How should the Bible be interpreted? Most conservative Christians will immediately respond with the answer “literally.” But what does it mean to interpret literally? How should a book written thousands of years ago by multiple authors in different settings and cultures be understood by modern readers? Paul Lee Tan is helpful when he writes: “Literal interpretation of the Bible si [...]

Technology has always played a part in the dispensational explanation of the “mark of the beast” and “buying and selling” discussed in Revelation 13. Sensational teachers rely on fear and current events to sell books and fill conferences with participants ready to hear the latest “end times” theory. But what does the Bible actually say? Should Scripture be inter [...]

Gary was recently interviewed by Pastor Richard Henry about current events and eschatology. Gary addresses biblical hermeneutics and the current phenomenon of “internet exegesis,” which seeks to apply modern events to Bible prophecy. Internet exegesis is simply a computerized version of “newspaper exegesis.” Last Days Madness In this authoritative book, Gary DeMar clears th [...]

In response to my article “The Eschatological Vacuum,” someone commented that I was the one preoccupied with eschatology. Yes, I write a great deal on the subject because I believe prophetic speculation is a hindrance to the proclamation of the kingdom of God that so many prophecy “experts” claim is future but not before the rise of the antichrist, a rebuilt temple, and the rapture of the church. [...]

Eschatology is inevitable since history moves forward. Every ideology is eschatologically oriented. Eschatology — pessimistic or optimistic — is an inescapable concept. You are either eschatologically engaged or you are being swept along in someone else’s eschatological stream. Too many Christians believe they are floating in an eschatological stream that’s going to take them to heaven in an event [...]

What identifies a premillennialist — classical and dispensational — is that the Jews that survive the Great Tribulation will reign with Jesus from Jerusalem during the thousand years of Revelation 20. This is the definition, and yet, Revelation 20 does not say anything about the Jews reigning on earth with Jesus from Jerusalem in what is described as a millennial paradise. Once again, we have a do [...]

In 2007, John MacArthur delivered “Why Every Self-Respecting Calvinist is a Premillennialist” at the March 2007 Shepherd’s Conference at Grace Community Church. The premise of MacArthur’s talk was based on the everlasting covenant with Israel. MacArthur, who believes in “sovereign election” as it relates to individual salvation, is surprised that many of his sovereign grace colleagues who are amil [...]

As happens at least once a week, I get involved in a discussion concerning eschatology. What’s happening in Afghanistan and the push for a global reset is bringing out the prophecy pundits. The following comment caught my attention: Do you also blame the Roman empire on the present-day rush towards globalism, a global digital currency, and a global government? how does Nero factor into what [...]

With COVID-19, mask mandates, compulsory vaccinations, some are speculating that we could be entering the era of the Mark of the Beast and the (always) “rapture of the church.” Revelation 13 is not about vaccinations. For those who claim to interpret the Bible literally, we would be seeing the number 666 everywhere. I’d be willing to wager that there are some prophecy pundits right now who are try [...]

In my previous article (“A Seismic Shift in Eschatology Has Begun”), the letter writer begs the question by assuming dispensationalism is true, biblically foundational, and has a long and respected historical pedigree. He doesn’t argue for these positions; he simply states them as fundamental, self-evident truths. His arguments, such as they are, are similar to those used by evolutionists, global [...]

Similar to the way there is a fundamental shift taking place in the realm of theology by a reconsideration of Calvinism,[1] a seismic shift is taking place in eschatology. Eschatology is the study of the “last things.” The more popular terminology is “Bible prophecy.” There are numerous schools of thought on the subject. The most popular version—dispensational premillennialism—teaches that certain [...]

Why is it that so much technological advancement developed in the Christian West? Consider a few examples: The first working telephone was invented in 1876 by Alexander Graham Bell. The cumbersome device had no delivery system, wires, phones, or switching system. Who would you call? And yet today, we carry phones in our pockets and purses that are smaller than a deck of cards, need no wires or ope [...]

A few years ago, a group of out-of-town American Vision supporters wanted to visit the church my wife and I attend and then have us over for dinner at a friend’s house. We often repeat the Apostles’ Creed or the Nicene Creed during the service as our Credo — “I believe.” We don’t know who composed the Apostles’ Creed or when it was written. Some historians place the writing around the 4th or 5th c [...]

The only way to grasp the significance of Peter’s de-creation language in 2 Peter 3 is to study similar language found in the Old Testament since that’s Peter’s reference point. In Micah 1:1, a prophetic word was revealed: “to Micah of Moresheth in the days of Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.” Micah’s prophecy isn’t about a time in the dista [...]

(Note: This is a continuation of a previous article. For Part One, click here to read “The Magical Bible Verse That’s Used to Nullify 100 Others”) We need to understand the immediate context of 2 Peter 3. The entire argument over when the events Peter describes take place comes down to defining the last days, the identity of the scoffers, the expectation of Peter’s audience, the consistent definit [...]

The following is from Jerry Jenkins, the co-author of the Left Behind prophecy series: God has a different economy of time than we do. He wrote in the Bible 2,000 years ago that the end was soon or imminent, and that we should watch and wait. We’ve been doing that all these years. The Bible also says that to God, 1,000 years is as a day and a day is as 1,000 years [2 Peter 3:8]. [...]

In three previous articles, I dealt with “Confronting Eschatological Gnosticism, “Should the Bible Always be Interpreted Literally?,” and “The Bible Method: Scripture Interprets Scripture.” In this article, I will briefly deal with what many believe is end-of-the-world language even though the Old Testament uses such language with local events. Paul writes to the Corinthians: “Now these things hap [...]

In two previous articles, I dealt with “Confronting Eschatological Gnosticism” and “Should the Bible Always be Interpreted Literally?” In this article, I want to discuss the biblical method of interpretation that applies to everything not only prophecy. Sound biblical interpretation begins with a comparative study of texts based on what Milton Terry describes in his highly regarded Biblical Hermen [...]

In a previous article, I dealt with “Confronting Eschatological Gnosticism” when very specific time words in Scripture are redefined but only when it comes to the topic of Bible prophecy. For example, when the Bible says that Jesus was “near Jerusalem,” dispensationalists have no problem understanding “near” to be close in proximity: “Now while [the people] were listening to these things, Jesus we [...]

Over the weekend, I had the opportunity to have a great discussion with my sister-in-law on the topic of Bible prophecy. It was very encouraging. Because of it, I thought I would resurrect something I wrote some years ago on the topic since there are a lot of Christians in churches where they are getting less than accurate teaching on eschatology. Some pastors don’t realize that other views approa [...]