Waiting for The End of the World

There's an undeniable tingle about 1,000 years. Some of it stems from the magical allure of special numbers, and some of it from Scripture. The 20th chapter of the New Testament book of Revelation (or Apocalypse) inscribes a famous vision of martyrs who "reigned with Christ a thousand years." This is the origin of the celebrated capital-M Millennium (from the Latin for thousand).

Most branches of Christianity agree with St. Augustine that the 1,000 years stand symbolically for the ongoing spiritual hegemony of Jesus Christ. An onward-and-upward millennial version holds that believers will gradually establish a kingdom of peace and righteousness on earth, preparing for Christ's Second Coming. There has always been a millenarian undercurrent, however, that rejects symbolism and holds Revelation 20 to mean that Jesus will return to rule an earthly kingdom for literally 1,000 years.

Millennial expectations and predictions have been occurring ever since the time of Jesus, but most, oddly, bear no relation to the actual beginning of new centuries. One of the bloodiest episodes came during the German Peasants' War of 1524-25, in which preacher Thomas Muntzer, whose ravings anticipated Marx by centuries, played a leading role. American preacher William Miller prophesied that Jesus would return in 1843 or 1844. Enthusiastic Millerites ; waited eagerly, only to see several deadlines pass uneventfully. Many Jehovah's Witnesses, led to expect the End, most recently in 1975, have left the apocalyptic group in confusion. The latest bout of millennial fever is said to be occurring among Christians in central China.

The remedy for such supposedly biblical miscalculations can be found in the Bible itself. Concerning the End, Jesus told his followers that "you know neither the day nor the hour." And St. Peter's second Epistle reminds believers that "with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." Good verses to memorize as Anno Domini 1999 approaches.