Watchman's Teaching Letter #190 February 2014

This is my one hundred and ninetieth monthly teaching letter and continues my sixteenth year of publication. Since WTL #137, I have been continuing a series entitled The Greatest Love Story Ever Told, and have been expanding on its seven stages ever since: (1) the courtship, (2) the marriage, (3) the honeymoon, (4) the estrangement, (5) the divorce, (6) the reconciliation, and (7) the remarriage.

THE GREATEST LOVE STORY EVER TOLD, Part 49,

THE RECONCILIATION (i.e., Redemption):

With the last lesson, WTL #189, we discontinued the larger portion of our research concerning the subject of “divorce”, and started the subject of “reconciliation”. The subject of “reconciliation” should not be confused with the topic of “salvation” as “reconciliation” and “salvation” are two entirely separate matters! “Redemption” carries with it the concept of purchasing back something one once owned. For a good definition of our subject, I will cite The Popular And Critical Bible Encyclopedia And Scriptural Dictionary, ©1904, vol. 3, p. 1433:

REDEEM, REDEEMED ...

1. To redeem is to buy back persons or things formerly sold, by paying a due price for them (Lev. xxv:25).

2: To deliver from distress and bondage, by the exertion of great power and love (Deut. vii :5; xxxii:6).

3. To deliver men from the broken law, sin, Satan, an evil world, death, and hell, by the price of Jesus’ obedience and suffering, and by means of the enlightening and sanctifying power of his Spirit (Luke i:68; Gal. iv:4, 5; Tit. ii :I4 ; 1 Pet. i:I9), they are ‘redeemed from the earth,’ from among carnal men, and ‘to God,’ into a state of fellowship with, and voluntary subjection to him (Rev. v:9; xiv:3).

4. To ‘redeem time’ is, under the conviction of misspending much of it, to double our diligence in the improvement of what remains for us (Eph. v:16). The children of Israel are called ‘the redeemed of the Lord’ [sic Yahweh] (Isa. xxxv:9; lxii:12), as returning from Babylonian captivity. (See REDEEMER; REDEMPTION.)

REDEEMER (Heb. ... go-ale', a primitive root, to redeem).

The Hebrew ‘goale,’ or kinsman-redeemer, who was also the nearest of kin, was to exert himself in favor of his destitute kinsman. If he had, through poverty, mortgaged his inheritance, the goale was to buy it back. If he had sold himself into slavery, the goale was to pay his ransom. If he was murdered, the goale was to avenge his blood. If he died childless, the goale might espouse his widow, and raise up seed to him; but it does not appear that he was obliged to do this, except he was an unmarried brother (Num. v:8; xxvii:11; xxxv; Deut. xxv:I-8; Ruth iii, iv; Lev. xxv: 25; Jer, xxxii:7, 8).

General Applications.

(1) God is called a ‘Redeemer;’ with mighty power and kindness he rescued the Hebrews from their bondage and trouble, and often delivers the oppressed; and he, through the blood of his Son, saves from deep slavery and woe under the broken (i.e. a violation of, ed. CAE) law, to endless glory and happiness (Isa. lxiii:I6).

(2) Christ as a ‘Redeemer;’ by his righteousness, he paid the price of our redemption; by his intercession he pleads for and procures it; by his Spirit he applies it to our soul (Job xix:25; Isa. lix:20).

(3) Christ is our ‘redemption’; our deliverance from sin, and all its effects, is through his blood and Spirit (Eph. i:7; Col. i:14; Heb. ix:12); and begins in our forgiveness, is carried on in our sanctification, and perfected in our eternal blessedness, when, at the resurrection, our very bodies shall be delivered from all the effects of sin; and this entrance on eternal glory is called our ‘redemption,’ as it brings the deliverance to its perfection (Luke xxi:28; Ram. viii:23). It is called the ‘redemption of the purchased possession,’ as we then enter on the full possession of what Christ has purchased; or it is the ‘redemption of the peculiar people’ (Eph. i:14). Christ died for the ‘redemption of transgressions,’ that is, that he might make full satisfaction for them (Heb. ix:15). He is made of God to us ‘redemption;’ he is prepared and given of God to us as an all-sufficient Savior; as the purchaser, price, treasury and substance of our everlasting deliverance from sin and misery to holiness and happiness (1 Cor. i:30). We are justified through ‘the redemption that is in him,’ the ‘redemption-price’ of his righteousness; and partaking of him, as made of God to us ‘redemption” (Rom. iii:22).

REDEMPTION ... (Heb. pawdaw', to sever), in theology, denotes our recovery from sin and death by the obedience and [the] sacrifice of Christ, who, on this account, is called The Redeemer (Isa. lix:20; Job xix:25).

(1) Our English word redemption is from the Latin redemptio, and signifies buying again; and several words, in the Greek language of the New Testament, are used in the affair of our redemption, which signify the obtaining of something by paying a proper price for it; sometimes the simple verb, to buy, is used; so the redeemed are said to be bought unto God by the blood of Christ, and to be bought from the earth, and to be bought from among men, and to be bought with a price; that is, with the price of Christ’s blood (1 Cor. vi:20). Hence, the church of God is said to be purchased with it (Acts xx:28). Sometimes a compound word is used, which signifies to buy again, or out of the hands of another, as the redeemed are bought out of the hands of justice, as in Gal. iii:13, and Gal. iv:5. In other places the word denoting ransom is used, or others derived from it, which signifies the deliverance of a slave or captive from thralldom, by paying a ransom price for him; so the saints are said to be redeemed not with silver or gold, the usual price paid for a ransom, but with a far greater one, the blood and life of Christ, which he came into this world to give us a ransom price for many, and even himself, which is antilutron, an answerable, adequate, and full price for them (1 Pet. i:18).

(2) The evils from which we are redeemed or delivered are the curse of the law, sin, Satan, the world, death, and hell.

(3) The moving cause of redemption is the love of God (John iii:16).

(4) The procuring cause, Jesus Christ (1 Pet. i:18, 19).

(5) The ends of redemption are, that the justice of God might be satisfied; his people reconciled, adopted, sanctified, and brought to glory.

(6) The properties of it are these: (a) It is agreeable to all the perfections of God; (b) what a creature never could obtain, and therefore entirely of free grace; (c) it is special and particular; (d) full and complete; (e) and, lastly, is eternal as to its blessings.”

In each of the three volumes of this work, at the bottom of the back of the title page, a short interesting message is given thusly:

THIS WORK IS SUPPLIED ONLY THROUGH AUTHORIZED CANVASSERS. BOOKSELLERS CANNOT OBTAIN IT.” [Note: I purchased my three volume set from a used bookstore.]

From this concise notice, one can surmise that this three volume Biblical Encyclopedia was sold by commissioned traveling salesmen making arrangements with pastors and congregations for special meetings to present the qualities of their product. First of all, these “canvassers” would of necessity be a Christian themselves, and secondly, he would out of necessity have to be quite familiar of the contents of the books he was taking orders for! Inasmuch as the “canvasser” would be visiting every church denomination, the author of the three volumes would have to face a conglomeration of beliefs, forcing both the author and “canvassers” to walk a theological tightrope, and yet promote Biblical truth. Therefore, I will quote the author’s statement of intent:

INTRODUCTION: THE present [1904 A.D.] age is preeminently one of research and inquiry. The comparative sciences, relating to every realm of knowledge, have brought to the earnest student material for thought and investigation never before accessible.

It has been more than half a century since the Biblical cyclopaedias by Kitto, Robinson and Watson were issued, and nearly as long since the scholarly works by Dr. William Smith appeared. All of these are now far out of date, and there is a growing demand for a help to Bible study in similar form, but containing the latest and best results of modern scholarship, arranged in the most convenient manner for ready reference, to take their place. The advancement in Biblical and physical learning in the last fifty years, and the clearer understanding of many things concerning the Jewish [sic Israelitish] and contemporaneous oriental nations as well, have made great changes in Biblical reference works essential to intelligent investigation. In the light of modern science the ablest minds of the day are re-examining the claims of the Bible to be the Word of God. Its unity and consequent integrity have been challenged. New statements of Biblical truth are being made and new methods of interpretation employed. But it still maintains its supreme place as the Book of books. It has been cast into the furnace of criticism, heated seven times hotter than for any other book, and it has come forth without even the smell of fire upon its sacred leaves. The result of this testing process has been to reduce the study of the Bible to a science, which is pursued with a greater or less degree of intensity and application by people of intelligence generally. To commit portions of it to memory, to be catechised in its doctrines and to enter into its devotions are not adequate Bible study. These are elementary steps in securing scriptural knowledge, but they do not unfold all the truths which thoughtful people seek after. The liberation of the human mind from bondage to creeds has ushered in an era of independent thought. But while this age is one of reason, it should not be in the light of facts before us, any less one of devotion. Science is the handmaid of religion, as has been devoutly said, and where pure religion abounds, the highest degree of intelligence is attained. Men who are thoroughly loyal to the Bible as the unimpeachable word of God, have been foremost to strengthen the hand of the archaeologist and to furnish the means which enable him to bring from the long buried past the story of the nations and the individuals mentioned in its sacred records. Their faith has taken a firmer hold upon its authenticity and inspiration through the surprising results which have been attained. From sunburnt bricks and monuments of stone, disentombed from mounds of ancient ruins, new witnesses have come forth bringing invaluable testimony to the accuracy of the Hebrew writers.

Unfriendly critics had decided long ago that some of the cities mentioned in the Old Testament were purely mythical, but the spade of the explorer has revealed the foundations of the cities themselves. It was held that the names of certain kings were merely allegorical or the interpolation of some ignorant scribe, but in several instances the documents and inscriptions of these kings have been found, and even their bodies have been produced as incontrovertible evidence of the accuracy of the record of the sacred writings. More light is also continually breaking upon the Scriptures by reason of the progress made in Biblical Literature and Hermeneutics through the superior critical scholarship of the day.

The aim of the Editors of this Encyclopaedia is to furnish a work of ready reference for ministers, Sunday School workers and Bible students of every class, including the general public. It will be found to contain the best information accessible upon all the varied themes of Bible lore. It is especially rich in the results of the most recent discoveries in Bible lands. The pick and spade of the archaeologist have forced the ancient ruins to yield up treasures richer than the gold of Ophir. The decipherment of historic inscriptions in the palaces and upon the tombs of ancient monarchs have added a constantly increasing accumulation of testimony to the truthfulness of the Biblical record. Claims of adverse criticism have been dispersed in the light of these discoveries as clouds of fog and mist before the shining of the ascending sun. The growing intelligence of the people demands familiarity, not only of the ministry, but of all who teach the Bible, with current facts which will enable them to arm the minds and hearts of the young with weapons defensive and offensive against the stalking foes of Christianity, namely, doubt, agnosticism, and scholastic infidelity. Such facts have been collated and arranged in this work in the most convenient form for reference. As a critical and popular Encyclopaedia and Dictionary it will meet the needs of both men. of learning and of those who have not received a classical training. To produce accuracy and fullness, more than one hundred and twenty writers have contributed articles to these volumes. Most of them are specialists in History, Geography, Philology, Ethnology, Theology, or Archaeology, and among them are several of the greatest scholars of Europe and America. Never before have the services of so remarkable a corps of contributors been secured for any popular Biblical reference work. These writers differ in their opinions and views, and are alone responsible for them. But the whole work has been prepared on such a basis that it may confidently be regarded as a safe and reverent guide to the meaning of the Holy Scriptures. On controverted points in criticism and theology, as well as on ecclesiastical subjects, the questions at issue have been presented calmly and thoughtfully by recognized leaders of the different schools under discussion. The book has thus been divested of sectarian features and appeals to the whole Christian Church. Every Cyclopaedia of value has been consulted in the preparation of this work; and to these due credit has been given in specific articles. Much that was pertinent in the scholarly work of Kitto has been reproduced, and the names of the distinguished men who contributed to it have been given. Inasmuch, however, as conditions have so materially changed since that work was written, it has been necessary to thoroughly revise the articles which have been utilized, eliminating those features that have been rendered invalid by reason of later discoveries and the advanced scholarship and science of the present day, and adding the features which are necessary in order to render them entirely modern and conformable to the knowledge now extant. In the practical, devotional and figurative treatment of many of the subjects Brown’s Dictionary of the Bible, which is unexcelled in these particulars, has been freely used.

The plan of this Encyclopaedia embraces many features of great advantage over other similar works. Among these, some of the most notable are the following:

1. The Hebrew and Greek words at the heads of all articles are pronounced phonetically and their literal definition given, by which the reader is enabled to have a working knowledge of these languages, so far as such words are concerned, with little or no outside assistance. The English pronunciation of each Bible term is also indicated by diacritical marks in the body of the work; and in the Appendix all these words are grouped together alphabetically and pronounced by the phonetic method.

2. In these busy times it is often necessary to read rapidly, and yet intelligently, and therefore, to aid: the eye and fix the attention, subheads and other convenient modes of division are employed in this work which enable one to see at a glance the part which may be especially sought.

3. There are many helps to Bible Study which cannot advantageously be placed in the body of such a work as this, yet which are frequently needed in the study of the Scriptures. Such features have been embodied in a conveniently arranged Appendix, which will be found to contain much matter of value and interest designed to aid in the study of the Bible. These have been carefully prepared especially for this work, and we feel warranted in the belief that taken together with the body of the work. they make this book unrivaled, in its kind.

It is confidently claimed that no other popular Biblical encyclopaedia or dictionary approaches this in completeness, or presents such a great number of points of interest, convenience and usefulness.” [End of Introduction of The Popular And Critical Bible Encyclopedia And Scriptural Dictionary.]

Although good data on this subject is hard to find, the above source is not the only one I have to substantiate our subject. Of all the definitions for the English words translated “redeem”, “redeemed”, or “redemption”, the main one we are interested in is the one articulated “gâ’al” from the Strong’s Hebrew #1350 thusly:

1350. ... gâ’al, gaw-al´; a primitive root, to redeem (according to the Oriental law of kinship), i.e. to be the next of kin (and as such to buy back a relative’s property, marry his widow, (etc.):– [KJV]: X in any wise, X at all, avenger, deliver, (do, perform the part of near, next) kinsfolk, (-man), purchase, ransom, redeem (-er), revenger.”

Inasmuch as the Hebrew word “1350. ... gâ’al, gaw-al´;” demands a “next of kin” to be a “redeemer”, how does that qualify anyone other than a White Adamite? So Benjamin Franklin was correct where he stated in his 1751 Observations Concerning the Increase of Mankind, Peopling of Countries, etc., writing (which can be found at www.ditext.com/franklin/observations.html):

And while we are, as I may call it, Scouring our Planet, by clearing America of Woods, and so making this Side of our Globe reflect a brighter Light to the Eyes of Inhabitants in Mars or Venus, why should we in the Sight of Superior Beings, darken its People? Why increase the Sons of Africa, by Planting them in America, where we have so fair an Opportunity, by excluding all Blacks and Tawneys (i.e., browns and yellows), of increasing the lovely White and Red (i.e., rosy flesh-tone people)?

From the 14-volume Webster’s Unified Encyclopedia and Dictionary, we find the following definitions for the English words, “redeem”, “redeemer”, “redemption” & “redemptioner”, vol. 11, (topics alphabetically arranged):

redeem (rēdēm´) v. 1 To ransom from bondage. 2 To make atonement for, as, to redeem a fault. 3 To free from incumbrance, as by paying a mortgage or other debt. 4 To pay, as a note. 5 To fulfill, as a promise. 6 To show a better way of life at the sacrifice of oneself. -able adj.”

redeemer (rē dēm´ēr) n. One who frees by paying a price: the Redeemer, Christ,”

redemption (rē demp´ shun) n. The act of freeing or state of being freed by payment of a ransom or price. redempt´ible adj. redemp´tive, redemp´tory adj.

redemptioner (rē demp´shun ēr) n. One who came to America in Colonial times by selling his labor for a certain time in exchange for passage across the Atlantic.”

There are two Greek words in the New Testament translated “redeem”, “redeemed” or redemption, and they have the Strong’s numbers 3084 and 3085, and are articulated loo-tro´-o and loo´tro-sis.

G#3084 ... loo-tro´-o ... To bring forward a ransom. The active verb is not used of him who gives, but of him who receives it; hence to release on receipt of a ransom. In the middle voice, to release by payment of a ransom, to redeem; in the passive, to be redeemed or ransomed, Thus loo-tro´-o means to receive a ransom. In the New Testament, used in the middle voice in Luke 24:21; Titus 2:14; it denotes that aspect of the Savior’s work wherein He appears as a Redeemer of man [sic Adam]-kind from bondage (1 Pet. 1:18). This bondage was still regarded quite generally as oppression in Luke 24:21 because of the deficient understanding of Christ’s death by the Emmaus disciples. [Zodhiates’ N.T. Word Studies, p. 930.]

G#3085 ... loo´tro-sis. ... feminine noun from loo-tro´-o (3084), to release on receipt of a ransom. The act of freeing or releasing, deliverance. In Biblical Greek, redemption, deliverance, not with reference to the person delivering, but to the person delivered, and, therefore, in a passive sense like most substantives ending in -sis (Luke 1:68; 2:38). Used of redemption from guilt and punishment of sin brought about by expiation (Heb. 9:12; Septuagint: Lev. 25:48; Ps. 111:9; 130:7).” [Zodhiates’ N.T. Word Studies, p. 931.]

While Zodhiates does quite well explaining the New Testament Greek in all of its peculiar grammatical technicalities, he misconstrues “redemption” to mean individual “personal salvation” rather than “covenant theology”! Thus, no allowance is made for Yahweh’s (1) courtship, (2) marriage, (3) honeymoon, (4) estrangement, (5) divorce, (6) reconciliation, or (7) remarriage to the twelve tribes of Israel. When Yahweh came as Yahshua to pay the ransom price for the twelve tribes of Israel, He died on the cross to purchase every racially pure White-Adamite, past, present and future without exception. However, all the descendants of Isaac (past, present and future) would remain free, while those not under one of the nine covenants of Adam man would remain bond servants to the free. Recorded in Scripture are nine major Covenants between Yahweh and Adam-man. They are as follows: (1) Edenic, (2) Adamic, (3) Noahic, (4) Abrahamic, (5) Mosaic, (6) Palestinian, (7) Davidic, (8) Solomonic, and (9) The New Covenant.

The Edenic Covenant made Adam, being created in Yahweh’s own image, responsible to multiply, populate and subdue the earth. Adam was, therefore, given the office of priest-kingship and became Yahweh’s vice-regent, being accountable to Him in all his realm. Adam not only became king, but also high priest; making him Yahweh’s representative on earth to rule over all things therein. Thus, he found himself in charge of the whole visible creation before him, to contemplate and to make himself comfortable therewith. He was different from all men that had been before, inasmuch as he was both flesh and Spirit. The new element in the creation of Adam was being “in the image” and after the “likeness” of Yahweh Himself. In this context, it showed his ability to have communion with Yahweh; and later made the Incarnation of the Word possible. In being fruitful, Adam became responsible for bringing forth a race after his own likeness. Contrary to today’s pseudo-science, considering all the varieties found among men, they are not all of the same family or species.

Time brought the need for a helper who would be compatible to himself. His bride was formed from one of his ribs taken from his side as he slept. Upon receiving her, Adam was given head-ship over her. Adam, by being in charge, found himself responsible for any and all of Eve’s actions. Therefore, when Eve ate of the forbidden fruit, it was the same as if Adam had eaten of it himself. (There are other ramifications to this story which I don’t have room enough to present here.) Because Adam was the son of Yahweh, Eve’s sin, through Adam, was placed upon Yahweh’s head. Because Yahweh was married to Israel, when we as Israel sinned, it was laid to Yahweh’s charge. That is why He had to suffer death in our place. Thus, Adam became responsible for his own household throughout the ages (1 Corinthians 11:8-9). Shame wrought from either party reflects on the other, but, in the end, is charged to the Almighty for He is their maker. In creating Eve, her flesh was of Adam’s flesh. The only way a couple can be of one flesh is to marry one of their own race.

Hardly had Eve been given to Adam as a mate of his own flesh and bone than Satan entered the scene representing the family tree they were warned not to “eat” or “touch” (Hebrew terms, in this case, having sexual connotations). Thus, Yahweh placed a curse on the product of that unholy union, initiating a continual life and death struggle between the offspring of the serpent and her offspring. The woman’s seed, therefore, is not that of the serpent, but of Adam. The Adamic covenant reads as follows:

Genesis 3:14-15:14 And Yahweh said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field, upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shall thou eat all the days of thy life. 15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her [Adam’s] seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”

Since Eve’s seed is the same as Adam’s, the war of Genesis 3:15 is between Adam’s descendants and Cain’s. Nowhere in the Bible is Cain included in the genealogy of Adam, and the descendants of Cain, to this day, trace their lineage through their mother. Genesis 3:15 is called “The Protevangelion”, which means “first Gospel”, therefore, no Gospel message is complete without it. It predicts a perpetual ongoing hostility between the descendants of Satan and the woman (she representing White mankind). The power of Satan was ultimately to be destroyed by the very offspring of Adam and Eve whom he had deceived. Though the seed of the woman are many, ONE would come to destroy the descendants of the serpent and their works. Adam is not mentioned in the Protevangelion (Genesis 3:15), therefore, the address is not to Adam and Eve, but to Eve and the serpent alone. Some suppose this passage to apply to a certain “enmity” between men and serpents (snakes); this is fantasy rather than reality. The cursed serpent was to “eat dust”, and that is why today they live off the refuse of junkyards and landfills. By the way, there is not a single snake species which eats and digests dust as its food. Here, the “dust” is symbolic of the serpent’s sauce rather than his meat; while creeping and groveling upon the earth, in taking food, he must necessarily also consume the dust and filth. That is why today’s Edomite-jews make a lot of money from pornography and everything immoral. Not until the total destruction of one or the other will the enmity of the two seeds end. The Protevangelion is therefore the earliest pronouncement of the Gospel; the long conflict between the literal children of Yahweh and the literal children of the evil one. (Be cautious of most Bible commentaries on this subject!)

The Noahic Covenant: Genesis 6:18: “But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons’ wives with thee.”

Genesis 9:1; 7-9; 11: “And Yahweh blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth ... bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein ... And Yahweh spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying, And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you ... neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.”

We could go into a long dissertation concerning the various details of Noah’s flood, but in this limited space it is paramount to demonstrate the most important facts. [1-10-2014: Edited sentence because I have changed my position as restructured here: First of all, the purpose for the flood was to destroy from the face of earth all the White-Adamites and many of the products of the mixed-race marriages between the “sons of heaven and White-Adamic women. ed. C.A.E. Reason: because “man” at Gen. 6:3 is Strong’s #120.]: The reason Noah and his family were preserved is because they were “perfect in their generations.” Here, the Hebrew word for “generations” means “race”, Wilson’s Old Testament Word Studies, by William Wilson, page 184. Wilson specifically designates Genesis 6:9.

Yahweh made a covenant with Noah that: “neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood.” But, it is more serious than it sounds, for it is recorded at a future time, under similar circumstances; and for the same reasons, that the same thing will happen, except by fire:

2 Peter 3:6-7:6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: 7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.” (See also: Ob. 18; Ezek. 39:6, 9; Mt. 13:42.)

One can almost visualize in their mind a holy fire from the Almighty moving at the speed of light in and out of every home where one of these resides, severing out and destroying those of mixed race; probably similar to 2 Kings 9-14 where fire came down out of heaven and destroyed two squads of 50 men of the king in Elijah’s presence. If this analogy is true, with all the multiculturalism and miscegenation that is going on during our present day, it would appear the undertakers all over the world are going to be quite busy.

Highlights Of The Abrahamic Covenant:

Genesis 13:16: “And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed be also numbered.”

Genesis 15:5: “And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.”

Genesis 15:9-10: “And he (Yahweh) said unto him (Abram), Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon. And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not.”

Genesis 17:4-7: “As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shall be a father of many nations. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be an Elohim unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.

Genesis 22:15-18: “And the angel of Yahweh called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, And said, By myself have I sworn, saith Yahweh, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the [Israel] nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.”

Genesis 28:13-15: ... I am Yahweh the Mighty One of Abraham thy father, and the Mighty One of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed. And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the [Israel] families of the earth be blessed [i.e., Mark 7:27-28]. And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.” (to be continued)