Millennium

I

Introduction

Millennium, period of 1,000 years. The word millennium is derived from the Latin words mille, which means “thousand,” and annus, “years.”

In various Christian doctrines, millennium refers to a 1,000-year period foretold in the Bible’s Book of Revelation, involving the apocalypse (the end of the world) and the reign of Jesus Christ on earth. The concept of the millennium is not only associated with Christian thought, however. Many cultures of the world have similar beliefs about the imminent transformation or end of the world and the creation of an age in which human suffering and violence will be eliminated. Thus, Western scholars commonly use the term millennium to refer generally to any new age of holiness, harmony, and earthly perfection. Similarly, the word millennialism is used to describe beliefs about an imminent apocalypse, the salvation of the world, or the creation of an earthly paradise. Such beliefs have existed throughout history and are still held by millions of people today.

Recently, the year 2000 sparked widespread feelings that something monumental would occur with the flip of the calendar page. Although the year 2000 was a subjective marking of the passage of time, in popular culture it gained enormous symbolic and conceptual power. For many people, it represented a pivotal moment in history, a time to reflect on the past thousand years or imagine a thousand years to come.

For the past several hundred years, people in Western cultures have marked time in terms of 10-year periods (decades) and 100-year periods (centuries). Westerners tend to associate eras with decades and centuries. For example, many Americans think of the 1920s as the Roaring Twenties, and they frequently associate the 1960s with protests and social activism. Many people attach special significance to years that end in a zero, because these years seem to signal a transition from one era to another. A year that ends in triple zeros, then, suggests an even greater change. Thus, the arrival of the year 2000 evoked hope for transformation and the birth of a new age, as well as fears about potential global catastrophes.

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II

Dating the Millennium

Although January 1, 2000, was popularly celebrated as the beginning of the 3rd millennium, there are differing beliefs about when the new millennium actually began. The Western dating of the millennium is based on the Gregorian calendar, which is the most globally recognized system for marking the passage of years.

According to the Gregorian calendar, the new millennium did not begin until January 1, 2001. The Gregorian calendar follows the ad (Latin anno Domini, “in the year of our Lord”) system introduced by Christian monk Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century ad. The ad system counts time from the year Jesus Christ was born. Dionysius dated Jesus’ birth in the year ad 1 rather than in ad 0, because Roman numerals, which were still in use, had no symbol for zero. In this dating system, each century begins with a year ending in 01 and ends with a year ending in 00. For example, the 19th century began in 1801 and ended in 1900. Therefore, December 31, 2000, ended the old millennium, and January 1, 2001, marked the start of the next millennium in this dating system. See Calendar: Gregorian Calendar.

Some people believe the new millennium, as marked by the birth of Jesus, began several years earlier than 2001. According to many scholars, Dionysius made various errors in calculating Jesus’ birth date. Historical evidence indicates that Jesus was actually born in 4 bc or earlier. As a result, the 2,000-year anniversary of the birth of Jesus may have occurred sometime in the 1990s.

Other people believe that the change to the new millennium lasts a period of 33 years, corresponding to the life span of Jesus. According to some historians, the year 1033—regarded by many people as the 1,000-year anniversary of Jesus’ death—resulted in widespread millennial fervor in which people made pilgrimages to Jerusalem and anticipated the destruction or renewal of the world. Some people have predicted that the year 2033 will have millennial significance as well and will be viewed as the date that marks the beginning of the new millennium.

About two-thirds of the people in the world use religious or ceremonial calendars in addition to the Gregorian calendar. For example, January 1, 2000, on the Gregorian calendar was the year 1420 on the Islamic calendar, 5760 on the Jewish calendar, and 4697 on the Chinese calendar. However, even people who used these other calendars were aware of the global significance of the Gregorian calendar years 2000 and 2001.

III

Religious and Mystical Beliefs

Millennialist beliefs are not only related to the turn of the millennium. Since the beginning of human history, people in nearly every society have told sacred stories about worldly destruction, the regeneration of the earth, and the creation of a terrestrial paradise. Scholars have documented these types of stories from Zoroastrian, Babylonian, Hindu, Buddhist, Islamic, Greek, Roman, Norse, African, Maya, and Native American cultures.

Millennialist ideas are concerned with the destiny and destruction of the world, the end of time, the end of evil and suffering, and the creation of a perfect age. Millennialist belief systems have an enduring appeal because they assert that there is an underlying plan for history, that human existence is meaningful, and that a new world of peace and justice will be created.

A

Book of Revelation

In the Christian Bible, the concept of the millennium is introduced toward the end of the Book of Revelation (sometimes called the Apocalypse). According to Revelation 19:11-21, 20:1-10, and other passages, Jesus Christ will return to earth and defeat Satan at the battle of Armageddon (see Second Coming). Christ will then throw Satan into a bottomless pit for 1,000 years and will reign during this millennium of peace on earth. However, at the end of those 1,000 years, Satan and the forces of evil will rise up to do battle with Christ once again. In this final battle, Christ will defeat Satan forever and throw Satan into a lake of fire to suffer eternal torment. God will then resurrect all human beings and judge them according to their beliefs and actions. This event is often referred to as the Last Judgment. According to Revelation, God will give the righteous people eternal life in paradise and will send the evil ones to hell.

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