Because, you see, if it doesnt mean what it says it means, then any suggestion is as bad as any other suggestion. 3. And the longer I think about it and the more I study the Scripture, the clearer it becomes to me. A later generation of fathers didn't suddenly . John MacArthur claims to be a Dispensationalist in both The Gospel According to Jesus (GAJ) and The Gospel According to the Apostles (GAA). He is known around the world for his verse-by-verse expository preaching and his pulpit ministry via his daily radio program, Grace to You. 1. 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. That is a large part of evangelical Christianity, the Wesleyan movement, Charismatic movement, Methodists, etc., etc., many Baptists. 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? He has also written or edited nearly four hundred books and study guides. Moreover, John, as again stated by Papias, ascribed the origin of millenarianism to Christ . How do you explain that? There are a number of viewpoints of what the Bible means when it speaks of future events. [18] Although Origen was not always wholly "orthodox" in his theology, he had at one point completely spiritualized Christ's second coming prophesied in the New Testament. . MacArthur's Millennial Manifesto Paperback - May 29, 2008 by Samuel E. Waldron (Author) 30 ratings 4.4 on Goodreads 70 ratings See all formats and editions Paperback $12.81 6 Used from $12.80 8 New from $12.81 Mass Market Paperback $50.62 3 Used from $49.48 2 New from $50.62 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. The faithful spend eternity in the New Jerusalem. In similar language, Scripture affirms the perpetuity of ethnic Israel to a future salvation and a future kingdom as a race of people, and that in that salvation and in that kingdom will be the fulfillment of all divine promises given to them in the Old Testament, repeated in the New Testament, and through them to the world. 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. Dionysius argued against Nepos's influence and convinced the churches of the region of amillennialism. Instead it consistently referred to the present age so that the church was currently experiencing the eschaton. He comes pre, not post; He comes before. Marcion opposed the use of the Old Testament and most books of the New Testament that were not written by the apostle Paul. If you look at Acts 3:19, Peter says, Repent therefore, and return, that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing - thats the millennium - may come from the presence of the Lord; that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you, whom heaven must receive till the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time. So, having your eschatology in place may lead you to repentance. Contemporary premillennialism is divided into two schools of thought. Turn to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4; 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. If you dont know what you believe about the future, you cant preach on it. There isnt such a thing. Israel disobeyed the law, youre done. Premillennialism: This view sees a chronological sequence as Satan is bound in the future when Christ returns and before Christians receive their reward, and then the millennium commences, hence the name, "pre". 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. Irenaeus and Justin represent two of the most outspoken premillennialists of the pre-Nicean church. Dispensational Premillennialism is a recent, complex, and increasingly controversial form of modern Historic Premillennialism (HP). Anything to avoid premillennialism, even if you change the rules of interpretation. So, I say, leave amillennialism to those kinds of people who do not believe in the sovereign, unilateral, irrevocable, divine electing power of God. John F. MacArthur, Jr. is a United States Calvinistic evangelical writer and minister, noted for his radio program entitled Grace to You and as the editor of the Gold Medallion Book Award winning MacArthur Study Bible. That leaves me with the impression that God wants us not to question the length of its duration. 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), Norman Geisler, Erwin Lutzer, and Charles L. Feinberg. MacArthur is a fifth-generation pastor, a popular author and conference speaker and has served as pastor-teacher of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California since 1969 . No kingdom on earth ruled by Christ before He gets here, and no kingdom on earth ruled by Christ after He gets here. So, if were going to change the rules of interpretation to inject into Scripture a preconceived idea or to avoid what is obvious, we better be sure that we have a word from God. Regarding Marcion and premillennialism, Harvard scholar H. Brown noted. Calvin, though, was an amil, and DutchCalvinism, after a postmil start, has tended to be amil. But some are holding on to what they have taught in the past; I guess self-preservation dominates their theology at that point. The Lutherans formally rejected chiliasm (millennialism) in The Augsburg Confession. 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. Allis - well-known - says, The Old Testament prophecies if literally interpreted cannot be regarded as having been yet fulfilled or being capable of fulfillment in the present age. Thats true. 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 . 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. [32] The theological term kingdom maintained its eschatological function, though it was not necessarily futuristic. Scripture affirms the perpetuity of the elect church to salvation glory; that all whom the Lord has chosen He brings to glory. 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.. His most well-known work is, William C. Watson "Dispensationalism Before Darby: 17th and 18th century English Apocalypticism (Lampion Press, 2015), Quoted by Robert K. Whalen, Premillennialism in, Herbert W. Bateman IV, Dispensationalism Tomorrow, in, Works from an amillennial or postmillennial perspective, Works from multiple perspectives or no apparent perspective, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Question & Answer: The Orthodox Presbyterian Church", "Introductory Note to the Fragments of Papias", "Origen's Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew", "NPNF2-01. Look, I reject all of those really abusive and bizarre kinds of interpretation; but frankly, theyre no more wacky then the interpretations of the amillennialists, who want to take the entire book of Revelation and stuff it into the events of 70 A.D. and a few years afterwards and come up with things that are just as ridiculous. In fact, its an impossible effort since it doesnt mean what it says, and you have to sort of allegorize it or spiritualize it and therefore interpretations are myriad; they are as many as interpreters. The Church has rejected even modified forms of this falsification of the kingdom to come under the name of millenarianism,577 especially the "intrinsically perverse" political form of a secular messianism.578". It is often post-tribulational, meaning that the rapture of the church will occur after a period of tribulation. ", Among the Apostolic Fathers Barnabas is the first and the only one who expressly teaches a pre-millennial reign of Christ on earth. 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. We know that, so our ambition is, when we get to that place, to be rewarded because we are pleasing to Him. There are over two thousand references to Israel in Scripture; not one of them means anything but Israel. Israel sinned, promises cancelled. 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. 2. They explain, "As a refinement of dispensational premillennialism, futuristic millennialism affirms a futuristic view . All rights reserved. Loraine Boettner wrote a book called The Meaning of the Millennium; this is what he said: It is generally agreed that if the prophecies are taken literally, they do foretell a restoration of the nation of Israel in the land of Palestine, with the Jews having a prominent place in that kingdom and ruling over the other nations.. 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.. "[31], Augustine's later amillennial view laid the eschatological foundation for the Middle Ages, which practically abandoned premillennialism. Post-Millennialism, in stark contrast to Pre-Millennialism, believes that the Millennium occurs before Jesus' Second Coming rather than after. 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). And Ive gone back after I preach, and Ive written commentaries - now I think 26 or 27 volumes on the New Testament - back through the same material again and again and again and again and again, so that this understanding of eschatology has had to stand the acid test of every text. I know where history is going. Now, when they came here, Im very much aware that many of them are amillennialists. 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. We can take prophetic Scripture at face value. 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. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure., Getting your eschatology right will bless you and getting your eschatology right will purify you. Single. Origen did this in his Commentary on Matthew[19] when he taught that Christs return signifies His disclosure of Himself and His deity to all humanity in such a way that all might partake of His glory to the degree that each individuals actions warrant (Commentary on Matthew 12.30).[20] Even Origen's milder forms of this teaching left no room for a literal millennium and it was so extreme that few actually followed it. by John MacArthur and Richard Mayhue (Chicago: Moody, 2012), 24. Did God do this but somehow mumble? Regarding this Dr. Timothy Jones writes, "Dispensationalism emphasizes the differences and discontinuity between the physical descendants of Abraham and followers of Jesus [2]. We've been working our way through doctrinal emphases in Scripture, doctrinal themes, and we have covered a lot of ground. 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. 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. This is an account of the things formerly created, as also it is a prophecy of what is to come. God doesnt choose you, you choose Him. Now, the second flavor: Dispensational Premillennialism. XVII., condemns the Anabaptists and others who now scatter Jewish opinions that, before the resurrection of the dead, the godly shall occupy the kingdom of the world, the wicked being everywhere suppressed."[35] Likewise, the Swiss Reformer Heinrich Bullinger wrote up the Second Helvetic Confession, which reads "We also reject the Jewish dream of a millennium, or golden age on earth, before the last judgment. It is narrative history, and we fight - sometimes tooth and nail - to maintain the literal veracity of Genesis 1 through 3. Yet, Abraham did not receive it during all the time of his journey there. 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. Systematische Theologie aus der Perspektive der Hoffnung", Gttingen: This page was last edited on 18 February 2023, at 03:01. Hes not predicting the future because you cant predict what hasnt happened - it doesnt exist. The church. There was a clear majority position among the earliest church fathers on the relationship of Israel to the church. Contrarily, certain Anabaptists, Huguenots, and Bohemian Brethren were premillennial. In the modern theological world, I say leave amillennialism to the process theologians. Please be aware that these items are sent out from our office in the UK. 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. "[36] Furthermore, John Calvin wrote in Institutes that millennialism is a "fiction" that is "too childish either to need or to be worth a refutation". Let me give you a theology lesson here a little bit. Arminians - not Armenians, thats different; those who follow Arminius - did not believe in election. 3:10-13)." "[43] His Puritan contemporaries, Increase Mather and Cotton Mather, openly proclaimed a belief in a literal millennium. For example, the book is well-organized. Primer, ed. Now it is time to reestablish the high ground of sovereign grace for a future generation of ethnic Israel in salvation and the messianic earthly kingdom. If you get that right, your eschatology will come crystal clear. Im unwaveringly committed to that. This makes two distinct judgmentsone for Christians and one for non-Christians after the millennium. 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. 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. Oxford theologian Alister McGrath has noted that "all medieval theology is Augustinian to a greater or lesser extent. Mhling, Markus, "Grundwissen Eschatologie. Why do we want to change the rules in interpretation to avoid that? Now, if you want to get the future right, youve got to get Israel right, and youve got to get Gods sovereign electing purpose right. 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. 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. Premillennialism, in Christian eschatology, is the belief that Jesus will physically return to the Earth (the Second Coming) before the Millennium, heralding a literal thousand-year golden age of peace. Amillennialism is an eschatological view that believes the millennium is not a literal thousand years. There is another form of that view called amillennialism; amillennialism - and youve probably heard about that. 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. Even His promises may not be valid, because He made them with inadequate information. I like to call amillennialism negative, and postmillennialism positive. 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, 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. [33], A notable exception to normative medieval eschatology is found in Joachim of Fiore (c. 11351202), a Cistercian monk, who to an extent, stressed premillennial themes. Historic premillennialism maintains chiliasm because of its view that the church will be caught up to meet Christ in the air and then escort him to the earth in order to share in his literal thousand year rule. 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. Some people want to turn it into ages - theres nothing in there that does that; theres nothing in the text itself that does that. One says its not the kingdom. Daylight and dark, daylight and dark - thats a 24-hour period - God creates everything. 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. [21] Eusebius also had low regard for the chiliast, Papias, and he let it be known that in his opinion Papias was "a man of small mental capacity" because he had taken the Apocalypse literally.[22]. From the material available online today, many would conclude that "historic premillennialism" refers to the teaching of 20th century theologian George Elton Laddand no other view. Between 1790 and the mid-19th century, premillennialism was a popular view among English Evangelicals, even within the Anglican church. 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. 2. Ive dragged myself through all these years of the discipline of study. Premillennialism: The millennium is the long period (perhaps a literal 1,000 years) when King Jesus will rule on earth. But people are upset because MacArthur so badly misrepresented amillennialism, and because he defined "premillennialism" as though it were dispensationalism. Now, here comes the real irony; this is the real irony. More recently dispensationalism has been popularized through Hal Lindsey's 1970s bestseller, The Late, Great Planet Earth and through the Left Behind Series by Tim Lahaye and Jerry Jenkins. After that he must be loosed for a little while." 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. They dont faze me. 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. Historically, church fathers favored historic premillennialism, including Ireneaus, Papias, Justin Martyr, Tertullian, and Hippolytus. He loved the ministry. This belief claims that human history will continue for 6,000 years and then will enjoy Sabbath for 1,000 years (the millennial kingdom), thus all of human history will have a total of 7,000 years prior to the new creation. DP also believes that God has a place for both national Israel (cf. Many traditional denominations continue to oppose the concept of a literal millennial kingdom. when they overthrew Jerusalem in the first of 3 steps (also 597 B.C., 586 B.C.). Amillennialism is consistent with Arminianism. . Dispensationalism is a kind of framework for history that is organized around seven dispensationsseven orders or administrations. But they want to get God off the hook, so they say Hes really not responsible, Hes really not in charge of anything; Hes just trying to figure it out. Dispensational premillennialism[61] generally holds that Israel and the Church are distinct entities. Now, the only thing that I ask is that you read it, and the only reason I ask you to read it is so that you may be what? The world, as they see it, is in an ongoing golden process of progress. 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. I have even called thee by thy name Isaiah 65:9: Mine elect shall inherit it - the promises of God. John MacArthur News Why TMS? You get Israel right when you get the Old Testament covenants and promises with Israel right. But in both cases, they would deny the actual thousand-year reign of Christ, and they would deny that Christ will reign and rule on earth and literally fulfill all His promises to the nation Israel given in the Old Testament covenants. He then notes that, nevertheless, "the virtual theology which surrounds premillennialism is today stronger and more widely spread than at any time in history."[50]. Scofield, that came out of J.N. This is simply a way to understand Scripture in its normal sense. 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. Arminius did not believe in election; those who follow him do not believe in election. 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. He considers the Mosaic history of the creation a type of six ages of labor for the world, each lasting a thousand years, and of a millennium of rest, since with God one day is as a thousand years. Millennial Sabbath on earth will be followed by an eight and eternal day in a new world, of which the Lords Day (called by Barnabas the eighth day) is the type" (, Note this is Victorinus of Pettau not Marcus Piav(v)onius, Augustine wrote in regards to the premillennialism And this opinion would not be objectionable, if it were believed that the joys of the saints in that Sabbath shall be spiritual, and consequent on the presence of God. They believe that salvation can be gained and lost. 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. 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. For other uses, see, Survey -Premillennialism Reigns in EvangelicalTheology, See: Philippe Bobichon, "Millnarisme et orthodoxie dans les crits de Justin Martyr" in, "For in as many days as this world was made, in so many thousand years shall it be concluded. I think it matters to God. Guest. You get the Old Testament covenants and promises right when you get the interpretation of Scripture right. Its the whole point of the beginning and the middle. These are: postmillennialism, amillennialism, and historic premillennialism. Through allegorical interpretation, he had been a proponent of amillennialism (of course, the sexta-septamillennial tradition was itself based upon similar means of allegorical interpretation). Our church just finished up a 7-week series on eschatology. The proponents of amillennialism interpret the millennium as being a symbolic period of time, which is consistent with the highly symbolic nature of the literary and apocalyptic genre of the Book of Revelation, sometimes indicating that the thousand years represent God's rule over his creation or the Church. John F. MacArthur 2008-09-01 It is absolutely essential that a church perceive itself as an institution for the glory of God, and to do that, The paragraph in full reads "676 The Antichrist's deception already begins to take shape in the world every time the claim is made to realize within history that messianic hope which can only be realized beyond history through the eschatological judgment. Craig Blaising and Darrell Bock have developed a form of dispensationalism that is growing in popularity known as progressive dispensationalism. He doesnt know the future because it hasnt happened. 1897 (Western Theological Seminary) (James Orr) .. Not just the future of Israel, but our confidence in the Word of God. We want the Word to bless, to make us pure, to stabilize us, to comfort us, to give us a passion for evangelism. Hughes, James A. Thats for people who dont know this; that the way history ends, is with Jesus coming and taking us away. The first era was the Old Testament history and was accordingly the age of the Father; the current age of the church was the age of the Son; and still in Joachim's future was the age of the Spirit. That the thousand apocalyptical years are not passed but future. Yet, Abraham did not receive it during all the time of his journey there. The current religious term "premillennialism" did not come into use until the mid-19th century. 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. After the final judgment, God will create the new heaven and new earth. What passage is it in? For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ - thats part of the coming eschatology. 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. 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.. [49] The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod explicitly states, When Christ returns, 'new heavens and a new earth' will be created (2 Pet. 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. It has to matter to us. For the last century, the belief has been common in Evangelicalism according to surveys on this topic.