Six Thousand Years and Beyond . . .
Are We Nearing the
END of this
World?
In Biblical
times it was commonly believed among
the Jews, and early Christians, that God was working
out a 6,000 year plan on this earth. Since
theory of evolution stole the scene, this concept has
become widely rejected and ridiculed. Nevertheless,
doesn't it seem strange that at this precise juncture
in human history, after 6,000 years since the time of
Adam and Eve,
mankind stands poised with the
ability to blow up and blast out of existence all life
on planet Earth? Is
there perhaps something to the
"6000-Year" theory after all?
William F. Dankenbring
God Himself
is the author and creator of "time."
We read in the book of Genesis,
"And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to
divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons,
and for days, and years" (Gen.1:24).
But wait a
minute! Days, weeks, seasons, and years
are NOT "human" measurements of time.
GOD HIMSELF defines a "day" (Genesis 1). "He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his
going down" (Psalm 104:19).
God told
Adam, "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely
die" (Gen.2:17). Adam died at the
ripe old age of 930 years (Gen.5:5). The
"day" in which he died was certainly not the "24 hour" day. But the Word of God also speaks of the
"millennial" day, or the "thousand year day."
In Psalm
90:4, we read: "For a thousand
years in thy sight
are
but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night."
The Apostle Peter's
Commentary
The apostle
Peter seems to have this Scripture in mind when he writes, in the New
Testament, "But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that ONE DAY is
with the Lord as a THOUSAND YEARS, and a thousand years as ONE DAY. The Lord is not slack concerning his
promise, as some men count slackness; but is long-suffering to us-ward, not
willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 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" (II Peter 3:8-10).
When the Messiah returns, He will inaugurate a millennial
kingdom lasting one thousand years. As
John wrote, when Messiah comes, the Adversary -- Satan the devil -- will be
bound for one thousand years (Rev.20:1-3).
During that same period, John says, "And I saw thrones, and they
sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them; and I saw the souls of them
that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which
had not worshipped the beast, neither had received his mark upon their
foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and REIGNED WITH CHRIST A
THOUSAND YEARS. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand
years were finished" (Rev.20:4-5).
This
"millennial rest" of 1,000 years is termed a "Sabbath rest"
by Paul in the book of Hebrews. Paul
speaks of this mystery in the 4th chapter of Hebrews, saying:
"Let us therefore fear, lest, a
promise being left us of entering into
his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. . . For he spake
in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise,
And God did rest
the seventh day from all his works. . . . There remains therefor a REST
to the people of God" (Heb.4:1-9).
The Moffatt translation is even
plainer. It says: "There is a sabbath-Rest, then, reserved for the people
of God" (Heb.4:9). Moffat goes on,
"(for once a man enters His rest, he rests from
work just as God did). Let us be eager
then to enter that Rest, lest anyone fall into that same sort of
disobedience" (Heb.4:10).
Clearly,
then, the millennial reign of the Messiah is pictured in Scripture as lasting
one thousand years, and is called a "Sabbath Rest."
Why a
"Sabbath" rest?
Let's
understand this! The Sabbath day,
according to the Word of God, is the seventh day of the week. Almighty God commanded: "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it
holy. Six days shalt
thou labor, and do all thy work. But THE
SEVENTH DAY IS THE SABBATH of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work . . ." (Exo.20:8-10).
And in
Deuteronomy, we read: "Keep the
Sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee. Six days shalt thou
labor, and do all thy work: But the
seventh day is the SABBATH of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work . . ." (Deut.5:
The pattern
of the seven day week, concluded by a Sabbath day of rest from work, labor, and
toil, is a picture of the Plan of God.
If the Sabbath of rest from "man's works," lasts 1000 years
(Rev.20:4), then it stands to reason that the previous SIX "days"
would equal SIX THOUSAND years in fulfillment!
Thus when
Peter said a "day" with the Lord is as a thousand years,
he was not just joking, or being rhetorical!
Literally a "day" in God's plan is a thousand years, and
therefore a "week" in God's plan is seven thousand years!
The Origin of the Week
Is there any
prophetic significance to the "week," which God established at
Creation?
Let's face
the fact squarely. The "day"
has an astronomical basis -- the day is one diurnal rotation of the earth upon
its axis, every twenty four hours. The
"month" also has an astronomical basis -- it is based on one revolution
of the moon around the earth. Likewise,
the "year" also has a basis in astronomy -- the earth proceeds along
its orbit, the plane of the ecliptic, and completes one revolution around the
sun in what we define as the "year."
But what about the WEEK?
Is there an astronomical basis or derivation for the week?
The answer is
a resounding NO! There is no
astronomical event to explain the creation of the seven day
"week." It is a purely
NON-astronomical creation! Yet it is a
fundamental part of the beliefs of almost every ancient culture, and is the
major time interval given in the Scriptures after the day itself! This fact itself is incredible! The WEEK, then, is of DIVINE revelation!
Therefore,
when the apostle Peter tells us that a "day" is with God as a
thousand years, we should sit up and take notice! This implies that seven days of the week
would equal SEVEN THOUSAND YEARS. And
when we learn from prophecy that the Millennial day of "rest" or
Millennial SABBATH is "one thousand years," literally (Rev.20:4),
then this tells us plainly that the preceding six days equal six thousand
years!
Also, David
tells us, "For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it
is past, and as a watch in the night" (Psalm 90:4). Thus the concept of a "day"
equaling a "thousand years" is well founded in Biblical eschatology
and testimony.
Biblical "Hints" of
a 6000 Year Plan
Aside from
this evidence, we have internal Biblical evidence which suggests strongly that
God is indeed working out a 6000 year plan on this earth.
The patriarch
Isaac was a "type" of Jesus Christ, the Messiah. Even as he was about to be
"offered" as a sacrifice by his father Abraham, when God stopped him,
and supplied a ram instead (Gen.22:1-14), so God the Father did offer up His
only Son as our sacrificial redeemer (John
Solomon was,
of course, a "type" of the Messianic King who is coming. His bountiful reign was a "type" of
the coming
Also, in the
first two chapters of the Gospel of John, if we count carefully, we see another
picture of the "countdown" to the Kingdom of God and the Marriage of
the Lamb (Rev.19:6-9). John begins his
account [day one], saying, "And this is the record of John, when the Jews
sent priests and Levites from
Another
interesting parallel is the life of Noah.
Noah was 600 years of age when God destroyed the world with the Deluge
(Gen.7:6). Even so, when the world is
6000 years of age, God will once again intervene to destroy the wicked and
usher in the
In II Kings
we read the story of Joash, who was the rightful king
of
"And he was with her [his nurse] hid in
the house of the Lord [a type of heaven]
SIX
YEARS. And Athaliah did
reign over the land. And the SEVENTH
YEAR
Jehoiadah sent and fetched the rulers over hundreds, with
the captains and the
guard, and brought them unto him in the house of the Lord,
and made a covenant
with them . . . and shewed them
the king's son. . . . And he brought forth the
king's son, and put the crown upon him, and gave him the
testimony, and they
made him king, and anointed him; and they clapped their hands,
and said, God
save the king" (II Kings 11:3-12).
Notice! After six
years, which represent 6000 years, the king was brought forth to sit on his
rightful throne, and the usurper was put to death (v.16). Even so, Yesua the
Messiah will come to sit on His rightful throne, after 6000 years of rule by
Satan the devil. Satan, too, will be
banished, exiled, and destroyed (Rev.10:1-2, 10; Heb.2:14; Ezek.28:16-19).
The story of
Absalom also has Messianic insights. Absalom, whose name means 'Father of Peace," was a rebel and
adversary against David, a type of Christ (even though Absalom was a son, or
procreation, of David!). The
story begins with a temptor encouraging Amnon, another of David's sons, to seduce and rape his
sister Tamar. This seduction reminds us
of the temptation and fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Amnon, then, is a
type of Adam. Amon
sins, setting in motion a series of events that concludes seven years
later.
Absalom,
Tamar's brother, kills Amnon two years later (II Sam.13:23-29),
and flees for his life to another kingdom, and remains there three years
(vs.37-38). David longs for the
restoration of his son, but Absalom feigns repentance, and when he is allowed
to return to Jerusalem, dwelling there two years, he plots to take over the
kingdom at the beginning of the seventh year (II Sam.14:25-28). Absalom is a type of the Antichrist, or
Anti-Messiah, who will fight Christ at His return to retake His Kingdom. The story ends with Absalom being killed and
David, after fleeing for his life, being restored as King. Again, notice that the story is a seven year
story -- a type of the 7,000 year plan of God, which ends with
Christ overcoming Satan and the rulers of this world.
A final clue
to the 6,000 years of man, followed by the Messianic Kingdom, is found in the
New Testament, the story of the Transfiguration of Yeshua. Notice the account:
"And AFTER SIX DAYS Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother,
and bringeth them up into an high
mountain apart, and was transfigured
before them: and his
face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white
as the light" (Matt.17:1-2).
Here again, six days equals 6,000 years, in typology. At the end of 6,000 years, Jesus Christ will
appear IN HIS GLORY (Matt.24:30; 25:31; Rev.1:13-16;
But sadly,
most church denominations of the mainstream, as well as the Roman Catholic
Church, the Worldwide Church of God, and many others, today, deny and reject
the prophetic significance and symbolism of the "day" equalling a thousand years, and the "week" being
a pattern of God's plan. The vast
majority of professing "Christendom" have
allegorized away the plain, literal, simple teachings of the Word of God,
hiding spiritual truth behind a mountain of allegorical and metaphorical
garbage -- in a "classic snow-job."
And millions have been deceived by this powerful deception!
Notice, for a
moment, what the historic Worldwide Church of God used to teach, on this
crucial, fundamental prophetic subject!
Notice the Ambassador College Bible Correspondence Course,
lesson one, copyrighted in 1954 and 1965.
Beginning on page 11, we read:
"God's Plan"
"The
pattern for GOD's little-understood PLAN is
given in the first two
chapters of Genesis.
It is the WEEK of seven days. As
God originally
set time in motion, He gave man a week of six work days
followed by a
day of rest. In
Hebrews 4:4, 11, the seventh day is also a type of the peace-
ful rest -- a 1000-year rest --
that will follow this present age of human labor
and futile struggle to master the earth.
"Observe
that after Christ's intervention the time of peaceful rest under His
rule is specifically termed 'a thousand years'
(Rev.20:4). Since the last 'day'
of God's 7000-year plan is 1000 years, then the preceding
SIX DAYS WHICH
HE
HAS ALLOTTED FOR MANKIND to WORK out his own ideas would
amount to 6000 years.
And this is exactly what world events today are
prov-
ing. Look about you! This world is crashing to its DOOM!
"Notice
your Bible. Many Bibles are complete
enough to contain chronological
charts showing that human life began on this earth around
4000 years B.C. --
four millenniums before Christ. And almost another 2000 years have elapsed
since -- making nearly 6000 years of human civilization to
date. In other words
the TREND OF WORLD EVENTS is now PROVING we are VERY NEAR
the
time the scriptures reveal CHRIST will RETURN -- when the
probability of
world destruction would become a reality. Six thousand years of human history
are almost complete.
Here, then, is proof -- DOUBLE PROOF -- that CHRIST
IS COMING in our generation!" (emphasis
theirs throughout).
Notice
this! A decade or two or three ago, this
knowledge was literally SHOUTED forth in the pages of the Ambassador College
Bible Correspondence Course! Today,
it has been squelched, squashed, smothered, and BURIED!
The old
Correspondence Course continues:
"The
apostles did not fully understand this PLAN OF GOD when Christ was
yet on earth. They
thought the kingdom would be established in their day --
after only about 4000 years of God's plan had been
completed. But before
they died, the APOSTLES KNEW GOD'S PLAN. Peter said:
'The Lord is
not slack concerning the promise [of Christ's coming] . . .
but is longsuffering'
(II
Peter 3:9). God is patient. He has refrained from intervening in world
affairs for nearly 6000 years. Why?
"Because
He will not intervene until humanity is forced to cry out to God in
utter fear of COSMOCIDE!
"Notice
that this day of Christ's intervention and rule is compared to 'a thousand
years' (Rev.20:4).
Peter also says the same thing -- that a day in
God's plan is as
'a thousand years,' and 'a thousand years' of human
civilization is as one day in
His planned week of seven 1000-year days (II Peter 3:8).
"Peter
knew that CHRIST WOULD COME AFTER SIX ONE-THOUSAND
YEARS
of human struggle and slavery -- that God would send Jesus Christ to
set up His government in the seventh one-thousand years,
which will usher in
a time of rest and peace.
"How
AWE-INSPIRING that in our day-- at the very time the world is threatened
with extinction of life -- 6000 years have ALMOST
ELAPSED! How MARVEL-
OUS
that Jesus Himself said that when we see this taking place HE WOULD
COME
AGAIN!" (Lesson 1, ACBCC, p.11-12, emphasis theirs).
How amazing -- how clear -- how remarkable!
"A Thief in the Night"
This concept
of the 7000-year plan of God was a cornerstone of the teachings of Herbert W.
Armstrong -- and one of the major prophetic TRUTHS which he proclaimed boldly,
showing that we are living in the very TIME OF THE END, the END of this age,
very close to the SECOND COMING of Jesus Christ, the Messiah!
The very
thought that Jesus is coming soon sends chills down my spine; it causes my mind
to ripple with emotion, and our hearts to palpitate with anticipation and
longing. But now the end-time successors
of Herbert W. Armstrong have unceremoniously destroyed this pillar of faith and
foundation of truth. They have dug it
up, uprooted it, pulled it out of the ground, and thrown it on a heap of cord
wood, to be burned and incinerated.
But what does
this truth have to do with us, of this present generation?
Stop and
consider: IF the week is indeed a
"pattern" of God's plan in dealing with mankind, and the
"Sabbath" represents the Millennial Kingdom of the Messiah, then
since careful Biblical chronology shows that the Creation of mankind was about
4004 B.C., then man's "6,000 years" has
come to a smashing CLOSE!
TIME IS NOW
JUST ABOUT UP!
"Closed Up and Sealed
UNTIL"
After the
prophet Daniel had finished writing the words of his prophetic book, God told
him, "But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to
the time of the end: many shall run
to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased" (Daniel 12:4). Notice!
These prophecies were to be SEALED up and SHUT UP -- not forever, that
we could not understand them -- but UNTIL A SPECIFIC TIME -- until the
"TIME OF THE END"!
Daniel was
further told, "Go thy way, Daniel; for the words are closed up and
SEALED TILL THE TIME OF THE END.
Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall
do wickedly: and NONE OF THE WICKED SHALL
UNDERSTAND; but the wise shall understand" (Daniel 12:9-10).
Did you get
that fact? The knowledge of the End-Time
prophecies will be closed up and sealed TILL the End Time. Therefore, at the Time of the End, God will
reveal these HIDDEN PROPHECIES, which have been closed up for 2,500 years! God has now begun to do that very thing! But the WICKED will never understand these
things -- ONLY THE WISE and holy and obedient ones will grasp the truth of
these prophecies! The wicked, as God
calls them, will continue in their willful denial of the truth. They will disown prophesy; they will deny
prophecy; they will QUENCH the Spirit of prophecy! They will even FORBID to
prophesy!
As Paul wrote: "Quench
not the Spirit. DESPISE NOT
PROPHESYINGS. Prove all things;
hold fast that which is good" (I Thess.5:19-21).
Unfortunately,
for thousands of God's people, many End-Time religious leaders, including the
leadership of the Worldwide Church of God, have begun to TURN THEIR BACKS on
Bible prophecy, and ridicule it, snort at it, sneer and jeer at it, and hoot
and scorn it derisively.
Will YOU make
the same mistake? Will you follow them
in their pernicious, erroneous ways? As
Peter wrote of these false teachers, "And MANY shall follow their
pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth
shall be evil spoken of. And through
covetousness shall they with FEIGNED WORDS make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth
not" (II Pet.2;2-3).
Jesus' Step-by-Step Prophecy
Jesus'
disciples came to Him and asked Him privately, "When shall these things
be? And what shall be the SIGN of thy
coming, and of the END of the world [Greek aion,
"age"]?" (Matt.24:3).
Jesus warned them first of all to beware of false
prophets and false religious teachers who proclaim heresy
(Matt.24:4-5). He then prophesied wars
and rumors of wars, but said these did not signal the end (verse 6). He even predicted wars, earthquakes, famines
and plagues, but said these were but "the beginning of sorrows"
(verses 7-8).
Jesus then
warned that persecution of true Christians would greatly increase (verses
9-20), and many false prophets and deceivers would rise up (verse 11). This has begun to happen around the world --
with Christians being persecuted vehemently in Turkey, Egypt, India, China,
Moslem countries, and even in "secular" societies like the United
States, and the western world!
Jesus then
announced, "And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax
cold" (verse 12). This has begun to
happen! The world has seen a sharp
increase in violence, lawlessness, and general "immorality" and
iniquity. Riots, looting, arson, murder,
pornography, violence in movies, profanity, and the breakdown of the home and
family -- all are contributing to a world gone berserk and gangs and rioters
running amok! Civil disorder and ethnic
strife and hatred are rapidly increasing.
In the midst
of this, Jesus said, "This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in ALL
THE WORLD for a WITNESS unto all nations; and THEN the END will come"
(verse 14). That also has begun to
happen! In the pages of Prophecy
Flash, and via short-wave radio beamed around the world, and via the
Internet, this final message of the coming of God's KINGDOM is being hurled
around the world though the airwaves, phone lines, and the postal service!
Jesus said
that the next thing to look for is "the abomination of desolation"
standing in the Temple of God in Jerusalem (Matt.24:15) -- and when we see that
happening, those in Jerusalem should FLEE to the hills and mountains for safety
(verses 16-20). That final invasion of
Israel and Jerusalem in the Middle East will lead to a captivity and time of
travail lasting 42 months (compare Matt.24:21-22 with Rev.13:4-6, 11:1-2, 12:6,
14).
Notice --
Jesus gave us a specific TIME TABLE of many sequential prophecies, each to be
fulfilled in their proper order, BEFORE and LEADING UP TO HIS SECOND
COMING! After this Great Tribulation,
Jesus foretold great signs in the heavens, followed by the "Day of the
Lord" -- the time He will return in awesome glory and power
(Matt.24:29-31). This will occur at the
seventh or "last" trumpet (I Cor.15:50-51; I Thess.4:14-17;
Rev.11:15).
Isn't this
plain?
Despite all
the current evidence around the world which points to the soon return of the
Messiah, including the threat of nuclear annihilation, biological and chemical
weapons which could also destroy all human life, worldwide pollution,
increasing world disasters, and such like, scoffers refuse to believe. Said the Plain Truth in the July 1992
issue:
"Thus, if there is any prophetic
significance to the year 2000 it is
unknown. Rather than
following UNCERTAIN SPECULATIONS
ABOUT
PROPHECY, we should concern ourselves with following
the sure instructions of Jesus Christ" (emphasis mine).
But wait a minute!
Is it fair to refer to all statements and facts about prophecy of the End
time, as "uncertain prophetic speculations"? Are the words of Jesus Christ, found in
Matthew, Mark, Luke and Revelation all "uncertain prophetic
speculations"?
These are NOT
mere "speculations"! The apostle Peter wrote in these terms:
"We have also a MORE SURE WORD
OF PROPHECY; whereunto
ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a LIGHT that shineth in a dark
place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your
hearts:
"Knowing
this first, that NO prophecy of the scripture is of any private
interpretation. For the prophecy came not
in old time by the will of man,
but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit" (II Pet.
1:19-21).
Prophecy is a
vital and integral part of the Word of God!
It is not something which should be treated lightly, cavalierly, with
disrespect and dishonor. It is vital to
our SALVATION! If it were not so
important, then God would not have inspired 2/3rds of His Word to deal with
prophecy, and 90% of that to apply to the LAST DAYS, the generation alive just
before the return of the Messiah in awesome power and glory to deliver His
people and to save the earth from utter annihilation, destruction, and cosmocide!
Paul wrote,
even commanded, "Never disdain prophetic revelations" (I Thess.5:20, Moffatt), or, "Do not scoff at those who
prophesy" (TLB). Have you become a
scoffer in these last days?
7000 Year Plan Understood by Early
Church!
The knowledge
of God's 7000-year Plan is not a new revelation from God to His Church during
this End-Time age. In fact, this
prophetic knowledge was known and understood by the early
Says the New
Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge:
"The early fathers most commonly
looked for the second advent at the
end of 6000 years of the world's history" (vol.VII, p.376).
The Epistle of Barnabas, written about 200 A.D., actually
expounded on the concept of the 7000-year plan of God, stating that the
"end" would occur at the point of 6000 years from the creation of
mankind. States this ancient document of
the early church period:
"Of the sabbath He speaketh in the
beginning of the creation; 'And God
made the works of his hands in six days, and He ended on the
seventh
day, and rested on it, and He hallowed it.' Give heed, children, what
this meaneth, 'He ended in six
days.' He meaneth
this, that IN SIX
THOUSAND
YEARS THE LORD SHALL BRING ALL THINGS TO
AN
END; for the day with Him signifieth a thousand
years; and this
He
himself beareth me witness, saying, 'Behold, the day
of the Lord shall
be as a THOUSAND YEARS.'
Therefore, children, in six days, that is
IN
SIX THOUSAND YEARS, EVERYTHING SHALL COME TO AN
END. 'And He rested on the seventh day.' This he meaneth;
when His
Son
shall come, and shall abolish the time of the Lawless One, and shall
judge the ungodly, and shall change the sun and the moon and
the stars,
then shall He truly rest on the seventh day" (Epistles
of Barnabus, chap.
15, The Apostolic Fathers, pp.151-152).
Early
Christians expected the age of mankind's self rule to come to an end, to be
replaced by the Messianic Kingdom, after a period of 6,000 years. The "Epistle of Barnabus"
bears eloquent testimony to this historical fact.
Irenaeus, who lived from A.D. 120 to 202, was a disciple of
Polycarp, one of God's true servants in
In his battle
against raging heresies which were inundating the church at that time, Irenaeus wrote his Against Heresies. In book 1, chapter xxviii, 3, we read:
"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 and END at the sixth thousand
year" (Ante-Nicene
Fathers, vol.1, p.557).
But, even
before the time of Christ, the Jews also understood that the Messiah would come
after 6000 years of human history!
Ancient Jews Understood This Truth!
States the Encyclopedia
Britannica, eleventh edition, concerning the Talmud:
"The view most frequently expressed
there . . . is that the Messianic
kingdom will last for one thousand (some said two thousand)
years.
'In
six days God created the world, on the seventh He rested. But a
day of God is equal to a thousand years (Ps.90:4). Hence the WORLD
WILL
LAST FOR SIX THOUSAND YEARS of toil and labor; then
will come one thousand years of Sabbath rest for the people
of God in
the kingdom of the Messiah.'
This idea must have already been very
common in the first century before Christ" ("Millennium," p.459).