This article is based on the video Genesis and the Church Fathers. Early Christian Beliefs and Quotes by the Early Christian Beliefs YouTube Channel. Watch the video for a more in-depth discussion:
If you are keen on Early Church history, consider subscribing to the Early Christian Beliefs YouTube Channel.
The Early Fathers on Sacred History
Did the early Christians believe that the events in Genesis are actual history?
The early Christians believed that the Book of Genesis contains the infallible and true history of the universe. Consequently, all other historical accounts either borrowed from it, copied it, or preserved its contents through memory. Genesis was not regarded as a composite work compiled from various sources but as Divinely inspired.
Furthermore, the early Christians universally held that it was possible, allowing for some variation of a few hundred years, to construct a chronology of the entire history of the universe based on the dates recorded in Genesis. The Early Church Fathers generally placed Creation between 5,200 BC and 5,500 BC.
To support these claims, we will present and discuss 29 quotes from various writers, saints, apostles, doctors of the Church, martyrs, and laypersons.
Saint Barnabas, Epistle of Barnabas, ch. 15 (c. 90 AD):
'The Sabbath is mentioned at the beginning of the creation: ''And God made in six days the works of His hands, and made an end on the seventh day, and rested on it, and sanctified it'' (Gen. 2:2). Attend, my children, to the meaning of this expression, ''He finished in six days.'' This implieth that the Lord will finish all things in six thousand years, for a day is with Him a thousand years. And He Himself testifieth, saying, ''Behold, to-day will be as a thousand years'' (Ps. 89:4). Therefore, my children, in six days, that is, in six thousand years, all things will be finished' (II Pet. 3:8).
Saint Justin Martyr, First Apology, ch. 31 (c. 150 AD):
'In these books,
then, of the prophets we found Jesus our Christ foretold as coming, born of a
virgin, growing up to man's estate, and healing every disease and every
sickness, and raising the dead, and being hated, and unrecognized, and
crucified, and dying, and rising again, and ascending into heaven, and being,
and being called, the Son of God. We find it also predicted that certain
persons should be sent by Him into every nation to publish these things, and
that rather among the Gentiles [than among the Jews] men should believe on Him.
And He was predicted before He appeared, first 5000 years before, and again
3000, then 2000, then 1000, and yet again 800; for in the succession of
generations prophets after prophets arose.'
Thus:
- 800 years before would be the prophets.
- 1000 years before would be the Psalms of
David.
- 2000 years before would be Abraham and the
offering of Isaac.
- 3000 years before would be events around the
Flood.
- 5000 years before would be Genesis
3:15.
Saint Justin Martyr suggests that the date of Creation is 5000 BC.
Saint Justin Martyr, Hortatory Address to the Greeks, ch. 33 (c.
160 AD):
'And from what
source did Plato draw the information that time was created along with the
heavens? … Had he not learned this from the divine history of Moses? For he
knew that the creation of time had received its original constitution from days
and months and years. Since, then, the first day which was created along with
the heavens constituted the beginning of all time, for thus Moses wrote, ''In
the beginning God created the heavens and the earth'' (Gen. 1:1), and
then immediately subjoins, ''And one day was made'' (Gen. 1:5) …'
Saint Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho, ch. 81 (c. 160 AD):
'But of the tree of
knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat. For in what day soever thou
shalt eat of it, thou shalt die the death. For as Adam was told that in the day
he ate of the tree he would die, we know that he did not complete a thousand
years. We have perceived, moreover, that the expression, ''The day of the Lord
is as a thousand years'' (Ps. 89:4; 1 Pet. 3:8) is connected with
this subject.'
'On the fourth day
the luminaries were made; because God, who possesses foreknowledge, knew the
follies of the vain philosophers, that they were going to say that the things
which grow on the earth are produced from the heavenly bodies, so as to exclude
God. In order, therefore, that the truth might be obvious, the plants and seeds
were produced prior to the heavenly bodies, for what is posterior cannot
produce that which is prior.'
Saint Theophilus of Antioch, To Autolycus, book III, ch. 26 (c.
180 AD):
'Hence one can see
how our sacred writings are shown to be more ancient and true than those of the
Greeks and Egyptians, or any other historians. … For my purpose is not to
furnish mere matter of much talk, but to throw light upon the number of years
from the foundation of the world, … being indeed created, it is also governed
by the providence of God, who made all things; and the whole course of time and
the years are made plain to those who wish to obey the truth. … and to condemn
the empty labour and trifling of these authors, because there have neither been
twenty thousand times ten thousand years (200 million) from the Flood to the
present time, as Plato said, affirming that there had been so many years; … nor
is there a spontaneous production of all things, as Pythagoras and the rest
dreamed; …'
Saint Theophilus of Antioch, To Autolycus, book III, ch. 28 (c. 180 AD):
'And from the foundation of the world the whole time is thus traced, so far as its main epochs are concerned. From the creation of the world to the Deluge were 2242 years. And from the Deluge to the time when Abraham our forefather begat a son, 1036 years. And from Isaac, Abraham's son, to the time when the people dwelt with Moses in the desert, 660 years. And from the death of Moses and the rule of Joshua the son of Nun, to the death of the patriarch David, 498 years. And from the death of David and the reign of Solomon to the sojourning of the people in the land of Babylon, 518 years, 6 months, and 10 days. And from the government of Cyrus to the death of the Emperor Aurelius Verus, 744 years. All the years from the creation of the world amount to a total of 5698 years, and the odd months and days.'
'And there are
some, again, who relegate the death of Adam to the thousandth year; for since ''a
day of the Lord is as a thousand years'' (Ps. 89:4; 2 Pet. 3:8),
he did not overstep the thousand years, but died within them, thus bearing out
the sentence of his sin. … whether with respect to one and the same day on
which they ate they also died (for it is one day of the creation); ...'
Saint Irenaeus of Lyon, Against Heresies, book V, ch. 28 (c. 180 AD):
'For in as many
days as this world was made, in so many thousand years shall it be concluded.
And for this reason the Scripture says: ''Thus the heaven and the earth were
finished, and all their adornment. And God brought to a conclusion upon the
sixth day the works that He had made; and God rested upon the seventh day from
all His works'' (Gen. 2:1–2). This is an account of the things formerly
created, as also it is a prophecy of what is to come. For the day of the Lord
is as a thousand years; and in six days created things were completed: it is
evident, therefore, that they will come to an end at the sixth thousand year.'
Saint Irenaeus
suggests that the date of Creation is sometime between 5000 and 5800 BC, as he
is writing in the second century.
'On the
plagiarising of the dogmas of the philosophers from the Hebrews, we shall treat
... by which the philosophy of the Hebrews will be demonstrated beyond all
contradiction to be the most ancient of all wisdom.'
Towards the end of
his long and detailed world chronology, he writes:
'… and from Adam to
the death of Commodus, five thousand seven hundred and eighty-four years, two
months, twelve days.'
The Roman Emperor
Commodus died in 192 AD. Saint Clement of Alexandria suggests that the date of
Creation is 5592 BC.
Saint Hippolytus of Rome, Fragment on Daniel, pr. 4–6 (c. 200 AD):
'For as the times
are noted from the foundation of the world, and reckoned from Adam, they set
clearly before us the matter with which our inquiry deals. For the first
appearance of our Lord in the flesh took place in Bethlehem, under Augustus, in
the year 5,500: and He suffered in the thirty-third year. And 6,000 years must
needs be accomplished, in order that the Sabbath may come, the rest, the holy
day ''on which God rested from all His works.'' For the Sabbath is the type and
emblem of the future kingdom of the saints, when they ''shall reign with Christ''
(Apoc. 20:4), when He comes from heaven, as John says in his Apocalypse:
for ''A day with the Lord is as a thousand years'' (Ps. 89:4). Since,
then, in six days God made all things, it follows that 6,000 years must be
fulfilled. And they are not yet fulfilled, as John says: ''Five are fallen; one
is''—that is, the sixth; ''the other is not yet come'' (Apoc. 17:10).'
Julius Africanus, Chronographiai, frag. I (c. 221 AD):
'For the Jews, deriving their origin from them as descendants of Abraham, having been taught a modest mind, and one such as becomes men, together with the truth by the spirit of Moses, have handed down to us, by their extant Hebrew histories, the number of 5500 years as the period up to the advent of the Word of salvation, that was announced to the world in the time of the sway of the Caesars.'
Julius Africanus, Chronographiai, frag. III (c. 221 AD):
'Adam, when 230
years old, begets Seth; and after living other 700 years he died, that is, a
second death. Seth, when 205 years old, begat Enos; from Adam therefore to the
birth of Enos there are 435 years in all.'
Julius Africanus, Chronographiai, frag. XVII (c. 221 AD):
'(From the death of Cleopatra in) “the 11th year of the monarchy and empire of the Romans, and the 4th year of the 187th Olympiad. Altogether, from Adam 5472 years are reckoned.”'
'The period, then,
to the advent of the Lord from Adam and the creation is 5531 years, from which
epoch to the 250th Olympiad there are 192 years, as has been shown above.'
Origen of Alexandria, De Principiis, Book III, Ch. 5, paras. 1-3 (c. 225
AD):
'And now, since
there is one of the articles of the Church (de ecclesiasticis definitionibus
unum) which is held principally in consequence of our belief in the truth of
our sacred history, viz., that the world was created and took its beginning at
a certain time, ... Such is the objection which they are accustomed to make to
our statement that this world had its beginning at a certain time, and that,
agreeably to our belief in Scripture, we can calculate the years of its past
duration.'
Origen of Alexandria, Against Celsus, Book I, Ch. 19 (c. 248 AD):
'After these
statements, Celsus, from a secret desire to cast discredit upon the Mosaic
account of the creation, which teaches that the world is not yet ten thousand
years old, but very much under that, while concealing his wish, intimates his
agreement with those who hold that the world is uncreated.'
Saint Cyprian of Carthage, Treatise XI, Ch. 11 (c. 252 AD):
'As the first seven
days in the divine arrangement containing seven thousand of years, …'
Saint Cyprian, Treatise V, Ch. 4 (c. 252 AD):
'You impute it to
the Christians that everything is decaying as the world grows old. … although
once the life of men endured beyond the age of eight and nine hundred years, it
can now scarcely attain to its hundredth year?'
Saint Archelaus, Disputation with Manes, Ch. 31 (c. 277 AD):
'… Moses, that
illustrious servant of God, committed to those who wished to have the right
vision, an emblematic law, and also a real law. Thus, to take an example, after
God had made the world, and all things that are in it, in the space of six
days, He rested on the seventh day from all His works; …'
Saint Victorinus of Pettau, On The Creation of The World (c. 280 AD):
'To me, as I
meditate and consider in my mind concerning the creation of this world in which
we are kept enclosed, even such is the rapidity of that creation; as is
contained in the book of Moses, which he wrote about its creation, and which is
called Genesis. God produced that entire mass for the adornment of His majesty
in six days; … In the beginning God made the light, and divided it in the exact
measure of twelve hours by day and by night, …'
Saint Victorinus of Pettau, On The Creation of The World (c. 280 AD):
'… that that true
and just Sabbath should be observed in the seventh millenary of years.
Wherefore to those seven days the Lord attributed to each a thousand years; for
thus went the warning: ''In Thine eyes, O Lord, a thousand years are as one
day.'' (Ps. 89:4) … Wherefore, as I have narrated, that true Sabbath will be in
the seventh millenary of years, when Christ with His elect shall reign.'
Saint Methodius of Olympus, The Banquet of The Ten Virgins, Discourse III,
Ch. 2 (c. 290 AD):
'For it is a
dangerous thing wholly to despise the literal meaning, as has been said, and
especially of Genesis, where the unchangeable decrees of God for the
constitution of the universe are set forth, ...'
Saint Methodius of Olympus, Banquet of the Ten Virgins, Book VII, Ch. 1
(c. 290 AD):
'For they
remembered that in six days God formed the creation, and those things which
were made in paradise; and how man, receiving a command not to touch the tree
of knowledge, ran aground, the author of evil having led him astray.'
Saint Methodius of Olympus, Banquet of the Ten Virgins, Book IX, Ch. 1
(c. 290 AD):
'For since in six days God made the heaven and the earth, and finished
the whole world, and rested on the seventh day from all His works which He had
made, and blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, so by a figure in the
seventh month, when the fruits of the earth have been gathered in, we are
commanded to keep the feast to the Lord, which signifies that, when this world
shall be terminated at the seventh thousand years, when God shall have
completed the world, He shall rejoice in us.'
Saint Peter of Alexandria, Fragment VI, Of the Soul and Body (c. 306
AD):
'For if, according
to the Word of salvation, He who made what is without, made also that which is
within, He certainly, by one operation, and at the same time, made both, on
that day, indeed, on which God said, "Let us make man in our image, after
our likeness;" whence it is manifest that man was not formed by a conjunction
of the body with a certain pre-existent type. For if the earth, at the bidding
of the Creator, brought forth the other animals endowed with life, much rather
did the dust which God took from the earth receive a vital energy from the will
and operation of God.'
Lactantius, Divine Institutes, Book VII, Ch. 14 (c. 315 AD):
'Therefore, since
all the works of God were completed in six days, the world must continue in its
present state through six ages, that is, six thousand years. For the great day
of God is limited by a circle of a thousand years, as the prophet shows, who
says "In Thy sight, O Lord, a thousand years are as one day." (Psalm
89:4) And as God labored during those six days in creating such great works, so
His religion and truth must labour during these six thousand years, while
wickedness prevails and bears rule. And again, since God, having finished His
works, rested the seventh day and blessed it, at the end of the six thousandth
year all wickedness must be abolished from the earth, and righteousness reign
for a thousand years; ...'
Lactantius, Divine Institutes, Book VII, Ch. 14 (c. 315 AD):
'But we, whom the
Holy Scriptures instruct to the knowledge of the truth, know the beginning and
the end of the world, ... Therefore let the philosophers, who enumerate
thousands of ages from the beginning of the world, know that the six thousandth
year is not yet completed, .... God completed the world and this admirable work
in six days, as is contained in the secrets of Holy Scripture, and consecrated
the seventh day, on which He had rested from His works.'
Lactantius states
that the date of Creation is sometime between 5475–5685 B.C.
'For Lactantius, an
''Age'' is ''1,000 years,'' so thousands of ages = millions of years.
Lactantius is correcting the false belief in the existence of millions of
years.'
Lactantius, Divine Institutes, Book VII, Ch. 25 (c. 315 AD):
'These are the
things which are spoken of by the prophets as about to happen hereafter: but I
have not considered it necessary to bring forward their testimonies and words,
since it would be an endless task; nor would the limits of my book receive so
great a multitude of subjects, since so many with one breath speak similar
things; and at the same time, lest weariness should be occasioned to the
readers if I should heap together things collected and transferred from all;
moreover, that I might confirm those very things which I said, not by my own
writings, but in a special manner by the writings of others, and might show
that not only among us, but even with those very persons who revile us, the
truth is preserved, which they refuse to acknowledge. But he who wishes to know
these things more accurately may draw from the fountain itself, and he will
know more things worthy of admiration than we have comprised in these books.
Perhaps someone may now ask when these things of which we have spoken are about
to come to pass? I have already shown above, that when six thousand years shall
be completed this change must take place, and that the last day of the extreme conclusion
is now drawing near. It is permitted us to know respecting the signs, which are
spoken by the prophets, for they foretold signs by which the consummation of
the times is to be expected by us from day to day, and to be feared. When,
however, this amount will be completed, those teach, who have written
respecting the times, collecting them from the sacred writings and from various
histories, how great is the number of years from the beginning of the world.
And although they vary, and the amount of the number as reckoned by them
differs considerably, yet all expectation does not exceed the limit of two
hundred years. The subject itself declares that the fall and ruin of the world
will shortly take place; except that while the city of Rome remains it appears
that nothing of this kind is to be feared. But when that capital of the world
shall have fallen, and shall have begun to be a street, which the Sibyls say
shall come to pass, who can doubt that the end has now arrived to the affairs
of men and the whole world? It is that city, that only, which still sustains
all things; and the God of heaven is to be entreated by us and implored — if,
indeed, His arrangements and decrees can be delayed — lest, sooner than we
think for, that detestable tyrant should come who will undertake so great a
deed, and dig out that eye, by the destruction of which the world itself is
about to fall. Now let us return, to set forth the other things which are then
about to follow.'
Lactantius seems to
say the most recent date of Creation, given by other Catholics, is 5475 B.C.
Eusebius of Caesarea, Chronicle, Ch. 1 (c. 320 A.D.):
'Permit me, right
at the outset, to caution everyone against believing that there can be complete
accuracy with respect to chronology. … despite this, to the extent that it is
possible, use clarity to recognize the nature of the investigation which
confronts you, and then proceed resolutely.'
Eusebius of Caesarea, Chronicle, Ch. 30 (c. 320 A.D.):
'Thus it is
patently clear that the Septuagint was translated from old and accurate Hebrew
copies, and is the most appropriate text for us to use in our present
Chronicle, especially since the church of Christ, which has spread throughout
the world, supports only this version and since the apostles and disciples of
Christ used and transmitted this version. This is the understanding and text
handed down to the Catholic Church from the Apostles.'
Eusebius of Caesarea, Chronicle, Ch. 35 (c. 320 A.D.):
'Thus, the third
book of Kings states that 480 years elapsed from the exodus out of Egypt until
Solomon and the building of the temple; 505 years elapsed from Abraham until
Moses and the exodus; 942 years elapsed from the flood until the first year of
Abraham; and 2,242 years elapsed from Adam until the flood. Altogether 4,170
years elapsed from Adam until Solomon and the building of the temple.'
Eusebius of Caesarea, Chronicle, Ch. 42 (c. 320 A.D.):
'From Adam until
the second year of Darius is 4680 years. From the second year of Darius until
the 15th year of Tiberius is 548 years. Thus, from Adam until the 15th year of
Tiberius, a total of 5228 years elapsed.'
Eusebius of
Caesarea states that the date of Creation is 5199 B.C.
Firmicus Maternus, The Error of the Pagan Religions, Ch. 25.3 (c. 346
A.D.):
'For after long
ages, in the last reaches of time, that is, almost at the end of the week of
the centuries, the Word of God commingled Itself with human flesh, to save
mankind, to conquer death, to link the frailty of the human body with divine
immortality.'
Saint Hilary of Poitiers, Commentary on Matt. 17:1-2 (c. 355 A.D.):
Saint Hilary
paraphrases Matthew 17:1-2: 'After six days, Peter, James, and John were taken
apart from the others and brought to the top of a mountain. As they were
looking on, the Lord was transfigured and resplendent in all brilliance of his
garments. (see Matt. 17:1-2) In this manner there is preserved an underlying
principle, a number and an example. It was after six days that the Lord was
shown in his glory by his clothing; that is, the honor of the heavenly Kingdom
is prefigured in the unfolding of six thousand years.'
Saint Hilary of Poitiers, Commentary on Matt. 20:6 (c. 355 A.D.):
'At the eleventh
hour the Lord shows the time of His advent in the body. His birth from Mary,
which had been determined to take place during the present age out of all ages,
pertains to that eleventh hour of the day. In fact, when one divides all 6,000
years by the number 500, the time of his birth in the flesh is computed
according to a counting of the whole divided by elevens.'
Saint Hilary of
Poitiers states that the date of Creation is 5500 B.C.
Saint Athanasius of Alexandria, Discourse II Against the Arians, Ch. XIX, p. 48 (c. 358 A.D.):
'For as to the separate stars or the great lights, not this appeared first, and that second, but in one day and by the same command, they were all called into being. And such was the original formation of the quadrupeds, and of birds, and fishes, and cattle, and plants; thus too has the race made after God's Image come to be, namely men; for though Adam only was formed out of earth, yet in him was involved the succession of the whole race.'
Saint Basil the Great, Hexameron, Homily II, Ch. 8 (c. 368 A.D.):
'Under the form of
history, the law is laid down for what is to follow. … Now twenty-four hours
fill up the space of one day--we mean of a day and of a night; … Thus, every
time that, in the revolution of the sun, evening and morning occupy the world,
their periodical succession never exceeds the space of one day.'
Saint Basil the Great, Hexameron, Homily VI, Ch. 2 (c. 368 A.D.):
'Heaven and earth
were the first; after them was created light; the day had been distinguished
from the night, then had appeared the firmament and the dry element. The water
had been gathered into the reservoir assigned to it, the earth displayed its
productions, it had caused many kinds of herbs to germinate, and it was adorned
with all kinds of plants. However, the sun and the moon did not yet exist, in
order that those who live in ignorance of God may not consider the sun as the
origin and the father of light, or as the maker of all that grows out of the
earth. That is why there was a fourth day, and then God said: "Let there
be lights in the firmament of the heaven."'
Saint Basil the Great, Hexameron, Homily IX, Ch. 1 (c. 368 A.D.):
'There are those
truly, who do not admit the common sense of the Scriptures, for whom water is
not water, but some other nature, who see in a plant, in a fish, what their
fancy wishes, who change the nature of reptiles and wild beasts to suit their
own ends. For me grass is grass; plant, fish, wild beast, domestic animal, I
take all in the literal sense. "For I am not ashamed of the Gospel"
(Rom 1:16). … Shall I then prefer foolish wisdom to the oracles of the Holy
Spirit? … It is this which those seem to me not to have understood, who, giving
themselves up to the distorted meaning of allegory, have undertaken to give a
majesty of their own invention to Scripture. It is to believe themselves wiser
than the Holy Spirit, and to bring forth their own ideas under a pretext of
exegesis. Let us hear Scripture as it has been written.'
'No one should
think that the Creation of Six Days is an allegory; it is likewise
impermissible to say that what seems, according to the account, to have been
created in six days, was created in a single instant, and likewise that certain
names presented in this account either signify nothing or signify something
else. On the contrary, we must know that just as the heaven and the earth which
were created in the beginning are actually the heaven and earth, and not
something else understood under the names of heaven and earth, so also
everything else that is spoken of as being created and brought into order after
the creation of heaven and earth is not empty names, but the very essence of
the created natures corresponds to the force of these names …'
Saint Ephraim the Syrian. Deacon and Doctor of the Church. Commentary on
the Genesis. Section I, Par. 8. c. 370.
'… in it the number
of the hours of day and night were equal. The light remained a length of twelve
hours so that each day might also obtained it's [own] hours just as the
darkness had obtained a measured length of time. Although the light and the
clouds were created in the twinkling of an eye, the day and the night of the
first day were each completed in twelve hours.'
Saint Epiphanius of Salamis. Bishop. Panarion. Book I. Sec. 1, 1.7-8. c.
375.
'So eight human
beings were preserved from the waters of the flood in the ark of those days. …
And thus a tenth generation had passed, making 2262 years.'
Saint Epiphanius of Salamis. Bishop. Panarion. Book I. Sec. 4, 1.3. c.
375.
'On reaching the
age of 99 this Patriarch (Abraham) was given the commandment of circumcision by
God, and the character of Judaism originated from this, … And it was the
twenty-first generation, 3431 years after the foundation of the world.'
Dating the
circumcision of Isaac to 3431 years after creation definitely puts Saint
Epiphanius into the circa 5500 B.C. camp.
St. Gregory Nazianzus, The Theologian. Bishop and Doctor of the Church.
Oration XLIII, Panegyric on St. Basil, Pr. 67. c. 381 A.D.
''I will only say
this of him [St. Basil the Great]. Whenever I handle his Hexaemeron, and take
its words on my lips, I am brought into the presence of the Creator, and
understand the words of creation, and admire the Creator more than before,
using my teacher as my only means of sight.'
Saint Gregory of Nyssa. Bishop. Hexameron. PG 44:68-69 c. 385 A.D.
'Before I begin,
let me testify that there is nothing contradictory in what the saintly Basil
wrote about the creation of the world since no further explanation is needed.
They should suffice and alone take second place to the divinely inspired
Testament. ...'
Saint Gregory of Nyssa. Bishop. Hexameron. 113-117 c. 385 A.D.
'O man of God, we
respond to your intelligent question and transfer nothing of our written report
into figurative allegory, nor do we leave unexplored any objection brought to
our attention.'
Saint Ambrose of Milan. Bishop and Doctor of the Church. Hexaemeron,
Book I, Ch 10, Pr. 37. c 387 A.D.
In his discussion
of the first day of creation he discusses different ways that the word ''day''
can be used in Scripture. Saint Ambrose then specifically defines the creation
days as 24 hours in duration.
'But Scripture
established a law that twenty-four hours, including both day and night, should
be given the name of day only, as if one were to say the length of one day is
twenty-four hours in extent. … the nights in this reckoning are considered to
be component parts of the days that are counted.'
Saint Ambrose of Milan. Bishop and Doctor of the Church. Hexaemeron,
Book IV, Ch 1, Pr. 1. c 387 A.D.
'In our reading of
the Scripture passage, the sun, which before did not exist, has now to arise.
We have now passed the first day without a sun, and the second and the third
days we have completed without a sun. On the fourth day God bade the luminaries
of heaven to be created: the sun, moon and stars.'
St. John Chrysostom. Bishop and Doctor of the Church. Homily 'On the
Cross and the Thief' 1:2. Circa 395 A.D.
Preached on Good
Friday
Would you like to
know something else accomplished by the Cross? After Paradise had remained
closed for some 5,000 years, today the Cross opened it to us.
St. John
Chrysostom. Bishop and Doctor of the Church. Homilies on Genesis, 10:7. c. 400.
'Acknowledging that
God could have created the world 'in a single day, nay in a single moment,' he
chose 'a sort of succession and established things by parts'...so that,
accurately interpreted by that blessed prophet Moses, we do not fall in with
those who are guided by human reasonings.'
Quintus Julius Hilarianus. Roman African, Possibly a Bishop. Libellus de
mundi Duratione. 397 A.D.
Hilarianus is here
arguing against a number of wrong opinions of those who say:
'that the beginning
and the end of the world cannot be fully known by us; some affirming that the
world is already more than 20,000 years old; others not wanting to give a
beginning or an end to it; others, granting a beginning, want it to be eternal.
To this I say: To assert this through art, the philosophy of the world, and
empty deception; they loved the pomp of words and opinion more than the truth
and are lovers of them. For if we listen to the commandment of God, which is
faithful; we must accept whatever the divine law has faithfully narrated to us:
which, with the Lord's consent, if you permit, will be simply narrated to you.
For there are those who think that the years in the law were written in vain or
unnecessarily, as if they were not necessary: not knowing that those who
believe that what the law of God suggests is not true have little faith.'
'From the birth of
the first man, Adam, to the flood under Noah, there are 2257 years, which are
faithfully verified by each generation.'
'From the time of
the flood to the 60th year of Abraham, when he went forth from his land to
wander, there are 1012 years.'
'From the wandering
of Abraham to the departure of the children of Israel from Egypt to the
wilderness, there are 430 years.'
'During the time of
the Judges, there were periods of captivity from Joshua son of Nun to Samuel
the prophet, who anointed Saul as king, lasting 561 years.'
'Therefore, all the
years from the creation of the world to Samuel, who anointed Saul king are
4300. Then followed the times of the Kings. The Kings ruled for 514 years from
Saul to Zedekiah, …'
'From the Creation
of the world to Zedekiah, when Jerusalem was destroyed and the people were
taken into Babylonian exile, there are 4814 years.'
'… from the
creation of the world up to the passion of Christ our Savior, there are 5530
years.'
'For as it was said
to the Jewish people: Work the works of the world for six days; but on the
seventh day, which is called the Sabbath, rest from your works (Ex 23:12): so
for all the saints who are from the beginning of the world, and now believe in
Christ with true faith; with the six days (that is six thousand years) in which
they labored and suffered passed; the seventh day and the true Sabbath will
come.'
Tyconius of Carthage. Author. The Book of Rules. V.6.7. c. 400 A.D.
Tyconius was,
sadly, a Donatist Schismatic. However his work was quoted by St. Augustine and
recommended to be read, with due discretion of course.
'For just as God
worked this world for six days, so he works the spiritual world, which is the
church, for six thousand years; and he is going to stop on the seventh day,
which he has blessed and made eternal.'
Saint Jerome. Bishop and Doctor of the Church. The Chronicon or Temporum
Liber. c. 380 A.D.
'There are
altogether from Adam until the 14th year of Valens, that is, until his 6th
consulate and the second of Valentinian 5,579 years.'
The 14th year of
Valens was 378 A.D. So Saint Jerome, in his Chronology, places the date of
Creation at 5201 B.C.
Saint Jerome. Bishop and Doctor of the Church. Letter 140. A.D. 418.
'A thousand years
in thy sight as yesterday'(Psalm 89:4). From this passage, and from
the epistle which is attributed to the apostle Peter, (2 Peter 3:8) I conclude
that the custom comes of taking a thousand years for one day; with the result,
that is, that just as the universe was fashioned in six days, so one believes
[credatur] that it will last only six thousand years, and that afterwards will
come the sevenfold and the eightfold number, when the true sabbath will be
kept, and the purity of the circumcision [i.e. baptismal innocence] will be
restored.'
Saint Gaudentius of
Brescia. Bishop. Treatise 10. c. 405 A.D.
'We wait for that
truly holy day of the seven thousandth year which will follow those six days,
that is the six thousand years.'
Saint Gaudentius says that the date of Creation is 5201 B.C.
Sulpicius Severus,
Writer and Historian. The Sacred History, Book I, Ch. 2. c. 403 A.D.
'The world was
created by God nearly six thousand years ago, as we shall set forth in the
course of this book; although those who have entered upon and published a
calculation of the dates, but little agree among themselves. As, however, this
disagreement is due either to the will of God or to the fault of antiquity, it
ought not to be a matter of censure.'
Silpicius Severus,
in his chronology, lists dates that add up to a Creation date of 5496
B.C.
Saint Augustine of Hippo. Bishop and Doctor of the Church. Commentary on
Psalm LXXXIX. c. A.D. 420.
'Nevertheless men
have ventured to assert their knowledge of times, to the pretenders to which
our Lord said, 'It is not for you to know the times or seasons, which the
Father has put in His own power:' (Acts 1:7) and they allege that this
period may be defined six thousand years, as of six days. Nor have they heeded
the words, are but as one day which is past by: for, when this was uttered, not
a thousand years only had passed, and the expression, as a watch in the night,
ought to have warned them that they might not be deceived by the uncertainty of
the seasons: for even if the six first days in which God finished His works
seemed to give some plausibility to their opinion, six watches, which amount to
eighteen hours, will not consist with that opinion.'
Saint Augustine of Hippo. Bishop and Doctor of the Church. City of God.
Book XII, Ch. 10. c. 426. A.D.
'They are deceived,
too, by those highly mendacious documents which profess to give the history of
many thousand years, though, reckoning by the sacred writings, we find that not
6000 years have yet passed. … they would fain oppose to the authority of our
well-known and divine books, which predicted that the whole world would believe
them, and which the whole world accordingly has believed; which proved, too,
that it had truly narrated past events by its prediction of future events,
which have so exactly come to pass!'
Saint Augustine of Hippo. Bishop and Doctor of the Church. City of God.
Book XII, Ch. 12. c. 426. A.D.
'As to those who
are always asking why man was not created during these countless ages of the
infinitely extended past, and came into being so lately that, according to
Scripture, less than 6000 years have elapsed since He began to be, ... If it
offends them that the time that has elapsed since the creation of man is so
short, and his years so few according to our authorities, let them take this
into consideration, that nothing that has a limit is long, and that all the
ages of time being finite, are very little … Consequently, if there had elapsed
since the creation of man, I do not say five or six, but even sixty or six hundred
thousand years, or sixty times as many, [600,000 x 60 = 36 million ] or six
hundred or six hundred thousand times as many, [600,000 x 600,000 = 360
billion] or this sum multiplied until it could no longer be expressed in
numbers, the same question could still be put, Why was he not made before?'
Saint Augustine of Hippo. Bishop and Doctor of the Church. City of God.
Book XV, Ch. 20. c. A.D. 426.
'For from Adam to
the deluge there are reckoned, according to our copies of Scripture, 2262
years, ...'
Saint Augustine of Hippo. Bishop and Doctor of the Church. City of God.
Book XVI, Ch. 10. c. A.D. 426.
'There are thus
from the flood to Abraham 1072 years, according to the Vulgate or Septuagint
versions.'
Saint Augustine
give a total of 3334 years from creation to the Birth of Abraham.
Saint Augustine of Hippo. Bishop and Doctor of the Church. City of God.
Book XV, Ch. 27. c. A.D. 426.
Speaking of the
histories of in Genesis.
'For what
right-minded man will contend that books so religiously preserved during
thousands of years, and transmitted by so orderly a succession, were written
without an object, or that only the bare historical facts are to be considered
when we read them? ... And since this is so, if not even the most audacious
will presume to assert that these things were written without a purpose, or
that though the events really happened they mean nothing, or that they did not
really happen, but are only allegory, … we must rather believe that there was a
wise purpose in their being committed to memory and to writing, and that they
did happen, and have a significance, and that this significance has a prophetic
reference to the church, ...'
Saint Eucherius of Lyon. Bishop. Book of Spiritual Intelligence
Formulas. PLM 50, 285-6 d. circa 449.
'Some believe we are in the final era of the world, akin to five hundred years, if a single day represents the whole age. As stated in the Epistle of John: "My little children, it is the last hour." (1 John 2:18).'
Saint Eucherius of Lyon. Bishop. Book of Spiritual Intelligence
Formulas. PLM 50, 1304-15 d. circa 449.
Six: Relating to
the sixth day when the Lord created man along with all the living creatures of
the earth. In Genesis: 'Let us make man in our image and likeness'
(Gen 1:26). Further on: 'And it was evening, and it was morning, the
sixth day' (Gen 1:31). The number six signifies completeness: God
completed the world in six days, and so to these five, one is added, fulfilling
the law through the Gospel. There are six ages of the world: five have passed, and
the sixth extends from John the Baptist and the incarnation of Christ to the
end of the world. God created man in His image on the sixth day because, in
this sixth age, the reformation of our minds in the likeness of Him who created
us is revealed through the Gospel. These six ages are symbolized by the six
water jars that the Lord ordered to be filled with water, where the water
turned into wine as described in the book of John, Chapter Two, Verse Six. This
is so we can understand Christ, now revealed, in the law and the prophets.
Those six times were arranged and distinguished like sections and would have
been like empty vessels if not filled by Christ. Truly, times would pass in
vain unless the Lord Jesus Christ was preached in them. The jars are filled,
meaning the prophecies are fulfilled.
Saint Eucherius of Lyon. Bishop. Book of Spiritual Intelligence
Formulas. PLM 50, 1304-15 d. circa 449.
'… There are six
ages of the world: five have passed, and the sixth extends from John the
Baptist and the incarnation of Christ to the end of the world. … These six ages
are symbolized by the six water jars that the Lord ordered to be filled with
water, where the water turned into wine as described in the book of John. This
is so we can understand Christ, now revealed, in the law and the prophets.
Those six times were arranged and distinguished like sections and would have
been like empty vessels if not filled by Christ. Truly, times would pass in
vain unless the Lord Jesus Christ was preached in them. The jars are filled,
meaning the prophecies are fulfilled.'
Saint Eucherius of Lyon. Bishop. Book of Spiritual Intelligence
Formulas. PLM 50, 1316-22 d. circa 449.
'To the seventh day,
on which the Lord rested after completing everything. This number signifies the
highest perfection for human reason because it consists of the first even and
the first odd numbers: from the first that can be divided and from the first
that cannot be divided. Hence the jubilee, which expresses perfect rest,
consists of seven weeks. Hence the seven spirits, who are before the throne of
God Revelation, Chapter One, Verse Four. The seven loaves, with which Christ
fed four thousand people, symbolized the sevenfold grace of the Holy Spirit
Matthew, Chapter Fifteen, Verse Thirty-Four. To the Lord's Day of resurrection,
the eighth day. In the title of the psalm, For the end, for the eighth Psalm,
Chapter Six, Verse One.'
Pope Saint Leo the Great. Sermon 27 On the Feast of the
Nativity, Pr. 5. c. 460 A.D.
'But what is the
sun or what is the moon but elements of visible creation and material light:
one of which is of greater brightness and the other of lesser light? For as it
is now daytime and now nighttime, so the Creator has constituted divers kinds
of luminaries, although even before they were made there had been days without
the sun and nights without the moon.'
Primasius of Hadrumetum. Bishop. Commentary on Apocalypse. Book 2. d.
560 A.D.
Meanwhile, Dan, who
is indeed a son and counted among the brothers in both Genesis and Exodus, is
completely omitted here. This suggests that the Church, adopted from the
Gentiles, rejects the faithlessness of the Jews in the sixth age of the world.
Primasius of Hadrumetum. Bishop. Commentary on Apocalypse. PLM 68, Book
3, 41. d. 560 A.D.
'The first woe is
past, and the trumpet of the sixth angel has sounded; this foretells the final
proclamation of the sixth age.'
Primasius of Hadrumetum. Bishop. Commentary on Apocalypse. PLM 68, Book
3, 126. d. 560 A.D.
'The number of
months signifies not only the final persecution but also the entire time of
Christianity, due to the six ages of the world and the seven days during which
all time passes and returns. For six times seven make forty-two, but I think it
refers to both.'
Primasius of Hadrumetum. Bishop. Commentary on Apocalypse. PLM 68, Book
5, 151. d. 560 A.D.
'The 1,000 years can
be understood in two ways: either because this matter is conducted over many
years, that is, in the sixth millennium of years, however long it is extended
to the end of the age, whose final periods are now unfolding, followed by the
Sabbath that has no evening, the rest of the saints which has no end, so that
the last part of this millennium, remaining until the end of the age, is called
1,000 years, in the manner of speaking where a part signifies the whole; or
certainly, he set 1,000 years for all the years of this age, so that the
fullness of time is noted by a perfect number.'
Primasius of Hadrumetum. Bishop. Commentary on Apocalypse. PLM 68, Book
5, 156-8. d. 560 A.D.
'For this reason, the devil is bound and enclosed in the abyss, so that he might no longer deceive the nations from which the Church is made up, which he previously deceived before they were the Church. It does not say that he would no longer deceive anyone, but that he would no longer deceive the nations, which undoubtedly refers to the Church. Until the thousand years are completed, he said, that is, either what remains of the sixth day which consists of one thousand years, or all the years by which this age will continue thereafter.'
Saint John of Damascus. Priest and Doctor of The Church. An Exposition
of the Orthodox Faith. Bk II, Ch 1. c. A.D. 740.
'It must then be
understood that the word age has various meanings, for it denotes many things.
The life of each man is called an age. Again, a period of a thousand years is
called an age. … Seven ages of this world are spoken of, that is, from the
creation of the heaven and earth till the general consummation and resurrection
of men. For there is a partial consummation, viz., the death of each man: but
there is also a general and complete consummation, when the general
resurrection of men will come to pass. And the eighth age is the age to come.'
Blessed Notker the
Stammerer. Benedictine Monk. Books on the Interpreters of Sacred Scriptures. Ch
2. d. 912 A.D.
'God, the arranger
of natures, who made the sun to rise in the East on the fourth day of creation,
directed a new sun from the west in the sixth age of the world to enlighten the
whole world.'
Specific Dates
Saint Justin Martyr says that the date of Creation is 5000 B.C.
Saint Isidore of
Saville says that the date of Creation is 5,196 B.C.
Eusebius of
Caesarea says that the date of Creation is 5,199 B.C.
Saint Jerome says that the date of Creation is 5,201 B.C.
Saint Gaudentius says that the date of Creation is 5,201 B.C.
Lactantius seems to
say the most recent date of Creation, given by other Catholics is 5,475 B.C.
Panodorus of
Alexandria says that the date of Creation is 5,493 B.C.
Silpicius Severus
says that the date of Creation is 5,496 B.C.
Quintus Julius Hilarianus says that the date of Creation is 5,497 B.C.
Saint Hippolytus says that the date of creation is 5,500 B.C.
Julius Africanus
says that the date of Creation is 5,500 B.C.
Saint Hilary of Poitiers says that the date of Creation is 5,500 B.C.
Saint Ephraim the
Syrian says that the date of Creation is 5,500 B.C.
Origen of Alexandria says that the date of Creation is 5,500 B.C.
Saint Theophilus of
Antioch say that the date of Creation is 5,529 B.C.
Saint Clement of
Alexandria say that the date of Creation is 5,592 B.C.
Ancient Jewish Chronologies
Demetrius the
Chronographer say that the date of Creation is 5,307 BC
Eupolemus. say that
the date of Creation is 5,307 BC.
Josephus say that
the date of Creation is 5,425 BC
Approximate dates
Origen of
Alexandria says, in the third century, that the word is 'very much under'
10,000 years old.
Dating the
circumcision of Isaac to 3431 years after creation definitely puts Saint
Epiphanius into the circa 5500 B.C. or higher camp.
From various
statements made in City of God Books XIII – XVII it can be shown that St.
Augustine believes the date of creation to be somewhere around 5500 B.C. but less
than 5574 B.C.
Saint John
Chrysostom says that the date of Creation is around 5000 B.C.
Fathers who do not give a specific date
Saint Barnabas says
that the date of Creation is sometime between 5000-5900 B.C.
Saint Irenaeus says
that the date of Creation is sometime between 5000-5800 B.C.
Saint Cyprian says
that the date of Creation is sometime between 5000-5750 B.C.
Saint Victorinus
says that the date of Creation is sometime between 5000-5700 B.C.
Saint Methodius
says that the date of Creation is sometime between 5000-5700 B.C.
Lactantius says
that the date of Creation is sometime between 5475-5,685 B.C.
Firmicus Maternus
says that the date of Creation is sometime between 5000-5,650 B.C.
Tyconius of
Carthage says that the date of Creation is sometime between 5000-5,600 B.C.
Ancient
chronologies
Roman Breviary says
that the date of Creation is 5199 B.C.
Byzantine World Era
says that the date of Creation is 5509 B.C.
The Alexandrian Era
says that the date of Creation is 5493 B.C.
Developed in AD
412, The Alexandrian Era was the precursor to the Byzantine Era. After the
initial attempts by Hippolytus, Clement of Alexandria and others, the
Alexandrian computation of the date of creation was worked out to be March 25,
5493 BC
From the Roman Breviary:
'December 25th –
Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ In the year, from the creation of the world,
when in the beginning God created heaven and earth, 5199 years;
from the flood,
2957 years; from the birth of Abraham, 2015 years;
from Moses and the coming
of the Israelites out of Egypt, 1510 years;
from the anointing
of King David, 1032 years;
in the 65th week,
according to the prophecy of Daniel;
in the 194th
Olympiad; in the year 752 from the founding of Rome;
in the 42nd year of the empire of Octavian Augustus, when the whole world was at peace, in the sixth age of the word, Jesus Christ, eternal God, and son of the eternal Father, desirous to sanctify the world by His most merciful coming, having been conceived of the Holy Ghost, and nine months having elapsed since His conception, is born in Bethlehem of Juda, having become Man of the Virgin Mary.'
Ancient Jewish Chronologies
Demetrius the
Chronographer (ca. 220 BC) Dates Creation to 5307 BC and the Flood to
3043BC.
Fragment 2:18
reads, '[F]rom Adam until Joseph's brothers came into Egypt, there were 3624
years; and from the Deluge until Jacob's coming into Egypt, 1360 years.'
Eupolemus. (ca. 160
BC) He was an official delegate sent to Rome by Judas Maccabeus in 161 BC.
Eupolemus calculates 5149 years from Adam to the 5th year of the reign of
Demetrius I (ca. 158 BC;), yielding the same Creation date as Demetrius the
Chronographer, 5307 BC.
Pseudo–Philo's
Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum (LAB, 1st century AD.)
In LAB we have the
product of rabbinic, Pharisaic Judaism initially written in Hebrew, originating
before AD 70 in Israel, and utilizing a Hebrew text of Genesis which contained
the longer ante diluvian chronology of 2256 years. LAB serves as a devastating
witness against the MT's shorter chronology.
2nd Enoch.
Uncertain authorship. Ch. 33 Before 70 A.D.
'On the eighth
day I likewise appointed, so that the 8th day might be the 1st, the
first-created of my week, and that it should revolve in the revolution of
7000; so that the 8000 might be in the beginning of a time not reckoned
and unending, neither years, nor months, nor weeks, nor days, nor hours 〈like the first day of the week, so also that the eighth day of the week
might return continually〉.'
Josephus (ca. AD
94) c. 5425 BC
Josephus explicitly
states that he worked directly from Hebrew texts (Ant. 1:5, 9:208, 10:218;
Against Apion 1:1, 54).
'Those antiquities
contain the history of 5000 years; and are taken out of our sacred books, but
translated by me into the Greek tongue'( Ag. Ap.1:1).
'The things
narrated in the sacred Scriptures, are, however, innumerable, seeing that they
embrace the history of 5000 years…' (Ant. 1:13).
This figure begins
with Adam and ends with Artaxerxes (Ag. Ap. 1:8; ca. 425 BC)
Ant. 1:148 reads:
'...Abraham... was born in the 992nd year after the deluge.'
Later Saints and writers
Saint Isidore of
Saville, Bishop. Chronicon. 615 A.D.
Under his imperium
(Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus), the writings of Daniel were completed in
seventy weeks and, as the kingdom and priesthood of the Jews was coming to an
end, the Lord Jesus Christ was born from a virgin in Bethlehem of Judah in the
forty-second year of Octavian's rule. Tiberus, the son of the Augustus, ruled
for twenty-two years. … The Lord was crucified in the eighteenth year of his
reign, 5,229 years having elapsed since the beginning of the world.
St. Isaac the
Syrian. Bishop and Monk. Homily 19 (29) Late 7th Century.
Speaking of the
time before Christ.
'for five thousand
years five hundred and some years God left Adam (i.e., man) to labor on the
earth.'
Anastasius Sinaita d. c 700 A.D.
Taking occasion from Papias of Hierapolis, the illustrious, a disciple of the apostle who leaned on the bosom of Christ, and Clemens, and Pantænus the priest of [the Church] of the Alexandrians, and the wise Ammonius, the ancient and first expositors, who agreed with each other, who understood the work of the six days as referring to Christ and the whole Church.
Support Our Work!
If you appreciate our efforts, consider supporting us via PayPal at usquequodomine1958@gmail.com or by purchasing our products.
📢 Catholic Devotional Guide 2025 Bundle - 25% OFF!
✅Planner
✅New Testament Plan
✅Catechism Plan
Use coupon 🎟️FAITH2025. Limited time offer!
.png)
No comments:
Post a Comment