He Shall Have Dominion

12
ESCHATOLOGY AND CONSUMMATION
But each in his own turn: Christ, the first fruits; then, when he comes, those
who belong to him. Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom
to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. (1
Corinthians 15:23–24)
Postmillennialism is quite close to amillennialism in its understanding
of the eschatological complex of end time events. As such, it is in
harmony with the church’s historic creeds, which know nothing of a
millennial era in redemptive history, nor allow for more than one
1
resurrection and judgment. Consequently, regarding consummational
events, postmillennialism stands in direct opposition to all forms of
premillennialism, whether historic (e.g., George E. Ladd, Robert Mounce,
Grant Osborne, and Craig L. Blomberg), dispensational (e.g., Charles
Ryrie, John F. Walvoord, J. Dwight Pentecost, and Robert L. Thomas), or
cultic (e.g., Seventh-day Adventist, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Church of
Jesus Christ, Latter-day Saints).
2
The redemptive-historical, preteristic postmillennialism I promote
in this book differs, as well, from the radical preterism of a few writers,
who see the second advent (including the “rapture,” destruction of Satan,
3
the resurrection, and judgment) as occurring in AD 70. My preterism is
fully orthodox. I will focus on four major final-eschatological issues: the
Second Advent, the resurrection, the final judgment, and the eternal
state. Because this work focuses primarily on the optimistic distinctives
1. See: Schaff, Creeds of Christendom, 3 vols.
2. For “preterism” see ch. 7 “Hermeneutic of Scripture”; ch. 14: “Eschatological
Features”; and ch. 16: “Eschatological Apocalypse.” For the hyper-preterist
imbalance and error see: Appendix: “The Hyper-Preterist Error.”
3. See especially the masterfully written book by J. Stuart Russell, The Parousia:
A Study of the New Testament Doctrine of Our Lord’s Second Coming (1887; 1983). For
more recent works see: Frost, Misplaced Hope (2002). Fenley, The Second Coming
of Jesus Christ Already Happened (1997). Noe, Beyond the End Times (1999). See my
Appendix: “The Hyper-preterist Error.”