The recent political upheaval in the United States has been a catalyst of discussion on the last days. It shows the great divides in the Body of the Messiah on the issues of the coming tribulation, our cultural responsibilities, and what we can hope for in this age. One preacher in a large network spoke of the loss of the election by Donald Trump as a temporary set back. He said that the Church will go on to triumph in all nations. Another wrote to me that the loss by President Trump was God’s sovereign decision and would now be the beginning of the Great Tribulation. Some believers voted for Joe Biden so that things would go back to some kind normalcy while ending the rule of a bombastic personality they despised as bad for the country. I don’t think normalcy will happen with the ascendency of identity politics and cancel culture. Can we shed some biblical light on the issue of the responsibility of believers to work for social transformation and the coming of the Great Tribulation? I think so.
Many who teach on eschatology or the doctrine of the last days, begin with the question of the three main millennial views. Pre-millennialism teaches that Yeshua will return after the Great Tribulation, and then He with the saints and Israel will rule on earth for 1000 years. The survivors of the nations that had not yet been converted will accept Yeshua’s rule and live long lives. At the end opf the Millennium, there will be one more great rebellion and then the final judgement at the Great White Throne. Then we will enter the New Heavens and New Earth, the Eternal Age. A-Millennialists believe the Millennium is symbol for the present time and refers to the rule of the Church for most of this age at the end of which is the Great Tribulation, the return of Yeshua and then the Great White Throne judgment. After this will come the New Heavens and New Earth. The Post Millennial view is the view of radical dominion where the Church or Christians will take over the whole world and rule it without the return of Yeshua until much later (some literally after 1000 years) For such Christians including some of the great revivalists and social warriors of the 19th century, the Great Tribulation was past. I do not claim that believing these different millennial views is a matter so foundational so as to claim heresy for any of them. I want to take a different approach and then deal with the issue of our responsibility for cultural transformation.
My new tack is not to start with the doctrine of the Millennium but the Great Tribulation. The great consensus of historic Christianity (Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox) and Orthodox Judaism is that there will be a great Tribulation at the end of this age and then the Messiah will come (or return if you follow Yeshua). This consensus again is overwhelming from the second century to today. It is difficult to find serous scholars who disagree. That consensus was also, until a new view in the middle of the 19th century, that believers who are alive at the end of this age would pass through the Great Tribulation. Both historic Pre-Millennial and A-Millennial teachers and scholars were the same in teaching this. For Pre-Millennialists, who believe in the election of Israel, the Tribulation is very connected to Israel, whereas this is the case for some A-Millennialists who believe in the election of the Jewish people and their special inheritance in the next age of the New Earth. (The great scholar on revivals Dr. Richard Lovelace taught this.) A-Millennialism does not necessarily imply replacement theology though the majority historically were replacement. The Catholic Church is still Amillennial though repudiating replacement theology and embracing the election of Israel and her key role at the end of this age.
Though I am not a Catholic and have significant issues with some Catholic doctrines, their statement on the classical view is clear and covers the consensus of historic Protestant churches as well. We read in paragraph 676.
The Church will enter the glory of the Kingdom only through this final Passover, when she will follow her Lord in his death and Resurrection. The kingdom will be fulfilled then, not by a historic triumph of the Church through a progressive ascendancy, but only by God’s victory over the final unleashing of evil, which will cause his Bride to come down from heaven.
My book on the Book of Revelation is entitled Passover, Key to the Book of Revelation! I was therefore amazed to read this statement. What the Catechism calls progressive ascendancy is the view of postmillennialism. The reason why the coming Tribulation is the overwhelming view of historic Church and Orthodox Jewish scholars is the overwhelming evidence of text after text. Ezekiel 38, 39, Isaiah 25-27, 60, Joel 3, and Zechariah 14 all show that this age will end in a final battle. Paul summarizes it well. Speaking of the return of the Lord and our being joined to him, he states,
Let no one deceive you in any way for that Day will not come unless the rebellion comes first and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the one destined to e destroyed. (II Thes. 2:3).
The case for no Great Tribulation in the future is based on a few verses and is not based on a comprehensive survey of the texts. In Matthew 28 Yeshua commanded us to go and “Make disciples of all nations.” This is interpreted to mean that the nations will be submitted to Yeshua. Then the parable of the Kingdom as being like leaven that permeates the whole dough in Matthew 13 is strongly emphasized. But this ignores all the many verses that say again and again that the end of this age is the great and final battle of good and evil.
This brings us to the question of social transformation. Yes, the postmillennialist brings a strong motivation for social transformation. I should define social transformation. Social transformation is basically brining the laws of society into conformity to the Law of God. The Reformers, the classic Protestants, did believe in efforts for social transformation. They produced great social transformation. I think of one of my heroes in this, the Prime Minster theologian, Abraham Kuyper of Holland 120 years ago. If we were to end this age in the Great Tribulation, what motivated them? They were wise and knew that there could be delay. After all, it was in their day 1500 years since the days of Yeshua on earth. If the Christians do not seek to bring God’s Law to society, then the generations before that last day will suffer oppression and death. Care for the condition of the generations and justice during this life, motivated them to seek righteousness in the society. They also knew that social transformation was contingent on the health of the Church. A weak, declining and powerless Church would not be able to effect lasing social transformation. The Wesley revivals in England gave way to Wilburforce and the end of slavery. This is why we must always seek the health of the Body of the Messiah first. Repentance, revival, and the expansion of growing discipling communities are the foundation. Righteous wholehearted commitment and life together is the absolute prerequisite for all progress. When the numbers of committed believers who believe in social engagement are strong enough, society is changed. However, we need to always be aware that revival and health in the Body can lead to two possibilities. The first is that it will lead to social transformation as it did in the early Church and the Reformation. The second is that it will prepare us to fight the last battle. We don’t know which will happen, but we don’t have to know. We are to “Occupy until He comes.” That means we work first for a strong Church and then social transformation.
Sometimes those who are invested in social transformation speak like post millennialists. I question them and find that they are not really post millennialists. They speak of Kingdom advance in the larger culture. Amen. However, I wish that they would bring their proclamation into coherence with the Biblical teaching on the Last Days. It would end much confusion.