John MacArthur on the millennium & Christ's return
Premillennial — Christ returns before a future millennium
"We teach the personal, bodily appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ before the seven-year tribulation... to translate His church from this earth."
THE POSITION
Dispensational premillennialism: a pretribulational rapture removes the church before a seven-year tribulation, followed by Christ's return to establish a literal thousand-year earthly reign fulfilling God's land and kingdom promises to Israel specifically — with the church and Israel kept explicitly distinct throughout, not collapsed into one people of God.
1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven with the key to the Abyss, holding in his hand a great chain. 2 He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. 3 And he threw him into the Abyss, shut it, and sealed it over him, so that he could not deceive the nations until the thousand years were complete. After that, he must be released for a brief period of time. 4 Then I saw the thrones, and those seated on them had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image, and had not received its mark on their foreheads or hands. And they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 The rest of the dead did not come back to life until the thousand years were complete. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection! The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and will reign with Him for a thousand years. 7 When the thousand years are complete, Satan will be released from his prison,
3 OTHERS HOLD THIS
ABOUT THIS FIGURE
Pastor of Grace Community Church, Sun Valley, from 1969 until his death in July 2025. Expositional preaching, hard cessationism, dispensational premillennialism. Researched from the church's own Doctrinal Statement, covering all 15 loci in one document.
Cite this page
"John MacArthur on the millennium & Christ's return", Examined Doctrine, July 2026 edition, https://examineddoctrine.com/position/macarthur/millennium (archived at https://examineddoctrine.com/editions/2026-07/position/macarthur/millennium).