A Critique of modern post-Millennialism

I need your help.  Working alongside post-millennials for years, I’ve read several books, and listened to many resources.  I recently heard again a short lecture by Andrew Sandlin advocating for this school of thought.

 

But I have reservations.  Post-mil Advocates (PMA) today tend to confuse pragmatic and attitudinal postures with the actual exegetical view of post-millennialism.

 

I grew up a-millennial, Dutch Reformed.  So I come to this from a different view than many in the CREC. 

 

 

Let me expand.  It is not sufficient to define the Post-millennial view as:

 

1. Optimism

I hear too often today from PMAs the simplistic case that “Jesus wins.”  So we should be post-mil, of course!  But every a-mil and pre-mil believer would say, “Jesus wins.”  The question is if He wins on earth by His church, before His return.  Revelation 17:14, 17 are fairly clear that the beast will hold sway until the Lamb conquers it and Babylon.  Not the Lamb’s bride, but the Lamb Himself.

 

2. Rejection of the pre-mil rapture

Too many PMA’s seem to think that simply refuting or even mocking the rapture convinces of post-mil thought.  This is a lazy bifurcation, that my a-millennial upbringing can’t accept.  There are several views between the rapture, and post-mil thought.  What if one of THEM might be true instead?

 

3. Long-term thinking

Many PMA arguments I hear today are based on affirming the consequent.  It’s poor logic.  “If we believed pre-mil, we would be short-term in our thinking, and that would be wrong, so pre-mil must be wrong and post-mil must be right, because it is long-term thinking.”  Since when are post-mil thinkers like Greg Bahnsen’s disciples such crass pragmatists?  PMA’s should take heed not to employ this rhetoric.  Scripture portrays a fervent desire for Jesus to come quickly and soon, and we should welcome that.  We should also wisely consider history and work like cathedral builders for long term success.  The latter does not necessitate a post-mil position, exegetically.

 

4. Mere faith in the promises

Some PMA’s say that believing God’s promises alone makes you post-mil.  God promised Abraham seed like the stars, and that they would inherit the world.  Believing it was post-mil.  To not believe it would be apostasy: pre-mil or a-mil!!  This is rhetoric in service of a divisive purpose – again, logical bifurcation.  The question still remains, WHEN will God’s promises be fulfilled: before or after Christ’s return?

 

5. Anti-Gnostic

The PMA’s argument against the a-millennial viewpoint is often the anti-Gnostic one:  the a-mil “spiritualizes” biblical prophecy too much.  “My kingdom is not of this world” doesn’t mean the kingdom of God is ethereal and detached from physical and political results, they object!  I agree.  As an a-mil!  I’m as anti-Gnostic as the next guy.  (PMAs are often unfair to a-mils on this point.)  But many prophecies ARE meant spiritually, or metaphorically, and not literally.  Lots of PMA’s are pre-mil converts who haven’t understood this, yet.  They are still seeing biblical prophecy literally or physically.  Prophecy is often poetic, especially when it describes the consummation of Christ’s kingdom.  Poetic prophecy doesn’t necessitate Gnosticism.  PMA’s simply assume that consummation will take place before the resurrection of the dead, since it speaks of physical realities like the lion and the lamb, or the long life of the believer.  This is a false inference.

 

6. The Church on offense

I love Matthew 16:18: “on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it.”  The church should not be engaged primarily in a Dunkirk- or Vietnam-like, defensive, escape tactic.  We should be taking the initiative, discipling the nations.  Not holing up in our bunkers, hoping the far-more-powerful and hostile world doesn’t notice us.  The gates of Hell was a specific location where pagan gods were worshipped – near Caesarea Philippi.  Jesus cried out to their perverse worshipers that they need to deny themselves and follow Him (see Matthew 16:18-26!).  Does this make me post-mil?  To the extent that I want to advance the cause of Christ into the public square, acting as if God will help me win – YES.  Do I always expect victory in that cause?  The book of Revelation insists I answer, no.

 

 

The Exegetical Case

Scripture needs to determine this millennial position, not any tendency from secular minded views to positive thinking or progress.  The definition of post-mil is not simplistically that “Jesus wins,” but that, “The Gospel conquers the globe predominantly, and for a long time, before Jesus returns.” 

 

WHERE DOES THE BIBLE ASSERT THIS DIRECTLY?  As I said before, many OT prophecies that appeared to the former pre-millennial advocate to apply to a literal 1000 years after Jesus returns, now apply in the PMA’s view to the time BEFORE Jesus returns.  But as an a-mil, the case still hasn’t been made clear to me: these passages can also apply poetically to the consummation of the kingdom AT His return.  It remains insufficiently clear to me.  (Hab 2:14; Isa 11:9 is the primary example of this.)

 

PMA is not merely some practical insistence that we be optimistic, or that we be long-term in our thinking.  I’ve been happy to sojourn as an optimistic a-millennial with a bunch of PMAs for a good while, now, and don’t plan on stopping!  But what is the case for post-mil, vs. optimistic a-mil?  Honestly, most of the time this question is put, it is deferred with, “As long as your optimistic, we’re fine.”  Hm.

 

One concern I have here, as an aside, is that this exposes a functional works righteousness dynamic among PMAs.  They call it a self-fulfilling prophecy.  If you believe the church will be defeated in this age, then it WILL be!  If you believe God for victory, He will grant it.  This places far too much weight on our attitude and expectation.  I believe God is immediately responsive to our God-given faith, to justify us; that is very different from saying He will certainly give us cultural progress and advance, if we trust Him for it.  Faith certainly is the victory which overcomes the world (1 John 5:4).  But is that cultural conquest?  True, we should act in faith that God will help us culturally and politically, but the PMA could find themselves very unjustly condemning the Iranian or Pakistani Christian who takes wise precautions in their context.

 

So what happens when the PMA encounters Scripture?  I have been partially convinced by exegetical arguments (Rom 16:20; Josh 1:5-6; Matt 28:18-20), but many remain a question for me.

 

a. Daniel 2 – see verses 35, 44.  The stone that topples kingdoms and becomes the kingdom of God.  The kingdom inexorably grows to fill the world.  In Matthew 13:33 Jesus asserts the same, with the yeast in the bread.  The kingdom is “set up,” begun, in the time of the Roman Empire (Jesus’ work, Dan 2:44).  But PMA’s tend to assume that its growth and overcoming of other kingdoms will ALSO take place, before the return of Christ.  This is not clear in the text.  It is future tense in vs 44 of Daniel 2.  It is just as plausible that the church begins the work of the kingdom spreading, it meets opposition and cannot be completed, but Christ’s return completes it.

 

b. 1 Cor 15.25-26 – “For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet.  The last enemy to be destroyed is death.”

The PMA’s logic here is this: “Jesus will rule and not return, until all enemies but death are defeated.”  But this is a logical non sequitur.  Christ can rule while returning and subduing all remaining enemies to Him.  His reign is not just His sitting at the right hand of the Father.  It encompasses His return and subjugation of remaining enemies.  The a-mil view fits just as well into this verse: “Jesus will reign in heaven during the time when earthly powers strive with God’s kingdom.  But at His return He will conquer all His enemies, even death.”

 

c. Revelation – I would argue that the whole thrust of Revelation is NON-post-mil.  The saints will prevail, yes, but they are likely to be killed before the consummation.  Great wickedness rears its head and hurts the helpless people of God, who are called to faithfulness and patience.  It takes supernatural judgments of God to deal with the beasts.  

Our hope is not in the earthly conquest by the church before Christ returns.  Our hope is Christ’s return.  This is my main concern about the post-mil, regarding faith.  In over-reacting to Gnosticsm, the PMA looks to earthly things for his faith and hope.  Our ultimate hope should be Christ’s return, not the church’s success or progress in the culture, short- or long-term.  The end of the Bible emphasizes this with the earnest hope: “Come quickly, Lord Jesus.”