When Does the Third Millennium Begin?

HAVE you heard the claim that the third millennium will not begin in the year 2000 but in 2001? That claim is correct​—up to a point. If we assume that Jesus Christ was born in what is now known as 1 B.C.E., as some once supposed, then December 31, 2000 (not 1999), will indeed mark the end of the second millennium, and January 1, 2001, the beginning of the third.a

2000 or 2001?

To understand why some claim that the third millennium from Jesus’ birth will dawn on January 1, 2001, consider this illustration. Suppose you are reading a book that is 200 pages long. When you reach the top of page 200, you have finished reading 199 pages, with one more page to read. You will not complete the book until you come to the end of page 200. Similarly, 999 years of the present millennium, as commonly viewed, will have elapsed on December 31, 1999, with one year to go until the end of the millennium. By that reckoning, the third millennium begins on January 1, 2001. That does not mean, however, that on that date exactly 2,000 years will have elapsed from the date of Jesus’ birth, as this article shows.