The standard theological view of world history at the time was known as the Six Ages of the World; in his book, Bede calculated the age of the world for himself, rather than accepting the authority of Isidore of Seville, and came to the conclusion that Christ had been born 3,952 years after the creation of the world, rather than the figure of over 5,000 years that was commonly accepted by theologians.
Pandangan teolgi mengenai sejarah dunia saat itu dienal sebagai "Enam Zaman Dunia"; dalam bukunya, Beda menghitung sendiri usia dunia, bukan menerima otoritas Isidorus dari Seville, mencapai kesimpulan bahwa Kristus lahir 3.952 tahun setelah penciptaan dunia, bukan lebih dari 5.000 tahun sebagaimana yang diterima secara umum oleh para teolog.