John MacArthur and Richard Mayhue's new systematic theology titled Biblical Doctrine has many positive aspects. But in both cases it will be the flow of history under the influence of the church, so theyre really looking at the same thing. But that is essentially what theyre asking us to do. Why do we want to run from that? "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. The world, as they see it, is in an ongoing golden process of progress. You get the Old Testament covenants and promises right when you get the interpretation of Scripture right. 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, and as President of The Master's College (and the related Master's Seminary) in Santa Clarita, California. Turn to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4; 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. There are a number of viewpoints of what the Bible means when it speaks of future events. Some people want to turn it into ages - theres nothing in there that does that; theres nothing in the text itself that does that. 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. 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. Blessed. Without the dispensational lens-says MacArthur-you will misunderstand much of the Bible. The end is as divinely designed as the beginning, and God has given us massive amounts of revelation in the Scripture about the future. He and his wife, Christie, have six children. He made an interesting connection between Genesis and Revelation. Those are the views. All right, thats the introduction. 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. 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. MacArthur's "dispensationalism" is eschatological and ecclesiological only. They would rather believe that God has predestined His Church to failure than believe that they are personally responsible for transforming society. It has not appeared as yet what we shall be. May it be powerful in our lives we pray in Christs name. Along that line, I went to Moody Press and I said, Look, Ive written two volumes on Revelation - I dont know, its 800 or 900 pages - and I realized not everybody is going to go through all of that. Receiving Not Achieving. 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. Btw, LA is beautiful and the conference is great, I hope to post some reflections as the week goes on. See, for example, Michael Vlach's article "How Does Historic Premillennialism Differ from Dispensational Premillennialism?", this "Eschatology Comparison" chart, and this article "An Historical . Or another way to say it would be this: how many of you have attended an amillennial prophecy conference? Continue reading 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. But we now have pure Israelites. 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. MacArthur and the seminary faculty know of Murrays work. 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. He has also written or edited nearly four hundred books and study guides. Cause what that means is God does know the future; God has set the future, and the future involves not only the glory of His church but the fulfillment of His elect people Israel with regard to everything that He promised that nation. For example, the book is well-organized. I asked Dr. Michael Brown, who is premil, in our debate about Replacement Theology how he reconciles his claim that God is not finished with Israel with Zechariah 13:79. Affiliate disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, we may earn commissions from qualifying purchases on Amazon.com. by John MacArthur and Richard Mayhue (Chicago: Moody, 2012), 24. 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? I have - they can try to terrify me with all this stuff; I am unmoved. Premillennialism Historic Premillennialism Postmillennialism Amillennialism view sees the re-establishment of temple worship and animal sacrifices as a remembrance of Christ's sacrifice. Now, why am I making a case for this? Chicago: Moody, 2012. 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. 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. The assembly and the circumstances of the assembly must be distinguished. There isnt such a thing. 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. 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? 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? One says moving toward the coming of Christ there will be no kingdom. I had, as theologians might call it, my own my own ordo eschaton; that would be the chronological sequence of the end times. 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. Weve been working our way through doctrinal emphases in Scripture, doctrinal themes, and we have covered a lot of ground. But some are holding on to what they have taught in the past; I guess self-preservation dominates their theology at that point. He blogs at Ordinary Pastor. Most of the Reformers and the Puritans were postmils. 7 Reasons Why the Gospel of John is So Special 3 days ago It matters to me to understand what God has said about the end. 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. iii.16. First John 3 verse 2: Beloved - 1 John 3:2 Now are we the children of God. Calvin, though, was an amil, and DutchCalvinism, after a postmil start, has tended to be amil. I have thought about these things, by the way, for a long time. Well see more about how that works. Erdman refers to the premillennialism of Asia Minor in the second century as "Asiatic millennialism.". . Enter your email address and we will send you instructions on how to reset your password. He asked what the amillennialist would say if the Jew asked about the kingdom and the blessings. 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. 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. It matters to me. We still have Mark to go, but there are only a couple of discourses and a couple of miracles in Mark that arent in the other three gospels, so not a lot of new material. Theres no sense in going in to all of that, except to say in both cases, they say there is no actual earthly reign of Christ fulfilling all Old Testament covenant promises. Those who most celebrate the sovereign grace of election regarding the church and its inviolable place in Gods purpose, from predestination before the foundation of the world to glorification in the future, those who most celebrate the sovereign grace of election, those who most aggressively, most militantly, and most capably defend the truth of Scripture regarding this election being divine, unilateral, unconditional, irrevocable by nature, for the church - thats for us . Because we dont want you to incur expenditure for which you are not prepared, could you please confirm whether you are willing to pay this charge, if necessary? But let me tell you something: normal, natural, literal interpretation is the only way to stop abuse of Scripture. We had met a short time ago, and she had questions about . 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. But in the Old Testament - for example, Isaiah 45:4: Israel, Mine elect. See De Jong, As the Waters Cover the Sea, 12.). Theyve been refined, clarified, expanded, enriched through these 50 years, but I was convinced when I started. 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. 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. This year they upgraded some snacks and are handing out Zone protein bars, a major enhancementhowever, I am really missing my family. It is one thing to omit them for a time, and another to do it ordinarily. The church. Let me give you a theology lesson here a little bit. 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. You have this hope as a purifying hope. They believe God elects nobody to salvation. After that he must be loosed for a little while." Premillennialism (3) Pretribulationism (1) Pride (3) Priests (4) Princeton Theological Review (1) . 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. The other view is whats called openness theology, and its the same thing; it simply means God has no idea what the future is. All rights reserved. O.T. 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. Mathewson, Dave L. Amillennialism, dispensational premillennialism, historic premillennialism, postmillennialism, preterism. Forfeited all its privileges, forfeited all those things that God declared in covenant that He would give to them in the future; and they forfeit it by their disobedience to the Mosaic Covenant, by their apostasy from true religion and by their rejection of their Messiah. Did God do this but somehow mumble? (Ridgeley, Commentary on the Larger Catechism, 1:562. Israel and the church, and advocate for futuristic millennialism. 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. This is postmillennialism at its best. Now, Ive been telling you for a number of months that we were going to get into the subject of eschatology, the doctrine of last things. If you dont know what you believe about the future, you cant preach on it.
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