Could God Have a 6,000 Year Plan?

If so, when do the six-thousand years end? What is the biblical chronology of the date of creation of Adam?

By COGwriter

When will the end of this world come? Did God give human-beings from the time of Adam 6,000 years to rule themselves prior to the millennial reign of Jesus Christ?

Was the idea that human were given 6,000 years to rule themselves known by those who professed Christ centuries ago? If so, where did they get it?

And perhaps, more importantly for many, if that is the cas, then when will the 6,000 years be over? When may it end? While the Bible indicates that nearly 2,000 years ago, the day and hour were unclear (Matthew 24:36), that in the end Christians should know the season (cf. 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6), and perhaps eventually the year after certain events take place (cf. Daniel 9:27).

When His disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray, one of the things Jesus told them to pray was:

10 Your kingdom come. (Matthew 6:10, NKJV)

When will that kingdom come?

This article will look to the Bible, Jewish writings, historical writings, Church of God writings, and even Roman Catholic writings to attempt to answer that and questions. A related sermon-length video would be: When Does the 6000 Years End? 2031? 2035? 

(Note: This article is not intended to go into subjects such as the age of the earth or human-like creatures that could have been prior to Adam. Information about the Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:3-2:3 creations are in the article How Old is the Earth and How Long Were the Days of Creation?).

Did The Words of Elijah Predict Six Thousand Years of Human Rule?

There is an old tradition that the prophet Elijah taught that there would be six thousand years for humans to rule under Satan's kingdom, followed by one thousand years of abundance in the kingdom of God.

Edward Gibbon from the 1776 work "THE DECLINE AND FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE," where he documented the facts regarding the first century Christians...

"The ancient and popular doctrine of the Millennium was intimately connected with the second coming of Christ. As the works of the creation had been finished in six days, their duration in their present state, according to a tradition which was attributed to the prophet Elijah, was fixed to six thousand years. By the same analogy it was inferred that this long period of labor and contention, which was now almost elapsed, would be succeeded by a joyful Sabbath of a thousand years; and that Christ, with the triumphant band of the saints and the elect who had escaped death, or who had been miraculously revived, would reign upon earth till the time appointed for the last and general resurrection". - Vol I, p.403

Jewish tradition also seemingly attributes statements to the 'school of Elijah' or someone else. Here are two translations from the Talmud:

'It was taught in the school of Elijah: The world will endure 6000 years -- 2,000 years in chaos, 2,000 years with Torah, and 2,000 years will be the days of the Messiah' ('Talmud,' Sanh.97a).

The Tanna debe Eliyyahu teaches: The world is to exist six thousand years. In the first two thousand there was desolation;  two thousand years the Torah flourished; and the next two thousand years is the Messianic era (Babylonian Talmud: Sanhedrin 97a).

While traditions should never supersede scripture, the above is certainly an interesting and ancient tradition is it shows that the idea of a 6,000 year plan followed by Christ establishing His kingdom on the earth was a common teaching among the early ones who professed Christ. Furthermore, from the above, it should be clear that the Messiah was to come 2000 years ago, which Jesus did. We in the Continuing Church of God call the time from Acts 2 to present the 'church era,' which is consistent with the Talmud (as far as the Torah goes, that time was closer to 1400 years than 2000 as it was not finalized until after the Exodus--see also Timelines and Early Church History and When was the Exodus? Did it Happen?).

Here are specific traditions related to the millennium from the Jewish Babylonian Talmud:

R. Kattina said: Six thousand years shall the world exist, and one [thousand, the seventh], it shall be desolate, as it is written, And the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day {Isaiah 2:11}.

Abaye said: it will be desolate two [thousand], as it is said, After two days will he revive us: in the third day, he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight {Hosea 6:2}.

It has been taught in accordance with R. Kattina: Just as the seventh year is one year of release in seven, so is the world: one thousand years out of seven shall be fallow, as it is written, And the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day,' and it is further said, A Psalm and song for the Sabbath day {Psalm 92:1},  meaning the day that is altogether Sabbath -- and it is also said, For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past {Psalm 90:4}.

The Tanna debe Eliyyahu teaches: The world is to exist six thousand years. In the first two thousand there was desolation;  two thousand years the Torah flourished;  and the next two thousand years is the Messianic era (Babylonian Talmud: Tractate Sanhedrin Folio 97a).

And while there are some errors in the above, it appears that there is a six thousand year plan, that the current two thousand years essentially represents the Church/Messianic era, and that a one thousand year period remains.

Note: I inserted the scriptures quoted or alluded to above within {} as they are in the footnotes associated with the above.

Now, some Jews believe that the Messiah is to come at the end of the 6000 years. And that is essentially true, but, of course, Jesus already came. Here is one Jewish source on this:

The Messiah and 6000 years

How do we know that the world will end in the year 6,000? There are many differing contexts of the coming of the Messiah has anyone sorted out the contexts so that we can gauge a clear view?

Here are some sources for the world lasting six thousand years:

Talmud, Tractate Sanhedrin [97a]: “Rav Kattina said: ‘The world will exist for 6000 years and one (thousand) of destruction’ ... We have a teaching which is in agreement with Rav Kattina, as the seventh is the sabbatical year – one in seven years. Likewise the world will rest 1,000 in 7000 … ‘a thousand years in Your eyes are like yesterday which has passed …’ [Psalms 90:4].”

Talmud, Tractate Avodah Zarah [9a]: “The world will exist for six thousand years: two millennia of void (‘tohu’); Two millennia of Torah; and then two millennia of the age of Moshiach.”

Nachmanides, Commentary on the Torah (Genesis 2:3), quoting Kabbalistic sources: “Each of the Six Days of Creation corresponds to a 1,000 year period of future history.”

As for a clearer view of what it will be like when Moshiach comes, the basic answer is: a lot better than this.

From the Prophets, Talmud and Midrashim, we know what universal changes Moshiach will bring about. Among them: the whole world will return to God and His teachings; the entire Jewish People will be gathered back to the Land of Israel; the royal dynasty of King David will be restored; Jerusalem and the Third Temple will be rebuilt; the Temple service will be restored, along with the keeping of the Sabbatical Year (Shmitah) and the Jubilee Year (Yovel); the Sanhedrin, the religious supreme court of the Jewish people, will be reestablished. http://www.jewishanswers.org/ask-the-rabbi-category/the-basics-of-judaism/the-messiah/?p=998 accessed 09/19/17

There is also something else from another Jewish source. In the Midrash (a term that means “exposition” or “investigation”), Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer comments:

Six eons for going in and coming out, for war and peace. The seventh eon is entirely Shabbat and rest for life everlasting: (Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer, Gerald Friedlander, Sepher-Hermon Press, New York, 1981, p. 141)

Notice also the following from the Bible:

1 And the Lord spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying, 2 "Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: 'When you come into the land which I give you, then the land shall keep a sabbath to the Lord. 3 Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard, and gather its fruit; 4 but in the seventh year there shall be a sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a sabbath to the Lord. You shall neither sow your field nor prune your vineyard. 5 What grows of its own accord of your harvest you shall not reap, nor gather the grapes of your untended vine, for it is a year of rest for the land. 6 And the sabbath produce of the land shall be food for you: for you, your male and female servants, your hired man, and the stranger who dwells with you, 7 for your livestock and the beasts that are in your land — all its produce shall be for food. (Leviticus 25:1-7)

Some Protestants have pointed to the passages in Leviticus 25 as part of the reason that the Bible shows that there is a 6,000 year plan:

The law of Moses laid a great deal of stress upon the sabbath, the sanctification of which was the earliest and most ancient of all divine institutions, designed for the keeping up of the knowledge and worship of the Creator among men; that law not only revived the observance of the weekly sabbath, but, for the further advancement of the honour of them, added the institution of a sabbatical year: In the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, v. 4. And hence the Jews collect that vulgar tradition that after the world has stood six thousand years (a thousand years being to God as one day) it shall cease, and the eternal sabbath shall succeed—a weak foundation on which to build the fixing of that day and hour which it is God's prerogative to know. This sabbatical year began in September, at the end of harvest, the seventh month of their ecclesiastical year: (Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible, Leviticus 25:1-7. PC Study Bible Formatted Electronic Database Copyright © 2006 by Biblesoft, Inc. All Rights reserved.)

While Leviticus 25 is not, of itself, complete proof, it does add here a little, there a little, scriptural support to the belief (cf. Isaiah 28:9-10). See also the article on the Feast of Trumpets. Let it also be noted that Jeremiah made a comment that the land would need to enjoy its Sabbaths (2 Chronicles 36:21)--and while that had a prior fulfillment, it may also be a clue that the entire planet would experience a millennial rest.

A Thousand Years is Like a Day to God

Consistent with the views of early Christians and some associated with them, some believe that since God made/recreated the world in six days and rested on the seventh day (Genesis 2:1-3), that humans will have 6000 years to live on the earth under Satan's influence. Remaining humans will have a 1000 year period to be under Christ's reign (the original creation of the universe may have been billions of years earlier c.f. Genesis 1:2; Isaiah 45:18; How Old is the Earth and How Long Were the Days of Creation?). The 6000 plus 1000 years equals God's seven thousand year plan.

The Bible teaches that a thousand years seems to be as one day to God. This is a concept from both the Old and New Testaments:

4 For a thousand years in Your sight Are like yesterday when it is past (Psalm 90:4).

8 But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day (2 Peter 3:8).

Notice also the following:

16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." (Genesis 2:16-17)

How long was Adam's day before he died?

5 So all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years; and he died. (Genesis 5:5)

So, Adam died "in the day"--a day that was not too much less than 1000 years long.

A day is to God as 1000 years as that is part of His plan.

The idea of the 6000/7000 year plan is a tradition with apparent scriptural support, but it is still a tradition.

Last Days Fit When 1000 Year Days are Understood

Based upon certain calculations that I am currently aware of, it seems that Adam and Eve were created and/or apparently left the garden of Eden between roughly 3964-3968 B.C. (it is most likely that the 6000 years began once Adam sinned as Adam had not rebelled before then).

This would mean that when Jesus began to preach (roughly 27 A.D. +/-, over four thousand years later) He started preaching late in day four and then into day five. Day four is the middle of seven prophetic thousand year days, hence is not one of the "last days."

Thus, days five and six would have been considered as part of the "last days" by the early disciples.

That being so, this helps explain why some New Testament figures indicated that they were in the last days:

14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, "Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. 15 For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. 16 But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 17 'And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams. (Acts 2:14-17).

1 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; (Hebrews 1:1-2)

So, the "last days" began during a time that Jesus spoke. And they had to have started at least slightly before the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2.

If there is no 6,000 year plan of human rule followed by a 1,000 year millennial reign, then the New Testament statement above about then being in the last days seemingly make little sense. But, since it looks like God does have a 7,000 year plan, these statements do make sense with that understanding. And that also explains how come the end has not come yet--there is still a little more time in "the last days."

Since Jesus was preaching into “the last days,” He seemingly must have been doing some of that in day five of the seven one thousand year days.

A reader of this article pointed to the following statement Jesus made, just before He died:

30 So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished!" And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit. (John 19:30)

The reader speculated that could be the end of the four thousand years when Jesus spoke "It is finished!" And that could be so. Jesus spoke again to the disciples and others after that after He was resurrected (John 21:6-23; Acts 1:4-7)--and presuming that the Apostle Paul wrote Hebrews, we know Jesus spoke to him in Acts 9:4-16 as well. And perhaps it was after Jesus was buried was when day 5--of the last days--began.

If the 4000 years ended when Jesus died, then we might be able to conclude that Adam sinned on Passover when he ate the forbidden fruit (Genesis 3:6) and the 6,000 year countdown began. That, then, looks like it also would tie in with the annual date of Passover. And actually, that may be precisely why Passover is on the date that it is. Jesus, who the Bible says was "slain from the foundation of the world" (Revelation 13:8), had the need to be slain for humanity on the day that Adam sinned-- which could very well have been Passover. That would be another reason that the date of Passover should never have been changed--which is something that the Greco-Roman Catholics did (see Did Early Christians Celebrate Easter?).

This Passover date change to Easter Sunday--which Emperor Constantine made official for those who would support him--may be one more reason that the Greco-Roman Catholics stopped endorsing the biblical millennium (see also Did The Early Church Teach Millenarianism?).

That said, since Acts 2 appears to have been c. 31 A.D. or 35 A.D. (with as late as 36 A.D. being proposed as possible), this would suggest that the 6000 years would be up by 2031 or 2035--unless the resurrection was in a later year (nothing later than 36 A.D. seems to be possible). 35 A.D. for the year of Jesus' last earthly Passover is of interest because that year, like 31 A.D., had a Tuesday Passover.

Flavius Josephus wrote:

So Vitellius sent Marcellus, a friend of his, to take care of the affairs of Judea, and ordered Pilate to go to Rome, to answer before the emperor to the accusations of the Jews. So Pilate, when he had tarried ten years in Judea, made haste to Rome, and this in obedience to the orders of Vitellius, which he durst not contradict; but before he could get to Rome Tiberius was dead. (The Antiquities of the Jews, W. Whiston translation, 18.89)

According to calculations based on the above, Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea from AD 26 until he was replaced by Marcellus, either in AD 36 or AD 37, establishing the date of the death of Jesus between AD 26 and AD 37. Other sources, while looking at other information, place the year of Jesus' death between 30-36 A.D.

It also needs to be understood that there are two types of last days referred to in the New Testament. When some were stating that they were in the last days, this indicates the latter days of the 7,000 year week. However in other places, New Testament writers sometimes are referring to the time of the final generation before Jesus returns as being the last days, as they indicate that this was not for the same time as they were writing (cf. 2 Peter 3:3).

Jesus noted that the events in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21 would all happen within the same generation. Those events included the "sorrows" (which may have began in 2009--see Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse) and the return of Jesus (Matthew 24:1-34).

Perhaps that is as little as 20 years (cf. Exodus 38:26). Biblically, a generation was seemingly considered to be 30 or 40 years according to what appears to be Smith’s Bible Dictionary’s understanding of Job 42:16 (Smith W. Smith’s Bible Dictionary. Originally written 1863, Hendrickson Publishers, p. 211). At the most it would be 70 to 80 years (Psalm 90:10). But 20-40 years seems to be the most logical--and that seems to tie in with the 6,000 year plan (it is likely less than 30 years from the opening of the first seal of Revelation 6:1-2).

Hindu Writings?

Now, you might be a Hindu and/or otherwise skeptical of biblical prophecies. As it turns out, certain interpretations of Hindu prophecies point to the basically same time (though they use a 5,000 year period, which started about 1,000 years later). Notice the following:

Lord Krishna says that Kali Yuga will end 5,000 years after its beginning, giving way to a Golden Age. …

Hindus believe that human civilization degenerates spiritually during the Kali Yuga, which is referred to as the Dark Age because in it people are as far removed as possible from God. …

The timeline also indicates that the ascending Kali Yuga, which is the current epoch in which we are living, will end in 2025 CE. (Cupper28. Kaliyuga Ends by 2025, Mystry. Daily English News, July 4, 2018)

Now, from a biblical perspective this is a bit too early for the new utopian age (Christians would refer to that age as the millennial kingdom of God). Yet, other Hindu writings point to this leader being a warring one.

Here are two such reports:

Kalki, who is considered the last Avtar or incarnation of Vishnu or the Supreme Being, who will establish the Age of Truth or Age of Purity on Earth. …

As agreed by all the religious prophecies, the Awaited One will not be a man of peace like Jesus Christ or Buddha, but a man of war who will destroy evil and establish righteousness on the earth. (Hindu Prophecies: The Kalki Purana. viewed 12/29/20 http://ww-iii.tripod.com/hindu.htm) 

Bhagwan Kalki would be a spiritual master of the highest order with the deadly combination of a wise dictator (Chanakya of the modern era)... (Kumar, Vijay. End of the World 2012. viewed Spring 2009, http://www.godrealized.com/2012.html htm)

So, essentially, a warring leader that Hindus will accept (for a time) is to possibly rise up in 2025. Since the Bible shows that “All who dwell on the earth will worship” (Revelation 13:8) the warring Beast power (Revelation 13:1-4), and since this Beast leader’s reign is 42 months (Revelation 13:5), if he were to fully rise up in 2025, 42 months later would be sometime in 2028 or 2029.

While this author relies on biblical prophecies, those Hindu reports are eerily consistent with Jesus returning between 2029-2031 and the Great Tribulation starting 3 1/2 years earlier (cf. Matthew 24; see also When Will the Great Tribulation Begin?). Though 2029 is too early and 203o appears to be too early. It is also possible that this leader would only partially arise in 2025, like perhaps being one confirming a seven year peace deal (cf. Daniel 9:27), then that would point to as late as 2032. Since Satan would know when the 6,000 years would end, he could have inspired/influenced some of the Hindu writers.

Wisdom of Knowing Your Days and Errors of James Ussher

Prophecy is important. Much of the Bible (20-33% depending on how it is calculated) is prophetic.

Consider also that the Apostle John was inspired to write:

10 Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. (Revelation 19:10)

Is there wisdom in knowing about the 6000 years?

Let's look again at the 90th Psalm:

4 For a thousand years in Your sight
Are like yesterday when it is past,
And like a watch in the night.
5 You carry them away like a flood;
They are like a sleep.
In the morning they are like grass which grows up:
6 In the morning it flourishes and grows up;
In the evening it is cut down and withers.

7 For we have been consumed by Your anger,
And by Your wrath we are terrified.
8 You have set our iniquities before You,
Our secret sins in the light of Your countenance.
9 For all our days have passed away in Your wrath;
We finish our years like a sigh.
10 The days of our lives are seventy years;
And if by reason of strength they are eighty years,
Yet their boast is only labor and sorrow;
For it is soon cut off, and we fly away.
11 Who knows the power of Your anger?
For as the fear of You, so is Your wrath.
12 So teach us to number our days,
That we may gain a heart of wisdom. (Psalms 90:4-12)

Is it not interesting that after stating a thousand years is as a day, the Pslamist was inspired to write that our own days are limited and we should number our days that we may have the heart of wisdom?

Understanding approximately where we are in the 6000 years, thus, could be a wise thing to do.

Perhaps I should comment that many incorrectly feel that the 6,000 years are up, because of some 17th century calculations made by a non-COG historian, James Ussher, who was the Anglican Archbishop of Armagh (in what is now Northern Ireland). He primarily based his calculations upon the chronologies and reigns of kings in the Old Testament to conclude that the world was created in the Fall of 4004 B.C. There are several problems that can arise from using James Ussher's method:

1) The first is that Ussher's method did not seem to take into account that sometimes a son began the reign in a kingdom before his father king died (which, for one example, seems to started with with Solomon, see 1 Kings 1:32-43), hence the official chronologies often counted both co-reigns (hence this could contribute to possible over counting by Ussher).

2) He made some errors in some of his calculations.

3) James Ussher guessed that Solomon built the Jerusalem Temple in 1012 .B.C., but it was likely decades later.

4) It is almost certain that the 6,000 years for humans to rule over themselves apart from direct contact with God began after Adam sinned, and hence left the Garden of Eden (cf. Genesis 3:24). It is possible that this could have taken one day to twenty or so years--the Bible is not specifically clear on this point.

Thus, even if some of Ussher’s calculations were accurate, there still would be time left as he did not really attempt to prove when Adam and Eve were put out of the Garden of Eden–he only attempted to calculate the possible year of creation based upon his own limited understandings of biblical chronologies and other historical indicators (at least one of which seems to have been in error). Therefore, people who rely on Ussher’s 4004 B.C. calculations to claim that the 6000 years are up seem to be relying on assumption as opposed to fact.

Some who now point to Ussher do so to discredit the idea of a 6000-7000 year plan. But since Ussher was not completely accurate, this does not dismiss the basic concept.

Did Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth Century Writers Teach the Six Thousand Plan?

While the Jews do not rely on the New Testament, Christians do. Notice some specific verses related to a particular one thousand year period:

1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2 He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; 3 and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while.

4 And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years. (Revelation 20:1-6)

It should be noted that Papias, who was a hearer of John and a friend of Polycarp (and is considered to be a saint by Roman Catholics), in the early second century taught about the millennial reign. Eusebius recorded that Papias (an early 2nd century leader) taught:

…there will be a period of a thousand years after the resurrection of the dead, and that the kingdom of Christ will be set up in material form on this very earth ... (Eusebius. The History of the Church, Book III, Chapter XXIX, Verse 12, p. 69)

The Church of God leader (who is considered to be a saint by the Roman and Eastern Orthodox Catholics), Melito of Sardis taught the millennium (Danielou, Cardinal Jean-Guenole-Marie. The Theology of Jewish Christianity. Translated by John A. Baker. The Westminister Press, 1964). Here is more information about Melito's views:

A few years after Saint Justin’s death, and in the surrounding areas of Ephesus, Melito of Sardis, a well-known bishop and his followers defended millennialism.  He undoubtedly borrowed some of his theories from his compatriot, Papias and relied on the Apocalypse. (Gry L. Le millenarisme dans ses origines et son developpement. Alphonse Picard, Paris, 1904, p. 81. Translated into English by Gisele Gaudet, March 2015.)

The Catholic Encyclopedia notes:

... a large number of Christians of the post-Apostolic era, particularly in Asia Minor, yielded so far to Jewish apocalyptic as to put a literal meaning into these descriptions of St. John's Apocalypse; the result was that millenarianism spread and gained staunch advocates not only among the heretics but among the Catholic Christians as well ... Papias of Hierapolis, a disciple of St. John, appeared as an advocate of millenarianism. He claimed to have received his doctrine from contemporaries of the Apostles. ... A witness for the continued belief in millenarianism in the province of Asia is St. Melito, Bishop of Sardes in the second century (Kirsch J.P. Transcribed by Donald J. Boon. Millennium and Millenarianism. The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume X. Copyright © 1911 by Robert Appleton Company. Online Edition Copyright © 2003 by K. Knight. Nihil Obstat, October 1, 1911. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York).

Yet, notice what groups taught for and against the millennium:

... the millennarianism of the Jewish Christians ... for which the reputation of John (Apoc. xx. 4-6; xxi.) and his peculiar followers, afforded a warrant--this millennarianism became the general belief of the time, and met with almost no other opposition than that given by the Gnostics ... The thousand years' reign was represented as the great Sabbath which should begin vегу soon, or as others supposed, after the lapse of the six thousand years of the world's age, with the first resurrection, and should afford great joys to the righteous. Till then the souls of the departed were kept in the underworld, and the opinion that they should be taken up to heaven immediately after death, was considered a gnostic heresy (Gieseler, Johann Karl Ludwig. A Text-book of Church History. Translated by Samuel Davidson, John Winstanley Hull, Mary A. Robinson. Harper & brothers, 1857, Original from the University of Michigan, Digitized Feb 17, 2006, pp. 166-167).

Notice that it was Gnostics that taught against the millennium as part of God's plan, but the 'Jewish Christians,' which included the faithful in Asia Minor did teach this (as far as heaven goes, check out the article Did Early Christians Teach They Were Going to Heaven?). The tying in of it with the seventh-day Sabbath connects it to the 6000/7000 year plan.

It should also be mentioned that, Marcion, a second century heretic who was denounced by Polycarp of Smyrna, who was against the law was one of the first believed to propose teaching against the millennium, and apparently the 6000/7000 year plan.

Although we in the Continuing Church of God do not consider that the so-called Epistle of Barnabas is inspired, it does show that in the early second century that some did understand the idea of a 6000 year plan followed by the thousand year reign of Christ:

Moreover concerning the Sabbath likewise it is written in the Ten Words, in which He spake to Moses face to face on Mount Sinai; And ye shall hallow the Sabbath of the Lord with pure hands and with a pure heart. And in another place He saith; If my sons observe the Sabbath then I will bestow My mercy upon them. Of the Sabbath He speaketh in the beginning of the creation; And God made the works of His hands in six days, and He ended on the seventh day, and rested on it, and He hallowed it. Give heed, children, what this meaneth; He ended in six days. He meaneth this, that in six thousand years the Lord shall bring all things to an end; for the day with Him signifyeth a thousand years; and this He himself beareth me witness, saying; Behold, the day of the Lord shall be as a thousand years. Therefore, children, in six days, that is in six thousand years, everything shall come to an end. And He rested on the seventh day. this He meaneth; when His Son shall come, and shall abolish the time of the Lawless One, and shall judge the ungodly, and shall change the sun and the moon and the stars, then shall he truly rest on the seventh day (Epistle of Barnabas, 15:1-5).

Hence the above quote shows that there was a belief among those who professed Christianity that there would be a literal thousand year reign of Christ on the Earth, and a 6,000 year plan for humans prior to that.

Around the end of the second century, a heretical leader named Bardesan wrote the following:

Bardesan, therefore, an aged man, and one celebrated for his knowledge of events, wrote, in a certain work which was composed by him, concerning the synchronisms with one another of the luminaries of heaven, speaking as follows :-- Two revolutions of Saturn, 60 years; 5 revolutions of Jupiter, 60 years; 40 revolutions of Mars, 60 years; 60 revolutions of the Sun, 60 years; 72 revolutions of Venus, 60 years; 150 revolutions of Mercury, 60 years; 720 revolutions of the Moon, 60 years.

And this," says he, "is one synchronism of them all; that is, the time of one such synchronism of them. So that from hence it appears that to complete too such synchronisms there will be required six thousands of years. Thus :-- 200 revolutions of Saturn, six thousands of years; 500 revolutions of Jupiter, 6 thousands of years; 4 thousand revolutions of Mars, 6 thousands of years; Six thousand revolutions of the Sun, 6 thousands of years." 7 thousand and 200 revolutions of Venus, 6 thousands of years; 12 thousand revolutions of Mercury, 6 thousands of years." 72 thousand revolutions of the Moon, 6 thousands of years."

These things did Bardesan thus compute when desiring to show that this world would stand only six thousands of years (By a certain Philip, disciple of Bardesan. Appendix after The Book of the Laws of Various Countries. Excerpted from Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 8. Edited by Alexander Roberts & James Donaldson. American Edition, 1886. Online Edition Copyright © 2004 by K. Knight).

Hence, he felt that the world would last 6000 years.

Bishop Irenaeus, a 2nd century heretical leader (but one Roman Catholics and the Eastern Orthodox consider to be a major early saint), claimed to have met Polycarp of Smyrna. Here is some of what he wrote about this:

... that apostasy which has taken place during six thousand years. For in as many days as this world was made, in so many thousand years shall it be concluded. And for this reason the Scripture says: "Thus the heaven and the earth were finished, and all their adornment. And God brought to a conclusion upon the sixth day the works that He had made; and God rested upon the seventh day from all His works." This is an account of the things formerly created, as also it is a prophecy of what is to come. For the day of the Lord is as a thousand years; and in six days created things were completed: it is evident, therefore, that they will come to an end at the sixth thousand year...

For in as many days as this world was made, in so many thousand years shall it be concluded ... and in six days created things were completed: it is evident, therefore, that they will come to an end at the sixth thousand year ... Thus, then, the six hundred years of Noah, in whose time the deluge occurred because of the apostasy, and the number of the cubits of the image for which these just men were sent into the fiery furnace, do indicate the number of the name of that man in whom is concentrated the whole apostasy of six thousand years, and unrighteousness, and wickedness, and false prophecy, and deception.

(Irenaeus. Adversus haereses, Book V, Chapter 28:2-3; 29:2. Excerpted from Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 1. Edited by Alexander Roberts & James Donaldson. American Edition, 1885. Online Edition Copyright © 2004 by K. Knight).

Irenaeus is basically trying to say that the creation shows the six-seven thousand year plan of God.  Irenaeus is also teaching that since God gave Noah 600 years prior to the flood, that humans were given 6,000 years to live in a time of apostasy, essentially cut-off from God (cf. Genesis 3:22-24). Here is something else he wrote:

But when this Antichrist shall have devastated all things in this world, he will reign for three years and six months, and sit in the temple at Jerusalem; and then the Lord will come from heaven in the clouds, in the glory of the Father, sending this man and those who follow him into the lake of fire; but bringing in for the righteous the times of the kingdom, that is, the rest, the hallowed seventh day; and restoring to Abraham the promised inheritance, in which kingdom the Lord declared, that "many coming from the east and from the west should sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." (Irenaeus. Adversus haereses, Book V, Chapter 30:4)

Here Irenaeus is teaching that the seventh one thousand years begins after the final Antichrist has reigned for 3 1/2 years.

Hippolytus was, and is still considered to have been, an important Roman Catholic leader:

The feast of St. Hippolytus is kept on 13 August ... Hippolytus was the most important theologian and the most prolific religious writer of the Roman Church in the pre-Constantinian era (St. Hippolytus of Rome, The Catholic Encyclopedia, 1910).

Notice something Hippolytus wrote:

And 6,000 years must needs be accomplished, in order that the Sabbath may come, the rest, the holy day "on which God rested from all His works." For the Sabbath is the type and emblem of the future kingdom of the saints, when they "shall reign with Christ," when He comes from heaven, as John says in his Apocalypse: for "a day with the Lord is as a thousand years."Since, then, in six days God made all things, it follows that 6, 000 years must be fulfilled. (Hippolytus. On the HexaËmeron, Or Six Days' Work. From Fragments from Commentaries on Various Books of Scripture. http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0502.htm verified 9/17/07).

Notice therefore that "the most important theologian and the most prolific religious writer of the Roman Church in the pre-Constantinian era" taught the 7,000 year plan (6,000 for humankind, followed by 1,000 from God). According to him and others, the 6,000 years end when Jesus returns.

The apparently North African Bishop Commodianus (likely mid-third century) wrote:

XXXV Adam was the first who fell, and that he might shun the precepts of God, Belial was his tempter by the lust of the palm tree. And he conferred on us also what he did, whether of good or of evil, as being the chief of all that was born from him; and thence we die by his means, as he himself, receding from the divine, became an outcast from the Word. We shall be immortal when six thousand years are accomplished.

LXXX This has pleased Christ, that the dead should rise again, yea, with their bodies; and those, too, whom in this world the fire has burned, when six thousand years are completed, and the world has come to an end. The heaven in the meantime is changed with an altered course, for then the wicked are burnt up with divine fire. The creature with groaning burns with the anger of the highest God. Those who are more worthy, and who are begotten of an illustrious stem, and the men of nobility under the conquered Antichrist, according to God's command living again in the world for a thousand years, indeed, that they may serve the saints, and the High One, under a servile yoke, that they may bear victuals on their neck. Moreover, that they may be judged again when the reign is finished. They who make God of no account when the thousandth year is finished shall perish by fire, when they themselves shall speak to the mountains.

(Commodianus. On Christian Discipline. Translated by Robert Ernest Wallis. From Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 4. Edited by Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe. (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1885.) Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight. http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0411.htm).

Note: The time that Christian mortals put on immortality is at the last trumpet (1 Corinthians 15:52-53), which is when Jesus returns (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). Thus, that is when Commodianus has the 6000 years end, though it may end a year earlier with the start of the Day of the Lord.

Even though he had other misunderstandings of this doctrine, notice what the Greco-Roman Bishop Victorinus taught in the late 3rd century:

…that true and just Sabbath should be observed in the seventh millenary of years. Wherefore to those seven days the Lord attributed to each a thousand years; for thus went the warning: "In Your eyes, O Lord, a thousand years are as one day." Therefore in the eyes of the Lord each thousand of years is ordained, for I find that the Lord's eyes are seven. Wherefore, as I have narrated, that true Sabbath will be in the seventh millenary of years, when Christ with His elect shall reign. (Victorinus. Commentary on the Creation.  Translated by Robert Ernest Wallis. From Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 7. Edited by Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe. (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1886.) Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight).

The Greco-Roman Bishop & Saint Methodius in the late 3rd or early 4th century taught:

For since in six days God made the heaven and the earth, and finished the whole world, and rested on the seventh day from all His works which He had made, and blessed the seventh day and sanctified it … this world shall be terminated at the seventh thousand years, when God shall have completed the world...(Methodius. Banquet of the Ten Virgins, Discourse 9, Chapter 1).

In the fourth century, the Greco-Roman Church supporting Lactantius taught:

Therefore, since all the works of God were completed in six days, the world must continue in its present state through six ages, that is, six thousand years...And again, since God, having finished His works, rested the seventh day and blessed it, at the end of the six thousandth year all wickedness must be abolished from the earth, and righteousness reign for a thousand years; and there must be tranquillity and rest from the labours which the world now has long endured…the dead will rise again, not after a thousand years from their death, but that, when again restored to life, they may reign with God a thousand years. For God will come, that, having cleansed the world from all defilement, He may restore the souls of the righteous to their renewed bodies, and raise them to everlasting blessedness (Lactantius. Divine Institutes, Book VII (Of a Happy Life), Chapters 14, 22. Translated by William Fletcher. From Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 7. Edited by Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe. (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1886.) Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight. <http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/07017.htm>).

However, after the rise of Emperor Constantine, this began to change.

Although:

Jerome said, "It is a common belief that the world will last 6,000 years." (Culligan E. The Last World War and the End of Time. The book was blessed by Pope Paul VI, 1966. TAN Books, Rockford (IL), pp. 67, 113-115).

Over time, people like Jerome changed their position and no longer believed it as such a teaching pointed to a millennial reign of Jesus. Jerome went so far as to call the millennium a fable:

Away, then, with the fable about a millennium! [Cesset ergo mille annorum fabula.] (Jerome. Commentary on Daniel, Chapter 11. Translated by Gleason L. Archer. (1958). http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/jerome_daniel_02_text.htm viewed 06/30/24).

(See also Did The Early Church Teach Millenarianism?).

Yet, Gaudentius, Bishop of Brescia (friend of the Greco-Roman Catholic St. Ambrose, Gaudentius died in 410), who is considered to have been a saint by Roman Catholics, taught:

"We expect,” he says, “that truly holy day of the seventh thousand years, that shall come after those six days, or six thousand years of time, which, being finished, shall begin that holy rest for all true saints and for all those faithful believers in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” (Tract. 10.) (Rossi, G. THE CHRISTIAN TRUMPET, OR, Previsions and Predictions about Impending General Calamities, The Universal Triumph of the Church, The Coming of Antichrist, The Last Judgment, and The End of the World. Compiled by PELLEGRINO [Gaudentius Rossi], A Missionary Priest with Superior's permission. Boston, THOS. B. NOONAND & CO., 1873, p. 163)

The fact is that several second, third, fourth, and fifth century leaders who professed Christ clearly believed in the teaching that there was a 6,000 year plan--even if they did not understand all the details correctly (nor did the Jewish sources).

When is the 6000 Years Up? From the Bible, Church of God, Roman Catholic, and Other Writers

Most in the Church of God understand that God has given humankind 6,000 years (like the six days of the physical creation) to live cut off from God and that this will be followed by the 1,000 year millennial reign (like the seventh day which was created by God's rest) of Christ. Notice an article from a publication by the old Radio Church of God:

Has God Allotted 6000 Years for Man’s Self-Rule?

Yes! The world does not understand what is taking place today because it does not know about the 7000-year PLAN OF GOD.

God has allotted approximately 6000 years for humanity to go its own way. These millenniums of human civilization are nearly over. God is about to intervene in world affairs by sending Jesus Christ. Nor until He returns will we have 1000 years of peace.

The pattern for this little-understood plan is given in the first two chapters of Genesis. It is the WEEK of seven days. As God originally set time in motion, man is given six work days followed by a day of rest. In Hebrews 4:4,11, the seventh day is mentioned as a type of the peaceful rest-1000-year rest-that will follow the present age of human labor and futile struggle to master the earth. The millennium, then, is compared with a “day” of the week.

Observe that after Christ’s intervention the time of that peaceful rest under His rule is specifically termed “a thousand years” (Rev. 20:4). If the last “day” of God’s 7000-year plan is 1000 years, then the preceding six days which He has allotted for mankind to work out his own ideas would amount to 6000 years. And this is exactly what world events are proving today! Look about you! It is obvious that this world is crashing to its DOOM!...

Six thousand years of human history have almost been completed...

The common assumption that man has lived on earth countless tens of thousands of years is an idle dream. Reason disproves it. Each new archeological discovery aids in disproving it. True SCIENCE disproves it! ...

Peter said: “The Lord is not slack concerning the promise (of Christ’s coming) . . . but is longsuffering” (II Peter 3:9). God is patient. He has refrained from intervening in world affairs for nearly 6000 years. Why? Because He will not intervene until humanity is forced to cry out to Him for fear of self-extermination. Recall that the day of Christ’s intervention and rule is compared to “a thousand years” (Rev. 20:4). Peter also wrote the same thing--that a day in God’s plan is as “a thousand years" and “a thousand years” of human civilization as ONE day in His planned week of SEVEN 1000-year days (II Peter 3:8).

Peter knew that Christ would intervene shortly before the close of 6000 years of human struggle and slavery that God would send Jesus Christ to set up His government for the seventh thousand years, which will usher in a time of rest and peace-a sabbatical rest!

How marvellous that in our day, at the very time that 6000 years have almost elapsed, the world is threatened with extinction of life. And Jesus Himself said that when we see this taking place HE WOULD COME AGAIN! (THE BIBLE ANSWERS Short Questions FROM OUR READERS. Plain Truth, November 1957, pp. 12,15)

Notice the first 11 verses of Hebrews 4 (NASB):

1 Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it. 2 For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard.

3 For we who have believed enter that rest, just as He has said,
“AS I SWORE IN MY WRATH,
THEY SHALL NOT ENTER MY REST,”
although His works were finished from the foundation of the world.

4 For He has said somewhere concerning the seventh day: “AND GOD RESTED ON THE SEVENTH DAY FROM ALL HIS WORKS”; 5 and again in this passage, “THEY SHALL NOT ENTER MY REST.” 6 Therefore, since it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly had good news preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience,

7 He again fixes a certain day, “Today,” saying through David after so long a time just as has been said before,
“TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE,
DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS.”

8 For if Joshua had given them rest, He would not have spoken of another day after that. 9 So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. 10 For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. 11 Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience.

Those who do not keep the seventh day Sabbath are being disobedient and do not get the weekly reinforcement that God has a 7,000 year plan that includes 1,000 years of millennial rest. Yet, those who work the first six days and keep the seventh day Sabbath do.

Perhaps it should be mentioned that within Church of God circles it has been suggested that one of the reasons that God confused the languages at the time of the Tower of Babel was to insure that humans did not develop so much technology too quickly (cf. Genesis 11:5-9), which could have perhaps resulted in humans destroying themselves from the planet prior to the end of the 6,000 years.

WCG's Herbert Armstrong wrote about the first 6,000 years:

Man built his world on self-sufficiency without God.

God set in motion a master plan for accomplishment of his purpose, consisting of a duration of seven thousand years. Satan was allowed to remain on earth's throne for the first six thousand years. God purposed that man must learn his lesson, and come voluntarily to accept God's way and character.

For nearly six thousand years mankind has been writing that lesson. But even at this late hour he has not yet learned it. He has not yet given up on his own self-centered way and come to accept God's way to his ultimate happiness. (Armstrong HW. Mystery of the Ages. Dodd & Mead, 1985)

The late COG leader G.G. Rupert, for another example, taught the 6,000 year plan followed by a 1,000 year millennium (Rupert GG. Time, Tradition, and Truth Concerning the End of the World, 3rd edition. Union Publishing Company, 1918, pp. 26-30).

The idea of 6000-7000 year plan is not unique to those part of the Church of God. According to even Roman Catholics, parts of this view have long been the belief of those who claim to believe at least part of the Bible:

E. Culligan (20th century): ... the time of the First Resurrection will end...It is the time when the Seventh Millennium will set in, and will be the day of Sabbath in the plan of creation...It has been the common opinion among Jews, Gentiles, and Latin and Greek Christians, that the present evil world will last no more than 6,000 years ... Christians and Jews, from the beginning of Christianity, and before, have taught that 6,000 years after the creation of Adam and Eve, the consummation will occur. The period after the consummation is to be the seventh day of creation--the Sabbath ... St. Jerome said, "It is a common belief that the world will last 6,000 years."

... I believe that as the last days come to an end so will the sixth day of creation (Culligan E. The Last World War and the End of Time. The book was blessed by Pope Paul VI, 1966. TAN Books, Rockford (IL), pp. 113-115).

Priest G. Rossi (19th century): One day with the Lord, then, is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. It is the common interpretation that each of the six days of creation is equivalent to one thousand years for the future existence of human generations. Now God employed six days in the creation of this world; this world, then, shall last only six thousand years; the Sabbath, or seventh day, representing eternity.

The learned Cornelius A. Lapide, in his erudite commentaries on the Bible, in the second chapter of Genesis and twentieth chapter of the Apocalypse, attests that it is a common opinion among Jews and Gentiles, among Latin and Greek Christians, that this world shall last only six thousand years.

Many of the Jewish rabbis, or doctors of the Jewish law, derive this tradition from the very first verse in the first chapter of Genesis, where the Hebrew letter, Aleph, which signifies thousand, is found six times. Hence, in their famous Talmud, we read: The world shall last six thousand years, and then it shall be destroyed. This world lasted two thousand years in the law of nature, two thousand years in the law of Moses, and shall last two thousand years in the law of the Messiah. (Talmud, Tom, IV. tract. 4; Malvenda, Lib. II. chap. 21.)

Among the Gentiles, this was the opinion of Hydaspes, Mercurius Trismegistus, and of the famous Sibyls. (A. Lapide in Apoc. xx. 4.)

Christian writers have taught the same opinion from the beginning of Christianity...

Behold, I am with you all days, even unto the consummation of the world. (Matt. xxviii. 20.) This word consummation literally agreeing with the prophetic words of Genesis, which fix the duration of the world to six thousand years, when it shall be consummated or destroyed. The words of the Latin vulgate, perfecit and complevit translated into the English finished and ended, are not in substance very different from the Hebrew text; but this last is more expressive in what we call its prophetical signification.

Upon the above-mentioned words of the royal Psalmist and of St. Peter, St. Jerome says: I believe that in this place thousand years are commonly taken for a day, because this world having been made in six days, it is believed that it will last only six thousand years. (Epist. ad Cyprian supr. Ps. Ixxxix.) Remark here, that St. Jerome affirms as a well-known fact that this belief was common among the faithful in the fourth century. St. Jerome is not a small authority.

The same belief is affirmed by St. Gaudentius, the learned and holy Bishop of Brescia and great friend of St. Ambrose, both Fathers of the Church.

' We expect," he says, " that truly holy day of the seventh thousand years, that shall come after those six days, or six thousand years of time, which, being finished, shall begin that holy rest for all true saints and for all those faithful believers in the resurrection of Jesus Christ." (Tract. 10.)

Our limits do not allow any more extracts. For those who desire to examine many more Fathers and doctors of the Church, we will here supply a pretty long list of them : St. Cyprian, Lib. IV. Epist. 5 ; St. Ambrose, Comment. 2 Thess. 11; the famous book of St. Hypolitus, De Antichristo ; St. Hilary, Can. in 17 Matt.; St. Augustine, De Civit Dei, Lib. XX. chap. 17 ; Lactautius Firmia- nus, Lib. VII. chaps. 14 and 15; St. Anastatius Sinaita, Lib. XVII. inHexamcr; St. Justin ad ortodox, Quest. 71 ; St. Germanus, Patriarch of Constantinople, St. Cyril; the ancient writer, Q. Julius Hilarion; Cassiodorus, St. Isidore, Victorinus, Rabanus, Bellarmine, Genebrardus, etc., and many others, who, to use the words of Q. Julius Ililarion, unanimously affirm : Summa complela annorum sex millium fiet resurrectio. At the end of six thousand years shall take plaw the yeneral resurrection. Our kind critics will please pay some attention to these numerous and grave authorities before they disapprove what we here state.

From all the above-mentioned authorities we learn, then, that the six mystic days of creation are intended to signify the six thousand years of the world's duration. The seventh day, which, to the exclusion of the other six days, God has in a special manner blessed and sanctified, must be taken for the happy eternity of the blessed saints, for the holy sabbath of everlasting rest, for the blissful duration of perpetual peace, and perfect happiness to the elect of God, who will behold him face to face, praise, love, adore, and glorify him forevermore. Amen!

Assuming now as pretty certain that this world shall last only about six thousand years, because such is the common opinion and expectation of humanity, how many years more, it may be asked, still remain to the end of this world (Rossi , Gaudentius. The Christian Trumpet: Or, Previsions and Predictions about Impending General Calamities, the Universal Triumph of the Church, the Coming of the Anti-Christ, the Last Judgment, and the End of the World; Divided Into Three Parts, 4th edition.  Patrick Donahoe, 1875. Original from Oxford University. Digitized Sep 1, 2006, pp. 233-238).

This 6,000 year time period, which some Greco-Roman Catholics have held to throughout history (this article quotes some of them from the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 17th, 19th, and 20th centuries), is almost up and we are in the end times that are leading up to the millennium.

One Roman Catholic monk, called "the venerable Bede" indicated that the creation was in 3952 B.C. (Ussher Chronology. Wikipedia. Viewed 9/17/07). And thus, even with this date, the 6,000 years would be close to being up. Other Roman Catholics have thought that the 6,000 years would have been up in the late 20th century (e.g. Culligan). However, after Cardinal Ratzinger became important (he later became Pope Benedict XVI), he took steps to stop the Roman Catholic Church from endorsing any millennial teachings, and currently the Roman Catholic Church does not teach a 6000 year plan any more (for writings approved by Cardinal Ratzinger, please see Did The Early Church Teach Millenarianism?).

The late evangelist John Ogwyn indicated that the creation was approximately 3983 B.C. Notice some of the math:

Do Genesis 5:3-29 and 7:11 show that 1,656 years transpired between the creation of Adam and the Flood of Noah's day? (Note: Genesis 5:3 shows that Adam was 130 when Seth was born. Add up the age of each patriarch at the birth of his son, plus the age of Noah at the time of the Flood)...

Do Genesis 11:10-32 show that 427 years passed between the Flood and the death of Terah, which was the time that Abram left Haran (cf. Acts 7:4)? Was Abram 75 years of age when he left Haran? Genesis 12:4...

How old was Abraham when God made the covenant of circumcision with him? Genesis 17:1-10. Had 24 years passed since he left Haran? (Note: A careful comparison of Genesis 12:4 with Genesis 17:1 will reveal Abraham's age at the time of the covenant)...

According to Galatians 3:16-17, how many years passed between the time of the covenant with Abraham and the Sinai covenant, which was the year of the Exodus? (cf. Exodus 12:40)...

How many years were there between the Exodus and the fourth year of King Solomon when the temple was begun? 1 Kings 6:1. (By using secular records most scholars date the fourth year of Solomon to approximately 966 BC)...

If you add the numbers (1,656 + 427 + 24 + 430 + 480 + 966) what would have been the approximate year bc of Adam's creation?

Would this not prove that 6,000 years will soon have elapsed? (Bible Study Course. Lesson 2, Part 2, God 7,000-Year Plan. http://online.twbiblecourse.org/bsc_lesson_content.php?lesson=2&page=5 viewed 04/19/08).

But his date was premature--as his writing overlooked some factors.

Here is some of the biblical geneaology for the first portion from Genesis 5 (last verse from Genesis 7):

3 And Adam lived one hundred and thirty years, and begot a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth.
6 Seth lived one hundred and five years, and begot Enosh.
9 Enosh lived ninety years, and begot Cainan.
12 Cainan lived seventy years, and begot Mahalalel.
15 Mahalalel lived sixty-five years, and begot Jared.
18 Jared lived one hundred and sixty-two years, and begot Enoch.
21 Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begot Methuselah.
25 Methuselah lived one hundred and eighty-seven years, and begot Lamech. 26
28 Lamech lived one hundred and eighty-two years, and had a son. 29 And he called his name Noah...
7:11 In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. NKJV.

Added up, this equals 1656 years (so, some might call this 1656 anno mundi, 1656 AM, 1656 'years of the world').

Now interestingly, some researchers have claimed that all humans had a common ancestor from around that time:

"If a common ancestor of all living humans is defined as an individual who is a genealogical ancestor of all present-day people, the most recent common ancestor (MRCA) for a randomly mating population would have lived in the very recent past" {approximately 4,000 years ago} "Moreover, among all individuals living more than just a few thousand years earlier than the MRCA, each present-day human has exactly the same set of genealogical ancestors." (Rohde, Douglas L. T.; Olson, Steve; Chang, Joseph T. Modelling the recent common ancestry of all living humans. Nature, Volume 431, Issue 7008, pp. 562-566 (09/2004)

Scientists tend to believe that modern humans had a common ancestor. Some look to around the time of the flood as the above shows, while others point to one they call the Mitochondrial Eve:

In 1987, a group of geneticists published a surprising study in the journal Nature. The researchers examined the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) taken from 147 people across all of today's major racial groups. These researchers found that the lineage of all people alive today falls on one of two branches in humanity's family tree. One of these branches consists of nothing but African lineage, the other contains all other groups, including some African lineage.

­Even more impressive, the geneticists concluded that every person on Earth right now can trace his or her lineage back to a single common female ancestor who lived around 200,000 years ago. Because one entire branch of human lineage is of African origin and the other contains African lineage as well, the study's authors concluded Africa is the place where this woman lived. The scientists named this common female ancestor Mitochondrial Eve. (Clark J. Are we all descended from a common female ancestor? http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/evolution/female-ancestor.htm viewed 08/03/14)

While there certainly could be mitochondrial similarities of some pre-Adamic life forms, the reality is that modern humans did have two common ancestors, Adam (who the Bible calls the "first man" in 1 Corinthians 15:45-47) and Eve (who the Bible calls "the mother of all living" in Genesis 3:20). And they were made around 6,000 years or so ago as this article helps show.

Now, here is the next portion of genealogies from Genesis 11:

10 This is the genealogy of Shem: Shem was one hundred years old, and begot Arphaxad two years after the flood.
12 Arphaxad lived thirty-five years, and begot Salah.
14 Salah lived thirty years, and begot Eber.
16 Eber lived thirty-four years, and begot Peleg.
18 Peleg lived thirty years, and begot Reu.
20 Reu lived thirty-two years, and begot Serug.
22 Serug lived thirty years, and begot Nahor.
24 Nahor lived twenty-nine years, and begot Terah.
26 Now Terah lived seventy years, and begot Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
32 So the days of Terah were two hundred and five years, and Terah died in Haran.

Added up, this equals 427 years (2+35+30+34+30+32+30+29+205=427), so 2083 Anno Mundi. The age of Terah when Abraham was born has also been debated (see section later called The Age of Terah at the Time of Abram's Birth), though is not part of the above calculation.

Galatians 3:17 shows 430 years; while 1 Kings 6:1 shows 480 years from the exodus from Egypt to the fourth year of Solomon's reign (this, by the way, would make the Exodus as occuring in 1446 B.C., which is 966 + 480; for more details see When was the Exodus?).

Therefore, if we add up 1,656 + 427 + 24 + 430 + 480 + 966, this suggests the creation of Adam or his departure from Eden was around 3983 BC. Yet, because that years of life are not exact (few people are born and die on the precisely same calendar date--hence there could possibly be 10 or so additional years), this could be off somewhat--but it does give a biblical indication of when the end is coming.

Now, as the John Ogwyn writing indicated, it is partially dependent upon an estimate of scholars pointing to a 966 B.C. temple dedication—as the work of other scholars indicates that the separation of the Israel from Judah was possibly 931 B.C. (see Thiele E. The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings. Kregel Publications version, 1994, p. 80)—and this separation happened shortly after (1 Kings 11:43; 12:1-20) Solomon’s 40 year reign (1 Kings 11:42), then it would seem that one less year could be indicated (966+4-40=930 B.C. vs. 931 B.C.)--though if there was a co-regency of 3-4 year, it would be 2-3 years earlier than 3983. The Jewish Encyclopedia seems to concur that the listed reigns of David and Solomon seem to have overlapped (see http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/4373-chronology#anchor11)--and that is consistent with scriptures that state that Solomon was made king while David was still alive per 1 Kings 1:43. How long David remained alive is unclear, but it was some time after he made Solomon king per 1 Kings 2:1.

(As far as other co-regencies, according to the widely-accepted Biblical chronology of Edwin Thiele, Jehoshaphat began a coregency with his father Asa in 872/871 BCE, and his sole reign began in 870/869 (Ibid, pp. 85,217), and other co-regencies probably also occurred.)

And while 966 is estimated, there are several who believe that Solomon's reign began in 970, hence would come up with a 966 date four years later. Here are four additional references:

Working back from these dates and the biblical references to the reigns of the kings of Israel and Judah (78 years from the death of Ahab in 853/852 BC) the Kingdom of Solomon was divided in 931/930 BC, at the ascension of Rehoboam to the throne of Israel following the death of Solomon. Since Solomon reigned forty years (v. 42), he must have ascended the throne in 971/970 BC (Long, Jesse. 1 & 2 Kings: 1 and 2 Kings. College Press, 2002, p. 156)

SOLOMON (Reigned c. 970-c. 932 Bc) (Canning, John. 100 Great Kings, Queens, and Rulers of the World. Taplinger Pub. Co., 1967, p. 52)

SOLOMON THE KING Solomon's reign was long, lasting forty years (970-931) as had his father's before him (Leon James Wood & David O'Brien. A Survey of Israel's History. Zondervan, 1986, p. 253).

Solomon 40 C. 970-931 BCE (Israel Finkelstein & Neil Asher Silberman. David and Solomon: In Search of the Bible's Sacred Kings and the Roots of the Western Tradition. Simon and Schuster, 2007, p. 20).

So, there are some complications as not all the dates are certain as far as scholars are concerned.

Other sources point to the Temple being started in 959/960 B.C., which would suggest (ignoring co-regencies, etc.)--and points more towards 2025 or 2026, which are simply too soon.

On the other hand, if we look to the death and resurrection of Jesus being no later than the end of the 4th day (as God would know about the coregencies and other matters), then the 6,000 years would end no later than 2031 or 2033 or 2035. We are getting close.

The Late Dr. Herman Hoeh

Dr. Herman Hoeh was with the Radio Church of God and then the Worldwide Church of God. He did a lot of historical research throughout his lifetime.

In December 1983, Dr. Herman Hoeh wrote:

Exodus date 1443 occurred at end of ninth year, beginning of tenth year of Amenhotep II who reigned jointly two and a half years with Thutmose III. Thutmose III reigned 54 years 1504-1450 B.C. Amenhotep II began to reign in 1453 B.C. Daughter of Thutmose I (a pharaoh) was Hatshepsut, who adopted Moses. She ruled jointly with her nephew Thutmose from 1504 to 1483 B.C. In the year 1483 Moses' stepmother and protector died. This agrees with Moses' flight 40 years before Exodus. (Hoeh H. Notes on the Reign of Kings. December 1983)

However, in a conversation on December 3, 1997, he changed that date to 1446 B.C. according to the following:

There are notes from a phone conversation with Dr. Hoeh from December 3, 1997 that speak of a kings chronology beginning in 930 B.C.

CHRONOLOGY UPDATE FROM A PHONE CONVERSATION (Dec 1997)

Dr. Hoeh: he is in a position to support a "change of my perspective" of Israel

    — can prove date "about" 930 B.C. is a correct date

    — Edwin Thiele — first year of Rehoboam was 930 B.C.

       - spring to spring not autumn to autumn
- cannot move this date up or down
- Jews recognized autumn to autumn

             Harvard Sem. Monograph #48
"Studies in the Chronology of the Divided Monarchy of Israel"
by William Hamilton Barnes
Scholars Press 1991 Harvard Univ.

       - Kings of Tyre are linked with building of temple — Solomon 1561 (?)

    — 1446 date of Exodus
— 1406 Jordan crossing
— 3983 Creation
— 2328 Flood * 2327 end of Flood
— 1975 Abraham's birth
— 1800 Abraham's death
— 6 1/2 years after crossing of Jordan land was divided after 400 years

A correction is in order

    — beginning of Jeroboam's/Rehoboam's reign(s) = 930 B.C.

    — 3983 B.C. = Creation

    — 2328-2327 B.C. = Flood

    — End of 6,000 = 2018 A.D.

    — Edwin Thiele:

    Thiele has correct date at the beginning of Jeroboam's/Rehoboam's reigns.

    Spring to Spring "STUDIES ON THE CHRONOLOGY OF THE DIVIDED MONARCHY OF ISRAEL" by Edwin Thiele

    — 1446 = Exodus
— 1406 = Entry into Promised Land

    — Jehu = "Yahu" (Assyrian records)

    — Spring of 930 B.C. = Beginning of Jeroboam's reign

    — Velikovsky & Amalekites:

However, it should also be mentioned that in the 21st century, Dr. Hoeh told someone I was consulting with (the late R.C. Meredith around 2009) that he felt that because of the overlap of reigns of the kings, the 6000 years may not be up until 2028.

This would mean that the creation of Adam (or time he had to leave Eden) could have been as late as 3973 B.C. This seems to be the latest known information Dr. Hoeh told anyone I checked with. But, let me state, at this stage, 2028 is too early.

The Age of Terah at the Time of Abram's Birth

Perhaps the item of greatest biblical contention amongst those that have put together a chronology, is the matter of the age of Terah when he had Abraham as one place suggests age 70 while another age 130.

Here is one five point explanation of it:

1. Gen 11.26 is a summary statement--NOT the same formula that are in the preceding verses (i.e. "X lived Y years and begot Z, and he had OTHER sons and daughers"). Our verse is in a different form, as that at the end of a genealogy like Genesis 5.31: "And Noah was five hundred years old, and Noah became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth.".

2. 11.26, if interpreted by the other forms, would make Abe/Nahor/Haran all born in the SAME year (triplets, maybe?...)! Highly unlikely, esp. since they are apparently the ONLY male children of Terah.

3. The order of names in 11.26 is probably only related to importance, not chronology. “Genesis 5:32 lists the three sons of Noah in this sequence: (1) Shem, (2) Ham, (3) Japheth. But this cannot be the order of the birth, for 9:24 identifies Ham as the youngest son of Noah.” [NICOT, in loc]

4. It is possible than Haran was the oldest, since Nahor marries a daugther of his (11.29).

5. Scholars generally believe that Terah had lived in Haran BEFORE migrating to Ur, and this might suggest that Haran was born there (and named from it as well), indicating his historical precedence over Abraham. (...Was Terah 70 or 130 when Abraham was born? Answers to "Bible Contradictions" November 2005. http://www.christian-thinktank.com/abebirth.html viewed 05/23/09)

Thus, the statement in Genesis 11:26, being different than others in the original Hebrew, is consistent with the position that Terah became Abraham's father at age 130.

Notice what another concluded:

Note that Abraham was not Terah’s firstborn. Gen. 12:4 says Abraham was 75 when he left Haran, and this was soon after Terah died at 205 (Gen. 11:32), and the difference (205–75) means Terah was actually 130 years old when Abraham was born, not 70 (Ussher seems to have been the first modern chronologist to have noticed this point). The latter figure refers to Terah’s age when the oldest of the three sons mentioned was born, probably Haran. (Sarfati J. Journal of Creation 17(3):14–18 December 2003. http://creation.com/biblical-chronogenealogies viewed 05/23/09)

The above explanation is the one that is most consistent with the biblical record in toto. Especially when a careful comparison including Acts 7:4 is included.

400 vs. 430 Years Issue?

Some have wondered about Genesis 15:13 vs. Exodus 12:40.

The old Worldwide Church of God put out the following to address that:

Would you explain the 400 years mentioned in Genesis 15:13 and the 430 years given in Exodus 12:40? Why is there a thirty year difference between the two?

The 430 years mentioned in Exodus 12:40 began with the confirming of the covenant God made with Abram. Notice Genesis 17:1-10. "And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.. .and Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, As for me, behold my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations... and I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee..." Genesis, chapter 21, continues the story. Sarah finally became pregnant at the "set time" (verse 2). This physical evidence fully confirmed the covenant, and Isaac, the son of the promise, was born when Abraham was 100 (verse 5). Since Galatians 3:17 states that the law was given 430 years after the covenant was made, it is evident that the 430 years began when Abraham was ninety-nine years old and ended the year of the exodus of his descendants out of Egypt and their appearance at Sinai. Concerning the 400-year period, Genesis 15:13 states that Abraham's seed — not Abraham — was to be a stranger in a land not theirs and to be afflicted for 400 years. This would be the length of time from the death of Abraham (76 years after the covenant was made compare Genesis 25:7 with 17:1) through the 40 years' wandering to the division of the land when the children of Israel received their inheritance under the direction of Joshua. This occurred six years after they entered the land of Canaan (see Num. 10:11; Joshua 14:7-10). (In the Beginning... Answers to Questions from Genesis. Amassador College booklet, 1980)

Seven Complications and Calculations

There are at least seven factors that affect the calculation:

1. Does the six thousand year period begin when Adam was made or when he and Eve first sinned or when they were put out of the Garden of Eden? If one of the latter, the Bible does not state how long Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden, so estimating this is problematic.
2. Does the six thousand years end when the Day of the Lord begins or when Jesus returns?
3. The dates of Solomon's reign have been debated.
4. While the Bible tells the ages of fathers when they begot sons, it seems illogical to conclude that the fathers and sons were all born on the same calendar date--people were not all born on the same 'birthday' calendar date. Hence, although the straight calculations based upon the ages listed in Genesis is correct assuming what is called a 'normal distribution' of data, the data pool is small enough that the results could be statistically expected to be other than 'normal.'
5. It is not certain that a rounding for 'normal distribution' was used. Instead, the ages of the ancients when they begat sons could instead be based upon their calculated ages based upon a Spring or Fall date. The Jewish Encyclopedia points out "The Rabbis recognize four beginnings of the year from different standpoints: (1) the 1st of Nisan for regnal dating; it was based on the Exodus (comp. 1 Kings vi. 1); (2) the 1st of Tishri, as, agricultural New-Year the beginning of the harvest (Ex. xxiii. 16, xxxiv. 22); (3) the 1st of Elul for reckoning tithes of cattle (R. Eleazer, however, would reckon these from the 1st of Tishri); and (4) the 1st, or, according to Bet Hillel, the 15th of Shebaṭ, the New-Year for Trees." (http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/11499-new-year#anchor3). What does that mean, it means that the first year in the calculation of the ancients may have been counted from their first approximate month of Abib or Tishri, hence leading to a significant overcounting of their ages based upon how we now calculate age. The Bible is not clear which method was used.
6. It is believed that there have been co-regencies of some of the kings and their sons. Hence, adding up the listed reigns of the various kings would be expected to result in overcounting--though that is not much of a factor if the correct date of Solomon's temple is known (but even that is estimated).
7. And then there is controvery involving the matter of Abrams father Terah. Thus, there are complications and controversies involved with the calculations. Furthermore, I suspect God has allowed at least some of this so humans would not be certain of the precise year (cf. Matthew 24:36), but provided what He did so that humans could have a good idea of the approximate time (cf. Mark 13:28-29; Luke 21:34; Matthew 24:3-31; 1 Thessalonians 5:4).

So, recognizing that there is some controversy about the calculations, let’s look at the 3983 date (while understanding it is off a bit; a Protestant writer, for example, claims it is 3960-3959 BC., though he seemingly has Jesus death off by two years which would make his start date 3958/3957 BC, and there are some other aspects I plan to look at closer; http://www.prophecyupdate.com/epochs-of-time-in-bible-chronology---6000-years-of-mankind.html accessed 08/21/16).

It is now 2024 A.D., so adding that + 3983 adds up to 6007--but because there was no year zero (for the transition between B.C. and A.D.), this make it 6006. Thus, while 2018 was one calculation of the end of the 6000 years (because of the year long, "day of the Lord" mentioned in Isaiah 34:8 & 61:2, that 3983 B.C. date may have lead to 2019), it was premature. It must be at least several years later.

If the 6,000 years ends 2,000 years after Jesus began His ministry, His return could seem to be 2027 or 2029--but at this stage, that is too soon.

Presuming 'the last days' began no later than Pentecost 31/33/35 A.D. (cf. Acts 2:1,17), Jesus' return could be by sometime in 2031 or 2033 or 2035, or because of the Day of the Lord, as late as 2032 or 2036.

In Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21, Jesus said to look for various signs, instead of being focused on date calculations--and that pretty much eliminates any time prior to 2029. But many of the signs are appearing.

The Great Tribulation would begin 3 1/2 years before Jesus returns--thus the Great Tribulation may begin around 2027-2029--I do not believe that it biblically can be before 2027 because the deal of Daniel 9:27 has not been confirmed (for a more detailed explanation, please see When Can the Great Tribulation Begin?). Because of the six or seven factors mentioned that affect the calculations, the 6000 years perhaps ends up to a decade or so later, like 203x. Some suspect that a Jubilee year could begin when it is over, and some have suggested dates such as 2022, 2023, 2025, 2026, 2027, 2028, 2038, 2050, and 2051 (see Jubilee section in The Day of Atonement--Its Christian Significance).

Some, like Yves Péloquin, calculate that the end is 2038 (http://nebula.wsimg.com/7feaf64877b2bd48b88be799d5ed766a?AccessKeyId=50D481C8FA4C356C8EFE&disposition=0&alloworigin=1). He goes off on many tangents which he believes bolsters his claims and he has done a lot of work (his appendix E is basically a summary with BC and AM dates). He does have, correctly based on ignoring overlaps and when Adam left Eden, Abraham being born AM 2008. And under the same conditions, is basically close about the Exodus being 2523 AM (it seems in reality to be a little sooner than that, like maybe c. 2510 anno mundi) and the Ark in the Temple in 3013 AM. But because of overlaps and Adam, I tend to shy away for the AM dating use as it presumes we know the exact starting point and that there are not ever overlaps.

The famed scientist Sir Isaac Newton claimed the end would come in the year 2060--but he did NOT base this upon a 6000 year plan, but several calculations that were based on what I have concluded were false assumptions. I believe that 2060 is too late for the 6000 years to be up.

Anyway, despite the factors that affect the calculation, it should be clear that, according to a variety of sources, but mainly the Bible, the 6000 years will be up in the 21st century.

And while some feel otherwise, perhaps it should be mentioned that it is not necessary for a Jewish temple to be rebuilt before the Great Tribulation to begin and the 6000 years to be up (this is documented in the article Why is a Jewish Temple in Jerusalem Not Required?)

Why Do the Jews Teach it is Year 5784 AM?

Every year, at the Feast of Trumpets, which they normally call Rosh Hashanah, Jews proclaim a New Year. The one from sunset September 15, 2023 to October 2, 2024 is the claimed year 5784 or 5784 AM (anno mundi).

The Jewish year claim confuses many people as the numbers do not add up with scripture.

I have heard various explanations of why.

One is that a Rabbi did a calculation once, made an error, but since it was over 1800 years ago and everyone kept following it. Though many keep following it, many Jewish scholars realize that it contained errors.

Another is that because Josephus in his book Antiquities of the Jews, tells that during the time of Seth, “They also were the inventors of that peculiar sort of wisdom which is concerned with the heavenly bodies, and their order” (bk.1, chap.2)--so then counting the years began. Now, that too is likely to be a tradition. But essentially the tradition seems to be that once the ancients started to pay attention to what we know call astronomy, they began counting from then. And this tradition was passed down and/or recorded somewhere and it somehow came into general use.

But again, it is a little unclear, and really does not seem to be the actual reason. The numbers in the Bible are much clearer and I do not believe that they would be off for over 200 years because of overlapping reigns, differences in birth dates, etc. 

There is also a 1997 book written by an attorney and Orthodox Jew titled Jewish History in Conflict: A Study of the Major Discrepancy between Rabbinic and Conventional Chronology with detailed explanations that tries to resolve all of this. Basically, the book suggests that there was a misunderstanding about certain Persian kings and Daniel 9:24-27 and that this error was carried forward. The book's author, Michael First, essentially shows that the current Jewish chronology is flawed and that something closer to the conventional chronology (like this article uses) is the correct one. And that those positions are correct.

The "Rabbinic chronology" is based on something called the Seder Olam. Here is some of what The Jewish Encyclopedia says about it:

SEDER 'OLAM RABBAH: ...

Earliest post-exilic chronicle preserved in the Hebrew language. In the Babylonian Talmud this chronicle is several times referred to simply as the "Seder 'Olam" (Shab. 88a; Yeb. 82b; Nazir 5a; Meg. 11b; 'Ab. Zarah 8b; Niddah 46b), and it is quoted as such by the more ancient Biblical commentators, including Rashi. But with the twelfth century it began to be designated as "Seder 'Olam Rabbah," to distinguish it from a later, smaller chronicle, "Seder 'Olam, Zuṭa"; it was first so designated by Abraham ibn Yarḥi ("Ha-Manhig," p. 2a, Berlin, 1855). ...

The 420 years of the Second Temple are divided into the following periods: the domination of the Persians, 34 years; of the Greeks, 180 years; of the Maccabees, 103 years; of the Herods, 103 years. It will be seen that the allowance, contrary to historical facts, of only thirty-four years for the Persian domination is necessary if agreement with the Biblical text is to be insisted upon; for it is stated (Dan. ix. 24) that the second exile was to take place after seventy Sabbaths of years (= 490 years). If from this number the seventy years of the first Captivity be deducted, and the beginning of Alexander's domination over Palestine be placed, in accordance with Talmudical evidence, at 386 years before the destruction of the Second Temple, there remain only thirty-four for the Persian rule. (Seligsohn M. Seder Olam. Jewish Encyclopedia of 1906)

So, even acentury ago, The Jewish Encyclopedia saw that it has problems.

Here is something from Jewish scientist Saul Kullook in 2018:

“According to Seder Olam Rabbah and our current Hebrew calendar, the destruction of the First Temple took place in 442 BCE. This means that Seder Olam Raba and our current Hebrew calendar are out of synch with modern historical records concerning the destruction of the Temple. It introduces a difference of 164 years in relation to the scholarly counting for past historical events.” (Berkowitz AE. Scientist Claims Redemption May Be Much Closer Than You Thought. Breaking Israel News, June 28, 2018)

Notice also something that the Talmud says:

Rabba bar bar Ḥana said that Rabbi Yoḥanan said: What is the meaning of that which is written: “The fear of the Lord prolongs days, but the years of the wicked will be shortened” (Proverbs 10:27)? The fear of the Lord prolongs days; that is a reference to the First Temple, which stood for four hundred and ten years ... (Yoma 9a)

And while I am not in agreement with the 410 years, that is the oft repeated Jewish position on how long the first temple stood.

That being the case, consider that according to The Jewish Encyclopedia:

SOLOMON – Third king of all Israel; reigned from about 971 to 931 B.C (Hirsh EG, et al. Solomon. Jewish Encyclopedia of 1906).

Since the Temple was began in the 4th year of Solomon's reign (1 Kings 6:1) and it took 7 years to complete (1 Kings 6:37), if you take 410 years from (971-4-7) 960 you come up with 550 BCE. That is over 100 years off from 442 BCE that the Seder Olam points to.

Thus, ignoring even non-Jewish secular sources, the Jewish numbers do not add up.

Notice an admission from reportedly from Jewish Rabbi Simon Schwab related to some of this:

6. The gravity of this intellectual dilemma posed by such enormous discrepancies must not be underestimated. The unsuspecting students -- including the pupils of our Yeshivoth and Beth Jacob High Schools -- are faced with a puzzle that appears insoluble. How could it have been that our forebears had no knowledge of a period in history, otherwise widely known and amply documented, which lasted over a span of 165 years and which was less than 600 years removed in time from the days of the Sages who recorded our traditional chronology in Seder Olam? Is it really possible to assume that some form of historical amnesia had been allowed to take possession of the collective memory of an entire people? This should be quite like assuming that some group of recognized historians of today would publish a textbook on medieval history, ignoring all the records of, say, the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries of the Common Era. Would this not seem inconceivable even for those who, unfortunately, do not possess the necessary emunas chachomim to accept the world of our Sages?

7. This enormous discrepancy between sacred tradition and secular data would appear at first glance to frustrate any and all hope that it might be possible to compile a comparative chronology acceptable to Orthodox Jewry and secular historians alike. To faithful believers in the veracity of our most sacred literature, both Biblical and Rabbinic, there seems to be left only the following two alternatives between which to choose: One: Faithfully to put our trust in the superior wisdom of our inspired teachers of Torah who have arrived at the absolute Truth and, consequently, to reject categorically and absolutely the right of any secular scientist, even the most objective in his field to contradict our convictions. In this case, it would mean that we would have to declare that these 165 years which our Tradition has ignored are, in fact, non-existent, and have been conjectured by secular historians out of the clear blue sky. According to this method of reasoning, it would follow that all the historical developments reported in connection with the timetable of ancient history referring to that period are not history but fiction and based on misinterpretation and misleading evidence. Or Two: We might accept the unanimous opinion of secular historians as coming as close to the objective truth as that is possible, but make an ingenious attempt to interpret the Biblical data and to treat the traditional Rabbinic chronology as mere Aggadic homily which may lend itself to symbolic or allegorical evaluation. This dilemma is most unfortunate. For it would appear that the only course to take would be either to "correct" secular ancient history by 165 years which we would then have to call "fictitious" or else to declare that our traditional calendar is based not on historical calculations but on Aggadic pronouncements. Even centuries ago, in his "Me'or Eynayim" (35), Azariah de Rossi, a controversial figure in the annals of our people, criticized the puzzling texts of Seder Olam and of the Talmud, much to the righteous indication of contemporary and later Rabbinic scholars (cf. R. David Gans in Tzemach David (#3448) and R. Jacob Emden to Seder Olam 30). (Breuer M, Breuer J. Jubilee Volume Presented in Honor of the Eightieth Birthday of Rabbi Dr. Joseph Breuer. P. Feldheim, 1962, pp. 182-183)

Schwab reportedly also admitted:

4. The Torah-true historian is now confronted with a truly vexing problem. Ancient history of the Babylonian and Persian Empires presents us with completely different data. These figures can hardly be doubted for they appear to be the result of painstaking research by hundreds of scholars and are borne out by profound erudition and by ever increasing authoritative evidence. Sometimes small discrepancies of a year or tow at the most have yet to be accounted for, but complete agreement seems to be almost within reach at the present time…. Since according to Ezra (6:15) the Second Temple was completed in the sixth year of Darius I, the date following the secular chronology must have been 517 BCE; i.e., exactly 70 years after the date (again, established by secular historians) for the destruction of the First Temple (587 BCE). Consequently the first year of the era of the Second Temple was 517 BCE and not 351 BCE. As long as we cannot doubt the date given for the destruction of the Second Temple (70 CE) we are compelled to admit that the Bayis Sheini must have existed for no less than 586 years instead of the 420 years given by tradition. This amounts to a discrepancy of over 165 years compared with our Jewish way of reckoning!

5. Furthermore there are at least nine Persian kings beginning with Cyrus (seven of these reigned subsequent to the consecration of the Temple) until the beginning of the Greek Era, during a period of well over 200 years. Compare with these figures the statements of Seder Olam and of Talmudic-Rabbinic literature (Seder Olam 30, Rosh Hashanah 3b) which know of only four Median-Persians kings ruling over a period of not more than 52 years, of which only 34 years belong to the period subsequent to the building of the Second Temple. ...

B. 1. There seems to be left, as yet unexplored, only one avenue of approach to the vexing problem confronting us. It should have been possible that our Sages -- for some unknown reason -- had "covered up" a certain historic period and purposely eliminated and suppressed all records and other material pertaining thereto. If so what might have been their compelling reason for so unusual a procedure? Nothing short of a Divine command could have prompted our Chazal, those saintly "men of truth" to leave out completely from our annals a period of 165 years and to correct all data and historic tables in such a fashion that the subsequent chronological gap could escape being noticed by countless generations, known to a few initiates only who were duty-bound to keep the secret themselves. 2. In the course of our inquiry, we do indeed find a Divine command conveyed by an angel to Daniel to "seal the words and close the book" at the end of a long prophesy which begins in Chapter 11:1 and ends at Chapter 12:4 in the Book of Daniel.... (Excerpts from Comparative Jewish Chronology (pp177-197) in Jubilee Volume for Rav Yosef Breuer by Rabbi Simon Schwab as cited in Avodah Mailing List Volume 11 : Number 018 Tuesday, May 27 2003. http://www.aishdas.org/avodah/vol11/v11n018.shtml accessed 06/05/16)

Perhaps it should be noted that allegedly a formal retraction of his "coverup theory" appeared in Schwab's volumes of "Selected Writings" - but he insisted that even though the explanation was not tenable the problem remained.

Here is more about the changing of dates from a non-Jewish source:

Furthermore, the shortening as perpetuated in the Sedar Olam was deliberate!

While not openly admitting this, present day Jewish scholars acknowledge that there is something enigmatic about the Sedar Olam's dating. For example, after stating that the commonly received dates from the Ptolemaic chronology "can hardly be doubted," Rabbi Simon Schwab, nevertheless goes on to uphold his own tradition:

"It should have been possible that our Sages -- for some unknown reason -- had "covered up" a certain historic period and purposely eliminated and suppressed all records and other material pertaining thereto. If so what might have been their compelling reason for so unusual a procedure? Nothing short of a Divine command could have prompted our Chazal, those saintly "men of truth" to leave out completely from our annals a period of 165 years and to correct all data and historic tables in such a fashion that the subsequent chronological gap could escape being noticed by countless generations, known to a few initiates only who were duty-bound to keep the secret themselves." (Emphasis Schwab's)

This is an astonishing proposal. Schwab, along with other Jewish commentators, further suggests that the reason why God directed the sages of the 2nd century AD to become involved in falsifying the data was to confuse anyone who might try to use the prophecies of Daniel to predict the time of the Messiah's coming.

This was supposedly done to honour Da 12:4: "shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end." He adds that the reason the sages had adopted the non-Jewish Seleucid Era calendar was part of a scheme to do just that--to close up the words and seal the book of Daniel. Schwab also states that if the 165 years were included it would reveal "we are much closer to the the end of the 6th Millennium than we had surmised." (Schwab mentions this date as the time when many rabbis expect Messiah to come.).

But can any sincere reader accept such a flimsy reason as justification for distorting history? It actually accuses God himself of perpetrating a dishonest deception.

Indeed, it is manifestly apparent that the real reasons for the deliberate altering of their own national chronology in the Seder Olam were: (1) to conceal the fact that the Da 9:25 prophecy clearly pointed to Jesus of Nazareth as its fulfillment and therefore the long awaited Messiah, and (2) to make that seventy week of years prophecy point instead to Simon Bar Kokhba! Rabbis in the century immediately following Christ Jesus had a tremendous problem with so direct a prophecy as Da 9:24-27. This chapter speaks of Messiah's appearing 69 "weeks" (i.e., 69 sevens) or 483 years after the going forth of a commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem. This 538 BC prophecy {Da 9:1} unmistakably points to the start of the ministry of Jesus Christ in 29 AD. Such must either be acknowledged and his person accepted or completely erased from Jewish consciousness. The latter could be accomplished if the 69 (or 70) weeks of years could some

how be made to apply to the century after the life of Christ. Then it would be possible for the rabbis to point to another messiah who, as circumstances would have it, was cut off in death some 100 years after the crucifixion of our Lord.

The 10th day of the month Ab (c. mid-August) is a great day of sorrow to Israel. On this day in 588 BC, the Babylonians destroyed Solomon's Temple. Further, the second temple was laid waste by the Romans under Titus on the same day in 70 AD. And on this very day in 135 AD, at the conclusion of a 3 1/2-year revolt, the Romans crushed the army of the "messianic" Simon Bar Kokhba (also spelled "Cocheba").

Bar Kokhba had been declared the long-awaited Messiah by the foremost Jewish scholar of that day, the highly venerated Rabbi Akiva (Akiba) ben Joseph. In 130 AD. Emperor Haddrian of Rome declared his intention to raise a shrine to Jupiter on the site of the temple, and in 131 he issued a decree forbidding circumcision as well as public instruction in the Jewish law. Having preached peace all his life, the 90-year-old Akiva gave his blessing to the revolution by proclaiming that Bar Kokhba was the "star out of Jacob" and the "sceptre out of Israel." {Nu 24:17}

In his 98th year, Akiva was eventually imprisoned and condemned to death by the Romans. Among the many accolades heaped upon Akiva, that which elevated him as a pre-eminent authority, was the acknowledging of him as "the father of the Mishnah." Such prominence gave great weight to the messianic expectancy Akiva placed upon Bar Kokhba.

Akiva's students became some of the most prominent sages of the following generation. Among these was Yose (Josi) ben Halafta. Akiva's influence on Halafta is apparent from a statement made concerning his education; it was merely said that Rabbi Akiva had been his teacher. As his mentor Akiva's regard for Bar Kokhba would have been thoroughly imbedded in Yose.

The preceding overview explains why the Seder Olam is held in such veneration and why the Jews still use it for their national dating. Yet the fact remains that it is a dishonest attempt to conceal the truth with regard to the Da 9:24-27 prophecy.

By removing the 164 (or 165) years from the duration of the Persian Empire, Rabbi Halafta was able to make the 483 year Da 9:24-27 prophecy fall reasonably close to the years prior to the 132 AD revolt during thich Bar Kokhba rose to prominence as Israel's military and economic leader. Then with Akiva proclaiming, "This is the King Messiah" followed by "all the contemporary sages regarding him as the King Messiah," the Jewish populace united around this false hope. (Jones F. Appendix G: The Seder Olam Rabbah -- Why Jewish Dating is Different.In: Pierce L, Pierce M, editors. The Annals of the World. Master Books. Copyright 2003. ISBN: 089051-360-0, pp. 932-933)

While I do not agree with all that is asserted in the above, the author is correct that the dating issue with the Jews seemed to be deliberate. Consider also the following prophecy:

4 ... Their lies lead them astray, Lies which their fathers followed. (Amos 2:4)

4 … And their lies have caused them to err, After which their fathers did walk. (Amos 2:4, JPS)

4 … their lies caused them to fall into error and live the way their ancestors did. (Amos 2:4, CJB)

Many peoples have chosen to rely on lies, sometimes called tradition (though not all traditions are based on lies), instead of acting on the truth.

Many Jewish scholars realize the errors in the Seder Olam (e.g. Berkowitz AE. Scientist Claims Redemption May Be Much Closer Than You Thought. Breaking Israel News, June 28, 2018; First M. Jewish History in Conflict. Jason Aronson, Inc. Jerusalem, 1997, pp. 44-80), and several admit that the errors seemed to be to affect the interpretation of Daniel 9:24-26 (ibid). According to Michael First, some of the modern Jewish scholars in the latter category appear to include Hayyim Shvilly (ibid, p. 70), Benny Isaacson (p. 71), Ben Zion Wacholder (pp. 73-74), Jay Braverman (p. 74), Joseph Tabori (pp. 76-77), and Henry Guggenheimer (p. 78). Berel Wein is said to have admitted that "the Jewish way of counting is off 166 years" (p. 78), whereas Samuel Hakohen admitted that Jewish sages provided an incorrect chronology "to accurately predict the time of the coming of the Messiah" (pp.78-79). Michael First also lists Jewish scholars in the 8th through 15th centuries (such as Pirkei De-Rabbi Eliezer, Josippon, Moses ben Samuel ka-Kohen Gikatilla, Rashi, Zerahiah ben Isaac ha-Levi Gerondi, Abraham ben David ha-Levi Ibn David, David Kimhi, Samuel ben Nissim Masnut, Isaac ben Joseph Israeli, Isaac Abravanel) who had problems and/or wrote in contradictions related to one or more parts of the Jewish chronology of the Seder Olam (pp. 183-198).

In the case of Akiva, he apparently believed so much in Bar Kochba that he felt he had to make a change in chronology that many Jews now follow. Notice something else related to him from the Jewish Talmud where he tried to tie Bar Kochba to a passage in Numbers 24:17:

Rabbi Shimon ben Yohai taught: Rabbi Akiva would expound, A star has risen from Jacob - "Kozba [Bar Kokhba] has risen from Jacob." When Rabbi Akiva would see bar Kozba, he would say: "This is the anointed King - the Messiah." Rabbi Yohanan ben Tortah said to him: "Akiva, grass will sprout from your cheeks and still the Messiah will not arrive." (Yerushalmi, Taanit 4:5)

Yes, Bar Kochba was not the Messiah, but believing that he was (and that Jesus was not) seems to have influenced the 'dating of the world.' Akiva actually changed Bar Kosiba's name (suggesting he was a disreputable son) to Bar Kochba, which for a time, seemed to prolong the myth he was Messianic. He led a revolt against Rome from 132 until his death in 135--like that Temple reference, this was off about 100 years from Jesus' time--that does not seem to be a cooincidence.

Notice another Jewish observation about Bar Kochba:

The Sages called him not Bar Kochba (the son of a star) but Bar Koziba (the son of a lie). His real name was neither; it was Bar Kosiba. (Hammer H. One triumph and two tragedies. The Jerusalem Post, November 29, 2012 http://www.jpost.com/Magazine/Judaism/One-triumph-and-two-tragedies accessed 08/01/16)

Yet because of their 'greatest sages,' Akiva tried to make others believe Bar Kosiba was really the Messiah, many Jews seemed to accept/make calculation changes.

Now, is there any other Jewish indication that the Jews changed their calculations?

Yes, as the first century Jewish historian Josephus wrote the following:

6. When therefore the generals of Antiochus's armies had been beaten so often, Judas assembled the people together, and told them, that after these many victories which God had given them, they ought to go up to Jerusalem, and purify the temple, and offer the appointed sacrifices. But as soon as he, with the whole multitude, was come to Jerusalem, and found the temple deserted, and its gates burnt down, and plants growing in the temple of their own accord, on account of its desertion, he and those that were with him began to lament, and were quite confounded at the sight of the temple; so he chose out some of his soldiers, and gave them order to fight against those guards that were in the citadel, until he should have purified the temple. When therefore he had carefully purged it, and had brought in new vessels, the candlestick, the table [of shew-bread], and the altar [of incense], which were made of gold, he hung up the veils at the gates, and added doors to them. He also took down the altar [of burnt-offering], and built a new one of stones that he gathered together, and not of such as were hewn with iron tools. So on the five and twentieth day of the month Casleu, which the Macedonians call Apeliens, they lighted the lamps that were on the candlestick, and offered incense upon the altar [of incense], and laid the loaves upon the table [of shew-bread], and offered burnt-offerings upon the new altar [of burnt-offering]. Now it so fell out, that these things were done on the very same day on which their Divine worship had fallen off, and was reduced to a profane and common use, after three years' time; for so it was, that the temple was made desolate by Antiochus, and so continued for three years. This desolation happened to the temple in the hundred forty and fifth year, on the twenty-fifth day of the month Apeliens, and on the hundred fifty and third olympiad: but it was dedicated anew, on the same day, the twenty-fifth of the month Apeliens, on the hundred and forty-eighth year, and on the hundred and fifty-fourth olympiad. And this desolation came to pass according to the prophecy of Daniel, which was given four hundred and eight years before; for he declared that the Macedonians would dissolve that worship [for some time]. (Josephus. Antiquities of the Jews. Book XII, Chapter 7, Verse 6).

The reason this is relevant as it shows that in the first century, at least one Jewish scholar said a period of time of 408 years elapsed from a prophecy of Daniel (probably Daniel 9:1-2) and the time that Antiochus desecrated the Temple, whereas the Seder Olam uses a much shorter amount of years for this span. Even Jewish scholars recognize this. Notice one:

In Summary, Josephus ... is working from a different chronology then Seder Olam. (Shulman M. Daniel 9 – Its Chronology and Meaning. © Moshe Shulman 2010. p. 22. http://www.judaismsanswer.com/Daniel%209%20Chronology.pdf accessed 07/30/16)

According to the date assigned in the Seder Olam to the reign of Darius the Mede as beginning 374 B.C. (per the interpretation of Pierce L, Pierce M, editors. The Annals of the World. Master Books. Copyright 2003, p. 932), and since Antiochus is well known to have made that destruction in 167 B.C., there is over a 200 year difference here. And although Josephus may himself have too much time (that is hard to determine as the first year of the reign of Darius the Mede is debated, though more often presumed to be in the 6th century B.C. instead of the 4th century B.C. as the Seder Olam seems to point to). Thus, this reduction of time seems intentional in the Seder Olam, and likely is related to the rise of Christianity as the Seder Olam, did not come out until a generation after Josephus.

Speaking of Josephus, it has been speculated that one of his writings (Contra Apion, I, 8) support the view that the Jews tried to minimize the importance of the Book of Daniel (Derstine T. Anti-Messianic Basis of Jewish Chronology. Are We Living in the Year 5770? Persian Chronology in the Seder Olam. 2009; see also The Original Order of the Books of the Bible).

Sadly, about a century after rejecting Jesus, Jews accepted Simon Bar Kokba as their messiah, partially based on an erroneous pronouncement and miscalculation from a rabbi.

Unlike Jesus, Simon was militaristic. Cassius Dio claimed that 580,000 Jews were slaughtered and more died from the resulting plagues and famines related to the Bar Kokba revolt (Mor M. The Second Jewish Revolt: The Bar Kokhba War, 132-136 CE, Brill, 2016, p. 328).

Unlike with Jesus, Jews were massively slaughtered when they relied on their traditions about the Messiah.

Their highly respected rabbis were wrong.

Those who reject Jesus as the prophesied Messiah are still wrong today.

Yet because one of their ‘greatest sages,’ Akiva, tried to make others believe Bar Kosiba was really the Messiah, many Jews seemed to accept/make calculation changes to the age of the world.

Now let's look at an excuse the Jews have for one of the comments in the Talmud (that is also quoted at the beginning of this article) from 2012:

Well, let me tell you what the traditional sources say about that. There is a time frame in which the Messiah has to come. The Talmud in Tractate Sanhedrin 97a says the following:

"The academy of Eliyahu taught the following Baraisa: The world is destined to exist for six thousand years: The first two thousand years were of nothingness; the second two thousand years were of Torah; the third two thousand years should have been the days of the Messiah, but because of our sins, which are numerous, the years that have gone from [the Messianic Era] have gone."

From this passage in the Talmud we learn three things. First of all, we learn that the world as we know it will only last for 6000 years. I guess you can call it: Y6K - The Jewish Doomsday. [There are various traditions as to what is going to happen after the year 6000 – see the Talmud in Sanhedrin 97a. All agree, however, that Olam HaZeh, the physical world as we know it, will not last forever. Rather, those who merit it will morph into a new spiritual reality known as Olam HaBa, the “World to Come”, where they will bask in the splendor of G-d’s Divine Presence for all eternity.]

Secondly, we learn that the Messiah could have arrived to redeem us and bring us all to Israel as early as the year 4000 in the Hebrew calendar (which corresponds to the year 240 CE in the Julian calendar). Unfortunately, since we haven't been good boys and girls, it is already the year 5773 and the Messiah still hasn't shown up!

Most importantly, we learn that the Messiah has to come before the year 6000 - which means that he will definitely arrive within the next 227 years! Who knows, if we don't get to see the Messianic Era, maybe our children or grandchildren or great-grandchildren will!

The truth is that we might be closer to witnessing the Messianic Age than we think. You see, there is a major chronological discrepancy between rabbinic chronologists for the destruction of the First Temple in 423 BCE and the modern secular dating for it in 586 BCE – a difference of 163 years!

[Click on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missing_years_%28Jewish_calendar%29 to learn more about this discrepancy between the Jewish and conventional chronologies as well as the various attempts from Rabbis and historians over the years to reconcile them.]

This means that if the conventional chronology is correct, then we are actually in the year 5936 on the Jewish calendar, which is only 64 years away from the year 6000!! This means that many of us have a good chance of actually being there when the Messiah arrives. This is all very exciting!! I hope and pray that we all get to see the Messiah, may he come speedily and in our days. Amen! (Parshas Vayigash (5773) Y6K - The Jewish Doomsday. TORCH 2017 (2012) © https://www.torchweb.org/torah_detail.php?id=239 accessed 09/19/17)

Well, that is closer to the right amount, but that is still off. The explanation for why the claim that Messiah did not come 1900 years ago, of course, is wrong. Jesus did come, but He was "rejected indeed by men" (1 Peter 2:4) as even the Hebrew scriptures prophesied He would be:

3 He is despised and rejected by men, (Isaiah 53:3)

Because of changes in the chronologies, Jews were later told to look for the wrong one as Messiah.

Now in the Talmud (Shabbat 119b), rabbis gave reasons for the destruction of the Temple, such as Jewish disobedience related to the Sabbath, drinking parties, not properly teaching their children, lack of trustworthy Jews, and Jews disparaging Torah scholars—they did not tie it in with Daniel 9. They quoted scriptures including Jeremiah 5:1, 6:11,15, 17:27; Ezekiel 22:26; Isaiah 5:11-13; 1 Chronicles 16:22; and 2 Chronicles 36:16.

Let’s look at part of the Talmud that discusses some of this:

Rabbi Yehuda said: Jerusalem was destroyed only because they disparaged the Torah scholars in it, as it is stated: “And they mocked the messengers of God and disdained His words and taunted His prophets, until the wrath of God arose against His people, until it could not be healed” (II Chronicles 36:16). What is the meaning of: Until it could not be healed? Rav Yehuda said that Rav said: It means that anyone who disparages Torah scholars cannot be healed from his wound.

Rav Yehuda said that Rav said: What is the meaning of that which is written: “Do not touch My anointed ones and do My prophets no harm” (I Chronicles 16:22)? “Do not touch My anointed ones,” these are the schoolchildren, who are as precious and important as kings and priests (Maharsha); “and do not harm My prophets,” these are Torah scholars.  (Shabbat 119b, vs. 9-10)

Despite the rabbinical interpretation, the Old Testament did NOT say this destruction would come related to the rejection of Jewish “Torah scholars.” The Book of Daniel showed that the destruction of the temple would come after the Messiah:

26 "And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; And the people of the prince who is to come Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. (Daniel 9:26a, NKJV)

Then, after the sixty-two weeks, Mashiach will be cut off and have nothing. The people of a prince yet to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary, (Daniel 9:26a, Complete Jewish Bible)

The type of Torah scholars the Talmud referred to in the Talmud were not directly sent by God nor were they prophets. If those cited in the Talmud would have been more accepting of the literal meaning of the Hebrew scriptures, they easily could have seen this order in Daniel.

(Understand that the New Testament does show that the Jews did taunt God’s anointed prophets like John the Baptist, Jesus, Paul. Early Jewish writings show that they also taunted those the Jews called Minim (Minim were Jews that rejected aspects of Judaism, like accepting Jesus). Hence, Talmudic scholars should have had a clue that the Jewish rejection of Jesus and others was part of the reason for the destruction of the Temple [which also, after the sacrifice of Jesus, was essentially obsolete for the need of animal sacrifices during the church age.])

Notice another rabbinical view (with two translations) as to why the second Temple was destroyed:

why was the Second Temple destroyed? It was destroyed due to the fact that there was wanton hatred during that period. (Yoma 9b)

But why was the second Sanctuary destroyed, seeing that in its time they were occupying themselves with Torah, [observance of] precepts, and the practice of charity? Because therein prevailed hatred without cause. (Yoma 9b)

Notice something else from the Talmud:

It has been taught; R. Nathan said: This verse pierces and descends to the very abyss: For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though he tarry, wait for him; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. Not as our Masters, who interpreted the verse, until a time and times and the dividing of time;  nor as R. Simlai who expounded, Thou feedest them with the bread of tears; and givest them tears to drink a third time; nor as R. Akiba who expounded, Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth: but the first dynasty shall last seventy years, the second, fifty two, and the reign of Bar Koziba  two and a half years.

R. Samuel b. Nahmani said in the name of R. Jonathan: Blasted be the bones of those who calculate the end. For they would say, since the predetermined time has arrived, and yet he has not come, he will never come. But, wait for him, as it is written, Though he tarry, wait for him. (Sanhedrin 97b. Babylonian Talmud: Tractate Sanhedrin)

Consider that the Babylonian Talmud dates from the 3rd to 5th centuries. By that time, some in Judaism realized, apparently based upon their improper understanding of Habakkuk 2, Daniel 9, and other materials, that the Messiah should have already came. Of course, Jesus did come (see The KEY To The Crucifixion Date which goes into more depth about Daniel 9), but they would not accept Him.

586/587 B.C. is the date most in the mainstream point to for the destruction of the first Temple after the siege by Nebuchadnezzar,--and that date(s) seems to be right. So, the date in the Seder Olam, claimed by some to be 374 BCE, is off by over 200 years!

Related to this, the Continuing Church of God (CCOG) put together the following video on our Bible News Prophecy YouTube channel:

25:03

Jewish Year 5779 or 5990?

According to the Jewish ‘Seder Olam Rabbah’ the period from sunset 9 September 2018 to 29 September 2019 is the year 5779 Anno Mundi (age of the world). However, the Jewish Encyclopedia, secular scholars, and modern Jewish experts have all claimed that the count is off between 164 to 200 plus years. Are we closer to the year 5990 than 5779 since Adam and Eve left the Garden of Eden? Why would the Seder Olam be off by so much? Does any of this have anything to do with deceit and pointing to the false ‘messiah’ Simon Bar Kochba? Was the Messiah supposed to come after 4000 or 6000 years? Does Daniel 9:26 clearly point to Jesus? Dr. Thiel refers to Jewish accepted and other sources to answer these questions? An article of related interest is available titled Does God Have a 6,000 Year Plan? What Year Does the 6,000 Years End?

Here is a link to the sermonette video: Jewish Year 5779 or 5990?

Later, we also put out the following:

15:19

5 Red Heifers and Year 5783?

The Temple Institute announced that “5 perfect, unblemished red heifers arrived in Israel from the USA” on September 15, 2022.. Chanan Kupietzky, an Orthodox Jewish teacher, pointed out that last year was 5781 in the Jewish calendar, pointing to the year these red heifers were conceived, 5782 is when they were to arrive in Israel, and that the year beginning sunset September 25, 2022 is supposedly 5783, which is supposed to be the year of red heifer redemption. Is that the correct year anno mundi (year of the earth) or is 5989 to 5992 more in line with history? What about the claimed Shemitah year? Might the appearance of a proper red heifer encourage the Sanhedrin to begin regular animal sacrifices? Might political considerations result in the resumption of animal sacrifices? Does the Bible show that animal sacrifices in Israel will be stopped? Does possibly having a red heifer mean that a massive Jewish temple is about to be rebuilt in Jerusalem? Do Christians need the sacrifice of Jesus or the blood of a red heifer to be purified? How close do we seem to be for Daniel 9:27b to be fulfilled?

Here is a link to our video: 5 Red Heifers and Year 5783?

As mentioned towards the beginning of this article, Jewish rabbis have generally decided to teach that the Messiah would come at/by the end of 6,000 years (as opposed to their earlier view of 4,000 years). Unless they change their view of the chronology, many will believe that when Jesus returns, it will be too early, and thus once again deny Christ.

As far as what some Jews thought in the first century A.D., check out the article Was there an expectation among Judaism for a Messiah around the time of Jesus?

More information on Daniel and other prophecies are in the free online book: Proof Jesus is the Messiah.

If the last days began no later than Acts 1, and that was no later than 35 A.D., and perhaps as early as 31 A.D., then right now is between 5988 - 5992, and Jesus would expected to return between 2031 - 2035. But there are several "ifs" involved.

Except Those Days Were Shortened . . .

The Bible teaches about a coming 42 month, 3 1/2 year, persecution in Revelation 13 and Daniel 7:25.

This 42 months of persecution includes time associated with the sixth seal:

12 I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. 13 And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. 14 Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. 15 And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, 16 and said to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17 For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?" (Revelation 6:12-17)

Thus, the opening of the sixth seal ushers in the time of the Day of the Lord.

Here are some mentions of this in the Hebrew scriptures:

8 For it is the day of the Lord's vengeance,
The year of recompense for the cause of Zion. (Isaiah 34:8)

12 For the day of the Lord of hosts
Shall come upon everything proud and lofty,
Upon everything lifted up —
And it shall be brought low —
13 Upon all the cedars of Lebanon that are high and lifted up,
And upon all the oaks of Bashan;
14 Upon all the high mountains,
And upon all the hills that are lifted up;
15 Upon every high tower,
And upon every fortified wall;
16 Upon all the ships of Tarshish,
And upon all the beautiful sloops.
17 The loftiness of man shall be bowed down,
And the haughtiness of men shall be brought low;
The Lord alone will be exalted in that day,
18 But the idols He shall utterly abolish.

19 They shall go into the holes of the rocks,
And into the caves of the earth,
From the terror of the Lord
And the glory of His majesty,
When He arises to shake the earth mightily.

20 In that day a man will cast away his idols of silver
And his idols of gold,
Which they made, each for himself to worship,
To the moles and bats,
21 To go into the clefts of the rocks,
And into the crags of the rugged rocks,
From the terror of the Lord
And the glory of His majesty,
When He arises to shake the earth mightily. (Isaiah 2:12-21)

2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord,
And the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn,
3 To console those who mourn in Zion,
To give them beauty for ashes,
The oil of joy for mourning,
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
That they may be called trees of righteousness,
The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified. (Isaiah 61:2-3)

Anyway, we see the term one year associated with the Day of the Lord.

There is also a gap of time between the opening of the sixth seal and the blowing of trumpets in Revelation 8 which happens after the opening of the seventh seal.

Presuming that the first of the seven trumpets (Revelation 8) begins on the Feast of Trumpets, this would mean that the last one would be less than a year later. For this reason, while we in the Continuing Church of God teach that Jesus returns at the last trumpet, we do not specifically teach that will be on the Feast of Trumpets.

Consider now the following from Jesus:

22 And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened. (Matthew 24:22)

20 And unless the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake, whom He chose, He shortened the days. (Mark 13:20)

Now, this calls for some speculation. IF humans were created on or near the Feast of Trumpets (which is the position that many Jews hold) and God is working out a 6,000/7,000 year plan, we know that somehow the time will be shortened. Presuming the first trumpet is blown on the Feast of Trumpets and the seventh trumpet is blown prior to the following Feast of Trumpets, then the DAYS WILL HAVE BEEN SHORTENED--which Jesus said would be necessary for humanity to survive.

What About the Malachy Prophecies and Other Greco-Roman Catholic Prophecies?

While I do not believe that they were inspired by God, a Roman Catholic saint named Malachy predicted, with what some to believe is complete accuracy, every pope since 1143—his list was considered so accurate, that some originally said it was not written until the 16th century, when it became made public.

However, it should be noted that, to a degree, many of his post 16th century predictions have apparently come true and some believe that Malachy's list:

...has given fitting descriptions of every pope since the 16th century, when it was discovered (Dupont Yves. Catholic Prophecy: The Coming Chastisement. TAN Books, Rockford (IL), 1973, p.19).

...the vast majority of Malachy's predictions about successive Popes is amazingly accurate (Bander, Peter. Introductory commentary in The Prophecies of St. Malachy. TAN Books, Rockford (IL), 1973, p. 11).

I should add that Malachy's list includes some leaders that the Roman Catholics call antipopes (e.g. Clement VII, Benedict XIII, Felix V, etc., see Bander, pp. 50-54) and that, thus, many are inserted sometimes together as opposed to always being in strict chronological order.  The fact that it is NOT completely accurate should show people that the list was not inspired by God.  The former Pope Benedict XVI was believed to be number 111 on Malachy's list of 112 pontiffs.

More on the Malachy list can be found in the article The Malachy Prophecies and "Peter the Roman," you could also watch a YouTube video Could Pope Francis be the Last Pope and Antichrist?

And it is likely that an antipope will arise within a few years, and hence be the last one when the 6000 years end. Which, quite simply, could be next decade (or at the most, the decade afterwards as it is older men that tend to be made popes).

Interestingly, there are some other Roman Catholic prophecies that state or indicate that the beginning of the end will occur in the 20th century and/or that the end will come in the 21st century:

Sister Bouquillon (19th century). "The beginning of the end shall not come in the 19th century, but in the 20th for sure" (Dupont, p. 23).

Catholic priest and writer R. Gerald Culleton: “…the Great Monarch…together with the Great Pope or Angelic Pastor, shall appear after socialism” (Culleton, R. Gerald.  The Prophets and Our Times. Nihil Obstat: L. Arvin.  Imprimatur: Philip G. Scher, Bishop of Monterey-Fresno, November 15, 1941.  Reprint 1974, TAN Books, Rockford (IL), p. 50).

St. Hildegard (d. 1179). "The time is coming when princes and peoples will renounce the authority of the Pope. Individual countries will prefer their own Church rulers to the Pope. The German Empire will be divided. Church property will be secularized. Priests will be persecuted. After the birth of Anti-Christ heretics will preach their false doctrines undisturbed, resulting in 'Christians having doubts about their Catholic faith'" (Culleton, p.169).

Ven. Sor Marianne de Jesus Torres (17th Century)...Our Lady told Sister Marianee: "...But this knowledge will only become known to the general public in the 20th Century. "During this epoch the Church will find herself attacked by waves of the secret sect..."Know, beloved daughter, that when your name is made known in the 20th Century, there will be many who do not believe, claiming this devotion is not pleasing to God..." (Birch, DA. Trial, Tribulation & Triumph: Before During and After Antichrist. Queenship Publishing Company, Goleta (CA), 1996, pp. 317,326)

St. John of the Cleft Rock (14th century). "It is said that 20 centuries after the incarnation of the Word, the Beast in its turn will become man. About the year 2000 A.D., Antichrist will reveal himself to the world." (Dupont, p. 23)

E. Culligan (20th century) "The author feels that there is convincing evidence for him to accept that the Antichrist was born on February 5, 1962...The Antichrist will be a Jew by race and religion (Culligan E. The Last World War and the End of Time. The book was blessed by Pope Paul VI, 1966. TAN Books, Rockford (IL), pp. 100-101).

Gerald Culleton's comments about socialism, may mean after communism falls, which it did to a significant degree in the late 20th century. Notice that at least two writers indicate that the Antichrist would be born in the latter portion of the 20th century, thus indicating a 21st century end of this age. He could possibly be the current Pope Francis as he is the one after Benedict XVI according to the Malachy list (see also The Malachy Prophecies and "Peter the Roman" or the YouTube video Pope Benedict XVI and the next pope).

Thus, from the Malachy prophecies to the various Catholic writings, many associated with Catholicism seemed to be looking for the end to occur in the early to mid-21st century. Also note: the one referred to as "the Great Monarch" above is apparently the one that the Bible warns about as the future King of the North? who will also lead the coming European Beast power. Hence, this leader, as well as the final Antichrist (who seems also to be the antipope of certain Catholic private prophecies), is expected to arise in the 21st century.

Perhaps it should also be mentioned that the United Nations has a 'new universal agenda' that it wants fully implemented by 2030 (for details see United Nations: Humankind's Last Hope or New World Order?). What the UN wants sounds good to many, but is a false gospel (see also The Gospel of the Kingdom of God was the Emphasis of Jesus and the Early Church). But it is of interest to consider that the 6000 years may well end while the UN is trying to implement it 'new universal agenda.'

Jesus Said to "Watch"

In these latter days, Christians generally realize that they are to pay attention to many world and national events that line up with the Bible. Notice what Jesus taught:

28 "Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender, and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. 29 So you also, when you see these things happening, know that it is near — at the doors! 30 Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.

32 "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is. 34 It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch. 35 Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming — in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning — 36 lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. 37 And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!" (Mark 13:28-37)

31 So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near. 32 Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.

34 "But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. 35 For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36 Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man" (Luke 21:31-36).

Hence, Jesus clearly taught that His followers were to pay attention to end time events, and that those who heeded His words could escape.

Consider also the following parable from Jesus:

1 Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3 Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5 But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.

6 "And at midnight a cry was heard: 'Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!' 7 Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' 9 But the wise answered, saying, 'No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.' 10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.

11 "Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open to us!' 12 But he answered and said, 'Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.'

13 "Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming. (Matthew 25:1-13)

Jesus is essentially saying to watch until He returns--which is after the 6,000 years is complete. While we do not know the day or hour, we should have a reasonable idea of the season:

1 But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. 2 For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. 3 For when they say, "Peace and safety!" then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. 4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. 5 You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. 6 Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. ( 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6)

Christians wishing to comply with Jesus’ admonition to “watch” might find that having some  understanding of end-time beliefs of non-Christians (cf. 1 Corinthians 9:19–23) can also be helpful. This is one reason why they were put in the book 2012 and the Rise of the Secret Sect.  Paul also made it clear that Christians should not be in darkness about prophetic matters (see 1 Thessalonians 5:4).

Those who do not consider themselves to be Christian would do well to heed the signs of the times and the biblical chronologies as well.  We are near the time (if not actually in it) that Jesus called “the beginning of sorrows” (see also Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse and When Can the Great Tribulation Begin?).

While the “day and hour” of some events were unknown in Jesus’ time (Matthew 24:36), that was nearly 2000 years ago. Since there is a 6,000 year plan, I believe that Jesus knows the year. The fact that while He was human He did not know the day or hour does not mean: 1) He did not know the year and 2) that Jesus may not know more now. Some dispute that.

But be that as it may, Jesus clearly said to "watch." And the 6,000 years is nearly up. But I do not believe that Jesus can return prior to 2029, with a later year more likely (presuming a Great Tribulation beginning in the Spring of some year, 2031 seems to be the earliest year).

Jesus also said:

Note that Christians are to endure to the end and that Matthew 24:14 has to be fulfilled--and it has not yet to God's satisfaction, and that Jesus not come to reign until after the Great Tribulation, which does not start until after we see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel set up--and that is not prophesied to happen until 3 1/2 years AFTER a prince confirms the seven-year deal in Daniel 9:26-27 which has not yet taken place.

So, the end is not for at least 7 more years.

Now, I am not claiming that I know the exact year when the 6,000 years end--but I do believe that Jesus Himself does by now. The fact that the Bible has so many chronologies suggests that God wanted humans to use that information. Since God seemingly has a 6,000/7,000 year plan, it would seem prudent to try to understand what the chronologies indicate--though looking at signs listed in the Gospels should ALWAYS take precedence over seemingly precise calculations if they differ.

Conclusion

Early writings, and even Roman Catholic sources confirm that many who professed Christ in the early years taught that God seems to have a 6000 year plan followed by a literal thousand year millennial reign of Christ.

If that is biblically the case, as opposed to an inaccurate tradition, then according to the Bible and certain Greco-Roman Catholic and Church of God sources, the last days of the 6,000 years for humanity to rule itself are almost over.

We in the Continuing Church of God continue to teach this (see also Continuing History of the Church of God).

Looking at the Bible seems to show that the 6000 years may end late in the early to mid 2030s--though perhaps it may be up past then. Humankind's rule of the planet will end when Jesus returns. Jesus is coming a second time (Hebrews 9:28), but cannot return prior to 2030 (and even that appears early).

Since humanity rules until Jesus does (cf. Revelation 11:15; see also The Gospel of the Kingdom of God), it is reasonable to conclude that the 6,000 years is not up until 2 1/2- 3 1/2 years after the Great Tribulation begins. And there are signs that Jesus said still, as of 2023, need to happen for that to begin (some details are in the article When Will the Great Tribulation Begin?).

Based upon the best chronologies that humans seem to have been able to construct, it appears likely that Jesus may return by the end of the next decade, or perhaps a few years past.

If the last days began no later than Acts 1, and that was no later than 35 A.D., and perhaps as early as 31 A.D., then right now is between 5988 - 5992, and the 6000 years up, with Jesus to return between 2031 - 2035. But there are several "ifs" involved (which, could possibly push it to as late 2036 or ?).

We are living in the end-times. The time just prior to the Great Tribulation, which will be followed by the Day of the Lord and then Christ's return with the establishment of His millennial reign on this earth (see also Did The Early Church Teach Millenarianism?).

There is no verse in the Bible that contradicts the notion that there will is a six thousand year plan of God followed by a one thousand year reign of Christ on the earth. Even early Greco-Roman supporters had the view that there was this plan.

If there is a 6,000/7,000 year plan, then time is short.

A related sermon-length video would be: 6000 Years: When will God's Kingdom Come?

Thiel B., Ph.D. Does God Have a 6,000 Year Plan? www.cogwriter.com (c) 2008/2009/2010/2011/2012/2013/2014/2015/2016/2017/2018/2019/2020/2021 /2022 / 2023 /2024 1007

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