Daniel 2 & 7
Daniel 2 & 7 are very important chapters in the eschatology debate. They are picked up by our Lord in his kingdom parables in Matthew 13. These chapters in Daniel are fulfilled in the New Testament age. The Prophet Daniel focuses on two aspects of God’s kingdom: a) The gradual growth of the Kingdom and b) the starting point of the kingdom, which is when Christ is ascended into Heaven. Daniel 7 says that the Son of Man (a common Messianic Title) comes to (or goes up to) the Ancient of Days. He ascends into the Right Hand of the Father. The promise of Daniel is that when the King ascends into Heaven, when all authority is given unto Him in heaven and in earth, then the Kingdom will begin its gradual growth. Jesus picks up this theme when he says that the kingdom is like a seed, which is planted and eventually covers the whole earth.
In Daniel 2, Daniel interprets King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. “King Nebuchadnezzar saw a vision of a great image with a head of gold, chest and arms of silver, belly and thighs of bronze, and legs partly of iron and partly of clay” (Dn. 2:32-33). This great image was destroyed by a stone, cut without hands, which subsequently grew into a great mountain that filled the earth. Daniel explained the meaning of the dream to Nebuchadnezzar:
Four powerful kingdoms — the Babylonian, Persian, Greek, and Roman — would dominate the history of the world until the God of heaven Himself sets up a new kingdom that will never be destroyed (Dan 2:36-45).[1]
We see in Daniel that this kingdom is set up in the days of the Roman Empire (RS). The logical conclusion here is that when Christ ascended unto the right of the Father, the kingdom of God began its work of growing. Postmillennialist say that the seed is the kingdom and that the seed of the kingdom was sown in the Ascension of Christ and it will only stop growing in influence when Christ deems the work done.[2]
Psalm 110
Psalm 110 is the most often quoted Old Testament passage in the New Testament. The text says: “The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make all your enemies a footstool.” This passage provides the foundation for the ascension and present reign of Christ as the “great Priest-King.”[3] For our purposes, Psalm 110 proves that Christ can be reigning without being physically present on earth. Psalm 110 tells us that the Lord is seated with Yahweh. This proves a) that Christ Jesus is God and b) that Christ Jesus is not on earth, but seated at the right hand of the Father. Premillennialists believe that for Christ to rule over His enemies, He must come physically to earth and usher the millennium in the future. This passage says that the Lord is conquering His enemies not from earth, but from heaven. Christ begins His work of conquering His enemies and bringing them into submission not in a distant future, but when He ascended. The Kingdom began in the First Coming of Christ in the first century.
There are many New Testament passages that prove the Postmillennial hope, but two passages come to mind as crucial in seeing the advance of the Kingdom of God on earth.
Matthew 28:18-20
Everyone is familiar with the Great Commission. But what are its implications? Again, Postmillennialism says that the promises of God will be fulfilled in history because it only makes sense if it is fulfilled in history. The text says “all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me…” Here in this passage we see the “instrumental means by which Christ will fulfill all of the great covenant promises of the Old Testament.”[4] This is the means by which the kingdom of God is established on earth. The kingdom will grow and be victorious through discipling all nations. The discipling happens when we baptize people in the Triune Name and then when we teach them to observe the commandments of God. You may even see here one of many reasons Reformed people baptize infants. The order is we baptize first and then we teach them the commandments.
“Israel was given the responsibility of being the mediator of God’s blessing to all nations in the Old Testament, but she failed.”[5] Christ has now been given authority in heaven and on earth and through His power by the work of His people, the Church will not fail. As Mathison concludes, “With the power and authority of Christ the King behind the command, and with the outcome resting in His hands, ultimate failure is not possible.”[6]
The Book of Acts is the story of Postmillennialism. The Spirit pours His power upon the early church for the purpose of going to the ends of the earth. Acts is the beginning of the agenda of the church. In other words, Acts is the greatest of all conspiracy theories. It begins with humble disciples passing on the faith to other disciples; multiplying continually their numbers.
Acts 13:46-47
Paul and Barnabas begin speaking boldly the gospel indicating that there is a shift in redemptive history. They are now a light unto the Gentiles and verse 47 says that “they should being salvation to the end of the earth.” This is a quotation of the Servant songs of Isaiah. This is the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies. Jesus is ascended and now He reigns from heaven and making the enemies of the Gospel on earth a footstool. The Apostolic goal and the goal of the Church is to evangelize the nations; to be a light unto the Gentiles “for the purpose of bringing the covenant blessings of salvation to all the families of the earth.”[7]
[1] Ralph Smith. The Covenantal Kingdom.
[2] Dispensationalists will attempt to insert a gap of 2,000 years here. According to Ralph Smith, this is “an imposition upon the text that is contrary to its plain, normal, literal meaning.”
[3] Mathison, pg. 80.
[4] Mathison, pg. 116.
[5] Ibid. 116.
[6] Ibid. 116.
[7] Ibid. 119.
Good Series. If only the church could believe this…