Three Promises to Abraham Fulfilled!

Go to Premillenialism refuted: Israel got all the promised land under Joshua.

 

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Three promises:

1. Great nation promise

2. Land promise

3. Seed promise

All Fulfilled!

Israel possessed all the land promised through Abraham. "Rapture" theology that was invented in 1830 AD by John Darby. When Christians saw the signs, they fled the city and were saved.

 

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Three promises to Abraham Fulfilled

Introduction:

1.       Pre-tribulation Rapture and dispensationalists teach the false doctrine that God failed to fulfill the three promises he made to Abraham in fleshly Israel and the church (spiritual Israel).

2.       All Premillennialists reject the plain Bible teaching that Israel possessed all the land God promises to Israel through Abraham.

3.       For example, God said that if Israel got all the land promised, then they would have six cities of refuge.

a.        "Therefore, I command you, saying, 'You shall set aside three cities for yourself.' "If the LORD your God enlarges your territory, just as He has sworn to your fathers, and gives you all the land which He promised to give your fathers— if you carefully observe all this commandment which I command you today, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in His ways always—then you shall add three more cities for yourself, besides these three. " (Deuteronomy 19:7-9)

b.       Joshua 20:7-9 lists six cities of refuge - Kadesh, Shechem, Hebron, Bezer, Ramoth, and Golan.

c.        Therefore God gave them all the land and premillennialism is utterly refuted!

4.       Plain Bible passages say that Israel got all the land promised Abraham:

a.        "So the Lord gave Israel all the land which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they possessed it and lived in it. And the Lord gave them rest on every side, according to all that He had sworn to their fathers, and no one of all their enemies stood before them; the Lord gave all their enemies into their hand. Not one of the good promises which the Lord had made to the house of Israel failed; all came to pass. " (Joshua 21:43-45)

b.       "Now behold, today I am going the way of all the earth, and you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one word of all the good words which the Lord your God spoke concerning you has failed; all have been fulfilled for you, not one of them has failed. "It shall come about that just as all the good words which the Lord your God spoke to you have come upon you, so the Lord will bring upon you all the threats, until He has destroyed you from off this good land which the Lord your God has given you. " (Joshua 23:14-15)

c.        Josh 24:28 Then Joshua dismissed the people, each to his inheritance.

d.       2 Sam 8:3 David defeated Hadadezer...as he went to restore his rule at the River [Euphrates].

e.       1 Kings 4:21 Now Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the [Euphrates] River to the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt; they brought tribute and served Solomon

f.         2 Chr 9:26 And he was the ruler over all the kings from the Euphrates River even to the land of the Philistines, and as far as the border of Egypt.

g.        Neh 9:8 And Thou didst find Abraham's heart faithful before Thee, and didst make a covenant with him to give him the land of the Canaanite, of the Hittite and the Amorite, of the Perizzite, the Jebusite, and the Girgashite-- to give it to his descendants. And Thou hast fulfilled Thy promise, for Thou art righteous.

h.       Jer 11:5 "in order to confirm the oath which I swore to your forefathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day." Then I answered and said, "Amen, O LORD."

5.       So it is simply apostate theology to say that God did not give Israel all the land promised to Abraham.

6.       Premillennialists falsely teach that Israel never got the land they were promised and that God had to bring Israel again into the land in 1948 AD, in order to fulfill his promise. This is entirely false!

a.       "God unconditionally promised Abraham's descendants a literal world-wide kingdom over which they would rule through their Messiah who would reign upon King David's throne...Even the animals and reptiles will lose their ferocity and no longer be carnivorous," (The Late Great Planet Earth,  Hal Lindsay, p 165)

b.       "The nature of the blessings are earthly, territorial, and national, and have nothing to do with a spiritual church to which none of these blessings has been promised ...Christ is not now on the throne of David bringing blessings to Israel as the prophets predicted, but He is rather on His Father's throne waiting for the coming earthly kingdom and interceding for His own who form the church," (The Millennial Kingdom: A Basic Text in Premillennial Theology, John F. Walvoord, p 205, 1983 AD)

c.        3.      "The foundation of the state of Israel in recent years has been a part of the predicted regathering of scattered Israel back to their ancient land...The present partial possession of the land is a token. The complete possession awaits the coming of Israel's Redeemer" (The Millennial Kingdom: A Basic Text in Premillennial Theology, John F. Walvoord, p 185, 1983 AD)

7.       Premillennialism is a theology of infidelity because it refuses to accept the plain teaching of the Bible.

8.       All three promises God made to Abraham were fulfilled over 2000 years ago. Israel became a great nation in Egypt, possessed the land under Joshua and Solomon and through Jesus all the nations of the earth were blessed.

Go to Premillenialism refuted: Israel got all the promised land under Joshua.

I. The major Bible texts of the three promises

 

#1 Great Nation

#2 Land

#3 Seed

Gen 12:1-7

I will make you a great nation

To your descendants I will give this land

in you all families of the earth shall be blessed

Gen 13:14-17

V16 I will make your descendants as dust of earth

V15 all the land you see, I will give it to you and your descendants forever V17 I will give it to you

-

Gen 15:5-21

V5 descendants like stars

V7 To give you this land V21 to descendants I have given land

-

Gen 17:2-8

V2 I will multiply you exceedingly V7 exceedingly fruitful, make nations and kings from you

V8 I will give to you ad your descendants after you all the land of Cannon as an everlasting possession

-

Gen 18:18

surely become a great and mighty nation

-

in him all nations of earth will be blessed

Gen 22:17-18

Greatly multiply your seed as the stars and sand

your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies

in your seed all nations will be blessed

Gen 24:7

-

to your descendants I will give land

 

Gen 26:3-4

V4 I will multiply Isaac's descendants as stars

V3 to you and your descendants I will give all these lands, V4 give your descendants land

v4 by your descendants all nations of earth will be blessed

Gen 28:4

-

give to Isaac's and your descendants to possess the land which God Gave Abraham

-

Gen 28:13-14

v14 Isaac's descendants like dust

v13 I will give it to you and descendants

v14 in you and descendants shall all families of earth be blessed

Gen 35:12

 

the land which I gave to Abraham and Isaac, I will give it to Jacob, and I will give the land to your descendants after you

 

Gen 46:3

In Egypt, I will make Jacob a great nation there

 

 

Gen 48:4

I will make Jacob fruitful and numerous

give this land to your descendants after you for an everlasting possession

 

Ex 6:2-8

-

v4 I also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they sojourned v8 I will bring you to the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you for a possession

-

Exod 12:25

 

when you enter the land which the LORD will give you, as He has promised, that you shall observe this rite

 

Exod 13:5

 

when the LORD brings you to the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Hivite and the Jebusite, which He swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, that you shall observe this rite in this month

 

Ex 23:31

 

And I will fix your boundary from the Red Sea to the sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the River Euphrates

 

Exod 32:13

Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, to whom Thou didst swear by Thyself, and didst say to them, `I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heavens,

and all this land of which I have spoken I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever

 

Exod 33:1

 

Depart, go up from here, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, `To your descendants I will give it

 

Fulfilled

Gen 46:3 do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you a great nation there.

Deut 10:22 "Your fathers went down to Egypt seventy persons in all, and now the Lord has made you as numerous as the stars of heaven.

Josh 21:43 So the LORD gave Israel all the land which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they possessed it and lived in it.

Deut 30:5 God will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it; and He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers.

Gal 3:29 if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise.

Heb 6:11-13;19-20 full assurance of hope...inherit the promises...God made the promise to Abraham...this hope we have as ...one which enters within the veil (heaven), where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us

Acts 13:32-33,38 we preach to you the good news of the promise made to the fathers, that God has fulfilled this promise to us their children in that He raised up Jesus...that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you

 

II. Exposition of Gen 15:1-21 & Acts 7:1-7

Abraham understood that he would not personally get land

 

Gen 15:1-21

Acts 7:5-7

Promise made

v7 give you this land to possess it

v5 give to him and offspring

Abraham asks

v8 How may I know I will get it?

V6 But God spoke to this effect

Ancient covenant ritual

See Jer 34:18

v9-11,17 God passes between sacrifice halves

Birds of prey=Isreal's enemies

Chasing away=Abraham preserving

Vision of darkness & terror V12=V13 enslaved & oppressed in Egypt

-

Observation of vision

Just as Abraham vicariously suffered though his seed (but not actually), So he would receive land through seed, (but not actually)

-

Egyptian bondage

v13 your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years

v6 offspring would be aliens in a foreign land, and that they would be enslaved and mistreated for four hundred years

Abraham would die

v15 as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried

v5 And He gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot of ground

God's answer

v13,18 Know for certain...to your descendants I will give this land

v7 after that they will come out and serve Me in this place

Questions:

Where in Gen 15 did God answer Abraham's question? Where did God assure Abraham personally he would inherit the land in the answer?

Notice "But God spoke to this effect" or "But this is what God really meant! That descendants, not Abraham would receive."

Statements missing in the texts.

"Afterwards you will be raised from the dead and inherit the land"

"At the end of time you will inherit the land"

"After Egypt, you will then return to inherit the land"

"Any other Bible verse that Abraham will still inherit the physical land"

Which is the case?

Abraham knew he would not inherit land personally, but though descendants. or

Abraham expected to inherit the land personally?

III.     God gave the land to Fathers through seed:

1.         Gen 28:4 that you may possess the land of your sojournings, which God gave to Abraham.

2.         Gen 35:12 the land which I gave to Abraham and Isaac, I will give it to Jacob

3.         Deut 30:5 God will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it

Saul and Abraham: 1 SAM 15:28

 

What was said

What happened

Saul

torn the kingdom from you today

taken from descendants, not Saul

Abraham

Give you land this day

Given to descendants, not Abraham

Must God raise Saul from dead and give him the kingdom again at some future time only to take it from him and give it to David to fulfill the statement? Same true about Abraham?

IV.    The "river of Egypt" In Gen 15:18 is not the Nile but is the Wadi Arish

A.        Usage of Hebrew word for river in OT: Gen 15:18 uses: Heb "Nahar" (Strongs 5104)

1.         Heb "Nahar" (Strongs 5104) of 98 uses and never refers to Nile except in Gen 15:18?

2.         Heb: "Ye'or" (Strongs 2975) is used 57 times exclusively of the Nile river.

3.         Heb "Nachal" (Strongs 5158) used of both the brook of Egypt and Euphrates in 2 Ki 24:7

Term

Hebrew

comment

Nile

Ye'or misrayim

Egyptian term exclusively used of Nile in Bible

Brook of Egypt

Nahal misrayim

Wadi Arish: southern boundary of promised land

River of Egypt

(Gen 15:18)

Nahar misrayim

If the Nile, why didn't God use the exclusive term "Ye'or" but a one time exception "Nahar"?

B.        Contrasting sizes of rivers indicated textually in Gen 15:18

"from the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates"

1.         The text clearly indicates that the Euphrates is greater than the "River of Egypt"

2.         The Nile is equal or larger than the Euphrates in size, If the Nile was meant the text would read,

a.         from the great river, the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates; or

b.         from the two great rivers, the river of Egypt as far as the river Euphrates; or

c.         from the river of Egypt as far as the river Euphrates

3.         If the Wadi Arish was meant, the text would read exactly as it does!

C.        If the Nile was boundary of land God promised Abraham Isaac & Jacob, then: They already lived in the promised land in Goshen while in slavery in Egypt! Exod 3:17

a)         Exod 3:17 "So I said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite, to a land flowing with milk and honey."'

b)         Exod 33:1 Depart, go up from here, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, `To your descendants I will give it.

c)         Deut 6:22-23 'Moreover, the LORD showed great and distressing signs and wonders before our eyes against Egypt, Pharaoh and all his household; and He brought us out from there in order to bring us in, to give us the land which He had sworn to our fathers.'

d)         Deut 11:10 "For the land, into which you are entering to possess it, is not like the land of Egypt from which you came, where you used to sow your seed and water it with your foot like a vegetable garden.

D.        The Shihor River

1.         Exactly what river the term "Shihor" refers to is not universally agreed. Some think it refers to the easterly "Pelusiac" arm of the Nile. Others think it refers to the Brook/River of Egypt.

2.         Is used interchangeably with the Nile in a Hebrew parallelism:

Isa 23:3 The grain of the Nile, the harvest of the Sihor was her revenue

3.         Used interchangeably with the River/brook of Egypt

Josh 13:2-5

Josh 15:45-47

Shihor which is east of Egypt

as far as the brook of Egypt

Ekron

Ekron

Ashdodite

Ashdod

Gazite

Gaza

4.         Is used as the southern border of Israel inconjunction with Euphrates like Gen 15:18

Gen 15:18

Jer 2:18

from the river of Egypt

what are you doing on the road to Egypt to drink the waters of the Shihor?

as far as the great river, the river Euphrates

Or what are you doing on the road to Assyria, to drink the waters of the Euphrates

5.         Was the southern border of land that Israel possessed:

a)         Josh 13:1-3 ...very much of the land remains to be possessed. "This is the land that remains: all the regions of the Philistines and all those of the Geshurites; from the Shihor which is east of Egypt, even as far as the border of Ekron to the north...

b)         1 Chr 13:5 So David assembled all Israel together, from the Shihor of Egypt even to the entrance of Hamath, to bring the ark of God from Kiriath-jearim.

E.         River/brook of Egypt

1.         Was used as the southern boundary of promised land: Num 34:5; Josh 15:4,47; Ezek 47:19; 48:28 "as far as the brook of Egypt and the Great Sea, even its coastline"

2.         Was used as the global reference of north/south bounders

Text

Northern border

Southern border

Gen 15:18

as the great river, the river Euphrates

from the river of Egypt

1 Ki 8:65

from the entrance of Hamath

to the brook of Egypt

2 Ki 24:7

to the river Euphrates

from the brook of Egypt

2 Chr 7:8

from the entrance of Hamath

to the brook of Egypt

Isa 27:12

from the flowing stream of the Euphrates

to the brook of Egypt

2 Chr 9:26

from the Euphrates River

as far as the border of Egypt

1 King 4:21

from the River

to the border of Egypt

Jer 2:18

to drink the waters of the Euphrates

to drink the waters of the Shihor?

Ex 23:31

to the River Euphrates

from the wilderness

F.         Conclusions regarding the "river of Egypt" in Gen 15:18

1.         Scholars are divided between the Nile and the Wadi el Arish. The conclusions they reach are more an outgrowth of their personal theological bias (premillenial) than clear fact.

2.         God did not use the exclusive term for the Nile (Ye'or), but used a term, (Nahar) which nowhere else refers to the Nile. If God meant the Nile, He sure chose a confusing term to refer to it.

3.         Nowhere else in scripture is the Nile alluded to as the boundary, but we do find in 11 places the brook/river of Egypt is referred to as the southern boundary. The weight of textual evidence is clearly against the Nile.

4.         If the Nile was the boundary, then Israel were already in the promised land in Goshen!

5.         Regardless of what river the "Shihor" refers to, it was the southern boundary of promised land.

6.         The River of Egypt, the Shihor and the brook (Wadi el Arish) are refer to the same river.

The Promises fulfilled!

Acts 7:17 "But as the time of the promise was approaching which God

had assured to Abraham, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt"

V.      Great Nation promise fulfilled

A.        Great Nation promise physically fulfilled

1.         Gen 46:3 And He said, "I am God, the God of your father; do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you a great nation there.

2.         Deut 1:10 'The LORD your God has multiplied you, and behold, you are this day as the stars of heaven for multitude.

3.         Deut 10:22 "Your fathers went down to Egypt seventy persons in all, and now the Lord has made you as numerous as the stars of heaven.

4.         Heb11:11-12 even Sarah received ability to conceive...since she considered Him faithful who had promised; therefore, also, there was born of one man, and him as good as dead at that, as many descendants as the stars of heaven in number, and innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.

B.        Great Nation promise Spiritually fulfilled

1.         Rom 4:16-17 For this reason it is by faith, that it might be in accordance with grace, in order that the promise may be certain to all the descendants, not only to those who are of the Law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, as it is written, "A father of many nations have I made you")

2.         Gal 3:29 if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise.

3.         Gal 4:28 And you brethren, like Isaac, are children of promise

VI.    Land promise fulfilled

A.        Land promise physically fulfilled: Israel possessed all land God swore to give Abraham

1.         Ex 6:8 And I will bring you to the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you for a possession; I am the LORD.'"

2.         Cities of refuge argument (if God gives all the land promised, then there will be 6 cities):

3.         Deut 1:7-8 go to the hill country of the Amorites...as far as the great river, the river Euphrates. See, I have placed the land before you; go in and possess the land which the LORD swore to give to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to them and their descendants after them.

4.         Deut 6:18 you shall do what is right and good in the sight of the LORD, that it may be well with you and that you may go in and possess the good land which the LORD swore to give your fathers

5.         Deut 9:5 It is not for your righteousness or for the uprightness of your heart that you are going to possess their land, but it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD your God is driving them out before you, in order to confirm the oath which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

6.         Deut 30:5 "And the LORD will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it; and He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers.

7.         Josh 21:43-45 So the LORD gave Israel all the land which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they possessed it and lived in it. And the LORD gave them rest on every side, according to all that He had sworn to their fathers, and no one of all their enemies stood before them; the LORD gave all their enemies into their hand. Not one of the good promises which the LORD had made to the house of Israel failed; all came to pass.

8.         Josh 24:28 Then Joshua dismissed the people, each to his inheritance.

9.         2 Sam 8:3 David defeated Hadadezer...as he went to restore his rule at the River.

10.       1 Kings 4:21 Now Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the River to the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt; they brought tribute and served Solomon

11.       2 King 14:25 Jeroboam restored the border of Israel from the entrance of Hamath as far as the Sea of the Arabah

12.       2 Chr 9:26 And he was the ruler over all the kings from the Euphrates River even to the land of the Philistines, and as far as the border of Egypt.

13.       Neh 9:8 And Thou didst find Abraham's heart faithful before Thee, and didst make a covenant with him to give him the land of the Canaanite, of the Hittite and the Amorite, of the Perizzite, the Jebusite, and the Girgashite-- to give it to his descendants. And Thou hast fulfilled Thy promise, for Thou art righteous.

14.       Ps 105:42-44 For He remembered His holy word with Abraham His servant; And He brought forth His people with joy, His chosen ones with a joyful shout. He gave them also the lands of the nations, that they might take possession of the fruit of the peoples' labor,

15.       Jer 11:5 in order to confirm the oath which I swore to your forefathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day."'" Then I answered and said, "Amen, O LORD."

16.       Ezek 20:42 And you will know that I am the LORD, when I bring you into the land of Israel, into the land which I swore to give to your forefathers.

17.       Acts 7:17 But as the time of the promise was approaching which God had assured to Abraham, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt

18.       Acts 13:19 And when He had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He distributed their land as an inheritance-- all of which took about four hundred and fifty years.

19.       Rom 4:13 the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world...

B.        Forever? Continued inheritance of physical land by Israel always conditional!

  1. Deut 6:10,15,18-19 Then it shall come about when the LORD your God brings you into the land which He swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you, great and splendid cities which you did not build...You shall not follow other gods, He will wipe you off the face of the earth... do what is right that you may go in and possess the good land which the LORD swore to {give} your fathers...by driving out all your enemies from before you, as the LORD has spoken.
  2. Deut 8:19-20 And it shall come about if you ever forget the LORD your God, and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I testify against you today that you shall surely perish. Like the nations that the LORD makes to perish before you, so you shall perish; because you would not listen to the voice of the LORD your God.
  3. Deut 9:5 It is not for your righteousness or for the uprightness of your heart that you are going to possess their land, but it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD your God is driving them out before you, in order to confirm the oath which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
  4. Deut 30:17-18 But if your heart turns away and you will not obey, but are drawn away and worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today that you shall surely perish. You shall not prolong your days in the land where you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess it.
  5. Josh 23:15 And it shall come about that just as all the good words which the LORD your God spoke to you have come upon you, so the LORD will bring upon you all the threats, until He has destroyed you from off this good land which the LORD your God has given you.
  6. Josh 23:12-16 For if you ever go back and cling to the rest of these nations, these which remain among you, and intermarry with them, so that you associate with them and they with you, know with certainty that the LORD your God will not continue to drive these nations out from before you; but they shall be a snare and a trap to you, and a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good land which the LORD your God has given you. Now behold, today I am going the way of all the earth, and you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one word of all the good words which the LORD your God spoke concerning you has failed; all have been fulfilled for you, not one of them has failed. And it shall come about that just as all the good words which the LORD your God spoke to you have come upon you, so the LORD will bring upon you all the threats, until He has destroyed you from off this good land which the LORD your God has given you. When you transgress the covenant of the LORD your God, which He commanded you, and go and serve other gods, and bow down to them, then the anger of the LORD will burn against you, and you shall perish quickly from off the good land which He has given you.
  7. Jer 18:1-10 ...the vessel that he was making of clay was spoiled in the hand of the potter; so he remade it into another vessel, as it pleased the potter to make... Can I not, O house of Israel, deal with you as this potter does? declares the LORD. Behold, like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel...Or at another moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to build up or to plant it; if it does evil in My sight by not obeying My voice, then I will think better of the good with which I had promised to bless it.
  8. Jer 19:10-11 Then you are to break the jar in the sight of the men who accompany you and say to them, `Thus says the LORD of hosts, Just so shall I break this people and this city, even as one breaks a potter's vessel, which cannot again be repaired...

C.        Land promise Spiritually fulfilled

  1. Rom 4:13-14 For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith. For if those who are of the Law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise is nullified
  2. Gal 3:18 For if the inheritance is based on law, it is no longer based on a promise; but God has granted it to Abraham by means of a promise.
  3. Gal 4:23-28 the son by the free woman through the promise. This is allegorically speaking: for these women are two covenants, one proceeding from Mount Sinai bearing children who are to be slaves; she is Hagar. Now this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem above is free; she is our mother.
  4. Eph 1:10-14 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance... the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession
  5. Heb 4:3

Parallel verses

Deut 1:34-35

Ps 95:11

Heb 4:3

the LORD was angry and took an oath, saying,

Therefore I swore in My anger

As I swore in My wrath

Not one of these men, this evil generation

truly they

they

shall see the

shall not enter into

shall not enter

good land which I swore to give your fathers

My rest

My rest

It is clear that the land was a type of the rest of heaven that David spoke of which is the spiritual antitype of the promise made to the fathers

a)         God spoke of another rest after Joshua, through David in Ps 95

b)         Joshua & Jesus were forerunners into the promised lands; Joshua of Palestine; Jesus of Heaven: Heb 6:11-13;19-20 full assurance of hope...inherit the promises...God made the promise to Abraham...this hope we have as ...one which enters within the veil, where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us

c)         Joshua was forerunner into physical promised land, Jesus into spiritual promise land.

1.         Abraham looked neither at the Ur or the promised land, but to heaven itself: Heb 6:19; 9:11,24

a)         Heb 11:8-19 By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance... he lived as an alien in the land of promise... he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God...All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.

2.         heaven is in the actual, spiritual presence of God, all physical things will be "uncreated"

a.      The very recent creation earth 7000 years ago indicates its temporary nature.

b.      Heb 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

c.       2 Co 4:18 the things seen are temporary; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

d.      Col 1:16 For by him were all things created, in heaven, and in earth, visible and invisible.

e.      Heb 9:11,24 Jesus entered into heaven itself

f.        Rev 20:11 heaven and earth fled from his presence

g.      Rev 21:4 the first things have passed away

h.      Rev 21:1,23; 22:5 No longer any sea, night, sun or moon

i.        Jn 13:36-14:6 Heaven is in the very presence of the Father

j.        Heb 6:19-20; 10:19-20 We hope to "enter within the veil"

k.       2 Pe 3:10 Earth and works will be burned up

l.        Heb 11:3 What was made was made out of that which was invisible

m.    Heb 12:25-29 created things to be removed

n.      Jn 18:36 My kingdom is not of this world/ realm

o.      1 Pe 1:17; Heb 13:14: We are earthbound guests with a heavenly destination

3.         Our resurrected body will not be physical, but of the same nature as God's

4.         Inheritance in the New Testament not land but all spiritual blessings: Eph 1:3

5.         Where does the New Testament state:

VII.   Seed promise fulfilled spiritually (no physical fulfillment)

  1. Acts 3:25-26 It is you who are the sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, `And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. For you first, God raised up His Servant, and sent Him to bless you by turning every one {of you} from your wicked ways.
  2. Acts 13:32-33,38 we preach to you the good news of the promise made to the fathers, that God has fulfilled this promise to our children in that He raised up Jesus...that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you
  3. Gal 3:8-9 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "All the nations shall be blessed in you." So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.
  4. Gal 3:18 For if the inheritance is based on law, it is no longer based on a promise; but God has granted it to Abraham by means of a promise.
  5. Gal 3:29 if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise.

 

 

Go to Premillenialism refuted: Israel got all the promised land under Joshua.

 

Steve Rudd

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