I have even called thee by thy name Isaiah 65:9: Mine elect shall inherit it - the promises of God. But they want to get God off the hook, so they say Hes really not responsible, Hes really not in charge of anything; Hes just trying to figure it out. Im unwaveringly committed to that. His point being that Jesus literally fulfilled promises of God just as they would have been literally taken, how in the world can we now redefine the kingdom in a different way than it was described in and through the prophets? We also applaud his insistence that the Bible must be interpreted literally, according to its normal sense. In keeping with his view of faith, MacArthur denigrates "facts," "doctrine," "intellectual assent," and so on. Not that they were the only ones to be saved, but they were the ones through whom God will eventually reach, and even set up His Son to rule over the nations. The Rise of Philo-Semitism and Premillennialism During the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries. Register. How could they believe unless He caused them to believe? Mathewson, Dave L. Amillennialism is consistent with Arminianism. I think He cares that we get it right, thats why He wrote it, and I think He understands that His glory is at stake, and our hope and comfort is at stake and the evidence of Gods massive moving in history is at stake with regard to the future. The end is as divinely designed as the beginning, and God has given us massive amounts of revelation in the Scripture about the future. It has not appeared as yet what we shall be. But even more interesting, in England in 1827, there was a publication affirming premillennialism, the coming of Christ and the establishment of His millennial kingdom, written by a Jesuit priest - reading his Bible - by the name of Manuel de Lacunza y Diaz. He blogs at Ordinary Pastor. But we now have pure Israelites. Its a strange approach. Most of the Reformers and the Puritans were postmils. They dont want to accept that the entire universe was created in six nearly twenty-four-hour days. I said, Sure - Ill take all day Friday, Ill tell you the future. So, I just marched them through the order of the chronology of eschatology as its laid out clearly, both in the Old and the New Testament, and I finished. Iain Murray, the author of The Puritan Hope, a book that Im using to make my historical case against MacArthurs claims, spoke at the Shepherds Conference in 2001. Now, with regard to the coming kingdom of Christ, in which Christ rules as supreme and sovereign ruler, there are a number of views, but let me boil them down to three views - and these are good, and Ill give you a simple explanation so that you understand where we are going. Floyd Hamilton in his book, The Basis of the Millennial Faith, says - and I quote: Now we must frankly admit the literal interpretation of the Old Testament prophecies gives us just such a picture of an earthly reign of the Messiah as the premillennialist pictures., Now, thats a fate worse than death. Major proponents J. N. Darby, C. I. Scofield, John Walvoord, A. C. Gaebelein, Charles Ryrie, Lewis S. Chafer, J. Dwight Pentecost, Charles C. Ryrie, The reformers had it right on most issues. Death, where is your sting? We want the Word to bless, to make us pure, to stabilize us, to comfort us, to give us a passion for evangelism. Today's Christians have been taught that they must flee responsibility, for Jesus' sake. What he is saying is, a literal interpretation of the Old Testament is going to lead you to a premillennial view, and since we dont want to get there, we cant use a literal approach. Arminius did not believe in election; those who follow him do not believe in election. In the mid-seventeenth century, the Westminster Larger Catechism, in the answer to Question 191, displayed the hope for the future conversion of the Jews. And whats at stake here? The books and articles that make this case are not obscure or difficult to find. The first phase of that eternal rule will be His reign on this earth, which will last - as Revelation 20 says six times - a thousand years, after which His rule will continue, because it is an everlasting rule, but it will continue in a new heaven and a new earth that replace this heaven and earth, which will melt in an atomic implosion and make way for the new creation. From the material available online today, many would conclude that "historic premillennialism" refers to the teaching of 20th century theologian George Elton Laddand no other view. John MacArthur and Richard Mayhue, editors Moody Publishers 2012-02-21 Five faculty members of The Master's Seminary have written an excellent primer on what they call "futuristic premillennialism." This is a strong defense of pretribulational dispensational premillennialism. Because we dont want you to incur expenditure for which you are not prepared, could you please confirm whether you are willing to pay this charge, if necessary? And he is suggesting, therefore, that we cant interpret them literally, because somehow, weve got to make them fulfilled in this age, because there is no future age. As you may be aware, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into full effect on 25th May 2018.
Certainly, you have no idea what it means - neither does anybody else. There have been premillennial (traditionally known as "chiliastic) movements, including some Reformed theologians, since the early church but most . I have thought about these things, by the way, for a long time. Log In
Guest. A. DeJong, As the Waters Cover the Sea: Millennial Expectations in the Rise of Anglo-America Missions, 16401810 (Kampen: J. H. Kok, 1970), 3738.) Its the whole point of everything else. This article is also available and sold as a booklet. Thats a hard sell, frankly. In a really interesting illustration MacArthur envisioned an amillennialist evangelizing a Jew. Now, here comes the real irony; this is the real irony. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure., Getting your eschatology right will bless you and getting your eschatology right will purify you. So, my words to you are really very simple foundational words, I say this. GDPR is the new European privacy regulation, which will replace the Data Protection Act 1998 in the UK and the equivalent legislation across the EU Member States. But let me tell you something: normal, natural, literal interpretation is the only way to stop abuse of Scripture. Arminians - not Armenians, thats different; those who follow Arminius - did not believe in election. God filled the Bible with prophecy and much of it looking to the end. - comfort one another. But, you know, of all the people on the planet who should be premillennialists, it should be those who believe in divine sovereign election, of all people. Only now has it happened, and so His promises may not be trustworthy, since they were given in the past, before so many things happened that He didnt know were coming to pass. So, I told the pastors at the conference, and the title of this talk is, Why every self-respecting Calvinist has to be a premillennialist. Because, if you believe in divine sovereign election, then you have to believe that as God will be faithful to His promises to His church, He will also be faithful to His promises to His elect nation Israel. "Why Every Self-Respecting Calvinist is a Pre-Millennialist." For those of you who don't know, this was a statement, among others, that John MacArthur was recorded as making at the recent Shepherd's Conference 2007 at Grace Community Church, Sun Valley California. John MacArthur was one of the influences that helped turn me to Preterism. Does the end matter? Select Bibliography. If were going to change the rules, then, may I suggest this - and this is what I told the pastors - if were going to change the rules, then we better have a word from God. And by the way, dispensationalists - people say, Well, that whole premillennial view, that came out of C.I. Turn to 1 Corinthians 15; 1 Corinthians 15. In a shocking conclusion to the illustration, MacArthur said, if this is the kingdom, then Jesus is not the messiah. This morning John MacArthur opened the 2007 Shepherds Conference with a loud blast that will no doubt be heard around the Reformed world in the coming weeks. Blessed. Grace to You radio, video, audio, print, and website resources reach millions worldwide each day. MacArthur--who is an ardent dispensationalist--stated and defended his position. Ive written about this in several places. And at that judgment, well be recompensed for the deeds done in the body, whether they are good or phaulos, meaning useless. (Quoted in Murray, The Puritan Hope, 101102. The alpha privative in the Greek language means a negative, so there is the view that there is no millennium; that what John is writing about in Revelation 20 is very vague, may refer to nothing other than a long time in which the church flourishes on earth, simply referring to that kingdom which is spiritual - that is, the rule of Christ over those who belong to Him while on earth. Theres no sense in going in to all of that, except to say in both cases, they say there is no actual earthly reign of Christ fulfilling all Old Testament covenant promises. We are responsible for our sin, but in the end, we believe because He moves on us. This up to now has been more like a lecture, but turn to Revelation chapter 1, and just look at verse 3 for a moment. We shall all be changed, in a moment, the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed., Thats the rapture; were going to study the rapture. All this panic about global warming, and all this panic about the end of the world and asteroids crashing into the earth? Why do we want to run from that? John MacArthur's ministries, including Grace to You and Masters University, also employ a grammatical historical method of interpretation, and they come to a dispensational view of eschatology. Fundamental I think it matters. A Purchased Victory: A Conference on the Bright Hope of Postmillennialism, Website made by Chittam Technology Solutions, LLC. Without the dispensational lens-says MacArthur-you will misunderstand much of the Bible. Or another way to say it would be this: how many of you have attended an amillennial prophecy conference? And it is powerfully persuasive. A History of Christian Zionism: Philo-Semitism and the Expectation of Israel's Restoration. If you want to understand what the Bible says about the future, get these two things right: the sovereignty of God in election, and the promises of that sovereign, electing God to those people to whom He has elected - His redeemed church and Israel. John MacArthur News Why TMS? And theres the main verb in the sentence are in varying degrees of disinterest in applying their skills to the end of the story, and rather, content to be in happy if not playful disagreement in regard to the vast biblical data on eschatology, as if the end doesnt matter much - period. In 1652, a group of eighteen Puritan ministers and theologians, including both Presbyterians and Independents, affirmed that the Scripture speaks of a double conversion of the Gentiles, the first before the conversion of the Jews, they being Branches wild by nature grafted into the True Olive Tree instead of the natural Branches which are broken off…. Turn to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4; 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. Let me give you a theology lesson here a little bit. His mode of expositing those verses that supposedly counter Preterism really helped me to focus on those areas in the Bible. John MacArthur claims to be a Dispensationalist in both The Gospel According to Jesus (GAJ) and The Gospel According to the Apostles (GAA). Amillennialism really seems to fit them. Hes improving; Hes definitely on the upward curve. We had met a short time ago, and she had questions about . I know where history is going. In fact, the worst evil thats ever been done on the history of the world was the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, and by that - the worst evil - He gained the greatest glory. We know that when He appears, - second coming we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is. And Ive gone back after I preach, and Ive written commentaries - now I think 26 or 27 volumes on the New Testament - back through the same material again and again and again and again and again, so that this understanding of eschatology has had to stand the acid test of every text. We still have Mark to go, but there are only a couple of discourses and a couple of miracles in Mark that arent in the other three gospels, so not a lot of new material. Reformed theologian John Piper affirmed his belief that the second coming of Christ is coming soon and indicated that he is a premillennialist. Who Are the Real Schismatics? There isnt such a thing. Why bother? . They dont faze me. Amillennialism is ideal for Arminians because, according to their theology, God elects nobody and preserves nobody. I. Dr. MacArthur on Premillennialism and Calvinism: "Now that leads to my title: `Why Every Self-Respecting Calvinist Is a Premillennialist' [laughter and applause] Now it's too late for Calvin, but it's not too late for the rest of you. You can choose Him and then not choose Him, and then choose Him again and then not choose Him, and you make the decision; and so, all of the promises of God are conditional on you. We who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus shall we always be with the Lord. Heres the application: Therefore - do what? Along that line, I went to Moody Press and I said, Look, Ive written two volumes on Revelation - I dont know, its 800 or 900 pages - and I realized not everybody is going to go through all of that. Yet it is inconsistent with. In other words, Piper believes Jesus Christ will come on earth and reign for 1,000 years. Also, among Scottish Presbyterian churches during this period, special days of prayer were set aside partly in order that the promised conversion of [Gods] ancient people of the Jews may be hastened. (Quoted in Murray, The Puritan Hope, 100.) John Fullerton MacArthur Jr. (born June 19, 1939) is an American Protestant pastor and author known for his internationally syndicated Christian teaching radio and television program Grace to You. Articles Baptist Theology Calvinism Charles Spurgeon Christology Classic Premillennialism Covenant Theology e-Articles e-Books Eschatology Historic . Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts Workbook for Women Updated: Seven Questions to Ask Before---and After---You Marry 9780310875475 When Frederick the Great called his chaplain in and he said, I want proof of the truthfulness of the Bible, and I want it briefly, the chaplain replied, Sir, I can give you proof of the truthfulness of the Bible in one word: Israel.. His presentation was not an attempt to harmonize Calvinism with a premillennial view but rather to show the inconsistency of the contrary. But that is essentially what theyre asking us to do. Now, Ive been telling you for a number of months that we were going to get into the subject of eschatology, the doctrine of last things. This is a positive book: positive about the future of the Church. In 1679, Scottish minister Walter Smith drew up some guidelines for prayer meetings: As it is the undoubted duty of all to pray for the coming of Christs kingdom, so all that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity, and know what it is to bow a knee in good earnest, will long and pray for the out-making of the gospel-promises to his Church in the latter days, that King Christ would go out upon the white horse of the gospel, conquering and to conquer, and make a conquest of the travail of his soul, that it may be sounded that the kingdoms of the world are become his, and his name called upon from the rising of the sun to its going down. Theres a rapture, and theres a bma seat judgment; we know that. Leave it to the semi-Pelagians and Pelagians, who go in and out of salvation; it makes sense for their theology. MacArthur insisted that we should be able to preach the whole Bible without changing the original meaning of the text or abrogating promises. MacArthur is a fifth-generation pastor, a popular author and conference speaker and has served as pastor-teacher of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California since 1969, and as President of The Master's College (and the related Master's Seminary) in Santa Clarita, California. Premillennialists believe that two-thirds of the Jews living in Israel during the time of the great tribulation will be slaughtered (Zech. Prior to that I thought about it a lot. But people are upset because MacArthur so badly misrepresented amillennialism, and because he defined "premillennialism" as though it were dispensationalism. (Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust, [1834] 1974), 1:607.). John MacArthur and Richard Mayhue's new systematic theology titled Biblical Doctrine has many positive aspects. Weve been working our way through doctrinal emphases in Scripture, doctrinal themes, and we have covered a lot of ground. But, for certain, according to amillennialists, there will be no thousand-year reign of Christ on the earth. We can interpret it the way we interpret any other passage of Scripture, with the same use of the normal, natural means of interpreting language, and we should; and it will yield for us as clear an understanding of the future as the Lord wants us to have. You can follow him on Twitter. #10. Therefore, Israel has been permanently set aside, so that the only kingdom will be that kingdom that we call the church, ruled by Christ, either expanding to take over the world, or existing in the world, and finally in heaven. Now, were going to dig a little more deeply into the whole idea of the millennial kingdom and what the Bible says about it, and as to its nature and the aspects of the kingdom that are revealed in Scripture - and by the way, they are many and they are wondrous to behold, and we will do that. See here and here. Copyright 2023 The Gospel Coalition, INC. All Rights Reserved. 11:12; 12:29; 13:19; John 10:12, 28, 29) and removing (John 6:15; Acts 8:39; 23:10; Jude 23).There is a third use, which focuses on being caught up . So, I say, leave amillennialism to those kinds of people who do not believe in the sovereign, unilateral, irrevocable, divine electing power of God. Please respond to confirm your registration. Israel sinned, youre out. But in the Old Testament - for example, Isaiah 45:4: Israel, Mine elect. An Excellent Defense of The Rapture by Dr. John MacArthur But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. If only he could just send down one message, that might be it. Now, understanding the future is you know, thats a general statement that you would be blessed - but look at just a couple of other things quickly. Because when you understand Gods purpose for Israel, you now have the foundation for all eschatology; all eschatology. Show it to me. Yet, Abraham did not receive it during all the time of his journey there. The church will become more influential, more impactful, more spiritually powerful. Dispensational premillennialism (DP) offers the most complex chronology of the end times.It argues that the current church age will end with the rapture of the church (cf. 7 Reasons Why the Gospel of John is So Special 3 days ago Macarthur writes "Futuristic Premillennialism is the result of an understanding and application of the prophetic texts in a way that is consistent with the normal, literal approach to interpreting Scripture." This is how the authors come to their Futuristic Premillennial view. You forfeit everything, and God gives it to somebody else - namely, the church - and we hope the church can do better than Israel or the church will forfeit it all as well. May it be powerful in our lives we pray in Christs name. / ( .) It is pungently clear. But there is a growing influence of amillennialism, because amillennialism has been a part of reformed theology. He is known around the world for his verse-by-verse expository preaching and his pulpit ministry via his daily radio program, Grace to You. Some people try to call it poetry, but its clearly not poetry - it has none of the earmarks of poetry, none of the characteristics of Hebrew poetry. No kingdom on earth ruled by Christ before He gets here, and no kingdom on earth ruled by Christ after He gets here. John MacArthur has compiled more than 20,000 study notes, a 200-page topical index, and numerous charts, maps, outlines, and articles to create The MacArthur Study Bible. After clicking 'Register', you will receive an email with a link to verify your account and to complete your registration. Show more Friends Following The reasons are simple enough: this classic work is forthrightly Biblical. Premillennialism: The millennium is the long period (perhaps a literal 1,000 years) when King Jesus will rule on earth. This primer takes you on a Biblical study of questions surrounding prophecy, Israel, the rapture, and the different millennial . You can believe and be saved and then you can forfeit your salvation. John Piper Backs Professor's End Times Theory of Premillennialism. Do you understand the massive apologetic power of the existence of Israel as an ethnic people in their own land? But some are holding on to what they have taught in the past; I guess self-preservation dominates their theology at that point. It matters to me to understand what God has said about the end. Accordingly, we have updated our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions in order to comply with GDPR. There is no doubt that he does hold to the fundamental distinction between the Church and Israel, though he does not always apply this distinction consistently. Now, I've been telling you for a number of months that we were going to get into the subject of eschatology, the doctrine of last things. Hes getting better. Some of the most formidable amillennialists - and Im talking about well-respected, very erudite influential theologians - say things like this, and Ill quote. Ridgeleys original work was titled A Body of Divinity: Wherein the Doctrines of the Christian Religion are Explained and Defended, Being the Substance of Several Lectures on the Assemblys Larger Catechism and was published in 1731.)) But for those who get it, for those who understand it, for those who embrace Gods sovereignty - that He is the only one who can determine who will be saved and blessed, and He is the only one who can save and bless - then saying that He cancelled promises to Israel because they didnt believe is completely inconsistent. S. Lewis Johnson, Curt Daniel "The History and Theology of Calvinism" by Curt Daniel) and others affirm full soteriological Calvinism without adopting postmil or amil eschatology. Primer, ed. If you read the paper and have your eyes open, and youre breathing, and your body has any temperature at all, you know things arent getting better. They didnt really get to the front of ecclesiology either, the study of the church, but those two kind of go together - as well see in this study - in some very fascinating ways. Short Response to Dr. MacArthur's statement. This is simply a way to understand Scripture in its normal sense. He is best known for his internationally syndicated Christian teaching radio programme Grace to You and has been the pastor-teacher of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California since February, 1969.He is also currently is the President of The Master's University in Newhall, California and The Master's Seminary in Los Angeles . One calls it a kingdom and says it will expand and expand and expand - thats the positive spin. Interestingly, some of this same languagethe phrase double conversion of the Gentiles in particularwas used by Johann Heinrich Alsted, whose premillennial The Beloved City or, The Saints Reign on Earth a Thousand Yeares (1627; English edition 1643) exercised great influence in England. It is one thing to omit them in formal obedience to the law; and another thing to omit them in prudence, or for necessity, because we cannot keep them. First of all, we commend Dr. MacArthur for his solid Biblical position on Israel, and that Israel has a glorious future in the plan and purpose of God. Ive been teaching and preaching the Bible expositionally now for over 40 years, one verse at a time. And then the effect of it is in verse 58: Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, and you can stop right there. It matters to me. And in line with that, I want to try, at least, in the next couple of Sunday nights to establish a foundation for our understanding. You get your eschatology right when you get Israel right. John MacArthur laid down the gauntlet on the issue of prophecy in his opening talk at the 2007 "Shepherds' Conference" that was titled "Why Every Self-Respecting Calvinist Is a Premillennialist." He was emphatic that only premillennialism takes the prophecies concerning the future of Israel seriously. I'm two thirds in to the series; however, one of my complaints so far is that MacArthur doesn't characterize the amillennial camp with accuracy. 1897 (Western Theological Seminary) (James Orr) .. Receiving Not Achieving. And so, I think its a fair test to see whether eschatology holds up. You get the Old Testament covenants and promises right when you get the interpretation of Scripture right. Moreover, John, as again stated by Papias, ascribed the origin of millenarianism to Christ . Why would God wait nearly 2000 years to redeem a single generation of Jews only to have the antichrist wipe out two-thirds of them? Reformed theology has made a monumental comeback in this culture, and thankfully so, because it is biblical.
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