RLH intro: This is a very long sermon, so will share below the intro to the sermon by Barry Horner and the full text link option for the full sermon by John MacArthur. For those who do not know John MacArthur I will preface he is not a Tim Lahaye or Hal Lindsey type of premillennialist. In fact, JM gets a lot of flak from that angle. What prompted me to post this sermon is, I think JM is his "own man" when it comes to plainly, literally reading and interpreting Scriptures. Calvinists claim him, and Evangelicals claim him. That tells me something, perhaps this guy is truly honest and calls them as he sees them plainly and literally. I will note the subject at hand on prophecy and Israel is something that divides the Body of Christ. I ask you give JM a fair hearing and read the entire sermon (yes it is long, for heavens sake it IS a sermon):) Intro by Barry Horner:
Introduction The circumstances which led Dr. John MacArthur to mention the Future Israel manuscript in this sermon are important since they indicate how, in the providence of God, our paths crossed with regard to our individual convictions concerning the eschatological destiny of the Jewish people. In March 2007 at the Shepherds’ Conference, Pastor MacArthur gave the opening message on the topic, Why Every Self‐Respecting Calvinist Is A Premillennialist. While personally unaware at the time of this vigorous challenge to amillennialism, apparently the response was animated, to put it mildly, so that a friend who was present on that occasion, subsequently sent me a CD of this message. He was aware of the fact that the Future Israel manuscript was being edited by Broadman & Holman and so felt that I would very much appreciate the whole thrust of Pastor MacArthur’s stimulating challenge.
Upon listening to Why Every Self‐Respecting Calvinist Is A Premillennialist, I can only confirm what Pastor MacArthur here recounts concerning our communication, namely that “I heard your message that you gave at the [recent] Shepherds Conference, on this subject and I found myself tripping over my ‘amens.’” However, the point is that there was no collusion between us concerning the message given at that conference. Certainly we were on agreeable parallel tracks. Immediately following the Conference, in a Sunday evening series of messages at Grace Community Church, also on the same basic topic, it was then, in the third of that series, that Pastor MacArthur made reference to Future Israel, for which I am most grateful. The title of that message was Why Every Calvinist Should Be A Premillennialist However, concerning that initial message at the Shepherds’ Conference, and particularly this message which closely followed, I can only add yet further “amens.” The point stressed here concerning the sovereignty of grace that amillennialists selectively adhere to, with regard to Israel and the church, is a truth at the very heart of the title that is here employed. For many of Reformed convictions, Israel is made to be subject to Arminianism while the church is subject to Calvinism. Whereas the sovereignty of grace reigns equally over Israel and the church. I know of no subsequent responses that have remotely addressed this, the kernel issue that is at stake here.
Barry Horner
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