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Wars and Rumors of Wars: What Jesus Really Said About the End of the Age, Earthquakes, A Great Tribulation, Signs in the Heaves, and His Second Coming

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Wars and Rumors of What Jesus Really Said About the End of the Age, Earthquakes, A Great Tribulation, Signs in the Heaves, and His Second Coming

A first-century interpretation of the Olivet Discourse was once common in commentaries and narrative-style books that describe the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70.

There is also a history of skeptics who turn to Bible prophecy and claim Jesus was wrong about the timing of His coming at “the end of the age” and the signs associated with it.

A mountain of scholarship shows that the prophecy given by Jesus was fulfilled in exacting detail when He said it before the generation of those to whom He was speaking passed away.

Skeptics read the Olivet Discourse in the right way, but come to the wrong conclusion. Christian futurists read it the wrong way and come to a different wrong conclusion.

Jesus predicted that He would return within the time period of that generation alone. Unfortunately, too many Christians are giving the wrong answer when skeptics claim Jesus was mistaken.

Everything Jesus said would happen before that generation passed away did happen.

About the Gary DeMar is a graduate of Western Michigan University (1973) and Reformed Theological Seminary (1979) and the author of more than 30 books on a variety of topics, from God and Government and Thinking Straight in a Crooked World to Memory Mechanics and America’s Christian History. His works on Bible prophecy are The Early Church and the End of the World, Last Days Madness, The Gog and Magog End-Time Alliance, Prophecy Wars, Left Separating Fact from Fiction, Identifying the Real Last Days Scoffers, and others.

197 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 30, 2017

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About the author

Gary DeMar

94 books77 followers
Gary is a graduate of Western Michigan University (1973) and earned his M.Div. at Reformed Theological Seminary in 1979. In 2007, he earned his Ph.D. in Christian Intellectual History from Whitefield Theological Seminary. Author of countless essays, news articles, and more than 27 book titles, he also hosts The Gary DeMar Show, and History Unwrapped—both broadcasted and podcasted. Gary has lived in the Atlanta area since 1979 with his wife, Carol. They have two married sons and are enjoying being grandparents to their grandson. Gary and Carol are members of Midway Presbyterian Church (PCA).

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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
Profile Image for Eduardo Corona.
16 reviews1 follower
January 23, 2023
Pretty convincing in arguing that the events described by Jesus in Matthew 24 have already taken place. If you are willing to have your belief about the future challenged, read this.
Profile Image for John.
850 reviews191 followers
March 1, 2018
DeMar methodically, and utterly convincingly shows that Jesus' Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21 was a prophecy for the generation that heard him give it. He argues, unlike many other scholars, that the entirety of the discourse was given to that generation, and then fulfilled before that generation passed away.

This is in contrast to contemporary scholars that have moved away from this interpretation, which had always been the teaching of the church. Contemporary scholars, influenced by dispensationalism, argue that much of what Jesus prophesied has yet to occur.

But as DeMar shows, it is impossible to get this out of the text, for the entire text is very clearly spoken to "you" and "this generation." There is no ambiguity, nor any room for pushing out some of the prophecies by thousands of years. DeMar also writes extensively about translating "genea" as "generation" rather than "race" as some try to do.

After reading many books and studying eschatology for many years now, I have concluded, as others have, that we must first properly understand the gospels--especially the Olivet Discourse before attempting to understand Revelation and discussing "the millennium." Instead, most read their own views of the millennium back upon the gospels and never truly understand what the Bible teaches concerning eschatology.

This is a great single volume on the Olivet Discourse and will be of great service in beginning to understand eschatology.
Profile Image for Christopher Humphrey .
285 reviews14 followers
September 29, 2021
In "Wars and Rumors of Wars" Gary DeMar explores eschatology through the lens of Jesus' words found in the Olivet Discourse. DeMar is a preterits, and so he believes that the Olivet Discourse relates entirely to events as they transpired in AD 70. In other words, the prophetic utterances of Jesus as revealed in the Discourse have already taken place. This view is unlike Historic Pre-Millenaialists and Dispensational Pre-Millenialists and some post-Millenialists who believe there is yet to be a return of Christ for His Church and for Judgment at the end of the age.

From this volume it is not entirely clear to me whether DeMar is a radical preterist or a partial preterist (like RC Sproul). There is a vast gulf between those positions that has important theological implications for the once for all delivered to the saints faith.

The value of this book is the questions asked by the author, which challenge the majority report regarding the applicability of Jesus' words for future events. While I would disagree with DeMar regarding his conclusions, I am thankful to be driven to God's Word in order to strengthen my understanding of His word.

Given the subject matter of this book, and given the confusion it could cause, I would not recommend this book to anyone but a mature believer. This is meat, not milk. Happy reading!
Profile Image for Travis Daggett.
205 reviews3 followers
June 5, 2025
Well-researched and devastating to the futurist interpretation.
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