The Gary DeMar Podcast

Bible Prophecy Under the Microscope-Episode 54 Gary continues going through Daniel 9 and the 70 weeks prophecy. He connects the events of Daniel 9:24-27 to the rest of the Bible and proves that a gap is not necessary, but a reassessment of the timing of certain events might be. Assuming these events are still in our future has created all sorts of strange interpretations in history.

Gary talks about a recent message delivered by Pastor Jack Hibbs to California pastors about legislation being proposed in their state. Hibbs is to be commended for his political awareness and boldness and encouraging others to speak the truth, but his own eschatological views unfortunately undermine his effectiveness in the civil realm. 

After a quick update of current projects, Gary discusses some Facebook craziness about weather patterns and the end times. Many people have no conception of history and what was claimed using the same Bible verses even just 10 years ago. There is nothing new under the sun, as Solomon in Ecclesiastes would put it.

Bible Prophecy Under the Microscope-Episode 53 So much of modern eschatology, especially Dispensationalism, rely on four verses (24–27) in Daniel 9 to make their system hold together. This is suspect enough, but then to make it work chronologically, they need to insert huge gaps of years. Daniel's timebound prophecy that uses "weeks of years" to indicate when the time would be near is made useless by adding a gap of thousands of years.

Gary recommends a book by Pete and Rachel Wrue called End Times Explained. Although Rachel died in March, she left us with two very helpful books that she wrote along with her husband in the area of eschatology and the end times. This book, Gary says, would make a great Bible study and a great introduction to biblical eschatology and the various views. Get the book here: https://store.americanvision.org/products/end-times-explained-understanding-the-different-views

Gary discusses several news stories involving Charlie Kirk and Douglas Wilson. The Left is getting nervous and beginning to reveal its hand with these "red meat journalism" hit pieces. Thinking they are exposing crazy views by the Right, they are actually revealing their own insanity and illogical views. The presuppositional approach has that effect, as Greg Bahnsen showed years ago. Watch the CNN interview with Doug Wilson here.

Gary discusses the popular signs spoken of in the NT that people today use to claim that the last days are upon us. All these events need to be read in light of the first century context, which Jesus says is "this generation." All of these natural phenomena were given as signs to them, not to us.

Gary plays a recent clip of Piers Morgan who claims that Jesus never talked about abortion. He challenges people to "read the red letters" of the New Testament to see if Jesus ever mentioned the topic of abortion. There are many topics that are big in our modern cultural political climate that Jesus didn't mention. Gary brings the truth and the biblical understanding to the topic.

Gary debunks the idea of the "good old days," and how people claim they want to return to them. Our memories are very selective when we think about "how things used to be." We are very quick to forget about all of the bad things that came along with the "good old days."

Bible Prophecy Under the Microscope-Episode 51 Gary answers a commenter who claims that 2 Thessalonians 2 refers to the need for a rebuilt (third) temple in our future. Regular listeners will immediately recognize the lack of first century context in the claim (when a rebuilt temple was actually standing) and basically requires all of the elements of the first century to be reinstituted and remade.

Gary responds to an interview clip from a state representative from Texas named James Talarico, who claims abortion is compatible with the Bible. Gary has discussed statements from Talarico before regarding the Ten Commandments. He is attending seminary and studying to be a pastor, but his ignorance of biblical topics is truly astounding.

Gary discusses the newest book project for American Vision. The Great Debate: Does God Exist? is at the printers and is an expanded and explained transcript of the historic 1985 debate between Dr. Gordon Stein and Dr. Greg Bahnsen. This debate is a classic of presuppositional apologetics and still stands as the ultimate example of showing that God's existence (and immaterial things :) is not only logical, it is absolutely essential.

Bible Prophecy Under the Microscope-Episode 50 Gary discusses a short video clip by John MacArthur regarding the chronology of the book of Revelation. Once again, textual time indicators are ignored in favor of pushing all the events of the book into the near (always near) future. But how can we read a book that uses words like "soon," "shortly," "quickly" and claim that it wasn't near in time for Christians that came before us?

Gary answers a question that we get often: "If so much of the New Testament is fulfilled, now what do we do?" It's a bit of a confounding question because people are essentially saying Jesus accomplishing all that He said He would isn't good enough. We live in a whole new world, one that isn't bound to the death and futility of the sacrificial system and the types and shadows of the Old Covenant.

Gary discusses the recent controversy with Chip and Joanna Gaines' new show and homosexuality. The Gaines are Christians and made the decision to have a homosexual couple on their show "Back to the Frontier" and have been receiving backlash online for it. Chip Gaines even went so far to defend the decision and chided Christians for their unwillingness to "learn."

Bible Prophecy Under the Microscope-Episode 49 Gary responds to a challenge issued to him on Facebook about the great tribulation and the "end times." The challenge-writer is convinced that we are living in the last days now, based on Israel becoming a nation again in 1948, and all of the modern "signs" of the times confirming Jesus warnings from the Olivet Discourse.

Gary revisits a topic he discussed a few months back about churches and pastors making political endorsements. It has long been believed that churches cannot even mention politics or candidates due to the threat of losing their tax-exempt status. The IRS has finally come out with a statement making the matter very clear. What excuse will churches use now?

Gary responds to a video clip of Bart Ehrman about various laws from Leviticus. Ehrman tries to equate same-sex relationships with wearing clothes of mixed fabrics because they happen to be stated near each other. His tactics are typical in the non-Christian bubble of atheists and skeptics. Gary shows how his "argument" doesn't actually hold water.

Bible Prophecy Under the Microscope-Episode 48 Gary deals with recent claims of what or who the "antichrist" is and how 666 fits in. As usual, most of these claims fail to take the first century timetable into consideration, which makes them (of course) apply everything to their own day and things they are reading or hearing on the internet.

Gary discusses a few "contradictions" commonly pointed out by critics. These textual "issues" seem to be difficult on the surface, but a bit of deeper reading makes it obvious that these "problems" with the Biblical text are not really problems at all. Christians must read in order to understand, and recognize that differences in how things are reported in the Bible are theologically significant and add depth and layers to the text as a whole.

Gary comments on several news items, including a real head-scratcher where some liberals want to say babies in the womb are citizens, despite the fact that they will argue in other situations that the "fetus" is not actually a human baby. Apparently the mother's intention is what creates or negates the humanity of what's in her womb.

Bible Prophecy Under the Microscope-Episode 47 Gary responds to a recent video by end-times speculator Jonathan Cahn about how we are "watching prophecy unfold before our eyes." This parlor trick is very old and has been used thousands of times by many other end-times alarmists. Listeners must be aware that none of this is new, and the current news cycle does not determine what the Bible means or how we do exegesis.

Gary answers email questions that he has received recently about Romans 11 and what "all Israel" being saved means. The most influential and popular view is Dispensationalism and its understanding of this passage is to split it off and push it far into the future. This doesn't work exegetically or contextually, where Paul is talking about his own present day.

Gary answers a listener question about the parenthetical statement in the Gospels about "letting the reader understand." Other similar instances are also found in other areas of the NT. Were these something that was said originally, or were they added by the author as a clue to how to interpret the context? 

Bible Prophecy Under the Microscope-Episode 46 Gary discusses how to read the book of Revelation. Christians too often fail to take the context of the first century into consideration when reading Revelation and instead interpret it based on events in their own time. But how would the original audience and readers have understood and interpreted the letter based on what they had available to them soon after Jesus' ascension in the days of the early church? 

Gary discusses a few "things in the news" and gives his unique spin on them. He mentions that in addition to the usual nonsense happening, there are also signs that things are slowly changing. The support for Pride Week is at an all-time low, and many businesses are shutting down funding for this and other DEI initiatives.

Gary discusses Islam, the Gospel, and the recent "interview" of Ted Cruz by Tucker Carlson. Cruz supports Israel because he says "the Bible commands it." But is this true? Do Christians have a scriptural obligation to support Israel (financially, politically, and militarily) regardless of their reasons for going to war with the countries around them?

Bible Prophecy Under the Microscope-Episode 45 Gary answers a very often-asked question these days about Israel's role in the biblical "end times." It will come as no surprise to any regular listener, but Gary explains why modern-day Israel does not have any prophetic significance, including their current "wars and rumors of wars."

Gary discusses two recent writings: one a book by Andrew Klavan and the other an article in World Magazine. Both deal with the question often asked by Dr. Gary North: "What is the proper response?" The Bible has the answers to today's moral dilemmas, but too often people believe that modern issues require modern solutions. The Bible deals with human life as it is, not in an idealized way. For this reason, its "ancient" answers are exactly what we need.

Gary responds to comments from critics on Facebook to his recent article about Acts 24:15 and the Greek word mello. The point of the debate is getting somewhat lost, but Gary shows (again) that some of the original Three Questions letter signers teach the very same thing that Gary is saying about Acts 24:15 and mello (about to be). 

Bible Prophecy Under the Microscope-Episode 44 Gary discusses Bible prophecy and timing. Making predictions about the future is easy if the events are hundreds or thousands of years in the future. There is no way to verify the veracity of the "prophet," which means there's no way to enforce Deuteronomy 13 & 18 and the test of the prophet. The NT is very clear that the events it is speaking about are "soon" to take place.

Gary discusses a recent interview with entrepreneur Peter Thiel about particular views he has about Christianity. Thiel claims to be a Christian, but has some contradictory views to the Bible, as well as some strange ideas about eschatology. While the Bible can inform modern ideas and cultural movements, it is primarily relating real events, not high-level philosophies.

Gary responds to a critic accusing him of nefarious Bible study tactics, including "cherry picking" select commentaries and tools. While "cherry-picking" does indeed sound bad and something one should never do, the question must be asked: How else would you do it? If we cannot select sources that help bolster our own views or reveal the weakness of opposing views for fear of being a "cherry-picker," how then should we do scholarship?  

Bible Prophecy Under the Microscope-Episode 43 Gary responds to a recent article that presents a tired old argument that a rebuilt temple in Jerusalem is going to happen soon. The Bible speaks about Jesus being the fulfillment of all the requirements of the OT, not remaking everything, which would be an abomination to the finished work of Jesus Christ.

Gary discusses a recent article responding to one of his articles about the Greek word mello. Luke, the author of Acts, uses this word often throughout his history of the Apostles and the Early Church. Most places it's used it means "about to be," but there's some dispute about what it means in several places, especially in Paul's trials near the end of the book.

Gary comments on several recent news items, hoping to bring a bit of sanity (and biblical worldview) to the cultural craziness. The Catholic Church, SPLC, Charlie Kirk, transgenderism, and track and field all get a bit of analysis from Gary. He even closes the episode with a bit of health advice. It has something for everyone!

Bible Prophecy Under the Microscope-Episode 42 Gary concludes his response to John Piper's book, Come, Lord Jesus. Time statements, context, and other books of the Bible help us to understand what words and phrases in the Bible actually mean. We also need to be careful that we are interpreting biblical words in light of how an ancient audience would understand it, not how a 21st century audience does.

Gary responds to a listener from Australia that wonders about how certain Greek words are translated in the new Legacy Standard Bible. Presuppositions, especially eschatological ones, are powerful and affect how translators interpret Greek words, which in turn influences their translation efforts.

Gary discusses the inconsistent application of religion and politics between the two American political parties. Churches and pastors MUST be involved not only in biblical studies, but in the application of such studies, including in politics. All biblical worldview issues have real-world application, which is the actual reason for teaching the biblical issues in the first place.

Bible Prophecy Under the Microscope-Episode 41 Gary continues his review of John Piper's book, Come, Lord Jesus. Pastor Piper discusses the actual language used by Jesus in the NT, but still argues that Jesus' words didn't actually mean what they appear to mean. Jesus promised He would come before that generation in the first century died, but Pastor Piper disagrees.

Gary discusses the newest media darling, Steven Hasan, and his BITE model of determining "cult" behavior. Far from being useful, Hasan's model could be used to define nearly any group as a "cult." Businesses, clubs, schools, churches, and even families could be defined as "cults" according to Hasan's methodology, and now even the FBI has jumped on board. 

Gary discusses recent discussions he's had with people regarding eschatology and creedal authority. It seems that every theological topic of debate can be settled with Bible verses, except eschatology and especially ones about the "Three Questions." The arguments that most of Gary's critics make are circular and based on certain assumptions that aren't actually biblical. 

Bible Prophecy Under the Microscope-Episode 40 Gary begins reviewing John Piper's book, Come Lord Jesus. Most Christians haven't even thought about what it means that Jesus "comes," and definitely not in the context of many references to God "coming" in the Old Testament. This is very important and necessary to defining the entire "end time" framework. 

Gary brings some "Memes of the Week" to discuss the current "outrage" from leftist opportunists. Some are claiming to be "offended" by a meme that shows Trump in popish attire. It is typical of these people to suddenly get religious when it suits their agenda, however much their claims are contradicted by what they say and do elsewhere.

Gary responds to an article written by a Vanderbilt professor that uses outdated information to make her argument. The professor quotes from Dr. Bruce Waltke in a 1968 Christianity Today article about abortion (Dr. Waltke has since changed his view) to dismiss Christians opposed to climate change. If it sounds ridiculous and confusing, it's because it is. But it's the state of modern "scholarship." Download Gary's written response here: https://americanvision.org/images/uploads/abortion-biblical-law-and-the-civil-magistrate_final.pdf

Bible Prophecy Under the Microscope-Episode 39 Rick Welch takes over the Gary DeMar Podcast and interviews Kirk Cameron. Kirk has been very active lately in helping to promote American history, family values, and an optimistic world-and-life-view. Formerly known as a teen actor and "the Left Behind Guy," Kirk details some of the influences that have helped inform and guide his current work.

Gary comments on a recent speech by Illinois Governor J. B. Pritzker. The governor uses inflammatory rhetoric to disparage (and warn it seems) Republicans about potential reprisals if they continue on their current path. He also refers to those who support President Trump as "quislings" that will not be tolerated.

Gary has been around long enough that what he has written 30 years ago is now current again. Christian Reconstructionism was a movement that bothered a lot of people in the 1980s and 90s and today the boogeyman is Christian Nationalism. The arguments against both are nearly the same, even though Reconstruction and Nationalism aren't the same. What they actually have in common is bad and unbiblical critiques by authors who should know better. Read the article Gary is responding to here: https://www.christianpost.com/voices/the-rise-of-coerced-cultural-christianity-a-disturbing-trend.html

Bible Prophecy Under the Microscope-Episode 38 Gary sits down with his friend Robert Cruickshank at the recent Berean Bible Conference. The two answer a listener question about Revelation 20, which is a very difficult chapter. However, as Gary points out, nearly every eschatological "system" assumes this chapter says much more than it actually does. Gary and Bob try to keep it real and biblical. 

Back for a third time, Gary highlights a few of his favorite "Memes of the Week." He discusses track and field, transgenderism, abortion, atheism, presuppositionalism, and much more. There's always much to learn when Gary is selecting the memes.

Gary compares the two approaches to funding between Hillsdale College and Harvard. Despite having an enormous endowment of billions of dollars, Harvard still takes a large amount of tax money every year. Hillsdale takes none, not even indirectly. The school saw the trap of federal money from early on. So many colleges in the country are dependent on government money yet still have high tuition and less control over their product.