He Shall Have Dominion

the rod of his mouth as an earthen vessel, just as the prophets have
111
prophesied concerning the magnificence of his reign.
112
This hope appears in his commentary on Micah 4:1–4. There he
sees the church as God’s mountain (197), and states: “He speaks of God’s
mountain being so exalted above the others that its glory and wonder
will be known throughout the world, in order that God might be
worshipped there” (191). “Micah proclaims how all the world will be
brought to God at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. This reunification
has already begun, is taking place now, and will continue until the end of
the world” (200). “Jesus Christ has been designated the Lord, not simply
of one corner of the world, but of all nations” (206). “Jesus Christ will
silence the world’s clamor and animosity, and, instead of mankind engaging
in evil, they will change their manner of behavior, even caring enough
to assist each other” (210). “Since our Lord Jesus Christ’s kingdom has
hardly begun, it is necessary for it to be implemented little by little, until
it achieves its full perfection” (213). These statements do not reflect
eschatological pessimism; and his views were adopted by his Puritan and
postmillennial successors. They had good reasons to see postmillennial
optimism in Calvin. 113
I previously mentioned the most important systematizer of English
postmillennialism, Thomas Brightman (1562–1607). In addition to him,
a growing and influential number of English Puritans and their heirs
present postmillennial views well before Whitby, as several important
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historical studies demonstrate. We can list a great number of prominent
Reformed writers from this era. Consider the following samples:
William Perkins (1558–1602) Thomas Brooks (1608–1680)
William Gouge (1575-1653) John Howe (1630–1705)
111. John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, 1:12.
112. Citations and page references are from: Calvin, Sermons on the Book of
Micah.
113. Amillennialist hesitantly admits: “Calvin gave expression to some ideas
that received greater emphasis in later Presbyterian and Puritan writers who were
more evidently postmillennialist in outlook.” Venema, Promise of the Future, 222.
114. Toon, Puritans, the Millennium and the Future of Israel; Popkin, ed., Millennialism
and Messianism in English Literature and Thought 1650–1800; Ball, Great
Expectation. See also: the previous references to historical works by Iain Murray,
J. A. DeJong, James R. Payton, Greg L. Bahnsen, A. J. Gilsdorf.