Is there any truth behind the 6000 - 7000 year timeline theory? Remember that God has numbered the hairs on your head. He spoke into existence everything we see ... Isaiah 45:12 ...'I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded.' ... He stretched out the heavens with a word. Do you think God has a plan? I certainly do, and I believe this timeline gives us another sign that we are living in the end times.
Now this study doesn't give us any dates of when Jesus will return. No one can set dates for the second coming of Christ ... Matthew 25:13 ...'Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.' ... But we can certainly know when it is near ... Matthew 24:33 ...'So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.' ... So we can know when we are living in the end times. This study of the 6000 year timeline, when added to the other end time signs, gives us a clear understanding that we are living at the very end times, just before Jesus returns.
Know that it (second coming) is near, even at the doors!
God has given us the life spans of the people in the bible from Adam onwards, which enables us to come up with an approx. timeline of earth's history:
Creation (4004BC) to 2004BC = Time of the Fathers (2000 years)
Abraham (2004BC) to 4BC = Time of the Jews (2000 years)
Christ Jesus (4BC) to 1997AD = Time of Christ and the Church (2000 years)
Second Coming - End of 6000 Years (1997? .....) = Start of Millennium Rest (1000 years)
The main view has been that the earth would be harvested (worked) for 6000 years and then Jesus would return at the end of the 6000 years and usher in the 1000 years of rest (Sabbath rest). As you can see from the above chart, Jesus should have returned by now. So what does this mean? Do we have the wrong dates, or is this 6000 year timeline just not true? Well, let's take a look at some bible verses to backup this Bible prophecy timeline. Please note that we realize that the following verses have their own specific literal meaning, but we are looking into the extra prophetic meaning God has put in these verses. Please read right through as all these Bible verses below come together and give us a great prophetic picture of time, pointing to a 6000 year timeline for the earth.
Genesis 2:1-2 ...'Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.' ... So we have 6 days of creation and the seventh day of rest.
Then we see that God added this 6 days of work and the seventh day Sabbath rest into His Ten Commandments ... Exodus 20:8-11 ...'Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.' ... So did God hide a prophetic meaning behind this 6 days of work and rest on the seventh day, to mean the earth would work for 6000 years and then the seven thousandth year (the millennium) would be a Sabbath rest for the earth? Stay with us and let's look at some more verses.
Joshua 6:2-5 ...'And the LORD said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour. And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days. And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams' horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets. And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him.'
This is a very interesting piece of scripture to compare with the 6000 year timeline. This is where, by God's power, Joshua takes Jericho. Notice how they go about it. They had to do it a particular way in which God commanded. They march around the city once a day for 6 days, then on the seventh day, they march around the city seven times, then they blow the trumpet long and loud (final call), and they then take the city. The imagery here of the end time saints is amazing. 6 days (6000 years) of marching, giving God's warning; 7 priests (7 angels) blow trumpets; At the last trump, on the seventh day (start of the 7000th year) they take the city (New Jerusalem); And they 'ascend up' (meet Jesus in the air) into the city. I think this scripture has amazing symbolism in it, which God planned all along. So on the last trumpet sound the people took the city. Now take a look at these following verses:
Matthew 24:31 ...'And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.'
1 Corinthians 15:52 ...'In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.'
Revelation 8:2 ...'And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets.' ... At the last trumpet Jesus will return and the saints will inherit the new city, just as the last trump signaled the taking of the city of Jericho. We have 7 angels with 7 trumpets, just as in Joshua we had 7 priests with trumpets.
Exodus 24:16 ...'And the glory of the LORD abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud.' ... Another interesting verse that has great symbolism in it concerning the 6000 year timeline. Moses goes up mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments. The cloud covers the mountain for 6 days, and then on the seventh day God calls out to Moses to 'come up'. Just as will happen at the end ... John 5:28-29 ...'Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth.'
Mark 9:2 ...'And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them.' ... Jesus and the three apostles wait for 6 days, and then on the seventh day 'ascend' up the high mountain.
You may say that these are just single days, how can they represent thousands of years? ... 2 Peter 3:8 ...'But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.' ... With God being eternal in nature, a day is just as a thousand years with Him.
Leviticus 25:4 ...'But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the LORD: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard.' ... The land was worked for 6 years and had a Sabbath rest on the seventh year. If you look at the parable of the sower in Matthew 13, you will see the significance of this ... Matthew 13:37-39 ...'He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.' ... So Jesus is the sower. The earth is sowed for 6000 years and then the angels come with Jesus to reap the harvest (the saints), and the earth gets a Sabbath rest for the 1000 years millenium.
Exodus 21:2 ...'If thou buy an Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve: and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing.' ... So the same symbolism is here for a servant. The saints serve God on earth for 6000 years and then they are set free from this life on earth when Jesus returns.
Now the biggest point about whether or not to believe this theory, is the fact that the 6000 years of earth's history ended around 1997. So why hasn't Jesus returned yet? Take a look at the following revealing bible verses:
Matthew 24:46-51 ...'Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods. But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, and shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'
Matthew 25:1-5 ...'Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.' ... So Jesus is telling us that He is delayed, and warning us not to fall asleep (spiritually). Notice that all of them slept, including the wise virgins, but because they had truly followed the Lord, they had the oil (Holy Spirit) and when the call came they went to be with the bridegroom (Jesus), but the foolish virgins did not truly follow Jesus, and therefore did not have any oil (Holy Spirit) and the door was shut on them.
Why would Jesus hint at being delayed if this 6000 year Bible prophecy timeline wasn't true?
How would we know if Jesus was delayed if this 6000 - 7000 year timeline wasn't true? Why is Jesus delayed? ... 2 Peter 3:8-9 ...'But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.' ... Once Jesus returns there will be no second chances. As the parable of the virgins confirms, once the door is shut, salvation for those outside is not possible. Friend, this should really stir us up to follow Jesus NOW. Not tomorrow, or next week, or next year, or wait until we are closer to His return, but NOW! There is still a job to do, a call to the world, the final call before Jesus returns. He is waiting for the number of His people to be complete:
Revelation 6:10-11 ...'And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.' ... The number of fellowservants who will give their lives for Jesus during these end times has not been fulfilled yet. Once the mark of the beast has been enforced, then those who are true to Jesus will give their lives for Him, rather than take the mark, and the end will come, and Jesus will return!
Just as Moses was delayed when He went up to receive the Commandments of God and the people became weary and turned to sin and apostasy, we need to be careful that we don't do the same. As Jesus is delayed, we must not become weary and turn to sin, but keep watching and waiting. I believe that adding this 6000 - 7000 year Bible prophecy timeline theory to all the other end time signs, shows beyond a shadow of a doubt that we certainly are living at the very end times, just before the second coming of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
www.end-times-prophecy.org/6000-7000-year-timeline-prophecy.html