The 2000th anniversary of Jesus' 18th birthday is just around the corner. Time to look back and look ahead. By Kai Mester
»Man emerged from the hand of his creator perfect, highly complex and in beautiful form. That he since six thousand Withstanding years of increasing brunt of disease and crime is sufficient evidence of the tenacity with which he was first endowed.' (Review and Herald, December 13, 1881)
»The infinite shaper and preserver of all things revealed to Adam and Eve the laws and processes of nature, which are now known to human beings since six thousand years.« (Patriarchs and Prophets, 50)
“Many say they believe the Bible record. But they don't know how to explain all the wonderful things on earth with a creation week of only seven literal days and an earth age of only around six thousand years. Now they want to get out of the tight spot they got into at the hands of incredulous geologists. Hence they take the following position: the six days of creation were six vast indefinite periods of time, and God's day of rest another indefinite period of time. But that takes the fourth commandment of God's holy commandment ad absurdum.« (Spirit of Prophecy 1, 87)
“Anyone who destroys Earth has had a long probationary period. Six thousand For years God has endured man's ignorance and wickedness. He tested and scrutinized her in every way he could to regain her trust and save her. But they refuse to listen to his pleadings. There was, is and will be war and bloodshed. War is popular. Killing and destroying is a worthwhile heroic deed in the eyes of the world.« (Manuscript release 1, 61)
»Since six thousand Satan has been fighting to keep the earth for years.« (Patriarchs and Prophets, 342)
“The constant transgression of man since six thousand years, has led to sickness, pain and death.« (Testimonials 3, 491)
“The great fight between Jesus and Satan, that already almost [nearly] six thousand years will soon be over.« (great controversy, 518)
The fact that Ellen White uses the word almost here and elsewhere shows that in the other statements where this word is missing six thousand years ago, she always rounds up in the literary sense instead of giving mathematically exact information.
»Six thousand The great struggle drags on for years; the Son of God and his heavenly messengers are at war with the forces of evil to warn, enlighten and save the children of men.« (great controversy, 656)
»At least since [Ever since] he managed to overcome our first parents in their beautiful home in Eden, he doesn't do anything else. More than six thousand Years of constant practice have greatly developed his art of deception and seduction.« (Signs of the Times, September 29, 1887)
There are only two statements where Ellen White speaks of more than six thousand years. Here in this statement she is possibly alluding to Satan's art of seduction in heaven among the angels, even before he had access to paradise. The second quote follows here:
»More than six thousand For years the earth has been proclaiming the love of the Creator with its beauties and fruit gifts.« (Story of Jesus, 183) Whether one can explain this more time with the time between creation and the fall?
“The spirits deny the divinity of Jesus and even draw the Creator on a level with himself. Thus the great rebel, in a new disguise, continues his war against God that began in heaven and is already there almost six thousand years on this earth.« (great controversy, 552)
“During his experience of almost six thousand Years he has lost none of his art and cunning. All this time he has been closely observing everything that concerns the human race.« (Testimonials 2, 171)
»Since six thousand For years this mastermind, once supreme among God's angels, has dedicated himself to the work of deception and destruction. The fullness of satanic skill and sophistication learned during these battles of all ages, all the cruelty developed during this time, will be unleashed against God's people in the last great conflict." (great controversy, IX)
»Since six thousand Years of faith was built on Jesus. Since six thousand For years the flood and storms of satanic wrath have lashed around the rock of our salvation: but it cannot be moved.« (Desire of Ages, 413)
»Jesus became man when the generation was through four thousand years of sin was weakened. Like every child of Adam, he took upon himself the ramifications of the great law of inheritance. What these consisted of can be seen in the history of his early ancestors. He came with such an inheritance to share our sorrows and temptations and to set an example for us of a sinless life.« (Desire of Ages, 48)
»four thousand Years ago a voice of strange and enigmatic meaning was heard from the throne of God: 'You did not want sacrifices and gifts; But you have prepared ears for me; You did not ask for burnt offerings or sin offerings. And I said, Behold I come, in the scroll it is written of me; I desire to do your will, my God, and your law is in my heart.' (Psalm 40,7:9-XNUMX) Jesus, in consultation with his Father, laid out the plan for his life on earth.« (The Southern Work, 85)
“The Son of God humbled himself and took upon himself the nature of man after the human race four thousand years wandering outside of paradise; four thousand years after its original state of purity and righteousness.« (Review and Herald, July 28, 1874)
»Jesus became man when the generation was through four thousand years of sin was weakened. Like every child of Adam, he took upon himself the ramifications of the great law of inheritance. What these consisted of can be seen in the history of his early ancestors. He came with such an inheritance to share our sorrows and temptations and to set an example for us of a sinless life.« (Desire of Ages, 48)
»four thousand Years ago a voice of strange and enigmatic meaning was heard from the throne of God: 'You did not want sacrifices and gifts; But you have prepared ears for me; You did not ask for burnt offerings or sin offerings. And I said, Behold I come, in the scroll it is written of me; I desire to do your will, my God, and your law is in my heart.' (Psalm 40,7:9-XNUMX) Jesus, in consultation with his Father, laid out the plan for his life on earth.« (The Southern Work, 85)
“The Son of God humbled himself and took upon himself the nature of man after the human race four thousand years wandering outside of paradise; four thousand years after its original state of purity and righteousness.« (Review and Herald, July 28, 1874)
After 4000 years: temptation in the desert
“Jesus stood in Adam's place in the wilderness of temptation to pass the test that Adam failed. Here Jesus overcame in the sinner's place four thousand Years after Adam turned his back on the light of his home.« (Review and Herald, July 28, 1874)
»four thousand For years the human race had diminished in strength of body, mind, and moral worth; and Jesus took upon himself the frailty of degenerate humanity. Only in this way could he save man from the deepest depths of his degradation.« (Desire of Ages, 117)
»four thousand For years Satan had worked against God's government, gaining through determination and practice, strength and experience. Fallen man did not have the benefits of Adam in Eden. they had each other four thousand years away from God. The wisdom to see through Satan's temptations and the strength to resist them had diminished until Satan's dominion on earth seemed triumphant. (Review and Herald, August 18, 1874)
»Jesus stood at the transition between two systems and their two great festivals. He, the spotless Lamb of God, was about to offer Himself as a sin offering. In this way he would end the system of shadows and ceremonies that four thousand had pointed out his death for years. When he ate the Passover with his disciples, he instituted in his place the service to be performed in commemoration of his great sacrifice.« (Desire of Ages, 652)
»In the year 31, three and a half Years after his baptism, our Lord was crucified. The sacrificial system ended with the great sacrifice on Calvary four thousand had pointed to the Lamb of God for years. Image and counter-image had met and all sacrifices and offerings of the ceremonial system should stop there.« (great controversy, 327)
"Before almost two thousand Years ago a voice of strange and enigmatic meaning was heard from the throne of God: 'You did not want sacrifices and gifts; but you have prepared a body for me... Behold, I come--it is written of me in the scroll--to do your will, O God!' (Hebrews 10,5:7-XNUMX) With these words the fulfillment of the counsel was announced , which had been hidden from the ages of eternity. Jesus was about to visit our world and become flesh.« (Desire of Ages, 23)
“Jesus was about to lay down his life to bring life and immortality. In the midst of his sufferings and the daily rejection of men, Jesus looked two thousand years further into the time of his church in the last days before the close of the world's history.« (Manuscript release 1, 355)
'After the gospel almost two thousand As years have passed around the world, Satan still presents men and women with the same vision that he presented to Jesus. In a wonderful way he lets the rich of the world pass before their eyes in all their glory.« (Testimonials 6, 14)
»All who see Jesus' story on earth and his rejection by the Jews sin far more than they. They have the testimony of Jesus' followers over a period of almost two thousand years.« (Signs of the Times, February 7, 1878)
»Six thousand For years Satan's rebellion has trembled the earth... Six thousand For years his prison housed God's people. Yes, it would hold captive there forever, had not Jesus broken the bonds and set the captives free... thousand For years Satan will roam the devastated earth beholding the fruits of his rebellion against God's law.« (great controversy, 659-660)
“Satan's work of destruction is ended forever. Six thousand For years he did what he wanted, bringing sorrow to the earth and grief to the whole universe.« (great controversy, 673)
"During the thousand years between the first and second resurrection the judgment of the wicked takes place.« (great controversy, 660)
'The execution of the judgment will take place at the end of the one thousand years.« (Early Writings, 52)
"At the end of one thousand years Jesus, the King of Glory, dressed brightly as lightning, descends from the Holy City to the Mount of Olives, the same mountain from which he ascended to heaven after his resurrection.« (spiritual gifts 3, 84)
"As God called forth the waters in the earth at the time of the Deluge as weapons from His arsenal to destroy the antediluvian race, so will He at the end of one thousand Years that cause fires in the earth as weapons, which he has reserved for the final destruction not only of the post-diluvial generations, but also of the antediluvian generation who perished by the flood." (spiritual gifts 3, 87)
“If we add 1843, that's ours 6000 Years full and the day of rest begins, that seventh millennium begins, the Great Sabbath, of which our Sabbath is but a shadow." {William Miller, A Lecture on the Typical Sabbaths and Great Jubilee, 1842; WiM, LTSGJ 25.1}
“He revealed the times in His Word… calling a year a day, didn't it thousand years a day; also by analogy as in Hebrews 4,10:XNUMX, showing that just as God created heaven and earth and everything in them in six days and rested on the seventh day, so would Jesus also six thousand create the new heaven and the new earth for years and in seventh millennium rest." {William Miller, Miller's Works 1, 1842; WiM, MWV1 40.1}
“Adam rested with God after he had finished his work. In this way the church will also rest together with its head in the new creation, when this has completed its work and everything has become new. For Jesus it will be the seventh day, for he has six thousand Worked for years on the creation of his bride, that is, until it is perfect and can be found good or sanctified... Whoever believes in an earthly millennium, in a seventh millennium, in that Jesus continues to work as in the six thousand Years ago, he is completely against the Bible and his own logic. In contrast, the Bible says: 'Six days you shall work and do all your works; but on the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God.' (Exodus 2:20,9-10) Who will say that Jesus does not keep the law of the Father in his work? … Do we mean that he never stops working for the salvation of sinners? Sure, He doesn't want anyone to perish, but for all to come to repentance. That is why Jesus chose the longest days mentioned in Scripture as working days. But do you know, dear sinner, that the last hour of sixth day is almost up and you have not yet repented? The day of the LORD will come like a thief in the night. For when they say peace and security, destruction will suddenly come upon them, and they will not escape.' {Ibid, 158.2}
»When Peter speaks of these great events, he says: 'But do not overlook this one thing, beloved, that with the LORD one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day!' (2 Peter 3,8:2) God completed creation in six days and rested on the seventh and said to the Israelites: 'Keep my Sabbaths! For they are a sign between me and you.' (Exodus 31,13:XNUMX Elberfelder) I believe that each of these days is a sign, a symbol, for a thousand years and that God after six thousand years completes his new creation in Jesus Christ. I believe that seventh millennium represents the rest that remains of God's people and that the chronology that Miller carved out of the Bible tells us the true age of the world. In 1843 the six thousand Years since creation ended. Then God's kingdom will be established and the blessed Sabbath rest will begin. We know that Jesus in fifth millennium was in the world. So we also hear him say: 'Behold, I cast out demons and perform healings today and tomorrow, and on the third day I am at the goal' (Luke 13,32:XNUMX). With this he says: In this millennium and in the next millennium I am converting sinners and prepare them for heaven and at the beginning of the third millennium from now I will fully establish my kingdom. Since a thousand years are like a day for Jesus, he could say that the kingdom of heaven is near, just as we can say on Thursday that the Sabbath is near.« {Charles Fitch's Letter to Josiah Litch, 1841; CF, LJL 44.3}
Due to the imminent expectation of the early Advent pioneers, who dated Jesus' second coming in 1843 and later in 1844, the 6000 years had to come to an end in their understanding of course in these years and they looked for corresponding evidence in the Bible. They could not explain why Jesus did not appear exactly at the turn of the fourth and fifth millennium (according to this calculation it would have been in the year 158 BC), but over 180 later.
»Paul says: 'So there remains a Sabbath rest reserved for the people of God.' (Hebrews 4,9:XNUMX) We believe that this will be fulfilled in the millennium, in the seventh millennium, so that only the seventh-day Sabbath and no other comes into question as a type. Consequently, all who keep the first or eighth-day Sabbath cannot expect the antitype of rest, the Great Sabbath, for another thousand years." {Joseph Bates, The Seventh Day Sabbath, A Perpetual Sign, 1846; JB, SC1 24.1}
"In the fifth chapter of his [9th] discourse (in his work Symposium/The Banquet) does he speak [Methodios of Olympos] from the Day of Judgment as from the 'Millennium of rest, which is also called the seventh day, yea, the true Sabbath.' He believed that each day of the first seven days stood for a thousand years, so that the true Sabbath of the Lord was the final triumph of the saints in the seventh millennium period. In his work De Creaturis/About Creatures, Part 9, he refers to the fact that one day stands for a thousand years and quotes Psalm 90,2.4:XNUMX-XNUMX as proof. Then he says, 'If a thousand years count as one day in God's eyes, and six days pass from the creation of the world to his rest... is from Adam until now six thousand years passed. Judgment then takes place on the seventh day, i.e. in seventh millennium.'" {John Andrews, The Complete Testimony of the Fathers of the First Three Centuries Concerning the Sabbath and First Day, 1873; JNA, TFTC 106}
“He [Satan] will be thrown into the abyss and it will be sealed over him. Thus Satan will be bound to this earth for a thousand years. He can no longer visit other worlds. He's alone on the dead earth, alone with his own thoughts. He has time over the report of the last six thousand years of rebellion against God's throne." {Steven Haskell, The Story of the Seer of Patmos, 1905; SNH, SSP 327.1}
“It is commonly accepted that these thousand years represent the period of time that Satan, after the expiration of six thousand years after creation - that time is now almost up - will be bound. {John Loughborough, The Saints' Inheritance, 1893; JNL, SAIN 58.4}
»The great majority of Christians admit that the seventh day four thousand was the only weekly Sabbath for years. Here we find that the same day is kept in restored Eden, and throughout eternity. Can one assume there that a break from two thousand years between these two eternities? Has another Sabbath been instituted to take the place of this great memorial of the work of Jesus and the Lord, which God commanded to be kept in the eternal world? Is such an event conceivable? On the contrary, such a conclusion is unphilosophical, absurd, and nonsensical." {George Butler, The Change of the Sabbath, 1904; GIB, CHS 77.2}
“How different the second Adam was from the first! The second Adam did not take the place where the first Adam stood when he fell, but rather the place where mankind was at the end of four thousand years of degeneration. He was not in the state of power and honor like the first man when he failed, but in the state of weakness and dishonor in which the race found itself at the end of this long period of the reign of sin. He came to that point - as 'a man of sorrows and acquainted with afflictions' - bearing our infirmities and our sickness (Isaiah 53,3:4,15). All our sins were laid on him, he became 'in all things' like sinful man, 'was made sin' (Hebrews 2:5,21; 5,30 Corinthians 15,5:XNUMX). Besides all these disadvantages, he became so weak that he could not do anything of his own accord (John XNUMX:XNUMX), which no other man can do without God (John XNUMX:XNUMX)." {Alonzo Jones, The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, February 18, 1896; ATJ, ARSH 105.2}
»In it all people are clearly informed of the word of the LORD: The earth had to six thousand Going without rest for years because they were deprived of the sabbatical years all this time. Therefore the whole earth must—until the curse 'consumes the land' and it 'bursts bursting' (Isaiah 24,6.19:XNUMX)— one thousand years remain desolate, to make up for the Sabbaths that were given to her in these six thousand years." {Alonzo Jones, Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, January 16, 1900; ATJ, ARSH 41.1}
"About four thousand Years after creation, or a little more than two-thirds From creation to now, Jesus came to 'magnify and glorify the law' (Isaiah 42,21:1,19). 'For it pleased [God] to cause in him all the fullness to dwell' (Colossians 2,9:2,3), even 'all the fullness of the Godhead incarnate' (Colossians XNUMX:XNUMX), even 'all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge' ( Colossians XNUMX:XNUMX).« {Ellet Waggoner, The Present Truth, January 31, 1901; EJW, PTUK 69.1}
What do all these statements mean? Where are we today in 2015?
Luke 3,23:30 tells us that Jesus was "about XNUMX years old" when he was baptized. Ellen White confirms: »For thirty years Jesus lived in seclusion in Nazareth.« (Spirit of Prophecy 2, 58) »His divine authority was hidden while he waited thirty years in darkness and humiliation.« (Spirit of Prophecy 2, 102) “Even though he knew that he was the Son of God, Jesus returned to Nazareth with Joseph and Mary. Until he was thirty years old he was 'subject to them' (Luke 2,51:XNUMX)." (Story of Jesus, 34)
We know from Daniel's prophecy that Jesus was baptized in the fall of AD 27, when the last of the 70 weeks of Daniel 9,25:26-27 began. »In the year XNUMX AD Jesus received the anointing with the Holy Spirit at his baptism.« (Desire of Ages, 233) Three and a half years later "in the spring of the year 31 AD Jesus, the true sacrifice, was offered on Golgotha." (Desire of Ages, 233) »Jesus had spent thirty-three years on this world.« (Spirit of Prophecy 3, 250)
According to this, Jesus was born in 4 B.C. and the 1997th anniversary of his birth was in 2000. (The year zero does not exist, hence 4 and not 3 BC.) Each year since 1998 would therefore mark the anniversary of one of his birthdays, this year of his eighteenth. 18 was not an age of majority back then, but it is an important date in today's culture. So 2015 is sure to be a momentous year for all followers of Jesus.
We have no evidence that we can calculate the year of Jesus' return. For “unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the sake of the elect shall those days be shortened.” (Matthew 24,22:XNUMX) But world events will come to a head so clearly that believers and eventually unbelievers will have no doubt about the approaching end of the world.
Since 1997 we have been in the time window in which the 2000 years of the Messianic age and with it the 6000 years of biblical world history are coming to an end. We are approaching the seventh millennium. We're going home soon!
If this information is not a wake-up call!!!
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