Yesterday in church one of the beautiful praise songs about God’s promise to His children caused me to remember these verses.

He hath remembered his covenant for ever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations. Psalm 105:8 KJV

Be ye mindful always of his covenant; the word which he commanded to a thousand generations; 1 Chronicles 16:15 KJV

Even of the covenant which he made with Abraham, and of his oath unto Isaac; 1 Chronicles 16:16 KJV

What would 1000 generations mean in terms of years on this earth? It would require 22 to 24 Thousand years to fulfill. This then brings about a conundrum because the biblical age of man on earth is approximately 6000 years.

So the question becomes are mortals and procreation expected to continue on into the millennium following Christ’s return, and the establishment of His kingdom? The simple answer to that is yes. But that answer complicates the eschatological view of many. It even has clouded my own view in the past, but my pastor friend Greg Abbott, has better vision than most on this subject. He sees based upon verses like the above that mortal man will continue on earth on beyond the millennial Kingdom, and into what believers will experience as eternity, the question is when will mortality cease? The answer obviously is when death does cease. Death being the last enemy to be defeated by the Lord. It appears that this will happen at the time of Satan’s final rebellion at the end of the millennial kingdom, but 1000 generations will not fit into that biblical scenario. And there is evidence in Revelations last chapters that mortal life is continuing beyond this time.

Revelation 21:24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. 25 In the daytime (for there will be no night there) its gates will never be closed; 26 and they will bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it; 27 and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. (NASB1995)

The new Jerusalem will come down. The bride of Christ.

Revelation 22:14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. 15 For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. (KJV)

These verses may produce a conundrum to Systematic theology, but according to God’s word mortal man will procreate for at least 1000 generations. And they will continue to occur beyond the 1000 year millennium. It appears that man has much to learn even on into what we consider to be the beginning of our eternity. And that is as it should be. Our God is a Great and awesome God. The creator of the heavens and the earth.