection of the dead, placing death as the final enemy in Christ's reign (v. 25).
The words — καταργεῖται (katargeitai), "is abolished," carries the sense of being rendered inoperative or made void, not merely defeated but stripped of function.
The thread — The same verb appears in 2 Timothy 1:10, where Christ "abolished death"; 1 Corinthians 15:55 taunts death with "Where is your victory?"; Revelation 21:4 confirms the end-state: "no more death."
Why it lands — It asks the reader to stop treating death as the final authority and to hold it as a defeated enemy whose power is already revoked, awaiting only its final abolition.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
Cross-references
- 2 Timothy 1:10 And now He has revealed this grace through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has abolished death and illuminated the way to life and immortality through the gospel,
- 1 Corinthians 15:55 “Where, O Death, is your victory? Where, O Death, is your sting?”
- Revelation 21:4 ‘He will wipe away every tear from their eyes,’ and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the former things have passed away.”
- Revelation 20:14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death—the lake of fire.
- Isaiah 25:8 He will swallow up death forever. The Lord GOD will wipe away the tears from every face and remove the disgrace of His people from the whole earth. For the LORD has spoken.
- Hebrews 2:14 Now since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity, so that by His death He might destroy him who holds the power of death, that is, the devil,
- Hosea 13:14 I will ransom them from the power of Sheol; I will redeem them from Death. Where, O Death, are your plagues? Where, O Sheol, is your sting? Compassion is hidden from My eyes.
- Luke 20:36 In fact, they can no longer die, because they are like the angels. And since they are sons of the resurrection, they are sons of God.