“That the governing body of the Kingdom so established will be the brethren of Christ, of all generations, developed by resurrection and change, and constituting with Christ as their head, the collective “seed of Abraham”, in whom all nations will be blessed, and comprising “Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and all the prophets”, and all in their age of like precious faithfulness.” Article XXIII
In Rev. 17:14, the Lord Jesus Christ is referred to as “Lord of lords, and King of kings”. Who are these “kings”, of whom Christ is the King? Have they anything to do with the Kingdom of God ? It is this group of people with whom we are now concerned. The Kingdom of God will have as its King, the Son of God. However, in addition to the Lord’s Anointed, there will be a governing body, working in close cooperation with, and under His direct super vision. These are the “kings” of Rev. 17 and the “princes of Isa. 32:1; “Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment.”
The Seed of Abraham
In a previous article (XXI) considerable exposition was given to the everlasting covenant which the Lord had made with Abraham. It was Scripturally shown that the covenant involved the inheritance of the earth, and was never realized. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob all died in faith without receiving the promises, “God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.” (Heb. 11:40) Since the promise concerned the everlasting inheritance of the land, it is quite obvious that those who are to receive it must be made immortal, for “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit in corruption.” (1 Cor. 15:50).
It will be remembered that in each case God made the promise to Abraham, and reiterated it to Isaac and Jacob, He included the phrase, “and to thy seed” (Gen. 13:15, 26:3, 28:13). The fulfillment of this promise was not to be realized without the inclusion of “the seed”. We might suppose that we could logically and very readily identify the seed as the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; i.e. the natural Jews. This thought is almost universally accepted and taught by the churches of our day, who do not believe the Scripture teaching on the inheritance of the earth as the promised reward of the righteous of all ages. This mistake is easy to make, and we might be tempted to view the covenant in this way as we observe the return of the Jews to the very land bequeathed to Abraham and his seed.
However, if we are to be accurate in our appraisal of current events, and, if we are to “rightly divide the word of God”, we must yield to the clear and consistent teaching of the Scriptures regarding the promised seed, which is to share in the Abrahamic promises.
“As of One”
It will first be noted that the word, “seed”, is both singular and plural. With a few minor exceptions, the word is translated from the same Hebrew word, “zera”, having the meaning of “fruit, plant, sowing time and posterity”. Twice, the word is rendered by the English, “child” with a singular significance. When used in relation to the Abrahamic promise, the word carries both the singular and plural meanings.
In the 22nd chapter of Genesis, we read of Abraham’s willingness to offer h;s only son, Isaac as a burnt offering to God in obedience to the Lord’s command. Though God did not permit Abraham to slay Isaac, it was a great vindication of the patriarch’s faith. As a consequence, the Lord declared to Abraham, “That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies.” (Gen. 22:17-18) Here, the seed is clearly meant to be understood in the singular sense in view of the qualifying “his”. This should not seem unusual to us since the same sense is necessarily involved in the following quotations, which have an undeniable reference to the same individual: “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” (Gen. 3:15); “And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom . . . And I will be his father, and he shall be my son . . .” (2 Sam. 7:12, 14).
There is an inescapable connection between the Genesis quotations and that of 2 Samuel. The seed promised to the woman would eventually deal a lethal blow to sin, symbolized by the serpent and manifested in his seed, while Abraham’s seed was to “possess the gates of his enemies”, a phrase indicating his victory over all enemies by conquest. In the Samuel quotation, the seed promised David was to establish his kingdom forever, an accomplishment which would result in the ascendancy of the Kingdom of God over all other earth powers.
Let us now draw these prophecies together and bring them to bear upon the “seed”. We are not left to speculate as to the identification of the seed, for in several New Testament passages, it is shown to refer to Jesus. In John 7:42 the Christ (Messiah) is said to come “of the seed of David”, and in Rom. 1:3, Christ is said to be “made of the seed of David according to the flesh”. In his letter to the Galatians, Paul states positively that the seed in the Abrahamic covenant, which was to be co-inheritor of the land is singular: “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made, He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of ONE, And to thy seed, which is Christ”. (Gal. 3:16) Since Christ is to inherit the land along with Abraham, the patriarch must await the coming of the promised seed.
“Heirs According to the Promise”
There is, of course, another sense in which the seed promised to Abraham is to be understood as being plural. Jews and Gentiles alike can share in the promises by becoming identified with Christ through baptism. Paul shows the divine means by which this may be accomplished in the same chapter of Galatians, verses 27-29: “For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” These are the many who “shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of God” (Matt. 8:11). Their coming to join Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of God will have been preceded by their resurrection from the dead and glorification through the power of Jesus.
Paul’s statement that “flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God” is immediately followed by the apostle’s detailed explanation as to how the dead in Christ will be made alive (eternally): “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruption must put on in-corruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on in-corruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, “Death is swallowed up in victory” (1 Cor. 15:51-54).
ing been given “the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ”, the glorified saints will then be prepared to “inherit the Kingdom prepared for (them) from the foundation of the world” (Matt. 25:34). The redeemed of all ages are depicted as singing the following words in acclamation to the lamb who alone is found worthy to open and read the seven sealed scroll: “Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God, by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; and hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth” (Rev. 5:9-10).
The details concerning the administrative responsibilities of the immortalized saints will be considered in subsequent articles.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One