The Wrath of God

Dr. Couch, I agree with you that we are into the apostasy as prophesied in Scripture. Can you give some verses as to why, and upon whom, the wrath of God (the tribulation), will fall?

ANSWER It will certainly not fall upon those in Christ, the church saints. They will be raptured away from the coming storm of tribulation that will last for seven years. The apostle Paul reminds us that the wrath of God is continually being revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress, press down, the truth by the process of unrighteousness (Rom. 1:18).

In other words, the warning is always there, a continual reminder that this wrath is due humanity for its terrible sins! This is the judgment of God that is sure to come (2:2). This wrath of God is certain to come upon the sons of disobedience (Eph. 5:6; Col. 3:6).

The birth pangs of Jeremiah 30:6 is the seven year tribulation. It will come upon Israel as a purging, and also upon the evil Gentile nations of the world that will be utterly destroyed. Jeremiah writes:

"I will destroy completely the nations where I have scattered you, only I will not destroy you completely. But I will chasten you justly, and will be no means leave you unpunished" (v. 11). "Therefore all who devour you shall be devoured; and all your adversaries, every one of them, shall go into captivity" (v. 16).

We are getting close to the wrath of God that will fall upon a certain generation that will have turned away from God as no generation ever has. We are that generation! But the church will be spared by being taken away from the earth quickly to meet the Lord in the air.

Thanks for asking.
Dr. Mal Couch (3/11)

Wrath of God

Dr. Couch, what is the wrath of God (being revealed) in Romans 1:18? ANSWER: "Being revealed" is the Greek word "apokalupto" and it means to "remove from being hidden." It is in the Present Passive Indicative form. "For the wrath (orgas) of God is right now being revealed." And it is being revealed against "all unrighteousness of men ..." In other words, people know what is evil among the human race. And there is a sense, not necessarily in detail, that there is a judgment coming from God against the same. Some go a step further with this verse and argue that it is saying that there is a knowledge of the fact that there is a final day of wrath right now being set forth, that will soon fall upon mankind. The seven year period of the coming tribulation is called "the wrath of God." On this verse the great scholar Nicoll says: "Wrath in the NT is usually prophetic, but in 1 Thess. 2:16 it refers to some historical judgment, and in John 3:36 it is the condemnation of the sinner by God, with all that is involved, present and to come. The revelation of wrath here probably refers mainly to the final judgment." I hope this helps. Thanks for asking. Dr. Mal Couch (10/10)

Things Take Place

Dr. Couch, I know you have had a lot of Greek and so I'm asking a Greek question about the phrase "... things take place ..." in Matthew 24:34. What is happening here? ANSWER:  I have taught both undergraduate and graduate Greek. I have had about 40 hours of the language. My masters thesis at Wheaton Graduate School, for my MA, was in Greek. And I have nationally published by AMG a Greek commentary on 1 & 2 Thessalonians.    The verb you are referring to is "ginomai" and it is a deponent verb meaning "to become, to originate," thus translated in the Active Voice not the Middle/Passive Voice. In the Matthew passage it is in the Aorist Subjunctive form and should be translated "this generation will not pass away, that sees 'all these things that should come about (should take place),' concerning the tribulation, etc., etc. ..."    Christ is not talking about the destruction of the temple in 70 AD, He is referring to the "all these things" of the seven year period of tribulation, or the wrath of God. "This generation" is not the generation that is standing before Him as He is talking. It is a far future generation that is caught in the "tribulation of those days" (v. 29).    There is much confusion on this passage because of the poor scholarship and misleading influence of preterism. The folks reading the passage just wants it to say what they want it to say!    I hope this helps.    Dr. Mal Couch (Apr., 10)

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)

Homosexuality and the Natural Function

Dr. Couch, I have noticed that Paul, when writing about homosexuality, in Romans 1:26-27, speaks of the issue of the "natural function" that the homosexuals go against. What does this mean? ANSWER: When Paul speaks of the "natural" he is speaking about that which is normal, right, or correct. In regard to sin, it is only in these passages where Paul writes that the sin of homosexuality is actually going against what is natural. The Greek word "phusikos" means "natural" and is used in Romans 26 and 27. The word "phusis" is translated as "nature" and is used also in verse 26 with the preposition "para" as "against nature." Homosexuality is against nature; no other sin is so described. In a very broad sense, Paul says that we all, before salvation, were "by nature the children of wrath" (Eph. 2:3). Yet he still focuses down on this sin and writes that those who practice such are going against what is really abnormal! The apostle uses two words in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 to describe sodomy. He uses the word "effeminate" which means "soft" and is describing the male who plays the part of the women in the homosexual relationship. And he uses the word "homosexuality" which here is the Greek word that means "man-bed," referring to the man who takes another man to bed. The grace of God can save any sinner because Paul goes on and writes "And such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in (by) the Spirit of our God" (v. 11). All that Paul says on the subject shows that homosexuals are not just "made" that way, they are actually going against what God made naturally when they give in to this sin. Since the laws in early America had their orientation from Scripture, until lately on the law books, homosexuality was called sodomy, in reference to this sin that is described so clearly in Genesis. But now the laws have been changed, and God is adding a penalty to the sin by the scourge of AIDS. While AIDS can spread to the innocent woman or child, it is still known as the homosexual sin. The black population, and those living in Africa, is virtually being self-destroyed with the promiscuity of sex, both by what is natural sex (though will multiple partners), and by homosexuality. It costs billions of dollars now to fight AIDS, though it is almost a lost cause. Millions are dying because of sin. The foolishness of mankind who lives by "degrading passions" (Rom. 1:26) and by the "depraved mind" (v. 28). Dr. Mal Couch (Jan., 10)

Judgment During the Age of Grace?

Dr. Couch, the bad things that come upon the earth (floods, wars, pestilence, etc.), do they come directly from God in His wrath and judgment? We know the tribulation will be a seven year period of wrath from heaven, but is God bringing judgment today during the age of grace? 

 

    Good question, but of course the answer is yes. The Lord is providentially in charge of His world even right now. Things that happen do not sneak by Him! And He is not passive and impotent. 

    Jeremiah 10:10 makes this clear: “The Lord is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King. At His wrath the earth quakes, and the nations cannot endure His indignation.” When He brings calamity and foul weather upon the globe (v. 13) human beings are shown for what they are: dumb! Jeremiah writes: “Every man is stupid, devoid of knowledge” because they do not see Him in His glory but instead trust their foolish idols of gold and molten metal (v. 14). 

    I am doing the most complete study of Romans I have ever done. Paul in Romans 1:18 makes it clear that God’s wrath is presently falling upon sinful humanity. “For the wrath of God is presently being revealed (Present, Passive, Indicative of apokalupto) from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who are presently pressing down (Present, Active, Participle) the truth by means of [their] unrighteousness.” With the participle, “pressing down” the truth implies that it is part of their nature to continue to disavow God. It could be translated “They are the ones who continually have it as their nature to always be pressing down and thwarting what is right.” 

    This is why there are wars and calamities that daily fall upon mankind. This includes natural disasters, wars, revolutions, etc. God is doing this for two reasons: (1) to bring on people the rightful judgment for their sins, and (2) in order to cause them to look up and cry to Him for salvation found only in the Lord Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, the last reason does not really drive men to God, though it should. The hearts of people are so wicked they are unmovable and intransigent in their evilness and rebellion! 

Thanks for asking.

Dr. Mal Couch