The Millennial day theory, the Millennium sabbath hypothesis, or the Sabbath millennium theory, is a theory in

Christian eschatology Christian eschatology is a minor branch of study within Christian theology which deals with the doctrine of the "last things", especially the Second Coming of Christ, or Parousia. The word eschatology derives from two Greek roots meaning "last ...

in which the

Second Coming of Christ The Second Coming (sometimes called the Second Advent or the Parousia) is the Christian and Islamic belief that Jesus Christ will return to Earth after his ascension to Heaven (which is said to have occurred about two thousand years ago). The ...

will occur 6,000 years after the creation of mankind, followed by 1,000 years of peace and harmony. It is a very popular belief accepted by certain premillennialists who usually promote

young earth creationism Young Earth creationism (YEC) is a form of creationism which holds as a central tenet that the Earth and its lifeforms were created by supernatural acts of the Abrahamic God between about 10,000 and 6,000 years ago, contradicting established s ...

. The view takes the stance that each

millennium A millennium () is a period of one thousand years, one hundred decades, or ten centuries, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting ...

is actually a day according to God (as found in Psalm 90:4 and

2 Peter 3 2 Peter 3 is the third (and final) chapter of the Second Epistle of Peter in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The author identifies himself as "Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ". The epistle is traditionally attribut ...

:8), and that eventually at the end of the 6,000 years since the creation, Jesus will return.Perry, Richard H. "The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Last Days". Penguin Group Publishing (USA). pg. 28-34; 320-321. It teaches that the 7th millennium is actually called the

Sabbath In Abrahamic religions, the Sabbath () or Shabbat (from Hebrew ) is a day set aside for rest and worship. According to the Book of Exodus, the Sabbath is a day of rest on the seventh day, Ten Commandments, commanded by God to be kept as a Holid ...

Millennium, in which Jesus will ultimately set up his perfect kingdom and allow his followers to rest. The Sabbath Millennium is believed to be synonymous with the Millennial Reign of Christ that is found in

Revelation 20 Revelation 20 is the twentieth chapter of the Book of Revelation or the Apocalypse of John in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The book is traditionally attributed to John the Apostle, but the precise identity of the author remains a poin ...

:1-6.

Proponents

Early church premillennialism may be rooted in prior orthodox Jewish thought. Early premillennialists included Pseudo-Barnabas, Papias, Methodius,

Lactantius Lucius Caecilius Firmianus Lactantius () was an early Christian author who became an advisor to Roman emperor Constantine I, guiding his Christian religious policy in its initial stages of emergence, and a tutor to his son Crispus. His most impo ...

Commodianus Commodian (Commodianus) was a Christian Latin poet, who flourished about AD 250. The only ancient writers who mention him are Gennadius, presbyter of Massilia (end of 5th century), in his ''De scriptoribus ecclesiasticis'', and an author once th ...

Theophilus Theophilus is a male given name with a range of alternative spellings. Its origin is the Greek word Θεόφιλος from θεός (''theós'', "God") and φιλία (''philía'', "love or affection") can be translated as "Love of God" or "Friend ...

Tertullian Tertullian (; ; 155 – 220 AD) was a prolific Early Christianity, early Christian author from Roman Carthage, Carthage in the Africa (Roman province), Roman province of Africa. He was the first Christian author to produce an extensive co ...

, Melito,

Hippolytus of Rome Hippolytus of Rome ( , ; Romanized: , – ) was a Bishop of Rome and one of the most important second–third centuries Christian theologians, whose provenance, identity and corpus remain elusive to scholars and historians. Suggested communitie ...

Victorinus of Pettau Saint Victorinus of Pettau (also Ptuj or Poetovio; Greek: Βικτωρίνος Πεταβίου; died 303 or 304) was an Early Christian ecclesiastical writer who flourished about 270, and who was martyred during the persecutions of Emperor Dioc ...

, as well as various

Gnostic Gnosticism (from Ancient Greek: , romanized: ''gnōstikós'', Koine Greek: �nostiˈkos 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems that coalesced in the late 1st century AD among early Christian sects. These diverse g ...

groups and the

Montanists Montanism (), known by its adherents as the New Revelation, was an early Christian movement of the mid-to-late 2nd century, later referred to by the name of its founder, Montanus. Montanism held views about the basic tenets of Christian theo ...

. Many of these theologians and others in the early church expressed their belief in

premillennialism Premillennialism, in Christian eschatology, is the belief that Jesus will physically return to the Earth (the Second Coming) before the Millennium, heralding a literal thousand-year messianic age of peace. Premillennialism is based upon a liter ...

through their acceptance of this sexta-septamillennial tradition. This belief claims that human history will continue for 6,000 years and then will enjoy Sabbath for 1,000 years (the millennial kingdom), thus all of human history will have a total of 7,000 years prior to the new creation. Christians throughout history have often considered that some thousand-year Sabbath, expected to begin six thousand years after Creation, might be identical with the

described in the

Book of Revelation The Book of Revelation, also known as the Book of the Apocalypse or the Apocalypse of John, is the final book of the New Testament, and therefore the final book of the Bible#Christian Bible, Christian Bible. Written in Greek language, Greek, ...

. This view was also popular among 19th- and 20th-century dispensational

premillennialist Premillennialism, in Christian eschatology, is the belief that Jesus will physically return to the Earth (the Second Coming) before the Millennium, heralding a literal thousand-year messianic age of peace. Premillennialism is based upon a liter ...

s. The term "Sabbatism" or "Sabbatizing" (Greek ''Sabbatismos''), which generically means any literal or spiritual Sabbath-keeping, has also been taken in the

Epistle to the Hebrews The Epistle to the Hebrews () is one of the books of the New Testament. The text does not mention the name of its author, but was traditionally attributed to Paul the Apostle; most of the Ancient Greek manuscripts, the Old Syriac Peshitto and ...

() to have special reference to this definition.

Support for the theory

The main support for this view is found in the passages regarding the original Sabbath system that the Judeo-Christian-God instituted, while also taking the verses of Psalms 90:4 and 2 Peter 3:8 into consideration. According to the proponents of the theory,

Book of Hosea The Book of Hosea () is collected as one of the Twelve Minor Prophets, twelve minor prophets of the Nevi'im ("Prophets") in the Tanakh, and as a book in its own right in the Christian Old Testament where it has fourteen chapters. According to the ...

6:1-2 demonstrates that after two days, the

Lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power (social and political), power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the Peerage o ...

will revive Israel, and on the third day, restore her and live with her forever. According to these Christians, Jesus has indeed been gone for two millennia. He was crucified during a time of severe Roman oppression that was directed towards Israel, which eventually caused the dispersion of Israel in the 1st century AD. Counting the first two days as two millenniums, and the third day as the

Millennium A millennium () is a period of one thousand years, one hundred decades, or ten centuries, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting ...

in which Christ reigns on Earth may invariably lead to the conclusion that Jesus will return soon - most likely within the 21st century. It is this perception of Bible prophecy that provides the motivation to create a theory that is rooted in absolute

Biblical literalism Biblical literalism or biblicism is a term used differently by different authors concerning biblical interpretation. It can equate to the dictionary definition of literalism: "adherence to the exact letter or the literal sense", where literal me ...

and is entirely based on

Premillennialism Premillennialism, in Christian eschatology, is the belief that Jesus will physically return to the Earth (the Second Coming) before the Millennium, heralding a literal thousand-year messianic age of peace. Premillennialism is based upon a liter ...

. Additional support for the theory can be found in the

Apocrypha Apocrypha () are biblical or related writings not forming part of the accepted canon of scripture, some of which might be of doubtful authorship or authenticity. In Christianity, the word ''apocryphal'' (ἀπόκρυφος) was first applied to ...

. The

Book of Jubilees The Book of Jubilees is an ancient Jewish apocryphal text of 50 chapters (1,341 verses), considered canonical by the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, as well as by Haymanot Judaism, a denomination observed by members of Ethiopian Jewish ...

records the end of the life of Adam in chapter four. Jubilees 4:29-30 "And at the close of the nineteenth jubilee, in the seventh week in the sixth year 30 A.M.thereof, Adam died, and all his sons buried him in the land of his creation, and he was the first to be buried in the earth. And he lacked seventy years of one thousand years; for one thousand years are as one day in the testimony of the heavens and therefore was it written concerning the tree of knowledge: 'On the day that ye eat thereof ye shall die.' For this reason he did not complete the years of this day; for he died during it." This theory has led some Christians to make a connection between the "Day of the Lord," the "Last Day," the "Sabbath," and the 1000-year reign of Christ, seeing them as synonyms. However, this interpretation is not widely held at this time.

References

{{Reflist Book of Jubilees Christian eschatology Premillennialism Theories

Proponents

Support for the theory

See also

References