Are We Living in the Last Days?

Any time American Vision posts an article dealing with Bible prophecy, we get emails from Bible prophecy “experts” chastising us for our “ignorance.” One fellow wrote that since Revelation talks about earthquakes and we see earthquakes today that earthquakes must be a modern-day sign that the end is near. Here’s what he wrote: “I don’t know who this guy [Gary DeMar] is and I don’t want to know but [...]

What is the Meaning of Matthew 23:38–39?

A few weeks ago, I received an email that an article had been published in the April-June 2010 issue of the dispensational-oriented journal Bibliotheca Sacra. Here’s part of what the emailer wrote to me: “I’ve read your work and heard your debates in [the area of Bible prophecy], and I must say the counter-arguments [in Lawrence A. DeBruyn’s “Preterism and ‘This Generation’”] are very compelling a [...]

Who is Zechariah the Son of Berechiah?

When I first became a Christian and started reading the Bible, I found that there were passages that were hard to understand. This was natural since I didn’t know much about the Bible. When I would come across one of these difficult passages, I would set it aside until I could study it further. As I grew in my knowledge and understanding of Scripture, many of these tricky passages became clear. [...]

First Steps in Interpreting the New Testament

The Bible was not written in such a way that only seminary-trained Christians are able to interpret it. Many young Christians believe that Bible interpretation is complicated so they lean heavily on study Bibles and the views of popular Bible teachers. To be sure, some passages are difficult to interpret. Even Peter admitted as much: “as also in all [Paul’s] letters, speaking in them of these thin [...]

BP and Bible Prophecy

In order to understand the book of Revelation you have to read it against the backdrop of the Old Testament, and you also have to understand the subject matter and the timing as to when these events were to take place. The book of Revelation isn’t describing events in the distant future, it’s describing events leading up to and including the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. Declaring [...]

Wormwood in the Gulf of Mexico

Ripping a verse out of context in the book of Revelation is standard fare for a lot of Christians. They look at events in the world around us, then go to the Bible and pull out a prophecy that they can make fit and call it fulfillment of Bible prophecy. In order to accurately interpret the book of Revelation, you must know the rest of the Bible well, and most people lack this Bible knowledge. [...]

Bible Prophecy Found in the Earth's Fault Lines?

Gary receives a lot of emails, some with valid questions and theories, and some completely off base. One such email talks about images the emailer sees in the fault lines in the Gulf of Mexico that supposedly link with Bible prophecy. This is similar to people who see the Gospel in the stars or a secret code hidden in the Bible. [...]

Oil, Israel and the Apocalypse

Dispensationalists say that there are no signs leading up to the rapture but there are signs leading up to the tribulation. Since the tribulation is supposed to occur right after the rapture, signs for the rapture would, by default, be signs for the tribulation as well. Throughout history, every major disaster has been touted as a sign of the end, in spite of the fact that we are still anticipatin [...]

Signs of a Signless Event

The majority of dispensationalism teaches a pretribulational rapture that could happen at any time. If the rapture is an imminent event, then Israel becoming a nation again, or any particular sign, prior to a pretribulational rapture cannot be a prophetic sign. It’s no wonder that so many Christians are confused about Bible prophecy. [...]

Dispensational Prophecy Myths Busted

Gary DeMar recently debated Jim Fletcher, author of It’s the End of the World as We Know It (and I Feel Fine) and director of Prophecy Matters, on whether or not modern Israel is a fulfillment of Bible prophecy. In preparation for this debate, Gary wrote a new book titled 10 Popular Prophecy Myths Exposed. This book lays out some of the most popular dispensational teachings and refutes them [...]

Modern Israel in Bible Prophecy

Many Bible prophecy teachers and writers believe and teach that Israel becoming a nation in 1948 is a fulfillment of Bible prophecy. The revival of the Hebrew language is often taught as a fulfillment of Zephaniah 3:9. Should the Bible be viewed through the lens of current events or should we rather view current events through the lens of the Bible? [...]

Does Prophetic Speculation Hurt the Gospel?

Predictions of Armageddon and impending world destruction have the same effect as the boy that cried wolf, weakening the gospel message to unbelievers. Should we be so focused on predicting the end or focused on taking dominion of the world God has given us as commanded by Him? [...]

Hoping and Praying for Gog and Magog to Attack

I knew it would happen. The latest incident in Israel has brought out the prophetic speculators again. “A council of rabbis in Israel says their nation’s conflict with Turkey over a flotilla of ‘aid’ ships headed for the blockaded Gaza Strip controlled by the terrorist Hamas organization just may be the beginning of the ‘Gog and Magog process where the world is against us, but which ends with the [...]

Prophecies of Gog and Magog Fulfilled — Again?

End times “gurus” are pointing to the recent flotilla raid in Israel as fulfillment of the gog and magog prophecies. Gary examines these claims in today’s episode and exposes them in the light of scripture. [...]

Why Some Dispensationalists are Like Evolutionists

Millions of Christians are fixated on what is going on in Israel today. Ever since Israel became a nation again in 1948, prophecy writers have insisted that this event is a prophetic sign that we are nearing the conclusion of the so-called Church Age. When 1988 came and went (40 years after Israel’s modern founding), a new paradigm had to be found to explain why the rapture had not taken place bef [...]

Is Modern Israel a Fulfillment of Bible Prophecy?

Gary interviews Jim Fletcher, author of the book It’s the End of the World as We Know (and I feel fine) and director of Prophecy Matters. They will go deeper into this topic at the Bible Prophecy Debate on June 19th at Midway Presbyterian Church. [...]

The Church Needs to Grow Up and Get a Kingdom Life

Another National Day of Prayer has come and gone. Wisconsin U.S. District Judge Barbara B. Crabb put a negative spin on the day by ruling that the practice is unconstitutional. She ruled that “the government has taken sides on a matter that must be left to individual conscience. . . . The government may not use its authority to try to influence an individual’s decision whether and when to pray.” S [...]

Doomsday Predictions Debunked

In the conclusion of his review of the book Will the World End in 2012? by Dr. Raymond C. Hundley, Gary looks at the prophecies of Nahum and Malachi as well as many instances where the word “near” is used in reference to the “end times.” [...]

A Review of Raymond Hundley's Apocalyptic "Guide"

Gary received a review copy of “Will the World End in 2012?” which he has read through and want to share what you need to know before reading this book. What does Isaiah 13 say about the “Day of the Lord,” and how can Psalm 18 be misinterpreted? [...]

It's Not Getting Worse, It Has Always Been Like This

Gary DeMar continues discussing an e-mail he received questioning his viewpoint on the end times. Gary discusses how the “last days” in the Bible apply to the end of the Old Covenant, not to some futuristic event. The passage in question is 2 Timothy 3. Does it address the distant future or what was going on in Timothy’s time? [...]