We truly live in exciting times as we wait on the return of Christ for His church and possibly enter into the 6,000th year since the creation of Earth. This post is going to be focused on showing in detail why we believe we are at the 6th millennium and why this is of such great significance to us.
Before we jump in though I do want to note that this post relies heavily on the study by Pastor Sandy, which you can view following that link. I highly recommend you give it a watch as well as his other videos. The reason for my writing of this post is to give additional commentary on some of the dates found in the Bible leading to the timeline and to provide references for each of the dates for your own study purposes. Lastly, as I mentioned I want to go into a bit of detail on the significance of 6,000 years.
As always I’ll link to outside resources that will allow you to independently check what I’m sharing and explore certain topics that interest you most in more detail.
What’s so Important about 6,000 years?
We know in the Bible that numbers and patterns are of great significance. You can’t really walk away from reading the Book of Revelation without noticing there are a lot of 7’s. Another significant ‘7’ that we see in the Bible is through the creation story with God resting on the 7th day starting in Genesis 1.
Take a look at 2 Peter 3:8 and you will see that a day is like a thousand years to the Lord. This knowledge leads to the belief that the 7 days of creation also symbolizes a larger timeline of 7,000 years in total on Earth. The belief is that after sin entered the world, God allowed 6,000 years for men to rule among themselves and that Christ would then reign for the final 7th millennium (Revelation 20:2-5) when He returns.
How the 6,000 year theory may be supported by the flood
There actually is some additional possible support to this theory when you look at Genesis 6:3. We read here that God numbers man’s days to a hundred and twenty years. Now some might think that refers to God limiting our lifespans to be under 120 years old, but we see clearly after the flood that men lived to be over 120 years old. Look no further than Genesis 11:10-32 for examples of this.
From this we can understand that God was giving a warning that 120 years was how long man in that time had until the flood came upon the Earth. This 120 year span potentially has more meaning when considering the 50 year Jubilee cycle. If you look at my larger post on the possibility of a 2017/2018 rapture, then you can find where I discuss the significance of Jubilee years and what they mean. As you’ll learn the Jubilee cycle occurs every 50th year and consists of 7 shmita (sabbath) years occurring every 7th year – hence 7×7+1=50.
With that said, it’s possible that the warning that man’s days have been limited to 120 days could be a larger reference to man’s total time to rule himself. With a little math we see that 120 Jubilee cycles of 50 years takes us to 6,000 years.
more possible support considering the passover lamb
Read Exodus 12:3-6 and you will see that the Passover lamb was to be taken into the house on the 10th day of the month Nisan and was to be killed after 4 days on the 14th day of the same month. If we understand that the Passover lamb is representing the future death of Christ then we may see some symbolism here. Is there deeper meaning to the waiting of 4 days?
Well as you’ll see below in the timeline, the crucifixion of Christ is placed after the 4,000th year if we look at a thousand years as a day. If the 6,000 year theory is correct, then this fits perfectly in line with the instructions given to the Jewish people in Exodus.
The 6,000 year timeline
The 6,000 year timeline is broken down by the years before someone had children as well as events that give us time references. The years lapsed column will show a running total for the year count. As you’ll see some year lapses will require a bit more explanation so stick with it and read the references links for better understanding because it is truly fascinating and rewarding to seek out this information.
| Person/Event | Year | Reference | Years Lapsed |
| Adam | 0 | Genesis 1: 26-31 | 0 |
| Seth | 130 | Genesis 5:3 | 130 |
| Enosh | 105 | Genesis 5:6 | 235 |
| Kenan | 90 | Genesis 5:9 | 325 |
| Mahalalel | 70 | Genesis 5:12 | 395 |
| Jared | 65 | Genesis 5:15 | 460 |
| Enoch | 162 | Genesis 5:18 | 622 |
| Methuselah | 65 | Genesis 5:21 | 687 |
| Lamech | 187 | Genesis 5:25 | 874 |
| Noah | 182 | Genesis 5:28-29 | 1056 |
| Noah – The flood began when he was 600 | 600 | Genesis 7:11 | 1656 |
| 2 Years after the Flood – Arphaxad was born – Genesis 10:21 shows that Shem was born in the middle of Japeth and Genesis 9:24 puts Ham as youngest. So Shem was born when Noah was 502 years old. | 2 | Genesis 11:11 | 1658 |
| Shelah | 35 | Genesis 11:12 | 1693 |
| Eber | 30 | Genesis 11:14 | 1723 |
| Peleg | 34 | Genesis 11:16 | 1757 |
| Reu | 30 | Genesis 11:18 | 1787 |
| Serug | 32 | Genesis 11:20 | 1819 |
| Nahor | 30 | Genesis 11:22 | 1849 |
| Terah | 29 | Genesis 11:24 | 1878 |
| First Year Terah Had Children | 70 | Genesis 11:26 | 1948 |
| Birth of Abraham – Terah would be 130 – Genesis 12:4 shows Abraham left Haran when he was 75 | 60 | Genesis 12:4 | 2008 |
| Death of Terah at age of 205 – Abraham would be 75 | 75 | Genesis 12:4 | 2083 |
| Convenant with Abraham made at age 99 | 24 | Genesis 17:1 | 2107 |
| Time span from the convenant with Abraham to the Law given is 430 years | 430 | Galatians 3:16-17 | 2537 |
| Time span from the Law given to the reign of King Solomons 4th year is 480 years | 480 | 1 Kings 6:1 | 3017 |
| Solomon historically began his reign in 970 BC. According to 1 Kings 6:1 there is a need to subtract 4 years bringing us to 966 years. This takes us to 0 AD | 966 | 1 Kings 6:1 | 3983 |
| From 0 AD to 2017 and the 6000th running total is 2017 years | 2017 | 6000 |
Question around Solomon’s reign and Can we trust these times?
I want to note the biggest question that still remains in my mind deals with the years of Solomon’s reign. We have some strong supporting evidence if you read the link above pointing exactly to 970 BC, but since I don’t have a specific verse to point to that date I felt it necessary to call out. I encourage you to do some further research yourself before coming to a conclusion – it’s really rewarding to search this stuff out. I think the article linked above gives some fantastic historical support and uses the Bible for some dates.
The biggest support for its general correct timeline though is that it ends with us around the 4,000 year mark when Christ dies serving as symbolism for when the Passover lamb was sacrificed after 4 days.
if the timeline brings us to 6,000 years at 2017 then are we past due?
This is an excellent question and one I had myself. I want to offer a couple explanations. The first is that the Biblical year does not start or end until Nisan 1 as seen in Exodus 12:1-2, which is laid down by God.
This is important to point out because Nisan takes place in March/April on our gregorian calendar system. Thus it is possible that even though our calendar system says it is 2018, it is actually not yet that year according to God’s timeline. And at the end of the day we are always on God’s timeline even if the vast world runs on another man-made calendar system.
The second thing also worth pointing out is to remember that the theory runs on the idea that there will be 6,000 years where man tries to run the show, but the fall of our world into sin did not necessarily take place in the same year as creation. After all Adam and Eve lived in the Garden of Eden before sinning. Thus the 6,000 year count may not technically start until after sin first entered the world. We unfortunately don’t know how many years that Adam lived in Eden before being kicked out so that could also explain why there is a seeming gap in years.
I will point out that from chapter 3 of the Book of Jubilees, which I want to make very clear is not a part of the canonical 66 books of the Bible, it says that Eve was tempted after 7 years in the Garden. If this text is accurate, then that could potentially fill in the gap of 7 years. This could put us at around 5,993 years in 2017/2018 allowing for the 7 years of tribulation to occur and placing Christ’s return right at the 6,000 year mark. How awesome would that be!?
What does being at the 6,000th year mean for me?
This is the critical question. We know from Scripture that a time of tribulation is coming upon the Earth culminating with Christ’s return (Mark 13:24-37) when he will establish His kingdom. If we are at the door or are quickly approaching the 6,000th year then time is getting short in order for us to get into proper relationship with Christ.
Scripture tells us that we are saved through faith in Christ and not of our works (Ephesians 2:8-9.) His perfect sacrifice on the cross cleanses us from our sins if we believe in Him so that we can get back into right standing with God. Jesus Christ makes it very clear that He is the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Him (John 14:6). Romans 10:9 says “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;” New American Standard Version
Hear my plea: Please don’t wait!
Right now is the time to turn from your sinful ways and trust in God as your savior and lord. If you are ready to take that step, then say a prayer like this below out loud:
God, I know that you look at our hearts so please hear my words and know why I am coming to you at this time in prayer. I know that I am a sinner and I have fallen short. I know and have faith that Jesus Christ’s death on the cross was the payment necessary for my sins in order for me to be with you after this life. I am sorry and ask now for your forgiveness of my sins. I call on Your Name to save me. I need you as my savior and I ask that you would send your Holy Spirit into me to guide me in my journey of knowing you more, to help me as I turn away from my lifestyle of sin and make you the Lord of my life, and to convict me to continually try to live more like You. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
If you said that prayer and meant the words, then I am absolutely overjoyed in your decision. God knows your heart and the Scripture tells us that there is joy in heaven over your decision too (Luke 15:7). Now go and tell someone about it.
Please start reading your Bible to learn more about your decision. You can also read here for additional steps to take such as getting baptized. I can’t wait to see you in Heaven one day!