"Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred,
and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee: and I will make of thee a
great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
... and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed. So Abram departed, as the
Lord had spoken unto him; . . . And Abram took Sarah his wife, and Lot his brother's son,
and all their substance that they had gathered; . .. and into the land of Canaan they
came.... And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this
land." Gen.
12 :17. "And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward
heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall
thy seed be." "In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy
seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river
Euphrates." Gen.
15:5-21.
"And in thy seed shall all nations of the earth be blessed."
Gen. 22:18. "And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to
Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; ... And I will make my covenant
between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.... As for me, behold, my
covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. Neither shall thy name
any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations
have I made thee.... 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." Gen.
17:1-8.
The covenant here spoken of is truly wonderful, and one that is greatly speculated upon
by Millennial advocates. Some teach that it will have a literal fulfillment in the future that
Christ will set up his throne in Jerusalem, which will be the capital of the world, and
through his seed (the church selected in this gospel age) all the families of the earth will
be saved and dwell in literal Canaan forever. While the many texts already cited, which
prove that the second coming of Christ will be the day of judgment, and will eternally fix
the doom and destiny of all men, and at which time this earth will be "burned up," and "pass away" and "no place be found for it" while
these texts are a perfect refutation of
all such chaffy theories, yet we feel led of the Lord to give a thorough exposition of this
covenant. It is one that contains a number of promises, which, when properly divided, are
as follows:
First. "I will make of thee a great nation." "And will multiply thee exceedingly." "Look
now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto
him, So shall thy seed be." "Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt
unto the great river, the river Euphrates ;" i. e., the land of Canaan. Second. "Thou shalt
be a father of many nations. And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.""I will give unto thy seed after thee, all the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession."
The first of these were personal and familiar; the second, spiritual, universal, and
eternal: or, in other words, the first had respect to Abraham's natural descendants,
according to the flesh; the promise of "a great nation" in own family. The second had
respect to the Messiah and all his people. This blessing is spiritual and eternal.
These promises the
first for a nation, the second for all time and eternity too embrace
within them the entire nations; the first for fleshly and temporal, the second for spiritual
blessings; the first for a time, the second for all destinies of humanity. They are the
fountains of two streams of promises, prophecies, and histories, which, born that
moment, began to flow, and whose waters meander through all ages, and disembogue
themselves at last into the vast ocean of eternity. The distinction of Jew and Gentile is
conceived in these promises. The Jew stands Abraham's "nation." The Gentile is always a
cosmopolite a
citizen of any nation. The Gentiles, or "the nations', on the one side, and
the Jews on the other, are here first placed in comparison and contrast. But after being for
a time severed by a special providence, both meet in the Messiah, by a mystic tie, and
become one in him; in whom "there is neither Jew nor Gentile, bond nor free, male nor
female."
Two covenants, sometimes called two testaments, "old and new," are founded on these
promises. The "old" or Sinaitic covenant the
law was
established upon the first. That
law was given to only one nation the
Jews. It was a "middle wall of partition" between
them and the Gentile nations. They were a favored people above all the nations of the
earth. The "new testament" was established upon the second. These promises upon which
the new covenant was established, Paul tells us are "better promises" than those upon
which the old covenant was established. (Heb. 8:6). The whole Jewish nation, with all
their peculiarities, grew out of the first; the whole Christian church, out of the second. We
will now proceed to prove that the first of these promises, which related to Abraham's
literal seed the Jews, have been fulfilled.
Promise. "I will make of thee a great nation, and will multiply thee exceedingly, until
thy seed shall be as the stars of heaven for number." Fulfillment. "The Lord your God
hath multiplied you, and, behold, ye are this day as the stars of heaven for multitude." Deut.
1:10' "Thy fathers went down into Egypt with threescore and ten persons; and now
the Lord thy God hath made thee as the stars of heaven for multitude." Deut.
10:22. "But David took not the number of them from twenty years old and under; because the
Lord had said he would increase Israel like to the stars of the heavens." 1
Chron 27:23.
"Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the
sky in multitude and as the sand which is by the seashore innumerable These all died in
faith." Heb.
11:12, 13.
Promise. "Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great
river, the river Euphrates." Fulfillment. Just before his death, Moses went to the top of
Pisgah that is over against Jericho. "And the Lord showed him all the land of Gilead, unto
Dan, and all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah,
unto the utmost sea, and the south, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm
trees, unto Zoar. And the Lord said unto him, This is the land which I sware unto
Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it unto thy seed: I have caused
thee to see it with thine eyes." Deut.
34 :14."Behold, I have set the land before you: go
in and possess the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob, to give unto them and to their seed after them." Deut.
1:7, 8, 21. Just before the
children of Israel crossed over Jordan into Canaan, "the Lord spake unto Joshua the son
of Nun, Moses' minister, saying, ...now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all
this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even the children of Israel. Every
place that the sole of our foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you,. ,..From the
wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, . . . Be strong
and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land,
which I sware unto their fathers to give them." Josh.
1:16.
They crossed over Jordan
(Josh. Chapters 3 and 4) and possessed the land. (Joshua, Chap.12 to 22.) "Judah and
Israel were many, as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking, and
making merry. And Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from the river unto the land of
the Philistines, and unto the border of Egypt." 1
Kings 4:20, 21. Read carefully Psalms
105:944.
Here David tells us clearly the promise of God to Abraham's literal seed was
fulfilled. Now turn to Nehemiah 9. "Thou art the Lord the God who didst choose Abram,
and broughtest him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees, and gavest him the name of
Abraham; ... and madest a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanites, to give
it, I say, to his seed, and hast performed 61 words; for thou art righteous." Verses
7 and
8. In verses 8 to 22 is given a description of God's dealings with Israel from their exodus
from Egypt to the time they arrived at Jordan. Now we read verses 2325
Their
children
also multipliedst thou as the stars of heaven, and broughtest them into the land,
concerning which thou hadst promised to their fathers, that they should go in to possess
it. So the children went in and possessed the land,... And they took strong cities, and a fat
land, and possessed houses full of all goods, wells digged, vineyards, and olive. yards,
and fruit trees in abundance; so they did eat, and were filled, and became fat, and
delighted themselves in thy great goodness." This line of scripture could be drawn out
considerably, but abundant proof is given that the promises of the Abrahamic covenant to"Israel after the flesh" have been fulfilled. This cuts off one branch of Millennialism; for
many contend today that these promises will have a literal fulfillment in the future, when
(as they say) Christ will reign over the Jews in Palestine. Having seen that the promises
to Abraham's natural descendants have beer, fulfilled, we will now prove that those
respecting the Messiah and his people reach their fulfillment in this gospel age.
Promise. "Thou shalt be a father of many nations."
Fulfillment. "For the promise, that
he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law,
but through the righteousness of faith. For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is
made void, and the promise made of none effect: . . . Therefore it Is of faith, that it might
be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is
of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all,
(as it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations)." Rom.
4:13-17.
Nothing is plainer than the fact so clearly stated in this text, that the promise of God to make
Abraham a father of many nations has a spiritual fulfillment in the New Testament
dispensation. God is making all nations children of Abraham, by bringing them into the
faith of the gospel. "For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel: neither, because they
are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. That
is, they which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the
children of the promise are counted for the seed." "Even us, whom he hath called, not of
the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles." Rom.
9:68,
24. "Now,we, brethren, as Isaac
was, are the children of promise." Gal.
4:28. "Know ye therefore that they which are of
faith, the same are the children of Abraham." Gal.
3:7. "For ye are all the children of
God by faith in Christ Jesus." Ver.
26. "And if ye be Christ's then are ye Abraham’s
seed, and heirs according to the promise." Ver.
29. Every convert of the cross, from the
dawn of this dispensation to its close helps to constitute this great family, the children of
Abraham, the "Israel of God."
Promise. "And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed."
Fulfillment. "He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ."
Gal.
3:16. "That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus
Christ." Ver.
14. Christ then is the seed through whom all nations were to be blessed.
Russel and other Millennial advocates teach that Christ is now selecting a certain few out
of the Gentile nations, a select "seed," through whom he will extend special offers of
salvation to all families of the Berth in the Millennium. The scriptures quoted above
prove his theory a falsehood. "That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles
[nations] through Christ." And, "Behold, now is the day of salvation." Full salvation is
the blessing promised. "Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to
bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities." Acts
3 26. Here we are
told that the blessing of Abraham promised through Christ includes a turning away from
iniquities. This was something that could not be obtained under the law. A turning away
from iniquities signifies the obtaining of grace to live a sinless life; hence God's oath to
Abraham vouchsafes to us, through Christ, grace to "serve him without fear, in holiness
and righteousness before him all the days of our life." Luke
1:74, 75. A present, perfect
salvation from all sin, in the holy image of God, is now offered to all nations; yea, to"every creature," through the gospel of Christ; and the highest inducements are held out
for men to embrace the same. Multitudes of all nations have washed their robes and made
then white in the blood of the Lamb. Amen.
Promise. "I will give unto thy seed after thee all the land of Canaan for an everlasting
possession."
Fulfillment. As before proved, all true children of God whether Jews or Gentiles, in this
dispensation compose the spiritual seed of Abraham, the "Israel of God," who were to
obtain the blessing promised. This blessing was to come through Christ. Through Christ
we obtain a perfect salvation from sin, an eternal soulrest.
This is the spiritual Canaan
we now inherit and receive for an everlasting possession. The literal land of Canaan
inherited by the Jews was a type of the complete redemption we have in Christ Jesus, i.
e., perfect holiness. The literal Canaan given to the Jew was only for a time. Its blessings
were temporal. The spiritual Canaan which it typified is for all time and eternity. Its
blessings are spiritual and eternal. Hence it is an "everlasting possession." "Therefore it is
of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not
to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham." This
shows conclusively that the Canaan here promised has a spiritual signification, and meets
its fulfillment in the grace of God bestowed upon us in Christ Jesus. "Christ hath
redeemed us from the curse of the law being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed
is every one that hangeth on a tree: that the blessing of Abraham might come on the
Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through
faith." Gal.
3:13, 14. Here Paul positively declares that "the promise of the Spirit" is the "blessing of Abraham," and that the same has "come on the Gentiles through Jesus
Christ." This he identifies with the "inheritance" given to Abraham by promise (See
verses 1418.); and we receive the same "by faith." There was no inheritance promised in
the covenant but "Canaan," which Paul by authority of heaven interprets to be "the
Spirit." Christ instructed his disciples to tarry at Jerusalem, and wait for the "promise of
the Father," the "baptism of the Holy Ghost and fire." Read
Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4, 5.
They obeyed and received the promise. See Acts 2:14,
32, 33. It is said of all the
patriarchs and good men who lived under the law, that "these all, having obtained a good
report through faith, received not the promise." Heb.
11:39. The Holy Spirit in the
sense of the abiding Comforter was not received under the old dispensation, because,
according to the plain teaching of the New Testament, he could not be received in this
sense until after the incarnation and glorification of the Savior. See John 1:39; 16:7. But
we further read that God has provided these "better things" (namely, the glorious
fulfillment of his promise) "for us." Heb.
11:40. Hallelujah! "And now, brethren, I
commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to
give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified." Acts 20:32. "Inheritance
among them which are sanctified," Acts
26:18. "In whom also we have obtained an
inheritance." Eph.
1:11. "Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be
partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light." Col. 1:12. "To perform the mercy
promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant; the oath which he sware to
our father Abraham, that he would grant unto us, that we, being delivered out of the hand
of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him,
all the days of our life." Luke
1:72-75.
This is clear and conclusive. The experience of
entire sanctification, or perfect holiness, is the spiritual land of Canaan "we which believe
do enter."
(1) Through spiritual birth then become children of God.
(2) All the children of
God (both Jews and Gentiles) in this dispensation are the seed of Abraham. As such they
are "heirs" to the "inheritance" promised.
(3) This inheritance is clearly stated to be “the
baptism of the Holy Spirit," "sanctification," or “perfect holiness." These terms relate to
the same experience.
(4) This experience is not received by a transition from earth to
heaven, nor is it deferred to future age. It is now received "by faith," and can be lived and
enjoyed "all the days of our life."
"Far down o'er the ages a promise divine,
Descending to us in the fullness of time:
A seed should appear as the stars of the heaven,
And they should inherit a land to be given.
"Oh, we are the seed, so happy and blest
That dwell in the land of Canaan's holy rest:
Here streams of pure love are flowing along,
And anthems of glory are sounding in song.
"This land is salvation and holiness pure;
We find it in Jesus, our title is sure.
O sweet land of Beulah, thy glory divine
Forever and ever unclouded shall shine."
Selected.
In Paul's letter to the Hebrews, chapters 3 and 4, the apostle draws an analogy between
Israel in the wilderness and children of God not yet fully saved; also between literal
Canaan and the spiritual "rest" "we which have believed do enter." God had promised the
children of Israel rest in the land of Canaan. The first generation did not enter this land,"because they believed not." Of them he sware, "They shall not enter into my rest." "So
we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief." 3:
19. We have before shown
that literal Canaan was a type of the experience of perfect holiness. God had promised to
give Israel rest in the land of Canaan, "from all their enemies round about." Deut.
25:19. "My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest." Ex.
33:14. By exterminating
all the Canaanites who were born and bred in that land, the children of Israel were to
possess the land and have rest. How clearly this typifies the complete redemption we
have in Christ Jesus! The various bents of evil pride,
selfishness, jealousy, fear,
covetousness, anger, etc. are born in us. These are in. ward enemies. Christ "condemns
sin in the flesh," and "destroys the works of the devil" out of us; namely, saves us from
these enemies, and enables us to serve him "in holiness and righteousness before him all
the days of our life." Luke
1:74, 75. Not one of these enemies is allowed to remain and
lurk in the walls of "man's soul." Perfect love casteth out fear, and the soul sinks down
into a perfect tranquility, a haven of rest a
rest that gives "quietness and assurance
forever." This is the land of Beulah. Here "peace is extended like a river," and the soul is
enabled to "rejoice evermore," and "in everything give thanks"; even in times of trial,
adversity, disappointment, pressure, opposition, and misunderstanding. Here a soul feasts
on "fat things" and is "satisfied." This so far surpasses the experience of the masses that
they naturally suppose it can only be obtained in a supposed Millennium or after
death. But thank God, the redeemed have found it in this life. "We which have believed
do [present tense] enter into rest." Hallelujah! You see this is present. Believers now "do
enter" by faith into the Canaan "rest." The apostle urged the Hebrew converts to enter this
perfect soul rest. 4:1; 4:11; 10:19-22;
12:14.
We have clearly proved that those promises in the Abrahamic covenant which related to
his literal descendants after the flesh reached their fulfillment under the Law; and that
those which related to the Messiah and his people reach their fulfillment in the gospel
age: that the very things people are looking for in their Millennium, now possess and
enjoy in this last and best dispensation of God's love and mercy. Here again the word of
truth gets far ahead of the Dark Age Millennium theory.
"The kingdom of God is within you,
So the greatest of teachers hath said;
And the faithful and loving have found it,
And enjoyed it before they were dead.
"The Word, and the blood of the Savior
Is the anchor in which we do rest;
And heaven began with its favor
Now we reign with the pure and the blest."