Is it true that the book of Genesis spans approximately 4,000 years of biblical history?

[Lou Newton]

Is it true that the book of Genesis spans approximately 4,000 years of biblical history?


Lou Newton, former Steel Mill Crane Designer and Physics Teacher

The book of Genesis does not tell us how many years it spans. The first chapter does not record the amount of time that passes:

Genesis 1 (NIV)

The Beginning

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

6 And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” 7 So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. 8 God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.

One does not know how much time passes from it was dark and light came. A 24 hour “day” which we use to measure time is from sunup to sunup, or sundown to sundown, NOT from dark to sunup.

God called the LIGHT day. God defines the “day” He refers to. We use the word “day” like that yet today. Is it day or night out ? We are not asking about time, but light and darkness. The day in Genesis 1 is about the coming of light, NOT about the passing of time.

But God did leave a lot of evidence in His creation. We know the math of nuclear fusion. The nuclear bombs we exploded proves that we know it. Also God has light leave fingerprints of what element it comes from and the temperature of stars tells us the temperature of that star, including our Sun. We can use this evidence that God left us in His creation and tell that our Sun is about 4.5 billion years old. This does NOT go against what God states in Genesis 1.

Further God calls Himself “The Ancient of Days”. God also says that a 1000 years is like a day to Him. Certainly no man would call 6 days ancient. But God calls 1000 years a day. So God is saying He has seen MANY 1000’s of years pass.

Most people, it seems, would rather call god a liar than admit their beliefs are wrong. I chose to believe God and changed my beliefs.

Answer requested by Marc ..............

[Lou Newton]

Glen sent me this email:

Glen B Smith
To:lou newton

Jan 10 at 2:20 AM

How much time does Genesis 1 cover?


Is it true that the book of Genesis spans approximately 4,000 years of biblical history?


Brother Lou,

Your comments are about the creation event, and as such does not address the length of time from Adam through to the twelve boys of Jacob (Genesis 50). You have previously posted that the genealogies do not include every generation. Many scholars agree on this point regardless of how an interpreter considers the long-life spans of nearly a thousand years.


Considering this use of genealogies, would you consider that Genesis is not about a comprehensive, literal history? And might this indicate that the creation stories are not as much historical as they are theological?


The first eleven (11) chapters may be summed up as providing the answers for two questions.

Why is the world the way it is?

What does the LORD do about it?


Answering these two questions covers the theology and provides the purpose of divine revelation which includes why Genesis includes the creation event. Any attempt to apply science to the creation event as recorded in Genesis is assuming a literal meaning which attributes imported, modern science ideas to the text. Imported, modern science ideas are foreign to the purpose of divine revelation. The purpose of divine revelation is recognized by answering the two questions above. The creation stories have a theological purpose rather than a scientific purpose.


I feel certain you can answer the two questions off the top of your head. And I am just as certain you are able to ascertain that your answers reveal the divine purpose. And finally, I am certain your understanding of the divine purpose has nothing to do with the age of the sun or of the universe.


10 January 2020 the old scribe

[Lou Newton]

Hi Glen,

Thank you for your kind reply.

I am well aware that I only addressed the years addressed in Genesis 1. I do not think a very long article is appropriate for the Quora site where I was asked the question. They simply do not get read.

But I also believe that if the creation is old or young, is a very important theological issue. As I stated in the article, God states that His creation reveals His glory in P 19. God does not solve problems the same way men do. Men want instant mashed potatoes but God is very patient.

Men want God to point His finger and a sun or moon is created instantly. There are several problems with this approach. God is not in a hurry like men AND God is not lawbreaker. God obeys His own laws as He requires us to do. The natural is sign of the spiritual. So when men ignore God's natural laws it often results in death, just as ignoring God's spiritual laws results in eternal death.

God put men on an earth that is in a place where men can observe much of the universe. Our solar system is very rare because almost all stars are located in a place where very little can be seen. This reveals how God loves and cares for us and also how He reveals the truth to men who will seek the truth. It also reveals how rare a planet is where life can exist and how God prepared a place for man because of His great love for man.

God left mankind a record of the creation in the creation itself. This record is far more detailed that Genesis 1. We can look out into His creation as see how solar systems are formed by watching them being formed as we watch. We see them is every stage of formation. One thing that is very clear is that they do not form quickly, but take a very very long time to form. We can see systems that have not changed in any way that we can see in the few years we have been watching. So they do not form in six 24 hour days, or six years, or 6,000 years, or even 6,000,000 years. This reveals the nature of God to men. God is The Ancient of Days, and God is very patient. Time in nothing to Him. This is not the science of men, but a revelation from God that He left for us to see. Every revelation from God and every point of truth is very important because the natural reality reveals the spiritual nature of God.

In the article I also used passages from the Holy Scriptures to reveal the Truth from God about this subject. That of course has nothing to do with the science of men. If God is the Ancient of Days and God says that a 1000 years is like a day to Him, then that reveals that God has seen many thousands of years since the creation.

Also the fact that much of the church teaches that there was no natural death until Adam sinned is in great error. The most important fact taught in the Bible is that something innocent has to die for men to have life. This is to illustrate to us that Jesus was innocent of sin and He had to die for us to have eternal life. This has been revealed from the very start of the creation right up till today. Stars have to be born and then die for us to have life. The earth had to bring forth plants and they had to die for a seed to fall to the ground and be buried and bring forth life for man to live. For the creation to illustrate anything other than that would be a lie, not revealing the glory of God. God was born of a woman and died and was buried and brought forth new life by His death, just as the seeds did.

The Holy Spirit reveals a basic truth through Paul in 1 Cor 15:

If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. ⁴⁵ So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. ⁴⁶The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. ⁴⁷ The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven. ⁴⁸ As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven. ⁴⁹ And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man.

⁵⁰ I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. ⁵¹ Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— ⁵² in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. ⁵³ For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. ⁵⁴ When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”

⁵⁵ “Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”

⁵⁶The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. ⁵⁷ But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Now in this same chapter God tells us that the wages of sin is death. So does sin cause death or does death cause sin. God is not contradicting Himself as some claim. The wages of sin is SPIRITUAL death. Natural death causes us to hang onto our life, or to be selfish which is sinful.

If Eve would have never seen a flower wilt and die she would not have feared that might happen to her. If she had never seen an animal with a short life span, as some have, she would not have feared death. But she sought life in the wrong way:

⁶ When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it.

Food and wisdom preserved life and she held onto her life and fell into sin. Fear causes us to sin. Faith in God brings eternal life.

Much mpre can be read about the two kinds of death here:


Hi Glen,

Thank you for your kind reply.

I am well aware that I only addressed the years addressed in Genesis 1. I do not think a very long article is appropriate for the Quora site where I was asked the question. They simply do not get read.

But I also believe that if the creation is old or young, is a very important theological issue. As I stated in the article, God states that His creation reveals His glory in P 19. God is not one to solve problems like men do. Men want instant mashed potatoes and God is very patient.

Men want God to point His finger and a sun or moon is created instantly. There are several problems with this approach. God is not in a hurry like men AND God is not lawbreaker. God obeys His own laws as He requires us to do. The natural is sign of the spiritual. So when men ignore God's natural laws it often results in death, just as ignoring God's spiritual laws results in eternal death.

God put men on an earth that is in a place where men can observe much of the universe. Our solar system is very rare because almost all stars are located in a place where very little can be seen. This reveals how God loves and cares for us and also how He reveals the truth to men who will seek the truth. It also reveals how rare a planet is where life can exist and how God prepared a place for man because of His great love for man.

God left mankind a record of the creation in the creation itself. This record is far more detailed that Genesis 1. We can look out into His creation as see how solar systems are formed by watching then being formed as we watch. We see them is every stage of formation. One thing that is very clear is that they do not form quickly, but take a very very long time to form. We can see systems that have not changed in any way that we can see in the few years we have been watching. So they do not form in six 24 hour days, or six years, or 6,000 years, or even 6,000,000 years. This reveals the nature of God to men. God is Th Ancient of Days, and God is very patient. Time in nothing to Him. This is not the science of men, but a revelation from God that he left for us to see. Every revelation from God and every point of truth is very important because the natural reality reveals the spiritual nature of God.

In the article I also used passages from the Holy Scriptures to reveal the Truth from God about this subject. That of course has nothing to do with the science of men. If God is the Ancient of Days and God says that a 1000 years in like day to Him, then that reveals that God has seen many thousands of years since the creation.

Also the fact that much of the church teaches that there was no natural death until Adam sinned is in great error. The most important fact taught in the Bible is that something innocent has to die for men to have life. This is to illustrate to us that Jesus was innocent of sin and He had to die for us to have eternal life. This has been revealed from the very start of the creation right up till today. Stars has to be born and then die for us to have life. The earth had to bring forth plants and they had to die for a seed to fall to the ground and be buried and bring forth life for man to live. For the creation to illustrate anything other than that would be a lie, not revealing the glory of God. God was born of a woman and died and was buried and brought forth new life by His death, just as the seeds did.

The Holy Spirit reveals a basic truth through Paul in 1 Cor 15:

If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. ⁴⁵ So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”^[f]

Bible Gateway passage: 1 Corinthians 15 - New International Version The Resurrection of Christ - Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, wh...

; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. ⁴⁶The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. ⁴⁷ The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven. ⁴⁸ As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven. ⁴⁹ And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man.

⁵⁰ I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. ⁵¹ Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— ⁵² in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. ⁵³ For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. ⁵⁴ When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”

⁵⁵ “Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”

⁵⁶The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. ⁵⁷ But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Now in this same chapter God tells us that the wages of sin is death. So does sin cause death or does death cause sin. God is not contradicting Himself as some claim. The wages of sin is SPIRITUAL death. Natural death causes us to hang onto our life, or to be selfish which is sinful.

If Eve would have never seen a flower wilt and die she would not have feared that might happen to her. If she had never seen an animal with a short life span as some have, she would not have feared death. But she sought life in the wrong way:

⁶ When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it.

Food and wisdom preserved life and she held onto her life and fell into sin. Fear causes us to sin. Faith in God brings eternal life.

Much more can be read about the two kinds of death here:

https://forum.lounewton.com/forum/lou-newton-s-forums/articles-aa/39-death-are-there-different-kinds-of-death

[Lou Newton]

Glen sent this email:

Follow up on Genesis 1


Lou's post:

Is it true that the book of Genesis spans approximately 4,000 years of biblical history?

Glen's comment titled:

How much time does Genesis 1 cover?

About Lou's reply to "How much time does Genesis 1 cover?"

If I understand the argument,

Lou uses 20^th century cosmology to determine how the biblical creation account and other scriptures must be correctly understood.

If this Loutonian, hermeneutical hypothesis is accurate,

then the very first people to correctly understand the biblical creation account were not living until the last years of the 20th century -

when astronomical science was able to provide the true interpretation and purpose of the account of creation as recorded in Genesis 1.

Glen I quoted many passages from the Holy Scriptures and my argument will stand on those alone. The Name of God, The Ancient of Days, and the statement from God that 1000 years is like a day to Him, alone will prove the universe is old. God is not able to lie and these facts are totally true to the fullest.

Glen this view is not Loutonian, but Augustine had this view hundreds of years before me. Many of the early church fathers wrote that the days ( or periods of time as the Hebrew indicates) of Genesis 1 are very long periods of time. Augustine was certainly a respected leader of the church of his day that wrote that these days were very very long. He did not conclude this by observing the stars but by reading the Holy Scriptures without the preconceived doctrine of the Pope that the days were earth days.

It was The Pope that proclaimed that the Genesis account was earth centered and not sun centered. Men like Kepler disagreed with the Pope. Kepler did not disagree based on observations of the stars, but from reading The Holy Scriptures and asking The Holy Spirit to lead him into truth while reading them.

Certainly you do not think the earth is at the center of the universe. The earth is not the center of the solar system, the sun is. Further our solar system in not at the center of our galaxy. So if we have abandoned this earth centered doctrine of the Pope; why then not abandon all of it, Why hang onto believing that although the sun is at the center, the timing of Genesis 1 is still earth centered 24 hour earth days.

Mans days are very short and he is lie a vapor on this earth. But God has no beginning and no end. His days are very very long.