The other looks at it as a spiritual kingdom also but says it will decline and decline and decline until Jesus finally comes. We also applaud his insistence that the Bible must be interpreted literally, according to its normal sense. 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. Reformed theologian John Piper affirmed his belief that the second coming of Christ is coming soon and indicated that he is a premillennialist. 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. We understand that when you have a prophecy in the Bible that has not yet come to pass, not everything will be clear. (Edmonton, AB Canada: Still Waters Revival Books, [1855] 1993), 2:621. Every promise God made to Abraham about his lineage inheriting the land of Palestine has been fulfilled! Seventy percent - by the way - of Scripture is the story of Israel, start to finish. So check out Tim Challies summary on this once it is posted and if you are able to get your mitts on the audio for this it is highly recommended. . by Craig L. Blomberg and Sung Wook Chung [Grand Rapids: . Whether youre talking about the church as Gods elect, or Israel as Gods elect, both are Gods elect. 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…. 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. Where is the divine mandate to do that? 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. Whether youre an amillennialist or a postmillennialist, you basically say Israel forfeited all its promises. You get the Old Testament covenants and promises right when you get the interpretation of Scripture right. I have - they can try to terrify me with all this stuff; I am unmoved. 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. They believe that salvation can be gained and lost. 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? And Im not in to newspaper exegesis, where you where everything that happens in the news fulfills some obscure Old Testament prophecy. 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. These are dicult words to pronounce and even harder concepts to understand. 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. He comes pre, not post; He comes before. Because they believed that the Jews would be converted, Puritan and Presbyterian churches earnestly prayed that Pauls prophecies would be fulfilled. But there is a growing influence of amillennialism, because amillennialism has been a part of reformed theology. 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. Is that what God wanted us to do, to look at it and say, Aw, I cant figure this out; lets forget it? There are whole denominations that are instructed not to teach on the end times. 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. Please contact the publisher to obtain copies of this resource. Did He do it and somehow muddle it so hopelessly that the high ground for Bible students and the high ground for theologians is to recognize the muddle and abandon the perspicuity or the clarity of Scripture on that subject? Fundamental (Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust, [1834] 1974), 1:607.). Regarding this Dr. Timothy Jones writes, "Dispensationalism emphasizes the differences and discontinuity between the physical descendants of Abraham and followers of Jesus [2]. If only he could just send down one message, that might be it. Or another way to say it would be this: how many of you have attended an amillennial prophecy conference? Not true. With appearances by. So, this is a classic perfect fit for Arminian theology. 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. Its the whole point of the beginning and the middle. 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 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. In a shocking conclusion to the illustration, MacArthur said, if this is the kingdom, then Jesus is not the messiah. I. Dr. MacArthur on Premillennialism and Calvinism: "Now that leads to my title: `Why Every Self-Respecting Calvinist Is a Premillennialist' [laughter and applause] Now it's too late for Calvin, but it's not too late for the rest of you. 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. He notes that "the decisive authority of Asiatic millennialism is John, from whom the elders claimed to have obtained their information. 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. The beliefs of Premillennialism are far from "rightly dividing the word of truth"! 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. Ive dragged myself through all these years of the discipline of study. 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. Calvin, though, was an amil, and DutchCalvinism, after a postmil start, has tended to be amil. And . 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. Now, there are people who do this to Genesis 1, 2 and 3. Now, talking about eschatology is not without controversy. (Quoted in DeJong, As the Waters Cover the Sea, 38.). But that is essentially what theyre asking us to do. And so, we stand steadfast, immovable. 2. John MacArthur is the pastor-teacher of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, where he has served since 1969. Relax; set all that aside. Murray notes that A number of years before [the Larger Catechism and Westminster Directory for Public Worship] were drawn up, the call for prayer for the conversion of the Jews and for the success of the gospel throughout the world was already a feature of Puritan congregations. (Murray, The Puritan Hope, 99.) Leave it to the semi-Pelagians and Pelagians, who go in and out of salvation; it makes sense for their theology. 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. 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. There is another form of that view called amillennialism; amillennialism - and youve probably heard about that. He wants us to get it right; thats why He put it in the Scripture and the Scripture is replete with it. Certainly, you have no idea what it means - neither does anybody else. CLASSIC DISPENSATIONALISM. What you have here is a benediction from God: blessed is he who reads and understands the book of Revelation. Show it to me. Amillennialism, dispensational premillennialism, historic premillennialism, postmillennialism, preterism. See De Jong, As the Waters Cover the Sea, 12.). And I can only tell you I am unwaveringly committed to the sovereign election of a future generation of Jews to salvation, and the full inheritance of all the promises and covenants of God given to them in the Old Testament. Its not nearly as difficult as some people make it if you just take Scripture at face value. Why, then, if we are so committed to protecting the text of the beginning in its literal nature, are we so fast to give up the texts of the end and their literal nature? First John 3 verse 2: Beloved - 1 John 3:2 Now are we the children of God. 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. A Look at the Church of England, Sneak Peek Interview: Laura Wiflers New Childrens Book. His message in General Session 1 was entitled Why Every Self-Respecting Calvinist is Premillennial. His mode of expositing those verses that supposedly counter Preterism really helped me to focus on those areas in the Bible. Btw, LA is beautiful and the conference is great, I hope to post some reflections as the week goes on. Darby, that came out of that whole dispensational system no, it didnt. Arminius did not believe in election; those who follow him do not believe in election. Without the dispensational lens-says MacArthur-you will misunderstand much of the Bible. I have never moved away from my conviction about these two things. Dispensational Premillennialism is a recent, complex, and increasingly controversial form of modern Historic Premillennialism (HP). Please be aware that these items are sent out from our office in the UK. Would you agree? 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. Theres a recovery of premillennialism in the modern era, and the recovery of premillennialism in the modern era came from two very unlikely sources. He doesnt know the future because it hasnt happened. 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. But people are upset because MacArthur so badly misrepresented amillennialism, and because he defined "premillennialism" as though it were dispensationalism. Log In Grace to You radio, video, audio, print, and website resources reach millions worldwide each day. 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.) Historically, church fathers favored historic premillennialism, including Ireneaus, Papias, Justin Martyr, Tertullian, and Hippolytus. 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. Why Every Calvinist Should Be a Premillennialist, Part 1. Yet it is inconsistent with. Show more Friends Following Dispensationalism is a kind of framework for history that is organized around seven dispensationsseven orders or administrations. They are certainly available (or they should be) in the library at MacArthurs Masters Seminary. A. DeJong, As the Waters Cover the Sea: Millennial Expectations in the Rise of Anglo-America Missions, 16401810 (Kampen: J. H. Kok, 1970), 3738.) 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. For details about this sermon and for related resources, click here: https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/90-339 To receive John MacArthur's monthly l. by R. Scott Clark on April 8, 2020 | Dispensationalism describes a way of reading the Bible and a system of theology the nearest roots of which are in the 19th century. 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. 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 . They taught that the kingdom of God would be visibly manifest on earth after the second coming of Jesus. I saw it in Scripture when I was young; I saw it in Scripture because it was so crystal clear. Because when you understand Gods purpose for Israel, you now have the foundation for all eschatology; all eschatology. It is narrative history, and we fight - sometimes tooth and nail - to maintain the literal veracity of Genesis 1 through 3. Premillennialists believe that two-thirds of the Jews living in Israel during the time of the great tribulation will be slaughtered (Zech. The end is as divinely designed as the beginning, and God has given us massive amounts of revelation in the Scripture about the future. It is masterfully written. (Matt .25:31-46; John . So, if you say the promises of the Old Testament that refer to Israel really meant the church, you have no precedent for such an interpretation. 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). 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. In a really interesting illustration MacArthur envisioned an amillennialist evangelizing a Jew. 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? 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. Now, here comes the real irony; this is the real irony. Pretribulational Rapture in 17th and 18th Century England. 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. Its the same God, same terminology. Receiving Not Achieving. Yet, Abraham did not receive it during all the time of his journey there. The church. 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. 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. Hes not predicting the future because you cant predict what hasnt happened - it doesnt exist. He confronts the views of covenant theology, historical premillennialism, ultradispensationalism, and, in this revised edition, the increasingly popular progressive dispensationalism. This is simply a way to understand Scripture in its normal sense. And there are others who believe that that refers to heaven; that refers to the experience of the saints in heaven. And it is powerfully persuasive. He even went so far as to say that the Amillennial position is more consistent with Arminianism 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. Premillennialism (3) Pretribulationism (1) Pride (3) Priests (4) Princeton Theological Review (1) .