April 25, 2026

You probably didn’t know that the oldest man alive, living today in Brazil, turned 113 last October. But who was the oldest man who ever lived? By chance did you say that it was Methuselah who lived 969 years, according to Genesis 5:27?

What if I told you that, according to my research, it was actually Enmenluana from the city of Badtibira in the land of Sumer who lived 43,200 years? Don’t believe me? Well, I’m not sure that I believe me either, but I found his name and age in a list of kings (the one written on the Weld-Blundell Prism), which records the names, cities and ages of eight ancient Sumerian kings, before noting succinctly, “Then the flood swept over.”

Archaeologists have likewise found other lists of kings from the same region which show something quite interesting, namely, that the lifespan of kings began to shrink immediately and dramatically following the flood, first to hundreds, and then to decades, mirroring a similar biblical pattern of declining ages from that same period.

Most scholars don’t believe that any of the insanely large lifespans from pre-flood Sumerian king lists should be taken literally, arguing that they have been deliberately inflated (often by multiples of sixty, the base numerical system of the Sumerians) in order to glorify the “Golden Age” of Sumer or that they were likely intended as propaganda to emphasize the heavenly origin of their long-ago kings. In any event, what these lists may have quietly preserved, despite their gross exaggerations, is a credible pattern of longer pre-flood lifespans, thus supporting the biblical narrative.

Secular scholars, however, reject both the longer pre-flood lifespans recorded in the Suermian king lists and in the Bible as merely the product of a literary technique, insisting that there is no biological, demographic or additional textual evidence to support such long lifespans. They assume that biological processes and human aging were subject to the same global conditions then as today whereas many biblicists would argue that climatic conditions changed dramatically following the flood which could naturally explain any subsequent decline in lifespans.

-Daniel McCabe

Trivia

Christology—the Humanity of Jesus, part 4

Jesus is both the perfect human and the perfect example for every person. We see this in 2 Corinthians 3 and 1 John 2. He is the shining example of what we should be as believers in Christ, and we advance in our spiritual life to the degree that we pursue His likeness. Admittedly we will always wrestle with the flesh, but as long as we live, we are being further conformed into the image of Christ and should be looking more and more like Him. So if I’ve been saved for years and years, then I should be able to look back and say, “I know that I still fall. Unfortunately, I’m not perfect in this life. However, I can look back and see that God has given me growth. He has given me deliverance in this specific area of my life, and though I still struggle in other ways, I can still look back and see that God has been with me. He’s drawn me closer to Him. I love Him more. I serve Him more even though I wish that I obeyed Him more.”

So every believer, especially as time goes on, should be able to look back and realize that God has been working on him and bringing him into further conformity with the image of Christ. If he looks back to find that he is no different than on that day when he first heard the gospel, then this should be quite concerning to him. So in this way we can evaluate the fruit in others—not that we’re judging others as sinless or not, for only God is the ultimate judge, but we can rightly exercise discernment in our evaluation. In short, we should be able to see some fruit in the lives of others. If I’m looking at a believer and don’t see any fruit in him (when there should be at least some), then it should raise a reasonable concern in my hHeading 4eart about his relationship with Jesus even though I’m not anyone’s judge and can’t declare him either innocent or guilty of sin. Only God can do that, but I can fairly evaluate his fruit. This is essentially the point of 1 John. We don’t sit in judgment over anyone, but we can judge him in the sense of evaluating and discerning. Obviously only God and each person can know what’s truly in his heart, but believers should look more and more like Christ as they live this life of faith.

-Adam Keim

Scripture Study—Summary of Psalm 15

Here’s my summary of one of David’s psalms. It reminds me so much of the ending of Psalm 23, “… and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever” (v. 6).

“LORD, the one who may remain in your tabernacle is the one who does what’s right, speaks genuinely, disapproves of evil, honors those who revere the LORD, always tells the truth even at great personal cost, does not slander, harm or blame those around him, and does not charge interest or accept bribes to exploit the innocent; this person will never fall.”

You may be swaying from the pressures of life! It feels like you could break any day. You may be bruised by unfair criticism or you wonder why you try so hard to do the right thing when no one else seems to care. Well, God sees and cares, so stand tall. If you are a child of God, then no enemy can take you down. You may have lost a battle, but the war is won! Through Christ you are the Victor!

-Daniel McCabe

Answer to the Trivia

C. Usually the very same day