The Highway Forums General Discussion Open Forum 2nd Commandment

In reference to: 'For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.'

My Bible footnotes tell me the 'thousands' are also generations and not individuals, and it got me thinking about alot of things, mostly God's patience and mercy towards us, but it also raised this question: How many generations have past since Adam?

And one more...is the reference to 'thousands' understood as generations across the board ?

Thanks in advance,
Hannahsmom

The system of counting followed by the Hebrews and the Semites generally was the decimal system. The highest number in the Bible described by a single word is 10,000 (Heb: ribbo', Grk: murias). The Egyptians, on the other hand, had separate words for 100,000, 1,000,000, 10,000,000. The highest numbers referred to in any way in the Bible are: "a thousand thousand" (1 Ch 22:14; 2 Ch 14:9); "thousands of thousands" (Dan 7:10; Rev 5:11); "thousands of ten thousands" (Gen 24:60); "ten thousand times ten thousand" (Dan 7:10; Rev 5:11); and twice that figure (Rev 9:16). Depending on our favorite word “context” the term may mean generation, clan, family, tribe, a company of a 1000 men, as united under one superior, or leader, a perfect (10s) period of time etc.

As far as the number of generations since Adam we do not know. There is not a complete record. Life spans back then were longer, women gave birth to larger families (the descendants of Jacob numbered 70 persons), et. al. and thus there is no way of calculating “exactly” how many generations there has been since Adam. Answers in Genesis may be a good source here, but….

Thanks, Joe..I've got it bookmarked and will check it out.

Hannahsmom

I knew what you meant and thus did not comment on it....Glad the information could help. By the way as usual not everything at "a linked site" is always correct and the same goes for Answers in Genesis....

My personal view is that a thousand in scripture is not to be taken literally. Rather it means, 'all that are ordained'.

Psalm 105:8. 'The word that He commanded for 1,000 generations.' Is it a literal thousand? Does the word run out in the 1,001st generation? I don't think so!

Psalm 50:10. 'For every beast of the forest is Mine, and the cattle on 1,000 hills.' Is it a literal thousand? If you find 1,001 hills, do the cattle cease to be the Lord's?

And more controversially:-

Rev 20:2. 'He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for 1,000 years.' Is it a literal thousand? I say not. It's all the years that God ordains for his binding.

Steve

Steve

Most theologians I have read say that we should always take the literal approach unless the text & context tells us different.

In Psalm 105:8 & Psalm 50:10, it should be quite obvious that it was not meant to be taken literally.

Rev 20:2 of course is not so obvious however. I am interested in what clues in the text & context you see that shows the reader what way 1000 years is to be taken.

Tom

The "1000 years" found in Rev. 20 seems to some of us to be more than clear that it is not to be taken "literally", for to do so would create insurmountable problems in understanding many of the other things mentioned there, e.g., Was Satan bound with a "literal" chain? Was he cast into a "literal" bottomless pit (can you describe that from a literal hermeneutic)?, etc.

Anyway.. this is and thus if you want to continue with this issue, please begin a new thread.

In His Grace,

Dr. Warfield says: "It is quite certain that the number 1000 represents in Bible symbolism absolute perfection and completeness; and that the symbolism of the Bible includes also the use of a period of time in order to express the idea of greatness, in connection with thoroughness and completeness. It can scarcely be necessary to insist here afresh on the symbolical use of numbers in the Apocalypse and the necessity consequently laid upon the interpreter to treat them consistently not merely as symbols but as embodying definite ideas. (Article, The Millennium and the Apocalypse, reprinted in Biblical Doctrines, p. 654)

Psalm 84:10 For a day in Thy courts is better than a thousand outside. I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God, Than dwell in the tents of wickedness. [color:"0000FF"]What about 1001 days outside?[/color]

2 Peter 3:8 But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. [color:"0000FF"] Is two days as 2000 years (well if your name is Scofield it may, but...) this means an extensive period of time.[/color]

Dr. Abraham Kuyper says: 'The numbers and the indications of persons appearing in this book, are not actual numbers but figurative numbers. There were more than seven churches in Asia Minor. We are not to take the number 144,000 as if that was the number of a man, of those who were saved first. The 1600 furlongs of the stream of blood which reaches unto the bridles of the horses, is not a geographical designation. All these figures are to be understood symbolically" (Article, Chiliasm or Premillennialism, p. 28).

Calvin , "Not long after arose the millenarians, who limited the reign of Christ to a thousand years. Their fiction is too childish to deserve refutation" (Institutes, Book III; Ch. 25; Sec. 5).