End-times theology split between premillennialists and postmillennialists yet believers often hold both

Evidence

Recent analyses of Christian nationalism have raised this distinction between postmillennial and premillennial eschatologies. Michelle Goldberg (2006) and James Aho (2013, 2016) for example, have connected contemporary Christian nationalist claims with the work of “dominionist” or “reconstructionist” thinkers like R. J. Rushdoony, who was a postmillennialist. Many of the most visible Christian nationalists of today like David Barton, Robert Jeffress, Franklin Graham, as well as the late Tim LaHaye (who co-wrote the very influential Left Behind series that popularized many premillennialist views), Jerry Falwell, and Adrian Rogers tend toward a premillennialist interpretation. Some, like Ted Cruz’s father and preacher, Rafael Cruz, can at times blur the lines between the two, espousing support for dominionism alongside more premillennialist stances. The important point is to recognize that because various beliefs about the end of days have diffused throughout the population, many Americans may hold both postmillennialist and premillennialist stances simultaneously with little regard for how they might contradict. — Andrew L. Whitehead; Samuel L. Perry, Taking America Back for God, 621

Categorization

• DEFINE: Clarifies premillennial vs postmillennial eschatology by anchoring each to named figures.
• QUESTION: Why do diffuse end-times beliefs let people hold contradictory millennial stances without cognitive dissonance?
• XREF: connects to: Premillennial theology insulated fundamentalists from the war’s disillusionment — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne: How White…, 48; Premillennialists absorbed postmillennial Reconstructionism despite direct theological contradiction. — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne: How White…, 216; End-times doctrine correlates with lower climate change concern — Robert P. Jones, White Too Long: The Legacy of White…, 266 (+3 more)

Broader Connections

• Premillennial theology insulated fundamentalists from the war’s disillusionment #expands (0.85) — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne, 48
• Premillennialists absorbed postmillennial Reconstructionism despite direct theological contradiction. #exemplifies (0.85) — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne, 216