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THE GREAT WEEK OF TIME; OR THE PERIOD OF SEVEN THOUSAND YEARS DEVOTED TO THE PROBATION AND THE JUDGMENT OF MANKIND. The Review and Herald, July 17, 1883. By J.N. Andrews First Article
THE day of Judgment was appointed before the creation of our world. It was appointed before the rebellion of Satan and his angels ; for when they had sinned, they were not immediately judged and consigned to punishment, but were reserved to the day of Judgment to be punished. Jude 6 ; 2 Pet. 2 : 4.
It is evident, therefore, that when God created the angels, he appointed the day of Judgment. It was necessary that such a day should be appointed when God first created intelligent beings ; for the angels, though innocent, were placed upon probation, and when that probation should end, the case must be decided whether they had been faithful or unfaithful in the trial through which they had passed. A day of Judgment must therefore have been appointed to mark the close of their period of probation ; and it is evidently for this reason that they were not punished as soon as they had sinned, but have been allowed to go on in sin, and will be allowed thus to go on during all the period which must elapse before the day of Judgment.
That day of Judgment must therefore have been appointed as early as the creation of the angels, for they were made amenable to it ; otherwise they could not have been reserved to its decision before being punished. But the angels were in existence when God created our earth (Job 38: 4-7), and therefore the day of Judgment was appointed before the creation of our earth and of the human race. And so the day of Judgment, being fixed before the sin of man, comes neither earlier nor later in consequence of that sin.
When God created man, he placed him upon probation as he had previously placed the angels. After a brief period, man sinned against God, and brought upon himself the sentence of death. But because there were some mitigating circumstances in the case of Adam, for he did not sin against so great light as did the angels, God saw fit to give to man a second probation,—a mercy which was not extended to the angels.
We know that this second probation of the human race will end at the day of Judgment, so that man will be judged at the time originally appointed for the judgment of the angels. And we have reason to believe that if the human race had not sinned against God, the probation under which man was first placed would have terminated at the same time that his second probation will terminate; namely, at the day of Judgment. His first probation was to determine the question whether he would be faithful to God in preserving his innocence; his second probation is under circumstances much more difficult, for he must recover his lost innocence, and in the same trial must prove his fidelity.
When God created our earth, he indicated the period of time which must elapse before the day of Judgment. He employed six days in the work of creation; on the seventh day be rested from all his .work. He sanctified the seventh day to be an everlasting memorial of the work of creation. But it appears that God designed by the first seven days of time to indicate the period assigned to the probation and judgment of mankind.
St. Peter says that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 2 Pet. 3 : 8. By this we think he meant, not simply that the day of Judgment will occupy the period of 1,000 years, though this fact seems to be revealed in Rev. 20, in what is said of the two resurrections, but we think St. Peter also signified by it that the period devoted to the history of man before the day of Judgment, was also indicated by the days that God employed in the work of creation. We think, therefore, that at the end of 6,000 years from the creation, the day of Judgment will commence, and that that day will last for the period of 1,000 years.
Thus we have for the probation and judgment of mankind a great week of time,—the period of 7,000 years. This period commenced at creation, when God spake the word which called the elements into existence, and it will end with the destruction of the wicked in the lake of fire. Then God will createnew heavens and new earth, which will remain through endless ages the eternal abode of those who have passed the period of their probation, and have been approved in the day of Judgment. Before the commencement of this great week of time, infinite ages had elapsed during all of which God had existed. And after the expiration of this great week, the righteous will enter with Christ upon a kingdom that cannot be moved and that shall never end. Thus the period of 7,000 years is cut off from the eternity of the past and from the eternity of the future, and assigned to the probation and the judgment of mankind.
It has been the faith of the most eminent servants of God, not only during the entire gospel dispensation, but also during some hundred years previous to Christ's first advent, that the period of 6,000 years from the creation would extend to the day of Judgment. And we think that the most careful study of the chronology of the Bible and of the prophetic periods will strongly confirm this view. Though the two great prophetic periods of Daniel 8 and 12 do not mark the exact time of Christ's coming, they evidently terminate not far from that event, and we shall find on examination that if the age of the world at the dates of the commencement of these two periods be added to the periods themselves, we shall have in each case very nearly the' sum of 6,000 years.
We shall have occasion to speak at some length on this point hereafter, and we shall also have occasion to speak of the sabbatical year and the year of jubilee, in Lev. 25, as typifying the great week of 7,000 years. We propose to trace the history of the world during each of the periods of 1,000 years down to the great day of Judgment, or final thousand years, which elapses between the resurrection of
the righteous and that of the wicked. We invite all of our readers to carefully study this series of articles on this subject which the present article is designed to introduce. J. N. A.
THE GREAT WEEK OF TIME. THE EVENTS OF THE FIRST AND SECOND THOUSAND YEARS. The Review and Herald, July 24, 1883 By J.N. Andrews Second Article
IN our last number we spoke of the great week, or period, of seven thousand years assigned to the history of man. In this number we wish to enumerate briefly the most important events of the first two thousand years of this great period. The creation of our earth is the event which marks the commencement of this period, and which separates time from the eternity of the past. "
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." The act of creation "is that which distinguishes God from all other beings, and it is because that God is the Creator that he has the right to demand that all other beings should worship him. Out of nothing God created all things. This act marked the commencement of the first day of time. On that day also he created the light.
On the second day God created the atmosphere. On the third day he caused the dry land to appear, and clothed it with trees and plants. On the fourth day God gave, power to the sun and moon to give light upon the earth. On the fifth day be created the fishes' of the sea and the fowls of the air. On the sixth day he created the beasts of the earth. He also created man to have dominion over the earth, 4
and placed him in the garden of Eden, where he could have access to the tree of life. When the sixth day of time was about to close, God looked upon all the work that he had made, and behold, it was very good. Gen. 1: 1-31.
On the seventh day God rested from all his work which he had made, and God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, that it might be an everlasting memorial that he is the Creator of the heavens and of the earth. The first act in man's history is that of rebellion against God. Then God pronounced upon him the sentence of death, and expelled him from the garden of Eden. But ho suffered that garden, with the tree of life, to remain for a certain time upon the earth, for he placed as a guard cherubim and a flaming sword that should prevent man from approaching the tree to eat its fruit. Genesis, chapters 2 and 3.
The next notable event in man's history is the murder of Abel by Cain. Gen. 4. The first-born of the human race was a murderer, and the victim was his own brother. Why did Cain kill Abel ? Because his own works were evil and his brother's righteous. 1 John 3 : 12. The murder of Abel immediately preceded the birth of Seth. Gen. 4 : 25. It was therefore about one hundred and thirty years after the creation. Gen. 5 : 3. Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and separated his family from the other descendants of Adam. Polygamy commenced in' his family by the act of Lamech, who took two wives. Gen. 4: 19. As Lamech was the seventh in descent from Adam in the line of Cain, he was probably contemporary with Enoch, the seventh from Adam, in the line of Seth. Polygamy therefore commenced about six hundred and fifty years after the creation. While this terrible evil. was, confined to the family of Cain, the danger from it to the cause of God was not so great; but when it; became so prevalent that the sons of God entered into it, God saw it necessary to destroy the world by a deluge of waters. Gen.6: 1-8.
As the flood did not occur till 1656 years after the creation, and as polygamy commenced not far from the year 650, it required the period of about 1,000 years for the sin of Lamech to become universal, and to bring upon mankind the waters of the deluge. Enoch began to walk with God when he was sixty-five years of age. This was in the year 688. He walked with God three hundred years. Jude tells us that he predicted the second advent of Christ, which shows that in the patriarchal age the world had light concerning the day of Judgment.
Adam, who had conversed with God in Paradise, and who bad heard from his lips the very words by which the Sabbath was sanctified in memory of the creation, and who had witnessed the ruin which sin brought upon our earth, lived till the year 930 to boar testimony to the human family concerning the truth. When Enoch bad walked with God three hundred years, he was taken up into Heaven in the same manner that God afterward took Elijah. Gen. 5:24 ; 2 Kings 2:11 ; Heb 11:5. This was fifty-eight years after the death of Adam, and nine hundred and eighty-eight years from the creation. The translation of Enoch may therefore be said to mark the end of the first thousand years of our world's history.
Now we commence the history of the second thousand years. Noah was born in the year 1057. The spirit of prophecy marked the birth of Noah as an important event. Gen. 5:28, 29. It is said of him that he was a just man and perfect in his generations, and that he walked with God. Gen. 6:9. It appears probable that in view of the prevailing wickedness, Noah formed the design to remain unmarried, and that he did not marry until he was about five hundred years of age, for his oldest son was born when Noah was five hundred years old. Gen. 5:32. We may therefore conclude that when God gave warning to Noah concerning the time of the deluge, he directed him to take a wife.
God announced the destruction of the human race by telling how long a period be would bear with man. He said that this should be one hundred and twenty years. As Noah was the man whom God appointed to give warning of the deluge and to make preparation for it, it was no doubt Noah to whom he announced the period of time that should extend to that event. Gen. 6: 1-13. Noah was a preacher of righteousness (2 Pet 2 : 5), and he had the responsibility of giving the warning to the old world concerning the deluge. It is probable that at first be met with some success in leading men to repentance, for it is impossible that one man and his family alone should be able to rear so vast a structure as the ark, or to meet the immense expense of such an enterprise; for the ark was 216 metres in length, 36 metres in breadth, and 21.60 metres in hight.
But his doctrine was so unpopular that before the deluge came, his helpers left him, for only Noah and his family entered into the ark. Though the inhabitants of the old world were faithfully warned by Noah, Christ says that they " knew not until the flood came, and took them all away." Matt. 24 : 37- 39. This was because 'the world believed the mighty men of renown who lived in Noah's time, and did not believe the preaching of Noah. Gen. 6:3, 4. The flood came in the year 1656, and every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground.
Those who opposed Noah thought it impossible that such an event could take place ; and the mighty men of renown were able, no doubt, to show from science that there 'was not water enough upon the face of the globe to create a deluge. But when the time came for this event, it appears that not only did the rain descend from heaven, but the fountains of the great deep also were broken up, which signifies that God depressed the dry land and elevated the bed of the ocean so that the waters of the sea were poured out upon the earth. Gen. 7 : 11 ; Amos 9 : 6.
At the end of one year and ten days Noah and his family went forth from the ark to take possession of the earth. Gen. 7 : 11 ; 8 : 14. The first act of Noah was one of solemn worship before God. Gen. 8 : 20. God made a covenant with him that he would not again destroy the earth by a deluge. Now we come to the only blot on record in the life of this man of God. Noah planted a vineyard, and made wine ; and, though he was a man eminent for piety, it is re. corded to his shame that be became drunk. This is the earliest instance in which wine is mentioned in any ancient writing, and it should be a warning to all mankind. Wine brought shame upon Noah, and in its subsequent history it has brought ruin upon millions of his posterity.
There is reason to believe that when men began to multiply upon the earth after the flood, they became very wicked. Noah was the rightful governor of the human family; for all were his children. But Nimrod, the great-grandson of Noah, aspired to govern the whole race. The beginning of his kingdom was at Babel. Gen. 10: 1-10. And here their wickedness became so great that God confounded their language, and dispersed them abroad upon the face of the earth. Gen. 11 : 1-9. Noah lived three hundred and fifty years after the flood. His death therefore occurred 2,007 years after the creation, and it may properly mark the end of the second thousand years of our world's history. J. N. A.
THE GREAT WEEK OF TIME. EVENTS OF THE THIRD AND FOURTH THOUSAND YEARS. The Review and Herald, July 31, 1883 By J.N. Andrews Third Article
THE third thousand years may be divided into periods as follows : From the birth of Abraham in the year 2,009 till his entrance into the promised land was seventy-five years. From that point till the descent of Jacob into Egypt was two hundred and fifteen years. The sojourn in Egypt was two hundred and fifteen years. Thus four hundred and thirty years elapsed between the promise made to Abraham and the giving of the law. Gal. 3 : 17.
It is generally supposed from Ex. 12 : 40 that the sojourning of the children of Israel in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years. But according to the reading of this passage in the Samaritan Pentateuch and the Septuagint, the period of four hundred and thirty years includes also the sojourn of the patriarchs in the land of Canaan. Then the Israelites sojourned forty years in the wilderness ; after this six years were employed in the conquest and division of the land of Canaan ; after this four hundred and fifty years elapsed during which the judges ruled till Samuel the prophet. Thus the call of Samuel in the year 3,009 marks the commencement of the last half of the 6,000 years.
Having given a synopsis of the third thousand years, we now state in detail its important events. The commencement of this period is marked by the birth of Abraham in the year 2,009, two years after the death of Noah. It is a common error to suppose from Gen. 11 : 26 that Abraham was the oldest son of Terah, and that he was born when his father was 70 years of age ; for we learn from Gen. 11 : 32 ; 12 : 4 ; Acts 7 : 2-4, that Abraham was seventy-five years of age when his father died at the age of two hundred and five years. Abraham therefore was born when Terah was one hundred and thirty years old. Abraham is first mentioned in Gen. 11 : 26, not because he was the oldest of the sons of Terah, but the most important.
The next important event is the entrance of Abraham into the land of promise at the age of seventy-five years, 2,084 years from the creation. Abraham thus entered Canaan because God had promised that in him all the families of the earth should be blessed. Gen. 12 : 3. A few years after the entrance of Abraham into Canaan, occurred the first war recorded in history. Gen. 14. Ishmael was born when Abraham was eightysix years old, in the year 2,095. Isaac was born when Abraham was one hundred years old, 2,109 years from the creation. Just before the birth of Isaac, Sodom was destroyed. Gen. 18 and 19. Shem died in the year 2,159, when Abraham was one hundred and fifty years of age. Gen. 11 : 11. Jacob and Esau were born in the year 2,169, when Isaac was sixty years old, and Abraham one hundred and sixty. Gen. 25 : 26. Abraham died at the age of one hundred and seventy-five years, when Jacob was fifteen years old, in the year 2,184. Gen. 25 : 7, 8.
Isaac died at the age of one hundred and eighty years, in the year 2,289. Gen. 35 : 28, 29. Jacob went down into Egypt in the year 2,299. Moses was eighty years of age when he led the children of Israel out of Egypt. Ex. 7 : 7. This was 2,- 514 years from the creation. Immediately after they had crossed the Red Sea, God gave to them the ten commandments. Ex. 19 and 20. In consequence of their rebellion, they wandered in the desert forty years (Acts 13 : 36), and entered the promised land in the year 2,554.
It appears from Joshua 13 and 14 that the land was divided among the tribes six years after their entrance into it. This was in the year 2,560. From the division of the land till the time of Samuel the prophet God gave judges to Israel for the space of four hundred and fifty years. Acts 13 : 19, 20. This brings us to the call of Samuel, about the year 3,009. The call of Samuel may therefore be said to mark the end of the third thousand years and the commencement of the fourth.
God called Samuel to fill the office of prophet, as well as that of judge. But when Samuel became old, the people feared that their next judge might be a bad man, like the sons of Eli, and they demanded a king. 1 Sam. 8. God raised up to them Saul as their king. But after a short time he became a bad man. We do not know the length of the reign of Saul ; but it appears from Acts 13 : 21, 22 that the space of forty years intervened between the call of Samuel and the commencement of the reign of David in the year 3,050.
David reigned forty years. 1 Kings 2 : 11. The accession of Solomon was therefore about 3,090 years after the creation. Solomon began to build the temple in the fourth year of his reign, and finished it in the eleventh year, about the year 3,- 101. 1 Kings 6 : 37, 38. Solomon reigned forty years, and died about the year 3,130. 1 Kings 11 : 42.
When Rehoboam came to the throne, ten of the twelve tribes revolted against him. 1. Kings 12. The ten tribes were thenceforward called the kingdom of Israel, and the two tribes, Judah and Benjamin, were called the kingdom of Judah. All the kings of the ten tribes were wicked men, but Ahab was the worst of them all. During his reign, Elijah, by the power of faith, shut heaven that there should be neither dew nor rain during three years and a half. 1 Kings 17 : 1 ; Luke 4 : 25 ; Jas. 5 : 17. Elijah was translated about the year 3,212. 2 Kings 2.
It was about the year 3,320 that Jonah was sent to prophesy against Nineveh. The ten tribes of the kingdom of Israel were carried into captivity about the year 3,400. 2 Kings 18 : 11, 12. The kingdom of Judah did not take warning from the ruin of the kingdom of Israel, but followed the wicked example of the ten tribes. Therefore God sent Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, against the kingdom of Judah, and he destroyed Jerusalem, burned the temple of the Lord, and carried the Jews away to Babylon. This was about 3,- 533 years after the creation. Babylon itself was taken by the Medes and Persians under Cyrus about the year 3,582, or 538 years before Christ. Dan. 5.
Cyrus gave the Jews permission to return from Babylon to their own land about the year 3,584. Ezra 1. The following year they began to rebuild the temple. Ezra 3. It was about the year 3,663 that Artaxerxes issued his decree for the rebuilding of Jerusalem. Ezra 7. From this decree the seventy weeks and twenty-three hundred days of Daniel 8 and 9 are to be dated.
Alexander the Great overthrew the Persian empire 331 years before Christ, or about 3,789 years after the creation. The Jews made their first alliance with the Romans 161 years before Christ, about the year 3,959. This was the commencement of the ascendency of the Romans over the Jews. This covenant with the Romans was renewed twenty years later, about the year 3,980, and out of this relation with the Romans came greet trouble to the Jews and their final ruin. The alliance between the Jews and Romans may therefore be said to mark the end of the fourth thousand years from the creation of the world. J. N. A.
THE GREAT WEEK OF TIME. THE EVENTS OF THE FIFTH THOUSAND YEARS. Review and Herald, August 7, 1883 by J.N. Andrews Fourth Article
WE have given the dates of the principal events in the history of the Old Testament according to the best light furnished by chronology. The events of the first 3000 years can be marked with great accuracy, but with respect to the fourth period of 1.000 years there are several difficulties that make it impossible to determine the exact age of the world. We therefore only attempt to give an approximation to the true dates of events during the last 3000 years, without pretending to fix them in the precise years from creation in which they occurred. But the events of the fifth and sixth periods of 1000 years can be very definitely fixed with respect to the birth of Christ, though not so definitely fixed with respect to the age of the world.
We closed the fourth period of 1000 years with the alliance between the Jews and the Romans, about 3979 years from creation, and 161 years before Christ. This marks the commencement of the dominion of the fourth universal kingdom of the prophecy of Daniel over the people of God. Two years after this, Antiochus, the king of Syria, came against the Jews with a great army; but he was defeated. Simon the high priest, the brother of Judas Maccabeus, who had wrought such great victories for the Jews against the Syrians, was assassinated about the year 3984. Julius Caesar, after becoming master of the Roman empire, was assassinated forty-four years before Christ, or about the year 4076. Herod became king of the Jews thirty-seven years before Christ, or about the year 4083. He began to rebuild the temple in the twentieth year of his reign. Augustus Caesar became emperor of Rome thirty-one years before Christ, or about the year 4089.
Our Lord Jesus Christ was born in the thirty-third year of Herod, or about the year 4115 from creation. His birth did not begin to be regarded as an epoch from which to reckon time till about the year 532, when Dionysius Exiguus introduced the custom. It has since been ascertained that the birth of Christ occurred about five years before the year fixed by Dionysius as the commencement of the Christian era. The slaughter of the children at Bethlehem was therefore about two years before the commencement of our era. When Christ was twelve years of age, in the eighth year of our era, he went up to Jerusalem. Luke 2: 42. John the Baptist began to preach in the year 26, or about 4146 from the creation.
The Saviour was baptized and commenced his ministry when he was about thirty years of age, in the autumn of 27. Luke 3:23. When he commenced his ministry, he said, " The time is fulfilled." Mark 1:14, 15. This must therefore mark the end of the sixty-nine weeks which were to extend to the Messiah the Prince. Dan. 9:25. Christ was crucified in the spring of 31, after preaching three years and a half. This was in accordance with the prophecy of Dan. 9 : 27, that he should be crucified in the midst of the seventieth week. The death of Stephen and the commencement of the first persecution is placed by eminent chronologers in the year 34, or 4154 from the creation. The following year Saul was converted. The council of the apostles assembled at Jerusalem in the year 52, or about the year of the world 4172.
In the year 60 of the Christian era, or 4180 years after the creation, St. Paul wrote his epistle to the Romans. In it he uses these remarkable words : " La nuit est avancee et le jour est proche." --- 9
Lcouscrune. Born. 13: 12. The period of the fallen state of man is represented in the Bible as night, and the coming of Christ and the resurrection of the just is spoken of as introducing the morning. 1 Thess. 5 : 4-8 ; Isa. 21 : 11, 12 ; Ps. 49 : 14 ; 2 Pet. 1 : 19. We have learned that this night extending from the fall of Adam to the coming of Christ in glory is about 6000 years in duration. Now we see how truthful and appropriate were the words of Paul ; for when he wrote, nearly three-fourths of the night was passed.
In the year 70, or about 4190 years from the creation, Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans. In the year 96, or 4216 from creation, John received his vision at Patmos. In the year 196, or 4316 from the creation, occurred the first act of papal arrogance. In that year Victor, bishop of Rome, issued an edict requiring the entire Christian church to celebrate the Passover on Sunday. He also excommunicated those who refused to obey. In the year 303, Diocletian commenced the ten years' persecution. In 321, or 4441 from the creation, Constantine published his famous edict in behalf of what he called the venerable day of the sun. This is the original source of authority for observing the day, as no law, either human or divine, had previously existed in behalf of this day.
In the year 325, or 4445 years from the creation, the first general council assembled at Nicaa in Asia Minor. This council established the doctrine of the Trinity. The first of the ten kingdoms of the fourth empire, the Huns in Hungary, arose in 356, or 4476 after the creation. The last of the ten kingdoms arose in 483, or 4603 from the creation. In 533, or 4653 from the creation, Justinian issued his decree recognizing the pope as head of the entire Christian church. But in the year 588, in a council of the church, John the faster, bishop of Constantinople, assumed the title of Universal Bishop. This caused pope Gregory the Great, who was alarmed that his rival should be raised above him, to write to the emperor Mauritius " that whoever adopted the title of Universal Bishop has the pride and character of antichrist." But two years after the death of pope Gregory, pope Boniface III. applied to Phocas, who had become emperor by murdering his predecessor, asking him to decree that the pope of Rome should be universal bishop. This request was actually granted, and in 606, or 4726 from the creation, the pope received the very title that Gregory pronounced the mark of antichrist.
In the year 756, or 4875 from the creation, the pope received from Pepin, king of France, the gift of the territory since known as the States of the Church. About the year 800, or 4920 from the creation, appeared the forged decretals by which all the extravagant pretensions of the pope appeared to be confirmed by ancient documents. These decretals are now acknowledged by Romanist scholars to be shameless forgeries, but the pretensions of the pope which they established are still maintained. The fifth thousand years closes between the year 880 and 900, in the midnight of the Dark Ages. The church of Christ was bidden in the wilderness (Rev. 12: 6, 14), and the church of Rome reigned supreme. J. N. A.
THE GREAT WEEK OF TIME. EVENTS OF THE SIXTH THOUSAND YEARS. Review and Herald, August 14, 1883 by J.N. Andrews Fifth Article
THE sixth period of 1000 years from the creation commenced near the end of the ninth century of the Christian era. The densest moral darkness covered the earth at that time ; the church of Rome was everywhere triumphant, and the true servants of Christ lived only in the greatest obscurity. Several of the popes during the tenth century were monsters of cruelty and of licentiousness. We instance Pope Sergius III., Pope John X., Pope John XI., and Pope John XII. The crimes of these men were such that they cannot be mentioned.
Baronius says of that period : " The vilest and most powerful prostitutes ruled in the court of Rome, . . . and—which is inexpressibly horrible to be mentioned—false popes, their paramours, were thrust into the chair of St. Peter, who in being numbered as popes, serve no purpose except to fill up the catalogue of popes." And he terms them "monsters horrible to behold." The tenth century constitutes the first century of the sixth period of 1000 years. Toward the end of this century the idea was prevalent that Christ would come in the year 1000. This was because men were taught that the 1000 years of Rev. 20 commenced when Christ was born. If the people could have read the Bible for themselves, they would have seen that this period commences with the resurrection of the just and ends with that of the unjust.
The most of the popes of the eleventh century obtained the papal crown by violence or corruption ; and most of their lives were profligate and wicked. Sylvester II., Benedict IX., and Gregory VI., were termed "monsters of men and infamous antichrists." Gregory VII., who was pope from 1073 to 1085, claimed absolute dominion over all kingdoms. The final separation between the Greek Catholics and Roman Catholics took place in this century. The first crusade for the recovery of Jerusalem from the Mahomedans commenced at the close of this century.
During the twelfth century, the first faint gleam of intellectual light dawned upon the darkness of Europe. In 1159 thirty dissenters from popery were put to death in England, which are the first instances of death for heresy in that country. The same year Peter Waldo began to preach against the errors of popery. In 1161 King Henry II., of England, and King Louis VII. of France, led together the horse of the pope at the castle of Toici in France. In 1177 the emperor Frederick Barbarossa led the mule of the pope at Venice. In 1184 Pope Lucius III. issued a cruel edict against the Waldenses, which was followed by bloody persecution. This is the third century 4' the sixth period of 1000 years. Dr. Allix says that the Cathari of this century kept the seventh day, and Mosheim says the same thing of the Passaginians of this century.
At the commencement of the thirteenth century the pope sent Eustachius, abbot of Flay, into England with a roll which he said fell from Heaven, which roll threatened terrible judgments on those who should not observe the first day of the week. The war against the Albigenses of the south of France was commenced in 1209. The Inquisition was established about this time. In the middle of this century the Jews were everywhere cruelly persecuted. About the year 1268 there was no pope for two years and nine months. About the year 1292 there was no pope for two years and three months.
Soon. after the commencement of the fourteenth century, the popes removed their throne from Rome to Avignon, where they continued for seventy years. In 1347 the great plague ravaged Europe, and carried off one-fourth of the inhabitants. In 1369 Wickliffe, the morning star of the Reformation, commenced his work in England, and made the first English translation of the Bible. In 1378 two popes were chosen, one at Rome and one at Avignon, and there continued to be two rival popes till 1417. The church of Rome has not yet been able to decide which of the two lines during this forty years furnish the true successors of St. Peter. This is the fifth century of the sixth period of 1000 years from the creation.
In 1414 the great council of Constance assembled, and was not dissolved till 1418. This council condemned and burned John Huss in 1415, and did the same by Jerome of Prague in 1416. This council ordered Wickliffe to be dug up and burned. In 1431 the council of Bitle assembled and did not dissolve till 1444. In 1438 the seven sacraments, baptism, confirmation, the eucharist, penance, extreme unction, orders, and matrimony, were first decreed by the council of Florence, though they had been taught before. In 1453 the eastern Roman empire terminated at the taking of Constantinople by the Turks. In 1492 the Moors were driven from Spain. In the same year America was discovered by Columbus.
In 1517 the great Reformation commenced in Germany by Luther's attack upon papal indulgences. The Reformation began in Switzerland in 1519, and in Sweden and Denmark in 1524. The Reformers were first styled Protestants at the diet of Spire 1529. In 1539 the society of the Jesuits was instituted. In 1545 the council of Trent convened, and lasted eighteen years. In 1555 many reformers wore burned in England under Queen Mary. In 1560 the Reformation began in Scotland, and in 1566 it began in Holland. In 1572 occurred the massacre of the Protestants on St. Bartholomew's day. In 1598 the edict of Nantes established religious liberty in France. This ends the seventh century of the sixth period of 1000 years.
In 1608 Arminius preached against Calvinism in Holland. In 1611 the present English translation of the Bible was finished. In 1618 the synod of Dort condemned the Arminians. hi 1622 the Congregation de Propaganda Fide was instituted by the pope. In 1633 Galileo was imprisoned by the Inquisition for asserting that the earth moves. In 1650 the Quakers arose in England. In 1653 the doctrine of Jonsenius, a reformer among the Catholics of France, was condemned by the pope. In 1685 Louis XIV. revoked the edict of Nantes, and inflicted great cruelties on the Protestants of France.
In 1701 the English, Society for Propagating the Gospel in Foreign Parts was instituted. In 1729 the Methodists arose. In 1732 the Moravian Missionary Society was instituted. In 1755 occurred the great earthquake of Lisbon, which shook an extent of territory four times that of all Europe. In 1773 the pope suppressed the society of the Jesuits because of its mischievous character. On May 19, 1780, occurred the remarkable darkening of the sun and moon in the New World. In 1789 commenced the terrible French Revolution. In 1798 the papal government was abolished. The ninth century of the sixth period of 1000 years ends here.
In 1804 was instituted the British and Foreign Bible Society. In 1814 Pope Pius VII. restored the Society of the Jesuits. In 1816 the American Bible Society was instituted. In 1826 the American Temperance Society was formed. In 1831 the British and Foreign Temperance Society was formed. In 1833 occurred the shower of falling stars, which extended over a vast territory. In 1848 the people of Rome established a republic, and the pope fled to the king of Naples. In 1854 the pope proclaimed the 12
Immaculate Conception of Mary. In 1866 occurred the great shower of falling stars in Europe. In 1870 the council of the Vatican established the infallibility of the pope. This was followed by the total loss of his temporal power and the establishment of the kingdom of Italy with Rome for its capital. The sixth period of 1000 years must end in this century though we cannot fix the year when it will terminate. But the signs of the times admonish us to watch and to keep our garments. J. N. A.
THE GREAT WEEK OF TIME. EVENTS OF THE SEVENTH THOUSAND YEARS. Review and Herald, August 21, 1883, by J.N. Andrews Sixth and Last Article
IN the first article of this series concerning the great week of human history, we showed that the day of Judgment -was appointed as early as the creation of the angels, and that the creation of intelligent, accountable beings made such a day necessary even though neither angels nor men bad ever sinned. God has seen it necessary that the fidelity of all intelligent beings should be tested during a certain period, and he has therefore appointed a day of examination and decision to arrive at the end of this period, in order that the result in the case of angels and of men may be declared, and after that decision, those who are found overcomers will never be in danger of falling into sin.
It was not therefore inconsistent that the day of Judgment should be appointed for innocent beings ; and it was highly proper that the time of that event should be indicated to our first parents in their innocence. We think that God chose the period of six days such as are known to man for the work of creation in order to represent to man that in six days of 1000 years each, days such as are known to God, he would accomplish the period assigned to man before the Judgment. 2 Pet. 3 : 7, 8. That the great week of 7000 years was indicated by the first week of time has been the judgment of many of the wisest and best of men for the period of more than two thousand years.
The law of Moses was designed to represent the good things to come through Christ in the same manner that a shadow represents the tree by which it is cast. Heb. 10 : 1. This was true in a special sense of the three festival, the Passover, the Pentecost, and the feast of Tabernacles, and of the seven annual sabbaths connected with these feasts, and of the twelve or thirteen new moons of each year, and of the sabbath of the seventh year. These are enumerated in Col. 2 : 14-17, where the Greek word for sabbath is plural, and all the things mentioned are said to be the shadow of things to come. They are ordained in Lev. 23 : 4-8, 15-21, 24, 27-43 ; 25 : 1-5 ; Num. 10 : 10. They are distinguished from the Sabbath of the Lord in Lev. 23 : 38 ; for the Sabbath of the Lord belongs only to the moral law (Ex. 20 : 8-11), and it points backward to the creation and not forward to the renewing of the earth, and it will be an eternal memorial of the Creator in the new earth. Isa. 66 : 22, 23.
The week of years in which, after the land had been cultivated six years, it was to remain without cultivation the seventh (Lev. 25 : 1-7), is certainly a type of the great week of 7000 years, in which, after the earth has been cultivated by its inhabitants during 6000 years, it will remain uncultivated and desolate during the seventh period of 1000 years while the Judgment takes place. But this is not all. After seven of these weeks of years came the year of jubilee. Lev. 25 : 8-10. In this year liberty was proclaimed throughout all the land to all its inhabitants, and every man returned to his own inheritance. This signifies that after the great Sabbath, during which the earth will remain uncultivated 13
for 1000 years, the great week of 7000 years being finished, the curse will cease, after having consumed the earth with all who are wicked. Then the earth will be created anew by the power of God, and all the just will return to their inheritance in the new earth, and never know sin nor sorrow any more.
The seventh period of 1000 years commences with the resurrection of the martyrs, and of all those who have not worshiped the beast nor his image. Rev. 20 : 4. This period terminates at the resurrection of the unjust. Rev. 20: 5. As the dead in Christ are to be raised at the second coming of Christ (1 Cor. 15 : 23, 51, 52 ; 1 Thess. 4 : 16, 17), we know that this period of 1000 years will commence at the sound of the last trumpet. Peter seems to assign the period of 1000 years to the day of Judgment (2 Pet. 3 : 7, 8), and John expressly assigns this period to that grand event. Rev. 20 : 4.
At the commencement of the 1000 years our Lord will descend from Heaven with power and great glory, with the voice of the archangel and with the trump of God. Matt. 24 : 30, 31 ; 1 Thess. 4: 16, 17. The saints, whether living or dead, will be changed to immortality in a moment, and caught up to meet the Lord in the air. 1 Cor. 15 : 51-55 ; Heb. 11 : 39, 40 ; Phil. 3 : 20, 21. The Saviour will take them to the New Jerusalem, the house of his Father, where he has prepared a place for each of them. John 14 : 1-3 ; Rev. 7 : 9- 17 ; 19 : 1-9. Here they will sit down with Christ on thrones of judgment to examine the books with respect to wicked angels and wicked men. Rev. 20 : 4 ; 1 Cor. 4 : 5 ; 6 : 1-3 ; Dan. 7 : 22. The saints will not decide the question whether those whom they judge shall be saved or lost, for this was decided already when Christ separated the just from the unjust at the sound of the trumpet. Their work will be to examine the books, that the measure of every man's guilt may appear, for God will reward all men according to their works. Rom. 2 : 5-8 ; Matt. 16 : 27.
At the commencement of the 1000 years will occur the events of the seventh plague. Rev. 16: 17-21. In the battle of the great day the slain of the Lord will be from one end of the earth to the other. Jer. 25 : 30-38 ; Rev. 19 : 11-21. The great earthquake will turn the earth upside down, and the great hailstones will complete the destruction of the sinners then living upon the earth. Isa. 24 : 18-23 ; Rev. 16 : 18-21 ; Isa. 28 : 17 ; Job 38 : 22, 23 ; Ps. 46 : 1-3. The earth will become without form and void, as it was at the commencement, when God called it the abyss. Compare Jer. 4 : 23-25 ; Gen. 1 : 1, 2 ; Rev; 20 : 1-3. The binding of Satan at the commencement of the 1000 years is by the destruction of his subjects and he will then be confined to the ruined earth as his prison. When the high priest finished his work for the people of God in the earthly sanctuary, he put their sins upon the head of the scapegoat. Lev. 16 : 7- 10, 15-22. This represents the case of Satan when he shall be confined in the desolate earth after Christ has finished his work as High Priest.
Sometime before the 1000 years terminates, the holy city will descend upon a place prepared for it upon the earth ; for at the end of that period the wicked dead come forth from their graves, and Satan, being loosed out of his prison, goes out to deceive them and to induce them to make a final assault upon the city of God. Rev. 20 : 5, 7-9 When they are thus brought into the presence of Christ, the dreadful sentence, " Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels," will then be pronounced upon them. Matt. 25 : 41. Then the fire from God out of Heaven will fall upon them to devour them, and they will receive their punishment in the presence of the Lamb and the holy angels. Rev. 20 : 9 ; 14 : 10. The earth will become a great lake of fire, and will be wholly melted. Rev. 20 : 14, 15 ; 2 Pet. 3 : 7-13. Mal. 4 : 1-3. The second death will consume the wicked, and the new heaven and the new earth will be created, in which the just will dwell eternally, and God will be all and in all. Rev. 21 : 1, etc; 1 Cor. 15 : 28. J. N. A.