Gog, Magog…Russia and the Rapture?

Gog, Magog…Russia and the Rapture?

We repeatedly find prophecy writers who try in vain to apply Old Testament fulfilled prophecies to current events. What’s surprising is that they claim to interpret the Bible literally. For them horses mean “horsepower,” bows and arrows mean “missile launchers and missiles,” and chariots mean “tanks.” But in the case of Ezekiel 38-39, these prophecy speculators really get things wrong. The God and [...]

The Fullness of Israel

The Fullness of Israel

Biblical eschatology has been studied, discussed, and debated for millennia. No chapter is more pivotal—and controversial—than Romans 11. It has been used for nearly every future scenario and scheme in biblical prophecy. Oddly, with as much focus as there seems to be on Israel in most systems, they usually miss the point Paul is making and the context of what he is actually saying throughout the e [...]

Christians Being 'Less than Loving' Means Criticizing Jesus for the Same Thing

Christians Being 'Less than Loving' Means Criticizing Jesus for the Same Thing

The enemies of the truth are always awfully nice. Truth is the strong compost in which beauty may sometimes germinate. — Christopher Morley (1890-1957) Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) said the following about the $20 million spent on the “He gets Us” campaign: “Something tells me Jesus would not spend millions of dollars on Super Bowl ads to make fascism look benign.” Huh? Does she have any idea wh [...]

Spiritual Charlatans

Spiritual Charlatans

Gary riffs on one of his favorite side-topics: spiritual manipulation and magic. Jeane Dixon, astrologer and alleged “psychic,” became famous when she supposedly predicted that John F. Kennedy would be assassinated sometime during either his first or second term of office. It was in 1952 that Dixon claimed that “the 1960 election… will be dominated by labor and won by a Democrat. But he wil [...]

The Hope of Israel

The Hope of Israel

Kim discusses Hebrews 9, Acts 2-3, 2 Peter 3, and other NT and OT passages regarding the biblical understanding of Israel. Building on what he’s already taught in earlier podcasts, he continues his exegetical case for covenant hermeneutics. The consummation of Israel’s eschatology opened the door for the restoration of the nations, which is still ongoing today. Click here for today’s e [...]

Why Creation and Eschatology Can’t be Separated

Why Creation and Eschatology Can’t be Separated

The Apostle’s Creed and the Nicene Creed describe God as “Creator of heaven and earth”/ “Maker of heaven and earth.” Nothing is said about the age of the earth. The Westminster Confession of Faith states the following, but does not say anything about how old the earth is: It pleased God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, for the manifestation of the glory of His eternal power, wisdom, and goodness, [...]

Does God Understand Time?

Does God Understand Time?

Gary responds to recent article by John Piper, which is an excerpt of his new book, Come, Lord Jesus. The biblical writers are straightforward in their claim that certain prophetic events were to happen “soon” for those who first read the prophecies. The eschatological events were near for them. No other interpretation is possible if the words are taken in their “plain, primary, ordinary, usual, o [...]

Separating Fact from Fiction

Separating Fact from Fiction

(The following is the preface to a new edition of Left Behind: Separating Fact from Fiction. The book is currently in production and will be available in print next month.) I thought we were done with the Left Behind film franchise that started in 2000 with Kirk Cameron who played Buck Williams in three films, a television journalist investigating the sudden disappearances of millions of people. L [...]

AI and God's Revelation

AI and God's Revelation

Gary discusses a recent article about artificial intelligence that raises many important points and Gary takes it in several different directions. Marvin Minsky of MIT “believes that humans are nothing but meat machines that carry a computer in their head” also made of meat. Minsky, who is an atheist and works in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI), “claimed that people should give their mon [...]

How Should the Greek Word 'Mello' be Translated?

How Should the Greek Word 'Mello' be Translated?

There’s a debate going on about the translation of the Greek word mellō. Depending on the context, mellō can mean “about to” and “on the point of being done.” At times mellō is not translated and has the meaning of “necessity.” By reading some (most?) translations, the reader unfamiliar with Greek would never know mellō is used in some passages since it is often untranslated. For example, in Revel [...]

Pushing the Antithesis

Pushing the Antithesis

Gary gives several examples of how Christians should do apologetics by “pushing the antithesis.” Instead of beginning with the bits and pieces of a worldview (evidences for this or that doctrine, or this or that god), the starting point is more fixed and fundamental. “Thus, when all is said and done,” Dr. Bahnsen makes clear to us, “apologetics becomes the vindication of the Christian [...]

Adam's Rib and Trans Sports

Adam's Rib and Trans Sports

What do the 1949 movie “Adam’s Rib” and transgender sports have in common? Find out on today’s podcast. The transgender chickens are coming home to roost. It’s no longer just bathrooms. Sports are being affected by the fiction of transgenderism. If a boy identifies as a girl, then why can’t he/she compete with girls in basketball, softball, or track and field? Given “transg [...]

Of Shellfish, Pig Skins, and Mixed Fabrics

Of Shellfish, Pig Skins, and Mixed Fabrics

This is some of the exchange that followed with my response: Satori Kane: Seams if you never read a book, you can claim whatever you want about it. “So maybe actually read the thing before you start quoting from it.” Brian Le Flem: Quoting from what? The Bible? If so, then please tell me the exact passage where Jesus spoke about homosexuality Joseph Salluce: Think not that I am come to destroy the [...]

What Do We Do Now?

What Do We Do Now?

Gary participated in a round-table discussion recently about Christian worldview and cultural response. Too many Christians believe that what they believe personally has no bearing on the political sphere. It was one of the reasons that often Christians opposed slavery personally but did not oppose it politically. They believed there were two standards—one for the Church and one for the State. The [...]

The Ten Commandments of Secular Statism

The Ten Commandments of Secular Statism

John Wycliffe of Oxford University produced the first hand-written translation of the New Testament into English in the 14th Century, he wrote in the preface: “The Bible is given for the government of the people, by the people, and for the people.” The Bible was not given only for religious people of a particular theological persuasion; it was designed to be a standard for everyone and every gover [...]

The Household and the State

The Household and the State

To deny the validity of the many governments and the responsibilities that each has under God, would be to deny the authority that belongs to each of them in their designated realm of activity. If we as individuals neglect our personal governing duties, then we can expect the State to assume the role of all other legitimate governments and claim to be the sole government, while labeling all others [...]

Obeying God and Not Men

Obeying God and Not Men

Gary discusses several principles from his book God and Government to a class of homeschoolers. A brief survey of the Bible and its principles will show that it has directives for all areas of life. Does this, however, include civil government? Is God as concerned about the structure and principles of political systems as He is about families? Or, has God left the area of political systems for man [...]

What are the Two Ages in Matthew?

What are the Two Ages in Matthew?

Gary answers a listener question about the difference between how the word “age” is understood in Matthew 13 and Matthew 24. Typically, the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares in Matthew 13 is often understood as describing the full course of redemptive history leading to the end of our world. It seems, however, that everything in Matthew’s Gospel — from fleeing the wrath that was “abou [...]

Speech is not Free

Speech is not Free

Speech is not free in the sense of being without cost; it’s free (at least theoretically) in the sense of being without restraint. What you don’t know can kill you, and in the case of ignorance about our nation’s founding document, it can turn you into a slave to the State. The Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution because the states were not satisfied with the claim that the Constitution w [...]

Thinking Outside the Categories

Thinking Outside the Categories

Gary answers a listener question about resources that best represent and present the dispensational premillennial position. In order to understand a thing aright, it is always helpful to seek to understand its purpose according to its designer and builder. Eschatology is a theological discipline that is concerned with discovering the divinely revealed, long range purpose of the world and of histor [...]