William and Pilgrim and Boanerges,

Well I am a little gun-shy about putting this up for several reasons, which I will elaborate below, but it looks like you all missed what may be one of the most obvious millenial statements in the major confessions, namely the Savoy Declaration of 1658, the original confession of us contrary ol' Congregationalists. It is one of the few non-polity additions to the Westminster Confession, which shapes the Savoy, and is easy to miss if one simply flips to "Last Things", because it was added instead, in good Congregational fashion, under the heading Of The Church !!!

Here goes:
Quote
5. As the Lord in his care and love towards his Church, hath in his infinite wise providence exercised it with great variety in all ages, for the good of them that love him, and his own glory; so according to his promise, we expect that in the latter days, antichrist being destroyed, the Jews called, and the adversaries of the kingdom of his dear Son broken, the churches of Christ being enlarged, and edified through a free and plentiful communication of light and grace, shall enjoy in this world a more quiet, peaceable and glorious condition than they have enjoyed.

Okay, I must publicly confess that I have never more than glanced at this, largely because of its placement, even after leading a small church class through the first 1/3 of Savoy last year. And I am somewhat unnerved to hear what sounds to me, although it is couched in terms somewhat open to interpretation, explicitly postmil.

Help me out here. How did that get in there? Was postmil prevalent in 1658 London? Was Owen in on this; if not, who was? Was this a temporary phase, or has this been a constant distinctive of Congregationalists, and if so, was this language eventually to contribute to the Universalism and great social hopes into which late 18th and19thC New England plunged?

Or am I simply reading too much back into this?

Help me out, guys. This is really unsettling.

In Christ,
Paul S