Wonders in the Sky Above

Dr. Couch, it seems that Acts 2:19-20a is saying that the “wonders in the sky above” all take place “Before the great and glorious Day of the Lord.” Is that what the passage is saying?

ANSWER: Not really. This is why it is imperative that those of us who want to be teachers MUST translate both the Hebrew and Greek texts in order to really understand what is going on in the Bible. Unfortunately, we are not training men today to work the text and be engineers of the Scriptures. We are losing it, and in my opinion, we will never get it back with the present generation.

I've recently been teaching Acts and have done a lot of translation work on Acts 2. “Before the great and glorious Day of the Lord” is important. “Before ...” sounds as if those terrible things happen just prior to the beginning of the Tribulation, the Wrath, the Seven Year Tribulation. But the key is the Greek word “Before” which is the word “Prin.” In Hebrew, where the passage comes from in Joel 2:31, the word is the particle the “Lamed” (the Hebrew letter L) that often means “to, toward.” But here, there is something else going on. The perfect illustration is with Psalm 12:7 which should read: “Silver purified in the workshop AS TO EARTH, or, IN REGARD TO EARTH.” Or, “in relation to earth.”

The passage in Acts 2:19-20 then should read: “I will grant wonders in the sky above, and signs on the earth beneath, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, “(Before) IN REFERENCE TO, IN REGARD TO the great and glorious Day of the Lord [which] shall come ...”

In my commentary series, Steven Ger on the passage makes a great statement:
“The new era commenced as the New Covenant began to be fulfilled with Jesus' distribution of His Spirit on Pentecost. This view is careful to recognize that there has been no fulfillment, in any sense, of any portion of the second segment (vv. 19-21) of Joel's prophecy. These astronomic cataclysms are to occur immediately prior to the inauguration of the messianic kingdom. It was obvious to every Jew standing in the Temple … that these signs and wonders were still to be fulfilled. Yet the promise of these cataclysms, cited by Peter, would have been compelling incentive to urge the assembled crowd to positively respond to their messiah.”

In other words, these signs are part of the Day of the Lord, they launch the Day of the Lord, or they certainly begin the Day of the Lord. They are not “outside” of that Day!

I hope this helps. Thanks for asking.
—Dr. Mal Couch (6/11)

Zephaniah 1

Dr. Couch, is Zephaniah 1 about judgment events in Zephaniah's day or is it about the future coming tribulation, the Day of the Lord?

ANSWER: Many are confused with this issue in the book. You got it right in that "the Day of the Lord" is indeed the tribulation. The apostle makes this clear. He writes: "You yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night" (1 Thess. 5:2). For the world, THEY, will say "Peace and safety! Then sudden destruction will come upon THEM (not us, the church saints) suddenly like birth pangs upon a woman with child; and THEY (the lost) shall not escape."

But back to Zephaniah 1, there is something important to notice. 1:2-4a. The Lord will bring universal judgment upon the world: "I will remove all things from the face of the earth," and "I will remove man and animal, and birds of the sky, and the fish, and I will cut off man from the face of the earth."

But then Zephaniah comes back to the context of his day. God will stretch out His hand against Judah and Jerusalem (v. 4a), and, He will judge the pagans (Baal), "the remnant from this place (the holy land)." Thus, "the day of the Lord is near … it is against 'all the people of Canaan'" (v. 7). This is "a punishment on that day" (v. 10a); it "will come about at that time" (v. 12a).

However, note the change in 1:14. "Near is the GREAT day of the Lord." Having translated the passage from Hebrew I noted that it should best read:

"Imminent (in duration) [is] the Day of the Lord, the GREAT (Ha'Ga'Dol)."

This is the only place in Zephaniah where GREAT is used. The other references to "the Day of the Lord" probably are referring to what happened in time past, but then, "the GREAT DAY" would be the terrible tribulation of the end times. But look what is said in verses 15-16:

"A day of wrath is that day, a day of trouble and distress, a day of destruction and desolation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of trumpet and battle cry" (vv. 15-16).

Compare this with Jeremiah 30:3-8: "For the days are coming" … a sound of terror, of dread, and there is no peace, a woman in childbirth (the birth pangs), all faces turn pale, Alas! For that day is GREAT, there is none like it; it is the time of Jacob's (Israel's) distress (or tribulation), it shall come about in that day ..."

The BIRTH PANGS are clearly about the tribulation just as Christ and Paul say: "It is the beginning of the birth pangs, there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever shall be" (Matt. 24:8, 21). And Paul adds, "The day of the Lord will come upon them suddenly like birth pangs upon a woman with child; and they (the lost in the world) shall not escape" (1 Thess. 5:3).

So, Zephaniah has several stages. But the Great Day of the Lord would specifically be the future tribulation. Zephaniah concludes:

"On the day of the Lord's wrath; and all the earth will be devoured in the fire of His jealousy, for He will make a complete end. Indeed a terrifying one, of all the inhabitants of the earth" (1:18).

Thanks for asking.
—Dr. Mal Couch (5/11)

Apostasy and Signs of the Rapture

Dr. Couch, you have convinced me that we are now in the period of the apostasy of the church, but if so, does this not take away the idea that there are no signs for the rapture of the church? ANSWER:  Not in my opinion because of what Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 2:3-7. He speaks of the apostasy coming before the revelation of the "man of lawlessness" (v. 3). This is of course referring to the antichrist, and remember, he comes at the very beginning of the tribulation, the start of the Day of the Lord, the Wrath of God. But Paul goes on and writes that "the mystery of lawlessness is already here" (v. 7). He does not say that the tribulation is here or that the man of lawlessness has arrived. He gives no thought that the seven year tribulation has begun. In other words, apostasy has been around for some time but even Paul did not know if that apostasy is the final stage of the "rebellion." He did not know if THE prophesied apostasy of the last days had started! I believe we can say it is now here!    If you want the most thorough study of the rapture of the church, you need to read my "Biblical Study of the Rapture" of the church in my award winning volume "Dictionary of Premillennial Theology." That chapter has been so appreciated it has been included, and re-published in national publications, in three other volumes of Bible study. The book, by the way, was given the Silver Medallion Award from the Christian Booksellers Association in 1996.    A key to Paul's argument for the coming of the rapture for the church saints is the fact that in almost every rapture passage he uses the pronouns "You, We, Us." In other words, Paul is telling us that the rapture will come to remove the church saints to glory. It could have happened in Paul's day, and it could have taken place at any time while he was alive! That is why he is including himself (We, Us) in his argument.    We are nearing the time of the End, the time for the rapture. And, we are now entering the period of the apostasy, that takes place before the rapture. All indicators would let us know that. Yet, we cannot be dogmatic about the time frame.    I always wonder why people want to argue over this issue of the rapture, and my conclusion is that they are frightened rabbits. They do not want to be at the end of all things! So they come up with arguments to try to get rid of the rapture for our generation. The Bible is plain on the subject. And the Greek text makes the subject even more understandable, but most objectors are not good scholars!    By the way, Paul is so dogmatic about the fact that the rapture has to do with this dispensation of the church, he uses the technical expression: of those "in Jesus" (1 Thess. 4:14) and "in Christ" (v. 16). In introducing the idea of the rapture he writes "For this we say to YOU by the word of the Lord, that WE who are alive, and remain until the coming of the Lord, ..." (v. 15). That is as plain as vanilla pudding!    Putting world events together, and looking at the fact that we are moving into the predicted apostasy, I believe I could come up with about 100 arguments that would show how close we are to (1) the advent of the rapture, (2) the seven year tribulation, and (3) the return of Christ to reign over the throne of David from Jerusalem. That would really help folks get it all together as to what is happening even in our day!    Thanks for asking.    Dr. Mal Couch (Feb., 10)

Day of the Lord

Dr. Couch, could Isaiah 3:1-12 be speaking about Israel during the Day of the Lord? ANSWER: Yes, in fact the passage is speaking about not only what will come on Israel but upon all the Gentile nations. The full context actually begins in chapter 2 where God tells Isaiah what "will come about in the last days" (v. 2). The passage starts out describing the coming of the Messiah bringing a worldwide peace, at which time "Nation will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they learn war" (v. 4). But before His reign of peace begins there will be a judgment upon the world and upon Israel. "For the Lord of hosts will have a day of reckoning" (v. 12). As mentioned in Revelation 6, men will go into the caves of the rocks" because of the terror of the Lord. "He arises to make the earth tremble" (v. 19). People will hide "Before the terror of the Lord and the splendor of His majesty, when He arises to make the earth tremble" (v. 21). This of course is the Wrath of God, the Day of the Lord, the seven year Tribulation period! I believe what God says next about what will be happening with Israel will also be happening among the Gentile nations. Culture and society will be turned upside down. "The capricious children will rule over [the elders], and the people will be oppressed" (3:4-5). "The youth will storm against the elder" (v. 5). Homosexuality will be in openly practiced, as it is now. "The expression of their faces bears witness against them. And they [will] display their sin like Sodom; they will not even conceal it. Woe to them! For they will have brought evil on themselves" (v. 9). But look what will happen among the women of the world! "Their oppressors are children, and women [will] rule over them. O My people! Those who guide you lead you astray, and confuse the direction of your paths" (v. 12). Because of this, God will bring a harsh judgment upon women (vv. 16-24). He will bring diseases upon them and "He will make their foreheads bare" (v. 17). But because of the terrible things happening to women, because they have destroyed God's natural order of the sexes, they will seek safety in the company of men. "For seven women will take hold of one man in that day, saying, 'We will eat our own bread and wear our own clothes, only let us be called by your name; take away our reproach'" (4:1). On 3:12, Unger writes, the reference to women "perhaps means weak, effeminate men, or men dominated by vain women such as those described in verses 16-26, leading them astray and confusing the direction of their paths (9:16; 28:14-15)." Thanks for asking. And I do indeed believe we are coming into such days, though the rapture of true believers will take place before this terrible period falls in its full strength on the world. [Pastors, please share this with your church.] Dr. Mal Couch