The term Postmillennialist identifies Christians who believe that the kingdom of God is now being extended throughout the world through the preaching of the Gospel of Christ (similar to historic Amillennialism). The word Millennium is from two Latin words. "mille," meaning thousand, and "annum" meaning years. Postmillennialists believe that the world will eventually become Christianized and that the Millennium is a long period of righteousness and peace on earth. The word post means after. Thus Post-millennialism speaks of the return of Christ after this 1000 years of righteousness and peace commonly called the millennium. These Christians have a strong view of the Church's calling to carry out and exercise Christ's power and authority in the World, and in their view, Jesus Christ has given all the needed power to His servants to make sure God's will is done. They lean upon scriptures such as,

Daniel 2:44

• And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed. And the Kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break to pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever."

Postmillennialists put the rights, authority, and power of the risen Christ in Believers so high that they see them instituting a great revival and have an overly optimistic outlook for "this world." Likewise, they believe other Christians are entirely too pessimistic about history and the future. They delight in pointing to the spreading of the gospel throughout the world and the adoption of some biblical principles in law and governments as examples that the kingdom of God is being greatly advanced.

They generally believe that a millennial "Golden Age" will come to this world before the return of Christ to usher in eternity. The weakness in this position is that it completely overlooks the persistence of human sin, moral decay, and prophesied loss of faith (including that found within the Church). We live in a period when the Church has never been more unfaithful and rebellious and the world has never been more sinful or lawless and at enmity with the truth of God's Word. Yet Postmillennial doctrine seem to be oblivious to this. Moreover, there is really no Biblical validation of this idea of a triumphant Church Christianizing "the world" in the scriptures (other than it triumphing seeking the remnant in Christ). There is no mention in scripture of an age of Church rulership over the nations (other than as the Church reigns now). This view tends to overlook much of what is contradictory to it's position.