Amillennialism vs Postmillennialism: What’s the REAL Difference?

Tyler Reddick here from 2311 Racing.

Victory Lane?

Yeah, it's even better with Chumba by my side.

Race to chumpacaceno.com, let's Chumba.

No purchase necessary, VTW Group,

voidware prohibited by law, CTNC's, 21 plus,

sponsored by ChumbaCaceno.

Steadfastagars.com.

Use promo code Covenant10 for 10% off your order.

Welcome to the based Boomer podcast

on Eschatology Matters, part of the Fight,

Black Feast Network.

What distinguishes off-millennialism from post-millennialism?

While I very much appreciate my off-millennialist brethren,

or what I call practical post-millennialists,

it's important to understand that being optimistic or not

is not what separates these two eschatological perspectives.

It's more than merely seeing the glass half full.

On a surface level, that is non-theological or biblical,

it can appear the two have much in common.

But our eschatological optimism is the result of something

much deeper than a desire to see things turn out

the way we want.

Having an optimistic perspective

with a fundamentally pessimistic theology

is like running up hill.

When you believe things are going to the proverbial hell

in a hand basket, one way ticket.

It's tough to maintain a positive outlook.

As those of you who are familiar with my work will know,

I was born again into the late Great Planet Earth, late 1970s,

which meant I accepted the dispensational,

pre-millennialist outlook on eschatology and the world.

Things were getting increasingly worse quickly,

and the rapture was happening any day.

So be ready to go.

Such newspaper eschatology got weirysome after a while,

and even after my stint seminary,

I wasn't really keen on eschatology.

That led me to adopt a kind of eschatological agnosticism,

what I later termed pan-millennialism,

or it will all pan out in the end, as indeed it will,

but that's a cop out.

Because I was a recovering dispensationalist,

I was convinced God didn't see fit to reveal much

that wasn't confusing about eschatology, so I bother.

But would God really want to confuse us

and leave us in the dark about a topic as important

as how it all ends, where everything is headed

and how we get there?

Sure, every orthodox Christian agrees

that as the Creed says, Jesus will come from the right hand

of God to judge the living and the dead.

We know God will usher in a new heavens and earth,

where sin and suffering and sorrow will be no more,

and he will wipe every tear from our eyes.

The question is whether it is true

that the world is going to hell in a hand basket,

and Jesus comes back like Batman to save the day.

That's what I used to believe,

and what most Christians believe,

or alternatively, did God begin establishing his kingdom

at Christ's first coming?

And like a mustard seed in Levin, it is slowly

and inevitably growing throughout the entire earth

to eventually usher in the final sin-free

and reconciled kingdom on a new heavens and new earth

when Christ returns.

These are the questions which most Christians would never ask,

and if you ask it, they think you've been drinking

too much of the funny Jews.

My journey through all millennialism to post-millennialism.

For whatever reason, God created me as something

of an idealist with a kind of ambition

where I believed if I worked hard enough,

I could accomplish anything.

Of course, that's not true,

but when I was young, I believed it completely.

My dad used to make fun of me.

My first obsession being a SoCal boy was surfing,

and I just had to have that David Nueve surfboard

and went to the beach to work on my surfing

as much as I could.

Then I moved on to Qatar, and without doubt,

I would be one of the greats.

Eddie Van Halen had nothing on me,

and being from SoCal himself, I saw him as a rival,

which is kind of funny.

I practice for hours every day and got pretty good,

but not close to Eddie Van Halen good.

One thing my dad would never let me forget

was herring him to get me a wawa pedal.

For the rest of his life, he would say to me,

you just had to have the wawa pedal.

Yeah, dad, then I could play Robin Trower and Hendrix.

Then I got diverted into golf,

and not only did I want to be great,

but in fact, the greatest in the world.

Sadly, I only had the talent

to be the greatest in my family.

Yes, delusions of grandeur came easily to me.

Then I went away to college and got born again,

and the idealism didn't stop there.

I was going to become a missionary

and change the world like William Carey,

but realized I'm addicted to the comforts of American life.

Then after college, it was politics.

I'd learned what it means to have a Christian worldview

from Francis Schaeffer,

and determined to apply it to all of life.

And I dove into political activism.

It didn't take long to get disillusioned with that.

I'd embraced reform theology

and went to Westminster Seminary in Philadelphia,

and academia was my next route to change the world.

God would rescue me from that life

because I met my wife at Westminster,

and we were married and started life together.

We got involved in an Amway business,

which my older readers will be familiar with

for the decade of the 90s,

and that was the next vehicle to change the world and get rich.

That didn't happen.

Then in the late 2010s,

after I'd gotten disillusioned with politics again,

I decided to start a nonprofit called The Culture Project,

because I realized that's the way we have to change America.

That didn't go anywhere either.

Through all these permutations of my delusions,

I still maintained my idealism.

Then, in 2014, I embraced homolognalism.

I didn't intend to become a pessimist,

but in hindsight, I see that's what it did to me.

When I embraced it through the teaching of scholar,

theologian and pastor, Kim Riddlebarker,

I was so excited to learn that God actually did

have something to say about, quote, end times.

Eschatology wasn't just a means of too confusion

and bickering after all.

It was only after my embrace of post-millennialism

in August of 2022, that I could look back

and see what all millennialism did to my idealism,

that being dispensational and Pam Mill could not.

Anyone who is familiar with my story knows it was Steve Bannon

and his War Room podcast after the debacle of the 2020 election,

who slowly turned me into an optimist.

I then started to look for a theological,

biblical justification for my growing optimism

and founded in the eschatological position

I'd rejected all my life as a joke.

I did not see that coming.

It was one of the many ongoing effects of the Red Pill

I unknowingly took when Donald J. Trump

came down the golden escalator at Trump Tower in June 2015

to run for president.

It's kind of amazing to me that at almost the age of 55,

I would begin to rethink so many of the things in my life

and change my mind more often than not.

I'm an object lesson to not allow our beliefs

to become so ossified that when presented

with different ideas and facts and perspectives,

we won't change our minds.

Prior to Bannon and still embracing all millennialism,

I even got to the point where I would mock my younger self

for being an idealist.

I'm not changing the world because the world can't change.

I came to believe the world isn't changing fundamentally

until Jesus returns.

Sin was too powerful a force in a fallen world

filled with fallen people to change

and things would get worse

until Jesus returned to clean up the mess.

After my, quote, conversion,

I tried to figure out why I'd come to believe this so strongly.

Mind you, prior to that,

I still believed in the things getting worse

in Jesus coming back to save the day paradigm,

but it personally didn't turn me into a pessimist.

All millennialism did.

Why most all millennialists are pessimists?

This is a bit of a sensitive topic

because our all millennialist brethren

don't really like to be considered pessimists.

I certainly would never have considered myself one of them,

especially given my history,

but that's what I became.

It goes with the territory.

An interesting aside, as we discussed this topic,

is that I've found that even though

pre-millennial dispensationalists,

according to their theology,

should be even more pessimistic than all millennialists,

they often become the most robust culture warriors

while the omils generally don't.

You would think it might be the other way around.

I'm all for theological inconsistency when it comes to this.

One thing you'll find widespread among omils

is Christian worldview thinking,

but as I argue and have written about on my blog,

while it is a requirement for all Christians,

a Christian worldview is not enough,

and we'll put a link to that in the notes.

The reason is that it is primarily

an intellectual exercise,

rather than a theological imperative rooted

in the authority of the ascended Christ,

the right hand of the power of God.

Things will get better,

and the influence of Christianity will spread like

leaven and bread, Matthew 13,

not because people are thinking

in a Christian way about things,

but because God in his power through Christ

is advancing his kingdom, extending Christ's reign,

and building his church,

it's not our work that makes the difference,

but God working in through and for us.

What post-millennialism is not, is positive thinking.

It's realistic biblical thinking.

The omils don't see it this way.

I'll give you a couple quotes from a piece written

by the man who persuaded me to become omil.

Referring to the Olivet Discourse,

a piece in Modern Reformation Magazine,

he says,

Jesus himself speaks of world conditions

at the time of his return as being similar

to the way things were in the days of Noah.

Hardly a period in world history characterized

by the Christianizing of the nations

and the near universal acceptance of the gospel

associated with so-called optimistic forms of eschatology.

This assumes a futuristic perspective on Jesus words,

that what he's talking about

is his second coming at the end of time,

not what a preterist like me believes

that Jesus was speaking to the generation

who was listening to his words.

As Jesus says, just a few verses before his reference

to Noah, truly I tell you,

this generation will certainly not pass away

until all these things have happened.

So just three verses before the passage Kim uses

to refer to a generation thousands of years into the future,

Jesus says it's his generation.

People try to make his words into something they are not,

but in Greek or English or any other language you choose,

this means this generation,

not some other one far off into the future.

In another passage from the same piece he says,

aside from the fact that many contemporary notions

of optimism have stronger ties to the enlightenment

than to the new testament,

the new testament's teaching regarding human depravity

should give us pause not to be too optimistic

about what simple men and women can accomplish

in terms of turning the city of man into the temple of God.

This of course assumes post-colonialism's case

for optimism comes more from human than biblical teaching,

but it doesn't.

That's one of the reasons I embraced it,

realizing I'd gotten this wrong

in the case for eschatological optimism

was thoroughly biblical and exegetical.

Kim is not a fan of the optimistic,

pessimistic paradigm to say the least,

and I would respond more and I responded more in depth

to Kim in a piece I did previously,

which will link to as well.

Why post-millennialists are optimistic?

The ascension in Christ's kingship.

It wasn't, but a few weeks after I embraced post-millennialism

that I heard Doug Wilson on a video say, quote,

now you have the theological justification

for your optimism.

Bingo, that's what I was looking for

and God provided it, amazing.

And this optimism had nothing to do with secularism

and science and human knowledge that distorted post-millennialism

in the 19th century, but with God's clear declarations

in scripture of victory in Christ.

We see this through all the covenant promises

and prophetic declarations in the Old Testament,

pointing forward to Christ.

It's easy enough to pick out the declarations of judgment,

but to me they are overwhelmed by the power

in contrast to the declarations of victory

of God's kingdom rule to come.

Again, it is the scriptural proclamation of victory

of the plans of God that compelled me

to embrace post-millennialism

once my mind was opened to it,

which previously was shut like a trap door

I was convinced was unable to be opened.

Since that is the basis of our eschatological hope,

not only in the present age,

but also in the one to come, Ephesians 121,

I will end with one passage and how I see it now

and others like it as applying to Christ's first coming

and not his second as I used to.

Reading through Micah recently,

I came to these stirring words in chapter four.

In the last days, the mountain of the Lord's temple

will be established as the highest of the mountains.

It will be exalted above the hills

and peoples will stream to it.

Many nations will come and say,

come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,

to the temple of the God of Jacob.

He will teach us his ways

so that we may walk in his paths.

The law will go out from Zion,

the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

He will judge between many peoples.

He will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide.

They will beat their swords into plowshares

and their spears into pruning hooks.

Nation will not take up sword against nation,

nor will they train for war anymore.

Everyone will sit under his own vine

and under his own fig tree

and no one will make them afraid

for the Lord Almighty has spoken.

All the nations may walk in the name of their gods

but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever

and ever.

With my futurist assumptions,

I automatically saw this

and many other passages like it

as of course applying to Jesus' second coming,

swords into plowshares,

not in this fallen world.

Now I realize that's exactly why Jesus came

to bring as the shepherds proclaimed,

peace on earth, good will poured men.

If you compare the ancient world

into which Jesus was born to the modern world

as brutal as it still can be,

it is peaceful in comparison

all because of the prince of peace.

Just because the peace hasn't yet seeped

into every nook and cranny of existence,

doesn't mean the peace hasn't come,

been coming slowly all over the world

since the resurrection, ascension, and pentecost.

No Christian would deny that peace has come

to personal relationships and families

but it isn't limited to that.

The modern world shaped by the life-death resurrection

and ascension of Christ is utterly different

than the ancient world

into which Jesus was born.

It is also clear as it is in many other such passages

that they are speaking of life in a fallen world,

not a perfected, sinless, and restored world.

References to disputes among nations

imply sin still exists.

So does the possibility of being made afraid

or nations walking in the name of some other God.

The kingdom's coming is a painfully slow,

mostly imperceptible process

until you look in the rearview mirror.

It nonetheless transforms wherever it goes.

Maybe in a decade or even a century,

it doesn't look much like much transformation is happening

but look back 2000 years

and the transformation is as obvious

as a volcano in full bloom.

Reading scripture, especially the Old Testament

with transformation expectations,

can bring a new appreciation

for what Christ is doing in our own day.

We find ourselves in a pivotal era

filled with defining moments and global shits.

What's the significance of it all?

While many perceive doom and gloom,

going back to find the way forward argues

that these times are not only clarifying

but also immensely hopeful.

There's a silver lining waiting to be seized.

The metaphorical, red pill has awakened millions

to truths previously obscured.

Enter Donald Trump, the relentless dispenser

of this awakening.

As truth comes to light,

the enemies of honesty are unmasked,

marking the onset of another great awakening.

Our contemporary awakening fuels a renewed confidence

at the possibility of a refounded nation,

true human flourishing and liberty and justice for all.

Available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble,

Audible and iTunes.

The steadfast legacy Sumatra is a bold cigar

with a nice balance of spice, leather and dried fruit.

You can find these in all our other premium cigars

at steadfastcigars.com.

Use promo code Eschatology10 for 10% off your order.

Permain steadfast and hold the line.

At Amika Insurance, your time and peace of mind matter.

Bundle your auto and home coverage with us

and enjoy savings that make life a little easier.

As a mutual insurance company,

we're built for our customers.

We prioritize your needs and are here for you

when you need us.

Amika Empathy is our best policy.

Visit amika.com and get a quote today.

Tyler Reddick here from 2311 Racing.

The rush of racing, nothing beats it,

but Jumpa Casino comes close.

Jumpa's got fast spins, fun games, daily bonuses

and all the action you can handle.

Now that's a ride.

Ready to hit the throttle, get in the driver's seat

and head to chumbachsino.com.

Let's chumbach.

Sponsored by Chumbach Casino, no purchase necessary.

VGW Group Voidware prohibited by law, 21 plus turns

and conditions apply.