"The Kingdom of God" Present in the Church Today

Dr. Couch, Millard Erickson says that "the kingdom of God" over which Christ reigns, is present in the church. What do you say?

ANSWER: Erickson has not read carefully. The kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven are two ways of describing the millennial kingdom. I proved this clearly in my book "An Introduction to Classical Evangelical Hermeneutics." Dr. Walvoord had not seen this before, and before he endorsed my book, agreed with what I had written. As you know he was an outstanding prophecy scholar. This is a book that is making clear interpretation of the Bible. And, it is one of the few interpretative books now available.

Thanks for asking.
--Dr. Mal Couch (2/12)

Christ on the Throne

Dr. Couch, is Christ presently seated on His throne, and, what about "His authority" as mentioned in Matthew 28:18?

ANSWER: No. He is on His Father's throne as mentioned in Psalm 110:1-2. Christ said in Revelation 3:21: "I have sat down with My Father on His throne." Christ's throne is the earthly, Davidic throne, on which He will sit when His second coming takes place. He told His disciples: "When the Son of Man (the Messiah) comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will SIT ON HIS GLORIOUS THRONE. And the Nations will be gathered before Him, … Then the King will say to those on His right ... Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from before the foundation of the world" (Matt. 25:31-34).

Notice also, that Christ will receive from His Father "the throne of His father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob (Israel) forever; and His kingdom will have no end" (Luke 1:32-33).

All of this is future and yet to take place.

In Matthew 28:18, "Authority" is a bad translation. The Greek word "exousia" is better translated as "power" with "authority" a lesser meaning. Verse 19 better reads: "Having gone then, you disciple all the nations ..." By Christ's power they will be going, and then, they will create disciples 'from' all the nations."

Christ is exercising His power as the sovereign Son of the Father but this is not about His reigning on the throne of His earthly father David. His present power will be activated to do a specific job, and that is, to create disciples.

Christ presently is not using His power to make all things perfect and right. He has not totally subdued sin, or the work of Satan. Satan is still "the god of this world" (2 Cor. 4:4) and he is the ruler of this world (John 12:31) as well as, the "whole world lies with the evil one" (1 John 5:19).

For Jesus to have such power does not mean He is exercising it, though He will someday. The demons are still active, and so is Satan, and so are the forces of evil in the nations. Nicoll seems to have it right when he says about Matthew 28:18-19: "But so far as earth is concerned, the dominion is only a matter of right or theory, but it is to be worked out in time. The commission to the Apostles arises out of the power claimed, that is, all power has been given to "Me on earth, go you disciples therefore and make the power a reality, make disciples of all the nations."

In any form or fashion Christ is not on His throne in part or in whole! He is carrying history forward but He is not subduing everything, though the power has been given, it is not being exercised! That will happen later. The power that Christ has is about the creation of disciples throughout the world in this dispensation.

Thanks for asking,
Dr. Mal Couch (1/11)

Four Kingdoms Book Recommendations

Dr. Couch, what is a good book that deals in some detail with the four kingdoms mentioned in the prophecy of Nebuchadnezzar in the book of Daniel? ANSWER:  For a meaningful overview you need my book, dealing with two subjects: the New Covenant and the coming reign of Christ in His kingdom. In it I deal with the "five" kingdoms: Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome, and the Messianic Kingdom of Christ that the world is waiting for. While the treatment is not exhaustive it is still sufficient for getting an important look at the prophecy of the important nations of the world, and God's sovereignty with the nations.   Almost all my books are going to be featured on Dr. Ed Hindson's national TV program "The King Is Coming!"    Thanks for asking.    Dr. Mal Couch (6-10)

Is the Events of Gog and Magog Soon?

Dr. Couch, I understand that recently the Jewish orthodox Rabbis made a public statement that we are extremely close to the events of Gog and Magog as described in Ezekiel 38-39. Do you believe the same? ANSWER:  Absolutely! I believe we are now going rapidly into the (1) apostasy of the Church, (2) apostasy of the culture, (3) which leaves the rapture of the church coming soon! (4) Next will come the seven year tribulation, followed by (5) the coming reign of Christ on earth!    Gog and Magog could take place before the rapture or just after the rapture and at the beginning of the seven year tribulation. All scholars, both liberal and conservative, admit the events of Gog and Magog have never happened yet in history. They are waiting to come about! Just a few days ago the Rabbinical Council of Judea issued a statement that the Jews could be at what the Bible describes as "the beginning of the Gog and Magog process where the world is against us, but which ends with the third and final redemption."    They went on and said "There is a growing interest in the Ezekiel prophecies and whether they could play out in our lifetime, it may be too early to say." Also, "the passage is clearly speaking of Turkey, and a Russian-Iranian alliance against the Jewish state."    The collapse of the world, economically, socially, and morally, is happening more rapidly than we can think. The world will never be the same. Now is the time for evangelism and for teaching the Word of God to believers and to unbelievers. We should not be discouraged. What we have always taught is now at our doorsteps. "Look up! Our redemption draws near!"    Thanks for asking.    Dr. Couch (6-10)

Losing Salvation

Dr. Couch, some use Luke 8:13 to try to prove that one can lose their salvation after once believing. What do you say? And would this not contradict Hebrews 3:14? ANSWER:  The passage is not really about those who today believe in Christ, in the usual reference to the body of Christ, though there are some parallels that are possible. Christ is giving parables about the Jews who are considering "the Kingdom of God," which is about the coming of the millennial reign of Christ (v. 10). Satan did indeed work on the believing Jews as to whether Christ was coming to establish His Davidic reign at that time. The Jews, many of them, went back and forth in accepting and/or rejecting Him, and then in denying Him as the promised Messiah.    In verse 13 the parable speaks about the seed falling on rocky ground, and "they believe for a while, and in time of temptation [they] fall away." The expression "fall away" is our word "to apostatize" and that is always about those who have an appearance of faith but then reject the truth. It is in the Present Tense in Greek. They were "continually falling away" from the facts about the Kingdom of God. They were doing this because of the Satanic temptation. And the word implies that when things got tough they gave up what they seemed to be holding on to. According to the Greek Lexicon, the word is used to describe temptation brought on by "outward [or external] circumstances." Their belief was a form of temporary acceptance but not an internal embracing of the fact that Christ was the son of David and the promised King! Hebrews 3:12-14 does fit to some degree. It speaks about the "falling away" of the Jews (v. 12) and about the "hardening of the deceitfulness of sin" (v. 13). It ends by saying that the Jews would become partakers of Christ "if they held fast the beginning of their assurance firm until the end" (v. 14). And that is a perfect description of the Jews who heard about Christ's death, and the fact of who He was, and yet did not go all the way to embrace Him as their Savior and Lord who was promised in the OT.    Thanks for asking. And I hope this helps.    Dr. Mal Couch (Mar., 10)

Egypt and Assyria Blessed by Israel

Dr. Couch, it looks as if Egypt and Assyria are blessed by Israel in the kingdom. Is this correct? ANSWER:  Yes, indeed! Isaiah 19:16-25 tells us that Israel will become a terror to Egypt, and that would only be in the messianic Kingdom. The Egyptians will shrink like women (v. 16), because of the purpose of the Lord against them. Five Egyptian cities will be speaking Hebrew (the Canaan language) and will swear allegiance "to the Lord of Hosts" (v. 17). The Egyptians will build an altar to the Lord in Egypt "and a pillar to the Lord near its border" (v. 19).    The Lord will make Himself known to the Egyptians and they will even make sacrifice and worship God, "and will make a vow to the Lord and perform it" (v. 21). The Lord will heal the Egyptians and He will respond to them and will heal them (v. 22). And, "In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrians will come into Egypt and the Egyptians into Assyria" (v. 23). Finally, the Lord will say: "Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands and Israel My inheritance" (v. 25).    This has never happened before so we are waiting for it to take place, and that would only be during the time of the Kingdom reign of Christ! The Lord will also judge the people of present day Jordan but then, He will bless them and they will know Him—again, at the time of the Kingdom. Only dispensationalists can spot the timing of this event, and that would be the one thousand year reign of the Messiah! We sometimes forget that many peoples of earth will come to the Lord at that time. The Kingdom will be a great moment of conversion for many Gentile nations. It will be a blessed time in world history.    Thanks for asking.    Dr. Mal Couch (Mar., 10)

"Mystery" by Amillennialists

Dr. Couch, I really appreciate your work in the biblical languages. Few Bible teachers online today, are doing language studies. Thank you for your insights. Also, on the word "mystery." Many Amillennialists seem to be confused on the word. Did some of the old Amil writers and theologians get it straight? ANSWER:  Yes, they did. In my Hermeneutic textbook I have a whole chapter on the dispensations of Charles Hodge. He lists the dispensations almost in the same fashion as dispensationalists do today except he leaves out the dispensation of the Kingdom reign of Christ. Paul's point in Ephesians 3 is that the church was not revealed by any means or in any form in the OT. In his commentary on Ephesians, Hodge says what present-day dispensationalists do about the word "mystery." Present-day allegorists would be shocked to know what he writes.    He says on Ephesians 3: "The thing made known by Paul was a 'mystery'; i.e. a secret, something undiscoverable by human reason, the knowledge of which could only be attained by revelation. … The mystery of which he here speaks is that of which the preceding chapters (in Ephesians) treat, viz. the union of the Gentiles with the Jews. … The mystery made known to the apostles and prophets of the new dispensation (the church dispensation), that the Gentiles are, in point of right and fact, fellow-heirs of the same body, and partakers of this promise. … It seems never to have entered into any human mind until the day of Pentecost, that the theocracy itself was to be abolished, and a new form of 'religion' was to be introduced, designed and adapted equally for all mankind, under which the distinction between Jew and Gentile was to be done away with. … Neither is the Gentile in the church by courtesy of the Jews, nor the Jew by courtesy of the Gentiles. They are one body."    With these thoughts Hodge says what dispensationalists do today!    Thanks for asking.    Dr. Mal Couch

The Final Judgment

Dr. Couch, I have heard some say that the seven year tribulation is the final period of judgment of the Jews and a final judgment that ends the dispensation of the Law. Is this so? ANSWER:  There is some validity for this argument because there is no question that the last "week" of the Seventy Weeks of Daniel is a judgment against the Jewish people. The antichrist will "make a firm covenant with the many (the Jews) for one week (one seven year period), but in the middle of the week (three and a half years) he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering …" (Dan. 9:27). It is clear that this is yet future. The book of Revelation continually makes reference to the seven year tribulation by dividing it into "three and a half … and three and a half years, etc." This is referred to about five times throughout the book of Revelation. Also, the antichrist, as Paul reminds us, enters the rebuilt temple in Jerusalem and "exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God" (2 Thess. 2:4).    One could argue that Christ presented Himself as Israel's King. They rejected Him, and with that rejection, the dispensation of the church began. It must be remembered that the dispensation of the church was not prophesied or spoken of in the OT. It was a mystery, which means "something not before revealed." Paul makes that clear in Ephesians 3. He wrote of:    "My insight into the mystery of Christ which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit" (Eph. 3:4b-5). That is "that the Gentiles are (to be) fellow heirs and fellow members of the body …" (v. 6). And "to bring to light what is the dispensation of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God … according to the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord" (vv. 9-10). Even the angels in glory did not know about the church age. Paul goes on and writes: "In order that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenlies" (v. 10).    Thus, in the mind of the Lord, the seven year tribulation is the close of God's judgment dealing with Israel before the establishment of the Christ's one thousand year Kingdom reign! The church is but a parenthesis, and it is taken home in the rapture before the terrible tribulation period begins on earth!    Some argue that the idea of the mystery of the church does not mean that the church is not mentioned in the OT, but this is not so. The most comprehensive and complete Greek commentary on Ephesians is written by Dr. Harold Hoehner. (It took him twenty years to write the 900 pages) He has an excellent treatment on "mystery" and writes:      Paul clarifies exactly when and to whom this mystery first became known. … In other generations it was not made known to people. … The mystery was made know to him by revelation, and he continues by saying that it was not made known in other generation. … The revelation is made known to all people, even the heavenly powers (vv. 2-4, 9-10). … It was not known by any person in past generations. … Paul discloses that this mystery, which was not known in past generations has now been revealed. … This corresponds with Rom. 16:25-26 where Paul states that the mystery was kept secret for ages but now has been manifest. … The revelation is some hidden thing or a mystery of God that is unveiled in God and cannot be discovered by human investigation. In the present context, it is the uncovering of a mystery that has been hidden in God throughout the ages (vv. 5, 9). (pp. 437-441)    Conclusion: It is possible then that the seven year tribulation period, which is a judgment upon the Jews (and also a judgment upon the Gentile nations), is indeed the final work with the Jews before the Kingdom is established on earth. Remember, the church is gone in the rapture before the beginning of the tribulation (1 Thess. 4)!    Thanks for asking.    Dr. Mal Couch