What is "The Promise"?

The promise is obvious once God's promise to Abraham is understood. "The Lord", as you recall, "said unto Abram [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" (Gen.13:14-15). This land which Abraham surveyed was the land of Canaan, as is undeniably shown when God renewed His covenant with Abraham in Genesis 17:8, "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 Israelite occupation of Canaan (Palestine) was, and is, only a shadow of the fulfillment of another promise, for we are told, "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 sojourned in 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" (Heb.11:8-10).

Now, let's see how this inheritance, or "land of promise" is obtained, and who is to have a part in it. "For the promise", says the apostle Paul, "that he [Abraham] should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.... Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace, to the end that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all. As it is written, I have made thee the father of many nations" (Rom.4:13-17). We must understand that "The Lord our God...hath remembered his covenant forever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations. Which covenant he made with Abraham, and his oath unto Isaac, and confirmed the same to Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant, saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance" (Ps.105:7-11).

Yes, my beloved, the true Israel of God (the bride of Christ) is soon going to inherit the real "land of promise"; not the present Canaan, but that new Canaan - that new earth - for which Abraham, along with all other true servants of God, kept looking, and for which all faithful followers of Christ still look.

However, there is a wonderful "promise" that those with the faith of Abraham shall receive in this life - the promise of this "new" covenant. All believers should be greatly interested in God's covenant with Abraham, for we are told by the apostle Paul (Gal.3:7), "They which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham." He goes on to say, "And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." The only hope that anyone has of a future inheritance on the new earth is based upon this promise which God made to Abraham. We become heirs with him of that promise now by receiving Christ. By entering "into Christ", we come to be of Abraham's seed (which is Christ), to whom the promise was made.

Who has the faith of Abraham, and who has entered into Christ? Paul said: "That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith" (Gal.3:14). The baptism of the holy Ghost IS the "promise" for this dispensation. Those who have received the holy Ghost, have received it because they have the faith of Abraham; and ONLY those who have received the holy Ghost have the faith of Abraham! The old Pentecostal folk used to refer to the baptism of the holy Ghost as "the Blessing". This is, indeed, correct, for all who have received the baptism of the Spirit have received "the Blessing". With this phrase in mind, let us read this scripture from Psalm 37:22: "For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth, and they that be cursed of him shall be cut off." Now, my dear reader, have you been blessed yet? If so, Isaiah gives you these encouraging words: "Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath, for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner, but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished. Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law. Fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings. For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool, but my righteousness shall be for ever, and my salvation from generation to generation."

No honest person of fair intelligence can fail to understand, after reading this article that God will give his promise to those with the faith of Abraham. First, He will give his promise of the Spirit to those who have faith. And in the end, he will give them his promise of a new earth, after the thousand-year reign of Christ on this earth. Just before returning to his Father, Jesus told his followers, "I go to prepare a place for you." The place he went to prepare for his saints could not be heaven, for heaven was already made at the time he promised to go prepare a place. Besides, this heaven is to be destroyed (Mt.24:35).

Thousands upon thousands are failing to see this important promise of a new earth, which God made to Abraham and confirmed to Isaac and Jacob, and was, as we have just read, confirmed by Jesus to his disciples. Oh, how can you, my brethren, fail to see this? Just listen to Peter, as he gives you this warning concerning the promise of which we speak: "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hasting unto the day of God, wherein the heavens, being on fire, shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness."

On the new earth there will be no floods, wars, or storms to cause fear or destruction. When God destroys sin, "He will make an utter end. Affliction shall not rise up the second time" (Nah.1:9). Thank God, we shall have homes where sin cannot enter; and, as Isaiah tells us, "God shall wipe away tears from off all faces. And the rebuke of His people shall he take away from off all the earth [Hallelujah!], for the Lord hath spoken it. And it shall be said in that day, Lo this is our God, we have waited for him" (Isa.25:8-9). Praise God! If we who have received "the Blessing" would receive this inheritance promised to us, we must remain free of sin as we travel through this life. Nothing shall enter that land with sin. Obedience to the will of God in Christ is the only way into eternal life.

My friend, if you are as yet unprepared to meet God in peace, don't be reluctant to turn to Him now while He is speaking to you. My prayer is that you may be one of those creatures and meet me there, in that "city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God."

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