Gary answers a listener question about 2 Thessalonians 2 and the man of lawlessness. Many believe that 2 Thessalonians 2 describes the end times leading up to the rapture of the church, the revealing of antichrist, and the second coming. Tim LaHaye, a representative of this perspective, writes: “Second Thessalonians 2:1–12 contains the rapture, Tribulation, and Glorious Appearing all in one chapte [...]
If you are going to debate a topic, it’s important that you define terms. So much of what our government does is based on muddied definitions of terms. You almost never hear the words “abortion” and “homosexuality” by advocates of these practices. They choose terms to obscure what really takes during an abortion and what kind of sex homosexuals engage in. To mask what is really going on, they lead [...]
Gary discusses several recent media responses to the ongoing abortion debate on today’s podcast. When a nation moves away from the absolutes of God’s law we can expect an immediate substitute to fill the void. The “human rights” idea has become the alternative to biblical law; it now forms the basis and foundation for all spheres of life. Human rights has sand as its foundation because in “h [...]
The House of Representatives and Senate are considering more expansive gun control bills considering the latest school shooting in Texas. These school shootings are horrific and evil. The parents of these children are devastated as I would be. I can’t imagine the anguish they must feel. Some Republicans joined past gun control bills and some of them are working with the Democrats to enact even mor [...]
There are many more Christians who gave up on politics after the election of Ronald Reagan didn’t bring in the millennium or something close to it. And when George H. W. Bush got elected, and Bill Clinton got elected twice, and George W. Bush turned out to be a huge disappointment, hopelessness set in. All that work, and for what? Christians who are experiencing political remorse are really suffer [...]
I saw the following on CSPAN. Catherine Glenn Foster, who serves as President and CEO of Americans United for Life, responded to comments made by DEMOCRAT Representative Jamie Raskin about abortion and rape and incest exceptions that account for less than one percent of all abortions. That means that more than 99 percent of all abortions are elective abortions. Raskin believes abortions should be [...]
Gary discusses a recent media screed about the ‘racist’ nature of homeschooling and Christian schools. All argumentation will inevitably be taken back to a single reference point from which the arguer will appeal for authority to support his worldview. That reference point, for example, might be the expert opinion of others. Of course, these experts are not the ultimate authorities. Th [...]
The following is from the first chapter of Dr. Greg L. Bahnsen’s book The Impossibility of the Contrary, available here. Do not answer a fool according to his folly, lest you also be like him. Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes. — Proverbs 26:4–5 But who is a fool? Sometimes we get a little misled, thinking the Bible is using terms the way we would in contemporar [...]
Gary answers a listener question about the difference between sending the disciples out to the “lost sheep of Israel” in Matthew 10 and the “Great Commission” in Matthew 28. There is a continuity of the people of God—called the ekklēsia in the Greek translation of the Old and New Testament—as well as Old Testament images that were first applied to Israel but in the New Tes [...]
Now behold, a man of God came from Judah to Bethel by the word of the LORD, while Jeroboam was standing at the altar to burn incense. And he cried out against the altar by the word of the LORD and said, “Altar, altar, this is what the LORD says: ‘Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name; and on you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, [...]
Gary discusses a few “contradictions” commonly pointed out by critics. The Bible is literature. God speaks to us in words and themes that can be understood. Not all literature can be interpreted in the same way. Some will claim that the Bible must be interpreted literally. But what does that mean? There are always caveats. Does a dragon really mean a dragon? Should you really pluck out [...]
Gary walks through the book of Matthew pointing out the important passages that relate to preaching the Gospel and the impending judgment awaiting the temple standing in the first century. Does the Bible, especially the New Testament, predict that the temple will be rebuilt? It does not. Why are Jews wanting to rebuild the temple? For the same reason that the temple was maintained prior to its des [...]
When the master of Frederick Douglass (1818–1895) discovered that his wife was teaching his 12-year-old slave to read the Bible, he stopped her. “If he learns to read the Bible it will make him ever unfit to be a slave,” her husband said. In no time “he’ll be running away with himself.” In his later years, Douglass reflected on that incident as the first antislavery lecture he had ever heard, and [...]
Gary discusses why he spends so much time talking about Bible prophecy. The book of Genesis offers a commentary on the way God tells time. Pharaoh dreams of cows and ears of corn, some fat and some lean (Gen. 41:1–7). None of Pharaoh’s magicians and wise men could interpret the dream (41:8). Joseph is finally called upon to try his hand at an interpretation. Through this dream God was telling Phar [...]
Reductio ad Hitlerum (Latin for “reduction to Hitler”), also known as playing the Nazi card, is an attempt to invalidate someone’s position by claiming the same view was held by Adolf Hitler or the Nazi Party. For example, the Alliance Defending Freedom released audio of a Colorado commission member who compared a Christian baker who refused to make a cake for a homosexual wedding this way: “Freed [...]
Gary responds to a recent video and emails he has received that were critical of his views on Matthew 24. Modern writers from all different eschatological positions are beginning to recognize the historical fact that preterist interpretations of John’s visions are not a novelty that has invaded Christian exegesis in recent times. Professor Ron J. Bigalke, Jr. of dispensationalist Tyndale Theologic [...]
Gary answers a question about 1 Thessalonians 4 and encourages Christians to be educated beyond “buzz words” that tend to shut down discussion. The three basic laws of logic are the Law of Identity, the Law of Contradiction (sometimes called the Law of Non-Contradiction), and the Law of Excluded Middle. The Law of Identity states that “A is A.” This means that if any statement is true, [...]
Listen to the podcast based on this article. The abortion roaches have come out in broad daylight since the preliminary SCOTUS Roe v. Wade ruling was surreptitiously leaked to Politico. The abortion roaches are in a full-scale panic like when the light comes on when you’re looking for an after-midnight snack from the kitchen. But in the case of the abortion roaches, they are not retreating to thei [...]
Gary is interviewed by Chris Arnzen on the “Iron Sharpens Iron” radio program about biblical understanding and denominational traditions. Misreading the Bible has led to misunderstandings which have resulted in creating a mythological tradition of nullifying what God’s Word actually says and means. Over time, the traditions have been used by religious authorities to supplant the truth [...]
It’s been said repeatedly that ideas have consequences. This is no less true of prophetic ideas. What a person believes about the future impacts how he lives in the present and plans for the days and years to come. We often look at present circumstances and see them as the standard to evaluate where we are in the world. Of course, we’re not the first generation to do this (Num. 13–14), but it seem [...]
