Now, they make perfect amillennialists; thats a perfect setup for them. 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. "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. 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. There isnt such a thing. 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.) I have dragged you through virtually every verse in the New Testament. You have nothing to fear, nothing to worry about. MacArthur: Why Every Self-Respecting Calvinist is a Premillennialist Now, why am I making a case for this? I align myself to historical premillennialism, so I want to convey my own dismay with John MacArthur's sermon series from 2007. Grace to You radio, video, audio, print, and website resources reach millions worldwide each day. The end is as divinely designed as the beginning, and God has given us massive amounts of revelation in the Scripture about the future. So, if were going to change the rules of interpretation to inject into Scripture a preconceived idea or to avoid what is obvious, we better be sure that we have a word from God. MacArthur's Leaky Dispensationalism - Grace Evangelical Society 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. But let me tell you something: normal, natural, literal interpretation is the only way to stop abuse of Scripture. Because we dont want you to incur expenditure for which you are not prepared, could you please confirm whether you are willing to pay this charge, if necessary? You can figure it out. Which Bible Translation Is Best? by John MacArthur | Theologue Hes not predicting the future because you cant predict what hasnt happened - it doesnt exist. An Excellent Defense of The Rapture by Dr. John MacArthur But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. And . Ive been here at Grace Church well, what - thirty-some years. In a really interesting illustration MacArthur envisioned an amillennialist evangelizing a Jew. And theres the main verb in the sentence are in varying degrees of disinterest in applying their skills to the end of the story, and rather, content to be in happy if not playful disagreement in regard to the vast biblical data on eschatology, as if the end doesnt matter much - period. Receiving Not Achieving. Not that they were the end, but they were the means to the end. Historically, church fathers favored historic premillennialism, including Ireneaus, Papias, Justin Martyr, Tertullian, and Hippolytus. Now, when they came here, Im very much aware that many of them are amillennialists. 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. It is narrative history, and we fight - sometimes tooth and nail - to maintain the literal veracity of Genesis 1 through 3. John Piper Backs Professor's End Times Theory of Premillennialism That's a complete misreading. Responding to Questions About Amillennialism Pastor Gabe 4. 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. So, I said, Would you do me a favor? His mode of expositing those verses that supposedly counter Preterism really helped me to focus on those areas in the Bible. 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. a.Dispensationalist Premillennialism 1. 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. Some people want to turn it into ages - theres nothing in there that does that; theres nothing in the text itself that does that. Even His promises may not be valid, because He made them with inadequate information. They are certainly available (or they should be) in the library at MacArthurs Masters Seminary. Affiliate disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, we may earn commissions from qualifying purchases on Amazon.com. We had met a short time ago, and she had questions about . 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. All rights reserved. Theres a rapture, and theres a bma seat judgment; we know that. 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. In the modern theological world, I say leave amillennialism to the process theologians. 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. 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. 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. I dont do this to you very often, but I hope you feel like it was helpful, and anchored you in this great and important truth. John Knox (1) John MacArthur (4) John MacDuff (1) John Mark (1) John Piper (25) John T. Carroll (1) John the Baptist (1) . So, they did it, and we distributed that at the Shepherds Conference - 350-page version of Revelation, in which the full interpretation is provided there and of course, you can advance to the full two volumes if youd like. So to interpret Matthew 24 the way John MacArthur does as all about the tribulation period, and then all of a sudden you get to verse thirteen and you read into that a whole soteriological concept that I've got to make it to the end of my life in good works to prove I'm a Christian so I can get to heaven. Show it to me. 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. We understand that when you have a prophecy in the Bible that has not yet come to pass, not everything will be clear. 7 Reasons Why the Gospel of John is So Special 3 days ago Well see more about how that works. 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? 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. "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. So, you interpret it right, and that will allow you to understand the meaning of the Covenants and the future of Israel; and Gods integrity is at stake. Historic premillennialism - What is it? - CompellingTruth.org Its a strange approach. 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. Some of them are postmillennialists, although there are fewer and fewer of those. Select Bibliography. For example, the book is well-organized. Well, we now come to the doctrines that relate to the end times. God filled the Bible with prophecy and much of it looking to the end. (Quoted in Murray, The Puritan Hope, 101102. My professors were a Who's Who of dispensational premillennialism: John Walvoord (then president of DTS), Charles Ryrie (author of Dispensationalism Today and The Ryrie Study Bible ), and J. Dwight Pentecost (author of perhaps the most influential text on the subject at that time, Things to Come ), just to mention the more well-known. If this is a future event, why arent premillennialists warning the Jews in Israel whats about to take place? Chicago: Moody, 2012. 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. That in itself is an indication of Gods preservation for their future. Its just a lot of material. MacArthur's "dispensationalism" is eschatological and ecclesiological only. 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. Those are the views. We also applaud his insistence that the Bible must be interpreted literally, according to its normal sense. After thorough study I saw that his views on the topic were based on (among other things) circular reasoning and tradition. One topic I did not mention is the place of Israel in prophecy at it relates to postmillennialism. Register. Every promise God made to Abraham about his lineage inheriting the land of Palestine has been fulfilled! In 1679, Scottish minister Walter Smith drew up some guidelines for prayer meetings: As it is the undoubted duty of all to pray for the coming of Christs kingdom, so all that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity, and know what it is to bow a knee in good earnest, will long and pray for the out-making of the gospel-promises to his Church in the latter days, that King Christ would go out upon the white horse of the gospel, conquering and to conquer, and make a conquest of the travail of his soul, that it may be sounded that the kingdoms of the world are become his, and his name called upon from the rising of the sun to its going down. The other says there will be a kingdom. Registered User 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. 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. 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. 2. But, you know, of all the people on the planet who should be premillennialists, it should be those who believe in divine sovereign election, of all people. So, heres how to get the foundation for a good sound eschatology: get election right, get Israel right, you got it. I have thought about these things, by the way, for a long time. John MacArthur Dismisses Amillennialism - Adrian Warnock ), 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.). PDF Session 16: The Millennium (Rev. 20.1-6) - Trinity School for Ministry Seventy percent - by the way - of Scripture is the story of Israel, start to finish. Help Grace to You bring important resources like this to people in your community and beyond, free of charge. 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. 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. Its two ways to view human history. 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. Because when you understand Gods purpose for Israel, you now have the foundation for all eschatology; all eschatology. This is process theology. . 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. He wants us to get it right; thats why He put it in the Scripture and the Scripture is replete with it. Christ returns before the Millennium, a literal thousand years 2. Thats a hard sell, frankly. , . 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. 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. He and his wife, Christie, have six children. I dont know about you, but I really cant get too worked up about greenhouse gases. 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. 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. I just want to note that he neither proposed nor answered the types of objections that are oftentimes levied against premillennialists. They believe that salvation can be gained and lost. Turn to Revelation chapter 1. John MacArthur Defines Self-Respecting Calvinism as Premillennial 3 reasons John MacArthur is wrong about religious liberty One says its not the kingdom. Now, frankly, its too late for John Calvin to fix his work, although he is now a premillennialist in heaven. He will return to an increasingly wicked earth, He will come in fiery judgment, He will judge all the ungodly of all the earth, and then establish His rule and His kingdom forever. MacArthur insisted that we should be able to preach the whole Bible without changing the original meaning of the text or abrogating promises. The church will become more influential, more impactful, more spiritually powerful. And by the way, dispensationalists - people say, Well, that whole premillennial view, that came out of C.I. 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. iii.16. Turn to 1 Corinthians 15; 1 Corinthians 15. There are a number of viewpoints of what the Bible means when it speaks of future events. This morning John MacArthur opened the 2007 Shepherds Conference with a loud blast that will no doubt be heard around the Reformed world in the coming weeks. His presentation was not an attempt to harmonize Calvinism with a premillennial view but rather to show the inconsistency of the contrary. 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. Ive dragged myself through all these years of the discipline of study. There have been premillennial (traditionally known as "chiliastic) movements, including some Reformed theologians, since the early church but most . Please make sure all fields are filled out. Now, talking about eschatology is not without controversy. But, for certain, according to amillennialists, there will be no thousand-year reign of Christ on the earth. As you may be aware, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into full effect on 25th May 2018. Or another way to say it would be this: how many of you have attended an amillennial prophecy conference? They dont want to accept that the entire universe was created in six nearly twenty-four-hour days. But not us, who live and breathe the rarified air of sovereign grace and election; it makes no sense to me. The other says it is the kingdom. Four Views on the Millennium - Study Resources - Blue Letter Bible This is a positive book: positive about the future of the Church. . No kingdom on earth ruled by Christ before He gets here, and no kingdom on earth ruled by Christ after He gets here. This is simply a way to understand Scripture in its normal sense. What Is Premillennialism? - Christianity Why bother? Amillennialism is consistent with Arminianism. Turn to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4; 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. 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. With appearances by. 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.. Craig Blaising and . He doesnt know the future because it hasnt happened. Its not nearly as difficult as some people make it if you just take Scripture at face value. See more on the author's page Sung Wook Chung GDPR is the new European privacy regulation, which will replace the Data Protection Act 1998 in the UK and the equivalent legislation across the EU Member States. Please respond to confirm your registration. 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. We sent you an email. The True Historical Premillennial View: Not George Ladd's Version Do you understand the massive apologetic power of the existence of Israel as an ethnic people in their own land? I have - they can try to terrify me with all this stuff; I am unmoved. Review of Biblical Doctrine, John MacArthur's new systematic theology 13:79). Amillennialism, dispensational premillennialism, historic premillennialism, postmillennialism, preterism. The Rise of Philo-Semitism and Premillennialism During the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries. 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. The assembly and the circumstances of the assembly must be distinguished. ( 3:16) . Every Sunday morning for over 50 years, John MacArthur a faithful pastor with many of the same convictions as Barrow has ascended the pulpit of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, opened his Bible, and boldly preached God's Word to the thousands assembled there to worship. But they never got around to eschatology; they never got around to applying their formidable skills. An amillennial response to John MacArthur's dispsationalism The Let me condense that down, just squeeze it down to about 350 pages, because if people read this and understand it, theyre going to be blessed by God. And they said, Sure.. After clicking 'Register', you will receive an email with a link to verify your account and to complete your registration. 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. 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. Its the whole point of the beginning and the middle. by Craig L. Blomberg and Sung Wook Chung [Grand Rapids: . . He told me he would study the issue and get back to me. It matters to me to understand what God has said about the end. 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. Because they believed that the Jews would be converted, Puritan and Presbyterian churches earnestly prayed that Pauls prophecies would be fulfilled. In one passage he defends premillennialism by arguing that a future earthly kingdom is necessary because of God's promise to Abraham, he wrote "The promise remains steadfast. See, for example, Michael Vlach's article "How Does Historic Premillennialism Differ from Dispensational Premillennialism?", this "Eschatology Comparison" chart, and this article "An Historical . It has to matter to us. This year they upgraded some snacks and are handing out Zone protein bars, a major enhancementhowever, I am really missing my family. He even went so far as to say that the Amillennial position is more consistent with Arminianism 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. A Look at the Church of England, Sneak Peek Interview: Laura Wiflers New Childrens Book. 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. Should We Cancel Karl Barth, Martin Luther, and Jonathan Edwards? In the world, things will get better and better and better as the church becomes more powerful and more influential. Why Every Calvinist Should Be a Premillennialist, Part 2 - Grace To You One calls it a kingdom and says it will expand and expand and expand - thats the positive spin. Amillennialism really seems to fit them. Christ's Prophetic Plans - DTS Voice 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. 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. Relax; set all that aside. Israel sinned, youre out. The Keller Center for Cultural Apologetics helps Christians show unbelievers the truth, goodness, and beauty of the gospel as the only hope that fulfills our deepest longings. I think it matters to God. 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. John MacArthur, Israel, and Postmillennialism - American Vision I reject the wacky world of newspaper exegesis and cartoon eschatology, and crazy interpretation like the locusts of Revelation 9 being helicopters, et cetera. Who will establish it? It matters to me. Dispensationalism is a kind of framework for history that is organized around seven dispensationsseven orders or administrations. Not true. In a shocking conclusion to the illustration, MacArthur said, if this is the kingdom, then Jesus is not the messiah. Why do we want to run from that? Why John MacArthur Is Not "Reformed" - The Puritan Board 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. 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. All this panic about global warming, and all this panic about the end of the world and asteroids crashing into the earth? Riddleblog - The Latest Post - Why John MacArthur Is Not "Reformed" 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. 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. Premillennialism - Wikipedia Contrary to MacArthur, the historical record demonstrates that postmillennial Calvinists had developed a prophetic role for the Jews hundreds of years before Scofield. 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). If you dont know what you believe about the future, you cant preach on it. And so, I think its a fair test to see whether eschatology holds up.