The Promised Land

“Parachuting” into the promised land

The concept of “the promised land” originates with the Bible.  And it, as well as everything else, goes all the way back to Genesis.  In fact, the first reference to the promised land is made early in the book, in Genesis 12:1, when God calls Abram (as he was known then).  The Lord said to Abram, “Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land I will show you.”  And as soon as Abram enters the land, God introduces us to His promise to him relating to it (Gen. 12:7).  From there, “the promised land” narrative weaves its way through the rest of the book (in Gen. 13:14-17; 15:7, 18; 17:8; 24:7; 26:1-3; 35:12; 48:3, 4; and 50:24).

The promised land is the stuff of dreams and a common theme in hymns and spiritual songs.

On Jordon’s stormy banks I stand, and cast a wishful eye

To Canaan’s fair and happy land, where my possessions lie.

I am bound for the promised land; I am bound for the promised land.

O who will come and go with me?  I am bound for the promised land.

But what significance does the promised land have to Israel today?

The promised land and Israel’s right to exist

There is a lot of discussion and debate these days over whether the State of Israel should exist, and whether the Jews have a right to a homeland in the land promised to Abraham and his seed.  But this invariably leads to other questions. . .  Where or what is the promised land?  What historic boundaries for the promised land does the Bible draw?  Are they different from those that exist today?  And who is the seed of Abraham?  That is. . . Who are the people of God and the children of Abraham?

Zionists believe the Jewish people have a right to live in Palestine, where they have lived for 3,800 years; that they have a right to live in the land promised to Abraham and have a homeland where they are safe and secure.  Actually.  This doesn’t seem like too much to ask.  Nor does it seem unreasonable.

But an important question for Christians is this. . .

How should we respond to Israel having a home in the promised land?

How should we look at this, as followers of Jesus?  And I don’t mean by that, as “Christian Zionists.”  But more simply, and directly, as followers of Jesus.  Without geopolitical or eschatological seas to drive our boats.  But only a Scriptural directive.

. . .So, how should we view Israel having a home in the promised land?

Do the Jewish people have a right to live in the land of Israel?

(Answers to these questions vary among Christians.)

Declarations and conquest

In terms of the present reality, aside from what Scripture has to say about Israel’s ancient homeland, historical declarations, bearing the force of international law, and conquest (not always viewed in a positive sense) have given Israel a “deed” to the land: a “legal right” to exist as a nation in the “promised land.”

Historical affirmations came in the Balfour Declaration (1917), the League of Nations Mandate for Palestine (1922), and the United Nations Charter (1947).  And, ultimately, in the Declaration of Independence of the State of Israel (1948).  Then Israel “ratified” those declarations through conquest in 1948, 1956, 1967, 1973, and 1982, the dates for some of the major wars fought and won by them, in effect, to “take possession” of the land allocated to them by these international bodies and international law.

So, a case can be made for the State of Israel’s existence and the Jewish people living in the land.

The promised land: promise fulfilled

But, having said all that, there is no need for present-day Israel to inhabit or possess the “promised” land to fulfill the promise to Abraham, because this was already a fait accompli long ago.  According to Scripture, God fulfilled this promise to Abraham in Old Testament times (see Gen. 15:18-21; Deut. 1:1-8; Josh. 1:1-6, 1o, 11; 15:1-4, 20-47; 21:43-45; 23:14; II Sam. 8:3; I Kgs. 4:20-25; 8:54-56, 65; Ps. 72 [a Psalm of David for his son Solomon]: viz. vv. 1, 7, 8).  You will notice in these passages that the original boundaries of the promised land were “from the river of Egypt [the Nile] to the great river, the River Euphrates.”

Among these texts, Joshua 21:43-45 serves as a good example of the promise fulfilled.  “So the LORD [Yahweh] gave to Israel all the land of which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they took possession of it and dwelt in it.  Not a word failed of any good thing which the LORD had spoken to the house of Israel.  All came to pass.”

Likewise, the Old Testament prophecies that spoke of a return of the Jews to the land after the exile were fulfilled in Ezra and Nehemiah.

In light of this, there is no need to re-create a fulfillment, or “multiply” fulfillments, when God has already fulfilled His promise.

The promised land–a heavenly reality

Furthermore, God’s promise to give Abraham the land as an “everlasting possession” (Gen. 13:15; 17:8; 48:4) is unattainable in the present world.  The earth is passing away (I John 2:17).  The things we see are only temporary (II Cor. 4:18).  Even Abraham understood and experienced this reality while he dwelled in the land promised to him (Acts 7:4, 5).  He was only a sojourner there.

So.  What would that mean?

Perhaps the promise is bigger than the land, and the land itself is a picture of a heavenly, eternal reality, the “city” Abraham was actually looking for (Heb. 11:8-16; 13:14).  In this way, by and large, the whole concept of the “promised land” may follow the Scriptural principle of the shadow and the true (Heb. 4:8, 9; 8:1, 2, 4, 5; 9:8, 9, 11, 23, 24; 10:1; Gal. 4:21-26; John 4:21-24; Col. 2:16, 17; I Cor. 10:1-4; Rev. 21 and 22; Heb. 12:22-24). . . the promised land being a shadow of a true, eternal reality.

And, with that, do we dare take our New Testament faith a step further?

The people of God, the children of Abraham

Our ethnicity does not determine whether we are the people of God.  According to the teachings of the New Testament, and some Old Testament prophets, and even Jesus Himself, being Jewish does not make one a child of Abraham or the people of God (see Matt. 3:9, 10; 13:38; 23:15, 29-35; John 1:47; 8: 23, 37-47; Acts 13:6-10; Rom. 2:17-29; 4:11, 12, 16, 17; 9:1-8, 22-26; 10:20, 21; 11:1-5, 16-18; 15:8-12; Gal. 3:7, 26-29; 4:28; 6:15, 16; Eph. 2:11-22; Phil. 3:3; Col. 2:11; I Pet. 2:9, 10; Isa. 65:1-16; Acts 11:26; 26:28; I Pet. 4:16; Jer. 4:1-4; I Thess. 2:14-16).

These texts of Scripture teach us that what is within, such as the new life believers in Jesus experience (Gal. 6:15), reveals who the true people of God and the children of Abraham are (Gal. 6:16).  These passages are not anti-Semitic (Jesus, His disciples, and Paul, who are quoted in them, were all Jews).   But they are words given by inspiration of the Spirit; they are not hateful in any way.  They are the Word of God.  And they are speaking the truth (Gal. 4:16).

Therefore (a summation)

All of this can be summed up in Galatians 3:7 and 4:26.  “Those who are of faith are the children of Abraham,” and, “Jerusalem, which is above [‘Zion, the city of the living God, heavenly Jerusalem’ – Heb. 12:22], is the mother of us all.”

It is encouraging to know that our fathers in the Faith, Justin Martyr and Augustine, also believed this.  “We, who have been quarried out from the bowels of Christ, are the true Israelitic race” (Justin Martyr: Dialogue with Trypho the Jew).  “The true Judaea, then, is the Church of Christ. . . the true Sion is the Church of Christians” (Augustine: Exposition on Psalm 76).

Jerusalem and the land where Jesus walked

I love the Jewish people and have recently come to find I possess some Jewish blood myself (Eph. 5:29).  I have also studied in Jerusalem, “which now is” (Gal. 4:25), and been blessed to travel the length and breadth of the land of Israel.  And since that time, I have read many books about Jerusalem and “the promised land.”  I love the land where Jesus walked.  The time I spent there has been one of the most wonderful experiences of my life!  And I desire, as Paul, to see my Jewish brothers and sisters come to Jesus.

I would like to conclude this discussion concerning the people of God and the children of Abraham by

Taking a closer look at Abraham’s seed in Genesis and Galatians

Despite the characteristic way the word “seed” is used to refer to one’s descendants (in a plural sense), Paul says the seed of Abraham is one Person: Jesus Christ (Gal. 3:16).  But this presents a problem for some of the promises made to Abraham.  Obviously, God has bigger plans for Christ than a strip of land in Palestine (John 3:31; 13:3; Matt. 28:18; Acts 2:36; 10:36; Rom. 9:5; 10:9-13; Eph. 1:10; Dan. 7:13, 14; Ps. 2:8).  Perhaps the land takes on a new meaning, as I suggested earlier, especially if Christ is the seed to whom it is promised; and perhaps that’s why Paul says “the world” is, in fact, the inheritance promised to Abraham and his seed (Rom. 4:13; I Cor. 3:21-23; Matt. 5:5; II Pet. 3:13), not just a strip of land.  Because that’s more in line with what God has in mind for His Son (Heb. 1:2).

But there is more.

If the seed of Abraham is Christ, then all those who believe in Him (as shown above) also become the seed of Abraham because they belong to Christ (Gal. 3:29).  And that’s how Abraham’s seed becomes as countless as the stars and sands (Gen. 13:16; 22:17; Rev. 7:9).  That’s also how the nations and all the families of the earth are blessed in Abraham.  They bless themselves in Christ when they believe in Him, who is Abraham’s seed (Gen. 22: 18; Gal. 3:14).  Abraham’s blessing to the nations comes through Christ.

Cleared for takeoff to the promised land

Well, before long, it will be time to go to my heavenly home.

I am cleared for takeoff.

So I’m offering an invitation to all my Jewish brothers and sisters, and anyone else who wants to come along, to join me in paradise with Jesus.

O who will come and go with me?  I am bound for the promised land.

“Next year in Jerusalem”

above.

© James Unruh 2026 and beyond