It is one thing to omit them for a time, and another to do it ordinarily. Now, I told you a few weeks ago why people believe that, because they want to get God off the hook so Hes not responsible for evil; but Hes happy to take the responsibility for allowing evil for His own glory. Premillennialism Historic Premillennialism Postmillennialism Amillennialism view sees the re-establishment of temple worship and animal sacrifices as a remembrance of Christ's sacrifice. Its a strange approach. He confronts the views of covenant theology, historical premillennialism, ultradispensationalism, and, in this revised edition, the increasingly popular progressive dispensationalism. 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 may I remind you that you have one very, very important reality to deal with in case you think theres no future in Israel: living Israelites. 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. 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. 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.. An article by John MacArthur: "The common question of which Bible translation to use is very important--it concerns the most important words ever spoken, the words of God the Creator. Ive preached through many of the books of the Old Testament, the first eleven chapters of Genesis through Daniel, Zechariah, the minor prophets, and pieces and bits of Isaiah and others in the Old Testament. His message in General Session 1 was entitled "Why Every Self-Respecting Calvinist is Premillennial". He would be pretty close to progressive. They dont want to accept that the entire universe was created in six nearly twenty-four-hour days. 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. Log In I know where history is going. "[36] Furthermore, John Calvin wrote in Institutes that millennialism is a "fiction" that is "too childish either to need or to be worth a refutation". There have been premillennial (traditionally known as "chiliastic) movements, including some Reformed theologians, since the early church but most . Erdman refers to the premillennialism of Asia Minor in the second century as "Asiatic millennialism.". Well, we now come to the doctrines that relate to the end times. The other view is whats called openness theology, and its the same thing; it simply means God has no idea what the future is. Dr. James M. Boice Makes An Excellent Case For Premillennialism. 1897 (Western Theological Seminary) (James Orr) .. He then notes that, nevertheless, "the virtual theology which surrounds premillennialism is today stronger and more widely spread than at any time in history."[50]. Joachim divided earth's history into three periods. Whalen has noted that modern premillennialism is "criticized roundly for nave scholarship which confuses the poetic and inspirational prose of prophecy with fortune telling", though "Premillennialists retort that they merely follow the Word of God, regardless of ridicule." So, my words to you are really very simple foundational words, I say this. The church. 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. One calls it a kingdom and says it will expand and expand and expand - thats the positive spin. 11:12; 12:29; 13:19; John 10:12, 28, 29) and removing (John 6:15; Acts 8:39; 23:10; Jude 23).There is a third use, which focuses on being caught up . Darby, that came out of that whole dispensational system no, it didnt. 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. Revelation 20:4-6 and the Question of the Millennium,, Bailey, J. W. The Temporary Messianic Reign in the Literature of Early Judaism,. What you have here is a benediction from God: blessed is he who reads and understands the book of Revelation. There are three basic eschatological views which are held by those calling themselves "Reformed.". Many traditional denominations continue to oppose the concept of a literal millennial kingdom. 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. Jenna . 2023 Grace to You. 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. Ive dragged myself through all these years of the discipline of study. 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. 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. In his early period, Augustine held to the sexta-/septamillennial view common in early Christianity (see above section on Patristic Age). Through allegorical interpretation, he had been a proponent of amillennialism (of course, the sexta-septamillennial tradition was itself based upon similar means of allegorical interpretation). It matters to me to understand what God has said about the end. Whether youre an amillennialist or a postmillennialist, you basically say Israel forfeited all its promises. 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. Romans 11:28 . 3. This is an account of the things formerly created, as also it is a prophecy of what is to come. For example, the book is well-organized. 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 for the Grace to You media ministry. 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. . 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. Marcion opposed the use of the Old Testament and most books of the New Testament that were not written by the apostle Paul. "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. 3. It matters to me. 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. In keeping with his view of faith, MacArthur denigrates "facts," "doctrine," "intellectual assent," and so on. 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. The church will become more influential, more impactful, more spiritually powerful. "John MacArthur on Calvinism, Dispensationalism, Israel, and Hermeneutics: A Few Comments" . He is currently the chancellor emeritus of The Master's University in . All right, thats the introduction. This means that it sees no radical theological distinction between Israel and the Church. They taught that the kingdom of God would be visibly manifest on earth after the second coming of Jesus. 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. But, as they [the millenarians] assert that those who then rise again shall enjoy the leisure of immoderate carnal banquets, furnished with an amount of meat and drink such as not only shock the feeling of the temperate, but even to surpass the measure of credulity itself, such assertions can be believed only by the carnal. (, Anderson, Soteriological Impact, 27-28. Israel sinned, youre out. Theres a rapture, and theres a bma seat judgment; we know that. See, for example, Michael Vlach's article "How Does Historic Premillennialism Differ from Dispensational Premillennialism?", this "Eschatology Comparison" chart, and this article "An Historical . From the material available online today, many would conclude that "historic premillennialism" refers to the teaching of 20th century theologian George Elton Laddand no other view. Premillennialism is distinct from the other views such as postmillennialism which views the millennial rule as occurring before the second coming. 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. Not that they were the only ones to be saved, but they were the ones through whom God will eventually reach, and even set up His Son to rule over the nations. And by what authority? His teaching is still one of the most potent elements in Western religious thought.[24] Therefore, to analyze what happened to premillennialism in the Middle Ages and the Reformation, it is necessary to observe the Augustinian foundation. The end is as divinely designed as the beginning, and God has given us massive amounts of revelation in the Scripture about the future. As soon as you abandon that, then its fair game for anybodys craziness. Post-millennialism, for example, agrees with premillennialism about the future earthly reign of Christ, but disagrees on the concept of a rapture and tribulation before the millennium begins. Dionysius of Alexandria stood against premillennialism when the chiliastic work, The Refutation of the Allegorizers written by Nepos, a bishop in Egypt became popular in Alexandria. John MacArthur: My father never put pressure on me to be a pastor. 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. It makes no sense. Its two ways to view human history. 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. Help Grace to You bring important resources like this to people in your community and beyond, free of charge. Chicago: Moody, 2012. Weekly telecasts and daily radio broadcasts of "Grace to You" are seen and heard by millions worldwide. Anything to avoid premillennialism, even if you change the rules of interpretation. Certainly, you have no idea what it means - neither does anybody else. 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. There are a number of viewpoints of what the Bible means when it speaks of future events. S. Lewis Johnson Jr. (1915-2004), a conservative evangelical pastor and theologian, was for many years a professor at Dallas Theological Seminary. Now, Ive been telling you for a number of months that we were going to get into the subject of eschatology, the doctrine of last things. [18] Although Origen was not always wholly "orthodox" in his theology, he had at one point completely spiritualized Christ's second coming prophesied in the New Testament. 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. Contemporary premillennialism is divided into two schools of thought. Origen was the first to challenge the doctrine openly. Theyve been refined, clarified, expanded, enriched through these 50 years, but I was convinced when I started. He even went so far as to say that the Amillennial position is more consistent with Arminianism But not us, who live and breathe the rarified air of sovereign grace and election; it makes no sense to me. You get your eschatology right when you get Israel right. Our church just finished up a 7-week series on eschatology. 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. A History of Christian Zionism: Philo-Semitism and the Expectation of Israel's Restoration. John MacArthur News Why TMS? Single. May it be powerful in our lives we pray in Christs name. Out of their own mouth - whats wrong with that? I had, as theologians might call it, my own my own ordo eschaton; that would be the chronological sequence of the end times. I like to call amillennialism negative, and postmillennialism positive. 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. Tell us about the future. They were in a very hopeless situation, having very little in life. You would assume that they are confused because the Bible is confusing, and if the Bible is confusing, then God Himself is confused, and so, working hard - and it is often hard work - to understand prophetic passages is needless. You can believe and be saved and then you can forfeit your salvation. 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. This is observed in the 41st of the Anglican Articles, drawn up by Thomas Cranmer (1553), describing the millennium as a 'fable of Jewish dotage', but it was omitted at a later time in the revision under Elizabeth (1563).[35]. Irenaeus and Justin represent two of the most outspoken premillennialists of the pre-Nicean church. He has been the pastor of Grace Community Church, a non-denominational church in Sun Valley, California since February 9, 1969. 1. If only he could just send down one message, that might be it. The beliefs of Premillennialism are far from "rightly dividing the word of truth"! One says its not the kingdom. The first clear opponent of premillennialism associated with Christianity was Marcion. Between 1790 and the mid-19th century, premillennialism was a popular view among English Evangelicals, even within the Anglican church. There was a clear majority position among the earliest church fathers on the relationship of Israel to the church. Art. This is simply a way to understand Scripture in its normal sense. Most of the Reformers and the Puritans were postmils. Interestingly, by the time that Augustine wrote his monumental work, J. Danilou, La typologie millenariste de la samaine dans le christianisme prmitif,, Richard Landes, "Lest the Millennium be Fulfilled: Apocalyptic Expectations and the Pattern of Western Chronography 100-800 CE," in, From the time of Constantine and Augustin, Joseph Mede was a biblical scholar educated at Christ's College, Cambridge. Where is the divine mandate to do that? Contrarily, certain Anabaptists, Huguenots, and Bohemian Brethren were premillennial. This makes two distinct judgmentsone for Christians and one for non-Christians after the millennium. The Lutherans formally rejected chiliasm (millennialism) in The Augsburg Confession. 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. And so, I think its a fair test to see whether eschatology holds up. But we distributed that, and I arranged - and I dont know when its going to happen for you - I arranged to get a copy for every family at Grace Church as a gift. Origen did this in his Commentary on Matthew[19] when he taught that Christs return signifies His disclosure of Himself and His deity to all humanity in such a way that all might partake of His glory to the degree that each individuals actions warrant (Commentary on Matthew 12.30).[20] Even Origen's milder forms of this teaching left no room for a literal millennium and it was so extreme that few actually followed it. Proponents of the view include John Gill, Mike Placko, Charles Spurgeon,[51] James Montgomery Boice,[52] George Eldon Ladd,[53] John Piper,[54] Albert Mohler,[55] Francis Schaeffer, Carl F. H. Henry,[56] Harold Lindsell, D. A. Carson,[57][58] Bryan Chapell,[59] and Gordon Clark.[60]. I have even called thee by thy name Isaiah 65:9: Mine elect shall inherit it - the promises of God. It's now taught by influential theologians such as Walter Kaiser, John Macarthur, John Walvoord, and popular authors Tim LaHaye and Hal Lindsey. MacArthur is a fifth-generation pastor, a popular author and conference speaker and has served as pastor-teacher of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California since 1969 . 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. 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. Whether youre talking about the church as Gods elect, or Israel as Gods elect, both are Gods elect. Show it to me. And at that judgment, well be recompensed for the deeds done in the body, whether they are good or phaulos, meaning useless. 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. 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. And again, I say, His election is divine, unilateral, unconditional and irrevocable. Michael Servetus taught a chiliastic view, though he was denounced by the Reformers as a heretic and executed in Geneva under Calvin's authority. First, the Antichrist would appear and a seven-year period of tribulation would commence. That the thousand apocalyptical years are not passed but future. Dispensational premillennialists hold that Christ will come before a seven-year period of intense tribulation to take His church (living and dead) into heaven. Historic premillennialism is the view that Christ will return before the millennium. This is process theology. He loved the ministry. They believe God elects nobody to salvation. "[45] "[31], Augustine's later amillennial view laid the eschatological foundation for the Middle Ages, which practically abandoned premillennialism. Julian of Toledo (642690) summarizes the medieval doctrine of the millennium by referring to it as the church of God which, by the diffusion of its faith and works, is spread out as a kingdom of faith from the time of the incarnation until the time of the coming judgment. In the US, the dispensational form of premillennialism was propagated on the popular level largely through the Scofield Reference Bible and on the academic level with Lewis Sperry Chafer's eight-volume Systematic Theology. 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