Where do we go from here?
There are numerous questions about what the messianic future holds for us. By examining the text, we should get at least a high-level concept of the things to come. After all, what's the point of "hoping" if there is no concept of what we are to hope for?
The Christian world is full of many theological theories about the Millennia. But what was the original view of the Millennia, the first-century Jewish view? All of the authors of the Bible are Jewish and primarily operated within a Jewish mindset even when writing to Gentile audiences. Pulling from many Rabbinic sources as well as the Tanakh and Apostolic Writings, we will be able to give you a fuller picture of the expectations and ideas of the first century believers.
Messianic Age
Throughout the prophets' and Rabbinic writings, we see countless references to a period more colloquially known as the Messianic Era or Messianic Age.
“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. Jeremiah 23:5
“I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed. Daniel 7:13-14
He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. Isaiah 2:4 (ESV)
They [the righteous who died] came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. Revelation 20:4b (ESV)
While Revelation is more blatant in the description of a Messiah reigning for 1,000 years, it's far from an isolated ideology among followers of Jesus. In fact, the Talmud shares the same understanding:
It is taught in a baraita in accordance with the opinion of Rav Ketina: Just as the Sabbatical Year abrogates debts once in seven years, so too, the world abrogates its typical existence for one thousand years in every seven thousand years, as it is stated: “And the Lord alone shall be exalted on that day,” and it states: “A psalm, a song for the Shabbat day” (Psalms 92:1), meaning a day, i.e., one thousand years, that is entirely Shabbat. And it says in explanation of the equation between one day and one thousand years: “For a thousand years in Your eyes are but like yesterday when it is past, and like a watch in the night” (Psalms 90:4). The school of Eliyahu taught: Six thousand years is the duration of the world. Two thousand of the six thousand years are characterized by chaos; two thousand years are characterized by Torah, from the era of the Patriarchs until the end of the mishnaic period; and two thousand years are the period of the Messianic era. (b.Sanhedrin 97a:13-14)
According to the ancient understanding, this is a rough outline of the 'creation days' to 'years' correlation. For reference, as of this writing in 2023 CE, the Hebrew year is 5784 (Day 6).
Day 1: Year 0-1000
Day 2: Year 1001-2000
Day 3: Year 2001-3000
Day 4: Year 3001-4000
Day 5: Year 4001-5000
Day 6: Year 5001-6000
Day 7: Year 6,000-7000 (Sabbath Messianic Age)
It's important to note that the Sabbath can come early, but it can't be late. Thus, no one will truly know the day or hour in which the Messiah returns and the "1,000 sabbath" begins (Matthew 24:36). The above timeline is merely a theory of the ancient sages and is not an established biblical fact that after 6000 years the Messianic Era begins. However, an established biblical fact is the 1000-year millennial reign of Messiah.
It should also be clarified that the Hebrew calendar year is not accurate. We have known this for a long time, even in Judaism. The calculation is based on an incorrect date of the first temple's destruction. The modern Hebrew calendar is based on the date 420 BCE being the destruction of the first temple; however, we know now that the year was 166 years earlier, in 586 BCE. There is also a discrepancy in the length of time the first temple stood, further complicating things. The calendar issue is beyond this article's scope; however, it is essential to note that a corrected Hebrew date would yield anywhere from 5970 to 6006 to 6185 (in 2023). It truly is impossible to know the day or the hour.
Some claim that the Messianic Age started in 70 CE (Hebrew year 3830), stating the Messiah returned, and now we are in a symbolic "1,000 years". This claim has problems, but I want to address a similarity between this ideology and Chassidic Orthodox Judaism. Many believe the building of the messianic era started with the destruction of the 2nd temple period (70CE)¹. In addition, it is commonly accepted (among the Rabbinic) that the Messiah came during the era of the 2nd temple period but did not reveal himself fully and then ascended to heaven².
However, the primary difference is between actuality and building. The Chassidic belief is that 70 CE was the start of building the messianic era, while the other believes the messianic era has finished being built and we are living in it. These two fundamental differences set these two views worlds apart. In theological circles, we know these as "pre-millennial" and "Post-millennial," respectively. (Though sometimes "Amillennial" can also apply to the latter stance, depending on the belief.)
If we follow the assumption of the Chassidic view, (Pre-millennial) we would expect a Messiah who came to have been a cornerstone to building the messianic kingdom. In addition, we would also expect to see terminology reflecting the idea of "building" the kingdom. To no surprise, the gospels reflect the views of Chassidism. Despite an ironic (or not) correlation to the Messiah being a carpenter, we have the following references as well:
built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. Ephesians 2:20-21 ESV
[...] In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? [...] I will come again and will take you. John 14:2-3 ESV
you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood 1 Peter 2:5
Once the kingdom is built, then we will dwell in it. As we've already read:
[...] In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? [...] I will come again and will take you. John 14:2-3 ESV
They [the righteous who died] came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. Revelation 20:4b (ESV)
Considering the messianic era's building started during Messiah's first arrival in the first century, we may assume that when Messiah returns, he will bring the final piece to complete it. He then would be the first and last required piece to fulfill all prophecy.
The Final Piece & Coming of Messiah
If the Messiah is coming to complete the building of the Messianic era, then what might this final piece be? We see numerous times where the Messiah is coming with the "cloud":
Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him Revelation 1:7
Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. Matthew 24:30
behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; Daniel 7:13-14
While this could be a literal cloud, this is often used in apocalyptic literature and visionary language which is symbolic and not literal. For example, when one sees a lamb in a vision, it's usually a symbol of innocence, not a literal lamb. The slaughtered lamb symbolizes the Messiah who died rather than a literal lamb. So when we see a Messiah coming with a "cloud," perhaps we should look in the symbolic realm rather than the literal.
In the wilderness, the Jews dwelled under the cloud of glory. During the holy day of Sukkot (Tabernacles), we commemorate the miracle of the "clouds" by sitting in a sukkah.
On the fifteenth day of the seventh month (Tishrei) when you gather into your silos the year’s produce, you shall celebrate the holiday of Hashem for seven days…. In Sukkot (literally, protective tents) you shall reside for seven days… in order that the generations to come shall know that I provided Sukkot (Clouds) for the Bnei Yisroel when I took them out of Egypt. Leviticus 23:39-43
Rashi, the Ramban, and the Aramaic translations understood the booths as references to the clouds of glory. The holy of holies is also viewed as a "sukkah" where the clouds of glory appeared:
And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, a cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord. 1 Kings 8:10-11
[...] the house, the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud, 14 so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God. 2 Chronicles 5:14b
Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 35 And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 36 Throughout all their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out. 37 But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out till the day that it was taken up. Exodus 40:34-37 ESV
One might also notice how the "cloud" is almost always in conjunction with "the Glory of the L-rd". The "cloud" imagery not only represents G-d's covering and protection but also His glory. The cloud, sukkah, and tabernacle imagery are all connected in Jewish thought. Even the minimum height for the sukkah is derived from the laws concerning the building of the Tabernacle (Sukkah 4b). The Gemara also compares the dwelling of the sukkah for 7 days, being similar to Aaron and his sons' dwelling in the tabernacle for 7 days before its inauguration (Sukkah 43b).
In addition, the mercy seat with the ark is where the cloud of glory rests above.
Tell Aaron your brother not to come at any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat that is on the ark, so that he may not die. For I will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat. Leviticus 16:2
We currently don't have a temple, and we are anticipating both a temple and a Messiah's arrival. It's not a stretch to relate the two as arriving together. If the cloud of glory rests in the temple above the ark of the covenant, then a Messiah who arrives with the cloud would be arriving during the temple's completion. If we exchange "cloud" for "Tabernacle" we might find some striking similarities:
Behold, he is coming with the Tabernacle, and every eye will see him Revelation 1:7
And when all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people would rise up and worship, each at his tent door. Exodus 33:10
behold, with the Tabernacle there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. 14 And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; Daniel 7:13-14
Daniel says the son of man will go to the Ancient of Days, if Messiah is coming down from heaven after ascending, then it begs the question: Where is the Ancient of Days he is coming to? And after going to the Ancient of Days, he is then given dominion and glory. And what better place to look for wisdom concerning the Tabernacle than Ecclesiastes?
What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. Ecclesiastes 1:9
With this in mind, we have a non-Levite Messiah from the tribe of Judah who comes with the "cloud" to meet the Ancient of Days and be given command to lead all of the people and they will all enter the promised land with him on that day. Where have we seen this before? Joshua with Moses! For reference, Joshua and Jesus share the same name in Hebrew. To show the correlation, I've replaced "Joshua" with "Yeshua":
14 And the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, the days approach when you must die. Call Yeshua and present yourselves in the tent of meeting, that I may commission him.” And Moses and Yeshua went and presented themselves in the tent of meeting. 15 And the Lord appeared in the tent in a pillar of cloud. And the pillar of cloud stood over the entrance of the tent. [...] And the Lord commissioned Yeshua the son of Nun and said, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall bring the people of Israel into the land that I swore to give them. I will be with you. Deuteronomy 31:14-15, 23
In Part 2, we will continue to explore the advent of the Messianic Kingdom. Thus far, we have talked mainly about the beginning of the building of the kingdom and the ultimate return of the Messiah to usher in the Kingdom in the future. In part 2, we will begin talking about what happens to us: the resurrection!
Footnotes
¹ Schapiro, Yehuda Leib. "The Chassidic Approach to the Three Weeks and Tisha B'Av. Why Tisha B'Av will be a festival in the messianic era?"
² Jerusalem Talmud Berakhot 2:4
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