Article December 27, 1999 Issue

Millennium: a time of action

What contribution will you make in the years ahead?

By Rosalie E. Dunbar

Within a few days Western civilization will be crossing over the threshold of the year 2000. The magnitude of this change didn't fully strike me until I read a recent news report. The writer pointed out that whether some people think the third millennium begins in 2000 or, as it actually does, in 2001, the fact is that we will never again begin a year with the digits 19. This information, which was obvious but hadn't really hit me before, literally took my breath away. A hundred years of "nineteens" was giving way to a thousand years of "twenties."

Some anticipate this change with delight. Others may be fearful. I also know a few people who say, "Wake me when the hoopla is over." For cultures where time is measured differently, the hype about the millennium and the debate over when it actually begins may be puzzling or even amusing.

Some deeply religious people believe that the millennium marks the time when Jesus will return to judge the earth and its inhabitants and when only a few will be saved. For them, this period is marked by an urgent need to preach the gospel to as many people as possible so that humanity can be saved. Their love for Jesus and for humanity is balanced by great fear that many will be lost.

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