He Shall Have Dominion: A Postmillennial Eschatology by Kenneth L. Gentry Jr.
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Marvelous on almost all counts. It is quite common in some circles for eschatological preoccupation to take up far too much time, and in other circles to be almost entirely neglected. In the first group, it is often accompanied by what Gentry calls “Newspaper exegesis”; in the other group it is thought that it is a peripheral issue and therefore not discussed so as not to stir up debate.
Gentry does a wonderful job of presenting the postmillennial view as the most consistently biblical view, while interacting with the other schools of eschatological thought (pre- & a-). Now, if “end times” stuff either bores you, or you’ve been burned by “prophetic date-setting” (often found in dispensational camps), Gentry reminds us:
Eschatology is a deeply rooted and intricately involved aspect of Christian theology. It should not be approached in a naïve manner or be given superficial treatment. Consequently, no single passage may be expected to present an entire eschatological system […] Eschatology is woven into the whole fabric of Scripture as the story within.1Gentry, Pg.497
Meaning, we must remember that the Scriptures lead us to look forward to what God has in store. What we believe about what God’s purposes are for history and eternity will affect how we live here and now. Gentry shows how postmillennialism is the only view (of the three primary camps) that has a theology of Gospel-victory in history. He is careful in expositing the applicable texts as well as quoting various voices of all three camps. He is always charitable, but somewhat merciless, especially when the other viewpoints are shown to hold utterly ridiculous and unbiblical views.
This is really a must read for every Christian, as it would be immensely profitable for Christians to understand that the pessimism of amillennialism and premillennialism is afflicting the church in such a way that we are rather impotent in our Gospel proclamation. We must affirm and proclaim the Lordship and Kingship of Christ in history, in recognition of His great redemptive work on Calvary. In my own journey to a postmillennial/preterist eschatological position, this has been terrifically helpful.
I highly commend this to the top of your “to-read” list!
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