About the Bible's Ages
Interested in more technical details about how we got our name?
Read on. This page is mostly scientific, though. It's not necessary to understand all these details to participate in ATCU.
Why do you call it the "age" to come? What is an age?
The Bible measures time in hours, days, months, years, seasons, and ages.
All time on earth is measured by how the earth is moving through space. So…
Not clear? Here's a bit more.
How long is an age?
An age is the time is takes the earth to proceed through one constellation of the night sky.
Each age is approximately 2,160 years.
How do we measure an age?
Ages are measured in two main ways. Some people simply divide the amount of time it takes the earth to pass through all twelve constellations. Then they divide that number by 12. Using this method, the average age is 2,160 years.
Another method picks a specific day every year. On that day, the sun is observed at its rising. Whichever constellation the sun rises through determines what age it is. In the biblical tradition, the age is measured on the Bible’s New Year or Rosh Hashanah. Other traditions tend to use the spring equinox as the day the sun is observed.
How do we know when a new age has begun?
People answer that question many ways. Here’s a scientific one. Technically, we know what age we’re in by picking a specific day every year and seeing which constellation the sun passes through as it rises in the morning. In the biblical tradition, the age is measured on the Bible’s New Year or Rosh Hashanah. Other traditions tend to use the spring equinox as the day the sun is observed.
In the biblical tradition, the “old age” or “Church Age” is marked by the sun passing through Virgo as it rises on Rosh Hashanah. (Around the year Jesus was born, the sun rose into the womb of the Virgin on Rosh Hashanah.) In the “new age,” the sun passes through Leo, the Lion, as it rises on Rosh Hashanah.
In other traditions, the “old age” or “Church Age” is marked by the sun passing through Pisces (the fish) as it rises on the spring equinox. In the “new age,” the sun passes through Aquarius.
No matter which tradition you use, the message is the same. The “old age” pointed to a miraculous birth through a virgin. The “age to come” points to the rule of a Lion. (The Bible calls Jesus the “Lion of the tribe of Judah.”)
From another perspective, the “Church Age” began with a miraculous catch of fish. The fish became the symbol of the church—in part because of ancient Christians' understanding of the ages. They knew they had crossed into the age of Pisces. Aquarius is a person pouring out water. Jesus pointed a coming age when God’s Holy Spirit would be poured out on the whole earth.
Which age are we in now?
Some years when the sun rises, it passes through Virgo on Rosh Hosannah and Pisces on the spring equinox. Some years it passes through Leo on Rosh Hosannah and Aquarius on the spring equinox. Some years it rises in between the constellations. But the trend in clear. The sun will soon rise every year in Leo/Aquarius.
Some people consider us in between ages right now. But we’re also in the time when you can step into the fullness of the new age. It’s accessible to anyone now. You don’t have to wait for the sun. You can step into the coming age now.
How does the Bible track the ages?
The Bible says the heavens proclaim God's glory--without saying a word. One way they do that is through the constellations.
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Here's one look at how the night sky proclaims God's message in the earth's different ages.
