All The Kindreds Of The Earth Be Blessed? (Part One)

“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.”

We are now going to endeavor to determine what this passage is saying, and what it is not! There are several related Scriptures throughout the Bible pertaining to this same subject, and it is imperative that we understand their context in every instance. There is probably no other group of related passages taken so entirely out-of-context than these. It might appear, at first sight, that these passages are all-inclusive in a universal sense to include all the peoples of the world. Actually, the opposite is true as these passages are exclusive rather than inclusive. And to use the term “exclusive” is an understatement. But before we get into the gist of this thing we must investigate the previous happenings which led up to Peter referring back to the Abrahamic Covenant.

While Peter did quite well, for that period of time, he was not fully aware of who all true Israel was. Therefore, he at times addressed the wrong people by that name. He didn’t really begin to understand until Acts chapter 10 when he had the vision of a vessel being lowered down to him as a great “four cornered ... knit sheet” with all kinds of unclean creatures. Now, most of the inept pastors of our day use Peter’s vision as a license to eat unclean food to the detriment of their health. Actually, the unclean creatures which Peter saw were the lost tribes of Israel. It is important to note that it was a “four cornered sheet” that he saw. That “four cornered sheet” represents the four sided encampment when Israel was in the wilderness described at Numbers chapter 2, and Revelation 21:16, as the “city ... four-square.” The Greek word τετράγωνος at this verse means “with four equal angles” i.e. four-cornered. And when we read at Acts 10:15:

“And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.”

At this point it is necessary, then, to understand what it was that “God hath cleansed.” Israel was cleansed by sacrifice of crucifixion, i.e.: Isaiah 1:25-27; Jer. 13:27; 33:8; Ezek. 36:25, 29, 33; Joel 3:21; John 13:10, 15:3; Heb. 1:3; 10:19-23; Titus 2:14; 1 John 1:7, 3:1-5. William Finck’s translation at Romans 2:12 shows that Paul makes this clear:

“For as many as have done wrong without law, without law then are they cleansed; and as many as have done wrong in the law, by the law they will be judged.” Also note Ezek. 22:26 & 44:23.

It is simply silly for all these modern-day preachers going around proclaiming “we must be born again” so we can be cleansed, for we (like in Peter’s vision) are already cleansed! What we need is conversion! Modern-day churchianity is making the same mistake as Nicodemus did! Yahshua meant “you must be born from above”, not “be born again”, and there’s a lot of difference!

At Acts 1:1-4 we are told that Messiah spent 40 days from the Resurrection until His Ascension, which would have left 10 days until Pentecost. Some slickster confusion peddlers nowadays are trying to make it 99 days instead of 50. In Acts chapter 2 we are given the account of the Advent of the Holy Spirit. At Acts 2:17, Peter quotes Joel 2:28, which says:

“And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions.”

It should be noted at Acts 2:17, Peter says that this will “come to pass in the last days”, but Peter’s day of Pentecost here in Acts is not the last days! Peter, in his day, witnessed only an “earnest” (#728 ἀῤῥαβών) of the Holy Spirit alluded to by Paul at 2 Cor. 1:22; 5:5; and Eph. 1:14, or a down payment or a pledge of what was to come in the “last days.”

I will give you my thoughts about “speaking in tongues.” I would be among the first to affirm that there are heavenly languages among the angels. But, at the day of Pentecost the miracle was in the hearing rather than the speaking, for each group attending spoke in his own language, but those whose language was different heard them speak in his own language. When Paul later mentions that he spoke in tongues more than you all, it simply meant that Paul spoke several languages. At 1 Cor. 14:18, “I give thanks to Yahweh speaking in more languages than all of you”, followed by verse 14:19, by itself reveals the idiocy of the Charismatics and Pentecostals: “but in the assembly I wish to speak five words with my mind, in order that I may instruct others also, than a myriad of words in a language.” (Again, translation by William Finck.)

We should remember that the Baptism of the Holy Spirit at the day of Pentecost was only an “earnest” (down payment) of what we would eventually experience in the latter days. Personally, I’m looking forward to the time that I will be able to converse in every language, maybe with the exceptions of Creole and Yiddish. But to answer the question of speaking in tongues: I believe that today’s Pentecostal and Charismatic movements are a cheap counterfeit. I’ve studied extensively their history, and frankly, they’re evil to the core.

At Acts 2:25-31 we are told that the Old Testament David was a prophet, and we should keep that in mind when we read the Psalms. With this passage cited by Peter, David foretold of the life, death, burial and Resurrection of our Yahshua the Messiah. While there are many Psalms pointing toward our Redeemer, Peter was citing Psalm 16:10 in particular:

“For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.”

And although Peter was not entirely aware of who all were Israel, he said this at Acts 2:36:

“Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that Yahweh hath made him both King and Messiah, this Yahshua whom ye have crucified.”

“All the house of Israel” (before their division) would be all of the twelve tribes scattered abroad at James 1:1. If there are those who are laboring under the allusion that Peter was directing his discourse towards ‘all the peoples of the earth’, let them be hastily and mightily reproved! (Acts 2:25-28 is an exact quote of Psalm 16:8-11, the Greek of Acts differing from that of the LXX by only one single vowel!)

Then, at Acts 3:12, Peter (not yet having his vision of the “four cornered sheet”) addresses indiscriminately some of the Judaeans (who may have been from various genetic backgrounds) as “men of Israel” at the Temple (v. 1). Later, Paul would very discriminatingly and appropriately address those of them who were truly Israelites as “kinsmen according to the flesh” at Romans 9:3. At Acts 3:15, Peter mistakenly and indiscriminately accuses the same people as he cited in verse 12, and charges them unwittingly “And killed the Prince of life ...”

As I have stated before, Peter had not yet been given his vision, and therefore we must take his words in their proper context! And today, many of us are making the same kind of mistake as Peter made (and we also haven’t had our vision of who true Israel is)! Go back and count the number of corners on that “sheet”!

The following are William Finck’s comments on Romans 9:3 and Acts 3:15: “Romans 9:3: Paul spends much of Romans chapters 9 through 11 comparing the children of Jacob and Esau, the true Israelites ‘according to the flesh’ (as opposed to religion or citizenship) compared to the Canaanite-Edomites who claimed to be Israel, practicing Judaism. I perceive that Peter is laying blame for the crucifixion of Christ upon the ‘men of Israel’ at Acts 2:22, 23 and 3:12, 13 in a very general, national sense, much as if all American citizens are responsible for the actions of our current government. Surely at least some of those whom Peter addressed here were a part of the crowd during the events which transpired at Passover only seven weeks prior, and noting Leviticus 5:1, not trying to stop the ‘Jews’, they also share a burden of guilt with them; although we know that His death is not accounted to TRUE ISRAELITES. Note that at Acts 2:23, Peter says ‘and by wicked hands’, which I would translate ‘and through lawless hands.’ It is obvious that Peter did not yet truly distinguish between Israelite and Canaanite-jew-‘Israeli’, except possibly for this one statement.”

This, then, generally brings us to our topic at Acts 3:25.

WHO ARE THE “KINDREDS” HERE?

“... And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.”

This demands an investigation into the word “kindreds” as used here. It is the Greek word #3965 in Strong’s. We will use the Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon:

“3965 πατριά [patria/pat·ree·ah/] n f. A derivative of 3962; Theological Dictionary of the New Testament 5:1015; Theological Dictionary of the New Testament Abridged 805; Goodrick-Kohlenberger 4255; Three occurrences; AV translates as ‘lineage’ once, ‘kindred’ once, and ‘family’ once. 1 lineage running back to some progenitor, ancestry. 2 a race or tribe. 2a a group of families, all those who in a given people lay claim to a common origin. 2b the Israelites which distributed into twelve tribes, descended from the twelve sons of Jacob, these were divided into families which were divided into houses. 3 family, in a wider sense, nation, people.”

Actually, #3965 is derived from #3962 meaning “father” or “patriarch” and partially described by the Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon: “1 generator or male ancestor. 1a either the nearest ancestor: father of the corporeal nature, natural fathers, both parents. 1b a more remote ancestor, the founder of a race or tribe, progenitor of a people, forefather: so Abraham is called, Jacob and David. 1b1 fathers i.e. ancestors, forefathers, founders of a race. 1c one advanced in years, a senior ... 2a1 the authors of a family or society of persons animated by the same spirit as himself ...”

If one will check The Dictionary of Biblical Languages, Greek N. T., by James Swanson, it all boils down to: “4255 πατριά (patria), ᾶς (as), ἡ (hē): n.fem.; ... lineage, family line (Lk 2:4; Eph 3:15+) ....”

For the Hebrew word ʾab, which means “father”, we will now go to A Dictionary of Biblical Languages With Semantic Domains: Hebrew (Old Testament) #3: “3 אב (ʾab): n.masc.; = Str 1; Theological Dictionary of the New Testament 4a—1. Louw-Nida Greek-English Lexicon 10.14 father, i.e., the male progenitor of an offspring, or male adoptive parent (Ge 2:24); 2. Louw-Nida Greek-English Lexicon 10.14-10.48 grandfather, i.e., the male progenitor of a child’s parent (2 Sa 9:7; 16:3; 19:29 [EB 28]); 3. Louw-Nida Greek-English Lexicon 10.14-10.48 ancestor, forefather, i.e., a person many generations removed from a current generation (Ge 10:21); 4. Louw-Nida Greek-English Lexicon 68.1-68.10 founder, originator, i.e., one who causes something to begin (Ge 4:20, 21; 1Ch 2:24, 42), note: including profession, or cities; 5. Louw-Nida Greek-English Lexicon 35.36-35.46 caregiver, formally, father, i.e., one who cares for persons in need, as a figurative extension of a father caring for a child’s needs (Job 29:16; Isa 9:5); 6. Louw-Nida Greek-English Lexicon 87.19-87.57 sir, formally, father, i.e., a title of respect of a lesser to a greater in authority, implying relationship and respect (2 Ki 5:13); 7. Louw-Nida Greek-English Lexicon 12.1-12.42 Father, i.e., a title of God or a false god, as the progenitor and creator of persons he has relationship with (Dt 32:6; Ps 89:27 [EB 26]; Jer 2:27); 8. Louw-Nida Greek-English Lexicon 10.1-10.13 unit: בית אב (bayit ʾab) clan, formally, house of the fathers, i.e., a subgroup of a main clan/tribe division (Ex 6:14); 9. Louw-Nida Greek-English Lexicon 10.14-10.48 unit: אב; (ʾab) ancestor, forefather, formally, fathers of fathers, i.e., a person many generations removed from a current generation (Ex 10:6).”

All this should prove that even some of the liberal universalists who write these hard to understand lexicons, when it gets right down to the nitty-gritty of original language, cannot avoid the truth of “kindreds” being a family line.

Because we are running out of space needed for this presentation, it will be necessary to continue it in another brochure under the same title designated “Part Two.” I would warn you in advance, we haven’t even begun to scratch the surface on this passage. It should already be becoming quite evident that the context is very different than what many attempt to make it mean. Almost all the mainstream “churches” take a universalist position on this passage, and sadly, many in Israel Identity follow suit.

In order to fully understand what Acts 3:25 is all about, and what this brochure and the next addresses, it will be necessary for the reader to obtain both parts of this presentation. At this point, it appears that a second flyer will be enough to wrap-up this discussion.