The Unbiblicality Of Postmillennialism

Eschatology is a branch of Christian theology so often neglected, ignored, feared, and suppressed.  But for all its perceived obscurity and irrelevance, eschatology carries great significance for the Christian worldview.  The Bible attaches special significance to the Second Coming of Christ in particular--and how one views the predicted occurrences around that event can drastically affect one's theology.

Postmillennialism is one such position regarding the events around the return of Jesus.  It posits that, due to successful efforts of Christian evangelism and the benevolence of God, the world will experience a large-scale revival of sorts before Christ returns, holding that the millennium--the thousand year reign of Christ mentioned in Revelation 20--will transpire before Christ's next advent, though it may actually last longer than 1,000 literal years.  In this post I will explain why this idea contradicts overt teachings in the Bible.

First of all, chronologically speaking, the Second Coming of Jesus described in Revelation 19 precedes the thousand year reign of Christ addressed in Revelation 20.  From a chronological standpoint this is indubitable.  The millennium occurs after Jesus returns if Revelation 19-20 occur in the order one reads them in.  However, since some Christians will not find themselves satisfied with an objective examination of the sequence of future events as detailed by the Bible, to discredit postmillennialism I need to prove that the Bible denies that the Second Coming will follow some golden age of Christian morality and influence.

In Matthew 24 Jesus predicts that certain negative events--wars, persecution, and so on--will intensify and worsen like violent birth pangs until the time of the Second Coming.  Since militaristic violence, persecution of Christians, and many other associated behaviors are evil according to the Bible, the Bible therefore prophesies that world conditions will not largely improve before Jesus returns--in many ways they will disintegrate instead.  Birth pangs become more vehement and powerful as a birth approaches; likewise, the signs that Jesus spoke of will grow more frequent and overpowering as his return nears according to Matthew 24.  Matthew 24:9-13 alone describe the last days before the end of the age as days characterized by persecution of Christians (24:9), apostasy in the church (24:10), false prophets and deception (24:11), and an absence of love (24:12-13).

Further confirming the fact that the Bible teaches that the days immediately preceding the return of Christ will not be a time of dramatic moral renaissance, 2 Timothy says the following:


2 Timothy 3:1-5--"But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.  People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God--having a form of godliness but denying its power.  Have nothing to do with them."


Yes, it is certainly true (if what we believe about history is true) that by Biblical standards the last two millennia have seen explicit moral improvement in specific ways.  The inhabitants of the modern age, at least in the western world, largely do not tolerate racism, sexism, militarism, and a host of other despicable evils that the Bible condemns.  In some ways the moral climate of my country today is vastly superior to that of horrendous empires like Rome, Assyria, and so forth.  I want to emphasize that I meant only in some ways, not all.  But Matthew 24 and 2 Timothy 3 indisputably teach that Christ will return to a world drenched in moral darkness and brutality, not a world where Christians have become the majority and have renovated the moral landscape of the globe.

Nowhere does the Bible inform Christians that their efforts will somehow trigger the return of Christ, as if God needed human assistance in establishing his kingdom!  Never does Scripture teach that times of benevolence and astonishing moral progress will mark the period before the Second Coming (although passages in Isaiah definitely indicate that tranquillity and righteousness will flourish after that coming).

I find it odd that theonomy is often associated with postmillennialism, yet nothing about theonomy necessitates belief in postmillennialism to accompany it.  Theonomy stands or falls on entirely separate grounds.  I can understand why postmillennialists would emphasize theonomy, as the only standard by which to judge moral growth in the world is the one that conforms to God's nature and that God has revealed, although no direct link exists that tethers theonomy to postmillennialism.

Postmillennialism simply cannot be supported by Scripture.  A bleak view of the future need not replace an optimistic one that recognizes the impending display of Christ's supremacy, yet honest handlers of the Bible cannot legitimately teach a postmillennial eschatological framework.  Christians still have a Biblical obligation to strive to transform the ideological atmosphere around them--but do not expect these efforts to signal the return of Jesus or to succeed permanently.