The Bible as a historical document is only concerned with the time period AFTER the Fall, not with much of the events before it. In the First book of Adam and Eve we can read about their struggles after the Fall, when they left the Garden of Eden. They didn’t know they had to eat, drink or sleep. Obviously, things were different for them than before the Fall. In Genesis 5 we are informed that Adam had a son Seth when Adam lived for 130 years. All of this refers to the time AFTER the Fall.
How long was the period before the Fall? We do not know at the present moment. There are simply no sources available to us at this time, although if one was able to freely access Vatican’s archives, we would probably find enough evidence to put it all together.
The time before the Fall is the time of the Heavenly Kingdom on Earth. It was ended by “the Fall”. We know very little about that period of time. The Bible speaks of the Paradise and the Fall in a very symbolic manner. We don’t know how many people lived in Paradise or for how long. We only know that one day it ended, and from then on we are able to follow the lives of two of those who left Paradise, and the lives of their descendants.
To make matters more complicated, it seems as if before the fall of humans there was a “fall of heavenly angels” where some of them decided to leave. From this emerged “Heavenly Kingdom” (Paradise, Eden) and “Adversary’s Kingdom” side by side on Earth.
Let’s take a look at the progression of the ages before we look at each of them in detail:
| Paradise | duration unknown | |
| 1st Age | after the Fall until the deluge | about 1656 years |
| 2nd Age | from the deluge until Abraham left Ur | about 344 years |
| 3rd Age | from the time Abraham left Ur until the exodus | about 430 years |
| 4th Age | from the exodus until the Babylonian captivity | about 869 years |
| 5th Age | from the Babylonian captivity until they left the captivity | about 70 years |
| 6th Age | from the return from Babylon until the Siege of Masada (cca 74ad) | about 557 years |
| 7th Age | from about 74ad until 2019 (real year of 1019)* | about 946 years |
This study was published in several posts. Here are all the available links:
Part I.: Introduction
Part II.: Ages in General
Part III.: Before and after the Fall (you are here)
Part IV.: Age 1
Part V.: Age 2
Part VI.: Age 3
Part VII.: Age 4
Part VII.: Age 5
Part VIII.: Age 6
Part IX.: Age 7
Part X.: Eternal age
