Hes getting better. Since Scripture speaks of the Millennium as a time of great prosperity for the kingdom of God, post-mills are inherently optimistic. And youve been great tonight; this is more like a theological lecture. Registered User Darby, that came out of that whole dispensational system no, it didnt. And it is powerfully persuasive. Those who most celebrate the sovereign grace of election - thats the Reformed - they are typically amillennial. His presentation was not an attempt to harmonize Calvinism with a premillennial view but rather to show the inconsistency of the contrary. As you may be aware, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into full effect on 25th May 2018. 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 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. Staggering. 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. 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. They dont want to accept that the entire universe was created in six nearly twenty-four-hour days. Now, there are people who do this to Genesis 1, 2 and 3. The Rapture, Antichrist, and Rebirth of Israel in Medieval Manuscripts. Now, I've been telling you for a number of months that we were going to get into the subject of eschatology, the doctrine of last things. John MacArthur News Why TMS? 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. All right, thats the introduction. Now, frankly, its too late for John Calvin to fix his work, although he is now a premillennialist in heaven. Historic premillennialism is one system of eschatology that has support in the Protestant community. 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. In a really interesting illustration MacArthur envisioned an amillennialist evangelizing a Jew. Those are the views. 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. They believe God elects nobody to salvation. Short Response to Dr. MacArthur's statement. 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? John MacArthur claims to be a Dispensationalist in both The Gospel According to Jesus (GAJ) and The Gospel According to the Apostles (GAA). Now, why am I making a case for this? In the world, things will get better and better and better as the church becomes more powerful and more influential. 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 Should We Cancel Karl Barth, Martin Luther, and Jonathan Edwards? Thats for people who dont know this; that the way history ends, is with Jesus coming and taking us away. And the longer I think about it and the more I study the Scripture, the clearer it becomes to me. Now, here comes the real irony; this is the real irony. And . But they never got around to eschatology; they never got around to applying their formidable skills. I like to call amillennialism negative, and postmillennialism positive. Some of the most formidable amillennialists - and Im talking about well-respected, very erudite influential theologians - say things like this, and Ill quote. It is one thing to omit them in formal obedience to the law; and another thing to omit them in prudence, or for necessity, because we cannot keep them. What he is saying is, a literal interpretation of the Old Testament is going to lead you to a premillennial view, and since we dont want to get there, we cant use a literal approach. 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. All rights reserved. Dr. MacArthur picked this fight. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. There were 1600 pastors from central Asia - the first Central Asian pastors conference in history after the breakup of the Soviet Union. The alpha privative in the Greek language means a negative, so there is the view that there is no millennium; that what John is writing about in Revelation 20 is very vague, may refer to nothing other than a long time in which the church flourishes on earth, simply referring to that kingdom which is spiritual - that is, the rule of Christ over those who belong to Him while 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). How do you explain that? The Rise of Philo-Semitism and Premillennialism During the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries. All right. It is masterfully written. 2023 Grace to You. 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.. God doesnt choose you, you choose Him. May it be powerful in our lives we pray in Christs name. Premillennialists believe that two-thirds of the Jews living in Israel during the time of the great tribulation will be slaughtered (Zech. (Quoted in Murray, The Puritan Hope, 101102. You get the Old Testament covenants and promises right when you get the interpretation of Scripture right. But some are holding on to what they have taught in the past; I guess self-preservation dominates their theology at that point. Theres a recovery of premillennialism in the modern era, and the recovery of premillennialism in the modern era came from two very unlikely sources. Ive written about this in several places. Dispensationalism is perhaps a key reason why evangelicals have such a concern with what happens to the nation of Israel. And so, we stand steadfast, immovable. Because when you understand Gods purpose for Israel, you now have the foundation for all eschatology; all eschatology. These are dicult words to pronounce and even harder concepts to understand. MacArthur's "dispensationalism" is eschatological and ecclesiological only. Craig Blaising and Darrell Bock, Progressive Dispensationalism Historical Records of New South Wales, vols 1-7; Historical Records of Australia, series 1, vols 1-17, series 3, vols 2-3, series 4, vol 1; S. Macarthur Onslow, Early Records of the Macarthurs of Camden (Syd 1914) S. J. Butlin, Foundations of the Australian Monetary System, 1788-1851 (Melb, 1953) M. H. Ellis, John Macarthur (Syd, 1955) and for bibliography Because they believed that the Jews would be converted, Puritan and Presbyterian churches earnestly prayed that Pauls prophecies would be fulfilled. 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 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. He has been the pastor of Grace Community Church, a non-denominational church in Sun Valley, California since February 9, 1969. He is currently the chancellor emeritus of The Master's University in . That's OK and no one is surprised or upset about that. He is the author, co-author or co-editor of fifteen books and more than eighty articles in journals or multi-author works. Whether youre an amillennialist or a postmillennialist, you basically say Israel forfeited all its promises. It therefore teaches responsibility. Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts Workbook for Women Updated: Seven Questions to Ask Before---and After---You Marry 9780310875475 No kingdom on earth ruled by Christ before He gets here, and no kingdom on earth ruled by Christ after He gets here. Yet in Sproul's lifetime, he and MacArthur were close friends. When He comes, everything ends immediately. Why do we want to run from that? Grace to You radio, video, audio, print, and website resources reach millions worldwide each day. John MacArthur is the pastor-teacher of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, where he has served since 1969. Blessed. 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. Post-Millennialism, in stark contrast to Pre-Millennialism, believes that the Millennium occurs before Jesus' Second Coming rather than after. John MacArthur and Richard Mayhue's new systematic theology titled Biblical Doctrine has many positive aspects. One says its not the kingdom. Yet it is inconsistent with. But, for certain, according to amillennialists, there will be no thousand-year reign of Christ on the earth. . Some people want to turn it into ages - theres nothing in there that does that; theres nothing in the text itself that does that. He comes pre, not post; He comes before. I align myself to historical premillennialism, so I want to convey my own dismay with John MacArthur's sermon series from 2007. Ive been here at Grace Church well, what - thirty-some years. MacArthur and the seminary faculty know of Murrays work. They are certainly available (or they should be) in the library at MacArthurs Masters Seminary. John MacArthur has compiled more than 20,000 study notes, a 200-page topical index, and numerous charts, maps, outlines, and articles to create The MacArthur Study Bible. Today's Christians have been taught that they must flee responsibility, for Jesus' sake. 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. But that is essentially what theyre asking us to do. Arminius did not believe in election; those who follow him do not believe in election. Most of the Reformers and the Puritans were postmils. Copyright 2023 The Gospel Coalition, INC. All Rights Reserved. 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.