Separating Prophetic Fact from Fiction

In this first part of his recent three-part interview on the Canadian television show, Thrive, Gary recounts his own history with Bible prophecy.

The interpretive methodology outlined in Last Days Madness is not innovative. For nearly 200 years Christians have been sidetracked by a novel interpretive methodology known as dispensational premillennialism. While Last Days Madness is not primarily directed at dispensationalism, much of what is addressed herein is critical of this very popular interpretive prophetic belief system.

After doing numerous radio interviews and debates, I learned where certain arguments could be better stated and supported by Scripture and history. Most of the new books on prophecy simply restate the tired and still unproven assumptions of the old books. The additional study that went into this edition of Last Days Madness has continued to solidify my conviction that the time texts are key indicators of when certain prophetic events will take place. Most books on prophecy do not interpret time texts literally. In fact, some books ignore the time texts altogether.

For example, Robert Van Kampen quotes a portion of Revelation 1:1, leaving out this very important phrase: “the things which must shortly take place.” He follows the same method when he does not quote all of Revelation 1:3, leaving out “for the time is near.” He claims to interpret the Bible literally, but he refuses to handle these texts in a literal way. In his latest book, Van Kampen once again suspiciously fails to deal with the time texts. There is no discussion of Revelation 1:1 (“shortly”) and 1:3 (“near”). Matthew 16:27-28, a crucial time text, is not dealt with. On the dedication page, he concludes with “Come quickly, Lord Jesus,” and yet he does not expound on Revelation 22:20 where Jesus said nearly 2000 years ago, “Yes, I am coming quickly.” In his analysis of those of us who believe the time texts are supremely important, he writes:

Both the allegorical and spiritualized views must deny a literal understanding of the prophecies found in the Book of Daniel, the Olivet Discourse, and the greater part of the Book of Revelation. Preterists view these passages as past, historical events (even though nothing historically has ever happened that bears any resemblance to these specific passages), with minimal end-time relevance.

A preterist is someone who believes that certain prophecies have been fulfilled, that is, their fulfillment is in the past. For example, Floyd Hamilton, writes that there “are in the Old Testament 332 distinct predictions which are literally fulfilled in Christ.” All Christians are preterists regarding these prophecies since they believe they have been fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Jews who are still waiting for the promised Messiah are anti-preterists since they believe these prophetic passages have not been fulfilled. They are futurists.

Last Days Madness

In this authoritative book, Gary DeMar clears the haze of “end-times” fever, shedding light on the most difficult and studied prophetic passages in the Bible, including Daniel 7:13-14; 9:24-27; Matt. 16:27-28; 24-25; Thess. 2; 2 Peter 3:3-13, and clearly explaining a host of other controversial topics.

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In this first part of his recent three-part interview on the Canadian television show, Thrive, Gary recounts his own history with Bible prophecy. Most Christians have never heard any other view of Bible prophecy than the popular Christian bookstore version, and the hosts of this show wanted that to change for their audience.

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