A few years ago, I spoke at a conference on postmillennialism in Torrance, California, on the topic, “Evidence that Postmillennialists are Winning the Prophecy Debate.” I only got through a small portion of what I prepared. Ken Gentry also spoke. Kirk Cameron was there at my invitation. He gave a great talk about his prophetic pilgrimage. Sorry to say, the recording of my talk did not turn out. Th [...]
From the archives: Gary answers an interesting question that was submitted to the Michael Heiser podcast several years ago. “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 t [...]
Gary answers a listener question about the “number of the beast,” Nero, and Titus. 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. 13:18). Wallace John Steinhope is the physicist in Paul Natha [...]
Gary discusses a recent article by a Jesuit priest claiming that Donald Trump is the “antichrist.” Saint Martin of Tours, who died in A.D. 397, wrote of the coming antichrist whose reign would signify the last days. His prediction sounds strangely familiar. “Non est dubium, quin antichristus…. There is no doubt that the antichrist has already been born. Firmly established alread [...]
Gary concludes his interview with Paul Edward Stevenson on the Last Man Standing radio show about Israel, Hamas, and popular prophecy. 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 this temple that’s adorned wi [...]
In the first article on this topic, I pointed out that a prominent pastor told his congregation and viewing audience the following: “In your Bible, right next to Isaiah 66:8, you can write down May 14, 1948.” It’s obvious that Isaiah 66 describes a time when the sacrificial system was operating (v. 3), the ancient people of Tarshish, Put, Lud, Meshech (the archers, those who draw the bow: Ezek. 27 [...]
Gary is interviewed by Paul Edward Stevenson on the Last Man Standing radio show about Israel, Hamas, and popular prophecy. Part One of Two Without a proper context, a verse from the Bible could be used to support atheism, because as one out-of-context passage reads, “There is no God” (Psalm 14:1). The full reading of a passage in its proper context reveals its true meaning: “The fool has said in [...]
Gary answers a listener question about the history of the “Rapture” and the vision in 1830 of a young girl named Margaret MacDonald. Why is it that not a single sermon, address, or discussion in the book of Acts mentions the supposed rapture of the Church? Over a period of nearly 40 years, no one brings up this supposedly crucial prophetic event. There is no mention of an any-moment “r [...]
Does the number 666 refer to someone in John’s day? If so, who could it be? Revelation implies that there was a king who was alive when John saw and wrote down what was revealed to him: “Here is the mind which has wisdom.[1] The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits,[2] and they are seven kings; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must rema [...]
Gary continues responding to Pastor David Jeremiah’s interview and book, The Great Disappearance. All of the texts used to support the rapture theory presuppose the validity of the theory, a theory that does not have a single text to support it. The doctrine has been constructed before texts have been evaluated. This unsound approach to Bible interpretation has done little to dissuade the ad [...]
Gary responds to a recent interview between Glenn Beck and Max Lucado about the state of the world and the war between Israel and Hamas where Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39 are brought up. When Russia invaded Ukraine, we were told that the Gog and Magog war of Ezekiel 38 and 39 was being fulfilled. When Hamas attacked Israel from Gaza, again the Gog and Magog war was being fulfilled. For nearly 1600 y [...]
Gary responds to a recent article by Dr. Michael Brown that claims the promises made to Israel in Joshua 21 are not the fullness of what God was promising to the Jews. There is not a single verse in the New Testament that supports the claim that there is prophetic significance in Israel’s restoration as a nation. Beyond A.D. 70, Israel as a nation plays no prophetic role. The New Testament only ad [...]
“Princeton University’s Program on Science and Global Security concludes the Gog battle is a ‘realistic scenario,’” a recent article from WND reports. “The study forecasts the toll of a massive nuclear war.” Christian prophecy writers have been making similar claims for decades. Are they right? Before we get into the meat of the controversy, it should be noted that in the premillennial and dispens [...]
Does it matter if we live fearfully or hopefully? Very much so, as Gary points out in this important talk from several years ago. In applying all the Bible to all of life, those “dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1) must have a “new heart” and a “new spirit” so they can rightly understand God’s Word and the world He created for our use (1 Cor. 1:18–25). The “heart of stone” must be removed and [...]
Gary discusses Dwight Wilson’s 1977 book, Armageddon Now. As a premillennialist himself, Wilson was able to see clearly the many mistaken prophecies of his own tradition. The doctrine of the clock of prophecy is central to dispensational theology. But what no paperback dispensationalist prophecy book of the This Time, Armageddon Really Is Near! variety ever discusses is that orthodox dispens [...]
I’ve always said that prophetic views have real world consequences. This is especially true when it comes to popular prophecy beliefs and their relation to prophetic inevitabilities. When Jesus told His disciples that the temple would be destroyed before their generation passed away, He issued a warning. Leave the city. The final warning was when Jerusalem was surrounded by armies (Luke 21:20). Th [...]
The Dispensational system has a horrific future in store for Jewish people living in Israel. What does the Bible say about the future of Israel as it relates to the question of Jerusalem’s prophetic significance? The Old Testament teaches that Israel was taken into captivity in two parts: first, the northern kingdom by the Assyrians in 722 BC, and then the southern kingdom by the Babylonians betwe [...]
In a debate I had with Dr. Michael Brown, I asked him what he thought of the supposed future Jewish holocaust that’s part of premillennialism’s prophetic system based on Zechariah 13:8-9: “It will come about in all the land,” Declares the LORD, “That two parts in it will be cut off and perish; But the third will be left in it. And I will bring the third part through the fire, [...]
Gary answers the perennial charge of “replacement theology,” a phrase that is designed to end debate by those who teach that the church and Israel are distinct and separate. Israel’s spiritual destiny is the same as it is for non-Israelites: Repent and believe in Jesus! No one said anything about a delay in the promises that had been made to Israel centuries ago. In fact, Peter clearly [...]
Gary discusses a new article by Greg Laurie that makes the (same old) argument that modern events “could be” fulfilling biblical prophecies. 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 [...]
