What biblical year is it? The Jews call the year that runs from sunset 11 September 2026 through sunset 1 October 2027 the year 5787. Supposedly that goes back to Genesis 1. Yet, Jewish scholars admit that the count most Jews use, which is in something called the 'Seder Olam Rabbah' is off by 164 or 165 years. Jewish tradition also teaches that the Messiah will come at the end of 6,000 years. Rabbi Mendel Kessin says that will be in the year 2240. But is that right, since Jewish scholars realize that the chronology in the 'Seder Olam Rabbah' does not agree with records of history? What if the 6,000 years ends over two centuries earlier? Did God have the Jewish Rabbi Akiva and others deliberately change the date chronology in the 2nd century A.D.? Or perhaps, as some have suggested, they changed the Jewish chronology because prophecies in the 9th chapter of the Book of Daniel pointed to Jesus being the Messiah and they did not want people to look to him, but instead to Simon Bar Kochba? Did that result in the death of over one million Jews? The Apostles Peter and Paul pointed to Jesus being around in the "last days." If that was near the end of day 4 of 6 one thousand year day or the beginning of the 5th of those days, when would we expect the 6000 years to end, and Jesus to possibly occur, such as in 2031 or by 2035? Based on scriptures in the Old and New Testaments, as well as historical records, might it now be the year 5991 or even 5995? If Jesus was resurrected between A.D. 31-35, would that point to His return by 2035 if there is a 6,000 year plan? Dr. Thiel addresses these points in this video.
A written article of related interest is available titled 'Is it near the year 5787 anno mundi or is that off by 2 centuries?' URL: Is it near the year 5787 anno mundi or is that off by 2 centuries? - Church of God News
AUDIO/VIDEO TRANSCRIPT
Greetings, friends around the world. This is Dr Bob Thiel for the Bible News Prophecy Program.
What year is it? I don't mean the Roman calendar year. I'd kind of like to know how many years it has been since God kicked Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden.
Every year at the Feast of Trumpets, which the Jews renamed Rosh Hashanah, you may hear a Jewish year announced. It's supposed to tie back to the book of Genesis. The year that runs from sunset September 11, 2026 through sunset October 1, 2027 is claimed to be the year 5,787. But is that right? Does this cause issues? I'm going to get into that.
First, I'd like to read something that was in Israel 365 News last week. The Talmud says the world will exist for 6,000 years before it is transformed entirely by the final redemption. According to the framework laid out by Rabbi Mendel Kessin, the totality of the project will last 6,000 years. Six days of creation, during which work could be done, correspond to 6,000 years, which, by the way, would end in the year 2240. That's over two centuries away. It makes people think they have plenty of time. But is that right?
The Jews base their chronology on something called the Seder Olam. It is an ancient document, but even Jewish scholars acknowledge there are issues with it. For example, the Jewish Encyclopedia of 1906 stated that it contains information contrary to historical facts. A Jewish scientist named Saul Kullook, in 2018, wrote that the Seder Olam is out of sync with modern historical records. It introduces a discrepancy of about 164 years, and many other Jewish scholars have raised concerns about this.
One scholar I want to discuss is Rabbi Simon Schwab. He wrote that the gravity of the intellectual dilemma posed by such enormous discrepancies must not be understated. There is an enormous discrepancy between sacred tradition and secular historical data, one that at first glance appears to frustrate any hope of a comparative chronology acceptable to both Orthodox Jews and secular historians.
Schwab posed the question: Do we trust the superior wisdom of our inspired teachers of the Torah, who arrived at absolute truth, and categorically reject the conclusions of secular historians? Notice that he did not say the Bible. He was referring to the opinions of Jewish scholars. That distinction is very important.
Schwab also suggested that there might be another explanation, namely that Jewish sages, for some unknown reason, may have covered up a certain historical period and deliberately suppressed records pertaining to it. He asked what possible reason could justify such an action. Nothing short of divine command, he argued, could have persuaded such men to omit an entire period of approximately 165 years from their historical reckoning.
Later, however, Rabbi Schwab said that this was not the result of divine command. I would now like to quote a non-Jewish source that examined Schwab's work and other related material. This source concluded that the shortening found in the Seder Olam was deliberate and that modern Jewish scholars are aware of it.
Some commentators suggest that second-century sages altered the chronology in order to make it more difficult for people to use the prophecies in the Book of Daniel to calculate the time of the Messiah's coming. This was supposedly done in connection with Daniel's instruction to "shut up the words and seal the book until the time of the end."
According to this argument, adoption of a revised chronology helped obscure the meaning of Daniel's prophecies. Rabbi Schwab also admitted that if those omitted 165 years were restored, it would reveal that we are much closer to the end of the sixth millennium than many people assume.
But can anyone accept such a flimsy reason for distorting history? Such reasoning would effectively accuse God Himself of deception, which is absurd.
There is an interesting prophecy in Amos chapter 2. Beginning in verse 4, it says:
"Thus says the Lord: For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, because they have despised the law of the Lord and have not kept His commandments. Their lies lead them astray, lies which their fathers followed. But I will send a fire upon Judah, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem."
The Word of God warns that the people of Judah can be led astray by false traditions and that there are consequences for following them.
You may object that I am reading from a Protestant translation. However, the Jewish Publication Society translation renders part of the same verse as: "And their lies have caused them to err, after which their fathers did walk." The Complete Jewish Bible similarly says: "Their lies caused them to fall into error and live the way of their ancestors."
Many people rely on lies that are sometimes called tradition. We need to accept the truth about the Messiah rather than cling to error.
What happened historically is that most Jews did not accept Jesus as the Messiah. Jesus was killed and resurrected in the 30s AD. Prophecies in Daniel chapter 9 pointed to His coming at that time. Yet many Jews rejected Him despite the evidence.
We document this in a free book called Proof Jesus Is the Messiah, available at ccog.org. There is even a specific chapter written with Jewish readers in mind.
Instead, many looked for a different messiah. Rabbi Akiva promoted a man named Simon, later called Simon Bar Kokhba, as the promised Messiah. Chronological interpretations were adjusted to support this claim.
Yet Simon Bar Kokhba's rise was very different from that of Jesus. Both men were killed, but Bar Kokhba led a revolt against Rome. The Romans crushed the rebellion. According to some accounts, about 600,000 Jewish soldiers were killed, and another 1.2 million Jews died through famine or disease.
Nearly two million lives were lost because people followed a false messianic expectation. This is one of the dangers of relying on false tradition rather than truth.
If you study Genesis chapter 5, it gives the ages at which key individuals fathered the next generation. Adding these genealogical figures together produces a period of approximately 1,656 years. Genesis chapter 11 provides additional genealogical information.
When these data are combined with information from Galatians 3:17 and the timing of Solomon's Temple, some calculations suggest that Adam may have been created around 3983 BC. However, this conclusion depends upon several assumptions, including how ages were counted and how calendars were reckoned in ancient times.
The ancient world did not use the Roman calendar. Sometimes years were reckoned from the spring and sometimes from the autumn, such as during the Feast of Trumpets. Because of these complications, we cannot claim absolute precision for the date of Adam's creation.
That being said, let's consider some New Testament passages.
When Jesus began preaching, sometime between AD 27 and AD 30, that could have occurred late in the fourth of six prophetic thousand-year days. The Apostle Peter made it clear in Acts chapter 2 that Jesus lived during what Scripture calls "the last days."
Peter declared:
"It shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh."
A few verses later he referred directly to Jesus. So Peter clearly believed Jesus was alive during the last days.
Likewise, Hebrews chapter 1 states:
"God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son."
The expression "last days" was already being used during the earthly ministry of Jesus and the apostolic era.
If Acts chapter 2 took place around AD 31, or perhaps as late as AD 35, that could place it near the end of day four or the beginning of day five in a 6,000-year framework. If so, then the conclusion of 6,000 years would occur no later than about AD 2031 to AD 2035.
That suggests we are getting close.
Combining various New Testament references and historical considerations, it appears that Adam and Eve may have left the Garden of Eden sometime between 3969 BC and 3965 BC. The Bible does not tell us how long they remained in the garden before sinning.
So what year would that make it today?
If the calculation beginning with 3983 BC were exact, there would still be problems because of the assumptions behind it. Years ago, I warned another Church of God group about making overly precise chronological claims. After discussions, its leadership publicly clarified that they were not intending to establish a definitive date.
Nevertheless, if Adam and Eve were expelled from Eden in 3965 BC, the present year would be approximately 5991. If they left in 3969 BC, the present year would be approximately 5995. The actual figure may lie somewhere between those dates.
Either way, whether one uses 3969 BC or 3965 BC, the Jewish year 5787 appears to be more than 200 years short.
Dating matters. We have seen how false chronology and false messianic expectations can have enormous consequences. Many Christians and others should recognise that the end of the age may be much closer than people realise.
If people believe another 200 years remain, they may conclude that the Messiah's return is far off and therefore not worth worrying about. But that conclusion is based on a chronology that many scholars themselves admit has serious problems.
As it turns out, some early professing Christians taught that Jesus would return at the end of a 6,000-year plan. If such a plan exists, its culmination could begin with the Great Tribulation or with Christ's return, depending on how the prophecies are understood. Jesus referred to the end in passages such as Matthew 24.
In any case, the end is getting closer. Those who fail to understand aspects of history and prophecy may not recognise what is happening until it is too late.
Relying on incorrect traditions is not the answer. We should pay attention to the signs Jesus listed, such as those in Matthew 24, rather than relying solely on chronological calculations. Nevertheless, the Jewish calculation appears to be off by more than 200 years.
Do not rely on incorrect traditions. Believe the Bible.
This is Dr Bob Thiel for the Bible News Prophecy Program.
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