Quote:
Originally Posted by awareness
There's no need for mind-reading Paul. That Paul expected the last Adam to become the life-giving spirit was imminent is revealed not only in the "not all shall sleep verse," but elsewhere:
1Co 7:29 But this I say, brethren, the time is short: it remaineth, that both they that have wives be as though they had none;
1Co 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.
Gal 1:4 Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:
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"The Greek word εγενετο commonly translated "was made" or "became" clearly shows that Paul believed that Jesus as the last Adam was already a life-giving spirit rather than that he "expected the last Adam to become the life-giving spirit was imminent"[sic] as you assert. Paul was mistaken about the time being so short that they needed to act as if they didn't have wives in I Cor 7:29. I Cor 10:11 and Galatians 1:4 do confirm that Paul believed he lived at the end of the eon. However, it doesn't follow from those statements that Paul's teaching that all would not die before the second coming of Christ was intended to apply only to the Corinthian receivers of his epistle. As long as there are living believers who are transfigured when Jesus returns, Paul's statement in I Cor 15:51 will still be logically and factually correct. To remove the ambiguity from the verse Paul could have said either "you and I" which would have made it clear that he was only referring only to himself and the Corinthians or "we Christians" which would have made it clear that it applied to all Christians. As it is, the verse could have either meaning.