Types of Questions
When it comes to my questions about Postmillennial eschatology, I find it hard to quantify it all. It seems confusing at so many different levels. In this post, I'll attempt to categorize them.
Hermeneutical & Exegetical
Hermeneutical questions relate to the way Postmillennialists (i.e., Posties) read or interpret scripture. As I work through their writings, it often feels like they handle the Bible in the same way Dispensationalists do. That is to say, I think they use the same hermeneutic, but since the hermeneutic is flawed, it leaves the reader blowing in the wind when it comes to interacting with Old Testament prophecies.
Related to the hermeneutical questions, which I think has to do with broader interpretive assumptions, I’ll also be looking much more closely at how the Posties handle specific texts (i.e., exegesis).
Contextual & Intertextual
Closely related to hermeneutics, I’ll often be reviewing how Posties understand the relationship between various apostolic writings within the New Testament as well as how they understand the relationship between Old Testament texts and the New Testament. In the Reformed tradition, we believe that clear text should help us understand less clear texts. Since Posties tend to emphasize Old Testament prophecies of blessing that were given to Israel, we’ll need to dig in deeper in this area.
Chronological & Historical
Although I am not a student of Historical Theology, it’s interesting to me that our modern Posties work so hard at associating themselves with the historic Postmillennial authors as they seek to be taken seriously in a day when almost no one agrees with them. Even so, when I read those same authors (Jonathan Edwards, etc.), I find even the most optimistic older authors to be much more pessimistic than any of the modern Posties would ever be willing to admit.
Anthropological & Political
In my reading of the New Testament, it appears to me that we should be fairly pessimistic when it comes to our understanding of how ‘successful’ the spread of the gospel will be as it relates to transforming the world at any one point in time. Many of my questions will drill into how Jesus and the apostles could be so pessimistic, if they believed that the world would ultimately be inherently Christianized.
Liturgical & Practical
One of the foremost reasons I come across for why the church needs to move to a Postmillennial eschatology is fundamentally practical. The Posties believe that only an optimistic eschatology is robust enough to enable the gospel to be passed on from one generation to another. I’m guessing we’ll return to motivation in many different posts.
My Own Views
While I may not spell out exactly what I believe in any given post, I will be using these exercises to help shape my own thinking as I go along.