Six Ages of the World: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 20:13, 17 April 2005

Latest revision as of 03:13, 14 July 2025

(211 intermediate revisions by more than 100 users not shown)

Line 1:

{{Short description|Christian historical periodization from Late Antiquity}}

[[Image:WinchesterBibleGenesisLastJudgement.GIF|thumb|right|From the [[Winchester Bible]], showing the seven ages within the opening letter "I" of the book of Genesis. This image is the final age, the [[Last judgement]]. For images of the other six ages see External Links below.]]

[[File:Six Ages of the World,Yates Thompson collection.jpg|thumb|Six Ages of the World, from a Spanish manuscript]]

The '''Six Ages of the World''' is a [[Judeo-Christian]] historical [[periodization]] outline first written about with authority by [[Saint Augustine]] around 400. It is based along Christian religious events, from the birth of Adam to the events of [[Revelation]]. The six ages of history was widely believed and in use throughout the [[Middle Ages]], and until the [[Enlightenment]], the writing of history was mostly the filling out of all or some part of this outline.

[[Image:WinchesterBibleGenesisLastJudgement.GIF|thumb|right|From the [[Winchester Bible]], showing the seven ages within the opening letter "I" of the book of [[Genesis (Hebrew Bible)|Genesis]]. This image is the final age, the [[Last judgementJudgement]]. For images of the other six ages, see External Linkslinks below.]]

The '''Six Ages of the World''' ([[Latin]]: ''sex aetates mundi''), also rarely '''Seven Ages of the World''' (Latin: ''septem aetates mundi''), is a [[Christianity|Christian]] historical [[periodization]] first written about by [[Augustine of Hippo]] {{Circa|400}}.<ref>David C. Alexander Augustine's Early Theology of the Church 2008 Page 219 "Augustine discussed the seven days of the creation narrative figuratively in terms of seven ages of the world."</ref>

The outline accounts for seven ages, just as there are seven days of the week, with the seventh age being eternal rest after the final judgement and end times, just as the seventh day of the week is reserved for rest. It was normally called the Six Ages of the World because they were the ages of the world, of history, while the seventh age was not of this world and lasting eternal.

The '''Six Ages of the World''' is a [[Judeo-Christian]] historical [[periodization]] outline first written about with authority by [[Saint Augustine]] around 400. It is based alongupon Christian religious events, from the birthcreation of [[Adam and Eve|Adam]] to the events of [[Book of Revelation|Revelation]]. The six ages of history, waswith each age (Latin: ''aetas'') lasting approximately 1,000 years, were widely believed and in use throughout the [[Middle Ages]], and until the [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]], the writing of history was mostly the filling out of all or some part of this outline.

==Theory==

The outline accounts for Seven Ages, just as there are [[Seven-day week|seven days of the week]], with the Seventh Age being eternal rest after the [[Last Judgement|Final Judgement]] and [[Eschatology|End Times]], just as the seventh day of the week is reserved for rest.<ref>G. Williams, P. Bibire Sagas, saints and settlements 2004 - Page 3 "As the Creation took six days, so the world will pass through six ages before reaching the seventh age, the sabbath. According to Augustine the first age extends from Adam to Noah,. 5 On aetates mundi before Augustine see R. Schmidt, ... "</ref> It was normally called the Six Ages of the World because in Augustine's schema they were the ages of the [[World (theology)|world]], of history, while the Seventh Age was not of this world but, as [[Bede]] later elaborated, ran parallel to the six ages of the world. Augustine's presentation deliberately counters [[chiliastic]] and [[Millennialism|millennial]] ideas that the Seventh Age, [[World to Come]], would come after the sixth.<ref>G. Williams, P. Bibire Sagas, saints and settlements - Page 4 - 2004 "... years of earthly history before the eternal heavenly kingdom.10 Augustine was keen to counter such millennarianism. ... The seventh age of the Augustinian scheme could be seen, and indeed Bede formulates it thus, as running parallel to ...</ref>

Saint Augustine taught that there are six ages of the world in his ''De catechizandis rudibus'' (''On the Catechising of the Uninstructed'') around 400. Since [[321]], when [[Constantine]] legalized Christianity, former pagan worshipers needed a way to learn about Christianity and Augustine used his Catechetical document as a way to communicate and educate people about Christianity.

==Six Ages==

Augustine was not the first to conceive of the Six Ages, it has roots in the Jewish tradition, but he was the first to write about it with authority.

The Six Ages, as formulated by [[Augustine of Hippo]], are defined in ''De catechizandis rudibus'' (''On the catechizing of the uninstructed''), Chapter 22:

#* '''The First Age''': "The first is from the beginning of the human race, that is, from [[Adam and Eve|Adam]], who was the first man that was made, down to [[Noah]], who constructed the ark at the time of [[Noah's Ark|the flood.]]", i.e. the [[Antediluvian]] period.

The theory originates from a passage in the Bible:

#* '''The Second Age''': "..extends from that period on to [[Abraham]], who was called the father indeed of all nations".."

:"But of this one thing be not ignorant, my beloved, that one day with the Lord is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." (II Peter 3:8)

#* '''The Third Age''': "For the third age extends from Abraham on to [[David]] the king.".

From this it was taken to mean that mankind would live through six 1,000 year periods (or "days"), with the seventh being eternity in heaven.

#* '''The Fourth Age''': is "The fourth from David on to [[Babylonian captivity|that captivity]] whereby the people of God passed over into Babylonia.".

#* '''The Fifth Age''': is "The fifth from that transmigration down to the advent of our Lord [[Jesus Christ.]]"

#* '''The Sixth Age''': "With His [Jesus Christ's] coming the sixth age has entered on its process."

The Ages reflect the seven days of creation, of which the last day is the rest of the[[Millennial Day Theory|Sabbath]], illustrating the human journey to find eternal rest with God, a common Christian narrativebelief.

Christian scholars believed it was possible to determine how long man had been alive, starting with Adam, by counting forward how long each generation had lived up to the time of Jesus, based on the ages recorded in the Bible. While the exact age of the earth was a matter of biblical interpretive debate, it was generally agreed man was somewhere in the last and final thousand years, the Sixth Age, and the final [[Christian_eschatology|seventh age]] could happen at any time. The world was seen as an old place, the future would be much shorter than the past, a common image was of the world growing old.

==Kabbalistic tradition==

While Augustine was the first to write of the Six Ages with authority, early Christians prior to Augustine found no end of evidence in the Jewish traditions of the [[Old Testament]], and initially set the date for the [[End of the world (religion)|End of the World]] at 500 AD. [[Hippolytus (writer)|Hippolytus]] wrote that when carefully examined, the measurements of the [[Ark of the Covenant]] added up to five and one-half [[cubit]]s, meaning five and half thousand years. Since Jesus had been born in the "sixth hour", or halfway through a day (or, five hundred years into an Age), and since five kingdoms (five thousand years) had allready fallen according to Revelations, plus the half day of Jesus (the body of Jesus replaceing the Ark of the Jews), it meant that five-thousand five-hundred years had allready passed when Jesus was born, and another 500 years would mark the end of the age, and thus the End of the world would occur in 500 AD. An alternative scheme had set the date to 202 AD but when this date passed without event, hopes were placed on 500 AD. By the 3rd century Christians no longer believed the End would occur in their lifetime, as was so common amoung the earlist Christians, the End had slipped over the horizon, for the moment.{{fn|1}}

There is a [[Kabbalah|kabbalistic]] tradition<ref>Zohar, Vayera 119a, Ramban on Genesis 2:3</ref> that maintains that the seven days of creation in Genesis 1 correspond to seven millennia of the existence of natural creation. The tradition teaches that the seventh day of the week, ''[[Shabbat]]'' or the day of rest, corresponds to the seventh millennium (Hebrew years 6000–7000), the age of universal "rest" – the Messianic Era.

The [[Talmud]] comments:

The Ages reflect the seven days of creation, of which the last day is the rest of the Sabbath, illustrating the human journey to find eternal rest with God, a common Christian narrative.

{{blockquote|R. Katina said, "Six thousand years the world will exist and one [thousand, the seventh], it shall be desolate (haruv), as it is written, 'And the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day' (Isa. 2:11)"&nbsp;... R. Katina also taught, "Just as the seventh year is the [[Shmita]] year, so too does the world have one thousand years out of seven that are fallow (mushmat), as it is written, 'And the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day' (Isa. 2:11); and further it is written, 'A psalm and song for the Shabbat day' (Ps. 92:1) – meaning the day that is altogether Shabbat – and also it is said, 'For a thousand years in Thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past' (Ps.90:4) (Sanhedrin 97a)."}}

==Six Ages==

The Six Ages are best described in the words of Saint Augustine.

The [[Midrash]] comments:

#'''The First Age''': "The first is from the beginning of the human race, that is, from Adam, who was the first man that was made, down to Noah, who constructed the ark at the time of the flood."

#'''The Second Age''': "..extends from that period on to Abraham, who was called the father indeed of all nations.."

#'''The Third Age''': "For the third age extends from Abraham on to David the king."

#'''The Fourth Age''': "The fourth from David on to that captivity whereby the people of God passed over into Babylonia."

#'''The Fifth Age''': "The fifth from that transmigration down to the advent of our Lord Jesus Christ."

#'''The Sixth Age''': "With His coming the sixth age has entered on its process."

{{blockquote|Six eons for going in and coming out, for war and peace. The seventh eon is entirely [[Shabbat]] and rest for life everlasting.<ref>Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer, Gerald Friedlander, Sepher-Hermon Press, New York, 1981, p. 141.</ref>}}

==Notes==

*Robin Lane Fox, pp. 266-267

The [[Zohar]] explains:

{{blockquote|The redemption of [[Israel]] will come about through the mystic force of the letter "Vav" [which has the numerical value of six], namely, in the sixth millennium.&nbsp;... Happy are those who will be left alive at the end of the sixth millennium to enter the [[Shabbat]], which is the seventh millennium; for that is a day set apart for the Holy One on which to effect the union of new souls with old souls in the world (Zohar, Vayera 119a).}}

Elaborating on this theme are numerous early and late Jewish scholars, including the [[Nahmanides|Ramban]],<ref>Ramban on Genesis (2:3)</ref> [[Isaac Abrabanel]],<ref>Abarbanel on Genesis 2</ref> [[Abraham Ibn Ezra]],<ref>Ramban quoting Ibn Ezra at Leviticus (25:2)</ref> Rabbeinu [[Bachya]],<ref>Bachya on Genesis 2:3</ref> the [[Vilna Gaon]],<ref>Safra D'Tzniusa, Ch. 5</ref> the [[Lubavitcher Rebbe]],<ref>Sefer HaSichos 5750:254</ref> the [[Ramchal]],<ref>Derech Hashem 4:7:2</ref> [[Aryeh Kaplan]],<ref>{{cite book|title=The Aryeh Kaplan - Anthology: Illuminating Expositions on Jewish Thought and practice|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7vxjgVY33LkC&pg=PA318 |accessdate=4 January 2014}}</ref> and Rebbetzin [[Esther Jungreis]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Fleisher|first=Malkah|title=Rebbetzin Jungreis: By the Year 6,000, Mashiach Has to be Here|url=http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/128104#.Ush6XItS2pg|accessdate=4 January 2014|newspaper=[[Arutz 7]]}}</ref>

==Theory==

{{More citations needed|date=May 2023}}

The idea that each age lasts 1000 years is based on [[II Peter]] 3:8: "But of this one thing be not ignorant, my beloved, that one day with the Lord is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." The interpretation was taken to mean that mankind would live through six 1,000 year periods (or "days"), with the seventh being eternity in [[heaven]] or according to the [[Nicene Creed]], a [[World to Come]].

Medieval Christian scholars believed it was possible to determine howthe longoverall mantime hadof beenhuman alivehistory, starting with Adam, by counting forward how long each generation had lived up to the time of [[Jesus]], based on the ages recorded in the Bible. While the exact age of the earth was a matter of biblical interpretive debate, it was generally agreed man was somewhere in the last and final thousand years, the Sixth Age, and the final [[Christian_eschatologyChristian eschatology|seventhSeventh ageAge]] could happen at any time. The world was seen as an old place, thewith futuremore wouldtime bein muchits shorterpast than theits past, a common image was of the world growing oldfuture.

While Augustine was the first to write of the Six Ages with authority, early Christians prior to Augustine found no end of evidence in the Jewish traditions of the [[Old Testament]], and initially set the date for the [[End of the world (religion)Eschatology|End of the World]] at the year 500 AD. [[Hippolytus (writer)of Rome|Hippolytus]] wrotesaid that when carefully examined, the measurements of the [[Ark of the Covenant]] added up to five and one-half [[cubit]]s, meaning five and a half thousand years. Since Jesus had been born in the "sixth hour", or halfway through a day (or, five hundred years into an Age), and since five kingdoms (five thousand years) had allreadyalready fallen according to RevelationsRevelation, plus the half day of Jesus (the body of Jesus replaceingreplacing the Ark of the Jews), it meant that five-thousand five-hundred years had allreadyalready passed when Jesus was born, and another 500 years would mark the end of the age, and thus the End of the world would occur in 500 AD. An alternative scheme had set the date to the year 202 AD, but when this date passed without event, hopespeople were placed on 500 AD. Byexpected the 3rd century Christians no longer believed the End would occurend in their lifetime, as was so common amoung the earlistyear Christians, the End had slipped over the horizon, for the moment500.{{fn|1}}

By the 3rd century, Christians no longer widely believed the "End of the Ages" would occur in their lifetime, as was common among the [[Early Christianity|earliest Christians]].<ref>Robin Lane Fox (1986). ''Pagans and Christians'', pp. 266-267. {{ISBN|0-394-55495-7}}.</ref>

==See also==

{{Div col}}

* [[Bartholomew Holzhauser]]

* [[Dispensationalism]]

* [[Fifth Monarchists]]

* [[Four monarchies]]

* [[Generations of Noah]]

* [[Jewish mythology]]

* [[Nuremberg Chronicle]]

* [[Ussher chronology]]

* [[Irish Sex Aetates Mundi]]

* [[Three Eras]]

{{div col end}}

==References==

{{reflist}}

*Robin Lane Fox (1986). ''Pagans and Christians'', ISBN 0394554957

==Further reading==

* Augustine, (Rev. C. L. Cornish), [httphttps://www.ccelarchive.org/fathersdetails/NPNF1-03seventeenshorttr00augu/htmlpage/Catechising.html Saint Augustine: 186/mode/2up?view=theater ''On the Catechising of the Uninstructed''], Chapterchapter 22.28: "Of the Six Ages of the World"

*{{emc1|Graeme Dunphy|Six Ages of the World|1367-1370}}

==External links==

* [httphttps://www.beloitmetmuseum.eduorg/~classicsart/museumcollection/WebSitesearch/WinchesterBibleGenesis.htm645362 Winchester Bible image of the Ages of the World], illustrated within the opening letter "I" of the book of Genesis.

*[http://www.imagesonline.bl.uk/britishlibrary/controller/subjectidsearch?id=9599&idx=1&start=2 Image: Six Ages of the World] from the [[British Library]]. Dated last quarter of the 14th century.

*[http://www.ccel.org/fathers/NPNF1-03/html/Catechising.html Saint Augustine: ''On the Catechising of the Uninstructed''] Chapter 22. "Of the Six Ages of the World"

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070709070324/http://www.imagesonline.bl.uk/britishlibrary/controller/subjectidsearch?id=9599&idx=1&start=2 Image: Six Ages of the World] from the [[British Library]]. Dated last quarter of the 14th century. {{dead link|date=January 2014}}

[[Category:HistoryChristian by periodterminology]]

[[Category:Christian eschatology]]

[[Category:Periodization]]