The Time of Man (Graphical Reference) by Tom Roe

As we study the Bible this year with a fresh outlook for the future, I hope to help those on my blog and mailing list in any way I can. I have just completed part of a study that presents graphically, the patriarchs from the first part of Genesis showing the first 2006 years after Adam's creation. I did this to get my head around some basic facts outlined in the first part of the Bible. I know that I'm not the first to do this, and I'm certain that there are some better guides out there, but the purpose of this is to gain perspective.

I'm sure some of you knew this, but it's worth repeating. If you look at the included chart, represented graphically above and downloadable as a PDF, which prints at 200 dpi (You should use photo quality paper for this, and you should definitely print this out -- it looks great! I say this humbly of course ); you will notice that God withheld the flood until ALL of the patriarchs of the family of man had died, except for Noah of course. As if, He didn't want to punish them for the sins of their progeny. He allowed them all to live out their lives. Then the very year that Methuselah dies, BAM! The flood rains down on humanity sparing only eight people. Noah is the last father of the first age of man, and those with him will loose the heritage of exceedingly long life upon this Earth. There is a rapid fall-off as our lifespan declines toward the 120 years proclaimed in Genesis 6:3.

This is profound. When I first completed the graphic above, the life of Methuselah was off by two years. It showed that he would have still been alive two years after the flood. This puzzled me, but then after going over the Biblical record at least three more times, I discovered that it was I (big surprise) that made a mistake, and the two years I was missing was right there in the text. Everything lined up perfectly, and scientifically I might add. Amazing considering how long ago this was written, and how it only tracks the ancestry of those that lived past the flood.

I have read through a couple of versions of the Bible, but each time, it is new again. Each time God shows me how wonderfully it was handed down to us. It is an unerring work of providence intended to lead each of us back to what we lost so very long ago -- A simple quiet walk in creation with my father God. It is so close now. When I close my eyes, I can see it. God is long-suffering so that none should perish, but it feels like that suffering is nearly ended. Do you sense it too?