The Gary DeMar Podcast

We must always begin with first principles in any debate. In this episode, Gary teaches students how to think about their own assumptions and foundations and why they believe what they claim to believe. Facts are important, but worldview precedes facts and interprets the facts.

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. Richardson challenges those who hold to an early date (i.e., before AD70) to answer his claims, even though he admits that the coin can't actually prove a late date.

Gary briefly discusses the four major interpretive approaches to the book of Revelation. Futurism, Historicism, Idealism, and Preterism have all been promoted—to greater and lesser degrees—throughout church history. What others have believed in the past should not determine how the Bible should be understood, but what the Bible itself actually says.

Gary begins a short lesson on the four views of the book of Revelation. He begins with the most popular: futurism. The vast majority of futurists are premillennial and dispensational as well. A recurring problem with this view is that the dependent pieces of the system are simply not found in the Bible; they're just not there.

Bible Prophecy Under the Microscope-Episode 109
Gary responds to a critic who challenges his interpretation of "this generation" in Matthew's gospel. The critic claims Gary is assuming what he has to prove, but Gary shows the opposite. Words like "generation" can be somewhat arbitrary, but when this phrase is read in other parts of the NT, especially Acts 2, it becomes clear that it is not about many generations, but about a very particular one: those hearing Jesus' words in the first century.