PMW 2021-032 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr. The principle of gradualism has long been the method of God and the experience of God’s people in Scripture. I will be showing below that if we are to properly understand Scripture’s eschatological victory, we must recognize this important redemptive-historical means of divine operation. In short, this principle expects the kingdom’s developmental unfolding…
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PMW 2021-031 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr. I became a postmillennialist after becoming dismayed with dispensationalism, while studying at Grace Theological seminary. But I did not leap from dispensational despair to postmillennial progress in a single bound. Nor was my move faster than a speeding bullet. Nor did I deem it necessary to wear a red cape to do this.…
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PMW 2021-030 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr. Critics of postmillennialism will often turn to negative sounding passages in the New Testament in order to discredit any postmillennialism optimism regarding the future. For instance, Matthew 10:23 is a favorite in this regard: “You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to…
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PMW 2021-029 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr. I am now drawing to the conclusion of my four-part series on the reasoning behind a preteristic understanding of Revelation. Many deem the great judgments and upheaval of Revelation as undermining the glorious postmillennial hope. This is mistaken in that the bulk of Revelation was fulfilled in the first century. As we have…
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PMW 2021-028 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr. This is my third installment on the question of the evidence that Revelation was fulfilled in the first century. As surprising as this conclusion is for the modern evangelical, the proof is in Revelation itself. In this article I will consider the Historical Indicators for preterism. I agree with the Puritan Talmudic scholar,…
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PMW 2021-027 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr. In my last article I introduced the first of four arguments for approaching Revelation from the preterist perspective. The first article focused on the temporal indicators that John places in Revelation. Lexically, it is clear that he expected the events to “soon” take place (Rev 1:1) because “the time is near” (Rev 1:3).…
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Due to the widespread influence of dispensationalism, the preterist approach to Revelation shocks many Christians. So it is important to carefully introduce them to the exegetical rationale for this approach. I believe we should present a four-fold exegetical justification for preterism in Revelation. These justifications are rooted in interpretive demands derived from the text itself, not from theological predispositions (e.g.,…
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PMW 2021-025 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr. Postmillennialism is perhaps the easiest eschatological position to misunderstand in our era and therefore inadvertently to misrepresent. Consequently, we must remind our brothers in the debate of postmillennialism’s actual claims. In a Westminster Theological Journal article I wrote a few years ago, I caution non-postmillennialists regarding three faulty assumptions that they must avoid…
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PMW 2021-024 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr. In my previous three postings I have been noting the significance of Milton Terry’s commentary as I plan to bring it back into print. Thankfully, Biblical Apocalyptics has remained in print over the years and has included “The Apocalypse of John” as a major portion of it. But the published versions have been…
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PMW 2021-023 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr. As noted in the two previous postings, Jay Rogers and I will soon be re-publishing Milton S. Terry’s commentary on Revelation. As Christians who are deeply interested in Revelation, it is with great pleasure that we will soon be releasing it as a stand-along commentary. Since its initial composition in 1898, it has…
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PMW 2021-022 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr. This is the second in a two-part series introducing the life and ministry of Milton S. Terry. Terry was a scholarly advocate of both postmillennialism and preterism. Though I do not agree with all of his positions (even utterly rejecting some of them), his scholarly insights into Revelation are for the most part…
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PMW 2021-021 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr. Milton Terry wrote an excellent preterist commentary on Revelation. It will be released by April, 2021, as a stand-alone commentary, having digitally extricated it from his larger work in which it was long embedded: Biblical Apocalyptics. In preparation for its release, I am providing this brief two-part biography of this remarkable scholar. Family…
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PMW 2021-020 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr. The Great Commission truly sets forth a Great commission. It institutes a program of immense proportions, a program calling for world transformation. Christ s the discipling of all nations in all things He has taught. He lays upon His people the task of bringing all men and their cultural endeavors under the redemptive…
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PMW 2021-019 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr. In my previous studies I have been analyzing the Great Commission as a foundational text for postmillennialism. In those studies I noted that the Commission revolves around four “all’s.” The first two all’s highlighted Christ’s authority as “all authority” and his directive to disciple “all nations.” In this study we will look at…
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PMW 2021-018 by by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr. In my last article I began to consider the Great Commission and its implications for postmillennialism. I am highlighting the greatness of the Great Commission as a key component of the postmillennial system. My study will focus on each of the four appearances of the word “all” in the Lord’s truly Great…
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PMW 2021-017 by by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr. One of the most beloved passages of Scripture is the Lord’s Great Commission. Most Christians know it quite well, are able to find it in the Bible, and can cite it by heart. They also instinctively love it as the command of the resurrected Lord. Unfortunately, though it is well-known, it is…
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PMW 2021-016 by Andrew George (Caldron Pool) Gentry note: This is an excellent practical article by an Australian Reformed Christian that I thought my readers would appreciate. Far from the drama and noise of our home city of Washington, D.C., my family and I spent some quality time immersing ourselves in the beauty of the Southern Arizona mountains this last…
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PMW 2021-015 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr. I frequently receive a question regarding the difference between preterism and postmillennialism. Some folks are confused as to whether they contradict each other or whether they are speaking of the same thing. Let me briefly distinguish the two theological concepts. Preterism The word “preterist” is the transliteration of a Latin word that means…
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By Richard B. Gaffin (The Gospel Coaltion) Gentry note: Dr. Gaffin is a noted Reformed theologian who has done much study in the theological two-age construct. Though he is amillennial, postmillennialism and amillennialism share much in common. Indeed, until the early 1900s the two used to be one eschatological option. Below is a helpful article on the topic of the…
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PMW 2021-013 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr. In 2 Timothy 3:1 we find a passage that seems to undercut the postmillennial optimism for the historical long run. There Paul writes: “realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.” Amillennialist Kim Riddlebarger sees this passage as a problem for those who hold the prospect of a victorious church:…
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