Millennium Madness

by Gene Shelburne

Like small tykes watching wide-eyed as the odometer on the family chariot rolls past all the nines in 99999, people worldwide seem to be goggle-eyed at the prospect of a calendar sporting three zeroes.

Especially in America among prophecy-obsessed Christians are we witnessing a wave of what one writer calls millennial madness.

For reasons not readily apparent to many of us who believe and cherish the Scriptures, some folks are convinced that Christ’s second coming will coincide with the dawning of the new millennium.

Atop the Mount of Olives, Ibrahim Dawood owns a modest motel. All Bible readers know, of course, that Jesus ascended to heaven from this location. Some think he promised to return there. So, as the 20th century runs down, Christian pilgrims are flocking to that spot. Dawood says, “They think this is a front-row seat.”

In January, 1999, Israeli authorities arrested 14 doomsday cult members from Denver, who reportedly planned to trigger Armageddon by starting a shooting war in the Holy Land. Thus, according to their weird millennial theories, they would hasten Christ’s return to Earth.

Some high-profile religious leaders have been grabbing headlines by predicting a global shut-down triggered by Y2K computer woes.

Even a name-brand evangelist like Jerry Falwell has gotten into the millennial act. So far he hasn’t set a specific date, but in national news stories early in 1999 he predicted that Jesus would return within 10 years.

In California a former petty thief and pothead who spent the past 14 years locked up by the California Youth Authority caught the attention of Los Angeles Times reporters. He now traipses about in rubber sandals, with a golden Christian fish symbol on his lapel and prison tattoos on his arms, spouting lists of what he says are fulfilled prophecies from the Book of Revelation.

Since the present method of counting time did not even exist when Jesus was born, it’s hard for me to see how the 2000 mark on our modern calendars signals some heaven-set historical dividing line.

Of one thing I am certain. Jesus will return. Brother Falwell could be right. Or Christ might enjoy a chuckle at Jerry’s expense and decide to delay another millennium or so. But Jesus is coming back. That much I know for sure, because he said he would.