“Benjamin B. Warfield’s approach to eschatology represents the apex of postmillennial thinking” says Martin G. Selbrede. Selbrede distills Warfield’s eschatological view into two main points:
B.B. Warfield’s Eschatology
(1) In history, prior to the final judgment, consummation, and eternal state beginning, the entire living population of the world will be regenerate, all of them having been elected by God and covered by the atonement of Christ: it will be a fully-saved world without any exceptions.
(2) At some point in time between the total conversion of the world and the consummation of history, the prescriptive will of God shall be globally observed by everyone in the world. Whatever its duration, this is the precondition for the current heavens and earth to pass away, death to be destroyed, and God’s people to at last be fully united as one flock under one Shepherd.
Amillennial Critique
This sounds quite compelling and reasonable until one considers Revelation 20:7-10. It is commonly believed that this passage refers to a vast entourage of non-elect, godless rebels including nominal Christians that are poised to attack the elect for a “little while” or “little season”. How does Postmillennialism account for this end-time rebellion of Satan and an army whose “number is like the sand of the sea”? Amillennialist David J. Engelsma sees blood in the water here and launches this stinging attack against postmillennialism: “There will be hordes of ungodly in this postmillennial kingdom, on the admission of even the most optimistic postmillennialists themselves … in their hearts they will hate God. They will be rebels inwardly against the Christ. At the end of the millennium, they will rise against the Lord (Rev. 20:7-9)… This will grieve the Reformed amillennialist. If there were but one enemy of Christ in the kingdom, this would grieve him. For there would be in the Messianic kingdom a despising of God’s commandments, at the very least in the hearts and minds of the ungodly. And, as the Psalter puts it, “because Thy statutes are despised, with overwhelming grief I weep.” … That earthly reign by means of the church, filled with sin, death, and unregenerate reprobates who hate and curse Christ morning, noon, and night, is the climax of Christ’s kingdom. Behold … a dismal flop! If that is the Messianic kingdom at its very highest and greatest, Christ is destined to be displayed publicly as a royal failure.
How does Postmillennialism account for this end-time rebellion of Satan and an army whose “number is like the sand of the sea”? Furthermore, how does Rev 20:7-10 comport with Isaiah 2:4? “And they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, And never again will they learn war.” What does a Bible believer do with the apparent dissonance between Isaiah 2:4 and 20:7-10? This tension is particularly acute for postmillennialism but is challenging for all eschatological systems. Warfield resolves this apparent incongruity by positing concurrency between the “little season” and the millennium. However, the phrases “After that he must be released…” and “when the thousand years are ended..” don’t seem to allow for the millennium and the “little season” to occur simultaneously. As such, Warfield’s view is regarded as eccentric and his two-part thesis isn’t given the consideration it deserves.
John Gill’s View of the “little season”
Enter John Gill a staunch defender of the doctrines of God’s sovereign grace and the greatest Baptist theologian of the eighteenth century. Gill who is actually premillennial, provides a superb, satisfying solution to the apparent tension between the postmillennial hope and the presence of an innumerable number of rebels before the second advent. Gill believed that this vast army was composed of the resurrected, non-elect, long-dead unbelievers that had just been released from Hades on the last day of history – a “dawn of the dead” or “zombie apocalypse” so to speak. Gill says, “but these will be all the wicked dead, the rest of the dead, who lived not again until the thousand years are ended, when will be the second resurrection, the resurrection of all the wicked that have been from the beginning of the world; and these, with the posse of devils under Satan, will make up the Gog and Magog army.” This conglomerate of demon hordes and resurrected non-believers wield no weapons and do not learn war. This rising up is part of the general resurrection event that occurs at the second advent. Wolfgang Metzger, Mathias Rissi, Eckhard Schnabel, J. Webb Mealy, Thomas Schreiner, Francis Nigel Lee, and Phillip Kayser are some notable theologians that have taken the resurrected unbelievers view of Rev 20:7-10. Chip Thornton and others over at G3 Ministries also take Gill’s view. As Kayser states, “The text itself absolutely necessitates that this be describing the long-dead unbelievers and long-ago-bound demons that had just been released from Hades on the very last day of history and it is not describing an apostasy of still-living nations at all.” Scriptural witness of a burgeoning peace such as Isaiah 2:4, 11:9, and 9:7, repetition of the phrase “until the thousand years were finished”, the congruity of “come to life” and “they came up” in Revelation 20 demonstrate the veracity of this view.
The Majority View
The view that the nations deceived by Satan at the end of the 1000 years are comprised of literally resurrected unbelievers is not commonly held. Rather, the typical view expressed by Postmillennialist is summed up by Ken Gentry, “Postmillennialism sees the final rebellion as under the providence of God in his loosing Satan just before the end. This is designed to allow the tares among the wheat to be exposed for what they are and for sin to come to its final, ugly expression. Satan’s loosing leads to his gathering a following (tares) within a world largely dominated by the gospel and Christianity (wheat). This rebellion is brief and limited, and is against the majority, prevailing Christian culture. It is not a military revolt against Christ’s direct, hands-on rule, but is a providential movement allowed by God.” The typical Postmillennial understanding of the non-elect army in which “the number of them is like the sand of the seashore” is to point out that the expression “the sand of the sea” can be used to refer to the size of OT armies and that there is no need to extrapolate that to mean the majority of the population of the planet. Gentry explains, “We read of the number of rebels being “like the sand of the seashore” (Rev 20:8). This suggests to literalists in dispensationalism to be a truly enormous number. But postmillennialist understand this biblically. We understand this as simply expressing a surprisingly large, though limited number, rather than a virtually unlimited, literal number.” Hypothetically, there could be 25 billion elect, saved individuals and one billion rebels at the second coming. One billion can certainly be characterized as a vast number like the “the sand of the sea” and yet not anywhere near the number of God’s elect at that time. Gentry sums it up, “This rebellion is brief and limited, and is against the majority, prevailing Christian culture.” Nevertheless, the dissonance between a war-like rebellion at the end of the millennium and Isaiah 2:4 and Isaiah 11:9 and Matthew 6:10 makes this view unconvincing.
Revelation Recapitulation
Revelation is often recapitulative in its visions often showing the same scene from multiple different snapshots from different viewpoints. Revelation 20:7-10 and 20:11-15 is one such case. Revelation 20:7-10 portrays the same event as Revelation 20:11-15. They are different snapshots of different aspects of the general resurrection event. John provides a battlefield scene of the goats being drawn to the Great White Throne Judgement terminating in the fiery judgment of the wicked in v7-10. John then shakes the Kaleidoscope in v11-15 to depict the general resurrection with the sheep and the goats from throughout history. Both saved and unsaved are present and again the vision ends with the fiery judgement of the wicked. The complementary nature of these two passages can be demonstrated by the repetition of the phrase “thousand years” and the commensurate meaning of the phrases come “to life” in v5 “they came up in” in v9.
The Thousand Years
Most commentators agree that v20:5a is the antecedent prophecy of vv. 11-15. What is new here is the inclusion of v7-10 in this chain of events. Revelation 20:3b and Revelation 20:5a both include the phrase “until the thousand years were finished.” Revelation 20:7 includes the nearly identical phrase, “And when the thousand years are ended.” Thus, vv. 20:3b, 20:5a, and 20:7 are all linked to the same event. The repetition of the phrase “until the thousand years were finished” demonstrates the cohesion of the visions. Satan’s release from his confinement in the abyss (20:3b) and the resurrection of all unbelievers (20:5a) are precursors to the “battle” scene in v7-10. This battle scene ends with Satan being tossed into the lake of fire. The association between v7:10 and 11:15 is provided by v5a. Since each vision can be linked to v5a then they too must be linked. The visions of Revelation 20:7-10 and Revelation 20:11.15 share Revelation 20:5a as their prophetic antecedent and fiery judgment as their terminus establishing the linkage between to the two visions.
both terminate in fiery judgment.
Come to Life
The vision in Revelation 20:7-10 portrays only the wicked in a battlefield snapshot view of the general resurrection event. Given the backdrop of the repetition of the thousand years, the phrases “come to life” in v5 and “came up” in v9 are commensurate. As Kayser notes, “the unbelieving nations are said in the future to have “arose up onto the breadth of the earth.” That’s verse 9. The word for “arose up” is the same word used for demons arising from the Abyss in Rev. 9:2; 11:7; 13:11; 17:8…the prepositions of that phrase are particularly interesting. There is an “up” followed by an “onto”, implying they are under what they come up onto. So they arose up from the place of the dead and rose up onto the land.” When the thousand-year period ends, the unrepentant come up out of the abyss, from the realm of the dead and onto the breadth of the earth. Gill corroborates, “But these will be all the wicked dead, the rest of the dead, who lived not again until the thousand years are ended, when will be the second resurrection, the resurrection of all the wicked that have been from the beginning of the world; and these, with the posse of devils under Satan, will make up the Gog and Magog army.” Mealy explains that these resurrected wicked have left their graves scattered throughout the earth to stand on the surface of the ground, “Who are these “nations,” whom Satan “goes out to deceive” when he is released from his underworld prison? They are, without a doubt, the “rest of the dead” (20: 5) who are being resurrected.” We know this because “John has just given us a clear hint as to their identity by repeating in 20: 5 the phrase “until the thousand years are completed” from 20: 3. They have now been brought back to life, having also been released from the underworld— in their case, by resurrection. Schreiner concurs, “The armies come up (ἀναβαίνω, anabainō, 20:9) out of the abyss, from the realm of the dead; the verb ἀναβαίνω elsewhere in Revelation describes those coming up out of the abyss, the realm of the dead (9:2; 11:7; 13:1; 17:8)…Seeing this as the resurrection of the dead, then, fits with both the verb ἀναβαίνω and the Danielic reference to coming up on the breadth of the earth.”
Gog and Magog
The Gog and Magog reference in V8 provides clarity with regard to the impetus for this event. They are drawn out. Ezekiel 38:4 foreshadows what takes place in v7-10. “And I will turn you about and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out…” Michael Heiser notes, “A supernatural enemy in the end times would be expected to come from the seat of Baal’s authority—the supernatural underworld realm of the dead, located in the heights of the north. Gog is explicitly described in such terms.” Resurrected unbelievers from throughout all of history form a supernatural conglomerate with the demonic hordes that are drawn up from the abyss to do battle. The resurrected unbelievers wield no weapons and have no strategy, they simply come up and no actual battle takes place. As Michael Heiser points out, “This matrix of ideas may be designed to tell us that the Gog invasion does not describe an earthly enemy but a supernatural, demonic enemy. But as we have seen, both reality planes are frequently connected in the biblical epic.” We have literal, physically resurrected unbelievers immersed in a supernatural battle. Heiser: The battle of Gog and Magog would be something expected after the initiation of Yahweh’s plan to reclaim the nations and, therefore, draw his children, Jew or Gentile, from those nations. The Gog invasion would be the response of supernatural evil against the messiah and his kingdom. This is in fact precisely how it is portrayed in Revelation 20:7–10″ The recapitulative visions of Revelation 20:7-10 are tied together with Revelation 20:11-15 by the the depiction of resurrection. The resurrection in v9 only refers to the unjust. Rev. 20: 11-15 presents a great trial or judgment scene in which both the just and the unjust from throughout all of history are judged and all things are finally put right by almighty God.
The Camp of the Saints
The “camp of the saints and the beloved city” spoken of in Revelation 20:9 is the nascent New Jerusalem of chapter 21. The repetition of the phrases “until the thousand years were finished”, the congruity of “come to life” and “they came up” in Revelation 20 demonstrate that the resurrection of both the just and the unjust has already occurred. The events described here are the prelude to the Great White Throne judgment. Beale notes, “The “city” of persecuted saints in v. 9 is the inauguration of the new creation, composed of the community of faith, which finds its consummation in 21:2ff.” This camp of the saints is made up of entirely resurrected believers from throughout all ages. John Gill explains, “These are the blessed and Holy Ones, who have part in the first resurrection, even all the saints; not only the martyrs under the Heathen persecutions, and the confessors of Christ under the Papacy, but all the saints from the beginning of the world; these will be all encamped together, with the tabernacle of God in the midst of them, Revelation 21:3 and Christ their King at the head of them…coming down from God out of heaven; which designs not the spiritual and heavenly original of the saints, being born from above, on which account the church is called the heavenly Jerusalem; but a local descent of all the saints with Christ from the third heaven into the air, where they will be met by living saints; and their bodies being raised and united to their souls, they will reign with Christ in the new earth.”
Fiery Judgment
The fact that these two visions both terminate with judgment in the lake of fire further strengthens their complementary nature. Fire signifies God’s wrath, and how God purges and cleanses the world to make it holy. Instant annihilation by fire (Rev. 20: 14-15), and everlasting torment (9-10) are complementary perspectives on the same reality. The correlative nature of the two firey vision endpoints underscores the finality of the destruction of the devil and the unrepentant. Mealy summarizes, “We are told in no uncertain terms that Satan, the beast, the false prophet, and all of “the rest of the dead” will never escape from this second, and final, death (cf. Rev. 20: 10, implying the same fate for those cast into it in 20: 14-15).”
More Scriptural Support
Further scriptural attestation to this view outside of the book of Revelation. Prophecies of the gradual fulfillment of the postmillennial hope that are at odds with a supposed end-time warlike rebellion find further attestation outside the book of Revelation. Isaiah 2:4 “…and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.” There will be no weapons (swords and spears) in the eternal state. Thus the fulfillment of this prophecy must occur before the second coming. It describes the triumph of the gospel and the gradual realization of the postmillennial hope. Isaiah 11:9, “They shall not hurt or destroy in all holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.” “Edward J. Young explains that “in the second clause, the ground and fountain of this sinlessness is stated. In Zion, in the Church of God, there will then be no more any sins; for the earth is then full of the knowledge of the Lord, by which the sins are done away with. The general outpouring of the Holy Ghost forms one of the characteristics of the Messianic time; and the consequence of this outpouring is, according to verse 2, the knowledge of the Lord…” Matthew 6:10, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Christians are instructed to pray for the advance of God’s kingdom on earth. As God’s kingdom advances, the nations increasingly reflect God’s love, obey His laws, honor Him, and proclaim the good news of the kingdom. The increasing success of the great commission will eventually produce a world which “shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.” As Warfield notes, “This amounts to a promise that the day shall surely come for which we pray when, in accordance with Jesus’ instruction we ask, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done as in heaven so on earth.”
Conclusion
Warfield’s thesis represents the pinnacle of postmillennial thought. Leading up to the second advent, he envisions a fully-saved world where God’s prescriptive will is observed globally. However, this vision of eschatological universalism seems to clash with the “little season” described in Revelation 20:1-10, which portrays a violent rebellion led by an unrepentant army of the non-elect, whose “number is like the sand of the sea.” This conflict presents a significant challenge to postmillennialism. Instead of dismissing this rebellion as a minor concern, it should be addressed directly, taking Engelsma’s critique seriously. Warfield’s framework fails to offer a viable resolution to the problem of the “little season”. In contrast, John Gill offers a coherent perspective by situating the “little season” within the context of the general resurrection and identifying the rebellious army as resurrected, non-elect, long-dead unbelievers. We benefit greatly from the insights of Reformed theologians who have staunchly defended orthodox doctrines. By examining the works of both Warfield and Gill, we can find a nuanced solution to the challenges presented by Revelation 20:1-15. The integration of Warfield’s eschatological universalism with Gill’s explanation of the “little season” offers a compelling postmillennial framework, with Gill’s understanding of the “little season” serving as a bridge to embrace Warfield’s broader vision.
