Universalists use the promise to Abraham in an effort to prove that all people will be saved, but they ignore the conditionality of promises. It is not my purpose to discuss Universalism, but call attention to these statements: “Ye will not come to me, that ye may have life.” (John 5:40). “He that disbelieveth shall be condemned.” (Mark 16:16). “And these shall go away into eternal punishment.” (Matt. 25:46). A person who will not believe these scriptures, and others that might be cited, will not believe anything he does not want to believe.
The future kingdom folks have twisted the land-promise in support of their future plans for the Lord. The land-promise to Abraham did not produce the speculation about the future return of the Jews to Palestine; but their return is an essential part of the future kingdom theory, and that made it necessary to claim that the land promise still holds good. Let us look into this matter briefly.
“And Jehovah appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land.” (Gen. 12:7). “And he said unto him, I am Jehovah that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give you this land to inherit it.” (Gen. 15:7). But Abram did not believe Jehovah, and said, “O Lord Jehovah, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?” For that unbelief, God required him to prepare three animals and two birds for a sacrifice, and then Jehovah did not honor his sacrifice with fire from heaven; and Abram had to protect his sacrifices from birds of prey. Then he fell into a deep sleep; “And lo, a horror of great darkness fell upon him.” Then Jehovah revealed to him the future bondage of his seed, and their deliverance. This showed Abram how God was displeased with Abram’s unbelief. It is significant that God left Abram out of his next promise: “In that day Jehovah made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land.” You see, Abram would have died long before they returned from Egypt. As we proceed it is well to remember the wording of this covenant-promise, and that Abraham is not included in it. Yet so long as Abraham lived, he was included in the land promise. (See Gen. 17:8). And of course, when the land-promise was made to Isaac and to Jacob after the death of Abraham, he was not included (Gen. 26:2, 3; 28:13).