Why Is This Question Asked?
Along with the pure academic purposes for this question, many ask this as it pertains to future prophecy. There are more important applications for this knowledge such as the preservation of canonical Scripture but we must also deal with this other issue.
The claim is that knowing how long a generation is in the Bible directly relates to a passage found in Matthew 24:34. The belief by those who seek this answer for this purpose often falsely assume that we could be this generation which Jesus speaks of.
The core problem to their understanding this passage is the who it is that Christ was making reference to in Matthew 24. Once we understand the who we can gain greater insight into the importance of why that generation will not pass until things are fulfilled. I have dealt with who this people is at great length and there is no need to cover this again here.
Nevertheless after reading my other article on this matter we can move forward in detailing this main question from two perspectives. First we will lay to rest the false assumptions. Secondly we will look at this from an academic point of view for it is very interesting in its application including verification of the Genesis account.
120 Years Of Life
Today if we look among us we do not see many people reach 100 years of age. There have been periods of history where if someone reached 30 they were considered to be old and wise. The Dark Ages was a period where this was not only the case but few lived into their twenties. We turn to Genesis 6 to find an interesting verse.
And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.
Genesis 6:3
We first need to understand what is happening in Genesis 6. It begins more as a commentary by God in what He is seeing take place within the Earth. The most notable part of this passage and its purpose has little to do with lifespan and is much more involved in the introduction of Noah. Nevertheless we find verse 3 wedged in as a statement.
If we take this at face value without understanding the context of the time and what it is that God is seeing then we will miss the point. Additionally when people reject the Genesis creation and flood accounts it further complicates its impact. God sees something and then makes a proclamation pertaining to a mans life. This we need to explore in order to gain insight.
Wicked Heart Of Mankind
And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
Genesis 6:5
God was merciful to Adam and Eve in that after they sinned they were put out of the Garden yet allowed to live. Cain was treated with mercy in that after he killed his brother Abel his life was not taken from him. God’s mercy remained with mankind through this period of time but only up to a point.
In chapter 6 we are witnessing God’s decision making process and seeing a plan set into motion for something. Verse 5 shows that as mans heart became continually wicked God had enough and it was time to intervene. We then see the introduction of Noah.
Those who know and accept this story as fact will see what happens next. Judgment was coming on the world through a global flood which would kill all living flesh with the exception of Noah and his family. The question becomes how does this relate in any way whatsoever to God’s statement of mans years being 120 years?
A Different World And Way Of Life
I wish to present an idea. There is a way to scientifically shoot evolutionary theory down with ease. Genetic mutations over time can be measured. Never have we scientifically witnessed a mutation which brings mankind forward. These mutations or genetic breakdowns always lead to problems, disease, and death.
If we take recorded history and begin to look at the genetics of people from different periods we find something. As time progresses we are dieing as a species. Given a long enough time line our genetic offspring will continue to breakdown and eventually cease to exist. Evolutionist refuse to accept this and immediately jump to extended time lines of which we have no genetic scientific evidence but only cite theory as if it is a religion.
In looking at Biblical truth we discover the answer to why this genetic breakdown is taking place. It is first and foremost the result of sin. On a long enough time line the Earth will die, the Sun will burn out, the human race would go extinct. The law of entropy ensures this scientifically so let’s set aside evolutionists religion.
Upon creation all things were made perfectly and called good by God. The moment sin entered, the world changed. Death was introduced to the universe. A clock began ticking. Yet the ecosystem of the Earth remained as it was the moment after creation which was designed for the preservation of life. Add to this the genetic markers from Adam forward were coming from perfection and each generation thereafter was at first mildly impacted in variation.
As one reads the generations of Genesis knowing these factors which were in play it explains the long lifespans which mankind enjoyed. It would have been very common for a man or woman to live hundreds of years. Middle age of that time could be considered to be perhaps somewhere between 300 to 400 years of age.
A Post Apocalyptic World
If one were to only know the world of Noah before the flood to see the world as we do today would be unthinkable. As God is giving His commentary in Genesis 6 there is something which He knows that mankind does not yet realize. Not only is he sending a flood, but it could be called the apocalypse of their time. It would forever change the world and scar it in a way they could not envision.
In verse 3 the statement by God that a mans life will be 120 years is speaking to this future knowledge and the world which is coming. God is forward looking in time to a period which is after this judgment that is being sent. It is interesting to note that Moses lived to be exactly 120 years old. His brother Aaron lived to be 123 year of age. Joseph lived to be 110.
Due to the wickedness of mans heart there would be consequences. Within a post flood world the ecosystem would no longer aid in providing longer lifespans. Likewise genetic breakdown across time would further cause a decline in the years of life. God foresaw that the lifespan of mankind would be reduced.
The statement of verse 3 is speaking to this law of averages across time. It would be possible for the estimated maximum of a life to be near 120 years in age.
Issues Within Prophecy
While the study of generations and lifespans is an interesting topic things become muddy when people attempt to apply concepts where they do not belong. In relationship to Matthew 24 when one assumes that we are this generation it speaks of, they then attempt to measure a generation. Yet for what purpose? They attempt to measure the end times without knowing what it means.
In another verse within chapter 24 there is a related verse speaking to a fig tree which again they assume is speaking to Israels return in 1948. Some mark the restoration of Jerusalem to Israel after the 6 day war in 1967 as this starting point. Thus for these people who read into interpretation the measure of a generation becomes critical to them.
Their greatest problem has nothing to do with the length of a generation and more to do with the fact that it does not apply to us as the Church. Rather it is a marker for the nation of Israel in a Post Rapture world that is about to enter the Tribulation. To conclude any other meaning requires a lot to be read out of context. It also requires further assumptions in associated meaning to other text which by context in no way belongs as they seek to apply it.
How Does God Measure A Generation Prophetically?
While we can look to Genesis 6 to gain the average or perhaps maximum lifespan man was to have post flood it does not give us all the answers. In terms of prophetic meaning there are examples that do not follow this 120 year idea. As God would give prophecy to a people He often did it within their present period to what applied to them at that time.
An example of this is the Children of Israel as they wandered in the wilderness. Due to disobedience God did not allow that generation to enter into the Promised Land. It required 40 years for those held accountable for this disobedience to die. Clearly here there was some kind of measurement of age for this accountability.
We can also look to the period of Babylonian Captivity where 70 years were spent which removed a sinful generation. It was after this 70 years that a new generation would have the opportunity to return to Israel. It is clear that there is no defined number of years to mark what exactly a generation is.
When God spoke to a people warning them it was relevant to the people of that time. This relevancy impacted their culture, lands, life, and a myriad of other factors specific to them. In this way any attempt to take a more generic broad view of what a generation is and misapply it will fail. In terms of Matthew 24 one could look to our more modern lifespans as a measurement for Israel in that future time.
Keep in mind this is in light of a Post Rapture world. This statement alone will rile up a few Fundamentalists. They expect the Tribulation to start by sunrise the next morning as they disregard how the it begins according to Daniel 9:27.
Nevertheless as Jesus is speaking in Matthew it does give insight to the fact that this people will be looking at time with a question. They will be wondering how long does this last. In no way do I expect it to last long. I do believe it will be longer than many Fundamentalists have come to believe to reach the 7 year Tribulation after the Rapture.
Cultural Relevancy To Lifespan
When I was growing up I heard the term Baby Boomer and also the term Baby Buster a lot. Today it is rare you hear these terms. Other names have replaced these ideas as well as whatever dates were to define these generational gaps. Now we hear Gen X and Millennial as well as other generational descriptors.
To understand Biblical generations one could apply this basic concept to their time. They would have known their generations in similar ways no matter the number of years one had in life. In our time someone living 70 to 80 years of age is common. In the time of Moses it was common to reach nearer to 120 years.
Immediately after the flood the lifespan of mankind was still by comparison to today very long. If one were to chart the life of Shem, Noah’s son who also survived the flood, he lived to be 600 years of age. This is rather exceptional for a post flood life. In charting his life one would find that he was still alive at the time of Abraham.
Importance To Canonical Scripture
Some have claimed that Scripture is in error or inaccurate for it passed through too many hands especially in ancient times. The idea of ancient times predates written Scriptures. As anyone would know who has studied this the Jews had an entire sect of people called Scribes who’s job was to maintain 100% accuracy.
In using genealogies we can track the progression easily by overlapping lifespans of those who would have it. From Adam it would be passed to Methuselah and then to Noah. It would then go from Noah to his son Shem and then to Abraham. The truth concerning the origins of all things only needed 5 men before reaching the foundation of Israel.
In terms of historical accuracy there are papers which go through more hands in one department of any university than the early texts and stories from Genesis across thousands of years. There was no agenda to be had by men such as Adam or Noah. They lived the beginning of things. It is their reality and life which is now denied to fit a popular narrative which is more religion than fact of science.