Eschatology: "A Postmillennial Primer" Study

I first heard of "Postmillennialism" while talking over the end times with my best friend, Brittney. Her family is Postmillennialist, as well as Ben's (her fiancee) family. I became interested in opening up the study of Eschatology soon after, when I was trying to compare the views of these friends, and what I had always been taught - which was mainly a Dispensationalist, Pretribulation view. Of even that, I know relatively little.

Well, I went on a trip with Brittney to meet her fiancee's family in Alabama. Ben's dad is a Pastor, and I enjoyed a couple of deep conversations with him, as well as Mr. Jack (Brittney's Dad) on the subject. Then Pastor N. gave me a booklet which summarizes what they believe, as well as defends it.



This book is called "The Postmillennial Primer." It is written by Andrew Sandlin and published by the Chalcedon Foundation, a ministry founded by R.J. Rushdoony.

The Table of Contents:

Preface by R.J. Rushdoony
Introduction
The Defect of Dispensationalism
The Problem of Premillennialism
The Anomaly of Amillennialism
The Promise of Postmillennialism
Afterword: The Inheritors
Suggested Reading

I am planning to post my study notes on this blog as I prayerfully consider an eschatological viewpoint. May the Lord guide my study!

Soli Deo Gloria!

The Bible and Truth - Deut 32:4

Deuteronomy 32:4 -

"He is the Rock, His work is perfect. For all His ways are justice, a God of truth and without injustice; Righteous and upright is He." (NKJV)

"He is the Rock, His work is perfect: for all His ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is He." (KJV)

"The Rock, his work is perfect, for all His ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is He." (ESV)

WHO?

Moses, to the Hebrews

TIME?

c. 1456 - Based on McGee research.
Right before the death of Moses; 40 years since the Exodus.

CULTURE?

They are nomadic, poor, and reliant on God for everything. They have no home of their own yet.

SITUATION?

Having been wandering in the wilderness, they had met many instances in which God showed His power and faithfulness. (i.e. the crossing of the Red Sea, the events of Mount Sinai...) Now they are on the brink of entering the Promise Land. They know God's Law, and have every reason to trust and obey. Joshua has been given leadership over the people.

COVENANT?

Old Covenant. The Hebrew people were saved by faith in the One to Come (who was foreshadowed by their sacrifices and holidays), and turned away from the ways of the world in repentance, devoting their life to the Lord. God is making His will known supernaturally, through Moses. We are now lead by Scripture. (Sola Scriptura)

STATEMENT?

Moses is singing a song of warning. He is warning that in the future, in Canaan, the people will rebel and turn from God. (Deuteronomy 31:14-29 is the set up.) In verse 4 of chapter 32, he is singing of God's right to judge, and that it is good for God to do so.

--The phrases surrounding "a God of truth" point to Moses' usage of the word, "truth." What is Moses saying about God's ways, exactly?

• "He is the Rock", (vs 4a) God is called "the Rock" 5 times in this chapter. This characteristic of God is really being focused on by Moses. MacArthur comments:
  
  
• "His work is perfect;" (vs 4b) Everything God does is perfect! Ideal, whole, faultless, complete, sinless, holy, blameless, excellent, pure, flawless!
  

• "For all His ways are justice," (vs 4c) All of His ways are just. They are without error. He does not let any wrong-doing go without punishment. He is complete in His judgement, making no mistakes as He is the All-Knowing Judge.
  

• "a God of truth and without injustice;" (vs 4d) these two segments of 4d are linked by "and"; therefore they shant be separated. Justice is the theme of the verse, and the word "truth" seems to affirming God's perfect judgements. In this phrase, the Heverew word, 'emuwnah,' is translated as "truth." (530 in Strong's Lexicon):

• Righteous and upright is He." (vs 4e) in the KJV it is translated "just and right is He."

CONCLUSION?

God's justice is really stressed in this verse. Since Moses' song is about God's coming judgement, it makes sense. He's explaining to the children of Israel the judgment that God passes on a people for rebellion has no room to be questioned. His justice is perfect. He is not mistaken, nor unjustly angry, nor corrupt. He is upright. All of his ways are just. He is a God of truth! He has a judgment based on the moral fidelity of one's actons to the standard of righteousness. How? He is The Standard of righteousness. Therefore, God (being the most Supreme, All-Knowing Being), is the Absolute Truth! To be true, something must have fidelity to His Word.

The Bible and Truth - Gen 24:48

Genesis 24:48 -

"And I bowed my head and worshiped the Lord, and blessed the Lord God of my master Abraham, who had led me in the way of truth to take the daughter of my master's brother for his son." (NKJV)

"And I bowed down my head, and worshiped the Lord, and blessed the Lord God of my master Abraham, which had led me in the right* way to take my master's brother's daughter unto is son." (KJV) ((*Commentary notes that it can be replaced with 'true.'))

WHO?

Abraham's Servant

TIME?

c. 1860 - Based on McGee research.
If Isaac was born in 1901, Gen. 25:19 says he married Rebekah at 40. This puts the date at c. 1860. Time of the Patriarchs, there was no Written Word, only God's direct leading.

CULTURE?

Completely dependent on God; they left all presupposed, 'normal' ways of life and lived their lives by God's direct leading. A servant, in that time, was basically a permanent employee: a member of the household with the responsibility to earn his keep.

SITUATION?

Isaac needed a wife. A servant was sent to find one, of close kin. He found Rebekah at the well, and he is now speaking to her father and brother, after all the signs that he'd found the right woman were confirmed.

COVENANT?

Old Covenant. Abraham was saved by faith in the Promised Seed, and turned away from his false idols in repentance, devoting his life to the Lord. God is making His will known supernaturally. We are now lead by Scripture. (2 Timothy 3:15, and the entire doctrine of Sola Scriptura)

STATEMENT?

The servant is retelling what happened at the well. Reference Genesis 24:26-27

"Then the man bowed down his head and worshiped the Lord. And he said, 'Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken His mercy and His truth toward my master. As for me, being on the way, the Lord led me to the house of my mother's bretheren." (NKJV)

CONCLUSION?

God's blessing was on Abraham. He promised that Abraham's family line would be innumerable. But that would require his only son, Isaac, to have a wife. So God's mercy and truth, which was spoken of in Genesis 24:27 was a promise that Isaac would have a wife within the covenant. The servant was sent to find a wife of near kin. There were no phones, no postal service, no email, no 411, no to modern conveniences to use to find this girl. Only a miracle would produce a wife in a timely manner. The servant called upon God in verses 12-14 of chapter 24. He asked that the Lord would show His will with a sign. Before he finished praying, God answered his prayer and Rebekah came.

God provided the truth needed to guide the servant's decisions!

Today, God uses Scripture. He still guides, supernaturally, but because of Sola Scriptura, we know His will is manifest in Scripture alone. Before the Bible was complete, God provided supernaturally. He is always faithful to provide to His people - and He has provided for us by giving us the Bible. When we heed and obey it, God will bless our obedience and carry out His perfect will!

The Definition of Truth

The definition of 'truth' by Webster's 1828 Dictionary:

noun.
1. Conformity to face or reality; exact accordance with that which is, or has been, or shall be. the truth of history constitutes it's whole value. We rely on the truth of the Scriptural prophesies.
2. True state of facts or things. The duty of a court of justice is to discover the truth. Witnesses are sworn to declare the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
3. Conformity of words to thoughts, which is called 'moral truth.'
4. Veracity; purity from falsehood; practice of speaking truth; habitual disposition to speak truth' as when we say 'a man is a man of truth.'
5. Correct opinion
6. Fidelity; constancy
7. Honesty; virtue
8. Exactness; conformity to rule
9. The real fact or just principle; real state of things. There are innumerable truths which we are not acquainted.
10. Sincerity
11. The truth of God in His veracity and faithfulness
12. Jesus Christ is called the Truth
13. It is sometimes used by way of concession:

• In truth: in reality; in fact
• Of a truth: in reality; certainly
• To do truth: to practice what God commands."

The definition of 'truth' according to Dictionary.com:

noun.
1. The true or actual state of a matter.
2. Conformity with fact or reality; verity.
3. A verified or indisputable fact, proposition, principle or the like.
4. The state or character of being true.
5. Actuality or actual existence.
6. An obvious or accepted fact; truism; truthfulness.
7. Honesty; integrity; truthfulness.
8. Ideal or fundamental reality apart from and transcending perceived experience.
9. Agreement with a standard or original.
10. Accuracy, as a position or adjustment.
11. Archaic, fidelity or constancy.

idiom.
12. In truth, in reality; in fact; actually.

Synonyms and antonyms of 'truth':

The Bible and Truth - Scripture List

A list of the verses in the KJV and NKJV that have the word, "truth" in them:

1. Genesis 24:48
2. Exodus 34:6
   
3. Deuteronomy 32:4
4. Psalms 15:2
5. Psalms 25:10
   
6. Psalms 40:11
7. Psalms 51:6
8. Psalms 85:11
9. Psalms 91:4
10. Psalms 117:2
11. Psalms 119:30
    
12. Psalms 119:43
    
13. Psalms 119:142
14. Psalms 119:160
15. Proverbs 12:19
    
16. Proverbs 23:23
17. Isaiah 26:2
    
18. Isaiah 59:14
19. Jeremiah 9:3
20. Daniel 4:37
    
21. Hosea 4:1
    
22. Zechariah 8:3
23. Zechariah 8:16
24. Malachi 2:6
25. Mark 12:32
    
26. John 1:14
    
27. John 8:32
28. John 14:6
29. John 16:13
30. John 18:38
31. Acts 26:25
32. Romans 1:18
33. Romans 2:2
    
34. I Corinthians 5:8
35. I Corinthians 13:6
    
36. II Corinthians 13:8
37. Galatians 3:1
38. Galatians 5:7
    
39. Ephesians 4:15
40. Ephesians 6:14
41. II Thessalonians 2:10
42. I Timothy 2:7
43. II Timothy 2:15
    
44. I Timothy 3:15
    
45. II Timothy 2:25
46. II Timothy 3:7
47. James 3:14
    
48. James 5:19
    
49. II Peter 1:12
50. II Peter 2:2
51. I John 3:19
52. I John 5:6
53. III John 3

I'm going to write an essay on each verse that contains the word 'truth.' I'll post my essays here. I used the concordances for both the KJV and the NKJV, so the specific word 'truth' may not be used in a particular verse in one version, but it may be present in the other.

If you notice that any verses are missing, I would be extremely thankful if I was alerted. *big smile*

The Truth About Truth - Introduction

In our post-modern world, sometimes it's really easy to get confused about something extremely foundational: truth.

The popular trend of the world is the belief that there is no absolute truth - everything is relative. When a conversation begins to turn into a debate, oft you'll hear, "Well, we just have different beliefs. If it's true for you, have fun. But that's not my truth."

((Todd Friel's endorsement of Put Your Beliefs to the Test by Brannon Howse on page 1))

The Truth About Truth is my quest to affirm my beliefs about the answers to these key questions:

1. Does absolute truth exist?
2. What is absolute truth?
3. Can we know absolute truth?
   
4. How does one know absolute truth?
5. Who provides absolute truth?

May this journey bring God all glory!

Welcome to the Apologia Akadimia!

Apologia Akadimia is the name of my private education courses. They are designed by me, with the help of my parents, to learn as much as I can with the abundance of resources already available to me.

My very first goal is to bring glory to God, and to grow closer to Him. Second, only to that, my main goal in this course is to gain knowledge. I'm not interested in impressing man, rather, I learn to please God. Because of my convictions about college campuses (they're more about 'the college experience' than actually learning, not to mention their anti-Christian worldviews) and because I'm not going to have a 'career' (as a woman, I'm called to be a keeper-at-home - it's Scriptural), I have no desire nor need to earn an accredited college degree. Therefore, I'm devoting my years as a single graduate serving my family at home!

I'm earning my 'mommy degree' by babysitting a family with nine kids as often as I can. I'm earning my 'housework degree' by taking on a larger load of chores at home. I'm earning my 'sewing degree' by learning from my younger sister who is a whiz when it comes to needles and thread. I'm earning my 'cooking degree' by preparing foods for our home whenever needed and putting together family cookbooks. And I minor in a host of other things. I literally learn 'hands-on.'

But, of course, one of my favorite pastimes is growing in my 'book knowledge.' I love to study anything and everything. But my very favorites are Theology, Apologetics, Worldview, World Religions & Cultures, History, Creation Science and Government. That is why I'm attending Apologia Akadimia - a world of knowledge located right in my bedroom!

For accountability and recording purposes, this blog has been born to document my journey in knowledge.

I do hope you enjoy reading it!

Christ's blessings,