Bible Prophecy Under the Microscope-Episode 104 Gary does a deep dive on the absence of a seven-year period discussed in the New Testament, which is crucial for many end-time theories. Could God have placed a “gap” between the sixty-ninth and seventieth years of Israel’s captivity, adding, say, a hundred years and still maintain that He had kept His word? There is no way He could have done it and [...]

Bible Prophecy Under the Microscope-Episode 103 Gary answers a question he often receives about having conversations with dispensationalists. One of the difficulties dispensationalists have in understanding the Messianic kingdom promised by the prophets is with regard to its fundamental nature. Several major misconceptions lead them astray in this regard. We highlight but three: they assert that t [...]

Bible Prophecy Under the Microscope-Episode 102 Gary responds to a recent video by Pastor Jack Hibbs about the “expiration date of the United States.” When we approach the Scriptures, we must understand, first and foremost, that the Bible is a history book about redemptive history. So, we must ask, “Whose history of redemption is the Bible concerned with? Where was or is this history h [...]

Bible Prophecy Under the Microscope-Episode 101 Gary responds to various views about the seven churches of the book of Revelation. A popular argument for a pre-tribulation rapture is the claim that while the “church” is mentioned 19 times in the first three chapters of the book of Revelation, in chapters 4–18 “there is absolute silence.”[1] Similar to the way author Mark Hitchcock places a gap in [...]

Bible Prophecy Under the Microscope-Episode 100 Gary discusses the date of the writing of the book of Revelation. Quite a bit of diversity existed in early Christianity regarding the date that John wrote the book of Revelation, and the dominance of one opinion is not synonymous with unanimity of opinion. Several writers in recent years have noted that markedly different opinions about the date of [...]

Bible Prophecy Under the Microscope-Episode 99 Gary points out that no one interprets purely “literally,” although many prophecy speculators claim that they do. Jesus often uses the plural “you” in Matthew 24 and in the parallel passages in Mark 13 and Luke 21: “They will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you to the synagogues and prisons, bringing y [...]

Bible Prophecy Under the Microscope-Episode 98 Gary responds to a recent video by Joel Richardson about Matthew 24:15 and the “abomination of desolation.” Futurists need a rebuilt temple in order to project the fulfillment of prophecies related to the abomination of desolation to another time. Is this what Jesus had in view in Matthew 24:15? A careful reading of Scripture will show tha [...]

Bible Prophecy Under the Microscope-Episode 97 Gary discusses common misconceptions about Revelation 3:10 and its context, emphasizing the importance of understanding biblical prophecy within its historical setting. Many commentators from the early and medieval periods held that the hour of testing in Rev. 3:10 was, or could be interpreted as, a first-century persecution. These included Ecumenius [...]

Bible Prophecy Under the Microscope-Episode 96 Gary discusses a verse from the book of Daniel (12:4) that has been widely cited lately in relation to Bible prophecy and artificial intelligence technologies. Those who take [Daniel 12] verse 4 as referring to events at the end of history believe that Daniel’s prophecy is “sealed up” until that time. Only as the second coming of Christ draws near wil [...]

Bible Prophecy Under the Microscope-Episode 95 Gary responds to a video by John Bevere that makes several claims about the pretribulational rapture and what the early church believed about Bible prophecy. History is important, but it is not authoritative. In terms of sola Scriptura, it does not matter what men of the past believed; the Bible is the standard. The argument is often made that some Ch [...]

Please help us meet a $15K matching challenge here Bible Prophecy Under the Microscope-Episode 94 Gary discusses the hermeneutical concept of “audience relevance.” In Matthew 24, Jesus continually uses the second-person plural (“you”) to identify His present audience: “when you see these things” (24:33). Follow the use of “you” throughout the chapter and notice that it refers to Jesus’ [...]

Please help us meet a $15K matching challenge here Bible Prophecy Under the Microscope-Episode 93 Gary takes a closer look at Acts 1:11, which is often pointed to as proof that Jesus will return exactly as He left during the Ascension. At His trial, Jesus told Caiaphas the high priest and the Sanhedrin that they would see “the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power and coming on the clouds [...]

Please help us meet a $15K matching challenge here Bible Prophecy Under the Microscope-Episode 92 Gary responds to an article titled “Major Signs That the End of Life as We Know It is Near.” It’s no wonder that Jesus applied the judgment against Babylon (Isa. 13; Matt. 24:29) to [His own] generation (Matt. 24:34). Peter described that generation as “this perverse generation” (Acts 2:40 [...]

Please help us meet a $15K matching challenge here Bible Prophecy Under the Microscope-Episode 91 Gary interviews Bob Cruickshank, Jr. and Daniel Harden about Ezekiel 38-39 and how the book of Esther connects to it. The Gog and Magog prophecy was an ancient battle fought with ancient weapons — horses, chariots, bows and arrows, swords, clubs, and shields — and has nothing to do with our time. Ther [...]

Please help us meet a $15K matching challenge here Bible Prophecy Under the Microscope-Episode 90 Gary responds to continued feedback from his recent online debate with prophecy writer Joel Richardson about Gog and Magog (Ezekiel 38-39). Jesus tells His disciples that when the temple’s approaching desolation became evident, it would be time to head for the hills. Most roofs in Israel were flat wit [...]

Please help us meet a $15K matching challenge here Bible Prophecy Under the Microscope-Episode 89 Using the analogy of a puzzle, Gary points out that many prophetic systems try to fit biblical facts into their system, but without having the full picture from the front of the puzzle box. Who does Jesus say will see “all these things”? Certainly not a future audience. “So, you too, when you see all [...]

Bible Prophecy Under the Microscope-Episode 88 Gary discusses current Facebook speculation about the war in Iran, Islam, and Ezekiel 39-39. My library is filled with books that attempt to make the case that the events predicted in Ezekiel 38 and 39 are on our prophetic horizon, and it seems that each month a new book appears insisting that “given the current world situation, nuclear war is inevita [...]

Bible Prophecy Under the Microscope-Episode 87 Gary responds to a recent bestselling book by author John Bevere called “The King is Coming.” What Jesus declared on the Mount of Olives and what Matthew records for us was a prophecy about the future of Israel’s then-living generation. Jesus spoke to His present audience around AD 33, and the temple was destroyed in AD 70. The destruction [...]

Bible Prophecy Under the Microscope-Episode 86 Gary responds to another video by Joel Richardson and his claims about the “abomination of desolation.” The abomination of desolation is mentioned in one Old Testament book (Dan. 9:27; 11:31; 12:11). The book of Maccabees, a non-inspired book written during the intertestamental period, mentions the abomination of desolation and its relatio [...]

Bible Prophecy Under the Microscope-Episode 85 Gary responds to a recent video from Joel Richardson where he claims to refute preterism. Eschatological ideas have consequences, and many Christians are beginning to understand how those ideas have shaped the cultural landscape. A world always on the precipice of some great and inevitable apocalyptic event is not in need of redemption but only of esc [...]