Friday, March 09, 2012

Postmillennial preterism

Here's a representative definition of postmillennialism:

We have defined Postmillennialism as that view of the last things which holds that the Kingdom of God is now being extended in the world through the preaching of the Gospel and the saving work ok the Holy Spirit in the hearts of individuals, that the world eventually is to be Christianized, and that the return of Christ is to occur at the close of a long period of righteousness and peace commonly called the 'Millennium.' It should be added that on postmillennial principles the second coming of Christ will be followed immediately by the general resurrection, the general judgment, and the introduction of heaven and hell in their fullness.
The Millennium to which the Postmillennialist looks forward is thus a golden age of spiritual prosperity during this present dispensation, that is, during the Church age, and is to be brought about through forces now active in the world. It is an indefinitely long period of time, perhaps much longer than a literal one thousand years. The changed character of individuals will be reflected in an uplifted social, economic, political and cultural life of mankind. The world at large will then enjoy a state of righteousness such as at the present time has been seen only in relatively small and isolated groups, as for example in some family circles, some local church groups and kindred organizations.

http://www.gospelpedlar.com/articles/last%20things/Postmill_Boettner/3.html

That's fundamentally at odds with a preterist timetable:

In this slim volume, Edward E. Stevens clearly and convincingly demonstrates that our Lord Jesus Christ predicted His Return within the lifetime of His first-century hearers. That fact presents Christians with a dilemma: If Jesus was wrong in His prediction (as theological liberals have been saying for many years), we have a much bigger problem than an academic theological issue regarding the doctrine of Eschatology - it means we can't rely on Jesus for salvation, either! If we can't trust Jesus in Matthew 24, we certainly can't trust Him in John 3:16! As a well-known theologian recently said, "If Jesus is a false prophet, my faith is in vain."

But Mr. Stevens shows that Jesus fulfilled His promise, explicitly and to the letter, in the "great tribulation" of A.D.70, in which God unleashed His covenant wrath against Israel, which had been threatened for centuries throughout the Old Testament Law and Prophets, and specifically applied to first-century Israel in the Gospels and Epistles of the New Testament.

I am particularly impressed by two arguments: First, Stevens provides a chart showing the harmony of Christ's two separate discourses recorded in Matthew 24 and Luke 17 - demonstrating that any proposed division of Matthew 24 into two different "comings" is illegitimate, nugatory, and gossamer. Scripture foretells a Second Coming (Heb.9:28) - not a third!

Second, Stevens presses Christ's declaration in Luke 21:22 to its limit: "Jesus said that all Old Testament prophecy would be fulfilled by the time Jerusalem was destroyed." The more I pondered the awesome implications of Jesus' words, the more I realized their truly revolutionary significance for eschatology. Without exception, every event foretold by the Biblical prophets was fulfilled within that generation, as Jesus had said (Matt. 16:27-28; 24:34).

http://www.preteristarchive.com/Modern/1996_chilton_foreword.html

6 comments:

  1. "The Millennium to which the Postmillennialist looks forward is thus a golden age of spiritual prosperity during this present dispensation, that is, during the Church age, and is to be brought about through forces now active in the world."

    How would a postmillenialist know if the millenium has begun, i.e., what does "spiritual prosperity" look like?

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  3. I am particularly impressed by two arguments: First, Stevens provides a chart showing the harmony of Christ's two separate discourses recorded in Matthew 24 and Luke 17 - demonstrating that any proposed division of Matthew 24 into two different "comings" is illegitimate, nugatory, and gossamer. Scripture foretells a Second Coming (Heb.9:28) - not a third!

    Two personal bodily comings - as in Heb. 9:28; 2 Peter 3:8-18; Acts 1:11; I Cor. 15:23-25, 50-54; Titus 2:13; John 14:1-3; I Thess. 4:13-18: 2 Thess. 1:4-10
    yes -

    however, there are also other "comings" - comings in judgment, secret "comings" where God/Jesus sends other nations to judge/discipline His people.

    Matthew 23:36 - "all these things will come upon this generation" - judgment upon Theocratic Israel for rejecting Messiah, etc. - seems clear that 70 AD is there up until Matthew 24:3, then the disciples question mixes in the "end of the age" and "the sign of Your coming" - two different things than the temple being destroyed in 70 AD. Jesus answers by also mixing things up.

    Rev. 2:5 - unless you repent I will come to you and remove your lamp stand" - Goths destroyed Ephesus in 263 AD (is that it ? ) later rebuilt; then Seljuk Turks - 1071 ff ? then Ottoman Turks 1453 ?

    Rev. 2:16 - I am coming and will make war against you

    Rev. 3:3 - I will come like a thief in the night

    Isaiah 19:1 - the Lord is riding on a cloud and coming to Egypt to destroy all the idols

    The partial Preterists make a good point that "the day of the Lord" in the prophets seems to include soon judgments of Assyria, Babylon (Isaiah 13, which is quoted in Matthew 24 - see verses 6-11, verse 17 - I am going to stir up the Medes against them, etc) - God bringing them against His people Israel in judgment/chastisement/punishment

    and in Revelation there are future comings in judgement against churches, but they were not the personal second coming of Christ.

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  4. Video of Romney getting animated talking about his faith for minutes on end (starts at 10min and 35 sec.). He discusses abortion and the 2nd Coming of Christ.

    http://blogs.cbn.com/thebrodyfile/archive/2012/03/09/2007-clip-mitt-romney-talks-about-second-coming-up-jesus.aspx

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  5. By the provided definition, Post-mill = Dominionism.

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