Facing the millennium

"No need to wait for 2000. Millennial harmony, peace, and glory are ours today to discover and to demonstrate."

By Elaine R. Follis

Some months ago, the Sentinel's staff contacted authors around the world, asking them to research and report on the millennium. Elaine R. Follis, who is the Jeanne and George Todd Professor of Religious Studies at Principia College in Elsah, Illinois, offered to provide historical and theological background on this important subject, while also explaining how the hope the millennium naturally includes can be fulfilled.

With The Approach of the year 2000, the word millennium is appearing everywhere. The term brings questions about its meaning in Biblical tradition, its place in the evolution of human history, and its potential impact on society. While sometimes linked with Armageddon and social and environmental upheaval, the concept of the millennium is itself very "upbeat," reflecting hope for future order, happiness, and peace.

Millennium simply means "a thousand years." The term has been used to refer to an interim period between the present corrupt material age and the establishment of the absolute reign of God, usually characterized by the restraint of evil forces and increased earthly delights—brighter light from the sun and stars, more abundant and healthful harvests. While not found in the Old Testament, the theme of the millennium appears in later Jewish writing and in two places in the New Testament: First Corinthians 15:23–28 and Revelation 19:12–18. It became a developed theological concept in the writings of some of the early Church Fathers.

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Facing the millennium

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