2010 issue 6 - the prima facie acceptability of postmillennialism part 1 - counsel of chalcedon

8112019 2010 Issue 6 - The Prima Facie Acceptability of Postmillennialism Part 1 - Counsel of Chalcedon

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2010-issue-6-the-prima-facie-acceptability-of-postmillennialism-part-1- 119

The Prima Facie acceptability

of postmillennialism

by Greg L Bahnsen

(Part 1)

In this article I discuss the recentdecline in the espousal of postmil-

lennialism defend it as a basic systemof theological thought against certainmisguided criticisms elaborate its keytenet in contrast to amillennialism and

premillennialism and supply a generaldefense of its acceptability in the lightof the history of Reformed theologyWhat shall be demonstrated is that itsrecent unpopularity has been unjusti-fied and that the position must be takenquite seriously by all who adhere to Ref-ormation Christianity

The Recession of Adherence to

Postmillennialism

Te years shortly after the turn of thetwentieth century witnessed a general

decline in the published advocacy ofpostmillennial eschatology Conspicu-ous among the influences generatingthis popular disenchantment werethree factors best understood in theirunrefined and early stages in the nine-teenth century

LIBERALISM

First the 1800rsquos brought the entrench-ment of rationalistic higher criticism ofScripture and consequently skepticismregarding Christian dogma in the aca-demic centers of theology Late seven-teenth-century thought was character-ized by the Enlightenmentrsquos insistence

on the intellectual standard of autono-mous reason (ie scholarship uncon-trolled by biblical presuppositions) Teeffects of this are evident in early eigh-teenth-century Deism and critical ldquolivesof Jesusrdquo (eg by Reimarus and Paulus)which aimed to eradiate belief in genuinemiracles or supernatural intervention in

the world and to discredit the reliabilityof Scripture as a historical record o-ward the end of the century Kant taughtthat a genuinely transcendent God couldhave no connection with the phenome-nal world of time and space He said thatthe historical statements of Scripture

Greg L Bahnsen



35Counsel of Chalcedon bull Issue 6 bull 2010

Te Prima Facie Acceptability of Postmillennialism

die with the events themselves thus wemust go beyond the text in order to findabiding moral-doctrinal value Such anoutlook opens the door completely to anaturalistic and critical treatment of the

Bible in its historical teachings (whetherpast or future) When we come to thenineteenth century we find higher criti-cism fostered by men working under thegeneral influence of Kant and Hegel Inthe 1830rsquos Strauss introduced the myth-ological interpretation of ScriptureLater Holtzmann set theological teach-

ing over against religious experience inthe interpretation of biblical writersWrede took things a step further bymaintaining that the scriptural docu-ments are not reliable historical worksbut rather theologized reconstructions Te overall outcome was the discredit-ing of Scripturersquos historical accuracy and

the undermining of the objectivity of itstheology Ernst roeltsch explained thecritical approach to the Bible saying thatany occurrence must be understood interms of its probable immanent his-torical antecedents thus is assured thenaturalistic autonomy of the historian inreconstructing the past and interpretingthe future Such an approach challengedconfidence in anything Scripture (as asupernatural infallible verbal revela-tion) had to say including its philosophyof history Postmillennialism because ofits assumptions of a sovereign God res-urrected Savior and powerfully presentSpirit was clearly not congenial with theassumptions of criticisms

EVOLUTIONARY PROGRESSIVISM

As a second factor we should thinkback upon the influence of Kant andHegel mentioned above In his earlybook Idea of a Universal History Kant

had taught that a ldquosecret planrdquo inherentin nature drives man to build a ratio-nal international civil order An evenbolder metaphysical account of inevi-table progress in the historical process

was given in Hegelrsquos Lectures on the Philosophy of History and throughouthis dialectical philosophy Accordingto Hegel the theme of history is theactualization of the Absolute in timethe self-development of spirit is seen inthe successive types of social organiza-tions and the careers of world-histori-

cal peoples Te history of the humanrace which follows its own inherentcourse of development embodying arational principle is toward greaterfreedom the highest form of whichcould be found in the Germanic worldromanticism and maintenance by thestate of the orders and social groups of

civilized lifeNaturalistic humanistic optimismabout historical progress was givenits most popular boost however inCharles Darwinrsquos theory of evolution asfound in his 1859 bestseller Te Origin

of Species Reception of this doctrineguaranteed the initial uncritical adop-tion of secular optimism With theo-logical leaders approving of the inter-pretation and evaluation of Scripturesin the light of autonomous research andphilosophy it was quite natural thatevolutionary speculation came to beread intothe biblersquos teaching on creationand history Moreover with the reduc-tion of religion and revelation to mat-

ters of morality (under the influence ofKant) higher critics and liberals coulddeprecate orthodox theology while stillmaintaining an understandable interestin the personal ethics and social reformfostered by Scripture



Counsel of Chalcedon bull Issue 6 bull 201036


Tese combined elements in turnproduced the secularization of conser-

vative supernaturalistic biblical post-millennialism Te result was evidentin the Christian Socialist movement

in England and the social gospel move-ment in America Walter Rauschen-busch for example in his A Teol-ogy for the Social Gospel spoke of theldquomillenniumrdquo coming through naturaldevelopment as an ideal society ex-pressing the commmunal brotherhoodof man Shirley Jackson Casersquos Te Mil-

lennial Hope spoke of the long processof humanity evolving and rising higherin the scale of civilization and attain-ment the world is constantly growingbetter societyrsquos ills are to be remediedby education and legislation and the re-sponsibility for bringing in the millen-nium is manrsquos ownndashto be produced in

his own strength Tis modernistic per- version of Godrsquos truth this antithesis toredemptive revelation and supernatu-ral salvation called for strenuous andgodly opposition by orthodox church-men However in their zeal to standagainst the liberal tide large numbersof Christians threw the baby out withthe bath In disdain for the evolutionarysocial gospel sincere believers were ledto reject Christian social concern foran exclusively internal or other-worldly religion and to substitute for the ear-lier belief in a progressive triumph ofChristrsquos kingdom in the world a new

pessimistic catastrophism with respectto the course of history

DISPENSATIONALISM

Te church might have had the doctrinalstrength necessary to throw off criticaland modernist incursion had not a third

factor been subverting its doctrinal and

working strength Tis third factor inthe decline of postmillennialism was therise and popularization of dispensation-al pretribulational rapturism As lateas 1813 the English missionary leader

David Bogue could speak of premillen-nialism as an astonishing ldquoaberrationrdquoof previous days However that strictlyminority position had recently beenrekindled by numerous eschatologicalpredictions and alleged prophetic fulfill-ments at the time of the French Revo-lution and the rise of Napoleon When

Napoleon marched on Rome somethought the Man of Sin was about to bedeposed George Faber saw Napoleonhimself as ldquothe king of the Northrdquo (fromDaniel 11) James Bicheno viewed LouisXIV as the Beast (of Revelation 13) andSamuel Horsley took Napoleon to be theAnti-Christ and Voltaire the ldquomystery of

iniquityrdquo Imaginations flourished Wil-liam Miller predicted that Christ wouldreturn in 1843

In 1825 Edward Irving one time as-sistant to Tomas Chalmers in Glasgowbegan to preach that Christrsquos premillen-nial return was imminent (a doctrine helearned from the layment Hatley Frere)When a Roman Catholic priest in southAmerica Manuel Lacunza wrote Te

Coming of the Missiah in Glory and Majesty under the pseudonym of an al-legedly converted Jew Ben Ezra Irvingwas attracted to the premillennialismof the treatise In 1826 he published anedition of the English translation withhis own lengthy introductory essay

Irving gained great popularity and car-ried his eschatology o Scotland in 1828and 1829 where evangelical ministersreceived his teaching coolly Chalmerscharacterized Irvingrsquos doctrine as woe-ful mystical pernicious and violentlyallegorical At the turn of the decade





Irving was endorsing the revival ofcharismatic gifts and subverting thedoctrine of Christrsquos sinless nature andthe doctrine of imputed righteousnessBeing deposed from the Church of

Scotland irving founded the CatholicApostolic Church in 1832 dying two

years laterWhat is important for our purpos-

es is to see that premillennialism whichwas a minor position in 1813 gained asignificant following by the 1830rsquos thiswas fostered by the albury park pro-

phetic meetings as well as those at Pow-erscourt Henry Drummond openedhis home for conferences on prophecybetween 1826 and 1830 where Irvingset forth his system of thought At theIrish estate of Lady Powerscourt Irvingcontinued his conferences between1831 and 1833 J N Darby a man who

would emerge as a leader in this escha-tological school of thought was presentat the 1831 Powerscourt meeting Previ-ously in 1828 Darby had begun meet-ing with the Brethren movement beingdisaffected with the established churchIn premillennialism he found the expla-nation for the churchrsquos defects namelydecline in inevitable and judgment forthe world is close at hand Te mainoutline of Darbyrsquos premillennialismwas inherited from Irvingrsquos teachingHowever Darby went on to embellishit with strict distinctions among Israelthe church and the millennial Jewsas well as a dispensational outlook onhistory (namely God has utilized vari-

ous plans for dealing with man whenone fails God introduces a new one)In addition Darby published the doc-trine that the church would be secretlyraptured prior to the Great ribulationwhich would afflict the world as a pre-cursor to Christrsquos return in judgment

and the establishment of the millen-nium on earth Tis novel teaching wasapparently first advanced in the studiesmade at the Albury Conferences per-haps by Irving himself others claim

that it originated in a tongues utteranceby a member of Irvingrsquos church and yetothers attribute it to prophetic visionexperienced by a Scottish woman Mar-garet Macdonald Whatever the specif-ic source the relevant point is that thebelief appeared and gained popularityaround 1830 being popularized in the

publication of Darbyrsquos dispensationalpremillennialism

Te effect of the teachings risingout of these years was a drastic pessi-mism which precluded the courage toface liberal defections (indeed such de-fections were expected and inevitable)or to undertaken long-term projects for

the church For example F W Newtondeclared that the imminent return ofChrist ldquototally forbids all working forearthly objects distant in timerdquo Socialand political endeavor was no longerseen as legitimate note for exampleZahnrsquos criticism of Calvin becauseldquohe considered it his task to make thesecular authorities submissive to hisinterpretation of the Divine command-mentsrdquo Missions had to abandon theaim of establishing Christian institu-tions and concentrate simply on theconversion of individual souls as A AHodge astutely observed of premillen-nial strategy Te visible church wasdepreciated its pastoral office deemed

unnecessary and its historic doctrinedisregarded In Geneva 1840 Darbydeclared that restoration is impossiblein this dispensation that it is delusiveto expect the earth to be filled withthe knowledge of the Lord prior to Hisadvent and that we must expect a con-





stant progression of evil[1] Hope wascut out of the heart of ChristendomAs one might expect such pessimisticpredictions as to the value and effect ofthe church on earth tended to become

self-fulfilling propheciesDarbyrsquos dispensational pre-trib-

ulational rapturism was enhanced inAmerica by his visit here at the requestof D L Moody who later founded acollege dedicated to such thinking Itwas also advanced in the vastly popularProphecy Conference movement espe-

cially in the first decade of this centuryHowever dispensational premillennial-ism with its decided emphasis upon therapture a distinction between Israeland the church (as well as law and grace)and the inevitably meager results of thechurchrsquos preaching of the gospel in theworld was given its greatest impetus by

the publication of the Scofield Referencebible in 1909 C I Scofield had beengreatly affected by Darbyrsquos writings andthrough his reference notes the systemgained widespread popularity Eventswhich soon followed in world historyconvinced advocates of this theory thatScripture had rightly been interpretedas teaching advancing lawlessness andthe imminent end of the age

Tus the three factors of liberal-ism evolutionary progressivism anddispensationalism came to exert si-multaneous pressure on Christendomin the early twentieth century result-ing in the unpopularity of biblicalpostmillennialism People were now

inclined to distrust progressive hopes(if they were fundamentalist) or dis-count biblical predictions for history(if they were liberals) Furthermore be-lievers and unbelievers alike had beentrained to interpret the Bible in termsof extrabiblical considerations (secular

scholarship for the modernists worldevents for the dispensationalists) Tecombined outcome was a definiteskepticism about the churchrsquos progresson earth prior to the second coming of

Christ in glory the outcome was also atendency to do ldquonewspaper exegesisrdquo ofthe Scriptures Given this setting andthe propagation of secularized theol-ogy along with pretribulational pessi-mism conservative postmillennialismwas bound to suffer abuse

Misguided Groundfor Rejecting

Postmillennialism

It must be observed that postmillenni-alism lost favor (and today remains heldin disfavor) with conservative theolo-gians for manifestly unorthodox and

insufficient reasons Extra-biblical rea-soning as well as lazy or poor scholar-ship has intruded itself into Christiandiscussions of eschatology

NEWSPAPER EXEGESIS

Alva J McClain says of postmillennial-ism ldquoTis optimistic theory of human

progress had much of its own way forthe half-century ending in World WarI of 1914 After that the foundationswere badly shaken prop after prop wentdown until today the whole theory isunder attack from every side DevoutPostmillennialism has virtually disap-pearedrdquo[2] J Barton Paynersquos massive

Encyclopedia of Biblical Prophecy men-tions postmillennialism only once andthat merely in a footnote which par-enthetically declares ldquotwo world warskilled this optimismrdquo[3] Merrill F Ungerdismisses postmillennialism in shortorder declaring ldquoTis theory largely







for the consolation of Israel (cf Luke2) when a popular Jewish theologiancomes in and tells him ldquoSimeon yourhope of a personal Messiah is a deadissue an idealistic anachronism Your

unrealistic theory has been disprovedby the course of history and discardedby all schools it is out of date out-moded and no longer a current issueNo self-respecting scholar who looksat the world conditions and remembersthe four hundred years of silence fromGod believes as you do prop after prop

has gone down and the events that havecome upon our nation have killed theoptimism of your theoryrdquo Would anyconservative theologian say that Sime-onrsquos belief had been refuted or incapaci-tated by such considerations Wouldany think him justified in no longertreating it as a vital position worthy of

scriptural consideration Of course notLikewise biblical postmillennialismcannot be thus dismissed

MISREPRESENTATION

Postmillennialism has not only beendiscarded in this century on clearlyunorthodox grounds it has also been

made a straw man so that modern advocates of the other schools of interpre-tation can easily knock it down and geton to other interests Te worst possibleinterpretation is put on postmillennialtenets or the eccentric aspect of somepostmillennial writerrsquos position is setforth as representing the basic school

of thought As instances of these pro-cedures we can note the following HalLindsey says that postmillennialistsbelieve in the inherent goodness ofman[11] and Walvoord says that the po-sition could not resist the trend towardliberalism[12] He also accuses it of not

seeing the kingdom as consummatedby the Second Advent[13] William ECox claims that postmillennialism ischaracterized by a literal interpretationof Revelation 20[14] Adams portrays the

postmillennialist as unable to conceiveof the millennium as coextensive withthe church age or as a present reality[15] for he (according to Adams) must see itas exclusively futurendasha golden age justaround the corner[16] Finally it is popu-larly thought and taught that postmil-lennialism maintains that there is an

unbroken progression toward righ-teousness in historyndashthat the world isperceptibly getting better and better allthe timendashuntil a utopian age is reachedGeerhardus Vos portrays the postmil-lennialist as looking for ldquoideal perfec-tionrdquo when ldquoevery individualrdquo will beconverted and some will become ldquosin-

less individualsrdquo[17]

All of the above claims are sim-ply inaccurate Te Calvinist LoraineBoettner certainly does not believe inmanrsquos inherent goodness and B B Warf-ield can hardly be accused of not resist-ing liberalism Tat a A Hodge did notsee the second coming of Christ as thegreat day of consummation is preposter-ous J Marcellus Kik and many othersinsisted on a figurative interpretation ofRevelation 20 Certain sixteenth- andseventeenth-century Dutch theologiansas well as Jonathan Edwards and E WHengstenberg were all postmillennial-ists who saw the millennium as coevalwith the interadventual age (in which

there would be progressive growth forthe church in numbers and influence)Charles Hodge Snowden and Boettnerwere all postmillennialists who explainedthat the growth of Christrsquos kingdom inthe world suffers periodic crises andBoetner has especially stressed the fact





that it grows by imperceptible degreesover a long period Finally anyone whothinks of postmillennialism as a utopianposition misunderstands one or the otherin their historically essential principles

Indeed a chapter in Boettnerrsquos bookTe Millennium is entitled ldquoTe Millenniumnot a Perfect or Sinless Staterdquo contrary tothe misrepresentations of Vos Nobodyhas ever propounded in the name ofevangelical postmillennialism what Vosclaimed (least of all his Princeton col-leagues or predecessors) Terefore the

recent opponents of postmillennialismhave not been fair to its genuine distinc-tives but rather have misrepresented it asa general category of interpretation Tissurely provides no firm ground for reject-ing the position

TWO983085EDGED CRITICISMS

A third infelicitous way in which post-millennialism has been disposed of isby means of (allegedly) critical consid-erations which in fact apply as much

to the other eschatological positions asto postmillennialism For example ithas been contended that there is inco-herence among various postmillenni-

als rather than a unified theology andin connection with this criticism it isobserved that postmillennialism is ad-hered to by extremely divergent theo-logical schools[18] However this is justas true of amillennialism and premi-llennialism numerous details differamong proponents of these positions

(indeed one is inclined to think thatthey are more extensive and significantdifferences than those among propo-nents of these positions (indeed oneis inclined to think that they are moreextensive and significant differencesthan those among postmillennialists)

but this says nothing about the truth oftheir central tenets Ten again post-millennialism is sometimes thought tobe falsified through imputing guilt toit by association observing that it has

sometimes been held in some form byunitarians and liberals But ldquopremi-llennialismrdquo has been advocated by theapostate Jews and modern cultists andldquoamillennialismrdquo is endorsed by neo-orthodox dialectical theology Te factthat there are functional similarities be-tween various evangelical and heretical

theologians does not in itself settle thekey question of which position is taughtby Godrsquos wordwhichever millennialposition is scriptural it is nonethelesssubject to misuse and inappropriationHence the use of one of these positionsby an unorthodox writer does nothingin itself to discredit the position

A further criticism which cannotbe applied uniquely to postmillennial-ism is that it interprets biblical proph-ecy both figuratively [19] and literally[20] Te premillennialists see symbolicinterpretation as a failure of nerve andamillennialists take literal understand-ing of prophecy as crude and insensi-tive But the fact remains that none ofthe three schools interprets biblicalprophecy exclusively in either a literalor figurative fashion (And by the waynobody really adheres to the rule ldquoLit-eral where possiblerdquo as is evident fromthe respective treatments of the beastof Revelation which could possibly be aliteral monster but obviously is not) All

three schools end up finding both kindsof literature in the prophetic passagesand it is dishonest to give an oppositeimpression If anything the fact thatpostmillennialism is seen as too literalby amillennialists and too figurativeby premillennialists perhaps suggests





(certainly does not prove) that it alonehas maintained a proper balance Teupshot is this the charge of subjec-tive spiritualization or hyperliteralismagainst any of the three eschatological

positions cannot be settled in general rather the opponents must get downto hand-to-hand exegetical combat on

particular passages and phrases

PREMATURE CHARGES

Finally in addition to the misguided

and failed attempts to dismiss post-millennialism based on (1) newspaperexegesis (2) misrepresentation and (3)the application of two-edged criticism(which applies to the critic as well asthe position criticized) there are cur-rent day charges against the positionwhich are premature or unfounded o

this category belongs the allegationthat postmillennialism is founded onOld estament passages rather thanNew estament evidence[21] that theNew estament knows nothing of theproclamation of a semi-golden age[22] Such statements do not bear their ownweight in the face of postmillennial ap-

peals to New estament passages likethe kingdom growth parables of Mat-thew 13 the apostle Johnrsquos teachingsabout the overcoming of Satan and theworld (eg John 1231-32 1633 I John213-14 38 44 14 54-5) Peterrsquos Pen-tecost address (Acts 232-36 41) Paulrsquosdeclaration that all Israel shall be saved(Rom 1125-32) his resurrection vic-tory chapter in I Corinthians 15 (esp

vss 20-26 57-58) the statements ofHebrews 1-2 about the subjection of allenemies to Christ in the post-ascensionera (18-9 13 25-9) and numerous pas-sages from Revelation notably aboutthe vastness of the redeemed (79_10)

the open door for missionary triumphand the Christianrsquos reign with Christover the nations (225-27 37-9) thesubmission of the kingdoms of thisworld to the kingdom of Christ (1115)

and the utter victory of gospel procla-mation (1911-21) Opponents of post-millennialism may wish to dispute itsinterpretation of such passages but itis groundless for them to allege withoutqualifications and without detailed in-teraction with postmillennial writingsthat the position is not taken from the

New estament itselfFurther premature criticisms

would include Walvoordrsquos accusationthat postmillennialism obscures thedoctrine of Christrsquos second coming byincluding it in Godrsquos providential worksin history[23] and Adamsrsquo charge thatit confounds the millennium with the

eternal statendashsince it takes Old esta-ment prophecies of kingdom peace andprosperity and illegitimately appliesthem to the New estament mention ofthe millennium and thereby winds upwith the dilemma that either there isno need for a new heavens and earth (towhich the Old estament propheciesreally apply) or else the millennium isfrustrated[24]

Walvoord has failed to grasp ad-equately the postmillennialistrsquos phi-losophy of history it is not the casethat the postmillennialist fails to dis-tinguish providence from consumma-tion but rather that he sees providenceas well orchestrated to subserve the ul-

timate ends of consummation And inconnection with this understandinghe recognizes that the New estamentspeaks of Christ ldquocomingrdquo in various ways (contrary to Walvoordrsquos apparentthought that there is only one singlesense in which Christ ldquocomesrdquo namely





at his return in glory)ndashfor example inthe first-century establishment of hiskingdom (Matt 1628) in the personof the Holy spirit at Pentecost (John1418 28 cf vs 16 Acts 233 I Cor

1545 II Cor 317) in fellowship withthe repentant and obedient believer(Rev 320 John 1421-23) in historical

judgment upon nations (Matt 2429-30 34 Mark 1461-62) and uponchurches (Rev 25 16) Such ldquocomingsrdquoof the Lord are part of Godrsquos providen-tial government of pre-consummation

history and are in addition to Christrsquos visible and glorious coming in final judgment (II Tess 17-10) Te post-millennialist does not obscure the sec-ond coming with providence

Nor does he as Adams said con-found the millennium with the eter-nal state the postmillennialist clearly

knows the difference between the twoIt is just that he disagrees with Adamsthat certain Old estament propheciespertain exclusively to the eternal state

Prior to the amillennialists and post-millennialists engaging in full exegeti-cal debate over such passages it wouldbe just as legitimate for the postmillen-nialist to accuse Adams of confoundingthe eternal state with the millenniumTe postmillennialist has a sound ra-tionale for connecting relevant Oldestament passages with the New es-tament millennium in that these pas-sages (according to postmillennialistclaims) speak of the pre-consummationprosperity of Christrsquos kingdom and the

millennium is precisely the pre-con-summation form of his kingdom SuchOld estament passages are taken to be(at least in part) predictions concern-ing a pre-consummation state of affairsbecause they speak of things which areinappropriate to the eternal state (eg

opposition to the kingdom evangelismkingdom growth national interactiondeath etc) Again the opponents ofpostmillennialism may dispute its in-terpretation of such passages but it is

premature to accuse the position ofconfounding two openly recognizeddistinct entities (namely the millen-nium and eternity) prior to refuting theexegetical reasoning of the positionPostmillennialism is not suspect in ad-vance any more than amillennialism is

A further groundless criticism of

postmillennialism as a system is Adamsrsquoclaim that it has even less reason to ex-pect a semi-golden age in history thandoes the premillennialist since there isnothing but sinful non-glorified human-ity to produce it and that it has no expla-nation for the anticipated sudden changeof conditions in the world at the end of

history[25]

Such statements are unwar-ranted for the postmillennialist sees thepowerful presence of Christ through theHoly spirit as sufficient reason to expectthe release of Satan from the post-resur-rection restraints on his deceiving powerover the nations as adequate explanationof the change of world conditions at the

very end of the age (just as Adams does)Such tenets have been made well knownin postmillennial teaching and thus Ad-amsrsquo criticism is an obvious oversight ofwhat is an important element of the posi-tion criticized

A similar reply is called for withrespect to Walvoordrsquos criticism thatpostmillennialism deprives todayrsquos be-

liever of the hope of Christrsquos imminentreturn[26] Te fact is that postmillennialnever claimed to salvage the doctrineof the any-moment return of Christindeed distinctive to it is the denial ofthe imminent physical return Te Newestament definitely indicates that the





coming of the Lord is a delayed eventand that the Christian should expectto see precursor signs of its approach[27] It is not to come upon him as anunexpected thief (I Tess 54) for he

believes the Scriptures that certainthings must first occur (cf II Tess 21-3 etc) Indeed it was the error of thefoolish virgins to expect the imminentcoming of the bridegroom (Matt 251-8) Hence postmillennialism can hardlybe faulted for not preserving a doctrinewhich it does not by the very nature of

its position think should be preserved(cf Matt 255 10)

We must conclude then that cur-rent day writers have offered no good

prima facie reason for ignoring or reject-ing postmillennialism as an importanttheological option for biblical believersIt has been unwarrantedly dismissed

in the past fifty years on the basis ofnewspaper exegesis misrepresentationtwo-edged criticisms and premature orunfounded charges Postmillennialismdeserves to be taken seriously and con-sidered in the light of Scripture quickdismissal or ignoring of it in recent yearshas no good justification

The Distinctive Essentials

of the Three Positions

In the preceding section of this discus-sion there was occasion to note thatpostmillennialism had been misrepre-sented in its basic position Tis causesus to ask just what are the fundamen-tal differences among premillennial-ism amillennialism and postmillen-nialism Tat is what is the distinctiveoutlook of each position its essentialand central characteristic

Here many people are prone to bemisled becoming entangled in ques-

tions which are subsidiary and indeci-sive with respect to the basic dogmati-cal outlook of a pre- a- and postmil-lennialism What this means is thatthey take important exegetical issues

pertaining to the millennial questionand attempt to use them todelineate the three fundamental theological posi-tions however these particular exeget-ical issues are not decisive for the cen-

tral and general claims of the school ofthought Perhaps some examples wouldbe helpful

When we come to discuss the dis-tinctive essentials of premillennialismamillennialism and postmillennialismthere are many interpretative questionspertaining to scriptural teaching aboutthe millennium which while very im-portant for the Christian to considerare not definitionally crucial at this

particular topical point that is becauseadherents of different basic schools ofthought have agreed on particular an-swers to these questions For instancewe can ask about the nature of the ldquofirstresurrectionrdquo of Revelation 205 Does itrefer to a bodily resurrection the regen-eration of the believer or his passageat death to the intermediate state inheaven Such a question usually sepa-rates premillennialists from the othertwo positions since premillennialisminsists on the first option howeveradherents of both amillennialism andpostmillennialism have been knownto endorse each of the last two optionsLikewise the question of the imminency

of Christrsquos returntends to be answeredin a cross-categorical manner somepremillennialists deny it in practice(post-tribulationists) while others pro-pound it just as amillennialists are splitby those who accept it and those whoreject it Te question does not serve us





well in the particular project of findingthe distinctive essentials of each of thethree eschatological schools Furthersubsidiary or theologically indecisiveissues would pertain to such things as

whether the Christian martyrs receive aspecial blessing during the millenniumwhether the millennium pertains to theintermediate state at all (amillennialistsand postmillennialists have agreed in

various ways on this question) whetherthe church is an expression of Christrsquoskingdom (recent premillennialists have

come to grant this point) whether afuture period of unprecedented tribula-tion with a personal Anti-Christ awaitsthe world andor church (all three po-sitions have espoused or can accom-modate such an opinion) whetherthe ldquoone thousandrdquo of Revelation 20 issymbolic or literal (again all three po-

sitions have or could answer this bothways) Such questions as these are ofmomentous significance for the Chris-tian in his faith and practice and thiswriter has definite convictions on eachone of them However these issues andmany more like them are not the telling differences among the three theological

schools of premillennialism amillenni-alism and postmillennialism

In order to get down to the reallybasic differences among these three po-sitions as distinct schools of thoughtwe can begin by outlining their respec-tive central claims[28] Premillennial-

ism holds that (1) Christ will returnphysically prior to the millennium and

that (2) the millennium is a period ofrighteousness peace and prosperity forChristrsquos kingdom on the earth Terewill be (3) a significant historical delayor gap between the return of Christ atthe first resurrection and the judgmentof the wicked at the second resurrec-

tion just prior to the inauguration of theeternal state (Tis gap corresponds tothe millennial kingdom of earthly pros-perity for Godrsquos chosen people) Tere-fore (4) the millennium is distinct from

the current church age being a futureinterim period between Christrsquos returnand the final judgment (5) Te specificnature of the millennial kingdom willbe seen in the national prosperity of therestored Jewish state with Christ rul-ing bodily from Jerusalem and militar-ily subduing the world with the sword

(However some premillennialists de-emphasize this Jewish element andsimply stress that the millennium is apreparatory stage for the church theOld estament nation the New esta-ment church the millennium and theeternal state are all seen as developingstages in the kingdom) Tus (6) the

Old estament prophecies of prosper-ity are required to be taken literally aspointing ahead to a Jewish state sepa-rate from the church and necessitatinga radical discontinuity between Israeland the church Finally (7) the churchrsquospreaching of the gospel through thewhole earth prior to Christrsquos returnwill prove to be of no avail culturallythe world will become a hopeless wreckincreasingly getting worse and worseclimaxing in the tribulation at the veryend of the church age

By contrast amillennialism saysthat (1) Christ will return after the mil-lennium (2) It maintains that there willbe no millennium in the sense of a semi-

golden era of earthly prosperity for thekingdom instead the millennium is re-stricted to the blessings of the intermedi-ate (heavenly) state (some restricting itsblessing to the martyrs there) andor thepurely inward spiritual triumphs experi-enced by the church on earth (ie Christ





ruling in the believerrsquos heart) Basicallythen amillennialism denies that therewill be any visible or earthly expressionof Christrsquos reign over the entire world asD H Kromminga says ldquothe millennium

is a spiritual or heavenly millenniumrdquo(Note the church is a visible form ofChristrsquos kingdom in the world accord-ing to many amillennialists howeverthe church will not make all the nation-

sdisciples of Christ and gain a dominantor widespread influence throughout theworld but will rather remain a remnant

of believers representatively spottedacross the globe which is unable to ef-fect a period of [comparative] justice andpeace) (3) Te return of Christ at theend of the church age will synchronizewith the general resurrection and gen-eral judgment of all men believer andunbeliever alike Terefore (4) the mil-

lennium is the present interadventualage (5) Tere will be no conversion orsubduing of the world by Christ duringthe millennium but rather the world willsee a more or less parallel developmentof good and evil with evil intensifyingtoward the end of the church age Tus(6) the Old estament prophecies ofprosperity are required to be taken com-pletely figuratively as pointing ahead tothe eternal state or the internal spiritualcondition of the church thus propound-ing continuity between Old estamentIsrael and the New estament churchFinally (7) the world is moving towarda time of increasing lawlessness and thepreaching of the gospel throughout the

world will not achieve outstanding andpervasive success in converting sinners(ie the overall discipling of the nations)

Postmillennialism as the name im-plies holds that (1) Christ will returnsubsequent to the millennium which(2) represents a period which will see

growth and maturation of righteous-ness peace and prosperity for Christrsquoskingdom on earth (visibly representedby the church) through the gradualconversion of the world to the gospel as

well as a period for the glory and vindi-cation of the saints in heaven (3) Tereturn of Christ will synchronize withthe general resurrection and general

judgment at the end of the church ageTerefore (4) the millennium or king-dom of millennialists have used theeschatological vocabulary in such a way

that the ldquomillenniumrdquo represents thelatter day publicly discernible prosper-ity of the interadventual ldquokingdomrdquo)(5) Te specific nature of the millennialkingdom on earth will be the interna-tional prosperity of the church (newIsrael) its growth (through the conver-sion of the world by the sword of the

Spirit) and its influence in society andculture Tus (6) the Old estamentprophecies of prosperity for the king-dom are both figuratively and literallyinterpreted according to the demandsof context (both local and wider) aspointing ahead not simply beyond thechurch age to a restored Jewish king-dom or the eternal state (thus renderingthe visible church on earth somethingof a parenthesis for the most part) butto the visible prosperity of Christrsquos es-tablished kingdom on earth climaxingin the consummated glory of the eter-nal state there is continuity betweenOld estament Israel and the Newestament Church (new Israel) which

eventually will include the fullness ofconverted physical Israel grafted backinto the people of God Finally then (7)over the long range the world will expe-rience a period of extraordinary righ-teousness and prosperity as the churchtriumphs in the preaching of the gospel





and discipling the nations through thesupernatural agency of the Holy Spirithowever the release of Satan at the veryend of the age will bring apostasy fromthese blessed conditions

THE HEART OF THE MATTER

Although it leaves some details andqualifications out the above descrip-tion basically summarizes the distinc-tive thrust of the various millennialoptions We now need to narrow down even further the treatment of eachschool of thought to its key distinctives(allowing for differences of interpre-tation within each school as well ascross-category agreement on certainexegetical points)

All three positions agree that whilethere may be terminological differences(eg the application of the words ldquoking-

domrdquo ldquomillenniumrdquo ldquotribulationrdquo etc)in practical outworking the church is adivinely established institution Christwill return in judgment upon a lawlessor apostate world and the believerrsquos ulti-

mate hope is in the perfectly golden newheavens and earth which will be estab-lished in the consummated kingdom of

the eternal state Moreover none of thepositions denies that there is or will bea millennium of some king none antici-pates that it will be a completely perfect age Further no one completely identifiesthe kingdom and millennium as coex-tensive with each other for each agreesthat the kingdom as a pre-consumma-

tion as well as consummation form orstagendashthe millennium being restrictedin some fashion to the former categoryTus the key distinctives among pre- a-and postmillennialism can be furtherspecified by the following analysis of the

pre-consummation form of the kingdom

Tere are some who hold that (I)the pre-consummation form of thekingdom prophesied in the Old esta-ment is not realized during the inter-

adventual age at all but pertains exclu-

sively to the millennial age of prosperity that follows the church age and beginswith Christrsquos return Tese are usuallydispensational premillennialists Tenthere are those who hold that (II) thepre-consummation form of the king-dom is realized during the interadven-

tual age they fall into two subdivisions

First we have those who say (A) that thechurch age is not inclusive of the mil-

lennium but separate from it as a futureage of prosperity after Christrsquos return(however the church and the millen-nium both express Godrsquos kingdom)Here we have advocates of historicpremillennialism (or post-tribulation-

ists) Secondly we have those who say(B) that the church age is inclusive of(or identical with) the millennium thushaving the pre-consummation kingdomextend from Christrsquos first to his secondadvent Tese proponents in turn fallinto two groups those teaching that (1)the millennial age on earth is a time of

visible prosperity for the kingdom orthose asserting that (20 only the eternalstate realizes the promise of prosperityfor the kingdom Respectively these arepostmillennialists and amillennialists

From this outline it becomes appar-ent that there are two major watersheds in eschatological teaching among evan-gelical conservatives Te first has to do

with chronology the second pertains tothe nature of the millennial kingdomTe first key question is Is the churchage inclusive of the millennium (Al-ternatively Will the end-time events ofChristrsquos return the resurrection and

judgment synchronize with each other)





Such a question separates premillen-nialists (who answer no) from the amil-lennialists and postmillennialists (whoboth answer yes) Te second and sub-sequent key question is Will the church

age (identical with or inclusive of themillennial kingdom) be a time of evidentprosperity for the gospel on earth withthe church achieving worldwide growthand influence such that Christianity be-comes the general principle rather thanthe exception to the rule (as in previoustimes) Tis question separates amillen-

nialists (who answer no) from postmil-lennialists (who answer yes)

Tese questions also reveal thebasic agreement between amillennial-ism and premillennialism that the greatprosperity for Christrsquos kingdom whichis promised in Scripture is not to be re-alized at all prior to His return in glory

thus concluding the church age to lackevident earthly triumph in its callingand endeavors Robert Strong in ex-positing and defending amillennialismstates ldquoAmillennialism agrees withpremillennialism that the Scriptures donot promise the conversion of the worldthrough the preaching of the gospelrdquo(Te Presbyterian Guardian January10 1942) Te amillennialist WilliamE Cox says further ldquoPremillenariansbelieve the world is growing increas-ingly worse and that it will be at its veryworst when Jesus returns Amillenar-ians agree with the premillenarians onthis pointrdquo[29]

Our foregoing discussion of the

three eschatological schools of thoughthas centered around the concept of thekingdom and its various qualifications(time and pre-consummate nature)thereby revealing that the most funda-mental and telling question in distin-guishing the unique mark of each posi-

tion has to do with the course of history

prior to Christrsquos return (or the evidentprosperity of the great commission) JayAdamsrsquo concern with the realized orunrealized nature of the ldquomillenniumrdquo

isnot the real issue which marks out acentral and unique position in eschatol-ogy for amillennialism is not (contraryto Adamsrsquo claim) the only positionwhich sees the millennium as estab-lished at Christrsquos first advent and co-extensive with the present church ageA noted postmillennialist J Marcellus

Kik has said ldquoTe millennium in otherwords is the period of the gospel dis-pensation the Messianic kingdomhellipTe millennium commenced eitherwith the ascension of Christ or with theday of Pentecost and will remain untilthe second coming of Christrdquo[30] Manyother postmillennialists concur with

Kik here And even those earlier post-millennialists who saw the millenniumas a later segment of the interadventualperiod held that the messianic kingdomhad been established during Christrsquosfirst advent thus the ldquokingdomrdquo wasrealized and the ldquomillenniumrdquo rep-resented the coming triumphant (yetimperfect) part of the kingdom (iechurch) age Hence Adamsrsquo questionleads to a terminological rather than asubstantive disagreement (And noteeven some recent premilennialists egG E Ladd grant that the kingdom insome sense has been established al-ready)

What is really at stake is the ques-

tion of the future prospects on earth forthe already established kingdom Shallit prior to Christrsquos return bring all na-tions under its sway thereby generatinga period of spiritual blessing interna-tional peace and visible prosperityShall the church which has been prom-





ised the continual presence of Him whohas been given all power in heaven andearth be successful in making disciplesof all nations as he commanded Onthis basic and substantive issuendashone

with succeeds in separating out thethree millennial schoolsndashit becomesapparent that the essential distinctive of postmillennialism is its scriptur-ally derived sure expectation of gospelprosperity for the church during the

present age Premillennialists and amil-lennialists agree in rejecting this hope

and then separate from each other inexplaining the ( prima facie) scripturalgrounds for that hope Te premillen-nialist looks for kingdom prosperity inhistory but it has a distinctively Jewishnature and is separated from the trueIsrael of God (Christrsquos church) Teamillennialist expects no sure prosper-

ity for the kingdom in history on theearth reserving the scriptural teachingof an age of justice and peace exclusive-ly for the realm beyond history

Summation

In summary the premillennialist main-

tains that there will be a lengthy gap in theend-time events into which the mil-lennium will be inserted after Christrsquosreturn the millennial kingdom will becharacterized by the prosperity of arestored Jewish state Te amillennial-ist denies any such gap in the end-timeevents looking for Christ to returnafter a basically non-prosperous mil-

lennial age And the post millennialistis distinguished from the two foregoingpositions by holding that there will beno gap in the end-time events ratherwhen Christ returns subsequent to themillennial interadventual church ageTere will have been conspicuous and

widespread success for the great com-mission In short postmillennialism isset apart from the other two schoolsof thought by its essential optimism

for the kingdom in the present age

Tis confident attitude in the powerof Christrsquos kingdom the power of itsgospel the powerful presence of theHoly Spirit the power of prayer andthe progress of the great commissionsets postmillennialism apart from theessential pessimism of amillennialismand premillennialism

Alva J McClain observes the fol-lowing about amillennialism

In the Bible eschatological events arefound at the end of but within humanhistory But the ldquoeschatologyrdquo of Barth isboth above and beyond history havinglittle or no vital relation to history DrBerkhof has written a valuable summary

and critical evaluation of this new schoolof ldquoeschatologyrdquohellipBut what Berkhof failsto see it seems to me is that his ownAmillennial school of thought is in somemeasure ldquotarred with the same brushrdquoat least in its doctrine of the establishedKingdom of God According to this viewboth good and evil continue in their de-

velopment side by side through humanhistory Ten will come catastrophe andthe crisis of divine judgment not for thepurpose of setting up a divine kingdominhistory but after the close of historyHope lies only in a new world which isbeyond history Tus history becomesmerely the preparatory ldquovestibulerdquo ofeternity and not a very rational vestibule

at that It is a narrow corridor crampedand dark a kind of ldquowaiting roomrdquo lead-ing nowhere within the historical processbut only fit to be abandoned at last for anideal existence on another plane Such a

view of history seems unduly pessimisticin the light of Biblical revelation[31]





Perhaps the major difficulty withMcClain making this statement is thathe overlooks that his own premillenni-alism is ldquotarred with the same brushrdquo asthat of amillennialism Boettnerrsquos state-

ment about premillennialism is appro-priate here

Premillennialism or Dispensational-ism thus looks upon the preaching of theGospel as a failure so far as the conver-sion of the world is concerned and seesno hope for the world during the presentdispensation It regards the Church as es-

sentially bankrupt and doomed to failureas each of the five preceding dispensa-tions supposedly have ended in failureand asserts that only the Second Com-ing of Christ can cure the worldrsquos illshellipAnother corollary of this belief is thatthe benefits of civilization that have beenbrought about through the influence of

the Church are only illusory and thatall this will be swept away when ChristcomeshellipTis being the logic of the sys-tem it is not difficult to see why the out-look as regards the present age should bepessimistic If we feel the whole secularorder is doomed and that God has nofurther interest in it why then of coursewe shall feel little responsibility for it andno doubt feel that the sooner evil reachesits climax the better o hold that thepreaching of the Gospel under the dis-pensation of the Holy spirit can never gainmore than a very limited success must in-evitably paralyze effort both in the homechurch and on the mission field Such anover-emphasis on the other-worldliness

cannot but mean an under-emphasis andneglect of the here and nowhellipIt would behard to imagine a theory more pessimis-tic more hopeless in principle or if con-sistently applied more calculated to bringabout the defeat of the Churchrsquos programthan this one[32]

Te thing that distinguishes thebiblical postmillennialist then fromamillennialism and premillennialism ishis belief that Scripture teaches the suc-

cess of the great commission in this age

of the church Te optimistic confidencethat the world nations will become dis-ciples of Christ that the church willgrow to fill the earth and that Christi-anity will become the dominant prin-ciple rather than the exception to therule distinguishes postmillennialismfrom the other viewpoints All and only

postmillennialists believe this and onlythe refutation of that confidence canundermine this school of eschatologicalinterpretation In the final analysis whatis characteristic of postmillennialism isnot a uniform answer to any one par-ticular exegetical question (eg regard-ing ldquothe man of sinrdquo ldquothe first resurrec-

tionrdquo ldquoall Israel shall be savedrdquo etc) butrather a commitment to the gospel asthe power of God which in the agencyof the Holy spirit shall convert the vastmajority of the world to Christ and bringwidespread obedience to His kingdomrule Tis confidence will from personto person be biblically supported in var-ious ways (just as different ldquoCalvinistsrdquocan vary from each other in the preciseset of passages to which they appeal forsupport of Godrsquos discriminating sotericsovereignty) Te postmillennialist is inthis day marked out by his belief thatthe commission and resources are withthe kingdom of Christ to accomplish thediscipling of the nations to Jesus Christ

prior to His second advent whatever his-torical decline is seen in the missionaryenterprise of the church and its task ofedifying or sanctifying the nations in theword of truth must be attributed not toanything inherent in the present course





of human history but to the unfaithful-ness of the church

CONTINUED NEXT ISSUE

FOOTNOTES

[1] For the discussion of the rise of pre-

tribulational rapturism see J D DeJohng As the Waters Cover the Sea Mil-

lennial Expectations in the Rise of Anglo-

American Missions 1640-1810 (J H KokNV Kampen 1970) pp 163-164 191-

192 Iaian H Murray Te Puritan Hope A Study in Revival and the Interpreta-

tion of Prophecy (London Te Banner of

ruth rust 1971) pp 187-206 284-287cf Dave MacPherson Te Unbelievable

Pre-rib Origin (Kansas City Heart of

America Bible Society 1973) passim[2] ldquoPremillennialism as a Philosophy of

Historyrdquo in W Culbertson and H BCentz eds Understanding the imes (Grand Rapids Zondervan Publishing

House 1956) p 22[3] Encyclopedia of Biblical Prophecy (New York Harper and Row 1973) p

596[4] ldquoMillenniumrdquo Ungerrsquos bible Diction-

ary (Chicago Moody Press revised1961) p 739[5] John F Walvoord Te Millennial

Kingdom (Grand Rapids zondervan

Publishing House 1959) p 9[6] Ibid p 18[7] Ibid pp 35 36[8] Jay E Adams Te ime is at Hand (Nutley N J Presbyterian and Re-

formed Publishing Co 1970) p 2[9] Ibid p 4[10] Hal Lindsey (with C C Carlson) Te

Late Great Planet Earth (Grand Rapids

Zondervan Publishing House 1970) p176[11] Ibid

[12] Walvoord p 34[13] Ibid p 31[14] William E Cox Amillennialism o-

day (Philadelphia Presbyterian and Re-

formed Publishing Col 1966) p 64[15] Adams pp 9-0 as we will see be-low the possibility of such a claim rests

merely on a terminological issue does

the word ldquomillenniumrdquo denote the same

thing as ldquokingdom (church) agerdquo or more

pointedly a segment of the latter Either

way Christrsquos reign has been realized and

the millennium is not set in contrast to

the church age[16] Ibid pp 2 41[17] Outline of Notes on New estament

Biblical Teology pp 89 90[18] Walvoord pp 23 34 36[19] Kibid pp 24-25 34[20] Cox pp 20 136 Adams p 15[21] George L Murray Millennial Stud-

ies (Grand Rapids Baker Book House1960) pp 86-87[22] Adams p 13[23] Walvoord p 33[24] Adams pp 9 14 99 Adams applies

these comments to ldquounrealized millen-

nialistsrdquo among whom he counts post-

millennialists[25] Ibid pp 12 87[26] Walvoord pp 32-33[27] Cf O Allis Prophecy and the

Church (Philadelphia Presbyterian and

Reformed Publishing Co 1945) pp

173-174 Tis fact should clearly not be

taken to imply that the Christian knows

the actual day or hour of Christrsquos return

Christ did not even claim such knowl-

edge (Mark 1332) and it is not for us to

know Godrsquos secret decree for the com-

mencement of this event (Luke 1240

Acts 16) Our duty is simply to be in

faithful preparation for it (Matt 2446

2519-23 Mark 35-36)




[28]Te following descriptions of thetenets of each school will be numberedin such a way that it facilitates cross-ref-erence and comparison among the threepositions

As we progressively work towardthe essential hard-core issue separat-ing the three schools of eschatologythe reader should keep in mind thatthe individual nuances of each millen-nial writer preclude a rigid organiza-tion and elaboration of the tenets of thethree schools Tus it goes without say-

ing that in the broader summaries andgeneral statements which follow we areof necessity still dealing with approxi-mations Not every single adherent ofa perspective has endorsed each andevery statement I make for that per-spective in what follows For examplethe prefessed premillennialists John

Gill and Charles Spurgeon have (quiteinconsistently and uncharacteristically)held to important beliefs of postmillen-nialismndashparticularly the great successof the church on earth prior to the par-ousia Again a few postmillennialistshave not taught an apostasy at the veryend of history However in the analysiswhich follows I have attempted to rep-resent widespread current convictionsamong noted adherents of the threeschools Te summaries do approxi-mate a general consensus of opinionbut the summaries remain just thatndashsummaries with the built-in disadvan-tages of such A topical rather than per-sonal study of eschatological opinions

requires nothing less[29] Cox p 5[30] J Marcellus Kik An Eschatology of

Victory (Nutley N J Presbyterian and

Reformed Publishing Co 1971) p 17

This statement was originally made in

a lecture at Westminster Theological

Seminary in 1961[31] McClain pp 22-23[32] Loraine Boettner The Millennium

(Philadelphia Presbyterian and Reformed

Publishing Co 1957) 352 353 354





die with the events themselves thus wemust go beyond the text in order to findabiding moral-doctrinal value Such anoutlook opens the door completely to anaturalistic and critical treatment of the

Bible in its historical teachings (whetherpast or future) When we come to thenineteenth century we find higher criti-cism fostered by men working under thegeneral influence of Kant and Hegel Inthe 1830rsquos Strauss introduced the myth-ological interpretation of ScriptureLater Holtzmann set theological teach-

ing over against religious experience inthe interpretation of biblical writersWrede took things a step further bymaintaining that the scriptural docu-ments are not reliable historical worksbut rather theologized reconstructions Te overall outcome was the discredit-ing of Scripturersquos historical accuracy and

the undermining of the objectivity of itstheology Ernst roeltsch explained thecritical approach to the Bible saying thatany occurrence must be understood interms of its probable immanent his-torical antecedents thus is assured thenaturalistic autonomy of the historian inreconstructing the past and interpretingthe future Such an approach challengedconfidence in anything Scripture (as asupernatural infallible verbal revela-tion) had to say including its philosophyof history Postmillennialism because ofits assumptions of a sovereign God res-urrected Savior and powerfully presentSpirit was clearly not congenial with theassumptions of criticisms

EVOLUTIONARY PROGRESSIVISM

As a second factor we should thinkback upon the influence of Kant andHegel mentioned above In his earlybook Idea of a Universal History Kant

had taught that a ldquosecret planrdquo inherentin nature drives man to build a ratio-nal international civil order An evenbolder metaphysical account of inevi-table progress in the historical process

was given in Hegelrsquos Lectures on the Philosophy of History and throughouthis dialectical philosophy Accordingto Hegel the theme of history is theactualization of the Absolute in timethe self-development of spirit is seen inthe successive types of social organiza-tions and the careers of world-histori-

cal peoples Te history of the humanrace which follows its own inherentcourse of development embodying arational principle is toward greaterfreedom the highest form of whichcould be found in the Germanic worldromanticism and maintenance by thestate of the orders and social groups of

civilized lifeNaturalistic humanistic optimismabout historical progress was givenits most popular boost however inCharles Darwinrsquos theory of evolution asfound in his 1859 bestseller Te Origin

of Species Reception of this doctrineguaranteed the initial uncritical adop-tion of secular optimism With theo-logical leaders approving of the inter-pretation and evaluation of Scripturesin the light of autonomous research andphilosophy it was quite natural thatevolutionary speculation came to beread intothe biblersquos teaching on creationand history Moreover with the reduc-tion of religion and revelation to mat-

ters of morality (under the influence ofKant) higher critics and liberals coulddeprecate orthodox theology while stillmaintaining an understandable interestin the personal ethics and social reformfostered by Scripture











DISPENSATIONALISM









































Postmillennialism



NEWSPAPER EXEGESIS














MISREPRESENTATION


































PREMATURE CHARGES





























history[25]
















































































































Summation



































FOOTNOTES













































2519-23 Mark 35-36)















Publishing Co 1957) 352 353 354











DISPENSATIONALISM









































Postmillennialism



NEWSPAPER EXEGESIS














MISREPRESENTATION


































PREMATURE CHARGES





























history[25]
















































































































Summation



































FOOTNOTES













































2519-23 Mark 35-36)















Publishing Co 1957) 352 353 354
































Postmillennialism



NEWSPAPER EXEGESIS














MISREPRESENTATION


































PREMATURE CHARGES





























history[25]
















































































































Summation



































FOOTNOTES













































2519-23 Mark 35-36)















Publishing Co 1957) 352 353 354











MISREPRESENTATION


































PREMATURE CHARGES





























history[25]
















































































































Summation



































FOOTNOTES













































2519-23 Mark 35-36)















Publishing Co 1957) 352 353 354

























PREMATURE CHARGES





























history[25]
















































































































Summation



































FOOTNOTES













































2519-23 Mark 35-36)















Publishing Co 1957) 352 353 354

















history[25]
















































































































Summation



































FOOTNOTES













































2519-23 Mark 35-36)















Publishing Co 1957) 352 353 354












































































































Summation



































FOOTNOTES













































2519-23 Mark 35-36)















Publishing Co 1957) 352 353 354























FOOTNOTES













































2519-23 Mark 35-36)















Publishing Co 1957) 352 353 354















Publishing Co 1957) 352 353 354

2010 issue 6 - the prima facie acceptability of postmillennialism part 1 - counsel of chalcedon

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