Was God’s promise to Abraham about land in the area to which we refer as the Middle East, or was it something else?
Genesis 17:7-8 And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.
Would the land itself be the everlasting possession, or would the land be theirs in order to usher in the everlasting possession–theirs until that everlasting possession would become a reality? And what is meant by “thy seed”? Is it Abraham’s natural descendants, or is it someone else?
Genesis 22:15-18 And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
Again God speaks of Abraham’s seed, and now God also speaks of swearing by Himself. We see this referred to in the New Testament.
Hebrews 6:13-15 For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.
So God swore by Himself because He could not swear by anything greater than Himself. But–hmm… it also says here that Abraham OBTAINED the promise after having patiently endured. And yet, Abraham NEVER obtained the entire land of Canaan. Therefore, because God does not lie, that promise must refer to something else. Of course, we do not have to surmise. We need only to refer to other Scripture to help us understand. Scripture interprets Scripture by narrowing down what any given passage could possibly mean.
Galatians 3:6-9 Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.
According to this very clear passage, when God told Abraham that all nations would be blessed in him, He was actually preaching the GOSPEL to him. In other words, the promise to Abraham was redemption through Christ Himself–the very same promise that was given to Adam and Eve in the garden. And, after all, isn’t this what the entirety of the Scriptures is really all about–Creation, its Fall, and its Redemption?
We also see this truth reflected in the words of Christ, when He said…
John 8:56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.
Abraham SAW the promise of redemption; this is what God was telling him and promising him.
Okay, so the promise to Abraham is clearly salvation itself in Christ Himself, and therefore, that everlasting covenant is eternal life, and the land is truly the Promised Land of that New Jerusalem, where we shall live with God. How can it be the physical land of Canaan, when that could not possibly be everlasting? We know this because Peter tells us that…
2 Peter 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
…and…
2 Peter 3:12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
So the land of Canaan cannot be the object of the promise because the land of Canaan cannot be everlasting. It is destined, along with the rest of the earth, to be burned up.
Now, that seed. Oh, how dispensationalists LOVE to claim that the promise was to Abraham and his bloodline. And oh, how this bad doctrinal tree has brought forth bad spiritual and behavioral fruits, as professing Christians have been stirred up to defend the U.N.-created physical nation of Israel, even if it means killing Palestinians, many of whom are Christian–our very brothers and sisters in the faith! Dispensationalists believe that the Jews hold special favor with God, and that, when a Jew is saved, it is somehow more special. But what does God say?
Acts 15:7-9 And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe. And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.
No difference between us and them. After Peter was shown a vision (three times), in which God, showing him unclean food, said “What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common”, and after he more fully understood that vision once when Cornelius, a Gentile, came to see him…
Acts 10:34 Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:
God is no respecter of persons. This means He will save whomever He wants to save, and it does not matter to Him whether that person is a Jew or a non-Jew. It’s not about what we bring to the table of salvation. In fact we bring nothing. We HAVE nothing to bring. However, in case we are still not convinced that God holds no special regard to a person’s background before He chooses to save him and how He judges the works of a professing believer…
Romans 2:11 For there is no respect of persons with God.
Ephesians 6:9 And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with him.
Colossians 3:25 But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.
1 Peter 1:17-21 And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear: Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.
No difference between the Jew and the Gentile. There are two kingdoms in reality–God’s and Satan’s–period. You are either in Christ or you are not. And in Christ, there IS no Jew or Gentile–we are all one in Him.
Sorry, Mr, Hagee, the Jews do NOT have their own covenant–if you are a true Christian, then you must believe the words of Christ, Who said there is no other way to the Father but by Him. We cannot try to come in through any other door besides that Door, otherwise we are thieves. We either believe Him, or we don’t.
So now we come to this part–what is meant by the SEED?
Galatians 3:15-18 Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man’s covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto. Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise.
God is clearly not speaking of many seeds, so it cannot be descendants; He is speaking of ONE Seed, which is Christ.
Galatians 3:26-29 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
The promise to Abraham is not land; it is salvation, redemption, and eternal life. His seed is not his descendants; it is Christ. And we are all Abraham’s descendants by faith and inheritors of the promise given to him.
