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A Millennial Sabbath and a Sabbatical Millennium

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A Millennial Sabbath and a Sabbatical Millennium

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A Millennial Sabbath and a Sabbatical Millennium

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A group of young kids running. iStockphoto
Can it be that God intends for us to think of the Millennium as a 1,000-year “Sabbath” of rest from the evils, stresses and suffering of the previous 6,000 years?

Several scriptures indicate that we should expect a millennial "Sabbath" after six 1,000-year millennial "days" have expired.

Peter said, "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; compare Psalm 90:4).

At creation, God instituted the weekly cycle of seven days. When He "rested on the seventh day," He "sanctified" it, which means He made it a holy day forevermore (Genesis 2:1-3).

When one adds up the biblical chronology and historic records, it's clear that the lapsed time since Adam and Eve has been almost 6,000 years, which is six millenniums. If Christ returns at the end of 6,000 years, His reign will be the seventh millennium.

Can it be that God intends for us to think of the Millennium as a 1,000-year "Sabbath" of rest from the evils, stresses and suffering of the previous 6,000 years? From what Hebrews 4:1-11 tells us, the answer is "yes." This passage is comparing three "rests." The weekly Sabbath rest and the rest for the Israelites after they ceased from wandering and entered the Promised Land of Canaan are types of the ultimate "rest for the people of God" after they enter the Kingdom of God! (Hebrews 4:9).

Sabbath millennium Kingdom of God Doctrinal Beliefs

Comments

  • United Church of God
    United Church of God
    Paul wrote, “for the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:20-21).
  • United Church of God
    United Church of God
    A Bible chronology such as the one in appendix 50 of the “Companion Bible” shows that about 4,000 years elapsed between Adam and Christ, and we know that roughly 2,000 years have elapsed since then. Peter wrote, “with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” (2 Peter 3:8). And, Paul indicated that the Sabbath (seventh day) is a type of spiritual rest that God’s people will have in the future, when Christ rules the earth (Hebrews 4:4-9). Couple what Peter and Paul wrote with the clear statement that Christ will return to reign on this earth for 1,000 years (Revelation 20:4, 6), and it suggests that our seven day week pictures seven thousand years to God. During the first six thousand years man experienced the rigorous “work” of hard toil, wars, slavery, poverty, and other woes. The seventh day (Sabbath) pictures the thousand years of Christ’s reign when war has been abolished, the environment cleaned, prosperity is universal, and people are happy. This will certainly seem like a period of rest, in comparison to man’s six millenniums of history.
  • Sarai
    Sarai Navar
    I understand the concept of the Millennium, when earth will rest from evil, but I am unclear as to which scriptures indicate the six millennial "days" as a general time frame of how long after the time of Adam and Eve the millennium will occur. The ones noted in this article do not indicate this time frame of 6,000 years.

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