Postmillennialism
As newcomer into Gary North’s thinking, I know fairly little about Postmillennialism and I had never heard of the Dominion Covenant. I grew up in a mostly amillennial church climate that took the Cultural Mandate seriously made serious attempts to bring the Christian worldview to bear on all areas of life.
Looking at Bible history and church history I see a series of waves with times of (spiritual) growth as well as times of (spiritual) decline. In different geographic regions, such waves are usually not synchronized, although waves in some areas often trigger later waves in others.
Matthew 1 seems to show Israel’s history on a macro-scale as one major wave, representing the rise and fall of God’s Kingdom, followed by a time of anticipation for a whole new beginning with the coming of the Christ. Within this macro-wave, we find many secondary waves, more limited in space and/or time. The book of Judges, for instance, reveals a series of relatively short waves, where God refused to let his Kingdom deconstruct all the way. Every successive judge brought a revival, even though these were often local and certainly short-lived.
Possibly, the flow of Church history has a similar pattern. As the Gospel spread across the world, it was followed by blessings in many areas of life. The secular world refuses to acknowledge this, but men like Vishal Mangalwadi have tried to set the record straight on this.1
Now large parts of the human world are turning against their Provider-God, his Word, and his Church, two things can happen. Either God will let them give a taste of life without (the blessings of) God, so that there will be a reformation and revival. Or, God has decided that the end has come altogether, that is: the end of Satan’s resistance. In that case we should expect that God would intervene in a decisive way to bring judgment and full and permanent restoration of his Kingdom.
Certainly, there are certain theories, built on selective passages, that argue for an overarching trend of (spiritual) growth or decline, but I do not see how we can have absolute certainty that the model of our preference must be the only true or permissible perspective. So, I am not convinced that God’s elect will be on-masse raptured from this wicked world or that there is or will be a literal thousand-year period where Christ and his followers will rule the world, while evil perhaps continues to spoil the earth.
Will the ultimate victory, with or without a physical presence of the returning Christ, happen before the end of times? Postmillenials seem to be convinced of this. In Gary North’s book I have not found much if any substantial evidence for this scenario.
North refers to passages from prophecies, parable, and proverbs to underscore his thesis. Are all prophecies, like Isaiah 65:17-20, referring to literal truth in historical times? Are parables illustrating a specific point, or may we derive all kinds of ‘truths’ from them? Regarding the parable of the wheat and tares,2 North writes, “We must deal with the historical development of the wheat and tares.” We must see that this process leads to … Christian victory in history.3 ‘We must see’? Is that really so evident from this parable, or only so for those who look with postmillennial eyes?
Progress and Dominion
North insists that “Christians will someday possess cultural, economic, and political power through their adherence to biblical law.”4 Where did God promise this or Jesus teach this? We are warned for persecution and called to suffering! Jesus says, “Take up your cross”, not “Take up your scepter”.
North claims that “Only a fool or a heretic would deny theological progress.”5 Elsewhere, he argues that “Christianity’s influence is spreading and beginning to affect every area of life. Why should it be spreading? Because more Christians are living more consistently (in their walk and talk) with the biblical principles of dominion.” 6
It may have convinced the churches in 1987, but does this convince the church today, when many of not most churches are more concerned about the oppression of women, people of color, fat folks, handicapped people, and the alphabet groups, particularly by Christians and orthodox churches?
If Christians were to rule the earth, as North suggests, would this be a blessing for all? In my experience, North is too optimistic. First, because sacrificially loving Christians will be mixed with self-serving Christians, and hypocrites are an ever-present danger for the church on earth. Second, because greater power leads to greater corruption, even among the believers and in churches. I have worked for Christian school boards and public-school boards, and in my experience most secular schools treated me with greater fairness than Christian schools. Third, when Christians rule they will disagree with each other whether or not to give equal freedom to Jews, Hindus, or Muslims and whether or not all citizens should be forced to keep the Sabbath Day at all, on Sundays or on Saturdays. Are we, as Christians really called to take dominion in every area of life? How did the early church do this under the rule of evil emperors? How does the church do this today in countries like Iran, China or Afghanistan?
Sure, there are passages in the Old Testament that suggests that obedience to God results in material blessings. In the case of Jabez, prosperity came as God’s response to his prayer. Judah’s offspring had fallen so far, but Jabez -in his fear of the curse of pain- cried out to God, and he received mercy.
Yet, the general truth that obedience results in prosperity is not a guarantee or promise for all. Job learned the hard way that general truths are not guarantees for life. Throughout history, many faithful servants lived in pain and poverty. The desire for material wealth is spiritually destructive. Paul calls it the root of all kinds of evil and Jesus said that it is particularly difficult for wealthy men to enter the Kingdom of God. The failure of Solomon, though he was a wise man, is just one obvious example.
Sure, on a larger scale we can recognize the blessings from obedience. As Vishal Mangalwadi and others demonstrated, when the Gospel spread into Europe, it resulted in improved health and wealth, better legislation and greater liberty, better education and technology. Yet, just as Israel experienced God’s curse when they turned away from their Provider, so today “the sun is setting on the West.” Indeed, it appears that God is allowing Western culture, education, science, and economy to collapse to show what the world is actually wishing for. Will the rebels wake up from their own woke illusions?
1 Vishal Mangalwadi: The Book that made your world- How the Bible created the Soul of Western Civilization. Nelson, 2011, This Book Changed Everything- The Bible's Amazing Impact on our World. Sought After Media, 2019.
2 Matthew 13:24-30.
3 Dominion, p. 68.
4 Dominion, p. 97, 98.
5 Dominion, p. 101
6 Dominion, p. 219.
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