Thursday, April 28, 2011

THE COVENANT OF WORKS

Most of the Covenant guys believe that the Covenant of Works would bring about salvation for Adam, or anyone who could keep it. Most of the Covenant teachers, however, were inconsistent in their teaching of this view. Below are quotes from most of the important Covenant men that proves they held to this view. This is poor theology, indeed! Their view has no scriptural support. Dispensationalists have it right; the covenant men do not!

Berkhof: "Regarding the covenant of works, it must be admitted that the term 'covenant' is not found in the first three chapters of Genesis, but this is not tantamount to saying that they do not contain the necessary data for the construction of a doctrine of the covenant of works."

Berkhof: "There may still be some doubt as to the propriety of the name Covenant of Works, but there can be no valid objection to the covenant of works idea." "They who deny the covenant of works generjavascript:void(0)ally base their denial in part on the fact that there is no record of such a promise in the Bible. And it is perfectly true that Scripture contains no explicit promise of eternal life to Adam."

Charles Hodge: "Concerning the covenant of works with Adam. This statement does not rest upon any express declaration of the Scriptures. And although the word covenant [as of works] is not used in Genesis, and does not elsewhere, in any clear passage, occur in reference to the transaction there recorded. … It is plain that the Bible does represent the arrangement made with Adam as a truly federal transaction."

Berkhof: "The covenant of works is an agreement between God and Adam that he would obey the Lord in regard to not eating of the tree of good and evil. This obedience incumbent upon Adam shows that it is a covenant, though sovereignly initiated by God alone. In a sense, this was a salvation by works."

Reymond: "The covenant of works is still normative. It places upon man always to render to God perfect obedience to the moral law, it reflects the obligation of the rational creature to obey his Creator." "Men represented by Adam are still culpable before God and subject to death on the basis of the terms of the original covenant of works." "It shows perpetual obedience that God laid upon Adam as the federal representative of the race by the covenant of works."

A.A. Hodge: "The covenant of works has been called a legal covenant because its 'condition' is perfect conformity to the law of absolute moral perfection. It has been called the Covenant of Works because its demands terminate upon man's own being and doing. It has been called a Covenant of Life, because the promise attached to well-doing was life." "The Covenant of Works offered life."

Enns [Dispensationalist]: "Covenant theology teaches that God initially made a covenant of works with Adam, promised eternal life for obedience and death for disobedience."

Wollebius: "Defined the covenant of works as it was usually been defined. The promise of eternal life for obedience and the threat of death for disobedience."

Ames: "Held that the covenant of works, which was universal in scope, continued after the Fall. Its fulfillment was dependent upon man's obedience to God." "The sign of the covenant of grace is baptism, infants should be baptized."

Witsius: "The covenant of works was an agreement between God and Adam created in God's image. … The covenant of works with the promise of eternal life upon obedience and the threat of death for disobedience."

Westminster Confession: "The first covenant was a covenant of works. In it life was promised to Adam and through him to his descendants, on the condition of perfect, personal obedience."

The covenant of works is variously called the covenant of life because it reflects the reward for obedience; it is also termed the covenant of works because works are the condition connected with the promise. God promised eternal life in it to bless Adam if he would obey, if he disobeyed God, Adam would be judged with death." "With the covenant of works God promised to bless Adam with eternal life if he obeyed. -- Dr. Mal Couch

Friday, April 22, 2011

THANK YOU, MR. PRESIDENT

President Barack Hussein Obama has just decreed that no military personnel can speak to any faith-based organization, such as a mission or a church. This reminds us of Adolf Hitler who slowly removed common freedoms from the German people. What is amazing is that no one seems to know how to stop him. He keeps doing evil things unilaterally with no reason that makes sense.

This man must be replaced! And we hope that everyone will do their duty in voting to remove him from power. What is also amazing is that members of Congress say nothing about his policies like this. What is wrong with the men who hold those positions of authority? Pray for America!

—Dr. Mal Couch (4/11)

Thursday, April 21, 2011

THE CATHOLICS AND ENGLAND

King Phillip of Spain wanted to do his missionary work and return England to the Catholic Church, destroying the work of the Reformation in that country. He prayed continually for God to help him defeat Sir Francis Drake's little fleet whereby he could then invade that nation. He assembled the Armada with a fleet of very large ships that would face off Drake's limited and small battle wagons.

There is no question that God in His sovereignty destroyed the Spanish Armada and spared England. His providence brought about a miracle that is one-of-a-kind in history. Here are some specific things that the Lord did to defeat the ships of Spain:

Before the conflict began Drake was able (1) to destroy the material by which the Spanish built the staves and casks for storing water and food for their fleet. The casks were inferior and leaked, pouring forth the needed water and spoiling the food supply. (2) Drake's fleet was made up of smaller ships that could maneuver and turn more quickly with the wind. The Spanish galleons were larger and more cumbersome and less able to turn when in combat with Drake's swift, little ships. Drake could move in and out among the Spanish fleet thus more easily destroying them while on the run with the wind.

The sailors of the Spanish fleet were (3) multi-national and thus were not able to communicate with each other very well, whereas the English navy was made up of all Englishmen who could speak more distinctly with each other while in combat. The British navy was more professional and had trained well together. They (4) could load and reload their weapons rapidly. It took about four minutes for the Spanish to load their canons while the English could do so in about one minute's time. The English ships (5) rode low on the water-line and therefore were much harder to see in order to hit them with canon balls where the water would pour in. The Spanish ships rode higher on the water and were easy targets for the English gunners.

The Spanish ships were (6) crowded and therefore had a lot of diseases running rampant throughout the crew. The Spanish sailors (7) had no beds or hammocks to sleep in. They had to "sleep by the guns" with the deck wet. Most of the Spanish sailors had no blankets. They lived miserably on board their ships! The English sailors slept high and dry in warm hammocks.

When the Spanish Armada moved north to Calais and put into port, (8) they were trapped when Drake attacked with eight fire ships that moved in and out of the fleet, causing havoc among the sailors and their vessels. The Spanish fleet (9) was not supplied with enough ammunition, gun powder and canon balls, to fight the English. This caused many Spanish ships to sail limited in their attempt to attack the English fleet.

When the Spanish fleet moved into the English Channel, heading for England, (10) God sent a terrible storm that scattered the ships and sunk many. The English considered, rightly so, this as the miracle of miracles that really destroyed the Spanish fleet along with their plans for invading Britain. (11) Out of 128 Spanish ships, only half were saved when the battle was over.

To escape the English, the Spanish fleet circled England and passed by the shores of Ireland and Scotland. Many of the Spanish galleons (12) were wrecked on the coast with thousands of the sailors killed by the people living on the coast. Only a handful of Spanish sailors ever returned back to Spain.

Since God is the God of all of history, His providence brought on this victory for the people of the Reformation who lived in Reformation England. Many of the people of England brought their faith to our American shores. America became Reformation and Protestant and not Catholic! We are indebted to the Lord for stopping the intentions of the Catholics who wished to return the English people back to the Mother Church! —Dr. Mal Couch (4/11)

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

ATHEISTS AND AGNOSTICS ARE FOOLS

Reading a recent column of Dear Abby I realized how foolish these folks can be. Let's pretend that they hold that oranges are made of green cheese. Let's use the arguments they use to defend that position, using the quotes given in Dear Abby:

"We want to give our teens a chance to sample green cheese oranges to determine what would suit them best." And "They have to learn that all people are to be valued and that differences are to be respected as to what kind of green cheese is used in the oranges." "Determining the type of green cheese an orange is made of is a personal matter." "Everyone has a right to 'orange freedom.'" "The time will come when teens must decide for themselves about green cheese oranges." "They will learn that not everyone shares the same opinion about the nature of the green cheese in the oranges."

Notice how subjective the argument is. It does not matter what I think about green cheese oranges! Oranges are not made of green cheese. The issue is about the revelation of God not simply what my opinion is. The issue is: oranges are not made of green cheese!

The issue is about God not what I think. My opinions do not count at all. God is who He is because of who He is, not what I think about Him. The only source to learn of God is the Bible. There is no other authority to go to. The atheist determines the nature of God from within himself. He makes up his own God. His own thoughts become his authority. And one can pick what he wishes to believe. I can therefore determine what oranges are made up of by my own determination. I want to believe that oranges are made of pudding, or mud, or some other substance because that is what I want to believe! You cannot challenge my opinion because everyone has his own opinion. And, my opinion is sacred to me and you cannot change that opinion.

How stupid!
—Dr. Mal Couch (4/11)

Monday, April 18, 2011

THANK YOU, DR. COUCH

For the many gifts of the books you have produced: Including THE BIRTH OF THE NATION OF ISRAEL and MESSIANIC SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. May our Lord work through them in a powerful way to change many lives and our nation. Thank you for your faithful ministry over many years. --Dr. Renald Showers

Sunday, April 17, 2011

WHAT ABOUT UFO ALIENS?

You think we have discussions about aliens now? You should have been around in the 50s as I was! There was a flood, a rash of an invasion of aliens from outer space! That's all folks talked about. Movies, TV, magazine articles, etc., etc.

I have watched through the years a rotation of alien discussion, and sightings. People care superstitious and make the rounds of this subject.

And no, I do not believe in aliens. What metals do they use in building their space ships? How did they mine the substances to make a space ship made of the materials we identify with? Do they have a Savior such as Christ? Or, did Jesus have to come to the two worlds (theirs and ours) and die for them, and then us?

In my opinion they are the figment of the imagine that people need to spice up their lives. I have enough trouble understanding reality, much less having to go into space to conger up four-headed, bug-eyed space aliens.

As you may recall I was in the motorcade when President Kennedy was killed, filming as a stringer, ABC TV. I was as close to the event as anyone you will know, and I remain adamant, there was only one killer. Conspiracy theories make the rounds, and, I am the holdout who says (and knows) there was only one shooter. And so far, my "theory" remains the same. It will do so with outer space monsters!

-Dr. Mal Couch (4/11)

Thursday, April 14, 2011

WHAT A BLESSING!

This year the Episcopal Church is helping you celebrate Easter and Earth Day at the same time, Friday, April 22. What a privilege! On Earth Day we can remember the blessing of keeping that Day sacred and holy. We can worship the earth in sorts for all of its goodness to us, never mind, that God says in the end it is all going to be burned up and taken away. Oh yes, on the same Day we can remember the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.

Would you have remembered Earth Day if it was not for the dear ol Episcopal Church? What a holy and thoughtful group!

—Dr. Mal Couch (4/11)

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

PREPARE FOR TROUBLED TIMES AHEAD!

Evil times will come upon us all the way until the end. The book of Revelation tells us that the final victory will take place at the end of the seven year Tribulation period. However, believers will be raptured out of here before that terrible time takes place. The books of 1 & 2 Thessalonians tells us that the early church in Thessalonica had it rough. Persecution fell upon them and yet they remained calm and trusting all the way during those awful days.

Paul writes that he gave thanks for all that the church at Thessalonica was suffering. Paul says there "faith was greatly enlarged" and love continued to grow between all of them (1 Thess. 1:3). "They ought to give thanks" shows that they had a thanksgiving debt owing to God in view of their converts. "Spiritual matters call for a spiritual response, not one based upon some legalistic requirement."

The apostle says that he also spoke "proudly" of them among the other churches of God for "their perseverance and faith in the midst of their persecution and afflictions which they were enduring." "Perseverance" is a compound word meaning "to be under it alone." There was nothing they could do but suffer with the pain laid upon them by the culture and the society. They were hated for Christ's sake. This is going to happen to us. Such evil will increase right up to the rapture of the church.

"Affliction" actually means tribulation. It is a terrible word that describes the pain and suffering that will fall upon the people in that congregation. "To endure" (v. 4) is a Present Tense in Greek. "They were daily, continually going through all of the torment" the lost could heap upon them.

This suffering was "a plain indication of God's righteous judgment" that was falling upon this assembly (v. 5). "Plain indication" can be translated "to prove, to show, to demonstrate" the Lord's righteous judgment. It was only right that God would respond against such evil people who were tormenting the saved for no apparent reason. Evangelical churches should shore up their minds and hearts for what is coming. It will not be pleasant! It will be horrible and painful.

The church will be honored in the future. They will be considered worthy of the kingdom of God—to serve in it and to have positions of service after all they went through here on earth! "Worthy" implies they had a distinct purpose in God's plans and they stayed faithful to their task. It is easy for us to get side-tracked and lose perspective. Because we do not now have persecution we can easily rationalize that "it won't come upon us!" But it certainly can!

It is only right and just that the Lord "repay with affliction" those who afflict us (v. 6). It is only right that God give back! Sin must be repaid. Evil men can not get away with bringing suffering on those who are innocent. "To repay" carries the idea "to give a recompense," to bring a judgment on the guilty. The guilty will not get away with the suffering they have brought about on those who oppose the gospel.

This suffering is increasing upon the lost today. In America, the lost hate more and more God, His Son, the Bible, the truth, and all goodness! The acceleration of mistreatment is not slowing down! Unless it is an act of law, like bringing the death penalty on a murderer, God is storing up judgment for the future against those who practice evil deeds. While this is not immediate relief, it will still bring satisfaction for the saved when the Lord brings about retribution (v. 7).

The Lord Jesus will bring relief revealed from heaven "with all His mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus" (vv. 7b-8). These verses happen when Christ comes to establish His kingdom reign. He does not come with the mighty angels "in flaming fire" at the rapture. We go up to glory. But He brings judgment when He arrives to establish His kingdom, millennial rule! Though it is not a canonical book, the writing of Jude (vv. 14b-15) says almost the same thing. Prophets of old knew many things we have written down in the non-canonical books, such as the writings of Enoch.

In Jude we read (quoting Enoch), the Lord will come "with many thousands of His holy ones (angelic beings), to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him."

In the End Times the hatred against God and His Son will increase. Believers too will be persecuted. Times will grow worse and worse!

When the Lord brings about judgment the lost "will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power" (2 Thess. 1:9). "Will pay" mans "to pay, or settle up" a debt. "The accused will be judged according to what they did while living on earth (Rev. 20:13), that is, if their names are not written in the Book of Life." "And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire" (v. 15).

Notice in 2 Thessalonians 1:9 that destruction is here called "eternal." This flies against those who think that punishment is but temporal. Soul sleep says that the lost sleep for a certain period, then are judged, and then are simply poofed, after which they are annihilated. Others believe that the lost and the saved when they die simply go into a state of sleep until they are resurrected for judgment or for glory. The Bible says that both are conscious in the afterlife, though with the eyes closed, they appear to be asleep physically!

When Christ comes to establish His reign, He will also glorify His saints, His own, all who have believed (v. 10). The saints who have given their lives for the gospel are to be counted worthy of their calling (v. 11). By this, the name of the Lord is to be glorified, lifted up, "according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ" (v. 12). "We are set forth to receive honor. This honor is not self-generated but is given to us by our relationship with Him."

Concerning the message of the gospel Paul writes: "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels [clay pots], that the surpassing greatness of the power may be of God and not from ourselves" (2 Cor. 4:7).

—Dr. Mal Couch (4/11)

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

GLENN BECK IS GONE!

We have lost, at least for a season, one of the most popular researchers on history and current events, we may ever know. Glenn Beck has left Fox News in a cloud of uncertainties and contradictions. Beck was giving us current information about liberalism, the Middle East, and the evil intentions of our day, more than any other Talk Show hosts.

Some may disagree, but I found few contradictions or misplaced theories about what is happening in our world. Beck was right on in his analysis. Many believe he was an outright Mormon pushing Mormon theology. I did not see it that way. I believe it could be possible that he was born again as a younger man, married into a Mormon family, but then fell back on his early evangelical theology and beliefs. He seemed to know a lot about the book of Revelation and End Times events. I found few errors in what he said over the air.

No matter what you think of Beck, he was a loud and clear voice crying in the wilderness, warning our world of what was coming. With his last show, Wednesday, April 6, he seemed to promise that he would be back, at least in a different format.

Beck was causing the liberal to duck under the table, to hide in the closet. He knew what he was talking about. He had at least twelve researchers, but also, dozens of college students around the world, who were sharing information that he could use on his programs. He has a radio show that we hope will continue.

We urge you to write him a letter of encouragement. (You do not have to agree with everything he said in order to give him words of hope. He tried his best to alert our nation of the destructive changes now on the horizon.) His address is:

Glenn Beck
Glenn Beck Programs
1133 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10036

We all know from the Bible that it is going to get worse before it gets better. The victory will come against Satan, the antichrist, and the false prophet, only at the end of history. So we should not be surprised at what happened to Beck.

—Dr. Mal Couch (4/11)

Monday, April 11, 2011

THE CORRUPTION OF TELEVISION

It is impossible to miss the evil changes taking place on television. I don't watch the sinful sitcoms on TV but you cannot miss the ads and the commercials about those programs. Unfortunately, they are extremely popular with the younger crowd, those thirty-five and under. Many Christians too are watching such programs that push forward terrible images of sex to entice our most impressionable population.

The Bible hints that such changes can be expected. In the Scriptures, especially the OT, sexual sins are most prominent. For example, the sins of the nations are especially referred to with the word "Ashtoreth." The Ashtoreh refers to the goddess of sex. She was worshiped by the pagan world and then by the Jews. The name Ashterte comes from this word. We get the word "Easter" from this description.

Have you noticed on TV how a new program may begin with a certain plot that does not have a salacious intent to it. But by several programs down the road, the plots begin more and more to have a sexual connotation to them. Suddenly the audience is hooked! I am shocked by the commercials that I see advertising such shows. The content is getting worse and worse! There seems to be no stopping of what Hollywood is trying to put forward.

All of this is driven by the Ashtoreth. Sexual sins are the most open and also the most subtle. All cultures and societies around the world are driven by sexual sins. America went the longest without such open temptation. Then, the last three or four decades, driven by television, it all began to collapse in this country. This is what happened to Israel. The Jews at first destroyed the Ashtorah poles of the pagan peoples in the Holy Land. But in time, the Jews joined the pagans in taking on the sexual attitudes of the people of the land.

2 Kings 21 tells us Hezekiah destroyed the evil Ashtorah high places. But "Manasseh erected altars for Baal and made an Asherah (grove), as Ahab king of Israel had done, and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them" (v. 3). In fact, "he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord. And he made his son pass through the fire, practiced witchcraft and used divination, and dealt with mediums and spiritualists. He did much evil in the sigh of the Lord provoking Him to anger" (vv. 5-6).

Manasseh "set the carved image of Asherah that he made, in the house of which the Lord said to David … 'I have chosen the house (temple) in Jerusalem, which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel, I will put My Name there forever'" (v. 7).

At the Asherah groves all the sexual evil of the pagan world was practiced. Such evil is here in America today. The Word of God puts such practices in the dark but when the Bible is lost to the culture, such sins return. This is why today we have an explosion of homosexuality, transgender relations, unleashed abortion, College students "hanging out" together with sexual sins—and no one seems to know how to stop them.

God said "I will bring calamity on Jerusalem and Judah, that whoever hears of this calamity, both his ears shall tingle. … I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down. … I will abandon the remnant of My inheritance and deliver them into the hand of their enemies, and they shall become as plunder and spoil to all their enemies, because they have done evil in My sight, and have been provoking Me to anger" (vv. 13-15).

The pagan world "has also made Judah sin with his idols" (v. 11). The enemy, foreigner, and stranger is entering our gates. They are coming in from Mexico and the Middle East. They know not our Reformation/Christian heritage. They know nothing of our Christian values and beliefs. They are destroying and polluting our morals and removing the Word of God from our practices. We are too impotent to stop them. We are going along with what they "teach" us.

We will be reaping what we have sown!
—Dr. Mal Couch (4/11)

Sunday, April 10, 2011

WE DIDN'T OPEN OUR MOUTHS!

We allowed our government, even our Supreme Court, to rule our lives. Notice the progression of decisions that brought about destruction on our heads.

"Student Prayer." "Prayer in its public school system breaches the constitution's wall of separation between Church and State." (Engle v. Vitale, 1962)

"School Bible Reading." "No state law or school board may require that passages from the Bible be read … at the beginning of each school day." (Abington v. Schempp, 1963)

"The Ten Commandments." "If the posted copies of the Ten Commandments are to have any effect at all, it will be to induce the schoolchildren to read, meditate upon, perhaps to venerate and obey the Commandments … this … is not a permissible state objective." (Stone v. Graham, 1980)

"Benedictions and invocations." "Religious invocations … conveyed the message that a district had given its endorsement to prayer and religion, thus the school district is to be prohibited from including invocations." (Graham v. Central, 1985)

(From "God We Still Trust")

We were as sheep led to the slaughter! We said nothing! So we're getting what we deserve. We turned our backs on truth, on God, and on His Word.

Now, more and more, our wills are being trampled on with almost no one crying out.

Goodbye America!
—Dr. Mal Couch (4/11)

Friday, April 8, 2011

IT IS ALL OVER IN AMERICA...

I have received several news releases that really tell us what is happening in our country. And it is over. The judgment is here, and the apostasy has truly begun. For example, California is gone! The minorities, and the illegals, are no longer minorities. The communities they have invaded are wrecked. They are destroyed and so are the school systems. Junked cars, destroyed roads, industries pulling out, crime too great to stop, massive immorality. It goes on and on. No one can stop it or slow it down. And politically, no one tries. The Democrats want the votes. The same is happening in Texas and New Mexico, along with Arizona.

The Middle East is aflame. God has us by our throat and is dragging the west into the abyss. If you think the rebels in those countries want democracy, you are crazy! They have no idea of what democracy is all about, or how to implement it.

No way would I say that Glen Beck is perfect. I do not know for certain if he is a believer, but he is giving factual information that America needs to hear—but few are listening. In so many ways, he talks about Bible prophecy as we would speak of it. This amazes me. Please don't be cynical. Take him for what he is. And be glad that someone is speaking out. I understand he has to have armed guards because his life is threatened.

The storm clouds are on the horizon. Pre-rapture events are taking place. The apostle Paul told us such events would happen. Read what Paul says about "the later times" (1 Tim. 4:1) and what he writes about in "the last days" (2 Tim. 3:1) just before the rapture of the church. He adds:

"For the time will come when they will not endure healthy doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to lies" (4:1-3).

I will not put out on our web some of the news reports I receive. They are too inflaming. People would react to the facts. They do not want to face what is already upon us.

The Lord has told us what is going to take place. But from the human level I pray that we could get our premillennial/evangelical brothers together to speak out in unity about the direction our world, and our nation is going. But it seems impossible. Evangelical Christians just do not bond together and work together in answering our dying world. Of course, the only and final answer is the gospel that must change the hearts and minds of the individual in order to restore order. We just don't work together very well!

You can at least prepare your family and your church for what is going to happen, soon and very soon! But will even those closest to you listen? I am constantly told that in good churches few pastors are speaking out and telling the flock what is upon us. They don't want to be negative and many don't want to hear the truth in the best of our churches. They wish to stay in ignorance. If you have not heard prophecy lately in your church, get out! Your pastor is cheating you and short changing the flock!

The apostle warns the church that it is not in darkness and should not go to sleep (1 Thess. 5:4-11). We are not destined for The Wrath, the tribulation that is coming. We will be taken out before, but we could go under the storm clouds that are gathering on the horizon. Thus, "encourage one another, and build up one another ..." (v. 11).

America, there is no turning back!

—Dr. Mal Couch (4/11)

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

THE HINDU TEMPLE

Santa Fe, New Mexico is host to a huge Hindu Temple. The Indians of the area are visiting and apparently feel some kind of relation to the worship of the Hindu goddesses.

The judgment is upon America. Paganism is now part and parcel of the American landscape, and, there is no turning back the momentum as to where this is leading our country.

I am doing a special study on Monday nights about Satan and demonism. What we see in Scripture as to how the pagan religions influenced and nearly destroyed the people of Israel now makes a ton of sense! We mentioned on this website the fact that the witchcraft and warlock malls are invading our cities on the southern border. We have friends who have come from New Mexico who tell us that these malls have been there for many years but it is a fact that those of us who are not from that area were simply ignorant as to what had been happening for decades!

But without a doubt, the "invasion" of these religious havens of paganism have been taking place for some time. To get an eye-full read Leviticus 19:26-32 and 20:1-8. America shall go the same direction as the Jewish people who absorbed the evil of the people of the land, the Canaanites.

"Good bye, clean and godly America! It was nice knowing you!"

—Dr. Mal Couch (4/11)

Saturday, April 2, 2011

PROOF OF PREMILLENNIALISM

A book made from sheets of lead was recently discovered in Jordan that could shed early light on the doctrine of premillennialism. The "book" was in the possession of a Bedouin family, that supposedly had been kept for about 100 years as a family treasure.

The book is a surprise in that it is indeed a "book," with lead pages and bound by lead rings. Most books of ancient times were actually scrolls rather than in what we now see as book forms. While written in ancient Hebrew, the book is supposed to be a Christian volume that originally came from Israel and had been taken over to Jordan, though a lot of this is speculation.

As far as scholars can make out at this point the book is about the coming, the return of Israel's Messiah. This would prove the premillennial message of the Bible. Many believe the book was written a short time after the resurrection of Christ. Remember, the Bible IS premillennial AND dispensational! One cannot escape those facts!

—Dr. Mal Couch (4/11)

Friday, April 1, 2011

ETERNAL PUNISHMENT AND HELL

Well, here we go again! Some Baptist pastors (and others) are again saying there is no eternal punishment and hell. This denial of biblical doctrine makes its rounds from time to time in our Evangelical circles! The lack of Bible doctrine amazes me! How can they say they've been to a good seminary and tune out what the Scriptures teach?

Without going into all the passages here are a few that just can't be ignored. Matthew 25:46 makes it all as clear as it can be. Just as there is eternal life there is eternal punishment. Life from the Lord is eternal (aiwnion) just as punishment lasts forever (aiwnion). The same Greek word for "eternal" is used to describe both punishment and life. If punishment does not last forever then neither does the new life with the Lord.

There is an eternal destruction that is part of the penalty for rejecting the gospel that Paul writes about in 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9. These are verses that are often forgotten. The apostle writes:

God will deal out "retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. And these will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power."

Again, the apostle Paul uses the Greek word for eternal ("aiwnion") to describe the forever nature of the destruction that goes on and on! Some scholars have translated this as: "Right now they do not know the gospel and probably never will."

In my Thessalonian commentary I write: "The 'penalty' ("dike," punishment, condemnation) is only just and right. "Dike" is used to describe a court case or the process of law. The lost are storing up disobedience that will receive such a legal response before the bar of God's justice."

—Dr. Mal Couch (4/11)

THE BOOK OF ESTHER

I just finished exegeting and teaching through the book of Esther. I believe the folks really got an ear full, but too, we all saw how current the book is to what is happening to the Jews today in the Middle East. The world hates Israel, just as illustrated and as so many did in this marvelous little book from our OT.

The festival of Purim gets its origin from Esther. Pur means the "casting of the lots." They were casting the lots to determine the day that the enemy would jump on the Jews and kill them in Persia. Many of the Persian people, under the leadership of Haman, wanted to kill all the Jews in the land. But Esther and her cousin Mordecai were used of the Lord to save the Jewish people.

In the study I marked all the passages that would sound familiar to us as to what is happening with the Jews now in the Middle East. Here are some of the most important verses:

"The Jews were to be destroyed, killed, annihilated, both young and old, women and children, in one day, and their possessions were to be plundered" (3:13).

When Mordecai heard that the Persians under the influence of Haman were to kill all the Jews, he "went into the city and wailed loudly and bitterly" (4:1). "There was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping, and wailing; ..." (v. 3). Had not Esther obtained "royalty for such a time as this?" (v. 14). "If I perish, I perish" she said (v. 16b).

Esther said, "we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be killed and to be annihilated" (7:4).

Haman wrote "to destroy the Jews who are in all the king's provinces" (8:5b).

Haman was hanged "on the gallows because he had stretched out his hands against the Jews" (v. 7).

"The king granted the Jews who were in each and every city the right to assemble and to defend their lives, to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate the entire army of any people or province which might attack them, including children and women, and to plunder their spoil" (v. 11).

"Many among the peoples of the land became Jews, for the dread of the Jews had fallen on them" (v. 17).

"The enemies of the Jews hoped to gain the mastery over [the enemies], it was turned to the contrary so that the Jews themselves gained the mastery over those who hated them" (9:1).

"Many of the princes of the provinces … assisted the Jews, because the dread of Mordecai had fallen on them" (v. 3).

"The Jews had killed and destroyed five hundred men and the ten sons of Haman in Susa the capital" (v. 12).

"Haman had schemed against the Jews to destroy them, and had cast Pur (the lot), that is the lot to disturb them and destroyed them" (v. 24b).

"These days were to be remembered and celebrated throughout every generation, every family, every province, and every city, and these days of Purim were not to fail from among the Jews or their memory fade from their descendants" (v. 28).

"So the Jews established themselves and for their descendants with instructions for their times of fasting and their lamentations" (v. 31).

Finally, "Mordecai the Jew was second only to king Ahasuerus and great among the Jews, and in favor with the multitude of his kinsmen, one who sought the good of his people and one who spoke for the welfare of his whole nation" (10:3).


—Dr. Mal Couch

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