This is the third week in a four-week blog. In the first week we discussed the history and briefly defined each of the main three teachings around the millennium. You can read that blog by clicking https://threeinthefire.com/2197-2/. Last week we specifically defined amillennialism, discussed how this belief influenced a person’s worldview and provided reasons why amillennialism is not plausible. You can read that blog by clicking https://threeinthefire.com/amillennialism-worldview/. This week we are going to more specifically define postmillennialism and discuss how this belief influences a person’s worldview. We will discuss premillennialism next week.
I wrote last week, and it applies this week, when I am discussing a person’s worldview there are many variations of beliefs around the millennium. So, as I discuss these views, it is not my intent to encompass the innumerable nuances of every belief on the topic.
I mentioned in my week one overview that postmillennialism wasn’t fully developed until the late 1700s and 1800s. Charles G. Finney (1792-1875), a Presbyterian pastor and professor who was a huge proponent of postmillennialism, “established the modern forms and methods of revivalism in America.”[1] He held the “… belief and motivation for his social reform ideas, for he felt that Christians were called to bring about the perfection of society.”[2] He was not alone as many within the universal church of the time period held the same belief. It was the dominate view of the time. They believed that social reforms, through the theology of the social gospel, would lead to a natural societal “evolution culminating in a man-made utopia,” instead of the millennium being brought about by the power of God. [3] So, Finney’s postmillennialism effectually removes the divine power of God as the cause for the millennium and replaces it with man’s social justice reform as what brings about the millennium.[4]
The postmillennialist view became popular in the 1700s and 1800s because “with all the advances in technology, science, and the industrial revolution, the idea that man could bring in the kingdom of God made perfect sense.”[5] The 1900s however were a reality check that man was not headed to a utopia with two world wars and all the other travesties leaving postmillennial beliefs in question.
I laid out some of the beliefs of a postmillennialist in my week one post, so I will not rehash those points here. I will say that postmillennialism is a liberal view of Scripture. When I say a liberal in the sense of Christianity, I am saying that they try to reconstruct the Bible among other things to discredit church history. They try to explain prophesy, miracles, and anything that cannot be explained by human understanding so that it can be explained in those limitations. For example, a reconstructionist will state that a prophesy was written after an event making it history instead of prophesy. Many times, they do this by questioning who the author was for the book, the date the book was written, and other early church accepted facts.
As we close here are just a few reasons why postmillennialism teachings should be rejected. First, all of humanity are sinners. We as Christians are sinners saved by grace. There is no amount of social reform going to change the fact that we are sinners and there will never be a utopia before Christ returns. Man is not God and will never usher Jesus Christ’s return because of a man-made utopia. Second, the liberal treatment of Scripture is contrary to scriptural teachings and liberalism towards Scripture is an abomination to God. Third, none of the Apostles or their direct students ever wrote or taught the postmillennial view. These difficulties lead me to reject postmillennialism as a plausible view of the millennium.
In Christ
Don
[1] Walter A. Elwell, Evangelical Dictionary of Theology: Second Edition (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2001), 452.
[2] Christian History Magazine-Issue 20: Charles Finney: American Revivalism (Worcester, PA: Christian History Institute, 1988).
[3] Moisés Silva and Merrill Chapin Tenney, The Zondervan Encyclopedia of the Bible, M-P (Grand Rapids, MI: The Zondervan Corporation, 2009), 932.
[4] Moisés Silva and Merrill Chapin Tenney, The Zondervan Encyclopedia of the Bible, M-P (Grand Rapids, MI: The Zondervan Corporation, 2009), 932.
[5] Mark Hitchcock, The Complete Book of Bible Prophecy (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1999), 32.