They taught that the kingdom of God would be visibly manifest on earth after the second coming of Jesus. The second, after the conversion of the Jews. (Quoted in Iain Murray, The Puritan Hope: Revival and the Interpretation of Prophecy (London: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1971), 72. Dispensationalism continues to provoke heated debate within the Christian world. 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. Seventy percent - by the way - of Scripture is the story of Israel, start to finish. One topic I did not mention is the place of Israel in prophecy at it relates to postmillennialism. Why bother? 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17), which, along with the appearance of the Antichrist, marks the beginning of the seven-year great tribulation on earth. Like all divine truth, getting the future truth right is beneficial. 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. And there are others who believe that that refers to heaven; that refers to the experience of the saints in heaven. 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. Thats just two ways to look at the same thing. Please respond to confirm your registration. In other words, Piper believes Jesus Christ will come on earth and reign for 1,000 years. 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. He made them in the past, when He didnt know what He now knows, because what was going to happen hadnt happened. One says moving toward the coming of Christ there will be no kingdom. Leave it to the semi-Pelagians and Pelagians, who go in and out of salvation; it makes sense for their theology. And by what authority? A History of Christian Zionism: Philo-Semitism and the Expectation of Israel's Restoration. John MacArthur and Richard Mayhue's new systematic theology titled Biblical Doctrine has many positive aspects. 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. He told me he would study the issue and get back to me. The church will become more influential, more impactful, more spiritually powerful. 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.) Select Bibliography. Romans 11:28 . Now, against those two is the view called premillennialism; that means there will be a millennium and prior to that millennium, Jesus will come. (Quoted in Murray, The Puritan Hope, 101102. 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. But I want to approach this whole thing with you, as my congregation, the way I did with three thousand five hundred pastors a couple of weeks ago. Does the end matter? He is the author, co-author or co-editor of fifteen books and more than eighty articles in journals or multi-author works. 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. 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. Or another way to say it would be this: how many of you have attended an amillennial prophecy conference? Similarly, the Westminster Directory for Public Worship instructed ministers to pray for the Propagation of the Gospel and Kingdom of Christ to all nations, for the conversion of the Jews, the fullness of the Gentiles, the fall of Antichrist, and the hastening of the second coming of the Lord. (Quoted in J. If this is a future event, why arent premillennialists warning the Jews in Israel whats about to take place? Now, frankly, its too late for John Calvin to fix his work, although he is now a premillennialist in heaven. But that is essentially what theyre asking us to do. 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. Turn to Revelation chapter 1. So, my words to you are really very simple foundational words, I say this. With appearances by. Copyright 2023 The Gospel Coalition, INC. All Rights Reserved. Worship - John F. MacArthur 2012-01-20 Nothing is more important than worship. After clicking 'Register', you will receive an email with a link to verify your account and to complete your registration. 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. 7 Reasons Why the Gospel of John is So Special 3 days ago 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 is the pastor-teacher of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, where he has served since 1969. Christ will return, He will come in a glorious second coming to earth - but not to establish His kingdom, but rather after His kingdom has been established. 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 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. Continue reading And theres the main verb in the sentence are in varying degrees of disinterest in applying their skills to the end of the story, and rather, content to be in happy if not playful disagreement in regard to the vast biblical data on eschatology, as if the end doesnt matter much - period. What passage is it in? Premillennialists believe that two-thirds of the Jews living in Israel during the time of the great tribulation will be slaughtered (Zech. (Matt .25:31-46; John . 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. We sent you an email. And again, I say, His election is divine, unilateral, unconditional and irrevocable. There isnt such a thing. Guest. Let me give you a theology lesson here a little bit. So here, we are living in the view of our eschatological triumph in Christ: the glory of the Rapture, the last trump, rising from the grave, made imperishable and immortal. I said, Sure - Ill take all day Friday, Ill tell you the future. So, I just marched them through the order of the chronology of eschatology as its laid out clearly, both in the Old and the New Testament, and I finished. Over 200 times in the Bible God is called the God of Israel - over two hundred times, the God of Israel.. And Im not in to newspaper exegesis, where you where everything that happens in the news fulfills some obscure Old Testament prophecy. We had met a short time ago, and she had questions about . 1897 (Western Theological Seminary) (James Orr) .. 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. As one prominent amillennialist said when asked, What is the biblical significance of the existence of Jews in their land? and he said, It has no significance at all. Really? 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. 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. Now, when they came here, Im very much aware that many of them are amillennialists. 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. The world, as they see it, is in an ongoing golden process of progress. Its the same God, same terminology. This morning John MacArthur opened the 2007 Shepherd's 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. He never has. [1] He has been the pastor of Grace Community Church, a non-denominational church in Sun Valley, California since February 9, 1969. God promised him the inheritance of the land. 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 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. Tell us about the future. They were in a very hopeless situation, having very little in life. He wants us to get it right; thats why He put it in the Scripture and the Scripture is replete with it. Do you know - are you watching this media? 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. (Edmonton, AB Canada: Still Waters Revival Books, [1855] 1993), 2:621. Particular to this framework is the eschatological position known as "premillennial dispensationalism" which holds that Christ will return prior to a literal one-thousand-year reign on earth. 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. How could they believe unless He caused them to believe? How do you explain that? Accordingly, we have updated our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions in order to comply with GDPR. 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. Israel crucifies the Messiah, thats it. Well see more about how that works. John MacArthur was one of the influences that helped turn me to Preterism. 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. The other says it is the kingdom. / ( .) All this panic about global warming, and all this panic about the end of the world and asteroids crashing into the earth? 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. In 1679, Scottish minister Walter Smith drew up some guidelines for prayer meetings: As it is the undoubted duty of all to pray for the coming of Christs kingdom, so all that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity, and know what it is to bow a knee in good earnest, will long and pray for the out-making of the gospel-promises to his Church in the latter days, that King Christ would go out upon the white horse of the gospel, conquering and to conquer, and make a conquest of the travail of his soul, that it may be sounded that the kingdoms of the world are become his, and his name called upon from the rising of the sun to its going down. And whats at stake here? John McArthur John MacArthur was born on 19 June, 1939. We are responsible for our sin, but in the end, we believe because He moves on us. I had, as theologians might call it, my own my own ordo eschaton; that would be the chronological sequence of the end times. And so, we stand steadfast, immovable. 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. I. Dr. MacArthur on Premillennialism and Calvinism: "Now that leads to my title: `Why Every Self-Respecting Calvinist Is a Premillennialist' [laughter and applause] Now it's too late for Calvin, but it's not too late for the rest of you. His presentation was not an attempt to harmonize Calvinism with a premillennial view but rather to show the inconsistency of the contrary. The Lords coming back: blessing, purity, stability, comfort. Whats that about? Dispensational premillennialists hold that Christ will come before a seven-year period of intense tribulation to take His church (living and dead) into heaven. Premillennialism (3) Pretribulationism (1) Pride (3) Priests (4) Princeton Theological Review (1) . 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. 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. 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. Some of them are postmillennialists, although there are fewer and fewer of those. Its not nearly as difficult as some people make it if you just take Scripture at face value. Here at Grace to You Europe we take our data protection responsibilities very seriously and, as you would expect, have undertaken a significant programme of work to ensure that we are ready for this important legislative change. He doesnt know the future because it hasnt happened. Post-Millennialism, in stark contrast to Pre-Millennialism, believes that the Millennium occurs before Jesus' Second Coming rather than after. Now, talking about eschatology is not without controversy. Pretribulational Rapture in 17th and 18th Century England. I saw it in Scripture when I was young; I saw it in Scripture because it was so crystal clear. John Knox (1) John MacArthur (4) John MacDuff (1) John Mark (1) John Piper (25) John T. Carroll (1) John the Baptist (1) . If students at The Masters Seminary are not being taught these things in their classes dealing with prophecy, then they are being shortchanged, misinformed, and, dare I say, led astray.