The End of the Age
Gary DeMar’s writings are based largely on the Oliviet discourse and his interpretation of the Lord Jesus’ answer to His disciple’s following question:
"Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the age?" (Mt. 24: 3).
In regard to this verse Gary DeMar correctly writes: "Notice the disciples did not ask about the end of the ‘world’ (kosmos), as some Bible versions translate the Greek word ‘aion’….they asked about the end of the ‘age’ " (DeMar, "Last Days Madness" [American Vision, 1999, Fourth Revised Edition], p. 69).
The Field is the World
Earlier the Lord Jesus spoke the parable of the "tares of the field" where He described what would occur at the "end of the age":
"He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this age. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear" (Mt. 13: 37-43).
Here we can see that the Lord Jesus speaks of a harvest that will happen at the "end of the age", the "end of this age". He also makes it clear that the harvest will take place in the field, and He says that the "field is the world" (kosmos).
Kosmos
To quote Gary DeMar,"The first rule of Bible interpretation is understanding a text in terms of its original setting and audience, always asking the question, "How would those who first picked up copies of the gospels and epistles have understood what they were reading?" (DeMar,"Limited Geography and Bibical Interpretation"; http://www.preteristsite.com/plain/demargeo.html).
How would those who first picked up copies of the gospels and epistles have understood what they were reading?
The Greek word translated "world" is "kosmos" and it means "the inhabitants of the earth, men, the human race…Mt. xiii. 38" ("Thayer’s Greek English Lexicon").
Gary DeMar knows that the word "kosmos" refers to the whole inhabited earth, as witnessed by his own words:"Earlier in his letter to the Colossians, Paul describes how the gospel was ‘constantly bearing fruit and increasing in all the world [kosmos]’ (1: 6). The faith of the Romans was ‘being proclaimed throughout the whole world [kosmos]’ (Rom. 1: 8), ‘to all nations’ (16: 26)" [emphasis mine] (DeMar,"Last Days Madness"., pp. 87-88).
According to him the word "kosmos" has a "more global meaning" and refers to a "universal fulfillment not bound by geography or time":
"It's significant that Matthew uses oikoumene only in 24: 14, while he uses kosmos, a word that can have a more global meaning, nine times. In fact, we read later in Matthew's gospel: ‘Truly I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world [kosmos], what this woman has done shall also be spoken of in memory of her’ (26: 13). The Greek construction in the two verses is identical except that in 26:13 kosmos is used for ‘world’. Matthew chooses oikoumene over kosmos because he wants to emphasize its local geographical fulfillment within the time frame of ‘this generation’ in contrast to a universal fulfillment not bound by geography or time as is the obvious case in 26: 13" (DeMar,"Limited Geography and Bibical Interpretation").
Gary DeMar’s understanding of the meaning of the word "kosmos" is the same meaning that those living in the first century would have put on that word. So they would understand that when the Lord Jesus spoke of the "field" to be harvested being the "world (kosmos)" they would have also understood that at the "end of the age" that a harvest would come upon the whole inhabited earth.
End
The word "end" is translated from the Greek word "sunteleia", and it means "completion, consummation, end" ("Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon").
The word "consummation" basically means "the act of bringing something to completion or perfection".
So when the Lord Jesus says "the harvest is the end of the age" He is saying that the harvest will be the completion of the age. After this will start the "age to come". So we can understand that the "age to come" cannot begin until there is a world wide harvest.
Gary DeMar and "The Age to Come"
Despite these facts Gary DeMar teaches that the age in which the Lord Jesus walked the earth has ended and the "age to come" has already been ushered in:
"The passing away of the dispensation of the law of Moses, which as limited in great part to Israel after the flesh, might well be called the Jewish dispensation, was justly regarded as ‘the end of the age’ ( Matt. xxiv. 3)…The ‘age to come,’ therefore, is simply a designation for the Christian era, an era that was long ago prophesied by the prophets" (DeMar, "Last Days Madness", p. 190-191).
There has yet to be a harvest of the whole world (kosmos), so therefore the "end of the age" has not yet come to pass. Gary DeMar ignores this plain revelation from the Scriptures and teaches that the "end of the age" has already happened and we are now living in the age which is to follow, the "age to come".
It is unfortunate that Gary DeMar does not take his own advice when he writes: "While readability is an admirable and necessary goal in Bible translation, accuracy is more important. This is why I recommend that Christians learn how to read Greek so they can use a Greek-English interlinear. It’s a must for serious Bible study" (DeMar, "What Does the Bible Literally Say?"; http://www.americanvision.org/articlearchive/11-07-05.asp).
There is not one Greek-English Lexicon that says that the Greek word "kosmo" can mean only the land of Judea or only Jerusalem. But in order for Gary DeMar to reconcile his teaching with the "parable of the tares of the field" that is the meaning that he must place on that word. He writes:
"When did the ‘end’ occur? The only proximate eschatological event that fits the ‘end of the age’ framework is the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D.70" (DeMar,"Last Days Madness", p. 190).
Since no harvest came upon the whole world in A.D.70 Gary DeMar is forced to change the meaning of the Greek word "kosmo" from the "world" to "Jerusalem".
The Clear Testimony of the Bible
Gary DeMar writes,"Unfortunately, the clear testimony of the Bible does not convince those who are intent on making the Bible fit their preconceived view of prophecy" (Ibid., p. 402).
We can see that the clear testimony of the Bible does not convince Gary DeMar that his preconceived view of prophecy is in error.
He continues teaching his "fable" that the "end of the age" has already come and in doing so he must turn "away his ears from the truth". The first thing that the Lord Jesus said when answering His Apostle’s question concerning what will happen at the "end of the age" was:
"Take heed that no man deceive you" (Mt. 24: 4).