God's Final Week - 6

Signposts To The Year 6000

CHAPTER 6

SIGNPOSTS TO THE YEAR 6000

But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.

— Revelation 10:7

Surprising as it may be, the Word of God is full of prophetic patterns pointing to the timing of the triumphant return of Jesus Christ as Conquering King. If his first coming was the center point of all human history, then his return will be its epic closing act.

The Day of Wrath. The Day of Judgment. The day that burns like a furnace.

This day will be the ultimate polarizing event for humanity. One family of people – the believers, the sealed, the saints – will be redeemed, restored, and raptured up to meet Yeshua. They will be spared God’s outpouring of wrath. But on that same day, the second family of people, those who find pleasure in unrighteousness, will be judged.

Most people cringe at this sobering reality. They think that God’s justice somehow makes him unloving. But it is the exact opposite. In order for him to be loving, he must be just.

Logically, for God to show love to a group of people – the remnant who have placed their trust in him – he must bring justice upon their enemies, those who have sided with the evil one. Otherwise, from what is he really saving them? Would he not be most unloving to his own people to force them to live side by side in the kingdom of heaven with their sworn enemies who have rejected his offer of peace? How could he fail to separate those who love him from those who love Satan? It makes no logical sense.

If God is love, then he must enact justice. Do you see? True love always sets boundaries. It is because of his love for mankind that God has determined to cleanse this world of all wickedness.

Well, then you might say, “Why would God not cause all men to love him and so be spared from his wrath?”

Upon contemplation, the answer is straightforward enough: True love is only possible through the act of choice. Accordingly, it has pleased God to endow mankind with the gift of free will. Without this faculty we would surely be little more than automatons, but with it we are free to choose to love him or to love ourselves. That is the fundamental choice we are each presented with in this world. By loving ourselves and our own lives, we will also love the world and the dragon. But by hating our own worldly lives as we glimpse the truer, incorruptible world which lies beyond, we will love God and place our trust in him.

In this sense, we as followers of the way (as the early Christians called themselves) have been red pilling people for going on two millennia now. Seeing beyond the matrix of this world is a fundamental aspect of our creed.

For those in Christ, the year 6000 is nothing to fear. Rather, Yeshua told us to lift up our heads as this final day draws close, for our redemption draws nigh (Luke 21:28). In that great day, while the wicked stand confounded, doomed to flames of woe unbounded, may he call you with the blessed.

We have seen that the biblical genealogies align closely (less than 1% error) with a year 4000 cross. What’s more, the Scriptures are full of typology pointing to this specific timing. Since all of the prophetic typology appears to have been precisely fulfilled by the Messiah’s first coming, is it not reasonable for us to assume that similar typology pointing to the year 6000 will likewise be fulfilled by his long-awaited return?

Indeed, just as we find in Scripture many signposts pointing us to the year 4000, so we also find a multitude of prophetic patterns pointing us to the year 6000.

PRIMARY SIGNPOSTS

1. Noah’s Age

The Flood is perhaps the single most powerful foreshadowing of the final judgment to be found within the Bible. In this well-known story, there is a glaring detail passed down to us in the Word.

And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth.

— Genesis 7:6

By now, I probably don’t need to tell you that the 600 years of Noah’s age at the time of the Flood is classic biblical typology at work. The 600 years points directly to 6,000 years of human history at the time of earth’s final judgment, which will come through a flood of fire.

Noah was the tenth descendant from Adam, the original man. God used his life, and the entire Flood story, to paint a vivid prophetic picture for our use. His father, Lamech, quietly testified to this fact when his son was born.

And he called his name Noah, saying, This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD hath cursed.

— Genesis 5:29

Noah’s comfort to the human race was only a foreshadowing of the Messiah’s bringing in true comfort and peace to all mankind during earth’s 6,000th year. Noah is a prophetic picture of Jesus Christ, and the Flood is emblematic of the judgment accompanying his Second Coming.

And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ …

— II Thessalonians 1:7-8

It is interesting that Noah and his family entered the ark seven days before the Flood began (Genesis 7:10). Indeed, I find it curious that this seemingly insignificant detail has been passed down to us from antiquity. While I cannot be certain of the symbolic meaning of these seven days, I do have my own speculations.

It is also extremely interesting that Noah’s grandfather was named Methuselah. In Hebrew, Methuselah’s name means roughly “His death shall bring.” Now, the Tanakh itself does not tell us exactly why Methuselah was given this name by his father Enoch. However, I think we can all agree that God ordained both the name and the timing of Methuselah’s life. Indeed, Methuselah lived 969 years – the longest lifetime listed in the Bible – and we find that he died in the very year of the Flood.

Based on the data points we have in Scripture, it certainly appears that the Flood judgment was brought on by the death of Methuselah. To my mind, this is a powerful example of the longsuffering kindness of God. In his patience, he caused Methuselah to live the longest recorded lifespan, giving the wicked antediluvian generation as much time as possible for repentance.

But eventually, as it always does, their time ran out.

2. The Creation Week

We have already explored this connection in detail in Chapter 3, but the six days of creation do themselves point to the six 1000-year epochs of earth’s history. This is a powerful marker casually given to us at the outset of the entire story.

3. Parable of the Good Samaritan

Whereas the signposts to 4000 all involve counting from 0 forward, the signposts to 6000 in Scripture come in two different varieties. There are direct 0 to 6000 references, such as the two examples we’ve seen so far. And then there are 4000 to 6000 references which point instead to the difference between these two key markers: namely, 2000. These references hint that the period of time known as the last days (Hebrews 1:2), between Yeshua’s death and resurrection and his Second Coming, is exactly 2000 years long.

The parable of the good Samaritan, well-known as it is, surprisingly is found in only one of the Gospels. You can read the parable and its full context in Luke 10:25-37.

The key verse is this one.

And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.

— Luke 10:35

The NIV translation renders pence as denarii, which happens to be a far better translation from the Greek. A denarius was a day’s wage at the time of Christ.

The good Samaritan – in many ways a picture of Yeshua himself – gave the innkeeper precisely two days’ wages and said he would repay the rest upon his return. What a clever parable to conceal multiple diverse meanings.

In my view, the two denarii plainly represent the two millennial days between the cross and the Second Coming.

4. The Pigs

Do you remember the demons who asked if Jesus was come to torment them before the time? There is another oft-overlooked aspect to their story.

While this signpost may not be quite as obvious as others – such as Noah’s 600 years – it happens to be one of my personal favorites. The marker is cleverly hidden, yet when it strikes you the true meaning is plain as day and as powerful as a punch to the gut.

In the Gospel of Mark – the oldest Gospel – we are provided more details of the demoniac from Gadara.

But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him, And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not. For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit. And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many. And he besought him much that he would not send them away out of the country.

— Mark 5:6-10

Most modern translations of the final verse above use country or region or territory to translate the Greek word choras; meaning a space, place, or land. However, in doing so, I believe they somewhat obscure the true meaning of the verse.

The demons are not concerned with being cast out of Israel and becoming forced to terrorize people in other places. Remember, they don’t want to be tormented before the time (Matthew 8:29). In other words, they don’t want to be cast into the bottomless pit before the year 6000.

I believe the word land here is used more as in “opposed to the sea” than so as to denote a country or region. For the ancient Israelites, the sea represented chaos and was associated with the abyss, also known as the bottomless pit. It is an example of what Bible scholars such as Dr. Michael S. Heiser like to call cosmic geography. It is symbolic geography, latent with deeper meaning. Indeed, in the Septuagint, the Hebrew word tehom is translated as the Greek word abyssos both in passages indicating the ocean and in others referring to the underworld. For the ancients, the two were clearly linked.

This is at least partially why Jesus says: “When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none” (Matthew 12:43). Demons know to fear the deep.

With this in proper view, we can rightly understand the rest of the story.

Now there was there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding. And all the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them. And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea.

— Mark 5:11-13

What an ironic fate for these demons. They are cast into the sea, the very place which symbolizes the abyss. Not only that, but there is a timing clue provided as well. We know from Matthew’s account that the demons specifically mentioned the prospect of being tormented “before the time.” And here in Mark we find an interesting yet strange parenthetical detail added for our benefit.

There were around two thousand pigs choked in the sea. Remember, this miracle took place either in or just before the year 4000.

5. Hosea’s Prophecy

This signpost is rather straightforward and comes from the prophet Hosea.

Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.

— Hosea 6:1-2

This is another pointer to the last days period between the cross and the Second Coming. This period of time will last for two full millennial days (days 5 and 6), and in the third day (day 7) God will raise us up incorruptible.

6. The Wilderness Wandering

This is an interesting marker. Most would probably tend to classify it as pointing to the year 4000 rather than 6000 because of the fact that it involves an explicit 40 years of wandering. And perhaps on one level it does point to 4000. But there is more to the story.

When the children of Israel murmured against God, after all that he had done for them, the Lord told them of the punishment for their unbelief.

Your carcases shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, which have murmured against me, Doubtless ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware to make you dwell therein … And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years, and bear your whoredoms, until your carcases be wasted in the wilderness.

— Numbers 14:29-33

Understanding that Israel’s entry into the Promised Land was a picture of mankind’s entry into eternal life gives us a head start here. It’s easy to miss, but the fact that everyone 20 and over died during the 40 years of wandering means that no one 60 or over made it into the Promised Land (except for Caleb and Joshua, of course). I find it interesting that 60 was the cutoff.

Regardless, though, the problem with using the 40 years of wandering to point to the cross is that it doesn’t fit with the Israelites’ larger story arc. The 400 years of bondage in Egypt already pointed to the cross and they were delivered mightily, remember? But now, they are on the cusp of entering the Promised Land and they must endure 40 more years of wandering because of their unbelief.

To me, this occurrence of 40 points to the days after the deliverance of the cross, when mankind will wander in the wilderness of this world for two more millennial days before God’s kingdom comes in all its fullness. Interestingly, there are 40 Jubilee years contained in 2,000 years.

Another interesting aspect to this signpost is the fact that Moses – who as we know was 80 at the time of the first Passover – died along with the rest of the Israelites during this wandering, at the age of 120 years (think 120 Jubilees). Following his death, the people of Israel were led by Joshua, Yehoshua in Hebrew, into the Promised Land. Now, Yehoshua is the older proper Hebrew version of Yeshua’s name, and it means “Yahweh is salvation.”

Do you see the powerful symbolism at work in this story? Do you see how all the typological timing aligns perfectly?

7. Isaac

In Chapter 4, we saw how Isaac met Rebekah at the age of 40, and they were married. This timing marker points to the cross, where Christ paid the bride price for us during earth’s 4,000th year.

But this is only one interesting aspect of Isaac’s story.

In Genesis 22, we have the highly symbolic story of Isaac being prepared to be offered as a sacrifice by his father, Abraham. God led them to a very specific location, and they traveled the last part of the way alone together.

And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.

— Genesis 22:7-8

Interestingly, the story of Isaac’s near sacrifice ends six verses before the end of the chapter. The following verse reads like this.

So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba.

— Genesis 22:19

Isaac is not mentioned coming back off the mountain, despite the fact that a few verses earlier he was playing a central role in the story. If he were not mentioned for a verse or two, we might easily look past the writer’s own particular mode of storytelling. But Isaac’s absence from the developing story is quite conspicuous since it lasts for multiple chapters.

He is next mentioned by name again in the early verses of Chapter 24, but we do not actually see him appear until exactly six verses from the end of that chapter. This leaves Isaac with an absence of precisely two full chapters following the sacrifice story.

Now, I can already hear the objections to this signpost. We all know that the Torah did not have chapters until over a thousand years after Christ; nor, for that matter, did the Tanakh as a whole. My question is, should this technicality limit our God, who resides outside of time? Or does it not rather serve to further reveal the magnificence of the signpost he has hidden here for our benefit?

Is it not possible that he crafted first the text and then guided the later division of chapters in such a way as to provide us with this striking clue? I believe it is more than possible.

After Isaac’s sacrifice, he has a two-chapter absence, only to return to the text just in time to meet his bride.

From this perspective, Isaac’s marriage to Rebekah is emblematic of the end of the age and the marriage supper of the Lamb. And yet there is another signpost hidden in the details of Isaac’s life, so you can consider this a twofer.

As we saw before, the other way to view Isaac’s marriage to Rebekah – since it occurred when he was 40 years old – is as symbolic of Christ’s paying our bride price at the cross. From this point, we find that the next key milestone in Isaac’s life took place when he was 60. This is when his sons, Jacob and Esau, were born.

And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.

— Genesis 25:23

Jacob and Esau are used throughout Scripture to represent the two fundamental classes of people in this world: God’s children and the seed of the Devil. The sheep and the goats.

When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

— Matthew 25:31-33

Do you think it is a coincidence that Isaac’s twin sons were born 20 years after his marriage? Do you think it is a coincidence that this detail was preserved for us in the Torah?

How many coincidences before it becomes mathematically impossible?

EASTER EGGS

Once again, I will provide three extra signposts, though there are many more besides to be found in the Scriptures for those with eyes to see.

1. Sabbath Healings

During his time ministering on earth, the Messiah healed many people of their illnesses. However, the Gospels take special notice of the healings which he performed on the Sabbath day (the seventh day). We are told of exactly seven of these instances.

• Man with an evil spirit (Mark 1:21-28)

• Simon Peter’s Mother-in-Law (Mark 1:29-31)

• Man with withered hand (Mark 3:1-6)

• Crippled woman (Luke 13:10-17)

• Man with dropsy (Luke 14:1-6)

• Man by the pool of Bethesda (John 5:1-18)

• Man born blind (John 9:1-16)

I believe these seven healings on the seventh day foreshadow the seventh millennial day, when all those who love Jesus will be raised up and healed once and for all.

2. The Mount of Transfiguration

Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.

— Matthew 16:28

In my opinion, Yeshua’s prophecy here was at least partially fulfilled beginning in the very next verse of the text (and it was more fully fulfilled at the cross).

And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.

— Matthew 17:1-2

After how many days?

3. The Sign of Jonah

When the religious leaders of his day came to Jesus asking for a sign, his answer was consistent. He gave them the sign of Jonah without much in the way of further elaboration.

But what are we to take this to mean exactly?

Yeshua mentions the sign of Jonah a total of three times in the Gospels. Two of these are in Matthew’s account, so it is apparent that there were at least two separate occasions.

Furthermore, in only one of the three accounts (Matthew 12:38-41) does Jesus link the sign of Jonah to his own death and the three days and nights he spent in the tomb. In the other two instances, the meaning of the sign is left entirely open to the reader.

The fact that Jonah spent three days and nights in the belly of the fish is well known. However, what is less often associated with the sign of Jonah is the amount of time given to Nineveh to repent following Jonah’s preaching (Matthew 12:41). The Masoretic Text used as the basis for our modern Bible says that they were given 40 days.

And Jonah began to enter into the city a day’s journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.

— Jonah 3:4

The Septuagint, or “the translation of the seventy,” is the earliest Greek translation of the Hebrew Tanakh, dating to the third century before Christ. In fact, most Christians today do not realize that it was the Septuagint which Jesus and the Apostles most frequently quoted from when referencing the Old Testament. It’s not all that surprising when you realize this was the version of the Scriptures widely available during their day.

Curiously, however, the Septuagint rendering of Jonah 3:4 is quite different than the one we know.

And Jonas began to enter into the city about a day’s journey, and he proclaimed, and said, Yet three days, and Nineve shall be overthrown.

— Jonas 3:4 (LXX)

Instead of forty days for repentance, we find three. What are we to make of this discrepancy?

Given only the Masoretic Text and the Septuagint, I would tend to trust the Septuagint. However, there are two Dead Sea scrolls which contain this verse in Jonah 3, and both of them say forty days. So it would appear the Masoretic Text is vindicated. Still, I can’t help but wonder if God has hidden meaning for us within both numbers.

I certainly believe that the sign of Jonah given by Yeshua involves more than simply the three days and nights in the belly of the fish. I believe it is also a reference to the time given by God for repentance, to both Jews and Gentiles, which oddly enough echoes the time given to the people of Nineveh.

Simply put, I believe that the 40 days for Nineveh’s repentance point to 40 Jubilee years for mankind’s repentance and to 40 years for Israel’s repentance. Accordingly, when Jesus gave the scribes and Pharisees the sign of Jonah, he was pointing not only to his death and time in the tomb but also to his Second Coming.

We will explore the 40 years given to Israel for repentance and the 40 Jubilee years further in a forthcoming chapter.

For now, though, how can the three days given for repentance be made to harmonize with the 40 Jubilee years? The answer, as is often the case, lies in examining the details beneath our contempt.

And Jonas arose and went to Nineve, as the Lord had spoken. Now Nineve was an exceeding great city, of about three days’ journey. And Jonas began to enter into the city about a day’s journey, and he proclaimed, and said, Yet three days, and Nineve shall be overthrown.

— Jonas 3:3-4 (LXX)

Are we to take it as purely coincidental that the city of Nineveh was three days’ journey in breadth? What about the fact that Jonah was “about a day’s journey” inside when he began to preach repentance?

Let’s compare this to Yeshua’s ministry. We know that he began preaching repentance in the dying days of millennial day 4. I believe his ministry included about a year and half within day 4 (years 3998 and 3999). He died on the cross during the first year of day 5, or year 4000. From there we have just two full millennial days remaining before the Second Coming.

Given the breadth of Nineveh, I believe that Jonah’s three days for repentance was likely another way of saying “by the time I reach the other side of your city.” Coupled with the detail that he had trekked nearly a day’s journey into the city, this would mean they in fact had just over two days to repent. Another way of arriving at the same result is simply by using the traditional Jewish reckoning, which would have counted the first day fully despite the small bit of time remaining in the day itself. And this approach matches perfectly with the timing in millennial days from Yeshua’s years of ministry. Yeshua’s ministry began “about a day’s journey” into millennial day 4, leaving the world with just over two millennial days for repentance.

Remember, Jesus was the ultimate prophet. Do you really think we are given his prophecy of the sign of Jonah three times in the Gospels without an additional hidden meaning being present?

There is clearly more to the sign of Jonah than meets the eye. I believe it points not only to the resurrection but also to Yeshua’s ultimate vindication on the day of his return.