The Covenant For A Thousand Generations

Version 3

By Mark Farquharson

There is actually more than one covenant in the old testament. There are a number of covenants, with different people and there is also at least one made with the fathers when the people were lead out of Egypt. The new covenant does not replace all other covenants, it replaces one covenant only. A lot of the time when explaining that the covenant has been replace, the person explain this will not mention what covenant was replace. Read these explanations one can think there was only one covenant, usually called the “old covenant,” that was replace by the new covenant. However this thinking is incorrect, because there were several covenants, only one of which has been replace by the new covenant. Now that I have explain that, lets get into the detail of this covenant for a thousand generations, which you will see has not be replaced or modified.

There are three places in the old testament that mention a thousand generations, the new testament does not mention a thousand generations. However there are other places that mention the covenant but do not mention the thousand generations.

Deuteronomy 7:8-9 But it was because of the love of Yahweh for you and because of His keeping the oath that He had sworn to your fathers that Yahweh brought you forth with a steadfast hand and ransomed you from the house of servants, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Then know that Yahweh your Elohim {God}, He is the One Elohim, the El, Who is faithful, keeping the covenant and the kindness to those loving Him and to those observing His instructions for a thousand generations, {CLV}

There was covenant made with the fathers when they were brought out of Egypt, however that covenant is not the a thousand generations covenant that was made earlier. The covenant made with the fathers is the one that has been replaced by the new covenant.

1 Chronicles 16:14-19 He [is] Yahweh our Elohim, In all the earth [are] His judgments. Remember you to the eon His covenant, The word He commanded--To a thousand generations, Which He has made with Abraham, And His oath--to Isaac, And He establishes it to Jacob for a statute, To Israel--a covenant eonian. Saying: To you I give the land of Canaan, The portion of your inheritance, When you are few of number, As a little thing, and sojourners in it. {CLV}

Psalms 105:7-11 He is Yahweh, our Elohim; His judgments are in all the earth." He remembers His covenant for the eon, The word He enjoined on a thousand generations, That He contracted with Abraham, And by His oath to Isaac." He ratified it to Jacob as a statute, To Israel as a covenant eonian." Saying, To you shall I give the land of Canaan, The region of your allotment." {CLV}

These verses above tell us that the covenant was made with Abraham. It is as an oath to Isaac. It was ratified to Jacob as a statue. I will get to why that is important later. Notice it says “To Israel as a covenant eonian.” The following verses do not mention a thousand generations, but it is the same covenant.

Genesis 17:15-21 And saying is the Elohim to Abraham, "Sarai, your wife--you shall not call her name Sarai, for Sarah is her name.

17:16 And I bless her, and, moreover, I give you a son of her. And bless him will I and he comes to be for nations, and kings of peoples shall come from him.

17:17 Then falling is Abraham on his face. And laughing is he and saying in his heart, "To one a hundred years of age shall a son be born? And should Sarah, ninety years of age, be bearing?

17:18 And saying is Abraham to the Elohim, "O that Ishmael should live before You!"

17:19 And saying is the Elohim to Abraham, "Nevertheless, behold, Sarah, your wife is bearing you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. And I set up My covenant with him for a covenant eonian, and with his seed after him.

17:20 And as to Ishmael, behold! I hear you. Behold! Bless him do I, and fruitful do I make him, and increase him exceedingly exceedingly. Twelve princes shall he beget, and I make of him a great nation.

17:21 Yet My covenant will I set up with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear for you at this, the appointed time another year. {CLV}

This is the same covenant because it says “I set up My covenant with him for a covenant eonian.” The covenant with Abraham, is an oath to Isaac. This tells us that even thou Abraham had two sons, the covenant only passes on to Isaac, and not Ishmael. This is confirmed in Psalms 105:7-11 and 1 Chronicles 16:14-19 above. A great nation comes from Ishmael, but this nation does not receive the covenant.

Isaac also has two sons, Jacob and Esau. Here again it only goes to one son. Jacob is the one who it continues through. Esau sells his birthright to Jacob and it was ratified “to Jacob as a statute.” Jacob has 12 sons, who become the tribes of Israel. However the covenant no long just goes to one son. The covenant goes to all of Israel, “To Israel--a covenant eonian.”

What is the Covenant?

Genesis 17:4 And speaking with him is the Elohim, saying, "I, behold! My covenant is with you. And you are to become the forefather of a throng of nations.

17:5 And no further shall your name be called Abram. Yet your name becomes Abraham, for the forefather of a throng of nations have I made you.

17:6 And fruitful I cause you to be exceedingly exceedingly. And I make of you nations, and kings from you shall fare forth.

17:7 And I set up My covenant between Me and you, and your seed after you, for their generations, for a covenant eonian, to become your Elohim and your seed's after you.

17:8 And I give to you and to your seed after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for a holding eonian. And I become their Elohim.

17:9 And saying is the Elohim to Abraham, "And you shall keep My covenant, you and your seed after you for their generations. CLV

Genesis 17:4 As for me, lo! my covenant is with thee,—So shalt thou become—father of a multitude of nations;

17:5 And thy name shall no more be called Abram,—but thy name shall become Abraham, for father of a multitude of nations, have I appointed thee;

17:6 And I will make thee fruitful, exceedingly, and grant thee to be nations,—Yea kings, out of thee, shall come forth;

17:7 And I will confirm my covenant betwixt me and thee and thy seed after thee to their generations for an age-abiding covenant,—to become to thee a God, and to thy seed after thee;

17:8 And I will give to thee and to thy seed after thee the land of thy sojournings—all the land of Canaan, for an age-abiding possession—And I will be to them a God.

17:9 And God said unto Abraham, But, as for thee, my covenant, must thou keep, thou and thy seed after thee, to their generations:— REB

Thus the covenant is that God will be a God to Abraham and to Abraham’s seed. And that God will give to Abraham and to his seed all the land of Canaan for a holding eonian. Note the covenant is set up between God and Abraham, and Abraham’s seed, which I will explain shortly.

However we find that the covenant went only to Isaac, and not Ishmael. It did not go on to the nation that Ishmael fathered. Israel was chosen by God, no other nation was chosen. There are other people before Abraham, who follow God, and he is their God. However the covenant is not established with them or with their seed. That is not to say that God is not the Father of all mankind, or that He is not God to all mankind.

What Has Happened to this Covenant?

The question is what has happened to this covenant? Has it be replaced or done away with, or does it still exist?

Galatians 3:15-18 Brethren (I am saying this as a man), a human covenant likewise having been ratified, no one is repudiating or modifying it." Now to Abraham the promises were declared, and to his Seed. He is not saying "And to seeds, as of many, but as of One: And to "your Seed, which is Christ." Now this am I saying: a covenant, having been ratified before by God, the law, having come four hundred and thirty years afterward, does not invalidate, so as to nullify the promise. For if the enjoyment of the allotment is of law, it is no longer of promise. Yet God has graciously granted it to Abraham through the promise." {CLV}

If the covenant has been ratified, then no one is repudiating or modifying it. Remember earlier when I said that the covenant for a thousand generations had been ratified.

Psalms 105:10 He ratified it to Jacob as a statute, To Israel as a covenant eonian." {CLV}

The covenant mentioned in Galatians is the same covenant that was made with Abraham and which has been ratified. That means it has not been modified or rejected, which means it has not be replaced. There is a new covenant mentioned in the new testament that replaces an old covenant, but the new covenant does not replace this covenant.

Now the covenant, the promises were declared to Abraham and to His seed, not his seeds, that is it was promised to Abraham and to Abraham’s seed, which is Christ. One could wonder what the point was of promising it to Christ, if Christ is God according to the Trinity belief? I will not get too side tracked here, but Christ is not God, Christ is the son, God is the Father. There is no Trinity, at all, there never was, it does not exist. Christ physically died on the cross, not God. The one that brought Christ back from the dead is God, Christ could not bring himself back from the dead. For more on this refer to my article: “Trinity Is God three Persons”

There where at least two other promises made to Abraham, however these where not connected to the land of Canaan, and do not from part of this covenant. They where:

Genesis 12:3 And blessed in you and in your seed are all the families of the ground. {CLV}

Genesis 22:18 and blessed, in your seed, shall be all the nations of the earth, inasmuch as you hearken to My voice. {CLV}

These two promises will be fulfilled, but they are not the focus of this study. These two promises are not to do just with Israel, but with all nations and families.

What is a Generation?

Before getting into the explanation of how it applies, it is important to explain what a generation is, then we will have some idea of the time scale involved. A lot of people will say a generation is 40 years because that is how long Israel wandered in the wilderness. However just because they wander in the wilderness for forty years does not mean that this is a generation. These people were made to wander in the wilderness for forty years as their punishment, but that does not mean a generation is forty years. Yes they died during the forty years, but that does not mean a generation is forty years. People say that it was a generation, but the bible does not say it was a generation. Here is what the bible says:

Numbers 14:29-35 In this wilderness your corpses shall fall: all your mustered ones, all of your number, from twenty years old and upward, you who have murmured against Me, you yourselves shall assuredly not come into the land in which I lifted My hand to tabernacle you, none save Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun. As for your little ones of whom you have said: They shall be taken as plunder, I will also bring them in, and they will know the land which you have rejected. As for you, your corpses shall fall in this wilderness, and your sons shall be shepherds in the wilderness for forty years, and they will bear your prostitutions until your corpses are spent in the wilderness. By the number of the days in which you explored the land, forty days, a day for a year, a day for a year, shall you bear your depravities: forty years; thus you will realize My repudiation. I, Yahweh, I have spoken. This assuredly shall I do to this whole evil congregation, those who are set against Me. In this wilderness shall they be spent, and there shall they die. {CLV}

This tell us that the people who were twenty years and older were the ones who were to die in the wilderness. However this could have been more than one generation. Those who where younger where not to die in the wilderness, they were to be brought to the land which they had rejected. That means one could think of them as the next generation, thus a generation being twenty years.

The definition of a generation that is relevant here is the time period to produce the next offspring or next generation. This would be an average based on when the children are born, when the mother is in their twenties for instance or when they are in their thirties or even older these days. Of course the average can very some what depending on the era that you are living in. Altitudes change over time as to when people should have kids. It is usually held to be between 30 and 35 years for humans. However what is the number that we what? The number that is need is what God considers a generation to be. This is unknown, because it does not state in the bible what God considers to be a generation. Thus without knowing what it is, how do we know what a thousand generations is?

A range will have to do, say between 20000 and 35000 years.

How does It Now Apply?

The covenant itself is on a thousand generations, and started with Abraham. Most people agree on the date of Abraham’s birth around 2000 BC {1996 BC James Ussher}. Which means sometime after Abraham is born the covenant is established with him. This means the covenant has only been in existence for about 4000 years.

This does not mean that Jesus Christ will not come back for another 16000-31000 years. The return of Christ will not be the end of this covenant. It does not have to be fulfilled before Christ returns. I believe Jesus Christ’s is to return really soon. Will this be fulfilled in the coming supposed millennium reign? Actually no because I do not think it will be that long.

Since Jesus Christ is to return soon, there is still some 16000-31000 years of the covenant to go, how does this work going forward? That is of the thousand generations there has only been between about 114 and 200 generations. There is still about 800 to 886 generations to go.

Israel was not in the land of Canaan for a thousand generations, a number times they where invaded, and taken captivity, and finally in 70 AD Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans, and again they were taken captive. Israel has only become a nation again just recently back in 1948. However it is not depended on Israel being in the land that long.

Genesis 17:8 And I give to you and to your seed after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for a holding eonian.

The land is given to Abraham and to your seed, which is Christ, not Israel. And the covenant is on a thousand generations, and the holding is for eonian. Thus it can last through the eons. It is also to Israel a covenant eonian.

One could think that Abraham has to be in the land, before the holding could start. However the covenant does not depend on him being in the land. I can give someone a parcel of land, and they do not have to be in the land to get the land. Others could have taken up residence on the land that I give to the person. However if it is my land I can still give it away. Abraham does not need to be resurrected to fulfil the covenant.

At the start it would have applied to the generations that became ancient Israel. However it is with Abraham’s seed which is Christ. Physical Israel stopped being the chosen nation, spiritual Israel became the chosen nation through Christ. Of course the spiritual nation is not in the physical land. They are spiritual in the spiritual land of Canaan. Just like they are spiritual the new Jerusalem, later they will be in the new Jerusalem.

After Jesus returns there is the millennium eon, at the end of which the earth is destroyed. This will be followed by the judgement eon,seventh eon and the eighth eon. Thus the rest of the time of the generations can apply to the millennium eon and the eighth eon.

In the last eon on the new earth there will be the restored nations, made up of the resurrected people who do not make it into the kingdom of the heavens at the Great White Throne Judgement. One of those restored nations will be Israel, however the covenant is not depend on restored Israel, for it is with Christ.

What happens to restored Israel at the end of this time? During the time they are on the new earth they will be being guided by those inside the kingdom of the heavens, and they will be Cleansed and purified spiritually. Their names will be added to the scroll of life and they will eventually gain accesses to the kingdom.

That means at the end of this time, there will be no one in restored Israel for they will have all moved into the kingdom. The people of the other restored nations will also in time move into the kingdom, their names having been added to the scroll. For more refer to my Judgement Series and my article: “The Coming Kingdom”

Incorrectly Applying the Thousand Generations

A thousand generations is along time as I have just explained. Some people use this time incorrectly to push back the date of Adam’s birth. As I have explained above the covenant started with Abraham, not with Adam, that means there is no way you can use the thousand generations to push back the date of Adam’s birth. In fact later it was ratified to Jacob, who came after Abraham. Lets just briefly see how it is incorrectly applied.

People use this to push back the date that Adam was born and the time of the flood. Their thinking is that there has already been a thousand generations between Adam and Abraham. Their argument is that the thousand generations mentioned started with Adam and ended with Abraham. Thus the date of 4004 BC of when Adam was create is incorrect, to them it is much earlier. This date was worked out by the Archbishop James Ussher. The additional years are put in before Abraham. These additional years are made to fit the Genesis 5 and 11 genealogies. This is used to fit their belief that man has been around a lot long than 6000 years, Adam being created around 4004 BC. Thus they push the date back by up to 40000 years or more to fit there beliefs. However as just explained the covenant that is to last a thousand generations started with Abraham. A number of people may think that it should start far earlier, because Christ is going to return soon, but as explained, the covenant does not have to end when Christ returns.

Copyright © Mark J Farquharson 2010. Version 1, July 2010. Version 2, 7 August 2011, Version 3 February 24 2020

Articles