john macarthur premillennialism

We understand that when you have a prophecy in the Bible that has not yet come to pass, not everything will be clear. We know that Word about the future has that power. See here and here. Registered User 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 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. His mode of expositing those verses that supposedly counter Preterism really helped me to focus on those areas in the Bible. You can choose Him and then not choose Him, and then choose Him again and then not choose Him, and you make the decision; and so, all of the promises of God are conditional on you. That is a large part of evangelical Christianity, the Wesleyan movement, Charismatic movement, Methodists, etc., etc., many Baptists. His contention that unless you see Scripture through dispensational eyes, you cannot be a "self-respecting Calvinist" surprised many-Reformed amillennarians and historic premillennarians alike. 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 . Please respond to confirm your registration. The English noun/verb "rapture" comes from the Latin noun raptura/verb rapio that is used 14 times in the NT.The basic idea of the word is "to remove suddenly or snatch away." It is used in the NT in reference to stealing/plundering (Matt. 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. 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. You can believe and be saved and then you can forfeit your salvation. With appearances by. ), 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.). (Quoted in DeJong, As the Waters Cover the Sea, 38.). (Quoted in Murray, The Puritan Hope, 101102. 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. How do you explain that? John MacArthur and Richard Mayhue's new systematic theology titled Biblical Doctrine has many positive aspects. If you interpret Old Testament prophecies literally, they cannot be fulfilled in this present age. 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. 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. 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. / ( .) I remember when I flew to Kazakhstan in about a 35 or 38-hour flight; got off the plane at 7:00 in the morning to speak at a conference. There are 73 references to Israel in the New Testament; each of them refers to Israel. 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. 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. The beliefs of Premillennialism are far from "rightly dividing the word of truth"! It was developed in mid-19 th century England by John Darby, a leader of the small but influential Plymouth Brethren Movement. 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. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure., Getting your eschatology right will bless you and getting your eschatology right will purify you. Historic premillennialism is one system of eschatology that has support in the Protestant community. Ive been here at Grace Church well, what - thirty-some years. 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. Whether youre talking about the church as Gods elect, or Israel as Gods elect, both are Gods elect. I'm two thirds in to the series; however, one of my complaints so far is that MacArthur doesn't characterize the amillennial camp with accuracy. A. DeJong, As the Waters Cover the Sea: Millennial Expectations in the Rise of Anglo-America Missions, 16401810 (Kampen: J. H. Kok, 1970), 3738.) 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. John Knox (1) John MacArthur (4) John MacDuff (1) John Mark (1) John Piper (25) John T. Carroll (1) John the Baptist (1) . But they want to get God off the hook, so they say Hes really not responsible, Hes really not in charge of anything; Hes just trying to figure it out. What did MacArthur fail to tell the attendees at the Shepherds Conference? 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. 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. I have - they can try to terrify me with all this stuff; I am unmoved. DMcFadden said: The mixture of dispensational eschatology and Calvinist soteriology is not unique to MacArthur. I asked Dr. Michael Brown, who is premil, in our debate about Replacement Theology how he reconciles his claim that God is not finished with Israel with Zechariah 13:79. by John MacArthur and Richard Mayhue (Chicago: Moody, 2012), 24. And it is powerfully persuasive. All right. Show it to me. For example, the book is well-organized. Those are the views. This message clears up any questions as to where MacArthur stands on the eschatology issue. 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. Well, this is such a great chapter - verse 51: I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep. Moreover, John, as again stated by Papias, ascribed the origin of millenarianism to Christ . 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. Calvin, though, was an amil, and DutchCalvinism, after a postmil start, has tended to be amil. That's a complete misreading. (Ridgeley, Commentary on the Larger Catechism, 1:562. 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. 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. Daylight and dark, daylight and dark - thats a 24-hour period - God creates everything. And then the effect of it is in verse 58: Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, and you can stop right there. 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. So, my words to you are really very simple foundational words, I say this. I know where history is going. 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. Did God do this but somehow mumble? 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. After clicking 'Register', you will receive an email with a link to verify your account and to complete your registration. And so, I think its a fair test to see whether eschatology holds up. Accordingly, we have updated our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions in order to comply with GDPR. MacArthur's "dispensationalism" is eschatological and ecclesiological only. I have thought about these things, by the way, for a long time. 2. Guest. 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. But some are holding on to what they have taught in the past; I guess self-preservation dominates their theology at that point. The assembly and the circumstances of the assembly must be distinguished. See, for example, Michael Vlach's article "How Does Historic Premillennialism Differ from Dispensational Premillennialism?", this "Eschatology Comparison" chart, and this article "An Historical . Dispensational Premillennialism is a recent, complex, and increasingly controversial form of modern Historic Premillennialism (HP). Ive dragged myself through all these years of the discipline of study. 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. The Savoy Declaration, drawn up in October 1658 by English Congregationalists meeting at the Savoy Palace, London, included the conversion of the Jews in its summary of the Churchs future hope: We expect that in the latter days, Antichrist being destroyed, the Jews called, and the adversaries of the kingdom of his dear Son broken, the churches of Christ being enlarged and edified through a free and plentiful communication of light and grace, shall enjoy in this world a more quiet, peaceful, and glorious condition than they have enjoyed. That's OK and no one is surprised or upset about that. 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. He is currently the chancellor emeritus of The Master's University in . 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 . There are a number of viewpoints of what the Bible means when it speaks of future events. 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. This is why its message is hated. This is process theology. Please make sure all fields are filled out. Well, we now come to the doctrines that relate to the end times. Whats that about? Through the work of Ladd, historic premillennialism gained scholarly respect and popularity among Evangelical and Reformed theologians since he had the right appreciation of the redemptive- historical significance of the first coming of Christ and of the NT age. Jonathan Edwards, a noted postmillennialist and someone MacArthur quotes unfavorably in his Shepherds talk, outlined the future of the Christian Church in his 1774 History of Redemption. Thats just two ways to look at the same thing. 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? That in itself is an indication of Gods preservation for their future. The sting of death is sin, the power of sin is the law, thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.. 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…. Now, here comes the real irony; this is the real irony. Now, when they came here, Im very much aware that many of them are amillennialists. Seventy percent - by the way - of Scripture is the story of Israel, start to finish. Erik Raymond is the senior pastor at Redeemer Fellowship Church in Metro Boston. How could they believe unless He caused them to believe? Theyve been refined, clarified, expanded, enriched through these 50 years, but I was convinced when I started. 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.. I couldnt help but wonder what the other guest speakers might have been thinking as they sat in the front row. This is simply a way to understand Scripture in its normal sense. 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. His presentation was not an attempt to harmonize Calvinism with a premillennial view but rather to show the inconsistency of the contrary. He notes that "the decisive authority of Asiatic millennialism is John, from whom the elders claimed to have obtained their information. 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? John McArthur John MacArthur was born on 19 June, 1939. Copyright 2023 The Gospel Coalition, INC. All Rights Reserved. and defends what can only be described as postmillennialism over against premillennialism. . Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts Workbook for Women Updated: Seven Questions to Ask Before---and After---You Marry 9780310875475 Would you agree? 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. And by the way, dispensationalists - people say, Well, that whole premillennial view, that came out of C.I. The church will become more influential, more impactful, more spiritually powerful. So, this is a classic perfect fit for Arminian theology. ), 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…. 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. 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? Major proponents J. N. Darby, C. I. Scofield, John Walvoord, A. C. Gaebelein, Charles Ryrie, Lewis S. Chafer, J. Dwight Pentecost, Charles C. Ryrie, Oh sure, it helps to know some history and some background, but this is a pronounced blessing. You have nothing to fear, nothing to worry about. Like all divine truth, getting the future truth right is beneficial. Short Response to Dr. MacArthur's statement. (Edmonton, AB Canada: Still Waters Revival Books, [1855] 1993), 2:621. This makes two distinct judgmentsone for Christians and one for non-Christians after the millennium. 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. The reasons are simple enough: this classic work is forthrightly Biblical. 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. But in the Old Testament - for example, Isaiah 45:4: Israel, Mine elect. And so, we stand steadfast, immovable. Why Every Calvinist Should Be a Premillennialist, Part 1. 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. Israel crucifies the Messiah, thats it. Turn to Revelation chapter 1. 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. 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. Blessed. Its just a lot of material. We know that when He appears, - second coming we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is. The books and articles that make this case are not obscure or difficult to find. Its the whole point of the beginning and the middle. I think it matters to God. The other looks at it as a spiritual kingdom also but says it will decline and decline and decline until Jesus finally comes. Why TMS? Now, frankly, its too late for John Calvin to fix his work, although he is now a premillennialist in heaven. Forfeited all its privileges, forfeited all those things that God declared in covenant that He would give to them in the future; and they forfeit it by their disobedience to the Mosaic Covenant, by their apostasy from true religion and by their rejection of their Messiah. In a really interesting illustration MacArthur envisioned an amillennialist evangelizing a Jew. Theres a rapture, and theres a bma seat judgment; we know that. 13:79). 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. John MacArthur claims to be a Dispensationalist in both The Gospel According to Jesus (GAJ) and The Gospel According to the Apostles (GAA). Look, I reject all of those really abusive and bizarre kinds of interpretation; but frankly, theyre no more wacky then the interpretations of the amillennialists, who want to take the entire book of Revelation and stuff it into the events of 70 A.D. and a few years afterwards and come up with things that are just as ridiculous. This is why the Church is so weak in our day. Anything to avoid premillennialism, even if you change the rules of interpretation. They would rather believe that God has predestined His Church to failure than believe that they are personally responsible for transforming society. 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? Because they believed that the Jews would be converted, Puritan and Presbyterian churches earnestly prayed that Pauls prophecies would be fulfilled. 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. God doesnt choose you, you choose Him. by Craig L. Blomberg and Sung Wook Chung [Grand Rapids: . It matters to me. His message in General Session 1 was entitled "Why Every Self-Respecting Calvinist is Premillennial". We know that, so our ambition is, when we get to that place, to be rewarded because we are pleasing to Him. In short, there shall be, as it were, a universal spread of religion and holiness to the Lord, throughout the world. We want the Word to cause us to live lives pleasing to You. Why do we want to change the rules in interpretation to avoid that? 7 Reasons Why the Gospel of John is So Special 3 days ago 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. 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. And that was over the gospel, and over the nature of Christ, and over salvation by grace through faith and over the authority of Scripture. Whether youre an amillennialist or a postmillennialist, you basically say Israel forfeited all its promises. (Ridgeley, Commentary on the Larger Catechism, 1:563564.). In the meantime, Ive continued to study the Old Testament to write all the footnotes for the MacArthur Study Bible through the entire Old Testament. 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. Every promise God made to Abraham about his lineage inheriting the land of Palestine has been fulfilled! And I went there and I spoke for a week, and they finally said to me, When are you going to tell us the good part? and I said, Well, whats the good part? They said, We want to know about the future; we want to know about the future. Now, with regard to the coming kingdom of Christ, in which Christ rules as supreme and sovereign ruler, there are a number of views, but let me boil them down to three views - and these are good, and Ill give you a simple explanation so that you understand where we are going. Contrary to MacArthur, the historical record demonstrates that postmillennial Calvinists had developed a prophetic role for the Jews hundreds of years before Scofield. It has to matter to us. I reject the wacky world of newspaper exegesis and cartoon eschatology, and crazy interpretation like the locusts of Revelation 9 being helicopters, et cetera. MacArthur pulled no punches in his messages saying things like Jesus, Peter, the writer of Hebrews, and James were all premillenial. I think it matters. Please be aware that these items are sent out from our office in the UK. 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. First of all, we commend Dr. MacArthur for his solid Biblical position on Israel, and that Israel has a glorious future in the plan and purpose of God. Resting Not Vexing, Our Anchor in a Sea of Chaos and Consternation, Why I (Sometimes) Listen to Supreme Court Oral Arguments. 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. They dont faze me. 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. iii.16. The church will have an increasing influence in the world. Its there. 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. He never has. It is masterfully written. Select Bibliography. One says its not the kingdom. 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. a.Dispensationalist Premillennialism 1. Leave it to the semi-Pelagians and Pelagians, who go in and out of salvation; it makes sense for their theology. 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. 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. 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.) They explain, "As a refinement of dispensational premillennialism, futuristic millennialism affirms a futuristic view . 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. 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. Amillennialism, dispensational premillennialism, historic premillennialism, postmillennialism, preterism.