1 Corinthians 15:51
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
51 [a]Behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall not all fall asleep, but we will all be changed,(A)
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- 15:51–52 A mystery: the last moment in God’s plan is disclosed; cf. notes on 1 Cor 2:1, 7–10a. The final trumpet and the awakening of the dead are stock details of the apocalyptic scenario. We shall not all fall asleep: Paul expected that some of his contemporaries might still be alive at Christ’s return; after the death of Paul and his whole generation, copyists altered this statement in various ways. We will all be changed: the statement extends to all Christians, for Paul is not directly speaking about anyone else. Whether they have died before the end or happen still to be alive, all must be transformed.
Revelation 14:13
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
13 (A)I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Yes,” said the Spirit, “let them find rest from their labors, for their works accompany them.”[a]
The Harvest of the Earth.[b]
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- 14:13 See note on Rev 1:3. According to Jewish thought, people’s actions followed them as witnesses before the court of God.
- 14:14–20 The reaping of the harvest symbolizes the gathering of the elect in the final judgment, while the reaping and treading of the grapes symbolizes the doom of the ungodly (cf. Jl 4:12–13; Is 63:1–6) that will come in Rev 19:11–21.
Revelation 20:4-6
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
4 Then I saw thrones; those who sat on them were entrusted with judgment. I also saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, and who had not worshiped the beast or its image nor had accepted its mark[a] on their foreheads or hands. They came to life and they reigned with Christ for a thousand years.(A) 5 The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were over. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed[b] and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over these; they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for [the] thousand years.
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