Millennium – from the word “alif” – is the belief in a reign of peace and blessing that will come upon the earth and will last for a thousand years. The basis of this belief is what is stated in the Book of Revelation (chapter 20) that an angel will descend from heaven and bind Satan and cast him into the abyss for a thousand years, and that the reign, during that time, will be for the Lord Jesus Christ and those who were martyred for His name.
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.
Perhaps one of the most important reasons why the Church Fathers viewed any materialistic interpretation of the millennium with suspicion was the shocks it had experienced in this regard, especially the heresy called “Montanism” after Montanus, who claimed to be a prophet and said that the Holy Spirit spoke in him, and falsely predicted that the Second Coming of Christ was imminent (in his time around the year 156). He also claimed that the New Jerusalem would land somewhere in Asia Minor called Busa and that the millennial rule would begin from there. Since those were days of distress, injustice and persecution of Christians and people were eager for salvation, Montanus attracted many believers and caused them to go astray. His heresy continued to resonate in the Christian world until the sixth century AD.
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.
They say that when the expected government of righteousness comes, there will be signs about it. For example, the good news of peace that we read about in the newspapers (Kingdom Gospel 189). Hospitals will close because there will be no more diseases (Thy Kingdom Come 24-25). The chariots of the dead will be transformed from mourning palanquins into processions of joy and pleasure (Harp of God 425). Earthquakes will cease because the Kingdom will control the natural disturbances (Thy Kingdom Come 24). The old will become young again and the flesh of man will be fresher than it was in his youth. In those days, they say, the wicked will no longer be able to have children (Light for Seekers of Truth 333). Only Jehovah’s Witnesses will have children and multiply on the earth (From Paradise Lost to Paradise Returned 224). And when the earth is filled, then they will cease to have children.
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