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. 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. Receiving Not Achieving. But not us, who live and breathe the rarified air of sovereign grace and election; it makes no sense to me. 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. 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. . Because when you understand Gods purpose for Israel, you now have the foundation for all eschatology; all eschatology. 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. And by what authority? 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. John MacArthur claims to be a Dispensationalist in both The Gospel According to Jesus (GAJ) and The Gospel According to the Apostles (GAA). 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17), which, along with the appearance of the Antichrist, marks the beginning of the seven-year great tribulation on earth. It is pungently clear. Thats a hard sell, frankly. It has to matter to us. "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. 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. Whats that about? I have never moved away from my conviction about these two things. Contrary to MacArthur, the historical record demonstrates that postmillennial Calvinists had developed a prophetic role for the Jews hundreds of years before Scofield. Theyve been refined, clarified, expanded, enriched through these 50 years, but I was convinced when I started. Daylight and dark, daylight and dark - thats a 24-hour period - God creates everything. So, this is a classic perfect fit for Arminian theology. Please contact the publisher to obtain copies of this resource. by John MacArthur and Richard Mayhue (Chicago: Moody, 2012), 24. It makes no sense. When it was first published three and a half decades ago, Paradise Restored helped to precipitate a massive paradigm shift in the Evangelical and Reformed world from abject pessimism to unabashed optimism. We cant have those prophecies come to pass with regard to Israel in an earthly, literal kingdom the way the Old Testament seems to be saying it, so set aside normal, natural, literal interpretation. Christ returns before the Millennium, a literal thousand years 2. That is called historical premillennialism: Christ will come, set up the kingdom, but it won't have the Jewish character that we anticipate from Old Testament promises it would have, because those promises were cancelled to Israel and given to the church. Whether youre an amillennialist or a postmillennialist, you basically say Israel forfeited all its promises. Short Response to Dr. MacArthur's statement. Fundamental Moreover, John, as again stated by Papias, ascribed the origin of millenarianism to Christ . I have dragged you through virtually every verse in the New Testament. When He comes, everything ends immediately. Ridgeleys original work was titled A Body of Divinity: Wherein the Doctrines of the Christian Religion are Explained and Defended, Being the Substance of Several Lectures on the Assemblys Larger Catechism and was published in 1731.)) This year they upgraded some snacks and are handing out Zone protein bars, a major enhancementhowever, I am really missing my family. But in the Old Testament - for example, Isaiah 45:4: Israel, Mine elect. How could they believe unless He caused them to believe? A. DeJong, As the Waters Cover the Sea: Millennial Expectations in the Rise of Anglo-America Missions, 16401810 (Kampen: J. H. Kok, 1970), 3738.) Not just the future of Israel, but our confidence in the Word of 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). Since Scripture speaks of the Millennium as a time of great prosperity for the kingdom of God, post-mills are inherently optimistic. The Rise of Philo-Semitism and Premillennialism During the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries. 1897 (Western Theological Seminary) (James Orr) .. See here and here. Interestingly, some of this same languagethe phrase double conversion of the Gentiles in particularwas used by Johann Heinrich Alsted, whose premillennial The Beloved City or, The Saints Reign on Earth a Thousand Yeares (1627; English edition 1643) exercised great influence in England. Its the whole point of everything else. So, if you say the promises of the Old Testament that refer to Israel really meant the church, you have no precedent for such an interpretation. You have this hope as a purifying hope. You get your eschatology right when you get Israel right. Dispensationalism is a kind of framework for history that is organized around seven dispensationsseven orders or administrations. 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. Now, I know at this point somebody out there is going to say, Oh boy, hes into the Left Behind series. No, Im not in to Rapture fiction, and Im not in to wacky charts - you dont see me up here with a big chart and a stick. Who will establish it? #10. I had no idea what they believed - 1600 pastors and leaders from central Asia - Id never have even been there; and the group that led the conference came to me afterwards with smiles on their faces and said, You believe exactly what we believe. This isnt something for people who have been highly educated; this is something for people who havent been corrupted by education. But that is essentially what theyre asking us to do. Continue reading A History of Christian Zionism: Philo-Semitism and the Expectation of Israel's Restoration. 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. 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. Romans 11:28 . ), We have, hence, sufficient ground to conclude, that, when these prophecies shall have their accomplishment, the interest of Christ shall be the prevailing interest in the world, which it has never yet been in all respects; so that godliness shall be as much and as universally valued and esteemed, as it has hitherto been decried, and it shall be reckoned as great an honour to be a Christian, as it has, in the most degenerate age of the church, been matter of reproach…. John MacArthur and Richard Mayhue's new systematic theology titled Biblical Doctrine has many positive aspects. We who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus shall we always be with the Lord. Heres the application: Therefore - do what? 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. Accordingly, we have updated our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions in order to comply with GDPR. You can follow him on Twitter. One calls it a kingdom and says it will expand and expand and expand - thats the positive spin. Should We Cancel Karl Barth, Martin Luther, and Jonathan Edwards? 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. Now, were going to dig a little more deeply into the whole idea of the millennial kingdom and what the Bible says about it, and as to its nature and the aspects of the kingdom that are revealed in Scripture - and by the way, they are many and they are wondrous to behold, and we will do that. Certainly, you have no idea what it means - neither does anybody else. And in line with that, I want to try, at least, in the next couple of Sunday nights to establish a foundation for our understanding. He has also written or edited nearly four hundred books and study guides. Oct 27, 2007. 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. MacArthur--who is an ardent dispensationalist--stated and defended his position. There isnt such a thing. 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. Well, this is such a great chapter - verse 51: I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep. Part of what we pray for in the second petition, Thy kingdom come, is that the gospel [be] propagated throughout the world, the Jews called, the fullness of the Gentiles brought in. In his commentary on the Larger Catechism, Thomas Ridgeley (16671734) wrote, Hence, we cannot but suppose that those prophecies which respect [to the conversion of the Jews], in the latter day, together with the fullness of the Gentiles being brought in, shall be more eminently accomplished than they have hitherto been. ((Thomas Ridgeley, Commentary on the Larger Catechism, 2 vols. (Edmonton, AB Canada: Still Waters Revival Books, [1855] 1993), 2:621. We also applaud his insistence that the Bible must be interpreted literally, according to its normal sense. 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. 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. 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. 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. See De Jong, As the Waters Cover the Sea, 12.). 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. Do not look down on others from your view of the end-times. Most of the Reformers and the Puritans were postmils. This message clears up any questions as to where MacArthur stands on the eschatology issue. 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. 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. Christ's Prophetic Plans: A Futuristic Premillennial Primer. You get the Old Testament covenants and promises right when you get the interpretation of Scripture right. Register. Scofield, that came out of J.N. God doesnt choose you, you choose Him. In keeping with his view of faith, MacArthur denigrates "facts," "doctrine," "intellectual assent," and so on. I couldnt help but wonder what the other guest speakers might have been thinking as they sat in the front row. You get Israel right when you get the Old Testament covenants and promises with Israel right. Not true. Hes not predicting the future because you cant predict what hasnt happened - it doesnt exist. 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. Some of them are postmillennialists, although there are fewer and fewer of those. They explain, "As a refinement of dispensational premillennialism, futuristic millennialism affirms a futuristic view . Theres a rapture, and theres a bma seat judgment; we know that. Popular proponents of dispensational premillennialism have been John F. MacArthur, Phil Johnson, Ray Comfort, Jerry Falwell, Todd Friel, Dwight Pentecost, John Walvoord (d. 2002), Tim Lahaye, Charles Caldwell Ryrie (in the notes for the Ryrie Study Bible), the theological-folk poetry of Jack Royerton, and Charles L. Feinberg. He concluded that Nothing is more certainly foretold than this national conversion of the Jews in Romans 11. (Jonathan Edwards, History of Redemption, The Works of Jonathan Edwards, 2 vols. 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. Like all divine truth, getting the future truth right is beneficial. 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. - comfort one another. Craig Blaising and . Enter your email address and we will send you instructions on how to reset your password. 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.) Yet it is inconsistent with. 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 with the Grace to You media ministry. Thats called process theology. MacArthur and the seminary faculty know of Murrays work. No other study Bible does such a thorough job of explaining the historical context, unfolding the meaning of the text, and placing it within a theological Now, Im going to save the good stuff till next time, but I want to just end by giving you a little list of benefits of getting your eschatology right, okay? They would rather believe that God has predestined His Church to failure than believe that they are personally responsible for transforming society. And by the way, if we change the rules, what are the new ones? 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. 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. The church will have an increasing influence in the world. 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. 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. And I ask the question: are we supposed to be comfortable with the notion that the hard and fast and true principles of Bible interpretation have to be set aside in prophetic texts? 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. 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. This is postmillennialism at its best. It is the theme of Scripture, the theme of eternity, and the . In the modern theological world, I say leave amillennialism to the process theologians. Tell us about the future. They were in a very hopeless situation, having very little in life. But, in any case - and by the way, postmillennialists and amillennialists differ as to the details of these kinds of things. "John MacArthur on Calvinism, Dispensationalism, Israel, and Hermeneutics: A Few Comments" . The books and articles that make this case are not obscure or difficult to find. 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. We know that, so our ambition is, when we get to that place, to be rewarded because we are pleasing to Him. 3. May we be faithful to take it, to interpret it as you intended for us to, so that it can yield to us the wonderful rich blessings that You have promised. 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. Dispensationalism is perhaps a key reason why evangelicals have such a concern with what happens to the nation of Israel. 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. 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. Do you know - are you watching this media? Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts Workbook for Women Updated: Seven Questions to Ask Before---and After---You Marry 9780310875475 We had met a short time ago, and she had questions about . For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. Amen. But some are holding on to what they have taught in the past; I guess self-preservation dominates their theology at that point. 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? 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. Its a strange approach. We know that when He appears, - second coming we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is. I just want to note that he neither proposed nor answered the types of objections that are oftentimes levied against premillennialists. CLASSIC DISPENSATIONALISM. Death, where is your sting? 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. One says moving toward the coming of Christ there will be no kingdom. John McArthur John MacArthur was born on 19 June, 1939. 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. Resting Not Vexing, Our Anchor in a Sea of Chaos and Consternation, Why I (Sometimes) Listen to Supreme Court Oral Arguments. There are 73 references to Israel in the New Testament; each of them refers to Israel. Arminius did not believe in election; those who follow him do not believe in election. Turn to 1 Corinthians 15; 1 Corinthians 15. We understand that when you have a prophecy in the Bible that has not yet come to pass, not everything will be clear. In the meantime, Ive continued to study the Old Testament to write all the footnotes for the MacArthur Study Bible through the entire Old Testament. Process theology: they are the theologians, liberal theologians, who believe that God is in process of becoming what He will be. Thats just two ways to look at the same thing. 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. And he is suggesting, therefore, that we cant interpret them literally, because somehow, weve got to make them fulfilled in this age, because there is no future age. Those who most celebrate the sovereign grace of election regarding the church and its inviolable place in Gods purpose, from predestination before the foundation of the world to glorification in the future, those who most celebrate the sovereign grace of election, those who most aggressively, most militantly, and most capably defend the truth of Scripture regarding this election being divine, unilateral, unconditional, irrevocable by nature, for the church - thats for us . For example, the book is well-organized. 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. a.Dispensationalist Premillennialism 1. [1] He has been the pastor of Grace Community Church, a non-denominational church in Sun Valley, California since February 9, 1969. , . 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?

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