Seven Periods in each 2,000-year period

Hidden

Well-Known Member
Hello, everyone. I've been studying the Biblical timeline in recent months. I find that within every 2,000 year period, seven periods seem to emerge. Determining the timing is not really difficult because there are time markers in the form of genealogies. Sometimes the Bible gives exact timing like the flood happened when Noah was 600 years old. Or Solomon began to build the First Temple 480 years after the Israelites came out of Egypt (1 Kings 6:1).

Let me know your thoughts on this. Please feel free to comment, pick apart, or suggest more insights as the Good Word says, iron sharpens iron. ;)

Adam to Abraham (2,000 Years)
1. Eden - x years
2. Time of Cain - about 235 years (not 100% sure if Cain's timeline overlaps with the below revival, but Gen. 4 seems to indicate otherwise. There were 6 generations that came after Cain, and the last one was the generation of Jabal, Jubal, and Tubal-cain who introduced farming [tents and livestock], arts [lyre and pipe], and technology [instruments of bronze and iron]. It is interesting that the Bible mentions a separate line of descendants for Cain and Seth.)
3. Revival from Enosh to Enoch - about 450 years (not sure if you can call it a revival, but Gen. 4:26 says it was around this time that people began to call upon the name of Yahweh)
4. Enoch's walk with God - 300 years
5. Violence, moral corrupton, and the time of the Nephilim - around 650 years
6. The Great Flood - 1 year (technically 40 days and 40 nights but it took 1 year for the land to dry up)
7. Repopulation of the earth, the first appearance of Babel, Terah to Abraham - around 360 years

Abraham to First Coming of the Lord Jesus (2,000 Years)

1. The Time of the Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob)
2. Soujourn in Egypt
3. 40 years in the wilderness
4. Period of the Judges
5. Period of the Kings
6. Times of the Gentiles
7. The 7-Year Tribulation

First Coming to the Rapture (2,000 years)
The Seven Churches
 
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Tall Timbers

Imperfect but forgiven
What criteria did you use when determining each set of 7 periods?

I'm a little confused about where you placed the Tribulation... I may just not be seeing it correctly.
 

Hidden

Well-Known Member
What criteria did you use when determining each set of 7 periods?

I'm a little confused about where you placed the Tribulation... I may just not be seeing it correctly.

Hi, TT! No particular criteria except that there's a predominant activity occuring in each period. The Times of the Gentiles (4 beasts) began with Nebuchadnezzar hauling off the remaining Jews in Judah to Babylon. Technically the tribulation is part of it, but since the tribulation is the most intense period the world will ever experience and so much has been written about it in the Bible, it deserves a period of its own. Of course it goes without saying that the Church Age interrupts no. 6 and 7, but it will soon resume once the Church is raptured. And each period does not strictly start when the previous ends, but they can overlap, like how the 4 churches (Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodicea) are now existing in our time.
 
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daygo

Well-Known Member
Hello, everyone. I've been studying the Biblical timeline in recent months. I find that within every 2,000 year period, seven periods seem to emerge. Determining the timing is not really difficult because there are time markers in the form of genealogies. Sometimes the Bible gives exact timing like the flood happened when Noah was 600 years old. Or Solomon began to build the First Temple 480 years after the Israelites came out of Egypt (1 Kings 6:1).

Let me know your thoughts on this. Please feel free to comment, pick apart, or suggest more insights as the Good Word says, iron sharpens iron. ;)

Adam to Abraham (2,000 Years)
1. Eden - x years
2. Time of Cain - about 235 years (not 100% sure if Cain's timeline overlaps with the below revival, but Gen. 4 seems to indicate otherwise. There were 6 generations that came after Cain, and the last one was the generation of Jabal, Jubal, and Tubal-cain who introduced farming [tents and livestock], arts [lyre and pipe], and technology [instruments of bronze and iron]. It is interesting that the Bible mentions a separate line of descendants for Cain and Seth.)
3. Revival from Enosh to Enoch - about 450 years (not sure if you can call it a revival, but Gen. 4:26 says it was around this time that people began to call upon the name of Yahweh)
4. Enoch's walk with God - 300 years
5. Violence, moral corrupton, and the time of the Nephilim - around 650 years
6. The Great Flood - 1 year (technically 40 days and 40 nights but it took 1 year for the land to dry up)
7. Repopulation of the earth, the first appearance of Babel, Terah to Abraham - around 360 years

Abraham to First Coming of the Lord Jesus (2,000 Years)

1. The Time of the Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob)
2. Soujourn in Egypt
3. 40 years in the wilderness
4. Period of the Judges
5. Period of the Kings
6. Times of the Gentiles
7. The 7-Year Tribulation

First Coming to the Rapture (2,000 years)
The Seven Churches
Interesting Hidden was wondering where you had gotten to, will think about this.
 

Tall Timbers

Imperfect but forgiven
Hi, TT! No particular criteria except that there's a predominant activity occuring in each period. The Times of the Gentiles (4 beasts) began with Nebuchadnezzar hauling off the remaining Jews in Judah to Babylon. Technically the tribulation is part of it, but since the tribulation is the most intense period the world will ever experience and so much has been written about it in the Bible, it deserves a period of its own. Of course it goes without saying that the Church Age interrupts no. 6 and 7, but it will soon resume once the Church is raptured. And each period does not strictly start when the previous ends, but they can overlap, like how the 4 churches (Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodicea) are now existing in our time.

I would have thought that the Tribulation would show up at either the end of the 3rd set of 2000 years or somewhere in the 4th set which might be shorter than 2000 years.
 

Hidden

Well-Known Member
I would have thought that the Tribulation would show up at either the end of the 3rd set of 2000 years or somewhere in the 4th set which might be shorter than 2000 years.

Although the 7-year tribulation comes after the Church Age, I am inclined to think it is the final stage of the second set. The tribulation is the culmination of the Dispensation of Law and it completes the 70 Weeks of Daniel. Also it concludes the Times of the Gentiles. The 4th set or the Millennial Kingdom can't be shorter than 1000 years because Revelation says satan is bound for 1000 years.
 

katt

Well-Known Member
But it was not 2,000 years from Abraham to The Birth Of Christ. According to Genesis 15:13-16. God puts a generation as one hundred years. Now, let's go to Matthew 1:17.

Genesis 15:13-16

13. Then the LORD said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years.

14. But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions.

15. As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age.

16. And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”

Matthew 1:17

17¶So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations
.

According to Matthew and taking God's definition of the years a generation is, it was 4,200 years from Abraham to the Birth Of Christ.
 

Tall Timbers

Imperfect but forgiven
Although the 7-year tribulation comes after the Church Age, I am inclined to think it is the final stage of the second set. The tribulation is the culmination of the Dispensation of Law and it completes the 70 Weeks of Daniel. Also it concludes the Times of the Gentiles. The 4th set or the Millennial Kingdom can't be shorter than 1000 years because Revelation says satan is bound for 1000 years.

It's just that it's in the wrong 2000 year set, that's why it confused me a bit. If you're establishing these things in groups of 2000 year events, it doesn't fit where you've got it.
 

Dave_97

Well-Known Member
But it was not 2,000 years from Abraham to The Birth Of Christ. According to Genesis 15:13-16. God puts a generation as one hundred years. Now, let's go to Matthew 1:17.

Genesis 15:13-16

13. Then the LORD said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years.

14. But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions.

15. As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age.

16. And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”

Matthew 1:17

17¶So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations
.

According to Matthew and taking God's definition of the years a generation is, it was 4,200 years from Abraham to the Birth Of Christ.
I would look more into this on how you’re counting the generations. Typically they are counted in subsets of 3. The 14 generations don’t span 4200 years but approximately around 2000 years.

This is wildly documented and accepted among most historical theologians, you can look it up for better explanation.

The chronology of the Bible typically points to around 6,000-8,000 years since God created man. That’s not including the creation of the earth. From Adam to Abraham it’s approximately 2000, and from Abraham to Christ is also approximately 2000 years.
 

katt

Well-Known Member
I would look more into this on how you’re counting the generations. Typically they are counted in subsets of 3. The 14 generations don’t span 4200 years but approximately around 2000 years.

This is wildly documented and accepted among most historical theologians, you can look it up for better explanation.

The chronology of the Bible typically points to around 6,000-8,000 years since God created man. That’s not including the creation of the earth. From Adam to Abraham it’s approximately 2000, and from Abraham to Christ is also approximately 2000 years.
God Told Abraham that his descendents would be in a strange land for 400 years, in the fourth generation they will be taken out of said land. In Matthew the generations are mentioned. Since God himself told Abraham that the four hundredth year would be the fourth generation, I am inclined to take God's word over the word of any teacher out there. It isn't a salvation issue, so I'm not gonna argue the point, however, the question isn't, "what does the Bible say?" The question is, "Does one believe what it says?" I choose to believe what it says. And it says there were 4200 years between Abraham and the Birth Of Christ. The argument really isn't with me anyhow, it's with what the Bible says and are you a literalist like me, or an alagorist like my old Bible Teacher was, being young but taught to respect my elders, we bucked heads every so often, but not consistently, as I got older and learning the difference between a salvation issue and one that isn't I've learned to be less dogmatic. So, again, I'm not going to argue the point, except to repeat, it says what it says and I believe what it says.
 

kathymendel

Well-Known Member
Seems to me that 6&7 should be in the next 2,000 year segment down. Which is the segment we are now living in.
Jesus came, the church was born (time of the Gentiles), the rapture will soon occur, the seven year Trib will happen, Jesus
will return and set up His 1,000 year kingdom on earth. In total, that will complete a 7,000 year time period for all of God's
plan to be implemented and finished.
 

Dave_97

Well-Known Member
God Told Abraham that his descendents would be in a strange land for 400 years, in the fourth generation they will be taken out of said land. In Matthew the generations are mentioned. Since God himself told Abraham that the four hundredth year would be the fourth generation, I am inclined to take God's word over the word of any teacher out there. It isn't a salvation issue, so I'm not gonna argue the point, however, the question isn't, "what does the Bible say?" The question is, "Does one believe what it says?" I choose to believe what it says. And it says there were 4200 years between Abraham and the Birth Of Christ. The argument really isn't with me anyhow, it's with what the Bible says and are you a literalist like me, or an alagorist like my old Bible Teacher was, being young but taught to respect my elders, we bucked heads every so often, but not consistently, as I got older and learning the difference between a salvation issue and one that isn't I've learned to be less dogmatic. So, again, I'm not going to argue the point, except to repeat, it says what it says and I believe what it says.

I will explain later in detail on why your are confusing the count of the generation. You’re basically using Genesis 15 to get your definition of how many years a generation is and matching it with Mathew because it also mentions 14 generations.

Since Genesis 15 mentions 4th generation, and the Israelites were in captivity for 400 years, you’re taking 1 generation to be 100 years. Okay.

In Mathew it mentions 14 generations but in 3 pieces (so total 42 generations between Abraham to Christ)

Here is the verse in Mathew 1:17

“17 So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations.”

So you are multiplying 42 x 100 to get 4,200 as the number of exact years between Abraham and Christ.

Before I go anywhere if this is your train of thought then there is a contradiction in Scripture. Why? I’ll give an example. Mathew specifically mentions the last set of the 14 generations were from “Babylon to Christ”. So according to you 1,400 years passed between Babylon captivity to Jesus?

Because according to the the Word of God and the prophecy Jeremiah and Daniel lays out exactly 70 years of Israel’s captivity in Babylon (Jeremiah 25:11-12) and Daniels prophecy ( Daniel 9:24-26) God lays out a 483 years will pass between the time Cyrus issued the decree to the death of Christ. In other words 70 + 483 gives us 553. That’s why most Christians agree the time between Babylonian Captivity and Christ is appropriate 500 ish years, not 1,400. It’s not because it’s man’s word, it’s because that is literally what scripture says.

This is why those 14 generations between Babylon and Christ can’t be no more than 500 and something years, as the Bible lays it out pretty detailed the exact number between Cyrus decree to the death of Jesus to be 483 years. The prophecy itself actually is 490 years but the remaining 7 is where we get our 7 years of tribulation. God fulfilled the first 483 years, a pause happened when Christ died at the 483rd year, but God will continue the rest 7 years during the tribulation.

That itself shows that the interpretations you are using to equate 100 years doesn’t work here. A generation is described as different years throughout scripture, I would honestly suggest to be more careful and do it in context.

Now of course Mathew also says between

Abraham to David was 14 generations,

David to Babylon was also 14 generations.

I covered the last part of Mathew 1:17
Which says Babylon to Christ was also 14 generations, although I showed that those 14 generations were actually with just 500 ish years. Meaning the generation count here is not 100 years per person. It’s most likely counting the exact amount of age somebody lived, not everyone between Daniels time period to Christ lived to exactly 100. Some probably sided before even adulthood or something.

I also assure you from David to Babylonian Captivity is not 1,400 years.
Neither is Abraham to David 1,400 years. All these can easily be back by scripture, I will do it a separate time if you want me to but I have work, but I just wanted to give an example by showing you the Babylon to Christ part.

If you still don’t agree that Babylon to Christ was approximately 500 ish years including the captivity itself. Then you have to explain what Daniels prophecy means. Is it literal or not? And if it’s not then we can’t even be certain of a 7 year tribulation.
 

Dave_97

Well-Known Member
The argument really isn't with me anyhow, it's with what the Bible says and are you a literalist like me, or an alagorist like my old Bible
I respect your claim to go by what scripture says, but there is context to scripture. Which is why I think your are missing it here.

The easiest way to see this error is to answer a simple question. Did 1,400 years pass between Babylonian captivity and the death of Jesus? Scripture clearly and literally answers this question that not at all. Generations are counted differently throughout the Bible, so I would be careful to use context as well.

Although scripture is our number one authority, it doesn’t mean what other born again believers say is automatically to be put aside because “this is what I read and it’s what the text says”. You have to test what they’re saying actually lines up in scripture. The reality is God has given some people in the body of Christ the gift of teaching and knowledge. Yes there are some people who have a natural gift to discern and teach Scripture for others to understand. Now it doesn’t mean we put their word over Gods, it means we should be wise to make sure what they’re saying actually lines up with the Bible.

We ourselves need to study scripture first, then let teachers clarify in areas we might be confused, but detect any errors according to our personal studies and the Holy Sprits guidance.

So if you see multiple Christians who also have the Holy Spirit have a certain interpretation different from yours it doesn’t mean their automatically right cause there is many of them, but we should ask ourselves how is it that they came to that conclusion? As bereans we go and study Gods word and see if their reasoning makes sense, cause the reality is one of us could be right or wrong.

In this case I think it’s very clear personally that 4,200 years did not pass between Abraham and Jesus.

But we can agree to disagree, it’s not a salvation issue. Although I would argue it leaves a problem with an understanding of Daniels prophecy and ultimately the literal interpretation of the 7 year tribulation.
 

Hidden

Well-Known Member
You explained it clearly, Dave. Thanks. From Abraham to the Lord's First Coming is around 2000 years. Here's another calculation, which may be several years off. So please take with a grain of salt!

Patriarchs - 215 years (Abraham 75yo when God called him to go to Canaan. Had Isaac at age 100. Isaac had Jacob at age 60. Jacob died at age of 147, the last 17 years spent in Egypt)
Egypt+Wilderness - 450 years (according to Paul in Acts 13:20)
Judges - I'm getting around 350 years
Kings - around 370 years?
Times of Gentiles to the Cross - around 616 years?
Tribulation - 7 years
 
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