Systematic Theology
with Dr. Mal Couch

I have had more than one question from web viewers about the various resurrections of the Bible. Many are curious or confused about the when and the who concerning this subject. Below is an examination of the various resurrections mentioned in Scripture. Also, there are a series of questions to answer sent in by our readers.

To understand the different resurrections requires careful OBSERVATION, OBSERVATION, OBSERVATION and CONTEXT! By noting careful the context of the resurrection passages, one can see the layout and the different periods of fulfillment for this doctrine mentioned in the Bible.

Are Tongues for Today?

This is easy to answer. First, the Greek word glossa was a clearly understood idiom for describing a spoken and known language. Thus when the doctrine of linguistics first appeared in Acts 2 we find it describing spoken languages and identifiable dialects. It was defined as a miracle gift also: "... because they were each one hearing them (the disciples) speak in his own language. And they were amazed and marveled, saying, 'Why, are not all these who are speaking Galileans?'" (vv. 6-7). And the people hearing the miracle added: "And how is it that we each hear them in our own language to which we were born?" (v. 8).

The Impeccability of Christ

A few years back the film industry came out with a lot of productions showing the "humanness" of Christ, ignoring any pretense or hint to the fact of His deity as the Son of God. This would be expected of the lost world, but such tripe has a continuing negative effect on the natural man. Of course Satan loves it! He loves to picture Jesus as simply a "natural" man rather than "very God"!

The book of Daniel for centuries has been under fire by the liberal critics and even often by conservative scholars.

Daniel, along with Genesis and Deuteronomy, are regularly attacked for various reasons. But specifically, Daniel is attacked because of the incredible and accurate 70 Weeks of Daniel prophecy in chapter 9, and the detailed predictions of chapter 11 that were prophesied to come upon Israel in the period between the Old and the New Testaments.

The order of Regeneration and faith, and the issue of Faith as a Gift of God! A second look!

For some reason it won’t go away—the issues dealing with the order of faith and regeneration and faith as a gift of God. If one believes that the saved are "chosen before the foundation of the world," these issues seem to be settled by the scriptural evidence. But the arguments persist. Bible scholars are split on the issues but those who hold to the absolute sovereignty and working providence of God in His world, all seem to come down on that side that God initiates the regeneration and the faith processes!

What Brings God Glory?

All Glory Belongs to God. The first mention of God's glory is found in Exodus 16:7. Moses said to the grumbling Israelites, "in the morning you will see the glory of the Lord." Psalm 148 is the praise psalm that gives Him honor in all He has made. The psalmist writes, let all give Him honor, "Let them praise the name of the Lord, for His name alone is exalted; His glory is above earth and heaven" (v. 13).

The Restrainer

The question so often asked is, who is the restrainer of 2 Thessalonians 2:6-9? Various views have been offered with a wide range of possibilities that add intrigue to the subject of Bible prophecy. Because the suggestions have been so broad throughout the long history of the church, the answer has often eluded all those who tried to interpret the prophetic Scriptures.

The Beliefs That Deny God

The theism that we have by divine revelation gives the knowledge of an eternal, all-wise God, who exists in three Persons, and, who loves mankind so much that He created a gracious plan for eternal salvation. The triune God is revealed in limited form in the Old Testament, and more completely by progressive revelation in the New Testament.

The Lord's Supper

Examining the doctrine of the Lord's Supper, or any other teaching of the church, the student of Scripture must be careful to avoid buying without reservation what the early church taught. As with the church today, the bishops and elders were products of their own time and could easily slip into views that were not biblical, as they did with the extreme views of Gnosticism or mysticism.

The Abrahamic Covenant Fulfilled In The Kingdom Reign Of Messiah

All of the promises made to Abraham are brought to completion in the 1000 kingdom reign of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Covenant with its three-fold division here brings to a close the flow of world history. All that God had promised in the Abrahamic covenant will be finished.

The Natural Proofs of God's Existance By His Written Revelation

We have already referred to the fact that the Word of God is the first source of knowing what the Lord God is all about. This biblical knowledge reveals that God is Person; He is not simply a mindless force or power! From the Scriptures we learn of His character, attributes, personality, love, and a thousand other truths that we should know about the One who created us!

The Natural Proofs of God's Existance Philosophy of Religion

For generations rational philosophers have attempted to give certain natural arguments for the existence of God. This was a humanistic effort to arm-wrestle objectors into accepting a kind of logical proof of the truth about God's being. But the heart and mind of the lost is so tenacious that such arguments fall on deaf ears.

How Do We Know About God?

The Demise of Systematic Theology

Evangelicals are in trouble! The beginning of the twenty-first century saw the Evangelical church move rapidly toward what is called the postmodern era. Postmodernism is an attitude that has been spawned by the intellectual elite who believes absolutes, especially in the moral and spiritual realm, cannot be known with certainty. The study of biblical doctrine then is no longer important or necessary.

The Reformation, The Jews, and the Hebrew Language

Evangelicals are quickly losing their edge on understanding the Word of God. There is the departure of the "learning" of Hebrew and Greek by those who say they want to teach God’s Word. Pastors particularly no longer have an interest in New Testament Greek in order to exegete the Scriptures from the pulpit. If this is so, how much more acute is the loss of interest in knowing the Hebrew language of the Old Testament?

Will God Restore The Kingdom To Israel?

One of the greatest misunderstandings in theology is the belief that the church today is the replacement for the prophesied Old Testament Davidic kingdom that is to be set up in Jerusalem by the Messiah.

Dead in Trespasses and Sins: Ephesians 2:1, 5

As Evangelicals move further away from the solid study of the Word of God, there will come about an accelerated slippage away from the crucial doctrines of Christianity.

The Divinity of Christ

With an objective study of Scripture on the subject of the nature of God, one cannot help but arrive at the doctrine of the Trinity.

The Death of the Doctrine of Sin

All of the collective evil in the universe is described by the biblical noun sin (hamartia). From this word we come to the study of sin, hamartiology.