INTRODUCTION YOU ARE HERE  PART I ... Why Post-millennialism Cannot Possibly Be True PART II ...The Sabbath Millennium PART III ... Pre-Millennialism... The Facts Vs. The Fairy Tales PART IV ... Summary and Conclusion. Gog and Magog Also See The Change In Millennial Beliefs
ON THIS PAGE
Introduction
The Olivet Discourse
Paul
Peter
The Specific Teachings In The Parables
Other The Dangers of Post Millennialism
Introduction
Post-millennialists believe that the church will progressively bring righteousness to the world, or control it to the extent that there will be "peace on earth" for 1,000 years. After which, following a brief time of tribulation, Christ will return to earth and establish a new heaven and a new earth for all eternity. This doctrine is favored by some groups some of whom have some bizarre even dangerous ideas. For example, the Latter Rain/ Joel's Army/ Manifest Sons of God/ Kingdom Now/ Restoration/ Reconstruction movements etc. are all largely based on this view. (See Section Dominion Theology)
Post-millennialism is however, the easiest of the millennial theories to disprove. One has to wonder where Post-millennialists get the idea that the church will usher in a "Golden Age" of righteousness. Certainly, the several sections of Scripture that speak of the period between the first and second coming of Christ say absolutely nothing about a Golden Age of righteousness. As so accurately stated by the Jeremiah Project... There is no evidence that the church, through the spread of the gospel, is purifying the world. Much to the contrary, all one need do is look around to see that the world is polluting the church in perfect fulfillment of 2 Timothy 3:1-5, which describes the decline of the church in the last days. Scripture makes it clear that the end of the age will not be characterized by world revival. It will be the Antichrist's ultimate hour of power, cut short not by the universal spread of the gospel but by the Day of the Lord judgment. [01]
Lets look at some of the evidence against.
The Olivet Discourse
if we are to believe the doctrine that the church will usher in a long period of peace, we would have to conclude that, in His Olivet Discourse, Jesus left out some very important details.
Taking Matthew 24 one step at a time, we find that when asked what would be the sign of His coming and of the end of the age, Jesus started with a warning (Matthew 24:4-5) that many will come in His name, claiming to be Christ and will lead many astray (which I will come to later). Jesus then indicated these signs (famines and earthquakes, wars etc.) would be the beginning of sorrows. In other words, there was a lot more trouble to come. (6) "You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. (7) "For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. (8) "But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs. (Matthew 24:6-8 NASB)
His next words were clearly directed at His followers who will be hated and killed because of His name. In other words, it is the start of what is clearly the persecution of the church. Note very carefully that Jesus used the word "tribulation"... Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. "At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. "Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. "Because lawlessness is increased, most people's love will grow cold. (Matthew 24:9-12 NASB)
He then added that "the one who endures to the end" would be saved. (Vs. 13) Jesus further warned (in verse 15) to flee when we "see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place" since that event will indicate the beginning of the Great Tribulation, "such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will" (Vs. 21). He added that if those days were not shortened "no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short" (V. 22). Which makes it very clear that the elect will still be on earth during the "Great Tribulation", and it is for their sakes that those days will be cut short. In other words, Jesus remembered to warn us about a "tribulation" in which Christians will be hated, betrayed and killed, and that this tribulation will be followed by the "Great Tribulation", but completely forgot to mention the supposed thousand year period of peace and prosperity. [See a detailed comparison of the Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24 with the Seals of Revelation 6 HERE Besides which, I have no idea what Post-millennialists make of Jesus' rhetorical question... "when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?". Quite obviously Christ did not expect to return to a world which had even partially converted.
Paul
In his second letter to Timothy, Paul warned him of the great apostasy that would sweep the world before the coming of Christ.
But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. (2) For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, (3) unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, (4) treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, (5) holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these. (6) For among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses, (7) always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. (2 Timothy 3:1-7 NASB)
In 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12, Paul sought to correct a misunderstanding on the part of the people of Thessalonica who, for whatever reason, had somehow come to the conclusion that the day of the Lord was already past. This, understandably, disturbed them greatly. Paul assured the Thessalonians that this was not the case because two events in particular, had to precede the coming of the Lord. 1) There would be widespread apostasy, or a falling away from truth which, by the way, is already in full bloom. (See Section The Contemporary Church) 2) The defection would be followed by the antichrist, whom Paul called the "man of sin" [See The Antichrist] (3) Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, (4) who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God. (5) Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things? (6) And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he will be revealed. (7) For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. (8) Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; (9) that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, (2 Thessalonians 2:3-9 NASB)
Apparently Paul somehow missed the fact that the world would be won over to righteousness, and live in relative peace for several hundred years.
Peter...
In his teachings on the end-times, Peter warned his readers to live righteously and encouraged them to look forward to "the coming of the day of God", when the heavens themselves would be burned up. While that may sound a little strange, Peter was actually directing them to look beyond 'The Day of The Lord' when, according to His promise, God will bring about a new heaven and a new earth.
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. (11) Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, (12) looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! (13) But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. (14) Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless. (2 Peter 3:10-14 NASB)
The only reason I can think why Peter never mentioned the extended time of peace that is supposed to exist on earth prior to the Lord's return is if he had the same lapse of memory that seemed to have afflicted our Lord. (Sarcasm intended)
Specific Teaching... The Parables
Parable of the Wheat and Tares (Matthew 13:24-30,36-43).
In this parable our Lord compared the kingdom of heaven to a man who sowed good seed in his field. While his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, which became evident only after both sprouted. The servants of the landowner asked the owner whether they should go in and weed the field, to which the owner replied that they should not, for fear of uprooting the wheat as well. His instructions were to allow both wheat and weeds to grow together until the harvest, at which time the reapers would gather the wheat into the barn, but would bind the tares in bundles to be burned. Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn. (Matthew 13:30 NASB)
The harvest that Jesus spoke of will take place at the Seventh and last Trumpet, which marks the consummation of the age. Read in conjunction with one another, Matthew 13:49, Matthew 24:31 and Revelation 14:14-20 tell us that, at the Seventh and last Trumpet, Jesus will cast his sickle upon the earth and "reap" it. He Himself makes the distinction between the good crop and the weeds, but it is the angels who will gather and bind the tares, then collect the elect from one end of the heaven to the other. (See Summary of Events at The Seventh Trumpet) In other words, the words of the parable "Allow both to grow together until the harvest" holds true until the end of the age. Both saint and sinner will continue living together until they are physically separated by the angels. There will be no universal righteousness before Christ's return. Parable of the Nobleman and His Servants (Luke 19:11-27).
On His last journey to Jerusalem, Jesus told this parable, possibly to correct a common misunderstanding that the Kingdom of God would appear forthwith, i.e. there would be no intervening years between Jesus' message and the advent of God's kingdom. In this parable which informed us that a certain period of time would elapse between the two events, Jesus also gave us unmistakable clues as to what the condition of the church would be in when He returned. He said that "A nobleman went to a distant country to receive a kingdom for himself, and then return". However the nobleman, anticipating a long journey, made his servants responsible for His interests in His absence. He called ten of them together and entrusted them with one Mina each, instructing them to 'do business' with this until he came back. Some wisely made the best use of the money he had entrusted to them and were rewarded, others were not at all diligent, and had even their one Mina taken away from them. The analogy is not difficult to grasp. The story spans the whole period between Jesus' ascension and His Second Coming. The nobleman is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself; the far country is the dwelling place of God, and the kingdom He goes to receive is the Messianic kingdom which He will, in the near future, return to earth to administer ("When he returned, after receiving the kingdom". Vs 15). Since the parable speaks only of 'the servants' of the nobleman, it has to be referring to the church, not the world at large. However, relevant to the subject at hand is the fact that when Christ returns to earth, he will find that not all His servants have been faithful and wisely invested what was entrusted to them. Apparently the church isn’t going to do quite as well some believe. [Also See The Bema or Judgment Seat of Christ and Rewards in Heaven]
Parable of the Master and His Servants (Matthew 24:42-51)
Similarly Jesus warned His disciples to always be ready since we do not know when exactly the Son of Man will return (Matthew 24:44). In regard to this He told the parable of a servant who had been put in charge of his master's household, obviously while the master was away.
(45) "Who then is the faithful and sensible slave whom his master put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time? (46) "Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. (47) "Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. (48) ''But if that evil slave says in his heart, 'My master is not coming for a long time,' (49) and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards; (50) the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know, (51) and will cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 24:45-51 NASB)
Apparently, there will be believers who will be lulled into complacency by the delay in Christ's return. Fooled into thinking there is plenty of time, they begin to misbehave for which they pay a terrible price when the Lord returns at a most inopportune moment (for them). And how do we know Christ was speaking of believers? Not only is the church considered the servant (slave) of the Lord, but Jesus also said Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. (Matthew 24:42 NASB)
Other
As It Was In The Days Of Noah
The Lord Jesus specifically taught that "just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man" (Luke 17:26 NASB) In other words, our Lord linked these two epochs together, telling us that one is the parallel of the other. In other words, in the days immediately preceding the return of Jesus Christ, we should expect to find conditions similar to those that existed just before the flood. The Bible is very clear as to what those conditions were. Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. The Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. The Lord said, "I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them." (Genesis 6:5-7 NASB)
Luke added that similar conditions existed in Sodom and Gomorrah before they were destroyed It was the same as happened in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building; but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. "It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed. (Luke 17:28-30 NASB)
These words hardly present a picture of our Lord returning to a world which has been won over to the Gospel. However, as an aside, there is another feature that we need to pay attention to. Genesis also tells us Now it came about, when men began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose. Then the Lord said, "My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years." The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown. (Genesis 6:1-4 NASB)
Therefore, if we want a well rounded picture of what to expect in the coming says, we have to know who these sons of God were, and what behavior they will replicate. [See The Days Of Noah] Daniel 2
In summary, the colossal image king Nebuchadnezzar saw in a dream had a head of gold, breast and arms of silver, belly and thighs of bronze, legs of iron with feet of iron mixed with clay. This composite statue was then reduced to powder by a huge stone, which was then blown away by the wind. Where the image had stood, the rock grew to the size of a mountain and filled the earth. Daniel interpreted the dream as being four great kingdoms or empires which would, in succession, dominate history. The statue's golden head represented King Nebuchadnezzar (Babylon), which would be followed by three more kingdoms that would each arise one after the other and rule for a while. The fourth kingdom (the Roman Empire) does not end at the legs of the statue, but trickles down to the feet and toes. However, in the final scene, the entire statue is reduced to dust by a rock (representative of God's everlasting kingdom) that becomes a mountain and fills the earth. However, note that the text says that the stone that struck the statue crushed the iron, clay, bronze, silver and the gold at the same time, with the resulting residue (chaff) carried away by the wind without leaving a trace (Daniel 2:35). These kingdoms are not merely put out of commission for a while, but totally destroyed. While it is certainly true that the first coming of Christ resulted in a victory over sin and death, the kingdom of hell was not, at this time, totally annihilated "without leaving a trace". The statement that "the rock struck the statue and became a great mountain and filled the whole earth" (Daniel 2:35) will be fulfilled only when Christ returns a second time and the kingdoms of the world become the kingdom of Christ, who will reign forever and ever. [Revelation 11:15]. However, these worldly kingdoms will exist right up to the end when God will finally destroy them. [For Details See Two Babylons
Two Thrones
Post-millennialists teach that, although unseen, Christ is reigning as King to-day, and that He will continue to reign until He has subdued all His enemies. Scripture does not substantiate this belief. While it is true that Christ is now seated upon a "throne," it in not His own throne, but His Father's. He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. (Revelation 3:21 NASB)
It is not until after He returns to this earth that He will occupy His own throne. But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. (Matthew 25:31 NASB)
The Dangers of Post Millenniumism
If you really believe in a long period of peace and prosperity that precedes the return of Christ, I suggest you seriously re-think your views. The dangers in believing that the millennium will precede the coming of Christ lies in the fact that, although it is true that there is going to be a time of relative prosperity and peace on this earth before Jesus returns, it will not be a righteous Godly kingdom, but one established by the antichrist.
As Prof. H. Hanko says, Postmillennialism is a mirage because the kingdom which the Postmillennialists describe is, in fact, the kingdom of Antichrist. I do not doubt that a kingdom of peace, of great plenty, of enormous prosperity and uncounted riches, of beauty and splendor such as the world has never seen, will some day be established. Scripture points us to that.
What makes one cringe, however, is that this kingdom is described by Scripture as the kingdom of the beast (read Revelation 13).
How nice it would be if we did not have to worry about persecution, about the terrible tribulation of the Antichrist's kingdom. How nice it would be if we could rather look forward to our faith pervading all the world. The song of postmillennialism is a lullaby. It is a sweet siren song that gradually sings the child of God to sleep. It is a song which is so beautiful, so entrancing, that he forgets all about this calling to watch for the coming of the Lord. And so when a very beautiful and glorious kingdom comes to this world, he will say: Ah, our dreams are realized, our hopes are fulfilled, our longings are satisfied; the kingdom of our Christ has come. But, lo and behold, it is the kingdom, not of Christ, but of Antichrist.
Do you respond to this by saying , "Never fear. I will be able to tell the difference. I can never possibly confuse the two. I know how Christ's kingdom is different from that of Antichrist"? If you say this, then all I can do is warn you that the deception is very real and very much a possibility. [02]
Remember that, when asked what would be the sign of His coming and of the end of the age, Jesus' first words were to caution believers not to be misled by false Christs which, obviously, has to include the most dangerous one of all... the antichrist. As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?" And Jesus answered and said to them, "See to it that no one misleads you. "For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will mislead many. (Matthew 24:3-5 NASB)
If there was no possibility that Christians could be deceived, then it is hardly likely that Jesus would have issued the above warning. He also said "I have come in My Father's name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, you will receive him". (John 5:43 NASB). We can be sure that, at least initially, the antichrist's message will not raise any red flags in the minds of many Christians. To which I can add a postscript.. Many of the popular "Christian" doctrines advocated today are nothing more than warmed over Eastern mysticism. These include concepts of psychic healing, slain in the spirit, positive confession (name it and claim it), visualization, contemplative prayer, meditation, labyrinths, yoga etc. etc. etc. Like frogs being slowly brought up to the boil, Christians have gradually been acclimatized into accepting ideas and practices that any self respecting Berean, unimpressed by 'new revelation' would have run a mile from. The gradual but sure infiltration of the government and the church means that there is nothing to hinder the return of pure unmitigated evil. While this turmoil comes to a head and the dark minions dig their tentacles further and further into human flesh, our church continues to trot off to their various conferences, watch TBN, read yet another leadership book, indulge in emerging dialogue, and argue about who Cain married… all the while waiting for a Rapture that isn't going to happen in time to save them. Actually, on consideration, the situation is worse... far worse. The church that should have been a bulwark against evil has, thanks to apostate leadership and a Biblically illiterate population, latched on to the coat tails of the world and come up with supposedly 'Christianized' versions of occult doctrines. Christian yoga anyone? By venturing into areas strictly forbidden in Scripture, we have endorsed the invitations and are along for the ride... And what a ride it's going to be. See Doctrines of Demons - Doctrines Directly Derived From the Occult A Church expecting revival, a church sponsored millennium, and the return of Christ, will soon find itself face to face with the antichrist and facing persecution on an enormous scale. [See The End Of The Age Part II... The Seven Seals and The Antichrist] Endnotes [01] Postmillennialism. http://www.jeremiahproject.com/prophecy/rapture5.html [02] The Illusory Hope of Postmillennialism by Prof. H. Hanko. http://www.mountainretreatorg.net/eschatology/illusory_hope.html | 
