Hermeneutics in Eschatology P4 - Postmillennialism

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Disclaimer: 

Remember my intention is not to promote one view over another, these posts are intended to prepare you for the discussion and to help you form your own position. 

Definition:

Postmillennialism believes that the millennium is an era (not a literal thousand years) during which Christ will reign over the earth, not from a literal and earthly throne, but through the gradual increase of the Gospel and its power to change lives. 

After this gradual Christianization of the world, Christ will return and immediately usher the church into their final eternal state after judging the wicked. 

It is called postmillennialism because, according to this position, Christ will return after the millennium.

Distinctions:

• The favored method of Biblical interpretation is the covenant-historical.
  
  
• Its position on Israel and the church would be that the church is the fulfillment of Israel.
  
  
• The Kingdom of God represents a spiritual entity experienced on earth through the Christianizing affect of the Gospel.
  
  
• The Millennium is a Golden Age of Christianity that takes place prior to Christ's second advent during which Christ will virtually rule over the whole earth through an unprecedented spread of the Gospel; the vast majority of people will be Christian.
  
  
• There is no definitive position on the role of Satan within postmillennial thought.
  Some postmillennial theologians argue that Satan was bound by Jesus (similar to amillennialism), while others would argue it remains a future event (in agreement with premillennialism).
  
  
• Key Passages: Psalm 2; Isaiah 2:2–4; Matthew 13; 28; John 12.
  
  
• Miscellaneous:
  • Higher degrees of interpreting First Century events in the light of prophecy; preterism often goes hand-in-hand with postmillennialism.
  • Of the several versions of postmillennial eschatology, the reconstructionists seem to be gaining the most popularity in the world today.
    
    
• Major proponents: Jonathan Edwards, B. B. Warfield, Greg Bahnsen, Loraine Boettner, Kenneth L. Gentry Jr., David Chilton, and Gary North.

Synopsis:

You have very likely never met a committed proponent of postmillennialism. That was not always the case. Early in American history, postmillennialism was, in some sense, an American eschatology. Now it’s a theological peculiarity to hear someone speak of postmillennial ideas. In part, that’s because postmillennialism is a difficult system to quantify.

There are several different versions of postmillennialism, but one of the views gaining the most popularity is that of the theonomists. Generally speaking, the postmillennial theonomist viewpoint holds to a partial-preterist interpretation of Revelation and the various judgment prophecies in the Gospels, believing that the majority of those prophecies were fulfilled in 70 A.D. at the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem.

Postmillennialists see the millennial kingdom as the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham that he would become "a great nation" and that "all peoples on earth would be blessed" through him (Genesis 12:2-3). This holy reign will come about via gradual conversion (rather than premillennialism's cataclysmic Christological advent) through the spread of the Gospel — this incremental progress is drawn from many pictures found throughout Scripture. (Deuteronomy 7:22 and Ezekiel 47:1-12)

Postmillennial optimism is also nurtured through many of the prophetic Psalms. 

The Psalms often speak of all nations fearing Him, salvation being known among all nations, the ends of the earth fearing Him. 

(Psalm 2:1-12; Psalm 22:27; Psalm 67:2, Psalm 67:7; Psalm 102:15; Psalm 110:1). 

Another passage that well feeds this earthly optimism is Isaiah 2:2-3 in which the nations will stream to the righteousness of God.

Key Terms:

Covenant-Historical: Covenant theology is an approach to biblical interpretation that appreciates the importance of the covenants for understanding the divine-human relationship and the unfolding of redemptive history in Scripture. Blending insights from systematic and biblical theology, covenant theology explains the economic Trinity, communion with God, the person and work of Christ, the sacraments, justification by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, the role of obedience in the Christian life, the believer’s assurance of salvation, the unity and progress of redemptive history, and more, in light of the Bible’s teaching on the divine covenants.

Reconstructionist: Reconstruction, by definition, looks backward, seeking to reconstruct what is believed to have been lost.  Christian reconstructionists advocate for a theocratic government and libertarian economic principles. They maintain a distinction of spheres of authority between self, family, church, and state. 

Theonomists: Theonomy, from theos (god) and nomos (law), is a hypothetical Christian form of government in which society is ruled by divine law. Theonomists hold that divine law, particularly the judicial laws of the Old Testament, should be observed by modern societies.

Partial-Preterist: Partial preterism (often referred to as orthodox preterism or classical preterism) may hold that most eschatological prophecies, such as the destruction of Jerusalem, the Antichrist, the Great Tribulation, and the advent of the Day of the Lord as a "judgment-coming" of Christ, were fulfilled either in AD 70 or during the persecution of Christians under Emperor Nero.

Bibliography:

• Murray, Iain H. Puritan Hope. The Banner of Truth Trust, 1996. (ISBN: 085151247X)
• Kik, J. Marcellus. Eschatology of Victory. Nutley: Presbyterian &Reformed Publishing, 1974. (ISBN: 0875523137)
• Gentry Jr., Kenneth L. He Shall Have Dominion: An Eschatology of Victory. Institute for Christian Economics, 1992 (ISBN 0930464621)
• Boettner, Loraine. Millennium. Presbyterian Reformed Publishing Company, 1992. (ISBN: 0875521134)
• Mathison, Keith A. Postmillennialism: An Eschatology of Hope. Presbyterian &Reformed Publishing Company, 1999 (ISBN: 0875523897)
• Gentry Jr., Kenneth L. "Postmillennialism." Three Views of the Millennium and Beyond. Ed. Darrell L. Bock. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House,1999. (ISBN 0-310-20143-8)