WORDS YOU NEED
TO
KNOW WHEN IT COMES
TO THE
END
OF THE
WORLD
children of Abraham” (Galatians 3:7), clearly identifying believers in Jesus as Abraham’s children. In other places, Paul made it clear that God has not given up on his work with the physical descendants of Abraham. “Did God reject his people?” Paul asked the Christians at Rome. “By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew” (Romans 11:1–2). And so, according to Paul, anyone who trusts in Jesus becomes a son of Abraham; yet, at the same time, God has not given up on persons who have physically descended from Abraham. GOD’S PROMISE TO ABRAHAM
God made an agreement with Abraham. In this agreement, God makes the following promises: 1. To make a great nation from Abraham’s descendants (Genesis 12:1–3) 2. To give to Abraham’s descendants all the land of Canaan (Genesis 15:18–21) 3. To make Abraham a father of many nations (Genesis 17:2–9)
Up to this point, nearly every person who professes faith in Jesus would agree. But here is also where questions emerge that reveal significant disagreements among sincere believers: For example, does God have distinct and separate purposes for Israel and the church? Or were God’s dealings with Israel primarily a preparation for what he has accomplished in Jesus Christ? How will God fulfill the covenant of land and blessing that he made to Abraham? What role does the modern nation of Israel play in the fulfillment of these promises?
There are three primary perspectives when it comes to how God will fulfill his covenant: DISPENSATION
Dispensationalism: Two purposes, two people Dispensationalists believe that “throughout the ages God is pursuing two distinct purposes: one related to the earth with earthly people and earthly
A divine arrangement of a divine plan in a specific time and with a distinct people. For example, the Mosaic dispensation. See chart on pages 312–313.
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