Bible Prophecy Under the Microscope-Episode 68 Reading the Bible is more than just understanding the words on the page. The first place to start in learning how to interpret prophecy is to learn how to interpret the Bible, because the Bible is the best interpreter of itself. This statement seems so obvious, and yet many people fail to follow it. When the subject of prophecy comes up, some eager pr [...]

Gary and Kim Burgess conclude their discussion of 1 Corinthians 15. Paul still fully expected to be alive in his earthly body at the parousia of Christ as based on the direct warrant of Christ Himself in texts like Matthew 10:23, 16:27-28, and 24:34. This is precisely why Paul deliberately used “we” language in both 1 Thessalonians 4 and 1 Corinthians 15. For this we say to you by the word of the [...]

Gary comments on an article that claims the current “replacement theology” affecting the Church is replacing Christ with Israel. If Israel is the fig tree in Matthew 24:32, then Israel is the fig tree in 21:18–20 where Jesus says, “‘No longer shall there ever be any fruit from you.’ And at once the fig tree withered.” The fig tree of Matthew 24 was a leaves-only tree. There was no frui [...]

Bible Prophecy Under the Microscope-Episode 67 Gary picks up where he left off last week, discussing modern prophetic speculation about current events, which, in reality, is nothing new. Many reasons could be put forth to explain why our Christian counterparts of long ago were wrong about what they believed to be prophetic certainties. The signs seemed to fit the times. How can we avoid their mist [...]

And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. (Hebrews 9:27–28) There is a translation issue in Hebrews 9:28. The Greek word “time” is not used. Literally, it’s “out of the second” (ἐκ δευτέρου). [...]

Gary continues speaking with Kim Burgess about 1 Corinthians 15 and the timing and nature of the resurrection. This eschatology debate is not going to have any hope of getting anywhere if we simply argue back and forth among ourselves over a series of isolated proof texts. The solution to this deep and complicated debate is not simply going to be a matter of comparing this verse with that verse in [...]

Gary discusses the current state of eschatology debates online. A post on a Facebook page had an interesting discussion on Luke 17 and its relationship to Matthew 24-25 and Greg L. Bahnsen’s view of that relationship. Dr. Bahnsen took the view that Luke 17:22-37 refers to the Second Coming while Matthew 24:1-34 refers to the judgment on Jerusalem that took place before that first-century generatio [...]

Bible Prophecy Under the Microscope-Episode 66 Gary discusses how “end-times” prophecy is overflowing on social media lately and how many are claiming that we are in the last days. In each new prophecy book that hits the bookstores we are told that Bible prophecy is being fulfilled before our eyes. The authors point to various signs that they say are compelling evidence that Jesus’ ret [...]

Gary continues going through 1 Corinthians 15 with Kim Burgess. In this episode, they discuss death as being the final enemy. In Acts 24:14-15, Paul says this: “But this I admit to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect I do serve the God of our fathers, believing everything that is in accordance with the Law and that is written in the Prophets; having a hope in God, which these men [...]

One of the frustrating aspects of debating eschatology with the Three Questions Letter signers is their shifting interpretations and inconsistencies among them. As to their inconsistencies, Doug dismissed them as irrelevant to the topic because not all full preterists agree. I suspect that on the big issues, they do agree. We all make adjustments over time as we study more. I certainly have. I not [...]

Gary continues his discussion with Kim Burgess on 1 Corinthians 15. One cannot say that it was all done at the cross or that it was all done at the ascension, or all done at Pentecost, and that is it, and then we move on. No, it was not. The covenantal consummation of this accomplishment of redemption was still being expected by the saints, post-AD 30, as they all were looking to the events that w [...]

Bible Prophecy Under the Microscope-Episode 65 Gary shares his takeaways and summary of the recent discussion/debate he had with Douglas Wilson in Moscow, Idaho. What verse goes with the Nicene Creed’s “He shall come again, with glory, to judge both the living and the dead”? Where in the NT does it say Jesus will “come again”? Of course, based on Matthew 16:27, Jesus [...]

During our discussion about eschatology, the topic of animal death and resurrection came up. Doug Wilson believes there was “entropy” before the fall. This would include death. He stated the following in his article “Full Preterism and the Death Problem.” What was the nature of perfection in the Garden of Eden? What did an unfallen world look like? Too many Christians have the idea that a world wi [...]

Gary begins a series of podcasts on 1 Corinthians 15 with Kim Burgess. The New Covenant order could not and would not be fully in place, established and ready to go, unless and until the prior Old Covenant order was fully removed, historically and visibly. This means that, vastly important as all these events surely were, it took more than the cross, the resurrection, the ascension of Christ, and [...]

In a conference talk recorded years ago, Gary discusses the Battle of Gog and Magog in Ezekiel 38-39. Most interpreters have tried to find the fulfillment in events of their day using current events as the interpretive grid. For example, in the fourth and fifth centuries, Gog was thought to refer to the Goths and Moors. In the seventh century, it was the Huns. By the eighth century, the Islamic em [...]

Bible Prophecy Under the Microscope-Episode 64 Gary gives his “state of the union” of current teachings about Bible prophecy coming from non-Dispensational critics. Debates continue over which biblical passages refer to the AD 70 judgment coming of Jesus and those that refer to what is commonly called the yet Second Coming of Jesus. As I have repeatedly pointed out, there is no unanimo [...]

Bible Prophecy Under the Microscope-Episode 63 Gary continues his discussion of Matthew 23-25 with Darren Doane. Matthew 24:33 tells us what audience Jesus had in view: “so, you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door.” It’s obvious, and without any need for debate, that the first “you” refers to those who asked the questions that led to Jesus’ extended rem [...]

P. Andrew Sandlin posted the following on Facebook: “Greg Bahnsen’s name has been invoked in the defense of the hyper-preterist heresy.” He doesn’t say who. For those of you who do not know, Greg Bahnsen was a professor at Reformed Theological Seminary in the 1970s when I was a student there. He taught apologetics, ethics, and a course on eschatology. His article “The Prima Facie Acceptability of [...]

Gary discusses the upcoming event with Doug Wilson as well as some of the critics voicing their opposition to it. My first foray into the topic of eschatology was not a directed attempt to answer dispensationalism. When I was hired by American Vision in 1981, I concentrated on worldview issues with the first volume of God and Government that was published in 1982. I would often lecture on the subj [...]

Bible Prophecy Under the Microscope-Episode 62 Gary explains why he spends so much time writing and talking about Bible prophecy—it’s a worldview issue. Soon after graduating college in 1973, I began to delve into the complexities of Bible prophecy once again. By this time I was no longer the biblically ignorant convert. Bible study had become a daily affair. While I was certainly far from b [...]