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 Abraham's
Land Promise by David Padfield
Premillennialism is a doctrine taught by many religious groups in
our day. This theory teaches Jesus will return to this earth and set
up a literal, earthly kingdom for a 1,000 years. Proponents claim
that prior to His return there will be a period of tribulation for
seven years (some say three and a half years). Then, according to
their speculations, the Lord will reign in Jerusalem (like David and
Solomon) and the Jews will receive the land God promised to Abraham
in Genesis 12:7.
In 1970 Hal Lindsey wrote a best selling book, The Late Great Planet
Earth. He said, "For 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. The
Jews who believe in the Messiah will also possess the land which is
bordered on the east by the Euphrates River, and on the west by the
Nile."
Many of Lindsey's other predictions have already failed. He claimed
the Soviet Union was going to invade Israel and start World War III.
Well, the Soviet Union is now out of business, but Hal Lindsey is
still out on the lecture circuit. If Lindsey had any integrity, he
would issue an apology for his book and offer a refund to all who
purchased it.
Lindsey's book, along with many others, denies God has ever made
good on His promises to Abraham. Let us examine the promises and
see if He has kept His word.
When God called Abraham to leave the Ur of the Chaldees, He said,
"Get out of your country, from your kindred and from your father's
house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great
nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be
a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him
who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be
blessed" (Genesis 12:1-3). Notice the three promises:
Abraham would be the father of a great nation (Genesis 12:2; 22:17).
This promise was fulfilled in Exodus 1:7-15. A new king ascended to
the throne in Egypt and saw the descendants of Abraham outnumbered
the Egyptians. In Deuteronomy 1:10, prior to the Israelites entering
the promised land, Moses said, "The Lord your God has multiplied
you, and here you are today, as the stars of the heaven in
multitude."
Through Abraham's seed, all nations of the earth would be blessed
(Genesis 12:3; 22:18). This promise was fulfilled by the sacrifice
of Christ upon the cross. In Peter's sermon on Solomon's porch, he
said, "You are the sons of the prophets, and of the Covenant which
God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, 'And in your seed all
the families of the earth will be blessed.' To you first God, having
raised up His Servant Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away
every one of you from your iniquities" (Acts 3:25,26). The apostle
Paul taught the same thing in Galatians 3:9 when he said, "those who
are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham".
The third promise was the land of Canaan itself. God told Abraham,
"Unto thy seed will I give this land" (Genesis 12:7). In Genesis
13:12 we find Abraham was dwelling in that land. God commanded
Abraham to "Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where
thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: for
all the land which thou seest to thee will I give it, and to thy
seed forever" (Genesis 13:14,15).
God made good on this promise when Joshua led the Israelites into
the land of Canaan. "And the Lord gave unto Israel all the land
which he swore to give unto their fathers; and they possessed it and
dwelt therein There failed not ought of any good thing which the
Lord had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass" (Joshua
21:43,45).
Retention of the land was conditional. Israel had a choice between
being blessed or cursed by God. If they would "harken diligently"
unto the Lord, they would dwell in the land and be blessed
(Deuteronomy 28:1-14). However, if they turned aside from the law of
God, they would be cursed and driven out of the land (Deuteronomy
28:15-68).
Joshua promised them, "When ye have transgressed the covenant of the
Lord then shall the anger of the Lord be kindled against you, and ye
shall perish quickly from off the good land which he has given unto
you" (Joshua 23:16).
These people later rejected the Lord and were sent into Babylonian
captivity. God kept His word, even though they didn't keep theirs. ~
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 What
Means This Fish SymbolThe fish symbol is seen on bumper
stickers, business cards, hats T-shirts, and so on. To many people it
has almost become as much a symbol of Christianity as the cross.
Sometimes, as in our background, it contains several Greek letters.
What does the fish symbol mean? What are the Greek letters and what
do they mean?
The fish symbol is called ICHTHUS, pronounced: ikh-thoos, and
means fish in Greek. The Greek letters contained in the symbol spell
the word ICHTHUS in Greek. The five Greek letters are: Iota, Chi,
Theta, Upsilon, Sigma. To the early Christians these letters stood
for five words confessing our "Lord, Jesus Christ God's Son Savior".
While some believe the Greek letters stand for the English word
JESUS such is not the case.
It is not known when the fish symbol was first used to refer to
Jesus Christ as God's Son and our Savior but it was well establish
by the last half of the second century. By this time the fish symbol
was appearing on sarcophagi, rings, seals, and catacombs used by
Christians. The first written reference regarding the fish and its
letters was in 180 a.d.
Why a fish with letters?
Around 200 a.d. Quintus Tertullian wrote a short thesis on
baptism for those who were preparing for baptism at the local church
gathering place. He made this observation, "We as little fishes, in
accordance with our ICHTHUS Jesus Christ, are born in water."
Tertullian is saying the fish symbol is a confession of Christ and
our new birth in Christ. The fish symbol, then, is a confession of
Christ. It also means those who confess Christ understand the new
birth, being born again, takes place when they are immersed in the
water of baptism. The early Christians understood they were not
saved or born again till after they were immersed in water. In fact
in those early days the Latin writers call the baptistery a Piscina,
which means fish pond in Latin.
Interesting Observation
Most who wear or use the ICHTHUS do not believe baptism in water
is necessary for remission of sins. Yet, they proudly display the
very symbol confessing the necessity of water before one can be
saved, before one can be born again.
Read and Reflect
Leon E. Cathey ~ |
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Two Plans of Salvation
Plan #1 Announced by the apostles, inspired by the Holy Spirit, to
new believers in Christ who had asked what they must do:
"Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for
the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the
Holy Spirit." {Acts 2:38}
Plan #2 (The Promise Keepers Plan of Salvation) "You need to do five
things to become a part of God's family. If you haven't already done
this, I urge you, if you're sincerely ready, to do them now: 1)
Admit your spiritual need, "I am a sinner." 2) Repent. Be willing to
turn from your sin and, with God's help start living to please him.
3) Believe that Jesus died for you on the cross and rose again. 4)
Receive, through prayer, Jesus Christ into your heart and life. 5)
Pray something like this from the sincerity of your heart:
"Dear Lord Jesus, I know I'm a sinner. I believe You died for my
sins and rose from the grave. Right now, I turn from my sins and
open the door of my heart and life. I receive you as my personal
Lord and Savior, Thank you for saving me. Amen."
Christ's church in Graham (and in Navarre - editor's note) is happy with Plan #1 and thankful to the
God of all grace for it. We cannot recommend Plan #2 at all, but
will change our minds when this prayer, or something like it, can be
shown to us in the Bible. (From the bulletin of a church of Christ
located in Graham, Texas) ~ |