There are two great elect people in the Bible: Israel and the church; and Israel is elect, as the church is elect - the New Testament is full of comments about the church being the elect. This morning John MacArthur opened the 2007 Shepherd's Conference with a loud blast that will no doubt be heard around the Reformed world in the coming weeks. Dr. MacArthur picked this fight. (Quoted in DeJong, As the Waters Cover the Sea, 38.). That's OK and no one is surprised or upset about that. (Edmonton, AB Canada: Still Waters Revival Books, [1855] 1993), 2:621. iii.16. It is one thing to omit them for a time, and another to do it ordinarily. Log In Its not nearly as difficult as some people make it if you just take Scripture at face value. Israel and the church, and advocate for futuristic millennialism. Forfeited all its privileges, forfeited all those things that God declared in covenant that He would give to them in the future; and they forfeit it by their disobedience to the Mosaic Covenant, by their apostasy from true religion and by their rejection of their Messiah. Now, Im going to save the good stuff till next time, but I want to just end by giving you a little list of benefits of getting your eschatology right, okay? And for most evangelicals, for most people who hold to a sound, biblical view and Reformed theology, they would live and die that the text of Genesis 1 through 3 means exactly what it says it means, because thats the only way to interpret Scripture. 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? Scofield, that came out of J.N. It is narrative history, and we fight - sometimes tooth and nail - to maintain the literal veracity of Genesis 1 through 3. So, I said, Would you do me a favor? MacArthur pulled no punches in his messages saying things like Jesus, Peter, the writer of Hebrews, and James were all premillenial. And whats at stake here? Affiliate disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, we may earn commissions from qualifying purchases on Amazon.com. The other says it is the kingdom. And at that judgment, well be recompensed for the deeds done in the body, whether they are good or phaulos, meaning useless. He also spoke briefly about dispensationalism, but I am not going to cover that here, I got to run. First John 3 verse 2: Beloved - 1 John 3:2 Now are we the children of God. Premillennialism (3) Pretribulationism (1) Pride (3) Priests (4) Princeton Theological Review (1) . Please make sure all fields are filled out. 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 There is another form of that view called amillennialism; amillennialism - and youve probably heard about that. [2] Christ will return, He will come in a glorious second coming to earth - but not to establish His kingdom, but rather after His kingdom has been established. The Gospel Coalition supports the church by providing resources that are trusted and timely, winsome and wise, and centered on the gospel of Jesus Christ. 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. In the modern theological world, I say leave amillennialism to the process theologians. Grace to You radio, video, audio, print, and website resources reach millions worldwide each day. His message in General Session 1 was entitled Why Every Self-Respecting Calvinist is Premillennial. I remember when I flew to Kazakhstan in about a 35 or 38-hour flight; got off the plane at 7:00 in the morning to speak at a conference. I reject the wacky world of newspaper exegesis and cartoon eschatology, and crazy interpretation like the locusts of Revelation 9 being helicopters, et cetera. by Craig L. Blomberg and Sung Wook Chung [Grand Rapids: . 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. ), We have, hence, sufficient ground to conclude, that, when these prophecies shall have their accomplishment, the interest of Christ shall be the prevailing interest in the world, which it has never yet been in all respects; so that godliness shall be as much and as universally valued and esteemed, as it has hitherto been decried, and it shall be reckoned as great an honour to be a Christian, as it has, in the most degenerate age of the church, been matter of reproach…. Now, the truth of the matter is, those are just two ways to look at the same thing; postmillennialism and amillennialism is really the same thing. 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. 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. 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. "MacArthur calls himself a "leaky dispensationalist"--meaning he rejects any and all "dispensational" soteriological innovations, holding to classic Reformed (i.e., Protestant, not "covenantal") soteriology. And the longer I think about it and the more I study the Scripture, the clearer it becomes to me. We also applaud his insistence that the Bible must be interpreted literally, according to its normal sense. This is process theology. How could He hold any of us, in one sense, responsible for not believing? So, my words to you are really very simple foundational words, I say this. This is a positive book: positive about the future of the Church. Im unwaveringly committed to that. 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. Over four decades of ministry, John has written dozens of bestselling books, including The . 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. John MacArthur and Richard Mayhue's new systematic theology titled Biblical Doctrine has many positive aspects. And there are a lot of people who get the first one right - they get election right - and they dont get Israel right, and they are lost when it comes to eschatology. And Im confident that God didnt reveal prophetic truth in so much detail to hide anything, to obscure the truth, but to reveal it for our blessing, our motivation and His glory. Not that they were the end, but they were the means to the end. That's a complete misreading. 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. John Knox (1) John MacArthur (4) John MacDuff (1) John Mark (1) John Piper (25) John T. Carroll (1) John the Baptist (1) . 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. 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. I align myself to historical premillennialism, so I want to convey my own dismay with John MacArthur's sermon series from 2007. I have dragged you through virtually every verse in the New Testament. 3. 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. 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. This is why the Church is so weak in our day. Craig Blaising and . 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. . Daylight and dark, daylight and dark - thats a 24-hour period - God creates everything. Yet, Abraham did not receive it during all the time of his journey there. We want the Word to bless, to make us pure, to stabilize us, to comfort us, to give us a passion for evangelism. 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. 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. The Rapture, Antichrist, and Rebirth of Israel in Medieval Manuscripts. I saw it in Scripture when I was young; I saw it in Scripture because it was so crystal clear. Postmillennialists think things are going to get better. Enter your email address and we will send you instructions on how to reset your password. If only he could just send down one message, that might be it. Certainly, you have no idea what it means - neither does anybody else. That in itself is an indication of Gods preservation for their future. 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 . When I was in seminary I thought about it, and I guess for about 50 years Ive been thinking about eschatology, the time of the end. They believe God elects nobody to salvation. You cannot fight the war on every front, and at the great time of the Reformation, they were fighting the war where the battle raged the hottest. We understand that when you have a prophecy in the Bible that has not yet come to pass, not everything will be clear. We had met a short time ago, and she had questions about . I think it matters. 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. Well, this is such a great chapter - verse 51: I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep. This is why its message is hated. Receiving Not Achieving. Because when you understand Gods purpose for Israel, you now have the foundation for all eschatology; all eschatology. I know where history is going. 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. "John MacArthur on Calvinism, Dispensationalism, Israel, and Hermeneutics: A Few Comments" . 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. May we be faithful to take it, to interpret it as you intended for us to, so that it can yield to us the wonderful rich blessings that You have promised. The church will become more influential, more impactful, more spiritually powerful. Romans 11:28 . 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. 4. Erik Raymond is the senior pastor at Redeemer Fellowship Church in Metro Boston. Hes improving; Hes definitely on the upward curve. Now, frankly, its too late for John Calvin to fix his work, although he is now a premillennialist in heaven. You can believe and be saved and then you can forfeit your salvation. 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. This book teaches that Christians will exercise dominion in history. 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. His presentation was not an attempt to harmonize Calvinism with a premillennial view but rather to show the inconsistency of the contrary. The world, as they see it, is in an ongoing golden process of progress. 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). There should be a footnote in the chapter saying, Please note: here comes a prophetic text; change the rules. We really need a divine mandate, because I think God cares that we get it right. You would assume that they are confused because the Bible is confusing, and if the Bible is confusing, then God Himself is confused, and so, working hard - and it is often hard work - to understand prophetic passages is needless. The other says there will be a kingdom. 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. Now, the only thing that I ask is that you read it, and the only reason I ask you to read it is so that you may be what? 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? 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. He notes that "the decisive authority of Asiatic millennialism is John, from whom the elders claimed to have obtained their information. Some people want to turn it into ages - theres nothing in there that does that; theres nothing in the text itself that does that. But, for certain, according to amillennialists, there will be no thousand-year reign of Christ on the earth. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. Like all divine truth, getting the future truth right is beneficial. God is just trying to find His way through the melee of choices and decisions, through the endless vicissitudes and choices that everything and everyone makes, through all of the numberless issues in this massive universe that are going on; Hes sorting it all out as He goes. This makes two distinct judgmentsone for Christians and one for non-Christians after the millennium. Amillennialism really seems to fit them. Premillennialism Historic Premillennialism Postmillennialism Amillennialism view sees the re-establishment of temple worship and animal sacrifices as a remembrance of Christ's sacrifice. That is a large part of evangelical Christianity, the Wesleyan movement, Charismatic movement, Methodists, etc., etc., many Baptists. Christ's Prophetic Plans offers the reader John MacArthur's most explicit writing on eschatology and is perfect for pastors, bible professors, teachers, and students with a heart and mind for discovering Biblical truth. I have never moved away from my conviction about these two things. Craig and his wife Fran have two daughters and reside in Centennial, Colorado. He is the author, co-author or co-editor of fifteen books and more than eighty articles in journals or multi-author works. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.. 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. 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. Craig Blaising and Darrell Bock, Progressive Dispensationalism The beliefs of Premillennialism are far from "rightly dividing the word of truth"! If it doesnt mean what it says and everybodys got a different view, then nobody has the authority to say, This is true. Lets just stick with things that we know are true and things that all the good theologians agree on. Calvin, though, was an amil, and DutchCalvinism, after a postmil start, has tended to be amil. Amillennialism is ideal for Arminians because, according to their theology, God elects nobody and preserves nobody. "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. Process theology: they are the theologians, liberal theologians, who believe that God is in process of becoming what He will be. Short Response to Dr. MacArthur's statement. And I went there and I spoke for a week, and they finally said to me, When are you going to tell us the good part? and I said, Well, whats the good part? They said, We want to know about the future; we want to know about the future. ( 3:16) . In the world, things will get better and better and better as the church becomes more powerful and more influential. If you interpret Old Testament prophecies literally, they cannot be fulfilled in this present age. The church will move out of its own environs to capture nations, leaders, ideologies, philosophies, theories, religions, and bring them all into captivity to Christ. Theres a rapture, and theres a bma seat judgment; we know that. 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.. 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. 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. Why, then, if we are so committed to protecting the text of the beginning in its literal nature, are we so fast to give up the texts of the end and their literal nature? Btw, LA is beautiful and the conference is great, I hope to post some reflections as the week goes on. It has not appeared as yet what we shall be. If you dont know what you believe about the future, you cant preach on it. 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.) Theological Method of Premillennialism" in A Case for Historic Premillennialism: An Alternative to "Left Behind" Eschatology, ed. When He comes, everything ends immediately. If you get that right, your eschatology will come crystal clear. -- by John Walvoord -- p.98 10.The Early Witness to Premillennialism -- by Michael Vlach -- p.104 11.Premillennialism in the Old Testament Series -- by Arnold Fruchtenbaum -- p.107 A. DeJong, As the Waters Cover the Sea: Millennial Expectations in the Rise of Anglo-America Missions, 16401810 (Kampen: J. H. Kok, 1970), 3738.) 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. Leave it to the semi-Pelagians and Pelagians, who go in and out of salvation; it makes sense for their theology. Articles Baptist Theology Calvinism Charles Spurgeon Christology Classic Premillennialism Covenant Theology e-Articles e-Books Eschatology Historic . You get Israel right when you get the Old Testament covenants and promises with Israel right. What passage is it in? I just want to note that he neither proposed nor answered the types of objections that are oftentimes levied against premillennialists. He will return to an increasingly wicked earth, He will come in fiery judgment, He will judge all the ungodly of all the earth, and then establish His rule and His kingdom forever. 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. Thats for people who dont know this; that the way history ends, is with Jesus coming and taking us away. It is the single most inexplicable story in human history, that this small group of beleaguered people, attacked and assaulted by everybody around them for centuries, still exist as a pure ethnic race. How do you explain that? Because, you see, if it doesnt mean what it says it means, then any suggestion is as bad as any other suggestion. 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. Ive been here at Grace Church well, what - thirty-some years. 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. 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. After that he must be loosed for a little while." I was talking to one of our missionaries just this same week I gave this talk to the pastors, and he was coming back from China and he said, Theres only one view in the church in China and its the premillennial view. Of course, because they just take what Scripture says. There have been premillennial (traditionally known as "chiliastic) movements, including some Reformed theologians, since the early church but most . Another Rapture passage - great one - verse 16: the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, the trumpet of God, the dead in Christ shall rise first. He told me he would study the issue and get back to me. Reformed theology has made a monumental comeback in this culture, and thankfully so, because it is biblical. It matters to me. The end is as divinely designed as the beginning, and God has given us massive amounts of revelation in the Scripture about the future. 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.
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john macarthur premillennialism