The Capital of Israel

Dr. Couch, is Jerusalem today the capital of Israel?

ANSWER: Yes, God has not changed its status one bit since the time of the OT. Note these verses:

The City of David was part of Jerusalem (1 Chron. 15:1). God determined that the ark would have a place—Jerusalem. “David, you will bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel, to the place that I have prepared for it” (v. 12). All citizens of the land would go up to Jerusalem, David captured the stronghold Zion (that is, the city of David) (11:4-5).

In the future the Lord's King (the Messiah) would be installed upon Zion, the Lord's holy mountain (Psa. 2:6). Jerusalem is the city of our God, His holy mountain, Mount Zion, the city of the great King (48:1-3).

Thanks for asking.
Dr. Mal Couch (7/12)

Psalm 69

Dr. Couch, is Psalm 69:35-36 a messianic kingdom passage? ANSWER:  Yes, indeed! The verses speak of God saving Zion, which is a reference to the city of Jerusalem, and/or the nation of Israel itself. He will build up the cities of Judah, "that the Jews may dwell there and possess it." This is a picture of prosperity and safety for the Jewish people. It shows the finality of God's blessings upon the nation, which will be at peace when the Messiah is reigning.    The seed of the Lord's servants will inherit the city, "and those who love His name will dwell in it." I generally come to a conclusion about a passage after studying it or translating it from the Hebrew or Greek. After I looked at the verses I checked Unger who says the same thing. He writes "Universal praise is to rise up to Him in the Kingdom age, for God will save Zion (Psalm 51:18; Zech. 12:1-5; Rom. 11:26-35) and build the cities of Judah. That 'the humble and the poor, the delivered godly remnant, will dwell there (permanently), and have it in possession, as well as their descendants (Isa. 65:9-10)."    The orthodox Jewish Rabbis certainly hold the same thing. We're in good company with them. They say, this has to do with the "coming redemption of Zion (cf. Isa. 44:23)." For the Lord "will redeem us for the sake of His lovingkindness."    It is not sad that the poor amill Covenant guys never see the blessings of the kingdom mentioned in the Word of God? They remain in their ignorance distorting the Scriptures and missing all of the great messianic truths of His Word!    Thanks for asking.    Dr. Mal Couch (Apr., 10)

The Olivet Discourse and the Fall of Jerusalem

Dr. Couch, is the Luke 21:5-36 passage the Olivet Discourse that we find in Matthew and Mark? Dr. Fruchtenbaum seems to think that the Luke narration of Christ's words is to the apostles before the fall of Jerusalem. What do you think? ANSWER:  I would have to see Dr. Fruchtenbaum's statement in order to confirm what you are saying. I now have the Olivet Discourse figured out. All three Gospels are talking about the events before, and with, the fall of the temple in 70 AD. But also, of course, they are about the end times when the antichrist comes.    Luke is somewhat difficult to get a hold of, but I've found the secret of how these passages work. The Luke narration starts out with the issue of the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD. We know that clearly from 21:5-6. "There will not be left one stone upon another which will not be torn down." But then it speaks about the tribulation days in verses 7-11. "There will be great earthquakes, and in various places plagues and famines ..."    But then, there is the shift to the discussion back to 70 AD in verse 12, which reads: "But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, ..." The key is BEFORE ALL THESE THINGS! The 70 AD passage then ends with verse 24, and the issue of the future wrath of God, the tribulation.    Verse 25 starts with "AND THERE WILL BE SIGNS in sun and moon and stars ..." Here, Christ returns to His discussion of the events of the far-future and the tribulation! We know this is so because of verse 32: "This generation will not pass away until all things take place." This clearly has to do with the tribulation. The generation that enters the tribulation will still be around, unless they are martyred, at the end of that time of wrath.    The key to what Christ is doing, speaking about far-future events, and the 70 AD events, is made clear with verse 12: "But before all these things ..." By the way, this 70 AD section speaks of the "vengeance" in verse 22. And that vengeance is upon the generation that comes after Christ up to 70 AD. They are the ones who denied the Lord and face a vengeance because of that rejection.    You need my commentary on Luke.    Hope this helps.    Dr. Mal Couch (Mar., 10)

Who is Christ Referring to in Matthew 21:43?

Dr. Couch, what nation is Christ speaking about in Matthew 21:43? Some say this is the church; some say it is referring to the Jews of another generation. What do you say? ANSWER:  The passage reads: "I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you (the Jews of that generation), and be given to a nation producing the fruit of it."    We interpret by observation, observation, observation.    And we observe that Christ is speaking about the "kingdom of God." We know by an undisputed fact that every time "the kingdom of God" and "the kingdom of heaven" is mentioned it is referring to the millennial kingdom of Christ that is yet to come. And that millennial kingdom is the messianic rule of the Son of David sitting on His throne in Jerusalem.    In the verse before (v. 42) Jesus quotes Psalm 118:22 about "the stone which the builders rejected." Those verses in Psalm 118 are talking about Israel and about the "festival sacrifices" and the altar where sacrifices are offered. There is nothing here about the church!    Matthew 21:43 ties into Psalm 118 and Christ starts the verse with "Therefore ..." He is drawing a conclusion about how "The builders," the Jews in Christ's day are to someday be replaced by that other nation. Those who argue that this "nation" is the church quote 1 Peter 2:9-10 and Romans 10:19 and claim that in these passages the church is called "a nation." The Romans passage where "nation" and "people" are mentioned is a quote from Deuteronomy 32:21. This could certainly be a reference to the Gentiles but that is a long stretch to the idea of the church. The church is "the called out" ones (mainly but not exclusively) Gentiles. And to say that God will make Israel jealous by the Gentiles coming to the Lord is still not calling this group of Gentiles the church!    In 1 Peter, the apostle Peter is writing to one segment of the church, the Jews, to those who "are aliens" (or strangers), the Jews who are in the Diaspora (the scattered ones), the Jews who were driven from the Holy Land (1:1). In 1 Peter 2:9 Peter calls these believing Jews "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession." He is compiling several OT passages about the nation of Israel. He says of them that they "were not a people, but now you are the people of God" (v. 10). Now, as Jews, they are "to keep their behavior excellent among the Gentiles" (v. 11). This puts those Peter is writing to in opposition to the Gentile believers, members of the church.    To conclude: Peter is not saying this nation is the church! Neither is Christ saying that in Matthew 21:43!    So the other nation is a later generation of Jews to whom the kingdom of God will be given. Again, the "kingdom of God" is always the Jewish messianic future kingdom; it never is the church!    When interpreting the Bible, keep the lines straight. Don't mix concepts together in order to make a preconceived point. Let the Bible speak for itself.    Thanks for asking.    Dr. Mal Couch (Feb., 10)

Vengeance

Dr. Couch, what is the vengeance in Luke 21:22? ANSWER:  This is the prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple that takes place in 70 AD. It is part of the Olivet Discourse of our Lord that He gave to His disciples before His arrest and crucifixion. In that Discourse He spoke of the far off coming tribulation period but He also taught on the coming judgment of 70 AD. Christ called it "the vengeance." The Greek word is "ekdikasis" which means "a revenging, a punishment," to vindicate a wrong, "accomplished with an avenging, to inflict punishment."    From the time of Christ's ascension until 70 AD the Jews went into the mode of rejecting Christ, and then of persecuting His followers. Christ spoke of those "days of vengeance [coming] in order that all things which are written may be fulfilled, the great distress upon the land, and wrath to this people" (Luke 21:22-23).    Where was the vengeance predicted? In Hosea 9:7, 17. There the prophet Hosea writes about "The days of punishment [that] will come, the days of retribution will come; ... because of the grossness of your iniquity." And he added, "My God will cast them away [His people] because they have not listened to Him; and they will be wanderers among the nations."    This wandering among the nations is predicting the dispersion of 70 AD by Hosea. In my Luke commentary published by AMG, I wrote: "When this vengeance came in A.D. 70, the Lord was executing judgment because of the Jewish rejection of Christ. The disciples suffered great persecution and martyrdom. A mountain of wrath had been built and had come down on the heads of the people, as brought about by the Romans. The Jewish people were not at war with Christians, but they were at war with the Lord, because this was His vengeance. Some see this Lukan passage about Jerusalem being surrounded and destroyed coming from Hosea 9."    Unger as well sees some of the punishment mentioned in Hosea 9 as the 70 A.D. dispersion. He writes that "the Jews of Russia, China, India, and other countries are evidently descendants of the ten tribes. The Jews at Pentecost (Acts 2:9) and those addressed by James (1:1), doubtlessly included the ten tribes, as well as Judah and Benjamin" who were dispersed in 70 A.D.    Thanks for asking.    Dr. Mal Couch

What is Going on in Revelation 21:24-27

Dr. Couch, what is going on in Revelation 21:24-27? What does it mean that the nations are walking by the light of the new, eternal city of Jerusalem in the eternal state? And what about the kings of the earth who bring their glory into the new Jerusalem? ANSWER:  This is all hyperbolic language used by John to describe the importance of the new Jerusalem in the period of the eternal state. The people of the nations, and their rulers (their kings), are being honored as they enjoy the new Jerusalem. On earth presently, kings and rulers are given special honor as world heads of state. That will continue in the period of eternity. There is no question that the people of the nations, and the kings described here, are all saved and redeemed! They are believers who are then enjoying the blessings of salvation, but too, there are certain things in eternity, that are still honored in the blessed period of redemption. Kings who were believers and faithful servants during history will still be recognized in glory!    What throws us is that the language is somewhat similar to what we would say today. This tells us that some things will continue in this new state, this new situation, during eternity! Hindson adds: "God's servants shall reign forever and ever" (22:5). Do not imagine heaven to be a place of inactivity or lazy self-indulgence. We who are even now positionally seated with Christ in 'heavenly places' are destined [to be] joint-heirs with Him (Eph. 1:3, 20; 2:6)."    Thanks for asking.    Dr. Mal Couch (Oct. 2009

Interpretation of Isaiah 25:6-9

Dr. Couch, what is going on in Isaiah 25:6-9? Is there a relation in these verses with 2 Corinthians 3:14-17? ANSWER:  Yes, there is. A lavish banquet is prepared on the mountain of Zion (Jerusalem) as the Millennial reign of Christ begins (v. 6). The Lord "will swallow up the covering (the death veil, the death mourning face cover) which is over all peoples" (v. 7a). It is also stretched over all nations. This is about the knowledge of salvation that is hidden from all people because of sin.    It is the Messiah who "will swallow up death for all time, and the Lord God will wipe tears away from all faces" (v. 8). The Lord has spoken, "And it will be said in that day, 'Behold, this is our God for whom we have waited that He might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation'" (v. 9).    Please note that it is God who is coming. How can that be? No one has seen God the Father! This is God the Son—the Son of God, who makes a personal and public appearance in the form of the Messiah! Salvation is mentioned twice: "He might save us," and "Be glad in His salvation." It is in the Kingdom when the Jews for the most part will have their eyes opened and they will realize who the Messiah is! He is very God and He is the Savior! And, the Jews will see God (the Son) in the flesh in the Kingdom!    Thanks for asking.    Dr. Mal Couch