The Patriarchs and God's Plan For the Millennium

(FOT Day - 2)

Fred R. Coulter—October 8, 2025

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Greetings everyone! Welcome to the Feast of Tabernacles, Day 2. What will the Millennium be like? Well, let's take a broad overview, which will encompass much of the Bible and the things that we have covered for years!

Let's see that God's Plan is a magnificent plan, and that we have all been called to the greatest thing to participate in and to be a part of when Christ returns!

So, we need to understand the importance of keeping the Feast of Tabernacles and all the Holy Days of God and the weekly Sabbath, because this is the training ground for us to work under Christ and bring a great fulfillment to the whole Plan of God.

We are living in a time of trouble and difficulty at the end of the age. We need a broad perspective on—

• what we're going to do
• how it's going to be done

—the things that are going to happen

We'll look at some of the patriarchs in a little bit, but let's just review some basic fundamental things right in the beginning. God has had a plan that He's been carrying out, and His plan began before the ages of time, as we know time.

So, everything that is there, God is going to deal with, and God reaches down into the lives of individuals down through time and:

• works with them
• deals with them
• promises them

As we will see it started right there with Adam and Eve! After God created all things, He had first Sabbath service on the first Sabbath with Adam and Eve, and He told them:

Here's a garden that I have made and created, the Garden of Eden. It's beautiful, it's lovely, it's great, and I'm going to put you there. That is your home, but you have to dress it and keep it. There is the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

We know that God has given us all independent free moral agency, and that means we must choose! We're not robots, we can't create ourselves, but we can reproduce ourselves as God has set that in motion with our bodies. God is the One Who is in charge and He wants all of us to learn the lessons for all eternity so that whatever God's great plan is through all eternity it's going to be a marvelous and wonderful thing, indeed!

Let's look at Gen. 3, because the fact is it started out that Adam and Eve were dwelling with God in the garden. That's quite a thing! The whole Plan of God in the long run from beginning to end is to dwell with His people and all of those who enter in to the Kingdom of God.

We know that there is the tempter, Satan the devil, and:

• he is there
• he is the advocate

We know from Rev12 that:

• he rebelled
• he wanted to be as God was
• he wanted to take over the Throne of God
•  All of those things he wanted to do!

Now then, that disrupted the whole universe! That's why God created the heavens and earth as we know them, so that He could create man made in His own image after His likeness, and ultimately after His kind! So that through being with God, understanding what God has said, that we could develop the character to become spirit beings!

That's why there are the two trees. Now Adam and Eve chose to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. And remember this: The good from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil always ends in disaster!

The good that comes from God—coupled with His love, Truth and obedience for us—always will produce in the final end result eternal life! This is what was set before Adam & Eve, and we know that:

• they listen to Satan the devil
• they had God's judgment against them for what they did

We find one of the very first references to a coming Messiah in Gen. 3. First of all, the Lord God starts out with the judgment on Satan. Satan's days in God's view are going to be very short indeed. In our view and in the human perspective in the way we calculate time, it's a long time!

After God found them in the Garden of Eden after eating the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and the Lord God called Adam and said, 'Where are you?' He knew where Adam was all the time, but He wanted to find out what Adam would do!

Adam said, 'I heard you walking in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid myself.' Now that's quite a thing. We don't know all that went on with Adam and Eve and during the time that they were eating of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, before this happened.

But they were living with God. They were right there. We don't know if later God would have built a tabernacle for Himself and for them in the Garden of Eden. We have no idea, but we see that later on.

So then, the Lord God said, 'Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree, which I commanded you that you should not eat?'

Adam said—and here's the way human nature always is: blame someone else! That's what we see in everything that human beings do. Why? Because once people partake of evil, something happens to the mind! Something happens to the spirit of man, which only God can change and repent provided that we have the right choices in exercising our independent free moral agency. That's the whole story of:

• the Garden of Eden
• the world before the Flood
• the world after the Flood

and then the return of Christ at the end of the age! It all is tied together over a long period of time.

The man said, 'The woman You gave to be with me...' Now when Adam was given Eve, he said:

This is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman because she was taken from man. And a man shall leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife and they two shall be one flesh.

A law down through all the history of human beings!

Now this gives us a perspective on how far down in time that God plans things out. God knew that they would eat of it, because we're made in the image of likeness of God, but we don't have the character of God. So, when we go do things on our own or under the inspiration of Satan, we're in deep trouble. Everything about us from head to toe.

What Adam was doing, he was saying, 'God, it's your fault. Why did you create her?'

The Lord said to the woman, 'What is this that you have done?' And the woman said, 'The serpent deceived me and I ate.'

Let's project forward clear to the book of Revelation. What is it going to be during the Millennium? Satan will not be there! He will be in the abyss of hell locked up. So, things are going to change at that point, but let's go forward here.

Genesis 3:14: "And the LORD God said to the serpent, 'Because you have done this you are cursed above all livestock, and above every animal of the field. You shall go upon your belly, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman…'"

Always this fight on the physical plane with serpents and humans, on the spiritual plane with Satan the devil and human beings!

"'…and between your seed and her Seed; He will bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel'" (v 15).

Now right there, that one verse is a prophecy of the coming of Christ, the One to redeem all human beings from all their sins!

Verse 16: "To the woman He said, 'I will greatly increase your sorrow and your conception—in sorrow shall you bring forth children. Your desire shall be toward your husband, and he shall rule over you.'"

Isn't that true? All the things that mothers go through with children, not only with bearing them, the pain that comes along with it, but also seeing them grow up and all of these things. Then how do they turn out? Because:

• everyone has free moral agency
• everyone is exposed to Satan the devil
• everyone is exposed to all of the things in the world

Verse 17: "And to Adam He said, 'Because you have hearkened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree—of which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat of it!'—the ground is cursed for your sake. In sorrow shall you eat of it all the days of your life. It shall also bring forth thorns and thistles to you, and thus you shall eat the herbs of the field; in the sweat of your face you shall eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return'" (vs 17-19).

We have clear into the New Testament in 1-Cor. 15 that all of us die in Adam, and all of us have within us the law of sin and death!

Now, this shows that in order to come and live with God that everything has got to change, because God cut off direct access for Adam and Eve to go into the Garden of Eden. They could come to the East Gate, but they couldn't go back in there again. They were cut off from the way of eternal life!

Well, you know the rest of the story. You know what happened.  You know the problem with Cain and Abel and Cain killing Abel. We find right there two important things:

• that there were some sacrifices
• there were commands of what kind of offerings to bring to God

And Cain didn't do it, so what happened to Cain? He was cursed again even more and sent off into the 'land of wandering'! He went and built a city called Enoch.

Then we have the generations of the of the patriarchs. Now all of those listed there along with Abel were those who will be in the spiritual Kingdom of God when Christ returns. So, we find right in here just a few of the patriarchs.

We know that Noah was quite a thing. He was a righteous man, perfect in his generation and he found grace in the eyes of God! The earth all around him; everything, everywhere, every human being just like we're beginning to see it is today: given over to evil! That's what it says here in:

Genesis 6:5: "And the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually."

Now let's project that forward to today. Why? Because Jesus said, 'As it was in the days of Noah before the Flood, so shall it be in the days of the coming of the Son of Man.'

Now let's magnify that even more. What do we have today? We have all of the digital things and then we have all of AI! Now AI is going to prove to be the biggest 'false god' in the world! That's why this knowledge was not known until right at the end-time, because it is so destructive; it is so controlling.

That will be Satan's tool to try and take away free moral agency from human beings and lock them in to his rebellious sin and his way of living.

We know the Flood took place, destroyed everything, everything that there is! Wiped it out!

Well they made it through the Flood with all the animals that God sent to them. And then men began to multiply and what happened? Sin entered in again beginning with Canaan, the son of Ham, in his perversion toward Noah while he was asleep. And then we find the curse coming on, and the blessing going to Shem and then the other ones they had their part in what God would give them. But Canaan was to be cursed above everything. So, here we have the world, and then we have after 300 years we have rebellion again—just like Cain—in the person of Nimrod. He was against God, so, again, the world was coming to a point of an awful lot of evil. But God promised Noah that he would never destroy the world again with a flood, so God would have to do something else.

So what He did, in Gen. 11, He confused the languages because of what were they doing! They were building a tower to go into the heavens! What are we doing today? The same thing!

Let's see what God was going to do. We know that after the Flood that Noah lived 350 years, and then his son Shem[transcriber's correction] lived on beyond that. And it's very probable that Abraham living in Chaldea that would probably Noah and Shem[transcriber's correction] there.

Well, Noah would die shortly after Abraham left. So they probably taught Abraham. Abraham was righteous compared to all the rest. So, we come down to another situation: that God will deal with one man in promises and covenants to carry out his plan for the rest of the time of human beings on the earth.

It all began with Abraham and we will see a Scripture a little later that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob will be in the Kingdom of God, and all of the patriarchs! But all of those who are contrary to the way of God will not be there!

Now let's look at the calling of Abram, because it's very near to what it is like we have today. In fact, a whole lot more.

A lot of us are scattered; a lot of us are alone. But that doesn't make any difference to God, because God is interested in:

• what we do
• how we love Him
• how we obey Him
• how we serve Him
• how we run our lives the way that God wants us to

So, there was one man, but he had to do something first. He had to leave everything except his personal possessions and his animals and his servants. He didn't know where he was going.

Just like with us, God has called us to be in his Kingdom, and a lot of us down through time have been figuring by this time we would have already been in the Kingdom of God. But it hasn't worked out that way, because God's Plan is so great and reaches out so far that it is magnificent indeed.

We need to open our minds to that even more, especially during the Feast of Tabernacles while we are here. Let's look at the calling.

Genesis 12:1: "And the LORD said to Abram, 'Get out of your country, and from your kindred, and from your father's house into a land that I will show you.'"

Notice that Abraham obeyed! He didn't say, 'Lord, what do you mean by that?'

Here's a promise. Now remember this. Whatever God promises it will come to pass! But also remember this: It may come to pass in a way far differently than you figure.

Now let's see some of the elements of the Kingdom of God here. Let's see that this is some of the first prophecy of the coming of the Kingdom of God, right here with the patriarch Abraham!

So, He said; v2: "And I will make of you a great nation. And I will bless you and make your name great. And you shall be a blessing. And I will bless those that bless you and curse the one who curses you. And in you shall all families of the earth be blessed" (vs 2-3).

We know with the second resurrection, that's past, present, time of Abraham, future from that time on down to when Christ would return. Amazing! Because God thinks in great, huge terms, as well as small, individual things.

Verse 4: "Then Abram departed, even as the LORD had spoken to him. And Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the people that they had gained in Haran. And they went forth to go into the land of Canaan. And they came into the land of Canaan" (vs 4-5).

That was when Abram was 75-years-old, and 10 years later. So here Abraham had all of this, and he even went down to Egypt, and so forth.

Then we come to Gen. 15, because here comes the central focus of the whole Bible, from here forward! This is why it's important:

• that we keep the Commandments of God
• that we love God with all our heart, mind, soul and being
• that we obey God exactly as Abraham did here

This was quite a thing; right here in this chapter, we have:

• the groundwork laid for the children of Israel
• the groundwork laid for the Church
• the groundwork laid for the Kingdom of God.

All right here contained in what took place in Gen. 15.

Genesis 15:1 "After these things the Word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, 'Fear not, Abram, I am your shield and your exceedingly great reward.'"

Remember that! The reward and blessing that God is going to give us at the resurrection, right there. It's contained in that.

(break@27:38)

Now, let's understand another thing here that's important, too. What God is going to do is impossible for human beings to do. God is spirit and all of those who come to God must worship Him in Spirit and in Truth. That applies! We'll see all of these things, the blending in of all the Word of God!

Verse 2: "And Abram said, 'Lord GOD, what will You give me since I go childless, and the heir of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?'"

Well, it was a law that you could take one of your slaves if you had no children and you could adopt him, and he would be your legal heir. Now God's going to do something impossible, but it's going to take another 15 years. This occurred when Abram was 85:

Verse 3: "And Abram said, 'Behold, You have given no seed to me; and lo, one born in my house is my heir.' And behold, the Word of the LORD came to him saying, 'This man shall not be your heir; but he that shall come forth out of your own loins shall be your heir'" (vs 3-4).

It's going to be you and Sarai! Think of that, she was 90 and Abram was 100 when Isaac was born. So, this is a real test of faith! That's why what we do and we look at Heb. 11 about all of those who were faithful. Look at the faith that Abraham had to have. And he saw virtually none of it!

Here's a promise! Remember this: God swears the greatest thing by Himself, because He created everything that there is. If He swears by Himself, it's greater than all the heavens and earth and everything involved. This also helps us get a real perspective on faith and belief in God and what He's going to do!

Verse 5: "And He brought him outside and said, 'Look now toward the heavens and number the stars—if you are able to count them.'…."

Now, think about that today with all that we have learned about space. Trillions of galaxies, billions and billions of light-years away! The only thing greater than that, as we will see it a little bit, is God Himself!

What does it say about God? That it is impossible for God to lie! Keep that in mind. But when He says something, the fulfillment of it may be beyond our lifetimes, and in a greater way than anything we have ever thought of! That's what it was here with Abraham.

"…And He said to him, 'So shall your seed be.' And he believed in the LORD. And he accounted it to him for righteousness" (vs 5-6).

Verse 7: "And He said to him, 'I am the LORD that brought you out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give you this land to inherit it.' And he said, 'Lord GOD, by what shall I know that I shall inherit it?'" (vs 7-8).

Now then, that's interesting! Same thing. How do we know we're going to receive eternal life?

• by the words of God
• by the teachings of Christ
• by the writings of the Bible
• the writings of the apostles
• the fact of creation of everything around us

Then there was a special sacrifice given here, and it's called a maledictory oath, because this is a covenant pledge!.

A covenant is greater than an agreement, and a covenant involves eternal life or eternal death based upon the stars in the heavens and the fact of the sacrifice that was given here. This is going to be a unique sacrifice, because Abram did not participate in the fulfilling of it! He did sacrifice those animals. Let's see what he did, and:

• why this is so powerful
• why it applies to us

Because when there is a covenant, a covenant is binding when you show your own death by the means of sacrificial animals, or yourself! Now, we'll get to yourself in a little bit.

• Who was the Lamb of God? Jesus Christ!
• What happened to Him?

Well, we know!

Verse 9: "And He said to him, 'Take Me a heifer of three years old, and a she-goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.' And he took all these to himself, and divided them in the middle, and laid each piece opposite the other…" (vs 9-10).

So he cut them right down the middle of the spine, laid them open, half on one side and half on the other side and left a path to walk through.

When this was done, this signified that the one who walks through that, between those animals, IF he does not keep his word, he will likewise die the ugly death of these animals! That's quite a thing!

Now, this also applies to us, only God has given us a more pleasant way of doing it. That is a symbolic burial by baptism by full immersion. But that signifies we are pledging our lives unto death!

We know that an eternal God cannot die existing as eternal God. So we'll keep that in mind as we go along here.

Verse 11: "And when the birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, Abram drove them away."

Notice v 12 because this gives us a time setting. First of all, God talks to Abram, and it's late in the day. Then it gets into night, and then God goes out and He says, 'Look at the stars.' Well you can't see the stars in the daytime. That's the night. Remember we have the evening and the morning. Those count the days and in the Bible and by the Calculated Hebrew Calendar. So, the next morning. God said do the animals, cut them down the middle, make ready this sacrifice.

Verse 12: "And it came to pass, as the sun was going down…"

This is a prophecy when you understand the timing of this, because this actually occurred on the day that was the Passover Day to come! So, this in a sense. was the proto-Passover for all the rest in the Bible.

This is how great that it was for Abraham, and it's because of Abraham:

• that we go into the Kingdom of God
• that we are able to do the things that God wants us to do
• that God has a great plan for all of us together

That's why we keep the Feast of Tabernacles, so that we can know and have our minds on what God wants! As we will see, as great as what God has given to Abraham. We are part of this!

Verse 12: "And it came to pass, as the sun was going down, that a deep sleep fell upon Abram…

You get the books:

• The Christian Passover
• The Day Jesus the Christ Died

You will see that's the exact time of day in which Jesus died on the cross! Who's going to be the King of the Kingdom? Jesus Christ! So, this has to do with:

• the Kingdom of God
• the Feast of Tabernacles

Everything of God is wrapped up, beginning right here in this maledictory oath covenant sacrifice that God went through. Abraham only did the work to prepare it! He never walked between the parts of the animals. God Himself was the One Who did it!

"…And, behold, a horror of great darkness fell upon him! And He said to Abram, 'You must surely know that your seed shall be sojourners in a land that is not theirs (and shall serve them and they shall afflict them) four hundred years'" (vs 12-13). (We have got all that chronology worked out. We won't get into it here.)

Verse 14: "And also I [God] will judge that nation whom they shall serve. And afterward they shall come out with great substance. And you shall go to your fathers in peace. You shall be buried in a good old age" (vs 14-15).

Here all the promises given to Abram; to his seed. He would die! Now isn't that very much like we have in the New Testament. Be faithful unto death! And Jesus said, 'I will give you Life.'

A lot of this right here. The whole foundation of everything that's in the New Testament and the Plan of God.

Verse 16: "But in the fourth generation they shall come here again, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. And it came to pass—when the sun went down and it was dark…" (vs 16-17).

Christ was placed in the tomb just before that time of day, on the day He was crucified! So, this become very important. Let's see how this came about.

"…and it was dark—behold, a smoking furnace and a burning lamp passed between those pieces" (v 17).

That's all that Abram could see. What happened with a smoking furnace and a burning lamp?

• the burning lamp showed that God was walking through those animal parts
• the smoking furnace burned up all of those sacrifices to ashes

An amazing thing, indeed!

Verse 18: "In the same day the LORD made a covenant…"

Remember that a covenant is binding! This is a covenant sacrifice pledge, right here!

"…the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, 'I have given this land to your seed, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates'" (v 18). Then he list all the Canaanites that would be put out from there.

So, when Abraham woke up, what did he see of the sacrifice there? He saw the pathway with nothing but ashes in between, because the smoking furnace burned it all. Now that's amazing!

Now we know the situation with Ishmael. We won't get into that, but we still suffer from that! Then the various things that took place.

Gen 21—Sarah was 90-years-old, way beyond childbearing age. Abraham was 100-years-old, way beyond begetting. So that Sarah and Abraham would know that this was special from God!

Genesis 21:1: "And the LORD visited Sarah as He had said. And the LORD did to Sarah as He had spoken, for Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him" (vs 21-22).

The set time; everything of God has a set time. Just like there's a beginning, there's an ending. There are many beginnings and endings within that, depending on the circumstances and what was transpiring with God and His people.

Verse 3: "And Abraham called the name of his son that was born to him (whom Sarah bore to him) Isaac. And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac, when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. And Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. And Sarah said, 'God has made me laugh, so that all who hear will laugh with me.' And she said, 'Who could have said to Abraham that Sarah would suckle children? For I have borne a son to him in his old age'" (vs 3-7). That's quite a thing! Then he grew! Amazing!

Then we have the trial. Here is the trial of trials for Abraham. We will finish here, because all of this stretches out into everything and the rest of the Bible! It was a special thing to test Abraham!

Genesis 22:2: "And He said, 'Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go into the land of Moriah, and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains, which I will tell you.'"

Now at that time Abraham was 115-years-old; Isaac was 15. Abraham did what God said. He went there. And they got there. Abraham told those who came along with him with the other donkeys and the and the wood and things like this. 'You wait here till we come back because I and my son will go over and we will pray over here.'

Verse 7: "And Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, 'My father.' And he said, 'Here I am, my son.' And he said, 'Behold the fire and the wood. But where is the lamb for a burnt offering?'

So, that shows that they had burnt offerings. Not necessarily sin offerings, but burnt offerings, which shows you that God gave the instructions to Abraham on:

• what to do
• how to live
• what His Laws were

Abraham taught Isaac, so Isaac knew them!

Here we have Isaac at half the age of what Christ was when He started His ministry. He carried the wood on what you would be laid for the burnt offering. Notice Abraham's reply. This is a test for all of us!

• Do we believe God when the going gets really rough, oblique and desperate?
• Do we still believe God?

Well, all of those factors are here with this. Notice Abraham's reply:

Verse 8: "And Abraham said, 'My son, God will provide Himself a lamb for a burnt offering.' So, they both went on together. And they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and laid the wood in order" (vs 8-9).

Now that taking stones and laying it down and putting the wood on it.

"…And he bound his son Isaac and laid him on the wood, upon the altar. And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son" (vs 9-10).

Now we have to project forward to Heb. 11, because the question is: Why was Abraham willing to do that?

In various movies they show that Abraham got mad and beat his fist on a rock and all of that sort of thing. NO! He didn't do it!

"…and took the knife to slay his son.… [right there, Isaac right in front of him] …And the angel of the LORD called to him from the heavens and said, 'Abraham! Abraham!' And he said, 'Here I am.' And He said, 'Do not lay your hand upon the lad, nor do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God…'" (vs 10-12).

Now, let's check on that for just a minute. What does he mean by that?

Remember, here Abraham was, 115-years-old. God called him when he was 75. That's 40 years!

• How long have we been in the Church?
• How many things have we gone through?
• How many times did we have to stand for the Truth in spite of the fact that maybe no one else would?

Every one of us come to that point! And every one of us come to the point like it was here with Abraham and Isaac, because God wants to know: Do we really use our free moral agency completely correctly as God wants?

• in love
• in obedience
• in service
• in fearing

all of those things together! This is all wrapped up here. And it's all wrapped up in for us to qualify to be kings and priests in the Millennium! So, we'll think on that!

God said, "…for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me" (v 12).

Quite a thing! So, God leads us into these kinds of trials that are really sometimes difficult indeed!

Verse 13: "And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram was entangled in a thicket by its horns."

• How did that happen?
• How come he didn't see it before?
• Did God suddenly create a ram and stick it there?

We don't know. Very likely, He created it for this special sacrifice.

"…Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up for And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. And Abraham called the name of that place The LORD Will Provide; so that it is said until this day, 'In the mount of the LORD it will be provided'" (vs 13-14).

Now let's stop and think on this in our own lives:

• How many times has God intervened for us?
• How many times has God done what He has said He would do for us? To intervene to help us!

Even though we come even to the end of our rope, lots of times we are there. God wants to know:

• Do you believe Me?
• Do you love Me?
• Will you obey Me?
• Will you follow Me through all circumstances?

Now down through time:

• How many were martyrs for Christ?
• How many faced that?
• How many faced the choice?
• What will I do?
• What will I choose?

It'd be so easy to recant. You may spare your life. But:

• Are you willing to die for Christ?
• Are you willing to be a martyr?
• Do you really believe what you believe to the very depths of your soul and your being?

That's what it's all about! That's what it was with Abraham here:

Verse 15: "And the angel of the LORD called to Abraham out of heaven the second time, and said, 'By Myself have I sworn,' says the LORD…" (vs 15-16).

Now think about this: This is the greatest guarantee that what God has said, He will do! He's created everything, He is greater than all things! So, when He swears by Himself—and He cannot lie—it will happen! Brethren, that's why we are here today:

• because of this
• because of Jesus Christ
• because of God's great plan

Now think about this for a minute: The world is in turmoil:

• war
• hatred
• killing
• death
• drugs
• abortions
• human sacrifice
• all the lying
• all the cheating
• all the stealing

Because Satan is deceiving the whole world! Satan had put in all of these systems. With the Mark of the Beast coming, he wants to take away your free moral agency. He wants you to denounce God the Father and Jesus Christ so that you can 'save your life' to buy and sell; so you can continue to live in the flesh. But that will only be for a short period of time!

So, God has sworn by Himself. When we come to the New Testament and the sacrifice of Christ, which this was also a preview of the sacrifice of Christ. What did Christ do?

• against Satan?
• against the religious leaders?
• against those who were against Him?
• He was faithful
• He was true

Following through on this very pledge: That He Himself would take on the sins of the world! That's going to apply all down through the Millennium.

"…'By Myself have I sworn,' says the LORD, 'because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son'" (v 16).

What is Jesus? The only begotten Son of the Father!

Verse 17: "That in blessing I will bless you, and in multiplying I will multiply your seed like the stars of the heavens, and as the sand, which is upon the seashore…."

You look at that pledge; there are two things:

• As the stars of heaven

We know from Dan. 12 that those who turn many to righteousness 'shall shine like the stars of heaven.' So, that's symbolic of eternal life! And Jesus said that those who enter in the Kingdom of God, their faces will shine like the sun!

And John wrote that 'now are we the children of God' because God loves us with His glorious love! 'It is not yet shown what we shall be, but we know that we will see Him, Christ, exactly as He is.' Why? Because we will be like Him!

Now that's all wrapped up in this right here.  The stars of heaven are those the spiritual seed in the first resurrection.

• The sand of the sea

are all of the 12 tribes of Israel as we will see tomorrow. Because that was a great promise that God fulfilled. But look at how we started. How did He start?

• Adam, one man and his wife
• Noah and his wife and his three sonsand their wives
• Abraham and his wife Sarah.
• Isaac the only begotten son through Sarah
• Christ the only begotten Son of God the Father, as a sacrifice for the sins of the world

How brutal was that sacrifice? Just like we found the sacrifices there in Gen. 15.

• it was complete
• it was brutal
• it was ugly
• it was detestable

Because He carried the sin of the whole world!

Because God swore by Himself and showed definitively, through these acts that we have covered, that He would do it. And when He returns as we're going to see, He's going to set up this world in a way that will be almost unimaginable.

For all human beings that come through to that point, Jesus said to us that IF we are faithful to the end, and God puts us in the Kingdom, that:

• we will be kings
• we will be priests
• we will be teachers
• we will be directing cities
• we will be teaching people the way of God

That's why we're here keeping the Feast of Tabernacles. Because this pictures when we will be:

• living with God
• doing the work of God for all humanity

And remember: the Last Great Day finalizes it all. Come back tomorrow for day number three, and we'll continue and see what God has done.

Scriptural References:

• Genesis 3:14-19
• Genesis 6:5
• Genesis 12:1-5
• Genesis 15:1-18
• Genesis 21:1-7
• Genesis 22:2, 7-17

Scriptures referenced, not quoted:

• Revelation 12
• 1-Corinthians 15
• Genesis 11
• Hebrews 11
• Genesis 15:19-21
• Daniel 12

Also referenced: Bools {truthofGod.org}

• The Christian Passover
• The Day Jesus the Christ Died

FRC:bo/po
Transcribed: 8/14/25

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