According to Genesis 11:30-32 and Acts 7:1-3, Abram (later renamed Abraham) and his father, Terah, left their homeland in Ur, located in the upper regions of Mesopotamia—not to be confused with the city of Ur in southern Babylonia. Per the instructions from Yahweh, Abram would later migrate to a land that Yahweh would show him.
When Abram left Ur, Abram and his family were subject to the head of their clan, his father, Terah. Although they worshipped idols (as the Israelites later did) (e.g., Josh. 24:2; Gen. 31:34), they, like the later Israelites, were a family of Yahwehists (cf., Gen. 24:31, 50-51, 30:27-30, 31:48-50).
Because Harran, the elder son of Terah, had died while living in Ur, Terah had decided to leave Ur and move south. But instead of going all the way to Kanaan, he settled his tribe in the rich pasture lands in the region of Harran, located in the middle district of western Mesopotamia.
And Terah took his son Abram, and Lot, the son of Harran, his son’s son, and his daughter-in-law Sarai (Sarah), his son Abram’s wife, and left with them from Ur of the Kasadim to go to the land of Kanaan. And they came to (the district of) Harran and lived there. And the days of Terah were 205 years and Terah died. (Gen. 11:31-32)
The Land of Kanaan
After Terah, Abram’s father, died, Yahweh directed Abram to continue on to the land of Kanaan.
Go out from your land, and from your kinsmen, and from your father’s house, to the land I will show you. (Gen. 12:1)
The deity of glory appeared to our father Abraham while being, existing in Mesopotamia, formerly his dwelling place being in Kharran. (Acts 7:2-4)
And from there (the region of Harran), after his father died, he (Yahweh) removed him into this land into which you (the Judaeans) now dwell. (Acts 7:4)
Important for our investigation, the land to which Yahweh was leading Abram was already intended to be left to Abram as an “inheritance” by means of a “promise” from Yahweh.
By trust, being called, Abraham obeyed to go out into the place which he was GOING TO RECEIVE AS AN INHERITANCE, and went out, not knowing where he was going. By trust he sojourned in the SAME land of promise. (Heb. 11:8-9)
The Single Seed
On more than one occasion after Abram arrived in Kanaan, Yahweh reiterated the promise not only to give the land of Kanaan to Abram as an inheritance but also as an inheritance to Abram’s fleshly seed (descendant), singular.
And Yahweh appeared to Abram and said, I will give this land to your seed (LXX spermati, singular seed). And he built an altar there to Yahweh, who appeared to him. (LXX Gen. 12:7)
And Yahweh said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, Behold, lift up your eyes and look from the place there where you are, northward, southward, eastward, and westward, because all the land which you see, I will give it to you and to your seed (LXX spermati) ad olam (a perpetual world-age). . . . Rise up. Walk in the land to its length and to its breadth, because I will give it to you. (LXX Gen.13:14-15, 17)
This passage is important because it proves that ownership of this property will last ad olam (a perpetual world-age). It brings up the obvious, apparent contradiction. Abraham is presently dead, and according to Scriptures, the dead own nothing (Eccles. 9:5-6). Therefore, for the above statement to be true, it means that those who inherit this land must live ad olam (a perpetual world-age), i.e., they must possess perpetual life. As a result, King David writes:
The justified will inherit the land, and dwell ad (perpetually) on it. (Ps. 37:29)
For Yahweh’s promise of perpetual ownership of the Promised Land to come to pass, Abram and his seed must be resurrected back to life before they can receive eternal life. This is our first indication that this Inheritance will not be passed on to Abraham until some time well into the far distant future from the time when it was promised, on such a date when Abraham will be resurrected back to life and given eternal life. Herein lies the promise of a resurrection and eternal life.
Confirming the Covenant-Will
Yahweh eloahi later reassured Abram of this promise of an Inheritance by going so far as to have it confirmed as a Covenant-Will. Yahweh accomplished this task by performing the ancient human ritual to confirm a covenant, i.e., by making the promise and passing between the divided halves of sacrificed animals (cf., Jer. 34:18-20).
We read:
And he said to him, I am Yahweh who caused you to come out of Ur of the Kasadim (Chaldaeans) to give this land to you TO INHERIT IT. And he (Abram) said, My sovereign Yahweh, by what will I know that I will INHERIT IT. And he (Yahweh) said to him, Take for me a heifer being three years old, and a she-goat, being three years old, and a ram, being three years old, and a nestling dove. And he (Abram) took all these for him (Yahweh) and he divided them in the middle, and he (Abram) laid each piece opposite its neighbor; but he did not divide the bird. (Gen. 15:7-10)
After the animals had been divided, we are told:
And it happened, the sun had gone down and it was dark. Behold, a smoking furnace and a torch of fire that passed over between these parts. In that day Yahweh cut a covenant (LXX diatheken; covenant-will) with Abram, saying, I have given this land to your seed (LXX spermati; singular seed) from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates. (Gen. 15:17-21)
Then, in verses 19-21, there follows a list of tribes who anciently occupied the “lands” that formed the region of the Promised Land. The Promised Land, therefore, extends from the Euphrates River to the River of Egypt, the latter being defined by ancient writers as the Nile River and its Pelusiac or eastern arm, which was the ancient Egyptian frontier.
Promises to Single Seed of Abraham
When Abram was 99 years old, Yahweh told him:
And I will give to you and to your seed (LXX spermati; singular seed) after you the land of your sojourning, all the land of Kanaan, for an olam (world-age) possession. (Gen. 17:8a)
This particular olam (world-age), as demonstrated above, is defined as a period lasting ad olam (i.e., a perpetual or eternal world-age). This spermati (singular seed)—also referred to as the seed mentioned in LXX Genesis 13:15 and 15:18—is defined explicitly in Scriptures as Yahushua the Messiah.
Saul (Paul) writes:
Brothers, according to man I am speaking, equal to a confirmed covenant of man, no one sets aside or adds conditions thereto. But to Abraham the PROMISES were spoken, and to his spermati (seed singular). He does not say, And to spermasin (plural seeds), as upon many, but as of one, and to your spermati (seed singular), who is the Messiah. (Gal. 3:15-18)
Accordingly, the one leaving the Inheritance (the preexistent Yahushua), who later was transformed into human flesh and became Yahushua the Messiah, the promised single seed of Abraham (Philip. 2:6-8; John 1:1-4, 14), was both the giver and the receiver of the Inheritance.
Therefore, as we shall see below, the following was accomplished:
(1) Yahushua died to pass on the Inheritance that he left to Abraham and his single seed.
(2) Yahushua qualified as the seed of Abraham, who was to receive the same Inheritance.
Because Yahushua had never sinned (1 John 3:5; 1 Pet. 1:19, 2:21-22; Heb. 4:15, 7:26, 9:14; 2 Cor. 5:21), the Messiah was counted as being “worthy” to “receive power, and riches and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and a blessing” (Rev. 5:12). Once the Messiah has received use of this Inheritance, he will be able to share it with whomever he chooses.
Herein lies the promise that everyone, by the forgiveness of those repenting, grace, obedience, and service, can inherit eternal life.
Other Heirs
Only two heirs are mentioned specifically in Yahweh’s Will: Abraham and his singular seed. How does anyone else benefit from this Will? According to Scriptures, those who follow in Abraham’s footsteps (Rom. 4:12), by means of the Messiah’s ability to share it with them, will also become heirs of the same Inheritance given to Abraham and his singular seed.
But if you are the Messiah’s, you are Abraham’s sperma (seed as a group) and heirs according to the promise. (Gal. 3:29)
We inherit by becoming joint-heirs with the Messiah!
The ruach (spirit) bears witness with our ruach that we are children of the deity. And if children, also heirs, heirs indeed of the deity, and joint-heirs of the Messiah, if indeed, we suffer together, that also we will be glorified together. (Rom. 8:16-17)
And whatsoever you will do, work heartily, as to the sovereign (Yahushua) and not to men, knowing that from the sovereign you shall receive the recompense of the Inheritance, for you serve the sovereign Messiah. (Col. 3:24)
Ephesians 1:3-10 points out that father Yahweh predetermined that all things coming were to be headed up “in the Messiah, both the things in the heavens and the things on the earth,” adding:
. . . in him (the Messiah), in whom also we obtain an inheritance, being predetermined according to the purpose of him (father Yahweh) who works all things according to the counsel of his desire, for us to be the praise of his glory. (Eph. 1:11-12)
Both men and women are to become heirs and thereby gain eternal life by means of Yahweh’s grace.
Likewise, you husbands, dwell with them (your wives) according to knowledge, giving honor unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered. (1 Pet. 3:7)
Because all things exist through the desires of father Yahweh, we are told to give “thanks unto the father, who makes us competent for a share of the inheritance” (Col. 1:12). For this reason, Scriptures report that “the humble (meek) will inherit the land” (Matt. 5:5; Ps. 37:11).
The Eternal Inheritance
As demonstrated above, once received as an Inheritance from the preexistent Yahushua’s Will, the Promised Land is to be an ad olam (a perpetual world-age) lasting possession. For this reason, the apostles referred to “the promise of the Eternal Inheritance” (Heb. 9:15) and to an “incorruptible, undefiled, and unfading inheritance” (1 Pet. 1:4).
King David writes:
Yahweh knows the days of the upright: and their Inheritance will be for olam (a world-age). (Ps. 37:18)
As stated above, to possess a land eternally, one must live eternally. For that reason, the Messiah and his apostles spoke about receiving the Inheritance of “eternal life.” Yahushua taught:
And every one who has left houses, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands for the sake of my name, will receive a hundredfold (back) and will INHERIT ETERNAL LIFE. (Matt. 19:29)
The apostle Saul likewise told Titus:
But when the kindness and the love towards man appeared (i.e., Yahushua the Messiah), our savior deity, not out of works (of the Torah) which were in justification which we practiced, but according to his (father Yahweh’s) mercy, he will save us, by means of the washing of regeneration and renewing of the sacred ruach, which he (father Yahweh) richly pours out upon us by means of Yahushua the Messiah, our savior; that having been justified by his grace, we should become HEIRS according to the hope of ETERNAL LIFE. (Titus 3:4-7)
Therefore, one is not simply given salvation. Still, instead, as the book of Hebrews points out, they will “inherit salvation” (Heb. 1:14). That this doctrine was publically taught to the crowds following Yahushua is further demonstrated by the fact that on different occasions, men would come to him and ask:
Good teacher, what can I do so that I will inherit eternal life? (Mark 10:17, Luke 10:25, 18:18).
Joint Ownership of Land
These details raise the question, Why would Yahweh leave land as an eternal inheritance to gain eternal life? Why not just promise someone eternal life? One must recognize that joint ownership of the Promised Land is vital to our future status. It is essential to note that Scriptures state for one to live eternally, one must have the ability to see the face of father Yahweh and live (e.g., Job 33:26; Rev. 22:4; cf., Exod. 33:20; John 1:18, 5:37, 6:46).
It is in Jerusalem and the Promised Land that the palace and throne of father Yahweh will be stationed in order to rule over the universe (e.g., Isa. 2:3; Mic. 4:2; Rev. 1:4-5, 21:1-22:5; Rom. 4:13). Having equal rights with Yahushua the Messiah to this land guarantees us entrance and equal access to the palace and throne, where we can behold the face of father Yahweh. Having this right also assures us not only of a place to live eternally but of having a political position in the government of Yahweh.
Inheritance Not Yet Received
At the same time, although the land was given by promise as an Inheritance, as of this date, this Inheritance has never been obtained as an eternal possession by anyone, including Abraham.
Then going out from the land of the Chaldaeans, he (Abraham) dwelt in Harran, and from there, after his father died, he (Yahweh) removed him into this land in which you (Judaeans) now dwell. And he did not give the inheritance in it to him, not even one foot’s tread, yet (Yahweh) promised to give it (the land) to him, unto a possession to him and to his seed (spermati) after him, there not being a child to him (at that time). (Acts 7:4-5)
After naming several Yahwehists, including Abraham, Isaak, and Jacob (Heb. 11:1-12), the book of Hebrews also tells us:
By trust he (Abraham) sojourned in the land of PROMISE, as a sojourner, having dwelt in tents with Isaak and Jacob, the joint-heirs of the SAME PROMISE. . . . In trust these all died, NOT HAVING RECEIVED THE PROMISES, but having seen them from afar, and having been persuaded, and having embraced (them), and having confessed that strangers and sojourners they are upon the land. (Heb. 11:9, 13)
And again, after naming a significant number of other Yahwehists (Heb. 11:17-38), Hebrews states:
And these all, having been made witness by means of the trust, did not receive the promise, having foreseen something better, that not apart from us they would be made perfect. (Heb. 11:39-40)
Therefore, Yahweh promised the Promised Land to Abraham and his seed, from the Nile River to the Euphrates River, as an Eternal Inheritance. Nevertheless, neither he nor his heir, any of Abraham’s descendants, nor anyone else for that matter, have received even one foot’s tread as an eternal possession as of this date.
In addition, having been promised the land as an Eternal Inheritance, it leaves the promise to Abraham and his singular seed (the Messiah) and from the Messiah to us as something yet to be fulfilled. Nevertheless, Yahweh is taking time to make this a blessed inheritance.
In Proverbs, we read:
An inheritance can be gotten hastily at the beginning; but the end thereof will not be blessed. (Prov. 20:21)
An Inheritance Requires a Death
There is a good reason that Abraham has not yet received his Inheritance. It is required that the one giving the Inheritance must first die before the right to receive the Inheritance is realized. Saul tells the Judaeans that the Messiah (the preexistent Yahushua of the Old Testament) had to die for this very reason.
For where there is a diatheke (covenant-will), the occurrence of death is necessary of the testator (of the Will). For a diatheke is affirmed upon death, since in no way is it of any force while the testator is living. (Heb. 9:16-17)
Accordingly, neither Abraham nor his designated offspring could receive the Eternal Inheritance until the Messiah died. But the very fact that it was a promise that Abraham and his seed would one day inherit makes the following points true:
(1) An inheritance implies the existence of a Covenant-Will.
(2) Since Yahweh promised the Inheritance, he must die (e.g., Rev. 13:8) before that Covenant-Will has any force (Heb. 9:16-17).
(3) Since the dead own nothing (Eccles. 9:5-6), and Yahweh is the eloahi of the living and not of the dead (Matt. 22:32; Mark 12:27; Luke 20:38), and Yahweh speaks of things not existing as existing (Rom. 4:17), it necessitates a resurrection of Abraham from the dead (Matt. 22:31-32; Mark 12:26-27; Luke 20:37-38).
Therefore, at some point after Yahushua the Messiah has died, Abraham will inherit the Promised Land. The same is true for any other human who inherits as a joint-heir with the Messiah because “it is apportioned to men to die once, and after this, the judgment” (Heb. 9:27). This is due to the fact that “the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23), “by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all men have sinned” (Rom. 5:12, cf., 3:23).
After this death, everyone must be resurrected back to life, at which time all those who have never known the truth will be given an opportunity to repent and, by grace, receive eternal life.
The apostle Keph, for example, writes:
Yahweh does not delay the promise, as some esteem delay, but is longsuffering towards us, not willing that anyone should perish, but ALL to come to repentance. (1 Pet. 3:9)
For this reason, the wicked will only be permanently destroyed after a “second death” (Rev. 2:11, 20:6, 14, 21:8).
When is the Will in Force?
The next question follows from the fact that Yahushua the Messiah did die in 30 C.E., thereby bringing the Will into force. After his resurrection from the dead, Why has he not raised Abraham or taken possession of the Promised Land to which he is entitled? The answer is that he must follow the timing designated by the Will.
Saul provides us with the format:
Now I say, for as long a time as the heir is an infant he differs nothing from a bondman, (although) he is sovereign of all; but he is under guardians and stewards until the time appointed before (in the will) by the father. (Gal. 4:1-2)
In like manner, the book of Hebrews informs us that there remains for the Messiah “a PROMISE to enter into his rest” (Heb. 4:1), i.e., the Messiah has not yet entered into his Sabbath Day rest by returning to earth and taking possession of the Promised Land, at which time the saved of the First Resurrection will enter into their Eternal Inheritance with him (Heb. 3:7-4:11; Rev. 20:4-15).
The saved of the First Resurrection are the 24 elders, including Abraham, Isaak, and Jacob (as prophesied in Rev. 4:4, 10, 5:8, 5:14, 11:16, 19:4), and the 144,000 elect from the 12 tribes of Israel (Rev. 7:1-8) with whom Yahweh will make the New Covenant (cf., Jer. 31:31-34; Heb. 8:8-13)—about which we will have much more to say with later installments. They receive their right to inherit from the Messiah upon his return and entry into his rest under the Abrahamic Covenant.
Psalms, for example, tells us:
His (the preexistent Yahushua’s) person shall dwell at ease; and his seed (LXX sperma; group of seed) will inherit the land. (LXX Ps. 25:13)
Ezekiel even lays out the division of territory designated for each tribe of Israel after the Messiah returns (Ezek. 48:1-35). Yahweh states in Isaiah:
And I will bring forth a seed (LXX sperma; group of seed) out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains: and my elect will inherit it, and my servants will dwell there. (LXX Isa. 65:9)
Your people (Israel) will also all be justified: they will inherit the land for olam (world-age lasting), the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, so that I will be glorified. (Isa. 60:21)
In this arrangement, the portion of the preexistent Yahushua, who appeared as Yahweh in the Old Testament, is Jerusalem and Judah:
And Yahweh will inherit Judah as his portion in the sacred land, and will again choose Jerusalem. (Zec. 2:12)
A Future Day of Rest
These statements demonstrate that the Messiah cannot lay claim to the Promised Land until the appointed time set forth within the Covenant-Will, or as Hebrews states:
For if Yahushua (the son of Nun) had given them (the Israelites) rest, he (Yahweh) would not have spoken of another day afterward. Therefore, there remains a sabbatism to the people of the deity. (Heb. 4:8-9)
Hebrews further defines the day of Yahweh’s rest as the one prophesied with the weekly Sabbath day, the seventh day of the week:
For he said in a place concerning the seventh (day), thus, And the deity rested on the seventh day from all his works. (Heb. 4:4; quoting Gen. 2:2).
According to Scriptures, a prophetic day is “as a 1,000 years” (2 Pet. 3:8; Ps. 84:10, 90:4). For this reason, when Adam was condemned to die “in the day” that he ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (Gen. 2:16-17, 3:3), it was fulfilled in that he only lived 930 years (Gen. 5:5).
It is also for this reason that we are told that the Sabbath Day of rest, into which the Messiah and the elect of the First Resurrection will enter, will last 1,000 years before their peace is disrupted by the chief satan, who after that 1,000-year period will be released from his prison and shortly thereafter cause rebellion and an attack on the city of Jerusalem (Rev. 20:1-10; cf., Ezek. 38:1-39:29).
In turn, this means that Yahushua the Messiah, having become the seed of Abraham and the heir to the Promised Land, cannot enter into his rest and take possession of his Inheritance until the assigned time, i.e., during the beginning of the 7th-millennial day since the creation of Adam and our world. This evidence thereby informs us of one of the important conditions Yahweh that placed in his Will.
The Other Promises in the Covenant-Will
The land of Kanaan was not the only thing promised in the Covenant-Will that Yahweh eloahi left to Abraham and his single seed. This point is first demonstrated by the use of the plural term “promises” in Scriptures in relationship to this Inheritance (e.g., Rom. 9:4, 15:8; 2 Cor. 1:20, 7:1; Gal. 3:16, 21; Heb. 6:12, 7:6, 8:6, 11:13, 17, 33; 2 Pet. 1:4).
For example, the Book of Hebrews specifically states:
But we desire each of you the same diligence to show to the full assurance of the hope unto the end, that you are not sluggish, but are imitators of those who through trust and long patience INHERIT THE PROMISES. (Hebrews 6:12)
And in Galatians, we read:
But to Abraham the PROMISES were spoken, and to his spermati (seed singular). (Gal. 3:15-18)
To fully understand what these other promises conjoined to the promise of the Eternal Inheritance of land are, we must examine a list of these promises. These promises are connected with the Inheritance given to Abraham, for the “Inheritance” by means of a confirmed “Covenant-Will” was given “to Abraham by means of promise” (Gal. 3:15-18).
Conditional Promises
Yahweh made several promises when he commanded Abraham to leave Harran and go to Kanaan. To begin with, he makes them conditional, stating that Abram must:
Go out from your land, and from your kinsmen, and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you. (Gen. 12:1)
If Abram obeyed and went to this land, which Yahweh was giving him as an Inheritance, Yahweh would do the following:
1. – And I will make you a great nation. (Gen. 12:2a)
This is the promise of the nation of the elect of the house of Israel ruled by its king, the Messiah, beginning in the Sabbath Millennium. The Messiah’s government will govern the world from the land of Kanaan after that land has been received as an inheritance (e.g., Ezek. 45:1-48:35; Zech. 14:1-21; Mic. 4:2; Amos 1:2; Ps. 9:11-14, 14:7, 53:6, 99:2, 110:2, 132:13, 135:22; Isa. 2:3, 24:23; etc.). From his capital city in Jerusalem on Mount Zion, the Messiah will rule the nations of the world with an iron rod (Ps. 2:7-9; Rev. 2:27, 12:5, 19:15).
2. – And I will bless you. (Gen. 12:2b)
Finally, all being of one mind, sympathizing, loving the brethren, tender hearted, friendly, and not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing; but on the contrary, a blessing; knowing that to this you were called, that you will inherit a blessing. (1 Pet. 3:9)
And all nations will call you blessed: for you shall be a delightful land, says Yahweh of hosts. (Mal. 3:12)
A blessing includes abundant crops, food, political power, and other riches (e.g., Gen. 27:25-30), and the ultimate blessing is eternal life (Ps. 133:3; Deut. 30:19).
3. – ואגדלה שמך (u-a-gadol shem-k; And I will magnify your name). (Gen. 12:2c; cf., LXX of Gen. 12:2)
The only name defined in Scriptures as the gadol shem is the sacred name Yahweh (e.g., Josh. 7:7-10; 1 Sam. 12:22; 1 Kings 8:42; 2 Chron. 6:32; Jer. 44:26; Ezek. 36:23). This is the inherited name received by Yahushua and the elect (Heb. 1:4; Rev. 14:1). Indeed, the sacred name Yahweh will abide upon his temple for ad olam (a perpetual world-age) (1 Kings 9:3; 2 Chron. 7:16), and his true temple is defined as his heirs, the living stones and pillars in the temple (e.g., 1 Pet. 2:5; 1 Cor. 3:16-17; 2 Cor. 6:16; Rev. 3:12).
Regarding the Messiah and his eternal name Yahweh, Psalms states:
His name shall endure for olam (a world-age): his name shall be continued as long as the sun exists: and men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed. Blessed be Yahweh eloahim, the eloahi of Israel, who only does wondrous things. And blessed be his glorious name for olam: and let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and Amen. (Ps. 72:17-19)
4. – And you will be a blessing. (Gen. 12:2d)
That is, by means of Abraham, a blessing will come to others. This promise is connected with the following two promises below (#5 and #6):
5. – And I will bless those blessing you, and curse the one despising you. (Gen. 12:3a)
In Psalms, we read:
For such as are blessed of him will inherit the land; and they that are cursed of him shall be cut off. (Ps. 37:22)
Expressed another way, those practicing evil will not inherit:
For this you know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Messiah and the deity. (Eph. 5:5)
Now manifest are the works of the flesh, which are adultery, sexual crimes, lewdness, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strifes, jealousies, indignations, contentions, divisions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and things like these, of which I told you before, as I have also told you in times past, that they who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of the deity. (Gal. 5:19-21)
Inheriting the Promises
Meanwhile, those who overcome evil and practice correct behavior will inherit the promises:
Wait on Yahweh, and keep his road, and he will exalt you to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, you will see it. (Ps. 37:34)
For evildoers will be cut off, but those that wait upon Yahweh, they will inherit the land. (Ps. 37:9)
You should not be slothful, but followers of them who through trust and patience inherit the promises. (Heb. 6:12)
Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that you are called thereunto, that you should inherit a blessing. (1 Pet. 3:9)
He that overcomes will inherit all things; and I will be his deity, and he will be my son. But the cowardly, untrusting, and abominable, and murderers, and those practicing sexual crimes, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, their part is in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. (Rev. 21:7-8)
The Messiah Comes From Abraham
The next promise made is that the Messiah would come from Abraham and would be a blessing to all the nations of the earth, i.e., He would provide them with the opportunity to repent and inherit.
6. – And all families of the earth shall be blessed in you. (Gen. 12:3b)
This statement is a promise of the Messiah—whose fleshly element was within the body of Abraham at the time he received this promise (cf., Heb. 7:4-10; Deut. 29:15; Rom. 5:12)—and indicates that the Messiah would one day grant the Inheritance to people from all the nations who trust in him by means of grace.
This point is expressed in Galatians:
Even as Abraham trusted the deity, and it was accounted to him for justification. Therefore, you should know that they who are of trust, the same are the children of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that the deity would justify the nations through trust, proclaimed before the good news unto Abraham, saying, In you will all nations be blessed. So then they which are of trust are blessed with trustworthy Abraham. (Gal. 3:6-9)
Summation
We will have more to say about this promise in our next installment. For now, we need to point out that these above promises are clearly attached to the promise of the Eternal Inheritance given to Abram when he came to live in the Promised Land.
As we have already demonstrated, these promises are given in conjunction with the promise of the land as part of the Abrahamic Inheritance-Covenant. We will confirm this point with our forthcoming installments as we examine the other promises of the Covenant-Will.
Please proceed to Abrahamic Covenants & Promises – Part 2, where we will examine the next group of promises found in Genesis 17 and 18.