One of the most important keys in understanding
the complete Scriptures is the realization that the physical promises
of the Old Testament were changed to spiritual promises in the
New Testament. A misunderstanding of this change has spawned the
creation of many false doctrines, among which is the teaching
that the Lord will return and set up a physical kingdom on this
earth in Jerusalem. Therefore, if we desire to know God's will
and how we may please Him in life, it is important to understand
this great change which has been made clear in Scripture.
Let us look at the promise God made to Abram in
Genesis 12. In verses 2-3, God promised Abram to make from him
a great nation, to make his name great, and to bless all families
of the earth through him. In verse 7 of the same chapter, God
added the promise of the land to which He had guided Abram. As
we read in Genesis 17:7, God promised Abraham (He had changed
Abram's name in verse 5.) that this covenant would be an "everlasting
covenant." Since this covenant would last forever, it
is obvious that either those physical promises still exist or
they were changed to spiritual promises to continue forever. The
New Testament makes it clear that they were changed.
Let us consider the promise made to Abram. God
promised to make a great nation from him. God referred to Israel
as "my people" for the first time in Exodus 3:7
when He was preparing to send Moses to lead them out of Egypt.
The nation of Israel became the physical fulfillment of the "nation"
promise made to Abram. Abraham, of course, became the father of
Isaac and Isaac the father of Jacob, whose name was changed to
Israel (Genesis 32:27-28) by God. God repeated the promise He
had made to Abram to both Isaac (Genesis 26:1-5) and to Jacob
(Genesis 28:10-15).
Is the nation of Israel still God's people? Are
they still the fulfillment of the promise made to Abram, or has
the fulfillment been changed to a spiritual nation (kingdom)?
The Old Testament clearly states in many places that God rejected
Israel from being His people. One such scripture is found in Hosea
4:6 where God states, "My people are destroyed for lack
of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also
reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast
forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children"
(see also Jeremiah 6:30 & 7:29). However, God's rejection
was not total, but He often spoke of a remnant that would continue
with the promise made to Abram (see Jeremiah 15:10-14). In Zephaniah
3:13, we find that this remnant of the people would not sin. This
certainly gives us a clue that He is speaking of a spiritual people
rather than a physical people.
In the New Testament, Jesus promised the coming
of His kingdom. In Matthew 4:17, He said it was "at hand;"
in Matthew 6:10, in His model prayer He prayed for the kingdom
to come; in Mark 9:1, He said that some of those listening to
Him would not die until they saw the kingdom come. As Jesus stood
before Pilate, He stated that His "kingdom is not of this
world" (John 18:36). In other words, it is not a physical
but a spiritual kingdom. His kingdom is the church. All scriptures
before the establishment of the church in Acts 2 speak of the
kingdom's coming, but after Acts 2, all scriptures speak of the
kingdom's being in existence (see Colossians 1:13 & Revelation
1:9). In fulfillment of the promise to Abram, God's people (nation,
kingdom) was changed from a physical kingdom to a spiritual kingdom,
the church.
Consider the "great name" promise to
Abram. His name was changed to Abraham (Genesis 17:5), and he
became the one to whom the Israelites always looked back as being
their "father" (see Matthew 3:9). Jesus spoke of their
trust in Abraham (see John 8:39-59). All of the promises came
through Abraham, and he is referred to as the father of all who
believe (Romans 4:11). However, the promises of the New Testament,
which are a continuation of the promise made to Abram, come through
Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:3). In Acts 13:22-26, while Paul was
speaking about David (who was a descendant of Abraham), he indicated
that Jesus was raised as a Savior after the seed of David. The
spiritual promises came through Him and His name was elevated
above every name (Philippians 2:9-11). The "great name"
promise to Abram has its spiritual fulfillment in Jesus.
In these two parts of God's promise, it is easy
to see the change from physical to spiritual in the fulfillment
of the promise. Let us all try to understand the change in these
promises so that we might correctly divide and teach the Word
of God (2 Timothy 2:15). -2707 Bird St. Parkersburg, WV 26101.
kwkress@juno.com