By COGwriter
When will the end of this world come? Did God give human-beings 6,000 years to rule themselves prior to the millennial reign of Jesus Christ?
Was the idea that human were given 6,000 years to rule themselves known by those who professed Christ centuries ago? If so, where did they get it?
And perhaps, more importantly for many, when will the 6,000 years end?
This article will look to the Bible, Jewish writings, historical writings, Church of God writings, and even Roman Catholic writings to answer those questions.
There is an old tradition that the prophet Elijah taught that there would be six thousand years for humans to rule under Satan's kingdom, followed by one thousand years of abundance in the kingdom of God.
Edward Gibbon from the 1776 work "THE DECLINE AND FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE", where he documented the facts regarding the first century Christians...
"The ancient and popular doctrine of the Millennium was intimately connected with the second coming of Christ. As the works of the creation had been finished in six days, their duration in their present state, according to a tradition which was attributed to the prophet Elijah, was fixed to six thousand years. By the same analogy it was inferred that this long period of labor and contention, which was now almost elapsed, would be succeeded by a joyful Sabbath of a thousand years; and that Christ, with the triumphant band of the saints and the elect who had escaped death, or who had been miraculously revived, would reign upon earth till the time appointed for the last and general resurrection". - Vol I, p.403
While traditions should never supersede scripture, the above is certainly an interesting and ancient tradition as it shows that the idea of a 6,000 year plan followed by Christ establishing His kingdom on the earth was a common teaching among the early ones who professed Christ.
Here are specific traditions related to the millennium from the Jewish Talmud:
R. Kattina said: Six thousand years shall the world exist, and one [thousand, the seventh], it shall be desolate, as it is written, And the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day {Isaiah 2:11}.
Abaye said: it will be desolate two [thousand], as it is said, After two days will he revive us: in the third day, he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight {Hosea 6:2}.
It has been taught in accordance with R. Kattina: Just as the seventh year is one year of release in seven, so is the world: one thousand years out of seven shall be fallow, as it is written, And the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day,' and it is further said, A Psalm and song for the Sabbath day {Psalm 92:1}, meaning the day that is altogether Sabbath — and it is also said, For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past {Psalm 90:4}.
The Tanna debe Eliyyahu teaches: The world is to exist six thousand years. In the first two thousand there was desolation; two thousand years the Torah flourished; and the next two thousand years is the Messianic era (Babylonian Talmud: Tractate Sanhedrin Folio 97a).
And while there are some errors in the above, it appears that there is a six thousand year plan, that the current two thousand years essentially represents the Church/Messianic era, and that a one thousand year period remains.
Note: I inserted the scriptures quoted or alluded to above within {} as they are in the footnotes associated with the above.
Some believe that since God made/recreated the world in six days and rested on the seventh day (Genesis 2:1-3), that humans will have 6000 years to live on the earth under Satan's influence, but will have a 1000 years to be under Christ's reign (the original creation of the universe may have been billions of years earlier c.f. Genesis 1:2; Isaiah 45:18). The 6000 plus 1000 years equals God's seven thousand year plan.
Many have noted that a thousand years seems to be as one day to God. This is a concept from both the Old and New Testaments:
For a thousand years in Your sight Are like yesterday when it is past (Psalm 90:4).
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 (2 Peter 3:8).
Based upon certain calculations that I am aware of, it seems that Adam and Eve were created and/or apparently left the garden of Eden between 5,980 to 5,995 years ago (roughly 3974-3989 B.C.). This would mean that when Jesus began to preach (roughly 27 A.D., over four thousand year later) He was preaching in day five, as four of the seven "one thousand year days" would have been over before then.
Thus days five and six would have been considered as part of the "last days" by the early disciples.
That being so, this helps explain why some New Testament figures indicated that they were in the last days:
But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, "Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 'And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh (Acts 2:14-17).
God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things (Hebrews 1:1-2).
If there is no 6,000 year plan of human rule followed by a 1,000 year millennial reign, then the New Testament statement above about then being in the last days make little sense. But, since God does have a 7,000 year plan, these statements do make sense. And that also explains how come the end has not come yet--there is still a little more time in "the last days".
It also needs to be understood that there are two types of last days referred to in the New Testament. When some were stating that they were in the last days, this indicates the latter days of the 7,000 year week. However in other places, New Testament writers sometimes are referring to the time of the final generation before Jesus returns as being the last days, as they indicate that this is not the same time as they were writing (cf. 2 Peter 3:3).
Perhaps I should comment that many feel that the 6,000 years are up, because of some 17th century calculations made by a non-COG historian, James Ussher, who was the Anglican Archbishop of Armagh (in what is now Northern Ireland). He primarily based his calculations upon the chronologies and reigns of kings in the Old Testament to conclude that the world was created in the Fall of 4004 B.C. There are two problems that can arise from using James Ussher's method:
1) The first is that Ussher's method did not seem to take into account that sometimes a son began the reign in a kingdom before his father king died (which, for one example, seems to started with with Solomon, see 1 Kings 1:32-43), hence the official chronologies often counted both co-reigns (hence this could contribute to possible over counting by Ussher).
2) It is probable that the 6,000 years for humans to rule over themselves apart from direct contact with God began after Adam sinned, and hence left the Garden of Eden. It is possible that this could have taken one day to twenty or so years--the Bible is not specifically clear on this point.
Thus, it is possible that even if Ussher's calculations are close, that there still could be time left as he did not really attempt to prove when Adam and Eve were put out of the Garden of Eden--he only attempted to calculate the possible year of creation based upon his own limited understandings of biblical chronologies and other historical indicators.
Therefore, people who rely on Ussher's 4004 B.C. calculations to claim that the 6000 years are up seem to be relying on assumption as opposed to fact.
Although we in the Living Church of God do not consider that the so-called Epistle of Barnabas is inspired, it does show that in the early second century that some did understand the idea of a 6000 year plan followed by the thousand year reign of Christ:
Moreover concerning the Sabbath likewise it is written in the Ten Words, in which He spake to Moses face to face on Mount Sinai; And ye shall hallow the Sabbath of the Lord with pure hands and with a pure heart. And in another place He saith; If my sons observe the Sabbath then I will bestow My mercy upon them. 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 signifyeth 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 Epistle of Barnabas, 15:1-5).
Hence the above quote shows that there was a belief among those who professed Christianity that there would be a literal thousand year reign of Christ on the Earth, and a 6,000 year plan for humans prior to that.
Around the end of the second century, a heretical leader named Bardesan wrote the following:
Bardesan, therefore, an aged man, and one celebrated for his knowledge of events, wrote, in a certain work which was composed by him, concerning the synchronisms with one another of the luminaries of heaven, speaking as follows :-- Two revolutions of Saturn, 60 years; 5 revolutions of Jupiter, 60 years; 40 revolutions of Mars, 60 years; 60 revolutions of the Sun, 60 years; 72 revolutions of Venus, 60 years; 150 revolutions of Mercury, 60 years; 720 revolutions of the Moon, 60 years.
And this," says he, "is one synchronism of them all; that is, the time of one such synchronism of them. So that from hence it appears that to complete too such synchronisms there will be required six thousands of years. Thus :-- 200 revolutions of Saturn, six thousands of years; 500 revolutions of Jupiter, 6 thousands of years; 4 thousand revolutions of Mars, 6 thousands of years; Six thousand revolutions of the Sun, 6 thousands of years." 7 thousand and 200 revolutions of Venus, 6 thousands of years; 12 thousand revolutions of Mercury, 6 thousands of years." 72 thousand revolutions of the Moon, 6 thousands of years."
These things did Bardesan thus compute when desiring to show that this world would stand only six thousands of years (By a certain Philip, disciple of Bardesan. Appendix after The Book of the Laws of Various Countries. Excerpted from Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 8. Edited by Alexander Roberts & James Donaldson. American Edition, 1886. Online Edition Copyright © 2004 by K. Knight).
Hence, he felt that the world would last 6000 years.
Irenaeus, another heretical leader (but one Roman Catholics consider to be a saint), claimed to have met Polycarp of Smyrna. Here is some of what he wrote about this:
Thus, then, the six hundred years of Noah, in whose time the deluge occurred because of the apostasy, and the number of the cubits of the image for which these just men were sent into the fiery furnace, do indicate the number of the name of that man in whom is concentrated the whole apostasy of six thousand years, and unrighteousness, and wickedness, and false prophecy, and deception (Irenaeus. Adversus haereses, Book V, Chapter 29, Verse 2. Excerpted from Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 1. Edited by Alexander Roberts & James Donaldson. American Edition, 1885. Online Edition Copyright © 2004 by K. Knight).
Hippolytus was, and is still considered to have been, an important Roman Catholic leader:
The feast of St. Hippolytus is kept on 13 August...Hippolytus was the most important theologian and the most prolific religious writer of the Roman Church in the pre-Constantinian era (St. Hippolytus of Rome, The Catholic Encyclopedia, 1910).
Notice what he wrote:
And 6, 000 years must needs be accomplished, in order that the Sabbath may come, the rest, the holy day "on which God rested from all His works." For the Sabbath is the type and emblem of the future kingdom of the saints, when they "shall reign with Christ," when He comes from heaven, as John says in his Apocalypse: for "a day with the Lord is as a thousand years."Since, then, in six days God made all things, it follows that 6, 000 years must be fulfilled. (Hippolytus. On the HexaËmeron, Or Six Days' Work. From Fragments from Commentaries on Various Books of Scripture. http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0502.htm verified 9/17/07).
Notice therefore that "the most important theologian and the most prolific religious writer of the Roman Church in the pre-Constantinian era" taught the 7,000 year plan (6,000 for humankind, followed by 1,000 from God).
Thus certain second and third century leaders who professed Christ clearly believed in the teaching that there was a 6,000 year plan.
The Living Church of God understands that God has given humankind 6,000 years (like the six days of the physical creation) to live cut off from God and that this will be followed by the 1,000 year millennial reign (like the seventh day which was created by God's rest) of Christ. Notice:
Our Creator is working out a 7,000-year plan. Almost 6,000 years of recorded human history have now passed. And although our present man-made calendar may be off by about 15 to 20 years because of details (such as the accession years of kings) that mankind has failed to calculate precisely, we likely are now living in the last full generation before our Creator will supernaturally intervene in human affairs...
God is indeed longsuffering and patient. He counts a "thousand years as a day." So in His "work week" of dealing with rebellious mankind, God has allotted six millennial days (6,000 years). And the seventh "day" of 1,000 years will be the millennial reign of Jesus Christ—finally bringing genuine PEACE and GODLINESS to a deceived world. "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" (Revelation 20:6) (Meredith RC. A Turning Point in World Affairs. Tomorrow's World Magazine, July-Sept, 1999).
This view is not unique to the Living Church of God. According to even Roman Catholics, parts of this view have long been the belief of those who claim to believe at least part of the Bible:
...the time of the First Resurrection will end...It is the time when the Seventh Millennium will set in, and will be the day of Sabbath in the plan of creation...It has been the common opinion among Jews, Gentiles, and Latin and Greek Christians, that the present evil world will last no more than 6,000 years...Christians and Jews, from the beginning of Christianity, and before, have taught that 6,000 years after the creation of Adam and Eve, the consummation will occur. The period after the consummation is to be the seventh day of creation--the Sabbath...St. Jerome said, "It is a common belief that the world will last 6,000 years."
...I believe that as the last days come to an end so will the sixth day of creation (Culligan E. The Last World War and the End of Time. The book was blessed by Pope Paul VI, 1966. TAN Books, Rockford (IL), pp. 113-115).
This 6,000 year time period, which some Catholics have held to throughout history, is almost up and we are in the end times that are leading up to the millennium.
One Catholic monk, called "the venerable Bede" indicated that the creation was in 3952 B.C. (Ussher Chronology. Wikipedia. Viewed 9/17/07). And thus, even with this date, the 6,000 years would be close to being up. Other Catholics have thought that the 6,000 years would have been up in the late 20th century (e.g. Culligan). However, after Cardinal Ratzinger became important (he is now known as Pope Benedict XVI), he took steps to stop the Catholic Church from endorsing any millennial teachings, and currently the Catholic Church does not teach a 6000 year plan any more (for writings approved by Cardinal Ratzinger, please see Did The Early Church Teach Millenarianism?).
The Living Church of God indicates that the creation was approximately 3983 B.C. Notice some of the math:
Do Genesis 5:3-29 and 7:11 show that 1,656 years transpired between the creation of Adam and the Flood of Noah's day? (Note: Genesis 5:3 shows that Adam was 130 when Seth was born. Add up the age of each patriarch at the birth of his son, plus the age of Noah at the time of the Flood)...
Do Genesis 11:10-32 show that 427 years passed between the Flood and the death of Terah, which was the time that Abram left Haran (cf. Acts 7:4)? Was Abram 75 years of age when he left Haran? Genesis 12:4...
How old was Abraham when God made the covenant of circumcision with him? Genesis 17:1-10. Had 24 years passed since he left Haran? (Note: A careful comparison of Genesis 12:4 with Genesis 17:1 will reveal Abraham's age at the time of the covenant)...
According to Galatians 3:16-17, how many years passed between the time of the covenant with Abraham and the Sinai covenant, which was the year of the Exodus? (cf. Exodus 12:40)...
How many years were there between the Exodus and the fourth year of King Solomon when the temple was begun? 1 Kings 6:1. (By using secular records most scholars date the fourth year of Solomon to approximately 966 BC)...
If you add the numbers (1,656 + 427 + 24 + 430 + 480 + 966) what would have been the approximate year bc of Adam's creation?
Would this not prove that 6,000 years will soon have elapsed? (Bible Study Course. Lesson 2, Part 2, God 7,000-Year Plan. Living Church of God, Copyright © 2008 Living Church of God. http://online.twbiblecourse.org/bsc_lesson_content.php?lesson=2&page=5 viewed 04/19/08).
Galatians 3:17 shows 430 years.
Therefore, if we add up 1,656 + 427 + 24 + 430 + 480 + 966, this suggests the creation (and/or the departure from the Garden of Eden) was around 3983 BC. Now because that years of life are not exact (few people are born and die on the precisely same calendar date--hence there could possibly be 10 years past 2018), this could be off a relatively few years--but it does give a biblical indication of when the end is coming.
It is now 2008 A.D., so adding that + 3983 adds up to 5991--but because there was no year zero (for the transition between B.C. and A.D.), this make it 5990. Thus, the 6000 years may be up in about 9-10 years (and the tribulation would begin before that).
However, it is important to note that the Bible shows that the days will apparently need to be shortened:
And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened (Matthew 24:22).
So while 2018 may be the end of the 6000 years, it is likely that it will be one or more years. And the Great Tribulation may begin 3 1/2 years before then--thus the Great Tribulation may begin around 2012-2015--though I do not believe that it will be before 2013.
Thus, according to a variety of sources, but mainly the Bible, the 6000 years will be up in the 21st century.
This is somewhat consist (though not quite) with Mayan and other prophecies related to the year 2012 (though the Great Tribulation would begin prior to the end of the 6,000 years)--for additional information, please see End of Mayan Calendar 2012--Might 2012 Mean Something?
While I do not believe that they were inspired by God, a Catholic saint named Malachy predicted, with what some to believe is complete accuracy, every pope since 1143—his list was considered so accurate, that some originally said it was not written until the 16th century, when it became made public.
However, it should be noted that, to a degree, many of his post 16th century predictions have apparently come true and some believe that Malachy's list:
...has given fitting descriptions of every pope since the 16th century, when it was discovered (Dupont Yves. Catholic Prophecy: The Coming Chastisement. TAN Books, Rockford (IL), 1973, p.19).
...the vast majority of Malachy's predictions about successive Popes is amazingly accurate (Bander, Peter. Introductory commentary in The Prophecies of St. Malachy. TAN Books, Rockford (IL), 1973, p. 11).
I should add that Malachy's list includes some leaders that the Roman Catholics call antipopes (e.g. Clement VII, Benedict XIII, Felix V, etc., see Bander, pp. 50-54) and that, thus, many are inserted sometimes together as opposed to always being in strict chronological order. The fact that it is NOT completely accurate should show people that the list was not inspired by God.
However, there is only one pontiff left on Malachy's list. Since the current Pope Benedict XVI is elderly, and there is is a very strong possibility that there will only be one more pope (or antipope as the case may be) left, the end of this list is coming soon.
And it is likely that this next person will become pope in within a few years, and hence be the last one when the 6000 years end. Which, quite simply, could be next decade (or at the most, the decade afterwards as it is older men that tend to be made popes).
Interestingly, there are some other Roman Catholic prophecies that state or indicate that the beginning of the end will occur in the 20th century and/or that the end will come in the 21st century:
Sister Bouquillon (19th century). "The beginning of the end shall not come in the 19th century, but in the 20th for sure" (Dupont, p. 23).
Catholic priest and writer R. Gerald Culleton: “…the Great Monarch…together with the Great Pope or Angelic Pastor, shall appear after socialism” (Culleton, R. Gerald. The Prophets and Our Times. Nihil Obstat: L. Arvin. Imprimatur: Philip G. Scher, Bishop of Monterey-Fresno, November 15, 1941. Reprint 1974, TAN Books, Rockford (IL), p. 50).
St. Hildegard (d. 1179). "The time is coming when princes and peoples will renounce the authority of the Pope. Individual countries will prefer their own Church rulers to the Pope. The German Empire will be divided. Church property will be secularized. Priests will be persecuted. After the birth of Anti-Christ heretics will preach their false doctrines undisturbed, resulting in 'Christians having doubts about their Catholic faith'" (Culleton, p.169).
Ven. Sor Marianne de Jesus Torres (17th Century)...Our Lady told Sister Marianee: "...But this knowledge will only become known to the general public in the 20th Century. "During this epoch the Church will find herself attacked by waves of the secret sect..."Know, beloved daughter, that when your name is made known in the 20th Century, there will be many who do not believe, claiming this devotion is not pleasing to God..." (Birch, DA. Trial, Tribulation & Triumph: Before During and After Antichrist. Queenship Publishing Company, Goleta (CA), 1996, pp. 317,326)
St. John of the Cleft Rock (14th century). "It is said that 20 centuries after the incarnation of the Word, the Beast in its turn will become man. About the year 2000 A.D., Antichrist will reveal himself to the world.' (Dupont, p. 23)
E. Culligan (20th century) "The author feels that there is convincing evidence for him to accept that the Antichrist was born on February 5, 1962...The Antichrist will be a Jew by race and religion (Culligan E. The Last World War and the End of Time. The book was blessed by Pope Paul VI, 1966. TAN Books, Rockford (IL), pp. 100-101).
Gerald Culleton's comments about socialism, may mean after communism falls, which it did in the late 20th century. Notice that at least two writers indicate that the Antichrist would be born in the latter portion of the 20th century, thus indicating a 21st century end of this age.
Thus, from the Malachy prophecies to the various Catholic writings, many associated with Catholicism seemed to be looking for the end to occur in the early to mid-21st century.
Conclusion
The Bible, early writings, and even Roman Catholic sources confirm that many who professed Christ in the early years taught that God seems to have a 6000 year plan followed by a literal thousand year millennial reign of Christ.
According to certain Catholic and Living Church of God sources, the last days of the 6,000 years for humanity to rule itself are almost over.
Looking at the Bible seems to show that the 6000 years may end near the year 2018 (see also End of Mayan Calendar 2012--Might 2012 Mean Something?).
We are living in the end-times. The time just prior to the Great Tribulation, which will be followed by Christ's return and the establishment of His millennial reign on this earth (see also Did The Early Church Teach Millenarianism?).
There is no verse in the Bible that contradicts the notion that there will is a six thousand year plan of God followed by a one thousand year reign of Christ on the earth.
The time is short.
Thiel B., Ph.D. Does God Have a 6,000 Year Plan? www.cogwriter.com (c) 2008 0618