Does Isaiah 11:11-12 refer to a distant return of Israel back to their land, or did it have a past fulfillment in view? No Jew reading Isaiah 11 in Isaiah’s day, during the time of the exile, and the return under the decree of Cyrus (2 Chron. 36:22-23; Ezra 1:1-4), would have considered such an interpretation given that the chapter mentions Assyria, Shinar, the Philistines, Edom, Moab, “and the so [...]
Listen in as Gary is interviewed about the relationship between individual households and the State. The family is a government ordained by God where husband and wife are in covenant with God and serve as family governors. They have jurisdictional authority to lead, nurture, and direct the family as a training ground for cultural change in terms of kingdom principles. The authority and power given [...]
I’ve debated Michael Brown several times. He believes that God’s promises for Israel have not been fulfilled even though the Bible specifically says they have, at least that’s what Zacharias believed: And [John’s] father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying: “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people, And has ra [...]
Gary answers a listener question about the audience change between Matthew 23 and 24. Jesus warned His disciples to beware of false messiahs. Thomas Ice argues that “there is scholarly consensus that there were not false Christs or Messiahs until around A.D. 130.” To support his claim, he cites the following from a commentary published in 1878: We possess no historical record of any false Messiahs [...]
Oliver Thomas, a retired Baptist minister, wrote that “American churches must reject literalism and admit we got it wrong on gay people.” It appeared in USA Today where he is a member of USA Today’s Board of Contributors. He wrote something similar in 2006 article asking the following question: “What if Christian leaders are wrong about homosexuality?” His later article was similar but with an add [...]
Gary discusses an article about the upcoming presidential election and the fatigue about the entire process being experienced by the majority of voters. There are problems with some kinds of circular arguments. But you might be surprised to know that you can’t help arguing in a circle. At some point, everyone has to argue in a circle. Why? Because everyone has certain assumptions. No one is neutra [...]
Gary interacts with Carl Trueman’s newest books about “expressive individualism” and the modern “truth” of the interior self. The greatest offense to the unbeliever is the Christian’s insistence that there is only one truth. The statement that Jesus is the only way, the only truth, and the only light seems rather closed-minded. For secularists, it seems reasonable tha [...]
With some variations, those who hold to a biblical economic model share many fundamental principles with advocates of an unregulated free market, or, as I hope to demonstrate, free marketers share many fundamental economic principles with advocates of a biblical worldview. John W. Robbins writes, in his critique of Ayn Rand’s Objectivist philosophy, “That the structure of knowledge that she erecte [...]
Gary responds to several recent articles about the state of the world and the end times. While books on the Armageddon theme flood the market, there are a few authors who concern themselves with talk of peace by world leaders: “And now, at long last, the prospect of a peace such as the world has never known before seems to have metamorphosed from an impossible dream to a realistic hope. In fact, t [...]
“Nobody knows anything.”[1] William Goldman, not to be confused with William Golding, author of Lord of the Flies, sums up the problem of attempting to be certain about the success of a film—“Nobody knows anything.”[2] Goldman should know. He was a successful novelist and screenwriter with several Academy Awards and big screen blockbusters to his credit.[3] Goldman was not saying that Hollywood ty [...]
Gary responds to a video where a woman is raging against Christians and the Bible. 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 replaced with a “heart of flesh,” that is, a he [...]
Gary discusses a recent dust-up at a school in Colorado regarding the Gadsden Flag. The 52 signers of the Declaration weren’t dropped from the sky in Philadelphia on July 2. The freshly printed document announced that the 13 American colonies, then at war with Great Britain, were now independent states and no longer part of the British Empire. The decision was not made lightly. Thomas Jefferson ex [...]
In a survey that Left Behind publisher Tyndale did, “More than 50 percent of respondents … said ‘I’m anxiously expecting his return.’” Jan Markell, president of Olive Tree Ministries, writing for a large worldview ministry, argued that “the church is not in the business of taking anything away from Satan but the souls of men.”[1] Hal Lindsey said something similar: “I don’t like clichés but [...]
In this encore episode from a couple of years back, Gary discusses the impossibility of a “neutral” law system. Constitutional scholar Archie Jones argues there is no way to escape legislating morality: Every system of government exists to produce or enforce certain laws, and every law necessarily entails a set of moral assumptions. All morality—even that which is usually supposed to b [...]
In an earlier article and podcast, I responded to a Facebook Post related to the application of God’s law in the NT, including laws found in what is described as the “law of Moses,” actually God’s law. The Mosaic Law is God’s Law that was revealed to Moses. The FB poster went on to write the following: [Gary DeMar] also believes [God’s laws] should be legislated in secular government. There is no [...]
Gary responds to an individual that claims Torah law no longer applies to Christians. Christian Reconstructionist writers revived the older expression of world-and-life-view Calvinism and added the particulars of the Genevan and Puritan models. The revival of this particular expression of world-and-life-view Calvinism has not set well with the critics. As long as Reformed churches were preaching t [...]
I saw the following on a Facebook post indirectly aimed at me. “It frustrates me when people insist that the New Covenant has Torah requirements, i.e., that we are still under the law. Paul pitted law against grace. Grace is not the adapter that connects us to the law; it actually frees us from that slavemaster. We don’t live by an external force like the law; rather, we live by an internal nature [...]
Gary interviews Rhonda Thomas about the current trend in education: social and emotional learning. The goals of the humanists are clear and forthright. They hide nothing and demand everything. The humanist agenda has been relentless in its efforts to remake man and the world in the image of autonomous man. There is no compromise or lack of vision on their part. The humanist worldview is comprehens [...]
How authoritative are man-man confessions of faith? Can they ever be revised or updated? How sacrosanct is historical theology? No one should despise the work of the church over its many centuries or the work it has produced over nearly two millennia. My many published works show great respect for historical works. In some circles, when there’s a disagreement, appeals are made to agreed-upon seemi [...]
Gary interviews Ray Moore with Exodus Mandate about homeschooling, Christian schools, and a debate that Ray did over America’s Christian history. When Israel was taken to the borders of the promised land, twelve spies were called on to survey the land and report their findings to the nation (Num. 13). Before choosing twelve representatives for the task, God promised the land would be theirs: [...]
