Journal: Bibliotheca Sacra
Volume: BSAC 109:434 (Apr 1952)
Article: Millennial Series: Part 14: The Abrahamic Covenant and Premillennialism
Author: John F. Walvoord

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BSac 109:434 (Apr 52) p. 136

Millennial Series:
Part 14: The Abrahamic Covenant and Premillennialism

John F. Walvoord

(Continued from the January-March Number, 1952)

{Editor’s note: Footnotes in the original printed edition were numbered 16–22, but in this electronic edition are numbered 1–7 respectively.}

Will Israel Continue as a Nation?

The point at issue. In previous discussion of the Abrahamic Covenant, it was shown that the term seed of Abraham had three distinct meanings as used in Scripture. It is used (1) of the natural seed of Abraham, limited in some contexts to the seed of Jacob or Israel; (2) it is used of the spiritual seed of Abraham within the natural seed—spiritual Israel; (3) it is used of those who are spiritual seed of Abraham but not natural descendants, i.e., Gentile believers. Premillenarians concede to amillenarians the existence of a spiritual seed of Abraham. The point at issue is that amillenarians insist that the Abrahamic Covenant is fulfilled only through the spiritual seed of Abraham and that therefore Israel racially and nationally has no covenant promises.

The meaning of the term “Seed of Abraham.” The usual amillennial position is stated by Albertus Pieters in these words: “Whenever we meet with the argument that God made certain promises to the Jewish race, the above facts are pertinent. God never made any promise to any race at all, as a race. All His promises were to the continuing covenanted community, without regard to its racial constituents or to the personal ancestry of the individuals in it. Hence no proof that those whom the world now calls ‘the Jews’ are descended from Abraham, if it could be supplied (which it can not), would be of any avail to prove that they are entitled to the fulfillment of any divine promise whatsoever. Those promises were made to the covenanted group called ‘The Seed of Abraham,’ and to that community they must be fulfilled. What is needed is that one shall bring forward proof of his membership in that group.”1

BSac 109:434 (Apr 52) p. 137

The amillennial viewpoint as represented by Pieters holds, then, to the following position: (1) God never made any promises to the physical seed of Abraham as a race; (2) the Abrahamic promises are given only to the spiritual seed of Abraham or the “continuing covenanted community”; (3) Jews today have no claim on the promise to Abraham because (a) they are not the spiritual seed; (b) they could not prove that they are the physical seed anyway.

To say the least, these are sweeping statements for which the most complete proof should be available. An examination of Pieters’ arg...

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