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. In fact, I understand sovereign electing grace much more clearly than I ever have in the past, and I also understand Gods sovereign electing purpose for Israel more clearly than Ive ever understood it. 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. He also said that it is too late for Calvin but it is not too late for you [to join the Reformed Premillennial movement]! 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. ), 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…. This article is also available and sold as a booklet. Show it to me. 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 [1] He has been the pastor of Grace Community Church, a non-denominational church in Sun Valley, California since February 9, 1969. John MacArthur was one of the influences that helped turn me to Preterism. But, in any case - and by the way, postmillennialists and amillennialists differ as to the details of these kinds of things. Dr. MacArthur picked this fight. The beliefs of Premillennialism are far from "rightly dividing the word of truth"! Theyve been refined, clarified, expanded, enriched through these 50 years, but I was convinced when I started. 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. We've been working our way through doctrinal emphases in Scripture, doctrinal themes, and we have covered a lot of ground. I reject the wacky world of newspaper exegesis and cartoon eschatology, and crazy interpretation like the locusts of Revelation 9 being helicopters, et cetera. But let me tell you something: normal, natural, literal interpretation is the only way to stop abuse of Scripture. They would rather believe that God has predestined His Church to failure than believe that they are personally responsible for transforming society. And by what authority? What you have here is a benediction from God: blessed is he who reads and understands the book of Revelation. Now, there are people who do this to Genesis 1, 2 and 3. Through the work of Ladd, historic premillennialism gained scholarly respect and popularity among Evangelical and Reformed theologians since he had the right appreciation of the redemptive- historical significance of the first coming of Christ and of the NT age. It makes no sense. 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. The church will become more influential, more impactful, more spiritually powerful. Moreover, John, as again stated by Papias, ascribed the origin of millenarianism to Christ . by Craig L. Blomberg and Sung Wook Chung [Grand Rapids: . Ive been teaching and preaching the Bible expositionally now for over 40 years, one verse at a time. And then the effect of it is in verse 58: Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, and you can stop right there. Highly acclaimed theologian Dr. Charles C. Ryrie addresses this crucial issue from the perspective of classic dispensationalism. Now, the truth of the matter is, those are just two ways to look at the same thing; postmillennialism and amillennialism is really the same thing. One says its not the kingdom. They explain, "As a refinement of dispensational premillennialism, futuristic millennialism affirms a futuristic view . 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 . 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. 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. Registered User And at that judgment, well be recompensed for the deeds done in the body, whether they are good or phaulos, meaning useless. 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. (Quoted in Murray, The Puritan Hope, 101102. Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts Workbook for Women Updated: Seven Questions to Ask Before---and After---You Marry 9780310875475 But people are upset because MacArthur so badly misrepresented amillennialism, and because he defined "premillennialism" as though it were dispensationalism. Erik Raymond is the senior pastor at Redeemer Fellowship Church in Metro Boston. MacArthur's Leaky Dispensationalism - Grace Evangelical Society 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. 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. Biography - John Macarthur - Australian Dictionary of Biography John MacArthur Defines Self-Respecting Calvinism as Premillennial Craig Blaising and . Erdman refers to the premillennialism of Asia Minor in the second century as "Asiatic millennialism.". Only now has it happened, and so His promises may not be trustworthy, since they were given in the past, before so many things happened that He didnt know were coming to pass. Process theology: they are the theologians, liberal theologians, who believe that God is in process of becoming what He will be. So, this is a classic perfect fit for Arminian theology. Please be aware that these items are sent out from our office in the UK. Israel sinned, youre out. Why would God wait nearly 2000 years to redeem a single generation of Jews only to have the antichrist wipe out two-thirds of them? "Are You Becoming a Post-Millennialist?" - Desiring God How could they believe unless He caused them to believe? Dispensational premillennialists hold that Christ will come before a seven-year period of intense tribulation to take His church (living and dead) into heaven. 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. Basically he said that when people spiritualize or allegorize the first three chapters of Genesis we call them Liberals, but when they do the same with the prophetic Scriptures we call them amillennialists. Macarthur writes "Futuristic Premillennialism is the result of an understanding and application of the prophetic texts in a way that is consistent with the normal, literal approach to interpreting Scripture." This is how the authors come to their Futuristic Premillennial view. And so, we stand steadfast, immovable. All of these are benefits of getting it right. God promised him the inheritance of the land. 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. 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. John MacArthur Dismisses Amillennialism - Adrian Warnock Turn to 1 Corinthians 15; 1 Corinthians 15. The Three Prevailing Millennium Views, Amillennial, Premillennial, and John MacArthur's secret? | Evangelicals Now - En The assembly and the circumstances of the assembly must be distinguished. 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. . Thats just two ways to look at the same thing. 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. Well, we now come to the doctrines that relate to the end times. An amillennial response to John MacArthur's dispsationalism The Help Grace to You bring important resources like this to people in your community and beyond, free of charge. I am not going to try to quote him here, because frankly I did not take notes, I just sat there and listened. (Edmonton, AB Canada: Still Waters Revival Books, [1855] 1993), 2:621. BibleX: Greek in Sermons He will return to an increasingly wicked earth, He will come in fiery judgment, He will judge all the ungodly of all the earth, and then establish His rule and His kingdom forever. - Good4Joy It matters to me. John Piper Backs Professor's End Times Theory of Premillennialism They believe God elects nobody to salvation. Reformed theologian John Piper affirmed his belief that the second coming of Christ is coming soon and indicated that he is a premillennialist. Oh sure, it helps to know some history and some background, but this is a pronounced blessing. John Knox (1) John MacArthur (4) John MacDuff (1) John Mark (1) John Piper (25) John T. Carroll (1) John the Baptist (1) . Have you ever heard of that? Now, against those two is the view called premillennialism; that means there will be a millennium and prior to that millennium, Jesus will come. 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. The bottom line is were in charge. So, my words to you are really very simple foundational words, I say this. And by the way, dispensationalists - people say, Well, that whole premillennial view, that came out of C.I. 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. His presentation was not an attempt to harmonize Calvinism with a premillennial view but rather to show the inconsistency of the contrary. May it be powerful in our lives we pray in Christs name. , . Instead, MacArthur systematically unpacked the biblical theology that leads one to an unabashed Calvinistic eschatology. We can take prophetic Scripture at face value. All this panic about global warming, and all this panic about the end of the world and asteroids crashing into the earth? Why Every Calvinist Should Be a Premillennialist, Part 2 - Grace To You In a shocking conclusion to the illustration, MacArthur said, if this is the kingdom, then Jesus is not the messiah. 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. And there are a lot of people who get the first one right - they get election right - and they dont get Israel right, and they are lost when it comes to eschatology. He has been the pastor of Grace Community Church, a non-denominational church in Sun Valley, California since February 9, 1969. Christ's Prophetic Plans - DTS Voice 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. But if you read Genesis 1 to 3, its pretty clear the evening and the morning were the first day, the evening and the morning were the second day, the evening and the morning were the third day. 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. The True Historical Premillennial View: Not George Ladd's Version 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. 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.) Its just a lot of material. Thats for people who dont know this; that the way history ends, is with Jesus coming and taking us away. 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. 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? Today's Christians have been taught that they must flee responsibility, for Jesus' sake. Ive written about this in several places. Is Premillennialism Consistent With Calvinism? - Finding The Balance He doesnt know the future because it hasnt happened. . Reformed theology has made a monumental comeback in this culture, and thankfully so, because it is biblical. Death, where is your victory? 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. 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 He also spoke briefly about dispensationalism, but I am not going to cover that here, I got to run. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. 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. 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. Father, we thank You for a great evening together; wonderful testimonies, great fellowship and how - how good it is to think deeply and broadly about the glory of Your Word. It is masterfully written. If you dont know what you believe about the future, you cant preach on it. John MacArthur laid down the gauntlet on the issue of prophecy in his opening talk at the 2007 "Shepherds' Conference" that was titled "Why Every Self-Respecting Calvinist Is a Premillennialist." He was emphatic that only premillennialism takes the prophecies concerning the future of Israel seriously. It therefore teaches responsibility. (1) That the old offcasten Israel for unbelief would never be forgotten, especially in these meetings, that the promised day of their ingrafting again by faith may be hastened; and that the dead weight of blood removed off them, that their fathers took upon them and upon their children, that have sunk them down to hell upwards of seventeen hundred years. 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. It is one thing to omit them for a time, and another to do it ordinarily. 2023 Grace to You. 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. 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. In a really interesting illustration MacArthur envisioned an amillennialist evangelizing a Jew. This we think to be the sense, in general, of those scriptures, both in the Old and New Testament, which speak of the latterday glory. You can follow him on Twitter. A Case for Historic Premillennialism: An Alternative to "Left Behind The Rise of Philo-Semitism and Premillennialism During the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries. Scofield, that came out of J.N. 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. (Quoted in DeJong, As the Waters Cover the Sea, 38.). This is why the Church is so weak in our day. We chart the course and God reacts. 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. 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17), which, along with the appearance of the Antichrist, marks the beginning of the seven-year great tribulation on earth. Log In This makes two distinct judgmentsone for Christians and one for non-Christians after the millennium. The other says there will be a kingdom. Thats called process theology. 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. So, it is really one of the strange ironies of Reformed theology, and therefore its a strange irony in the church today, that those who love the doctrine of sovereign election most - that would be Reformed theologians - those who love the doctrine of sovereign election most supremely, and who love that doctrine most sincerely and - this is going to be a long sentence - and who are most unwavering in their devotion to the glory of God, the honor of Christ, the work of the Holy Spirit in regeneration, the veracity and inerrancy of Scripture , Those who are usually the most fastidious in Bible interpretation - yes, those who are the most careful and intentionally biblical regarding all categories of doctrine, those who see themselves as guardians of biblical truth, those who are passionate to get it right, those who are not content to be wrong at all, and those who most heartily agree on the essential matters of Christian truth, so that they labor with all their powers to examine in a Berean fashion every relevant text to discern the true interpretation of all matters of divine revelation, are . Death, where is your sting? Now, they make perfect amillennialists; thats a perfect setup for them. 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. Most of the Reformers and the Puritans were postmils. Craig Blaising and Darrell Bock, Progressive Dispensationalism Who Are the Real Schismatics? Short Response to Dr. MacArthur's Comment on Amillennialism The amil guy, MacArthur said, would have to say that things have changed, those promises no longer apply to you, we have them now and this is the kingdom. Btw, LA is beautiful and the conference is great, I hope to post some reflections as the week goes on. That's a complete misreading. You get your eschatology right when you get Israel right. 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. Now, here comes the real irony; this is the real irony. 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. A Look at the Church of England, Sneak Peek Interview: Laura Wiflers New Childrens Book. 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. 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.
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john macarthur premillennialism