The biblical narrative presents events in a historical framework. These Latter-day Saint scholars articulate some of the challenges well: There is a myriad of challenges in trying to discern Biblical chronology. And then there are the precious words of prophets, from Isaiah to Malachi, who spoke the word of God to ancient Israel-and, through the miracle of the Bible, still speak to us today.

The Psalms and the Proverbs fit in this category. Instead, they taught through works of art like poetry and literature. But other Old Testament writers did not aim to be historical at all. Genesis is an example of this, as are books like Joshua, Judges, and 1 and 2 Kings. Sometimes they did it by relating historical events as they understood them-including stories from the lives of great prophets. Their larger concern was to teach something about God-about His plan for His children, about what it means to be His covenant people, and about how to find redemption when we don’t live up to our covenants. That’s not what the original authors and compilers were trying to create. The Old Testament Come, Follow Me manual of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints says,ĭon’t expect the Old Testament to present a thorough and precise history of humankind. This is complicated by archaeology and the texts of ancient Israel’s neighbors which often paint a different picture than the Bible. The Bible itself isn’t always internally consistent-it doesn’t always agree with itself about when certain events took place. Scholars have debated for centuries over when certain biblical events occurred. Also, they would not have been built prior to the Flood as they would have been destroyed.Biblical chronology is complicated. How can we reconcile the secular history of the world with what the Bible clearly teaches? Using God's Word as authoritative, we know the pyramids of Egypt couldn't have been built prior to creation.

Secular History and the Biblical Timeline There does not seem to be any support for the notion that there are gaps in the Genesis genealogies.

God created Adam on Day Six, approximately 4,000 years before Christ. The evidence is strong that the Genesis genealogies are closed. The first is from creation, and the other is from the present. When exactly was the Flood? There are two possible ways of calculating the date.

In today’s culture, the thought of creation occurring about 6,000 years ago is frequently mocked by non-Christians-and also by many Christians. The age of the earth is one of the most contentious issues in the creation/evolution debate.

Bible timelines and chronology