Or another way to say it would be this: how many of you have attended an amillennial prophecy conference? Weve been working our way through doctrinal emphases in Scripture, doctrinal themes, and we have covered a lot of ground. Systematische Theologie aus der Perspektive der Hoffnung", Gttingen: This page was last edited on 18 February 2023, at 03:01. Scripture affirms the perpetuity of the elect church to salvation glory; that all whom the Lord has chosen He brings to glory. Who will establish it? But they never got around to eschatology; they never got around to applying their formidable skills. 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.. Do you understand the massive apologetic power of the existence of Israel as an ethnic people in their own land? [37] The Anglican Church originally formalized a statement against millenarianism in the Anglican Articles. 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. There is another form of that view called amillennialism; amillennialism - and youve probably heard about that. Premillennialism Historic Premillennialism Postmillennialism Amillennialism view sees the re-establishment of temple worship and animal sacrifices as a remembrance of Christ's sacrifice. They dont want to accept that the entire universe was created in six nearly twenty-four-hour days. Yet, Abraham did not receive it during all the time of his journey there. He loved the church. Theyve been refined, clarified, expanded, enriched through these 50 years, but I was convinced when I started. Because, you see, if it doesnt mean what it says it means, then any suggestion is as bad as any other suggestion. 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. I was talking to one of our missionaries just this same week I gave this talk to the pastors, and he was coming back from China and he said, Theres only one view in the church in China and its the premillennial view. Of course, because they just take what Scripture says. Julian of Toledo (642690) summarizes the medieval doctrine of the millennium by referring to it as the church of God which, by the diffusion of its faith and works, is spread out as a kingdom of faith from the time of the incarnation until the time of the coming judgment. Hes improving; Hes definitely on the upward curve. 4. So, we can set aside the idea that somehow this is rooted in wacky dispensationalism; it is not. All of these are benefits of getting it right. Like all divine truth, getting the future truth right is beneficial. When He comes, everything ends immediately. (5.28.3).[8]. And by what authority? Amillennialists do not view the millennium mentioned in Revelation as pertaining to a literal thousand years, but rather as symbolic, and see the kingdom of Christ as already present in the church beginning with the Pentecost in the book of Acts. John MacArthur is the pastor-teacher of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, where he has served since 1969. . The beliefs of Premillennialism are far from "rightly dividing the word of truth"! The Lutherans formally rejected chiliasm (millennialism) in The Augsburg Confession. And so, we stand steadfast, immovable. 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. Absent from the list is dispensational premillennialism because it is a view which (a . In the world, things will get better and better and better as the church becomes more powerful and more influential. Historically, church fathers favored historic premillennialism, including Ireneaus, Papias, Justin Martyr, Tertullian, and Hippolytus. 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 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. You never met a Hittite, an Amorite, a Hivite, a Jebusite, or any other ite. They have long since morphed into the melee and the mix of the races. . 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. If you interpret Old Testament prophecies literally, they cannot be fulfilled in this present age. Mathewson, Dave L. In the US, the dispensational form of premillennialism was propagated on the popular level largely through the Scofield Reference Bible and on the academic level with Lewis Sperry Chafer's eight-volume Systematic Theology. Hes getting better. Leave it to the semi-Pelagians and Pelagians, who go in and out of salvation; it makes sense for their theology. He even went so far as to say that the Amillennial position is more consistent with Arminianism Relax; set all that aside. It has not appeared as yet what we shall be. From this point on he dedicated much of his energy to ridding the church of this belief. This view understands that an aspect of the eschatological kingdom presently exists, but must wait for the millennium to be realized fully.[63]. (Matt .25:31-46; John . Its there. And Im not in to newspaper exegesis, where you where everything that happens in the news fulfills some obscure Old Testament prophecy. Now, were going to dig a little more deeply into the whole idea of the millennial kingdom and what the Bible says about it, and as to its nature and the aspects of the kingdom that are revealed in Scripture - and by the way, they are many and they are wondrous to behold, and we will do that. Why do we want to run from that? That is to say, while they understood that someone would come, they understood whatever it was that had been revealed to them, the timing was not clear, and the precise personages were not clear. Not that they were the only ones to be saved, but they were the ones through whom God will eventually reach, and even set up His Son to rule over the nations. 2. 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. So, this is a classic perfect fit for Arminian theology. My sermon was on amillennialism, which I posted to my blog last week. 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. You get the Old Testament covenants and promises right when you get the interpretation of Scripture right. 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. I recently read this great article and would recommend every professing Calvinist to give it a read, I believe John MacArthur's arguments for Pre-Millennialism are biblically irrefutable, mainly because the traditional Reformed view (Amillennialism) does away (Replacement Theology) with future Israel (God's Elect) and that is far from the truth When Christianity became the official religion of Rome in the fourth . Accordingly, it must be that Abraham, together with his seed (that is, those who fear God and believe in Him), will receive it at the resurrection of the just.[7] In another place Irenaeus also explained that the blessing to Jacob belongs unquestionably to the times of the kingdom when the righteous will bear rule, after their rising from the dead. 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. 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. 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. We know that when He appears, - second coming we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is. You get Israel right when you get the Old Testament covenants and promises with Israel right. The reformers had it right on most issues. 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. Over 200 times in the Bible God is called the God of Israel - over two hundred times, the God of Israel.. 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. Why? "MacArthur calls himself a "leaky dispensationalist"--meaning he rejects any and all "dispensational" soteriological innovations, holding to classic Reformed (i.e., Protestant, not "covenantal") soteriology. And for most evangelicals, for most people who hold to a sound, biblical view and Reformed theology, they would live and die that the text of Genesis 1 through 3 means exactly what it says it means, because thats the only way to interpret Scripture. Erdman refers to the premillennialism of Asia Minor in the second century as "Asiatic millennialism.". [32] The theological term kingdom maintained its eschatological function, though it was not necessarily futuristic. That position was that Israel was to be identified with the church and this position is the seed of amillennialism, as well as postmillennialism and historic premillennialism. 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. The first view well call the postmillennial view; that is to say, that Christ will come after the millennium; that the return of Christ is post, it is after the millennial kingdom. Craig Blaising and Darrell Bock, Progressive Dispensationalism Revelation 20:4-6 and the Question of the Millennium,, Bailey, J. W. The Temporary Messianic Reign in the Literature of Early Judaism,. 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. It makes no sense. It is also the time when the creation will bear fruit with an abundance of all kinds of food, having been renovated and set free And all of the animals will feed on the vegetation of the earth and they will be in perfect submission to man. Why do we want to change the rules in interpretation to avoid that? Some people say, How in the world can you understand it? They understood it in China without anything but a Bible; they understood it in Central Asia without anything but a Bible; you take it at face value. Israel crucifies the Messiah, thats it. Barry Horner's emphasis in Future Israel also fits in here. 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. Why bother? One calls it a kingdom and says it will expand and expand and expand - thats the positive spin. 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. God doesnt choose you, you choose Him. Weekly telecasts and daily radio broadcasts of "Grace to You" are seen and heard by millions worldwide. 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. 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. 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. Those who most celebrate the sovereign grace of election - thats the Reformed - they are typically amillennial. Oh sure, it helps to know some history and some background, but this is a pronounced blessing. But some are holding on to what they have taught in the past; I guess self-preservation dominates their theology at that point. 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. Have you ever heard of that? And I can only tell you I am unwaveringly committed to the sovereign election of a future generation of Jews to salvation, and the full inheritance of all the promises and covenants of God given to them in the Old Testament. This is process theology. There were 1600 pastors from central Asia - the first Central Asian pastors conference in history after the breakup of the Soviet Union. Increase Mather wrote "That which presseth me so, as that I cannot gainsay the Chiliastical opinion, is that I take these things for Principles, and no way doubt but that they are demonstrable. 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 matters to me to understand what God has said about the end. Some of the most formidable amillennialists - and Im talking about well-respected, very erudite influential theologians - say things like this, and Ill quote. Dispensational premillennialists hold that Christ will come before a seven-year period of intense tribulation to take His church (living and dead) into heaven. 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. John MacArthur, Erwin W. Lutzer, S. Lewis Johnson, Rodney Stordtz, John Hannah and John Piper also come to mind) that was premillennial in his eschatology. So, my words to you are really very simple foundational words, I say this. 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. 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. You can figure it out. We want the Word to bless, to make us pure, to stabilize us, to comfort us, to give us a passion for evangelism. MacArthur, John, and Richard Mayhue, eds. 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. And whats at stake here? 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