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First Published in Latin in 1650
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THE
ANNALS
OF THE
WORLD
"The Origin of Time, and Continued to
the Beginning of the Emperor Vespasian's
Reign and the Total Destruction and
Abolition of the Temple and Commonwealth
of the Jews."
BY
JAMES
USSHER
(1650)
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"In the years 1650-1654, James Ussher set
out to write a history of the world from creation to A.D. 70. The result
was published in 1650 as the literary classic "The Annals of the World."
This famous comprehensive history of the world, originally published in
Latin, offers a look at history rarely seen. Ussher traveled throughout
Europe, gathering much information from the actual historical documents.
Many of these documents are no longer available, having been destroyed
since the time of his research. In its pages can be found the
fascinating history of the ancient world from the Genesis creation
through the destruction of the Jerusalem temple."
CLICK HERE
FOR PDF FILE OF ENTIRE BOOK
PRETERIST FINALE TO USSHER'S 7000 ENTRY
CLASSIC
7000. This was the
end of the Jewish affairs and happened as predicted by Jesus in
the gospels.
We close history with a quote from Bancroft: It is the time
when the hour of conflict is over that history comes to a right
understanding of the strife and is ready to exclaim, Lo, God is
here and we knew him not!"
FINIS
* "And as he sat upon the
mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying,
Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the
sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? ... Verily I
say unto you, THIS GENERATION shall not pass, till all these
things be fulfilled." (Mt 24:3,34)
See John Bray's book, "Matthew 24 Fulfilled", for a most
detailed discussion of these events. Editor.
By William Fletcher
Portrait of James Ussher
Oil on canvas
910×760mm
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James Ussher
The Annals of the World
London, 1658
fol. in 4s: A6 B–6F4
260×175mm
Vet. A3 c. 95
The title-page of Ussher’s Annals of the World,
illustrating, in synchrony, scenes from the Old and New
Testament. Depicted are, from top to bottom: Adam and Eve in
the Garden of Eden, flanked by the figures of Solomon and
Nebuchadnezzar (builder and destroyer of the first Temple
respectively); the first Temple and its destruction; the
second Temple and its destruction; and, flanking a scene of
the Last Supper, the figures of Cyrus and Vespasian
(facilitator and destroyer of the second Temple
respectively). From catalogue no.81.
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James Ussher
(1581–1656), archbishop of Armagh, was the pre-eminent
figure in the contemporary Church of Ireland, and a leading
patron of scholarship at Trinity College, Dublin. A staunch
defender of episcopacy, he was nevertheless respected on all
sides during the religious upheavals of the 1640s and 1650s,
and regarded as the person most likely to achieve an
accommodation between the Presbyterians and the Church of
England. As such, he was valued by Hartlib and Dury, both of
whom helped him at times with his scholarly work and looked
to him as a potential patron for their own schemes.
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Despite his success as
a churchman, Ussher is perhaps most famous for having dated
the start of the creation to the evening before 23rd
October, 4004 B.C. Ussher calculated this timing in his
Annals, a work of biblical chronology which he published
in Latin in 1650 (Hartlib noted its progress through the
press with great interest), and which was translated into
English in 1658. The book was the fruit of many years labour;
as early as the summer of 1640, Ussher had been reported
‘spend[ing] constantly all the afternoones’ in the Bodleian
working at it (Constantine Adams to Hartlib, Hartlib
Papers, 15/8/3A–4B).
In
the Annals, Ussher developed the chronological work
of many earlier scholars, in particular Joseph Justus
Scaliger (who had pioneered the use of the Julian period in
calendrical calculations) to provide a framework for dating
the whole Bible historically. He argued that, although
scripture itself only tended to take notice of entire years,
the Holy Ghost had left clues in the Bible which allowed the
critic to establish a precise chronology of its events,
through the application to the text of the results of
astronomical calculations and its comparison with the dates
of pagan history. Ussher’s system had the advantage of
preserving several attractive numerical symmetries, for
example the ancient Jewish notion, adopted by Christians,
that the creation anticipated the birth of the Messiah by
4,000 years, but it was also heavily dependent on classical
chronologies and on an interpretation of the calendar which
already seemed out-dated to many scholars.
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Although not wholly
original, Ussher’s work was nevertheless influential and
became widely accepted, not least because its dates were
later incorporated into the margins of some editions of the
Authorized Version. However, Ussher’s chronology rested too
heavily on the Hebrew text of Old Testament to escape
controversy even in his own day. Its findings were attacked
by those who were persuaded that the Greek translation of
the Old Testament (the Septuagint) or the Samaritan
Pentateuch (both of which presented different chronologies
from the Hebrew) were more reliable witnesses to the
dictation of the Holy Ghost, or that they concurred more
closely with the evidence of astronomy and pagan history.
Yet, in the opinion of Hartlib, and perhaps of many others,
Ussher’s critics were churlish individuals who were
unwilling to admit their own debts to his scholarship.
Despite such debates, most seventeenth-century readers of
the Bible would have agreed with Ussher that it ought, in
principle, to have been possible to establish an accurate
and detailed biblical chronology.
Illustrated opposite is the title-page from the Annals,
engraved by Francis Barlow and Richard Gaywood. This shows a
number of the crucial figures and episodes from Ussher’s
chronology. Adam and Eve are flanked by the figures of
Solomon and Nebuchadnezzar, the builder and destroyer of the
first Temple, which is also shown both in its glory and
after its fall. The engraving also depicts the second
Temple, built after Cyrus allowed the return of the Jews to
Jerusalem, and its eventual destruction. The figures of
Cyrus and of Vespasian (who was Emperor at the time of the
destruction of Herod’s Temple, in A.D. 70) flank a depiction
of the Last Supper. This copy of the Annals has also
been extra-illustrated by the pasting in of a contemporary
engraved portrait of Ussher, which shows him holding ‘God’s
Word’, the Bible, in his hand. It was executed for the
London printseller, Peter Stent, who advertised it for sale
in 1653, 1658, 1662, and 1663. |
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R. Buick Knox,
James Ussher, Archbishop of Armagh (Cardiff, 1967);
Hugh Trevor-Roper, Catholics, Anglicans and Puritans
(London, 1987), pp.120–65; James Barr, ‘Why the World was
Created in 4004 B.C.: Archbishop Ussher and Biblical
Chronology’, Bulletin of the John Rylands University
Library of Manchester, vol.67 (1984–85), pp.575–608;
Alexander Globe, Peter Stent, London Printseller, circa
1642–1665 (Vancouver, 1985), p.85,no.291; Hartlib
Papers, 15/8/3A–4B, 28/1/52A, 28/2/51B, 29/2/53A–54B,
29/5/24A, 29/5/37A, 31/22/9B, 31/22/24B–25A, 47/9/16A–17B. |
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Rare biblical
masterpiece makes comeback
WND helps resurrect James Ussher's famed 'Annals of the
World'
Unavailable until recently, one of the
most revered books in history – famous for biblically dating
the creation date of the earth, and often cited
authoritatively within the margins of the King James Bible
itself – is now readily available in English to the general
public.
Until Master Books commissioned an English-language
translation of James Ussher's legendary "Annals of the
World," this classic historical document – frequently
described as the greatest history volume ever written – was
available only in Latin.
As WND reported recently, Ussher meticulously calculated,
using biblical references, that the world was created Oct.
23, 4004 B.C. – making it 6,009 years old a week ago Monday.
In fact, one major factor in the resurgence of interest in
"Annals" has been WND's coverage of it. For instance,
reviewer Martin Regtien wrote recently on the Pocket PC
Reviews website: "If it weren’t for the advertising on
WorldNetDaily.com I would not easily have heard of 'The
Annals of the World' by James Ussher. They gave a lot of
'air play' to marketing a book that’s some 350 years old."
In his review, Regtien notes:
James Ussher certainly had a "bias" which colored his
historical perspective: he believed the Bible to be an
accurate portrayal of history. Mind you, this goes beyond
accepting that the Bible contains truth. Most Christians
would accept that the Bible is true, otherwise their faith
would have no basis in fact. But to believe that the 66
books that compose the Bible also are historically accurate
is controversial.
But Regtien has no problem with the
historical accuracy of the Bible, noting, "Time and time
again archaeology proves the skeptics wrong."
How could earth's creation date be calculated?
In the 1650s, Ussher, an Anglican bishop, published his
"Annals of the World," subtitled, "The Origin of Time, and
Continued to the Beginning of the Emperor Vespasian's Reign
and the Total Destruction and Abolition of the Temple and
Commonwealth of the Jews." First published in Latin, it
consisted of more than 1,600 pages.
The book, now published in English for the first time, is a
favorite of homeschoolers and those who take ancient history
seriously. It's the history of the world from the Garden of
Eden to the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70.
Of course, there will be those who disagree with Ussher's
calculations of time – especially evolutionists who need
billions of years to explain their theory of how life sprang
from non-life and mutated from one-celled animals into human
beings.
Ussher's arrival at the date of Oct. 23 was determined based
on the fact that most peoples of antiquity, especially the
Jews, started their calendar at harvest time. Ussher
concluded there must be good reason for this, so he chose
the first Sunday following autumnal equinox.
Although the autumnal equinox is Sept. 21 today, that is
only because of historical calendar-juggling to make the
years come out right.
If you think this is a startling fact – an actual date for
Creation – you haven't seen anything until you've pored
through the rest of Ussher's "Annals of the World." It's a
classic history book for those who believe in the Bible –
and a compelling challenge for those who don't.
The new edition of "Annals" is one of the most significant
publishing events of the 21st century.
In this masterful and legendary volume, commissioned by
Master Books to be updated from the 17th-century original
Latin manuscript to modern English and made available to the
public, is the fascinating history of the ancient world from
the Genesis creation through the destruction of the
Jerusalem Temple.
Find out:
Why was Julius Caesar kidnapped in 75 B.C.?
Why did Alexander the Great burn his ships in 326 B.C.?
What really happened when the sun "went backward" as a sign
to Hezekiah?
What does secular history say about the darkness at the
Crucifixion?
Ussher traveled throughout Europe, gathering much
information from the actual historical documents. Many of
these documents are no longer available, having been
destroyed since the time of his research.
Integrating biblical history (around 15 percent of the text
is from the Bible) with secular sources, Ussher wrote this
masterpiece. Considered not only a literary classic, but
also an accurate reference, "The Annals of the World" was so
highly regarded for its preciseness that the timeline from
it was included in the margins of many King James Version
Bibles throughout the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries.
"The Annals of the World" is a necessary addition to any
church library, pastor's library, or any library – public or
personal. The entire text has been updated from 17th-century
English to present-day vernacular in a five-year project
commissioned by Master Books. Containing many human-interest
stories from the original historical documents collected by
Ussher, this is more than just a history book – it's a work
of history.
Special features:
Important literary work that has been inaccessible in book
form for over 300 years
Includes CD of Ussher's Chronology of the World – full of
colored charts, graphs, timelines, and much, much more
Translated into modern English for the first time
Traces world history from creation through A.D. 70
Over 10,000 footnotes from the original text have been
updated to references from works in the Loeb Classical
Library by Harvard Press
Over 2,500 citations from the Bible and the Apocrypha
Ussher's original citations have been checked against the
latest textual scholarship
One of history's most famous and well-respected historians
Spent over five years researching and writing this book
Entered college at age 13
Received his master's degree at age 18
Was an expert in Semitic languages
Buried in Westminster Abbey
About the book:
Made of the highest quality material: Smyth sewn,
gold-gilded edges, foil embossing on front, back, and spine
Cover presented in the style of classic literary works
Packaged in a beautiful box for display purposes and
durability
8 appendixes
Fully indexed
Paragraphs numbered
This is one of the most important literary, historical and
Christian works you'll ever own, a treasure for any home
library. It's a must for your homeschool library.
For generations, this classic work was considered part of
the essential reading for educated people. Now you can read
it – in English.
As a very special added bonus, when you purchase "The Annals
of the World" from WorldNetDaily's online store, you can
also receive – FREE – three issues of our acclaimed monthly
Whistleblower magazine, which many have called the best news
magazine in the world. That's a $22.50 free value! (Offer
good in the U.S. only.) Watch for the free offer during
checkout.
Order your copy of James Ussher's extraordinary "The Annals
of the World" from WorldNetDaily's online store.
If you prefer to order by phone, call WND's customer service
line toll-free at 1-800-4WND-COM (1-800-496-3266).
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What do YOU think ?
Submit Your Comments For Posting Here
..Will Be Spam
Filtered and Posted Shortly..
Date: 26 Jan
2006
Time: 03:55:12
Comment:
The actual passage reads: "This was the end of the Jewish
affairs and happened as predicted by Jesus in the Gospels. All
these things came to pass in the very same generation that heard
Jesus speak them, exactly as they were recorded in the Gospels
(Mt 24:1-5 etc...) and graphically elaborated on by John in the
book of Revelation. (*David Chilton. The Days of Vengeance)"
Page 882.
TDD: There are different additions to the end of this entry,
depending on which version you have. Clearly, the
reference to David Chilton's book wasn't in the 1654 original.
Everyone, please feel free to post what your version says!
The above citation is from the print version:
Master Books, Inc PO BOx 726 Green Forest AR 72638
ISBN: 089051-360-0
Library of congress # 2003106357
Copyright 2003 by Larry and Marion Pierce
Date: 24 Jul 2007
Time: 19:34:18
Comments:
Can any one tell me why the 1654 edition of "THE ANNALS OF THE
WORLD..." had a voluminous 1,600 pages, whereas the updated
version only a total of 960 pages? Have we lost a considerable
amount of info from the original or did the 1658 copy possess as
many pages [960]?
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