Well see more about how that works. Historically, church fathers favored historic premillennialism, including Ireneaus, Papias, Justin Martyr, Tertullian, and Hippolytus. He notes that "the decisive authority of Asiatic millennialism is John, from whom the elders claimed to have obtained their information. Its there. [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]. First John 3 verse 2: Beloved - 1 John 3:2 Now are we the children of God. MacArthur, John, and Richard Mayhue, eds. Now, talking about eschatology is not without controversy. Postmillennialists hold to the view that the Second Coming will happen after the millennium. In his early period, Augustine held to the sexta-/septamillennial view common in early Christianity (see above section on Patristic Age). by John MacArthur and Richard Mayhue (Chicago: Moody, 2012), 24. 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. 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. Over 200 times in the Bible God is called the God of Israel - over two hundred times, the God of Israel.. Craig Blaising and Darrell Bock, Progressive Dispensationalism 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. 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]. Absent from the list is dispensational premillennialism because it is a view which (a . . 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. John MacArthur's six-part series, "Why Every Calvinist is a Premillennialist," addresses this aspect of historic premillennialism, the future for Israel. The other looks at it as a spiritual kingdom also but says it will decline and decline and decline until Jesus finally comes. 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. What passage is it in? Help Grace to You bring important resources like this to people in your community and beyond, free of charge. And then the effect of it is in verse 58: Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, and you can stop right there. All right. [62] It also widely holds to the pretribulational return of Christ, which believes that Jesus will return to take up Christians into heaven by means of a rapture immediately before a seven-year worldwide tribulation. Doctrinal Statement Student Testimonies TMS for your Family Academics Academics Overview Master of Divinity Master of Theology Doctor of Ministry Doctor of Philosophy Bachelor of Theology Diploma of Theology Center for Israeli Studies Distance Education Academic Calendar Faculty Admissions & Aid He loved the people in the church. 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. They believe God elects nobody to salvation. Nevertheless, early in his career Augustine converted from premillennialism to amillennialism. Barry Horner's emphasis in Future Israel also fits in here. And these things are borne witness to in the fourth book of the writings of Papias, the hearer of John, and a companion of Polycarp. (5.33.3) Apparently Irenaeus also held to the sexta-/septamillennial scheme writing that the end of human history will occur after the 6,000th year. Arminians - not Armenians, thats different; those who follow Arminius - did not believe in election. John MacArthur claims to be a Dispensationalist in both The Gospel According to Jesus (GAJ) and The Gospel According to the Apostles (GAA). 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. Does the end matter? His teaching is still one of the most potent elements in Western religious thought.[24] Therefore, to analyze what happened to premillennialism in the Middle Ages and the Reformation, it is necessary to observe the Augustinian foundation. 2. After this period of fulfillment of divine wrath, He shall then return to rule from a holy city ( i.e., the New Jerusalem) over the earthly nations for one thousand years. But in the Old Testament - for example, Isaiah 45:4: Israel, Mine elect. Israel sinned, youre out. Even His promises may not be valid, because He made them with inadequate information. 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. The bottom line is were in charge. Thats for people who dont know this; that the way history ends, is with Jesus coming and taking us away. That, after the Jews conversion there will be a glorious day for the elect upon earth, and that this day shall be a very long continuance."[44]. . 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. [4] According to Johannes Quasten, In his eschatological ideas Justin shares the views of the Chiliasts concerning the millennium.[5] He maintains a premillennial distinction, namely that there would be two resurrections, one of believers before Jesus' reign and then a general resurrection afterwards. Premillennialism is distinct from the other views such as postmillennialism which views the millennial rule as occurring before the second coming. 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. So, I said, Would you do me a favor? 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. 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. 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. 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. / ( .) If you interpret Old Testament prophecies literally, they cannot be fulfilled in this present age. You have this hope as a purifying hope. He loved the church. There isnt such a thing. MacArthur--who is an ardent dispensationalist--stated and defended his position. And by what authority? The church. Log In See, for example, Michael Vlach's article "How Does Historic Premillennialism Differ from Dispensational Premillennialism?", this "Eschatology Comparison" chart, and this article "An Historical . 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. Since Scripture speaks of the Millennium as a time of great prosperity for the kingdom of God, post-mills are inherently optimistic. I have dragged you through virtually every verse in the New Testament. Why bother? 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. He confronts the views of covenant theology, historical premillennialism, ultradispensationalism, and, in this revised edition, the increasingly popular progressive dispensationalism. Show it to me. In one passage he defends premillennialism by arguing that a future earthly kingdom is necessary because of God's promise to Abraham, he wrote The promise remains steadfast God promised him the inheritance of the land. I have - they can try to terrify me with all this stuff; I am unmoved. The other view is whats called openness theology, and its the same thing; it simply means God has no idea what the future is. This view understands that an aspect of the eschatological kingdom presently exists, but must wait for the millennium to be realized fully.[63]. Historic, or Classic, Premillennialism is distinctively non-dispensational. Now, there are people who do this to Genesis 1, 2 and 3. First, the Antichrist would appear and a seven-year period of tribulation would commence. But some are holding on to what they have taught in the past; I guess self-preservation dominates their theology at that point. 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. I know where history is going. However, what makes him really unique is that he was not Historic Premillennial - but Dispensational (Held to a pre . Did He do it and somehow muddle it so hopelessly that the high ground for Bible students and the high ground for theologians is to recognize the muddle and abandon the perspicuity or the clarity of Scripture on that subject? 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. Yet, Abraham did not receive it during all the time of his journey there. Thomas Macaulay observed this and wrote "Many Christians believe that the Messiah will shortly establish a kingdom on the earth, and visibly reign over all its inhabitants. Please be aware that these items are sent out from our office in the UK. May 5, 2022. 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. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. Dr. James M. Boice Makes An Excellent Case For Premillennialism. This is simply a way to understand Scripture in its normal sense. 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. Instead it consistently referred to the present age so that the church was currently experiencing the eschaton. Blessed. What did Jesus mean when He said to His disciples that some of them would not taste death until they saw the Son of Man coming in His kingdom? Some of them are postmillennialists, although there are fewer and fewer of those. 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. 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 current religious term "premillennialism" did not come into use until the mid-19th century. The Lords coming back: blessing, purity, stability, comfort. The first clear opponent of premillennialism associated with Christianity was Marcion. 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 . It is narrative history, and we fight - sometimes tooth and nail - to maintain the literal veracity of Genesis 1 through 3. And by the way, if we change the rules, what are the new ones? This article is about Premillennialism in Christian eschatology. 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. I reject the wacky world of newspaper exegesis and cartoon eschatology, and crazy interpretation like the locusts of Revelation 9 being helicopters, et cetera. And there are others who believe that that refers to heaven; that refers to the experience of the saints in heaven. Next would be the rapture, and then Jesus and His church would return to earth to rule for a thousand years. [25] In accordance with this view, Augustine divided history into two separate dispensations, first the church age (the current age of 6,000 years), and then the millennial kingdom (Sermon 259.2). It has to matter to us. Turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 9; 2 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 9: We have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, - that is, whether in heaven or here - to be pleasing to Him - to be pleasing to Him. [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. I had, as theologians might call it, my own my own ordo eschaton; that would be the chronological sequence of the end times. But, for certain, according to amillennialists, there will be no thousand-year reign of Christ on the earth. ", Among the Apostolic Fathers Barnabas is the first and the only one who expressly teaches a pre-millennial reign of Christ on earth. How do you explain that? 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