The Death of Postmillennialism in the Holiness Tradition Following World War I
Abstract
Millennialism is an ancient component of religion, taking shapes and forms that vary widely from culture to culture, yet sharing enough in common that historian Frederic Baumgartner can describe an end-time scenario that sounds too familiar to be a generalization, even as it slides easily into the faiths of Buddhists, Aztec Indians, Jews, Muslims, and Christians alike. 1 Over the centuries, generation after generation has found reason to believe theirs would be the last, and several millennial groups have risen with fervor and conviction, only to see the promised end time come and go, and life carry on without them. Whether meeting a violent end, such as the radical Anabaptists at Munster, or peacefully dissolving into a new denomination, such as the Millerites/Seventh-Day Adventists, history has shown that if the end is near, it has yet to be determined just how near it is.