Land Promises Just for Israel? NO! The whole earth is blessed under Christ!
LeahFor 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 (Rom. 4:13).
‘Therefore, I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce
its fruit. Matthew 21:43.
In this episode, we set out to destroy the myth that god's land promises are only for modern Jews and the nation of Israel. Modern End Times theology is destructive to God's Creation. It teaches that the world must get worse and worse before Jesus comes back and that the land promises and blessings of Abraham are just for the Jews and just for Isreal. This ideology has given evil men free rein to destroy God's beautiful creation and fill it with high rises, pollute the rivers and waterways, and stuff humans into suffocating cities. Christians need to reclaim the land promises of God and then the Almighty can once again bless the nations. When God took the children of Israel into the Promised Land they were experiencing the fulfillment of God's Covenant to Abraham. Deuteronomy 28 lists all the blessings God would bestow upon his people " If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth." God promised they would be blessed wherever they went, the fruit of their womb, their livestock, abundant food, victory over their enemies and so much more. However, the prophets foresaw a day when Israel would break that covenant and God would create a New Covenant that would be for the entire world to partake in. What happened to those land covenant promises? Modern end times theory says that they are just for the Jews and the land to be blessed is only Israel but nothing could be further from the truth. Those promises are for the whole planet to be restored for all of God's people to enter into today.
God’s promise to Abraham. Genesis 12:1-3 ‘The Lord said to Abram, ‘Leave your country, your relatives, and
your father's home, and go to a land that I am going to show you. I will give you many descendants, and they will
become a great nation. I will bless you and make your name famous, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those
who bless you, but I will curse those who curse you. And through you I will bless all the nations.’
1 Peter 2:7-10 ‘Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, ‘The stone the
builders rejected has become the cornerstone,’ and, ‘A stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes
them fall.’ They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for. But you are a
chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him
who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of
God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.’
The Bible is exceedingly clear, Christians are the seed of Abraham, ‘So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God
through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew
nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to
Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise’. Galatians 3:26-29
Ephesians 2
11Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands— 12that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, 15having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, 16and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. 17And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. 18For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.
What Does Premillenialism Teach?
Israelismyglory.com states the view of premillenialism in regards to the coveants and land- that is, they are for Jews and were not fulfilled under God's promises to His people.
"In keeping with Premillennialism’s method of consistent historical, grammatical interpretation, the “covenants of promise” (Eph. 2:12), that is, the biblical covenants (Abrahamic, Land, Davidic, New), which demonstrate God’s working in history through a Chosen People, find ultimate fulfillment with national Israel. Only Premillennialism guarantees that promise and fulfillment for national Israel involve the same people (the Jews) in the same place (the land of Israel) and on the same terms (physical and spiritual restoration)."
The author goes on Without a Millennium, God would break an unconditional land promise to Abraham (Gen. 13:15–17; 15:18–21; 17:8) and an unconditional throne promise to David (2 Sam. 7:10–13; Ps. 89:34–37). With a Millennium, national Israel returns to its land forever (Ezek. 37:25); and King David, through David’s greater Son the Messiah, will continue the eternal throne promise (34:23–24; 37:24).
This fulfillment occurs in the Millennium after Christ’s return, when a regenerate national Israel comes under the provisions of the New Covenant (Jer. 33:14–26). Any other view violates the literal fulfillment of these covenants by applying them to the church and thereby denying God’s future plan for Israel at the time of its national repentance (Acts 3:19–21).
Since God must be faithful to fulfill His everlasting covenants (Num. 23:19; Jer. 31:34–37; Lam. 3:21–24; Heb. 6:13–18), He must fulfill them with Abraham’s descendants despite their sin (Ex. 6:4; Lev. 26:44–45; Dt. 4:30–31; Jer. 30:11; Hos. 6:7–11). So far, God has not fulfilled these covenants for national Israel (Isa. 60:15; 62:4; Rom. 9:4). Doing so must take place during Christ’s coming Kingdom (Jer. 30:24—31:1; Hos. 3:4–5). Christ Himself said fulfillment will come in the “regeneration” (a term for the Millennium), “when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory” (Mt. 19:28). Even the apostles understood fulfillment had not happened in their day (Acts 1:6; 3:19–21; 2 Th. 2:1–4).
But WHO is Israel today?
Who is the nation of Israel to whom God makes a promise in Jeremiah 31? Jesus gives us a very clear indication in Matt. 21:43: "Therefore I say unto you, the kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof." We do not have to look too far to discover which nation that is: it is the church, the church of Jesus Christ, made up of believing Jews and Gentiles, who are the seed of Abraham, the children of God, the Jews of the New Testament. Peter writes to the church in these words: "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people ... which in times past were not a people, but are now the people of God" (I Peter 2:9-10). Holy nation is the name given to Israel in Exodus 19:5-6. Peter now applies it to the church! The church is the holy nation, and since the church will never be destroyed, in her and not in the modern post-1948 state of Israel, the promise of Jeremiah 31 is fulfilled. Titus 2:14 is also instructive: to the churches in Crete Paul attributes the title "peculiar people," a name taken from Exodus 19:5!
One more thing must be noticed in Jeremiah 31. The promise of the new covenant is made to "the house of Judah and the house of Israel" (v. 31). In this covenant with the house of Israel God will "put [his] law in their inward parts and write it in their hearts and will be their God and they shall be [his] people ... " (v. 33). Moreover, God promises to the same house of Israel: "I will forgive their iniquity and I will remember their sin no more" (v. 34). How is this new covenant promise fulfilled, and to whom? The answer is found in Hebrews 8:6-13. This covenant has nothing to do with the house of Israel as a distinct entity from the church of Jesus Christ. The church of Christ, which enjoys the knowledge of God and forgiveness of sins, is the house of Israel
http://www.prca.org/resources/publications/articles/itemlist/category/384-the-israel-of-god
Let's go back to Romans 4
9Does this blessedness then come upon the circumcised only, or upon the uncircumcised also? For we say that faith was accounted to Abraham for righteousness. 10How then was it accounted? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised. 11And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while still uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all those who believe, though they are uncircumcised, that righteousness might be imputed to them also, 12and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also walk in the steps of the faith which our father Abraham had while still uncircumcised.
The Promise Granted Through Faith
13For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. 14For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise made of no effect, 15because the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression.
16Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, 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 17(as it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed—God,
. Romans 11:24-27 ‘You Gentiles are like the branch of a wild olive tree that is broken off and then, contrary to
nature, is joined to a cultivated olive tree. The Jews are like this cultivated tree; and it will be much easier for God to
join these broken-off branches to their own tree again. There is a secret truth, my friends, which I want you to know,
for it will keep you from thinking how wise you are. It is that the stubbornness of the people of Israel is not
permanent, but will last only until the complete number of Gentiles comes to God. And this is how all Israel will be
saved. As the scripture says, ‘The Saviour will come from Zion and remove all wickedness from the descendants of
Jacob. I will make this covenant with them when I take away their sins.’
Inherit the land
What does it mean when the Bible talks about ‘inheriting the earth’ or inheriting inherit the land? Matthew 5:5
‘Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth’. Basically, it means blessings for those who obey the covenant.
There is no concept of heaven in the Old Testament, there were 2 promises. Prosperity and occupancy of the land.
eternal life is never promised in the Old Testament. Psalm 73:11 ‘But the meek shall inherit the land and delight
themselves in abundant peace’
Matthew 21:33-46 ‘Listen to another parable,’ Jesus said. ‘There was once a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a
fence around it, dug a hole for the wine press, and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to tenants and left
home on a trip. When the time came to gather the grapes, he sent his slaves to the tenants to receive his share of the
harvest. The tenants grabbed his slaves, beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again, the man sent other
slaves, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. Last of all he sent his son to them.
‘Surely, they will respect my son,’ he said. But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the
owner’s son. Come on, let’s kill him, and we will get his property!' So, they grabbed him, threw him out of the
vineyard, and killed him. Now, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?’ Jesus
asked. ‘He will certainly kill those evil men,’ they answered, ‘and rent the vineyard out to other tenants, who will
give him his share of the harvest at the right time." Jesus said to them, ‘Haven't you ever read what the Scriptures
say?’The stone which the builders rejected as worthless turned out to be the most important of all. This was done by
the Lord; what a wonderful sight it is!' ‘And so, I tell you,’ added Jesus, ‘the Kingdom of God will be taken away
from you and given to a people who will produce the proper fruits.’ The chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’
parables and knew that he was talking about them, so they tried to arrest him. But they were afraid of the crowds,
who considered Jesus to be a prophet’.
Jesus’ parable signifies the very moment that God rejected Israel.
God’s original plan fulfilled
1 Peter 2:9+10 ‘But you are the chosen race, the King's priests, the holy nation, God's own people, chosen to proclaim
the wonderful acts of God, who called you out of darkness into his own marvellous light. At one time, you were not
God's people, but now you are his people; at one time, you did not know God’s mercy, but now you have received his
mercy’.
Like we looked at earlier, Israel was supposed to be an object lesson, Exodus 19:5+6. They were supposed to be a
kingdom of priests, a holy nation. They were to bring the world back to God. They were to act like mediators
between the world and God and now Peter says all Christians are a holy nation of priests and now the Gentiles would
now be the new Israel
What Is the Meaning of ‘For Ever’?
But millennialists contend that Palestine was promised to Israel ‘for ever’, (Genesis 13:15. This fails to recognise, of
course, that the term ‘for ever’ isn’t always used in the Bible in a completely unlimited sense.
For instance, circumcision was an ‘everlasting covenant’, Genesis 17:13; the Passover was an ordinance ‘for ever’,
Exodus 12:14; and the Levitical system had an ‘everlasting priesthood’, Numbers 25:13. These Old Testament
institutions, however, passed away with the abrogation of the law, thus demonstrating that ‘for ever’ sometimes has a
temporary significance
‘Go and buy a
clay jar from a potter. Take along some of the elders of the people and of the priests and go out to the Valley of Ben
Hinnom, near the entrance of the Potsherd Gate. There proclaim the words I tell you, and say, ‘Hear the word of the
LORD, you kings of Judah and people of Jerusalem. This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says:
Listen! I am going to bring a disaster on this place that will make the ears of everyone who hears of it tingle’.
Jeremiah 19:1-3
Subsequently, he was told to go to the valley of Hinnom and prophesy to the inhabitants of Jerusalem concerning
their sins and their eventual destruction. As a symbol of this promised punishment, Jeremiah was commanded to
‘break the bottle’ and to proclaim its meaning. ‘This is what the LORD Almighty says: I will smash this nation and
this city just as this potter’s jar is smashed and cannot be repaired’. Jeremiah 19:11.
This prophecy was partially fulfilled with a siege of the Babylonians in 586 B.C. 2 Kings 25, but was completely and
ultimately fulfilled with the destruction of national Israel by the Romans in A.D. 70.
Deut 8- Blessings & Cursings 8 Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors. 2 Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. 3 He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. 4 Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. 5 Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you.
6 Observe the commands of the Lord your God, walking in obedience to him and revering him. 7 For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land—a land with brooks, streams, and deep springs gushing out into the valleys and hills; 8 a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; 9 a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills.
10 When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. 11 Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. 12 Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, 13 and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 15 He led you through the vast and dreadful wilderness, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. 16 He gave you manna to eat in the wilderness, something your ancestors had never known, to humble and test you so that in the end it might go well with you. 17 You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” 18 But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.
19 If you ever forget the Lord your God and follow other gods and worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed. 20 Like the nations the Lord destroyed before you, so you will be destroyed for not obeying the Lord your God.
Deuteronomy 28 Blessings and Cursings
28 If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. 2 All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God:
3 You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country.
4 The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.
5 Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed.
6 You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.
7 The Lord will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven.
8 The Lord will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The Lord your God will bless you in the land he is giving you.
9 The Lord will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the Lord your God and walk in obedience to him. 10 Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they will fear you. 11 The Lord will grant you abundant prosperity—in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your ground—in the land he swore to your ancestors to give you.
12 The Lord will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. 13 The Lord will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the Lord your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom. 14 Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today, to the right or to the left, following other gods and serving them.
Curses for Disobedience
15 However, if you do not obey the Lord your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come on you and overtake you:
16 You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the country.
17 Your basket and your kneading trough will be cursed.
18 The fruit of your womb will be cursed, and the crops of your land, and the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.
19 You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out.
20 The Lord will send on you curses, confusion and rebuke in everything you put your hand to, until you are destroyed and come to sudden ruin because of the evil you have done in forsaking him. 21 The Lord will plague you with diseases until he has destroyed you from the land you are entering to possess. 22 The Lord will strike you with wasting disease, with fever and inflammation, with scorching heat and drought, with blight and mildew, which will plague you until you perish. 23 The sky over your head will be bronze, the ground beneath you iron. 24 The Lord will turn the rain of your country into dust and powder; it will come down from the skies until you are destroyed.
25 The Lord will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You will come at them from one direction but flee from them in seven, and you will become a thing of horror to all the kingdoms on earth. 26 Your carcasses will be food for all the birds and the wild animals, and there will be no one to frighten them away. 27 The Lord will afflict you with the boils of Egypt and with tumors, festering sores and the itch, from which you cannot be cured. 28 The Lord will afflict you with madness, blindness and confusion of mind. 29 At midday you will grope about like a blind person in the dark. You will be unsuccessful in everything you do; day after day you will be oppressed and robbed, with no one to rescue you.
30 You will be pledged to be married to a woman, but another will take her and rape her. You will build a house, but you will not live in it. You will plant a vineyard, but you will not even begin to enjoy its fruit. 31 Your ox will be slaughtered before your eyes, but you will eat none of it. Your donkey will be forcibly taken from you and will not be returned. Your sheep will be given to your enemies, and no one will rescue them. 32 Your sons and daughters will be given to another nation, and you will wear out your eyes watching for them day after day, powerless to lift a hand. 33 A people that you do not know will eat what your land and labor produce, and you will have nothing but cruel oppression all your days. 34 The sights you see will drive you mad. 35 The Lord will afflict your knees and legs with painful boils that cannot be cured, spreading from the soles of your feet to the top of your head.
36 The Lord will drive you and the king you set over you to a nation unknown to you or your ancestors. There you will worship other gods, gods of wood and stone. 37 You will become a thing of horror, a byword and an object of ridicule among all the peoples where the Lord will drive you.
38 You will sow much seed in the field but you will harvest little, because locusts will devour it. 39 You will plant vineyards and cultivate them but you will not drink the wine or gather the grapes, because worms will eat them. 40 You will have olive trees throughout your country but you will not use the oil, because the olives will drop off. 41 You will have sons and daughters but you will not keep them, because they will go into captivity. 42 Swarms of locusts will take over all your trees and the crops of your land.
43 The foreigners who reside among you will rise above you higher and higher, but you will sink lower and lower. 44 They will lend to you, but you will not lend to them. They will be the head, but you will be the tail.
45 All these curses will come on you. They will pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed, because you did not obey the Lord your God and observe the commands and decrees he gave you. 46 They will be a sign and a wonder to you and your descendants forever. 47 Because you did not serve the Lord your God joyfully and gladly in the time of prosperity, 48 therefore in hunger and thirst, in nakedness and dire poverty, you will serve the enemies the Lord sends against you. He will put an iron yoke on your neck until he has destroyed you.
49 The Lord will bring a nation against you from far away, from the ends of the earth, like an eagle swooping down, a nation whose language you will not understand, 50 a fierce-looking nation without respect for the old or pity for the young. 51 They will devour the young of your livestock and the crops of your land until you are destroyed. They will leave you no grain, new wine or olive oil, nor any calves of your herds or lambs of your flocks until you are ruined. 52 They will lay siege to all the cities throughout your land until the high fortified walls in which you trust fall down. They will besiege all the cities throughout the land the Lord your God is giving you
Giving to God the Firstfruits Deut 12
4 You must not worship the Lord your God in their way. 5 But you are to seek the place the Lord your God will choose from among all your tribes to put his Name there for his dwelling. To that place you must go; 6 there bring your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, what you have vowed to give and your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks. 7 There, in the presence of the Lord your God, you and your families shall eat and shall rejoice in everything you have put your hand to, because the Lord your God has blessed you.
8 You are not to do as we do here today, everyone doing as they see fit, 9 since you have not yet reached the resting place and the inheritance the Lord your God is giving you. 10 But you will cross the Jordan and settle in the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, and he will give you rest from all your enemies around you so that you will live in safety. 11 Then to the place the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his Name—there you are to bring everything I command you: your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, and all the choice possessions you have vowed to the Lord. 12 And there rejoice before the Lord your God—you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levites from your towns who have no allotment or inheritance of their own. 13 Be careful not to sacrifice your burnt offerings anywhere you please. 14 Offer them only at the place the Lord will choose in one of your tribes, and there observe everything I command you.
Deut 26 6 When you have entered the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance and have taken possession of it and settled in it, 2 take some of the firstfruits of all that you produce from the soil of the land the Lord your God is giving you and put them in a basket. Then go to the place the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his Name 3 and say to the priest in office at the time, “I declare today to the Lord your God that I have come to the land the Lord swore to our ancestors to give us.” 4 The priest shall take the basket from your hands and set it down in front of the altar of the Lord your God. 5 Then you shall declare before the Lord your God: “My father was a wandering Aramean, and he went down into Egypt with a few people and lived there and became a great nation, powerful and numerous. 6 But the Egyptians mistreated us and made us suffer, subjecting us to harsh labor. 7 Then we cried out to the Lord, the God of our ancestors, and the Lord heard our voice and saw our misery, toil and oppression. 8 So the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great terror and with signs and wonders. 9 He brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey; 10 and now I bring the firstfruits of the soil that you, Lord, have given me.” Place the basket before the Lord your God and bow down before him. 11 Then you and the Levites and the foreigners residing among you shall rejoice in all the good things the Lord your God has given to you and your household.
12 When you have finished setting aside a tenth of all your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe, you shall give it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, so that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied. 13 Then say to the Lord your God: “I have removed from my house the sacred portion and have given it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, according to all you commanded. I have not turned aside from your commands nor have I forgotten any of them. 14 I have not eaten any of the sacred portion while I was in mourning, nor have I removed any of it while I was unclean, nor have I offered any of it to the dead. I have obeyed the Lord my God; I have done everything you commanded me. 15 Look down from heaven, your holy dwelling place, and bless your people Israel and the land you have given us as you promised on oath to our ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey.”
Tithe came from the land
Lev 27 30 “‘A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord. 31 Whoever would redeem any of their tithe must add a fifth of the value to it. 32 Every tithe of the herd and flock—every tenth animal that passes under the shepherd’s rod—will be holy to the Lord. 33 No one may pick out the good from the bad or make any substitution. If anyone does make a substitution, both the animal and its substitute become holy and cannot be redeemed.’”
