Introduction

Eschatology is the branch of

systematics that summarizes the
Christian philosophy of history and
the prophesied events leading up to
Christ's Second Advent. Its topics
ralJ.ge from personal eschatology
(death, the intermediate state, and
heaven or hell) to the course of
history and progress of the gospel,
the final judgment, and the
consummated state. This essay will
deal exclUSively with the future of
the world and Church as understood
by the leading Southern
Presbyterians of the 18-19th
centuries.
reign of Christ is the current Church
age. Postrnillennialism, therefore, ,
differs with premillennialismas to
the timing and cause of the
millennium and with amillennialism
as to its effects upon hiStory and
culture. It is important to keep these
distinctions in mind because leading
Southern Presbyterians publicly
rejected the premillennial theory,
and amillennialism is conspicuously
absent from their eschatolOgical
writings.
George Marsden correctly
observes that the "most prevalent
apocalyptic vieW among American
premillennialism. It was the impetus
behind her great evangelistic and
missionary works. It provided hope
and courage for the Southern
Presbyterian Church to face the
future as she found herself in a
society tom apart by the War.
This study has certain limi tations
of which the reader must be aware.
Space limitations forbid me to delve
deeply into the interesting variations
on Southern postmillennialism such
as Girardeau's date-setting
postmillennialism, the place of
Roman Catholicism in the unfolding
of world history, and the interpretive
Postrnillennialism is a
unique school of
eschatology. It maintains
that the world will be
converted to Christ
through the Church's
faithful preaching of the
The Certainty of the World's
Conversion: The Postlllillennial
Expectation of Southern
Presbyterianism
models given for
Revelation. Southern
Presbyterian
postmillennialists were
not always uniform 0lJ.
these detailed aspects of
their eschatology. It is
also admitted and
regretted that my survey is
somewhat limited by the
growing paucity of
gospel, and that future
periods of histOry will be
marked by righteousness,
peace, and prosperity for the nations
as they submit to the i g ~ of the
Messiah. This will occur
progressively before the return of
d esus Christ. Postmille"mialism is
challenged by two contrary schools
of eschatology, premillennialism and
amillennialism. These have in
common their lack of belief that the
preaching of the gospel of Christ, the
work of the Holy Spirit, and the
Church's faithfulness in fulfilling the
Great Commission wlll result in the
conversion of the world.
Postrnillennialism affirms with
premillennialism against
amillennialism that the reign of
Christ will have visible effects on
men and nations and will result in
the erection of the universal
kingdom of Christ. The millennial
reign of Christ is more than his,
personal reign in the hearts of
Christians or the spiritual reign
enjoyed by the disembodied souls of
Christians in heaven with Jesus. It
affirms with amillennialism against
premillennialism that the millennial
Rev. Chris Strevel
Protestants in the Civil War era is
known technically as
'postmillennialism.'" His honesty is
appreciated. PostmilIennialism has a
rich tradition throughout the history
of the Church, and particularly since
the Reformation period when it
came to creedal expression in the
Westminster Confession of Faith and
Larger Catechism. We live in a
period, however; in which
posttnillennial eschatology is
academically ignored, publicly
ridiculed, incorrectly defined, and
supposedly refuted by attaching it to
Puritan extremism, the social gospel
of the late 19th and early 20th
century Church, or to the present
resurgence of theonomic ethics.
This study confirms that
posttnillennialism was the
predominant eschatolOgical
viewpoint of the Southern
Presbyterian Church in the 18-19th
centuries. It was vigorously
espoused in journal essays and from
the pulpits. It fervently challenged
the encroachments of all forms of
.. f THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon f June1July 1998
primary documents. The demand
for reprints of Southern Presbyterian
sermons and commentaries is
limited, and copies of the
incomparable Southern Presbyterian
Review are rare. However. the
available documentation
demonstrates that the regularly
espoused position of the Southern
Presbyterian Church was
postrnillennialism.
I must also note my appreciation
and dependence upon an earlier
study in this area undertaken by
James Jordan in his article, "ASurvey
of Southern Presbyterian Millennial
Views Before 1930."2 He pursued a
chronological and comprehensive
survey of the journals, theologians,
and pastors of the Southern .
Presbyterian Church and concluded
that postrnillennialism was their
predominant view. He cites
modernism, Anninianism, and
dispensationalism as the causes for
the Southern Presbyterian departure
from its postmillennial position after
the 1930's.' While my conclusions
are the same, my essay is different in
three ways. Because the purpose of
this paper is to show the leading
distinctives of Southern Presbyterian
postmillennialism, I build upon
jordan's presentation and limit my
selection to leading theologians and
pastors who espouse
postmillennialism. Accordingly, my
paper is organized according to
subject matter rather than
chronology. Then, since the sources
are difficult for many to obtain, I cite
copiously. This may limit the
breadth of the study but gives it a
depth on certain points that is
critical for a better understanding of
their position.
Finally, this fresh study is
undertaken with a keen desire to
remind those of differing
eschatological expectations that
evangelical postmillennialism has a
rtch heritage in this country and
especially in the once Christian
South. It is a myth that
Presbyterians are historically
amillennial, or that
postmillennialism is inseparable
from the utopian dream of the social
gospel that was espoused by the
20th century Church before World
War II. Virtually all of our Southern
Presbytertan forefathers expected the
gospel of Chrtst to conquer the
world and establish the mediatorial
victory of Jesus Christ over the
nations prior to his Second Coming
at the close of human history. A
pessimistic, date setting, and
materialistic Church will certainly
find their simple faith in the power
of the gospel astounding. It is my
prayer that the zeal, confidence, and
diligence that their postmillennial
convictions produced in them may
yet live in their theological and
ecclesiastical descendants.
The Leading Postmillennial
Distinctives of the Southern
Presbyterian Church
(1) The mediatOrial reign ofJesus
Christ will result in the subjection of all
nations to himself prior to his Second
Coming. This is a regular distinctive
of Southern Presbyterian
postmillennialism. They believed
that Chrtst was currently enthroned
as reigning King at the rtght hand of
the Father, and that his reign would
result in the subjugation of his
enemies in history, the success of the
gospel, and the establishment of his
kingdom victorious over all. In his
sermon, "The Mediatorial Kingdom
and Glories ofJesus Christ," Samuel
Davies (1723-1761) writes, "As
Mediator he is carrying on a gloriOUS
scheme for the recovery of man, and
all parts of the universe are
interested or concern themselves in
this grand event; and therefore they
are all subjected to him, that he may
so manage them as to promote this
end, and baffle and overwhelm all
opposition." A little later, he adds,
"But Jesus reigns absolute and
supreme over all the kings of the
earth, and overrules and controls
them as he thinks proper; and he
disposes all the revolutions, the rises
and falls of kingdoms and empires,
so as to be subservient to the great
designs of his mediation; and their
united policies and powers cannot
frustrate the work which he has
undertaken." Davies'
postmillennialism is perfectly clear
in this statement. ''Yes, my brethren,
Jesus, the prophet of Galilee, will
push his conquest from country to
country, until all nations submit to
him,"
In a similar manner. Thomas
Smyth (1808-1873), long-time
pastor of the Second Presbyterian
Church in Charleston, South
Carolina, eruditely espoused a
postmillennial view of Christ's reign.
Christ, as Head over all things,
Lord of lords, King of kings, has
dominion over the nations, as truly
and as fully as over the Church. The
sovereignty of Christ over the
kingdoms of the world is not less
fully nor less clearly taught in
SCripture than his dominion over the
Church; neither it is less essential, or
less full of encouragement and
assurance to his believing people.
The decree, ratified with the oath of
God, that to Christ the heathen shall
be given as an inheritance, and the
uttermost parts of the earth as his
possession; that to him every knee
shall bow, and every tongue confess,
and that his kingdom shall rule over
all; is thus rendered infallibly
certain, not only because God has
decreed it, bu t also because the
government is upon his shoulders,
to whom is given all power in
heaven and on earth, and one jot or
tittle of whose omnipotent will
cannot fail'
Accordingly, Smyth writes,
"Every believer in the Bible must
therefore be convinced that the
kingdom of Chrtst is destined to
extend its spiritual conquests, until it
. shall include within its dominion all
kingdoms alld nations. Nothing can
be more explicit thim the repeated
declarations of this purpose,
contained in the word of God.'"
. "We repeat, therefore, our
declaration, that every man who
believes in the Bible, and in the Lord
Jesus Christ as the Saviour of the
world, must also believe that the
kingdom of Chrtst is destined to be
universal.'" Smyth found an
unassailable basis for this hope in
the covenant promises of God to the
Messiah in Psalm 2.
Here is the declaration of his
covenant in its certainty. its fulness,
its extent and its triumphs, - a
covenant of grace to all generations
and to all nations; to the Jew and to
the Gentiles. Upon this rock is the
church founded, and against it, the
gates of hell cannot prevail. Upon
this foundation our faith is built and
we know that he is faithful who hath
promised, and that he cannot deny
himself. This then is the warrant for
the faith and confidence of the
church when oppressed by internal
foes, and when he contemplates the
yet unsubdued masses of Satan's
trtumphant hosts. God will not
forget his covenant. He will have
respect unto it. He will remember it
to do all and more than all it
u n ~ u l y 1998 TIlE COUNSEL of Chalcedon 5
promises. Zion, thy God reigneth.
In his hands are the of all
men. His is the Holy Spirit to pour
out upon the whole earth, and to
awaken to his aid the dormant
energies of his church and people.
7
Willard Preston, pastor of the
Independent Presbyterian Church in
Savannah, Georgia, preached a
sermon entitled "Christ, as Mediator
governs the world with special
reference to the Church; in which
he writes that
The troth is, the kingdoms of this
world are all to become the kingdom
of our Lord and of his Christ. Kings
are to be nursing fathers, and queens
nursing mothers to the Church.. But
what nation on earth is now
prepared for this? What nation but
must undergo a vast change,
before it can become a
province, or portion, of the
kingdom of the Prince of
Peace? Not one can be
admitted whose government
is not founded on, and whose
administration is not wholly
regulated by, Christian principles;
which does not in all its operations
foster and further the pure religion
of the Gospel. Our own is vastiy the
most conformed to Scriptural
requirements of any now in
existence; but I need not say how far
it is from conformity to them. We
must undergo a great
revolution ...... the grace of God, and
not his judgments, will effect it.
a
In an article entitled "On the
Conversion of the World," John G.
Shepperson, a pastor in Virginia,
writes that the petition, ''Thy will be
done on earth," ''is evidently a
petition for the coming of the
kingdom of God, in such a sense
that his will shall be done on earth -
in every land and in every
community - as it is done in heaven
- a petition for the extension of the
Redeemer's kingdom throughout the
Cotnmenting on John
12:31-33, he says, "In this passage,
then, we are unequivocally taught,
that the death of Christ secured
infallibly the downfall of Satan's
kingdom - the conversion of the
world. As to the certainty of this
result, the case is just the same as if
the twO events had occurred at the
same moment. "10 Thomas Cary
Johnson (1859-1936), a professor of
systematics at Union Theological
Seminary, maintains that "Jesus
Christ is on the throne. He is going
to disciple all the nations of the
earth ... further triumph is ahead for
the church." T.V. Moore's
commentary on Haggai, Zechariah,
and Malachi is filled with
postmillennial expectations of the
Messiah's reign. "The kingdolllS of
the world are but scaffolding for
God's spiritual kingdom, to be
thrown down when their purpose is
accomplished (Haggai 2:6)."" "The
kingdom of Christ makes peace
between God and man, and in its
ultimate results will make peace
between man and man, and destroy
all that produces discord and
confusion, war and bloodshed on
the earth (Haggai 2:9)."12 Christ's
mediatorial reign will extend
progresSively over the course of
history through the faithfulness of
the Church.
That the tendencies of Christ's
kingdom are to universal peace and
universal piety, we need not pause to
argue, and that these tendencies
shall yet be fully embodied, we
believe as well from the voice of
history as the voice of prophecy. We
have only to patiently labor, and
patiently wait, and the white banner
of the lowly king shall in due time
be unfurled from every
mountain-top, an<;l over every valley,
and men be brother-murderers and
brother-haters no more."
The Southern commitment to the
6 THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon 1998
postmillennial view of Christ's
mediatorial reign is further
vindicated in the So,!them
Presbyterian arguments against
premillennialism. Robert L Dabney
(1820-1898), best known for his
powerful Defense of Virginia,
condemned premillennialism as
contrary to the Word of God and the
Westminster Confession of Faith. In
the "Theology of the Plymouth
Brethren," he writes:
We close with the remark, that
Pre-adventism is directly against our
standards. So far as we can now
remember, the ward millennium
does not occur in them; and, on the
question whether the whole race of
men will be converted in the latter
day, they observe a wise silence. But
they distinctly teach one
resurrection, and the only
remaining advent of our Lord
at the judgment day. They
utterly ignore the
Pre-adventists personal reign
of Christ on earth ... We would
humbly submit then, that the
Presbyterian who desires to
be a Pre-adventists, is bound in
candor to move for a revision of out
standards on these points
H
Dabney set forth the standard
postmillennial scheme in his
Lectures.
Before this second advent, the
following events must have
occurred. The developtnent and.
secular overthrow of Antichrist, (2
Thess. ii: 3 to 9; Dan. 7:24-26; Rev.
17,19:) which is the Papacy. The
proclamation of the Gospel to all
nations, and the general triumph of
Christianity over all false religions,
in all nations. CPs. 72:8-11; Isa.
2:2-4; Dan. 2:44,45; 7:14; Matt.
28:19,20; Rom. 1l:l2,15,25; Mark
13:10; Matt. 24:14). The general
and national return of the Jews to
the Christian Church. (Rom.
1l:25,26). And then a partial
relapse from this state of high
prosperity, into unbelief and sin.
(Rev. 20:7,8). During this partial
decline, at a time unexpected to
formal Christians and the profane,
and not to be expressly foreknown
by any true saint on earth, the
second Advent of Christ will take
place, in the manner described in 1
Thess. It will be immediately
followed by the resurrection of the
dead, the redeemed dead taking the
precedence .... 15
John Girardeau (1825-1898),
Columbia professor from
1876-1895, also expressed his
conviction that the Westminster
Confession of Faith Sets forth the
postmillennial view of Christ's
Second Coming. "Our Standards,
professing to found their doctrine on
the subject upon the teachings of the
Scriptures, deliver the
post-millennial view of the second
advent of Christ."l' While refusing
to label premillennialism a heresy,
he insists that it is anti-Confessional.
"Would we stigmatise as heretics the
brethren among us who hold the
pre-millennial view, because that
tenet is contrary to the Confession of
Faith interpreting the Scriptures?"lT
Girardeau was not as strongly
postmillennial as many of his
associates. In the following
explanation of the millennium, he
certainly allows, however, for a
postmillennial philosophy of history.
There will be a definite period (it
may be a dispensation of the New
Testament economy) which will be
marked off from the present by
peculiar and characteristic. 1. The
extension of the devil. 2. The
general effusion of the Holy Spirit.
3. The reign of Christ manifested in
some visible and glOrious manner;
and the complete subjection of the
world-powers to his rule. 4. The
universal prevalence of peace - the
cessation of war. 5. The literal
restoration of the Jews to their own
land. 6. The first resurrection
(whatever it will be). 7. A
paradisaical condition on the earth,
succeeding great physical changes. IS
Girardeau was not certain,
however, whether the millennium
would be introduced by the spiritual
coming of Christ or his Second
Coming. In other words, he did
consider, at least for a while, a
premillennial construction.
If the question be, whether
Christ will come to introduce the
Millennium I would answer, Yes,
certainly, in the second of these
second senses (CS -- spiritual), as
developed through the Church,
nations and polities. Destruction of
the world-powers, whether in the
Church or out of it, so far as their
anti-Christian elements are
concerned. If the question be,
whether Christ will come in His
second glOriOUS Personal Advent to
introduce the Millennium, I would
answer: I do not certainly know. 19
In his biography, Blackburn
quotes one of Girardeau's students.
W.S. Bryan, affirming that toward
the end of his life, Girardeau
definitely favored a spiritual coming
of Christ to introduce the
millennium, thereby endorSing the
postmillennialism of the
Wesnninster Confession of Faith.
"During his laier years he leaned
clearly to the Spiritual coming of
Christ to introduce the
millennium. "20 The above citations
demonstrate Girardeau'S two striking
and highly relevant eschatological
convictions: the Westminster
Confession of Faith is posnnillennial
in its view of Christ's kingdom and
Second Coming, and there will be a
definite period of kingdom growth
and expansion on earth introduced
by a spiritual coming of Christ in his
power and glory.
In his sermon, "The Second
Coming of Christ," Preston
strenuously resists the premillennial
notion that Christ will return
personally to inaugurate the
millennium and espouses
postmillennialism.
I shall not, as I need not, stop to
prove what is so clearly and
abundantly affirmed in the New
Testament; but would remark that
there is no evidence, or even clear
intimation, that the Son of God will
ever appear, personally, to our
world, except to close all time, and
settle the eternal destiny of the
whole human race. Every instance
in which his second coming in
person is spoken of, is connected
with the solemn transactions of the
last day of time. It is indeed the
assertion and the belief of many, and
some who hold a high rank among
divines and theologians, that he will
come to the earth previously to the
Millennium, sit in judgment, and
introduce that glOriOUS period. But I
regard this as wholly an
unsupported dogma; as utterly
inconsistent with every
representation of this second
coming, and impossible in itself....
l1
Southern Presbyterian
eschatology is distinguished by its
conviction that Christ is actively
reigning now at the right hand of
God, and that his reign will result in
the subjugation of men and nations
prior to Christ's second coming.
The future of Christ's reign will be
marked by a gloriOUS period of
kingdom growth and prosperity in
which evil will be largely suppressed
and the world Christianized. They
knew nothing of amillennialism, or a
spiritual millennium in the hearts of
believers. Many believed that the
Confession of Faith taught this view
of the nature and victory of Christ's
kingly reign, and accordingly, they
rejected premillennialism as contrary
to the Standards of the Presbyterian
Church.
(2) The certainty of the world's
conversion was a passionate expectation
of Southern Presbyterian
postmillennialism. By "certain," of
course, is meant that they viewed the
conversion of the world prior to the
Second Coming as a unassailable
dogma established upon the clear
testimony of Scripture. Archibald
Alexander (1772-1851), of Princeton
Seminary fame, was an ardent
postmillennialist who looked for and
taught the certainty of the gospel's
success.
JIUle{/UIy 1998 THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon 7
There is, indeed, another time
predicted, when there shall be no
need for one to say to his neighbor,
'Know the Lord; for all shall know
him from the least to the greatest.'
Then the work will be completed;
but 0, how much teaching must
there be before the hundreds of
millions of souls now ignorant, shall
be so instructed as that none shall
need further teaching?"
We may now note something of
the eschatolOgical position of James
Henley Thornwell (1812-1862),
professor at Columbia Theological
Seminary, and undoubtedly one of
the greatest theological and
philosophical minds ever produced
on this continent. Marcellus Kik
insisted and Morton Smith
reservedly conceded that Thornwell
was a postmillennialist. 23 While
Thornwell, to my knowledge, did
not systematically set down his
eschatological views, the following
statement demonstrates his victory
orientation with respect to the
future; and, we might say without
exaggeration, his own belief in the
certainty of the world's .conversion to
Jesus Christ. These lines, coupled
with the oft-quoted statement to
similar effect in his Collected Writings
may serve as rather conclusive
evidence that Thornwell was
decidedlypostmillennial. On May
13, 1856, he preached a sermon
, before the General Assembly of the
Presbyterian Church entitled, "The
Type and Model of Missionary
Effort." Its emphasis throughout is
that the victory of Christ's kingdom
is the, certain outcollle of the great
contest in which the Church is
engaged.
In the pursuit, the battle is
joined: and, as in the ardour of the
context, it is often impossible to
determine the chances of victory, or
to estimate the success of particular
evolutions and maneuvers--so, in the
great work of missions, while the
enterprise is still in progress, in the
heat and fervour of the struggle it is
hardly possible to comprehend the
, bearing of particular achievements,
or to ascertain the measure of-what
is actually accomplished.
Appearances, for the time, may be
doubtful, when, after all, there is a
real and steady progress.
In this enterprise, therefore, we
are not to be disheartened by
unpromising appearances. The day
of triumph will come, and our
defeats and disasters will be the
means' of 'advancing it. What we
have to do is to gird up ourselves for
the fight. The faith of God is
pledged for the rest. When we
engage in good earnest in the
enterprise, offering up the sacrifices
of our prayers and men and alms, we
shall soon see the ensign of the Lord
lifted up on high, and the nations
flocking to His standard. Victory
will perch upon our banners, and
the shout will thunder through the
temple of God, 'The kingdoms of
this world have become the
kingdoms of our Lord and of His
Christ!' Is this not a reward worth
striving for? And when you add to it
that eternal weight of glory which
awaits us in the skies, is there not
inducement enough to awake the
very dead in labours for the honours
of Jesus? My brethren, do we believe
in our religion; can we believe in its
proinlses and prospects, and yet be
so reluctarit to make the sacrifices it
requires? What have her labours for
the conversion of the world cost the
Church collectively?
In his sermon, "Vast Numbers of
the Human Race to be Saved,"
Preston proclaimed a similar
confidence in the certainty of the
world's conversion to Christ:
The greatest opposition and
hindrance to the spread of the
Gospel, and the advancement of the
kingdom of Christ, which it has ever
experienced, are yet to be utterly put
down. These are the three combined
powers of Paganism, Papacy, and
Mohammedanisin. The two former
have always been combined; and in
harmony with each other in the
opposing influence which they have
8 THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon JuneJ.July 1998
exerted against the propagation of
real Christianity. And though the
latter is diverse from the former, in
many respects, yet all its influence
has been deadly in its opposition to
the Gospel of Christ. The period of
their destruction is yet future, but it
will come, as certainly as God's word
is true. Nor do we believe that
period is distant.. ... AlI their
opposition will yet cease; those
powers will all be utterly
overthrown; every hindrance to the
Gospel wholly removed; and then
shall converts to Christ be
multiplied, and the Word of God
grow as never even in Apostolic
times.
24
William S. Plumer (1802-1880),
professor at Columbia Theological
Seminary, wrote many volumes
expositing books of Scripture. He
believed that the gospel's success is a
certain doctrine of the Bible. "There
is a general impression among
Christians that true religioun will yet
pervade the earth. There is a
difference among some good people
as to the manner in which this work
will be accomplished; but all agree
as to the fact."" In his explanation
of Psalm 22, Plumer tells us exactly
how and why he believes this great
transformation will occur.
The universal spread of the
gospel is clearly revealed, vv. 27-31.
The thing is certain, for the mouth of
the Lord hath spoken it. One clear
prophecy on any point pledges the
divine perfections to bring it to pass.
But where much is said on a subject
it shows that God regards the matter
as of great importance, and would
have us fully assured and often
reminded of its accomplishment.
Blessed be God: The Gospel ofthe
kingdom shall be preached among
all nations. 'The prayers of saints,
the intercession of Christ, the reward
secured to the Redeemer, God's
promise and oath all require that the
whole earth be converted unto
God."
In Shepperson's three part article,
"On the Conversion of the World,"
which was a critique and refutation
of the premillennialism contained in
John Cumming's Lectures on the Book
of Revelauon, he repeatedly stresses
the certainty of the world's
conversion to Christ. "It has been
shown that the Word of God
abundantly authorises the
expectations of the conversion of the
world."" He maintains that the
great commission will certainly be
fulfilled because it is the command
of the omnipotent Christ.
We repeat, then, that the
ministry is charged with the duty, .
not merely of preaching the gospel
to the nations, but of
Moses, in the Psalms, and in the
Prophets; in the Gospels, the Epistles
and the Apocalypse. It was included
in the very purpose for which the
Redeemer was originally promised.
It is taught in those Scriptures which
announce the design and
consequences of his death; and in
those who treat of the extent and
glory of his kingdom.
29
(3) The future of the Church of
Christ is one of expansion and victory
prior to the Second Coming oflesus
Christ. This victory-orientation with
respect to the future is a common
feature of Southern Presbyterian
discouraging today, go back to that
day, and bathe their faith in the
heart of the first disciples! Let those
who can see only failure in 'the signs
of the times,' put the telescope of
Christ to their eyes .... .The same
thrilling hope beats in the heart of
the Church. Its literature is full of
radiant prophecies of a golden day --
a day in which the cause of God and
humanity shall triumph. To portray
that day, exhaustive draft is made
upon poetry and metaphor.
Knowledge shall extend from sea to
sea -- God's people shall go forth
with joy, and be led forth with
singing -- mountains shall leap, and
trees clap their hands --
converting the nations;
and of this great work
every individual minister
is to do his part. Let it
be said, ministers are to
do this work as
extenSively as may be in
their power. The Saviour
has defined the extent,
maRe disciples of all
the wolf and the lamb lie
down together, the lion
eat straw like an ox -- fir
trees instead of thoms--
myrtles instead of briars
-- war shall cease -- and
the earth be happy.
"The perpetuity of the Christian religion
depends upon no building, no dty, no
nilHollill organizatioll, no p<ll'ticularmcn ,-
hllwever great <mel apparently indispel1Silble.
. . Tile sources of its indestructibility are in
hCilV0n-- the powcr.ofits cndurilll(l?
thcthronc of God."
In "The Policy for the
Future," he strikes a
similar note,
nations, baptizing them. Nor does he
say, merely, that his ministers must
attempt this work. Here is not a
word which can be construed into
an admission that a failure, either
total or partial, is possible. On the
contrary, it is distinctly intimated
that a failure is impossible. The
Redeemed introduces the command
with an assertion of his own
unlimited power; and, at the close of
it adds a promise to be with his
ministers; in other words, to make
them successful by the exertion of
his power."
After summarizing some of the
biblical evidence, he concludes:
Let it be carefully observed, our
expectation of the conversion of the
world is not founded, merely on a
few scattered and difficult texts,
found in the obscurer portions of the
word of God.-This doctrine was
included in the very first intimation
of mercy to fallen man .... This
doctrine runs through the whole
Bible. It is taught in the writings of
theology. Benjamin Morgan Palmer
(1818-1902), pastor ofthe First
Presbyterian Church in New
Orleans, in, "An Address at the One
Hundredth Anniversary of the
Organization of the Nazareth
Church and Congregation in
Spartanburg, S.c.," proclaims, "Let
us view the church, then, in her
universality. Her influence is
destined to extend over the whole
earth, and her existence will
continue through all time, whilst in
eternity she will embrace angels and
men in her pale." In an effort to stir
up the people to labor for the
conversion of the world, he
encourages them to call to mind and
imitate the faith of the early
diSciples.
In the light of what has happened
since then, how easy for us to
believe that prophecy! But, in the
meagerness of that hour, how could
the little group that stood around
him keep from falling away from
him! Oh, let those, who despair in
the presence of all that is
The perpetuity of the Christian
religion depends upon no building,
no city, no national organization. no
particular men -- however great and
apparently indispensable. The
sources of its indestructibility are in
heaven -- the power of its endurance
the throne of God. It will survive
the wreckage ofJerusalem -- outlive
the government on the banks of the
tawny Tiber -- be superiorto all
political cbanges, and even come
unscathed through the downfall of
the very globe on which we live.
This is the lesson -- the
imperishableness and independence
of the cause of Christ!
The Rev. James Ramsey
(1814-1871), pastor of the First
Presbyterian Church in Lynchburg,
Virginia, earnestly maintained that
the gospel would transform human
history.
But this state of depresSion and
feebleness is not to last always, as
indeed it never has been continuous
Jilneau1y 1998 THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon 9
and universal. It has again and again
been relieved by the descent of the
Spirit of God, filling all the
ordinances of the church with the
power ob new life. When the
'purposes of God in this are fully
accomplished, these witnesses,
whose lifeless forms have so often
been the subject of the world's
rejoicing? and are so even now to a
deplorable degree, shail he
reinvested with life by the Spirit of
God, and everywhere the gospel
shall reassert its power. The
promises of God that the Spirit shall
be copiously poured out on all flesh,
have not been exhausted by the
opening scenes at the establishment
of the kingdom, and by the limited
and partial revivings since. These
last are, indeed, blessed intimations
of the glorious things spokell of the
city of our God; intimations given
now to sustain the faith and hopes of
the church, and gather in an elect
people, during her fierce struggles
with the beast, and while this beastly
power pollutes her courts and
external ordinances so widely. It
needs only the same power that is
now imparted to a dead church, like
Sardis, by the spirit of life from God
entering into it, and the voice from
heaven calling it up, in the exercise
of its great functions from Its earthiy
connections and dependencies, into
its own 'native heavenly and spiritual
sphere;' it needs but this to descend
upon the church generally, and to
rest upon it permanently, in ordet to
realize through all its extent, and in
all its branches; the glOriOUS vision'
of the text.
And it shall come. by
God for thIS vision of the risen and.
ascended witnesses. Not always
shall the worship and diSCipline of
the church testifY in sackcloth; not
always shall their testimony fall so
powerless upon a scoffing world and
a corrupt church. Again shall the
Spirit descend as a rushing mighty
wind, filling the assemblies of the'
saints with evidences of the gracious
presence and power of our ascended
Lord, not less convincing than the
tongues of fire and words of power
that filled Jerusalem with wonder
and joy on the first day of the
kingdom's appearing. Let not the
hearts of God's people, then, be
filled with fear because of the,
apparent triumphs of the world. Let
them ,remember that the world's
highest triumph immediately
precedes the highest triumph of the
slain witnesses, the complete
separation of the churC;h in her
worship and government from the
world.
30
'
Preston's postmilleimiaiism is
particularly clear and powerful on
this point.
It is another cause of joy thauhe
. Church is yet to possess that holy
freedom, that undisturbed peace,
that prosperity on earth, of which
she has been deprived, and where
she has experienced so many long
periods of darkness, depreSsion, and
deep affliction. For the Church the
world waS made and has been
. preserVed. But for generations, thus
far, and especially during them, she
has not had a peaceful possession of
: her .own. 'But a blissful j\lbilee is
before her, even'on these mortal
cloud will precede them by day, and
the pillar of fire by night. The
Jordan will be crossed. Jericho will
be surrounded, besieged, and faiL,
Every enemy will be encountered
and overcome. The land will be
given to the people of the saints of
the Most High, and the kingdoms of
this world will become the kingdoms
of our lprd and of his Christ. The
. mouth Of the Lord hath spoken it,
and it shallourely come to pass."
(4) The preaching of the gospel by
the Church is the means by which
, Christ's kingdom will increase' and the
world converted. This, is perhaps the
most overwhelming aspect of
Southern Presbyterian
postmillennialism. It is admittedly
an aspectof their teaching with
which the modem church will have
great difficulty appreciaring. For we
have abandoned our traditional
hour-long sermons for drama,
seeker-friendly music, and
sermonettes. Our Presbyterian
fathers, on the other hand, beli"ved
that the bastions of evil would be
to qutposts of Christ by
the Church's faithful proclamation of
gospel to. all men and nations.
, Robert Kerr, " pastor in Richmond, .
: sums up this. conviction for us, "If
, ' . , the church is to conquerthe world,
We con,clude this section by how is she to do it?, The answer is
shores.
31
quoting again from pie j not far to seek: by Preachjng the .
Principle of Missions, because it ; . gospel to ,very creature."33 John
powerfully expresses the Southern Leighton Wilson (1809-1886),
Presbyterian confidence in the long-time missionary to Africa, in his.
triumph and progress .of Christ's famous address, "The Certainty of
kingdom. the World's CpnversiOli.," expresses
God, therefore, is evidently the same viewpoint. "But the 'great
preparing the way of a final entrance and efficient means by which this'
into the land Of promise. All things event will be brought about, will be
ate-becoming ready. The'world ere the mighty outpouring of the Spirit
long will be traversed by line of upon the Church, and,; in
steamers, railroads, and telegraphs. connection with this" upon the
Many will run to and fro, and, whole world." The Southern
knowledge be, increased. Presbyterians emphatically declared
Notwithstanding all the evil reports that the Church has everything she
requires in the 'gospel and Spirit of
of spies and traitors, of recreants and
cowards,' the sacramental host of God toc;onvert the wortd, to Christ.
Alexanderwrites that. '
God's elect' will be gathered together
for the combat. The' 'order will be Some good people are dreaming
,given to go forWard. The pillar of of a new dispensation; as though the
10 THE COUNSEL of Junet.July 1998
present were ineffectual for the
conversion of the world. To such we
would say, Do you expect another
gospel to be revealed? Can you
conceive of any better means for the
conviction and conversion of sinners
than the truths which we already
have in the gospel? And can you
conceive of a more efficiency than
that of the Holy Spirit? If not, then
discourage not the hearts and hopes
of God's people, but preach the
gospel to every creature, and pray
incessantly for the outpouring of the
Holy Spirit."
Ramsey insists on the
all-sufficiency of Christ's gifts and
power with such passion that our
own lack of commitment to the
power oflhe gospel is exposed as
scandalous.
Not only so. We are here
assured that this final triumph shall
be brought about by the very same
means and power that the church
has in covenant possessed every
since the ascension of her Lord, and
the first descent of the Spirit; the
same that in individual churches,
and for limited seasons, have
repeated in their measure the scenes
of the day of Pentecost. There is no
new agent or element to be brought
in; at least no intimation of any such
is here given, where, if anywhere, it
might be expected. In all these
agencies of judgment and of grace,
there is not one that has not already
scourged and blessed the church and
the world. These symbolic visions,
sweeping as they do over the whole
conflict, and purposely unfolding its
nature and the means of triumph,
must present to us all that it is right
for us to depend upon or expect.
The same testimony, the same
agencies, the same life-giVing Spirit
that laid in jerusalem the
foundations of the church, are those
who are to bring forth its 'headstone'
with shoutings of, Grace, grace unto
it. These, be it remembered, are the
constant heritage of the church. In
her union with her divine Head she
has an exhaustless fountain of
spiritual influences. It is her own
unfaithfulness that postpones her
triumph, and delays the promised
blessing. No other cause dare we
give, with the Bible in our hands,
whatever views we may entertain of
the sovereignty of God in permitting
it. And these influences and
agencies can even now secure to the
individual church and believer, the
same victory that will then cover
with its glory all the churches of
Chris!.. ... "
In "The Policy for the Future,"
Palmer expresses a similar conviction
that Christ will conquer this world
unto himself through the agency of
the faithful Church.
But 'over against all dreams of a
civilization, perfected through soil
and climate, through machineries,
through political constitutions,
through education and art and
culture only, the church stands a
steadfast witness -- lifting up the
sublime antithesis of a civilization to
be gained thro.ugh character,
character regenerated by the power
of god, and perfected through grace
and faith in jesus Christ.' The spirit
of true progress is the Spirit of
Christ: the forces which will issue in
the millennium are spiritual, not
material -- supematural, not natural.
The Bible reveals, and the church
believes in, a glOriOUS consummation
for humanity, and for the earth, -- a
consummation to be secured
through the gospel. No other force
than truth, and love, and the Holy
Ghost, are reqUisite to the
consummation; no other agent than
the church is needed to bring it to
pass. And as the Church grows
inwardly in character, and is
multiplied outwardly from continent
to continent, civilization will surely
follow, in grander and still grander
forms, until in the complete
development of the Church,
humanity shall reach its glorious
maturity.
In the dedicatory address for the
Nazareth Church mentioned earlier,
this conviction leads Palmer to
express his view not only of the
all-sufficiency of the Church to carry
out the Redeemer's program for
world conquest, but of the Church's
exclusive domain and right to do so.
As you will see, Palmer had a low
view of social agencies and extra- or
para-church organizations that usurp
the work of the Church.
I am extremely jealous for the
honour of the church as the Divinely
appointed institute for the
regeneration of society. Laudable as
the motives may be which lead us to
attack special forms of vice, and
charitable as the disposition is which
constructs agencies for the relief of
suffering and want, these fail utterly
to probe the sores which fasten upon
our social system. They have no
power -- scarcely an existence, save
where the Church goes before in her
errand of healing; the life they
exhibit is that of the parasite drawn
from the trunk to which it clings;
and they show a fatal tendency to
that very corruption which they seek
to mend. If others have a faith in
these nostrums greater than I am
able to command, I am silent, so
long as the attempt is not made to
glorify them as the panaceas for
human guilt, or to substitute their
agency for that of the church, or to
lessen confidence in her as the true
and only reliable instrument for the
reformation of morals. What
influence can be compared with that
of divine truth? What life equal to
that which is breathed into us by the
Quickener Himself? What reform
parallel with the new birth of a
sinner? and what victory over vice
equal to the extermination of the
very being of sin?
It is certain that the Southern
Presbyterians would condemn the
modem movement toward broad
churchism, short sermons, new
school theology and worship in the
Reformed churches, and other
novelties, all of which have at their
heart the desire to be or appear
juneQ'uly 1998 THE COUNSEL of Cha1cedon 'I' 11
relevant to the needs of a
postmodern culture. If we wish to
be relevant and effectual, we would
insist, preach the whole counsel of
God to every creature, and pray
earnestly for God to bless the means
he has appointed for the salvation of
the lost and the conversion of the
world.
(5) Because of the forces of the
unbelief at work in the world, the
Church must have faith in the
command, promises, and power of her
Savior, and labor diligently for the
conversion of the world. It can be
argued that the Church in any age
departs from her Standards and
Bible-approved program because of a
loss offaith in the means God has
provided. This was not missed by
the Southern Presbyterians. We find
them regularly insisting great faith is
reqUired by the Church to see the
banners of King Jesus unfurled over
all the nations of the eanh. Smyth
asks, "Can we doubt it? True, the
odds are fearfully against us. Many
they be who oppose and resist - the
world, the flesh and the devil. But
greater is He that is for us than all
that are against us. God is not a liar.
God is not powerless. God is not
mutable. God is not unwilling. He
will have respect to his covenant. ""
Wilson meets the skeptics head on
in a passionate section that not only
reveals his conviction that
premillennial esChatology is
unbiblical, but that also shows that
the system undermines the mission
work of the Church.
Pressed with the intrinsic
difficulties of the work, and at the
same time overlooking the power
and agency of God by which alone
they can be surmounted, men have
devised a variety of theories to
exonerate themselves from their
obligations to send the gospel to the
heathen, and at the same time
maintain an air of honesty and
consistency .... .The other theory, to
which allusion has been made,
couples itself with a favorite
theological opinion; and if it is not
itself the origin of that opinion, it at
least derives 'its main strength from
it. We allude to the views of those
who believe thai'the second advent
and personal reign of Christ on earth
is nigh at hand. According to this
theory, the conversion of the world,
if it takes place at all, must be done
by a miracle, and that in a
comparatively brief period. But as
there is no indication of this, for the
present at least, the difficulty is
surmounted by supposing that the
gospel is to be preached to the
distant,nation, as a witness; by
which it is supposed a few will be
gathered out and saved, whilst the
great mass of heathen are to be
convened by miracle, or to be cut off
and Consigned to everlasting ruin.
Hence, it is not uncommon for such
to number themselves among the
friends of missions; and they make
haste to preach the gospel abroad,
not so much, however, with ardent
desires and persevering efforts to
benefit and save. the heathen, as to
prepare the way for the fulfillment of
their own expectations in the
personal reign of Christ on eanh.
We leave this theory with the Single
remark, thatit is not only
unauthorized by the Word of God,
but is directly at variance with the
ascending command of our blessed
Savior, 'Go ye into all the world and
preach the Gospel to every creature.'
There is no real occasion to
resort to any of these subterfuges. A
lively faith sees no insuperable
obstacles in the way of the
conversion of the whole world. If it
depended wholly or mainly upon
the unaided efforts of men, it would
be a hopeless undertaking. But
when we take into the account the
omnipotent energies of Divine grace,
the question assumes a new and
entirely different aspect. Here is an
element of power adequate in all
respects to the magnitude of the
work.
37
Because Christ has appOinted the
Church ,as his agency tOd.isciple the
12 '" THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon '" June/july 1998
nations, and has given her every
incentive unto the great work, she
must throw herself unreservedly into
the work.
That the heathen will be
convened, and the whole world
brought into subjection to Christ;
that as a ChriStian I am bound to
labour for their salvation; that my
feeble and limited cooperation can
be of important help in the
furtherance of such a glorious work;
that in any event such labours of
love shall receive a full recompense
of reward; - this is just as truly a
matter of faith founded exclUSively
upon the testimony and authority of
God, as is anyone of all the other
doctrines of the Bible. They all
stand or fall together. They are
component parts of the same
, revelation, and of the same plan of
redemption. They must be received
or rejected together."
Confidence in the success of the
gospel did not tum the Southern
postmillennialists into idealists or
blind them to the evil around them.
Belief in the power of the gospel to
change men and nations ellcouraged
them to labor diligently for the great
day of Christ's victory especially in an
age of lawlessness and unbelief.
Ramseyasks,
But have we nothing to do, or to
hope for, in the mean time? By no
means. Even during the wide
prevalence ofthe power of
worldliness in the church, the work
of witnessing must go on; it is her
only hope and defense. Let every
child of God keep near to the altar
and the mercy seat, and separate
from the world. Let every member
and every officer of the church, and
especially v ~ r y minister, seek to
infuse into all her forms and acts of
worship, into all her enterprises and
organizations, into all her
government and diScipline, ,the spirit
of an entire consecration, t h ~ spirit
of holiness and submiSSion, that so
the triumph of the beast may be as
limited as poss,ible; and though in
ll1anl' places it may kili these
witnesses, yet that in many others
their voice may be heard ringing
clearer and louder in the world's ears
the truth, both of salvation and
perdition."
Wilson's passionate commitment
to the Great Commission made him
a fiery advocate for an increase in the
spirit of missions among the
Presbyterian congregations, and to
call upon them to gain a clearer view
of their duty to labor for the
Christianization of the nations by the
gospel of Christ.
What might we not do if we had
their spirit? Their's was the true
spirit of missions, and this is what
we want--a spirit of love, of
self-denial, and of unreserved
consecration to the service of Christ;
and this spirit is not less necessary to
the missionaries you send abroad,
than it is to the churches here. We
all need to rise to a higher sense of
responsibility. Your missionaries
must be men of courage, of faith, of
self-denial, and of perseverance,
even unto death, if need be; whilst
Christians here must take a more
comprehensive view of duty than to
suppose that their obligations to the
heathen are summed up in
contributing a portion of their
substance to the cause of missions
t
and in uniting in an occasional
prayer for the conversion of the
world.
We must rise to those high and
clear views of duty, that shall make
us regard our property, our talents,
and everything else we have,
committed to the great work of
regenerating and saving a lost world.
And why should we not? It was for
this that the Savior laid down his
life. For the same end, the Spirit
was promised. For this purpose the
church was organized. The
providence of God has brought the
most distant, and formerly
inaccessible parts of the earth within
our reach. The heathen, everywhere,
are waiting to receive the gospel; and
is there any enterprise, in the whole
range of human affairs, of more real
grandeur, or which promises more
glorious results, than this?"
Preston similarly insists that the
work of the conversion of the world
has been committed to the
instrumentation of the Church.
The mighty work indeed which is
to be performed before "the
kingdoms of this world are become
the kingdom of our Lord and of his
Christ;" the powerful opposition to
be overcome, and the labors to be
performed in the promulgation of
the Gospel throughout the world,
can be accomplished only by an
Omnipotent arm. At the same time,
it will not be accomplished without
human agency co-operating with
Divine. While God has his essential
work to perform, Christians have
their appropriate sphere of action.
One of the last signs which will
betoken the near approach of that
most happy period to the Church on
earth, is the universal spread of the
Gospel. This is to be done by
human hands, and human lips;
while Divine truth, energized by the
omnipotent Spirit, will give to that
truth its regenerating and sanctifying
power. ...
1
It is here that Thornwell's
postmillennialism came to its
clearest expression. The following
citation is his response to Roben].
Breckinridge's premillennialism, and
specifically Breckinridge's publicly
espoused skepticism concerning the
sufficiency of the Church's resources
to convert the world to Christ. In
this moving call to duty, we see all
the best elements of Southern
postmillennialism: a strong sense of
hope and faith in the promises and
power of God, an abiding sense of
duty to Christ, and a belief that there
is a direct relationship in history
between obedience and blesSing.
If the Church could be aroused
to a deeper sense of the glory that
awaits her, she would enter with a
warmer spirit into the struggles that
are before her. Hope would inspire
ardour. She would even now arise
from the dust, and like the eagk
plume her pinions for loftier flights
than she has yet taken. What she
wants, and what every individual
Christian wants, is faith - faith in her
sublime vocation, in her Divine
resources, in the presence and
efficacy of the Spirit that dwells in
her - faith in the truth, faith in]esus,
and faith in God. With such a faith
there would be no need to speculate
about the future. That would
speedily reveal itself. It is our
unfaithfulness, our negligence and
unbelief, our low and carnal aims,
that retard the chariot of the
Redeemer. The Bridegroom cannot
come until the Bride has made
herself ready. Let the Church be in
earnest after greater holiness in her
own members, and in faith and loye
undertake the conquest of the world,
and she will soon settle the question
whether her resources are competent
to change the face of the earth."
Lest we believe that Southern
Presbyterian postmillennialism was
merely positive emotions about the
future, or some undefinable feeling
that "everything will turn out fine in
the end," Plumer gives a list of things
we may do to promote the cause of
Christ and hasten the conversion of
the nations,43
"It should not discourage us that
we can do nothing efficiently. The
excellency of the power is of God."
"We may keep ourselves and
those under our infiuence informed
respecting the state of the world."
"We may cultivate an ardent love
to the souls of men."
"We may all encourage, and
should never discourage, wise and
practicable schemes of usefulness."
"Let us believe assuredly that all
flesh shall see the salvation of God,
for the mouth of the Lord hath
spoken it. Every knee shall bow,
and every tongue confess tht] esus
Christ is Lord, to the glory of God
]une{July 1998 THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon 13
the Father. The whale wark af
evangelizing the warld is a wark af
faith. 0 have faith in Gad."
"In rarticular, have faith in
Christ, in his mediatian, in his
ability ta execute alI his affices. He
has daminian aver WiCked men and
devils."
"The desire ta spread the gaspel
bel lOngs ta the very spirit af piety."
"Gad's peaple can pray far the
reignaf grace aver all the earth:
Such supplicaticns are agreeable to '
the will af Gad. Psa;"122:6. The
first three petitians oIthe Lard's
prayer embrace the same subject.
There is taa little united, hearty
calling an Gad. All the progress
hitherto made in bringing men to a
saving knawledge af the Redeemer
has been in answer.ta the fervent
cries af the children af Gad. There
is nathing mare powerful far gaad
than prayer."
"Every member af the church
shauld be trained and urged ta da
his full share af the great wark."
, "All the chur,ches should be
trained ta liberallty in giving
warldly substance for spreading the
gaspel." ,. , "
"Our yaung men must freely give
themselves to work of ministry at
home and abroad."
"There should be a much deeper
tone of piety in all the churches."
(6) The Teign oJChrist, preaching oJ
the gospel, and work oJ the Spirit will
result in a progressive, increase oj civic
righteousness, prosperity, and
This is lOne final distinction that
must be duly rioted, especially as
many in current Refanned circles
view postmillennialislIl as the ugly
step-sister af theanomic ethics.
What you read .belaw may su rprise
you. The Southern Presbyterians
ardently believed and maintained
that'the cause of Christ concerned
every aspect of hUman culture. The
goal of the gospel is not only to see
men saved, but also to see them '
surrender all their institutions,
dreams, and plans to the rule of
Jesus Christ, the King of the nations.
As such, Southern Presbyterianism
, knew nothing of amillennialism. In
his sennon, "National
Righteousness," Smyth notes that
"The Gospel has already wrought a
great change in the condition of the
world; and when its influence shall
be universal, all nations will be made
, vinuous and blessed. The pOWer of
the Christian religian, it is well
known, has changed many af the
evil customs of the world .... .' ... In
his commerits on Psalm 72, Plumer
likewise expresses his conviction
that the reign of Christ will result in
civic righteousness, godly laws, and .
, a general increase in culture.
Indeed inspired poets and
prophets have exhausted all the
, beauties oflanguage in faretelling
, the blessedness af Christ's kingdom.
It has every excellence. It is
canducted by righteous rulers and
laws, v. 2. It protects and provides
for those who cannot take care of
themselves, v. 3. It is stable as the ,
mountains. No wrong-doer can
resist it, v. 4. Christ rul",! his ,.
subjects not by tyranny and cruelty,
, nat by racks and whips, but by ,
godly Jear, v. 5. However low may
be the condition of Christ's people at
a given time, yet they shall be
revived and made to flaurish.Nor is
Christ's kingdom composed of
abjects and wretches, but of souls
righteous in the eye of theJaw and
heart also, v. 7. His kingdom is alsa
peace, as well as righteausness and
jay in the Holy Ghast,'v. 7. It is
catholic, embracing all lands,
bringing salvatian ta savage and
palished natians, ta kings, peasants
and paupers, the mast exalted and
the most dawn-trodden .... ' .
In ''The Palicy far the Future,"
, Palmer insists that the gaspel af
Christ will wark itself inta the entire
machinery af the human race, and
result in the salvatian af the warld.
Notice his insistence that Christ
saves cities, lands, and civilizatians
as well as individuals 'and families.
14 THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon UUlieIJuly 1998
As the plOwer of the engine is
distributed through the great shop
by a system of bands and'pulleys; so
must the regenerating power of the
Holy Ghast be transmitted
throughout the world and made
effective at every point in society
before there can be a realization of
our millennial hope.
The Bible reveals, arId the church
believes in, a glorious consummation
for humanity, and for the earth, -- a
consummation to be secured
through the gaspel. Na ather farce
than truth, and lave, and ,the Haly
Ghost, are requisite ta' the
cansummatian; no other agent, than
the church, is needed, ta bring it ta
pass. And as the Church grows
inwardly in character, and is
multiplied autwardly from cantinent
ta continent, civilizatian will surely
fallaw; ill grander and still graneler
farms, until in thy camplete
develapment of the Church,
humanity shall reach its glOriOUS
maturity.
I will caric!ude this segmentwith
a lengthy citation from Tharnwell's
maving sennan, "Thaughts Suited ta
the Present Crisis, A Serman an .
accasian af the death af Han. Jahn
C. Calhaun." Here we see virtually
every element of Southern
Presbyterian esohatalagy in one
extended section: the current reign
af Christ, the respansibility af
warld's leaders ta blOW ta his rule,
the judgments he brings an men and
natians that refuse ta blOW ta him. I
affer that it is sennans like this aile
that made Sautherri Presbyterianism
the Christianizing influence it was in
lOur Sauthern lands and an all Qur
institutians, and eventually gave rise
ta lOur resistance againstNanhern
oppressian and lawfessness. It is
hard, I freely admit, ta read these
lines withaut a lump in the throat
and a langing for the resurgence af
manly, victory-Oriented, biblical
Christianity.
It becames us, hawever, ta
remember that a peaple can trust in
. Gad anly when they are seeking the
ends of righteousness and truth.
Our dependence upon Him should
teach us the lesson that
righteousness exalteth a nation and
sin is a reproach to any people. We
cannot expect the patronage of
heaven to schemes of injustice and
of wrong. The State is an element of
God's moral administration --- and
to secure His favour it must
sedulously endeavor to maintain the
supremacy of right He may
overrule the wickedness of the
people for good --- He may even
permit unrighteous kingdoms to
flourish notwithstanding their
iniquity --- but as the habitation of
His throne is justice and truth, it will
be found, in regard to communities,
as well as individuals, that Godliness
is profitable for all things, having the
promise of the life that now is and of
that which is to come .... Freedom
must degenerate into licentiousness
unless the supremacy of right is
maintained. We must co-operate in
our spirit and temper and aims with
the great moral ends for which the
State was instituted, if we would
reach the highest point of national
excellence and prosperity. The
ultimate purpose of God is that the
dominion ofJesus should be
universally acknowledged---and that
nation only will finally and
permanently prosper, whose people
have the spirit and habitually obey
the precepts of the Gospel. Every
weapon that is formed against Him
must be broken; and the people that
will not submit to His authority
must be crushed by His power.
If the accounts, which the
SCriptures give, of the exaltation and
universal dominion ofjesus are to be
relied on, there can be no doubt but
that Christianity lies at the
foundation of national prosperity.
People and rulers must be imbued
with the spirit and observe the
institutions of the Gospel. We insist
upon no national establishment of
religion---upon no human
encroachments on the rights of
conscience, but We do insist upon
the individual and personal
obligations of every man, throughout
the broad extent of the country, to
be a Christian, and the
corresponding obligation to act as a
Christian in all the departments of
life, whether public or private. As
Christianity is the presiding spirit of
all modem civilization, it is the only
defense of nations against barbarism,
rudeness, anarchy and crime. Let
Jesus be enthroned in every
heart---and the nation that is made
up of Christian men will soon be a
praise and a joy in every land.
But where the people and rulers
know not the mediatorial King,
whom God has set upon the Holy
hill of Zion---where His Sabbaths are
profaned, His temples deserted, His
grace despised---His favour must be
withdrawn---the fountains of
national virtue must dry up---and
that land must ultimately be given to
wasting and desolation. The
strongest security within which the
institutions of this country can be
entrenched, is the prevalence of the
Christian religion. The State is an
ordinance of God as God is in Christ
reconciling the world unto Himself;
and to those who have considered
the bearings of the mediatorial
government upon the prosperity of
States, there is nothing surprising in
the present darkness which
overshadows the land. From the
highest to the lowest gradations in
Society--from the chair of State, the
halls of legislation, the courts of
justice, the popular assemblies of the
land, the cry of blasphemy,
profaneness and atheism, has gone
to heaven. God's Sabbaths are
polluted for the purposes of
gain--licentious and unprincipled
demagogues make it a business to
cheat the people with fiatteries and
adulations which are alike dangerous
and blasphemous--offices are sought
by open chicanery and corruption;
and amid scenes of revelry and
riot--more befitting the orgies of
Bacchus than the deliberations of a
free people, the greatest questions of
the nation are discussed. The
debauchery of the people, and the
triumph of demagogues, has always
been attended with the worst form of
slavery--that bondage of the soul in
which ever man is afraid to entertain
an opinion of his own--in which the
individual is merged in the mass;
and when this result is reached, the
moral economy of the State being
defeated, we can look for nothing
but the righteous judgments of
God.--The reign of licentiousness is
the prelude of nation dissolution.
The people that will not have Jesus
to reign over them, must be slain
before Him. He is exalted at God's
right hand, above all principality and
power and dominion, and we must
submit to his sceptre, or perish from
the way when his wrath is kindled
but a little.
Postmillennialism and the
Future of Presbyterianism
The Presbyterian churches of the
South long ago abandoned the
postmillennial eschatology of their
spiritual fathers. Jordan cites several
causes for this, and they all
undoubtedly contributed. What we
must note in conclusion, however, is
the effects of this departure. First,
we see little if any emphasiS upon
the sufficiency of Christ's gospel to
convert the world. Preaching itself
lacks the fervor, passion, and
centrality it enjoyed in previous
generations, largely because the
Southern churches have lost faith in
its power to transform men and
nations. Preaching even in many
Presbyterian churches has become
effeminate, cowardly, and utterly
subjective. We can complain about
the encroachments of new school
theology and worship, but until we
recover our conviction that Jesus
extends the borders of his kingdom
through the faithful preaching of his
gospel, our people will pay little
attention to our sermons. They will
lack the courage, seriousness,
passion, and unction that comes
only from men who are persuaded
that they are speaking for the King,
n n ~ u l y 1998 THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon 15
that he uses their words to shape the
course of hiStory, and that all who
refuse to bow to him in faith and
repentance face his certain
judgment.
The lack of eschatological
confidence among theologians and
preachers has undermined the faith
of God's people with respect to the
future of history and the ability of
the Church to cope with unbelief
and apostasy at a c)llturallevel. .
Cans to faith in the power of the
gospel to trahSfotm even this culture
are rare. Competing eschatologies
may call themSelves "optimistic," but
biblical eschatology is not having it
positive mental attitude. It is to
believe the Master, that all power
and authority reside in hiS strong
arm, and that it is his win that al\ the
nations be Christianized. Anything
short of that sort of optimism is not
that endorsed by Scripture, our
Standards, or the theologians and
pastors of the Southern Presbyterian
Church.
PresbyterianiSm in America is at
an epochal crossroads. Because we
have lost our faith in the power of
the gospel to transform men,
nationS, and cultures into faithful
subjects oUesus Christ, we no
longer plan, labor, and occupy for
the future. Many of the largest
segments of the remaining Reformed
Presbyterian communions cannot
decide whether they will become
"churches in the now: wholly
consumed with doing whatever is
necessary' to increase attendance and
programs, or stick with the historic
Reformed positions on evangelism,"
worship, doctrine, and preaching.
New school theology is all the rage
today. Have you ever woridered
why? At the ethical heart of new
school methods is a loss of faith in
the divinely appointed means by .
which the Church will convert the
world to Jesus Christ. When the
Church faithfully preaches the
gospel contained in' Scripture,
educates men in its meaning, and'
shepherds them in its application,
true diSciples of Christ are made. It
does not require snappy music,
glossyadvertising, short sermons
with easy vocabulary, or pastors with
more training in rnarketingand
administration than theology and"
homiletiCs. As a matter of fact; all of
these guarantee that we will continue
to lose this culture to the forces'of
humanism and our Reformed
heritage to broad churchism. What
it does require is faith and
faithfulness, faith in the power,
promises, and presence of our living
King, arid faithfulness to the
world discipleship that
he has provided in his. Word. ,
Postmillennialism is the only
eschatolOgical system that.
consistently yields long-te,m , .
planning and vision, commitment to
deep theological training of pastors,
elders, and congregations, and J
patience to continue in God-owned,
methods of, church
growth even if they do not yie\q
immediate success. This was the
faith of our Presbyterian father,s. If
we are to have a vital, ,and '
influential Confessional Presbyterian
Chur,h in this natiol) 50years from
now, postmillenniaLeschatology
must become the faith ,of a new
generation of Reformed
Presbyterians, who und,rstand the
times, know the inevitable demise of
Presbyterian congregations and
denorrtinations that adopt new
school theology, worship, and
evangelism, and who believe that the
future belongs to the faithful people
of God. n
lGeorge Marsden, The Evangelical Mind and the .
Nrn School Presbyte_rian (New and
london: Yale Uni,:"ersity Press. 1.970), p.
lTht:Joumal of Christian Reconstruction, 3, no. Z
(Winter, 1970-77), pp. 106_121.
lIbid .. p. 121.
"thomas Sroyth, Principle
(Philadelphia: Presbyterian Board ofPublicati9n,
1857), p. 13.
51bid., p. 5l.
'lbld., p, 52.
TIbid., pp. nO-lll.
SWillard Preston, Sernwns by WiUard Preston,
D.O. (philadelphia: Cowperthwait & Co., 1857).
THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon Jnnet.Jnly 1998
9John G: Shepperson, the Conversion of
the World," southern Presbyterian Rtvlew
(hereinafter SPR) la, no. 40anuary i858), p. S3l.
IDIbid., p. 521.
lIT.V. Moore, Haggai antlMalGchi (London:
The Blomer ofTrum Trust, 1968), p. 80.
l1lbid., p. 87,
Zechariah,(London: The Banner
of Truth Tr05t,_1968), p. lSI.
14Robert r-. Da.bney, Disl:US$ions, vol. 1
(Edinburgh: The &nner ofTruth Trust, 1982), p:
213.
pabney, Lt:c,t;l.res i1tSystemat!c
"!heolo), (Gr;md Rapids: Baker, 1985), p. 838.
life Work ofjohn 1-. .
Girardeau (Columbia: The State Co., 1916), Fl. 237.
t1lbid.
18lbid., p. 373.
191bid.; p. 37S.
2DIbid., p. 376. '
npreston, op. dt
uArchibald Alexander', Prcu:tical Truths (New
York: Americ<!Il,:rr1\ct Sodety, ,n;d:), p. 31-.
llJ. Kik, An oj Vu:tory ,
N.J.: and Reform,ed,1971)".p.
6; Morton Smith', Studies in.Soutiu:m Presbyterian
Theology (Philljpsbllrg,
Reformed, 1987). p. 181.
, '
lfIbid.
UWilliam S. 'Plumer; The Rock SalvatiQn
American'Trac:tSociety, 1867), p. 4i2.
le\Vllllam'S. Plli.mer, Commentary on Psalms'
(Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust, ,197e)", p ..
306. : ... '
11, _nc. .. 3 1858),_p. 440.
10, -t pp. 529:530.
191bid., pp. 532,533.
-, It The An
Exposition of the Fint Eleven Gapfers of the Book of
Revelation @chJ;llond: Committee of
Publication, 1873). Pll. ;:POfC ..
JIPreston, op.
32Smyfh,.op. clL"p. 28.
Kerr, Vol_',e oj in History
(Richmond: The Presbyterian Committee of
PublIsation, 1890), p: 275.;
"'Alexander, up. cit, p. 75.
'SRamsey, op. dt.,-pp: S02-S03.
:lOSmyth, op. cit., pp. 220,221.
31John leighton Wilson, "The, C.trtainty of the
World's Conversion," SPR2, no. 3'(December
1848), pp. 4271r..
OF-' dt, pp. loft15.
J9Ramsey, op. elL, pp. ,50l-S02.'
4OWUson, op. cit..
op. cit.
H, Xhornwell. CoUected Writings vol. 2
(Richmond: PresbytE!l"ian ComIlliUee ofPublic:ation,
1871), p. 48. . ,
fJPlumer, The: Rock of our Salvation, PI>. '
432-437.
12, n9. I (Aprl!1859), p, -34.
Corrzmentary on 'Psalms,. P''- 707.