HAVE TONGUES CEASED? A REFORMED ANSWER

Charismatic issue July 31, 2026 Leave a comment

PMW 2026-058 by Anthony Faggiano

Gentry note:
This is an excellent article explaining the cessation of tongues in the first century. The following material is all written by Anthony Faggiano, an elder in a United Reformed Church congregation.

Have Tongues Ceased?
When I first became a Christian, I found myself caught between two worlds at my workplace. On one side were solid evangelical believers who nurtured my early faith with Scripture and sound doctrine. On the other was a small but vocal group of charismatic Pentecostals who handed me cassette tapes by Benny Hinn and Kenneth Copeland, insisting that their practice of speaking in tongues was the essential evidence of the Holy Spirit’s work.

What troubled me the most was their warning: if I rejected what these “faith teachers” were doing, I risked committing the unpardonable sin, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. As a young believer, I faced a question that felt dreadfully urgent: was the gift of speaking in tongues still given to the church today, or had it ceased with the apostles? Continue reading →

OLIVET’S TWO QUESTIONS (2)

AD 70, Second Coming, Uncategorized July 28, 2026 Leave a comment

PMW 2026-057 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr.

I am continuing my presentation of the evidence that the Disciples of Christ ask him two questions in Matthew 24:3, not three questions. See preceding posting.

Eighth, disciples’ confusion tendencies. In their question the disciples confound two separate issues. In their interaction with Jesus in Matthew 24:1–3, their tendency to confusion leads them to associate the destruction of the temple with “your parousia and the end of the age.” And this despite the fact that they had already heard from the Lord that “the end of the age” was the end of time brought about with the final judgment (Matt. 13:39, 40, 49). Of course, the implied reader would also know of Jesus’ soon-coming great commission reaching to “the end of the age” (Matt. 28:20). And the disciples’ confusion on this matter becomes even more evident to us in that Jesus’ prophetic statement (which gives rise to the disciples’ question) focuses solely on the temple’s destruction. Continue reading →

OLIVET’S TWO QUESTIONS (1)

AD 70, Second Coming, Uncategorized July 24, 2026 Leave a comment

PMW 2026-056 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr.

The Olivet Dscsourse is prompted by the Disciples questioning Jesus about his prophesying the destruction of the temple (Matt. 24:2–3). It is important to understand their questions in order to follow Jesus’ answer. I believe the evidence is clear that they ask only two questions, not three (as per John Walvoord and some others). The exegetical support for the two-question view is as follows.

First, lexical observation. Lexically the disciples’ questions present only two interrogatives, not three. They ask “when” (Gk., pote) and “what” (Gk., ti): “when [pote] will these things happen, and what [ti] will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age? Continue reading →

INAUGURATED ESCHATOLOGY IN PAUL

Age(s) (Two Ages), Already/Not Yet, Two Ages July 21, 2026 Leave a comment

PMW 2026-055 by Thomas R. Schreiner

Gentry note:
The following few paragraphs are cited from: Thomas R. Schreiner, Magnifying God in Christ: A Summary of New Testament Theology (Grand Rapids: BakerAcademic, 2010), 28–30. This is a helpful work for students of the New Testament and eschatology.

Inaugurated Eschatology in Paul

The tension between inaugurated and consummated eschatology identified in the Synoptic Gospels, and in the Johannine literature also informs the remainder of the NT. Indeed, the prominence of the already – not yet in Paul confirms that eschatological tension was a characteristic feature of NT theology.

Continue reading →

DEALING WITH OLIVET’S PAROUSIA (3)

AD 70, Creeds, Second Coming July 17, 2026 Comments: 4

PMW 2026-054 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr.

This is my third and final response to Gary DeMar, regarding his May 7, 2026 American Vision internet post titled “Should the Olivet Discourse Be Divided?” In that brief article he made a series of mistakes in critiquing me that I felt required a reply. But now:

Back to the Three Questions

By now, my first two postings have highlighted the confusion Gary has about my views. But now I want just briefly to note a months-long debate that has raged since he was originally sent a set of three questions to answer, with a “yes” or “no.” (See: “An Open Letter to Gary DeMar.”

Those three questions were:

Continue reading →

DEALING WITH OLIVET’S PAROUSIA (2)

AD 70, Second Coming July 14, 2026 Comments: 4

PMW 2026-053 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr.

In this posting I am providing my second response to some of Gary DeMar’s posted misconceptions regarding me and my approach to the Olivet Discourse. He presented these on May 7, 2026 in his American Vision online posting titled “Should the Olivet Discourse Be Divided?”

In my last article I introduced Gary’s response to the public notice that Jay Rogers and I are editing a newly translated English version of Hugo Grotius’ preterist work on the Olivet Discourse. Grotius was born in Delft, Netherlands in 1583 and died in 1645, dying in Rostock, Germany. He was an internationally prominent scholar in many fields in his day.

In that article I noted my frustration with people speaking (as Gary does) of “Gentry’s view” on this or that exegetical point that I make in explaining the Olivet Discourse. Usually the point cited by my critic is something I picked up from (and even quoted from!) someone else. I am usually promoting the views of noteworthy scholars who have impacted my thinking, particularly those listed in my previous posting.

Continue reading →

DEALING WITH OLIVET’S PAROUSIA (1)

AD 70, Second Coming July 10, 2026 Comments: 2

PMW 2026-052 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr.

Grotius on the Olivet Discourse

In early February of this year, Jay Rogers invited me to join with him in co-editing Hugo Grotius’ preterist commentary on the Olivet Discourse. Grotius’ 1600s work on Olivet has never been published in English before. So getting it translated from Latin into English, adding some editorial notes, and putting it in print sounded like a worthwhile project to me. As I write this (on May 19, 2026) the book is in the final stages of editing. It will be released before you read this.

Jay posted an advance notice of the forthcoming book on Facebook in early May, and on his website “The Forerunner.” If you want to read more about it, see: https://www.forerunner.com/blog/hugo-grotius-the-first-modern-preterist-commentary-on-matthew-24) We will be posting more information along the way. As just noted, I am actually writing this article on May 19, and it will not be published until July 10; so the book will be out by now. We are hoping the American church will find Grotius historically interesting and exegetically insightful. Because he is! Continue reading →