A recurring topic of interest in his writings is the historical reliability of the Scriptures. That in itself is an indication of Gods preservation for their future. A Review of Dr. John MacArthur's "Why Every Calvinist Should be a Premillennialist" Sermon. We can take prophetic Scripture at face value. So, I said, Would you do me a favor? Its two ways to view human history. All this panic about global warming, and all this panic about the end of the world and asteroids crashing into the earth? God filled the Bible with prophecy and much of it looking to the end. As you may be aware, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into full effect on 25th May 2018. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ - thats part of the coming eschatology. Over 200 times in the Bible God is called the God of Israel - over two hundred times, the God of Israel.. 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. Now, against those two is the view called premillennialism; that means there will be a millennium and prior to that millennium, Jesus will come. A History of Christian Zionism: Philo-Semitism and the Expectation of Israel's Restoration. 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. DMcFadden said: The mixture of dispensational eschatology and Calvinist soteriology is not unique to MacArthur. Another Rapture passage - great one - verse 16: the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, the trumpet of God, the dead in Christ shall rise first. Chicago: Moody, 2012. He never has. So, I say, leave amillennialism to those kinds of people who do not believe in the sovereign, unilateral, irrevocable, divine electing power of God. His point being that Jesus literally fulfilled promises of God just as they would have been literally taken, how in the world can we now redefine the kingdom in a different way than it was described in and through the prophets? When Frederick the Great called his chaplain in and he said, I want proof of the truthfulness of the Bible, and I want it briefly, the chaplain replied, Sir, I can give you proof of the truthfulness of the Bible in one word: Israel.. a.Dispensationalist Premillennialism 1. 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. Ive been teaching and preaching the Bible expositionally now for over 40 years, one verse at a time. We freely own, as what we think agreeable to scripture, that as Christ has, in all ages, displayed his glory as King of the Church, so we have ground to conclude, from scripture, that the administration of his government in this world, before his coming to judgment, will be attended with greater magnificence, more visible marks of glory, and various occurrences of providence, which shall tend to the welfare and happiness of his church, in a greater degree than has been beheld or experienced by it, since it was planted by the ministry of the apostles after his ascension into heaven. Death, where is your sting? Fundamental 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. I have dragged you through virtually every verse in the New Testament. Hes not predicting the future because you cant predict what hasnt happened - it doesnt exist. They believe that salvation can be gained and lost. Weve been working our way through doctrinal emphases in Scripture, doctrinal themes, and we have covered a lot of ground. Ive written about this in several places. Do you know - are you watching this media? In fact, some say nearly one-fourth of Scripture is prophetic. 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. 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 on Calvinism, Dispensationalism, Israel, and Hermeneutics: A Few Comments" . 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. That's OK and no one is surprised or upset about that. 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. Show more Friends Following 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. And Im not in to newspaper exegesis, where you where everything that happens in the news fulfills some obscure Old Testament prophecy. 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 Dispensationalism is perhaps a key reason why evangelicals have such a concern with what happens to the nation of Israel. If you dont know what you believe about the future, you cant preach on it. 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. He made them in the past, when He didnt know what He now knows, because what was going to happen hadnt happened. - comfort one another. 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? They dont faze me. Did He do it and somehow muddle it so hopelessly that the high ground for Bible students and the high ground for theologians is to recognize the muddle and abandon the perspicuity or the clarity of Scripture on that subject? Would you agree? [2] I reject the wacky world of newspaper exegesis and cartoon eschatology, and crazy interpretation like the locusts of Revelation 9 being helicopters, et cetera. 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. Turn to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4; 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. 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. But people are upset because MacArthur so badly misrepresented amillennialism, and because he defined "premillennialism" as though it were dispensationalism. But there is a growing influence of amillennialism, because amillennialism has been a part of reformed theology. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. 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. First, the Antichrist would appear and a seven-year period of tribulation would commence. Guest. Now, they make perfect amillennialists; thats a perfect setup for them. 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. The beliefs of Premillennialism are far from "rightly dividing the word of truth"! 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. We want the Word to cause us to live lives pleasing to You. He is currently the chancellor emeritus of The Master's University in . Arminius did not believe in election; those who follow him do not believe in election. Process theology: they are the theologians, liberal theologians, who believe that God is in process of becoming what He will be. This message clears up any questions as to where MacArthur stands on the eschatology issue. 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. 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. Now, here comes the real irony; this is the real irony. 3. His mode of expositing those verses that supposedly counter Preterism really helped me to focus on those areas in the Bible. Dr. MacArthur picked this fight. 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. Some people want to turn it into ages - theres nothing in there that does that; theres nothing in the text itself that does that. 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. Thats for people who dont know this; that the way history ends, is with Jesus coming and taking us away. Yet in Sproul's lifetime, he and MacArthur were close friends. MacArthur--who is an ardent dispensationalist--stated and defended his position. This is simply a way to understand Scripture in its normal sense. Premillennialism Historic Premillennialism Postmillennialism Amillennialism view sees the re-establishment of temple worship and animal sacrifices as a remembrance of Christ's sacrifice. Im unwaveringly committed to that. 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? 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.. There were 1600 pastors from central Asia - the first Central Asian pastors conference in history after the breakup of the Soviet Union. We can interpret it the way we interpret any other passage of Scripture, with the same use of the normal, natural means of interpreting language, and we should; and it will yield for us as clear an understanding of the future as the Lord wants us to have. 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. We understand that when you have a prophecy in the Bible that has not yet come to pass, not everything will be clear. 7 Reasons Why the Gospel of John is So Special 3 days ago Worship - John F. MacArthur 2012-01-20 Nothing is more important than worship. Why do we want to run from that? 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. Leave it to the semi-Pelagians and Pelagians, who go in and out of salvation; it makes sense for their theology.
Dispensational premillennialists hold that Christ will come before a seven-year period of intense tribulation to take His church (living and dead) into heaven. The books and articles that make this case are not obscure or difficult to find. It is one thing to omit them for a time, and another to do it ordinarily. And who made them? So, my words to you are really very simple foundational words, I say this. 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. 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. 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 They were fighting the massive Roman system, and being occupied on those fronts, they never really got to the front of eschatology. They explain, "As a refinement of dispensational premillennialism, futuristic millennialism affirms a futuristic view . 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.) You get your eschatology right when you get Israel right. It is the theme of Scripture, the theme of eternity, and the . Please respond to confirm your registration. An Anglican - an Anglican - by the name of William Cunningham in 1815 wrote a book called The Premillennial Advent; he was anything but a dispensationalist. 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 doesnt know the future because it hasnt happened. (Quoted in Murray, The Puritan Hope, 101102. Historically, church fathers favored historic premillennialism, including Ireneaus, Papias, Justin Martyr, Tertullian, and Hippolytus. It is pungently clear. 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. Does the end matter? Over four decades of ministry, John has written dozens of bestselling books, including The . All rights reserved. Not true. I dont know about you, but I really cant get too worked up about greenhouse gases. For example, the book is well-organized. I align myself to historical premillennialism, so I want to convey my own dismay with John MacArthur's sermon series from 2007. 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. The church will have an increasing influence in the world. Whether youre an amillennialist or a postmillennialist, you basically say Israel forfeited all its promises. The completed registration allows us to send order and donation receipts to the email address you provided. I have even called thee by thy name Isaiah 65:9: Mine elect shall inherit it - the promises of God. One says moving toward the coming of Christ there will be no kingdom. , . Select Bibliography. 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. I saw it in Scripture when I was young; I saw it in Scripture because it was so crystal clear. The bottom line is were in charge. Its the same God, same terminology. 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. (Matt .25:31-46; John . 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. Short Response to Dr. MacArthur's statement. And by the way, dispensationalists - people say, Well, that whole premillennial view, that came out of C.I. Its just a lot of material. Thats a hard sell, frankly. The first phase of that eternal rule will be His reign on this earth, which will last - as Revelation 20 says six times - a thousand years, after which His rule will continue, because it is an everlasting rule, but it will continue in a new heaven and a new earth that replace this heaven and earth, which will melt in an atomic implosion and make way for the new creation. And so, I think its a fair test to see whether eschatology holds up. Highly acclaimed theologian Dr. Charles C. Ryrie addresses this crucial issue from the perspective of classic dispensationalism. Please contact the publisher to obtain copies of this resource. It is masterfully written. Hes getting better. (Ridgeley, Commentary on the Larger Catechism, 1:563564.). Because when you understand Gods purpose for Israel, you now have the foundation for all eschatology; all eschatology.
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