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B.--So then, your whole doctrine stand or falls with your interpretation of I Cor. 15: 26.
Now I believe that death as spoken of in I Cor. 15: always refers to the death brought in
by Adam, and never to the second death. My beliefs, however, like your own, must stand
the test of Scripture, or they must be renounced as false. Let us therefore seek afresh the
scope of the word death as used in I Cor. 15: Will you share in this search, and "prove
all things"?
The Words Dead, Die and Death examined.
A.--I find that nekros, the word "dead", occurs thirteen times. The verses are: 12, 13,
15, 16, 20, 21, 29, 32, 35, 42, 52. They speak of "the resurrection of the dead", and I
admit that Adamic death is intended in each case.
B.--Perhaps you will find confirmation of your theory in apothnesko, "to die".
A.--This word occurs five times. The verses are: 3, 22, 31, 32, 36. The usage is limited
to the death of Christ and the first death of men. And again I confess that the second
death is not in view.
B.--Your last hope then is in the word thanatos.
A.--This word meaning "death" occurs five times. The verses are 21, 26, 54, 55, 56.
B.--Perhaps you had better give these passages in full and will you also take note of
anything in the original that distinguishes one passage from another?
"For since by man came death" (Gk. ho thanatos) (21).
"The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death" (Gk. ho thanatos) (26).
"Death is swallowed up in victory" (Gk. ho thanatos) (54).
"O death, where is thy sting?" (Gk. thanete) (55).
"The sting of death is sin" (Gk. tou thanatou) (56).
No Distinction in the Original.
B.--With the exception of verse 55, each verse uses the word with the article. The
expression "O death", being in the vocative, dispenses with the article. There is therefore
one unbroken reference to some one thing called ho thanatos, "death". How do you
prove that verse 26 deals with the second death?
A.--I must confess that the more closely we examine this chapter, the less I find to
support my theory, yet I have been led to believe that those who saw only Adamic death
in I Cor. 15: were blinded by prejudice.
The Scope of the Subject examined.
B.--What is the scope of I Cor. 15:?