Hebrews 8:13 on the New Covenant

Dr. Couch, does not Hebrews 8:13 say that the New covenant makes (past tense) the Old (Mosaic) covenant obsolete?

ANSWER: No, not really. Here's how the verse reads in the Greek text.

"In which He (God) is to be saying (Pres. Inf.) 'A New (covenant) He has made old (palaioo, Perf. Act. Ind.).' For whatever is becoming obsolete, failing for age (garasko, Pres. Tense), [is] at hand [eggus] to disappear."

Notice it is God who is making the Mosaic covenant obsolete not the New covenant doing it. The Lord is in charge! He is creating the new Dispensation of grace. God is a Dispensationalist! He is replacing the Old with the New. The church will benefit by the New covenant but we don't fulfill it. Israel will fulfill it when the nation is converted and brought back into the kingdom. Notice I said "brought back into the kingdom." The kingdom first existed under the kingship of David and then Solomon. But it was destroyed with the Civil War and all the kings that followed were not the rulers promised by the Lord. The kingdom is to be restored. The next king is the Messiah, the Son of God, and the Son of David. He will reign and rule just as David and Solomon did, on the earth, in the Promised Holy Land! How do the Covenant Reformed guys miss this?

The great old scholar Nicoll understands dispensationalism and writes:

"In saying New, God has antiquated the first (the Mosaic); and that which is antiquated and growing old is near extinction [literally disappearing]. That is to say, by speaking in the passage quoted in Jeremiah 31, God speaks of a New covenant, He brands the former as old. Thus even in Jeremiah's time the Mosaic covenant was disparaged. The fact that a new was required showed that it was insufficient. It was condemned as antiquated. And that which is antiquated and aged has not much longer to live. 'It has become antiquated is said in Greek in the LXX.' It suggests of utter destruction, abolished!"

I don't know how they do it, but the Covenant and Reformed theologians say we are still under the Law, the Mosaic covenant. We are to keep the Law, they say. They are really ignorant of their Bible!

Thanks for asking.
—Dr. Mal Couch(6/11)

Old Covenant Obsolete

Dr. Couch, the writer of Hebrews quotes Jeremiah 31:31-34 in Hebrews 8 regarding the New covenant "with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah," saying the New covenant has made (past tense) the Old covenant (the Mosaic Law) obsolete. Does that imply that believers today in the Church age are part of the New covenant?

ANSWER: You hit the nerve when it comes to interpreting the book of Hebrews. I have contended for years that the book is aimed not at the church but at the Jews who have not trusted in Christ. The book then is an apologetic, a polemic, aimed at causing the unbelieving Jews to turn to Jesus. Most of my theology buddies do not agree with me but the greatest Greek teacher of the last century, Dr. Kenneth Wuest who taught at Moody Bible Institute, does agree. This is his view also. I came to my position way before I read what Wuest said. (I came to my position by translating the entire book of Hebrews in graduate school. You will probably not meet any Bible teachers who have translated Hebrews. Most men have poor language training and have not gone through the book in Greek.)

How would you explain:

"Today if you hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as when they provoked Me, as in the day of trial in the wilderness. … Therefore I was angry with this generation … As I swore in My wrath, they shall not enter My rest. And to whom did He swear that they should not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient (disbelieving)? And so we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief. Therefore, let us fear lest while a promise remains of entering His rest any one of you should seem to have come short of it" (3:7-4:1).

Some teachers take a mediating position and say that the book is aimed at both saved and unsaved Jews. I don't think that is defense-able.

The book of Hebrews is full of what is called "the warning passages" that some men say are just warnings to believers written in strong language. They are trying to make Hebrews fit into their mold but it won't do it! We study the Bible by strong OBSERVATION, OBSERVATION, OBSERVATION! Some of the church fathers also saw that the book was probably written to lost Jews. They were correct.

Without taking too much time to explain all of my view, I will just say that the church does indeed benefit by the New covenant but it won't be fulfilled by the Jews until they enter the kingdom and turn to Christ as their Savior. That's when it is fulfilled! Today, we receive forgiveness of sins and we receive the promised Holy Spirit, as given in the New covenant. We are not promised land promises. That is reserved for the Jews when the kingdom arrives.

You need my book entitled "The New Covenant". This will explain all of this to you.

Thanks for asking.
—Dr. Mal Couch (6/11)

The Veil in 2 Corinthians 3:14-17

Dr. Couch, what is the veil in 2 Corinthians 3:14-17? ANSWER:  It is the blindness of the Jews in regard to Christ. It is the funeral mourning shroud that keeps the Jews from seeing Him. Their minds are hardened when the old covenant (the Mosaic covenant) is read in the synagogues, and it will remain until they accept Christ (v. 14). In Paul's day the veil remained when Moses was read (v. 15), but when a Jew turns to Christ "the veil, shroud is taken away" (v. 16). The Lord in this case, the Holy Spirit is the Lord, and where He is active "there is liberty" (v. 17).    Thanks for asking.    Dr. Mal Couch