Attain Victory In Jesus: The Bright Hope Of Postmillenialism Produced By Greg L. Bahnsen Conveyed As Booklet

really enjoyed this audiobook, If you want to listen to it you can find it here: sitelink apple. com/us/podcast or on cmfnow. com. It washours andmins long,

Even if you dont agree with the post millennial view of eschatology I think you find the Scriptural arguments compelling, youll be encouraged by the reminder of the Kingdom of God, the success of evangelism, and a solid doctrine on Satan and demonology this last one is the last chapter of you want to skip to it.


God bless.

Soli Deo Gloria Easy to read introduction to the postmillennial eschatological view, Bahnsen explains the partial preterist interpretation of the book of Revelation, He compares postmillennialism to the other eschatological views, premillennialism and amillennialism, showing where they are in agreement and disagreement, In the chapter The Prima Facia Acceptability of Postmillennialism Bahnsen explains how there has been a decline in adherence to postmillennialism due to the rise of theological liberalism, dispensationalism, and evolutionary progressivism.
Also in this chapter Bahnsen refutes common misconceptions about this view as well as quotes extensively from well know theologians, hymn writers, and commentators, mostly from the reformed tradition, who have had an optimistic eschatology.
The last chapter deals with Satan and his binding, This collection by Greg Bahnsen was collected and published posthumously, Excellent book making the case for postmillenialism, I would love to have everyone I know read this book, Very very good! A compilation of articles put together posthumously supporting postmillennial eschatology, The first couple chapters are easy and practical explanations on the subject, The second two are more scholarly, Bahnsen gives an historical overview at one point and shows how postmillennialism was the majority report in Reformed circles up until WW II, The last chapter he talks about Satan and how he may be alive on planet earth but he ain't well, . . He gives much scriptural evidence to support this position, A useful overview of Postmillenial eschatology, Some weaknesses in the book cannot be directed at Bahnsen since this book was edited after he passed away the book is composed of some lectures He gave on eschatology and some journal articles, so it may have been different and more thorough on some portions if Bahnsen had written the book himself.
I still recommend it as a useful introduction to Postmillenialism, even through I affirm an Amillenial Idealist position and found Bahnsen's critique of Amillenialism lacking, as well as some of his support for postmillenialism.


Some of the high points that were useful was Bahnsen's summary of thetenets of Postmillenial eschatology pg,, His useful section comparing some of the basic commonalities and differences between premillenialism, amillenialism, and postmillenialism pg,. He focuses on themajor disagreements fundamental to one's eschatological position:, chronology of the millenium,. the nature of the millenial kingdom, Bahnsen did an excellent job refuting strawman arguments i, e. Postmillenialism is based on enlightenment or secular eschatology, which is the common guilt by association argument that can be used against anybody's eschatology since the cults such as JWs and Islam resemble a premillenial eschatology and people will argue against amillenialism by arguing that it is the view of the Roman Catholic Church.
He makes the important distinction often missed in describing Postmillenials' view of the kingdom of God that they admit it is gradual such as the parable of the mustard seed, so merely citing WWI amp II doesn't refute the plausibility of Postmillenialism, a refutation requires dealing with both hermeneutical presuppositions and exegesis.


Bahnsen's last chapter on the Person, work, and present state of Jesus was a useful overview describing Satan's role, the conflict between the Kingdom of God and Kingdom of Satan.
Bahnsen did a good job of explaining how Satan has been weakened and bound by virtue of Christ's death, burial, and resurrection, and he spends most of the time in the chapter explaining what word and age mean in terms of the Bible's description of Satan as God of this world and the relationship of this age and the age to come Bahnsen views the present and future age as overlapping, which is not theage model of amillenialism.


I havemajor criticisms of Bahnsen's book, In his response to Amillenialism he argues that Postmillenialism is the most balanced view as a middle road between premillenialism and amillenialism in hermeneutics,

"One reason biblical postmillenialism is worthy of consideration is that it does justice to two factors: one of which the premillenialists use against amillenialists and the other the amillenialists against premilenialists.
Postmillenialism is able to incorporate the strengths of both the other two positions, The strength of amillenialism is its understanding of the timing of God's kingdomthat the millenium began at the first advent of Jesus Christ and at the end of the Church age there will be a general resurrection and a general judgmentno millennial kingdom after Jesus returns.
That is its strength, and it has always urged that against premillenialism, One the other hand, the premillenialist turn around and urge against the amillenialists the visible and earthly successes for God's kingdom, which are clearly promised in the Bible, Amillenialists are always at a disadvantage here, because they end up having to do such gymnastics to explain how all these really powerful promises of kingdom success are being fulfilled today in a kind of invisible way, or in heaven.
As postmillenialists, we can take the strengths of both positions, We can understand the visible earthly success of the kingdom and apply it to this present age", Pg.

"A further criticism which cannot be applied uniquely to postmillenialism is that it interprets biblical prophecy both figuratively and literally, . . All three schools premil,amil, amp postmil end up finding both kinds of literature in the prophetic passages, and it is dishonest to give an opposite impression, If anything, the fact that postmillenialism is seen as too literal by amillenialists and too figuratively by premillenialists perhaps suggests certainly does not prove that it alone has maintained a proper balance".
pg.

I don't want to respond with a strawman argument here since Bahnsen is not saying that Postmillenialism hinges on this aspect, but argues that it is one element that gives support to it.
The problem with Bahnsen's criticism is that the Postmillenial hermeneutic ends up being in an untenable position with the grammaticalhistorical hermeneutic being the grid for Premillenialists, and the redemptive historical hermeneutic for Amillenialists, both of these hermeneutics are distinct and incompatible, so the middle road approach is inconsistent for Postmillenialism.
Also it is a strawman to say that Amillenialsits have to do gymnastics to get around physical promises by over spiritualizing them since that criticism fails to take into account how Amillenialism is supported by Biblical Theology, i.
e. Vos' Biblical Theology as well as recent works by G, K. Beale. It is not "allegorical or spiritual" interpretation of the temple representing both Christ and the church, when you take the time to trace the theme throughout Scripture and see its development as Geerhardus Vos does in his Biblical Theology.
Along the same lines Bahnsen's preterist interpretation of Revelation and Prophecy emphasizes more of the grammatical historical hermeneutic as its foundation rather than biblical theology, which doesn't seem to support the preterist position since the grammaticalhistorical hermeneutic is most consistent with Premillenialism specifically

Dispensational Premillenialism.
For example the Temple in Revelation is the literal temple destroyed inAD, Christ, and the Church according to Postmillenialists, but both amillenialsm and premillenialism are more consistent with their own hermeneutic to interpret it as referring to Christ and the Church Amil or a literal temple Premil.


My second primary criticism is that when Bahnsen discusses the reformed heritage of Postmillenialism he makes some logical fallacies to argue that Calvin and other were Postmillenialists.
He admits that John Gill and Charles Spurgeon as Historical Premillenialists both held to an optimistic view of the success of the Church,

"For example, the professed premillenialists John Gill and Charles Spurgeon have quite inconsistently and uncharacteristically held to important beleifs of postmillenialismparticularly the great success of the church on earth prior to the parousia".
pg.

However, Bahnsen uses this criteria to label John Calvin as a Postmillenialists because he affirmed the Church would be vicorious, I would have expected Bahnsen to be more thorough here and show how Calvin's theology meets allof his points listed for Postmillenialism, but he doesn't, he bases it on a single point that even some that are not postmillenialists agree with i.
e. Gill amp Spurgeon as well as some forms of Amillenialism such as John Murray's interpretation of Romanswhich is similar to a Postmillenialism interpretation of the passage,

Bahnsen first only cites that Calvin accepted the major tenet of Postmillenialism,
"It must be clear by this point that Calvin endorsed the central tenent of Postmillenialis, the optimistic confidence that the gospel of Christ shall convert the vast majority of the world some time prior to the return of the Lord in judgment and glory".
pg.

Then Bahnsen jumps to the conclusion based on that one point by prooftexting portions of Calvin's Institutes and commentaries that Calvin must be postmillenial,

"Thus we conclude that Reformed theology was launched with a postmillenial perspective, a heartfelt confidence in the promise of Scripture to the effect that Christ would subdue the whole world with the gospel.
The dogmatics, commentaries, and prayers of John Calvin form a beautiful and orchestrated presentation of an eschatological hope which would become a doctrinal distinctive and motivating power throughout the history of Reformed Christianity".
pg.

By the same standard of the criteria applied to Calvin, then Spurgeon amp Gill were both postmillenialists,
My last criticism is not something that is Bahnsen's fault, but the way the book was put together since the first chapter dealing with a Postmillenial interpretation of Revelation was onlypages, so there wasn't as much of a presentation and defense of preterism as I was expecting.



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