Approximately 200 years before Christ, there arose a Jewish notion that the Messiah would appear at the end of six thousand years from creation, the time of the Garden of Eden. According to the Bible Study Monthly, Rabbi Elias was apparently the first to advance this hypothesis; basing it on the analogy of the seven creative days of Genesis: six thousand years under the dominion of man, and the seventh the reign of the Messiah. BR magazine notes that this notion of thousand-year periods can be traced to Zoroastrianism, which was very influential in the development of Jewish apocalypticism.

In the early Christian Era, the Kabbalists, a school of Jewish mystics, claimed that the six occurrences of the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, aleph, in the first verse of Genesis, indicates six millenniums of world history, to be followed by the seventh of rest. On such nebulous (and non-Biblical) foundations was built the belief that the Messiah would appear at the end of six millenniums.

The Babylonian Talmud (from the sixth century A.D.) records the following conversation between two rabbis:
Rabbi Kattina taught:
“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.’ …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.”

To which Rabbi Eliyyahu replies:
“The world is to exist six thousand years. In the first two thousand, there was desolation [no Torah]; two thousand years the Torah flourished; and the next two thousand years is the Messianic era, but through our many iniquities all these years have been lost.”

But, of course, these Jewish rabbis did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah. Some in the early church (with very Jewish origins) regarded the seventh millennium concept as a possible reality. The earliest systematic Christian exposition of this idea is found in the non-canonical Letter of Barnabas (late first or early second century A.D.) The unknown author writes:
“He speaks of the Sabbath at the beginning of the Creation, ‘And God made in six days the works of his hands and on the seventh day he made an end, and rested in it and sanctified it.’ Notice, children, what is the meaning of ‘He made an end in six days?’ He means this: That the Lord will make an end of everything in six thousand years, for a day with him means a thousand years. So then, children, in six days, that is in six thousand years, everything will be completed. ‘And he rested on the seventh day.’ This means, when his Son comes he will destroy the time of the wicked one, and will judge the godless, and will change the sun and the moon and the stars, and then he will truly rest on the seventh day.”

In Matthew 24:36, Jesus stated, “But of that day and hour, knoweth no man, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.” And in the parallel account in Mark 13:32, we read that Jesus said, “But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.” Jesus, the absolutely most brilliant rabbi who ever lived, apparently couldn’t figure out the date of his own second advent. If there were any merit to the seventh millennium theory, it seems that Jesus certainly would not have made the just-quoted statement.

Also, Matthew refers to Jesus’ birth as preceding the death of Herod the Great. Historians tell us that Herod died in 4 B.C. Most scholars are therefore convinced that Jesus was actually born sometime around 7-5 B.C. (A few put the date at 3 B.C.) So, a thousand years from 7-3 B.C. would mean that Jesus returned and we entered the new (seventh) millennium sometime between 1994 and 1998!

Let’s keep this all in proper perspective. The seventh millennium concept is not based on scripture. It is a very dubious idea. No one knows the day or the hour – and we still don’t.

There are things about the past worth remembering. What is it we say about the people who don’t study history? They are destined to repeat it?

The Bible frequently counsels us to remember the faithfulness of God in the lives of faiths heroes – and in our own. “I will call to mind the deeds of the Lord; I will remember your works of old.” (Psalm 77:11) A prodigal son’s memory of home saved him from death in a pigsty. And what did Jesus say about the bread and the wine? “Do this in remembrance of me.” But learning from the past and holding to certain memories with appropriate gratitude is quite different from a crippling remorse over the past. Or a paralysis rooted in fears from the past. Or even the sentimental longing for a past that never was.

A 100-year old time capsule from a high school in the State of Washington was opened in 2000 with high expectations. State dignitaries assembled with school officials to open “a window to the past” when the capsule was removed from the cornerstone laid in 1900 at the Washington High School in Seattle. Here is the headline showing the group’s disappointment when the Washington Post reported the story in their newspaper: “Opened time capsule turns up crud.” All the photos, newspapers, and all the other items had turned to a gooey unrecognizable mess.

I’m often amazed at people who waste time longing for the “good old days.” Which days were they? The pre-indoor plumbing days of a hundred years ago? The days of the riots in the 1960’s? The days of the Civil War, two World Wars, Viet Nam or Korean War? The days before the last 50 or 60 years of medical advances that has saved so many lives? Could they mean the pristine days of Jesus and the earliest church? But people hated, lied about, and murdered Jesus! And heresy, immorality, and division plagued the first-generation church. Maybe we have been inclined to long for those good old days that simply never were.

Living in a rearview mirror creates a distorted view of reality. The idea that people were happier, work was more virtuous, Christians were more spiritual, or families were happier is simply a myth. For people whose lives are centered in Christ, the best days are always those that are yet to come. Living in the past, on the other hand, puts a limit on today’s opportunities and tomorrow’s blessings.

So resist the temptation to long for what once was. Pray instead to live in hope, walk by faith, and rejoice in God’s promises for the future. The Apostle Paul wrote, “I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven.” (Philippians 3:13-14 NLT)

A Daughter's Heart

Weeding
by Lynnette Larson

One of the classes I have taught for the past six years is Advanced Placement Calculus AB. Some of the best students from Palatine High School take this class which culminates in the Advanced Placement test, which the students take during the middle of May. The Advanced Placement test, depending on how a student performs, can give the student college credit. This is a huge benefit, because it saves the expense of that class in college. Students across the country have taken advantage of the Advanced Placement testing process to give them a head start as they begin their college careers.

The students spend close to three hours taking this Calculus exam. This is the most challenging mathematics test they have ever taken. Upon the completion and scoring of the test, the students receive a score from 1 to 5. If a student receives a 3, 4, or 5 they are considered to have passed this test. Over the last 6 years, the students at Palatine High School have passed the Advanced Placement Exam at about a 95% rate. Other teachers have asked what do we do to have such a high success rate, and the answer is fairly basic.

1. We give our students a solid mathematical background from their freshman year though their junior year. By the time they get to Calculus as seniors, they already have been put in a position of strength.

2. We meet students were they are mathematically. Some students are naturally gifted and most everything comes easily to them. Other students have had to work hard just to get to Calculus and we need to acknowledge that effort. However, we also need to get them to push forward and not be satisfied just getting to Calculus.

3. We focus on a bigger picture rather than a number of smaller ones. Each topic we teach is important, and it is in the student’s best interest to learn it as it is taught. But if they don’t get the topic right away, then they have until the test date in May.

4. We know what the expectation is of the students on the test. If a student gets 50% of the points they are going to get at least a 3. Students usually react the same way to this statement: the test must be incredibly hard! I tell them they are correct. Just accept the fact it is going to be hard. Accept the fact that you will miss problems. Accept the fact that you will look at a question and have no idea how to do it. The key is how you deal internally with these facts. We encourage them to take it one step at a time and not get upset because the first question is hard; go on to the second question and do that one. If that one is hard, then go on to the third one. Stay positive throughout the process.

Our students know that when the test date comes they will pass the test. They have the confidence to be successful no matter what struggle they may face on this test. During this past year I came to the thought of how this same thought process works for my Christian walk.

1. You need a solid scriptural and spiritual background to build upon. How is this developed? For young Christians in junior high or high school, that foundation is built by attending youth groups or other meetings where you have the opportunity to study and to observe others who have a personal relationship with Jesus. For older Christians, they sometimes struggle with not knowing enough. The answer is that you don’t need to know it all, you just need to know the basics so that you can build upon them. Having a personal relationship with Jesus is the first step.

2. Meet people where they are at spiritually. People come into our churches from a variety of backgrounds and a diversity of beliefs. We need to meet them where they are. There are some individuals who are incredibly strong scripturally, so we need to continue to feed them in that area, but also help them to recognize areas of weakness in their lives.

3. We need to focus on the bigger picture rather than the smaller ones. From a scriptural standpoint, we don’t get caught up in what a verse here or a verse there says, we see what they all say together. The same thing holds true for our experiences. There are many times when it is easy to lose focus on what the bigger picture is in our walk with Jesus. We need to continue to look at the bigger pictures while we still do our best during each of the smaller events in our lives.

4. What are the expectations of our test? The way we live our lives is ultimately our test. Are there expectations that we will not have to face any difficult challenges and everything will be easy for us because we are Christians? Of course this is not correct, but we can face difficult challenges because we are Christians. In life, some have it easier than others. However, whether your life is easy or hard, you need to recognize God’s role in all that you do.

As you are being tested during your life on Earth, what is God seeing? Are you going to pass this test? 2 Timothy 4:7-8; “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day – and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” Paul knew his position; do you know yours? Be confident in what God has given you and use it to bring glory to Him.