الألفية – من لفظة ألْف – هي الاعتقاد بحكم سيأتي على الأرض يسوده السلام والبركة ويدوم ألفاً من السنين. أساس هذا الاعتقاد ما جاء في سفر الرؤيا (الاصحاح 20) أن ملاكاً ينزل من السماء ويقيّد الشيطان ويلقيه في الهاوية ألف سنة، وأن الحكم يكون، خلال ذلك، للرب يسوع المسيح والذين استشهدوا من أجل اسمه.
The question that has always been asked in this regard, since the dawn of Christianity, is how we read this speech and how we understand it. Do we take it in its literal, material sense as an event that takes place in history or does it have another meaning?
Numbers and dates in the Book of the Prophets and Revelation generally have a symbolic meaning. The language of numbers as a semantic language has been known since ancient times. For example, the number 3 refers to perfection and stability, the number 5 refers to man, the number 7 to this time, and the number 8 to the time to come. The number 1000 (one thousand) is no exception to this rule, as it has a paradisiacal meaning that refers to the continuation of happiness. For example, in the Eastern conscience, the Tree of Life lasts for a thousand years, and the years of life of the righteous are also a thousand, and Adam could have lived for a thousand years had he not fallen. The association of the number 1000 with paradise is not limited to Christians, but is shared by Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Indians, and others.
Accordingly, the Church in the Third Ecumenical Council (Ephesians 431) condemned the literal, material understanding of the millennium. Accordingly, a number of the Church Fathers and teachers also adopted the method of interpretation in explaining the millennium. Interpretation is the return of words to their intended purpose. The teacher Origen (185-254) said that the millennium is not realized in earthly society but in the heart. The blessed Augustine (354-430) said that the millennium was realized by the resurrection of the Lord Jesus from the dead and the establishment of the Church as the body of Christ, and as a spiritual reality on earth.
ولعل أحد أهم الأسباب التي جعلت آباء الكنيسة ينظرون بعين الريبة إلى كل تفسير مادي للألفية ما تعرضت له من خضات في هذا الشأن، ولا سيما الهرطقة المسماة “مونتانية” نسبة إلى مونتانوس الذي ادّعى النبوة وقال أن الروح القدس يتكلم فيه، وأنبأ كذباً بأن المجيء الثاني للمسيح كان وشيكاً (في زمانه حوالي العام 156). كما ادّعى أن أورشليم الجديدة سوف تهبط في مكان ما من آسيا الصغرى اسمه ببوزا وانه من هناك سينطلق الحكم الألفي. ولما كانت تلك الأيام أيام ضيق وظلم واضطهاد على المسيحيين والناس متحرقون إلى الخلاص، اجتذب مونتانوس العديد من المؤمنين وتسبب في ضلالهم. وقد استمرت هرطقته تتردد في العالم المسيحي حتى القرن السادس للميلاد.
It is noteworthy that all those who spoke about the nearness of the second coming of Christ, throughout history, and the nearness of the beginning of the millennial reign, spoke at times when crises were so severe that they became intractable. And this continues to this day. Whenever economic distress befalls a place, corruption spreads, or war breaks out, people say: The end is at hand. The truth is that there is nothing new under the sun, and no one knows the last day on which Christ will come except the Heavenly Father, as our Master and Teacher Himself said (Matthew 24:36).
Jehovah's Witnesses are one of the deviant groups who are seduced by the millennium promises and so they talk about their goodness in a shameful materialistic way as if it were happening in our time or in the near future. We have previously mentioned the Witnesses' misguidance and hypocrisy in this direction, and here we give a sample of the talk they sell to people regarding the millennium.
يقولون أنه عندما ستحل حكومة البرّ المنتظرة ستكون هناك علامات فارقة بشأنها. مثلاً أخبار السلام المفرحة التي نقرأ عنها في الصحف (بشارة الملكوت 189). وتقفل المستشفيات لأنه لن يعود هناك أمراض (ليأت ملكوتك 24 – 25). تتحول مركبات الموتى من نقالات حزن إلى مواكب للنزهة والمسرة (قيثارة الله 425). تتوقف الزلازل لأن الملكوت يضبط الاضطرابات الطبيعية (ليأت ملكوتك 24). الشيوخ سيصبحون شباناً ثانية وسيصير لحم الإنسان أغض مما كان في شبابه. في تلك الأيام، كما يقولون، لن يعود بإمكان الأشرار أن ينجبوا (النور لطلاب الحق 333). فقط شهود يهوه سيُرزقون أولاداً ويكثرون في الأرض (من الفردوس المفقود إلى الفردوس المردود 224). وعندما تمتلئ الأرض إذ ذاك يكفّون عن الإنجاب.
All these and many more are distinctive signs of the promised kingdom that Jehovah's Witnesses will enjoy. In their propaganda campaigns, they tell people: Pay attention to these signs now; and so that you do not miss the train, decide now, for we have been in the time of separation and judgment since 1914 (You can live forever in Paradise on Earth 173, 181).
Yes, my dear reader, in this way Jehovah’s Witnesses turn the message of salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ into a commercial market. Just as merchants excel in praising their goods to entice people to use them, so Jehovah’s Witnesses present their corrupt sayings and delusions. In this context, the millennium is an important element of their enticement and intimidation. So take a look.
Sunday, December 27, 1992, Issue 52