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He Shall Have Dominion: A Postmillennial Eschatology (Third Edition: Revised & Expanded) (Book/ Paperback)

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In Solomon's glorious Psalm we find a prophetic pledge that Christ "shall have dominion from sea to sea." And he promises this gracious worldwide victory of the Christian faith in time and on earth "while the sun and moon endure" (72:5) and despite the existence of those "enemies" (72:9) who would "afflict" and "oppress" (72:2, 4).

Under the gracious sway of his gospel, Christ will cause "the righteous to flourish" (72:7) and bring "peace to the people" (Psa. 72:5). Resulting from this righteousness and peace will come "abundance" and "flourishing" prosperity in all the earth (72:16). Ultimately, "all nations [will] call him blessed" (72:17) so that "the whole earth [will] be filled with his glory" (72:19).

Such is the postmillennial hope. Christ will return after millennial conditions prevail upon the earth (hence, post-millennialism), not before them (as in the popular pre-millennial system). The millennial blessings arise under the influence of the gospel, not because of Armageddon.

Though many evangelicals today are concerned about being Left Behind before the future collapses into absolute chaos, the postmillennialist is optimistic that He Shall Have Dominion throughout the earth. Rather than adopting "I'll Fly Away" as their anthem, postmillennialists prefer "Onward Christian Soldiers."

In this book you will find the whole biblical rationale for postmillennialism, from its incipient beginning in Genesis to its glorious conclusion in Revelation.

This is truly a new edition. In it I update a great many of the biblio-graphical references and add newer ones in order to make the work more current. Though I drop many of the older references, I do not drop them all in that I want to interact with some of the more important ones. I intend to offer the best of both worlds: analysis of classic works, as well as interaction with contemporary contributions. A secondary benefit of this practice is to let dispensationalists know that despite their "plain and simple" method of interpretation, their system keeps changing ? thereby demonstrating things are not so "plain and simple."

I also give more attention to amillennialism than in previous editions, though I still deal more extensively with dispensationalism. In upgrading my amillennial critique I employ the more recent works by Robert B. Strimple, Vern Poythress, Dennis Johnson, Robert L. Reymond, Cornelis Venema, Kim Riddlebarger, and others. The amillennial presentation has changed over the years, moving from a more exegetical approach to a more theological one. I critique both approaches.

For the most part this edition adds new material, with each chapter undergoing significant expansions. I would especially note that I significantly lengthen the three chapters considering objections to postmillennialism ? partly in order to handle more amillennial objections. I would also point out that I have re-titled the Appendix on hyper-preterism in that I greatly expand my critique in order to include exegetical as well as theological concerns regarding this aberrant movement. Though this heterodox movement continues to grow, signs are appearing that it may be coming apart at the seams. Their continual patching of new material on the old garment is making matters worse. I hope to loosen a few of its threads myself.

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