Did He do it and somehow muddle it so hopelessly that the high ground for Bible students and the high ground for theologians is to recognize the muddle and abandon the perspicuity or the clarity of Scripture on that subject? Israel and the church, and advocate for futuristic millennialism. Jonathan Edwards, a noted postmillennialist and someone MacArthur quotes unfavorably in his Shepherds talk, outlined the future of the Christian Church in his 1774 History of Redemption. If you interpret Old Testament prophecies literally, they cannot be fulfilled in this present age. Ive been here at Grace Church well, what - thirty-some years. We had met a short time ago, and she had questions about . All of these are benefits of getting it right. You get the interpretation of Scripture right when youre faithful to valid rules of interpretation. There are 73 references to Israel in the New Testament; each of them refers to Israel. They would rather believe that God has predestined His Church to failure than believe that they are personally responsible for transforming society. A History of Christian Zionism: Philo-Semitism and the Expectation of Israel's Restoration. Erik Raymond is the senior pastor at Redeemer Fellowship Church in Metro Boston. There is another form of that view called amillennialism; amillennialism - and youve probably heard about that. First John 3 verse 2: Beloved - 1 John 3:2 Now are we the children of God. O.T. If this is a future event, why arent premillennialists warning the Jews in Israel whats about to take place? MacArthur's "dispensationalism" is eschatological and ecclesiological only. Seventy percent - by the way - of Scripture is the story of Israel, start to finish. You have nothing to fear, nothing to worry about. That in itself is an indication of Gods preservation for their future. His mode of expositing those verses that supposedly counter Preterism really helped me to focus on those areas in the Bible. 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.. All this panic about global warming, and all this panic about the end of the world and asteroids crashing into the earth? Erdman refers to the premillennialism of Asia Minor in the second century as "Asiatic millennialism.". So, I said, Would you do me a favor? This primer takes you on a Biblical study of questions surrounding prophecy, Israel, the rapture, and the different millennial . 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. Thats a hard sell, frankly. What some postmil critics fail to recognize is that postmillennialists have always had a significant role for the future conversion of Jews while premillennialists do not. Israel crucifies the Messiah, thats it. 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. And that was over the gospel, and over the nature of Christ, and over salvation by grace through faith and over the authority of Scripture. 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. They explain, "As a refinement of dispensational premillennialism, futuristic millennialism affirms a futuristic view . The "millennium" refers to the period of 1,000 years mentioned in Revelation 20:3, "He threw Satan into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years were ended. The amil guy, MacArthur said, would have to say that things have changed, those promises no longer apply to you, we have them now and this is the kingdom. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ - thats part of the coming eschatology. You get your eschatology right when you get Israel right. We know that Word about the future has that power. We know that, so our ambition is, when we get to that place, to be rewarded because we are pleasing to Him. Well, we now come to the doctrines that relate to the end times. There were 1600 pastors from central Asia - the first Central Asian pastors conference in history after the breakup of the Soviet Union. 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? God promised him the inheritance of the land. I saw it in Scripture when I was young; I saw it in Scripture because it was so crystal clear. 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. John MacArthur is the pastor-teacher of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, where he has served since 1969. 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 . 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. Ive been teaching and preaching the Bible expositionally now for over 40 years, one verse at a time. John MacArthur's first message at the Shepherds' Conference set off shock waves throughout the reformed evangelical church by upholding Premillennialism as being the only consistent position for any person who holds to the doctrine of sovereign electing grace. 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. 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. Articles Baptist Theology Calvinism Charles Spurgeon Christology Classic Premillennialism Covenant Theology e-Articles e-Books Eschatology Historic . 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 These are dicult words to pronounce and even harder concepts to understand. After thorough study I saw that his views on the topic were based on (among other things) circular reasoning and tradition. 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. Help Grace to You bring important resources like this to people in your community and beyond, free of charge. And I ask the question: are we supposed to be comfortable with the notion that the hard and fast and true principles of Bible interpretation have to be set aside in prophetic texts? It has not appeared as yet what we shall be. That's a complete misreading. The preconception is that we cant allow this to happen. You can follow him on Twitter. If students at The Masters Seminary are not being taught these things in their classes dealing with prophecy, then they are being shortchanged, misinformed, and, dare I say, led astray. And so, I think its a fair test to see whether eschatology holds up. 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. 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. 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. No kingdom on earth ruled by Christ before He gets here, and no kingdom on earth ruled by Christ after He gets here. So, we can set aside the idea that somehow this is rooted in wacky dispensationalism; it is not. To say youre an amillennialist is only to tell me what you dont believe, and then you have to go to all of the passages of Scripture that talk about the kingdom and tell me why you dont believe they mean what they say. Oct 27, 2007. Since Scripture speaks of the Millennium as a time of great prosperity for the kingdom of God, post-mills are inherently optimistic. This is simply a way to understand Scripture in its normal sense. / ( .) Now, here comes the real irony; this is the real irony. Premillennialism: This view sees a chronological sequence as Satan is bound in the future when Christ returns and before Christians receive their reward, and then the millennium commences, hence the name, "pre". Oh sure, it helps to know some history and some background, but this is a pronounced blessing. Not that they were the end, but they were the means to the end. Hes not predicting the future because you cant predict what hasnt happened - it doesnt exist. 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. If only he could just send down one message, that might be it. Log In 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. If you look at Acts 3:19, Peter says, Repent therefore, and return, that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing - thats the millennium - may come from the presence of the Lord; that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you, whom heaven must receive till the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time. So, having your eschatology in place may lead you to repentance. Dispensational premillennialists hold that Christ will come before a seven-year period of intense tribulation to take His church (living and dead) into heaven. 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. I have dragged you through virtually every verse in the New Testament. Reformed theologian John Piper affirmed his belief that the second coming of Christ is coming soon and indicated that he is a premillennialist. In his commentary on John 3:33, John Calvin wrote: "To believe the Gospel is nothing else than to assent to the truths that God has revealed." The sort faith that MacArthur rejects is what the Bible requires. The reasons are simple enough: this classic work is forthrightly Biblical. We cant have those prophecies come to pass with regard to Israel in an earthly, literal kingdom the way the Old Testament seems to be saying it, so set aside normal, natural, literal interpretation. Amillennialism is ideal for Arminians because, according to their theology, God elects nobody and preserves nobody. Hes improving; Hes definitely on the upward curve. Why Every Calvinist Should Be a Premillennialist, Part 1. All right. Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts Workbook for Women Updated: Seven Questions to Ask Before---and After---You Marry 9780310875475 Continue reading Does the end matter? See, for example, Michael Vlach's article "How Does Historic Premillennialism Differ from Dispensational Premillennialism?", this "Eschatology Comparison" chart, and this article "An Historical . This is why the Church is so weak in our day. "John MacArthur on Calvinism, Dispensationalism, Israel, and Hermeneutics: A Few Comments" . Similarly, the Westminster Directory for Public Worship instructed ministers to pray for the Propagation of the Gospel and Kingdom of Christ to all nations, for the conversion of the Jews, the fullness of the Gentiles, the fall of Antichrist, and the hastening of the second coming of the Lord. (Quoted in J. 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. That's OK and no one is surprised or upset about that. 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. Prior to that I thought about it a lot. 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. In keeping with his view of faith, MacArthur denigrates "facts," "doctrine," "intellectual assent," and so on. But we distributed that, and I arranged - and I dont know when its going to happen for you - I arranged to get a copy for every family at Grace Church as a gift. His message in General Session 1 was entitled "Why Every Self-Respecting Calvinist is Premillennial". Arminians - not Armenians, thats different; those who follow Arminius - did not believe in election. 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. Dr. MacArthur picked this fight. Over four decades of ministry, John has written dozens of bestselling books, including The . Another way to see this would be to ask this question: what other category of theology - what other category of theology except atheism - starts with the alpha privative and labels itself as believing in something that doesnt exist? Now, why am I making a case for this? 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. And whats at stake here? 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. Chicago: Moody, 2012. Now, next time Im going to take you through a series of about five questions that were going to ask and see how this plays out on the pages of Scripture, okay? Death, where is your sting? 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 is why its message is hated. Hes getting better. Enter your email address and we will send you instructions on how to reset your password. In 1 Peter chapter 1, you remember, Peter says that the prophets who wrote concerning Christ, concerning the things to come, wondered what person and what time. 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. 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. They believe God elects nobody to salvation. Or another way to say it would be this: how many of you have attended an amillennial prophecy conference? 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? It is masterfully written. #10. But in the Old Testament - for example, Isaiah 45:4: Israel, Mine elect. In the meantime, Ive continued to study the Old Testament to write all the footnotes for the MacArthur Study Bible through the entire Old Testament. The other says there will be a kingdom. Craig Blaising and Darrell Bock, Progressive Dispensationalism I asked Dr. Michael Brown, who is premil, in our debate about Replacement Theology how he reconciles his claim that God is not finished with Israel with Zechariah 13:79. We are responsible for our sin, but in the end, we believe because He moves on us. Help train Christians to boldly share the good news of Jesus Christ in a way that clearly communicates to this secular age. This is postmillennialism at its best. Israel sinned, promises cancelled. Historical Records of New South Wales, vols 1-7; Historical Records of Australia, series 1, vols 1-17, series 3, vols 2-3, series 4, vol 1; S. Macarthur Onslow, Early Records of the Macarthurs of Camden (Syd 1914) S. J. Butlin, Foundations of the Australian Monetary System, 1788-1851 (Melb, 1953) M. H. Ellis, John Macarthur (Syd, 1955) and for bibliography 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. Daylight and dark, daylight and dark - thats a 24-hour period - God creates everything. But I want to approach this whole thing with you, as my congregation, the way I did with three thousand five hundred pastors a couple of weeks ago. 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. Did God do this but somehow mumble? 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. Some people want to turn it into ages - theres nothing in there that does that; theres nothing in the text itself that does that. Weve been working our way through doctrinal emphases in Scripture, doctrinal themes, and we have covered a lot of ground. John MacArthur News Why TMS? The bottom line is were in charge. But if you read Genesis 1 to 3, its pretty clear the evening and the morning were the first day, the evening and the morning were the second day, the evening and the morning were the third day. I dont do this to you very often, but I hope you feel like it was helpful, and anchored you in this great and important truth. 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. Scofield, that came out of J.N. Every Sunday morning for over 50 years, John MacArthur a faithful pastor with many of the same convictions as Barrow has ascended the pulpit of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, opened his Bible, and boldly preached God's Word to the thousands assembled there to worship. You get Israel right when you get the Old Testament covenants and promises with Israel right. And it is powerfully persuasive. 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. Whats that about? Btw, LA is beautiful and the conference is great, I hope to post some reflections as the week goes on. And when the church has brought about the dominating influence of Christ across the world, He will then come and end everything, and establish the new heaven and the new earth, which is the eternal state. The Rise of Philo-Semitism and Premillennialism During the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries. What you have here is a benediction from God: blessed is he who reads and understands the book of Revelation. a.Dispensationalist Premillennialism 1. Dispensational Premillennialism is a recent, complex, and increasingly controversial form of modern Historic Premillennialism (HP). The Lords coming back: blessing, purity, stability, comfort. The Rapture, Antichrist, and Rebirth of Israel in Medieval Manuscripts. In fact, some say nearly one-fourth of Scripture is prophetic.