So, my words to you are really very simple foundational words, I say this. 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 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. And again, I say, His election is divine, unilateral, unconditional and irrevocable. Chicago: Moody, 2012. 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. The church will have an increasing influence in the world. Well, this is such a great chapter - verse 51: I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep. Who Are the Real Schismatics? This is why its message is hated. In a shocking conclusion to the illustration, MacArthur said, if this is the kingdom, then Jesus is not the messiah. Even His promises may not be valid, because He made them with inadequate information. Do you understand the massive apologetic power of the existence of Israel as an ethnic people in their own land? The preconception is that we cant allow this to happen. Historic premillennialism is the view that Christ will return before the millennium. They dont faze me. He also spoke briefly about dispensationalism, but I am not going to cover that here, I got to run. It makes no sense. MacArthur's "dispensationalism" is eschatological and ecclesiological only. He made them in the past, when He didnt know what He now knows, because what was going to happen hadnt happened. But not us, who live and breathe the rarified air of sovereign grace and election; it makes no sense to me. See more on the author's page Sung Wook Chung But they never got around to eschatology; they never got around to applying their formidable skills. You can believe and be saved and then you can forfeit your salvation. Would you agree? This article is also available and sold as a booklet. 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. I know where history is going. 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. There were 1600 pastors from central Asia - the first Central Asian pastors conference in history after the breakup of the Soviet Union. 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. 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. And so, I think its a fair test to see whether eschatology holds up. 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. I am not going to try to quote him here, because frankly I did not take notes, I just sat there and listened. From the material available online today, many would conclude that "historic premillennialism" refers to the teaching of 20th century theologian George Elton Laddand no other view. 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. 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. This is a positive book: positive about the future of the Church. Amillennialism is ideal for Arminians because, according to their theology, God elects nobody and preserves nobody. When I was in seminary I thought about it, and I guess for about 50 years Ive been thinking about eschatology, the time of the end. Premillennialism Historic Premillennialism Postmillennialism Amillennialism view sees the re-establishment of temple worship and animal sacrifices as a remembrance of Christ's sacrifice. Oct 27, 2007. I dont know about you, but I really cant get too worked up about greenhouse gases. They will die for that truth regarding the church, but unashamedly abandon that same truth for the elect nation of Israel. He notes that "the decisive authority of Asiatic millennialism is John, from whom the elders claimed to have obtained their information. And so, you have to change the rules of interpretation and once you say the Bible doesnt mean what it says, then we have no idea what it means. 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. 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. Now, when they came here, Im very much aware that many of them are amillennialists. . 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. 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? 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. Reformed theology has made a monumental comeback in this culture, and thankfully so, because it is biblical. One says its not the kingdom. ), 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…. Arminius did not believe in election; those who follow him do not believe in election. Craig Blaising and Darrell Bock, Progressive Dispensationalism MacArthur and the seminary faculty know of Murrays work. That is to say, while they understood that someone would come, they understood whatever it was that had been revealed to them, the timing was not clear, and the precise personages were not clear. The church will become more influential, more impactful, more spiritually powerful. 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. John MacArthur and Richard Mayhue's new systematic theology titled Biblical Doctrine has many positive aspects. So, I said, Would you do me a favor? . Have you ever heard of that? The church will move out of its own environs to capture nations, leaders, ideologies, philosophies, theories, religions, and bring them all into captivity to Christ. Hes getting better. So, it is really one of the strange ironies of Reformed theology, and therefore its a strange irony in the church today, that those who love the doctrine of sovereign election most - that would be Reformed theologians - those who love the doctrine of sovereign election most supremely, and who love that doctrine most sincerely and - this is going to be a long sentence - and who are most unwavering in their devotion to the glory of God, the honor of Christ, the work of the Holy Spirit in regeneration, the veracity and inerrancy of Scripture , Those who are usually the most fastidious in Bible interpretation - yes, those who are the most careful and intentionally biblical regarding all categories of doctrine, those who see themselves as guardians of biblical truth, those who are passionate to get it right, those who are not content to be wrong at all, and those who most heartily agree on the essential matters of Christian truth, so that they labor with all their powers to examine in a Berean fashion every relevant text to discern the true interpretation of all matters of divine revelation, are . Ive dragged myself through all these years of the discipline of study. There are a number of viewpoints of what the Bible means when it speaks of future events. 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. Amillennialism, dispensational premillennialism, historic premillennialism, postmillennialism, preterism. Its not nearly as difficult as some people make it if you just take Scripture at face value. 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. The end is as divinely designed as the beginning, and God has given us massive amounts of revelation in the Scripture about the future. But, for certain, according to amillennialists, there will be no thousand-year reign of Christ on the earth. I have dragged you through virtually every verse in the New Testament. Christ's Prophetic Plans: A Futuristic Premillennial Primer. 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. A Case for . 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. 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. MacArthur insisted that we should be able to preach the whole Bible without changing the original meaning of the text or abrogating promises. 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. Whether youre talking about the church as Gods elect, or Israel as Gods elect, both are Gods elect. Its two ways to view human history. 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. Not true. We chart the course and God reacts. , . How could they believe unless He caused them to believe? 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. Not one reference anywhere in Scripture - and there are over two thousand, referring to Israel - means anything other than Israel. Ive preached through many of the books of the Old Testament, the first eleven chapters of Genesis through Daniel, Zechariah, the minor prophets, and pieces and bits of Isaiah and others in the Old Testament. It therefore teaches responsibility. The following is a partial response to the subject since it is integral to premillennialism while postmillennialism is often ignored on the subject. A Purchased Victory: A Conference on the Bright Hope of Postmillennialism, Website made by Chittam Technology Solutions, LLC. 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. 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. God doesnt choose you, you choose Him. And youve been great tonight; this is more like a theological lecture. You would assume that they are confused because the Bible is confusing, and if the Bible is confusing, then God Himself is confused, and so, working hard - and it is often hard work - to understand prophetic passages is needless. 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 . 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. Its the same God, same terminology. 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. We understand that when you have a prophecy in the Bible that has not yet come to pass, not everything will be clear. 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. 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 Accordingly, we have updated our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions in order to comply with GDPR. by John MacArthur and Richard Mayhue (Chicago: Moody, 2012), 24. John Piper Backs Professor's End Times Theory of Premillennialism. Over four decades of ministry, John has written dozens of bestselling books, including The . A History of Christian Zionism: Philo-Semitism and the Expectation of Israel's Restoration. He is the author, co-author or co-editor of fifteen books and more than eighty articles in journals or multi-author works. How could He hold them responsible for not believing? 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? by Craig L. Blomberg and Sung Wook Chung [Grand Rapids: . 11:12; 12:29; 13:19; John 10:12, 28, 29) and removing (John 6:15; Acts 8:39; 23:10; Jude 23).There is a third use, which focuses on being caught up . Reformed theologian John Piper affirmed his belief that the second coming of Christ is coming soon and indicated that he is a premillennialist. They were fighting the massive Roman system, and being occupied on those fronts, they never really got to the front of eschatology. All right, thats the introduction. Dispensationalism is a kind of framework for history that is organized around seven dispensationsseven orders or administrations. 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. Romans 11:28 . 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. You have this hope as a purifying hope. Whats that about? Where is the divine mandate to do that? 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? 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. Anything to avoid premillennialism, even if you change the rules of interpretation. Do not look down on others from your view of the end-times. 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. And I ask the question: are we supposed to be comfortable with the notion that the hard and fast and true principles of Bible interpretation have to be set aside in prophetic texts? Copyright 2023 The Gospel Coalition, INC. All Rights Reserved. That leaves me with the impression that God wants us not to question the length of its duration. If you get that right, your eschatology will come crystal clear. How could He hold any of us, in one sense, responsible for not believing? If you interpret Old Testament prophecies literally, they cannot be fulfilled in this present age. Premillennialism: The millennium is the long period (perhaps a literal 1,000 years) when King Jesus will rule on earth. Turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 9; 2 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 9: We have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, - that is, whether in heaven or here - to be pleasing to Him - to be pleasing to Him. Because when you understand Gods purpose for Israel, you now have the foundation for all eschatology; all 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.). I saw it in Scripture when I was young; I saw it in Scripture because it was so crystal clear. We had met a short time ago, and she had questions about . It matters to me to understand what God has said about the end. Craig Blaising and . John MacArthur has compiled more than 20,000 study notes, a 200-page topical index, and numerous charts, maps, outlines, and articles to create The MacArthur Study Bible. What passage is it in? Those are the views. Not that they were the end, but they were the means to the end. 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 also said that it is too late for Calvin but it is not too late for you [to join the Reformed Premillennial movement]! Log In 4. 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. As soon as you abandon that, then its fair game for anybodys craziness. I like to call amillennialism negative, and postmillennialism positive. Tell us about the future. They were in a very hopeless situation, having very little in life. The Lords coming back: blessing, purity, stability, comfort. And who made them? It has not appeared as yet what we shall be. Like all divine truth, getting the future truth right is beneficial. But if you read Genesis 1 to 3, its pretty clear the evening and the morning were the first day, the evening and the morning were the second day, the evening and the morning were the third day. I think it matters. I reject the wacky world of newspaper exegesis and cartoon eschatology, and crazy interpretation like the locusts of Revelation 9 being helicopters, et cetera. 7 Reasons Why the Gospel of John is So Special 3 days ago Israel sinned, youre out. 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. Now, next time Im going to take you through a series of about five questions that were going to ask and see how this plays out on the pages of Scripture, okay? 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 a hard sell, frankly. You get your eschatology right when you get Israel right. Now, Im going to save the good stuff till next time, but I want to just end by giving you a little list of benefits of getting your eschatology right, okay? But let me tell you something: normal, natural, literal interpretation is the only way to stop abuse of Scripture. All rights reserved. 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, heres how to get the foundation for a good sound eschatology: get election right, get Israel right, you got it. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ - thats part of the coming eschatology. No kingdom on earth ruled by Christ before He gets here, and no kingdom on earth ruled by Christ after He gets here. Regarding this Dr. Timothy Jones writes, "Dispensationalism emphasizes the differences and discontinuity between the physical descendants of Abraham and followers of Jesus [2]. Since Scripture speaks of the Millennium as a time of great prosperity for the kingdom of God, post-mills are inherently optimistic. 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. 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 . 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.