He Shall Have Dominion

82 He Shall Have Dominion
make their system function — dismiss postmillennialism’s
argumentation. L. S. Chafer writes it off as wholly devoid of biblical
foundations: “Doubtless the stress upon Bible study of the present
century has served to uncover the unscriptural character of this system.
Its advocates have not been able to meet the challenge made to them to
produce one Scripture which teaches a millennium before the advent of
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Christ, or that teaches an advent of Christ after the Millennium.”
John F. Walvoord protests in a similar vein: “the contenders for
postmillennialism never set up their own view in a solid way. After all,
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the issue is whether postmillennialism is taught in the Bible.” Thomas
D. Ice complains: “After fourteen years of study it is my belief that there
is not one passage anywhere in Scripture that would lead to the postmillennial
system. The best postmillennialism can come up with is a
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position built upon an inference.” Later he asserts that “the
postmillennial idea of progress is not found in any particular text of the
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Bible.” Richard Young writes: “The primary weakness of postmillennial-
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ism . . . is that it lacks exegetical support.”
79. Chafer, Systematic Theology, 4:281.
80. Walvoord, “Review of House Divided,” 370.
81. House and Ice, Dominion Theology, 9–10.
82. Ice in Couch, Dictionary of Premillennial Theology, 310. Perhaps we should
argue that the “idea of progress” can be found in unmentioned gaps — such as
dispensationalists insert into Scripture, as in Da 9:24–27.
83. Young, “Review of Dominion Theology: Blessing or Curse?” (GTJ): 115.