How old is the Earth?

The Question: How old is the earth?

Scientists have all kinds of dating methods to try and determine the age of the earth, but all of their methods produce different answers. So how do we know how old it really is? We can calculate it pretty easily using the Bible. I'll show you how.

When Adam had lived 130 years, he fathered a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth.

Genesis 5:3 (ESV)

So at the birth of Seth the earth was 130 years old.

When Seth had lived 105 years, he fathered Enosh.

Genesis 5:6 (ESV)

So we can add these together and see that the earth was 235 years old when Enosh was born. This pattern continues and we have enough names, dates and historical events to add it all together to put a span of 6,000 years between us and Adam. So if we take God at his word, then the earth is about 6,000 years old.

What about stars?

One common objection to the age of the earth has to do with stars. The further away a star is, the longer it takes for light to travel from the star to the earth. Beyond the sun, our next closest star is so far that it takes four years for light to get here. So what do we do if a star is so far away that it takes longer than 6,000 years for the light to get here? Wouldn't the light still be on its way here? In fact scientists say that some stars are billions of light-years away. How do we reconcile that with the Bible? I'll show you a two minute illustration that helps explain the answer. Watch the video below:

What God Has Spoken

I made the earth

and created man on it;

it was my hands that stretched out the heavens,

and I commanded all their host.

Isaiah 45:12

Family Discussion

When you consider that God stretched out the heavens, how does that impact your view of his power?

Why do you think it is important to know the age of the earth?

Try some math in Genesis 5 and see if you can figure out how old the earth was when Noah was born.