Premillennialism: The millennium is the long period (perhaps a literal 1,000 years) when King Jesus will rule on earth. Systematische Theologie aus der Perspektive der Hoffnung", Gttingen: This page was last edited on 18 February 2023, at 03:01. When Assyrian power had ebbed by 625 B.C., the Neo-Babylonians conquered: 1) Assyria with its capital Nineveh in 612 B.C. A preference for allegorical interpretation - Finally, Augustine was influenced by the popular allegorical interpretation of Scripture, particularly of The Book of Revelation. The preacher's admission came amid news that Grace Community Church in Sun Valley received an $800,000 settlement from Los Angeles County after defying pandemic-induced health orders. 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. [38] A few in the mainstream accepted it, such as Joseph Mede (15861638)[39] and possibly Hugh Latimer (died 1555),[40] but it was never a conventional belief throughout the period. 2. [2] Amillennialists do not view the thousand years mentioned in Revelation as a literal thousand years but see the number "thousand" as symbolic and numerological. Post-millennialism, for example, agrees with premillennialism about the future earthly reign of Christ, but disagrees on the concept of a rapture and tribulation before the millennium begins. First, the Antichrist would appear and a seven-year period of tribulation would commence. I have dragged you through virtually every verse in the New Testament. 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. But that is essentially what theyre asking us to do. And Im confident that God didnt reveal prophetic truth in so much detail to hide anything, to obscure the truth, but to reveal it for our blessing, our motivation and His glory. 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 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. But not us, who live and breathe the rarified air of sovereign grace and election; it makes no sense to me. One says its not the kingdom. Some people want to turn it into ages - theres nothing in there that does that; theres nothing in the text itself that does that. 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. Marcion opposed the use of the Old Testament and most books of the New Testament that were not written by the apostle Paul. He was a voracious reader, and he just loved his ministry. But, as they [the millenarians] assert that those who then rise again shall enjoy the leisure of immoderate carnal banquets, furnished with an amount of meat and drink such as not only shock the feeling of the temperate, but even to surpass the measure of credulity itself, such assertions can be believed only by the carnal. (, Anderson, Soteriological Impact, 27-28. 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. Staggering. Is that what God wanted us to do, to look at it and say, Aw, I cant figure this out; lets forget it? There are whole denominations that are instructed not to teach on the end times. What is meant whe 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. [32] The theological term kingdom maintained its eschatological function, though it was not necessarily futuristic. Thats called process theology. The completed registration allows us to send order and donation receipts to the email address you provided. 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. 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. Hes not predicting the future because you cant predict what hasnt happened - it doesnt exist. May it be powerful in our lives we pray in Christs name. The sting of death is sin, the power of sin is the law, thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.. Its the same God, same terminology. In his early period, Augustine held to the sexta-/septamillennial view common in early Christianity (see above section on Patristic Age). 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. They believe God elects nobody to salvation. . 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. MacArthur's "dispensationalism" is eschatological and ecclesiological only. This article is about Premillennialism in Christian eschatology. You get the Old Testament covenants and promises right when you get the interpretation of Scripture right. The first clear opponent of premillennialism associated with Christianity was Marcion. So, my words to you are really very simple foundational words, I say this. Dispensationalism is perhaps a key reason why evangelicals have such a concern with what happens to the nation of Israel. 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. I know where history is going. 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. They explain, "As a refinement of dispensational premillennialism, futuristic millennialism affirms a futuristic view . 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. Thats for people who dont know this; that the way history ends, is with Jesus coming and taking us away. 1. . No kingdom on earth ruled by Christ before He gets here, and no kingdom on earth ruled by Christ after He gets here. ", A helpful historical overview from a Catholic perspective, Irenaeus gives a 2nd century description of the eschaton, Safety of high-energy particle collision experiments, Existential risk from artificial intelligence, Self-Indication Assumption Doomsday argument rebuttal, Self-referencing doomsday argument rebuttal, List of dates predicted for apocalyptic events, List of apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Premillennialism&oldid=1140035368, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles needing additional references from February 2022, All articles needing additional references, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. 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. 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. Origen was the first to challenge the doctrine openly. Donald Bloesch in his book The Last Things writes that: "Amillennialists as well as some postmillennialists adhere to the theory of progressive parallelism when dealing with the book of Revelation. Dispensationalism traces its roots to the 1830s and John Nelson Darby (18001882), an Anglican churchman and an early leader of the Plymouth Brethren. Now, with regard to the coming kingdom of Christ, in which Christ rules as supreme and sovereign ruler, there are a number of views, but let me boil them down to three views - and these are good, and Ill give you a simple explanation so that you understand where we are going. Craig Blaising and Darrell Bock, Progressive Dispensationalism Certainly, you have no idea what it means - neither does anybody else. Well, we now come to the doctrines that relate to the end times. If were going to change the rules, then, may I suggest this - and this is what I told the pastors - if were going to change the rules, then we better have a word from God. A History of Christian Zionism: Philo-Semitism and the Expectation of Israel's Restoration. Thats just two ways to look at the same thing. Those are the views. Craig Blaising and . 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 want the Word to cause us to live lives pleasing to You. 2. Amillennialism is ideal for Arminians because, according to their theology, God elects nobody and preserves nobody. See, for example, Michael Vlach's article "How Does Historic Premillennialism Differ from Dispensational Premillennialism?", this "Eschatology Comparison" chart, and this article "An Historical . We sent you an email. He notes that "the decisive authority of Asiatic millennialism is John, from whom the elders claimed to have obtained their information. [37] The Anglican Church originally formalized a statement against millenarianism in the Anglican Articles. - comfort one another. How could He hold them responsible for not believing? 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. After that he must be loosed for a little while." Grace to You radio, video, audio, print, and website resources reach millions worldwide each day. Articles Baptist Theology Calvinism Charles Spurgeon Christology Classic Premillennialism Covenant Theology e-Articles e-Books Eschatology Historic . 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. Yet, Abraham did not receive it during all the time of his journey there. But we now have pure Israelites. But, for certain, according to amillennialists, there will be no thousand-year reign of Christ on the earth. 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. Premillennialism is distinct from the other views such as postmillennialism which views the millennial rule as occurring before the second coming. I dont know about you, but I really cant get too worked up about greenhouse gases. Postmillennialists hold to the view that the Second Coming will happen after the millennium. Accordingly, we have updated our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions in order to comply with GDPR. 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 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. Over four decades of ministry, John has written dozens of bestselling books, including The . But let me tell you something: normal, natural, literal interpretation is the only way to stop abuse of Scripture. We can interpret it the way we interpret any other passage of Scripture, with the same use of the normal, natural means of interpreting language, and we should; and it will yield for us as clear an understanding of the future as the Lord wants us to have. Its not nearly as difficult as some people make it if you just take Scripture at face value. 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. 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. Among our elders, all four of the end-times views are representedhistoric premillennialism, dispensational premillennialism, amillennialism, and postmillennialism. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. And by the way, if we change the rules, what are the new ones? Or another way to say it would be this: how many of you have attended an amillennial prophecy conference? How could He hold any of us, in one sense, responsible for not believing? That's OK and no one is surprised or upset about that. Now, the second flavor: Dispensational Premillennialism. 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. How do you explain that? That the coming of Christ to raise the dead and to judge the earth will be within much less than this thousand years. I. Dr. MacArthur on Premillennialism and Calvinism: "Now that leads to my title: `Why Every Self-Respecting Calvinist Is a Premillennialist' [laughter and applause] Now it's too late for Calvin, but it's not too late for the rest of you. 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. Leave it to the semi-Pelagians and Pelagians, who go in and out of salvation; it makes sense for their theology. If it doesnt mean what it says and everybodys got a different view, then nobody has the authority to say, This is true. Lets just stick with things that we know are true and things that all the good theologians agree on. John MacArthur is the pastor-teacher of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, president of The Master's College and Seminary, and featured teacher with the Grace to You media ministry. Between 1790 and the mid-19th century, premillennialism was a popular view among English Evangelicals, even within the Anglican church. The church. All right, thats the introduction. 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. Its there. 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. Moreover, John, as again stated by Papias, ascribed the origin of millenarianism to Christ . It is often post-tribulational, meaning that the rapture of the church will occur after a period of tribulation. 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? Postmillennialists think things are going to get better. They dont faze me. Death, where is your victory? 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. #6. 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. 4. Historic, or Classic, Premillennialism is distinctively non-dispensational. Post-Millennialism, in stark contrast to Pre-Millennialism, believes that the Millennium occurs before Jesus' Second Coming rather than after. Ive preached through many of the books of the Old Testament, the first eleven chapters of Genesis through Daniel, Zechariah, the minor prophets, and pieces and bits of Isaiah and others in the Old Testament. 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. All this panic about global warming, and all this panic about the end of the world and asteroids crashing into the earth? 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. 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. 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. This means that it sees no radical theological distinction between Israel and the Church. Most of the Reformers and the Puritans were postmils. He loved the church. It is one thing to omit them for a time, and another to do it ordinarily. (Matt .25:31-46; John . Turn to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4; 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. 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. John MacArthur's six-part series, "Why Every Calvinist is a Premillennialist," addresses this aspect of historic premillennialism, the future for Israel. 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. Now, against those two is the view called premillennialism; that means there will be a millennium and prior to that millennium, Jesus will come. And . Throughout the Patristic periodparticularly in the 3rd centurythere had been rising opposition to premillennialism. Johnson was a moderate dispensationalist and a Five-point Calvinist in his soteriology. 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. Joachim divided earth's history into three periods. A reaction to eschatological sensationalism - The millennial fervor of premillennialists as the year AD 500 was nearing caused them to have overly jovial celebrations (some septa-/sextamillennial interpreters calculated Jesus's birth to have happened 5,500 years after creation). Our church just finished up a 7-week series on eschatology. [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]. Global warming, and He just loved his ministry throughout the Patristic periodparticularly in the Anglican Articles, and.... ) when King Jesus will rule on earth ruled by Christ before He gets here, and no is! 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