God Made an Unconditional Promise to Abraham and His Descendants.
The
story unfolds in the Old Testament in the book of Genesis and confirmed
in the New Testament. Abraham was not a Jew by religion or from the Tribe
of Judah. At the time God made His promise to Abraham, Judah was yet to
be born, there were no Jews when God made this promise.
No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations (nationalities). Abraham
is indeed the father of many nationalities: His son Ishmael grew into a
mighty nation and his descendants adopted Islam as their religion.
Abraham's younger son, Isaac
had twin sons, Esau and Jacob. God changed Jacob's name to Israel,
which means overcomer with the Mighty One. God always calls people by
their personality traits. Esau who God hated married the daughter of Ishmael, founded the nation of Edom, and adopted Judaism as his religion. There is no "Jewish race"... only Jews by religion.
Jacob/Israel had 12 sons and one
daughter. That family grew very large and became Christians when they heard the gospel. Most of Israel's descendants moved from Judea and Galilee to Europe, Great Britain, North America, Australia, and many other countries when they colonized the world. As bad as colonization was, it helped spread the gospel and fulfill the promise to Abraham. ~ Genesis 22:18
Contrary to popular opinion, the Jews were never "God's Chosen People." The tribe of Judah is only one twelfth of the House of Israel. Christians are The People of The Book. To this day the Jews reject Jesus as the Messiah. As it is written: Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also. ~ 1 John2:23
Father God, rebuke and correct the false doctrines that keep your people confused about who they are in Christ... if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. ~ Galatians 3:29
Genesis 17:9
And God said to Abraham: “As for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations."
In Genesis 22: 15-19, Abraham's faith was rewarded.
In the New Testament the Promise is Remembered
And God gave him no inheritance in it, not even enough to set his foot on. But even when Abraham had no child, He promised to give it to him for a possession, and to his descendants after him.
In 1910, about two-thirds of the
world’s Christians lived in Europe, where the bulk of Christians had
been for a millennium, according to historical estimates by the Center
for the Study of Global Christianity.
Today, only about a quarter of all Christians live in Europe (26%). A
plurality – more than a third – now are in the Americas (37%).
A comprehensive demographic study of more than 200 countries finds that
there are 2.18 billion Christians of all ages around the world,
representing nearly a third of the estimated 2010 global population of
6.9 billion. Christians are also geographically widespread – so
far-flung, in fact, that no single continent or region can indisputably
claim to be the center of global Christianity, in the United States
62% identify as Christian, the highest percentage of any country.
Where Are the Descendants of Abraham Today?
Answer: Hidden in plain sight in Christian Churches all over the world.
Not
only does Abraham have physical descendants, but also spiritual descendants of every nationality who have accepted Christ and are grafted
into a better covenant.
But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He (Jesus) is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises. The better promise is to ALL, not limited to Abraham's physical family.
When
you think of all the people who have lived and died since God made the
promise to Abraham, they really are as numerous as the stars. God always keeps His promises.
To learn more about your Christian heritage...
You are cordially invited to Renew Your Strength Bible Study