8/12/2019 1992 Issue 5 - Cross-Examination: Objections to Postmillenialism Part 2 - Counsel of Chalcedon
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/1992-issue-5-cross-examination-objections-to-postmillenialism-part-2-counsel 1/2
Each
month the Cross-Examination
column presents a summary statement
of a Refonned and
Reconstructionist
conviction in theology or ethics, and
then offers brief
answers
to common
questions,objectionsorconfusionswhich
people have about that belief. Send
issues or questions you would like ad
dressed by Dr.
Bahnsen
to the editor.
We Believe
As we saw
in our
last study,
postrnillennialists believe that Jesus es
tablished the kingdom ofGod on earth
during
His
first advent. God
has
highly
exalted
Him toHis
right
hand
to
be
aPri1lCe
and avior that He might J j.ve
repenta1lCe
andforgiveness
of
sins (Acts 5:31).
He
is
now the only Potentate, the King
of
kings
and the
Lord
of
lords
l Timothy 6:15).
He must reign until all opposition
is
defeated, and then Hewilldeliver up the
kingdom to the Father - at
His
second
coming, which is the end ofhistory
l
Corinthians
15
:24-25).
Evangelicalpostmillennialistsholdthat
itwill
be
the preaching ofthe gospel and
the powerful work of the Holy Spirit
in
regeneratingandsanctifyingsinners)that
produces the visible success of Christ's
kingdom in history. They also
believe
that
toward the
end of
history there
will
be a final
apostasy
- a falling away from
enjoyingtheblessedconditionofsuccess
forthe Great Commission. Satan,
whose
deceptive
activity had
previously
been
restricted (or bound ), will
be
loosed
again fora brtefperiodin ordertodeceive
the
nations and
make
them
rebel against
the Lord (Revelation 20: 7-9)
--at
which
point Christ will return from heaven in
Ilaming
fire
and
eternal
judgment
w.
9-15; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10).
Postmillennialists
believe, then, in the
glorious, personal return
oUesus Christ
at
the
end of
history
to
raise the dead,
judge the world, consummate the king
dom,
and btingin
the
eternal
state of the
new creation (Revelation 20-22).
Examination
Question I have been told that
postrnillennialism does not
affirm
the
present
reality
ofthe kingdom
of
Christ,
that it
overlooks
the fact that the king
dom was
established yeats
ago at the first
advent. My teacher claimed that
postmillennialistsdo not, therefore,
hold
to realized or inaugurated eschatology
since they
see the kingdom as yet future
to Jesus and the Apostles.
THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon May, 1992
Answer Well, it should be very evi
dent from
what was
said
above
that this .
is
a
misrepresentation
of
the
facts. h is
e3Sjforactitictosetupastraw-manand
then
knock
it
down
.
But
honesty
re
quiresthatpostmillennialisnotbemade
into
such an artificial straw-man
for
the
charade of
refutation.
Thisiswhatctitics
do
when
they
mistakenly and mislead
ingly
claim that
postmillennialism fails
to maintain the presently established
character of ChriSt's kingdom.
William Symington, the .
nineteenth-century
Scottish theologian,
was awell known postrnillennialist,and .
in his
famous book, Messiah
the
Pri1lCe,
or, the Mediatorial Dominion ofJesus
Christ
(1884),
he wrote : Christ's ap
pointment [to the kingly officel was still
farther intimated by his actual
investi
ture
with
regal
power at and
after
his
resurrection. This
might be
called
the
inaugurationso1emnityofthemediatorial
King ... This appointment affords ample
security for the overthrow ofall Christ's
enemies,
and the ultimate establishment
of his kingdom hl the world. This
postmillennialist clearly
held
to
a
real
ized eschatology of the kingdom.
So did his
fellow
.Scottish theologian,
David Brown,
who
is
another of the
est
known postmillennial
writets from last
century.
Usten
to
his
straightforward
declaration
of realized
eschatology in he
book, Olrist's Second
Coming: wm It Be
Premillennia1? (1882): Christ's proper
kingdom is
already
in being; commenc
ing fonnally onHis ascension to the right
hatldofGod,andcontinuingunchanged,
both in
character
atld fonn,
till the
final
judgment. · For Brown and other
postmi11ennialists,Christ's kingdom was
not
wholly
future during the
days of the
New
Testament,but rather Christat that
point entered into the rule of
His
king-
dom
over
earth
Theallegation
that
onlyamillennialism
holds
to
the already establishednature of
Christ's kingdom is pure propaganda
without historical warrant .
8/12/2019 1992 Issue 5 - Cross-Examination: Objections to Postmillenialism Part 2 - Counsel of Chalcedon
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/1992-issue-5-cross-examination-objections-to-postmillenialism-part-2-counsel 2/2
Question
But how can
postmillennialists believe
tha
l there is
going to be a final
apostasy, given
the
powerful working of
the
kingdom dur
ingthe pertodbetweenthe
two
advents?
Obviously the Bible teaches that
Christ
will return
to
arebellious world in need
of judgment. So how can post
millennialism be
true?
Answer Well, it may be difficult
for
the cdtic to understand why or how
therewillbefallingawayfromtheblessed
conditions of a pervasively convened
world,
but that imellectualoremotional
difficulty does not
entail
--
much less substamiate
are to become
true
Christians.
In many
cases the
conversion
may be merely
nominal.
There will probably enough
remain unchanged in hean
to be
the
germ of that persecuting power which
shall bring about
those
days of tribula
tion which the Bible seems to teach
are
to immediately precede the coming of
the Lord" (Systematic Theology, vol.
3,
p.812).
Question It seems that some
postmillennialists
interpret the Bible as
saying that "the newheavens and
earth"
refers
to
the kingdom of God prior to
return of Christ at the end of history
(Revelation 21
:1££.).
The same kind of
thing couldbe saidabout the"kingdom"
ofChrisL Ithasalreadybeenestablished
(inthe past),and yet the NewTestamem
also speaks of
it
to come in the
future.
Question
Some charge
postmillennialism
with being a
form
of
theological
liberalism by
alleging
that it
denies the personal second coming of
Jesus Christ.
Answer Men like
Charles
Hodge and
- that
postmi\lennialists
actually deny such a final
apOstasy.
(Many
things
in the
Bible
are believed,
after
all, even though
not
fully
undeJStood
.)
n
fact, only
postmillennialism can
make sense out of the
claim that there
will
be a
final apostasy. On
the
pessimistic outlook of
amillennialism and
premillennialism, there
willbeno
visible
orwide
spread advance
for
the
church -- no noteworthy
success for
the gospel in
the Biblical concept o
new
heavens
and earth is not exclusively
present
nor
exclusively future.
The
new creation
has already
been
inaugurated
(Isaiah
65:17·25,
where
death still transpires; Cor
B B.
Warfield were certainly not theo
logical
liberals he
fact
is
that Biblical post
millennialism does not at all
repudiate the second com
ing. It is our blessed hope
(TItus 2:13). When we get
our facts straight about who
believes what
--
and when
we clearly distinguish
be
tween
differing
schools of
thought - there is no justifi
cation for critics trying to
impute guilt by association
to postmillennialism.
5:17,
where being in Christ means
there
is
new creation.)
Yet this
new creation
will
not be
fully
developed, consummated and
glorified
until the
return
of
Christ
at the end of history.
the world -- from
which
to "fall" away.
The wickedness of the end of human
histOlY is simply a continuat
ion
of the
downward trend throughouthistory.
Postmillennialists
does not hold that
each and
every
person on earth will
be
saved at some time
in
the
future.
There
will
always
be tares in the wheat
field
of
Christ's
kingdom,
right up untilthe time
of the harvest --
the final
judgmem
(Matthew 13:24-30,36-43). So
Charles
Hodge wrote that it should not be in
ferred fromthe Biblicalpromise ofwide
spread Gentile and Jewish
conversion
that either
all
the heathen or all
the
Jews
Christ's return. So don't they deny the
second
comingand the consummation?
Answer No,
for
they
would
also say
that the Bible speaks of he new heavens
and eanh in erms of the consummation
order after Christ
returns.
That is, the
Biblical
concept
of
a new
heavens
and
earth is not exclUsively present nor ex
elUSively future. The new
creation
has
already been inaugurated (Isaiah
65:17-25,
wheredeathstiU transpires;
2
Corinthians 5: 17, where being
in Christ
means
there
is anew
creation).
Yet
this
newcreationwillnot befully
developed,
consummated and
glorified
until the
Further Investigation
At
themostrecentnational
meeting of the
Evangelical
Theological Society, Dr.
Bahnsen offered a lecture on
thevisiblesuccess of Christ's
kingdom between the two advents.
You can get a tape of this helpful pre
sentation from Covenant Tape Minis
try,
24198
Ash
Coun, Auburn, CA
95603.
Send $6.
To
receive
the free
monthly
news
letter
from
Southern California
Center for
Christian Studies,
where
Dr. Bahnsen
is
the
schol r
-in-residence, send
your
name
and
address
to
P O.
Box
18021, Irvine,
C 92713 You can also request
information on the
study center s
correspondence courses,
M.A. pro
gram, and
tutoring.
May, 1992
l
TIlE COUNSEL
of
Cbalcedon
l
S
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