Part VI: Fulfillment: Jesus Christ

There is another thing that Herbert Armstrong was right about - not only did the patriarchs NOT receive what God had promised them, but they were also NEVER fulfilled by the Israelites. For Armstrong, this delay was explained by twisting a scripture in the book of Leviticus and employing some very sketchy math to arrive at the notion that God intentionally withheld fulfillment of the promises for 2520 years! Armstrong read: "And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins" (26:18, KJV) and interpreted that to mean that he should multiply 360 (the number of days in the Hebrew calendar year) by seven. Then, using the day for a year principle, he determined that this would be the period which God would withhold fulfillment of the promises to Israel!

Now, I realize that many of you will read that and respond with: "SAY WHAT!" However, for those who are tempted to attribute great spiritual insight into this calculation, READ ON. First, as any good student of the Bible knows, context is the most important component in trying to understand/interpret any passage of Scripture, and this one is no exception to that rule. In this case, the context is PUNISHMENT for failing to obey God's commandments and breaking his covenant (Leviticus 26:14-15) Hence, the eighteenth verse is suggestive of the INTENSITY of the punishment to be administered for this failure, NOT the duration of it. This same passage (verse 18) is translated "seven times over" in both the NIV and NLT. In the ESV, we read: "And if in spite of this you will not listen to me, then I will discipline you again sevenfold for your sins." Moreover, that this is the correct sense of this verse is confirmed by three subsequent verses which complete this thought (Leviticus 26:21, 24, 28) Thus, once again, this passage simply makes clear that God made Israel's inheritance of the promises given to their forebearers conditional, it has NOTHING to do with putting a hold on their inheritance of them!

In this context, we need to ask ourselves some questions: Why didn't God fulfill his promises to the person(s) to whom he made them? Why did their children live in bondage in Egypt for hundreds of years? Why did the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah never receive those promises? Why didn't any of the generations between the fall of those kingdoms and the arrival of Jesus Christ inherit those promises? For that matter, why haven't any of the generations since then inherited the promises made to Abraham? We've seen Herbert Armstrong's flimsy explanation for the delay, but is there some other reason that NONE of those folks inherited the promises made to their forefather, Abraham?

Yes, there was a reason that none of those folks inherited those blessings, and that reason was/is JESUS CHRIST! As we demonstrated in Part I of this series, the promises to Abraham were made with only ONE of his descendants in mind. Remember what Paul wrote to the saints of Galatia? In that epistle we read: "Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, 'And to seeds,' as of many, but as of one, 'And to your Seed,' who is Christ." (Galatians 3:16, NKJV) Still, what about all of those other folks?

The answer to that question is found in the epistle to the Hebrews! After listing several biblical examples of faith in God (11:1-7), the author comes at last to Abraham. We read: "It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going. And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreigner, living in tents. And so did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited the same promise. Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God." (Verses 8-10, NLT) In other words, Abraham was looking forward to something that transcended a material fulfillment of the promises made to him! He simply BELIEVED that God would fulfill those promises to him someday - PERIOD!

Abraham's faith transcended the physical circumstances in which he and Sarah found themselves. After all, they were both very old people when God made his promises to them. Sarah was long past the age of childbearing, and Abraham had to have known that he couldn't have had many years left to enjoy any kind of life on this earth. Indeed, continuing with the account in Hebrews, we read: "It was by faith that even Sarah was able to have a child, though she was barren and was too old. She believed that God would keep his promise. And so a whole nation came from this one man who was as good as dead—a nation with so many people that, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore, there is no way to count them." (Verses 11-12) In short, they had confidence in something beyond this physical life - beyond this temporary existence that we enjoy for a season. This is made even clearer by what follows. We read: "All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did NOT receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth. Obviously people who say such things are looking forward to a country they can call their own. If they had longed for the country they came from, they could have gone back. But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them." (Verses 13-16)

In other words, Abraham (and all the other examples of faith) knew that his (their) death was NOT an impediment to God fulfilling his promises to him (them). Continuing, we read: "It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him. Abraham, who had received God’s promises, was ready to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, even though God had told him, 'Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted.' Abraham reasoned that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again. And in a sense, Abraham did receive his son back from the dead." (Verses 17-19) The narrative continues in the same vein. In the verses which follow (20-34), we read of Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh, Moses, and the people of Israel (including David), and the faith which they all exhibited. We are also informed that many of these folks were tortured, ridiculed, beaten, imprisoned, stoned, sawed in half, murdered, abused, destitute, and spent their lives on the run (verses 35-38). In other words, these folks continued to believe in God's ability to keep his promises to them even after experiencing some awful things in this life. Indeed, the chapter finishes with: "All these people earned a good reputation because of their faith, yet NONE of them received all that God had promised. For God had something better in mind for us, so that they would not reach perfection without us." (Verses 39-40) So, them not receiving the promises had something to do with us?

YES! Remember, the chapter and verse designations were added centuries after these documents were originally written. Hence, the author's thought continues into the next chapter. We read: "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up. After all, you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin." (Hebrews 12:1-4) So, the Christians to whom this epistle was addressed were to take heart from these examples of faith and live out their lives as Christians - never allowing anything to quench their faith in God and what he had promised! And, if this was the message for those folks (who have been dead now for almost two thousand years), doesn't that suggest that we (Christians in 2023) should be doing the same thing? In other words, whatever Christians have to endure in this life, we shouldn't lose faith in what God has promised!

But how did we become heirs of the promises made to Abraham? We've already answered that question in a previous post. Remember Paul's letter to the Galatians? We read there: "For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you." (Galatians 3:26-29) Now, that makes sense! We (Christians) are the heirs of the promises made to Abraham because we belong to Jesus Christ - the SEED to whom the promises were made (according to Paul)!

And Jesus Christ is able to make us Abraham's children and heirs of the promises made to him in the same way that he made Abraham and the patriarchs worthy of receiving those promises! That way was prophesied by the prophet Isaiah many years before Christ was born as a human! In the fifty-third chapter of that book, we read: "He was despised and rejected— a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care. Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all." (Verses 3-6) This is how Christ made us (and them) right with God and worthy to receive those promises! Continuing, we read: "He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth. Unjustly condemned, he was led away. No one cared that he died without descendants, that his life was cut short in midstream. But he was struck down for the rebellion of my people. He had done no wrong and had never deceived anyone. But he was buried like a criminal; he was put in a rich man’s grave. But it was the Lord’s good plan to crush him and cause him grief. Yet when his life is made an offering for sin, he will have many descendants. He will enjoy a long life, and the Lord’s good plan will prosper in his hands." (Verses 7-10) And, in carrying all of our sins and making us clean in God's sight, Christ also fulfilled God's promise to make Abraham a blessing to all of the peoples of the earth! 

In other words, there was/is no need for a physical people to receive material blessings. Scripture clearly indicates that both the physical and spiritual promises to the patriarchs were/are/will be fulfilled in Jesus Christ - the descendant of Abraham. As the book of Hebrews suggests, the promises will only be finally and fully fulfilled in the FUTURE - within the context of being made right with God through Jesus and receiving a full welcome into his Kingdom! Alright, but what about the promises that were made to David?

There are numerous prophecies in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) about Jesus Christ being the fulfillment of that promise made to David. We will look at only a few of those - enough to establish this fact beyond dispute. In the book of Isaiah, we read: "For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity. The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!" (9:6-7) Did you catch that? The Messiah would inherit "the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity."

Unfortunately, Herbert Armstrong couldn't understand how a throne (as a symbol of the office and authority of the king) could continue to exist even if there was no one currently available to occupy it. In his infamous booklet referenced earlier in this series, he asked: "But how could Jesus Christ, when He returns again to earth, take over and sit upon a throne that long ago ceased to exist?" After comparing Israel to a faithless wife, the prophet Hosea explained: "Israel will go a long time without a king or prince, and without sacrifices, sacred pillars, priests, or even idols! But afterward the people will return and devote themselves to the Lord their God and to David’s descendant, their king. In the last days, they will tremble in awe of the Lord and of his goodness." (3:4-5) Herbert simply couldn't understand that a fallen tabernacle could be righted (Amos 9:11). He obviously forgot about Nebuchadnezzar being restored to his throne after an absence of seven years (see Daniel 4). Although Jeremiah does refer to the King of Judah sitting on David's throne (Jeremiah 22:2), Zedekiah didn't occupy David's throne in the strictest sense of that term. David ruled over a united Israel. Zedekiah ruled over the Kingdom of Judah - the throne he inherited from his ancestor, King Rehoboam! Yes, this line of kings was of David's house/dynasty, but they had not inherited the same authority and territory which David had exercised/possessed during his reign.

Returning to Isaiah, we also read: "Out of the stump of David’s family will grow a shoot— yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root. And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. He will delight in obeying the Lord. He will not judge by appearance nor make a decision based on hearsay. He will give justice to the poor and make fair decisions for the exploited. The earth will shake at the force of his word, and one breath from his mouth will destroy the wicked. He will wear righteousness like a belt and truth like an undergarment. In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together; the leopard will lie down with the baby goat. The calf and the yearling will be safe with the lion, and a little child will lead them all. The cow will graze near the bear. The cub and the calf will lie down together. The lion will eat hay like a cow. The baby will play safely near the hole of a cobra. Yes, a little child will put its hand in a nest of deadly snakes without harm. Nothing will hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain, for as the waters fill the sea, so the earth will be filled with people who know the Lord. In that day the heir to David’s throne will be a banner of salvation to all the world. The nations will rally to him, and the land where he lives will be a glorious place. In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to bring back the remnant of his people—those who remain in Assyria and northern Egypt; in southern Egypt, Ethiopia, and Elam; in Babylonia, Hamath, and all the distant coastlands. He will raise a flag among the nations and assemble the exiles of Israel. He will gather the scattered people of Judah from the ends of the earth." (11:1-12) Could it be any clearer who is the heir to David's throne?

The prophet Jeremiah also made this very clear. In the thirty-third chapter of that book, we read: "The day will come, says the Lord, when I will do for Israel and Judah all the good things I have promised them. 'In those days and at that time I will raise up a righteous descendant from King David’s line. He will do what is just and right throughout the land. In that day Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will live in safety. And this will be its name: ‘The Lord Is Our Righteousness.’ For this is what the Lord says: David will have a descendant sitting on the throne of Israel forever. And there will always be Levitical priests to offer burnt offerings and grain offerings and sacrifices to me." (Verses 14-18) Once again, could this be any clearer?

If the Old Testament is not enough for some folks, we also have more than enough passages of Scripture from the New Testament which equally demonstrate this truth! In the Gospel of Luke, we are informed that the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and told her that she would give birth to the Messiah. We read: "'Don’t be afraid, Mary,' the angel told her, 'for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!” (1:30-33) Also, two of the Gospel accounts show Christ's descent from both David and Abraham (Matthew 1 and Luke 3). Moreover, Jesus is continually referred to throughout the Synoptic Gospels as the "son of David." (Matthew 1:1, 9:27, 12:23, 15:22, 20:30-31, 21:9, 15, 22:42, Mark 10:47-48, Luke 18:38-39) Clearly, from the perspective of both testaments of the Judeo-Christian canon, Jesus Christ was the one who would fulfill the promise to David!

Still, Herbert claimed that Christ must return to this earth to assume David's throne. What about that? In the book of Daniel, we read: "As my vision continued that night, I saw someone like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient One and was led into his presence. He was given authority, honor, and sovereignty over all the nations of the world, so that people of every race and nation and language would obey him. His rule is eternal—it will never end. His kingdom will never be destroyed." (7:13-14) In other words, Christ would receive his throne from God in heaven, NOT on the earth!

This is also consistent with a parable that Jesus told his disciples during his earthly ministry. In the nineteenth chapter of Luke, we read: "A nobleman was called away to a distant empire to be crowned king and then return." (Verse 12) Notice that the nobleman (who obviously represents Christ) goes to a distant place (heaven) to receive a crown and return. Likewise, in the book of Revelation, we read of Christ's return to this earth (still future): "Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. Its rider was named Faithful and True, for he judges fairly and wages a righteous war. His eyes were like flames of fire, and on his head were many crowns. A name was written on him that no one understood except himself. He wore a robe dipped in blood, and his title was the Word of God. The armies of heaven, dressed in the finest of pure white linen, followed him on white horses. From his mouth came a sharp sword to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod. He will release the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty, like juice flowing from a winepress. On his robe at his thigh was written this title: King of all kings and Lord of all lords." (19:11-16) Notice, that Christ is portrayed as coming from heaven as "King of all kings" before he actually arrives back on earth!

The supporters of Anglo-Israelism, however, also point out that the "son" referred to in the promise to David was to build a Temple to God (and Solomon certainly did build the first Temple). In this connection, there is a compelling story in the Gospel of John about Jesus forcing some money changers to leave the Temple which was then standing in Jerusalem (2:13-17). Continuing with the account, we read: "But the Jewish leaders demanded, 'What are you doing? If God gave you authority to do this, show us a miraculous sign to prove it.' 'All right,' Jesus replied. 'Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.' 'What!; they exclaimed. 'It has taken forty-six years to build this Temple, and you can rebuild it in three days?' But when Jesus said 'this temple,' he meant his own body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered he had said this, and they believed both the Scriptures and what Jesus had said." (Verses 18-22) Isn't that interesting, Christ referred to his resurrection from the dead as him rebuilding the Temple! By the way, this narrative is backed up by some of the charges that were hurled at Christ by his enemies (Matthew 26:61, 27:40, Mark 14:58, 15:29).

In this connection, we should also note that the Apostle Paul continually referred to a Christian's body as the Temple of the Holy Spirit (I Corinthians 3:16-17, 6:19, II Corinthians 6:16, Ephesians 2:21-22). And, finally, in the New Jerusalem, we read that John "saw no temple in the city, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple." (Revelation 21:22) Hence, we see that Christ has built, and is building, a new and more permanent Temple for God through himself and his followers.

Now, we have seen how Jesus Christ represents the fulfillment of the promises made to Abraham and David. Jesus said that he came to this earth to FULFILL the law and the prophets (Matthew 5:17), but how many of the supporters of Anglo-Israelism really believe that? How many of those folks actually understand that the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) was the ONLY Bible the First Century Church had access to, and that they preached Jesus out of THAT BOOK? They literally saw Jesus everywhere in those writings, and the New Testament is FULL of references to passages from the Old Testament which Jesus fulfilled! So, YES, Jesus of Nazareth really was the fulfillment of the Torah and the Prophets, and the promises made to Abraham and David so long ago really do/will find their fulfillment in HIM!