john macarthur premillennialism

So here, we are living in the view of our eschatological triumph in Christ: the glory of the Rapture, the last trump, rising from the grave, made imperishable and immortal. They believe God elects nobody to salvation. Hes not predicting the future because you cant predict what hasnt happened - it doesnt exist. A Case for . You get your eschatology right when you get Israel right. So, I say, leave amillennialism to those kinds of people who do not believe in the sovereign, unilateral, irrevocable, divine electing power of God. You have nothing to fear, nothing to worry about. 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. Amillennialism is consistent with Arminianism. It has to matter to us. A Purchased Victory: A Conference on the Bright Hope of Postmillennialism, Website made by Chittam Technology Solutions, LLC. But we now have pure Israelites. Craig Blaising and Darrell Bock, Progressive Dispensationalism ), Puritan Independent Thomas Goodwin, in his book, The Return of Prayers, encouraged people to pray for the calling of the Jews, the utter downfall of Gods enemies, the flourishing of the gospel. Goodwin assured his readers that all these prayers will have answers. (Quoted in Murray, The Puritan Hope, 102.). Have you ever heard of that? There is another form of that view called amillennialism; amillennialism - and youve probably heard about that. ), 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, 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. 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. 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. After this period of fulfillment of divine wrath, He shall then return to rule from a holy city ( i.e., the New Jerusalem) over the earthly nations for one thousand years. 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. 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. Now, frankly, its too late for John Calvin to fix his work, although he is now a premillennialist in heaven. 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 in line with that, I want to try, at least, in the next couple of Sunday nights to establish a foundation for our understanding. I couldnt help but wonder what the other guest speakers might have been thinking as they sat in the front row. Particular to this framework is the eschatological position known as "premillennial dispensationalism" which holds that Christ will return prior to a literal one-thousand-year reign on earth. 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. They are certainly available (or they should be) in the library at MacArthurs Masters Seminary. First John 3 verse 2: Beloved - 1 John 3:2 Now are we the children of God. The world, as they see it, is in an ongoing golden process of progress. In keeping with his view of faith, MacArthur denigrates "facts," "doctrine," "intellectual assent," and so on. I know where history is going. / ( .) 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. I have dragged you through virtually every verse in the New Testament. What you have here is a benediction from God: blessed is he who reads and understands the book of Revelation. 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. And it is powerfully persuasive. (Matt .25:31-46; John . 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. Premillennialism (3) Pretribulationism (1) Pride (3) Priests (4) Princeton Theological Review (1) . This article is also available and sold as a booklet. Scofield, that came out of J.N. This makes two distinct judgmentsone for Christians and one for non-Christians after the millennium. (Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust, [1834] 1974), 1:607.). 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 I have never moved away from my conviction about these two things. John Knox (1) John MacArthur (4) John MacDuff (1) John Mark (1) John Piper (25) John T. Carroll (1) John the Baptist (1) . 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. That's OK and no one is surprised or upset about that. . Its a strange approach. Moreover, John, as again stated by Papias, ascribed the origin of millenarianism to Christ . 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.) We also applaud his insistence that the Bible must be interpreted literally, according to its normal sense. I align myself to historical premillennialism, so I want to convey my own dismay with John MacArthur's sermon series from 2007. But, for certain, according to amillennialists, there will be no thousand-year reign of Christ on the earth. (Quoted in DeJong, As the Waters Cover the Sea, 38.). And who made them? Theological Method of Premillennialism" in A Case for Historic Premillennialism: An Alternative to "Left Behind" Eschatology, ed. John MacArthur and Richard Mayhue's new systematic theology titled Biblical Doctrine has many positive aspects. Since the UK is now no longer a member of the EU, you may be charged an import tax on this item by the customs authorities in your country of residence, which is beyond our control. Why Every Calvinist Should Be a Premillennialist, Part 1. So, I said, Would you do me a favor? See more on the author's page Sung Wook Chung 2. Copyright 2023 The Gospel Coalition, INC. All Rights Reserved. Receiving Not Achieving. He also said that it is too late for Calvin but it is not too late for you [to join the Reformed Premillennial movement]! We want the Word to bless, to make us pure, to stabilize us, to comfort us, to give us a passion for evangelism. Regarding this Dr. Timothy Jones writes, "Dispensationalism emphasizes the differences and discontinuity between the physical descendants of Abraham and followers of Jesus [2]. 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". And at that judgment, well be recompensed for the deeds done in the body, whether they are good or phaulos, meaning useless. 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. 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. Who Are the Real Schismatics? 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. 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. Ive written about this in several places. Reformed theology has made a monumental comeback in this culture, and thankfully so, because it is biblical. 2023 Grace to You. Israel sinned, promises cancelled. 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. And by the way, dispensationalists - people say, Well, that whole premillennial view, that came out of C.I. I dont know about you, but I really cant get too worked up about greenhouse gases. In other words, Piper believes Jesus Christ will come on earth and reign for 1,000 years. These are dicult words to pronounce and even harder concepts to understand. 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. The second, after the conversion of the Jews. (Quoted in Iain Murray, The Puritan Hope: Revival and the Interpretation of Prophecy (London: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1971), 72. Like all divine truth, getting the future truth right is beneficial. 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.. 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. Craig Blaising and . As soon as you abandon that, then its fair game for anybodys craziness. Why? 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. 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. by John MacArthur and Richard Mayhue (Chicago: Moody, 2012), 24. The preconception is that we cant allow this to happen. Not just the future of Israel, but our confidence in the Word of God. 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. Death, where is your victory? There were 1600 pastors from central Asia - the first Central Asian pastors conference in history after the breakup of the Soviet Union. The other says there will be a kingdom. In a shocking conclusion to the illustration, MacArthur said, if this is the kingdom, then Jesus is not the messiah. The assembly and the circumstances of the assembly must be distinguished. A Preface First: One of the reasons I am doing this review of Dr. MacArthur's sermon Why Every Calvinist Should Be a Premillennialist is due to a good friend and sister in Christ who wished to challenge me on the subject of eschatology. 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.) But they never got around to eschatology; they never got around to applying their formidable skills. Grace to You radio, video, audio, print, and website resources reach millions worldwide each day. It has not appeared as yet what we shall be. That in itself is an indication of Gods preservation for their future. And so, we stand steadfast, immovable. God doesnt choose you, you choose Him. The Rapture, Antichrist, and Rebirth of Israel in Medieval Manuscripts. 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. 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. No kingdom on earth ruled by Christ before He gets here, and no kingdom on earth ruled by Christ after He gets here. Certainly, you have no idea what it means - neither does anybody else. 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). 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. Because when you understand Gods purpose for Israel, you now have the foundation for all eschatology; all eschatology. Thats a hard sell, frankly. Because, you see, if it doesnt mean what it says it means, then any suggestion is as bad as any other suggestion. We understand that when you have a prophecy in the Bible that has not yet come to pass, not everything will be clear. I think it matters to God. After thorough study I saw that his views on the topic were based on (among other things) circular reasoning and tradition. 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. 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? 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. Father, we thank You for a great evening together; wonderful testimonies, great fellowship and how - how good it is to think deeply and broadly about the glory of Your Word. You have this hope as a purifying hope. Its the whole point of everything else. Arminius did not believe in election; those who follow him do not believe in election. 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. The reasons are simple enough: this classic work is forthrightly Biblical. 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. 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. 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. Erdman refers to the premillennialism of Asia Minor in the second century as "Asiatic millennialism.". 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. O.T. Popular proponents of dispensational premillennialism have been John F. MacArthur, Phil Johnson, Ray Comfort, Jerry Falwell, Todd Friel, Dwight Pentecost, John Walvoord (d. 2002), Tim Lahaye, Charles Caldwell Ryrie (in the notes for the Ryrie Study Bible), the theological-folk poetry of Jack Royerton, and Charles L. Feinberg. I am not going to try to quote him here, because frankly I did not take notes, I just sat there and listened. 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. Register. Postmillennialists think things are going to get better. 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17), which, along with the appearance of the Antichrist, marks the beginning of the seven-year great tribulation on earth. 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. Guest. 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. For details about this sermon and for related resources, click here: https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/90-339 To receive John MacArthur's monthly l. - comfort one another. Prior to that I thought about it a lot. 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? 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. That is a large part of evangelical Christianity, the Wesleyan movement, Charismatic movement, Methodists, etc., etc., many Baptists. 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. God promised him the inheritance of the land. That leaves me with the impression that God wants us not to question the length of its duration. 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. They would rather believe that God has predestined His Church to failure than believe that they are personally responsible for transforming society. Israel and the church, and advocate for futuristic millennialism. 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. He has been the pastor of Grace Community Church, a non-denominational church in Sun Valley, California since February 9, 1969. They dont faze me. . But there is a growing influence of amillennialism, because amillennialism has been a part of reformed theology. #10. 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. He never has. God filled the Bible with prophecy and much of it looking to the end. 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. 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. A Review of Dr. John MacArthur's "Why Every Calvinist Should be a Premillennialist" Sermon. I reject the wacky world of newspaper exegesis and cartoon eschatology, and crazy interpretation like the locusts of Revelation 9 being helicopters, et cetera. Mathewson, Dave L. Theres a rapture, and theres a bma seat judgment; we know that. He made them in the past, when He didnt know what He now knows, because what was going to happen hadnt happened. He also spoke briefly about dispensationalism, but I am not going to cover that here, I got to run. 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. Some of them are postmillennialists, although there are fewer and fewer of those. Darby, that came out of that whole dispensational system no, it didnt. One says moving toward the coming of Christ there will be no kingdom. It is masterfully written. 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. 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. After that he must be loosed for a little while." The other looks at it as a spiritual kingdom also but says it will decline and decline and decline until Jesus finally comes. 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. And the longer I think about it and the more I study the Scripture, the clearer it becomes to me. 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. You can figure it out. 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. 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. And Im really grateful that the Spirit of God is moving the way He is these days, and moving in the church to reestablish the glorious high ground of the sovereignty of God in salvation. If you get that right, your eschatology will come crystal clear. . But in the Old Testament - for example, Isaiah 45:4: Israel, Mine elect. Over 200 times in the Bible God is called the God of Israel - over two hundred times, the God of Israel.. 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. So, they did it, and we distributed that at the Shepherds Conference - 350-page version of Revelation, in which the full interpretation is provided there and of course, you can advance to the full two volumes if youd like. 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. Israel disobeyed the law, youre done. Loraine Boettner wrote a book called The Meaning of the Millennium; this is what he said: It is generally agreed that if the prophecies are taken literally, they do foretell a restoration of the nation of Israel in the land of Palestine, with the Jews having a prominent place in that kingdom and ruling over the other nations.. Why bother? 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. 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 . 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.)) Please be aware that these items are sent out from our office in the UK. 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. Daylight and dark, daylight and dark - thats a 24-hour period - God creates everything. 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. We know that when He appears, - second coming we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is. The Rise of Philo-Semitism and Premillennialism During the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries. And . Or another way to say it would be this: how many of you have attended an amillennial prophecy conference? How could He hold them responsible for not believing? 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.

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