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 [...]

The first time I read through the NT, beginning with Matthew’s gospel in 1973, I came across passages like Matthew 10:23, 16:27-28, and 24:34 that did not fit the popular end-time views of the day. At the time, in the early 1970s, Hal Lindsey’s The Late Great Planet Earth (TLGPE) was a massive best seller. “Despite some dated content, 28 million copies had sold by 1990.” In an off-handed way (so a [...]

Gary discusses Dr. Michael Brown’s recent article, “What Does the Bible Say About the End of the Age?” “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” (Matt. 24:3) The disciples’ question above involves three interrelated, contemporary events: (1) the time of the temple’s destruction; (2) the sign that will signal Jesus’ [...]

In an interview I did a few days ago, I mentioned that it’s difficult for people to change their views when confronted with contrary evidence, especially when there are many credible and influential people who teach a popular position. This is especially true of Bible prophecy. Since I first wrote on the topic of eschatology in the 1980s, Bible prophecy has become a hot subject again similar to th [...]

Gary discusses an economic statement made by a seminary professor surrounding economics and Revelation 6. Prophetic speculation is popular. Who doesn’t want to know what’s going to happen in the future, especially if it’s bad and there’s a way to escape it? The rapture is the escape hatch for a troubling future. That’s why the rapture has been described by some as the Great Escape. Charles Wesley [...]

The following is a brief exchange I had with two people in the comment section who were responding to Dr. Michael Brown’s article “What does the Bible say about the end of the age?” on the Christian Post site (watch for an upcoming podcast for my comments on Dr. Brown’s article). I don’t answer every point these commenters make. If you want more specific answers, see my books Is Jesus Coming Soon? [...]

What you’ve read up to this point (here and here) is enough to refute Hicks’ claims that “this generation” refers to “trans-historical people” that “includes (past generations) tied to Cain, through to the contemporaries of Jesus, and will extend down until the return of Christ.” There are a few more issues that need to be discussed. Early in his 26-page article he refers to me and other preterist [...]

Gary answers a listener question about Daniel 12 and the resurrection of the dead. The events of Daniel occur at the very beginning of a new covenantal and historical situation. The Restoration Covenant places the priestly covenant people in a wider context, the context of a world empire. This is the beginning of the “latter days.” This new covenant and new priestly service come, as always, throug [...]

Ian Hicks has a novel interpretation of the meaning of “this generation.” While he believes the phrase applies to the generation of Jesus’ day, he also claims it refers to “trans-historical people [that] includes (past generations) tied to Cain, through to the contemporaries of Jesus, and will extend down until the return of Christ. My view of genea,” Hicks argues, “is not limited to a singular gr [...]

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 [...]

The following is the beginning of a multipart response to an article by Ian Hicks who argues against a preterist interpretation of the meaning of “this generation.” Keep in mind that numerous scholars who do not identify as preterists argue that Jesus’ use of “this generation” refers to the generation of His contemporaries. See Chapter 10 in my book Wars and Rumors of Wars. It’s a high bar to clea [...]

Gary talks about his experience with a seminary class and discussing various views on biblical prophetic interpretation. All Christians believe in fulfilled prophecy. This makes them preterists to some degree. A preterist interpretation of prophecy puts its fulfillment in the past. What separated unbelieving Jews from believing Jews in the first century was the issue of fulfilled prophecy. Was Jes [...]

Gary responds to two individuals critical of his own eschatological view. There is redemptive continuity between the testaments. Jesus didn’t come to start something new. We know from the book of Acts that thousands of Jews came to Jesus as their Messiah. The gospel was to be preached throughout the cities of Israel before the destruction of Jerusalem (Matt. 10:23) and the oikoumenē, the known wo [...]

Gary answers several questions from a listener who is fearful and anxious about the world based on what local pastors are preaching and teaching about the “end times.” 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 di [...]

History is filled with prophecy speculators who claimed that some form of the end was on the horizon. “When Mark Twain was in London, a rumor of his death or imminent death reached the editor of the New York Journal, who sent its London correspondent the following cablegrams: ‘IF MARK TWAIN [IS] DYING IN POVERTY IN LONDON SEND 500 WORDS’ and ‘IF MARK TWAIN HAS DIED IN POVERTY SEND 1000 WORDS. [...]

Gary recently returned from a Pastor’s Conference in Mexico, where he spoke to a hundred pastors or so about eschatology. On today’s podcast, Gary discusses his travel to and from Mexico, his experiences while he was there, and his takeaways from teaching through a translator. Is Jesus Coming Soon? Daily on Christian radio and television and the the endless stream of prophecy books we [...]