HUMAN LIFESPAN: TIME & FAMILY IN THE BIBLE
In Genesis 5, a list of the antediluvian (preflood) patriarchs gives their names and ages at death, with Noah's coming later at the end of chapter 9:
Adam - 930 (v. 5)
Seth - 912 (v. 8)
Enos - 905 (v. 11)
Cainan - 910 (v. 14)
Mahalaleel - 895 (v. 17)
Jared - 962 (v. 20)
Enoch - 365 (v. 23)*
Methuselah - 969 (v. 27)
Lamech - 777 (v. 31)
Noah - 950 (9:29)
*"And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him." --Gen. 5:24.
"By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God." --Hebrews 11:5.
Here we see human lifespans approaching 1,000 years. After the flood though, they drop precipitously, God having said in Genesis 6:3: "...My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years." In chapter 11, another list chronicles the decline in life expectancy post flood:
Shem - 600 (vs. 10-11)
Arphaxad - 438 (vs. 12-13)
Salah - 433 (vs. 14-15)
Eber - 464 (vs. 16-17)
Peleg - 239 (vs. 18-19)
Reu - 239 (vs. 20-21)
Serug - 230 (vs. 22-23)
Nahor - 148 (vs. 24-25)
Terah (Abram's father, whose name is later changed to Abraham; Gen. 17: 5) - 205 (v. 32)
In chapter 25:7 Abraham dies at 175 (his wife Sarah having died earlier in chapter 23:1 at the age of 127). Isaac dies at 180 in Gen. 35:28-29). Jacob is 147 in Gen. 47:28, and his son Joseph dies at 110 in chapter 50:26. Moses lives to be 120 when he dies (Deuteronomy 34: 7).
In Psalm 90:10, the Bible says: "The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labor and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away." Here we see that life expectancy is now 70-80 years old, with some living longer due to "strength" (genetics, diet, overall health, etc.) Life expectancy is now about a tenth of what it originally was, which might beg the question: Is this where the tithe came from (10% of your income) being given to God; the fruits of your life's work, which is a tenth of what it once was?
In Isaiah 65:20, it says: "There shall no more thence be an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old...." Here we see life expectancy once again reaching the lengths it was back in Genesis, for a "child" is 100 years old. Given that we live a 10th of what humans once did, this is the equivalent of a 10 year-old; decades are the equivalent of years. What one notices right away is the lifespan, but you might be missing something. A 100 year-old is considered a child. Why? Most likely because of maturity level. You see, in a perfect world, or even near perfect, one need not race through childhood; there's no rush, you can take your time to enjoy it, and have time to figure out what you want to do and who you are. Today, in modern America, we've made up a lot of ground against the curse on the earth with modern medicine, better dietary options, transportation, labor-saving devices, easier access to information, etc. Lifespans are increasing with centenarians being a lot more common than they were back in the 1970's when they were extremely rare, and ages of 120 years being occasionally seen now. There's even articles on one day seeing lifespans of 1,000 years. (See here, here, and here.) With this ease of life, some are even said to "act more like children" than adults in their 20's, 30's, and beyond because of a more sheltered life and/or ease of life. For most though, the lifespan has not increased enough for the luxury of an extended childhood. Life is still relatively short, but in light of what has just been discussed, it can be seen why some are taking a bit longer to mature.
Given the economy, young people of today are living at home with their parents well into their 20's or beyond. Because the legal age of a voting adult in this country is 18, most are expected to be out on their own at 18, ready or not. (In Numbers Chapter 1, the age was 20.) That wasn't always the case. Extended families used to be more the norm, with multi-generational households much more common. The old Walton's TV show illustrated this, with the grand parents, their children, and grand children, all under one roof. Think of the benefits of that for a moment. Parent's need not farm their kids out to daycare, or leave them to a babysitter, when the grandparents are there to take care of and help raise them. Older siblings also help raise the younger ones, and also help take care of their aging grandparents, who now can stay at home and not be sent off to some retirement or nursing home. The family also benefits from multiple incomes, those of the working parent(s), older children with jobs, and the retirement checks/savings of the grandparents even. To be sure, this is not for everyone though, but it is an option.
In Genesis 2:24 it says, "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh." Jesus, obviously referring back to this passage, said in Matthew 19:5 and Mark 10:7-8: "...For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh...." It might even be inferred from this that, until you're ready to get married and start a family of your own, stay home. "And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone...." (Genesis 2:18). If it wasn't good to be alone in a perfect world, before sin and the curse, it certainly isn't now. We're all individuals; not everyone is ready to be on his or her own at a set date on a calendar. Circumstances may dictate otherwise, but that must be judged at that time. Isaac was at home till the day his father died, after he got married...at age 40 (Gen. 25:20).
TIME DILATION IN SCRIPTURE
In Genesis 2:24 it says, "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh." Jesus, obviously referring back to this passage, said in Matthew 19:5 and Mark 10:7-8: "...For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh...." It might even be inferred from this that, until you're ready to get married and start a family of your own, stay home. "And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone...." (Genesis 2:18). If it wasn't good to be alone in a perfect world, before sin and the curse, it certainly isn't now. We're all individuals; not everyone is ready to be on his or her own at a set date on a calendar. Circumstances may dictate otherwise, but that must be judged at that time. Isaac was at home till the day his father died, after he got married...at age 40 (Gen. 25:20).
TIME DILATION IN SCRIPTURE
If you enter that phrase, Time Dilation in Scripture, into a search engine, you'll find several references to how time dilation helps biblical creation; explaining such things as how light from stars millions or billions of light years from us is visible here on earth. Another perspective would explain the passage of time in heaven (if there can be said to be such a thing), versus elapsed time on earth.
The story told in school relates that if you were to travel to a star and back, depending on variables of speed and distance, only a short amount of time would have passed for you, but years would have gone by on earth.
Take this in the context of Psalm 90:4, "For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past...." and II Peter 3:8, "But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." Let's do the math: 1,000 years equals one day, then 1,000 divided by 24 (hours in a day) means that an hour in heaven (with the Lord) is 41.66 years (41 years and 4 months) rounded up: 42, and a minute is .69 of a year, (roughly two-thirds of a year, which is 4 months), and a second roughly 2 to 3 days.
As noted above, in Genesis 6:3 the LORD said, "...his days shall be 120 years." Then in Psalm 90:10, we read that, "The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years...." The average life expectancy is 70 - 80 years, with the rare few reaching 100 - 120.
This equates to 1-3 hours in heaven. That puts James 4:14, "...For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away." in a whole new context! And, while we may miss our dearly-departed friends and relatives in heaven, from their perspective, they barely arrived when we show up as well, so they have no time to miss us.
This also makes ludicrous the Catholic notion that departed saints could intercede for us with God. You would show up there before they ever got a chance to ask God for anything on your behalf!
Conversely, Elmer Cole's hymn: "10,000 years, and we've just begun," and Amazing Grace: "When we've been there 10,000 years, bright shining as the sun; we've no less days to sing God's praise, than when we first begun," is also cast in a new light, for 10,000 years is just 10 days. Just imagine a year consisting of 365 millennia....
CHILDREN IN HEAVEN
This brings up the question of children who have died and gone to heaven. What happens to them? Do they remain forever young enjoying an eternal childhood? While scripture is somewhat sparse in this area, we can speculate. Popular movies may help to visualize some concepts here. In the film HEAVEN IS FOR REAL, a little boy has a near-death experience in which he claims to have gone to heaven. After returning, he is grilled by his father, a local pastor, about what he saw there. The father shows him a picture of his grandparents, 2 elderly people in a photograph, and asks if he saw them there. He replies, "There are no old people in heaven." Later, he shows him a picture of them as a young couple. The son confirms then, that he met them there. (In an interview on the Sean Hannity Show on the Fox News Channel, the son, a young adult now, answers Sean's question about older folks in heaven, by saying that everyone is about 30 years of age; or in their early thirties.)
In the film, he tells his mother that he met his sister in heaven who had died in her womb. The parents were shocked to hear this as they had never told him about her. She appeared to him about the age she would have been, had she survived, given the elapsed time on earth. This would seem to indicate that children are allowed to grow up in heaven at the rate they would have had they remained on earth. Given the time differential between heaven and earth that we just described above, there would appear to be some discrepancy. It appears that children age as they would have on earth, but in heaven, this might appear to occur much more rapidly. Think of Bella and Edward's daughter, Renesmee, in BREAKING DAWN. As the child of a mortal (Bella) and an immortal (Edward), she aged much more rapidly than a normal child, while also growing intellectually as well, stopping when she reached adulthood.
In the movie STAR TREK: INSURRECTION, the crew of the USS Enterprise E encounters inhabitants of a planet who are apparently immortal, due to the regenerating effects of metaphasic radiation present in the planet's rings. After confirming that he and his crew have noticed the effects on them personally, he turns to Artim, a child of one of the natives, and states: "I suppose you're 75," to which he replies, "No. I'm 12." His father then explains: "The metaphasic radiation won't begin to affect him until he reaches maturity." In other words, children are allowed to grow to adulthood, then stop aging. This was apparently the intent of God in Eden before the Fall, and will be in the Millenium; barring any fatal accidents, or outright murder, you will never die.
Conversely, Elmer Cole's hymn: "10,000 years, and we've just begun," and Amazing Grace: "When we've been there 10,000 years, bright shining as the sun; we've no less days to sing God's praise, than when we first begun," is also cast in a new light, for 10,000 years is just 10 days. Just imagine a year consisting of 365 millennia....
CHILDREN IN HEAVEN
This brings up the question of children who have died and gone to heaven. What happens to them? Do they remain forever young enjoying an eternal childhood? While scripture is somewhat sparse in this area, we can speculate. Popular movies may help to visualize some concepts here. In the film HEAVEN IS FOR REAL, a little boy has a near-death experience in which he claims to have gone to heaven. After returning, he is grilled by his father, a local pastor, about what he saw there. The father shows him a picture of his grandparents, 2 elderly people in a photograph, and asks if he saw them there. He replies, "There are no old people in heaven." Later, he shows him a picture of them as a young couple. The son confirms then, that he met them there. (In an interview on the Sean Hannity Show on the Fox News Channel, the son, a young adult now, answers Sean's question about older folks in heaven, by saying that everyone is about 30 years of age; or in their early thirties.)
In the film, he tells his mother that he met his sister in heaven who had died in her womb. The parents were shocked to hear this as they had never told him about her. She appeared to him about the age she would have been, had she survived, given the elapsed time on earth. This would seem to indicate that children are allowed to grow up in heaven at the rate they would have had they remained on earth. Given the time differential between heaven and earth that we just described above, there would appear to be some discrepancy. It appears that children age as they would have on earth, but in heaven, this might appear to occur much more rapidly. Think of Bella and Edward's daughter, Renesmee, in BREAKING DAWN. As the child of a mortal (Bella) and an immortal (Edward), she aged much more rapidly than a normal child, while also growing intellectually as well, stopping when she reached adulthood.
In the movie STAR TREK: INSURRECTION, the crew of the USS Enterprise E encounters inhabitants of a planet who are apparently immortal, due to the regenerating effects of metaphasic radiation present in the planet's rings. After confirming that he and his crew have noticed the effects on them personally, he turns to Artim, a child of one of the natives, and states: "I suppose you're 75," to which he replies, "No. I'm 12." His father then explains: "The metaphasic radiation won't begin to affect him until he reaches maturity." In other words, children are allowed to grow to adulthood, then stop aging. This was apparently the intent of God in Eden before the Fall, and will be in the Millenium; barring any fatal accidents, or outright murder, you will never die.
posted by Postmann | 12:35 AM
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