As proof of a future inheritance of the saints on the earth, we will notice the promise the Lord made to Abraham. St. Paul speaks of this promise as one of the firm assurances of future hope; and, because it was confirmed to Abraham by the oath of God, we may derive strong consolation from it, as it rests on "two immutable things." The two immutables being the word of God, and the oath of God.
Those who say we have nothing to do with the teachings of the Old Testament, and that our instruction in divine things is to be received from the New Testament only, may think it strange that we should go so far back as to Abraham for proof on so important a question as the future inheritance of the saints. Why not go there? St. Paul says that God "preached before the gospel unto Abraham." If the gospel was preached to him, and if we wish to grasp gospel truth in its entirety, it may be profitable for us to peruse those gospel instructions delivered to him.
In making the promise, "the Lord said unto Abraham, after that Lot was separated from him, 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."
The Lord made also a covenant with Abraham concerning the land of promise, and when about to confirm that covenant he said to him, "Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; and also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge; and afterward shall they come out with great substance. And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age."
That these promises did not relate to anything Abraham was to receive in his lifetime is evident from the words of Stephen. When speaking of the sojourn of Abraham in the land of Canaan, he says that the Lord "gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on."
It could not be simply a temporary possession of the land promised Abraham for the Lord told him he should have it "forever," and "for an everlasting possession." Admitting that the terms forever and everlasting are sometimes used in a limited sense, we cannot so regard them in this case. The everlasting is not limited by Abraham's life-time; it is the possession that is to be everlasting. Had he received it in his life-time we should find him still on the land, for the land still exists. St. Paul says "God called him to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance."
Of the covenant the Lord made with Abraham we read, "And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect, and I will make my covenant between me and thee." This charge given to Abraham, as we learn by the marginal reading of the text, was to "be upright, or sincere." Uprightness and sincerity can only be developed by those who, by the grace of God working in them, yield obedience to his perfect law. That being the case the conditions of receiving the inheritance is obedience to the law of God. The blessing of the covenant is stated in verse 8, "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."
The promise made to Abraham was renewed to Isaac. The Lord said to him, "Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee, . . . . and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws."
This promise to Abraham and Isaac was confirmed to Jacob, while sleeping at Bethel with a stone for his pillow. He had a dream of a ladder extending from earth to heaven, with angels of God ascending and descending upon it, "And behold the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac; the land wherein thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed."
We now inquire concerning this Abrahamic promise, was it, as some assert, all accomplished when the children of Israel went into the land of Canaan? Was this simply a promise that Abraham should have a temporal possession of the land? If so, the promise failed; for he died "in a good old age," and the Lord "gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on." We shall not admit that he did not receive it in his life-time because God failed, on his part, to fulfill his promise; but, the promise made to him of a possession will yet be accomplished, and fully realized, in a future possession of the earth. St. Paul says that Abraham sojourned in the land of promise as in a strange country." It is vain for men to seek for the final accomplishment of these promises in the past, either to Abraham or his posterity. Simply a temporary possession of the land of Canaan does not meet the case; for St. Paul says that the promise to Abraham, was that "he should be heir of the world."
We may gain clearer light on the nature of the Abrahamic promise by a perusal of St. Paul's comment upon it. He says, "Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, and to seeds, as of many; but as of one, and to thy seed, which is Christ." If the seed to whom the promise was made is Christ, then the promise could not be fulfilled prior to the coming of that seed, consequently, not prior to the first advent of Christ. So we see there is no just ground for the claim that the promise to Abraham was all fulfilled when the children of Israel sojourned in the land of Canaan. What God predicted concerning their sojourn was fulfilled to that extent, that "there failed not aught of any good thing which the Lord had spoken unto the house of Israel." But were Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob with them when they went in to possess the land? No. "They carried up Joseph's bones." Here then were four generations, at least, that did not receive the land while alive, and yet the Lord said to Abraham, "I will give it [the land] to thee." To Isaac, he said, "For unto thee I will give all these countries." To Jacob, he said, "The land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it." If we give due weight to these words, we must conclude that when these promises are fulfilled, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will be there personally, with the rest of God's people, to possess the land.
Although Christ is the seed to whom the promise was made, to the church of God has been granted the privilege of joint heirship with Christ. St. Paul says, "If ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise." Christ's children could not be said to be heirs of a promise if that promise were already fulfilled. Jews, after the flesh, are not heirs of the final inheritance in Christ simply because they are descendants of Abraham; but, as expressed by St. Paul, "So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham."
In his epistle to the Hebrews, St. Paul has an interesting testimony concerning Abraham. He says, "By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned291in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: for he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God." "By faith also Sarah herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised. 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 sea shore innumerable. These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth."
In one of these testimonies we see that God never intended Abraham and his seed being heirs of the land of Canaan as receiving the final fulfillment of it. It is the obvious meaning of the text. But some may say, "Was not the promise made to the Saviour and his literal seed the same as the promise made to Abraham?" No, not to the true seed, which is Christ, who is the heir of the inheritance; with him is associated the church, the land of promise, and the world are for the heirs. The promise to the spiritual seed comes. The promise is made to the seed people, "O Lord, thy dwelling place in all successive generations." "The throne of David is the throne of the world."
In this testimony to the Hebrews, St. Paul mentions the fact that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would fail to inherit the land if it was to be accomplished in their lifetime. He simply says, "These all died in faith." But if we report that they died without receiving it, when God having given them the land, how could they without faith? It is impossible that God fail to fulfill his promise. We must conclude to a future inheritance. The promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is for the future inheritance. The "better country" is the land of promise. If something better is to be given to us in the future, we should receive it. "These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off." The "better country" is the land of promise. If something better is to be given to us in the future, we should receive it. "God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect." The promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is for the future inheritance. The "better country" is the land of promise. If something better is to be given to us in the future, we should receive it.
The apostle, in his speech before Agrippa, mentioning these things, says, "And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers: unto which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and night, hope to come." Here is a direct reference to the promise made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Paul says, "So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham." And so, as expressed by St. Paul, "If ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise." Christ's children could not be said to be heirs of a promise if that promise were already fulfilled. Jews, after the flesh, are not heirs of the final inheritance in Christ simply because they are descendants of Abraham; but, as expressed by St. Paul, "So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham."
The apostle, in his speech before Agrippa, mentions these things, saying, "And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers: unto which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and night, hope to come. For which hope's sake, king Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews. Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should raise the dead." He is willing to be judged for his hope relative to the promise to the fathers. He saw that the people would inquire how Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob could receive this promise if they were dead; so he inquires why they should think the resurrection incredible. It would be strange indeed if St. Paul should submit himself to be judged in a Roman court, liable to be condemned to death, because of a hope inspired by a promise that was all fulfilled. It is evident from this text that the apostle designed to teach that the fulfillment of this promise is beyond the resurrection. The evidence is most conclusive that the Abrahamic promise reaches to the new-earth state.