Folks, what you are about to read is a bona fide trip. This article is the first in a multi-part series on the "Millennial-Day Theory" which is a theory that I believe will be proven as fact. I must say up front, however, that this is not a theory that I came up with, but when I was a teenager I did have a notion of it. However, I had no idea just how far the implications of this idea would be evident in our world history."Back when I was a kid..."
When I was a teenager, I remember becoming fascinated with 2nd Peter 3:8 which says,
"But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." (2nd Peter 3:8)
I thought to myself, "What a profound statement...what does it mean? The writer obviously places importance on it because he opens by cautioning the reader to 'do not forget this one thing.'"
So, for days and weeks and months I pondered this enigmatic verse of scripture. I kept remembering those sobering words of "do not forget" and the rest of the verse would play over and over inside my head.
"With the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day"??? What on earth did it mean? I mean, it's plainly a matter of the difference between our perspective and the Lord's perspective, but where do we go from there?
So, after I had exhausted what little knowledge I had in my little brain, I decided to do some research (Yes, some people consider me geeky. Get over it!). I started with the bible (where else should I begin researching a biblical topic?). The "thousand year reign of Christ" came to mind, so I looked it up:
"Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while. And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years. Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea." (Revelations 20:1-8)
This "thousand years" is nowhere else found in the Bible except in this one passage where it occurs six times in six consecutive verses. Ok, so what? Any seasoned Christian has heard and knows a little about the "thousand year reign of Christ"--even many non-Christians have heard of it. So, I researched some more.
Next I found something interesting in the Psalms:
"For a thousand years in Your sight are like yesterday when it is past, and like a watch in the night." (Psalm 90:4)"That compliments 2nd Peter 3:8 perfectly!" I marvelled. Ok, so there were at the very least 2 places in scripture that mentioned the same thing. Driven by my curiosity I labored further in my research.
"One day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day," I pondered. What "day" is this talking about? I already found verses that talked about a "thousand years" (Revelations 20:1-8 remember? Try and keep up, ok?), but what verses might I find concerning a particular "day" or "days"? The first that came to mind was that after Jesus was crucified, He rose again on the 3rd day (Matthew 16:21). Jesus also said "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." (John 2:19)
"If one day is as a thousand years then 3 days is as 3 thousand years???" My little mind fought and tried to subdue the data, but I couldn't reconcile any three thousand year span with any part of history--yet. So, I moved on.
It rained on the earth for forty days and forty nights during the great flood of Noah's day (Genesis 7:12). "Forty thousand years?!?!", the RPM meter in my brain pegged out on that one, so I moved on.
Lastly, I remembered the 6 days of Creation and the 1 day of rest (Sabbath) from Genesis. "7 days as 7 thousand years? Hmmm..." I could feel that there was something to it, but it was just beyond the veil of my understanding. It was as though I were searching in the dark and unknowingly stumbled over what I was looking for but failed to recognize the value of it.
"Like the sands of the hourglass..."
A few years later, I still thought about 2nd Peter 3:8, but as far as I was concerned, I had ran into a brick wall. No new ideas or leads came to mind, but I felt there was still significance to it. Something there was highly important--I could smell it.
Then a friend of mine asked me if I was interested in watching a seminar on evolution and creation. I had never heard about any of the scholarly debates on the subject (although I had debated the two and tried to make them agree in my mind), but I was interested in hearing a new perspective on the subject. Perhaps I would gain a new angle from where I could reconcile the two viewpoints. So, I gladly accepted my friend's offer. He said that he would make me a copy, but not to worry because it is not copyrighted material and the guy in the seminar says so in his seminar.
The presenter is a man by the name of Dr. Kent Hovind, and I quickly became a big fan of his. This guy removed my blindfold and allowed me to see the world for what it was. I ended-up watching all of his seminar series (about 12 hours worth). You can watch his presentation entitled "The Age of the Earth" which is the first seminar in his series by clicking here.
If you don't have time to watch the video (I know...it's 2 hours long, but well worth it), then read the short summary below by David V. Bassett in his work entitled "Biblical Age of Earth" and you will quickly understand how the entire timeline of world history (past and future) is mapped-out through genealogy and events recorded in the bible:
Biblical Age of Earth
by David V. Bassett, M.S.
(http://www.albatrus.org/english/theology/creation/biblical_age_earth.htm)
Beginning with the archeological landmark event of the fall of Jerusalem (which has now been corrected to 588 B.C., instead of 586-587 B.C.) and counting backwards the prophesied number of years between this event and the division of Solomon's kingdom (390 yrs. + 40 yrs., according to Ezekiel 4:4-7), brings us to 1018 B.C.
From the end of Solomon's 40-year reign to the start of the Temple in the 4th year of his reign takes us back another 37 years to 1055 B.C.
From the start of Solomon's Temple "in the 480th year" (1 Kings 6:1) back to the Exodus from Egypt (hence 479 years previous) brings us to near 1534 B.C.
From the Exodus out of Egypt to Abraham's entering Canaan from Haran was exactly 430 years to the day (Gen 12:10/ Exodus 12:40/ Gal 3:17), thus around 1964 B.C.
Since Abraham entered Canaan at age 75 (Gen 12:4), he was born approximately 2039 B.C.
From Abraham's birth to Noah's grandson (Shem's son), Arpachshad's birth, 2 years after the Flood started, was 290 years (Gen 11:11-26), this places the onset of the Flood at around 2331 B.C. [definitely 4,300-4,400 years ago].
The genealogy of Genesis 5:3-32 precludes any gaps due to its tight chronological structure and gives us 1,656 years between Creation and the Flood, thus bringing Creation Week back to near 3987 B.C. or approximately 4000 B.C.
Therefore, the biblical age of the Earth (using Scripture itself as a guide) is 6,000 years !! Mankind did not evolve 4 million years ago on an Earth which is 4.5 billion years old in a universe which was "big-banged" into existence 18-20 billion years in the distant past. Jesus Christ, the Creator Incarnate, said He made mankind male and female in the beginning (Mark 10:6), and that when the heavens and the earth were commanded into being (Gen 1:1), they "stood up together" (Isa 48:13) not billions of years apart !!
If you watched the video, then you will remember the part where Dr. Kent Hovind maps out the history timeline based on the the geneaologies listed in Genesis (you know, the long list of names that goes on and on about "Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob , blah blah blah") and forward from there. He demonstrates that the earth is about 6,000 years old and backs it up with true, tried, and tested science.
My mind went into overdrive (you know me). "Jesus said that the end times will be like the days of Noah....there will be 'wars and rumors or wars'...'nation will rise against nation'...'earthquakes in various places'...'famines and troubles'. That sounds a lot like (gulp) NOW!" I thought.
"So, if about 6,000 years ago God created everything, then that means that the 1,000 year reign of Christ would not be far off..." so spinned the wheels in my mind and then all of the sudden...whoa...
WHOA!!!
That's it! God laid out His plan in the beginning! "In the beginning"...LITERALLY!
"...with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." (2nd Peter 3:8)
God created the world in 6 literal days and rested on day 7. Seven days = seven thousand years. Six days of work to complete Creation = six thousand years of work. The seventh day was God's day of rest (the Sabbath) = the seven thousandth year of this world will be the "thousand year reign of Christ" when Satan will be locked up and we can REST!
The final piece of the puzzle was now in place, but that did not mean that my research was over. Oh no...not by a longshot. As a matter of fact, I am still researching it now almost 20 years later and the phenomenon has not ceased. The implications of our history and future in the light of this information is mind boggling to say the least. The effects of this knowledge reverberate deeply, and the blueprint of our Lord's timeline makes the urgency of life so clear. Shortly after that revelation, I learned that others had discovered this before me and coined the phrase "Millenial-Day Theory" as a common topic of discussion on this subject.
To my amazement, there were not only others who shared my view about the "Millenial-Day Theory", but many of the early theologians also believed that Christ would return 6,000 years after the world was created! Just check out this small sampling of ancient writings:
Irenaeus, one of the early Church fathers, was born in A.D. 140, worked intensely against powerful Gnostic heresies and wrote a treatise on the virtues of the Christian faith. Among his writings was found this statement:
"For in as many days as this world was made, in so many thousand years shall it be concluded. And for this reason the Scripture says: "Thus the heaven and the earth were finished, and all their adornment. And God brought to a conclusion upon the sixth day the works that He had made; and God rested upon the seventh day from all His works." This is an account of the things formerly created, as also it is a prophecy of what is to come. For the day of the Lord is as a thousand years; and in six days created things were completed: it is evident, therefore, that they will come to an end at the sixth thousand year."
Irenaeus’ testimony is extremely valuable because he had studied under Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna. Polycarp who was martyred in AD 156, having been a Christian for 86 years, was a disciple of the Apostle John and “always taught what he learned from the apostles” (Irenaeus, “Against Heretics,” in “Early Father,” p. 90).
According to Irenaeus (one among many who held this view) the history of the human race from creation to the consummation will span a 7,000 year period of time. The seventh millennium is to be the reign of Christ. Irenaeus was not alone in his belief. There are several other ancient writings that concur. Among them are The Secrets of Enoch, the Epistle of Barnabas, the Testament of Adam and other writings of early Jewish theologians.
The Secrets of Enoch, dating from before the first century A.D. (also called II Enoch), is translated from Slavonic. In it, God is said to have shown Enoch the age of the world and its allotted 7,000 year total timespan:
"And I appointed the eighth day also, that the eighth day should be the first-created after my work, and that the first seven revolve in the form of the seventh thousand, and that at the beginning of the eighth thousand there should be a time of not-counting — endless..."
The "Epistle of Barnabas" was discovered bound together as one volume with a group of the New Testament books, to be bound in a single folder called Sinaiticus. The discovery was made in 1844 AD in monastery of Saint Catherine located at the foot of Mount Sinai. Dating back to at least the fourth century AD, this writing reflects the theology of some early Christian theologians:
"And God made in six days the works of his hands, and finished them on the seventh day, and rested in it and sanctified it. Consider, my children, what signify the words, He finished them in six days. They mean this: that in six thousand years the Lord will make an end of all things, for a day is with him as a thousand years. And he himself beareth witness unto me, saying: Behold this day a day shall be as a thousand years. Therefore, my children, in six days, that is in six thousand years, shall all things be brought to an end. And the words, He rested on the seventh day, signify this: After that his Son hath come, and hath caused to cease the time of the wicked one, and hath judged the ungodly, and changed the sun and the moon and the stars, then shall he rest well on the seventh day."
The Testament of Adam
The "Testament of Adam" was writting in the middle or late third century. In the document, the life of the world is said to last for 6,000 years after the Flood of Noah. Which would mean a toal 7,000 years from Creation. Seth, the supposed writer is said to have written about the account from Adam's (his father's) deathbed.
"I (also) learned, my son Seth, that a Flood will come and purge the entire earth on account of the descendants of Cain your brother. Because of (his) jealousy for Lebuda your sister, he murdered your brother Abel. Similarly, due to your mother Eve, sins came into existence. And after the Flood, the years for the (continued) appearance of the world will be 6000 years. And then its end will come."
Talmudic Writings
Published in 1976, Rabbi Ben Zion Wacholder quoted a statement from the ancient Talmud quaoted the Talmud in an article entitled "Chronomessianism" which said, "Just as the seventh offers a release to the Jew, so the world will be released during the seventh millennium."
In the Talmud, written in the second century A.D., the following is recorded: "The world is to stand 6,000 years, viz., 2,000 confusion and void, 2,000 with the law, and 2,000 the time of the Messiah." The rabbis predicted that the seventh millennium was to be the "exhaltation of Messiah." At the recording of this prediction, the rabbis acknowledged that the third 2,000-year period but where was the Messiah? Thsi question was answered in the same passage: "He did come, but because of our sins, he went away." A rabbi from the 11th century named Rashi said that after the second 2,000 years, the Messiah must have come and the wicked kingdom should have been destroyed. At approximately the same time of Rashi's writing, Bar Kochba led the Jews to rebel against the Roman authority (132-135 A.D.). In their desparation for a Messiah and their reluctance to admit that Jesus was the actual Messiah, they falsely declared Bar Kochba as their Messiah by the "father of the Mishnah," Rabbi Akiva, but their false messiah was killed by the Romans. The rebellion was destroyed by the Romans, Israel was trampled, and the Jews were vanquished from their land and sold into slavery throughout the world.
According to these early theologians, seven thousand years of world history are in some way linked to the seven days of creation. The seven days were thought prophetically to represent seven thousand years of world history.
"But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up" (2nd Peter 3:10).
The "day of the Lord" suggests the Sabbath millennium--the seventh millennium of human history. It will begin with a thief in the night and be 1,000 years in length. After that, "the heavens pass away and the elements melt with fervent heat." The book of Revelation concurs with the viewpoint. After the 1,000 year reign of Christ, God will create "a new heaven and a new Earth" (Revelation 21:1) "wherein dwelleth righteousness" (2nd Peter 3:13).
And we can go on and on and on with various scriptures in the Bible. Check for yourself. These things amazingly seem to add up!
I must admit that I relied heavily on the work of the folks at Prophecy in the News. J.R. Church had published an article also entitled "The Millennial-Day Theory", but at present time, they are renovating their website and that article cannot be accessed. However, I did not want you to miss the blessing of their research, so I posted some of it here. I have always enjoyed reading their work and have always found myself in awe of their findings. Please visit their website at www.prophecyinthenews.com, and I guarantee that you will not be disappointed. I cannot say enough about the fine work that God fulfills through their organization.
My next few articles will be a glimpse as to what I and others have discovered and we explore the timeline that the Lord has designed. You won't want to miss it.
Also, you can get a visual idea of how the whole timeline plays out by clicking here for Mike Brown's "World History Chart". I tend to have some misgivings on some of his notes concerning certain items he has on there about the pope and what-not, but the mapping of biblical events looks to be dead-on.
Oh yeah...
I almost forgot. Remember earlier in the article when I was talking about when Jesus rose again on the 3rd day, but I couldn't reconcile any three thousand year span with any part of history? The thousand year reign of Christ is the 3rd day. If 0-1000 AD is the 1st day, than 1000-2000 AD is the 2nd day, and 2000-3000 AD would be the 3rd day. Read Revelations chapter 21 to see what happens after that. Fascinating stuff!
Please also watch the video below of Chuck Missler's seminar on the days of Creation entitled "The Book of Genesis: Session 1 Introduction"--fascinating material. Also, be sure to check out part 2 in this series entitled "The Millennial-Day Theory (part 2): Confusion & Void".
Later, tater...
Watchman
No comments:
Post a Comment