PMW 2019-081 by Gary DeMar (American Vision)
Al Mohler has written “Evolving Standards of Decency? How Progressivism Reshapes Society.” My question: “Where were Christians when the Supreme Court codified “evolving standards of decency”? Mohler writes that we share with progressives a belief “in a linear view of history…. We also believe that history doesn’t go forward and backward in time. But we do not believe as Christians that the world is always getting better and better. That’s actually a deformation of Christian doctrine. The reality is that the biblical worldview is so honest about the power of sin that we come to understand that societies do move forward in some terms economically, politically, certainly technologically, but they don’t move forward uniformly certainly when it comes to morality.” Continue reading
Category Archives: Optimism
AL MOHLER DISSES POSTMILLENNIALISM
POSTMILLENNIALISM’S THEOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS
PMW 2019-053 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr.
Postmillennialism expects the vast majority of the world’s population to convert to Christ as a consequence of the Spirit-blessed proclamation of the gospel. In light of present world conditions, though, many Christians are surprised at the resilience of the postmillennial hope. In this article I will briefly show that though the hope of gospel victory sounds strange to the modern evangelical, the basic theology of Scripture is quite congenial to it. Indeed, these factors suggest the prima facie plausibility of postmillennialism. Continue reading
CHRISTIANITY’S GROWTH IN IRAN
PMW 2019-045 by Afshin Ziafat (Desiring God)
Robert Bruce, a Scottish missionary to Iranian Muslims in the late nineteenth century, wrote home to his supporters, “I am not reaping the harvest; I scarcely claim to be sowing the seed; I am hardly ploughing the soil; but I am gathering out the stones. That, too, is missionary work; let it be supported by loving sympathy and fervent prayer.”
For many years, Iran was one of the most difficult regions of the world to reach with the gospel. A significant development occurred in 1979, however, with the Islamic Revolution in Iran. The ruling monarch, Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, was overthrown, and in his place an Islamic Republic was birthed, led by the Ayatollah Khomeini. Sharia law became the law of the land, and Muslim clerics became the heads of state. Continue reading
GOSPEL SPREADING FASTER THAN EVER
PMW 2019-021 by Brandon Shoalter (The Christian Post)
Gentry note: The spiritual, moral, social, and cultural decline of America grieves American Christians. But as a postmillennialist, I remind Christians that “it ain’t over til it’s over.” Nowhere in the postmillennial hope or the Bible do we argue that by the year 2019 the gospel will have won victory throughout the world. This will be the case, even though at this stage we do not know when. Nevertheless, there is hope for the gospel’s spread, as we may see from this Christian Post article about Wycliff Translators.
I would also remind American Christians of two things: (1) We need to pray for revival and reformation in America. God is powerful and he answers prayers. (2) We must understand that God does not need America; America needs God. Thus, the absurdity leading our cultural collapse does not impact the integrity of the postmillennial hope.
New Bible Translation Technology by Wycliffe Spreading Gospel Faster than Ever Before
New technology has emerged that will enable quicker translation of the Bible and faster spread of the Gospel, accelerated by indigenous people doing the work of translation.
Wycliffe Bible Translators has recently adapted their translation software, “ParaText,” for smartphones, dubbing it “ParaText Lite,” and has described it as a game-changer in several ways. Continue reading
POSTMILLENNIAL PRAYER
POSTMILLENNIAL PRAYER
PMW 2019-008 by Chalcedon Foundation (Editorial)
If prayer is talking with God, then our prayer life is most vital when it is most frequent, when our hearts and minds readily and constantly call upon God in every kind of situation.[1]
There’s an old saying that goes, “Pray like it all depends upon God but work like it all depends upon you.” As Reformed Christians seeking to fulfill the mission of godly reconstruction, this is precisely how we should live, because prayer is not opposed to work, and work is not opposed to prayer. As Rushdoony once wrote, “Prayer is not a substitute for action but its accompaniment.”[2] Continue reading
CHRISTIANITY DEAD IN EUROPE???
PMW 2018-079 by John D. Martin (The Federalist)
Gentry note: This is an encouraging article that notes “there have been increasing signs of a real and sustained Christian revival in Europe, hardly reported and barely noticed in press across the pond.” Of course, we know on the basis of Scripture that this will ultimately be the case, but it is good to see signs of that today.
As we can see from the article, with the growth of Christian belief, we need to promote true Christian training in biblical doctrine. The Great Commission not only promotes faith, but training in that faith.
There is an old joke about a Christian lady who was responding to a friend who believed “God is dead.” This humble believer responded: “I know God is not dead! There is no casket big enough to hold him and I am in the family and haven’t been notified.” God is not dead. Neither is belief in God dead.
“Reports of Christianity’s Death in Europe Have Been Greatly Exaggerated”
by John D. Martin
Since the 2007 publication of Philip Jenkin’s God’s Continent: Christianity, Islam and Europe’s Religious Crisis, observers of religious trends in European culture have been keeping a close eye on developments that might validate his sanguine view that Europe could see a revival in Christian belief. Richard J. Neuhaus, in his review of it in First Things at the time, thought the view was “too roseate.” Continue reading
HOPE AND THE GREAT “I AM”
PMT 2018-022 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr.
Postmillennialism goes against the pessimistic expectations of contemporary Christianity. Christians have adopted Woody Allen’s view of life: “More than any other time in history, mankind faces a crossroads. One path leads to despair and utter hopelessness. The other, to total extinction. Let us pray we have the wisdom to choose correctly.”
This is because we take our eyes off of God and his great power. We are like the Israelites who feared entering the land. We declare that “we are not able to go up against the people, for they are too strong for us” (Num. 13:31). We need to gain a renewed sense of the glory and power of God. Continue reading
Postmillennial Worldview 
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