john macarthur premillennialism

Accordingly, we have updated our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions in order to comply with GDPR. 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. The reason why it's called "historic premillennialism" is that, historically, this was the allegedly commonly-held view by many of the church fathers like Iraenus, Pappias, and Justin Martyr. He has also written or edited nearly four hundred books and study guides. And may I remind you that you have one very, very important reality to deal with in case you think theres no future in Israel: living Israelites. Thats for people who dont know this; that the way history ends, is with Jesus coming and taking us away. In similar language, Scripture affirms the perpetuity of ethnic Israel to a future salvation and a future kingdom as a race of people, and that in that salvation and in that kingdom will be the fulfillment of all divine promises given to them in the Old Testament, repeated in the New Testament, and through them to the world. Primer, ed. In fact, I understand sovereign electing grace much more clearly than I ever have in the past, and I also understand Gods sovereign electing purpose for Israel more clearly than Ive ever understood it. 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. Copyright 2023 The Gospel Coalition, INC. All Rights Reserved. He made an interesting connection between Genesis and Revelation. Moreover, John, as again stated by Papias, ascribed the origin of millenarianism to Christ . And it is powerfully persuasive. Erik Raymond is the senior pastor at Redeemer Fellowship Church in Metro Boston. In other words, Piper believes Jesus Christ will come on earth and reign for 1,000 years. 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. Well see more about how that works. Ive been teaching and preaching the Bible expositionally now for over 40 years, one verse at a time. Whether you are a pessimistic amillennialist, or an optimistic amillennialist - thats a postmillennialist - you dont know what to do with prophetic truth, because if you interpret prophetic truth in the same normal, natural way you interpret all the rest of the passages of Scripture, youre going to end up a premillennialist; its inevitable. Amillennialism, dispensational premillennialism, historic premillennialism, postmillennialism, preterism. If you interpret Old Testament prophecies literally, they cannot be fulfilled in this present age. They were fighting the massive Roman system, and being occupied on those fronts, they never really got to the front of eschatology. There have been premillennial (traditionally known as "chiliastic) movements, including some Reformed theologians, since the early church but most . Ive preached through many of the books of the Old Testament, the first eleven chapters of Genesis through Daniel, Zechariah, the minor prophets, and pieces and bits of Isaiah and others in the Old Testament. Now, I know at this point somebody out there is going to say, Oh boy, hes into the Left Behind series. No, Im not in to Rapture fiction, and Im not in to wacky charts - you dont see me up here with a big chart and a stick. There were 1600 pastors from central Asia - the first Central Asian pastors conference in history after the breakup of the Soviet Union. Some people say, How in the world can you understand it? They understood it in China without anything but a Bible; they understood it in Central Asia without anything but a Bible; you take it at face value. Allis - well-known - says, The Old Testament prophecies if literally interpreted cannot be regarded as having been yet fulfilled or being capable of fulfillment in the present age. Thats true. Btw, LA is beautiful and the conference is great, I hope to post some reflections as the week goes on. 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. They dont faze me. Christ's Prophetic Plans: A Futuristic Premillennial Primer. Like all divine truth, getting the future truth right is beneficial. You can follow him on Twitter. We want the Word to cause us to live lives pleasing to You. Now, to affix our thinking to one great future event which seems to be the most controversial, I want you to think with me about the coming kingdom of Christ, known as the millennial kingdom, because in the twentieth chapter of Revelation, the opening of that chapter, there is reference to the reign and rule of Jesus Christ on the earth which lasts one thousand years; in fact, one thousand is repeated six times in that brief text. So, it is really one of the strange ironies of Reformed theology, and therefore its a strange irony in the church today, that those who love the doctrine of sovereign election most - that would be Reformed theologians - those who love the doctrine of sovereign election most supremely, and who love that doctrine most sincerely and - this is going to be a long sentence - and who are most unwavering in their devotion to the glory of God, the honor of Christ, the work of the Holy Spirit in regeneration, the veracity and inerrancy of Scripture , Those who are usually the most fastidious in Bible interpretation - yes, those who are the most careful and intentionally biblical regarding all categories of doctrine, those who see themselves as guardians of biblical truth, those who are passionate to get it right, those who are not content to be wrong at all, and those who most heartily agree on the essential matters of Christian truth, so that they labor with all their powers to examine in a Berean fashion every relevant text to discern the true interpretation of all matters of divine revelation, are . Registered User Its the whole point of the beginning and the middle. No other study Bible does such a thorough job of explaining the historical context, unfolding the meaning of the text, and placing it within a theological . Is that what God wanted us to do, to look at it and say, Aw, I cant figure this out; lets forget it? There are whole denominations that are instructed not to teach on the end times. God filled the Bible with prophecy and much of it looking to the end. This we think to be the sense, in general, of those scriptures, both in the Old and New Testament, which speak of the latterday glory. But not us, who live and breathe the rarified air of sovereign grace and election; it makes no sense to me. [1] He has been the pastor of Grace Community Church, a non-denominational church in Sun Valley, California since February 9, 1969. Log In 2023 Grace to You. The Rise of Philo-Semitism and Premillennialism During the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries. 315K views 1 year ago Significant video editing was used to create a unique storyline that teaches about the end times, specifically premillennialism and amillennialism. The other looks at it as a spiritual kingdom also but says it will decline and decline and decline until Jesus finally comes. The church will have an increasing influence in the world. 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. I think it matters. Why TMS? But, for certain, according to amillennialists, there will be no thousand-year reign of Christ on the earth. . Daylight and dark, daylight and dark - thats a 24-hour period - God creates everything. Please be aware that these items are sent out from our office in the UK. Revelation 1:3: Blessed is he who reads, and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it: for the time is near.. You get the interpretation of Scripture right when youre faithful to valid rules of interpretation. In short, there shall be, as it were, a universal spread of religion and holiness to the Lord, throughout the world. Edwards believed that the overthrow of Satans kingdom involved several elements: the abolition of heresies and infidelity, the overthrow of the kingdom of the Antichrist (the Pope), the overthrow of the Muslim nations, and the overthrow of Jewish infidelity: However obstinate [the Jews] have been now for above seventeen hundred years in their rejection of Christ, and however rare have been the instances of individual conversions, ever since the destruction of Jerusalem … yet, when this day comes, the thick vail that blinds their eyes shall be removed, 2 Cor. 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. It makes no sense. He wants us to get it right; thats why He put it in the Scripture and the Scripture is replete with it. I align myself to historical premillennialism, so I want to convey my own dismay with John MacArthur's sermon series from 2007. 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 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. 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. Whats that about? He told me he would study the issue and get back to me. They would rather believe that God has predestined His Church to failure than believe that they are personally responsible for transforming society. We understand that when you have a prophecy in the Bible that has not yet come to pass, not everything will be clear. MacArthur's "dispensationalism" is eschatological and ecclesiological only. John MacArthur is the pastor-teacher of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, president of The Master's College and Seminary, and featured teacher with the Grace to You media ministry. This year they upgraded some snacks and are handing out Zone protein bars, a major enhancementhowever, I am really missing my family. The bottom line is were in charge. Ive written about this in several places. 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. In the modern theological world, I say leave amillennialism to the process theologians. by R. Scott Clark on April 8, 2020 | Dispensationalism describes a way of reading the Bible and a system of theology the nearest roots of which are in the 19th century. Reformed theology has made a monumental comeback in this culture, and thankfully so, because it is biblical. The preconception is that we cant allow this to happen. (Quoted in Murray, The Puritan Hope, 101102. There is another form of that view called amillennialism; amillennialism - and youve probably heard about that. How do you explain that? 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. Ridgeley spends several pages refuting ancient and modern Chiliasts, or Millennarians ((Ridgeley, Commentary on the Larger Catechism, 1:558562.)) And at that judgment, well be recompensed for the deeds done in the body, whether they are good or phaulos, meaning useless. 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. Israel and the church, and advocate for futuristic millennialism. Let me condense that down, just squeeze it down to about 350 pages, because if people read this and understand it, theyre going to be blessed by God. And they said, Sure.. But in both cases it will be the flow of history under the influence of the church, so theyre really looking at the same thing. All right, thats the introduction. But that is essentially what theyre asking us to do. 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. Im unwaveringly committed to that. 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. 8.The Grammatical-Historical Hermeneutic: Its Defense and the Demand for Premillennialism -- by Abner Chou -- p.64 9.Will Israel Build a Temple in Jerusalem? I know where history is going. We chart the course and God reacts. See here and here. Return the sovereignty of God in election to its rightful place, return the nation Israel to its rightful place, and your eschatology will unfold in beautiful clarity. It is narrative history, and we fight - sometimes tooth and nail - to maintain the literal veracity of Genesis 1 through 3. But let me tell you something: normal, natural, literal interpretation is the only way to stop abuse of Scripture. Hes getting better. When He comes, everything ends immediately. Grace to You radio, video, audio, print, and website resources reach millions worldwide each day. Those who most celebrate the sovereign grace of election - thats the Reformed - they are typically amillennial. Its the whole point of everything else. God promised him the inheritance of the land. 2. First, the Antichrist would appear and a seven-year period of tribulation would commence. After that he must be loosed for a little while." The reasons are simple enough: this classic work is forthrightly Biblical. Who Are the Real Schismatics? A Purchased Victory: A Conference on the Bright Hope of Postmillennialism, Website made by Chittam Technology Solutions, LLC. You never met a Hittite, an Amorite, a Hivite, a Jebusite, or any other ite. They have long since morphed into the melee and the mix of the races. The world, as they see it, is in an ongoing golden process of progress. For example, the book is well-organized. The Keller Center for Cultural Apologetics helps Christians show unbelievers the truth, goodness, and beauty of the gospel as the only hope that fulfills our deepest longings. Dispensationalism continues to provoke heated debate within the Christian world. Some people want to turn it into ages - theres nothing in there that does that; theres nothing in the text itself that does that. [2] Without the dispensational lens-says MacArthur-you will misunderstand much of the Bible. 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. We sent you an email. So that whatever God chose to do He will do, that whatever He began to do He will complete, those who will defend that to their last breath - Gods irrevocable, unconditional, unilateral, sovereign election will bring those He has chosen to the fulfillment of all that He has promised them. ( 3:16) . All of these are benefits of getting it right. 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. Now, frankly, its too late for John Calvin to fix his work, although he is now a premillennialist in heaven. Articles Baptist Theology Calvinism Charles Spurgeon Christology Classic Premillennialism Covenant Theology e-Articles e-Books Eschatology Historic . What you have here is a benediction from God: blessed is he who reads and understands the book of Revelation. Isaiah 65 - really, the whole chapter is about Israel, Gods elect - verse 22: My elect again shall enjoy long the work of their hands. Israel repeatedly called Gods elect; we know what that means. Chicago: Moody, 2012. DP also believes that God has a place for both national Israel (cf. We know that, so our ambition is, when we get to that place, to be rewarded because we are pleasing to Him. 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. The other says there will be a kingdom. Help train Christians to boldly share the good news of Jesus Christ in a way that clearly communicates to this secular age. MacArthur and the seminary faculty know of Murrays work. A Case for . In one passage he defends premillennialism by arguing that a future earthly kingdom is necessary because of God's promise to Abraham, he wrote "The promise remains steadfast. He comes pre, not post; He comes before. / ( .) 13:79). Through the work of Ladd, historic premillennialism gained scholarly respect and popularity among Evangelical and Reformed theologians since he had the right appreciation of the redemptive- historical significance of the first coming of Christ and of the NT age. 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. Or another way to say it would be this: how many of you have attended an amillennial prophecy conference? 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. And so, you have to change the rules of interpretation and once you say the Bible doesnt mean what it says, then we have no idea what it means. With appearances by. After thorough study I saw that his views on the topic were based on (among other things) circular reasoning and tradition. Yet in Sproul's lifetime, he and MacArthur were close friends. The other view is whats called openness theology, and its the same thing; it simply means God has no idea what the future is. 3. Murray notes that A number of years before [the Larger Catechism and Westminster Directory for Public Worship] were drawn up, the call for prayer for the conversion of the Jews and for the success of the gospel throughout the world was already a feature of Puritan congregations. (Murray, The Puritan Hope, 99.) As more and more information comes to Him, and as He has more and more experience in dealing with the issues of His universe, Hes getting better at being God. Amillennialism is ideal for Arminians because, according to their theology, God elects nobody and preserves nobody. Why do we want to change the rules in interpretation to avoid that? You get Israel right when you get the Old Testament covenants and promises with Israel right. and divine grace shall melt and renew their hard hearts … And then shall the house of Israel be saved: the Jews in all their dispersions shall cast away their old infidelity, and shall have their hearts wonderfully changed, and abhor themselves for their past unbelief and obstinacy. In the world, things will get better and better and better as the church becomes more powerful and more influential. 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. First John 3 verse 2: Beloved - 1 John 3:2 Now are we the children of God. Show more Friends Following This is postmillennialism at its best. Because when you understand Gods purpose for Israel, you now have the foundation for all eschatology; all eschatology. Erdman refers to the premillennialism of Asia Minor in the second century as "Asiatic millennialism.". Now, talking about eschatology is not without controversy. He is currently the chancellor emeritus of The Master's University in . How could He hold any of us, in one sense, responsible for not believing? 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. Hes not predicting the future because you cant predict what hasnt happened - it doesnt exist. We've been working our way through doctrinal emphases in Scripture, doctrinal themes, and we have covered a lot of ground. And . John MacArthur's Defense of Dispensationalism Monday, December 8, 2008 by Gary DeMar In 1988, John MacArthur wrote The Gospel According to Jesus, a controversial book in certain circles because he relied heavily on the views of Calvinistic writers to deal with the lordship salvation controversy. All rights reserved. I couldnt help but wonder what the other guest speakers might have been thinking as they sat in the front row. 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. We know that Word about the future has that power. Instead, MacArthur systematically unpacked the biblical theology that leads one to an unabashed Calvinistic eschatology. Do you understand the massive apologetic power of the existence of Israel as an ethnic people in their own land? But in both cases, they would deny the actual thousand-year reign of Christ, and they would deny that Christ will reign and rule on earth and literally fulfill all His promises to the nation Israel given in the Old Testament covenants. Tell us about the future. They were in a very hopeless situation, having very little in life. Would you agree? 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? 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. Leave it to the semi-Pelagians and Pelagians, who go in and out of salvation; it makes sense for their theology. 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. This article is also available and sold as a booklet. Certainly, you have no idea what it means - neither does anybody else. 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. That is called historical premillennialism: Christ will come, set up the kingdom, but it won't have the Jewish character that we anticipate from Old Testament promises it would have, because those promises were cancelled to Israel and given to the church. And who made them? Enter your email address and we will send you instructions on how to reset your password. It is pungently clear. , . Why? Historic premillennialism is the view that Christ will return before the millennium. Amen. Today's Christians have been taught that they must flee responsibility, for Jesus' sake. Ridgeley knew his history well enough to know that the majority of theologians in the seventeenth century held to an advancing kingdom through the proclamation of the gospel which includes the future conversion of the Jews. His contention that unless you see Scripture through dispensational eyes, you cannot be a "self-respecting Calvinist" surprised many-Reformed amillennarians and historic premillennarians alike. And I can only tell you I am unwaveringly committed to the sovereign election of a future generation of Jews to salvation, and the full inheritance of all the promises and covenants of God given to them in the Old Testament. Look, I reject all of those really abusive and bizarre kinds of interpretation; but frankly, theyre no more wacky then the interpretations of the amillennialists, who want to take the entire book of Revelation and stuff it into the events of 70 A.D. and a few years afterwards and come up with things that are just as ridiculous. Scofield, that came out of J.N. Theres a recovery of premillennialism in the modern era, and the recovery of premillennialism in the modern era came from two very unlikely sources. His message in General Session 1 was entitled "Why Every Self-Respecting Calvinist is Premillennial". 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. As one prominent amillennialist said when asked, What is the biblical significance of the existence of Jews in their land? and he said, It has no significance at all. Really? That is a large part of evangelical Christianity, the Wesleyan movement, Charismatic movement, Methodists, etc., etc., many Baptists. 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. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, this mortal must put on immortality. And then he goes on to talk about the fact that in that moment, in that event, Death is swallowed up in victory. - comfort one another. They taught that the kingdom of God would be visibly manifest on earth after the second coming of Jesus. I have dragged you through virtually every verse in the New Testament. His mode of expositing those verses that supposedly counter Preterism really helped me to focus on those areas in the Bible. Its a strange approach. Do not look down on others from your view of the end-times. Ive been putting an outline together in preparation for two talks I did for the December 1819 online A Purchased Victory: A Conference on the Bright Hope of Postmillennialism. My two talks deal with biblical and cultural impediments that are often raised against postmillennialism. The Millennium is the reign on earth of Jews who accept Christ John MacArthur, Because the Time is Near: John MacArthur Explains the Book of Revelation (Moody, 2007). Pretribulational Rapture in 17th and 18th Century England. Some of the most formidable amillennialists - and Im talking about well-respected, very erudite influential theologians - say things like this, and Ill quote. 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17), which, along with the appearance of the Antichrist, marks the beginning of the seven-year great tribulation on earth. Well, we now come to the doctrines that relate to the end times. Hes improving; Hes definitely on the upward curve. It matters to me to understand what God has said about the end. A History of Christian Zionism: Philo-Semitism and the Expectation of Israel's Restoration. A recurring topic of interest in his writings is the historical reliability of the Scriptures.

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