Professional Documents
Culture Documents
A Bi-Monthly Newsletter
A Bi-Monthly of of
Newsletter thethe
Chalcedon Foundation
Chalcedon | September
Foundation® 2018
| July 2023
CONSUMMATION
BY MARTIN G. SELBREDE
I
n responding to must fail so that the consummation can be
dispensational scholar magnified in comparison.
Dr. John Walvoord’s Everyone grants that there is an
“premature criticisms” of intrinsic discontinuity between history
postmillennialism, Dr. and the eternal state, but Walvoord doesn’t
Greg Bahnsen made a think that’s good enough. He wants the
profound statement that’s eternal state to upend history entirely,
worth unpacking: as opposed to revealing itself as history’s
Walvoord has failed to grasp adequately intended capstone. If the curse is slowly
the postmillennialist’s philosophy being reversed in history, then histo-
of history; it is not the case that the ry is moving north to Winnipeg, so to
postmillennialist fails to distinguish speak—a possibility which motivates Wal-
providence from consummation, but voord to protect the eternal state from any
rather that he sees providence as well excessive progress that the Great Commis-
orchestrated to subserve the ultimate sion and an omnipotent Holy Spirit might
ends of consummation.1 induce. The gateway to the eternal state for
An analogy would help explain this. If you Walvoord is failure: the predicted failure
want to ship a package from central Texas that caps every one of the dispensations in
to Winnipeg, Canada, it makes sense for his system. In contrast, we counsel using a
it to travel north through Oklahoma, shipping company that sends the payload
Kansas, Nebraska, the Dakotas, before northward, not down south, getting it as
finally arriving in Winnipeg. Every way- close as possible to its final destination.
point along the route gets you closer to the The postmillennial philosophy of
ultimate goal. In postmillennialism, God history embodies the emphasis of Zech-
guides history to move us qualitatively ariah 4:6: “Not by might, nor by power,
but by my spirit, saith the Lord of Hosts.”
closer to the ultimate target.
Walvoord necessarily inverts this: “Not
But from Walvoord’s perspective, this
by the Spirit, but by might and power.”
means Winnipeg is being confused with
That’s why his package ends up at the
North Dakota—to avoid this confusion,
South Pole. In contrast, Dr. Rushdoony, in
we need to send the package from Texas
his newly-published commentary on the
south through Mexico, Brazil, Chile, and
Corinthian letters, gets our package easily
finally to the South Pole, before the final
as far as North Dakota:
leg of the journey north to Winnipeg.
For Walvoord, the world must be at The redeemed, the people of the resur-
rection, must first perform a great task:
its worst before the consummation occurs,
the conquest of all men, nations, and
not at its best. The more things go south,
things for Jesus Christ, bringing them
the better for Walvoord, because he thinks under His law and into His Kingdom.
the contrast between history and the Christ’s victory is indeed also our victory,
eternal state would otherwise be blurred but His battle, His holy warfare against
(by closing the gap rather than widening sin and death is also our battle. With our
it). Providence (God’s work in history) triumph in Christ, or, some time thereaf-
SAVE 20-80%
Storewide!
PLUS... FREE Shipping (US Only)
Login or register at ChalcedonStore.com for discounts.
Summer Sale Runs Through Labor Day!
6/22/23 9:39 AM