On today’s podcast, Gary responds to an article’s assumption that Russia and the current invasion of Ukraine are fulfilling Bible prophecy based on Ezekiel 38-39. The twentieth century is replete with books and articles assuring readers that Russia is clearly mentioned in the Bible. Nearly every modern-day prophecy book comes to the same conclusion. Russia is Ezekiel’s “Gog,” with its [...]
In my debate with Dr. Michael Brown on February 17, 2022, I made the point that the Great Tribulation mentioned by Jesus in Matthew 24:21 took place during the time of that generation since Jesus said, “This generation will not pass away until all these things take place” (24:34). “This generation” always means the generation to whom Jesus was speaking. It does not mean “this kind of generation,” [...]
Robert Van Kampen, a prophecy author who believed the events outlined by Jesus in Matthew 24 are yet to be fulfilled, wrote, “Christ tells His disciples that only after the gospel is preached to all nations, ‘then the end shall come.’” [1] Since the Bible clearly states that the gospel “was proclaimed in all creation under heaven” (Col. 1:23), then the end spoken of by Jesus is a past event for us [...]
Futurism mandates that a new temple must be rebuilt so the events of Matthew 24 can be fulfilled. History records that the temple was destroyed in A.D. 70, with the events of Matthew 24 preceding its demise. Not one verse in the New Testament mentions the need for a rebuilt temple, a fact admitted by those who believe a future temple is necessary for prophecy to be fulfilled. Thomas Ice and Timoth [...]
In Matthew 24:36, Jesus refers to “heaven and earth passing away” and not knowing the “day or the hour.” (It’s interesting that John refers to the “last hour” that was near in his day: 1 John 2:18). Is this statement by Jesus a reference to the new heavens and new earth of Revelation 21? John Lightfoot applies the phrase “passing away of heaven and earth” to the “destruction of Jerusalem and the w [...]
C.S. Lewis famously dubbed the modern ignorance of old books to be “chronological snobbery.” Thinking that only what is produced by our own modern generation is worthy of our time and attention is not only hypocritical; it is dangerous and can lead to a variety of false assumptions both about ourselves and those that came before us. Nowhere is this idea more evident than in the area of [...]
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” (2 Peter 3:3; Jude 18). If this is how the passage is to be understood, t [...]
I continue to see debates about the proper understanding of “this generation” repeatedly used by Jesus in the gospels. Does “this generation” refer exclusively to the generation to whom Jesus was speaking, or is it somewhat elastic and expansive to include the entire New Covenant era? First, genea (generation) always means people living at the same time. It does not mean “race” (genos) or “nation” [...]
Christian social irrelevancy manifests itself in several ways even while claiming to be fully biblical. There are those who believe the church is an earthly parenthesis—the “church age” to give its proper designation—and the world is destined for an inevitable eschatological showdown with the antichrist but only before the church is “raptured” out of the world. Look at most prophecy books that hit [...]
I received a message from a supporter who pointed me to a Glenn Beck interview with Amir Tsarfati’s and his new book Operation Joktan. Tsarfati was raised in a Jewish home but later converted to Christianity. He believes Ezekiel 38–39 are about modern-day Russia. His eschatology is dispensational. He claimed in the interview that there will be an end-time antichrist and a rebuilt temple. Anyone fa [...]
So often New Testament books are interpreted without reference to the Old Testament even though they are written against the backdrop of the Old Testament (e.g., Matt. 24:29–31). Try interpreting the book of Hebrews without reference to the Old Testament. It’s impossible. The same is true for Revelation. Revelation cannot be understood against the backdrop of the 21st century even though it applie [...]
I saw a short video by someone named Paul Williams. I don’t much about him. Actually, I don’t anything about him. James White texted me and said he is a former Anglican who became a Muslim. But since he is a homosexual, that did not sit well with the Muslim community, who at first praised his defection from Christianity. Williams is articulate, and with his British accent, he sounds authoritative. [...]
In a previous article, I discussed some translation missteps that are frustratingly unnecessary. Let’s move on to more critical examples when it comes to verse tenses. The following is from Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home: KIRK: What’s going to happen when you release the whales? GILLIAN: They’re gonna have to take their chances. KIRK: What does that mean, exactly? ‘Take their chances.’ GILLIAN: It [...]
The goal of the Bible translator is to stay with the original text as much is linguistically possible by making judicious translation decisions that maintain the integrity of the words used by the authors. When a literal translation is not made, the reader should be notified and told why. This is done in some translations like the KJV and the NASB that italicize words that are not in the Greek tex [...]
One of the most common methods of understanding the book of Revelation today is the futurist approach which says that the visions of the book of Revelation signify historical events that will occur at the end of the world. Some early Christian writers like Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, and Lactantius seem to have held similar views. Some who hold this view today believe that the visions in the majority [...]
“Stupid Pet Tricks” was introduced on NBC’s Late Night with David Letterman in the early 1980s. Some of them were cute and clever but many of them were … stupid. For decades there have been Stupid Prophecy Tricks to get Christians to believe that we are living in the last days. While it didn’t start with Hal Lindsey’s The Late Great Planet Earth in 1970, it continued with bar codes being the mark [...]
“This generation” in Matthew 24:34 and the parallel passages in Mark 13 and Luke 21 refers to the generation of Jesus’ day. Following this biblical evidence, most Bible commentators have interpreted “this generation” in this way, understanding that all the signs in the Olivet Discourse referred to events leading up to and including the destruction of Jerusalem that t [...]
Click here to listen to the podcast based on this article. In Luke 2:22-40, we are introduced to two individuals named Simeon and Anna. They were in the temple when Mary and Joseph brought the baby Jesus to “present him to the Lord.” We learn that Simeon and Anna were faithful believers expectantly awaiting the Messiah’s promised appearance. We are also told that Simeon was waiting for “the consol [...]
Christians should be wary of allowing current events to shape the way Scripture is interpreted. There is a long history of failure. In addition to the impact such end-time views have on Christian involvement in the culture and society, there is also the impact that predictive prophecy has on those who want to discredit the Bible. But aren’t we living in the “last days”? A lot of confusion exists o [...]
What relevance does the Bible have for us today if so much Bible prophecy has been fulfilled? Preterists get this question asked of them all the time. Historicists claim their approach is the most historically relevant. They also claim that the Historicist approach was almost universally promoted by the Reformers. Calvin was the exception. Much of Calvin’s Daniel commentary is preterist. On the Re [...]
