Welcome to Defenders, the teaching class of Dr. William Lane Craig. For more information and resources from Dr. Craig, go to reasonable faith.org.

We're going to be continuing our discussion of various views of the millennium. Having looked last week at

a millennialism, today we want to consider arguments

pro and con concerning post-millennialism. The post-millennialist will say that Christ has given a

great commission to his church to fulfill, and that the church will indeed fulfill

that commission. The great commission is found in Matthew chapter 28, verses 18 to 20.

Jesus came and said to them, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father,

and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you, and lo, I am with you always,

even to the close of the age. The post-millennialist will say that there are indications in Scripture

that the Church will, in the power of the Holy Spirit, carry out this great commission

and be successful in its mission. For example, Matthew 13, verses 31 to 32 says,

another parable he put before them, saying,

The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took and

sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown, it is the

greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.

Here, Jesus says, that from its ignominious beginnings, the kingdom of God is going to spread throughout human society and become a

great cultural influence and indeed transform the world. Jesus tells a lot of parables of this sort.

There are many passages that suggest that there will be this tremendous harvest of

souls that will come into the kingdom of God as the Church fulfills the Great Commission.

Post-millennialists employ the same sort of arguments against the literal interpretation that the ah-millennialists employ the same sort of arguments against the literal interpretation

that the ah millennialist has already given.

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