What does the future hold for the Christian Church and the human race here on planet Earth? The answer is the human race has a magnificent optimistic bright cheerful future. The world will eventually become a Christian world. This will require many millenniums yet to come as human history rolls forward. This does not mean that every single person on Earth will become a Christian, rather it means that the human race, as a race, will be saved and the vast overwhelming majority of human beings will, in the far off future, become Christian. The Lord Jesus' Great Commission To His Christian Church is about His Church Christianizing the world: The Lord Jesus told His disciples at the end of Matthew's gospel chapter 28 to go and make disciples of all the nations. His disciples needed power to accomplish this great task. The Lord Jesus told them what this power was. He said "all authority in Heaven and on Earth has been given to me, therefore go and make disciples of all nations . . . teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you." Matthew 28:18-20 The Lord Jesus was serious when He gave His Christian Church her Great Commission. His Great Commission is a command and not a suggestion. Therefore His Great Commission to go and make disciples of all the nations will be successfully accomplished before He returns to Earth to end human history -- the world will eventually become Christian. "He must reign until He has put all his enemies under His feet." 1 Cor. 15:25 "For He (God) has put everything under His feet." 1 Cor. 15:27 The Lord Jesus right NOW is reigning as King over this entire world and He is gradually incrementally Christianizing the entire world. Again, how long will this take? It will take many many millenniums yet to unfold, but He will be victorious. We must be patient. This is going to take very long time. ____________ Meanwhile . . Unfortunately there is a lot of Doom and Gloom and Defeatism out there inside 21st century Christendom . Christendom holds and presents 4 major views of the future of the Christian Church and the Human Race. These 4 views are: (1) Postmillennialism (2) Amillennialism (3) Premillennialism (4) Dispensationalism Of the 4 views only Postmillennialism presents an optimistic bright cheerful victorious future for the Christian Church and the Human Race. The other 3 views are saturated with Doom and Gloom and Defeatism for both the Christian Church and the Human race. This Opening Post is presenting some general thoughts on Postmillennialism and Postmillennialism's optimistic view of the future. Long live Christian optimism. Large swaths of the Christian Church today are awash in Gloom and Doom and in Defeatism passed off as being spiritual, when in fact the Bible teaches that the Christian Church will be victorious. I will build my Church, said the Lord Jesus, and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it. Go and make disciples of all the nations, said the Lord Jesus, because I have now been given all authority both in Heaven and on Earth. It is sad indeed that Amillennialism, Premillennialism, and Dispensationalism repudiates the gospel victory theme of the Bible in their modern eschatological speculations and replaces this victory theme with a defeatist scheme of the future of the Christian Church and Human race. This paralyzes Christian cultural efforts and eliminates the practical significance from the Christian worldview, and gives Christians a sinful comfort in lethargy because all this Defeatism and Doom and Gloom tends to justify social and cultural irresponsibility. Why polish brass on a sinking ship", ask many misinformed Christians. Here is an excellent definition of Postmillennialism: "Postmillennialism holds that the Lord Jesus Christ established His kingdom on earth through His preaching and redemptive work in the first century and that He equips His church with the gospel, empowers her by the Holy Spirit, and charges her with the Great Commission to disciple all nations. Postmillennialism expects that eventually the vast majority of men living will be saved. Increasing gospel success will gradually produce a time in history prior to Christ's return in which faith, righteousness, peace, and prosperity will prevail in the affairs of men and nations. After an extensive era of such conditions the Lord will return visibly, bodily, and gloriously, to end history with the general resurrection and the final Judgment after which the eternal order follows."___ Dr. Kenneth L. Gentry. Christianity is slowly Christianizing the world. Christianity started small in numbers. There was a time in the 1st century at the very beginning of Christianity when the number of Christians in the world was less than 12. Today, some 2000 years later, there is some 2.5 billion Christians in the world. We have a name for this. We call it progress. America today has over 1300 Evangelical mega-churches with weekly attendance of over 2000. The Roman Catholics have over 3000 churches with a weekly attendance of over 2000. This is Christian progress in the world. Christianity is growing like wildfire in the Global South. In Africa and in the huge underground churches in China. This is more Christian progress in the world. ■ The Lord Jesus "shall have dominion from sea to sea" Psalm 72:8 ■ "The whole Earth will be filled with His glory." Psalm 72:19 ■ "All the nations will call Him blessed." Psalm 72:17 ■ The Lord Jesus really meant it, when He commanded His Christian Church to "go and make disciples of all the nations." Matthew 28:19 `
