Bible Time Line

This article is a layman's study of the Bible and the time lines gleaned from it. The teachings of various pastors, seminary professors, and learned laymen via sermons in my own church; print media; the internet; and radio/television media are incorporated into this study. I make no claims of  exclusivity nor do I intend to make any predictions of the future. God, and God alone, is the author, creator, and finisher of all we see. It is His to "finish" when He determines! We are living in very interesting times!!

I welcome your comments on the blog page for this web site. A link to the blog is at the end of this article.

I assume that Adam's aging started with his creation, not with the exile from Eden. I believe in a literal interpretation of the Bible. For information on dating the planet, from the creationist viewpoint, one of the best websites is at http://www.answersingenesis.org/

 I assume that all times in the Bible are accurate when they relate to individual people. God created time and we need to accept His Word as to time. No "hair splitting" of how many days are in a year.

        Event                              Year              Comment                  Bible Reference

Eight generations are now alive on the Earth. We have the first death with a recordable time line. We do not know when before this time Cain slew Abel. Imagine the size of the family at Adam's "funeral" service!!  My favorite description of Enoch being translated by God is my pastor's interpretation as Enoch being "was not-ted". "Enoch walked with God, and was not, for God had taken him." Enoch really got the relationship thing right with God.  Noah is born.

        Event                              Year              Comment                  Bible Reference

Here we have four deaths in a row, which occur over nearly  300 years.  It is feasible that Noah knew each one of these men, and learned from them. They probably lived in the same general area. The separation at the tower of Babel had not yet happened!

        Event                              Year              Comment                  Bible Reference

Not all events listed in the Bible give a reference to when they occurred. An example of this is the birth of Noah's first two sons, Ham and Japheth. We know they existed, but there is no mention of Noah's age at their birth. In this case, we  build the timeline around other solid statements. Genesis 9:20-24 makes it sound like Ham is the youngest of the three. Genesis 11:10 tells us  that Shem had a son at age 100, and that the son was born two years after the flood. The flood was almost a year long. From that, we get Shem's birth at (100-3) years before the flood began.

        Event                              Year              Comment                  Bible Reference

The early patriarchs must die before the Great Flood. Next we have the last two deaths of them. Methuselah dies in the same year as the flood occurs! Did he die shortly before the flood, or did he die in the flood? Were there two righteous men before God while Methuselah lived, and God was waiting for his natural death before proceeding with the flood? We don't know.

        Event                              Year              Comment                  Bible Reference

Oh, what a fall!! In less than 2,000 years, man's sin nature reeked enough for God to want to destroy all creation. Rain fell for the first time on Earth and with the help of the "fountains of the deep" flood the earth. We are no better today. God continues to keep His promise of never doing it again, flooding that is!! Look out for the Fire!! God promises to reduce the lifespan of mankind down to 120 years, more than enough for mankind to "botch it' again and again as shown throughout the rest of this timeline.

        Event                              Year              Comment                  Bible Reference

We can date the destruction of the Tower of Babylon indirectly. Eber's son, Peleg, gets that name because '... in his days the earth was divided ...'. God "divided" the Earth because of the Tower of Babel. 'In his days' happened before he was named, so speculation is that the division happened while his mother was carrying him. The Tower went up only 102 years after the Flood! That didn't take long, did it? From 8 people, to a large, thriving, sin filled population in only 102 years. From the flood until Abram is almost 50 years old, there are no deaths in the patriarchal lineage. That covers nearly 340 years! All of his father's born since the flood are alive until he is 48 years old! Imagine, Abram may have known Noah who would have known Enosh, Adam's grandson!!

        Event                              Year              Comment                  Bible Reference

In ten short years three key figures pass away, including the greatly revered Noah. Compared to what they had become accustomed to, both Peleg and Nahor die "young".

Speculation: Abram lived not far from Babylon, not far from where Noah's ark came to rest, not far from where the Tower went up. Did Abram know these there men? Was he dwelling on their deaths when God spoke to him about leaving for a distant land? Were these deaths the reason for Terah's move to Haran? We are not told why Terah left for Canaan, nor why he stopped in Haran?

Remember that Terah was the one to take his family from the land of the Chaldeans to the land of Ur. Abram and Sarai were already married when they went to Ur, as Sarai accompanied her in-laws on the trip. Once they reached Haran, they stopped, and Terah never completed the journey he started!

        Event                              Year              Comment                  Bible Reference

Abram was told to "get out of his father's house" leaving his earthly father and continuing the journey his earthly father had begun. Abram leaves Haran, gets the covenant, gets a name change, and enters Egypt. This is a significant year, because the Exodus dates from it, according to Galatians 3:17. The law (the 10 Commandments) was given 430 years after the promise to Abraham. Abraham entered Egypt with his 'sister' at this time, and returned with Hagar. We know what that led to. The following chart is pretty self-explanatory. Worthy of noting is that Jacob could have known Shem, Noah's son.

        Event                              Year              Comment                  Bible Reference

Exodus tells us that "there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph." Thus began the cruel slavery of God's children and their eventual salvation from Egypt. Abraham left Canaan in 2024, and received the Covenant. It was re-confirmed at later dates with him. Moses received the Law on the mountain shortly after passing through the Red Sea. These two events are 430 years apart. (Galatians 3:17)

        Event                              Year              Comment                  Bible Reference

GOD'S PEOPLE UNDER THEOCRACY

        Event                              Year              Comment                  Bible Reference

THE KINGS

The people of Israel are "tired" of theocracy. They want to have a "king" like their neighbors. They get the king they asked for, and the country splits soon afterward. Many famous events are listed in this section. The math based on reading 1st Kings 6:1 may give an erroneous timeline. If you have any suggestions, please comment on the blog page.

        Event                              Year              Comment                  Bible Reference

JUDAH

The Northern Kingdom has ended. The Southern Kingdom continues. Did the word "Jew" come from the name of this tribe?

        Event                              Year              Comment                  Bible Reference

FROM EXILE TO MESSIAH

The time of Exile, the 'Silent Years', and on to "Messiah cut off". Sequencing is shown though some dates are not known.

        Event                              Year              Comment                  Bible Reference

GOD'S CHOSEN PEOPLE DURING "THE TIME OF THE GENTILES"

Check your history book(s) for these events. The next Biblical event? Look up!! Our Redemption is nigh!! Hallelujah!!! God's people, the Jews, will come to recognize Jesus Christ as their Messiah during the great tribulation period.

          Event                              Year              Comment                  Bible Reference

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