The 1,656 Years of the World Before the Flood
Reflect for a moment on 1,656 years; that is a really long time. That many years ago from today it would have been 356 AD and the Roman Empire would have been recently split by the sons of Constantine; around that time Constantinople had become the new capital of the Roman Empire. That was a long, long time back.
The fifth chapter of Genesis is interesting from several perspectives; it establishes a reference for the 1,656 years between the creation of Adam and Eve and the massive flood that was to kill all but eight people.
I have developed a timeline graph that shows the Biblically listed times of the births and deaths of those in the Messianic line. One of the interesting features was the overlap of lives as shown on the graph. For example Lamech, Noah’s father, was 56 years old at the time of Adam’s death. (All dates are calculated from the creation of Adam.)
(I have this graph available to all who request a copy, just leave your request in the comments section and I’ll be happy to forward a pdf copy to you by email.)
A significant theological perspective is the specter of death that looms over the chapter. It is sometimes referred to as “The Reign of Death.” Since mankind had been shut out of the Garden of Eden it was not possible for anyone to violate the only commandment God had given to not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
In spite of this inability all experienced the penalty of sin which was physical death. The why, as I’ve mentioned before, is because in Adam all died spiritually and had been judged guilty of sin. The penalty of sin was death and this most specifically included all of those listed in the fifth chapter of Genesis as well as all the rest of us. The tired old excuse, “well I try and live a good life” was not relevant then and is not relevant today.
A great many studies have been done comparing and contrasting the line of Cain and the line of Seth. I will limit our study here to three individuals who appear in the Messianic line, Enoch, his son Methuselah and his great grandson Noah.
Enoch, a Type of the Church
Enoch is often thought of as a type of the church. In Genesis 5:21-24, “When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. And after he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Enoch lived 365 years. Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.” It is interesting to consider that Adam’s son Seth was still alive at the time Enoch was translated; do you wonder how he felt about that?
Enoch did not die, he was taken away by God; this is seen as similar to the church as it is taken away by the Rapture before the judgment of the Tribulation as Enoch was taken away before the judgment of the flood.
Another point I’ll mention concerns Enoch’s son Methuselah. In the Hebrew his name was a prophetic reference to the flood; the thought behind the Hebrew parts of his name can be understood as “at his death, it will come;” as you have probably already guessed Methuselah died 1,656 years after the creation of Adam, the same year as the flood.
Noah, a Just Man
Noah was born when Lamech was 182 years old. It is estimated that Noah began work on the ark in 1536. Noah’s wife had three sons after Noah was 500 years old; Shem, Ham, and Japheth. It may well be that Noah had started work on the ark around 20 years before the first of his three sons who would join him on the ark was born. This would make the sons all younger than 100 years old when they entered the ark and it can be assumed their wives had similar or younger ages.
It has been estimated that the earth’s population at the time of the flood was in the vicinity of 9 billion people. That is around 2 billion more than the earth’s population today. The severity of God’s judgment can be determined when one considers that around 8,999,999,992 people may have been killed by the waters that covered the earth plus the animals and birds of the air.
We will next consider the conditions that provoked such a terribly severe judgment from God.
davidbowerkingwood 
Very interesting! I would love a copy of the timeline graph. Thanks so much.
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By: Debbie Collier on April 13, 2012
at 8:04 am
Debbie:
Thank you for your interest and your comment; it’s on its way.
David
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By: davidbowerkingwood on April 13, 2012
at 9:23 am
I would love to have a copy of the graph. Thank you for your teaching.
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By: Pennie Devaney on April 13, 2012
at 9:24 am
Pennie:
I hope you find the graph as interesting as I did when I was preparing it; it had some interesting surprises when I started analyzing the overlap of lives. Thank you for commenting.
David
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By: davidbowerkingwood on April 13, 2012
at 9:31 am
Wow David! Super interesting analysis. I am anxious to read the next edition. Thank you! Elaine
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By: Elaine Hastings on April 13, 2012
at 6:06 pm
Elaine:
Thank you for the encouragement, I really appreciate it. The next two editions have been written but are under review, they get pretty wild as they attempt to give a perspective on some incredible times.
David
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By: davidbowerkingwood on April 13, 2012
at 6:32 pm
Thank you I have always wondered about that too.
I would like the time line.
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By: sandra carpenter on April 13, 2012
at 8:01 pm
Sandra:
Thank you for your interest; I hope to share my fascination with the pre-flood world with others. This is a battleground between Christianity and secular humanism that needs better understanding. Your timeline should be in your mailbox.
David
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By: davidbowerkingwood on April 14, 2012
at 6:46 am
I would like a copy of the timeline graph. I always look forward to the next lesson!!
Thanks,
Edna
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By: Edna Hickman on April 13, 2012
at 8:42 pm
Edna:
I appreciate your interest; this was a time of unparalleled danger in the history of man God was going to take drastic action to correct the problem. The Timeline has been sent.
David
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By: davidbowerkingwood on April 14, 2012
at 6:52 am
Hi David, I really enjoy your blogs and would be greatly interested in getting a copy of your PDF file. Keep up the good work! Can’t wait to see the next posting.
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By: Beverly McCrea on April 14, 2012
at 5:50 am
Beverly:
Thank you for your comment; I really hope to generate a greater interest in my readers about this critical time in the history of man. Your Timeline is on its way.
David
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By: davidbowerkingwood on April 14, 2012
at 6:57 am
I am late reading this blog but am looking forward to this series of lessons. Please send me the timeline. I had some of it written in my Bible but not complete. Glad you like to calculate. thanks also that you continue to write these lessons.
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By: Kathy Scharer on April 16, 2012
at 6:51 am
I forgot to say that one of your previous lessons which talked about the need for earth to be billions of years old to support evolution was something I had never thought of. It makes perfect sense, thanks for that gem.
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By: Kathy Scharer on April 16, 2012
at 6:52 am
Kathy:
Thank you for your comments and your interest, I appreciate both. Your timeline will be on its way to you shortly. With regard to evolution, I’m amazed and saddened the way Christians don’t bother to simply believe the Bible; I cannot understand the infinite power of God but I have no trouble believing it.
David
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By: davidbowerkingwood on April 16, 2012
at 7:09 am
Very interesting and reassuring! Please send me a timeline, too! Thank you very much for sharing your wealth of information and knowledge! Please carry on!
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By: Alison on April 16, 2012
at 8:45 am
Alison:
Thank you for taking the time to comment; responses like yours encourage me to carry on. The timeline will be on its way to you shortly.
David
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By: davidbowerkingwood on April 16, 2012
at 9:33 am
David, thanks for writing this Blog. I never fail to learn something new each time you write, either about the bible or about you. Knowing you, I know you did much research on your timeline, please send me a copy.
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By: TOMMY LYLE on April 21, 2012
at 3:00 pm
Tommy:
Thank you for the encouragement, I really appreciate it. The timeline is on its way.
David
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By: davidbowerkingwood on April 21, 2012
at 4:30 pm