Page 105 - Signs of the End

THE SIGNS OF THE END 69

Temple are needed in order to start up the proper worship. Thus,
we find groups hunting all over Israel for the sacred ashes, which
they believe were hidden long ago for future use. However, there
seems to be no reason why new ashes cannot be used from a cur­
rent red heifer. This is the view of the majority of the Rabbinical
authorities. So they are putting their effort into finding a red heifer
that meets the qualifications, so that they can sacrifice her and uti­
lize her ashes when the opportunity might come to purify the
priests and the vessels of a new Temple.

MILLENNIAL FEVER: THE Y2K CRISIS

Back in the secular world, one of the most remarkable aspects
of our time is that we are moving from the second millennium into
the third millennium since the First Coming of Christ. When the
transition from the first millennium to the second miUennium
occurred, there was great anticipation of the Second Coming. It is
quite probable that out of that "millennial fever" the zeal for
Crusades to recapture Jerusalem from the Moslems became the
battle cry of Christians in Europe. It was a time of great eschato­
logical expectations.

So it is in the current millennial change. There is an exciting
anticipation of the return of the Lord, as we come ever nearer to the
year 2000. Also, this is not just any millennial change. If the
chronology of the Bible is taken seriously, Adam and Eve were cre­
ated about 4000 BC, or some 6,000 years ago. There is something
very suggestive about 6,000 years of human history. If, indeed, "a
thousand years is as a day," then, to the Lord, six thousand years is
like six days. There were six days of creation, and it may be that
there are six days of human history, at the end of which the Lord
would establish His kingdom on earth. Elegantly, that 1,000-year
Kingdom would represent the seventh day of rest, or a "Sabbath."

There is some uncertainty about the precise timing of the six
thousand years, though. The Jewish calendar is supposed to begin
with the creation of Adam, and we are currently in the year 5759 in
that reckoning of time. We are thus some 240 years away from
6000 according to the Jewish calendar. Some explanations have