PMW 2026-020 by Greg L. Bahnsen
Gentry note: This article is clipped from Greg L. Bahnsen’s postmillennial work Victory in Jesus. It is a helpful summary of some of the key features of the postmillennial hope. Dr. Bahnsen was an American Calvinist philosopher and Christian apologist. He was a minister in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and a full-time Scholar in Residence for the Southern California Center for Christian Studies (SCCCS). He is also considered a leading contributor to the field of Christian apologetics, as he popularized the presuppositional method of Cornelius Van Til.
The following is from pp. 40–44 of his book:
1. As postmillennialists we champion the inspiration, infallibility and we read the newspaper — this should be obvious. When we read the newspapers how could we possibly have this kind of hope? We do not have it be cause the world is going so well.
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2. We are not postmillennialists because we have some kind of understanding of man’s inherent goodness. Evangelical postmillennialists believe that fallen man is totally unable to do any saving good, cannot atone for his sins, and cannot become a member of the kingdom of God except through the redemptive work of the Savior and the regeneration work of the Holy Spirit. Postmillennialists do not have a high view human nature. Sometimes we hear people say, “Well, I cannot be a postmillennialist because I do not believe man is that good.” Let me be clear. As a Calvinist I do not think that man is good at all, he is totally depraved. The Bible says man is spiritually dead — he is hopeless. He has to be born again if he will even see the kingdom of God. That has nothing to do with being a postmillennialist. If God can save one hopeless, dead, sinner, He can save two, or four, or ten. In fact, if He wants to, He can save a hundred or a thousand. Saving millions or billions is no problem for Him if that is His choice. When all is said and done, if it does not rest in man, it all depends on what God wants to do. God can do whatever God wants to do. Is any work too hard for Jehovah? (Remember that question in the book of Genesis?) Of course not. If God chooses to do it, it can be done. We are not postmillennialists because we have a very high view of human nature. We have a verylow view of human nature, but a very high view of God’s sovereignty. Because God is sovereign, He can even bring the dead to life spiritually.
3. Postmillennialists teach the glorious personal return of Jesus Christ at the end of history to judge the world. Postmillennialists do not deny the second coming or the visible return and glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe that at the end of history, He is coming again and when He comes He will judge the world.
4. We insist that at His first advent, Jesus, the Son of God, came as the messianic mediatorial King and established His saving kingdom among men on earth. The Bible repeatedly speaks of the Lord Jesus Christ ascending to the right hand of God, there being enthroned as the King over all creation — He has been highly exalted. His name is honored above every name so that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that he is the Lord. (cf. Phil. 2; to Acts 2; Eph. 1; Heb. 1.) We believe that Jesus presently is the King. As we saw in the previous chapter, Peter on the day of Pentecost declared that Jesus is sitting at the right hand of God in fulfillment of the promise to David, which was: “I will make your enemies the footstool of your feet.” And He has now entered into that reign.
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5. Postmillennialists are painfully aware that those who belong to are appointed to suffering in this world. Inevitably, they will undergo persecution and they will undergo affliction in following the Savior who is their King. There is nothing in postmillennialism (contrary to what many people try to malign it as teaching), that teaches a triumphalism that says, “Well, then Christians will never suffer.” No, it is a battle out there “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12). We know that it hurts to be a Christian and we are often mistreated. We know that Christians go through a number of emotional and spiritual difficulties as well eternal difficulties and tribulation in this world. We do not deny that for a minute. We are in a battle — a worldly battle — until the Lord returns and sets everything right. What we do deny is that we are on the losing side of this battle.
The United States won World War II, not by ourselves, but we were on the winning side. Now does anybody think that this means no one from the United States ever suffered in World War II, or that we did not lose any soldiers along the way, or that nobody had a hard time of it? Of course not. Our soldiers suffered and the German soldiers suffered, and others as well. Do you get my point here? Anybody who goes to war is going to suffer — it is a battle. But that does not mean that both sides loose. One suffering side prevails and the other suffering side does not. As postmillennialists we are not denying the suffering — we are denying that we are going to lose — we are denying that we are on the wrong side of history. We affirm and we are aware in our own lives, very painfully, that if you belong to the Lord Jesus Christ you will undergo persecution. You will be afflicted in this world. So we are not whistling in the dark or engaging in some kind of Pollyanna wishful thinking. That is not postmillennialism.
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6. Postmillennialists believe that the gospel is to be preached to all nations, by the Church, prior to the second advent of Christ. Eventually, this will bring worldwide conversion. This is the Church’s calling from God. God did not give us a little minor commission, “Go out there and do your best to raise a witness in the world.” He said, “disciple the nations.” But Jesus, we can not do it. He goes on to say, “I am with you always to the end of the age.” Of course, we can do it. God has called the Church to preach and to preach successfully. To preach until we see the world won to the Lord Jesus Christ.
7. Postmillennialism maintains that the victorious advance of Christ’s kingdom in this world will take place in terms of the present peaceful and spiritual power of the gospel, rather than through a radically different principle of operation, namely, physical force and earthly violence in order to subdue opposition.
In the previous chapter I talked about premillennialism and dispensationalism. I said they have the timing wrong. But they also have a misconception of how the kingdom comes. According to the Bible, the kingdom of God does not come in this world through violence, and it does not come through physical threats and compulsion. On the dispensational and premillennial understanding, Jesus is going to come back, and with the tanks and bazookas He is going to finally conquer this world. But you will find nothing in the Scripture to suggest this. How does Jesus conquer the nations according to Revelation 19? With a sword, right? But not a sword in His hand, it is a sword from His mouth. It is going to be preaching that changes men’s hearts. It is going to be the power of the Spirit. On the day of Pentecost there was no need for physical compulsion to make people bow the knee to the Lord Jesus. It was the power of the Holy Spirit that brought hearts to Him. As postmillennialists we believe that it is essential that we see the kingdom grow in terms of the present dispensation — using the present resources that are available to the Church — the spiritual power of the gospel — the Word of God being preached and the Holy Spirit bringing conviction. We do not believe that God will conquer the world through revolutionary might. That means we do not call men to foment a rebellion. We do not call men to storehouse weapons so that we can finally take over the world in a flash of violence. The only way in which the kingdom of Jesus Christ is going to grow is going to be in terms of the character of the Prince Himself, who is the Prince of Peace.
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8. Postmillennialism believes in the gradual growth and success of the kingdom of God by the power of the Holy Spirit working through the Church’s preaching of the gospel. We believe the preponderance of many nations and men will submit to Christ some time in the future in gradual stages.
9. Postmillennialists are not committed to the view that each and every individual on earth is going to be saved. We do not believe that. The wheat and the tares will grow together until the end, as the Bible says. There will always be tares in this wheat field until the final judgment. Of course, it is good to remember that it is a wheat field not a tare field. I am afraid other schools of theology look at the world as just being full of tares and a little bit of wheat is growing here and there. Our Savior’s vision is quite the opposite. He said this world is My wheat field, although there will be tares that have to be taken out to be sure.
10. Postmillennialists believe that there will be a final apostasy — a falling away just prior to the return of Christ, and that Satan will be loosed and he will deceive the nations again. We can only speculate a bit as to why God is going to do it that way, but in the end we are not obligated to explain the ways of God. He has not told us exactly why, but He has told us that this is what He is going to do and that upon that apostasy Jesus will return in judgment on the world.
Now you know what postmillennialists do believe.
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