Postmillennialism (4)

The Postmillennial Interpretation of Revelation 20

The interpretation of Revelation 20, the one passage in Holy Scripture that mentions the millennium, or thousand-year period, is basic to the right understanding of the millennium and, indeed, of the truth of the last things generally. The explanation of the passage by Reformed amillennialism appeared earlier in this treatment of the biblical doctrine of the last things.¹

Here I sketch the interpretation of the passage by the leading spokesmen of postmillennialism in the Reformed tradition. According to the Puritans and their modern disciples, Presbyterian postmillennialists such as J. Marcellus Kik and Loraine Boettner, and the Christian Reconstructionists, who lean heavily on Kik's exegesis of Revelation 20, the millennium of Revelation 20 is a very long period of time, extending (in the judgment of most) from the ascension of Christ to a time shortly before Christ's coming again.

Like amillennialism, therefore, postmillennialism explains the millennium figuratively, not as a literal period of one thousand years. Indeed, many postmillennialists suppose that the heyday of the millennium—the "golden age" for the church on earth—will last for hundreds of thousands of years prior to the second coming of Christ.

But it is in its explanations of the binding of Satan (vv. 2, 3) and of the reign of the martyr-saints with Christ (v. 4) that postmillennialism differs radically from amillennialism in its interpretation of Revelation 20.

The Binding of Satan

Postmillennialism understands the binding of Satan to be Christ's gradual restricting of Satan's influence upon men and nations throughout this present age until finally at least the vast majority of humans alive in the world are converted to Christ; all nations are "Christianized," that is, governed by the law of God and influenced by the Spirit of Christ in all their activities; and such evils as war, poverty, and crime are severely curtailed.

The more optimistic postmillennialists suggest that when Satan's binding has been fully realized, even sin and death will sharply diminish. R.J. Rushdoony promises a "world relatively free of crime, at peace, and men having a long life expectancy."² Christian Reconstructionist Martin G. Selbrede envisions "voluntary obedience to Christ on a world-wide scale so total that all rebellion and depravity have been 'extinguished.'" Selbrede is certainly right to describe his millennial hope as "unbounded optimism."³

A curious feature of the postmillennial conception of the binding of Satan is the notion that the binding of Satan is dependent upon the aggressive actions of the church. Postmillennialists charge that Satan's obvious influence over nations and people in our day is the fault of the church. If the church would exert herself, she could accomplish Satan's full binding in the postmillennial understanding of it. Whereas Revelation 20:1 places the chain that binds Satan in the hand of the angel, postmillennialism puts it in the hand of the church.

Unfortunately the Church of today does not realize the power that Christ has given her. Christ has placed in her hands the chain by which she can bind Satan. She can restrain his influence over the nations. But today the Church bemoans the fact that evil is becoming stronger and stronger. She bemoans the fact that the world is coming more and more under the control of the Devil. Whose fault is that? It is the Church. She has the chain and does not have the faith to bind Satan even more firmly. Satan is bound and the Church knows it not! Satan can be bound more firmly and the Church does it not!4

Christian Reconstruction likewise condemns the Christian church for the sorry state of a world under the spiritual domination of Satan. Especially if the church would promote the law of God in national and societal life, Satan would soon be completely bound.

The teaching that the coming of the millennial kingdom of Christ in its full glory is being held back by an unfaithful church is yet another instance of the striking formal similarities of postmillennialism to premillennial dispensationalism that I have already noted.5 Dispensationalism teaches that the millennial kingdom Christ intended to establish at His first coming was delayed by the unbelief of the Jews. Postmillennialism teaches that the millennial kingdom in the fullness of its power and glory is being delayed by an unfaithful church.

What postmillennial interpretation of the binding of Satan ignores is that the binding of Satan is a present reality, not a future possibility. He is bound. He has been bound. He has been bound as tightly and completely as can and need be during this present age. The one who has bound him is an angel from heaven, not the church. The church has many important callings. Binding Satan is not one of them. And, of utmost importance, the binding of Satan concerns one limitation of the devil, and one only: he is not able to deceive the nations, so as to bring about the world-kingdom of Antichrist. His binding has nothing to do with converting a majority of the human race, "Christianizing" the nations, putting an end to wars, diminishing crime, and increasing "material blessings" for the human race.

The Reign of the "Souls"

The reign of the "souls" with Christ of Revelation 20:4-6, according to postmillennialism, coincides with the gradual binding of Satan. Throughout the present age, as Satan is increasingly bound, the church progressively gains influence in society and power over the nations until at last, in the heyday of the millennium, she will have dominion—earthly dominion—over all the nations of the world. By the word of God (for Christian Reconstruction especially the law of God), the church and her members will control politics, civic justice, public morality, economics, education, the media, entertainment, and the arts—worldwide. Coming is a universal, earthly kingdom of Christ, prior to the bodily return of Jesus Christ. This will be the mediatorial, or Messianic, kingdom in its fullest and final manifestation. Leading postmillennial theologians teach that this glorious manifestation of the kingdom of Christ may last hundreds of thousands of years before Christ returns.

This splendid earthly kingdom will be the victory of Christ in the world. Apart from this kingdom, Christ would be defeated.

For this kingdom, the postmillennialists ardently hope—as ardently as the dispensationalists hope for their earthly kingdom.

When this kingdom holds sway over all nations and peoples, the Christian Reconstructionists intend to implement once again the civil and judicial laws of the Old Testament, which ordered the national life of Israel. Hence, the name "theonomy" for the doctrine of Christian Reconstruction. "Theonomy" means 'law of God' with reference specifically to the civil and judicial laws of Old Testament Israel. Christian judges likely will sentence Sabbath-breakers to be stoned to death according to the Old Testament law of Numbers 15:32-36.

The First Resurrection

Basic to this postmillennial explanation of the reign of the saints with Christ is its interpretation of the "first resurrection," in Revelation 20:5, 6, as regeneration. Postmillennialism denies that the first resurrection is the translation of the souls of elect believers into heavenly life and glory at the moment of death. It is essential to the postmillennial explanation of the reign of the saints, as to its understanding of the millennium, that the first resurrection be interpreted as regeneration. For only then can the reign of the saints take place on the earth. If the first resurrection is, in fact, the translation of the souls of believers at death, the reign of the saints of Revelation 20:4-6 occurs in heaven as part of the communion of the saints, in their souls, with the reigning Christ at the right hand of God. And this would mean the collapse of the entire postmillennial conception of a coming "golden age" for the church in history, at least on the basis of Revelation 20.

Kik, therefore, calls the interpretation of the "first resurrection," in verse five, as the spiritual regeneration of God's people in this world the "key" to a right understanding of the millennium of Revelation 20.6

Postmillennial, Christian Reconstructionist (to be redundant) David Chilton does not greatly exaggerate when he judges that he can dispose of amillennialism by refuting its interpretation of the first resurrection as the translation of believers into heaven in their soul at death.

We can dispose of the amillennial position right away, by pointing out the obvious: this is a resurrection, a rising again from the dead. Dying and going to heaven is wonderful, but, for all its benefits, it is not a resurrection. This passage cannot be a description of the state of disembodied saints in heaven.7

With regard to John's seeing "souls" reigning with Christ, postmillennialists point out that "souls" can refer to 'persons,' or to 'lives.' Here, they say, the reference is to regenerated persons reigning on earth in both a body and a soul, especially during the time of the "golden age."

This postmillennial interpretation of the reigning of the saints, as seen by the apostle in Revelation 20:4-6, is exposed as false by the conclusive testimony of the passage that the reign of the saints follows their death—their physical death. It is not, therefore, a reign on this earth, but a reign in heaven. The conclusive testimony is not only that John sees "souls," in distinction from "men," or "believers," or "saints," that is, men and women living earthly life in the body, although this deliberate mention of "souls" is significant. Earlier, referring to the same persons in virtually the same language, John located "the souls of them that were slain for the word of God" "under the altar" (Rev. 6:9). He distinguished these souls (and their abode in heaven) from their brothers who still must be killed, as the saints in heaven had been, by the wicked who "dwell on the earth" (Rev. 6:10, 11).

But the conclusive testimony is that John sees "souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus." These persons, who have been killed by the anti-christian world-power for their faithful confession of Jesus Christ, lived and reigned with Christ. Souls of those who have been beheaded do not exercise earthly dominion in history.

That the souls who reign with Christ are the saints who have been taken up to heaven at death is confirmed by the mention of the "second death" in verse six. The second death is hell, as verse fourteen establishes: "The lake of fire [is] the second death." The first death is physical death. Corresponding to these two forms of death are two forms of resurrection, or deliverance from death. The second is the resurrection of the body into immortality. The first is the translation of the soul of the believer at the moment of physical death.

Contrary to the emphatic, but ungrounded, denial of the postmillennialists, the deliverance of the believer in his soul at death is indeed resurrection. The soul of the regenerated Christian in earthly life is corrupted by sin as much as is his body. Besides, his soul is earthy—completely adapted to living earthly life in this world and completely unsuited to living heavenly life in the other world, where Christ sits at the right hand of God. In addition, as corrupted by sin (as corrupted as is the body) and as guilty of all kinds of transgressions of thought, will, and passions, the soul of the believer is fully deserving of the punishment of eternal death at the moment of its separation from the body in death. That Christ perfectly purifies the soul of depravity, transforms it so that it is now fit to live heavenly life, and takes the soul into the eternal life of heaven at the moment of the believer's death is resurrection—real life for the believer out of real death.

The Intermediate State

Revelation 20:4-6 describes the "intermediate state" of elect believers.8

So clearly does the passage speak of the intermediate state that Benjamin B. Warfield, postmillennialist though he was, acknowledged that Revelation 20:4-6 teaches the intermediate state, and may not, therefore, be appealed to by postmillennialism on behalf of a reign of the church on earth. Recognizing that the "souls of them that had been beheaded" are "disembodied souls," Warfield concluded, concerning the millennium of Revelation 20, particularly verses four through six:

The picture that is brought before us here is, in fine, the picture of the "intermediate state"—of the saints of God gathered in heaven away from the confused noise and garments bathed in blood that characterize the war upon earth in order that they may securely await the end. The thousand years, thus, is the whole of this present dispensation, which again is placed before us in its entirety, but looked at now relatively not to what is passing on earth but to what is enjoyed "in Paradise."9

He added: "The millennium of the Apocalypse is the blessedness of the saints who have gone away from the body to be at home with the Lord."10

The Earthly Victory of Christ

Most postmillennialists, however, differ with Warfield. In the light of their exegesis of Revelation 20, particularly the binding of Satan and the reign with Christ of believing members of the church, as sketched above, most postmillennialists view the millennium as the history of this present age destined to climax in the future in a long period of time during which the church will enjoy almost total earthly victory over her enemies.

The church shall have dominion over land and sea/earth's remotest regions shall her empire be/they that wilds inhabit shall their off'rings bring/kings shall render tribute/nations kiss her ring.

This earthly victory of His church will be Christ's supreme triumph, according to postmillennialism, and the full and final glory of His kingdom. In jarring conflict with this giddy prospect of Christ's victory in history is the sobering conclusion of the vision of Revelation 20 concerning the thousand years. "And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go out to deceive the nations...and they...compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city" (vv. 7-9).

How does postmillennialism explain this overthrow of the dominion of Christ and His church at the end of the millennium and history? And how does postmillennialism harmonize this worldwide revolt against Christ's kingship at the end with postmillennialism's conviction that Christ must have an earthly triumph in history? Does not this revolt represent, for postmillennialism, the defeat of Christ—the decisive defeat of Christ?

Prof. David J. Engelsma 
http://standardbearer.rfpa.org/articles/chapter-four-postmillennialism-4 

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1. Standard Bearer 85, no. 15 (May 1, 2009): 343-346; no. 19 (August 2009): 448-450.

2. R.J. Rushdoony, God's Plan for Victory: The Meaning of Postmillennialism (Fairfax, Virginia: Thoburn Press, 1977), 2.

3. Martin G. Selbrede, "Reconstructing Postmillennialism," Journal of Christian Reconstruction: Symposium on Eschatology 15 (Winter, 1998): 202, 194. The emphasis is Selbrede's.

4. J. Marcellus Kik, An Eschatology of Victory (Phillipsburg, New Jersey: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1971), 196.

5 Standard Bearer 86, no. 2 (October 15, 2009): 34, 35.

6. Kik, Eschatology of Victory, 179.

7. David Chilton, Paradise Restored: A Biblical Theology of Dominion (Tyler, Texas: Reconstruction Press, 1985), 196. The emphasis is Chilton's.

8. See my treatment of the intermediate state, with specific reference to Revelation 20:4-6, in previous articles in this series: Standard Bearer 80, no. 9 (February 1, 2004): 210-213; 82, no. 3 (November 1, 2005): 64-67; 82, no. 10 (February 15, 2006): 225-228; 82, no. 20 (September 1, 2006): 465-468; 85, no. 3 (November 1, 2008): 57-60; 85, no. 6 (December 15, 2008): 132-134.

9. Benjamin B. Warfield, "The Millennium and the Apocalypse," in Biblical Doctrines (New York: Oxford University Press, 1929), 649. Warfield found evidence for a future "golden age" elsewhere in Scripture, especially the Old Testament prophecies and Revelation 19:11-21.

10. Ibid., 662.

The Victory of Christ in History (Concluded)

The gross error of postmillennialism is that it misconceives the victory of Christ in history as carnal rather than spiritual. Gary North is wrong when he says, "It's not a question of 'dominion vs. no dominion'; it's a question of whose dominion" (Unconditional Surrender, ICE, 1988, p.317).

It is emphatically not a question of "whose dominion."

Jesus Christ has dominion.

Jesus Christ has dominion in the world in history.

Jesus Christ has dominion now.

Not only does Jesus Christ now have dominion over all creatures, including His enemies, by His power, but also He now has dominion in His church by His Spirit and Word.

The question is not, "Whose dominion?"

But the question is, "What kind of dominion?"

Specifically, the question is, "Carnal dominion or spiritual dominion?"

Carnal dominion is earthly victory. It is victory according to the thinking of man. It consists of numbers--- the conversion of a majority of humans; of physical force-- a Christian police force and army; of control of culture-- godly television, radio, and newspapers; of deliverance from worldly cares and natural miseries-- the virtual eradication of poverty, sickness, and war; and of material prosperity-- jobs, money, houses, and long life.

This is the dominion of Christ that is proclaimed by postmillennialism, especially by Christian Reconstructionism. This is supposed to be the victory of Christ in history, the flourishing of the Messianic kingdom.

It is a carnal dominion.

The victory heralded by Reformed amillennialism is spiritual. It is real victory. It is real victory here and now. But it is victory according to the thinking of God. It is contrary to human standards of victory. It makes all natural human thinking about victory, including that of Christian Reconstructionism, foolishness. No eye can see this victory (John 3:3). The victory and kingdom of Christ can be known only by faith.

The true victory of Christ in history is His saving of the elect church from sin. It is His empowering that church to confess His name. It is His preservation of the church in holiness of life unto life eternal. To this saving of the church belongs Christ's institution of true churches that preach the gospel purely, administer the sacraments properly, and exercise Christian discipline rightly.

The conquering Christ gathers the elect church out of all nations and institutes true churches in all nations. Thus, the nations are saved and discipled, as Christ commanded in Matthew 28:19. In the salvation and obedience of the elect among them, the nations are saved and discipled, regardless of the numbers, whether many or few. The postmillennial notion that the salvation of a nation requires the conversion of a majority of the population is unbiblical. Just as the elect remnant in Israel was the real nation of Israel, even though they were the small minority (Rom. 9:6), so also the elect Chinese are the real China, the elect Dutch are the real Netherlands, and the elect English are the real England. If the victory of Christ is a matter of sheer numbers, Christ is the loser in history, since He saves fewer humans than perished in Adam, as even the most optimistic postmillennialist must admit.

Christ's victory in history is the gathering of the church out of the nations. This gathering includes that the church is faithful to her calling to confess Jesus Christ. He Himself said that building the church is His work in history (Matt. 16:18, 19). The church is His glorious and indestructible kingdom, the fulfillment of the prophecy of Psalm 72, as the Heidelberg Catechism teaches in Lord's Day 48 when it explains the petition, "Thy kingdom come," as meaning, "Preserve and increase Thy church."

Since the church is made up of her elect members, the dominion of Christ is also His reign in the heart and life of each of His chosen people. The Heidelberg Catechism begins its explanation of the victorious kingdom of Christ here: "Rule us so by Thy Word and Spirit that we may submit ourselves more and more to Thee." The victory of Christ in history is the faith, confession, battle against sin, warfare against the world, obedience to the law, repentance, and endurance to the end of every elect, redeemed, and regenerated child of God.

The victory of Christ is progressive. The perfection of it, as regards the church, the individual elect, and the creation, will be realized by Christ Himself personally at His coming. The perfection of His victory is not to be within history, but as the end of history (1 Cor. 15:22-28; Rev. 21; Rom. 8:18-23). There is good reason for this. It must be demonstrated, so that none can doubt or gainsay, that Christ, Christ personally, is Savior and Lord to the glory of God.

The King accomplishes this victory by the gospel (Mark 16:15; II Cor. 10:3-5).

To mock this spiritual victory of Christ is unbelief.

To be dissatisfied with it is ingratitude.

To underestimate its awesome power and wondrous glory is folly.

 To be oblivious to it because one has his heart set on a carnal victory and earthly kingdom of the Messiah is "Jewish dreams."

Only the spiritual nature of the victory of Christ in history harmonizes with the teaching of the Bible that the church in the world is a church that is always reproached and persecuted-- a church "under the cross" (Matt. 24:9, 10, 21-31; John 15:18-16:4; John 16:33; II Thess, 1:4-10; II Tim. 3; I Pet. 4:12-14; Rev.).

Only the spiritual character of Christ's victory in each elect believer explains the fact that the man or woman who, according to Romans 8:37, is conqueror in history, indeed, "more than conqueror," is at the same time, and all the while, "killed all the day long... accounted as sheep for the slaughter" (v.36).

At the same time, victorious and persecuted! Christian Reconstruction cannot understand this, does not know what to make of this. Only the spiritual mind, the mind of Christ, understands this. The natural mind supposes that the victorious party does the persecuting.

Blinded by its assumption that the victory of Christ in history is carnal, postmillennialism stumbles into other, glaring errors. For one thing, a Loraine Boettner can cheerily announce that the world is getting better right along. Chapter 7 of his The Millennium (Presbyterian and Reformed, 1958), is entitled, "The World is Growing Better." This, in a century that has witnessed the horrors of Nazi Germany; the atrocities of Stalin's Soviet Union; the slaughters of Mao's China; the killings of Pol Pot's Cambodia; the cruelties of the Africans at the present time; and the butcheries of our own offspring by the United States. This, in a century that has seen the "Christian" West sink into the depths of approving homosexuality.

For another thing, the dream of earthly victory arouses the desire to bring it about, quickly. This demands numbers and political power. Since Calvinists are few, and Christian Reconstructionists still fewer, the Christian Reconstructionists make alliances with the more numerous charismatics in order to realize the dominion of Messiah (see Bruce Barron, Heaven on Earth? The Social & Political Agendas of Dominion Theology, Zondervan, 1992 and Michael G. Moriarty, "The Dominion Pursuit: Will the Church Christianize the World?" in The New Charismatics, Zondervan, 1992).

 The dream of an earthly kingdom of Christ always produces strange bedfellows.

Worst of all, postmillennialism, in fact, charges Christ with being a weak and defeated King in history. At least, up to the present time. For as yet His kingdom has not been victorious in history, as postmillennialism counts victory. For almost 2,000 years Christ has failed to "Christianize" the world. So far, He has been a "loser." In addition, the leading postmillennialists attribute the failure of Christ to achieve victory to the weakness and faithlessness of His church. The Commander has poor troops. J. Marcellus Kik has written: 

Unfortunately the Church of today does not realize the power that Christ has given her. Christ has placed in her hands the chain by which she can bind Satan. She can restrain his influence over the nations. But today the Church bemoans the fact that evil is becoming stronger and stronger. She bemoans the fact that the world is coming more and more under the control of the Devil. Whose fault is that? It is the Church. She has the chain and does not have the faith to bind Satan even more firmly. Satan is bound and the Church knows it not! Satan can be bound more firmly and the Church does it not! (An Eschatology of Victory, Presbyterian and Reformed, 1971, p. 196).

Gay North agrees: "The only thing that is holding up the victory of God's home guard is the home guard's lack of confidence, lack of training, and lack of tactics" 

(Unconditional Surrender, p. 366).

This is a reflection on Jesus Christ. For, as North declares, Jesus is the "Supreme Allied Commander" (p. 365). If only He had better troops, that is, a stronger church! But why doesn't He? Has He been unable now for 2,000 years to create men and women who are strong and faithful enough to do His will and bring about His earthly kingdom?

O, the weak Jesus Christ of Christian Reconstructionism!

The Jesus who depends upon men and who is evidently unable to make His men dependable is a defeated Jesus.

North admits this: "Christ is waiting for His church to surround Satan's last outpost. Christ is waiting for the work of the leaven to replace Satan's leaven in the dough of creation" (Unconditional Surrender, p. 332; the emphasis is North's).

What is the difference between a Jesus who is helplessly waiting for men to get busy finally to bring about His kingdom and the Jesus of Arminianism who is helplessly waiting for men to let Him reign in their hearts?

Neither of them is the Jesus Christ of Reformed amillennialism.

Our Jesus is Lord.

He conquered in His cross and resurrection.

He has been conquering in the gospel from Pentecost to this moment.

His Messianic kingdom has come in its prophesied power, peace, riches, and glory. Worldwide!

Faithful, zealous, energetic "troops," made willing in this the day of His power, serve Him, doing all that He commands them to do, although not perfectly. These are the living members of the true, Reformed and Presbyterian churches in the world.

Jesus is victor.

Really.

A spiritual victor.

Prof. David J. Engelsma  

Christ's Spiritual Kingdom, pp. 122-128

http://www.cprf.co.uk/bookstore/christsspiritualkingdom.htm