I just want to note that he neither proposed nor answered the types of objections that are oftentimes levied against premillennialists. Calvin, though, was an amil, and DutchCalvinism, after a postmil start, has tended to be amil. John MacArthur News Why TMS? Israel sinned, youre out. It is masterfully written. Did God do this but somehow mumble? We know that Word about the future has that power. Amillennialism is consistent with Arminianism. 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 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. He has been the pastor of Grace Community Church, a non-denominational church in Sun Valley, California since February 9, 1969. We cant have those prophecies come to pass with regard to Israel in an earthly, literal kingdom the way the Old Testament seems to be saying it, so set aside normal, natural, literal interpretation. After thorough study I saw that his views on the topic were based on (among other things) circular reasoning and tradition. I know where history is going. Help train Christians to boldly share the good news of Jesus Christ in a way that clearly communicates to this secular age. Short Response to Dr. MacArthur's statement. His message in General Session 1 was entitled Why Every Self-Respecting Calvinist is Premillennial. If you get that right, your eschatology will come crystal clear. The church. 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. You get the Old Testament covenants and promises right when you get the interpretation of Scripture right. 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? That's OK and no one is surprised or upset about that. 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. This is simply a way to understand Scripture in its normal sense. 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. 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. a.Dispensationalist Premillennialism 1. 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. 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. He blogs at Ordinary Pastor. 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? But that is essentially what theyre asking us to do. I reject the wacky world of newspaper exegesis and cartoon eschatology, and crazy interpretation like the locusts of Revelation 9 being helicopters, et cetera. Help Grace to You bring important resources like this to people in your community and beyond, free of charge. A Look at the Church of England, Sneak Peek Interview: Laura Wiflers New Childrens Book. 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. Some people want to turn it into ages - theres nothing in there that does that; theres nothing in the text itself that does that. There were 1600 pastors from central Asia - the first Central Asian pastors conference in history after the breakup of the Soviet Union. He wants us to get it right; thats why He put it in the Scripture and the Scripture is replete with it. They explain, "As a refinement of dispensational premillennialism, futuristic millennialism affirms a futuristic view . Please make sure all fields are filled out. Guest. They taught that the kingdom of God would be visibly manifest on earth after the second coming of Jesus. He is currently the chancellor emeritus of The Master's University in . 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. Theres a recovery of premillennialism in the modern era, and the recovery of premillennialism in the modern era came from two very unlikely sources. Premillennialism (3) Pretribulationism (1) Pride (3) Priests (4) Princeton Theological Review (1) . MacArthur, John, and Richard Mayhue, eds. Whether youre talking about the church as Gods elect, or Israel as Gods elect, both are Gods elect. I had, as theologians might call it, my own my own ordo eschaton; that would be the chronological sequence of the end times. 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. Christ returns before the Millennium, a literal thousand years 2. 8.The Grammatical-Historical Hermeneutic: Its Defense and the Demand for Premillennialism -- by Abner Chou -- p.64 9.Will Israel Build a Temple in Jerusalem? Now, I told you a few weeks ago why people believe that, because they want to get God off the hook so Hes not responsible for evil; but Hes happy to take the responsibility for allowing evil for His own glory. That leaves me with the impression that God wants us not to question the length of its duration. Why? This book teaches that Christians will exercise dominion in history. (Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust, [1834] 1974), 1:607.). How do you explain that? We freely own, as what we think agreeable to scripture, that as Christ has, in all ages, displayed his glory as King of the Church, so we have ground to conclude, from scripture, that the administration of his government in this world, before his coming to judgment, will be attended with greater magnificence, more visible marks of glory, and various occurrences of providence, which shall tend to the welfare and happiness of his church, in a greater degree than has been beheld or experienced by it, since it was planted by the ministry of the apostles after his ascension into heaven. 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. 13:79). Premillennialists believe that two-thirds of the Jews living in Israel during the time of the great tribulation will be slaughtered (Zech. Why TMS? 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? 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. 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 . Death, where is your victory? And there are others who believe that that refers to heaven; that refers to the experience of the saints in heaven. 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. Amillennialism really seems to fit them. O.T. I couldnt help but wonder what the other guest speakers might have been thinking as they sat in the front row. Its a strange approach. Some of the most formidable amillennialists - and Im talking about well-respected, very erudite influential theologians - say things like this, and Ill quote. Some of them are postmillennialists, although there are fewer and fewer of those. They dont want to accept that the entire universe was created in six nearly twenty-four-hour days. What some postmil critics fail to recognize is that postmillennialists have always had a significant role for the future conversion of Jews while premillennialists do not. Preachers Should Measure Twice and Cut Once, Why Our Church Cancelled Christmas Eve Service. So, my words to you are really very simple foundational words, I say this. 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. 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. Thats a hard sell, frankly. Since Scripture speaks of the Millennium as a time of great prosperity for the kingdom of God, post-mills are inherently optimistic. Hes not predicting the future because you cant predict what hasnt happened - it doesnt exist. 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? John MacArthur is the pastor-teacher of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, where he has served since 1969. We can take prophetic Scripture at face value. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ - thats part of the coming eschatology. 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 We also applaud his insistence that the Bible must be interpreted literally, according to its normal sense. John MacArthur was one of the influences that helped turn me to Preterism. Oct 27, 2007. John MacArthur and Richard Mayhue's new systematic theology titled Biblical Doctrine has many positive aspects. They dont want to accept the fact that Adam and Eve were created full grown, male and female, not the result of an evolutionary process. 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. Receiving Not Achieving. DMcFadden said: The mixture of dispensational eschatology and Calvinist soteriology is not unique to MacArthur. 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. Other well-known historic premillennialists include Walter Martin; John Warwick Montgomery; J. Barton Payne; Henry Alford, a noted Greek scholar; and Theodor Zahn, a German New Testament scholar. Blessed. You have nothing to fear, nothing to worry about. It matters to me. Contrary to MacArthur, the historical record demonstrates that postmillennial Calvinists had developed a prophetic role for the Jews hundreds of years before Scofield. ), 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.). Those who most celebrate the sovereign grace of election - thats the Reformed - they are typically amillennial. Post-Millennialism, in stark contrast to Pre-Millennialism, believes that the Millennium occurs before Jesus' Second Coming rather than after. Anything to avoid premillennialism, even if you change the rules of interpretation. It makes no sense. We want the Word to bless, to make us pure, to stabilize us, to comfort us, to give us a passion for evangelism. And who made them? See De Jong, As the Waters Cover the Sea, 12.). Why bother? 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. Now, there are people who do this to Genesis 1, 2 and 3. 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. If you look at Acts 3:19, Peter says, Repent therefore, and return, that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing - thats the millennium - may come from the presence of the Lord; that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you, whom heaven must receive till the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time. So, having your eschatology in place may lead you to repentance. But let me tell you something: normal, natural, literal interpretation is the only way to stop abuse of Scripture. Those are the views. 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. I have dragged you through virtually every verse in the New Testament. The church will have an increasing influence in the world. Who will establish it? Craig and his wife Fran have two daughters and reside in Centennial, Colorado. 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. 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. Theological Method of Premillennialism" in A Case for Historic Premillennialism: An Alternative to "Left Behind" Eschatology, ed. Yet in Sproul's lifetime, he and MacArthur were close friends. Dr. MacArthur picked this fight. Have you ever heard of that? . But we now have pure Israelites. Today's Christians have been taught that they must flee responsibility, for Jesus' sake. 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.)) That is called historical premillennialism: Christ will come, set up the kingdom, but it won't have the Jewish character that we anticipate from Old Testament promises it would have, because those promises were cancelled to Israel and given to the church. Dispensational premillennialists hold that Christ will come before a seven-year period of intense tribulation to take His church (living and dead) into heaven. One calls it a kingdom and says it will expand and expand and expand - thats the positive spin. He also said that it is too late for Calvin but it is not too late for you [to join the Reformed Premillennial movement]! 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. Postmillennialists think things are going to get better. A. DeJong, As the Waters Cover the Sea: Millennial Expectations in the Rise of Anglo-America Missions, 16401810 (Kampen: J. H. Kok, 1970), 3738.) 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. Reformed theologian John Piper affirmed his belief that the second coming of Christ is coming soon and indicated that he is a premillennialist. First, the Antichrist would appear and a seven-year period of tribulation would commence. 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. iii.16. Oh sure, it helps to know some history and some background, but this is a pronounced blessing. 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. [2] This makes two distinct judgmentsone for Christians and one for non-Christians after the millennium. I am not going to try to quote him here, because frankly I did not take notes, I just sat there and listened. 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…. Romans 11:28 . When He comes, everything ends immediately. 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. Why do we want to run from that? 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. 2023 Grace to You. See more on the author's page Sung Wook Chung . I think it matters to God. This is postmillennialism at its best. Its the whole point of everything else. 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. 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. John Knox (1) John MacArthur (4) John MacDuff (1) John Mark (1) John Piper (25) John T. Carroll (1) John the Baptist (1) . But people are upset because MacArthur so badly misrepresented amillennialism, and because he defined "premillennialism" as though it were dispensationalism. We still have Mark to go, but there are only a couple of discourses and a couple of miracles in Mark that arent in the other three gospels, so not a lot of new material. , . 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. A Purchased Victory: A Conference on the Bright Hope of Postmillennialism, Website made by Chittam Technology Solutions, LLC. John Piper Backs Professor's End Times Theory of Premillennialism. Grace to You radio, video, audio, print, and website resources reach millions worldwide each day. 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. Now, frankly, its too late for John Calvin to fix his work, although he is now a premillennialist in heaven. Seventy percent - by the way - of Scripture is the story of Israel, start to finish. The other says it is the kingdom. And Ive gone back after I preach, and Ive written commentaries - now I think 26 or 27 volumes on the New Testament - back through the same material again and again and again and again and again, so that this understanding of eschatology has had to stand the acid test of every text. Certainly, you have no idea what it means - neither does anybody else. 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. A History of Christian Zionism: Philo-Semitism and the Expectation of Israel's Restoration. 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. 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. This we think to be the sense, in general, of those scriptures, both in the Old and New Testament, which speak of the latterday glory. Turn to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4; 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. He even went so far as to say that the Amillennial position is more consistent with Arminianism For example, the book is well-organized. 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. This is process theology. Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts Workbook for Women Updated: Seven Questions to Ask Before---and After---You Marry 9780310875475 . 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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