Lecture: Why Every Calvinist Should Be a Premillennialist - Part 3

Introduction

• Speaker: Jim from Narrow Path Doctrine
• Series: John MacArthur series
• Topic: Why every Calvinist should be a premillennialist
• Context: Focus on Israel's role in eschatology, study of "last things"

Key Concepts

Eschatology and Israel

• Eschatology: Study of last things, derived from Greek word "eschaton"
• Central to understanding eschatology is understanding the future of Israel
• God's plan for redemption history culminates in end times, where God is glorified
• Israel's Role: Foundation for accurate eschatology is understanding Israel's future according to the Bible

Importance of Israel in Eschatology

• Biblical Promises: God made irrevocable, unconditional promises to Israel that must be fulfilled
• Promises include salvation of a generation of Jews, inheritance of Promised Land, blessing to the world, and a kingdom with Messiah ruling for 1,000 years
• Election: Israel is God's elect, along with Christ and the church

Replacement Theology and A-Millennialism

• Replacement Theology: Belief that the church replaces Israel in God’s promises
• Originated with Augustine in the 5th century and perpetuated by reformers
• A-Millennialism: Denies a literal kingdom for Israel; spiritualizes promises

Historical Context

Augustine and Replacement Theology

• Augustine likened Jews to Cain, perpetuating a negative view
• 13th century: Replacement theology became canonical law

Reformation and Anti-Judaism

• Reformation did not change anti-Jewish attitudes
• Figures like Luther held negative views toward Jews
• Anti-Judaism: A more religious than racial bias within some reformed circles

Theological Implications

Sovereign Grace and Election

• Inconsistencies: Denying Israel’s election is inconsistent with the doctrine of sovereign grace
• Salvation: Both church and future Israel are saved by sovereign grace

Future of Israel

• Biblical Support: Texts like Romans 9-11, Zechariah 12-14, and Ezekiel 36-39 support Israel’s future role in God’s plan
• New Covenant: Promises of salvation to Israel, involving a change of heart

Conclusion

• Israel's Restoration: Essential for understanding God's redemptive plan
• Call to Reformed Christians: To correct the error of replacement theology and recognize Israel’s role in eschatology

Additional Resources

• Books Mentioned:
  • Barry Horner's "Future Israel"
  • Other theological works supporting Israel’s future role

Final Thoughts

• Premillennialism: Sees a literal kingdom on earth with Christ reigning, fulfilling promises to Israel
• Study and Reflection: Encouraged to further study the biblical texts mentioned to gain a deeper understanding of Israel's role in eschatology

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Here are the verses used in the transcript, with more details about their context and how they relate to the speaker's argument:

• 2 Samuel 7:12-16: This passage describes the Davidic Covenant, where God promises David that a descendant of his will establish a kingdom that will endure forever. This covenant is a crucial part of the speaker's argument, as it forms the basis for the future kingdom of Israel and the reign of the Messiah. The speaker notes that God's promise in verse 13, "He shall build a house for my name; I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever," refers to a permanent kingdom, not simply to Solomon's reign.

• 2 Samuel 7:16: God tells David "your house and your kingdom shall endure before me forever; your throne shall be established forever." This verse reinforces the permanent nature of the Davidic Covenant and its implications for a future kingdom. It is particularly relevant to the speaker's argument against amillennialism, which denies a literal earthly kingdom for Israel.

• 2 Samuel 23:5: This passage describes how God made an "everlasting covenant" with David, which includes the promise of a kingdom. The speaker highlights this phrase "everlasting covenant" to further emphasize the permanent nature of God's promises and their future fulfillment.

• Psalm 72: This Psalm celebrates the reign of the great king who will come and establish his kingdom, bringing peace and blessing to all nations. The speaker sees this psalm as a prophetic description of the future reign of the Messiah and a foreshadowing of the universal peace and prosperity that will characterize the kingdom.

• Psalm 89: This Psalm also celebrates the Covenant God made with David and emphasizes the eternal nature of this promise. The speaker notes that God's language in verse 35 ("Once I have sworn by my Holiness, I will not lie to David...his descendants shall endure forever") highlights the certainty and irreversibility of the Davidic Covenant.

• Psalm 89:35: God swears by his holiness that he will not lie to David, and that his descendants will endure forever. The speaker uses this verse as a strong example of God's faithfulness in keeping his promises, particularly when it comes to his covenant with Israel.

• Jeremiah 31:31-37: This passage outlines the New Covenant, which will be made with the house of Israel and Judah. God promises to change their hearts, write his law on them, and be their God. The New Covenant is central to the speaker's argument because it is the means by which the promises of the Abrahamic and Davidic Covenants will be fulfilled.

• Jeremiah 31:35-37: God states that as long as the fixed order of creation continues, the Offspring of Israel will not cease from being a nation before him. This verse is crucial for the speaker's refutation of replacement theology, which asserts that the church has replaced Israel in God's favor. The speaker emphasizes that God's covenant with Israel is permanent and will not be broken, just as the order of nature will not be overturned.

• Jeremiah 31:33: God promises to put his law on their hearts, making a new covenant with them. This verse highlights the transformative nature of the New Covenant, where God will empower Israel to live in obedience to him. It also sets the stage for the future salvation of Israel, which will be a work of God's grace.

• Ezekiel 36:24-30: This passage describes the New Covenant, where God promises to cleanse Israel, give them a new heart and spirit, and bring them back to their land. The speaker emphasizes the sovereignty of God in this process, stating that God "will take you," "will sprinkle," and "will cleanse." This passage further supports the idea of a future restoration of Israel.

• Ezekiel 36:33: The kingdom will come and the desolate land will be cultivated and cities rebuilt. This verse ties the promise of the New Covenant to the future kingdom of Israel, where the land will be restored to its former glory. It strengthens the argument that the blessings of the kingdom will be both spiritual and physical.

• Ezekiel 37: God promises to gather the dry bones of Israel, symbolizing their resurrection and restoration. This is a powerful image that further emphasizes the future hope for Israel, where they will be brought back to life and restored to their land.

• Zechariah 12:10-14: This passage describes the future salvation of Israel, where they will mourn for the Messiah they pierced and God will pour out the Spirit of Grace and supplication on them. The speaker emphasizes that this is a time of great repentance and mourning for Israel, as they recognize their sin in rejecting Jesus.

• Zechariah 12:10: God will pour out on the House of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and supplication. This verse points to the future work of God's grace in Israel, where he will grant them repentance and faith.

• Zechariah 13:1-9: God promises to cut off the names of idols from the land and that a fountain will be opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and impurity. This passage further describes the spiritual transformation that will take place in Israel during the kingdom.

• Zechariah 14:9: God will be king over all the earth, and Jerusalem will be secure and dwell in peace. This verse describes the establishment of God's kingdom, where peace and security will prevail.

• Zechariah 14:16: All nations will go up to Jerusalem to worship the king, the Lord of hosts. This verse highlights the global scope of God's kingdom and the role of Jerusalem as the center of worship.

• Zechariah 14:20: Everything will become sacred, even the bells hanging on the animals. This verse emphasizes the holiness and glory that will characterize the kingdom.

Overall, these verses are used by the speaker to build a strong case for premillennialism and to challenge alternative interpretations of eschatology. He emphasizes God's sovereignty, his faithfulness to his covenant with Israel, and the permanent nature of his promises. The speaker argues that a future kingdom for Israel is essential for understanding God's plan and for appreciating the full scope of his promises.

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Here are the references to other beliefs with timestamps from the transcript, with quotes replaced by summaries:

• 0:12 - "why every calvinist should be a premillennialist": The speaker argues that Calvinists, who believe in God's sovereign election, should also believe in a literal earthly kingdom for Israel where Jesus will reign for 1,000 years.
• 1:20 - "what I've been saying to you is that it matters greatly to God how Redemptive history ends because the whole purpose of it is bound up in How It Ends": The speaker emphasizes the importance of understanding how God's plan for salvation unfolds throughout history and how it culminates.
• 3:17 - "it is then a matter of election": The speaker introduces the concept of election, emphasizing God's sovereign choice of Israel as his elect people.
• 3:55 - "very strange that it is the very historic Theology of sovereign election whose Advocates have denied this to Israel": The speaker highlights the tension between the doctrine of election and the denial of a future kingdom for Israel.
• 4:17 - "in the theological world where people believe in the doctrine of election more strongly than anywhere else they are more prone to deny Israel's election than anywhere else": The speaker asserts that those who strongly believe in election are more likely to deny a future for Israel, which he sees as a contradiction.
• 4:53 - "it started historically with a man named Augustine in the fifth century": The speaker introduces Augustine, a key figure in the development of Christian theology and the originator of "replacement theology."
• 5:53 - "they have come up with a view called a millennialism which says there is no Kingdom for Israel and for that matter there is no earthly Kingdom Period": The speaker describes the amillennial view, which denies a literal earthly kingdom for Israel.
• 6:12 - "it is called replacement theology the church replaces Israel and the blessings are spiritual": The speaker introduces replacement theology, which argues that the church has replaced Israel in God's favor.
• 6:38 - "they have to work really hard at moving their theological points around": The speaker criticizes amillennialists for having to manipulate scripture to fit their views.
• 6:44 - "to hold the view of a millennialist called replacement theology that the church replaces Israel in the promises of God Israel as God's elect is no longer God's elect canceled out to come up with this idea that there therefore is no real Earthly Kingdom to fulfill those promises and that they are fulfilled in the spiritual life of the church both now and in heaven you have to deny the nature of divine Sovereign election you have to basically say that when God called Israel his elect and when God gave them unconditional unilateral irrevocable promises he didn't keep them or he doesn't keep them so that election doesn't mean permanent election it might be temporary as in the case of Israel now I don't know anybody who believes in the doctrine of election who thinks it's temporary with the elect Angels or temporary with the elect son or temporary with the elect church so this has to be a category invented to accommodate replacement theology": The speaker asserts that amillennialists have to deny key doctrines of election and reinterpret scripture to make their view work.
• 7:59 - "in 1847 he wrote prophetic landmarks and he took a position very different from his reformed friends very different he was always a strong advocate of the doctrines of Sovereign Grace he was always a strong advocate of the doctrine of election he affirmed as well that election was forever and therefore affirmed the Primacy of the destiny of the Jews in the scheme of eschatology so he was going against the grain of his day and his compatriots": The speaker introduces Horatius Bonar, a dissenting voice within Reformed theology, who was a strong advocate of election and believed in a future kingdom for Israel.
• 14:47 - "there is a strong uh let's let's use Barry Horner's term anti-judaism there is a strong anti-judaism not semitism not anti-Semitism as though it were a racial thing but anti-judaism as though it is a religious thing there is a strong anti-judaism in reformed theology saying Israel has lost its election lost the right to all its covenants and promises for example George Murray writing in Millennial studies says to be sure the nation was sovereignly chosen by God but God no longer deals with them as a chosen Nation": The speaker highlights a common criticism of replacement theology, namely that it can lead to anti-Jewish sentiments. He differentiates between anti-Semitism and anti-Judaism.
• 16:51 - "the church then as the people of the New Covenant has taken the place of Israel and National Israel is nothing other than the empty shell from which the Pearl has been removed and which has lost its function in the history of redemption": This statement of replacement theology suggests that Israel has no future and has been replaced by the church.
• 17:19 - "you are saying that Israel failed to believe Israel failed to embrace Christ and so Israel on its own failed to do what it was supposed to do by saying that you would have to also say that Israel would have guaranteed its own place in the future purposes of God if on its own it had done what was right": The speaker counters the idea that Israel's failure to believe means they have lost their place in God's plan. He argues that salvation is by grace, not by human merit.
• 18:32 - "Augustine even likened the Jewish people to Cain the first criminal recorded in Biblical history who had murdered his own brother and merited death but instead had been condemned to wander Unhappily Ever After Austine saw the Jewish people like Cain alive but dispossessed a Perpetual Wanderer the Jews Augustine said might deserve to be eradicated for their crime rejecting Christ but Augustine preferred that they would be preserved as wandering Witnesses Until the End Time witnesses to what happens when you reject the truth": This statement describes Augustine's negative view of the Jews, which is seen as a foundation for later anti-Jewish sentiment.
• 22:56 - "the augustinian theology read enforced the notion of the Jews as a Wandering homeless rejected and accursed people who were incurably carnal blind to spiritual meaning perfidious faithless and apostate their crime being one of cosmic proportions merited permanent Exile and subordination to Christianity": This statement summarizes Augustine's negative view of Jews and its influence on later thought.
• 27:13 - "the church's hostility has nothing to do with Israel's Behavior toward the Palestinians and she was she wrote this after she went to a conference of the anglicans discussing Israel and the Palestinians the current situation this is what she wrote the church's hostility has nothing to do with Israel's Behavior toward the Palestinians this was merely an excuse the real reason for the growing antipathy was the ancient hatred of Jews rooted deep in Christian Theology and now widespread once again a Doctrine she wrote going back to the early church fathers suppressed after the Holocaust has been revived under the influence of the Middle Eastern conflict this Doctrine is called this is a Jewish writer replacement theology in essence it says that the Jews have been replaced by the Christians in God's favor and so all God's promises to the Jews including the land of Israel have been inherited by Christianity she got it exactly right that is replacement theology": The speaker quotes a Jewish columnist who highlights how the church's hostility toward Israel is rooted in replacement theology, which she accurately describes.
• 30:00 - "the CRC which is the Christian Reformed Church Dutch reformed Calvinism squelched all premillennialism and interestingly enough they they they would not tolerate anybody believing in a future Kingdom for Israel anybody who did was placed under investigation you can find that in their own history they actually went so far as to forbid preaching or discussing premillennialism": The speaker points out how the Christian Reformed Church, a denomination with a strong Calvinist tradition, actively suppressed premillennialism.
• 31:20 - "the augustinian theology read enforced the notion of the Jews as a Wandering homeless rejected and accursed people who were incurably carnal blind to spiritual meaning perfidious faithless and apostate their crime being one of cosmic proportions merited permanent Exile and subordination to Christianity": This statement summarizes Augustine's negative view of Jews and its influence on later thought.
• 33:54 - "in that day there will be great mour in Jerusalem and like the mour of Hadad Dron in the plain of megiddo and the land will mourn every family by itself and it goes to listing all the family in the day that They Mourn in the day that they look on the one they pierced in that Day verse one of chapter 13 in that day a fountain will be opened for the House of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for impurity what is a fountain going to do wash them and cleanse them and in that day declares the Lord here come the ey Wills I will cut off the names of the idols from the land they will no longer be remembered I will also remove the prophets of the unclean Spirit from the land and so forth and so on verse 8 it'll come about in all the land declares the Lord two parts in it will be cut off and perish oh 2third of the Jews will perish onethird will be left that will be that final Israel that is saved I'll bring the third part through the fire refine them as silver is refined test them as gold is tested they will call on my name I will answer them I will say they are my people they will say the Lord is my God finally this is how it ends and when that happens verse 9 of 14 the Lord will be king over all the Earth the Lord Lord will be king over all the Earth in that day the Lord will be the only one there will only be one religion in the kingdom and his name the only one all the land will be changed into a plain from giid rimen south of Jerusalem Jerusalem will rise and remain on its sight from Benjamin's gate as far as the place of the first gate to the corner gate and the Tower of Nel for the King's Wine presses people will live in it there will be no more curse Jerusalem will dwell in security well that's good news huh amen a secure Jerusalem verse 16 then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the king the Lord of hosts and to celebrate the Feast of booths it will be that whichever of the families of the earth doesn't go up to Jerusalem to worship the king the Lord of hosts there will be no rain on them and if the family of Egypt doesn't go up or enter there'll be no rain falling on them it'll be the plague with which the Lord smites the Nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles this will be the punishment of Egypt the punishment of all the nations who don't go up to celebrate this is when the Lord Reigns and he's going to call for the restoration of ancient Feast because now they will have new meaning and the whole world better come and worship verse 20 in that day there will be inscribed on the bells of the horses holy to the Lord and the cooking pots in the Lord's House will be like the bowls before the altar everything will become sacred even the bells hanging on the animals that's the kingdom clearly the Old Testament sees a kingdom after a future salvation of Israel": The speaker interprets Zechariah 12-14 as evidence for a future kingdom for Israel. He highlights how God's promises in this passage will be fulfilled after Israel's repentance and restoration.

The speaker clearly has a strong bias against amillennialism and replacement theology, and he is advocating for a premillennial understanding of eschatology. This transcript is a powerful example of how theological debates can be intertwined with historical and cultural issues.