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But, you know, of all the people on the planet who should be premillennialists, it should be those who believe in divine sovereign election, of all people. 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. Why do we want to run from that? They dont faze me. Well see more about how that works. Now, here comes the real irony; this is the real irony. 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. MacArthur's "dispensationalism" is eschatological and ecclesiological only. 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 Every promise God made to Abraham about his lineage inheriting the land of Palestine has been fulfilled! 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. 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. Help Grace to You bring important resources like this to people in your community and beyond, free of charge. Turn to 1 Corinthians 15; 1 Corinthians 15. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. Have you ever heard of that? One calls it a kingdom and says it will expand and expand and expand - thats the positive spin. [1] He has been the pastor of Grace Community Church, a non-denominational church in Sun Valley, California since February 9, 1969. Theyve been refined, clarified, expanded, enriched through these 50 years, but I was convinced when I started. Chicago: Moody, 2012. What did MacArthur fail to tell the attendees at the Shepherds Conference? 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. The church. Now, when they came here, Im very much aware that many of them are amillennialists. 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. The assembly and the circumstances of the assembly must be distinguished. 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. Macarthur writes "Futuristic Premillennialism is the result of an understanding and application of the prophetic texts in a way that is consistent with the normal, literal approach to interpreting Scripture." This is how the authors come to their Futuristic Premillennial view. Erdman refers to the premillennialism of Asia Minor in the second century as "Asiatic millennialism.". Even His promises may not be valid, because He made them with inadequate information. 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. Theres a recovery of premillennialism in the modern era, and the recovery of premillennialism in the modern era came from two very unlikely sources. MacArthur--who is an ardent dispensationalist--stated and defended his position. Over 200 times in the Bible God is called the God of Israel - over two hundred times, the God of Israel.. And so, I think its a fair test to see whether eschatology holds up. So, my words to you are really very simple foundational words, I say this. 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". Death, where is your victory? Premillennialists believe that two-thirds of the Jews living in Israel during the time of the great tribulation will be slaughtered (Zech. Its a strange approach. 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. In fact, its an impossible effort since it doesnt mean what it says, and you have to sort of allegorize it or spiritualize it and therefore interpretations are myriad; they are as many as interpreters. Now, against those two is the view called premillennialism; that means there will be a millennium and prior to that millennium, Jesus will come. He comes pre, not post; He comes before. And he is suggesting, therefore, that we cant interpret them literally, because somehow, weve got to make them fulfilled in this age, because there is no future age. But that is essentially what theyre asking us to do. 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. Receiving Not Achieving. Not just the future of Israel, but our confidence in the Word of God. What passage is it in? 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. 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. (Ridgeley, Commentary on the Larger Catechism, 1:562. Those are the views. 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…. 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. 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. Most of the Reformers and the Puritans were postmils. It is narrative history, and we fight - sometimes tooth and nail - to maintain the literal veracity of Genesis 1 through 3. 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. 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. These are dicult words to pronounce and even harder concepts to understand. Some of them are postmillennialists, although there are fewer and fewer of those. I have never moved away from my conviction about these two things. 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. Interestingly, some of this same languagethe phrase double conversion of the Gentiles in particularwas used by Johann Heinrich Alsted, whose premillennial The Beloved City or, The Saints Reign on Earth a Thousand Yeares (1627; English edition 1643) exercised great influence in England. Yet in Sproul's lifetime, he and MacArthur were close friends. 13:79). Whether youre talking about the church as Gods elect, or Israel as Gods elect, both are Gods elect. 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. We who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus shall we always be with the Lord. Heres the application: Therefore - do what? 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. Amillennialism is consistent with Arminianism. Whats that about? I like to call amillennialism negative, and postmillennialism positive. In the modern theological world, I say leave amillennialism to the process theologians. Where is the divine mandate to do that? So, you interpret it right, and that will allow you to understand the meaning of the Covenants and the future of Israel; and Gods integrity is at stake. Premillennialism (3) Pretribulationism (1) Pride (3) Priests (4) Princeton Theological Review (1) . . And youve been great tonight; this is more like a theological lecture. Christ's Prophetic Plans: A Futuristic Premillennial Primer. That in itself is an indication of Gods preservation for their future. 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. 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. You have nothing to fear, nothing to worry about. But let me tell you something: normal, natural, literal interpretation is the only way to stop abuse of Scripture. Regarding this Dr. Timothy Jones writes, "Dispensationalism emphasizes the differences and discontinuity between the physical descendants of Abraham and followers of Jesus [2]. 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). We can take prophetic Scripture at face value. And by the way, if we change the rules, what are the new ones? . 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. Cause what that means is God does know the future; God has set the future, and the future involves not only the glory of His church but the fulfillment of His elect people Israel with regard to everything that He promised that nation. I just want to note that he neither proposed nor answered the types of objections that are oftentimes levied against premillennialists. This is a positive book: positive about the future of the Church. We also applaud his insistence that the Bible must be interpreted literally, according to its normal sense. 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. And it is powerfully persuasive. 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. 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. We want the Word to cause us to live lives pleasing to You. Does the end matter? They would rather believe that God has predestined His Church to failure than believe that they are personally responsible for transforming society. 2023 Grace to You. Would you agree? Historic premillennialism is one system of eschatology that has support in the Protestant community. "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. Primer, ed. Today's Christians have been taught that they must flee responsibility, for Jesus' sake. 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. 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 . Ive written about this in several places. Thats just two ways to look at the same thing. Ridgeley spends several pages refuting ancient and modern Chiliasts, or Millennarians ((Ridgeley, Commentary on the Larger Catechism, 1:558562.)) Who will establish it? He told me he would study the issue and get back to me. Oh sure, it helps to know some history and some background, but this is a pronounced blessing. 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. We know that, so our ambition is, when we get to that place, to be rewarded because we are pleasing to Him. As soon as you abandon that, then its fair game for anybodys craziness. It makes no sense. 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. Hes improving; Hes definitely on the upward curve. But they never got around to eschatology; they never got around to applying their formidable skills. We've been working our way through doctrinal emphases in Scripture, doctrinal themes, and we have covered a lot of ground. 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. They believe that salvation can be gained and lost. 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. Death, where is your sting? There is another form of that view called amillennialism; amillennialism - and youve probably heard about that. Historically, church fathers favored historic premillennialism, including Ireneaus, Papias, Justin Martyr, Tertullian, and Hippolytus. I have even called thee by thy name Isaiah 65:9: Mine elect shall inherit it - the promises of God. Contrary to MacArthur, the historical record demonstrates that postmillennial Calvinists had developed a prophetic role for the Jews hundreds of years before Scofield. They were fighting the massive Roman system, and being occupied on those fronts, they never really got to the front of eschatology. And at that judgment, well be recompensed for the deeds done in the body, whether they are good or phaulos, meaning useless. (Edmonton, AB Canada: Still Waters Revival Books, [1855] 1993), 2:621. 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.. 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. We had met a short time ago, and she had questions about . 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. Do you understand the massive apologetic power of the existence of Israel as an ethnic people in their own land? 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. (Quoted in DeJong, As the Waters Cover the Sea, 38.). He also said that it is too late for Calvin but it is not too late for you [to join the Reformed Premillennial movement]! 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. Ligon Duncan and CJ Maheney (preaching tonight in the place of John Piper) both are Amil; Al Mohler and Mark Dever are both Historic Premil (I believe, correct me if I am wrong). See De Jong, As the Waters Cover the Sea, 12.). "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. 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17), which, along with the appearance of the Antichrist, marks the beginning of the seven-year great tribulation on earth. How could they believe unless He caused them to believe? You get the Old Testament covenants and promises right when you get the interpretation of Scripture right. 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.. ), 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…. 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. Now, there are people who do this to Genesis 1, 2 and 3. 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. Why Every Calvinist Should Be a Premillennialist, Part 1. But there is a growing influence of amillennialism, because amillennialism has been a part of reformed theology. He made an interesting connection between Genesis and Revelation. Thats a hard sell, frankly. Isaiah 65 - really, the whole chapter is about Israel, Gods elect - verse 22: My elect again shall enjoy long the work of their hands. Israel repeatedly called Gods elect; we know what that means. There were 1600 pastors from central Asia - the first Central Asian pastors conference in history after the breakup of the Soviet Union. Dispensationalism is a kind of framework for history that is organized around seven dispensationsseven orders or administrations. Major proponents J. N. Darby, C. I. Scofield, John Walvoord, A. C. Gaebelein, Charles Ryrie, Lewis S. Chafer, J. Dwight Pentecost, Charles C. Ryrie, Erik Raymond is the senior pastor at Redeemer Fellowship Church in Metro Boston. Not that they were the only ones to be saved, but they were the ones through whom God will eventually reach, and even set up His Son to rule over the nations. 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. 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. He is currently the chancellor emeritus of The Master's University in . He asked what the amillennialist would say if the Jew asked about the kingdom and the blessings. I have thought about these things, by the way, for a long time. In keeping with his view of faith, MacArthur denigrates "facts," "doctrine," "intellectual assent," and so on. First, the Antichrist would appear and a seven-year period of tribulation would commence. He blogs at Ordinary Pastor. I dont know about you, but I really cant get too worked up about greenhouse gases. 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. Do not look down on others from your view of the end-times. I have - they can try to terrify me with all this stuff; I am unmoved. 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. 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 Christ returns before the Millennium, a literal thousand years 2. Well, this is such a great chapter - verse 51: I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep. 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. Or another way to say it would be this: how many of you have attended an amillennial prophecy conference? 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. In other words, Piper believes Jesus Christ will come on earth and reign for 1,000 years. 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. You get Israel right when you get the Old Testament covenants and promises with Israel right. Its not nearly as difficult as some people make it if you just take Scripture at face value. That's OK and no one is surprised or upset about that. Im unwaveringly committed to that. Please contact the publisher to obtain copies of this resource. 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. This primer takes you on a Biblical study of questions surrounding prophecy, Israel, the rapture, and the different millennial . 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. When He comes, everything ends immediately. 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. . It is one thing to omit them for a time, and another to do it ordinarily. Grace to You radio, video, audio, print, and website resources reach millions worldwide each day. After thorough study I saw that his views on the topic were based on (among other things) circular reasoning and tradition. 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. Affiliate disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, we may earn commissions from qualifying purchases on Amazon.com. And again, I say, His election is divine, unilateral, unconditional and irrevocable. Some people want to turn it into ages - theres nothing in there that does that; theres nothing in the text itself that does that. Reformed theologian John Piper affirmed his belief that the second coming of Christ is coming soon and indicated that he is a premillennialist. He also spoke briefly about dispensationalism, but I am not going to cover that here, I got to run. That's a complete misreading. Here at Grace to You Europe we take our data protection responsibilities very seriously and, as you would expect, have undertaken a significant programme of work to ensure that we are ready for this important legislative change. He notes that "the decisive authority of Asiatic millennialism is John, from whom the elders claimed to have obtained their information. 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. 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. A Look at the Church of England, Sneak Peek Interview: Laura Wiflers New Childrens Book. Preachers Should Measure Twice and Cut Once, Why Our Church Cancelled Christmas Eve Service. and defends what can only be described as postmillennialism over against premillennialism. So, I said, Would you do me a favor? 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. The church will have an increasing influence in the world. This year they upgraded some snacks and are handing out Zone protein bars, a major enhancementhowever, I am really missing my family.