What Does 1 Corinthians 15:26 Mean?

The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death (ἔσχατος ἐχθρὸς καταργεῖται ὁ θάνατος)—The word eschatos (ἔσχατος, "last") indicates death is the final enemy remaining after all others are defeated. The present passive verb katargeitai (καταργεῖται, "is being destroyed, nullified") can be translated as futuristic present—death's destruction is so certain Paul writes as if already accomplished.

Death—thanatos (θάνατος)—is personified as an enemy, echoing Genesis 3 where death entered through sin. Death is alien intruder in God's good creation, not natural or neutral. Revelation 20:14 calls this "the second death"—death itself dies. Christ defeats death through resurrection, demonstrating death is not final but conquered foe. This is Christianity's unique claim—not that death doesn't matter, but that death has been defeated.