Difference between Postmillennial and Optimistic Amillennial

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Si
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Difference between Postmillennial and Optimistic Amillennial

Post by Si » Fri May 26, 2017 8:24 pm

I have to say, I'm not sure how to differentiate between these two positions. The two postmillennialists I am familiar with, Gary DeMar and Kenneth Gentry to my knowledge define the millennium in the same way as amillennialists, that is a long period of time symbolic of the church age. But they expect the gospel to be successful to the point of putting under Christ's authority all of earth's institutions. I have listened to quite a few lectures by amillennialist Kim Riddlebarger, and his objection to this is he sees in scripture a friction between the institutions of the world and the Church, and the Church as always facing tribulation by the world until the second coming. Some might label Riddlebarger a pessimistic amillennialist. Contrary to this, in postmillennialism, a Church that takes over worldly institutions will obviously not face tribulation from them.

So is the difference between postmillennialism and optimistic Amillennialism just a matter of degree? I seem to remember Steve once calling himself an optimistic amillennialist, but if I am wrong, please correct me. Any recommendations of optimistic amillennialist teachers or ministries would also be appreciated. Thanks a lot!

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steve
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Re: Difference between Postmillennial and Optimistic Amillen

Post by steve » Sat May 27, 2017 9:26 am

DeMar, Gentry, and Chilton all call themselves postmillennialists, though, as you say, they interpret the thousand years as the present age of the church—just as amillennialists do. I think it was more common, in earlier postmillennialism, to see the thousand years as a long period at the tail end of the church age, which would come about through the future conversion of the nations. It seems to me that DeMar, Gentry and Chilton would more properly be called optimistic amillennialists, since they believe the there is no future millennium, either before or after the second coming. However, I will allow them to label themselves, since they would be more familiar than anyone else with the nuances of their position.

I could call myself an optimistic amillennialist. However, my optimism does not extend to the belief that the nations will all be converted and politically christianized. My optimism is in regards to what Christ intends to make of His church. I see predictions of a kingdom growing like a plant in stages—first the blade, then the head, then the ripe grain in the head (Mark 4:26-29). The harvest comes when the grain is mature. I see the prediction of the whole church coming to be "a mature man... to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ" (Eph.4:13). I see the maturity of the church as being measured in its holiness and its unity—not in its political power. In fact, I consider that the milieu of persecution would be very consistent with the process of maturing that I am picturing.

On the other hand, I am not prepared to deny the prospect of broad success of the gospel, of widespread conversions, even resulting in the transformation of nations. There is no reason why any sinner (or all sinners) could not be converted, as we have been. In revival times, we have seen something of what the Spirit can do in harvesting vast numbers of souls. What the limits of this power of the gospel may be, who can say? If the overwhelming majority of people in a given country were to become genuine disciples of Jesus, this could hardly fail to impact the institutions of that society in just the manner that some postmillennialists envision. If so, I believe it would be a by-product of the goal of the revival—not the primary purpose of it. I am not of the persuasion that the Bible clearly predicts such political changes in all the nations. However, I do see the parable of the leaven as telling us that there will be general improvement in societies where the gospel has had its greatest impact.

Si
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Location: Wisconsin

Re: Difference between Postmillennial and Optimistic Amillen

Post by Si » Sat May 27, 2017 6:01 pm

Thanks Steve, for that well thought out answer, I really appreciate it.

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