In addition to dispensationalism’s insistence that in the New Testament God’s redemptive program changed from Israel to a new entity called “the Church,” another fundamental principle of dispensationalism is that there are no prophetic signs prior to the fictional “rapture.” Not one. Zilch. Nada. None. This is because, according to dispensationalists, the Church had its beginning at Pentecost. At [...]
Gary begins a short lesson on the four views of the book of Revelation. Political tyranny and religious apostasy are not necessarily signs of impending eschatological destruction. They, too, have been with us since the Fall. The light of the gospel was nearly extinguished as the church approached the sixteenth century. Few could ever have predicted what was about to happen, not only in terms of Ch [...]
Author Shalom Auslander wrote, “In This Time of War, I Propose We Give Up God.” The article was published on Good Friday of this year in the New York Times as an op-ed. Auslander claims that God is responsible for “war and violence” and for “oppression and suffering.” Because of these character traits, he suggests that people stop teaching children about God. In 1986, the NBC television network pr [...]
Gary discusses recent news articles and events that have been flushed by the liberal media because they don’t fit the narrative. No one is neutral, not even the person who claims to be neutral. Unbelieving professors, for example, are very capable of intellectual bullying. They will want you to lay aside your weapons, your defenses, your philosophy, and then bully you with their alleged know [...]
Gary continues his lesson on hermeneutics by looking briefly at the time words that bookend the book of Revelation. The past fulfillment of most of the prophecies in Revelation 4-19 is compellingly suggested by the various time indicators contained in its less symbolic, more didactic introduction and conclusion. Revelation 1:1 opens the prophecies of Revelation and prepares the reader to understan [...]
For some time, I have been working on a commentary on Zechariah 14. It’s tough going. There aren’t that many good commentaries on Zechariah that aren’t dispensational. Dispensationalists have an advantage because in their view everything happens after the so-called rapture of the church. All other interpretations must find historical markers to account for their interpretation. Some argue for a se [...]
Gary begins a short course on hermeneutics—the art and practice of interpretation—on today’s podcast. The Bible can be an intimidating book, but it doesn’t have to be. We must be like the Bereans who examined “the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11). Too often, Christians rely on so-called Bible experts and complicated charts that include gaps in time, ou [...]
Gary discusses a recent article that speculates about the potential end of the Biden presidency and sensational interpretations of Bible prophecy. We should be wary of allowing current events to shape the way Scripture is interpreted. There is a long history of failure. God had promised to give the land of Canaan to Israel (Num. 13:1–2). Just as God was about to bring the Israelites into the land, [...]
There has been considerable debate over the best way to interpret the three-days and three-nights language of Matthew 12:40, either as three 24-hour days of exactly 72 hours or parts of three days and three nights. Because you can’t get three full days if the count begins on Friday, some interpreters have argued for a two-Sabbath approach and a crucifixion on Wednesday and a resurrection on Saturd [...]
On today’s podcast, Gary discusses 2 Timothy 3 and the full context of Paul’s letter. But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haug [...]
Gary answers questions from audience members about the Christian worldview on today’s podcast. For those set in their anti-supernatural worldview ways, there will always be some naturalistic reason why miracles are impossible, and no amount of evidence will convince them otherwise. Consider the following humorous story to make the point that evidences only make sense within the context of a [...]
Matter is not and cannot be all that matters. On today’s podcast, Gary points out the problems for matter-only proponents. A classic moment in presuppositional apologetics happened in “The Great Debate” between Dr. Gordon Stein and Dr. Greg Bahnsen in 1985. During cross-examinations, Dr. Bahnsen began the following exchange: Bahnsen: Do you believe there are laws of logic then? S [...]
President Joe Biden nominated a man to be his assistant secretary of Health and Human Services who thinks, dresses, goes by the name Rachel Levine and acts like he’s a real woman. Now USA Today has nominated him/her as “Woman of the Year.” The party of science is willing to ignore science when it needs to satisfy a voting contingency—the Alphabet People—and work to upend the moral world order. Whe [...]
Gary discusses the film Collision, the lead up to the event, and new video podcasts featuring much unused footage on today’s podcast. The difference between Douglas Wilson and Christopher Hitchens, despite any particular agreements on morality or art, puts them in irreconcilable positions which must be at war with the other. The positions that “God exists, and God governs nature,” and “There [...]
If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God except precisely that little point which the world and the devil are at the moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christ. — Attributed to Martin Luther Yuval Noah Harari is Jewish, an atheist, and a homosexual (these are relevant for what follows). He is an Israe [...]
Gary completes his lessons on Mark 13 on today’s podcast. The audience and time context of the Olivet Discourse must not be ignored. The first people to embrace Jesus as the promised Messiah were Jews (Acts 2:5), and the first to reject Jesus were also Jews. James Jordan comments: The Judaizers were the heirs of the tradition-serving Jewish teachers who were Jesus’ worst enemy. The Jud [...]
We’ve been taught that fascism is a foreign-born ideology that spawned the political aspirations of Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler. In reality, fascism has had a long history in America and has been resurrected by people who believe that power guided by good intentions can do no harm. They are ignorant of history and human nature. We don’t have to go abroad to find examples of fascism. Fascism [...]
On today’s podcast, Gary continues teaching through Mark 13 in this second lesson given at his church. When Jesus’ disciples heard His prediction of “desolation” for the temple and city (Matt. 23:29-39) when He “came out from the temple” (24:1), they “came up to point out the temple buildings to Him,” as if to say, “Lord, You can’t mean t [...]
On today’s podcast, Gary discusses whether fulfilled prophecy has any significance after it has been fulfilled? If, as the writer of Ecclesiastes writes, “there is nothing new under the sun” (1:9), then how do we evaluate historical tumults prophetically? Five hundred years ago many in Christendom believed that the end was near. As we now know, their speculations were misguided. [...]
The Internet is filled with claims that modern-day Russia is the rosh of Ezekiel 38 and 39. Those who believe this rarely read the chapters in terms of the time the prophecy was revealed to Ezekiel, the weapons used in battle, and parallels to other parts of Scripture. There’s a much simpler solution. A Beginner's Guide to Interpreting Bible Prophecy With so much prophetic material, it seems d [...]
