“For in as many days as this world was made, in so many thousand years shall it be concluded. And for this reason, the Scripture says: “Thus the heaven and the earth were finished, and all their adornment. And God brought to a conclusion upon the sixth day the works that He had made; and God rested upon the seventh day from all His works.” This is an account of the things formerly created, as also it is a prophecy of what is to come. For the day of the Lord is as a thousand years; and in six days created things were completed: it is evident, therefore, that they will come to an end at the sixth thousand year.” (Against Heresies, 5:28:3)
No man knows the “day or hour” of Christ’s return. End time prophecy reached milestones when Israel was reborn in 1948 followed by the restoration of Jerusalem to its control in 1967. With modern technology, the Bible has almost been preached in the whole world. Jesus pointed to this as the sign that the end times would be upon us. Next, if we assume the wisdom of Irenaeus has some credibility, then we can estimate some possible beginning scenarios for the end times. We have already experienced Y2K, the panic that the internet would go down and there would be a digital apocalypse when we reached the millennium in the year 2,000. There is a more relevant millennial date not far beyond this. It is the arrival of the second millennium since the crucifixion of Christ. It will be 2,000 years since this historical landmark and focal point in the year 2,033. Is this a likely date for the beginning or for the end of the Great Tribulation? The first consideration is, how long is the Great Tribulation. The 70th week of Daniel chapter 9 outlines the core of the Great Tribulation which is 7 years. This is represented in two parts in Revelation chapters 11 and 13. There is a period of time preceding these two chapters in Revelation 6-9. These chapters cover judgements known as the Seven Seals. The first four seals are considered in some interpretations to be a description of history since the Roman Empire. Seal five is a brief pause. Seals six and seven are events that have not yet happened in any historical context so far. Chapters 6 and 8 reveal cosmic events of stars and other material falling from heaven. Following this in chapter 9, a strange insect plague of stinging locust lasts for 5 months. Then there is a massive, intense world war launched out of the chaos that kills one third of mankind. What kind of time span would all this require? Let’s say the meteoric devastation lasts for several months, give or take. Next is war. This war is located in the Mideast by identification of crossing the Euphrates River. It comes out of the chaos of the meteoric devastation followed by the stinging locust invasion. It seems it is a battle of desperation in this time of chaos. It is not well planned and is a great disaster. It kills one third of mankind. I would not doubt nuclear intervention for a death count this large. Let’s say this war was relatively short but very violent, ultimately brought to a quick end by limited nuclear weapons. With the great devastation, it is over in a year or two at the most. After enduring the falling stars, the locust plague, and a devastating war, likely 1 to 3 years have passed at least. If we add this to the 7 years of Revelation 11 and 13, it brings us to a total of about 10 years, give or take, for the Great Tribulation. The Great Tribulation is announced in Revelation 7:9-14. Its commencement is assumed from the appearance of Jesus in Revelation 6:12-17, which is likely the Greek, harpazo, catching up, more commonly known as the rapture.
Now assume 10 years for the end time events. Then we return to the hypothesis of Irenaeus that the end times will the occur near the end of six millennia. If 2,033 is our 6,000 year mark, and we assume the 10 years of end time events finish at 2,033 then the stars would begin falling in approximately 2,023 A.D. On the other hand, the events may begin in 2,033 and continue for 10 years or so afterwards. One further consideration is that the temple is present during the end time events. It must be rebuilt in this time frame. Could it be done within 3 ½ years, the first half of week 70 of Daniel, only to have its newly instituted sacrifices cut in the middle of this week and the temple desecrated by the antichrist? With modern construction skills, this seems possible. Without predicting too precisely, we seem to have a reasonable estimate of 2,023 A.D. to 2,043 A.D. as our window for the completion of the Apocalypse and the 2nd Advent of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Matthew 16:1 The Pharisees and Sadducees came up, and testing Jesus, they asked Him to show them a sign from heaven. 2 But He replied to them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ 3 And in the morning, ‘There will be a storm today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Do you know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but cannot discern the signs of the times?