Transcription
So let's go back and look at what the Lord God Yhovah, the Lord God Yahovah, promised to Abraham. Genesis 12:2-3. "I will make you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great, and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."
Did you catch it? In you, guys, focus. In you, all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Right? That's God's promise to Abraham. "In you and through you, I'm going to bless all the families of the earth because I want all nations to turn to me and be saved, because I love all creatures that I created for my glory, and I want their salvation." Genesis 22:18.
Because I'm going to show you what Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, Peter filled with the Holy Spirit, did with this prophecy and how he explained it as inspired by the Holy Spirit of God. Genesis 22:18: "In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice." In your seed, Abraham, all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice. So the promise is in you, through you, by your seed, I'm going to bless all the families of the earth.
Now, Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit. Guys, I need your attention. You're going to learn a lot if you pay attention. Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, inspired by the Holy Spirit to interpret Old Testament promises and show how they are perfectly fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ. Go to Acts 3:25. What does Peter say in Acts 3:25? Uh, this is after Pentecost. He's already filled with the Holy Spirit to do ministry in the strength of the Spirit. Notice what Peter quotes: "You are sons of the prophets." He's talking to the Jews. This is at the temple, 9th hour, at the time of evening, evening sacrifice and prayer. Guys, listen to be blessed. "You are sons of the prophets and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, 'And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.'" In your seed, all the families of the earth shall be blessed.
Now, guys, here's where I'm going to see if you pay attention and you're able to understand what you read. And as you can see, we're going with the New King James Version only because I want English to be clear enough and plain enough that you get it. Okay? Pay attention now. Lord Jesus, take over so you can be glorified by the power of your Holy Spirit working through us. I want Jesus Christ, our Lord, to be glorified.
"You are sons of the prophets. You're the heirs of the prophets. You're the heirs of the prophets and of the covenant. You're the heirs of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, 'And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.'" Now, he's talking to the Jews, right? He's talking to the Jews. Correct?
Before I move on, now, if the seed of Abraham were the Jews, here's where I need you to listen. If the seed are the Jews, they are the seed that blesses the nation, the nations, I should say, then what you're about to read in verse 26 would make no sense. Pay attention. If Abraham's seed means the Jewish race and they would bless the nations, then verse 26 will make no sense. Because now notice how Peter interprets the seed. Acts 3:26. Pay attention now. Let's see if you catch it. "To you first, to you Jews first, God having raised up his servant Jesus sent him to bless you in turning away every one of you from your iniquities."
Guys, can I ask you a question? If the Jews are the seed that blesses the nations, why then would Jesus need to be sent to them first to bless them first before he blesses all the nations? Did everyone get it? God sent Jesus, his servant, which I believe more correctly, his son, to you Jews, to bless you first. Then he's going to bless the nations, fulfilling Abraham's promise. You understand what you just read?
The nation of Israel was formed to bring about the promised seed, Jesus, our Lord, the Jewish, the Israel, Israelite Messiah. He is the seed that blesses all nations, including the nation of Israel. In other words, it's not Israel that's the blessing. It's Jesus who comes from Israel that blesses Israel and all the nations. Did it sink in?
Because if it sinks in, you know what that means? Stop thinking the nation of Israel is the nation that you need to bless in order to be blessed. Because the promises of the Hebrew Bible are often misapplied by evangelists today, like I used to when I bought into their scheme. See, you got to bless Israel because if you don't bless Israel, God won't bless you. And if you curse Israel, you'll be cursed. That's not correct interpretation of the Bible. What they've done is they're going back to the Old Testament BC message and they're ignoring or perverting how the New Testament interprets those prophecies and show they're fulfilled in Jesus, the true seed, who's the true Israel, from whom comes all blessings, first to the Jews, and then to the world for the rest of you.
Did you understand how Acts 3:25-26? The seed who blesses the families of the earth is the Lord Jesus Christ. The seed of Abraham that blesses the families of the earth is not Israel, the nation. It's the Lord Jesus Christ. Did we get that? The very fact that God sent Jesus to bless the Jews, isn't that proof that the Jews happen to be one of the families on earth that need to be blessed by God? They are not the blessing from God to the nations, but they are one of the families of the earth, one of the nations that need to receive the blessing of God from the promised seed.
You see how you see what Peter, who's a Jew filled with the Spirit, is saying? "You are one of the families on earth that need to be blessed. You need that blessing of Abraham. You're not the blessing of Abraham. You need to receive the blessing of Abraham." And the blessing of Abraham is his physical seed, Jesus the Messiah. Is it making sense now?
So please, brethren, don't let people use rhetoric, emotional manipulation, saying, "Ah, you're anti-thetic. You're anti-Jewish. Replacement theology." Because that's all they can say. Because they cannot refute you, because you're on the side of scripture, and you're interpreting the scriptures correctly by the grace of God. So what do they do to vilify you? Because when they can't refute you, "Ah, replacement theology, brother, you're anti-Semitic. You're anti-Jewish."
Well, two things. Number one, I can't be anti-Semitic. You know why? I'm a Semite. Semite is a son of Shem. I'm Assyrian. Assyrian Ashuriah. Ashuriah. Assyrian Ashariah means sons of a son of Asher. Go to Genesis 10, Genesis 11. Read Asher was a son of Shem. Asher was a son of Shem. I'm a Shemite, a Semite. So I can't be anti-Semitic. That's number one.
Number two, how in the world can he accuse me of being anti-Jewish when I believe that my God became a Jewish man? Jesus Christ, my Lord, my God. When it comes to his human nature, his physical body's human nature, he is Jewish. He's an Israelite. My God became a Jewish man from the tribe of Judah, from the line of David. How can I be anti-Jewish when I believe the greatest woman that God created, the most exalted of all creatures, is a Jewish woman named Mary, Meriam, the mother of my God and Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. And I love her more than my own mother. How can I be anti-Jewish when my hero is the Apostle Paul, a Jew of Jews, a Hebrew of Hebrews, an Israelite from the tribe of Benjamin.
I am anti-Rabbic Judaism. Orthodox Judaism is from the pit of hell; it is satanic. So don't let these preachers intimidate you by emotional manipulation rhetoric. "Ah, see replacement theology. You're anti-Jewish." Jesus is that God be pleased with you. Don't fall for that.