Many reformers of the sixteenth century taught a form of postmillennialism. During the following two centuries, many puritans endorsed full-fledged postmillennialism. The Princeton theologians, including Charles Hodge, A. A. Hodge, and B. B. Warfield continued this tradition. Postmillennial preaching provided a strong underpinning for the mission movements of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Keith Mathison summarizes postmillennialism, and identifies its distinguishing characteristics:
Like amillennialism, postmillennialism teaches that the thousand years of Revelation 20 occurs prior to the Second Coming. Some postmillennialists teach that the millennial age is the entire period of time between Christ’s first and second advents, while others teach that it is the last one thousand years of the present age. According to postmillennialism, in the present age the Holy Spirit will draw unprecedented multitudes to Christ through the faithful preaching of the gospel. Among the multitudes who will be converted are the Israelites who have thus far rejected the Messiah. At the end of the present age, Christ will return, there will be a general resurrection of the just and the unjust, and the final judgment will take place.1
The following chart shows the older form of postmillennialism, with its literal one thousand year golden age:
This diagram below presents the postmillennialism most common today:
This form of postmillennialism does not specify the duration of the period after the nations convert to Christ.
Here are the answers this system provides to the test questions we posed here:
Q. 1. What does this model teach about Israel after the flesh (1 Corinthians 10:18)?
A. Postmillennialism teaches the Jews as a race of people are now on an equal footing with all other nations. The literal descendants of Abraham do not remain in special covenant relationship with God.2
Q. 2. What does this model teach about the thousand year reign of Christ as described in Revelation 20:2–7?
A. Mathison identifies two varieties of postmillennialism. The older of these teaches the “thousand years” of Revelation 20 is literal. The kingdom of God increases in influence during the church age and culminates in a “golden age” of 1000 literal years, after which Christ will return. Today, most postmillennialists identify the “thousand years” with the entire church age.3
Q. 3. What does this model teach about the Second Coming of Christ in relation to the millennium?
A. According to this model, the return of Christ occurs after his thousand-year reign, regardless of whether it is literal or figurative.4 As noted above, this supplies the reason for its name— postmillennialism—and distinguishes it from the other systems.
Q. 4. What does this model teach about the kingdom of God in history?
A. Postmillennialism stands alone among the current prophetic models in its assertion the kingdom of God will convert the nations of the earth during the church age. We therefore classify it as optimistic. Erroll Hulse offered some humor as he began a presentation on postmillennialism: “By way of introduction I must say that I am fully aware of four great advantages as I present the case for postmillennialism. The first is that every believer hopes that the position I will expound is correct and that the sooner it comes to pass the better.”5 Indeed!
Footnotes
- Keith A. Mathison, Postmillennialism: An Eschatology of Hope (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 1999), 10.
- Loraine Boettner, The Millennium (Philadelphia: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1958), 311–12.
- Mathison, Postmillennialism, 10.
- Mathison, Postmillennialism, 10.
- Erroll Hulse, “A Christianized World? The Post-Millennial Universal Reign of Christ,” Fourth International Baptist Conference (1988), 141.