Introduction

"Repent ye therefore, and be converted," he cried, "that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord." {AA 59.3}

"Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. Unto you first God, having raised up His Son Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities." {AA 60.1}

Outline of the Study

The Special Seed

The Inheritance of the Seed

The disloyal Seed

The Rest of the Seed

The Spiritual Seed

The Special Seed

“For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth.” (Deuteronomy 7:6)

Special instruction had been given them in regard to their treatment of their brethren who had fallen into decay, of the stranger within their gates, and of the poor among them. They were not to seek to gain everything for their own advantage, but were to remember those in need and share with them. And God promised to bless them in accordance with their deeds of love and mercy. But like the rich man, they put forth no helping hand to relieve the temporal or spiritual necessities of suffering humanity. Filled with pride, they regarded themselves as the chosen and favored people of God; yet they did not serve or worship God. They put their dependence in the fact that they were children of Abraham. "We be Abraham's seed," they said proudly. (John 8:33.) When the crisis came, it was revealed that they had divorced themselves from God, and had placed their trust in Abraham, as if he were God. {COL 267.3}

The Inheritance of the Seed

“See, I have set the land before you; go in and possess the land which the Lord swore to your fathers—to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—to give to them and their descendants after them.” (Deuteronomy 1:8)

But the word of God had not failed; neither did it meet its final accomplishment in the occupation of Canaan by the Jewish people. "To Abraham and his seed were the promises made." Galatians 3:16. Abraham himself was to share the inheritance. The fulfillment of God's promise may seem to be long delayed--for "one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day" (2 Peter 3:8); it may appear to tarry; but at the appointed time "it will surely come, it will not tarry." Habakkuk 2:3. The gift to Abraham and his seed included not merely the land of Canaan, but the whole earth. So says the apostle, "The promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith." Romans 4:13. And the Bible plainly teaches that the promises made to Abraham are to be fulfilled through Christ. All that are Christ's are "Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise"--heirs to "an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away"--the earth freed from the curse of sin. Galatians 3:29; 1 Peter 1:4. For "the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High;" and "the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace." Daniel 7:27; Psalm 37:11. {PP 169.4}

The children of Israel were to occupy all the territory which God appointed them […] But it was God’s purpose that by the revelation of His character through Israel men should be drawn unto Him. To all the world the gospel invitation was to be given. Through the teaching of the sacrificial service, Christ was to be uplifted before the nations, and all who would look unto Him should live […] As the numbers of Israel increased, they were to enlarge their borders until their kingdom should embrace the world.” E.G.W. (Prophets and Kings, p. 19)

The disloyal Seed

“‘Surely, as a wife treacherously departs from her husband, so have you dealt treacherously with Me, O house of Israel,’ says the Lord.” (Jeremiah 3:20)

Satan's Confederacy of Evil Angels and Evil Men

Here [Luke 22:64, 65] we see how professedly righteous men can act out the spirit of Satan to carry their wicked purposes through envy and jealousy and religious bigotry. That enmity was spoken of in the first gospel sermon spoken in Eden. "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel" (Genesis 3:15). This enmity was revealed as soon as man transgressed God's holy law. His nature was changed. It became evil. He was in harmony with the prince of darkness, and there was a confederacy formed. There is no warfare between Satan and the sinner, between fallen angels and fallen men. Both possess the same attributes, both are evil through apostasy and sin. Then let all who read these words understand for a surety that, wheresoever transgression against God's holy law exists, there will always be a league against good. Fallen angels and fallen men will unite in desperate companionship. Satan inspires the disloyal elements to work in harmony with his spirit. {9MR 108.1}

The Rest of the Seed

“Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace.” (Romans 11:5)

And Christ has linked His teaching, not only with the day of rest, but with the week of toil. He has wisdom for him who drives the plow and sows the seed. In the plowing and sowing, the tilling and reaping, He teaches us to see an illustration of His work of grace in the heart. So in every line of useful labor and every association of life, He desires us to find a lesson of divine truth. Then our daily toil will no longer absorb our attention and lead us to forget God; it will continually remind us of our Creator and Redeemer. The thought of God will run like a thread of gold through all our homely cares and occupations. For us the glory of His face will again rest upon the face of nature. We shall ever be learning new lessons of heavenly truth, and growing into the image of His purity. Thus shall we "be taught of the Lord"; and in the lot wherein we are called, we shall "abide with God." Isaiah 54:13; 1 Corinthians 7:24. {COL 26.1}

The Spiritual Seed

“And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” (Galatians 3:29)

A title to a possession in this world must be without flaw, or it is valueless, and the right of inheritance is not given. And will heaven be given to those who have a faulty title? The apostle reveals the line through which the heavenly inheritance is to come. He says: "If ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." If we are Christ's, our title to the heavenly inheritance is without flaw, for we are then under the only saving covenant, the covenant of grace; and through grace we shall be able to make our calling and election sure by putting on the excellency of Christ in faith, in spirit, in character; for no one will be entitled to the heavenly inheritance who has not been purified, refined, ennobled, elevated, and wholly sanctified. Those whose lives are hid with Christ in God, who have been clothed upon with his righteousness, will have a right to the inheritance, incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away. {ST, May 2, 1892 par. 13}

From the Pen of Inspiration

“If we would come into possession of the heavenly inheritance, the glorious, eternal substance, we must be in covenant relation with God […] God’s people must be a peculiar, holy people, distinct in character and practice from the world […] The Lord has set His church as a light in the world, to guide the world to heaven. It is to be a part of heaven on the earth, flashing divine light on the pathway of benighted souls.” E.G.W. (The Faith I Live By, October)