Bible Timeline and Cosmologies
Welcome to the Timeline. It is important to understand that the Scripture was written within the context of an ancient cosmology. The time between the Hebrew Scripture and the coming of Jesus began to see a shift in cosmology. The world of the Christian scripture is experiencing the pain of the shift. Much of this was caused by the influence of Plato's philosophy of a dualistic universe. Perhaps there is something beyond the Heavens, a realm of pure spirit/mind, to which we can ascend. This philosophy would eventually evolve into the Medieval cosmology that dominated the Western European culture and led to the colonization of much of the global south.
Click on the various section of the timeline below to learn more about each cosmology.
Ancient Cosmology
The ancient world lived in a three tiered universe. The Heavens was the space above in which the celestial bodies lived. The Earth was the realm between where humans and creatures live. The Underworld was the realm below where death and darkness dwell.
Medieval Cosmology
The Medieval Cosmology is constructed of perfect, concentric spheres. The Earth is at the center, surrounded by the celestial bodies: sun, moon, planets, and stars. These bodies revolve around the Earth in perfect harmony. God and the spiritual realm exists beyond the celestial spheres. The universe is also constructed in a hierarchy of being, with God at the top, the celestial beings, followed by rulers, aristocracy, then down to lesser humans, animals, the earth. The path of spirituality was to climb the ladder to be with God in the afterlife, or to descend to Hell.
