The Gary DeMar Podcast

Gary interviews Robert Cruickshank at a conference in Virginia Beach. Gary and Robert have known each other for a long time through phone calls and email but had never met personally until this interview. The two discuss how questions they had about what they were reading in the Bible led them to where they are today. Get Gary and Bob's new book on Zechariah 14 here: https://store.americanvision.org/products/making-prophetic-sense-of-zechariah-14 

Gary responds to an interview with author Jerry Jenkins of Left Behind fame. Jenkins claims that the Bible tells us that time means something different to God than it means to us, yet he still makes the claim that the end times are "probably soon" to happen. 

Gary discusses an article on the Front Page Magazine website about the current state of craziness in western culture. Could all the political nonsense and cultural insanity be signals of the end of western civilization? If so, what should be the response of concerned Christians? We can either survive or commit suicide—sink or swim—by using what we have at our disposal.

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 continues his interview with artist Dan Riedel about his friendship with Dr. Cornelius Van Til. Far from being a cold academic, Dr. Van Til was a warm, caring individual that wanted to see people come to Christ. He was every bit as much an evangelist as he was a professor. He well understood that the end goal of apologetics was not to win an argument, but a human soul. Check out Dan's artwork here: http://danielhillriedel.com/ 

Gary interviews his long-time friend, Dan Riedel, who painted the artwork for the cover of the new book, The Objective Proof for Christianity. Dan knew Cornelius Van Til well and tells a few stories about his long relationship with the man. Get some of Dan's fantastic art for your home here: http://danielhillriedel.com/ 

Gary responds to claims made by Pastor Loran Livingston in a sermon, where he calls the Trump Bible "disgusting" because it includes the Constitution and Declaration of Independence. Gary also weighs in on Pastor Livingston's claim that Earth is not his home, as well as his own thoughts about adding extra material to printed Bibles.

Gary continues speaking with Rick Welch of The Burros of Berea podcast about Christmas movies. Gary gives a lot of background information about several more films, including Die Hard, Home Alone, and The Three Godfathers. These older films are often dismissed as being "out of touch," but Gary shows that this is far from the truth. They are great lessons about both life and history (among other topics). Get A Christmas Carol audiobook here: https://store.americanvision.org/products/a-christmas-carol-unabridged-audiobook

Gary is interviewed by Rick Welch of The Burros of Berea podcast about old Christmas movies. Gary gives a lot of background information about the two films discussed in this first part (Beyond Christmas and It's a Wonderful Life). These older films can often be dismissed as "out of touch," but Gary shows that this is far from the truth. They are great lessons about both life and history (among other topics). Read Dr. Gary North's article about the economics of It's a Wonderful Life here: https://www.garynorth.com/public/18499.cfm

The defeat of evil and of demonic powers is associated with Halloween. For this reason, Martin Luther posted his 95 challenges to the wicked practices of the Church to the bulletin board on the door of the Wittenberg chapel on Halloween. He picked his day with care, and ever since Halloween has also been Reformation Day. The power of Satan has been broken once and for all, and our children can mock him by dressing up like ghosts, goblins, and witches.

Reality and "truth" are being fragmented by modern political and social efforts and promulgated through the internet and social media. Non-Christian beliefs don't and can't offer anything in terms of a comprehensive worldview. Dr. Gary North joins Gary DeMar on today's episode with a discussion about today's fragmented world.

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 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.

Christianity is a future-oriented worldview. Who inherits what we leave behind? How does our view of the future affect our attitude towards the future? God is the Author of the past, the present, and the future. He owns everything, including time. Does it matter if we live fearfully or hopefully? Very much so, as Gary points out in this important talk from several years ago

Gary answers a listener question about the word "church" and how it is used by the Bible and interpreters over the years. Is God "doing something new" in the New Testament, or is He fulfilling exactly what He promised in the Old Testament? Was God's plan for His people changed when they rejected Jesus as their Messiah? 

Gary answers a listener question about the supposed historical fact that Antipas (mentioned in Revelation 2:13) was martyred in the mid-90s AD under Domitian. If true, this would mean the book of Revelation was written after the destruction of the city and the temple in AD 70. Preterists maintain that the book was written during Nero's reign in the mid-60s AD. So which view is correct and why does it matter?

Too much time and money, we hear, are spent on the public side of Christmas — the hustle and bustle of shopping, the lavish decorations, and the often insincere displays of seasonal piety. Meanwhile, the true spirit of Christmas gets left behind. Some even argue that all public displays of Christmas are inappropriate. Read the article on the American Vision website: https://americanvision.org/posts/let-s-keep-christmas-commercialized/

Gary discusses an article by Daniel Hummel about how concordances made Dispensationalism—and a "scientific" approach to Bible reading—possible. We take many of our modern study tools for granted, but each new help has brought with it challenges and unintended consequences to how we read and interpret Scripture. NOTE: This episode was recorded in 2022 before Daniel Hummel's book, The Rise and Fall of Dispensationalism, was released. You can get a copy here: https://store.americanvision.org/products/the-rise-and-fall-of-dispensationalism Read Daniel Hummel's article on concordances here: https://www.christianitytoday.com/2022/11/concordance-context-bible-reading-dispensationalism-literal/

One from the archives, almost exactly three years ago. The more things change, they more they don't. Political liberals are more than willing to use every means necessary to get their message out, even breaking tax laws. Conservatives and Christians seldom have this boldness. In fact, many Christians don't even see the reason to be involved. The Apostle Paul would not agree.

Gary discusses the film, The Omega Man, with Charlton Heston. Based on the book I Am Legend (with a 2007 Will Smith remake as well), the film is very prophetic considering modern climate armageddonists claiming that the "end is near" thanks to our continuing use of fossil fuels.  Read Eric Peters' articles here: https://www.ericpetersautos.com/

Gary discusses Revelation 20 and the enduring topic of the thousand years and the various millennial positions found among Christians. None of the major positions base their view explicitly on the small amount of information found in Revelation 20, which means they look elsewhere in the Bible for support. 

Gary continues his talk on the Christian worldview. He discusses the concept of "borrowed capital," or how non-Christians steal morality and ethics from Christians in order to argue against them. Only Christianity provides the moral and ethical foundation for life; an evolutionary worldview can provide only an "everyone for themselves" approach to life. There is no love, equality, family, or compassion in a random chance world.

Gary discusses the concept of "church ages" and what the letters to the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3 represent. Are we in the "last age," the Laodicean age? Or could the text simply mean what it says and be referring to seven historical churches in the mid-first century? And does this mean that Revelation 2 and 3 mean nothing to us today?

Gary answers a listener question about the two witnesses from Revelation 11. Are these actual people, or groups of people, or something else? There is of course an Old Testament applicability to these witnesses and we must not ignore the OT requirement in interpreting Revelation 11, as well as the rest of the book.

The passing of Ronald Sider in 2022 presented an opportunity for Gary to tell the sad history of Christian socialism in America. Acts 4-5 is often appealed to as an example of this, but as Gary points out, it was 1) voluntary, and 2) tied to the coming destruction of Jerusalem. Christians must not be manipulated into unproductive mindsets by academic and economic guilt peddlers. Get David Chilton's masterful response to Christian Socialism: https://store.americanvision.org/products/productive-christians-in-an-age-of-guilt-manipulators

Gary responds to a recent article that discusses Matthew 24:22. "Unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened." The article claims this is referring to all people on earth, but Gary points out the context and meaning that the verse is actually talking about. It's about the end of the age, not the end of the world.

Gary discusses a recent article that makes the claim that the end times are finally upon us because eclipses are writing Hebrew letters in the sky. While most of the prophetic signs that modern writers claims as "proof" of what the Bible says will happen are usually arbitrary, this one stretches credulity beyond the limits of reason and biblical revelation.

Gary responds to a podcast episode where a biblical scholar reinterprets Paul as being purely "heavenly-minded." Claiming that Paul was convinced that a major eschatological event was in his future (especially in 1 Corinthians 7), the scholar believes that 1) Paul was mistaken, and 2) he was more concerned with spiritual realities than physical conditions in the first century anyway. 

The Gospel of Jesus was "a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles" (1 Corinthians 1:23). Despite being in the cultural minority, the early church "turned the world upside down" (Acts 17:6). Gary discusses the Christian worldview, how we got where we are today, and how we get back to being world-changers.

God created trees. He made them for us: for home building, decoration, shade, construction of fences, tables, chairs, sheds, and so much more. Just because pagans might have carved up a tree to make an image of a false god to be worshipped does not mean that we can't use them to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, God's "indescribable gift" to us (2 Cor. 9:15). Read Gary's article here: https://americanvision.org/posts/are-christmas-trees-pagan-symbols/

Like many in Israel at the time of Jesus' birth, Christians today are looking for a political savior to rescue them and break the chains of tyranny. Christian leaders tell people to look up and ahead to Jesus' second coming and rejoice that their "redemption is drawing near" (Luke 21:28). But was this the response of Simeon and Anna? Were they rejoicing in what God would do millennia in the future, or were they rejoicing about what God was doing then? Read the article mentioned in this episode at the American Vision website.  

One from the archives. Gary answers an interesting question that was submitted to another podcast. The question is tied to Jesus' words in Matthew 24 about "this generation" and the Pharisees as "brood of vipers" in Matthew 23. This question, which Gary had never heard before, caused a lot of discussion on the show and revealed that far from questioning the timestamp of Matthew 24:34, it actually confirms it even more. Note: This was originally recorded in Dec 2021, when Dr. Heiser was still actively posting podcasts. He died in February 2023 after a long battle with pancreatic cancer.

Gary answers a listener question regarding Matthew 24:29-31. Did stars fall from the sky and did the angels gather the elect in AD 70? If so, how? When interpreting Scripture, we must not let the events change the time. If a particular event doesn't meet our expectations, we need to ask why according to the rest of the Bible, not our assumptions. The time texts constrain the events to a particular timeframe. "This generation," "immediately," "right at the door," and other phrases indicate the time all of the events mentioned in Matthew 24 will happen.

Listen in as Gary is interviewed on the Plow and Potato show. The topic is the relationship between individual households and the State. Who's in charge, and what's their jurisdiction? These questions and many more are discussed in this short but insightful exchange.

Gary responds to a video where a pastor claims you must "rightly divide the Bible," based on 2 Timothy 2:15. By this he means that you must rightly divide the "people" of God into Jew and Gentile and understand New Testament passages in light of "the Church age." The Bible never speaks of a "Church age" but this does not prevent many from claiming that it must be there all the same. They claim it is inferred and is the "key" to correctly interpreting Jesus' prophetic words in the Olivet Discourse. Watch the video here. Get Last Days Madness here: https://store.americanvision.org/products/last-days-madness 

In this interview from a couple years back, Gary talks movies and television with Loor.TV screenwriter Jason Farley. As a former pastor, Jason recognizes the Bible as a story, and how its story should influence our own entertainment and storytelling. Culture is affected most deeply by its stories, and Christians too often tell weak stories in very poor ways with unrealistic characters. If Christianity is serious about changing the culture it must begin writing and telling better stories.