Saint Athanasius Church
Scripture | Spirit | Sacrament
Postmillennial
We believe that God's word and history itself attests to the redemption of the world. While we are still under the effects of The Fall from the First Adam, we believe that the Second Adam, Jesus, inaugurated the creation of a New Heavens and New Earth 2,000 years ago. We believe that, in principle, we are living in the New Heavens and the New Earth, and that many of the "end times" prophecies which are recorded in Scripture were fulfilled in the destruction of the Old Heaven and Old Earth, which manifested in the Roman destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 AD. While we believe this to be the primary fulfillment we recognize that prophecy can skip like a smooth stone over the waters of time and touch down in familiar ways again in our present and future.
We find it difficult to believe that any Christian can study the history of the world for the past 2,000 years and not be struck with a deep sense of gratitude and awe for the explosive growth of God's Kingdom throughout the earth. However, we understand that suffering and ungodliness still prevail in history and our current culture. We do not see these things as contradictions to an optimistic eschatology, but rather confirming the patterns given to us throughout all of redemptive history. God frequently destroys His holy stuff and resurrects it into something more glorious. All of history has been a movement from glory to glory. We believe these things because we believe it is what God has promised and it is what we observe take place in the world. Therefore, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that this is how God has chosen to advance and expand His Kingdom.
For more on our Postmillennial vision, see here.