When thinking about eschatology today, few Christians are even aware of the postmillennial view. When I have traveled to Russia, Ukraine, Latin America and other nations on short term missions trips, I am usually asked this question by new converts: “Are you pre-trib, mid-trib or post-trib?” as if these were the only three forms of eschatology. I often have to explain that I am not a dispensationalist. It is difficult to show some Christians that there is another way of looking at the end-times and the millennium altogether.
Postmillennialism (literally, “after the thousand years”) is the belief that Christ will physically return to the earth only after a non-literal millennium is completed. Postmillennialism is optimistic about the end times. Christ’s reign over the earth from heaven increases during the millennium, which is thought to be not a literal one thousand year period, but “a very long time.” Postmillennialism places the Church in a role of transforming whole social structures before the Second Coming and endeavoring to bring about a “Golden Age” of peace and prosperity with great advances in education, the arts, sciences and medicine.
All Christians must believe in the literal, physical return of Jesus Christ. Christians may differ in their opinions as to the nature of the millennium and the exact sequence of end times events without departing from biblical orthodoxy.
However, I believe that major problems have been caused by the most popular system: dispensational premillennialism. Ironically, I did not know anything of the postmillennial view until I became aware of the limitations of the dispensational paradigm. In searching for a view to replace dispensationalism, I found postmillennialism to be most convincing.
Dispensationalism is the idea that God has worked in different ways throughout history through different economies or dispensations. A dispensationalist makes a major division between the Covenants, God acting with wrath and vengeance in the Old Testament, and with love and grace in the New Testament. Dispensationalism teaches pre-tribulational rapture, divides the end times into several dispensations and teaches a conspiratorial view of history. Dispensationalism is the system devised by two men who wrote in the 1800s.
John Nelson Darby, an Irish priest (Anglican), organized a group called the Plymouth Brethren. Darby taught that the Second Coming of Christ was imminent. He rejected the creeds of the early church and believed that social reform is useless. Darby’s followers concentrated on saving men and women out of the world.
C.I. Scofield, a Texas pastor, popularized the teachings of J.N. Darby in a systematic theology known as dispensational premillennialism. C.I. Scofield first compiled his reference Bible as a teaching aid for missionaries. It soon became one of the most widely used tools for Bible study among entire denominations such as Southern Baptists and Disciples of Christ.
Despite the fact that many of the dispensationalists stressed personal holiness, the paradigm shift toward dispensational theology has paved the way for a greater evil, antinomianism, which means literally “anti-law.”
Antinomianism is an anti-law position which states correctly that man is saved by faith alone; but states incorrectly that since faith frees the Christian from the law, he no longer bound to obey the law. Antinomianism creates a system in which the laws of the Bible cannot apply to governing an individual or society. Dispensationalism promoted antinomian thinking by de-emphasizing the relationship of the Old Covenant law to the individual. In turn this led to a waned influence of Christians in society.
In my study of church history, I found that the great revivalists and reformers of past centuries were not dispensationalists. When I read Athanasius, Augustine, Luther, Calvin, Knox, Edwards, Whitefield and Wesley, I found to my surprise that none of them ever spoke of “the rapture.” This is because they were either postmillennialists, amillennialists or historical premillennialists. They put “the rapture” (a synonym for the resurrection) at the end of history. According to the prevailing view of most Christians in history, the resurrection will occur at the same time as the Second Coming of Jesus and the final judgment. Darby and Scofield were the first Christians in history to place the resurrection seven years prior to the Second Coming of Jesus to the earth. In doing so, they proposed two Second Comings.
In rejecting dispensationalism, I became a sort of an “ad hoc amillennialist.” I became interested in questions about the nature of the millennium itself. I soon found that I could fully work out a postmillennial view, one that stresses victory for the church in time and history. I found this view to be very exciting.
In answering questions about eschatology from a postmillennial view, first I must stress that there is a difference between millennial viewpoints and hermeneutics. The manner in which one interprets the Bible (hermeneutics) will have something to do with one’s millennial viewpoint. However, one can often arrive at very different conclusions about the millennium or the end-times using either a futurist, preterist, historicist or idealist approach to the Bible. The definitions of these hermeneutical approaches are as follows.
Futurism: This is the “end-times view.” Most of the prophecies of the Mount Olivet Discourse (Mat. 24) and the book of Revelation are yet to be fulfilled. The locust plagues of Revelation 9 might be interpreted to be Cobra helicopters, and the northern invader of Israel described in Ezekiel 38 might be the Soviet Union’s army.
Preterism: This is the “before-times view.” Most of the prophecies of the Mount Olivet Discourse (Mat. 24) and the book of Revelation were literally fulfilled by 70 A.D. The book of Revelation and the Olivet Discourse (Mat. 24) are thought to deal with the coming persecution of the church by Caesar Nero and the destruction of the Jewish Temple at Jerusalem in 70 A.D.
Historicism: This view states that the prophecies of the book of Revelation was fulfilled sometime in history, but not in the first century or in the future. The black plague of the Middle Ages might be interpreted to be one of the plagues brought by the four horsemen of Revelation 6. The pope at the time of Martin Luther is often thought to be the Beast of Revelation 13.
Idealism: This is also called the spiritualist approach. This view states that the prophecies of Revelation are not to be taken literally, but have a general symbolic application in all history. The heavenly battle of Revelation 12 is thought to describe the ongoing battle between good and evil in the spiritual realm.
My view differs from premillennialism and amillennialism in approach as well as in application. I will be describing a postmillennial view that is partially preterist. However, not all postmillenialists of history were preterists. Most have been historical postmillennialists.
- Most postmillennialists are either preterists or historicists.
- Most amillennialists are either idealists or historicists.
- Most classical premillennialists are either historicist or futurist in their approach to Revelation.
- All dispensational premillennialists put virtually every biblical prophecy about judgment in a “seven year tribulation” thought to be coming in the near future.
Most Christians today know less about their eschatology from a careful study of the Bible than they do from books such as The Late Great Planet Earth, the Left Behind series, and the wild conjecture of films such as The Omen, The Seventh Sign, and even an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie, The End of Days.
We have almost forgotten the postmillennial view of Bible prophecy which has had many adherents in church history. However, this historic view is being repopularized today by many well-known conservative Bible scholars, such as, Loraine Boettner, J. Marcellus Kik, R.J. Rushdoony, Ian Murray, Greg Bahnsen, Kenneth L. Gentry, R.C. Sproul, Dr. George Grant, to name just a few.
The Great Tribulation and the Antichrist
In my view, the answers to these questions are determined more by hermeneutical approach than by a particular millennial view. In fact, the terms “seven year tribulation” and the “antichrist” do not appear anywhere in the book of Revelation or in any passages about the “end-times.” In my view, the “seven year tribulation” and the “antichrist” are simply not end-times events!
What did Jesus mean by great tribulation?
“Great tribulation” is mentioned by Jesus in Mat. 24, “For then shall be great tribulation”(v. 21). Jesus is here referring to the tribulation that is about to come on the land of Judea just before the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D. The tribulation is defined as something soon to come, “this generation shall not pass away” (v. 34). Also, history will continue for some time after the great tribulation: “For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor shall ever be” (v. 21). He also tells us that the tribulation will be cut short for the sake of the elect (v. 22). So according to Jesus, history is going to continue for some time after this tribulation. The textual context points to a time one generation after Jesus, to the destruction of the nation of Judea and the Temple at Jerusalem in 70 A.D.
Some today may doubt that the Roman siege of Jerusalem from Spring AD 67 to the fall of the Temple in September 70 was the greatest tribulation in history, but if you were a Jew living in Jerusalem in those days, you would have believed it was. Josephus’ History of the Wars of the Jews sheds some interesting light on this fact. In any case, we have to interpret the text faithfully as objective truth. Thus, we see that this “great tribulation” does not come at the end of the kingdom age, but shortly after the beginning (64-70 AD).
According to John, “Who is the antichrist?”
In the epistle of 1 John, the word “antichrist” is only used as a description of people who don’t believe in the teachings of Jesus. He is not described as one satanic entity as the Beast of Revelation but as a person, any person, who deviates from the Christian orthodoxy. But through years of myth-making, futurists converted “many antichrists” into a single Antichrist, an apocalyptic villain.
“Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denies the Father and the Son” (1 John 2:22).
There are now many antichrists. Anyone who denies that Jesus is the Christ is an antichrist.
Who then is the Beast of Revelation?
The Beast is believed by many Christians to be the same figure as the “Man of Sin” in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 and the “antichrist” mentioned in 1 John. However, this is a strained, unbiblical leap of logic. Many Christians who are supposed to be looking for Christ’s glorious appearing and busy with fulfilling the Great Commission are instead looking for an antichrist.
According to the Apostle John in Revelation 13:18, the Beast is a reprobate villain of the most ultimate depravity. The Beast is the very incarnation of evil and the persecutor of God’s people.
Numerous candidates for the Beast of Revelation have been advanced throughout the years by noted Bible experts. These have included Caesar Nero, the Roman Emperor Justinian, Pope Leo, Napolean, Lenin, Stalin, Adolf Hitler, Mussolini, Henry Kissinger, Mikhail Gorbachev, Ronald Reagan, and even now Bill Gates! The theories and predictions about the Beast go on and on.
The popularity of this theorizing on the identity of the Beast is seen in the many books on the market which have sold tens of millions of copies. The Beast of Revelation is the main character in many films which paint him as a diabolical world dictator who will bring about a New World Order, who will unite all world religions in order to worship him. According to some Bible prophecy experts, the Beast will control the destiny of every individual on the planet through hand-implanted computer chips with personal identification numbers. And finally, it is believed that the Beast will seal his own destruction by bringing the late great planet earth to the brink of Armageddon through a nuclear holocaust.
According to Newsweek magazine, 19 percent of all Americans and nearly half of all evangelical Christians in America “believe that the Antichrist is on the earth now.”
Why do so many believe this? According to 1 John 2:18, antichrist must come in the “last time.” So it is no wonder that some of the most noted Bible experts in our day are trying to identify him. However, the Bible does not say there will be one special “antichrist.” John said, “Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now there are many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time” (1 John 2:18).
Note that John, writing in the first century, says that now is the last time. When Christians speak of the “last times” or “end times,” most often they are referring to any passage in the Bible which refers to the “last days.” But not all references to the “last days” speak of the end of history. There are at least two other senses of the term used in the New Testament.
1. Sometimes the “last days” refers to the time after the appearance of Christ in public ministry (c. 30 A.D.) and before the destruction of Jerusalem (70 A.D.) i.e., the last days of Israel as a nation-state.
2. The “last days” may also refer to the entire time after Christ’s ministry and before the end of history. We were in the “last days” during the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:11) and we are still in the “last days” now.
In my view, John was writing about first century events. The Beast of Revelation and his number, six hundred sixty-six, is a cryptogram for Caesar Nero, while the antichrist is another figure, any man who denies Jesus is the Christ. But most Christians have never heard of this view. The problem is that many Christians, having not seriously studied the Bible, don’t know the difference between sensationalism and sound doctrine, between fiction and biblical theology. Many sincere Christians accept some wild theories about end-times prophecy as though this loose style of Bible interpretation has the same authority as the infallible Word of God itself.
The Second Coming, Final Judgment
The second coming and final judgment occur after the millennium is completed. My view is identical with almost all postmillennial and amillennial views. The order of end-times events would occur like this:
1. The millennium (thought to be non-literal “one thousand years” or a very long period of time) is first completed.
2. Jesus Christ then returns physically to the earth.
3. Immediately after this is the resurrection of the righteous and the unrighteous.
4. Immediately after this comes the final judgment.
I should interject here that there is always a first judgment that occurs at our death. But the final resurrection and judgment will occur at the end of history.
The order of events is exactly the same in postmillennialism as in amillennialism. Postmillennialists differ only with amillennialists in viewing the progress of the kingdom of God during the millennium with much more optimism.
There is a difference between this view and the view of the historical premillennialist. The premillennialist is inclined to think that the millennium is complete before the resurrection of the dead and the final judgment. The only difference is that Christ returns before the millennium. (Hence the term: premillennialism.) I don’t agree with this order of events, but it is not a departure from orthodoxy.
The major disagreement of the postmillennialist is with dispensational premillennialism and its elaborate conspiracy theories, time tables, charts and graphic scenarios of prevailing evil in the end-times. Dispensationalists seem to ascribe biblical significance to almost every new development in current world events. Critics also point out that bizarre eschatological theories are the hallmarks of many cults.
Aside from concerns about faulty interpretation, I also worry that some Christians may be getting so wrapped up in deciphering prophecy and awaiting divine deliverance that they ignore the Great Commission.
The Nature of the Millennium
The millennium is occurring right now! To understand what I mean by this, you must first see that the main point of debate centers around the question of good versus evil. Will Christ or the devil prevail in history in the time prior to the Lord’s return? The eschatological view of many Christians today puts much more emphasis on a coming antichrist, than on the victory of Jesus Christ. But postmillennialists believe that Satan and the Beast of Revelation have already been defeated and that great victory lies ahead.
Postmillennialists in history were once known as “progressive millennialists.” These were Christians who rejected the “millenarian” view (the archaic term for premillennialism) that the kingdom would only come on earth when Christ came physically to set up His throne on earth as it is in heaven. They opted instead for a view that the kingdom is advancing progressively in history.
Postmillennialists believe that the kingdom of God came on earth during the time of Jesus’ ministry on earth. “But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you” (Mat. 12:28). The kingdom of God is already here, but it has not yet grown to its fullness. In history, the kingdom has been advancing little by little. The kingdom is likened to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field until it grew into a great tree (Mat. 13:31). It is also likened to leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, until the whole was leavened (Mat 13:33). The kingdom of God is always progressing and growing until it spreads into the whole world. The role of the Church during history is to bring all things into captivity to Christ.
If we are going to work for the kingdom with an eye toward winning, we must have a postmillennial faith. If we are to bring everything into captivity to Christ, we must have a theology that tells us it is impossible to lose. Ideas have consequences. We must believe that we are the people of victory and Christ is going to triumph in history. Only when all things are put under His feet will the last enemy, death, be destroyed.
“For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death” (1 Cor. 15:25,26).
This is a remarkable idea. According to this passage, Christ is reigning now from heaven. He will do so until all enemies of the Gospel are put under His feet. The postmillennial view is that Christians are used of God to put His enemies into submission. Through the conversion of the nations of the world, God’s enemies will be destroyed. The last enemy, death, is destroyed only at the Second Coming. Until that time, we can look forward to great victories. We are told that “the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ” (Rev. 11:15).
The idea that the Lord has entrusted the stewardship of the world to His people is found in the parable of the talents in Luke 19. Here the Lord says to His servants, “Occupy till I come” (Luke 19:13). The Lord is gone for a long time, while His most faithful servants work to increase the wealth of their Master’s kingdom. When the Master returns, He rewards those who have done the best job with the wealth entrusted to them in advancing the kingdom in their Lord’s absence. Those who work for the advance of the kingdom receive rulership over entire cities. But the enemies of God who would not allow Christ to reign over them are slain (Luke 19:27).
So ideas do have consequences. If we believe that Satan is already bound according to Revelation 20:2 and Christ is seated on the throne of heaven, then we ought to work for the increase of the kingdom of God in history. If we do not work for the kingdom, we will see no increase, and God will judge us accordingly.
The nature of the millennium is a time of great victory for God’s people. As we draw closer to the Second Coming, we will see the nations not only evangelized, but taught to obey all the things God has commanded us, according to Matthew 28:18-20.
Interpretation of Revelation 20:1-6
When we look at Revelation 20, we see the phrase “thousand years” mentioned by John six times. This is the only place in the Bible where the “millennium” is mentioned. There are, of course, other passages in the Bible which speak of a prolonged era of prosperity and peace. But there is only this passage which speaks of the “thousand years.” Therefore, most postmillennialists are not dogmatic about the literal length of time of the “thousand years.” It could be interpreted to mean a long time.
We may view the number “thousand” as a symbolic number. This is consistent with other passages in the Bible, such as when God says that He owns “the cattle on a thousand hills” (Psalms 50:10). Surely what is meant here is much more than exactly one thousand hills but all the cattle in the world.
Postmillennialists teach that Jesus will return after the millennium is completed in order to judge the world. Premillennialists teach that Jesus is to return prior to a literal one thousand year reign of Christ on earth. Does Revelation 20 state that Jesus is to return prior to the thousand years? No, neither explicitly nor implicitly does Revelation 20 state that Christ has returned to the earth prior to the millennium. Premillennialists believe that Revelation does imply this because Jesus is on the throne and Satan is bound. However, we know that Jesus sat down at the right hand of the Father shortly after His resurrection and ascension (Heb. 8:1; Rev. 4:2). Christ is already seated on a throne and is even now the ruler over the kings of the earth (Rev. 1:5).
Is Satan bound now? Yes, Satan was bound in the first century during the first coming of Jesus. Scripture teaches this.
Jesus said: “But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or how can anyone enter the strong man’s house and carry off his property, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house” (Mat. 12:28-29).
The New Testament speaks of the binding of Satan in various places. Satan falls from heaven (Luke 10:18); he is cast out of heaven (John 12:31); he was crushed under our feet (Romans 16:20); he was disarmed (Col. 2:15); he was rendered powerless (Hebrews 2:14); his works were destroyed (1 John 3:8).
Note that John doesn’t say that Satan is bound in every respect. Christ binds Satan for a well-defined purpose: “to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore” (Rev. 20:3b). In the Old Testament only Israel knew the true God. But Christ’s coming changes this as the Gospel is preached to all nations (Isa. 2:2,3; 11:10; Mat. 28:19; Luke 2:32; 24:47; Acts 1:8; 13:47).
So if Jesus is on the throne of heaven and if Satan is bound from deceiving the nations, then we are now in the millennium. I interpret the millennium to be the period of time in which the Gospel is being preached and the nations of the world are being converted. We are in the midst of the “millennium” now and have been for about 2000 years.
Interpretation of Old Testament Prophecy Regarding the Kingdom
The Old Testament is rife with prophecies concerning the nations being under the Christ the Messiah. This is an important aspect of our faith. A whole book would be necessary to quote entirely the texts of the Old Testament that predict the triumph to come in Christ, how all the nations shall be His. Isaiah and Ezekiel especially, and most of the minor prophets, have foretellings of the kingdom age when the nations of the world will turn to Christ and obey God’s law.
The Bible is divided by two covenants, but it is really one Covenant, the original is renewed again under Christ’s reign. In the New Testament, the promises made to Abraham are given to the Church. Paul refers to the Church as the “Israel of God” (Gal. 6:6). All of Israel’s promises apply to the Church today. “That the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith” (Gal. 3:14).
Dispensationalists spiritualize this passage saying that the covenant with the church is for salvation only, but the covenant with Israel is for the land and material blessings. According to the futurist view, the material blessings for Israel will occur only during a future millennial reign after Jesus returns to the earth.
Postmillennialists agree that the promise of the Spirit is a greater dimension than material blessings, however, the church is to go into all the world and preach the Gospel. This means that we have a duty. Christians must occupy the whole world. The Great Commission is to make disciples of all nations with Christ as the ordained King of all creation. As we do this, great material prosperity and peace will be secured by the people of God that all nations will enjoy.
Amillennialists and premillennialists know that eventually Christ will win, but for now Christians are on the losing side. But I believe that the impulse for victory is a God-given instinct. Victory has a strong appeal to the people of God. The promise of God tells us we can’t be losers. I don’t believe God programmed us for defeat. We have a magnificent calling because we are a people called to victory not to defeat.
Of course, premillennialists also believe that the millennium will be a time of great victory, prosperity and peace in the world. But postmillennialists believe that these trends will increase gradually and will become the normal state of affairs for a very long period of time before Christ’s Second Coming. In studying the prophecies of the Old Testament, I became more and more convinced of the postmillennial view. Just a few examples will explain my conviction.
“There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed” (Isa. 65:20).
What is remarkable about this passage to me was not the prediction that there would be no infant mortality in the millennium, but that people would live to be an old age. That implies that the resurrected saints of God, who return to earth with Christ (according to the dispensationalist view) will live side by side with mortal men who will be born, live to a very old age and die during the millennial reign. I began to suspect that this passage and others like it refer not to a future millennial reign after Christ’s return, but to history before the Second Coming. It is not unlikely that in the next few generations, infant mortality will be all but wiped out and that most people will live past their one-hundredth year. There will be a literal fulfillment of this prophecy in history.
There will not be universal redemption of all men during the millennium, but in some nations the vast majority of people will at least outwardly profess to serve the one true God. Isaiah says that even in Egypt, being a type of the unregenerate world, five cities out of six will call upon the name of the Lord, an image of great victory. “In that day shall five cities in the land of Egypt speak the language of Canaan, and swear unto the LORD of hosts; one shall be called, The city of destruction” (Isaiah 19:18).
There will be a time when the holiest of all men will be advanced to greatest positions in civil politics. “And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers” (Isa. 49:23).
The richest men in the world, those who have great influence, shall devote all to Christ and His church. “The daughter of Tyre shall be there with a gift, even the rich among the people shall entreat thy favour” (Psa. 45:12).
Wars will one day cease according to the Bible. There will be universal peace, love and understanding among the nations of the world, instead of confusion, wars, and bloodshed. “And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more” (Isa. 2:4).
There will be universal disarmament as weapons of warfare will be destroyed. “He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth: he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder: he burneth the chariot in the fire” (Psa. 46:9). All nations will live together in peace. “And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places” (Isa. 32:18).
Strong families will be restored and there will be great love between children and their parents. “And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers” (Mal. 4:6).
There will be a time of great economic prosperity in the Christian nations of the world. “For the seed shall be prosperous, the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground shall give her increase, and the heavens shall give their dew, and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things” (Zec. 8:12). “And it shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and an honour before all the nations of the earth, which shall hear all the good that I do unto them: and they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and for all the prosperity that I procure unto it” (Jer. 33:90).
There will be a time of great light and knowledge. “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark. But it shall be one day, which shall be known to the Lord, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light” (Zec. 14:6,7).
It will be as though God will give so much light to His church, that the sun and moon will be ashamed. “Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the Lord of hosts shall reign in Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients, gloriously” (Isa. 24:23).
One of the greatest postmillennial theologians of history was Jonathan Edwards. In his book, History of Redemption, Edwards theorized that the advance of the Gospel would someday spread to Africa and Asia. Edwards wrote:
There is a kind of veil now cast over the greater part of the world, which keeps them in darkness. But then this veil shall be destroyed, “And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations” (Isa. 25:7). And then all countries and nations, even those which are now most ignorant, shall be full of light and knowledge. Great knowledge shall prevail everywhere. It may be hoped, that then many of the Negroes and Indians will be divines, and that excellent books will be published in Africa, in Ethiopia, in Tartary, and other now the most barbarous countries. And not only learned men, but others of more ordinary education, shall then be very knowing in religion, “The eyes of them that see, shall not be dim; and the ears of them that hear, shall hearken. The heart also of the rash shall understand knowledge” (Isa. 32:3,4).
In the first half of the 1700s, when Edwards was writing, the Christian population of Africa and Asia was less than one percent. That Africa would be converted to the Gospel was unbelievably optimistic. Today, I am encouraged to know personally of successful Christian missions among Africans, Indians and Tatars just as Edwards predicted. Many from among these nations are converted. They are entering the ministry, writing books and dedicating their lives to the conversion of the lost. I am also encouraged to imagine what is to come in the future.
At the beginning of the 20th century, 80 percent of the world’s Christians were in North America, South America and Europe. Now the Christian population of these countries is only 40 percent of all Christians because more and more of the new Christians are in Africa and Asia. In the 1990s, the Republic of Zambia identified itself as a Christian nation. Here are Africans running a country trying to reorder everything according to the Word of God. There is still a great work of reformation to be accomplished, but when the president and vice president of a nation in Africa have affirmed that they believe that God’s Law should rule, that is major news!
It has been a slow start, but things are happening dramatically all over the world today. Great things have been happening since Christ came, but in the 20th century the pace stepped up dramatically. Now we are seeing more people saved in each year than were saved in all the time period of the New Testament. This influence of the Gospel is reaching all parts of society. In short, The Old Testament predicts a time of great victory for the Church before the Second Coming of Christ.
Related Articles:
- The Four Keys to the Millennium
- Rebuttal to Amillennialism
- Rebuttal to Classic Premillennialism
- Rebuttal to Dispensational Premillennialism
- About the author
I wrote this series for a book that was published in the Republic of South Africa. The book is a compilation by four Christians (two in Africa and two in the USA) who have put the four major eschatological viewpoints into laymen’s terms.
Each author stated his view in response to a series of questions about eschatology (the end-times). Then each author responded to the three other views in a rebuttal. While I do not have permission to publish on the web the three other authors’ articles, I am able to offer here my own viewpoint and my rebuttals to the three other views. The positions held forth by the amillennial, historic premillennial and dispensational premillennial authors are implicit in my rebuttals. If you want to read the whole book, you can order it here.
