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
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Event:
Genesis 5:3-31
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Comments
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0
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Adam
Created
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Adam
is created on the 6th day of creation
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130
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Birth
of Seth
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235
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Birth
of Enosh
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After
the birth of Enosh, men began to call upon the name of the Lord (Gen. 4:26)
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325
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Birth
of Kenan
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395
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Birth of Mahalalal
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460
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Birth
of Jared
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622
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Birth
of Enoch
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Enoch
walked with God (Gen. 5:22,24)
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687
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Birth
of Methuselah
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874
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Birth
of Lamech
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All
the patriarchs had other sons & daughters, who would have died in the
flood, if not sooner.
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930
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Death
of Adam
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Adam
dies before the death of any of his patriarchal children or grandchildren.
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987
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Enoch
Disappeared
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Genesis
5:24
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1042
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Death
of Seth
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1056
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Birth
of Noah
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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
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1140
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Death
of Enosh
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1305
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Death
of Kenan
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Nothing
of note happens after this for over 200 years, except corruption.
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1536?
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God
says you have 120 years before judgment.
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Genesis
6:3 – This has to precede the birth of Noah’s children. 1536 plus 120 = 1656,
the year of the flood.
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1556
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Birth
of Shem, Ham & Japheth - Genesis 6:10
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1536
plus 20 = 1556.
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?
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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.
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1584
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Death
of Jared
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1651
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Death
of Lamech
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Lamech
gives a very cool prophecy when Noah was born (Gen. 5:29).
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1656
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Death
of Methuselah
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The
last and oldest of the patriarchs dies before the flood except Noah
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1656
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The
flood
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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.
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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.
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