Gary and Robert Cruickshank discuss how questions they had about what they were reading in the Bible led them to where they are today. Preaching about the soon coming of Christ has long been used by Christian prophecy teachers as a way of pleading with the lost to commit themselves to Jesus Christ. Such a motivating device can backfire on even the most well–intentioned evangelist. What happens if [...]
Obsessing about how it will all end paralyzes Christians into inactivity while the culture melts down around them. When the crisis in the Middle East began with Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990, the prophecy pundits shifted into high gear once again with a barrage of new books psyching up the church with their assured belief that the rapture was near. Millions of Christians began to suf [...]
Gary responds to two recent postings about current events and the “rapture of the church." In our day, prophetic speculators are misleading millions of people with their supposed certainties about the next series of events they believe are signs that Jesus is about to return to “rapture” His church. For example, in 1988 John F. Walvoord wrote that “in these present closing years of the [...]
Gary discusses a recent appearance by Ray Comfort on the Dr. Phil Show. Throughout the book of Revelation marks given on the hand and head are symbolic. Commentators do not usually claim that when God gives a mark to set apart His people that the mark is visible to the eye. For example, in Revelation 3:12 we read: “He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not [...]
I saw the article “Preterism Examined and Refuted” by Charles H. Campbell on the AlwaysBeReady website. I picked a few of his examinations and refutations and quickly put together a short response. There were many more, but I didn’t see anything new that I and many others have not already dealt with in great detail over many centuries. For example, see my book Wars and Rumors of Wars, an expositio [...]
The latest in last days madness comes from, naturally, the Middle East. It concerns the drying up of the Euphrates River. Supposedly the dry Euphrates is an end-time sign that the end is near. When Russia invaded Ukraine, that was said to be an ancillary fulfillment of Ezekiel 38-39. Linking Russia with the Hebrew word rosh in Ezekiel 38:2 and 39:1 goes back a long way. Rosh is not a prophetic mar [...]
Some readers get upset any time I point out how modern-day prophecy writers misrepresent the Bible. My critics don’t seem to mind that Hal Lindsey has been wrong over the years in an area of study that has made his reputation and so much of Christendom has embraced as “gospel.” I’ve pointed out a number of these “miscalculations” in previous articles and books. It was amazing to see how people def [...]
Gary answers a listener question about 2 Peter 3 and the fire language. If there’s one passage of Scripture that is repeatedly brought up as an indictment against people who object to modern-day prophetic speculation it is 2 Peter 3:3–18. If you dispute with those who argue that all the signs around us indicate that we are living in the “last days,” then you are labeled a “scoffer” or a “mocker” ( [...]
When I became a Christian in 1973, last days madness was all the rage. Hal Lindsey’s The Late Great Planet Earth was becoming a mega-bestseller. Lindsey had implied rather strongly that something called the “rapture” would take place before the 1948-1988 generation passed away. You can read his comments in the hardback edition on pages 53 and 54. I don’t know if he ever revised LGPE. I was new to [...]
Gary discusses yet another new book release claiming to help readers understand Matthew 24. Matthew 24:1–34 is a key prophetic passage, and its interpretation is one of the most hotly debated subjects in “end times” discussions. We must put aside our preconceived interpretations and let the Bible interpret the Bible. After all, this is the only acceptable approach to take when trying to understand [...]
Part Two of Gary’s discussion of a new book by David Jeremiah and the publishing history of (failed) prophecy books. Hal Lindsey and dispensationalists in general have a low regard for the Law of God, [1] similar to the views of the arch-heretic Marcion (second century A.D.). “Marcion stressed the radical nature of Christianity vis-a-vis Judaism. In his theology there existed a total d [...]
Gary discusses David Jeremiah’s new book, which is essentially repeating the same message about being “near to the end." Christians have always had disagreements over theology. The letters of the apostles to the first-century churches were designed to clear up doctrinal confusion, error, and heresy. The letters are well-reasoned, and, of course, they are truthful. Scripture and hi [...]
Gary discusses how failed prophecies take a toll on those who believe them. Hal Lindsey argued that Revelation was written in the form of an ancient code that needed a time machine to speed to the right prophetic era where the original symbols could be understood. “You might say,” Lindsey writes in There’s A New World Coming, “that [the apostle] John was put into a ‘divine time machine’ and transp [...]
Gary discusses several claims in a recent book by an author who claims to be an atheist because of failed prophecies about the “end times." There is a history of skeptics that turn to Bible prophecy and claim Jesus was wrong about the timing of His coming at “the end of the age” (Matt. 24:3) and the signs associated with it. Noted atheist Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) wrote t [...]
The red heifer story is back in the news. “The delivery of five red heifers to Israel has sparked a worldwide debate about its significance in biblical prophecy, particularly among Christians who believe a third temple will be built during the End Times,”[1] of which the New Testament says nothing. You will search the New Testament with a fine-tooth comb, and you won’t find any mention of another [...]
Gary discusses the man of sin (or lawlessness) in 2 Thessalonians 2 with Pastor Joel Webbon. Many believe that 2 Thessalonians 2 describes the end times leading up to the rapture of the church, the revealing of antichrist, and the second coming. Tim LaHaye, a representative of this perspective, writes: “Second Thessalonians 2:1–12 contains the rapture, Tribulation, and Glorious Appearing all in on [...]
I try to be patient with people who have legitimate questions about the fulfillment of Bible prophecy as they relate to the Olivet Discourse, but I get irritated with people who claim they’ve found the magic exegetical bullet (to change the metaphor) to counter a preterist (fulfilled) interpretation. What follows is an example of someone trying to use a flawed prophetic shoehorn to make his size 1 [...]
When I was growing up, most kids owned a shoehorn. I’m not sure if they are used much today. It may be because young people wear casual shoes to school and even church. For the uninformed, a shoehorn is a device to help the heel of the foot to slip comfortably into the back of the shoe so the back of the shoe is not broken. Some popular biblical doctrines need a shoehorn to work. [...]
Gary is interviewed by Pastor Joel Webbon about biblical eschatology. A future kingdom means a future king. A future kingdom and an absent king means a future set of kingdom laws that have no present-day, this-world application. If this is what Christians mean by stating that God’s kingdom is yet to come, then we are in a terrible dilemma. If God’s kingdom can be expected solely future, then God h [...]
Gary responds to a critic about his demand for using modern academic works to interpret the prophetic passages in the Bible. “Apocalyptic thinking is in the air,” so said University of Connecticut psychologist Kenneth Ring in 1990.[1] Long before 1990, speculation about the apocalypse was common, but it wasn’t until 1970 that the topic entered best-seller status and became part of everyday convers [...]
