Millennial Day Theory

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The Millennial day theory is a theory in Christian eschatology which hypothesizes that the second coming of Jesus will occur during the 6000th year after the creation of Adam.[1] It is a very popular belief held among a selective group of premillennialists who usually hold a central belief in young earth creationism.

The view takes the stance that each millennium is actually a day in God’s eyes (as found in Psalm 90:4 and 2 Peter 3:8), and that eventually during the beginning of the seventh millennium, or at the end of the 6000 years since the creation, Jesus will return.[2][3][4] It teaches that the seventh millennium is actually called the Sabbath Millennium, in which Jesus will ultimately set up his perfect kingdom and allow his followers to rest from their works.[5] The Sabbath Millennium is believed to be synonymous with the Millennial Reign of Christ that is found in Revelation 20:1-6.[6]

Contents

Proponents

Early premillennialists included Pseudo-Barnabas,[7] Papias,[8] Methodius, Lactantius,[9] Commodianus[10] Theophilus, Tertullian,[11] Melito,[12] Hippolytus of Rome, Victorinus of Pettau [13][14] and various Gnostics groups and the Montanists. Many of these theologians and others in the early church expressed their belief in premillennialism through their acceptance of this sexta-septamillennial tradition. This belief claims that human history will continue for 6,000 years and then will enjoy Sabbath for 1,000 years (the millennial kingdom), thus all of human history will have a total of 7,000 years prior to the new creation. Christians throughout history have often considered that some thousand-year Sabbath, expected to begin six thousand years after Creation, might be identical with the millennium described in the Book of Revelation. This view was also popular among 19th- and 20th-century dispensational premillenialists. The term "Sabbatism" or "Sabbatizing" (Greek Sabbatismos), which generically means any literal or spiritual Sabbath-keeping, has also been taken in Hebrews 4:9 to have special reference to this definition.

The Seven Millennia according to the Millennial Day Theory
Years: 0 - 1000 1000 - 2000 2000 - 3000 3000 - 4000 4000 - 5000 5000 - 6000 6000 - 7000

Day of Creation:

1 (Sunday)

Events: Creation; The Garden of Eden; The Fall; Cain and Abel; Adam dies.

2 (Monday)

Events: Enoch translated; Wickedness increases; the Nephilim; The global flood; Tower of Babel; The confusion of languages.

3 (Tuesday)

Events: Abraham born; Abraham's calling; Egyptian persecution; Exodus; Mosaic Law established; Joshua enters promised land; King Saul.

4 (Wednesday)

Events: Israel in promised land; King David; King Solomon; 1st Temple established and destroyed; Daniel in Babylon; Major and Minor prophets written.

5 (Thursday)

Events: Jesus Christ; Crucifixion; Resurrection; Church established; 2nd Temple destroyed; Constantine the Great establishes state church; Roman Empire Falls; Muhammad born; Charlemagne crowned Holy Roman Emperor.

6 (Friday)

Events: The crusades; The Dark Ages; Black Death; Columbus sets foot on America; Protestant Reformation; The Enlightenment; Scientific Revolution; United States established; World War 2; Israel regathered; Six Day War; The Antichrist; The Tribulation; Jesus returns.

Shabbat /(Saturday)

Events: Peace for 1000 years; Satan loosed; Gog and Magog; 2nd Resurrection

Support for the theory

The main support for this view is found in the passages regarding the original Sabbath system that the Judeo-Christian God instituted, while also taking the verses of Psalms 90:4[15] and 2 Peter 3:8[16] into consideration. According to the proponents of the theory, Hosea 6:1-2[17] demonstrates that after 2 days, the Lord will eventually heal Israel and live with her forever.[18] According to them, Jesus has indeed been gone for 2 millenniums.[19] He was crucified during a time of severe Roman oppression that was directed towards Israel, which eventually caused the dispersion of Israel in the first century CE. Counting the two days as two millenniums may invariably lead to the conclusion that Jesus is coming back really soon- most likely within the 21st century. It is this perception of Bible prophecy that provides the motivation to create a theory that is rooted in absolute Biblical literalism and is entirely based on Premillennialism.

References

  1. ^ http://todayperhaps.com/2009/08/02/the-millennial-day-theory/
  2. ^ Perry, Richard H. "The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Last Days". Penguin Group Publishing (USA). pg. 28-34; 320-321. ISBN 1-59257-561-7
  3. ^ http://www.escapeallthesethings.com/6000-year-timeline.htm
  4. ^ http://www.ucg.org/doctrinal-beliefs/millennial-sabbath-and-sabbatical-millennium
  5. ^ Perry, Richard H. "The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Last Days". Penguin Group Publishing (USA). pg. 28-34; 320-321. ISBN 1-59257-561-7
  6. ^ http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation+20%3A1-6&version=NIV
  7. ^ ”Among the Apostolic Fathers Barnabas is the first and the only one who expressly teaches a pre-millennial reign of Christ on earth. He considers the Mosaic history of the creation a type of six ages of labor for the world, each lasting a thousand years, and of a millennium of rest, since with God ‘one day is as a thousand years.’ Millennial Sabbath on earth will be followed by an eight and eternal day in a new world, of which the Lord’s Day (called by Barnabas ‘the eighth day’) is the type(access The Epistle of Barnabas here). Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, Vol. 2 (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, n.d.) 382.
  8. ^ Introductory Note to the Fragments of Papias
  9. ^ Insruct. adv. Gentium Deos, 43, 44.
  10. ^ According to the Encyclopedia of the Early Church “Commodian (mid 3rd c.) takes up the theme of the 7000 years, the last of which is the millennium (Instr. II 35, 8 ff.).” M. Simonetti, “Millenarism,” 560.
  11. ^ Against Marcion, book 3 chp 25
  12. ^ Simonetti writes in the Encyclopedia of the Early Church “We know that Melito was also a millenarian" regarding Jerome's reference to him as a chiliast. M. Simonetti, “Millenarism,” 560.
  13. ^ Note this is Victorinus of Pettau not Marcus Piav(v)onius Victorinus the Gaelic Emperor
  14. ^ In his Commentary on Revelation and from the fragment De Fabrica Mundi (Part of a commentary on Genesis). Jerome identifies him as a premillennialist.
  15. ^ http://bible.cc/psalms/90-4.htm
  16. ^ http://bible.cc/2_peter/3-8.htm
  17. ^ http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hosea+6%3A1-2&version=NIV
  18. ^ Perry, Richard H. "The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Last Days". Penguin Group Publishing (USA). pg. 28-34; 320-321. ISBN 1-59257-561-7
  19. ^ Perry, Richard H. "The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Last Days". Penguin Group Publishing (USA). pg. 28-34; 320-321. ISBN 1-59257-561-7

See also