by David Pensgard
  Emphases and formatting included as an aid to reading.
 
Billions of years
or Thousands of years?		 That is the big question. Those who read the Bible literally say "Thousands" while those who accept the accounts of most modern scientists say "Billions". You must judge for yourself which is a more reliable source of information... The Bible provides a direct eyewitness account for the history of the world (including the future) while the current scientific paradigm can only examine evidence and infer events that occurred long ago.
 
Other articles on this web site illustrate the fallacies of evolutionary theory and the dating techniques that accompany it.

This article will seek to concentrate on the complete History of the Earth as given by the Bible alone. To understand this history is to have a greater appreciation for the treasure that the Bible really is. God gives us a great gift by telling us of our heritage. How else could we know our place in the world if we didn't know our past?    

  • Where does one start?
     
  • To date the Earth using the Bible, it makes the most sense to start in Genesis.
     
  • But, as anyone who has read Genesis will tell you, it isn't very long before you run into ...
 
Those Boring Genealogies:  
When most of us get to those long lists of names in Genesis we start to drool and nod off to sleep. But don't be so hasty to dismiss them! They offer us a wonderful look into our past. Not only do these lists provide a valuable link in the chain of events of the Bible's history, they also tell us a great deal about major changes in life span. The following chart offers a graphical representation of the genealogies of Genesis from Adam to Jacob.
 
 
 
Why Did They Live So Long?: It should not be too terribly surprising to notice that, having been recently created, man was a lot more robust than he is today. Recently we have learned that aging is a pre-programmed function for all living things. We have not yet learned how to take advantage of this knowledge, but we can certainly accept the possibility of much longer life spans. Even today, some living things survive for thousands of years!
Amazing Fact: Did you know that there are living trees with over 4600 rings? READ MORE
 
While looking at the chart, be sure not to miss how the life spans decrease dramatically soon after the flood. "Age at Death" shrinks from a maximum of 969 for Methuselah to 147 for Jacob.

By the time of King David (about 1000 B.C.), as we learn from Psalm 90:10, life spans had decreased to about 70 years.

It is interesting to note that

life spans did not decrease with date but rather with generation.

This is highly suggestive of a genetic loss.

  
We have a mechanism for this loss when we consider that a population bottleneck was produced by the flood. Such dramatic reductions in population size result in a significant loss of genetic diversity within a population.
 
This data fit so well with genetic loss that it is further proof that the Bible is not a collection of myths. The human author of these genealogies had no idea about genetics or the effects of population size on fitness. Had the data been “made up” by story tellers we wouldn't get such a confirmation. When Population Size becomes very small, subsequent generations become less fit when the genetic diversity of the population shrinks.

We see this with endangered species today. Life span, among other traits, declines along with population.

 
Next, we will look at the next link in the chain. The genealogies were only the first link in the chain of Biblical history. So, what comes next in the chain?
 
Connecting the Dates: The age of the Earth is a hot topic. As we saw from the previous article, it factors heavily into the debate about Evolution vs. Creation.

Unfortunately, there is no single verse in the Bible that informs us when the Earth was created.

Instead ...

 
... seven concurrent periods are given, along with their duration. Anyone who wishes to know the date that the Bible gives to creation must find and correctly add these Seven Periods together.

The following chart outlines each Period along with it's Biblical references. The column in the far right gives the date as measured from creation (A.M. - anno mundi; year of the world).
 
The Seven Periods of History Given In The Bible
(explanation below)
PERIOD
REFERENCES
DURATION
(Years)
END DATE
(A.M.)

Genealogies of Genesis
Creation—Flood (see chart above)

 Genesis 5:1 – 9:29
1656
1656
Patriarchs
Flood — Abrahamic Covenant		 Genesis 11:10–12:7
427
2083
Sojourn in Egypt
Abr. Cov. — Exodus		 Exodus 12:40-41; Galatians 3:16-17
430
2513
Exodus to First Temple
Exodus — King Solomon's Fourth Year		 I Kings 6:1
480
2993
Monarchy of Judah
Temple 1 — Fall of Jerusalem
(King Zedekiah's 11th Year)		 Ezekiel 4:5 (to sum up)
I Kings 11:42; II Chron. 9:30
I+II Kings; II Chronicles for kings lists
426
3419
Captivity
Fall of Jerusalem — King Cyrus’ Decree 		II Chronicles 36:11–23
(esp. verses 21-23)
70
3489
Daniel's 70 Septads / Sevens / Weeks
Cyrus’ Decree — Jesus Death (~33 AD)
(69 "years"; 69 X 7 years = 483 years)		 Daniel 9:25–26
483
3972
 
Each "Period" is mentioned in the Bible along with its duration. There are no significant gaps between these Periods. As a result, we can add the years as we go down the list; the numbers in the right-hand column give a fairly accurate date for the world at the time that period ended.

However, being given only in years, we must add a year to the margin of error for each period, seven periods results in seven years for the margin of error (plus or minus). So the age of the world at the time of Jesus' death was 3972 years (+/- 7). This is enough information to date the Earth from creation.


 
 

If Christ died and rose in 33 AD, then we add the intervening years plus another year to the margin of error. As of April, 2010, Christ's death and resurrection was 1977 years ago. We simply add this to 3972, which was the date of the world at that time, to get 5949 AM (+/- 8), today's real date! This is the approximate age of the Earth as of 2010. (This is also the date of the universe according to clocks in Earth's vicinity.)

This correlates to a date of 3938 B.C. for the year of creation.
And, 2282 B.C. for the year of the Flood.

These numbers are obtained by means of biblical data alone.

 
 
For a more complete analysis of how these numbers were obtained from the Biblical records, please read this article by Ruth Beechick—Chronology for Everybody.
 
The Future The Bible doesn't actually stop with Jesus. It just continues to tell the story of how God deals with mankind right into the first century... In fact, even though its provenance ends in the first century, the information doesn't end there. It goes well into the future. It even continues right to the end.

This leads us to ask certain questions:

  1. Will the world as we know it really cease to exist?
  2. Does the Bible give us details?

While Christians disagree on some of the details for the end times (eschatology), they can at least agree that the answer to these two questions is yes.
 
To Skeptics, Critics, and Those Who Are Cautious For Any Reason:

I will attempt to provide the basics of my own view of future prophecy according to two starting assumptions:
  1. The Bible gives information about future events.
  2. The Bible is supposed to be interpreted literally.
    1. This is technically known as a literal-grammatical-historical-logical hermeneutic.
    2. It allows for poetry to be read as poetry, but to still contain literal information.
    3. It likewise allows for history, law, historical narrative, and prophecy to possess the forms of those categories without containing impenetrable metaphor, or hyperbole, or analogy, or myth.

However, despite the straight-forward nature of the information itself, and the basic interpretation of it, it is unavoidable that future prophecy be ridiculed and derided. This is not for obvious reasons. The Bible, itself, teaches us that this will be the case.

For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (I Corinthians 1:18)

The Bible is prepared by God for His children. It cannot be properly understood by those who are not called to be His children. The non-children, the non-called, will misinterpret all aspects of God's Word in addition to ridiculing those who interpret it correctly.

However, I am not saying that all Christians understand prophecy the same way. And, I am not saying that all who disagree with the interpretation about to be given are not God's children. Prophecy seems to be a special class of biblical information. While all of God's children understand the Gospel message sufficiently, not all understand prophecy sufficiently.

In any case, I think that it should be readily acceptable to most Christians that God did include future information in the Bible. It is not there by accident; it is there for a reason. Christians differ mostly on the matter of interpretation.

 
 
When will the Earth end? Will it be annihilated or just changed? Many Christians speak about a Rapture, Tribulation Period, or a Millennium Period. What are they? (click the links to find out)
 
The Biblical Scenario: The following events can be gleaned from a literal reading of prophecy found in the Bible. Dates are not given, but order is given. The only exception is the Rapture, which can occur at any time. For more detail, and all scriptural references, see Arnold Fruchtenbaum's book listed in the Bibliography below:
  1. The New Testament teaches that the Church will be raptured at some unknown point in time before the beginning of a period called, the Day of the Lord, or the Tribulation. Thus, the Rapture is immanent, this means that it's date is not tied to any other event. Yet, it cannot occur any later than the Tribulation. The rapture may occur before any other event, or it might be delayed until the start of the Tribulation.
     
  2. The following events may occur before the rapture (some already have):
    • The reforming of the nation of Israel, a return in unbelief. (1948)
    • Jerusalem, the city, is brought under Jewish control. (1967, may not yet be considered complete)
    • Invasion of Israel by a group of nations, named "Gog and Magog" in Ezekiel. (2010 - 2050?)
      • This may refer to Russia and various other nations near Russia and in Africa.
      • The motivation for the attack will be to steal Israel's resources and/or territory.
      • The invasion will be quelled by obviously supernatural means. This will be to Israel's renown. They will take over 7 years to clean up the mess brought in by the invading armies.
         
    • After the "Gog" war, a one-world government will be established by the remaining powers, mostly western nations. (2010 - 2050?)
    • At some later point, the global government will split (perhaps peacefully) into 10 nations ruled by 10 monarchs. This 10-Kingdom stage will be brief. (2010 - 2050?)
    • A special political leader, one of the 10 monarchs, will come to power and will begin to take over control of the whole world.
      • Some people call this leader "the Antichrist," however, this is not a biblical name for the man.
        • "Antichrist" is a general term for the attitude of opposition to Christ. However, the Beast will be the epitome of the attitude.
      • The man himself is known by many names and titles, "The Beast" is the most common.
         
    • There will be a period of peace in the world. This will be a false peace, but many will believe that mankind has achieved its final goal.
    • The Beast will sign a covenant with Israel that is supposed to last 7 years.
      • This signals the beginning of the Tribulation period.
      • The covenant will be broken in 3.5 years.
         
  3. These events will occur at some point before the Tribulation, but the order is not given.
    • A black out of the Sun, Moon, and Stars. There are several of these events, but one will occur before the Tribulation.
    • Elijah returns to evangelize the Jews.
    • The third Jewish temple is built on the temple mount.
       
  4. The Tribulation will be 7 years long, exactly. That is, it will be 84 months of 30 days each.
  5. The Tribulation will end with the battle of Armageddon.
  6. The Battle of Armageddon will end with the 2nd Coming of Jesus
  7. Jesus' arrival will be followed closely by the Earth's last Millennium.
    • There will be a 75-day gap between the Tribulation and Millennium.
      • During this time the remaining people on the Earth will be judged directly by Jesus.
    • The Millennium will be a time of unparalleled peace and spiritual blessing.
  8. At the end of this Millennium there will be one last human rebellion which will lead directly to the end of the Earth and the Last Judgment.
 

By way of speculation, as a way to predict when the Tribulation might begin (which is a risky enterprise), it is noted that some people believe that the Earth will end near its 7000th birthday. This idea is obtained primarily from Jewish tradition.

The basic idea is that the week of creation is to be taken as a pattern to be followed in the history of the world...

6 days of work and 1 day of rest... parallels...
6 millennia of work and 1 millennia of rest.

 Since the Bible tells us that there is some association between a day and 1000 years (II Peter 3:8) we can use this as a (admittedly weak) basis for guessing that MAYBE God will allow humanity to toil for 6,000 years under its own rebellious rule, and rest under His governorship during the final Millennium.

But that's a big MAYBE!

If it is true, then the Tribulation will begin in approximately 2054 AD (+/- 9 years). This date is found by using the date of the world today (given above) and subtracting it from the date of the beginning of the Tribulation according to this theory, i.e., 5993 AM.

This leaves about 44 years for the "Gog" war and the formation and division of the one-world government, which must precede the Tribulation.
 
Perhaps you find this interesting. Perhaps you are skeptical. In either case, I hope you will look into the matter yourself. Get the books in the Bibliography to verify the data given in this site.

In any case, in the Bible, we have the end of the story. The question is, will you take it seriously? I know that the typical reader will not. But, if these events begin to take place, perhaps you will reconsider your own perspective on the Bible.

And for those who are Christians, consider whether prophecies, already fulfilled, were fulfilled literally or figuratively. Wasn't Israel's exile and return prophesied and fulfilled twice each? The latest return (prophesied in Ezekiel chapters 36-37) and fulfilled in modern history (in 1948 AD) were literal.

Are we meant to take these prophecies literally? If so, we can expect to see the future events to be literal too. In the same manner that we have seen many fulfilled already, so too will the remainder be fulfilled.

And, of course, if you don't trust the Bible to speak literally in terms of prophesy and history, why do you trust it when it speaks about salvation and one's eternal destiny?
 
 
The Bible is amazing! We know how the story will end even before we get there. And we have the assurance of Romans 8:28 which tells us that “... we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."
 
The only question is... are you a member of that group?

Recommended Resources

 

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End-Times Glossary (Eschatological Lexicon)

Rapture: An event described, but not given its name, in the Bible (I Thessalonians 4:13–17; I Corinthians 15:51–54; I Thess. 1:10, 5:9; II Thess. 2).  This event is part of the "first resurrection," which comes in four stages.
 
During the Rapture, the bodies of believers who trusted in Christ during the time of the Church, both dead and alive, will be supernaturally transported to a heavenly realm "near the Earth". The bodies will be changed so that they will never again age, decay, or breakdown in any way. This is the "resurrection body" that is similar to the one Christ received at his resurrection. Christ was the "first fruits" of the first resurrection, the Church, at the Rapture, will be the second stage of the first resurrection. The third and fourth stages are the tribulation saints and the old testament saints respectively.
     
Tribulation: A seven-year period known as "The Day of the Lord," or "The Time of Jacob's Trouble" among other titles. During this period, Satan will be given more control over humanity than ever before. Also, God will send many harsh judgments upon the Earth. Although more than half of the Earth's population will die during this period of time, it is also a "last chance" for participating in God's Mercy. It ends with the much anticipated Second Coming of Jesus and the battle commonly called "Armageddon." At this battle's end, Satan will be imprisoned for 1000 years. The Beast (AKA "antichrist"), and the false prophet will be sent to the Lake of Fire, the final destination for all the damned. These two will be the first fruits of the second resurrection.
           
Millennium: A 1,000 year period wherein Jesus reigns as King on Earth in physical form as king of a restored Jewish nation. Jesus will ensure that all the people of the world prosper during this period of time. Toward the end of it, a final rebellion of humanity will occur, with the assistance of the newly-released Satan. This will end with the annihilation of the earth (probably the universe) and the Last Judgment.
     

 

 

 

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