The Millennium Argument
There was no year 0 -- the first year A.D. was just that, 1 A.D. That was also the first year of the first millennium , which ran until 1000 A.D., and century, which ran until 100 A.D. Therefore, the first year of the second century was 101 A.D., and the first year of the second millennium was 1001 A.D., and each successive century and millennium began and will begin in the 1 year of their calendar.
There Was No Year Zero
Absolutely True! Of course there is no Year Zero. There is no month zero. There is no day zero. There is no minute zero and there is no second zero. How could there be? How could you have 365 days of nothing? A ruler does not have a zero inch. You can not move zero miles per hour. You can not weigh zero pounds. BUT YOU CAN HAVE A STARTING POINT OF ZERO.
EXAMPLES:
From that moment you were born.
From the moment you said "I Do"
From the moment an athlete starts a race.
From the moment the shuttle lifts off.
The count ... T minus 10, 9, 8, ... 3, 2, 1, Lift-Off (not Zero even though it is zero) Thus providing a positive outcome of time until the mission is either terminated or completed.
So What Is The Point?
Look at the above chart. At some point in time there was a starting point of Zero. From point 0 to the precise moment you pass 1, you have celebrated the first anniversary. At the precise moment you pass 5, you have celebrated the fifth anniversary. At the precise moment you pass 10, you have celebrated the tenth anniversary. Count the X's between zero and ten and you will find ten. Thus you have celebrated a decade, a full and complete ten years, 10 sets of 365 days from Jan. 1 IN the year one, to Jan 1 IN the Year 11.
So from the precise moment after zero to the equal precise moment after ten, you have completed a decade, and you are IN the Eleventh year.
The above chart can be expanded to indicate a century and also a millennium.
Example:
From Jan. 1 at 0000.01 hrs. (one second after midnight) in the year 1 to Jan. 1 0000.01 hrs. in the year 11 you have completed a decade.
The proof:
Jan. 1, in the year 11 minus 10 years equals Jan. 1 in the year 1.
On Jan. 1 0000.01 hrs. in the year 101 you have completed 100 years or a century.
The proof:
Jan. 1, in the year 101 minus 100 years equals Jan. 1 in the year 1.
On Jan. 1 0000.01 hrs. in the year 1001 you have completed 1000 years or a millennium.
The proof:
Jan. 1, in the year 1001 minus 1000 years equals Jan. 1 in the year 1.
In the armed forces time is measured in Hours. A Day ends at 2400 hrs. which equals 0000 hrs. of the new day though a log will never indicate such a time.
Keep in mind that each year at midnight of a New Year not only equals the completion of a year but at the precise moment of Dec. 31 at 2400 hrs. of any year also equates to Jan. 1 0000 hrs. of the next consecutive year.
The Question
Here's a question for you to think about.
If you are on the date Jan. 1, in the year 10, what would the date be if you subtract 10 years? Jan. 1, in the year 0? NO! You could not be in Jan. 1, of the year 0 because there was no year zero! You cannot have 365 days of nothing!
There is a proper method to answer the above question. You have completed 9 years and Jan. 1, in the year 10 equals 1/365 of the year. Your point in time is 9 1/365. If you take 9 1/365 and subtract 10 the result would be, -1 1/365 or Jan. 1 in the year 1 B.C.
Take this a step further and you will find that Jan. 1 of the year 1 equals 1/365 or 0.002739726 as a point in time.
Twist the Thinking
Let's for example purposes use the above chart to indicate the floors of a building. When you enter a building you are normally on the ground floor or ground zero. This floor may also be refered to as the first floor. When you get on the elevator to go up, the next floor would be the second floor ... and so on. when you reach the tenth floor, you have really only travelled up nine floors. But you are on ten and that equates to a decade of floors. If you on the first floor and go down a floor, you do not go to floor zero, you go to the floor -1 or sometimes known as L. From the first floor as you go down you do travel through point zero. You do not land on it, you probably do not even think of its existance, but it is there.
Another Look
Let's expand the thought process a bit. Let's say that each year has a start point, a beginning point if you will. So year one has it's own start point (beginning point). IT IS THE FIRST BEGINNING OF THE FIRST YEAR OF TIME AS IT GOES FORWARD (indicated by the red 1). Upon completing year one and entering year two there is another start point, and it is the second beginning of a new year as indicated by the red 2.
This indicates that on New Years Eve of year 9 you have also had a total of ten beginnings of a new year. So entering year 10 is the tenth aniversary of the beginning of a new year, keep in mind though that this is not the celebration of the completion of a decade of years. It is the celebration of the beginning of ten years.
The Definition
Main Entry: mil�len�ni�um
Pronunciation: m&-'le-nE-&m
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural mil�len�nia /-nE-&/; or -niums
Etymology: New Latin, from Latin mille thousand + New Latin -ennium (as in biennium)
Date: circa 1638
1 a : the thousand years mentioned in Revelation 20 during which holiness is to prevail and Christ is to reign on earth b : a period of great happiness or human perfection
2 a : a period of 1000 years
b : a 1000th anniversary or its celebration
The noun millennium has 3 senses (first 1 from tagged texts)
� 1. millennium -- (a span of 1000 years)
� 2. millennium -- ((New Testament) in Revelations it is foretold that those faithful to Jesus will reign with Jesus over the earth for a thousand years; the meaning of these words have been much debated; some denominations (e.g. Jehovah's Witnesses) expect it to be a thousand years of justice and peace and happiness)
� 3. millennium -- (the 1000th anniversary)
Read The Definitions Again!
Now I have some questions. In the above definitions, is there any, ANY reference to a starting point? i.e. ZERO?! Look Hard! Is there ANY reference to the completion of a 1000 years from a specific point? Are we not celebrating a 1000th anniversary in accordance with the above definitions?
But here is a fact, a fact that can not be disputed. On New Years Eve 1999, as we cross over into the year 2000 we will also have completed 2000 beginnings of a New Year.
Here is another fact. The date 2000 1/365 equals Jan. 1, 2001. Subtract 2000 from 2000 1/365 the answer is 1/365 or 0.002739726 day one of the beginning of time as it goes forward.
You can think about it.