We have been examining the Christian Zionist assertion that modern day Israel is a fulfillment of Bible prophecy, and that God has a distinct group of elect known as Jews that have a pre-existing and irrevocable covenant with him.
Let’s look at Genesis 12 again through this light because it is a favorite of the Zionist Christians.
1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
Zionist Christians will make an application of Genesis 12:3 to mean that we as “Gentile nations” must bless the nation of Israel established in 1948 AD. Looking at these verses does it make sense to say that this promise is ultimately about a nation established in 1948, or is it about Jesus Christ? Are nations blessed when they bless Israel, or are they blessed when they bless the name of Jesus Christ?
The Resurrection - El Greco, Public Domain Image
What is clear is that Galatians 3:16 is telling us that the ultimate seed of Abraham is Jesus Christ. And if we want to take the Zionist’s approach to scripture and claim that a later covenant cannot disannul a pre-existing covenant, let us look at another singular seed that predates the promises to Abraham:
[14] And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: [15] And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. – Genesis 3
Again, is this seed the tribes of Israel, or is this seed Jesus Christ?
Where I could accept a plural application of Genesis 3:15 is in its harmony with Jesus’ parable of the wheat and tares in Matthew 13, but let’s leave that discussion for another day. As far as who will actually bruise the head of the serpent, that can only refer to Jesus Christ, and this prophecy sets the precedent of a literal seed fulfilled in a singular person which Paul then expands on in Galatians 3.
As if all of this weren’t enough evidence to establish the matter, the Lord also gave us the glorious Messianic prophecies of Isaiah 53. Here you will find another individual Seed:
[10] Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. [11] He shall see the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. [12] Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
Crucifixion with Mary and John - Michelangelo, Public Domain Image
In verse 10 we understand the "he" to be God the Father in the phrase “he shall see his seed,” the seed being Jesus, the Son of God the Father. There is no way to insert national Israel of 1948 or the tribes of Israel in the Old Testament into these verses and have them make sense. Only Jesus Christ is an acceptable offering for sin, who can justify many and bear their iniquities. And because of this perfect act of self-sacrifice we see in verse 12 that the Father promises him an special inheritance. We see this aspect of Messianic prophecy in Psalm 2:
[7] I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. [8] Ask of me, and I shall give thee [singular] the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. [9] Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.
This incredible psalm is quoted and referenced many times in scripture, most notably Revelation 2:26-27, "And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father."
Dominion of the world is given to Jesus Christ by the decree of God the Father, and anyone that rules and reigns through him does so because of their part in Jesus' inheritance, not "national Israel's," Jesus says, "Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father." - Matthew 20:23
So we can rest assured in the knowledge that God keeps every single one of his promises. Heaven and Earth both belong to God, and our stake in both of them are for his ultimate pleasure and glory.
“The land shall not be sold for ever: for the land is mine; for ye are strangers and sojourners with me.” Leviticus 25:23.
Selah.
Right on!