Revelation 1:3: Blessed is he who reads, and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it: for the time is near.. The Lords coming back: blessing, purity, stability, comfort. ), 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.). Death, where is your victory? 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. I reject the wacky world of newspaper exegesis and cartoon eschatology, and crazy interpretation like the locusts of Revelation 9 being helicopters, et cetera. 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? 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. 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 Rapture, Antichrist, and Rebirth of Israel in Medieval Manuscripts. 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. Amillennialism, dispensational premillennialism, historic premillennialism, postmillennialism, preterism. Log In by Craig L. Blomberg and Sung Wook Chung [Grand Rapids: . Its just a lot of material. 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? We shall all be changed, in a moment, the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed., Thats the rapture; were going to study the rapture. But for those who get it, for those who understand it, for those who embrace Gods sovereignty - that He is the only one who can determine who will be saved and blessed, and He is the only one who can save and bless - then saying that He cancelled promises to Israel because they didnt believe is completely inconsistent. All rights reserved. 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. The other says there will be a kingdom. Not just the future of Israel, but our confidence in the Word of God. So, I say, leave amillennialism to those kinds of people who do not believe in the sovereign, unilateral, irrevocable, divine electing power of God. Postmillennialists think things are going to get better. And whats at stake here? 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. Why do we want to run from that? Its two ways to view human history. John MacArthur and Richard Mayhue's new systematic theology titled Biblical Doctrine has many positive aspects. 2023 Grace to You. 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. There are a number of viewpoints of what the Bible means when it speaks of future events. The assembly and the circumstances of the assembly must be distinguished. See more on the author's page Sung Wook Chung It is the theme of Scripture, the theme of eternity, and the . Some of them are postmillennialists, although there are fewer and fewer of those. (Edmonton, AB Canada: Still Waters Revival Books, [1855] 1993), 2:621. You get the interpretation of Scripture right when youre faithful to valid rules of interpretation. Why TMS? It matters to me. A Purchased Victory: A Conference on the Bright Hope of Postmillennialism, Website made by Chittam Technology Solutions, LLC. Why do we want to change the rules in interpretation to avoid that? (Ridgeley, Commentary on the Larger Catechism, 1:562. 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. 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. As more and more information comes to Him, and as He has more and more experience in dealing with the issues of His universe, Hes getting better at being God. Erdman refers to the premillennialism of Asia Minor in the second century as "Asiatic millennialism.". 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. We've been working our way through doctrinal emphases in Scripture, doctrinal themes, and we have covered a lot of ground. 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.. They believe that salvation can be gained and lost. 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. For details about this sermon and for related resources, click here: https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/90-339 To receive John MacArthur's monthly l. You can figure it out. The other looks at it as a spiritual kingdom also but says it will decline and decline and decline until Jesus finally comes. Weve been working our way through doctrinal emphases in Scripture, doctrinal themes, and we have covered a lot of ground. Thats for people who dont know this; that the way history ends, is with Jesus coming and taking us away. 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. Not that they were the end, but they were the means to the end. You have this hope as a purifying hope. Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts Workbook for Women Updated: Seven Questions to Ask Before---and After---You Marry 9780310875475 Calvin, though, was an amil, and DutchCalvinism, after a postmil start, has tended to be amil. Historic premillennialism is one system of eschatology that has support in the Protestant community. Anything to avoid premillennialism, even if you change the rules of interpretation. And it is powerfully persuasive. No kingdom on earth ruled by Christ before He gets here, and no kingdom on earth ruled by Christ after He gets here. 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? They didnt really get to the front of ecclesiology either, the study of the church, but those two kind of go together - as well see in this study - in some very fascinating ways. 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. It is narrative history, and we fight - sometimes tooth and nail - to maintain the literal veracity of Genesis 1 through 3. I saw it in Scripture when I was young; I saw it in Scripture because it was so crystal clear. For example, the book is well-organized. Articles Baptist Theology Calvinism Charles Spurgeon Christology Classic Premillennialism Covenant Theology e-Articles e-Books Eschatology Historic . Select Bibliography. Certainly, you have no idea what it means - neither does anybody else. That leaves me with the impression that God wants us not to question the length of its duration. 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. 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. John MacArthur was one of the influences that helped turn me to Preterism. A Case for . Now, there are people who do this to Genesis 1, 2 and 3. Israel crucifies the Messiah, thats it. As soon as you abandon that, then its fair game for anybodys craziness. 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. God filled the Bible with prophecy and much of it looking to the end. John MacArthur News Why TMS? If you read the paper and have your eyes open, and youre breathing, and your body has any temperature at all, you know things arent getting better. Yet in Sproul's lifetime, he and MacArthur were close friends. 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. Contrary to MacArthur, the historical record demonstrates that postmillennial Calvinists had developed a prophetic role for the Jews hundreds of years before Scofield. A History of Christian Zionism: Philo-Semitism and the Expectation of Israel's Restoration. May it be powerful in our lives we pray in Christs name. Historically, church fathers favored historic premillennialism, including Ireneaus, Papias, Justin Martyr, Tertullian, and Hippolytus. God is just trying to find His way through the melee of choices and decisions, through the endless vicissitudes and choices that everything and everyone makes, through all of the numberless issues in this massive universe that are going on; Hes sorting it all out as He goes. If only he could just send down one message, that might be it. 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. 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). And again, I say, His election is divine, unilateral, unconditional and irrevocable. 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. The completed registration allows us to send order and donation receipts to the email address you provided. You can believe and be saved and then you can forfeit your salvation. Do you understand the massive apologetic power of the existence of Israel as an ethnic people in their own land? 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. A Look at the Church of England, Sneak Peek Interview: Laura Wiflers New Childrens Book. Dispensationalism continues to provoke heated debate within the Christian world. 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. Is that what God wanted us to do, to look at it and say, Aw, I cant figure this out; lets forget it? There are whole denominations that are instructed not to teach on the end times. Amillennialism really seems to fit them. Turn to Revelation chapter 1. John MacArthur is the pastor-teacher of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, where he has served since 1969. That's OK and no one is surprised or upset about that. 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. 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. After thorough study I saw that his views on the topic were based on (among other things) circular reasoning and tradition. Christ's Prophetic Plans: A Futuristic Premillennial Primer. But we now have pure Israelites. Craig Blaising and Darrell Bock, Progressive Dispensationalism 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. Dispensational premillennialism (DP) offers the most complex chronology of the end times.It argues that the current church age will end with the rapture of the church (cf. One says its not the kingdom. Christ returns before the Millennium, a literal thousand years 2. 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. 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 Along that line, I went to Moody Press and I said, Look, Ive written two volumes on Revelation - I dont know, its 800 or 900 pages - and I realized not everybody is going to go through all of that. I am not going to try to quote him here, because frankly I did not take notes, I just sat there and listened. 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. But not us, who live and breathe the rarified air of sovereign grace and election; it makes no sense to me. There are two great elect people in the Bible: Israel and the church; and Israel is elect, as the church is elect - the New Testament is full of comments about the church being the elect. Murray notes that A number of years before [the Larger Catechism and Westminster Directory for Public Worship] were drawn up, the call for prayer for the conversion of the Jews and for the success of the gospel throughout the world was already a feature of Puritan congregations. (Murray, The Puritan Hope, 99.) Over four decades of ministry, John has written dozens of bestselling books, including The . iii.16. I dont know about you, but I really cant get too worked up about greenhouse gases. And Im not in to newspaper exegesis, where you where everything that happens in the news fulfills some obscure Old Testament prophecy. Even His promises may not be valid, because He made them with inadequate information. In the modern theological world, I say leave amillennialism to the process theologians. He blogs at Ordinary Pastor. Dispensational Premillennialism is a recent, complex, and increasingly controversial form of modern Historic Premillennialism (HP). 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. That's a complete misreading. 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. Well, this is such a great chapter - verse 51: I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep. 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. Whether youre talking about the church as Gods elect, or Israel as Gods elect, both are Gods elect. Show more Friends Following Now, if you want to get the future right, youve got to get Israel right, and youve got to get Gods sovereign electing purpose right. . Reformed theologian John Piper affirmed his belief that the second coming of Christ is coming soon and indicated that he is a premillennialist. Regarding this Dr. Timothy Jones writes, "Dispensationalism emphasizes the differences and discontinuity between the physical descendants of Abraham and followers of Jesus [2]. 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. He and his wife, Christie, have six children. It was developed in mid-19 th century England by John Darby, a leader of the small but influential Plymouth Brethren Movement. 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. When He comes, everything ends immediately. What you have here is a benediction from God: blessed is he who reads and understands the book of Revelation. and defends what can only be described as postmillennialism over against premillennialism. Post-Millennialism, in stark contrast to Pre-Millennialism, believes that the Millennium occurs before Jesus' Second Coming rather than after. You get Israel right when you get the Old Testament covenants and promises with Israel right. In short, there shall be, as it were, a universal spread of religion and holiness to the Lord, throughout the world. To say youre an amillennialist is only to tell me what you dont believe, and then you have to go to all of the passages of Scripture that talk about the kingdom and tell me why you dont believe they mean what they say. Doctrinal Statement Student Testimonies TMS for your Family Academics Academics Overview Master of Divinity Master of Theology Doctor of Ministry Doctor of Philosophy Bachelor of Theology Diploma of Theology Center for Israeli Studies Distance Education Academic Calendar Tyndale Center for Bible Translation This primer takes you on a Biblical study of questions surrounding prophecy, Israel, the rapture, and the different millennial . DP also believes that God has a place for both national Israel (cf. Help train Christians to boldly share the good news of Jesus Christ in a way that clearly communicates to this secular age. And who made them? Show it to me. Prior to that I thought about it a lot. 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. Now, why am I making a case for this? Primer, ed. 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. 4. The church will become more influential, more impactful, more spiritually powerful. Why Every Calvinist Should Be a Premillennialist, Part 1. So that whatever God chose to do He will do, that whatever He began to do He will complete, those who will defend that to their last breath - Gods irrevocable, unconditional, unilateral, sovereign election will bring those He has chosen to the fulfillment of all that He has promised them. Continue reading 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. There should be a footnote in the chapter saying, Please note: here comes a prophetic text; change the rules. We really need a divine mandate, because I think God cares that we get it right. This is why the Church is so weak in our day. Now, frankly, its too late for John Calvin to fix his work, although he is now a premillennialist in heaven. Do not look down on others from your view of the end-times. 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. In fact, its an impossible effort since it doesnt mean what it says, and you have to sort of allegorize it or spiritualize it and therefore interpretations are myriad; they are as many as interpreters. Please respond to confirm your registration. Not true. The following is a partial response to the subject since it is integral to premillennialism while postmillennialism is often ignored on the subject. I think it matters to God. 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? 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. And so, I think its a fair test to see whether eschatology holds up. Turn to 1 Corinthians 15; 1 Corinthians 15. 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. He has been the pastor of Grace Community Church, a non-denominational church in Sun Valley, California since February 9, 1969. 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. 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. They would rather believe that God has predestined His Church to failure than believe that they are personally responsible for transforming society. Yet it is inconsistent with. / ( .) You have nothing to fear, nothing to worry about. With appearances by. 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. Since Scripture speaks of the Millennium as a time of great prosperity for the kingdom of God, post-mills are inherently optimistic. 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. John MacArthur's ministries, including Grace to You and Masters University, also employ a grammatical historical method of interpretation, and they come to a dispensational view of eschatology. Hes getting better. One topic I did not mention is the place of Israel in prophecy at it relates to postmillennialism. That is a large part of evangelical Christianity, the Wesleyan movement, Charismatic movement, Methodists, etc., etc., many Baptists. 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.

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