By Tim Warner - April 1999
Millennium FeverAs we approach the end of the millennium, many Christians seem to be consumed with the prospect of Christ's imminent second coming. "Looking for that blessed hope" [Titus 2:13] is a good thing. Paul repeatedly tells us to focus our hope on Jesus' return for us.
Phil 3:20-21
20 For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ
21 Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.
(KJV)
Peter points to the hope of the revelation of Christ in glory as the source of strength to go on through our trials.
1 Pet 4:12-13
12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:
13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.
(KJV)
1 Pet 1:5-7
5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
6 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:
7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
(KJV)
John tells us that this "hope" of the second coming of Jesus Christ is the source of motivation towards holiness and Christian maturity.
I John 3:2-3
2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
(KJV)
Jesus Himself warned us to be on the alert, and to watch for the signs He gave.
Mark 13:32-37
32 But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.
33 Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.
34 For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch.
35 Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning:
36 Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.
37 And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.
(KJV)
Scanning the internet prophecy websites, and some discussion forums, one might get the impression that Christians are doing exactly what the Bible commands us to do. There is so much talk of Christ's soon return, and so much speculation about times and dates, that one wonders if some Christians might be devastated if Jesus doesen't come in the next few years.
Is this phenomenon new to late 20th century Christians? Not hardly. A look at Church history reveals that Christians have been speculating about such things since the early days of the Church. Even a casual reading of the Early Church Fathers [AD 100 - AD 325] reveals a strong expectation of "last days" events in their lifetimes. Irenaeus [2nd century] wrote exhorting Christians not to spend so much time trying to figure out who the Antichrist might be [by calculating the numeric value of names of contemporary public figures that add up to 666] and to simply await the fulfillment of clear prophecy. Such speculation reached a fever pitch at the end of the last millennium, too.
Many Christian movements, and some cults, have come and gone, formed around "date setting" for the return of Christ. The Jehovah's Witnesses have set several dates that have come and gone without incident. What is the effect of these raised hopes, only to be dashed at a later date? Try, discouragement, disillusionment, and last but not least, publicly discrediting the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Overzealousness regarding the second coming, and "millennium fever" is not good for the Christian Faith in general, nor is it good for individual Christians. Paul faced, and had to deal with, "millennium fever" in the Thessalonian church.
II Thess 2:1-3
1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
(KJV)
Here Paul was trying to calm down a situation where believers were placing too much expectation in the imminent return of Christ. Apparently, such undue excitement and agitation was interferring with normal Christian behavior. Paul reminded them of Jesus' teaching in the Olivet Discourse. Not only did Jesus tell us to be watching for His coming, but He said certain things MUST come BEFORE the last days scenario would play out, and we could expect the return of Christ. So, "watching" according to Jesus did not just mean watching for His actual appearing in the sky. It had to do with watching for particular signs that would signal His return. This is what Paul reminded the Thessalonians. The two things that MUST precede Christ's return are;
#1. A mass apostasy or defection from the Christian faith
Paul - "that day shall not come except there come a falling away first..."
Jesus - "And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved." [Matt. 24:10-13].
#2. The Antichrist must defile the Temple.
Paul - "that day shall not come except ... the man of sin be revealed ... who sitteth in the Temple of God, showing himself that he is God."
Jesus - "When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)"[Matt. 24:15]
In effect, Paul [and Jesus] are saying that until such things occur, there is no reason to suppose that Christ's coming is imminent.
Elsewhere, Paul instructed Christians to patiently await Christ's coming.
Rom 8:25
25 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.
(KJV)
Similarly, James gives us an illustration to put all of this into perspective.
James 5:7-8
7 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.
8 Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.
(KJV)
Notice the illustration of the farmer being applied to our waiting for Christ. The farmer knows that there is a season for the harvest. He awaits the rainy season, knowing that harvest follows. So too are we to await with patience the growing season, looking for the specific signs [rainy season] that Jesus gave us. James says to "stablish our hearts." He instructs us to stabilize ourselves, and not be so anxious and agitated about an imminent coming of Christ. The "coming of the Lord draweth nigh" means it is steadily approaching. But it does not mean it is about to occur immediately. Yes, we are to fix our hope on Christ's soon return. But, we are not to be unduely anxious or agitated, supposing that it is imminent, when the signs given by Jesus have not yet occurred.
The problem with all of the date setters of the past, and even all of the date setters of the present, is their "dates" are based on unscriptural methods. Lets look at why such dates have always failed.
Dan 9:24
24 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.
(KJV)
Most Evangelical Christians recognize that this is a definate prophecy of the length of time until both the first and second coming of Christ. In the following verses, Daniel is given the exact length of time until the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, 69 weeks of years, or 483 years from the command of King Artaxerxes to rebuild Jerusalem. But, there is also a remaining "week of years" to be fulfilled before the second coming of Jesus, the 70th week. Hence, there is a gap between the crucifixion and the beginning of the last seven years. But, the thing I want you to notice is the word "determined" in the above verse. This word means "fixed" or "decided." This will not be changed. This implies the gap between the 69th and 70th week, in which we now live, was not "determined" or "fixed." So, as far as we are concerned, once the 70th week begins, there will be no stopping the second coming of Christ after 7 years. However, we can not determine the time of Christ's coming prior to the beginning of the 70th week.
But, let's go one step further. In Matt. 24, the disciples specifically asked Jesus about this question of the time of His coming, and what signs believers could expect that would indicate His coming was near. Jesus' answer shows that most modern speculations are way off base. You might want to read this chapter in detail, but allow me to sumarize it for you. Jesus responded by warning them about false Christs, wars, famines, earthquakes, etc. Many make the mistake of looking at the fulfillment of these things in our generation as "signs" of Christ's imminent coming. But, they overlook the fact that Jesus specifically said these are NOT signs of His coming. He said in verse 6, "see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet." In other words, don't get anxious! These things will happen before Jesus returns, but they do not indicate the end of the age necessarily.
Jesus went on to describe the apostasy that will characterize the Christian Church in the last days, with most believers abandoning the Faith before Jesus returns. But, in verse 15, Jesus gave the Disciples the first definite sign, and He even linked it to the prophecy of the 70 weeks in Daniel, showing that once this occurs, the exact time of His coming can be determined.
Matt 24:15
15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
(KJV)
Some have speculated that the words "whoso readeth let him understand" are the words of Matthew as a narration, and not the actual spoken words of Jesus. But, this is wrong. Jesus was saying that whomever read Daniel's prophecy of the "abomination of desolation," which is contained within the 70 week prophecy of Daniel. 9, could know the time of Jesus' return. And, according to Daniel, the "abomination" will occur "in the midst of the week" [or, 3.5 years before the second coming of Jesus Christ].
Jesus went on to describe the 3.5 year "great tribulation" in the following verses, and His coming with power and glory to gather His elect, in verses 29-31. Notice the cosmic signs in verse 29, as well as the "sign of the Son of Man" in verse 30.
Finally, Jesus told us exactly how we should react to these things.
Matt 24:32-33
32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:
33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
(KJV)
Many prophecy teachers have mistakenly interpreted the "fig tree" as Israel, and come up with all kinds of nonsense about Israel's reestablishment as a nation in 1948, etc. being a sign of Jesus' return. But, it is clear from the text that Jesus was NOT giving a "prophecy" about Israel, but was giving an illustration or parable demonstrating how we should react to the other signs He gave previously. Notice the words "parable" in verse 32, and the word "likewise" in verse 33. Jesus was saying that only after such signs are seen by believers can we expect His coming. And, the very first definite sign He gave was the "abomination of desolation." He did not mention a treaty or covenant between the Antichrist and Israel, or the rebuilding of the Temple. His prophecy takes for granted that the Temple will be standing in order for the "abomination" to occur in the "holy place." But, there is no indication how long the Temple would be standing prior to this. Therefore, we have no business assuming that any Middle East treaty, even one that allows the rebuilding of the Temple and resumption of sacrifices, is the one mentioned in Dan. 9:26,27. In order to be certain, we have to await the "abomination of desolation." Only then can we know for sure the time of His coming.
Some no doubt will object to the idea that we can ever know the time of Christ's return, even at the mid point of the tribulation. But, when Jesus said "no man knows the day or hour" of His coming, He used the present tense. In the context of this entire discourse, He means that until such signs are fulfilled, or until you see "all these things," no one would know the day or hour of His return. He does NOT rule out knowing AFTER the series of definate signs begin to unfold. Otherwise, this would contradict verse 33, where He says "know that it is nigh, even at the doors." So, until then, no one "knows." But, after these events, "know." That is what Jesus taught, and that is exactly what we should do.
These days, employing the Feast Days as a pattern, Christians are speculating about dates. I am not implying that the fall Feasts are not connectected with the second coming. They clearly are. But, they cannot be used to set dates as of yet, because the other signs Jesus gave have not come.
Probably the single biggest reason for "millennium fever" among Christians is the 6,000 year theory. There is some reason to suppose that the earth would go on for 6,000 years under the curse, and the Millennium would correspond to the last 1,000 years, or "Sabbath" of a 7,000 year "week" of millenniums. This theory, while not being explicetly taught in Scripture, may be implied in Heb. 4:9 & 2 Pet. 3:8. And, it was firmly believed by the early Church, as attested to by many of the Church Fathers. Yet, calendars are uncertain, and we really don't know for sure how many years have elapsed since creation. According to the Jewish calendar, we still have over 200 years to go. But, even if our Gregorian calendar is correct, we have no assurance that the 6,000 year theory is correct. So, at best, it might give us an approximation within a decade or so. That is about it.
Some have based their date setting on Hosea 6:1,2. The "two days" is interpreted as 2,000 years. This seems to fit, as the period of time mentioned is the time God turns away from Israel temporarily, or what is sometimes called the "Church age." Yet, if you take a look again at the prophecy, it does not say Israel would be restored at the end of the "two days," but during the "third day." This could mean at the very beginning of the third millennium [after Christ], or some indefinate time afterwards. Once again, such things are too speculative and imprecise to attach any dates to them.
In conclusion, I think we do a disservice to Christianity when we prematurely speculate about exact dates, even when we put our disclaimers on them to save our reputations when things don't pan out. Instead of thinking up all kinds of ways to short circuit Jesus' words in the Olivet Discourse in order to satisfy our curiousity, we need to focus on getting our house in order, while keeping tuned to current events, and watching for the specific signs Jesus gave. The Bible teaches we should have a healthy expectation of Christ's coming, and it should motivate us to holiness, especially when we come to terms with how much of the world we have allowed to enter and pollute us. Instead of becoming agitated and excited about our getting out of here, we should be allowing the "blessed hope" to purify our lives. We should be spending our time getting ready to meet Christ, as a spotless virgin meets her groom.