📖 Biblical Definition
"The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death" (1 Corinthians 15:26). Paul names death the final enemy of God’s redemptive purposes — the climax of the curse, the universal consequence of Adam’s fall, the unbeaten foe that mocks every human victory. Christ has already defeated death in principle at the resurrection: "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (vv. 55-57). The final execution of the verdict awaits the resurrection of the dead. "And there shall be no more death" (Revelation 21:4). The last enemy is on death row.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
(1 Cor 15:26.) Paul's designation of death as the final enemy of God's redemptive purposes.
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1 Corinthians 15:24-28 frames Christ's reign: He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. The order of enemies is not specified except for the last: the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
Revelation 20:14 completes the picture: and death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. Death itself is killed.
📖 Key Scripture
1 Corinthians 15:26 — "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death."
Revelation 20:14 — "And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death."
Revelation 21:4 — "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying."
2 Timothy 1:10 — "But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Modern Christianity often treats death as natural transition; Paul names it the enemy God will destroy.
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Death has been medicalized, professionalized, and removed from the household — outsourced to hospitals and funeral homes — until it functions as event-management rather than the enemy Paul names. The corruption is treating death as natural rather than as the last enemy Christ has defeated and will finally destroy.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
Greek eschatos (last) plus echthros (enemy).
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Greek echthros — enemy, hostile.
Note: eschatos (last) is the root of eschatology.
Usage
"Death is enemy; calling it natural denies the original creation."
"The household's grief at funerals is appropriate to the enemy's reality."
"The enemy is conquered; the consummation removes the tears."