The Promised Land of Scripture refers to the promises made by Almighty God to Abraham, and his descendants. After the birth of Ishmael, which he fathered with Hagar, Sarah’s servant, his name was changed by God from Abram to Abraham, which means “father of a multitude”. Although Ishmael was his first born, he was not first in blessing and inheritance, because he was conceived and born other than through the Will of God, as is embodied in the Promise of God to Abram in Gen. 15:4, and to Sarah in Gen. 17:16 and 19. In v.19, God makes clear to Abraham, that His Covenant will be established with and through his yet future son Isaac, which is the Covenant of fatherhood, Nationhood and the Land which will be theirs in the future. A crucial part of the confirmation of this continuation is the promise made in Gen. 3:15, regarding the Seed that would “bruise the head of the Serpent”, and which pure “seed” of Adam had already survived the “flood” via Noah’s family!
Ishmael, and Abraham’s 6 other sons by his wife Keturah, Gen. 25:2, will also be blessed as “Abraham’s seed”, and in the case of Ishmael in Gen. 17:20 he is promised to father “12 princes”, and to become a great Nation.
The promises made to Abraham regarding the Land is shown in Scripture in two parts. One refers to Canaan Gen. 12:5-7, which applies to Isaac then and in the future, i.e. the yet future ideal Israel of prophecy. This interpretation seems to be confirmed by Ezek. and particularly the description of the precise division of the borders of each of the 12 Tribes, which is the “land of Canaan”. Some argue that the prophecies of Ezek. are history, but as history shows, the events of Ezek. with all the detail given have never yet taken place!
The statement in Gen. 15:8 would therefore seem to apply to the remainder of the “seed of Abraham”. The land area described is large and quite capable of supporting a large population. The fertility and productivity of the land described will increase enormously, due to the change in water flow and sources, as shown in Ezek.
In the ebb and flow of the fortunes of the Nation Israel since AD 70, the dispersion, the pogroms, the persecutions, and the 2nd World War; the promises made to Abraham looked remote as regards fruition. The Word of God however, cannot be made void by the actions of the great Enemy Satan. It is true that the great men of history such as Balfour have made strides forward in facilitating the reformation of the physical Nation of Israel, but as the Governments of the UK and the USA have changed, so have the “policies” towards the new Nation, established in 1948 by UN mandate.
The current events in the Middle-East (2006), clearly show accelerating changes, and all who are watching Israel and the surrounding Nations, and who know the Prophecies in Scripture regarding Israel, cannot help but wonder how long before fruition!
Note April 2012:
The “Arab Spring” of early 2011, may well be the emergence of the first “beast” of Rev. 13. This formation of Arab Nations which would equate to the “10 toes” of Daniel 2, must emerge into the “political” entity, before morphing into the “religious” entity of the 2nd beast.
It remains to be seen in the next few years whether this is the case; see: Rev Chapter 13 and The Beasts of Revelation 13.
If the above is the case, the “Peace Contract” for Israel of Dan. 9:29, will not be far behind these events.
It is thought that the events of the “Arab Spring”, which started in early 2011 could be the formation of the first “Beast” of Rev. 13. However, as those “Beasts” are certainly a function of “Jacob’s Trouble”; (The Great Tribulation), the more likely interpretation is that they are the “beginning of sorrows” Matt. 24:8.
Taking Israel as the focal point (i.e. proximity), Matt. 24:6 and Luke 21:9, probably gives relevance to what is happening now in the Arab Nations surrounding them.
Isa. 66 describes in detail the deliverance of Israel in the yet future (2014), and describes it as “birth”, 66:9. If the events of the “Arab Spring” are the beginning of the birth-pangs, then they are unstoppable, and the “birth” will happen, soon!
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