Biblical Lifespan - not 120 years

I have heard a number of Biblical teachers, who should know better, say that man's life span should be 120 years, based on the passage in Genesis 6:3. The following article corrects this erroneous teaching:

 Long Life - Rev. James H. Houchens

Before the flood people lived hundreds of years. Adam died when he was 930 years old, so he lived nearly to the time of Noah. The only people born before the flood who survived the flood, were Noah and his family. Noah lived 350 years after the flood, and died at age 950 years (Gen. 9:28-29), so it was not the flood itself that shortened man’s life span.

Methuselah was born shortly after Adam was 700 years old, and he lived 969 years, spanning the time of Adam until the flood. He died the year of the flood (not in the flood), and some say God waited until the death of Methuselah to bring the flood. Different meanings are given for his name by various references, but I lean toward the one given by J. Vernon McGee: The name of Methuselah means “sending forth.” Others believe that Methuselah meant: “When he is dead, it shall be sent.” What will be sent? The Flood. As long as Methuselah lived, the Flood could not come. The very interesting thing is that according to a chronology of the genealogy of the patriarchs (shown at the end of this chapter) the year that Methuselah died is the year that the Flood came. “When he is dead, it shall be sent”—that is the meaning of his name.

We can establish a time line from the time of creation until the flood by adding up the birth years of the patriarchs. Clarence Larkin shows a similar chart in his book (Page 33-1/2), but not how he computed the dates.

Years after Creation	Event: Genesis 5:3-31		Comments
0	Adam Created		Adam is created on the 6th day of creation
130	Birth of Seth
235	Birth of Enosh		After the birth of Enosh, men began to call upon the name of the Lord (Gen. 4:26)
325	Birth of Kenan
395	Birth of Mahalalal
460	Birth of Jared
622	Birth of Enoch		Enoch walked with God (Gen. 5:22,24)
687	Birth of Methuselah
874	Birth of Lamech		All the patriarchs had other sons & daughters, who would have died in the flood, if not sooner.
930	Death of Adam		Adam dies before the death of any of his patriarchal children or grandchildren.
987	Enoch Disappeared		Genesis 5:24
1042	Death of Seth
1056	Birth of Noah		Noah was a righteous man (Gen. 6:9). The Bible does not say this about any of the other patriarchs. Noah was 600 years old when the flood came (Genesis 7:6). 1056 plus 600 = 1656
1140	Death of Enosh
1305	Death of Kenan		Nothing of note happens after this for over 200 years, except corruption.
1536?	God says you have 120 years before judgment.		Genesis 6:3 – This has to precede the birth of Noah’s children. 1536 plus 120 = 1656, the year of the flood.
1556	Birth of Shem, Ham & Japheth - Genesis 6:10		1536 plus 20 = 1556.
?	God speaks to Noah and tells him to build the ark taking wife and sons with him. Genesis 6:18. There is a brief mention of this in 1 Peter 3:20. We do not know exactly when construction began, but assume Noah’s grown sons helped him. The boys are married, but have no children.
1584	Death of Jared
1651	Death of Lamech	Lamech gives a very cool prophecy when Noah was born (Gen. 5:29).
1656	Death of Methuselah	The last and oldest of the patriarchs dies before the flood except Noah
1656	The flood	The flood began on the 2nd month and the 17th day. The flood lasted 5 months – Genesis 7:24. See also Psalm 104:6-9. The Garden of Eden is destroyed by the flood.

After the flood, people lived progressively shorter lives (see Genesis 11:10-26). Shem (born before the flood) lived 600 years. Shem’s sons (born after the flood) lived over 400 years. The next generation lived 239 years, and the generation after that, 148 years. Terah, the father of Abraham, lived 70 years. Today, people typically live 60-80 years, with some living slightly longer. A few live to be 90-110, but essentially none live to be 120. We don’t know if God purposed to shorten man’s life span, or whether it is the result of post flood climatic conditions, or what. Normal life span of at least 100 years will be restored after the return of Jesus – Isaiah 65:20, 22.

Our life span is not fixed (as some may say “when your number is up - - “), but may be shortened by bad choices or lengthened by the right choices. Exodus 20:12 is the first commandment with a promise – “honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged - - -“ This promise is repeated in the New Testament in Ephesians 6:3, so it carries over into the New Covenant.

In Psalm 90:10, Moses says “As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years, or if due to strength eighty years.” This agrees with the observed condition after the flood. Whenever two Scriptures appear to contradict, it means we have misinterpreted one or both Scriptures, because God does not contradict Himself.

In Genesis 6:3, where God says “man - - his days shall be one hundred and twenty years,” we need to get the context. God is saying man is corrupt, and I am getting ready to destroy him. Noah was 500 years old when his sons Shem, Ham and Japheth were born (Gen 5:32). They were not triplets, so they were born over a period of a year or so. Noah was 600 years old when the flood came (Gen. 7:6), so it took about 100 years to build the Ark. Noah’s sons are married when they enter the Ark, and would be close to 100 years old, but they have no children. Shem was the oldest (Gen. 10:21), and Ham was the youngest (Gen. 9:24).

Many believe that God would not destroy man until the patriarchs had died, and the flood came immediately after Methuselah died. Prior to that, it is said that Noah preached to his neighbors, but they would not repent. The implication is that the Ark was finished, and Noah was waiting for God to instruct him, which He did in Genesis 7:1. God is patient, and allows a lot of time before bringing judgment.

Dake, in his book, says that Adam lived a sinful life after the fall, as did his sons. In Genesis 6:3 God is referring to Adam, and grants him an additional 120 years to repent. This would have been in the year 810, between the birth of Methuselah and Lamech, and this doesn’t seem to match the timeline. Lamech and Noah are mentioned in Genesis 5, so I reject this explanation. Sometimes, Dake has a good explanation, and other times he is just plain wrong.

Conclusion:

While some preachers teach that Genesis 6:3 is a prophecy of man’s ultimate lifespan, that does not line up with Scripture, or the facts. It was telling man that he had 120 years to repent before He would bring judgment.