WHEN DOES THE THIRD MILLENNIUM BEGIN?

Will Their Millennial Hopes Be Dashed?

Nevertheless, some religious fundamentalist have great expectations for the year 2000. They believe that during the next few months, portions of the book of Revelation will have a literal fulfillment. Indeed, they see themselves as sharing personally in that fulfillment. For example, they point to the prophecy recorded at Revelation 11:3, 7, 8, which tells of two witnesses who prophesy in a "great city which is in a spiritual sense called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was also impaled." When they finish their witnessing, the two witnesses are killed by a ferocious wild beast that comes out of an abyss.

According to the report in The New York Times Magazine of December 27, 1998, the leader of one religious group "has foretold followers he is one of the two witnesses who is fated to announce the destruction of the earth and coming of the Lord-and then be slain by Satan in the streets of Jerusalem." Israeli authorities are understandably worried. They fear that certain extremists may try to "fulfill" the prophecy on their own-even if that means provoking an armed conflict! However, God does not need man's "help" to bring his purpose to fruition. All of the Bible's prophecies will be fulfilled in God's own time and in God's own way.

The book of Revelation was written "in signs." According to Revelation 1:1, Jesus wanted to reveal to "his slaves" (not the world in general) what would shortly take place. To understand the book of Revelation, Christ's slaves, or followers, would need God's holy spirit, which Jehovah gives to those who please him. If the book of Revelation is to be understood literally, even faithless people could read it and understand it. Then there would be no need for Christians to pray for holy spirit in order to understand it. -Matthew 13:10-15.

We have seen that according to Biblical evidence, the third millennium from Jesus' birth begins in the fall of 1999 and that neither the date nor January 1, 2000, nor January 1, 2001, has any special significance. Still, there is a millennium that deeply interests Christians. If not the third millennium, which one? The final article in this series will answer this question.

Next time: PREPARE FOR THE MILLENNIUM THAT MATTERS!

Watchtower, 1999