The Redeemers Return

Post-millennialists teach that the great purpose of the Divine incarnation was that the Lord Jesus through His death and resurrection should found and establish a spiritual Kingdom. They tell us that the Jews who expected their Messiah to set up a material and visible Kingdom on the earth were mistaken. They insist that the only Kingdom Christ has or will ever have is an unseen, spiritual and heavenly Kingdom, the subjects of which are the members of His Church, in whose hearts Christ now rules. They declare that the Redeemer is even now reigning, reigning as King over this earth and that he will continue thus to reign, unseen, until He has overcome all enmity and opposition and won His very enemies unto Himself. The instrument by which He is to achieve this glorious victory is the church, and the church, we are told, is here to civilize as well as evangelize the earth. Post-millennialists teach that while the Church is an institution and organization separate from the State yet is it interested in the welfare of the State and that it is the duty of Christ's followers to take part in politics and see to it that the best men securable are elected to office and that they must be encouraged to frame and enforce laws which make for civic and social righteousness.

In present-day conditions post-millennarians see the fulfilling of their hopes and the promise of a speedy success crowning their efforts. They regard the multiplication of educational advantages, the discoveries and inventions of modern science, the improvements in hygienic and sanitary conditions, the growing demand for nation-wide prohibition, the increasing number of hospitals and agencies to relieve suffering, the modern trend toward interdenominationalism and religious unionism, as so many heralds of the near approach of the Millennium. They believe that the utilization and perfecting of such agencies will usher in the Golden Age, an age of world peace and prosperity, an age when all will know the Lord from the least to the greatest. It is not until the close of this Millennium that they look for Christ to return: then it is they expect Him to come back and "wind up" all things, judge the human race and settle the eternal destiny of every individual of it. Post-millenarians believe in a general resurrection and a general judgment at the end of time. Such a brief and in general is the position and belief held by post-millennialists. We turn now to