Man’s Lifespan … Gen. 6:3 vs. Psalm 90:10

You said in the article “Seven Major Prophetic Signs Of The Second Coming”: “According to Psalm 90:10 a Biblical life span is 70 years. God Himself said something different in Gen 6:3. As far as I know, no where in the Bible has God reversed these words. How do you reconcile this?

Q. I have a question regarding something you have wrote in one of your articles. Please help me with that.

You said in the article “Seven Major Prophetic Signs Of The Second Coming”: “According to Psalm 90:10 a Biblical life span is 70 years, so predicting the approximate time of the End requires the addition of 70 years to either 1948 or 1967, not 40″. The Psalm writer added: “eighty years, if we are strong.” It stand in Gods Word and is therefore authentic. God Himself said something different in Gen 6:3 “And Jehovah said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, in his erring; he is flesh. Yet his days shall be a hundred and twenty years.” As far as I know, no where in the Bible has God reversed these words. How do you reconcile this?

Thanks for your articles and the godly input that has in people’s life’s. It is a real blessing!

A. Since both statements are in the Bible they must both be correct, so one of them has to be referring to something else. A look at Bible history tells us that pre-flood lifespans were much longer than post-flood. In fact Shem out lived 8 of the 9 patriarchs that came after him including Abraham. But even then Genesis 11 shows lifespans well above the 120 year mark, generations after the pronouncement of Genesis 6:3.

Life spans decreased steadily after the flood until they finally leveled off in the 70-80 year range among the Jews where they’ve been for several thousand years. Until about a hundred years ago Gentiles have typically died at a much younger age. Today, even in countries where health is good, a man reaching 100 years of age is considered a rarity.

So then, what was God talking about in Genesis 6:3? Many scholars, myself included, feel that in Genesis 6:3 God was proclaiming a grace period of 120 years between His announcement of a coming judgment and its actual arrival. This view seems to be confirmed both by the context of Genesis 6 and by 1 Peter 3:20, and eliminates the conflict between Genesis 6:3 and Psalm 90:10.