Most famously, the "Methuselah" bristlecone pine located somewhere in California's Inyo National Forest is believed to be one of the oldest known living organisms in the world (via USDA). For the sun rises/sets at one point of the year in the North and on the other part of the year in the south. WebHe had the longest lifespan of all those given in the Bible, having died at the age 969. Bible Answers, Moses, when he wrote Genesis, held the same views about cosmology as everyone around him. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. @johnZ I see what youre saying about refraction, but I would argue that the light is concentrated. We do not know what the time period of a Day would be if the earth, was surrounded by a water shield or firmament. Methuselah lived until the ark was built, but died before the flood, since God had promised he would not be killed with the unrighteous. There is a pattern that shows up. As far as the water shield, if we take a glass of water, we see that the water is not moving. Again there is another anomaly. By the time the Psalms were being written, the lifespan of mankind had shrunk closer to what they are today, as testified in Psalm 90:10, The length of our days is seventy yearsor eighty, if we have the strength; yet their span is but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away.. We wont attempt an answer to that question in this article since there are no biblical accounts that can be used as sources for his life story. Web1934 The enormous lifespans attributed to biblical men like Methuselah seem to belong to the realm of myth rather than fact. When it says without form, and void, void is an adjective. Others think that the great ages of Genesis could have been meant as metaphors, too. One of those factors is, to a large extent, age. Out of instinct, we want to tell everyone about what we saw. No other person has been recorded as ever having lived longer than he did. In Genesis 6:3, God's already decided to start chopping off years from the end of human lives as part of his escalating punishment, saying "My Spirit will not contend with humans forever, for they are mortal; their days will be a hundred and twenty years." The oldest person to ever live in the Bible was Methuselah, who was 969 years old when he died. We know some aboriginal accounts and stories are very much older than Shakespeare, even though there is no written evidence of it. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. So here is part of the reason. WebIt continues: When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he became the father of Lamech. It does not seem likely that the earth is spinning ten times or five times slower since the flood, since biological maturity allowed some to conceive children at the age of 65 or 70, which would be too young if divided by ten, or even if divided by 5. Jared lived to 962, and Jareds grandson Methuselah lived the longest in history at 969 years! Webhow did methuselah live so long, Methuselahs name is significant. Therefore, it is assumed that he spent 60 years in the garden of Eden. Joey Chestnut has eaten 76 hot dogs in one go (via Sports Illustrated). His name was Methuselah, and he died in Genesis 5 at the age of 969. We experience this through the shade of the clouds, when we notice a cooling effect compared to being exposed to direct sunlight. According to the Jewish Encyclopedia, Methuselah is Enoch's son and, with his siblings, is on the receiving end of his father's wisdom. The Collapse of the Canopy Model | Answers in Genesis. Creation, Pre-flood, and post flood, days cannot be added linearly. Some species of coral can easily break into millennia, with deep water black corals living for over 4,000 years. Yes, there are ancient documents that list people living extraordinarily long lives. Why did people in the Old Testament live for hundreds of years before the flood drop dramatically after the flood? Since time as we know it is defined as movement through space. WebPeople Who Lived a Long Time. How to Have the Longest Life There is only one true way to have the longest life span of all. They are only meant to convey symbolic truths, if you dont believe the ages are real. His long They already believed this: How to Hope in God When it Seems Hopeless. Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith also argues that the original Hebrew text's writers may have been more interested in establishing a general sense of a lineage, rather than a genealogy with a strict accounting of years (not unlike earlier Babylonian king lists, perhaps). Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin FRCP/Wikimedia Commons, Bjrn Christian Trrissen/Wikimedia Commons, The Epic of Gilgamesh: Selected Readings from its original Early Arabic Language, Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith. This does not make sense if the ages were just symbolic. In addition to having lived for more than nine centuries, Methuselah also had another distinction: he fathered some of the longest-lived people in history! His books are include: Teaching Children The Gospel/How to Raise Godly Children, Do Babies Go To Heaven?/Why Does God Allow Suffering?, "The Great Omission; Reaching the Lost for Christ," and Blind Chance or Intelligent Design?, Empirical Methodologies & the Bible.". Your email address will not be published. Modern people, after all, don't live for nearly as long. WebYes, you may have heard of Methuselah, in Genesis 5:27 it says that Methuselah lived to be 969 years old. Let me clarify what I said before about cultural context with an example. About 5000 (+/- 500 years), since the flood. We do not know what the conversion factor is. 1 Chronicles 16:11 Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually! We can see this truth clearly demonstrated throughout all history as sin always has negative consequences for those who choose their own path instead of following Gods will for their lives! Understanding how this enzyme works, how its activity may differ according to genetics, and how we might manipulate it could have significant effects on modern human lifespans. Adam you know, first human ever, he of the whole Garden of Eden, partner of Eve, Tree of Life, and expelled from paradise fame reportedly lived for 930 years until his death. In this sense the greenhouse effect, or perhaps the magnifying effect would take place, thus making it so, that everything would burn up. But I have to deal with the actual text, not my desires. Some believe that increasing sin in the world helped to degrade the human lifespan. They were Adam, Seth, Enosh, Kenan, Jared, Methuselah, and Noah. It doesnt seem very ambiguous to me. He did his graduate work at Moody Theological Seminary. 25 And Methuselah lived a hundred eighty and seven years, and begat Lamech: 26 And Methuselah lived after he begat Lamech seven hundred eighty and two years, and begat sons and daughters: 27 And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty and nine years: and he died. The ground became difficult to work. @johnZ I partially agree with you here. WebMethuselah lived a total of 969 years, and then died. This is also likely a consequence of changed genetics, combined with environmental conditions that led to increased mutations The first three after the flood had half the lifespan, and the next three had half the lifespan again, and then it continued to decline (generally), until the time of Moses. Methuselah at 969 being the longest and most people lived around 900 years, with Noah Adam lived to the age of 930 Im glad you said, God was assigning a function to instead of God was creating. Copyright 2010-2023 Telling Ministries LLC. The Bible lists many people that lived very long lives before the flood; some even passed 900 years of age. Therefore, the options (as I see them are): I prefer option 2. The Guinness record for the longest human lifespan is that of Jeanne Calment of France (18751997), who lived to the age of 122 years, 164 days. If we were to assume, the scale as defined through Isaiah as one day for God is a thousand years to man, then we have some sort of conversion factor here. Symbolism without meaning? Is the Earth millions of years old, like science says, that is highly possible. While, for some people at least, there is still plenty of room for debate as to just how old people can really get, we do know that certain non-human animals and plants can reach some serious ages. Sin has always been a corrupter. Given this, I think its prudent to evaluate a question like the long life spans in Genesis with this ambiguity in mind. So, whatever he witnessed, it must have been interpreted through what he already knew about the way the world was. It is less in less developed nations but longer in other nations that are, paradoxically, less developed. Using number significance for ancient people as an argument for not taking real numbers seriously, is a serious fallacy. In other words, did the process of divine inspiration subvert their ancient historical beliefs, or simply subvert the ancient theological mindset and replace it with YHWH as sovereign creator. Methuselah is mentioned in Genesis as the son of Enoch and father of Lamecwho in turn was the father of Noahwhom he fathered at 187 years of age. Noah, of ark fame, did his ancestor one better and generated three sons after he hit 500 years. He attributes their longevity to God's mercy and the fact that the food they ate was much better at extending their years on earth than it was after the deluge (Antiquities of the Jews, Book 1, Chapter 3). Namely, that the only things in existence before the first day were the water(s), God, darkness, and the void of the earth. Thanks for stopping by! Clearly the Genesis account borrows from and extends on this older Sumerian mythology and these numbers arent literal, they are symbolic. He was a descendant of Adam, who was the first man on earth, and his father was Enoch, who walked with God. Now, we can say there is seven thousand years it took for creation to be completed. Looking at genesis, there were only four things that existed in the beginning. Refraction happens because the density of the water is larger than that of the air, and the density would not change much, if at all, if the water was moving. Instead, the firmament can be understood as something else: an authors lens of the story. Here arises some problems with one of your starting assumptions. . The life spans are an admixture of historical reference and mythologized history (in other words, the stories are referring to real people but are more interested in using these people as part of ancient historiographic narratives). WebAnswers in Genesis Answers Bible Bible Timeline Bible Genealogy Methuselah: When Did He Die? This is certainly okay to assume, since we usually see Him working through natural processes, and all natural processes are created by Him anyways. If we take a look at the Sumerian King list well see that it clearly states: After the kingship descended from heaven, the kingship was in Eridug. The greenhouse effect is the net total of incoming radiation vs outgoing radiation. The waters are not the problem here, and neither is God. Methuselah, who was the son of Enoch and the father of Lamech, is listed in Genesis 5:21-27 as having lived to be 969 years old. Alaljar ruled for 36000 years. Is There a Sin That Leads to Death? But lets say we didnt have the knowledge of quantum tunneling that I just stated. While we are this size, we observe many strange things. Going by the age established for Methuselah in Genesis 5:27, he's the oldest known person in Jewish or Christian tradition. It is no surprise that today there are more drug and alcohol addictions and abuse than ever before. WebAfter all, the biblical Methuselah, ancestor to Noah, was said to have lived 969 years, while the Methuselah Tree, thought to be the world's oldest living thing, has endured almost five Or, as the journal Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith points out, it could also be that Babylonians had a different and easily misinterpreted numbering system. One was water, one was God, one was darkness, and lastly was the void of the earth. This should be believed because Gods Word says it, and He was an eye-witness. This has nothing to do with the greenhouse effect, which is caused differently. Was there a major prophecy given by his father Enoch at the time of his birth? In addition, in the sumerian accounts, while the 60 is invoked, it really tells us nothing of the significance of why the second multiplier is used so any symbolism is completely lost. Bible Verses About Prayer: 20 Important Scripture Quotes, 25 Encouraging Bible Verses About Strength, Words of Encouragement: 30 Uplifting Quotes. The Hebrew word for firmament/expanse is raqiya. The name Methuselah means When he is dead it shall be sent, or his death shall bring judgments, referring either to the Flood or to Gods judgment of the world when Jesus returns (1 Peter 4:5). But 85 is still a long way from 969 years of life. Even though a wide variety of views are represented in the book, all scholars agree that the writers of Genesis had historical events in mind when they wrote the text. The way to lengthen life is to eat a balanced diet, dont smoke, dont drink excessive amounts of alcohol, avoid drugs, particularly illicit drugs, and to exercise at least three times a week. He lived to be 969 years old and is also listed as fathering Lamech at age 187, and he had other sons and daughters. It is more likely that the sumerian account perverted the actual account or is dealing with kings, rather than ancestors of men of God, while the Genesis account brings the lifespan of the ancestors after the flood into line with present observations within about seven generations. To protect the oldest of all living things from vandalism, Methuselah precise location is undisclosed by the U.S. Forest Service . Under that definition it says that an expanse is flat as base, support. God commanded a Sabbath-rest in the Old Testament and there still remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God today (Heb. According to Genesis, Methuselah was the eighth antediluvian patriarch, son of Enoch, father of Lamech and grandfather of Noah (who was the last of these patriarchs). Basically, imagine if the earth was spinning faster than what it is today, thus making the waters of the ocean rise in an escape velocity to form a water shield around the earth serving two purposes, 1. cooling the rays of the sun, thus creating an Ozone layer, for example. This is not some fanciful mythological event story; it is an accounting of the history of the ancestors of the people of Israel, and to some extent of the entire world. so their health would have been incredible. Why was Enoch only about 350 years old? 18 Mysterious Satellite Images Spark Debate About Alien Symbols And Bases In Chinese Desert. The Bibles first old person is an obscure one. WebMethuselah lived 969 years - "And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty and nine years: and he died." This set into motion a day, however, the light did not come from the sun, like we are all accustomed to believe through science. According to Genesis 5:21-27, Methuselahs father Enoch lived 365 years before God took him up into heaven without experiencing physical death. But what is more interesting is the fact that Ziusudra mentioned in WB-62 mirrors the hero Noah and the 9 kings that lead up to him mirror the 9 patriarchs we see extending from Adam to Lamech. If anything, they both borrow from a common ancestor. The next time period can be denoted as the the time between the fall of man until the flood. For many of the faithful, coming out against the strict word of the Bible can be pretty uncomfortable, if not totally blasphemous. This firmament caused the completion of the precession that is experienced today. I personally agree with you that symbolism, by itself, is not totally satisfactory to explain the life spans, but I dont think literalism is a good option either. WebBut 85 is still a long way from 969 years of life. If So, What is It? That is to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. He was of the Antediluvian period in the Hebrew Bible. Indeed, most of us are pretty lucky to even approach 100, much less 900. This is a good reason why life expectancy today is much shorter than in biblical times. Remember we must look at the stories as a witness statement to what had happened, not whether it is myth, legend, fact or fiction. That means that the light is changing its normal trajectory because of refraction, and that would definitely be a concern if the Earth was covered with a water shield. Probably because it was. But he doesn't have to be a mere side note, at least not so long as you're willing to branch out a bit when it comes to research. Methuselahs lengthy lifespan has baffled many individuals, leading to various interpretations and theories. The verse reports that he lived to be 969 years old, far more than any of the other ages reported in the text. Per Learn Religions, this seems to have been a gradual decline in the Bible, as a few folks broke the 400-year mark after the Great Flood. Although Noah lived another 450 years after the flood, his childrens lifespans were halved, and progressively lifespans became shorter Abraham at about 175 years, Moses at 120 years most of the Israelites in the dessert journey lived considerably shorter than that. This is not some fanciful mythological event story; it is an accounting of the history of the ancestors of the people of Israel, and to some extent of the entire world. Vaupels research shows that life expectancy is likely to increase well beyond the purported limit of 85 years. I wasnt aware of that. **b=(1245 years)**This is an approximation, if you add up the lifespans and deaths, from Adam to Noah the first part of b is solved. What if I said that Jesus Christ, as we know Him from the bible, existed in three separate stories of the bible all at the same time? prophets like Daniel and Jeremiah also mention Methuselah as an example of righteousness; however, this may be because they believed that he had been born before Adam died and therefore was not part of humanitys original sin. The Bible book of Genesis speaks of seven men who lived more than 900 years, all of them being born prior to the Flood of Noahs day. These sins are known to shorten a persons life. It was written in the culture of the day, and that is how we must interpret it. We all love our pets. He came on the scene right in the midst of it. Why do people living today live much shorter life spans than in the days in which the Bible was written? And 2. providing the perfect temperature for the inhabitants of the earth. No longer would the environment be perfect. Look at the Transfiguration, where Christ was conferring to Moses, Ellijah, and the Apostles all at the same time. So, we go back into our machine and become normal-sized again. The following is taken from theKing James Versionof theBible. It is unscientific to conclude they are not real, unless you have evidence they are not real. The it, of course, being the flood. This has not been confirmed but does make sense. Then there's also telomerase, an enzyme that dictates how quickly the telomeres (essentially, the genetic bits at the ends of your chromosomes) degrade over one's lifetime. Methuselah, Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) patriarch [revered in worship. Noah was born into something that was already set in motion by God. Time did not come into play until the third day. In this case, I think expanse and firmament are equally valid and they mean the same thing. But ordinary humans cant live that long. That means, in the very year His grandfather Lamech lived 777 years; his great-grandfather Jared lived 962 years; his father Mahalalel lived 895 years; and his son Enoch walked with God for 365 years before being translated into heaven. In fact, if you happen to sneeze while reading through Genesis, you could very well miss his existence entirely. That being said, your argument was very well thought out, but it seems to not match up with reality. Since the earth doesnt rotate perfectly around its axis, for currently there is a wobble or precess, it would further make sense, that the earth in its current state could not support a water shield. Unless those numbers had a purpose other than purely genealogy, then there appears to be another problem entirely. And this biblical claim would have seemed even more fantastic to George Gershwin who was born in 1896, when life expectancy was 47 years. In short, there are good reasons to think that the long ages of Genesis figures are at least partially symbolic, and are meant to communicate truths about the lives and importance of these figures through their ages (remember that for ancient people, numbers always carried great religious significance). I also think its fairly clear (for the reasons in Jims blog) that the ages are at least partially embellished, even if they are not completely symbolic. We cannot make it claim something (like the existence of the firmament) that it was never meant to claim. Then the question comes, How could someone live to be almost a 1000 2. He was also the oldest of all the figures mentioned in the Bible. Today the average life span of a man is nearing 70 and is close to 75 for women. However, If time started on the third day, there is three thousand years unaccounted for before the begining of time(or a solar day/year conversion). The effects of the fall of man, which happened in the Garden of Eden, had an effect. How did methuselah live so long. [19] I recommend reading it. Yet, Plait says that what was missing from many of the reports about the "Methuselah star" was the margin of error present in these measurements. Core samples taken in the 1950s confirmed that the slow-growing pine tree in question was over 4,700 years old, making it one of the oldest confirmed living organisms on the planet. What that is, is still unknown.
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