World
History According to the Bible
Clint
Bishard, Clint@JesusCreated.org
Testimony and Introduction
Even as a Christian, I once was confused over the age of the universe. This was a result of my ignorance of the Scriptures and what they teach concerning the age of the universe, as well as my being influenced by secular science. However, as the result of a challenge from a student in a 6th grade Sunday school class I was teaching, I was forced to study the Scriptures. I found out for myself that my previous thoughts on the age of the earth (millions/billions of years) were in error. This paper gives an overview of the Scriptural study I undertook in an effort to align my thinking with the Word of God. I hope you will be encouraged and come to trust in the only One who was there at the beginning to accurately tell us the details of the age of the universe – our Creator.
I also now admit the great extent of my error in holding on to the millions/billions of years. I now see the theory of evolution (and the proposed millions/billions of years used to support it) as Satan’s greatest attack on the authority of the Word of God. Although I did not accept evolution, my compromise on the clear history stated in Genesis did not uphold the authority of the Word of God. I now fully repent.
If the clear history God puts forward in Genesis is
not true, then why would anyone believe any of the rest of the Bible or that
Jesus rose from the dead? And this is
exactly what is happening, as Jesus stated in Luke 16:31 “But he said to him, ‘If they
do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be
persuaded though one rise from the dead.”[1]
Societies in which evolution and the millions/billions of years have been accepted soon find the authority and effectiveness of the Word of God decrease as well. The Church must stop compromising and take a stand on the clear historical account in Genesis – if the culture is going to be moved back to obedience to the Word of God and acceptance of its author, the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I now fully agree with the stand Pastor John MacArthur makes as he states:
“It (Evolution) is the single greatest satanic lie the world has ever known, because it eliminates the need for a creator. People can avoid God altogether. Particularly the Biblical God.”
Also, on the issue of accepting the young timeline for the age of the earth, he stated it simply - “you either believe the Bible or you don’t.”
- John MacArthur (The Battle for the Beginning series).
The following study on the Biblical age of the
universe looks to God’s Word for when He created the universe. This
starts by accepting the clear language and context of the Genesis 1 text and some
very clear clarifying passages. The
study then shows the timeframe from the creation week forward by tracing the
genealogies given in the Bible from Adam to Jacob based on the Hebrew Masoretic
text. The Scriptural timeframe from
Jacob to the building of the
Six Days
God
created the universe and everything in it, including Adam and Eve in six
literal days and then rested from His work of creation for another day (Genesis
1:1-31). The fact that these were truly
literal 24 hour days is clearly shown in Exodus 20:11. God declares
from
Significantly, the seven-day week period has
nothing in common with cosmology. All
other major references to time do as stated in Genesis 1:14.
1.
Year - time for the earth to circle the sun.
2.
Month - time for the moon to circle the earth
3.
Day - time for the earth to rotate on its axis
However, the basis for
the seven-day week period is only found in the created order in that God
created in six days and rested for one.
Another important note is that John record's the first miracle of Jesus
as turning six jars of water into wine.
This represents a solid example of Jesus power as God to create
instantaneously, just as he did for all of creation in six days (John 1, Colossians
1, and Hebrews 1).
24 Hour Days
“Day” can have several meanings.
Such as an ordinary day; or the word day can be used in the sense of
saying ‘back in my day, we did lots of great things.’ We must look at the context of the passage in
which the word day is used to find the intended meaning. The word
used in Gen. 1 & 2 is the Hebrew word YOM. The following points can
be made about the meaning of this word.
§
When used with the ordinary numbers first, second, third etc. in the OT
text, the word YOM never refers to a definite, delimited or
circumscribed period of time except
that of a solar day.
§
The plural form of the word YAMIM is never used at all except to
refer to a solar day.
§
The Hebrew word OLAM can refer to a long period of time with a
finishing point in the past, the present or future. But the word OLAM was not used in the
narratives of Gen. 1-2.
§
The repeated phrase "there was evening and morning" shows
that the writer intends to delimit and specify a time period which we know as
consisting of a 24-hour day.
§
The Sabbath observance of the Mosaic Law is based upon a literal
creation account (Ex. 20:9-11). This
passage was written by the very finger of God and refers to the days of
creation as literal 24-hour days. [3]
The following is how the word YOM
is used in the Scriptures. Outside of
Gen. 1 YOM is used as follows:
§
38 times “Evening & morning” together with
“Day” are used, and it always means an ordinary day.
§
23 times “Evening” or “Morning” with “Day” is
used and it always means an ordinary day
§
52 times “Night” with “Day” is used and it always
means an ordinary day.
§
410 times (plural or singular) “Day” + number is
used and it always means an ordinary day.[4]
Gen. 1 combines all of these possible clarifying combinations
in the discrete listing of each of these days.
IT IS CLEAR FROM THE CONTEXT OF SCRIPTURE THAT THE DAYS OF GENESIS 1
WERE ORDINARY 24 HOUR DAYS! God could
have written it otherwise, but He did not.
Christians once believed the earth was young until people started trying to make the Bible fit their own outside theories based on naturalistic views.
Some state that since the sun was not created until ‘day’ 4, the days were not literal 24-hour days. However, there was another light source referred to in day 1. To have a 24-hour day period, the sun is not necessary - just an object rotating on its axis while being illuminated by an outside light source. God does not tell us what the light source was before he created the sun. He only tells us that there was a light source. Rev. 22:5 shows that there will once again be a time in which the light does not come from the sun. Also, the book of Revelation tells us God will one day create a new heave and a new earth. Will He need another 14 billion years to create this one also? No, He will speak it into existence similar to how He did the first creation as stated in Genesis 1.
Some state that 2 Peter 3:8
indicates the days of creation could have been thousands of years or that day
could be an ‘age’ or an ‘epoch’ of time.
However, this passage is only showing that fact that God is outside of
time. Psalm 90:4 similarly states “For a
thousand years in Your sight Are like yesterday when it is past, And like
a watch in the night”. These passages
are clearly showing God’s transcendence of time. 2 Peter 3:8 is in no way attempting to
explain the meaning of the Hebrew word YOM used in Genesis 1. The context of the passage of Genesis 1 as
discussed earlier indicates the creation days were ordinary 24-hour days.
It
should not be so difficult for Christians to accept the solar day view if we
believe:
§
God is Omnipotent
§
The Bible is His revelation
§
His Word is true!
Biblical Chronology: Adam to Noah: Around 1056 Years
The years for the time between Adam and Noah were taken from Gen. 5:1-32. This genealogy gives the explicit detail of how old each father was when the following son was born, from the time of Adam to the time of Noah. The only variance that could occur in these timelines is that the specific month each son is born is not given. The case that the years listed in Gen. 5:1-32 were exact years is what is shown in the chart. However, the worst variance that could occur would be one day short of an additional year for each generation. Therefore, the most the timeline could be off from Adam to Noah would be to add an additional 9 years, one for each generation.
We have very clear clarification from a 100% accurate commentary on Genesis 5 that these generations were to be taken literally. This commentary is the New Testament. Jude 14 states the generations from Adam to Enoch were exact - “Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam.”
Biblical Chronology: Noah to Shem: Around 503 Years
The time between Noah’s birth and the birth of Shem is not that clear. Gen 5:32 simply states that Noah was 500 years old, and then Noah begot his three sons (Shem, Ham, and Jepheth). This could be that Noah was exactly 500 years old and then had boy triplets or that sometime after Noah was 500 years old, he began to have his three sons. Fortunately, other times given in the Scriptures can be used to coordinate this time. Since Shem is the ancestor to Christ, he is the son that receives the attention of this chronological timeline. Gen. 7:11 tells us that Noah was 600 years old when the flood began, and Gen 8:13-15 states that Noah was 601 years old at the end of the flood. Additionally, Gen 11:10 states that when “Shem was 100 years old, he begot Arphaxad two years after the flood”. Note: The assumption is made that this means after the flood ended. Putting this together:
v 601 years (How old Noah was when the flood ended)
v + 2 years (How long after the flood ended that Arphaxad was born)
v - 100 (How old Shem was when he had Arphaxad)
v = 503 ( How old Noah was when he had Shem
Therefore, it appears that the Scriptures stating Noah was 500 years old when he had his sons was a generalized statement. It was meant to convey that shortly after Noah turned 500, he began to have his sons. Shem was actually born when Noah was around 503 years old (The variance would be –2 to +2 years). Therefore, Noah was between 501 to 505 years old when Shem was born. For the chart, I have used the 503 age.
Biblical Chronology: Shem to Terah - Around 320 Years
The time from Shem to Terah is another timeframe that is very specific in the number of years that existed between each generation. This genealogy and the years between generations are listed in Gen. 11:1-24. As with the genealogy between Adam and Noah, the most variance that could exist between the birth of Shem and the birth of Terah would be an additional 8 years, one for each generation.
Textual Differences
Some difficulties exist due to textual differences between the various ancient versions of the Old Testament (the Hebrew Masoretic text, the Greek Septuagint, and the Samaritan Pentateuch). The main differences are as follows:
· Chronological differences in the text of Gen. 5 & 11 for the years of each generation.
· The issue of Cainan. Some ancient versions of the Greek Septuagint and some ancient text of the New Testament in Luke 3 have an additional generation of Cainan inserted in the genealogy from Shem to Terah. Whereas the ancient Hebrew and Samaritan manuscripts do not have Cainan in the text.
These differences are not going to be dealt with here for brevity. However, the most straightforward explanation is that the Masoretic text is the correct reading and the Septuagint text, Samaritan text, and some of the early Luke manuscripts represent translational errors that occurred. For a fuller discussion of these differences and the possible explanations please see appendix 1. However, it should be noted that these differences have unwarrantedly brought doubt on a very clear portion of God’s Word. Men have taken these differences and reasoned that the timeframes listed in Gen. 5 and Gen. 11 cannot be taken literally. The statements are made that there are gaps between the generations, or that they are allegorical, and etc. This reasoning is unfounded and a destructive direction for Biblical interpretation. When textural differences occur, they should be researched and analyzed to discover the most logical conclusion for the correct reading. Not provide a springboard to deny the clear teaching of the scriptures. God put the years very specifically in these genealogies for a reason. Clearly, so we would have an accurate historical record of the past. When God is telling us exactly how many years existed between a father and his descendent, the proper explanation is that the years are given so we would know how long the timeframe was between them. Genesis does not exhibit the characteristics of Hebrew Poetry. It is written as literal history, just as all of the New Testament writers viewed it! For example, Jude even refers to Enoch as being the 7th in the line of Adam (Jude 14) – he wasn’t confused, as so many seem to be today. It should be noted that although there are many genealogies given in the Bible, only the genealogy of the Savior includes a full chronology. Jesus is the clear connection from the first Adam to Himself, the last Adam (Romans 5 & 1 Corinthians 15).
The real reason for the doubt in the genealogies that has arisen over the past two centuries has come from influences outside of the Bible. For example, archeologist influenced by evolutionary thought processes desire to have additional years for mankind’s history. For example, radiometric-dating methods (such as carbon dating) built on uniformitarian assumptions have pushed for longer timeframes. Additionally, historians influenced by evolutionary thinking see mankind developing civilizations slowly over many centuries. Whereas the Biblical view is that civilizations would have developed rapidly after the flood due to the knowledge that Noah and his family brought through the flood. Man did not develop from some primitive cavemen, as many misguided scientists would have us believe!
For the purposes of this study the Masoretic text will be used as the preferred text. Again, my view for the superiority of the Masoretic text and the reasons for preferring this text are shown in appendix 1. However, regardless of the textual differences and which one is correct, they all show a universe that is relatively young (thousands of years old) and none allows for the millions and billions of years that the evolutionary timeline and other compromising Christians demand.
Biblical Chronology: Terah to Abraham - Around 130 Years
As with the
time between Noah’s birth and Shem’s, the time between the birth of Terah and
the birth of Abraham is also not so clear.
Gen. 11:26 states that Terah lived 70 years, and begot Abram, Nahor, and
v 205 years (Terah dies when he is 205)
v
- 75 (Abraham is 75 years old when he leaves
v = 130 (How old Terah was when Abraham was born.
Therefore, Terah was 130 years old when Abraham was
born. A source of variance could be that
Abraham stayed in
Biblical Chronology: Abraham to the Entry of Israel
Into Egypt
The years for Abraham to the Entry of Israel into
v 100 years (Abraham’s age when Isaac is born)
v + 60 (Isaac’s age when Jacob is born)
v +147 (Age of Jacob when he died)
v
- 17 (Time that Jacob/Israel live in
v
= 290 (Time from the birth of Abraham to the
entry of
Therefore, it was around 290 years from the birth
of Abraham to the Israelites entry into
Biblical Chronology: The Sojourn in Egypt
Exodus 12:40-41 states that the Israelites were in the land of Egypt for 430 years, and “And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years—on that very same day—it came to pass that all the armies of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt.” Therefore, no variance is expected here.
It should be noted that this is my only discrepancy
from the well know chronology given by Bishop Usher in the 1600s (from the
creation of Adam to the building of Solomon’s
Biblical Chronology: The Exodus to the Building
of Solomon ’s Temple
1 Kings 6:1 clearly states that Solomon began to
build the temple in the 480th year that the children of Israel came
out of the land of Egypt – “And it came to
pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel had
come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over
Israel, in the month of Ziv, which is
the second month, that he began to build the house of the Lord.” Therefore, since it was in
the 480th year, the actual time from the Exodus to the start of the
Total Years from Creation to the Building
of Solomon ’s Temple
Adding together all of the timeframes in the previous sections yields the following:
v 1056 (Adam to Noah)
v 503 (Noah to Shem)
v 320 (Shem to Terah)
v 130 (Terah to Abraham)
v
290 (Abraham to the Entry of
v
430 (The Sojourn in
v
479 (The Exodus to the
v = 3,208 Years AC (After Creation)
Therefore, from the Creation of Adam to the start
of Solomon’s
Age of the Universe: Around 6177 Years Old
Beyond Solomon, obtaining exact chronologies poses
some difficulties. Some problems arise
from the years given for the reins of the Kings of
v
3208 (time from creation to the start of the
v
+ 966 (time from the
v +
2003 (years from the beginning of 1 AD to the present (2004)) Note: there was no 0 AD
v = 6177 (4176 BC) – approximate age of the universe
By neglecting the 1-year variances mentioned in each
chronological section, assuming that the Masoretic text is correct, assuming
that Abraham left Haran right after his fathers death, and assuming an accurate
date for the start of Solomon’s Temple from The MacArthur Study Bible, this study
of the Scriptures shows the universe should be around 6,177 years old (4174 BC).
The Bible is the history book of the world. We should believe it!
Other Biblical
Timeframes
By simply doing the math as above, the dates for the other events on the timeline can be calculated as follows:
·
The beginning of the flood – 2518 BC
·
Abraham is born – 2165 BC
·
·
The Exodus from
Biblical Timeline of the Universe
The chart on the following two pages illustrates the
lineage from Adam to Jacob/Israel based on the Hebrew Masoretic Text. The split occurs at the time of the flood so
as to be able to clearly show the lineage before and after the flood. Note that AC refers to the number of years After
the Creation week.
<0 AC Before time, there was God ‘In the
beginning God’ (Gen. 1:1)
0 AC, day 6 Adam (around 4174 BC)
created
130 AC Seth
born
235 AC Enosh ‘Then men began to call on
the name of the LORD’
born
325 AC Cainan
born
395 AC Mahalalel
born
460 AC Jared
born
622 AC Enoch
born
687 AC Methuselah
born
874 AC Lamech
born
930 AC Adam
dies
987 AC God
takes
Enoch
1042 AC Seth
dies Noah
1056 AC born
1140 AC Enosh
dies
1235 AC Cainan
dies
1290 AC Mahalalel
dies
1422 AC Jared
dies
1536 AC God
gives man
120 more years (Gen. 6:3)
>1556 AC Noah’s 3 sons born
1559 AC Shem
born
15?? AC God
tells Noah
about the flood
1651
AC Lamech
dies
1656 AC Methuselah
dies
1656 AC Flood
Begins (around 2518 BC)
1657 AC Flood
Ends
1659 AC Arphaxad
born
1694 AC Salah
born
1724 AC Eber -Eber lived during the division of the
earth (Appears to have
Born happened
during the time of Peleg
1758 AC Peleg - Peleg means divided)
Born
1788 AC Reu
born
1820 AC Serug
born
1850 AC Nahor
born
1879 AC Terah
born
1997 AC Peleg
dies
1998 AC Nahor
dies
2006 AC Noah dies
(950 years old)
2009 AC Abram
born
2027 AC Reu
dies
2050 AC Serug
dies
2084 AC Terah
dies
2097 AC Arphaxed
dies
2109 AC Isaac
Born
2127 AC Salah
dies
2159 AC Shem
Dies
2169 AC Jacob
born
2184 AC Abraham
dies
2188 AC Eber
dies
2289 AC Isaac
dies
2299 AC
2316 AC
430 Year Sojourn in
2729 AC The Exodus of
3208 AC Solomon begins to build the
Appendix 1: Textual Differences in the Genealogies
The Issue of Cainan
Apparent difficulties exist due to the textual differences between the Greek Septuagint and the Hebrew Masoretic text for Gen. 11 and Luke 3. The Masoretic text states that Shem begot Arphaxad, and Arphaxad begot Salah. However, the Septuagint and some ancient Luke 3 manuscripts state that Shelah was of Cainan, and Cainan was of Arphaxad, and Arphaxad was of Shem. There appears to be three possibilities to resolve the issue of Cainan being present in the Septuagint and some Luke 3 passages, but not the Masoretic text:
1. The Hebrew Masoretic text is correct – Option 1: Cainan was erroneously inserted in the genealogy of Luke 3 in an early Greek text. If the Masoretic text is the correct reading, then it could be that someone in the early church working from the Septuagint inserted Cainan into Luke’s genealogy, thinking they were correcting a copyist error. The correct reading would be to have Cainan removed from Luke 3. Strong evidence for this exist in the various ancient Greek NT manuscripts that do not have Cainan in Luke 3 and the testimony of many early church figures who did not believe Cainan belonged in the text. See next section.
2. The Hebrew Masoretic text is correct – Option 2: Cainan was actually in the genealogy, but was not listed in Genesis for summary purposes. This could be possible given that begot does not necessarily mean a direct son. Therefore, Cainan could have been skipped in the listings of Gen. 10, 11, and 1 Chron. 1, even though he was the direct son of Arphaxad and father of Shelah. Other examples of this type of listing can be seen from later genealogies listed in the Bible, such as when comparing 1 Chron. 3:11-12 and Matt. 1:8. 1 Chron. list Jehoshaphat, Joram, Ahaziah, Joash, Amaziah, Azariah, and Jotham. Whereas Mathew only list Jehoshaphat, Joram, Uzziah, and Jotham – leaving out Ahaziah, Joash, and Amaziah (Note: minor name variations exist due to language differences). A main point of Matthew’s genealogy was to show lineage from Abraham to Jesus. Therefore, it appears for brevity some of the fathers are skipped. This is consistent with the meaning of the word begot. Therefore, Cainan could have been in the genealogy after Arphaxad, even though he is not listed in Genesis, without their being a contradiction of the Scriptures. For this option, however, the timeframes of Gen. 11 should still be taken as literal since the specific years are given between the Father and his descendant.
(Note that except for the Cainan issue all of the Genealogies throughout the Scriptures have the same line for Adam to Abraham. I personally have a hard time seeing any additional fathers in the genealogies of Gen. 5 & 11 and do not except this option. Also note that in the passages that do summarize the list in the Scriptures, no years are given for these generations. These later summarized lists are clearly summarized to show the connection to a particular father. Jesus was the Son of David – a clear example of summarization that should not distract from the clear reading in Gen. 5 & 11 that give specific years from one father to his son. Another strong indicator of no additional generations in the genealogies of Genesis is the commentary on them in the New Testament (Jude 14).)
3. The Greek Septuagint is correct: Cainan
was the son of Arphaxad and the father of Shelah and was listed in Genesis as
found in the Septuagint. A copyist error
occurred with the transmission of the Hebrew Masoretic text. For this option, some additional timeframe for
Cainan may need to be added to the years shown on the timeline. However, the case against this option and for
the accuracy of the Masoretic text is made in the next section.
These options are given as 3 separate possibilities that hold to an inherent view of Scripture. However, as noted before, the Masoretic Text which most all current Bible translations of the Old Testament are based on, holds the most weight. The following section also contains information relevant to the superiority of the Masoretic text.
The Chronological Differences
The Chronological differences between the Hebrew Masoretic text, the Greek Septuagint, and the Hebrew Samaritan Pentateuch are as follows:
Although there are differences between the above versions of the Pentateuch, I believe the Masoretic text holds the most weight. In short, the superiority of the Masoretic text is claimed for the following reasons:
1. The Hebrew scribes have demonstrated an incredible accuracy in the transmutation of the text throughout history. They were guided by very strict regulations in their copying of the Hebrew Text:
Ø No word was written from memory
Ø Each word was spoken aloud as written
Ø Before writing the sacred name of Yahweh, pen had to be wiped
Ø Scroll was discarded if errors were found
Ø Every word and letter was counted
Ø Scribes realized the sacredness of their task and through many generations they began with ceremonial baths for purity before work began.
Until the finding of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the
oldest Hebrew manuscripts dated to about 1000 AD. However, after their discovery, the Dead Sea
Scrolls (~200 BC) were compared to those handed down for over 1000 years and
found to be near exact matches. Most all
differences could be attributed to obvious slips of the pen or spelling
variations that had occurred over the
years. Additionally, families of scribes
are mentioned in the Bible as far back as before the time of David - 1
Chronicles 2:55.
2. Israeli Society created a safeguard against error. The Pentateuch had extremely high importance in the Israelites lives, with many throughout the years memorizing it. This provided the Hebrew Masoretic text additional protection against error.
3. The Greek Septuagint translation was
developed in
4. Internal
inconsistencies with the Septuagint. The
Septuagint has Methuselah dying after the time of the flood. An impossibility given that only Noah and his
family made it through the flood. The
Masoretic text has Methuselah dying the year of the flood. Although the Septuagint has shown itself as a
reliable Greek translation of the Old Testament, the internal evidence shows
that in the area of the genealogies, it is lacking the same integrity.
5. The
Samaritan Pentateuch shows the influence of the Assyrian chronology as well as
spiritual weakness. The Samaritans were
the half-Jews that inhabited the northern area of
6. Jesus made the statement on the preservation and fulfillment of the Scriptures with references to Hebrew language. Matt. 5:18 “For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.”
7. Jerome, living in the 4th century AD was an authority on both the Greek and Hebrew; having translated from both (the Vulgate Old Testament is his translation from the Hebrew manuscripts to Latin). He had access to many more manuscripts than are available today and came to the clear conclusion that the Hebrew text was superior. At the time this was very controversial given that many in the church held the Septuagint to be the divinely inspired text. However, over time Jerome’s view began to dominate as others undertook the same research and discovered the superiority of the Hebrew text.
8. Early church figures Irenaeus, Africanus, Eusebius, and as well as Jerome all rejected the presence of Cainan in the Genealogy of Gen. 11 and Luke 3. Therefore, favoring the Hebrew readings. Additionally, several ancient Greek manuscripts (Bodmer 14, 15 (of about AD 200)) of the New Testament do not include Cainan in the Genealogy of Luke.[5] Therefore adding more weight to the evidence for the accuracy of the readings of the Hebrew manuscripts.