From the verdant gardens of Genesis 1, the mountains of Ararat in Genesis 9, the plains of Shinar in Genesis 11, to the lands of Canaan where God showered His patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Judah) with these promises of a future filled with unending blessings, God has been demonstrating His unwavering faithfulness to His promises throughout all generations.

Introduction
If you have been with us over the last 8 weeks, we have been attempting to summarize what a failed eschatology looks like. From the hyper-defeatism of dispensationalism and premillennialism to the subtle apathy for cultural engagement that seeps in through amillennialism and the Radical Two Kingdoms, we have been attempting to show that a wrong view of eschatology will have an impact on how you live in the world. Because let’s face it, if you believe that we lose down here (As John MacArthur famously said), we will not work down here. If we believe the rapture is always moments away, then why waste your time doing the long work of making disciples and transforming culture? If we believe that all of our energy and effort should go into spiritual activities (the Kingdom of God) and that this work does not overlap with the physical world (The Kingdom of Man), then why engage at all? Why obey Jesus’ command to be salt and light in the world if the only aspect we will ever see redeemed is spiritual? Better to spend your time converting souls for a Gnostic utopia than Biblically discipling nations to live with Jesus in the New Heavens and New Earth.
While each of the views we have covered so far has minimal overlap, two things they do have in common are that they are entirely wrong about eschatology and that they have throttled down the church so that she has become a passive-sickly agent in this world. In this series, we have been looking to change that.
And that brings us to our topic for today. How is Postmillennialism the correct view of eschatology? What does it mean? What implications will it have on my life? Can it be demonstrated convincingly from the Scripture?
To that end, let us begin by defining Postmillennialism, and then we will spend the majority of our time today showcasing this view in the pages of Genesis.
What Is Postmillennialism?
Unlike the smorgasbord of major depressive eschatologies, Postmillennialism uniquely grapples with the unstoppable power of God, the awesome glory of Jesus’ Gospel, and how the earth will come under the Lordship of Christ the King before this rodeo is over. Instead of presenting Jesus’ great commission as an absolute failure, Postmillennialism takes seriously how the Gospel will change hearts, the church will disciple societies and nations (Matthew 28:19), and because Satan is bound (Matthew 12:29; Revelation 20:2), and the principalities and powers have been disarmed (Colossians 2:15), Jesus will win back the world and will bring it under His Father’s rule (1 Corinthians 15:24-28).
Central to this perspective is the understanding of what eschatology is. Eschatology is not the poorly written conclusion or the explosive plane crash of an otherwise glorious trip. Eschatology is concerned with how everything that was lost in the first Adam will be restored under the Lordship of the second Adam, Jesus Christ. Eschatology is not the final chapter where everything falls apart; it is the story of how everything comes back together in Jesus. This distinction is crucial.
With that in mind, Postmillennialism acknowledges that everything that fell in the first creation will be healed and restored by Jesus in His new creation, the Kingdom. To clarify, we are saying that this New Creation kingdom began when He ascended into heaven and will not be finished until everything is restored when He makes “His blessings flow far as the curse is found” (Joy to the World; Isaac Watts, 1719).
The postmillennial conviction is that God will do this by filling the world with worshipers who will worship Him in Spirit and Truth (John 4:23-24). Why? Because that is the end for which God designed the world (Genesis 1:28). At the heart of postmillennial thinking is the idea that God is going to redeem all that was lost in Adam, that He will fill the fallen world with worshippers in garden spaces, where He will bring the Kingdom of God across a globe that was under the tyranny of the devil. He will do that through the preaching of the Gospel, the making of disciples, and through the life-changing work of the Holy Spirit. As Christians, we know Christ never fails at anything He sets about to do. Thus, because Christ has endeavored to bring the world under His rule, He will not stop until He has been successful everywhere the curse is found.
According to the postmillennialist, this process of worldwide Kingdom expansion began when Jesus ascended into heaven and sat on His throne to rule, inaugurating a period known as the “Millennium” (Revelation 20), which is not a chronological term but symbolic of this growing epoch when righteousness, peace, and the acknowledgment of God’s sovereignty become pervasive realities. This era will be marked by an unprecedented increase in the number of worshipers who live out and celebrate the truth of God’s Word, culminating in a world saturated with adorations and praise for Yahweh, our King.
Unlike escapist or pessimistic eschatologies, Postmillennialism sees the future as a canvas for God’s redemptive work, transforming not just individuals but whole families, cultures, and nations. This view does not naively ignore the presence of sin and misery in the world but instead acknowledges a substantial decrease in its power and influence by the Risen Lord Jesus. Through this global transformation, which will happen slowly over many generations, the world will experience a foretaste of heaven as more and more people come to know God, are filled with His Spirit, and begin living out Christ-like behaviors and attitudes on earth.
Knowing this, the postmillennial vision compels Christians to engage actively in the world, driven by the certainty that their labor in the Lord is not in vain. Believers are called to spread the aroma of Christ in every sphere of life, laboring in hamlets, highways, high rises, downtowns, white houses, and empires that must be transformed into communities of worshipers before the Lord returns. This eschatological outlook infuses our daily living with purpose and direction, motivating us to partake in the divine mission of filling the earth with the knowledge of God as the waters cover the sea (Habakkuk 2:14).
In sum, Postmillennialism is God’s plan, in Christ, by the power of the Spirit, to fill the world with faithful worshippers. It is not just an eschatological viewpoint but a Biblical vision of the hope and redemption God promised to bring back into this fallen world. It is the only view that shows how everything lost in Adam will be found in the second Adam, Jesus Christ. It opens our eyes to the incredible successes of Christ in church history. It frees us to view the future optimistically even as we labor hard in the present. And in my opinion, it is the only view that accounts for what the Bible promises will happen in Jesus’ Kingdom.
So, with that, let us look at a positive and Biblical case for the doctrine of Postmillennialism from the book of Genesis.
Postmillennialism According To Genesis
A World Filled with Worshippers by Design
God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”Genesis 1:28
To construct a Biblical eschatology, we must begin where the Bible begins. In the first chapter of Genesis, we see God’s plans and purposes for the world. A world made out of nothing. A world constructed without sin. A world in perfect conformity to the will of the Father, such that everything we behold in Genesis 1 pleases Him and is called very good by Him. If there was ever a way to discern the kind of world God would want, we must look no further than the one He made.
In Genesis 1, after constructing heavenly space and earthly space, God made man with a unique and glorious purpose. After filling the cosmos to the brim with lights to rule the day and night, and after filling the skies with all kinds of birds and winged creatures, and after filling the oceans with teeming fish and sea monsters, and after filling the earth with every kind of animal and creeping thing, God also proposed to fill every square inch of this earth with humans, who would worship Him, and would spread His dominion and would rule over His creation to the glory of God. But, instead of beginning, as He did with a fixed and completed assortment of stars or with a fully multiplied ocean overflowing with sea beasts, God decided to begin with just two human bodies, made in His image, made to worship Him, both male and female, with the commission of using those two bodies to fill the four corners of this earth with their offspring (Genesis 1:28). To say that a different way, God Himself multiplied the galaxies and stars, as well as the winged and scaly beasts, but invited humans (the only creature God did this with) to partner with Him in their multiplication. This means God made human beings to become a multiplied species that filled the earth, but He allowed us to participate in our multiplication through monogamous covenant marriage.
Thus, we see the kind of world God wanted to make was a world filled with human worshippers, and by God’s grace, God invited humans to partner with Him in accomplishing that vision. This tells us all we need to know about God’s intention for the world. He created two sexual creatures to be bound in heterosexual covenant monogamy, to propagate the knowledge of God across the face of the earth through child rearing and family worship. This worshiping, fruitful, and multiplying family is what God called very good in Genesis 1, and this is what was so very bad about the fall in Genesis 3.
When sin entered the world, things fell. And by “fell,” I do not mean like a vase falling off a shelf, although as a metaphor that is not far off. What I mean is that everything God designed became broken. It no longer functioned in the way it was intended. And by everything, I mean everything. The earth fell. The land fell. Masculinity, femininity, marriage, and sex all fell. Moral reasoning, spiritual discernment, worship, creativity, and the ability to comprehend the knowledge of God all resoundingly fell. But what did not fall and was not broken was God’s intention to fill the world with worshiping people. This is where Postmillennialism is unique among the eschatological systems.
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Those who promote themselves without God’s authorization (i.e., recognition granted to them by the church – see Acts 13:1–3), gain position by giving it to themselves or taking it from others. Instead of waiting on the Lord to receive a ministry at the right time in the right way, those who are committed to making themselves great are unconcerned for how their ministry might impact others. They see a path to service and the popularity found from others is sufficient cause for continuing.

Throughout the Bible we find a divide between wisdom and folly, righteousness and sin, givers and takers, children of God and children of the devil. As Jesus said, he did not come to bring peace, but a sword (Matt. 10:34–35). And that sword not only divides humanity, which provides the context of his words in Matthew’s Gospel, it is also a sword that judges the thoughts and intentions of men. Indeed, God’s Word does more than declare behavior right and wrong; it does surgery on the heart, exposing why we do what we do.
In the Bible, and in the church, few things are more difficult to discern than motivations for ministry. For truly, as many good motivations as there are, there are also bad motivations. There is ambition that is godly and ambition that is anything but godly. And in every child of God who serves faithfully, there will be both impulses.
Just consider the Apostle Peter, who could confess Jesus as the Christ at the same time that he would deny him his cross (see Matt. 16:13–23). Indeed, at one time or another, all the disciples had a mixture of true and false ambitions, which is why Jesus had to correct their views on greatness (Mark 10:42–45). Truly, we are fickle creatures. And the best of men is both taught by God and tempted by the devil. Again, read Matthew 16.
So, knowing that, we should always be open to examining our motivations for ministries, and that is what this series is about. It aims to address false ambitions and to set a course towards true ambitions for ministry.
In Part 1, I offered two lessons from the life of Adonijah.

We should not seek positions in ministry; we should seek the righteousness to receive such a place of service.
We should abide by the word, and wait for an invitation to serve.

And now, in Part 2, I will suggest a third lesson from Adonijah’s life:

When kingdom-seekers exalt themselves, their ambition follows a discernible pattern.

This pattern consists of five actions that Adonijah pursued in his attempt to be king in Israel. And, as the story goes, he nearly succeeded. What ultimately prevented him from claiming the throne illicitly is that genuine servants of God stood to oppose him. His false ambitions were thwarted because the ambitions of others were rooted in God’s Word.
Sadly, this sort of conflict continues today.
In truth, only when righteous men and women stand against falsehood will truth prevail. Yet, this is exactly why it is vital to learn the pattern of those who exalt themselves. For in ministry, when good works are pursued with bad motives, it can be very difficult to discern. Often, the falsehood of good works takes years, even decades, to discern. Yet, Scripture does give us light, if we are willing to look. And that is what we find in Adonijah’s play for David’s throne.
Adonijah’s Ambition
When Adonijah exalted himself to a position of royal authority, he followed a pattern of action that many have followed before and since. Indeed, this pattern of self-exaltation is the exact opposite of Christ’s self-effacing, self-sacrificing service (see Phil. 2:5–8). Instead of humbling himself and waiting to be exalted, Adonijah used his resources to collect a following. And then, he attempted to build a kingdom with his followers. From his sinful example, we are warned of an ambitious nature that seeks ministry by means of self-promotion.
Now, of course, the pursuit of gospel ministry does not look like glory-seeking for most people. Yet, among those who worship in David’s rebuilt house (i.e., the church), there remains a temptation to self-exaltation. And tragically, those most skilled for ministry are most easily tempted. As with any good thing, it can become a god-thing (an idol). And that is one of the warnings that the story of Adonijah offers. For those seeking ministry and for anyone who might encounter someone promoting themselves in ministry. (And I would put myself in the camp of those who have had to learn to put selfish ambitions to death.)
Indeed, self-promotion is often covered by words of truth and acts of service. As a result, recognition of such self-serving can be missed or dismissed. Even more, many in the church can be deceived by zealous “servants” who exalt themselves with their service in ministry. This pattern of selfish ambition in God’s kingdom is not easily spotted, but it does have certain discernible patterns. For nothing is new under the sun, and in Adonijah we can see at least five steps to such self-promotion.
By examining his life, may we learn to seek new life in Christ.
Five Steps of Self-Promotion
1. Self-actualization.
In Adonijah’s case, he not only exalted himself, he vowed to himself, “I will be king” (v. 5).
The power of a self-made man is in his secret vow to do great things. In truth, not everyone who achieves great things is self-seeking, but many are. And when they are, they are often driven by some inward compulsion.
That compulsion may come from any number of family situations (e.g., the absence of a father, the neglect of a mother, competition with a sibling), or it may come from somewhere else. But wherever it comes from, the need to actualize self is not a godly motivation to serve from a heart overflowing with God’s love. It is profoundly human motivation, one that comes from a heart needing to find love or praise or glory from others.
And thus, the first step of self-promotion is a subterranean urge to be great. This urge may come forth viscerally in verbal statements marked by pride, competition, envy, or self-glorification. Or, it may be more subtle. It may be hidden and only seen in promises made to self or hidden in a diary.
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Earthly mindedness and heavenly living are contrasted in Philippians 3:19-20. But this heavenly mindedness is mainly connected to Paul’s example (v17) which is contrasted with that of the enemies of the cross of Christ. It is as though Paul was saying beware of following of those who mind earthly things, for their end is destruction; but rather follow those whose way of living is in heaven, for their end is, salvation. How can we identify those who have such a heavenly manner of living?
Jeremiah Burroughs says that they are those who esteem the things of heaven to have greater significance than those of the earth. They are able to be content with enjoying little in this world. A heavenly, godly man or woman can tell you how to live a joyful and happy life even if they lack the things of this world. They can not only live joyfully lacking many comforts, but they can suffer the loss of all. They can suffer hard things, afflictions, torments and tortures with joyful hearts (Hebrews 11:13- 14, 36-40 and Hebrews 10:32-34).
Their hearts are greatly filled with heavenly riches: much grace, holiness, much of the image of God, much spiritual life. A Christian’s life manifests much of the excellency of heaven, much of the glory of heaven shines in their faces. The hearts of the saints are filled with God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, grace and this is greatly manifest in their lives. They cannot be comfortable in the enjoyment of all things in this world if they are deprived of the heavenly enjoyments. They are troubled when they do not feel those influences from heaven in their souls they have previously. They are willing to die and leave this world with much comfort, joy and peace in the hope of eternal life.But the question is: how does such a person and way of living deal with the realities of this life or is it just an escape? Does it impact on others in this world? What use and what good does it have? Burroughs goes on in the following updated extract to provide some answers.
1. Heavenly Living is Convincing
Heavenly living will be very convincing. You will convince others that you have something more than they have when they see you live in a heavenly way. The men of the world know the things of the world and that they have set their hearts on them. But when they see those that profess religion mingle themselves with the earth in the same way that they do, they will think that such are motivated by the same principles they themselves are. But heavenly living will convince them, when they see Christians rising above this in the whole course of their lives. They see an evenness and proportion in their course. At all times and in all matters they conduct themselves as those who are of another world.
A stranger may act for a while act just like a native, but one who has been born there knows how to find out in one thing or another whether this is so. It is very hard for men to conduct in the right way if they do not have true grace though they may appear sometimes to be very heavenly. A true citizen of heaven will discern at one time or another if they do not have grace. The truth is also that unregenerate people will reveal their true heritage too.
But when Christians have a constant way of life that is heavenly, it is very convincing. There are the rays of heaven around them, they have the lustre of heaven shining wherever they go, and in all company. Surely such a person seems to be in heaven continually. This will force the very consciences of others to say: “certainly these are the citizens of heaven if any are.”
The rich man wanted Abraham to send someone to warn his brethren who had risen from the dead, because they would hear him. We might say that if God would send one from heaven to live among people and preach to them, surely they would pay attention to him. Would it not be a great benefit to the world if God would send a saint from heaven, or an angel to converse in a bodily way among us? Yet Christians should live as if they came from heaven every day, as if they had been in heaven conversing with God. When in the morning they seek to get alone between God and their souls, they should never stop striving until they get their hearts so much in heaven that when they come down to their family their very faces may shine. And that you may see by how they live that certainly they have been with God upon the mount.
Do you live in such a way that your family and your neighbours may see that you have been in heaven that morning? Every morning we should have some converse with heaven. If we did our way of living would be convincing all the day long and very profitable to the world. Christians that live in a heavenly way are of very great use in the places where they live. When Christ ascended up to heaven, He gave gifts to men. And if we would oftener ascend up to heaven, we would be more able to be beneficial to the world.
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