The Kingdom of Promise and Prophecy

by Robertson L. Whiteside

ABRAHAM AND THE LAND PROMISE

When God called Abraham out of the Chaldees, he made certain promises to him, one of which is this: “In thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed.” (Gen. 12:1-3). Then when Abraham stood the test about offering up Isaac, God added this to the other promises: “In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.” That this promise refers to Christ is made clear by Paul: “Now to Abraham were the promises spoken, and to his seed. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, and to thy seed, which is Christ.” (Gal. 3:16). Paul’s language shows clearly that the promised seed of Abraham was none other than Christ Jesus. It is a perversion of the promise to make it refer to all fleshly children of Abraham or to those who are children by faith. Christians are blessings to others only as they allow Christ to use them as his instruments.

Universalists use the promise to Abraham in an effort to prove that all people will be saved, but they ignore the conditionality of promises. It is not my purpose to discuss Universalism, but call attention to these statements: “Ye will not come to me, that ye may have life.” (John 5:40). “He that disbelieveth shall be condemned.” (Mark 16:16). “And these shall go away into eternal punishment.” (Matt. 25:46). A person who will not believe these scriptures, and others that might be cited, will not believe anything he does not want to believe.

The future kingdom folks have twisted the land-promise in support of their future plans for the Lord. The land-promise to Abraham did not produce the speculation about the future return of the Jews to Palestine; but their return is an essential part of the future kingdom theory, and that made it necessary to claim that the land promise still holds good. Let us look into this matter briefly.

“And Jehovah appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land.” (Gen. 12:7). “And he said unto him, I am Jehovah that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give you this land to inherit it.” (Gen. 15:7). But Abram did not believe Jehovah, and said, “O Lord Jehovah, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?” For that unbelief, God required him to prepare three animals and two birds for a sacrifice, and then Jehovah did not honor his sacrifice with fire from heaven; and Abram had to protect his sacrifices from birds of prey. Then he fell into a deep sleep; “And lo, a horror of great darkness fell upon him.” Then Jehovah revealed to him the future bondage of his seed, and their deliverance. This showed Abram how God was displeased with Abram’s unbelief. It is significant that God left Abram out of his next promise: “In that day Jehovah made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land.” You see, Abram would have died long before they returned from Egypt. As we proceed it is well to remember the wording of this covenant-promise, and that Abraham is not included in it. Yet so long as Abraham lived, he was included in the land promise. (See Gen. 17:8). And of course, when the land-promise was made to Isaac and to Jacob after the death of Abraham, he was not included (Gen. 26:2, 3; 28:13).

It is urged by some that God promised the land to Abraham as an individual, yet Stephen says that God “gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on.” (Acts 7:5). It is affirmed that this promise must yet be fulfilled; yet Abraham had all the grazing rights he needed. The land therefore was his to use. But the future kingdom advocates overlook another statement Stephen made: After mentioning Israel’s going down into Egypt, Stephen said, “But as the time of the promise drew nigh which God vouchsafed unto Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt.” (verse 17). This was the land promise which God made to Abraham—“God vouchsafed unto Abraham.” The time for the fulfilling of that promise to Abraham had drawn nigh. The language cannot be twisted to mean anything else: So the Lord led Israel out of the land of Egypt and into the land of Canaan. Was this land promise which was “vouchsafed to Abraham,” and which had drawn nigh fulfilled? Joshua answers that question. “So Jehovah gave unto Israel all the land which he sware to give unto their fathers; and they possessed it, dwelt therein.... There failed not aught of any good thing which Jehovah had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass.” (Josh. 21:43-45). In his farewell address Joshua said, “And, behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth: and ye know in all your hearts and in all your souls, that not one thing hath failed of all the good things which Jehovah your God spake concerning you; all are come to pass unto you, not one thing hath failed thereof.” (Josh. 23:14). Language could not be plainer; or more emphatic. And a man who will not believe what Joshua says will not believe anything he does not want to believe.

We have been told that the land promise was unconditional; but the fact that the Jews were carried into captivity because of their sins and the further fact that they are not now in Palestine, and also the fact that at the beginning they had to drive the nations out, show how foolish it is to say that the land promise was not conditional. The Jews increased in their wickedness till they crucified Christ and tried to destroy his church. For these crimes they lost the land and their national existence; and now they have no more right to Palestine than to Italy, or any other country.

Notice the wording of God’s promise to Abraham: “I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land of thy sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession.” (Gen. 17:8). “After thee”—does that preposition “after” mean any thing to you? The land was given to Abraham, and to his seed after him—a succession of ownership, first Abraham and after him his seed. So if that promise is yet to be fulfilled, then Abraham will first occupy the land, how long no one knows, then it passes to his seed. Look at the language carefully, and it will mean something to you. You cannot ignore that preposition “after.” It is clear enough if you recognize the fact that Abraham had full use of the land while he lived, and that after him his seed had the land.