john macarthur premillennialism

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. 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. I think it matters to God. 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. This is why its message is hated. He is best known for his internationally syndicated Christian teaching radio programme Grace to You and has been the pastor-teacher of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California since February, 1969.He is also currently is the President of The Master's University in Newhall, California and The Master's Seminary in Los Angeles . 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. The assembly and the circumstances of the assembly must be distinguished. 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. 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. Now, frankly, its too late for John Calvin to fix his work, although he is now a premillennialist in heaven. Most of the Reformers and the Puritans were postmils. That's a complete misreading. DMcFadden said: The mixture of dispensational eschatology and Calvinist soteriology is not unique to MacArthur. 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. Primer, ed. In 1 Peter chapter 1, you remember, Peter says that the prophets who wrote concerning Christ, concerning the things to come, wondered what person and what time. Arminians - not Armenians, thats different; those who follow Arminius - did not believe in election. Yet, Abraham did not receive it during all the time of his journey there. Erik Raymond is the senior pastor at Redeemer Fellowship Church in Metro Boston. John MacArthur claims to be a Dispensationalist in both The Gospel According to Jesus (GAJ) and The Gospel According to the Apostles (GAA). Not just the future of Israel, but our confidence in the Word of God. In a really interesting illustration MacArthur envisioned an amillennialist evangelizing a Jew. John MacArthur News Why TMS? You forfeit everything, and God gives it to somebody else - namely, the church - and we hope the church can do better than Israel or the church will forfeit it all as well. Out of their own mouth - whats wrong with that? (Ridgeley, Commentary on the Larger Catechism, 1:562. Would you agree? The other says there will be a kingdom. Thats called process theology. 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. . MacArthur and the seminary faculty know of Murrays work. Now, here comes the real irony; this is the real irony. Israel disobeyed the law, youre done. Please respond to confirm your registration. 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. All of these are benefits of getting it right. #10. And again, I say, His election is divine, unilateral, unconditional and irrevocable. In other words, Piper believes Jesus Christ will come on earth and reign for 1,000 years. 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. You can believe and be saved and then you can forfeit your salvation. What some postmil critics fail to recognize is that postmillennialists have always had a significant role for the future conversion of Jews while premillennialists do not. But in the Old Testament - for example, Isaiah 45:4: Israel, Mine elect. Theyve been refined, clarified, expanded, enriched through these 50 years, but I was convinced when I started. Did God do this but somehow mumble? What passage is it in? Enter your email address and we will send you instructions on how to reset your password. 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. The "millennium" refers to the period of 1,000 years mentioned in Revelation 20:3, "He threw Satan into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years were ended. Scofield, that came out of J.N. 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. 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. 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. Ive dragged myself through all these years of the discipline of study. And Im really grateful that the Spirit of God is moving the way He is these days, and moving in the church to reestablish the glorious high ground of the sovereignty of God in salvation. If it doesnt mean what it says and everybodys got a different view, then nobody has the authority to say, This is true. Lets just stick with things that we know are true and things that all the good theologians agree on. It matters to me to understand what God has said about the end. John MacArthur's Defense of Dispensationalism Monday, December 8, 2008 by Gary DeMar In 1988, John MacArthur wrote The Gospel According to Jesus, a controversial book in certain circles because he relied heavily on the views of Calvinistic writers to deal with the lordship salvation controversy. O.T. We can take prophetic Scripture at face value. Turn to Revelation chapter 1. His presentation was not an attempt to harmonize Calvinism with a premillennial view but rather to show the inconsistency of the contrary. We had met a short time ago, and she had questions about . 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. MacArthur, John, and Richard Mayhue, eds. 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. Im unwaveringly committed to that. 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. After that he must be loosed for a little while." Amillennialism, dispensational premillennialism, historic premillennialism, postmillennialism, preterism. John MacArthur was one of the influences that helped turn me to Preterism. Anything to avoid premillennialism, even if you change the rules of interpretation. One calls it a kingdom and says it will expand and expand and expand - thats the positive spin. But not us, who live and breathe the rarified air of sovereign grace and election; it makes no sense to me. 3. Copyright 2023 The Gospel Coalition, INC. All Rights Reserved. That is a large part of evangelical Christianity, the Wesleyan movement, Charismatic movement, Methodists, etc., etc., many Baptists. Dispensational premillennialists hold that Christ will come before a seven-year period of intense tribulation to take His church (living and dead) into heaven. Piper was responding to an "Ask Pastor John . 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. Turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 9; 2 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 9: We have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, - that is, whether in heaven or here - to be pleasing to Him - to be pleasing to Him. The church. I align myself to historical premillennialism, so I want to convey my own dismay with John MacArthur's sermon series from 2007. That in itself is an indication of Gods preservation for their future. Whether youre an amillennialist or a postmillennialist, you basically say Israel forfeited all its promises. Staggering. Amen. 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. Ive been putting an outline together in preparation for two talks I did for the December 1819 online A Purchased Victory: A Conference on the Bright Hope of Postmillennialism. My two talks deal with biblical and cultural impediments that are often raised against postmillennialism. 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. When He comes, everything ends immediately. Because when you understand Gods purpose for Israel, you now have the foundation for all eschatology; all eschatology. 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. Post-Millennialism, in stark contrast to Pre-Millennialism, believes that the Millennium occurs before Jesus' Second Coming rather than after. They are certainly available (or they should be) in the library at MacArthurs Masters Seminary. Regarding this Dr. Timothy Jones writes, "Dispensationalism emphasizes the differences and discontinuity between the physical descendants of Abraham and followers of Jesus [2]. We still have Mark to go, but there are only a couple of discourses and a couple of miracles in Mark that arent in the other three gospels, so not a lot of new material. You get the interpretation of Scripture right when youre faithful to valid rules of interpretation. 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 so, I think its a fair test to see whether eschatology holds up. 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. 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.) 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. But there is a growing influence of amillennialism, because amillennialism has been a part of reformed theology. Now, there are people who do this to Genesis 1, 2 and 3. I am not going to try to quote him here, because frankly I did not take notes, I just sat there and listened. 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. Accordingly, we have updated our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions in order to comply with GDPR. [1] He has been the pastor of Grace Community Church, a non-denominational church in Sun Valley, California since February 9, 1969. His mode of expositing those verses that supposedly counter Preterism really helped me to focus on those areas in the Bible. I have even called thee by thy name Isaiah 65:9: Mine elect shall inherit it - the promises of God. In the world, things will get better and better and better as the church becomes more powerful and more influential. Daylight and dark, daylight and dark - thats a 24-hour period - God creates everything. Without the dispensational lens-says MacArthur-you will misunderstand much of the Bible. The preconception is that we cant allow this to happen. 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. 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. Amillennialism is ideal for Arminians because, according to their theology, God elects nobody and preserves nobody. And at that judgment, well be recompensed for the deeds done in the body, whether they are good or phaulos, meaning useless. I'm two thirds in to the series; however, one of my complaints so far is that MacArthur doesn't characterize the amillennial camp with accuracy. Arminius did not believe in election; those who follow him do not believe in election. 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. 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. He wants us to get it right; thats why He put it in the Scripture and the Scripture is replete with it. Turn to 1 Corinthians 15; 1 Corinthians 15. He is currently the chancellor emeritus of The Master's University in . Register. 1897 (Western Theological Seminary) (James Orr) .. It is the single most inexplicable story in human history, that this small group of beleaguered people, attacked and assaulted by everybody around them for centuries, still exist as a pure ethnic race. 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. Receiving Not Achieving. 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 as President of The Master's College (and the related Master's Seminary) in Santa Clarita, California. A Review of Dr. John MacArthur's "Why Every Calvinist Should be a Premillennialist" Sermon. by Craig L. Blomberg and Sung Wook Chung [Grand Rapids: . 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. Theres a recovery of premillennialism in the modern era, and the recovery of premillennialism in the modern era came from two very unlikely sources. Moreover, John, as again stated by Papias, ascribed the origin of millenarianism to Christ . 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. As soon as you abandon that, then its fair game for anybodys craziness. Since Scripture speaks of the Millennium as a time of great prosperity for the kingdom of God, post-mills are inherently optimistic. 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. 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. Whether youre talking about the church as Gods elect, or Israel as Gods elect, both are Gods elect. 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. 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. But we now have pure Israelites. 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. Theological Method of Premillennialism" in A Case for Historic Premillennialism: An Alternative to "Left Behind" Eschatology, ed. If this is a future event, why arent premillennialists warning the Jews in Israel whats about to take place? -- 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 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. 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. And by what authority? They believe God elects nobody to salvation. And by the way, if we change the rules, what are the new ones? 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. 4. That's OK and no one is surprised or upset about that. 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. It is narrative history, and we fight - sometimes tooth and nail - to maintain the literal veracity of Genesis 1 through 3. 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. Why do we want to run from that? God promised him the inheritance of the land. 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. Whats that about? 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. (Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust, [1834] 1974), 1:607.). The books and articles that make this case are not obscure or difficult to find. 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. So, I said, Would you do me a favor? He asked what the amillennialist would say if the Jew asked about the kingdom and the blessings. It has not appeared as yet what we shall be. All right. They dont want to accept the fact that Adam and Eve were created full grown, male and female, not the result of an evolutionary process.