We can take prophetic Scripture at face value. These are dicult words to pronounce and even harder concepts to understand. We want the Word to bless, to make us pure, to stabilize us, to comfort us, to give us a passion for evangelism. It is pungently clear. One says its not the kingdom. Christ returns before the Millennium, a literal thousand years 2. Copyright 2023 The Gospel Coalition, INC. All Rights Reserved. What did MacArthur fail to tell the attendees at the Shepherds Conference? 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. MacArthur's Leaky Dispensationalism - Grace Evangelical Society It is masterfully written. With appearances by. . In other words, Piper believes Jesus Christ will come on earth and reign for 1,000 years. Who will establish it? 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. One says moving toward the coming of Christ there will be no kingdom. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ - thats part of the coming eschatology. Whether youre an amillennialist or a postmillennialist, you basically say Israel forfeited all its promises. ( 3:16) . (Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust, [1834] 1974), 1:607.). They explain, "As a refinement of dispensational premillennialism, futuristic millennialism affirms a futuristic view . 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. He even went so far as to say that the Amillennial position is more consistent with Arminianism I had, as theologians might call it, my own my own ordo eschaton; that would be the chronological sequence of the end times. What you have here is a benediction from God: blessed is he who reads and understands the book of Revelation. If you dont know what you believe about the future, you cant preach on it. The reformers had it right on most issues. Help Grace to You bring important resources like this to people in your community and beyond, free of charge. After thorough study I saw that his views on the topic were based on (among other things) circular reasoning and tradition. In keeping with his view of faith, MacArthur denigrates "facts," "doctrine," "intellectual assent," and so on. The beliefs of Premillennialism are far from "rightly dividing the word of truth"! This article is also available and sold as a booklet. Amillennialism is consistent with Arminianism. 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. John MacArthur News Why TMS? CLASSIC DISPENSATIONALISM. 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. Listen to John MacArthur Sermons - Grace to You Radio - Oneplace.com 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. And Im not into all kinds of complex charts, and Im not into all that is traditionally known as dispensationalism - seven dispensations, two kingdoms, two New Covenants, two ways of salvation, discontinuity between the Old Testament and the New - Im not talking about that. Amillennialism is ideal for Arminians because, according to their theology, God elects nobody and preserves nobody. 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. The Doctrine of the Millennium: A Brief Introduction - Gospel Relevance Dispensationalism, Revised and Expanded: Charles C. Ryrie In the world, things will get better and better and better as the church becomes more powerful and more influential. They are certainly available (or they should be) in the library at MacArthurs Masters Seminary. There is another form of that view called amillennialism; amillennialism - and youve probably heard about that. And youve been great tonight; this is more like a theological lecture. MacArthur pulled no punches in his messages saying things like Jesus, Peter, the writer of Hebrews, and James were all premillenial. The Early Witness to Premillennialism - The Master's Seminary As you may be aware, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into full effect on 25th May 2018. 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? So, I say, leave amillennialism to those kinds of people who do not believe in the sovereign, unilateral, irrevocable, divine electing power of God. Turn to Revelation chapter 1. I reject the wacky world of newspaper exegesis and cartoon eschatology, and crazy interpretation like the locusts of Revelation 9 being helicopters, et cetera. There were 1600 pastors from central Asia - the first Central Asian pastors conference in history after the breakup of the Soviet Union. In fact, some say nearly one-fourth of Scripture is prophetic. We had met a short time ago, and she had questions about . John MacArthur and Dispensationalism - Middletown Bible church It is one thing to omit them for a time, and another to do it ordinarily. Continue reading What is historic premillennialism? | GotQuestions.org 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. Theological Method of Premillennialism" in A Case for Historic Premillennialism: An Alternative to "Left Behind" Eschatology, ed. All this panic about global warming, and all this panic about the end of the world and asteroids crashing into the earth? First John 3 verse 2: Beloved - 1 John 3:2 Now are we the children of God. 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. And again, I say, His election is divine, unilateral, unconditional and irrevocable. The other looks at it as a spiritual kingdom also but says it will decline and decline and decline until Jesus finally comes. But they never got around to eschatology; they never got around to applying their formidable skills. 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.. It has to matter to us. They taught that the kingdom of God would be visibly manifest on earth after the second coming of Jesus. iii.16. Arminius did not believe in election; those who follow him do not believe in election. 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. Not true. 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. 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. The books and articles that make this case are not obscure or difficult to find. 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. John MacArthur (American pastor) - Wikipedia 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? If this is a future event, why arent premillennialists warning the Jews in Israel whats about to take place? 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. -- by John Walvoord -- p.98 10.The Early Witness to Premillennialism -- by Michael Vlach -- p.104 11.Premillennialism in the Old Testament Series -- by Arnold Fruchtenbaum -- p.107 Craig Blaising and Darrell Bock, Progressive Dispensationalism Dispensational Premillennialism is a recent, complex, and increasingly controversial form of modern Historic Premillennialism (HP). In fact, the worst evil thats ever been done on the history of the world was the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, and by that - the worst evil - He gained the greatest glory. Weve been working our way through doctrinal emphases in Scripture, doctrinal themes, and we have covered a lot of ground. 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. Romans 11:28 . 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…. Primer, ed. Since the UK is now no longer a member of the EU, you may be charged an import tax on this item by the customs authorities in your country of residence, which is beyond our control. 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). Hes getting better. 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. "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. What passage is it in? As soon as you abandon that, then its fair game for anybodys craziness. A Preface First: One of the reasons I am doing this review of Dr. MacArthur's sermon Why Every Calvinist Should Be a Premillennialist is due to a good friend and sister in Christ who wished to challenge me on the subject of eschatology. But people are upset because MacArthur so badly misrepresented amillennialism, and because he defined "premillennialism" as though it were dispensationalism. Who Are the Real Schismatics? Its there. I think it matters. The Millennium: When Is It? | Reformed Bible Studies & Devotionals at 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 that is essentially what theyre asking us to do. Ive dragged myself through all these years of the discipline of study. A Case for . 1897 (Western Theological Seminary) (James Orr) .. MacArthur: Why Every Self-Respecting Calvinist is a Premillennialist How do you explain that? 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. Master Category Reference - Page 77 - Biblestore.com Chicago: Moody, 2012. Where is the divine mandate to do that? A Purchased Victory: A Conference on the Bright Hope of Postmillennialism, Website made by Chittam Technology Solutions, LLC. The church will have an increasing influence in the world. 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. Theyve been refined, clarified, expanded, enriched through these 50 years, but I was convinced when I started. Why do we want to change the rules in interpretation to avoid that? How could they believe unless He caused them to believe? A Case for Historic Premillennialism: An Alternative to "Left Behind The other says there will be a kingdom. Every promise God made to Abraham about his lineage inheriting the land of Palestine has been fulfilled! Ive been here at Grace Church well, what - thirty-some years. Process theology: they are the theologians, liberal theologians, who believe that God is in process of becoming what He will be. Whats that about? Guest. And so, I think its a fair test to see whether eschatology holds up. 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. Piper was responding to an "Ask Pastor John . If were going to change the rules, then, may I suggest this - and this is what I told the pastors - if were going to change the rules, then we better have a word from God. 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. by Craig L. Blomberg and Sung Wook Chung [Grand Rapids: . 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. Pre-Millennialism, Post-Millennialism or Amillennialism? Moreover, John, as again stated by Papias, ascribed the origin of millenarianism to Christ . But, in any case - and by the way, postmillennialists and amillennialists differ as to the details of these kinds of things. All right. Its two ways to view human history. And Im not in to newspaper exegesis, where you where everything that happens in the news fulfills some obscure Old Testament prophecy. 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. 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. God promised him the inheritance of the land. Another way to see this would be to ask this question: what other category of theology - what other category of theology except atheism - starts with the alpha privative and labels itself as believing in something that doesnt exist? He told me he would study the issue and get back to me. DP also believes that God has a place for both national Israel (cf. What Is Premillennialism? - Christianity If you get that right, your eschatology will come crystal clear. MacArthur, John, and Richard Mayhue, eds. Please respond to confirm your registration. Select Bibliography. 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. He made an interesting connection between Genesis and Revelation. You have this hope as a purifying hope. John Knox (1) John MacArthur (4) John MacDuff (1) John Mark (1) John Piper (25) John T. Carroll (1) John the Baptist (1) . The preconception is that we cant allow this to happen. The Three Prevailing Millennium Views, Amillennial, Premillennial, and - comfort one another. His mode of expositing those verses that supposedly counter Preterism really helped me to focus on those areas in the Bible. Yet it is inconsistent with. Now, against those two is the view called premillennialism; that means there will be a millennium and prior to that millennium, Jesus will come. He comes pre, not post; He comes before. All rights reserved. John MacArthur is the pastor-teacher of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, where he has served since 1969. This is postmillennialism at its best. Premillennialism: The millennium is the long period (perhaps a literal 1,000 years) when King Jesus will rule on earth. But we now have pure Israelites. The world, as they see it, is in an ongoing golden process of progress. Why TMS? (Quoted in Murray, The Puritan Hope, 101102. Hes not predicting the future because you cant predict what hasnt happened - it doesnt exist. The True Historical Premillennial View: Not George Ladd's Version Grace to You radio, video, audio, print, and website resources reach millions worldwide each day. Reformed Theology Opposes John MacArthur | 5 Pt. Salt 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. John MacArthur's eschatology book | Baptist Christian Forums This message clears up any questions as to where MacArthur stands on the eschatology issue. 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. 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. Prior to that I thought about it a lot. by John MacArthur and Richard Mayhue (Chicago: Moody, 2012), 24. He has been the pastor of Grace Community Church, a non-denominational church in Sun Valley, California since February 9, 1969. 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. 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. We who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus shall we always be with the Lord. Heres the application: Therefore - do what? After that he must be loosed for a little while." His message in General Session 1 was entitled Why Every Self-Respecting Calvinist is Premillennial. 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. The Gospel According to John MacArthur - Trinity Foundation So, my words to you are really very simple foundational words, I say this. 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. Why Every Calvinist Should Be a Premillennialist, Part 6 - YouTube