What Christian non-voters don’t know about Islam may end up enslaving them or worse. Of course, not all Muslims are Jihadists, but more than 300 million are. Jihadist strategists do not believe they can militarily destroy the United States, so they target its social, economic, and political foundations to cause internal collapse. There are too many Christians who avoid politics to fight Islam, a r [...]

We must always begin with first principles in any debate. The Bible states a simple but fundamental fact: God’s government over all things is singular, absolute, without compromise, and without legitimate competitors. All earthly governments are delegated by God’s decree and limited. Contrary to the Declaration of Independence, it’s false to claim that “governments are instituted among men, derivi [...]

Bible Prophecy Under the Microscope-Episode 110 Gary responds to a recent video by Joel Richardson about a Roman coin that he claims “proves” that the book of Revelation was written during Domitian’s reign. 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 unani [...]

Gary briefly discusses the four major interpretive approaches to the book of Revelation. Revelation uses many Old Testament symbols: eating scrolls, beasts, marks on the forehead, gold, thrones, sun, moon, stars, candlesticks, Balaam, Jezebel, dragon, Gog and Magog, Sodom, Egypt, and Babylon. It’s unlikely that Old Testament references to people and places appeared either in John’s day, or will ap [...]

A documentary film called 1946 claims that the 1946 Revised Standard Version translation imported the word “homosexuality” into the Bible when the New Testament does not use the word “homosexual.” “[A] translational error caused the word homosexual to be added to the Bible 80 years ago.” The 1946 documentary is making its rounds again. I saw it being promoted on Facebook. Let’s test this argument. [...]

Gary begins a short lesson on the four views of the book of Revelation. Political tyranny and religious apostasy are not necessarily signs of impending eschatological destruction. They, too, have been with us since the Fall. The light of the gospel was nearly extinguished as the church approached the sixteenth century. Few could ever have predicted what was about to happen, not only in terms of Ch [...]

Bible Prophecy Under the Microscope-Episode 109 Gary responds to a critic who challenges his interpretation of “this generation” in Matthew’s gospel. In Matthew 24:33, the word “you” (plural) is used twice: “so, you too, when you see all these things, recognize [lit. know] that He is near, right at the door.” Who does Jesus say will see “all these things”? Certainly not a future [...]

Propagandizing, media bias, and selective fact-finding to manipulate people have a long history. It’s much more sophisticated today. Keeping people in the dark about the issues of the day is a practice used by both sides of any debate. Socialism is all the rage, and yet rarely do we find today’s media outlets examining the actual impact of socialist policies. The same is true of communism, abortio [...]

Gary continues his lesson on hermeneutics by looking briefly at the context and time words that bookend the book of Revelation. The past fulfillment of most of the prophecies in Revelation 4-19 is compellingly suggested by the various time indicators contained in its less symbolic, more didactic introduction and conclusion. Revelation 1:1 opens the prophecies of Revelation and prepares the reader [...]

Jonathan Sedlak, author of Reading Matthew, Trusting Jesus: Christian Tradition and First-Century Fulfillment within Matthew 24-25, told me in a recent phone call that it was John MacArthur’s book The Second Coming: Signs of Christ’s Return and the End of the Age (2006) that led him to investigate preterism because it mentioned several preterists, including me (although my name is misspelled as De [...]

Gary begins a short course on hermeneutics—the art and practice of interpretation—on today’s podcast. The Bible can be an intimidating book, but it doesn’t have to be. We must be like the Bereans who examined “the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11). Too often, Christians rely on so-called Bible experts and complicated charts that include gaps in time, ou [...]

Bible Prophecy Under the Microscope-Episode 108 Gary concludes his response to Ayo, who had questions about preterism and decided to return to dispensationalism. God’s presence was a sign of blessing because of Israel’s special covenantal status (Isa. 55:3; Jer. 1:19) and His departure was a sign of judgment, neither of which were physical. For the nations, God’s presence was a sign of judgment be [...]

Our Declaration of Independence states in unequivocal terms that we are “endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights”; among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The logic of the Declaration is clear: No God—no rights. This premise is no longer foundational in the United States or in once-Christian Europe. We are following in the footsteps of the radical revolutionarie [...]

The judge in Lindsay Clancy’s murder trial declared a mistrial. Why? Because one juror believed she was guilty of murder, while the other 11 jurors believed she should not be convicted of murder. A mother who drowned her 3 children in 1954 killed again after being shown leniency. An Illinois mother had become “very invested” in the high-profile Lindsay Clancy murder trial before prosecutors [...]

Bible Prophecy Under the Microscope-Episode 107 Gary concludes his initial response to Ayo, who claims to have left preterism for dispensationalism. John was a “fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance in Jesus” (Rev. 1:9; see 2 Thess. 1:4). The church at Smyrna was experiencing a “tribulation” that Jesus knew about (Rev. 2:9). This tribulation period is in our past. The tim [...]

Three years ago, I discovered a bulge in my left calf. I checked online to determine what it might be. Not much help. I went to the local Doc-in-the Box. From there, I made an appointment with an Orthopedic doctor. After several tries, he was stumped. He could have speculated, but he did not want to scare me. He got me an appointment with an Orthopedic Oncologist. A lot of “could be this or that. [...]

Red heifer stories are in the news. “The delivery of five red heifers to Israel has sparked a worldwide debate about its significance in biblical prophecy, particularly among Christians who believe a third temple will be built during the End Times,”[1] of which the New Testament says nothing. You will search the New Testament with a fine-tooth comb, and you won’t find any mention of another temple [...]

Bible Prophecy Under the Microscope-Episode 106 Gary begins a response to an individual who says he left partial preterism for dispensationalism. What did the church in Philadelphia think Jesus meant when He told them, “I am coming soon [ταχύς]; hold fast what you have, so that no one will take your crown”? (Rev. 3:11) Who is Jesus addressing? A local church in Asia Minor. He told them to “hold fa [...]

Albert Mohler asked this question in the July 2006 issue of TABLETALK, a monthly devotional published by Ligonier: “Is Your Church Worth Invading?” Good question. What will your church leadership do if the Federal Government and your state government and their courts tell your pastor to stop preaching against homosexuality and abortion or any other concocted political evil? Now is the time to disc [...]

Gary continues his comments on a recent interview with author and apologist Frank Turek. He talks about worldview, culture, history, and “Grape Juice Christianity.” During my talk that morning, after describing how Christians might teach on Paul’s actions after he was beaten and imprisoned by the Roman government in Acts 16 as “Grape Juice Christianity” that grape juice does not burst [...]