THE SEED OF ABRAHAM
Who are the modern descendants?
Below, are three scriptures which provide a source of reflection. They lead us in a path to understanding which may be in conflict with church doctrines.
Many apologists, in their discussion of Biblical principles, defend ancient Catholic doctrine of The Church’s separation from its Jewish roots. In doing this, there are some who are honest enough to admit The Church is not found in the Old Testament. Yet, in the face of this evidence, many ignore the possibility the separate identity concept may be incorrect and provides, instead, a need for convoluted doctrinal stances which are not supported by the context of scripture.
The following scriptures establish a trail which, if followed, leads to the conclusion that Paul’s adoption statement (Romans 9:4-5) and his grafting in (Romans 14) refers to believers becoming part of and not apart from the House of Jacob.
Galatians 3:29 And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Isaiah 41:8 But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend.
Luke 1:33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of this kingdom there shall be no end.
What can we conclude from these three scriptures?
First, we see Paul, in the Galatians passage, teaching believers are Abraham’s seed and, therefore, recipients of the promise made to Abraham. This, simply put, means believers are adopted into the line of Abraham through their acceptance of Jesus/Yeshua.
Second, we find Isaiah identifying the seed of Abraham as the line of Jacob which makes Paul’s statement more specific.
Thirdly, we find the kingdom of Yeshua/Jesus is the house of Jacob. Notice, the blood line is not updated meaning it went from Abraham to Isaac to Jacob. There is no further recipient of the promise mentioned by the Angel in his prophecy of the Messiah’s kingdom. We must conclude from this the House of Jacob is the final recipient.
To sum up the connections above, the promise to Abraham was reiterated to Isaac and then to Jacob. There was/is no further listing of descendants involving believers. Obviously, if God felt it important to give the decendancy through the first three generations, in light of all the genealogies in scripture, does it seem logical He would omit the most important one…the believers in Messiah? Not likely! Therefore, we must, by default, accept the angel’s prophecy about Messiah Yeshua/Jesus ruling over the House of Jacob and this being the one into which believers are adopted.
The Father needs his people to have open minds and a teachable spirit.