GOD’S PROVIDENCE: HE IS A GOD OF INTENTION

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“Providence” is a word we use frequently in talking about God, but we may not have thought deeply about what it means. Theologian Timothy George defines it as “God’s faithful and effective care and guidance of everything which He has made toward the end which He has chosen.”

In quadriplegic’s Joni Eareckson Tada’s book Pain and Providence, she writes about God’s providence in Joseph’s life:

“I draw a lot of inspiration from the story of Joseph. There were plenty of unfortunate mishaps in Joseph’s life, like being tossed by his envious brothers into a pit and left to die. But later on, after more mishaps, Joseph told his brothers, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives” (Gen. 50:20-21).

I like that word, intended. He is a God of intention—He has a purpose, a target, a goal, and a plan. Joseph’s problems did not catch God off guard. From the beginning, God calculated for Joseph to experience all these things. Why? For the salvation of others.

God is not a sweep-up boy who follows you with a dustpan and brush, second-guessing how everything will fit into a divine pattern for good. God’s hands stay on the wheel of your life from start to finish so that everything follows His intention for your life. This means your trials have more meaning—much more—than you realize.

Consider this: If Joseph had not been sold to those caravan traders by his wicked brothers, he would not have ended up as the right-hand man to Pharaoh. And if Joseph had not become Pharaoh’s right-hand man, no one would have built giant grain silos to ward off the famine. And if the famine hadn’t happened, Jacob and his family would never have come to Egypt for food and safety. And if Jacob’s family weren’t in Egypt, there would have been no slave laborers. And if no slaves, no Exodus, no Israel and no giving of the law to Moses. And no Promised Land. And, finally, no line of Judah from which the Messiah, Jesus Christ, would come.

What an amazing example of the providence of God! It is enthralling to see how the troubles of one young man named Joseph could kick-start a whole chain of earth-shaking events which would ultimately lead to our salvation.

Joseph’s story could be yours. Only heaven will reveal the incredibly complex intertwining of events in which you have played a pivotal role. Like Joseph, you may not be able to discern it at the time, but God has it all in hand. He has it all in control. And you, dear friend, are needed in His marvelous plan to spread His kingdom in your corner of the world.”

God is in control of history and in His Word, the Bible, He has told us the entire story of this world from the start, a perfect world to its firey end. We know that we are living in the time before Jesus prophesied second coming to earth, first to raise the dead Saints and to rapture the living Saints and pour out His wrath on unrepentant earth, and second to return to earth one year and ten days later for the battle of Armageddon and set up His Millennial Kingdom.

“They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.” Revelation 20:4-6

ISRAEL IN THE MILLENNIUM

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Jon Voight understands that Jeremiah, Ezekiel and many of the other O.T. prophets prophesied that God would restore Israel and that God’s people will once again produce wonderful wine, more so in the coming Millennial reign of Jesus Christ.

The following two Scriptures clearly outline the future of Israel with their Messiah, Jesus ruling and reigning over the nations of the world.

“Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from all around, and bring them to their own land. And I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. And one king shall be king over them all, and they shall be no longer two nations, and no longer divided into two kingdoms. They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols and their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions. But I will save them from all the backslidings in which they have sinned and will cleanse them, and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.” Ezekiel 37:21-23

“At that time, declares the Lord, I will be the God of all the clans of Israel, and they shall be my people... Again you shall plant vineyards on the mountains of Samaria; the planters shall plant and shall enjoy the fruit. For there shall be a day when watchmen will call in the hill country of Ephraim: ‘Arise and let us go up to Zion, to the Lord our God.’ For thus says the Lord: “Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob, and raise shouts for the chief of the nations; proclaim, give praise, and say, O Lord, save your people, the remnant of Israel.’‘ Jeremiah 31:1, 5-7

“Hear the word of the Lord, O nations, and declare it in the coastlands far away; say, ‘He who scattered Israel will gather him and will keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock.’ For the Lord has ransomed Jacob and has redeemed him from hands too strong for him. They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion, and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the Lord, over the grain, the wine, and the oil, and over the young of the flock and the herd; their life shall be like a watered garden, and they shall languish no more.‘ Jeremiah 31:10-12

METAVERSE PART OF THE META-MORPHOSIS

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Meta-Morphosis: The dramatic change you aren’t seeing. This change is happening slowly every day, piece by piece. To us, living today, it’s almost invisible. We aren’t noticing it. But you can be sure that it’s a metamorphosis — a complete change into something totally different.

Virtual reality

It started with computers, then the internet, laptops, mobile phones, smartphones, Myspace, Facebook, virtual reality, augmented reality, cloud storage, cryptocurrencies, non-fungible tokens, Sandbox, Decentraland…

It’s accelerating faster and faster.

We are transforming our reality from tangible, to virtually tangible. A world that is virtual, connected, and fully immersive in the cloud. And our lives will never be the same again…

You’ve likely heard the term metaverse — but you might not know exactly what it means. Well, that’s OK, because neither does anyone else! Everyone has their own idea of how it will evolve.

At the core of the metaverse is a blending of our physical world with the online world. The NFT tokens website describes it this way. “The Metaverse” is an all-encompassing term used to describe “a universe where we spend our lives inside that thing eternally”.

Or in the words of Mark Zuckerberg:

The defining quality of the metaverse will be a feeling of presence — like you are right there with another person or in another place. Feeling truly present with another person is the ultimate dream of social technology. 

‘In this future, you will be able to teleport instantly as a hologram to be at the office without a commute, at a concert with friends, or in your parents’ living room to catch up.’

Meta is much bigger than a name change. This signals a major pivot of the Facebook business. It also tells us what may well be the next big tech revolution: The Metaverse.’

It won’t be a specific place because it will be all around us. It will change the way we shop, work, socialise, and seek entertainment.

It’s gained a lot of attention since Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook was changing to Meta Platforms on 28 October 2021. This prompted a whole lot of people to start searching the word ‘metaverse’ as the Google Trend Charts demonstrate.

From a Christian and end-times perspective, metaverse (virtual reality) is the culmination of how Satan is using technology to take young people, in particular, away from God and His values. A further demonstration if you needed one that we are living in the prophesied “last days” before Jesus returns, first to rapture His Saints, second to pour out His wrath upon an unrepentant world, and finally to return with the glorified Saints to rule and reign with a rod of iron on this earth for one thousand years. As the following Isaiah prophecy shows, God the Father and Jesus have unfinished business to fulfill with Jerusalem and His nation Israel.

“For Zion’s sake, I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake, I will not be quiet, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness and her salvation as a burning torch. The nations shall see your righteousness, and all the kings your glory, and you shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will give. You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate, but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her, and your land Married; for the Lord delights in you, and your land shall be married.” Isaiah 62:1-4

“Behold, the Lord has proclaimed to the end of the earth: Say to the daughter of Zion, “Behold, your salvation comes; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.” And they shall be called The Holy People, The Redeemed of the Lord, and you shall be called Sought Out, A City Not Forsaken.” Isaiah 62:11-12

THE MILLENNIAL REIGN OF JESUS ON THIS EARTH

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This video produced by David Pawson seven years ago presents the premillennial view of the return of Jesus Christ with clarity and precision. David departed this earth May 2020 but he understood he will return to this earth to rule and reign with Jesus during his Millennial reign.

David is considered to be one of the world’s finest biblical expositors. Translations of David’s teachings continue to grow with extensive projects currently focused in countries including Brazil, Germany, Czech Republic, Hungary, China and Indonesia, just to name a few. A selection of David’s teachings have been collated into a Christian Discipleship Training series, to watch CLICK HERE or to download this series as individual pdf booklets please go to www.explainingbiblicaltruth.global

PROPHESIED THIRD TEMPLE IN JERUSALEM

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The Temple Institute is an organization which works to create the vessels that will be used in the Third Temple. Take a fascinating look into what’s happening today!

The vessels of the Holy Temple must be made according to the Torah and Jewish Law with all of the correct measurements. Only then, are they fit for service in the Holy Temple when it is rebuilt.

These holy vessels, built specifically for use in the Third Temple, are being constructed right now. Don’t miss this video!

Bible prophecy reveals that this temple will be occupied by the Antichrist and ultimately destroyed. Would these orthodox Jews be so zealous to rebuild the temple if they took this scripture from their Torah as prophecy?

“Forces from him (Antichrist) shall appear and profane the temple and fortress, and shall take away the regular burnt offering. And they shall set up the abomination that makes desolate. He shall seduce with flattery those who violate the covenant, but the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action.” Daniel 11:31-32

This is not the end of the temple story as Ezekiel is given a detailed description of a fourth temple that God will construct and which Jesus will occupy and rule/reign from in the Millennium.

“Son of man, this is the place of my throne and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the people of Israel forever. And the house of Israel shall no more defile my holy name, neither they, nor their kings, by their whoring and by the dead bodies of their kings at their high places, by setting their threshold by my threshold and their doorposts beside my doorposts, with only a wall between me and them. They have defiled my holy name by their abominations that they have committed, so I have consumed them in my anger. Now let them put away their whoring and the dead bodies of their kings far from me, and I will dwell in their midst forever.
“As for you, son of man, describe to the house of Israel the temple, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and they shall measure the plan. And if they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the design of the temple, its arrangement, its exits and its entrances, that is, its whole design; and make known to them as well all its statutes and its whole design and all its laws, and write it down in their sight, so that they may observe all its laws and all its statutes and carry them out. This is the law of the temple: the whole territory on the top of the mountain all around shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the temple.” Ezekiel 43:7-12

Jerusalem in the Millennium is on top of the highest mountain in the world

ISRAEL HAS A FINAL TIME OF SUFFERING AND EXILE BEFORE HER MESSIAH RETURNS

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All of the O.T prophets were given a picture of the final restoration of Israel with their Messiah ruling all the nations. The Millennial reign of Jesus is all about fulfilling the unconditional covenant God made with Abraham.

“Then it will happen on that day that the Lord will again recover the second time with His hand the remnant of His people, who will remain, from Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. and He will lift up a standard for the nations and assemble the banished ones of Israel and will gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. (Isaiah 11:11–12)

Isaiah’s prophecy is speaking of a final regathering that is patterned after the original Exodus from Egypt. The first was out of Egypt, the second is from all over the world, at the end of the great tribulation. It cannot be the 1948 regathering as Jesus is not ruling Israel and the nations.

“In that day the LORD will start His threshing (His separation of the righteous from the wicked) from the flowing stream of the Euphrates to the brook of Egypt, and you will be gathered up one by one, O sons of Israel. It will come about also in that day that a great trumpet will be blown, and those who were perishing in the land of Assyria and who were scattered in the land of Egypt will come and worship the LORD in the holy mountain at Jerusalem.” Isaiah 27:12-13 2

In the regions situated between the Euphrates River, which would include parts of Turkey, Syria, and Iraq, and the “brook of Egypt,” which was most likely located in what is now the central Sinai Peninsula.

“Therefore behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when it will no longer be said, ‘As the Lord lives, who brought up the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’ but, ‘As the Lord lives, who brought up the sons of Israel from the land of the north and from all the countries where He had banished them,’ for I will restore them to their own land which I gave to their fathers.” (Jeremiah 16:14–15)

In Jeremiah’s mind, the final restoration to the land is an ultimate Exodus, far superior to the historical Exodus.

“As I live, declares the Lord God, surely with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out I will be king over you. I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you are scattered, with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and with wrath poured out. And I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I will enter into judgment with you face to face. As I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you, declares the Lord God. I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant. I will purge out the rebels from among you, and those who transgress against me. I will bring them out of the land where they sojourn, but they shall not enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord.” Ezekiel 20:33-38

For Ezekiel, the coming redemption, the ‘Second  Exodus’, overshadows its ancient prototype as the ultimate manifestation of Yahweh’s might.

“For I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands and bring you into your own land… Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances. You will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers; so you will be My people, and I will be your God.” Ezekiel 36:24-28

Ezekiel connects the great end time outpouring of the Holy Spirit to Israel’s regathering to their land

“And when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God has driven you and  return to the Lord your God, you and your children, and obey His voice in all that I command you today, with all your heart and with all your soul,” Deuteronomy 30:2

“And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.” Deuteronomy 30:6

Moses gives this amazing prophecy to the nation before they enter the Promised Land. Note at this time of regathering they experience an inner circumcision of their hearts resulting in total obedience.

Micah envisions the final restoration of Israel through the lens of a second Exodus.

“In that day they will come to you, from Assyria and the cities of Egypt, and from Egypt to the River, from sea to sea and from mountain to mountain… As in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt, I will show them marvelous things. The nations shall see and be ashamed of all their might;” Micah 7:12, 15

In chapter 7, the prophet speaks of Israel’s eschatological restoration and the expansion of her national borders: “On that day will your boundary be extended” (v. 11).

 

RESURGENCE OF REPLACEMENT THEOLOGY

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During the Passover observance in 2019, 19-year-old John Earnest allegedly walked into a synagogue in Poway, California and opened fire, killing one worshipper and wounding three others. It was later revealed that Earnest was an active member of an Orthodox Presbyterian Church congregation and specifically believed that he was doing God’s will by killing Jews.

The revelation that the lone suspect in the mass shooting was a devout Christian stirred reactions from many, including author and columnist Michael Brown, a proponent of Messianic Judaism and host of the nationally syndicated radio show, “The Line of Fire.”

In his latest book, scheduled to be released Tuesday, Christian Antisemitism: Confronting the Lies in Today’s Church, Brown documents a new resurgence of anti-Semitism within American churches.

Brown wrote about what he saw on social media from self-identified Christians and rhetoric espoused by modern Christian ministries and some theologians. “This is a book I wish I didn’t have to write,” Brown told the Christian Post in an interview.

“Sadly, there is a real rise in anti-Semitism in the church, even in America.”

“I felt I had to write the book to demonstrate what was happening,” he added. “The rising tide of anti-Semitism in the church today.” This includes the rise of the heresy Replacement Theology, the notion that the Church has replaced Israel as the new chosen people, with God no longer having any plans for modern Jews.

Below are excerpts from a conversation Christian Post (CP) had with Brown about Christian anti-Semitism and its apparent growing strength.

CP: You have written about anti-Semitism in the Church before; notably the 1992 book Our Hands Are Stained With Blood. How does this book differ from your earlier works?

Brown: This book focuses on what’s happening now. The earlier book, Our Hands Are Stained With Blood: The Tragic Story of the “Church” and the Jewish People,came out in 1992, remained in print continuously until 2019 when we put out a new updated edition of the book.

And in doing so, that was very jarring because I was confronted with what had grown in recent years and how some of the dangerous trends of the past were back today. So Christian Antisemitism, the new book, picks up where Our Hands Are Stained With Blood left off. It gets much more in-depth into the wrong theology behind it. It traces some of the current conspiracy theories in the Church today about the Jewish people. It gets much deeper into the contemporary issues that the first book touched on.

CP: You devoted a fair amount of attention to refuting replacement theology. How pervasive a problem do you believe replacement theology is in the American church? Do you see it as more prevalent in some denominations than others?

Brown: Yes, it’s very prominent. It is certainly growing. It is very dangerous. It is more to be found in what would be called the mainstream denominations — so Presbyterian, Episcopalian, Methodist, etc. It is less found in Charismatic circles or in some aspects of evangelism. But the fact is it’s there. It’s certainly there in Catholic theology.

Those that hold to it don’t like to be put in the category of holding to replacement theology. They would rather say they believe in “fulfillment theology” or put another name on it. But the end result is the same: the promises that God once gave to the Jewish people as a people no longer apply to them, but rather apply to the Church.

This website livingeternal.net is about preparing the church for the end times tribulation and the coming Millennial reign of Christ from a restructured Jerusalem. Jesus will rule the world on this earth with the resurrected saints. A literal, grammatical and historical view of the Bible makes this truth crystal clear. Israel will finally have fulfilled all of the O.T and N.T. prophecies of its Messiah ruling the nations from Jerusalem. The book by Michael Brown is obviously an important contribution to this cause.

JESUS SECOND COMING

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Did Christ at His first coming fulfill all that God promised regarding the establishment of His Kingdom, Israel and the church? At His first coming, Christ provided the means for us to receive the Holy Spirit and be reunited with our Heavenly Father but our “inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time“ 1 Peter 1:4-5. Peter makes it clear that our inheritance is future. Therefore, many of the covenantal promises of God are still awaiting fulfillment at His second coming. Most of the O.T. prophets spoke of their Messiah ruling and reigning the nations from Jerusalem. The Scriptures are not just focused on redemption. Of course redemption is important, but so is the judgment of Satan and the demons; so is the Kingdom; and so is the glory of God. Even redemption does not always refer to His first coming, as the books of Hebrews and 1 Peter make clear (e.g. Hebrews 1:13-14; 5:9; 9:28; 1 Peter 1:3-9 ; cf. Romans 13:11).

The fast spreading Progressive Covenantalism does not see the church as directly extending or fulfilling Israel as did Replacement Theology. Rather, Christ is the antitype of Israel, who fulfills Israel’s identity, purpose, and mission such that in Christ the church inherits all the covenant blessings. It is Replacement theology with a twist and still fails to view Jesus second coming is when He fulfills all that God had promised. The driving assumption of fulfillment at the first advent endangers unfettered exegesis of “the texts in their context.”

Dr Paul Martin Henebury of Telos Ministries is the source for the information on Progressive Covenantalism. Paul is a Biblical Covenantalist (his description). I agree with his understanding of the Biblical covenants and of creation about 6000 years ago. Paul is a native of Manchester, England and a graduate of London Theological Seminary and Tyndale Theological Seminary (M.T.S., M.Div., Ph.D).

WHAT ARE YOU WORKING TOWARDS ?

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Jesus came once to atone for sins, and He’s coming again to restore all things—and that Day is when we will see His Kingdom in fullness on earth. That’s what we wait for and work towards: the return of Jesus to rule and reign on this earth for 1,000 years because we rule and reign with Him.

“They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.” Revelation 20:5-6

God’s nation Israel, will complete its mission as prophesied.

JESUS SOON RETURN TO PLANET EARTH

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How many of you have really “meditated on”, “come to grips with”, “got your ahead around” the FACT Jesus is returning to this earth soon to liberate His chosen nation, and to rule and reign with His resurrected saints on this cursed earth for 1000 years. Moreover, He needs to rule with a rod of iron. People will still be born, people still need to come to know Jesus as their Lord and Saviour and people will still die. The curse of death has not been lifted off this planet. It is destined for destruction by fire at the end of the Millennium. John describes its destiny and what will occur at that time in Revelation 20 and 21.

“Then I saw a great white throne and Him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” Revelation 20:11-15
The New Heaven and the New Earth
​ Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” Revelation 21:1-4

It is important to acknowledge that many of the early Church Fathers believed that the earth was less than 6,000 years old and that they read the Genesis creation account both literally and symbolically. To check this out read the article Creationism and Millennialism among the Church Fathers by Andrew Sibley on www,creation.com.

It is clear from a close reading of the Church Fathers that the widely held belief of the church in the first few centuries after Christ was that the creation occurred less than 6,000 years prior to their time of writing; at least it seems to have been the majority opinion among the church leaders. This belief was also tied in with an understanding of the timing of the Second Coming of Christ and His millennial reign; a pressing question for the early church. The millennial scheme symbolically linked six days of creation with 6,000 years of Earth history, with the final millennium reign seen as foreshadowed by the seventh day of rest in the creation account. This undermines claims that such belief is a recent phenomenon, or is not in tune with traditional Christian theology.

Influence for the symbolic linkage between the six days of creation and the six thousand years until the millennial reign of rest may have been passed down directly from the Apostles, especially John, the author of Revelation. Irenaeus, who lived during the 2nd century ad, claims to have received the teaching from Papias and Polycarp, who received it directly from John. Influence may also have derived from Peter’s writing, wherein the Apostle was responding to questions about the return of Christ. Peter wrote that for God “a day is like a thousand years” (2 Peter 3:8) and that the Christians should be patient regarding the question of Christ’s return.

Most of the Church Fathers of the first three centuries relied upon the LXX to determine the age of the earth and the Second Advent. Initially, Christians believed that Christ would return sometime around AD 500. However, later acceptance of the Septuagint Masoretic Text, with its shorter time frame for creation of around 4000 BC, extended the second coming to AD 2000. 

So, the gradual acceptance of the Hebrew MT by Christians, from which Bishop Ussher derived a date for the age of the earth of 4004 BC, gave fresh ‘legs’ to millennial thinking among Christians in more recent times, with Christ expected to return sometime around AD 2000.