Tell us about the future. They were in a very hopeless situation, having very little in life. He has also written or edited nearly four hundred books and study guides. 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. Well, we now come to the doctrines that relate to the end times. 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. 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. So, we can set aside the idea that somehow this is rooted in wacky dispensationalism; it is not. 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. Chicago: Moody, 2012. 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? They will die for that truth regarding the church, but unashamedly abandon that same truth for the elect nation of Israel. His presentation was not an attempt to harmonize Calvinism with a premillennial view but rather to show the inconsistency of the contrary. One calls it a kingdom and says it will expand and expand and expand - thats the positive spin. How do you explain that? Its two ways to view human history. Romans 11:28 . Whether youre an amillennialist or a postmillennialist, you basically say Israel forfeited all its promises. Did God do this but somehow mumble? Without the dispensational lens-says MacArthur-you will misunderstand much of the Bible. 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). Grace to You radio, video, audio, print, and website resources reach millions worldwide each day. Well, this is such a great chapter - verse 51: I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep. 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? Amen. But, for certain, according to amillennialists, there will be no thousand-year reign of Christ on the earth. They believe God elects nobody to salvation. I'm two thirds in to the series; however, one of my complaints so far is that MacArthur doesn't characterize the amillennial camp with accuracy. 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. John Piper Backs Professor's End Times Theory of Premillennialism. The reasons are simple enough: this classic work is forthrightly Biblical. 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. Instead, MacArthur systematically unpacked the biblical theology that leads one to an unabashed Calvinistic eschatology. And who made them? , . Should We Cancel Karl Barth, Martin Luther, and Jonathan Edwards? 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. Process theology: they are the theologians, liberal theologians, who believe that God is in process of becoming what He will be. 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. 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. Part of what we pray for in the second petition, Thy kingdom come, is that the gospel [be] propagated throughout the world, the Jews called, the fullness of the Gentiles brought in. In his commentary on the Larger Catechism, Thomas Ridgeley (16671734) wrote, Hence, we cannot but suppose that those prophecies which respect [to the conversion of the Jews], in the latter day, together with the fullness of the Gentiles being brought in, shall be more eminently accomplished than they have hitherto been. ((Thomas Ridgeley, Commentary on the Larger Catechism, 2 vols. If you read the paper and have your eyes open, and youre breathing, and your body has any temperature at all, you know things arent getting better. 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. And youve been great tonight; this is more like a theological lecture. There are 73 references to Israel in the New Testament; each of them refers to Israel. That's a complete misreading. 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. CLASSIC DISPENSATIONALISM. No kingdom on earth ruled by Christ before He gets here, and no kingdom on earth ruled by Christ after He gets here. An Excellent Defense of The Rapture by Dr. John MacArthur But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. This is postmillennialism at its best. This is a positive book: positive about the future of the Church. . Hes not predicting the future because you cant predict what hasnt happened - it doesnt exist. Today's Christians have been taught that they must flee responsibility, for Jesus' sake. 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 Hes getting better. Now, they make perfect amillennialists; thats a perfect setup for them. . by John MacArthur and Richard Mayhue (Chicago: Moody, 2012), 24. And when the church has brought about the dominating influence of Christ across the world, He will then come and end everything, and establish the new heaven and the new earth, which is the eternal state. What passage is it in? 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. 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. They dont faze me. In the world, things will get better and better and better as the church becomes more powerful and more influential. Its a strange approach. There is another form of that view called amillennialism; amillennialism - and youve probably heard about that. Hes improving; Hes definitely on the upward curve. Its not nearly as difficult as some people make it if you just take Scripture at face value. One says its not the kingdom. 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. 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. Murray notes that A number of years before [the Larger Catechism and Westminster Directory for Public Worship] were drawn up, the call for prayer for the conversion of the Jews and for the success of the gospel throughout the world was already a feature of Puritan congregations. (Murray, The Puritan Hope, 99.) We know that when He appears, - second coming we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is. God doesnt choose you, you choose Him. Christ's Prophetic Plans: A Futuristic Premillennial Primer. Primer, ed. Help Grace to You bring important resources like this to people in your community and beyond, free of charge. That's OK and no one is surprised or upset about that. 2. 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. He also said that it is too late for Calvin but it is not too late for you [to join the Reformed Premillennial movement]! 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. God filled the Bible with prophecy and much of it looking to the end. 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. In his commentary on John 3:33, John Calvin wrote: "To believe the Gospel is nothing else than to assent to the truths that God has revealed." The sort faith that MacArthur rejects is what the Bible requires. As more and more information comes to Him, and as He has more and more experience in dealing with the issues of His universe, Hes getting better at being God. 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. He made an interesting connection between Genesis and Revelation. One topic I did not mention is the place of Israel in prophecy at it relates to postmillennialism. (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. John Knox (1) John MacArthur (4) John MacDuff (1) John Mark (1) John Piper (25) John T. Carroll (1) John the Baptist (1) . 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. Arminians - not Armenians, thats different; those who follow Arminius - did not believe in election. It matters to me. 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.