Where does this 6000 number come from?

Question

I don't understand, please educate me. How people believe that the earth is 6000 years old. Thanks

I need specifics please. Are people just adding up the age of adam, noah, david...? or does it say in there that when jesus was around, the earth was only 4000 years old?

Answer 1

That's the time of creation in the bible, possibly when Adam and Eve left the Garden of Eden.

I also believe there were people evolving here also because Cain was worried about the others when he was banished.

Answer 2

The earth is not 6,000 years old, and the Bible never said that it was. The 6 creative days in the first chapter of Genesis had nothing to do with the creation of the "heavens and the earth." If you look closely at Gen. 1:2, you will see that the earth was already in existence BEFORE the first day started. Those "days" were vast time periods that Jehovah used to prepare the already-existing planet for animal and human habitation. Before the beginning of the first "day", the earth could have been in existence for millions or billions of years. We don't know for sure.

The Bible says that 1000 years are but a day with God. So some people figure that the 6 creative days are each 1000 years long. 1000x6=6000. Such calculations are in error. We don't know how long a creative day is. And even if we knew, it can still be said that those days were used to furnish--not create--a planet that could have been around for millions of years.

Answer 3

The 6000 year old earth was first presented by a man named Usher over 500 years ago. He took the chronology in the Bible and the ages given for the representative of each generation and calculated the history of mankind to be around 5500 years, which today would equate to 6000. The only reason this began to be doubted was a growing body of skeptics that started the theory of evolution and depended entirely upon a seriously flawed dating technique. As a Geologist I regrettably taught this theory at UNC for a couple of years until I found that I completely disagreed with this thought, and left the profession. I now fully believe that the world, at least the human occupied world, is around 6000 years old...why? Because of simple faith that the Bible tells me so and that is good enough for me. The only one there was God and I trust His book that much. Anyway this is not the place to discuss if I am wrong or right, as you asked a simple question, and deserve a simple answer. I must simply state that very rarely on spiritual matters have the majority ever been right, and so being in the minority on this subject gives me much confidence.

Answer 4

Some people who believe in the absolute truth of the Bible, take the creation story as fact. Some biblical scholars did studies of all the Abraham begat so and so family trees and events of the Bible, and came up with an age for the earth of about 6000 years. Some claim that the layers of rock, fossils etc., were left over after Noah's flood.

I don't believe it, and I think that most scientists can easily disprove it, but that doesn't prevent some people from thinking the earth is very young.

Answer 5

I'm not sure where you heard that the earth is 6000 years old, but 6000 years is the time in which human development spans. According to the old calendar, we are in the year 5760.

This development is divided into three main periods:
Tohu (Chaos) -- first 2000 years
Torah (Light) -- next 2000 years
Moshiach (Messiah) -- final 2000 years

In other words, this states that by the year 6000, human development will have reached its completion; and we are in the process of progressing to it now.

In our time, from around the 1990s, our development is increasing a lot -- not so much externally, but internally, we are not as satisfied with what we used to be, and our bigger desires are forcing us to put in a lot more efforts than we used to in the past, in order to be fulfilled.

What we are discovering in our era is that we can't be fulfilled because our desires always want something newer or different to what we already have.

Now is the beginning of the transition to this final state; where we will have to start using our bigger desires altruistically, to give and love others. And this will come out of necessity, because we will realize more and more that everything the way it's going won't bring us fulfililment and happiness.

The year 6000 states the time when we will arrive at the state of "love thy neighbor as thyself": the complete opposite of our current state. The only question is whether we can arrive at this state sooner through recognition of our current state as bad, and wanting to work towards this goal; or whether we will be pushed to it from escalating crises and problems?

(The "Messiah" is not a man, but comes from the Hebrew word "Moshech" meaning "to pull." It is the force of development which evolves us and pulls us toward it, until it reveals itself to us.)

Answer 6

It comes from James Ussher, who did it by adding up the various numbers in the Bible and then tied that history to known historic events. It's not as easy as it sounds and -- at the time it was a decent piece of scholarship given what was known at the time.

It's still possible to find those in rough agreement with Ussher's timeline, which is usually referred to as "Young Earth Creationism". It requires a certain reading of the bible along with a dismissal of evolutionary theory. However, even among Fundamentalist and Evangelical groups, Young Earth views are not generally accepted and Ussher's methodology is considered faulty.

Answer 7

OK From what I understand the bible says that a thousand years is but a day and a day but a thousand years to God.On the seventh day he rested.That's one of the reasons that it's believed that the earth is 6000 yrs old and the rapture is about to take place.

Answer 8

Well Anglican Bishop " James Usher" calculated the year of the earth's creation 4004 BC.

But if you follow the link it will answer your question about the earth being 6000 years old.

http://www.thepropheticyears.com/reasons/The%20age%20is%20almost%20over.htm

Answer 9

The geneologies from the Book of Genesis reveal that the earth is 6,000 years old....(and without any doubt reveal that it is not millions or billions of years old)

Answer 10

Generations, life expectancy pre and post Noah, eras, and yes of course, fossil records (and a few other things)........don't get me started on that 4.5 billion..........

ah yes,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,6000 plus or minus 32

don't get me started on the 32............

ah yes.......what the hidden meanings or not hidden that the bible illustrates about and the guy down there.