Definition
Postmillennialism is the eschatological position that Christ returns after a golden age of Kingdom rule on earth. In this view the church, through evangelism and sanctification, prepares the world for Christ’s reign; once all nations have been disciplined and the Gospel has triumphed, Christ returns to ratify the final consummation. In its strong form (Puritan theocratic postmillennialism) a literal period of abundance and righteousness is expected. In its weaker form (overcoming eschatology, Kingdom Now) the emphasis is on the church as the instrument of Kingdom expansion without a fixed chronology for the return.
Usage in the Corpus
George Warnock
Warnock approaches postmillennialism through his insistence that the Church’s overcoming band must lay the enemies of Christ at his feet before he returns. He grounds this in Ps. 110:1: “God hath said, ‘Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.’ (Ps. 110:1.) And the last enemy is Death! (1Cor. 15:26).” The great tribulation will also be cut short by the sons of God: “the great tribulation itself is going to be cut short because of the sons of God… ‘For the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened’ (Matt. 24:22).” Yet Warnock holds no strict postmillennial chronology and also expects a future literal second coming following the overcomers’ season. His position is best described as overcoming-eschatology. [Warnock, The Feast of Tabernacles, Ch. 12, 14]