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. I think He cares that we get it right, thats why He wrote it, and I think He understands that His glory is at stake, and our hope and comfort is at stake and the evidence of Gods massive moving in history is at stake with regard to the future. His presentation was not an attempt to harmonize Calvinism with a premillennial view but rather to show the inconsistency of the contrary. That leaves me with the impression that God wants us not to question the length of its duration. It makes no sense. Receiving Not Achieving. by John MacArthur and Richard Mayhue (Chicago: Moody, 2012), 24. - comfort one another. Ridgeley spends several pages refuting ancient and modern Chiliasts, or Millennarians ((Ridgeley, Commentary on the Larger Catechism, 1:558562.)) He and his wife, Christie, have six children. They also think that there is not to be a literal thousand-year kingdom as such, but thats just metaphoric for a long time; and it simply indicates whatever the duration of that period where the influence of the church dominates the world, after which Christ returns. The reformers had it right on most issues. That is a large part of evangelical Christianity, the Wesleyan movement, Charismatic movement, Methodists, etc., etc., many Baptists. Fundamental 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? He is known around the world for his verse-by-verse expository preaching and his pulpit ministry via his daily radio program, Grace to You. 13:79). I just want to note that he neither proposed nor answered the types of objections that are oftentimes levied against premillennialists. They dont faze me. And at that judgment, well be recompensed for the deeds done in the body, whether they are good or phaulos, meaning useless. 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. But in the Old Testament - for example, Isaiah 45:4: Israel, Mine elect. Now it is time to reestablish the high ground of sovereign grace for a future generation of ethnic Israel in salvation and the messianic earthly kingdom. , . Where is the divine mandate to do that? But, in any case - and by the way, postmillennialists and amillennialists differ as to the details of these kinds of things. Now, here comes the real irony; this is the real irony. 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. Have you ever heard of that? 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. Premillennialists believe that two-thirds of the Jews living in Israel during the time of the great tribulation will be slaughtered (Zech. So, I say, leave amillennialism to those kinds of people who do not believe in the sovereign, unilateral, irrevocable, divine electing power of God. Like all divine truth, getting the future truth right is beneficial. Instead, MacArthur systematically unpacked the biblical theology that leads one to an unabashed Calvinistic eschatology. ), 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.). 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. How could they believe unless He caused them to believe? Its there. Basically he said that when people spiritualize or allegorize the first three chapters of Genesis we call them Liberals, but when they do the same with the prophetic Scriptures we call them amillennialists. He concluded that Nothing is more certainly foretold than this national conversion of the Jews in Romans 11. (Jonathan Edwards, History of Redemption, The Works of Jonathan Edwards, 2 vols. See De Jong, As the Waters Cover the Sea, 12.). 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. 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. 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. In a really interesting illustration MacArthur envisioned an amillennialist evangelizing a Jew. You can believe and be saved and then you can forfeit your salvation. 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. MacArthur, John, and Richard Mayhue, eds. Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts Workbook for Women Updated: Seven Questions to Ask Before---and After---You Marry 9780310875475 Thats just two ways to look at the same thing. 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. Why bother? In keeping with his view of faith, MacArthur denigrates "facts," "doctrine," "intellectual assent," and so on. And again, I say, His election is divine, unilateral, unconditional and irrevocable. Most of the Reformers and the Puritans were postmils. After clicking 'Register', you will receive an email with a link to verify your account and to complete your registration. Part of what we pray for in the second petition, Thy kingdom come, is that the gospel [be] propagated throughout the world, the Jews called, the fullness of the Gentiles brought in. In his commentary on the Larger Catechism, Thomas Ridgeley (16671734) wrote, Hence, we cannot but suppose that those prophecies which respect [to the conversion of the Jews], in the latter day, together with the fullness of the Gentiles being brought in, shall be more eminently accomplished than they have hitherto been. ((Thomas Ridgeley, Commentary on the Larger Catechism, 2 vols. 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. a.Dispensationalist Premillennialism 1. 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. . 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. So to interpret Matthew 24 the way John MacArthur does as all about the tribulation period, and then all of a sudden you get to verse thirteen and you read into that a whole soteriological concept that I've got to make it to the end of my life in good works to prove I'm a Christian so I can get to heaven. Mathewson, Dave L. Reformed theologian John Piper affirmed his belief that the second coming of Christ is coming soon and indicated that he is a premillennialist. 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. You have nothing to fear, nothing to worry about. Arminians - not Armenians, thats different; those who follow Arminius - did not believe in election. 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 is masterfully written. A Purchased Victory: A Conference on the Bright Hope of Postmillennialism, Website made by Chittam Technology Solutions, LLC. He told me he would study the issue and get back to me. In the world, things will get better and better and better as the church becomes more powerful and more influential. Well see more about how that works. Those who most celebrate the sovereign grace of election regarding the church and its inviolable place in Gods purpose, from predestination before the foundation of the world to glorification in the future, those who most celebrate the sovereign grace of election, those who most aggressively, most militantly, and most capably defend the truth of Scripture regarding this election being divine, unilateral, unconditional, irrevocable by nature, for the church - thats for us . There have been premillennial (traditionally known as "chiliastic) movements, including some Reformed theologians, since the early church but most . 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. Ive been teaching and preaching the Bible expositionally now for over 40 years, one verse at a time. The other looks at it as a spiritual kingdom also but says it will decline and decline and decline until Jesus finally comes. The bottom line is were in charge. I align myself to historical premillennialism, so I want to convey my own dismay with John MacArthur's sermon series from 2007. After thorough study I saw that his views on the topic were based on (among other things) circular reasoning and tradition. Would you agree? The other says it is the kingdom. When it was first published three and a half decades ago, Paradise Restored helped to precipitate a massive paradigm shift in the Evangelical and Reformed world from abject pessimism to unabashed optimism. The first view well call the postmillennial view; that is to say, that Christ will come after the millennium; that the return of Christ is post, it is after the millennial kingdom. 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. But we now have pure Israelites. Israel sinned, promises cancelled. Regarding this Dr. Timothy Jones writes, "Dispensationalism emphasizes the differences and discontinuity between the physical descendants of Abraham and followers of Jesus [2]. We also applaud his insistence that the Bible must be interpreted literally, according to its normal sense. 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.) 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. Amillennialism is ideal for Arminians because, according to their theology, God elects nobody and preserves nobody. 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. (Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust, [1834] 1974), 1:607.). Dispensational Premillennialism is a recent, complex, and increasingly controversial form of modern Historic Premillennialism (HP). So, if were going to change the rules of interpretation to inject into Scripture a preconceived idea or to avoid what is obvious, we better be sure that we have a word from God. 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. I have even called thee by thy name Isaiah 65:9: Mine elect shall inherit it - the promises of God. 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. Some of them are postmillennialists, although there are fewer and fewer of those. 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.. John McArthur John MacArthur was born on 19 June, 1939. This morning John MacArthur opened the 2007 Shepherds Conference with a loud blast that will no doubt be heard around the Reformed world in the coming weeks. 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. Select Bibliography. 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. In 1652, a group of eighteen Puritan ministers and theologians, including both Presbyterians and Independents, affirmed that the Scripture speaks of a double conversion of the Gentiles, the first before the conversion of the Jews, they being Branches wild by nature grafted into the True Olive Tree instead of the natural Branches which are broken off…. You forfeit everything, and God gives it to somebody else - namely, the church - and we hope the church can do better than Israel or the church will forfeit it all as well. 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. 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. 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. Blessed. 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. Piper was responding to an "Ask Pastor John . #10. Some of the most formidable amillennialists - and Im talking about well-respected, very erudite influential theologians - say things like this, and Ill quote. As soon as you abandon that, then its fair game for anybodys craziness. 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. See here and here. Amen. 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. 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? Continue reading I am not going to try to quote him here, because frankly I did not take notes, I just sat there and listened. I think it matters. He even went so far as to say that the Amillennial position is more consistent with Arminianism 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. Doctrinal Statement Student Testimonies TMS for your Family Academics Academics Overview Master of Divinity Master of Theology Doctor of Ministry Doctor of Philosophy Bachelor of Theology Diploma of Theology Center for Israeli Studies Distance Education Academic Calendar Tyndale Center for Bible Translation I like to call amillennialism negative, and postmillennialism positive. Relax; set all that aside. 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17), which, along with the appearance of the Antichrist, marks the beginning of the seven-year great tribulation on earth. 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. It matters to me. 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. The completed registration allows us to send order and donation receipts to the email address you provided. (Quoted in DeJong, As the Waters Cover the Sea, 38.). Now, against those two is the view called premillennialism; that means there will be a millennium and prior to that millennium, Jesus will come. . 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. Its the same God, same terminology. 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. 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. Whats that about? 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. Thats called process theology. We are responsible for our sin, but in the end, we believe because He moves on us. But not us, who live and breathe the rarified air of sovereign grace and election; it makes no sense to me. by Craig L. Blomberg and Sung Wook Chung [Grand Rapids: . And so, I think its a fair test to see whether eschatology holds up. Help train Christians to boldly share the good news of Jesus Christ in a way that clearly communicates to this secular age. He is the author, co-author or co-editor of fifteen books and more than eighty articles in journals or multi-author works. With appearances by. 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 An article by John MacArthur: "The common question of which Bible translation to use is very important--it concerns the most important words ever spoken, the words of God the Creator. Oh sure, it helps to know some history and some background, but this is a pronounced blessing. 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. 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. 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. 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. Israel crucifies the Messiah, thats it. 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. CLASSIC DISPENSATIONALISM. 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. ( 3:16) . We want the Word to bless, to make us pure, to stabilize us, to comfort us, to give us a passion for evangelism. Staggering. -- 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 Not true. Short Response to Dr. MacArthur's statement. It therefore teaches responsibility. 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. 3. Im unwaveringly committed to that. They believe that salvation can be gained and lost. Well, we now come to the doctrines that relate to the end times. And the longer I think about it and the more I study the Scripture, the clearer it becomes to me. Hes not predicting the future because you cant predict what hasnt happened - it doesnt exist. 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. One says its not the kingdom. iii.16. He blogs at Ordinary Pastor. Christ returns before the Millennium, a literal thousand years 2. Should We Cancel Karl Barth, Martin Luther, and Jonathan Edwards? May it be powerful in our lives we pray in Christs name. 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. Now, if you want to get the future right, youve got to get Israel right, and youve got to get Gods sovereign electing purpose right. John MacArthur laid down the gauntlet on the issue of prophecy in his opening talk at the 2007 "Shepherds' Conference" that was titled "Why Every Self-Respecting Calvinist Is a Premillennialist." He was emphatic that only premillennialism takes the prophecies concerning the future of Israel seriously. He also spoke briefly about dispensationalism, but I am not going to cover that here, I got to run. Calvin, though, was an amil, and DutchCalvinism, after a postmil start, has tended to be amil. Theres a recovery of premillennialism in the modern era, and the recovery of premillennialism in the modern era came from two very unlikely sources. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. They are certainly available (or they should be) in the library at MacArthurs Masters Seminary. Christ's Prophetic Plans: A Futuristic Premillennial Primer. If were going to change the rules, then, may I suggest this - and this is what I told the pastors - if were going to change the rules, then we better have a word from God. And theres the main verb in the sentence are in varying degrees of disinterest in applying their skills to the end of the story, and rather, content to be in happy if not playful disagreement in regard to the vast biblical data on eschatology, as if the end doesnt matter much - period. The church will become more influential, more impactful, more spiritually powerful. Israel disobeyed the law, youre done. . 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. and defends what can only be described as postmillennialism over against premillennialism. [2] The church will have an increasing influence in the world. John Piper Backs Professor's End Times Theory of Premillennialism. 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. 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. 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. There isnt such a thing. What did MacArthur fail to tell the attendees at the Shepherds Conference? 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. Dispensationalism is perhaps a key reason why evangelicals have such a concern with what happens to the nation of Israel. 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 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. Over four decades of ministry, John has written dozens of bestselling books, including The . Thats a hard sell, frankly. . 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. Articles Baptist Theology Calvinism Charles Spurgeon Christology Classic Premillennialism Covenant Theology e-Articles e-Books Eschatology Historic . No kingdom on earth ruled by Christ before He gets here, and no kingdom on earth ruled by Christ after He gets here. He has been the pastor of Grace Community Church, a non-denominational church in Sun Valley, California since February 9, 1969. 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. 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. It is one thing to omit them for a time, and another to do it ordinarily. The Rapture, Antichrist, and Rebirth of Israel in Medieval Manuscripts. The beliefs of Premillennialism are far from "rightly dividing the word of truth"! 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. But people are upset because MacArthur so badly misrepresented amillennialism, and because he defined "premillennialism" as though it were dispensationalism. Craig Blaising and . Now, why am I making a case for this? GDPR is the new European privacy regulation, which will replace the Data Protection Act 1998 in the UK and the equivalent legislation across the EU Member States. 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. They would rather believe that God has predestined His Church to failure than believe that they are personally responsible for transforming society. 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. Who Are the Real Schismatics? Historically, church fathers favored historic premillennialism, including Ireneaus, Papias, Justin Martyr, Tertullian, and Hippolytus. It was developed in mid-19 th century England by John Darby, a leader of the small but influential Plymouth Brethren Movement.
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