The year 2000 is even more significant to members of some religious groups. They are convinced that within the next year or so, Jesus will return to the Mount of Olives and the battle of Armageddon, spoken of in the book of Revelation, will be fought in the valley of Megiddo. (Revelation 16:14-16) In anticipation of these events, hundreds of U.S. residents are selling their homes and most of their belongings and are moving to Israel. For the benefit of any who cannot leave their homes, a prominent U.S. evangelist has reportedly promised to broadcast the return of Jesus on television​—in color!

Does that matter? For example, would the start of the third millennium mark the beginning of the Thousand Year Reign of Jesus Christ, referred to in the book of Revelation? No. The Bible nowhere indicates any link between the third millennium and the Thousand Year Reign of Christ.

Jesus warned his followers against speculating about dates. He told his disciples: “It does not belong to you to get knowledge of the times or seasons which the Father has placed in his own jurisdiction.” (Acts 1:7) Earlier, Jesus revealed that even he did not then know when God would execute judgment on this wicked system, paving the way for Christ’s Millennial Rule. He said: “Concerning that day and hour nobody knows, neither the angels of the heavens nor the Son, but only the Father.”​—Matthew 24:36.

Is it reasonable to expect that Christ will return exactly 2,000 years from the date of his birth as a human? No, it is not. Jesus must have known the date of his own birth. And he certainly knew how to count 2,000 years from that date. Yet, he did not know the day and hour of his coming. Obviously, it would not be that simple to pinpoint the date of his return! The ‘times and seasons’ were in the Father’s jurisdiction​—the timetable his alone to know.

Furthermore, Jesus did not command his followers to wait for him at a specific geographic location. He told them, not to gather together and wait, but to scatter to “the most distant part of the earth” and make disciples of people of all the nations. He has never rescinded that command.​—Acts 1:8; Matthew 28:19, 20.

Will Their Millennial Hopes Be Dashed?

Nevertheless, some religious fundamentalists have great expectations for the year 2000. They believe that during the next few months, portions of the book of Revelation will have a literal fulfillment. Indeed, they see themselves as sharing personally in that fulfillment. For example, they point to the prophecy recorded at Revelation 11:3, 7, 8, which tells of two witnesses who prophesy in a “great city which is in a spiritual sense called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was also impaled.” When they finish their witnessing, the two witnesses are killed by a ferocious wild beast that comes out of an abyss.

According to a report in The New York Times Magazine of December 27, 1998, the leader of one religious group “has told followers he is one of the two witnesses who is fated to announce the destruction of the earth and coming of the Lord​—and then be slain by Satan in the streets of Jerusalem.” Israeli authorities are understandably worried. They fear that certain extremists may try to “fulfill” the prophecy on their own​—even if that means provoking an armed conflict! However, God does not need man’s “help” to bring his purpose to fruition. All of the Bible’s prophecies will be fulfilled in God’s own time and in God’s own way.

The book of Revelation was written “in signs.” According to Revelation 1:1, Jesus wanted to reveal to “his slaves” (not the world in general) what would shortly take place. To understand the book of Revelation, Christ’s slaves, or followers, would need God’s holy spirit, which Jehovah gives to those who please him. If the book of Revelation is to be understood literally, even faithless people could read it and understand it. Then there would be no need for Christians to pray for holy spirit in order to understand it.​—Matthew 13:10-15.

We have seen that according to Biblical evidence, the third millennium from Jesus’ birth begins in the fall of 1999 and that neither that date nor January 1, 2000, nor January 1, 2001, has any special significance.