Bible Prophecy Under the Microscope-Episode 29 In this conclusion to his talk from a few years back, Gary gives a quick hermeneutics lesson using Matthew 24. Many dispensationalists assume that Matthew 24:1–34 describes a distant future tribulation, rapture, and physical return of Christ. This is a convenient interpretation for those who hold to a future orientation for all prophetic passages in S [...]

A video by Mitch Muller, “Is the Apostle/Disciple John STILL ALIVE?,” is making the rounds on Facebook. Muller begins by quoting John 21:20-23. Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them. He was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper to ask, “Lord, who is going to betray You?” When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord, what about him?” Jesus answered, “If I want h [...]

Gary discusses a recent comment by late night host Stephen Colbert about Christians helping the poor. Christians are commanded to be positively involved in the lives of people: “Seek justice, reprove the ruthless, defend the orphan, plead for the widow” (Isaiah 1:17). This is, in fact, the essence of Christian living: “This is pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God a [...]

My wife and I were watching Season 3, Episode 4 “A Little Drop of Poison” from the British version of Professor T when the Professor mentioned Lillian Gilbreth and her book The Psychology of Management (1914) regarding “time and motion studies.” The study triggered something for the Professor that was a clue to help him solve a crime. The current condition of our mismanaged government might be abl [...]

Gary interacts with recent claims that outbreaks of peace in the world have significance for Bible prophecy. The “day of the Lord” was a day of God’s judgment and vengeance. As a result, there could be many such days. Luke describes the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 as “days of vengeance” (Luke 21:22), the fulfillment of Isaiah 61:2: “The day of vengeance of our God” (also see 63:4). In the [...]

Bible Prophecy Under the Microscope-Episode 28 In this talk given a few years back at a conference in Nashville, Gary introduces the topic of Bible prophecy and why it is important. At first reading, the New Testament seems to teach that the temple would be destroyed (Matt. 23:38; 24:2), Jerusalem would come under siege (Matt. 22:7), and the Old Covenant order would come to an end before the last [...]

I’ve debated with myself over whether I should respond to Thomas Ice’s awful article about me and my book End Times Fiction, since republished as Left Behind: Separating Fact From Fiction, that Brannon Howse published on his Worldview Weekend site. In his first response to my original argument, Brannon argued that he does not teach on the rapture, and his site and conferences do not spend much tim [...]

Gary answers a listener question about the supposed historical fact that Antipas (mentioned in Revelation 2:13) was martyred in the mid-90s AD under Domitian. Francis Gumerlock, author of numerous English translations of ancient Latin commentaries, offers his conclusion based on the commentaries he surveyed: So in all of the Revelation commentaries that are extant from 200–700, not one of them sta [...]

Gary talks about the trend among young people where Bible sales are increasing and they are obviously looking for some sort of purpose. Imagine that you have a professor at school who holds a behavioristic view of man. He claims that our human behavior is determined by stimulus-response conditioning and that all human behavior is theoretically predictable if only we could know what the factors are [...]

Bible Prophecy Under the Microscope-Episode 27 Gary discusses new “research” that has now determined and revealed China’s role in Bible prophecy. Ezekiel was given a revelation that described his world. Consider the following description of the trading that was taking place among the various nations in Ezekiel’s day and note how these same nations are mentioned in Ezekiel 38. Spe [...]

Rachel Held Evans (1981-2019) was a Christian columnist, blogger, and author who supported same-sex marriage because “Jesus never talked about it.” This is a frequent argument for supporters of same-sex marriage and the LGBTQ+ agenda. She also stated that the creeds don’t mention anything about homosexuality. So here we are today where “The town of Worcester, Massachusetts, voted to become a ‘sanc [...]

Gary discusses recent articles about immigration, birth rates, and anti-natalists. Moral questions can only be answered in terms of ultimate presuppositions. What are the preconditions for morality? Where does the atheist go to account for his moral worldview? Why should I be concerned about the poor if Darwin’s “survival of the fittest” is fundamental to the undebatable theory? Raising moral ques [...]

Bible Prophecy Under the Microscope-Episode 26 No matter what happens in the Middle East—good, bad, or indifferent—it is claimed to be a fulfillment of Bible prophecy. The Bible shows that the events described in Matthew 24 were fulfilled in the first century and fell upon the generation of Jews who “did not recognize the time of [their] visitation” (Luke 19:44) and crucified “the Lord of glory” ( [...]

One of the arguments used against a preterist interpretation of Revelation is that it was developed by Spanish Jesuit Luis De Alcazar (1554-1613) who wrote a commentary titled Vestigio Arcani Sensus in Apocaplysi or Investigation of the Hidden Sense of the Apocalypse and was published a year after his death. “In this work dedicated to the Catholic Church, he made a new attempt to interpret the Apo [...]

Someone on Facebook asking the following question: “Can one be … Postmillennial while rejecting partial preterism?” For a robust postmillennialism (a moniker I do not like), a person needs to be a preterist, even if it’s an inconsistent preterism. Revelation 20 should not be used in defense of what is labeled “postmillennialism” since there’s little in the chapter that describes what postmillennia [...]

Gary responds to a recent article by Ken Gentry that called Gary out for his views on eschatology. The Nicene Creed and its anonymous cousin, the Apostles’ Creed, have been standards of orthodoxy for around 1700 years. A charge made by some Christians who ask questions about the creeds is that the creeds use “man’s language,” thus invalidating their authority. This is a harsh and mistaken claim si [...]

Bible Prophecy Under the Microscope-Episode 25 Gary answers a listener question about progressive dispensationalism. For centuries, theologians declared that the Papacy was the biblical antichrist, the man of lawlessness, and the beast all rolled into one. I have several books in my library that take this view. For example, Richard Hurd’s chapter “Prophecies Concerning Antichrist” in his book An I [...]

I’m not at all OK with “Happy Birthday Jesus” signs during Advent season. Biblical Christology includes the incarnation, but the birth of the God-Man is not like our birth. The reaction of the Magi, Herod, and Simeon and Anna are signposts of what transpired when “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). There were theological, political, and kingdom consequences. The Christian faith [...]

Gary discusses several recent (and not so recent) instances of individuals leaving the Christian faith after being in it for some time. Materialists don’t like TV shows that showcase paranormal events, even if the shows are fictional. X-Files is criticized by the late Carl Sagan because it “is skewed heavily towards the reality of alien abductions, strange powers and government complicity in cover [...]

Bible Prophecy Under the Microscope-Episode 24 Gary responds to several critics on Facebook that disagree with his interpretation of Bible prophecy. The temple, sacrifices, city, nation, land, and feasts found their fulfillment in the New Covenant “in reference to the Spirit”: Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to [...]