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, [...]

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 combats the many excuses that Christians use to NOT be involved in modern controversies on today’s podcast. In his book The Vanishing Conscience, pastor John MacArthur tries to argue that “‘Reclaiming’ the culture is a pointless, futile exercise. I am convinced,” he writes, “we are living in a post-Christian society— a civilization that exists under God’s judgment.” [1] MacArthur and ot [...]

The following is the Foreword I wrote for J.D. King’s book The Beast of Revelation: Unraveling the Mystery. There’s a major shift taking place in eschatology in the broader Christian community. If the shift takes hold, we could see a major change in the way Christians understand eschatology. The Beast of Revelation will help get the message out to those often unreached by Reformed Theology. &ndash [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

John Nelson Darby, one of the founders of dispensational premillennialism and the pre-tribulational “rapture” of the church doctrine, the basis of The Late Great Planet Earth (1970) and the multi-volume Left Behind series, taught that “the imminent return of Christ ‘totally forbids all working for earthly objects distant in time.’”[1] Myths, Lies, and Half-Truths Myths, Lies, and Half-Truths takes [...]

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 [...]

On today’s podcast, Gary discusses the hermeneutics (the method of interpreting) of Bible prophecy. One of the first things a Christian must learn in interpreting the Bible is to pay attention to the time texts. Failing to recognize the proximity of a prophetic event will distort its intended meaning. Certain destructive events confronted the early Church, events that were “near” for those w [...]

On today’s podcast, Gary answers a listener question about the manuscript differences in Revelation 13 and the “number of the beast.” The number 666 has long fascinated theologians and mathematicians. Maybe the interest in the number has something to do with the attainment of wisdom and understanding since to “calculate the number of the beast” will reward the diligent (Rev. 13:1 [...]

In this final part of his response to the Michael Brown debate, Gary discusses Jesus’ parable of the wheat and the tares in Matthew 13. For many (perhaps even most) Christians, the parable of the wheat and the tares (Matt. 13:24–30, 36–43) tells the story of the final judgment. This view is especially understandable when based on the old King James translation. It says: Another parable put h [...]

On today’s podcast, Gary responds to the questions the disciples ask Jesus about His coming and the “end of the age.” What “age” or “period of time” was about to come to an end when Jesus’ disciples asked about “the end of the age” in Matthew 24:3 after they heard Jesus say that the temple was going to be “left desolate” (23:36)? The end of the old covenant age was on the horizon [...]

Click here to read Part One 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 “about [μελλούσης] to come” (Matt. 3:7; also 1 Thess. 1:10; 2:14–16) to the judgment on that generation (Matt. 23: [...]

Today’s podcast is the second part of Gary’s response to the online debate he had with Dr. Michael Brown about Matthew 24. If Jesus had wanted to specify the generation to whom He was speaking, how would He have said it if “this generation” doesn’t mean the generation to whom He was speaking and “you” does not mean them? Does anyone believe that those who heard [...]

In my debate with Dr. Michael Brown on the fulfillment of Matthew 24, he spent considerable time dismissing the argument that the “end of the age” (v. 3) referred to the end of the old covenant system of sacrifices, cleansings, food regulations, and priestly oversight. He implied that the “end of the age” was yet in the future. What “age” or “period of time” was about to come to an end when Jesus’ [...]

On today’s podcast, Gary discusses the “great tribulation” in Matthew 24:21. Was the destruction of AD70 Israel’s greatest tribulation or does it need to be repeated with even worse consequences? Is the great tribulation of Matthew 24 a description of a future seven-year period where the Antichrist makes a covenant with Israel and then turns on the Jews, bringing about worl [...]