Methuselah
Image credit: Crosswalk.co
Methuselah’s Bio:
- Oldest person on record in human history (source: Bible, Genesis 5:27)
- Died at age 969
- Antediluvian (pre-Flood) descendant of Adam
- Assumed to have died in Noah’s Flood
- Age 369 when grandson Noah was born
- The son of Enoch, who was transported (alive) to Heaven when Methuselah was age 300
- Father of Lamech, Noah’s father, died age 777
- Noah, Methuselah’s grandson, lived to be 950 years old
One of the greatest and most debated mysteries of the Bible surrounds the incredible longevity of human life from the time of Adam through the death of Noah. Genesis chapter five records ages in hundreds of years, with some nearly reaching a millennium (1000 years)! The Bible stands in stark contrast to anthropologic evidence, which reports lifespans of prehistoric Homo sapiens to be in the 20 to 40-year range. God put an end to this great longevity in Genesis chapter six; the new projected lifespan would be 120 years (Gen. 6:3). Strange things were going on at that time, like sons of God marrying daughters of man, and giant Nephilim roaming the Earth. But it appears that “wickedness” was the chief reason for the shorter lifespans, leading up to wiping all mankind (except Noah’s family) off the face of the planet (Noah’s Flood).
If someone offered you the chance to extend your lifespan by 10 – 50 – 100 years, would you do it?
The average life expectancy for North Americans today is approaching 80 years; contrast this with half the children born in the United States in 1900, who were expected to reach only age 50, partially due to lack of antibiotics and inoculations. Since our average lifespan has climbed so rapidly the last hundred years, is it reasonable to think we may reach 100 years by 2100 and then possible hundreds of years by 2500? Before you say “no”, consider some recent experiments conducted by research bio-gerontologists (biologic scientists who conduct research in aging).
We would age much more slowly if we were able to maintain healthy cells. But our bodies are constantly bombarded by radiation from the Sun and stars in our galaxy. This radiation causes free radicals to break down our healthy cells over time, resulting in cell death and cell mutations. At the cellular level there are seven main factors that affect our health and aging process: genome damage, epigenetic factors, telomere shortening, unfolded protein response, mitochondrial dysfunction, cellular senescence, and stem cell exhaustion. As we age, our immune system weakens, and we become vulnerable to cancer, infections, pathogens, and inflammation. To help regulate the aging process, the Creator equipped each of us with a thymus gland.
The thymus gland is a secretory gland that has an important role in immune (especially autoimmune) response. It secretes the hormone thymosin, which stimulates the maturation of T cells, which are derivatives of white blood cells that circulate our system. T cells help clear the body of damaged cells and pathogens. From birth until puberty, the thymus provides essential growth hormones; after reaching this pinnacle, the thymus will become less and less active. This decline in activity will correspond to a decrease in size until the thymus tissue is completely replaced by fat; by adulthood, it is no longer effective, rendering us more vulnerable to disease.
For the first time ever, researchers have been able to extend human life expectancy through a breakthrough aging-intervention therapy. Basically, they have accomplished this by bringing the adult thymus gland back to life, giving us a tool to fight off cancer, infections, pathogens, and inflammation. Here’s how it works:
It started with laboratory animals. By administering growth hormones researchers were able to enlarge the animal thymus and, consequently, improve immune function. But doing the same procedure in humans, an unwanted negative side effect leads to the development of type 2 diabetes. To remedy this, the team came up with a “cocktail” that included both the growth hormone and two diabetes-fighting drugs. Then the team conducted a small-scale clinical trial with ten men between ages 51 and 65. Over time, they observed a rejuvenation of the immune system characterized by an increase in white blood cells and a reduction in fatty deposits. Based on blood-work markers, the drug cocktail reversed the “biological age” of the study participants by two years, even though the “chronological age” had increased by one year!
If, indeed, science has uncovered an elixir to help extend a human’s life expectancy, it also comes with significant biomedical, ethical, and theological implications. Just because we “can”, does that mean we “should”? This subject is too complex to be covered in a short blog.
When you read through Genesis 5 and 11, do you find it challenging to believe people actually could live as long as recorded: Adam 930; Seth 912; Enosh 905; Mahalalel 895; Jared 962; Methuselah 969; The Flood; Noah 950; Shem 600; Peleg 430; Terah 205; Abraham 175; Moses 120. Clearly lifespans were declining between Noah and Moses (950 years to 120 years); compare this to the oldest known modern human, Jeanne Louise Calment (France) who lived to be 122 years and 164 days!
Psalm 90:10 states: “The length of our days is seventy years – or eighty, if we have the strength.” Genesis 6:3 states: “Then the Lord said, ‘My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.’” It appears that the psalmist is merely pointing out an observation that people (in David’s times) are living around 70 years, and if they have good genes, eat right, and exercise, they may go to age 80. But the account in Genesis 6, even though God is punishing mankind by shortening his lifespan, seems to be more like a promise that we can live to 120 years. If science continues to make biomedical breakthroughs, 100 years from now many will be alive at age 120.
Methuselah Tree (image credit All That’s Interesting)
So, I could envision a scenario where people once lived into their 900s because the Creator had endowed humans with an immune system far more potent than today’s. Genesis 6:3 could be the account of our Intelligent Designer intervening into human affairs and tweaking the immune system – perhaps tinkering with the thymus gland – to shorten life expectancy. Presently, scientists are exploring ways to modify humans, hoping to extend life out to …..? Are we trying to play God? I wonder how that would turn out?
Note: The oldest known living thing ever recorded is a Bristle-cone Pine tree found in the White Mountains in California. The so-called Methuselah Tree, a Bristle-cone Pine, was found to be 5,062 years old (based on tree rings). Clonal colonies, such as the quaking aspens in the Fish Lake National Forest in Utah, exceed longevity of 80,000 years.
