May 7, 2010
By Pastor Steven L. Anderson
The Bible gives us all the information we need to know with certainty the number of years from the creation of the world until events at the very end of the Old Testament. From there, modern history can tell us within a couple of years accuracy the number of years from then until now.
This essay conclusively proves that the earth is approximately 6,244 years old (plus or minus no more than 25 years). Most Bible scholars and theologians come up with a lower number right around 6,000 years or lower because they either don’t take the Biblical record for what it actually says, or they have a doctrinal agenda of keeping the number under 6,000 in order to prop up their dispensational teachings. Therefore they wrest the scriptures in order to come up with the answer they want.
However, anyone who approaches the Bible with an open mind and believes every word must come up with a higher number somewhere right around 6,244 years.
Other so-called Christians and theologians make statements like “seven to eight thousand years old” or “millions of years old.” This is nonsense and is easily proven false by this essay.
1. From Creation to the Flood = 1,656 years
Gen 5:3 And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth:
Gen 5:4 And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years: and he begat sons and daughters:
Gen 5:5 And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.
Gen 5:6 And Seth lived an hundred and five years, and begat Enos:
From the above verses we can clearly see that Seth was born 130 years after the creation of Adam (6 days after God created the Earth), and that Enos was born 105 years after that. Therefore, Enos was born 235 years after creation. Because God gives us the same information for everyone between Adam and Noah, we can add up the numbers and determine the amount of time between creation and the flood.
Adam (130)
Seth (105)
Enos (90)
Cainan (70)
Mahalaleel (65)
Jared (162)
Enoch (65)
Methuselah (187)
Lamech (182)
Total = 1,056 years
Therefore Noah was born 1,056 years after creation.
Gen 7:6 And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth.
Therefore the flood took place 1,656 years after creation.
2. From the Flood to the birth of Abraham = 352 years
Gen 5:32 And Noah was five hundred years old: and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
Shem, Ham, and Japheth were not triplets. This verse is telling us how old Noah was when he began to have his three children. Shem was not the oldest; he is only listed first because he is the most important, being in the genealogy of Abraham and Jesus Christ. The following verse will show us exactly how old Noah was when Shem was born.
Gen 11:10 These are the generations of Shem: Shem was an hundred years old, and begat Arphaxad two years after the flood:
Therefore Noah was 502 years old when Shem was born.
Since we are calculating from the flood we will add 2 years for Shem to produce Arphaxad and then use the same method we used before the flood to get to Abraham.
Gen 11:12 And Arphaxad lived five and thirty years, and begat Salah:
Gen 11:14 And Salah lived thirty years, and begat Eber:
Shem (2)
Arphaxad (35)
Salah (30)
Eber (34)
Peleg (30)
Reu (32)
Serug (30)
Nahor (29)
Total = 222 years
Gen 11:24 And Nahor lived nine and twenty years, and begat Terah:
Now we need to determine how old Terah was when Abraham was born.
Gen 11:26 And Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
Again, this is a series of children not given in birth order, but rather in order of importance. Terah began having male children at age 70, but Abraham was not born until later. This is easily proven from the Bible.
Gen 11:32 And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran.
Gen 12:4 So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.
Act 7:2 And he said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken; The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran (OT spelling = Haran),
Act 7:3 And said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall shew thee.
Act 7:4 Then came he out of the land of the Chaldaeans, and dwelt in Charran: and from thence, when his father was dead, he removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell.
If Terah was 205 years old when he died in Haran, and Abraham was 75 years old when Terah died, then Abraham was born when Terah was 130 years old.
If we add that 130 years to the 222 years between the flood and the birth of Terah, the total is 352 years.
Therefore the number of years between the flood and the birth of Abraham is 352 years.
3. From the birth of Abraham to the sojourn of the children of Israel in Egypt = 290 years
Gen 21:5 And Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him.
Gen 25:26 And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau's heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was threescore years old (60) when she bare them.
Abraham (100)
Isaac (60)
Total = 160 years
Jacob was born 160 years after Abraham was born. Jacob’s name was changed to “Israel” by God.
Gen 32:28 And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.
Now we need to determine how old Jacob (Israel) was when his children began to sojourn in Egypt.
Gen 47:1 Then Joseph came and told Pharaoh, and said, My father and my brethren, and their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have, are come out of the land of Canaan; and, behold, they are in the land of Goshen.
Gen 47:4 They said moreover unto Pharaoh, For to sojourn in the land are we come; for thy servants have no pasture for their flocks; for the famine is sore in the land of Canaan: now therefore, we pray thee, let thy servants dwell in the land of Goshen.
Gen 47:8 And Pharaoh said unto Jacob, How old art thou?
Gen 47:9 And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.
Therefore Jacob was 130 years old when the children of Israel began to sojourn in the land of Egypt. If we add that to the 160 years from the birth of Abraham to the birth of Jacob, we get 290 years.
Therefore there were 290 years from the birth of Abraham to the beginning of the sojourn of the children of Israel in the land of Egypt.
4. From the beginning of the sojourn of the children of Israel in Egypt to the day they left Egypt = 430 years
Now this is where we lose the so-called Bible scholars and theologians who do not take the Bible for what it actually says.
Exo 12:40 Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years.
Exo 12:41 And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt.
These verses could not be any clearer in telling us that the children of Israel sojourned in Egypt for exactly 430 years to the very day.
Yet almost every chart, book, or chronology you look at will show them being there for only a little over 200 years. This is simply a denial of what the Bible clearly states in Exodus 12. The way they reconcile this is by starting the clock on the 430 years back when Abraham received the covenant from God 85 years before Israel was even born! How could the children (plural) of Israel begin their sojourn in Egypt 85 years before their father was even born?! The other method so-called Bible scholars and theologians use to deny Exodus 12:40,41 is simply to say that it is a “scribal error” or a “mistake” in the Bible, and that it should read “215 years.”
Pro 30:5 Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.
Pro 30:6 Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.
Let’s look at all the evidence.
Gen 15:13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;
Gen 15:14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.
Act 7:6 And God spake on this wise, That his seed should sojourn in a strange land; and that they should bring them into bondage, and entreat them evil four hundred years.
Act 7:7 And the nation to whom they shall be in bondage will I judge, said God: and after that shall they come forth, and serve me in this place.
The preceding scriptures state that the children of Israel would be “afflicted” or “evil entreated” by the Egyptians for 400 years. The sojourn of the children of Israel in Egypt was exactly 430 years to the very day according to Exodus 12. Therefore we can conclude that they were treated well for the first 30 years they were in Egypt. At that point the Egyptians began to entreat them evil. Then later, after Joseph died and a new pharaoh ascended the throne, the children of Israel we put into full-blown bondage.
Does the teaching that the children of Israel were in Egypt for only 215 years jive with Genesis 15 and Acts 7? Absolutely not! It would be impossible for them to be afflicted in Egypt for 400 years if they were only there for 215 years.
Does the Bible’s clear teaching in Exodus 12 that the children of Israel were in Egypt for 430 years jive with Genesis 15 and Acts 7? Yes.
Now let’s look at both places the 430 years are mentioned.
Exo 12:40 Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years.
Exo 12:41 And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt.
Gal 3:16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.
Gal 3:17 And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.
The Bible is not saying in Galatians 3:17 that the covenant was made with Abraham 430 years before the giving of the law by Moses. It is saying that the covenant was confirmed 430 years before the giving of the law. This confirmation of the promise made to Abraham that he would be made a great nation is recorded in Genesis 47:3,4.
Gen 46:2 And God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, Here am I.
Gen 46:3 And he said, I am God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation:
Gen 46:4 I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up again: and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes.
Gen 46:5 And Jacob rose up from Beersheba: and the sons of Israel carried Jacob their father, and their little ones, and their wives, in the wagons which Pharaoh had sent to carry him.
Since the law was given by Moses the same year the children of Israel left Egypt, this lines up perfectly with Exodus 12.
Therefore the children of Israel sojourned in the land of Egypt for exactly 430 years.
5. From the children of Israel departing Egypt to the construction of the temple = 480 years
1Ki 6:1 And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the LORD.
6. From the beginning of temple construction to the captivity of Judah = 420 years
We will prove this number to be correct by two different methods. The first method will be to add up the years of the reigns of the kings of Judah. This information is found in the books of 1 & 2 Kings as well as in the book of 2 Chronicles.
Solomon had already reigned 4 years when he began construction on the temple. Since he reigned a total of 40 years, we will count 36 years for the time he reigned after starting the temple.
Solomon (36)
Rehoboam (17)
Abijah (3)
Asa (41)
Jehoshaphat (25)
Jehoram (8)
Ahaziah (1)
Athaliah (7)
Joash (40)
Amaziah (29)
Uzziah (52)
Jotham (16)
Ahaz (16)
Hezekiah (29)
Manasseh (55)
Amon (2)
Josiah (31)
Jehoahaz (3 months)
Jehoiakim (11)
Jehoiachin (3 months)
Total = 420 years (419.5)
2Ki 24:8 Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. And his mother's name was Nehushta, the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem.
2Ki 24:15 And he carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon, and the king's mother, and the king's wives, and his officers, and the mighty of the land, those carried he into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon.
2Ki 24:16 And all the men of might, even seven thousand, and craftsmen and smiths a thousand, all that were strong and apt for war, even them the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon.
Now we will double check this calculation using the book of Ezekiel.
Eze 1:1 Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.
Eze 1:2 In the fifth day of the month, which was the fifth year of king Jehoiachin's captivity,
Eze 1:3 The word of the LORD came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of the LORD was there upon him.
In these verses the timing of this portion of Ezekiel’s prophecy is expressly given as being in the 5th year of Jehoiachin’s captivity. If we add those 5 years to the 420 years from the beginning of the temple’s construction we come up with 425 years.
420 + 5 = 425
Eze 4:5 For I have laid upon thee the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days: so shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house of Israel.
Eze 4:6 And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year.
In these verses God is saying that the iniquity of the house of Israel (the northern kingdom as opposed to Judah, the southern kingdom) began 390 years earlier. This is when Jeroboam set up two golden calves and turned the nation of Israel away from the LORD to worship these new gods.
1Ki 12:26 And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David:
1Ki 12:27 If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah.
1Ki 12:28 Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
1Ki 12:29 And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan.
1Ki 12:30 And this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan.
1Ki 14:16 And he shall give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, who did sin, and who made Israel to sin.
1Ki 15:26 And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of his father, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin.
1Ki 15:30 Because of the sins of Jeroboam which he sinned, and which he made Israel sin, by his provocation wherewith he provoked the LORD God of Israel to anger.
1Ki 15:34 And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin.
1Ki 16:2 Forasmuch as I exalted thee out of the dust, and made thee prince over my people Israel; and thou hast walked in the way of Jeroboam, and hast made my people Israel to sin, to provoke me to anger with their sins;
1Ki 16:26 For he walked in all the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin, to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger with their vanities.
1Ki 21:22 And will make thine house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the provocation wherewith thou hast provoked me to anger, and made Israel to sin.
1Ki 22:52 And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of his father, and in the way of his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin:
2Ki 3:3 Nevertheless he cleaved unto the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which made Israel to sin; he departed not therefrom.
2Ki 10:29 Howbeit from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, Jehu departed not from after them, to wit, the golden calves that were in Bethel, and that were in Dan.
2Ki 10:31 But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the LORD God of Israel with all his heart: for he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, which made Israel to sin.
2Ki 13:2 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, and followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which made Israel to sin; he departed not therefrom.
2Ki 13:6 Nevertheless they departed not from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, who made Israel sin, but walked therein: and there remained the grove also in Samaria.)
2Ki 13:11 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD; he departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin: but he walked therein.
2Ki 14:24 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD: he departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin.
2Ki 15:9 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, as his fathers had done: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin.
2Ki 15:18 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD: he departed not all his days from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin.
2Ki 15:24 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin.
2Ki 15:28 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin.
2Ki 17:21 For he rent Israel from the house of David; and they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king: and Jeroboam drave Israel from following the LORD, and made them sin a great sin.
There is absolutely no doubt that this is the event that God was referring to as the beginning of the iniquity of the house of Israel.
Since God told Ezekiel that the iniquity of the house of Israel had gone on for 390 years (Ezekiel 4:5), we will subtract that from the 426 years that had passed since the beginning of the temple’s construction (426 because we must include the year that Ezekiel would spend on his side – 390 days is a just a little over 1 year)
425 +1 = 426
426 – 390 = 36
Since the temple began to be constructed during the 4th year of Solomon’s 40 year reign, and Jeroboam set up the golden calves during the year after Solomon’s reign, these two events are separated by 36 years.
40 – 4 = 36
426 – 390 = 36
Amazing!
This proves that we have done our math correctly, and that 420 years passed between the beginning of the temple’s construction and the carrying away of the children of Judah into Babylon.
7. From the beginning of Judah’s captivity to the decree of Cyrus King of Persia to rebuild the temple = 70 years
Jer 25:11 And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.
Jer 25:12 And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the LORD, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations.
Jer 29:10 For thus saith the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place.
Dan 9:2 In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.
2Ch 36:21 To fulfil the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfil threescore and ten years.
2Ch 36:22 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying,
2Ch 36:23 Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath the LORD God of heaven given me; and he hath charged me to build him an house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? The LORD his God be with him, and let him go up.
Now let’s add up the total years from the creation of the earth to Cyrus the king of Persia taking the throne.
1. Creation of Earth to the Flood = 1656 years
2. The Flood to Abraham’s Birth = 352 years
3. Abraham to children of Israel in Egypt = 290 years
4. Children of Israel in Egypt to Exodus = 430 years
5. Exodus to Temple Construction = 480 years
6. Temple Construction to Captivity = 420 years
7. Captivity to Cyrus king of Persia = 70 years
Total = 3,698 years
That is the last calculation we can make with certainty using only the Bible as our resource. This gets us through the entire Old Testament and brings us into the realm of modern history. Eventually we have to rely upon our modern dating system because at some point the Bible stopped being written!
The date of Cyrus, the king of Persia, ascending the throne of Babylon is 536 BC. This date is not disputed by more than a couple of years in either direction and is not any more or less accurate than the fact that we are living 2,010 years after the birth of Christ as I am writing these words. These dates are within a few years of accuracy in either direction.
536 BC + 3,698 years = 4234 BC
Therefore the dates of the preceding list of Old Testament events are as follows.
Creation = 4234 BC
Flood = 2578 BC
Abraham = 2226 BC
Egypt = 1936 BC
Exodus = 1506 BC
Temple = 1026 BC
Captivity = 606 BC
Return = 536 BC
Since the world was created in 4234 BC, that would mean that the earth is 6,244 years old.
4234 BC + 2010 AD = 6,244 years
NOTE: This essay, these calculations, and the Bible references used are my own work with nothing but the Bible itself and the Holy Spirit to guide me. None of this information was taken from any book, commentary, or chart I have ever seen.
2Ti 2:15 Study to shew THYSELF approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.