This is a positive book: positive about the future of the Church. All rights reserved. But if you read Genesis 1 to 3, its pretty clear the evening and the morning were the first day, the evening and the morning were the second day, the evening and the morning were the third day. 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. 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.. Premillennialism: This view sees a chronological sequence as Satan is bound in the future when Christ returns and before Christians receive their reward, and then the millennium commences, hence the name, "pre". First, the Antichrist would appear and a seven-year period of tribulation would commence. 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. Post-Millennialism, in stark contrast to Pre-Millennialism, believes that the Millennium occurs before Jesus' Second Coming rather than after. iii.16. And there are others who believe that that refers to heaven; that refers to the experience of the saints in heaven. We chart the course and God reacts. I know where history is going. It matters to me. 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. 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). 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. See, for example, Michael Vlach's article "How Does Historic Premillennialism Differ from Dispensational Premillennialism?", this "Eschatology Comparison" chart, and this article "An Historical . I have thought about these things, by the way, for a long time. It is narrative history, and we fight - sometimes tooth and nail - to maintain the literal veracity of Genesis 1 through 3. Daylight and dark, daylight and dark - thats a 24-hour period - God creates everything. In the modern theological world, I say leave amillennialism to the process theologians. Postmillennialists think things are going to get better. He notes that "the decisive authority of Asiatic millennialism is John, from whom the elders claimed to have obtained their information. 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. That in itself is an indication of Gods preservation for their future. Christ returns before the Millennium, a literal thousand years 2. Because they believed that the Jews would be converted, Puritan and Presbyterian churches earnestly prayed that Pauls prophecies would be fulfilled. The Rapture, Antichrist, and Rebirth of Israel in Medieval Manuscripts. 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. Why do we want to run from that? DMcFadden said: The mixture of dispensational eschatology and Calvinist soteriology is not unique to MacArthur. John MacArthur claims to be a Dispensationalist in both The Gospel According to Jesus (GAJ) and The Gospel According to the Apostles (GAA). Some people try to call it poetry, but its clearly not poetry - it has none of the earmarks of poetry, none of the characteristics of Hebrew poetry. Chicago: Moody, 2012. Now, when they came here, Im very much aware that many of them are amillennialists. 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. Have you ever heard of that? Premillennialism (3) Pretribulationism (1) Pride (3) Priests (4) Princeton Theological Review (1) . In other words, Piper believes Jesus Christ will come on earth and reign for 1,000 years. It was developed in mid-19 th century England by John Darby, a leader of the small but influential Plymouth Brethren Movement. 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. "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. Allis - well-known - says, The Old Testament prophecies if literally interpreted cannot be regarded as having been yet fulfilled or being capable of fulfillment in the present age. Thats true. Craig Blaising and Darrell Bock, Progressive Dispensationalism The other says there will be a kingdom. 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. Floyd Hamilton in his book, The Basis of the Millennial Faith, says - and I quote: Now we must frankly admit the literal interpretation of the Old Testament prophecies gives us just such a picture of an earthly reign of the Messiah as the premillennialist pictures., Now, thats a fate worse than death. 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. "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. And who made them? You get your eschatology right when you get Israel right. 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.. This is process theology. Moreover, John, as again stated by Papias, ascribed the origin of millenarianism to Christ . 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. Theres no sense in going in to all of that, except to say in both cases, they say there is no actual earthly reign of Christ fulfilling all Old Testament covenant promises. Darby, that came out of that whole dispensational system no, it didnt. 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17), which, along with the appearance of the Antichrist, marks the beginning of the seven-year great tribulation on earth. Death, where is your victory? 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. 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. God doesnt choose you, you choose Him. But let me tell you something: normal, natural, literal interpretation is the only way to stop abuse of Scripture. #10. Return the sovereignty of God in election to its rightful place, return the nation Israel to its rightful place, and your eschatology will unfold in beautiful clarity. 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. In a shocking conclusion to the illustration, MacArthur said, if this is the kingdom, then Jesus is not the messiah. Scripture affirms the perpetuity of the elect church to salvation glory; that all whom the Lord has chosen He brings to glory. One calls it a kingdom and says it will expand and expand and expand - thats the positive spin. Because, you see, if it doesnt mean what it says it means, then any suggestion is as bad as any other suggestion. I have even called thee by thy name Isaiah 65:9: Mine elect shall inherit it - the promises of God. Every promise God made to Abraham about his lineage inheriting the land of Palestine has been fulfilled! That is a large part of evangelical Christianity, the Wesleyan movement, Charismatic movement, Methodists, etc., etc., many Baptists. Its not nearly as difficult as some people make it if you just take Scripture at face value. You get the interpretation of Scripture right when youre faithful to valid rules of interpretation. 2023 Grace to You. Show it to me. 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 . So, I say, leave amillennialism to those kinds of people who do not believe in the sovereign, unilateral, irrevocable, divine electing power of God. Yet in Sproul's lifetime, he and MacArthur were close friends. MacArthur and the seminary faculty know of Murrays work. Mathewson, Dave L. So, I said, Would you do me a favor? They would rather believe that God has predestined His Church to failure than believe that they are personally responsible for transforming society. I had, as theologians might call it, my own my own ordo eschaton; that would be the chronological sequence of the end times. All right, thats the introduction. Isaiah 65 - really, the whole chapter is about Israel, Gods elect - verse 22: My elect again shall enjoy long the work of their hands. Israel repeatedly called Gods elect; we know what that means. That's OK and no one is surprised or upset about that. I said, Sure - Ill take all day Friday, Ill tell you the future. So, I just marched them through the order of the chronology of eschatology as its laid out clearly, both in the Old and the New Testament, and I finished. 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. If you dont know what you believe about the future, you cant preach on it. They dont faze me. Blessed. Turn to Revelation chapter 1. We had met a short time ago, and she had questions about . Hes not predicting the future because you cant predict what hasnt happened - it doesnt exist. Some of them are postmillennialists, although there are fewer and fewer of those. 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. John MacArthur's first message at the Shepherds' Conference set off shock waves throughout the reformed evangelical church by upholding Premillennialism as being the only consistent position for any person who holds to the doctrine of sovereign electing grace. 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. I have - they can try to terrify me with all this stuff; I am unmoved. In fact, some say nearly one-fourth of Scripture is prophetic. Craig and his wife Fran have two daughters and reside in Centennial, Colorado. Most of the Reformers and the Puritans were postmils. Turn to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4; 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. Dr. MacArthur picked this fight. 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. 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? 2. 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. You get Israel right when you get the Old Testament covenants and promises with Israel right.
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