He made an interesting connection between Genesis and Revelation. It is masterfully written. The preconception is that we cant allow this to happen. 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. I recently read this great article and would recommend every professing Calvinist to give it a read, I believe John MacArthur's arguments for Pre-Millennialism are biblically irrefutable, mainly because the traditional Reformed view (Amillennialism) does away (Replacement Theology) with future Israel (God's Elect) and that is far from the truth They were fighting the massive Roman system, and being occupied on those fronts, they never really got to the front of eschatology. But they never got around to eschatology; they never got around to applying their formidable skills. It therefore teaches responsibility. He wants us to get it right; thats why He put it in the Scripture and the Scripture is replete with it. Out of their own mouth - whats wrong with that? I am not going to try to quote him here, because frankly I did not take notes, I just sat there and listened. I know where history is going. And who made them? We understand that when you have a prophecy in the Bible that has not yet come to pass, not everything will be clear. Since Scripture speaks of the Millennium as a time of great prosperity for the kingdom of God, post-mills are inherently optimistic. Certainly, you have no idea what it means - neither does anybody else. Piper was responding to an "Ask Pastor John . Amillennialism really seems to fit them. One topic I did not mention is the place of Israel in prophecy at it relates to postmillennialism. 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. 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. He made them in the past, when He didnt know what He now knows, because what was going to happen hadnt happened. 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. 13:79). 3. by John MacArthur and Richard Mayhue (Chicago: Moody, 2012), 24. In short, there shall be, as it were, a universal spread of religion and holiness to the Lord, throughout the world. It matters to me. 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. I had no idea what they believed - 1600 pastors and leaders from central Asia - Id never have even been there; and the group that led the conference came to me afterwards with smiles on their faces and said, You believe exactly what we believe. This isnt something for people who have been highly educated; this is something for people who havent been corrupted by education. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ - thats part of the coming eschatology. First, the Antichrist would appear and a seven-year period of tribulation would commence. He comes pre, not post; He comes before. Its two ways to view human history. Instead, MacArthur systematically unpacked the biblical theology that leads one to an unabashed Calvinistic eschatology. Thats called process theology. 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. 4. The first phase of that eternal rule will be His reign on this earth, which will last - as Revelation 20 says six times - a thousand years, after which His rule will continue, because it is an everlasting rule, but it will continue in a new heaven and a new earth that replace this heaven and earth, which will melt in an atomic implosion and make way for the new creation. 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. 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. 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.. 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. This makes two distinct judgmentsone for Christians and one for non-Christians after the millennium. "John MacArthur on Calvinism, Dispensationalism, Israel, and Hermeneutics: A Few Comments" . Receiving Not Achieving. So, heres how to get the foundation for a good sound eschatology: get election right, get Israel right, you got it. Another Rapture passage - great one - verse 16: the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, the trumpet of God, the dead in Christ shall rise first. and divine grace shall melt and renew their hard hearts … And then shall the house of Israel be saved: the Jews in all their dispersions shall cast away their old infidelity, and shall have their hearts wonderfully changed, and abhor themselves for their past unbelief and obstinacy. Now, frankly, its too late for John Calvin to fix his work, although he is now a premillennialist in heaven. Major proponents J. N. Darby, C. I. Scofield, John Walvoord, A. C. Gaebelein, Charles Ryrie, Lewis S. Chafer, J. Dwight Pentecost, Charles C. Ryrie, 7 Reasons Why the Gospel of John is So Special 3 days ago I couldnt help but wonder what the other guest speakers might have been thinking as they sat in the front row. 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. [2] 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. Have you ever heard of that? 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 . Those are the views. Why do we want to change the rules in interpretation to avoid that? Why? Now, when they came here, Im very much aware that many of them are amillennialists. MacArthur--who is an ardent dispensationalist--stated and defended his position. 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. Edwards believed that the overthrow of Satans kingdom involved several elements: the abolition of heresies and infidelity, the overthrow of the kingdom of the Antichrist (the Pope), the overthrow of the Muslim nations, and the overthrow of Jewish infidelity: However obstinate [the Jews] have been now for above seventeen hundred years in their rejection of Christ, and however rare have been the instances of individual conversions, ever since the destruction of Jerusalem … yet, when this day comes, the thick vail that blinds their eyes shall be removed, 2 Cor. Whether youre an amillennialist or a postmillennialist, you basically say Israel forfeited all its promises. So, this is a classic perfect fit for Arminian theology. In a shocking conclusion to the illustration, MacArthur said, if this is the kingdom, then Jesus is not the messiah. The reasons are simple enough: this classic work is forthrightly Biblical. 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. Please contact the publisher to obtain copies of this resource. Theres a recovery of premillennialism in the modern era, and the recovery of premillennialism in the modern era came from two very unlikely sources. Please respond to confirm your registration. 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. 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. They believe that salvation can be gained and lost. Its a strange approach. After thorough study I saw that his views on the topic were based on (among other things) circular reasoning and tradition. Now, the truth of the matter is, those are just two ways to look at the same thing; postmillennialism and amillennialism is really the same thing. 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. 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. Ive been teaching and preaching the Bible expositionally now for over 40 years, one verse at a time. Its there. Select Bibliography. Israel disobeyed the law, youre done. And at that judgment, well be recompensed for the deeds done in the body, whether they are good or phaulos, meaning useless. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. 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. Premillennialism Historic Premillennialism Postmillennialism Amillennialism view sees the re-establishment of temple worship and animal sacrifices as a remembrance of Christ's sacrifice. "Why Every Self-Respecting Calvinist is a Pre-Millennialist." For those of you who don't know, this was a statement, among others, that John MacArthur was recorded as making at the recent Shepherd's Conference 2007 at Grace Community Church, Sun Valley California. Let me give you a theology lesson here a little bit. Turn to Revelation chapter 1. Anything to avoid premillennialism, even if you change the rules of interpretation. This is why its message is hated. Please make sure all fields are filled out. 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. 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. If this is a future event, why arent premillennialists warning the Jews in Israel whats about to take place? The first view well call the postmillennial view; that is to say, that Christ will come after the millennium; that the return of Christ is post, it is after the millennial kingdom. / ( .) And whats at stake here? He notes that "the decisive authority of Asiatic millennialism is John, from whom the elders claimed to have obtained their information. A Look at the Church of England, Sneak Peek Interview: Laura Wiflers New Childrens Book. 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. 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. He told me he would study the issue and get back to me. 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. Basically he said that when people spiritualize or allegorize the first three chapters of Genesis we call them Liberals, but when they do the same with the prophetic Scriptures we call them amillennialists. , . Christ returns before the Millennium, a literal thousand years 2. He also said that it is too late for Calvin but it is not too late for you [to join the Reformed Premillennial movement]! 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. iii.16. Over 200 times in the Bible God is called the God of Israel - over two hundred times, the God of Israel.. He is the author, co-author or co-editor of fifteen books and more than eighty articles in journals or multi-author works. We can take prophetic Scripture at face value. Do you know - are you watching this media? Now, talking about eschatology is not without controversy. Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts Workbook for Women Updated: Seven Questions to Ask Before---and After---You Marry 9780310875475 by Craig L. Blomberg and Sung Wook Chung [Grand Rapids: . For this perishable must put on the imperishable, this mortal must put on immortality. And then he goes on to talk about the fact that in that moment, in that event, Death is swallowed up in victory. Theyve been refined, clarified, expanded, enriched through these 50 years, but I was convinced when I started. He also spoke briefly about dispensationalism, but I am not going to cover that here, I got to run. Why TMS? Btw, LA is beautiful and the conference is great, I hope to post some reflections as the week goes on. And by the way, if we change the rules, what are the new ones? When Frederick the Great called his chaplain in and he said, I want proof of the truthfulness of the Bible, and I want it briefly, the chaplain replied, Sir, I can give you proof of the truthfulness of the Bible in one word: Israel.. 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. 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. Now, to affix our thinking to one great future event which seems to be the most controversial, I want you to think with me about the coming kingdom of Christ, known as the millennial kingdom, because in the twentieth chapter of Revelation, the opening of that chapter, there is reference to the reign and rule of Jesus Christ on the earth which lasts one thousand years; in fact, one thousand is repeated six times in that brief text. 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. But in both cases it will be the flow of history under the influence of the church, so theyre really looking at the same thing. Leave it to the semi-Pelagians and Pelagians, who go in and out of salvation; it makes sense for their theology. And then the effect of it is in verse 58: Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, and you can stop right there. John MacArthur claims to be a Dispensationalist in both The Gospel According to Jesus (GAJ) and The Gospel According to the Apostles (GAA). 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. You have this hope as a purifying hope. 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. Prior to that I thought about it a lot. The reformers had it right on most issues. Guest. 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? You have nothing to fear, nothing to worry about. Continue reading 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 . Reformed theology has made a monumental comeback in this culture, and thankfully so, because it is biblical. Because, you see, if it doesnt mean what it says it means, then any suggestion is as bad as any other suggestion. He and his wife, Christie, have six children. Scripture affirms the perpetuity of the elect church to salvation glory; that all whom the Lord has chosen He brings to glory. 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. Or another way to say it would be this: how many of you have attended an amillennial prophecy conference? But there is a growing influence of amillennialism, because amillennialism has been a part of reformed theology. The Lords coming back: blessing, purity, stability, comfort. The Gospel Coalition supports the church by providing resources that are trusted and timely, winsome and wise, and centered on the gospel of Jesus Christ. This year they upgraded some snacks and are handing out Zone protein bars, a major enhancementhowever, I am really missing my family. When He comes, everything ends immediately. He asked what the amillennialist would say if the Jew asked about the kingdom and the blessings. 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. Did God do this but somehow mumble? Death, where is your sting? Amen. MacArthur pulled no punches in his messages saying things like Jesus, Peter, the writer of Hebrews, and James were all premillenial. (Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust, [1834] 1974), 1:607.). Show it to me. So, my words to you are really very simple foundational words, I say this. What he is saying is, a literal interpretation of the Old Testament is going to lead you to a premillennial view, and since we dont want to get there, we cant use a literal approach. Well, this is such a great chapter - verse 51: I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep. Popular proponents of dispensational premillennialism have been John F. MacArthur, Phil Johnson, Ray Comfort, Jerry Falwell, Todd Friel, Dwight Pentecost, John Walvoord (d. 2002), Tim Lahaye, Charles Caldwell Ryrie (in the notes for the Ryrie Study Bible), the theological-folk poetry of Jack Royerton, and Charles L. Feinberg. Some of them are postmillennialists, although there are fewer and fewer of those. So, I say, leave amillennialism to those kinds of people who do not believe in the sovereign, unilateral, irrevocable, divine electing power of God. Israel sinned, youre out. There are over two thousand references to Israel in Scripture; not one of them means anything but Israel. In keeping with his view of faith, MacArthur denigrates "facts," "doctrine," "intellectual assent," and so on. 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. Would you agree? Every promise God made to Abraham about his lineage inheriting the land of Palestine has been fulfilled! 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. 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. 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. (Quoted in Murray, The Puritan Hope, 101102. A Case for . Oct 27, 2007. Ridgeley spends several pages refuting ancient and modern Chiliasts, or Millennarians ((Ridgeley, Commentary on the Larger Catechism, 1:558562.)) It matters to me to understand what God has said about the end. 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. Its not nearly as difficult as some people make it if you just take Scripture at face value. May it be powerful in our lives we pray in Christs name. We sent you an email. Oh sure, it helps to know some history and some background, but this is a pronounced blessing. There were 1600 pastors from central Asia - the first Central Asian pastors conference in history after the breakup of the Soviet Union. I saw it in Scripture when I was young; I saw it in Scripture because it was so crystal clear. An Anglican - an Anglican - by the name of William Cunningham in 1815 wrote a book called The Premillennial Advent; he was anything but a dispensationalist. 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. 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. Where is the divine mandate to do that? 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? I have thought about these things, by the way, for a long time. And it is powerfully persuasive. This primer takes you on a Biblical study of questions surrounding prophecy, Israel, the rapture, and the different millennial . 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. Darby, that came out of that whole dispensational system no, it didnt. Not true. Worship - John F. MacArthur 2012-01-20 Nothing is more important than worship. Mathewson, Dave L. Not just the future of Israel, but our confidence in the Word of God. John MacArthur News Why TMS? Those who most celebrate the sovereign grace of election - thats the Reformed - they are typically amillennial. "MacArthur calls himself a "leaky dispensationalist"--meaning he rejects any and all "dispensational" soteriological innovations, holding to classic Reformed (i.e., Protestant, not "covenantal") soteriology. The end is as divinely designed as the beginning, and God has given us massive amounts of revelation in the Scripture about the future. They explain, "As a refinement of dispensational premillennialism, futuristic millennialism affirms a futuristic view . This article is also available and sold as a booklet. He blogs at Ordinary Pastor. 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. It makes no sense. This is simply a way to understand Scripture in its normal sense. 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.)