POSTMILLENNIALISM AND APOLOGETICS (1)

apologetics June 6, 2017 Leave a comment

PMT 2017-045 by Mike Warren (Christian Civilization Blog)

I propose five points where postmillennial eschatology shapes and supports Christian apologetics:

1. Postmillennialism means that we eventually persuade the world with our arguments.
2. Postmillennialism validates the resurrection and the truth of Jesus’ message.
3. Postmillennialism refutes the skeptics’ claim that Jesus broke His promise to return.
4. Postmillennialism is the biblical anecdote to failed predictions of Christ’s Second Coming.
5. Postmillennialism was an important influence in the Scientific Revolution. Continue reading →

PRACTICING POSTMILLENNIALISM (5)

witness June 2, 2017 Leave a comment

PMT 2017-044 by Jeffery J. Ventrella

This is our final installment in our five-part series on the practical implementation of postmillennialism. In this article I will consider:

Habituating Christian Humility

Thus far I have explored the ethical implications that should flow from consistently holding to theonomic postmillennialism. In doing so the doctrine (orthodoxy) of this eschatological position has been assumed in order to focus on the conduct (orthopraxis) that the teaching implies: Promoting the primacy of the Gospel; demonstrating evangelistic and missiological zeal; cultivating Christendomic consciousness; and practicing courageous, strategic, and principled cultural engagement. Continue reading →

PRACTICING POSTMILLENNIALISM (4)

Culture May 30, 2017 Leave a comment

PMT 2017-043 by Jeffery J. Ventrella, J.D.

In this series on the practice of postmillennialism we now come to our fourth installment. We will now consider:

Practicing Cultural Engagement

Certainly God works “all things according to the counsel of his will,” but the Lord also “works in you, both to will and to do his good pleasure.” (Eph. 1:11; Phil. 2:13, ESV). The Creator of the universe has ordained that men, and especially redeemed men, should be agents for accomplishing His eschatological purpose. As morally responsible agents, men choose and men make critical (and not-so-critical) decisions. A postmillennial eschatology demands that, when choosing, men consciously practice courageous, strategic, and principled cultural engagement. Continue reading →

PRACTICING POSTMILLENNIALISM (3)

Kingdom May 26, 2017 1 Comment

PMT 2017-042 by Jeffery J. Ventrella, J.D.

This is the third installment in the series. In this issue we will highlight:

Cultivating Christendomic Consciousness

Theonomic postmillennialism also demands that one cultivate Christendomic consciousness. God has promised to redeem “a people”consecrated for His purposes. This coming reality will progress in history (“living stones” fitted together to form a “New Temple”) and will climax as an eschatological collective (the Bride, the New Jerusalem, etc.). Accordingly therefore, to live consistently with these coming eschatological realities requires Christians intentionally to develop an awareness for God’s present Christendomic work in, among, with, and through His people. Continue reading →

PRACTICING POSTMILLENNIALISM (2)

Evangelism May 23, 2017 1 Comment

This is the second in a series on the practice of postmillennialism. Too often postmillennialists are theoreticians rather than practitioners. This ought not be! In this article we consider:

Demonstrating Evangelistic Zeal

I have shown how true postmillennial zeal promotes the primacy of the gospel. The cross is foundational to God’s eschatological victory; in fact, the cross guarantees eschatological victory. Correlatively, theonomic postmillennialism also demands that one demonstrate evangelistic and missiological zeal as well. I will now explore this latter ethical implication of optimistic eschatology. Continue reading →

PRACTICING POSTMILLENNIALISM (1)

Evangelism, Great Commission May 19, 2017 Leave a comment

PMT 2017-040 by Jeffery J. Ventrella, J.D.

In this study series, I will addresses a vital, yet often overlooked topic: the ethics of eschatology. Stated simply the pertinent question posed is: If theonomic postmillennialism is true—and it certainly is—then what differences here and now should this conviction make in the lives of Christians and their churches? What should be the character, and what should be the conduct of a professing postmillennialist?

The answer to this question is multi-faceted. At least five ethical implications flow from postmillennial convictions. Theonomic postmillennialism—rightly conceived and practiced—demands our: Continue reading →

CONSERVATIVE CHURCHES ARE GROWING

Church May 16, 2017 1 Comment

PMT 2017-039 by Kate Shellnutt (Christianity Today)

Amid the decades-long decline in mainline Protestantism in North America, researchers in Canada recently found an “elusive sample” of congregations whose growth has bucked the trend.

The key characteristic these exceptional Anglican, Presbyterian, Lutheran, and United churches had in common? Evangelical theology.

With fewer evangelicals and more secular surroundings than their brethren in the United States, Canada’s mainline denominations collectively lost half of their members over the past 50 years. Continue reading →