The Millennial Day Theory - Prophecy In The News Magazine - June 2008

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Find us on the Internet - www.prophecyinthenews.com Find us on the Internet - www.prophecyinthenews.com By J. R. Church Early theologians believed that Christ would return at the end of 6,000 years. What a thought! What a possibility! Even if we considered this proposed time sched- ule to be only approxi- mate, we can still see prophetic scriptures be- ing fulfilled around us today. I want to take you back in history to see several ancient accounts of those who believed that Christ would return at the close of 6,000 years. To begin with, let’s see what Irenaeus wrote in the late second century. Irenaeus Irenaeus, born in A.D. 140, worked in- tensely against powerful Gnostic heresies and wrote a treatise on the virtues of the Christian faith. Among his writings was found this statement: “For in so many days as this world was made, in so many thousand years shall it be concluded ... and God brought to a con- clusion upon the sixth day the works He made ... This is an account of the things formerly created, as also it is a prophecy of what is to come ... in six days created things were completed: it is evident, there- fore, that they will come to an end after six thousand years.” According to Irenaeus (one among many who held this view) the history of the hu- man race from creation to the consum- mation 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 The Secrets of Enoch, dating from be- fore 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 existence of 7,000 years: “And I appointed the eighth day also, Will Christ Return After 6,000 Years? The Millennial-Day Theory 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 The Epistle of Barnabas was found among a collection of New Testament books, bound in a single volume called the Sinaiticus, discovered in 1844 at the monastery of Saint Catherine located at the foot of Mount Sinai. It dates back to at least the fourth century A.D. and reflects the theology of some early Christian theo- logians: “And God made in six days the works 6 Prophecy in the News Christians expect Jesus to return, but just “when” has been an elusive subject. The early belief that He would return after 6,000 years is supported in the teaching of the Sabbath.

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Transcript of The Millennial Day Theory - Prophecy In The News Magazine - June 2008

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By J. R. Church

Early theologians believed that Christ would return at the end of 6,000 years. What a thought! What a possibility! Even if we considered this proposed time sched-

ule to be only approxi-mate, we can still see prophetic scriptures be-ing fulfilled around us today. I want to take you back in history to see several ancient accounts of those who believed that Christ would return

at the close of 6,000 years. To begin with, let’s see what Irenaeus wrote in the late second century.

Irenaeus Irenaeus, born in A.D. 140, worked in-

tensely against powerful Gnostic heresies and wrote a treatise on the virtues of the Christian faith. Among his writings was found this statement:

“For in so many days as this world was made, in so many thousand years shall it be concluded ... and God brought to a con-clusion upon the sixth day the works He made ... This is an account of the things formerly created, as also it is a prophecy of what is to come ... in six days created things were completed: it is evident, there-fore, that they will come to an end after six thousand years.”

According to Irenaeus (one among many who held this view) the history of the hu-man race from creation to the consum-mation 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 EnochThe Secrets of Enoch, dating from be-

fore 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 existence of 7,000 years:

“And I appointed the eighth day also,

Will Christ Return After 6,000 Years?

The Millennial-Day Theory

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 BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas was found

among a collection of New Testament books, bound in a single volume called the Sinaiticus, discovered in 1844 at the monastery of Saint Catherine located at the foot of Mount Sinai. It dates back to at least the fourth century A.D. and reflects the theology of some early Christian theo-logians:

“And God made in six days the works 6 Prophecy in the News

Christians expect Jesus to return, but just “when” has been an elusive subject. The early belief that He would return after 6,000 years is supported in the teaching of the Sabbath.

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of his hands; and he finished them on the seventh day, and he rested the seventh day, and sanctified it. Consider, my children, what that signifies, he finished them in six days. The meaning of it is this; that in six thousand years the Lord God will bring all things to an end. For with him one day is a thousand years; as himself testifieth, say-ing, Behold this day shall be as a thousand years. Therefore, children, in six days, that is, in six thousand years, shall all things be accomplished. And what is that he saith, And he rested the seventh day: he meaneth this; that when his Son shall come, and abolish the season of the Wicked One, and judge the ungodly; and shall change the sun and the moon, and the stars; then shall gloriously rest in that seventh day.”

The Testament of AdamIn the Testament of Adam (dating back

to the middle or late third century) the ca-reer of the world is said to last for 6,000 years after the Flood, or, presumably, for 7,000 years in all. Seth, the supposed au-thor, writes about the deathbed account of his father Adam:

“You have heard, my son Seth, that a Flood is coming and will wash the whole earth because of the daughters of Cain, your brother, who killed your brother Abel out of passion for your sister Lebuda, since sins had been created through your mother, Eve. And after the Flood there will be six thousand years (left) to the form of the world, and then its end will come.”

Talmudic WritingsIn an article entitled “Chronomessian-

ism” published in 1976 in the Hebrew Union College annual yearbook, Rabbi Ben Zion Wacholder quoted a statement from the ancient Talmud. “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 seventh millennium was predicted to be the “exhaltation of Messiah.” When this prediction was recorded, rabbis noted that the third 2,000-year period had ar-rived and the Messiah had not come. The question, Where is the Messiah? was an-swered in the same Talmudic passage: “He did come, but because of our sins, he went away.” Rashi, an eleventh cen-tury rabbi said, Because after the second 2,000 years, the Messiah must have come and the wicked kingdom should have been

destroyed.” About the time of this writing, Bar Kochba led the Jews in a revolt against the Romans (132-135 A.D.), having been declared to be the Messiah by the beloved “father of the Mishnah,” Rabbi Akiva, but was killed by the Romans. The revolt was crushed and the Jews were scattered from their land and sold on the slave markets of the world.

According to these early theologians, seven millennia of world history are some-how related to the seven days of Creation. Those seven days were thought to pro-phetically represent seven one thousand year periods of human history. Even Mo-ses seemed to concur with that concept in Psalm 90:

“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).

The apostle Peter was evidently draw-ing upon this verse when he wrote in the third chapter of his second epistle that the day of the Lord was represented by 1,000 years duration.

“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.

“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).

The day of the Lord implies a final Sab-bath, the seventh millennium of human history. According to Peter, it should be-gin with a thief in the night and conclude 1,000 years later as “the heavens pass away and the elements melt with fervent heat.” This is consistent with other proph-ecies in the Bible and the book of Revela-tion in particular. After the millennial reign of Christ, God will renovate the Earth and the heavens with fire. He will create new heavens and a new Earth wherein dwelleth righteousness.

In verse 3 of Peter’s second epistle, he used the plural term days. Perhaps they represent two millennia:

“Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking af-ter their own lusts,

“And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation” (II Peter 3:3-4).

Notice, he used the words “last days.” Perhaps these represent the last two “days” of human history just before the seventh “day” (or day of the Lord) takes effect. This appears to be a clue that the Dispen-

sation of Grace will last at least two days, or two thousand years. It has been almost 2,000 years since the death and resurrec-tion of Jesus Christ. Soon we shall know if those early theologians were correct!

Peter seemed to be referring to these last days as representing two millennia by saying that “one day is with the Lord as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day.” We have only to check the calen-dar to see that it has indeed been the case.

Listed Six Times in Revelation 20In the book of Revelation, the millen-

nial reign of Christ is stated six times to be 1,000 years in length:

“And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years [number 1],

“And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled [number 2]: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

“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 his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years [number 3].

“But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished [number 4]. This is the first resurrection.

“Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the sec-ond death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ and shall reign with him a thousand years [number 5].

“And when the thousand years are ex-pired, Satan shall be loosed out of his pris-on [number 6]” (Revelation 20:2-7).

It must be more than a coincidence that the millennial reign of Christ is repeated six times. The implication seems obvious. From the creation of Adam to the Second Coming of Christ, God has determined six 1,000 year periods of human history. The reference of Peter to the day of the Lord is also used by the Old Testament prophets — Zechariah, Joel, Isaiah, Ezekiel, and others:

“Behold the day of the LORD cometh” (Zechariah 14:1).

“Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand” (Joel 2:1).

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“Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it” (Isaiah 13:9).

“For the day is near, even the day of the LORD is near, a cloudy day; it shall be the time of the heathen” (Ezekiel 30:3).

In Hebrews 4:4-6 this future millennium is referred to as a Sabbath rest:

“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.

“And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest.

“Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief” (Hebrews 4:4-6).

According to these verses, the millennial reign is considered to be more than just a rest. It is a Sabbath rest. Furthermore, the Jewish people in Jesus’ day were not al-lowed to enter into that rest because of their unbelief:

“For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of an-other day” (Hebrews 4:8).

According to these verses, Israel was not allowed to enter into that “rest” when Jesus came the first time. They must await the duration of what the Bible calls the last days. That would be at least two millen-nial days—the “Dispensation of Grace.” Days FIVE and SIX must transpire before day SEVEN can be implemented. Bear in mind, each of these days are considered to be 1,000 years in length. Hebrews 4 leads us to only one conclusion—from the time of the creation of Adam until the end of the day of the Lord, must be 7,000 years. That great sabbath rest is implied to be the SEVENTH millennium.

The Days of CreationLet us, therefore, consider the six days

of creation recorded in the first chapters of Genesis to see what kind of prophetic scenario we can find taught by each of these days. If those early theologians are correct, we should be able to point out a prophetic overview of each millennium of human history.

The First DayLet us begin, then, with day number one:“And the earth was without form, and

void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep, And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

“And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

“And God saw the light, that it was

good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

“And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day” (Gen. 1:2-5).

There are two things about this first day of creation of which we should take note. First, God said, “Let there be light,” and second, He divided the light from the darkness. He called the light good, imply-ing that darkness represents evil.

In like manner, God put man in the Gar-den of Eden, and gave him a choice be-tween the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Light represents GoodConsider the definition of “light.” I

think it will explain why light is a type of that which is good and why darkness is a type of evil.

The entrance of light into the universe came at the instant God spoke. It was an ACTIVITY issuing from the voice of God. According to scientific definition, there are two possible explanations: First, light could be a disturbance of the continuum. Perhaps it can best be described as the ef-fect one gets when a pebble is dropped into a pond of water. The impact of the pebble upon the pond creates a set of waves, issu-ing from the point of impact — a distur-bance of the continuum.

Another theory is that light is made up of particles with each little package being jostled against the other creating a domino effect — as one domino would fall against the other and so on down the line. Perhaps, it can best be understood by saying that the dominoes represent the continuum and the entrance of light creates a disturbance of that continuum. Perhaps the dominoes do not represent the light, they simply repre-sent the continuum. The knocking over of the first domino represents the entrance of a disturbance to that continuum.

Light, therefore, is a source of energy. As long as the continuum remains undis-turbed, there is no light. Once the con-tinuum is disturbed, however, that energy becomes measurable. Perhaps that is why the Scripture says, “The entrance of thy word giveth light.” That is why Jesus, who is the logos, the Word of God, said, “I am the light of the world.” The Gospel of John puts it this way:

“In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in dark-ness; and the darkness comprehended it not” (John 1:4-5).

In the beginning of Creation, the Earth was “without form and void. Darkness was

upon the face of the deep.” There was no disturbance for the continuum of the uni-verse, when suddenly God spoke and the very entrance of His word gave light! It was a disturbance of the continuum, the entrance of an energy source — and it was good!

This teaches us that good is active and the opposite of good (evil) is simply a lack of that activity which is good. For exam-ple, if you are active, you are happy and productive. But if you are lazy, then you are neither happy nor productive. When God spoke on that first Creation day, the entrance of His word into the continuum of this universe created an active energy source. The Bible calls it “light.”

Light is far more than meets the eye. The visible light spectrum is but a tiny portion of the overall definition of what we call energy. The visible light spectrum could be explained as follows: Suppose one unrolled a strip of paper forty miles long representing the overall spectrum of energy. Suppose that person walked down the strip for about thirty miles, knelt down and drew a pencil line across the paper! The line would represent the visible light spectrum as it compares to the overall set of frequencies we call energy.

Both time and space are involved in this continuum. It is thought that God can look down upon time as we would look down upon a pond of water. God does not see our continuum as a past, present, and fu-ture, but as an eternal now! He can see the end from the beginning. Thus, it is feasible that God could lay out the history of the human race over a predetermined period of 7,000 years. Furthermore, He could tell us what would take place in that part of the continuum we call future.

Therefore, God, who knows the future, could make the first day of Creation to rep-resent the first millennium of human his-tory. “Let there be light [the entrance of activity] ... and it was good.”

In like manner, God created Adam and Eve, placed them in a beautiful garden, and gave them a job to do. He told Adam to tend the garden. Be fruitful and multiply. But that’s not all. Just as God divided the light from the darkness, He gave Adam and Eve a choice between good and evil. Over the course of the first millennium (of which Adam lived 930 years) mankind grappled with the question of good and evil.

The Second DayThe second day of Creation represents

that which occurred in the second millen-nium of history. God divided the waters from the waters. In this prophetic scenario, we can see the great deluge, which cov-

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ered the Earth in the days of Noah. “And God said, Let there be a firmament

in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.

“And God made the firmament, and di-vided the waters which were under the fir-mament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.

“And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day” (Genesis 1:6-8).

God divided the firmament, and it rained for forty days. Please note that God did not say that it was good. As a matter of fact, it came as judgment upon an unbelieving human race. May I suggest that the great flood of Noah’s day was predicted by the events of the second day of Creation.

The Third DayThat brings us to the third day of cre-

ation when God called forth the dry land: “And God said, Let the water under

the heaven be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.

“And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.

“And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.

“And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in it-self, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

“And the evening and the morning were the third day” (Genesis 1:9-13).

He caused the land to be fruitful and multiply. In like manner, God caused the waters of the great deluge to be abated and gave to Noah the command to “be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth.”

Just as on that third day of creation the Earth brought forth vegetation, in like manner, during the third millennium the Earth again produced vegetation to replace that, which was destroyed by the Flood.

Furthermore, God gave Noah and his family the command to be fruitful and multiply, to bring forth a human race who would love and serve God. This also rep-resents an organized system of religion — a way by which the human race can be spiritually fruitful. We can see it at Sinai when God established the Mosaic cov-enant with the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

The Fourth DayThe fourth day of Creation gives a pro-

hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.

“And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

“And God blessed them, saying, Be fruit-ful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.

“And the evening and the morning were the fifth day” (Genesis 1:20-23).

The water appears to be a type of the Holy Spirit and the term, “bring forth abundantly,” seems to be a picture of the great commission. On this fifth day God called forth the fish.

You may recall, Jesus told His disciples that He would make them to be fishers of men. And the insignia of the early church was a fish.

The phrase, “be fruitful and multiply” is a prophetic picture of our responsibil-ity as New Testament Christians. We are to take the message of the Gospel to every creature.

The Sixth DayThis great commission spills over into

the sixth day of Creation where the Lord brought forth the living creature after his kind. It is a picture of soul winning.

“And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.

“And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and everything that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

“And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply ...

“And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day” (Genesis 1:24-28,31).

On the fifth and sixth days of Creation God said, “Be fruitful and multiply.” It was also on the sixth day of Creation that God made man in His own image. In like man-ner, I think, it is at the end of the sixth mil-lennium that all who have received Christ as Savior will be resurrected or raptured —

phetic overview of the fourth millennium of human history.

“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:

“And let them be for lights in the firma-ment of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.

“And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.

“And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,

“And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the dark-ness: and God saw that it was good.

“And the evening and the morning were the fourth day” (Genesis 1:14-19).

On that day God created lights in the firmament of the heaven. He created stars and set them in the heavens for signs. This is a prophetic picture, I think, of those days, which began with the building of Solomon’s temple. And in the years fol-lowing, most of the Old Testament books were written. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Micah, Joel, Amos, Zechariah, and others were surely lights set in the firma-ment of human history to give us prophetic signs of the times.

It was also on the fourth day that God made two great lights: “The greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night.”

In like manner, the fourth millennium concluded with the introduction of another great light. When the fullness of time was come (thus ending day four) God sent His son, “made of a woman, made under the law, that He might redeem them that were under the law” (Galatians 4:4-5). Yes, God sent forth the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night.

It was Jesus who said, “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12). The sun is a type of Jesus Christ. But then Jesus turned to His disciples, who represented New Tes-tament Christianity, and said, “Ye are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14). Just as the moon reflects the light of the sun, New Testament Christianity should reflect the glory of our Savior.

The Fifth DayThe fifth day of creation represents the

pouring out of the Holy Spirit (typified by water) and the development of Christian-ity, as the early church became “fishers of men.”

“And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that

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to be made again like unto His image. Also, the fall of Adam and Eve appears

to be a prophetic picture of the battle of Armageddon when an unbelieving human race will be judged of God. After the fall, God predicted that Eve would travail in childbirth.

In like manner, this sixth millennium will conclude with the prophetic birth-pangs of travail. These birthpangs, how-ever, will bring forth a new humanity rec-reated in the image of God. For you see, “this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality” (I Corinthians 15:53. That’s what the rap-ture and the resurrection is all about.

The Seventh DayThat brings us to the seventh day, when

God ended His work and rested. Here is a prophetic picture of the great Sabbath rest — the seventh millennium of human history. Wow! What a picture! And we can follow God’s plan of the ages through the Genesis account of Creation.

After Two Days ...Hosea wrote about Israel’s dispersion

among the nations and their eventual re-turn to the Promised Land using the termi-nology of the prophetic “day:”

“Come, and let us return unto the Lord: for He hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. 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).

If these “days” represent millenniums, then Hosea was saying that God would smite the Jewish people and that they would remain smitten for at least 2,000 years — after which they would return to the Lord, would be revived, and in the third millennium would be raised up to live in His sight.

This third millennium since the rejec-tion of Jesus Christ is about to begin. At best, we are only a few years away. With-out attempting to set a date, we can say that we are so close to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to this Earth it is awesome to contemplate.

Sabbath Days In the New Testament

Let us consider the possibility that cer-tain events in the Gospel narratives take on prophetic implications when viewed with respect to the “millennial day” concept. There appears to be a correlation between certain events recorded by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and the number of days listed in each story.

A number of events occurred on a Sab-bath day lending support to the implication that these events will be ultimately fulfilled during a future millennial Sabbath.

Christ Announced His Ministry On a Sabbath Day

In Luke’s gospel Jesus enters the syna-gogue at Nazareth to announce the begin-ning of His ministry. It was on a sabbath that He took the scroll of Isaiah and read the words,

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, be-cause he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,

“To preach the acceptable year of the Lord” (Luke 4:18-19).

Then He closed the book. Had He con-tinued to read, He would have read the words “and the day of vengeance of our God.”

Perhaps the fact that He read the words on a Sabbath day offers a prophetic impli-cation that the day of vengeance will be fulfilled during the future millennial Sab-bath — the seventh 1,000 year period of human history.

Christ Plucked Grain On the Sabbath Day

On another Sabbath, our Savior plucked ears of corn — a seeming violation of rab-binical law:

“And it came to pass on the second Sab-bath after the first, that he went through the corn fields; and his disciples plucked the ears of corn, and did eat, rubbing them in their hands.

“And certain of the Pharisees said unto them, Why do ye that which is not lawful to do on the sabbath days? ...

“And he said unto them, That the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath” (Luke 6:1-2,5).

It seems the Savior was saying that the future millennial reign of Christ would be a time of planting and harvest. It would be a time of activity and progress.

Though it is considered to be a Sabbath rest, that rest will be spiritual rather than physical. It will be a rest from evil — a rest from the temptations of Satan.

Notice the reply of Christ to the priests in Luke 6:5, “And he said unto them, That the Son of man is Lord also of the sab-bath.”

Here, He implies that He will bear the title of King of kings and Lord of lords during that future 1,000-year reign.

Christ Healed a Withered Hand On the Sabbath Day

Then there was the time Christ healed a man with a withered right hand on the Sabbath day:

“And it came to pass also on another sabbath, that he entered into the syna-gogue and taught: and there was a man whose right hand was withered.

“And the scribes and Pharisees watched him, whether he would heal on the sabbath day; and they might find an accusation against him.

“But he knew their thoughts, and said to the man which had the withered hand, Rise up, and stand forth in the midst. And he arose and stood forth.

“Then said Jesus unto them, I will ask you one thing; Is it lawful on the sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy it?

“And looking round about upon them all, he said unto the man, Stretch forth thy hand. And he did so: and his hand was re-stored whole as the other” (Luke 6:6-10).

By healing on the Sabbath day, Jesus implied that the millennial kingdom would be a time of healing. During the seventh millennium mankind will see the eradica-tion of all diseases.

Christ Healed a Woman On the Sabbath Day

In Luke 13 Jesus performed another healing on the sabbath day. This time it was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity for eighteen years. The Savior loosed her from her infirmity, and in verse 16, implied that Satan had been the cause of her problem.

“And ought not this woman, being a daugh-ter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?” (Luke 13:16).

The implication is at once apparent: During the future “Day of the Lord” all will be healed.

It is amazing! Time after time after time, throughout the Scriptures, we find prophetic implications which lend support to the teaching that a day equals a thousand years, and that after six thousand years of human history, the Savior will return to this Earth, raise the dead, eradicate hunger and disease, establish a millennial kingdom, and rule over the Earth during the seventh 1,000 year period of human history. That is the doctrine of the great Sabbath Rest!

Of course, we have only touched on the subject. In next month’s issue, we will enlarge upon the prophetic implications resident within the Sabbath, and its fulfill-ment in the seventh millennium. u