There's a lot of talk about Jesus coming back in 2000. Some of the thinking
dates back to the idea that the history of the earth will be 7000 years long just as a week is seven days long. I'm told that there would have been 6000 years that had passed since the Creation and starting in the year 2000 there would be 1000 years of rest as Jesus took over direct rule of the earth. This rest period would be like the seventh-day Sabbath of the Exodus 20:9-10, "Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work. But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God. . . " The idea sounds logical, but it is totally without a scriptural basis.
Another theory about Jesus coming in the year 2000 is based on a mixture of the idea mentioned above and the words of Jesus in response to a question from his followers about the end of the world. Jesus said in Matthew 24:29, "Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:" In this case, the stars falling from heaven are thought to be a spectacular meteor shower--- and there's one coming about 1999! It will happen when the earth crosses the orbit of the comet Temple Tuttle as it does every November. However, about every 33 or 34 years, when the earth crosses the comet's orbit at just the perfect angle, a fabulous display of meteors is often seen. Reports of these meteor showers date back over 1000 years, but one of the most spectacular happened in 1833. Denison Olmsted wrote, "Probably no celestial phenomenon has ever occurred in this country, since its first settlement, which was viewed with so much admiration and delight by one class of spectators, or with so much astonishment and fear. . . . . The reader may imagine a constant succession of fire balls, resembling sky rockets, radiating in all directions from a point in the heavens... pages 363 and 365, "Observations on the Meteors of November 13th, 1833, " The American Journal of Science and Arts.
In more modern times, observers reported 15,000 to 150,000 meteors per hour back in 1966. Astronomers say that the 1966 shower was probably as intense as the 1833 event, but most people didn't see it because the weather wasn't clear. So what's in store for late 1999? No one knows. However, there is one little problem you should consider before calling this an omen of Christ's return in 2000 A.D. The exact year of Christ's birth is not precisely known. An error of 4 or 5 years was made in determining the year of His birth. Dionysius Exiguus, also known as Dennis the Little, a Roman abbot, came up with the idea of B.C.(Before Christ) and A.D.(After Christ) back in the sixth century (532 A.D.). However, the abbot misnumbered the years and placed the birth of Christ at least 4 or 5 years too late. Accordingly, Jesus' birth was probably in the late fall of 5 B.C or winter of 5/4 B.C.
So, for those looking to connect signs or dates with Christ's return in the year 2000, there is a big problem. The time has already passed. The world marched quietly by the milestone marking 2000 years from the birth of Christ several years ago in 1995 or 1996! Foremost, I'm reminded of the words of Jesus, "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.....Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think no the Son of man cometh." Matthew 24:36 and 44.

Marvin Hunt, June 1998

Blessings in your study of God's Word!

Marvin Hunt

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Marvin Hunt

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