December 2 - Hope

December 2 - Hope

Yesterday, John showed us that Jesus was eternal. Before He came to earth, He existed.

There were two prophecies in Genesis that were given to bring hope.

The first prophecy is found in Genesis 3:14-15 when God curses the serpent. While this was a curse on the serpent, it was also a promise to mankind. Both Jews and Christians see this as the promise for a coming Savior.

Satan is identified in Revelation 12:9 and Revelation 20:2 as a serpent. In both of those passages, we see Jesus destroying His ancient foe.

God does not make idle promises. We have no idea how long it will take for this final judgment to take place, but we know that the promise was made in the very beginning before there were any humans other than Adam and Eve.

The next promise comes in Genesis 22:18. All nations on earth would be blessed through the offspring of Abraham. This same blessing is repeated in Genesis 26:4.

Peter's sermon in Solomon's Colonnade in Acts 3:25-26 repeats this blessing as he reminds his listeners that they are heirs of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with their fathers.

Paul, in Galatians 3:26-4:6, assures even the Gentiles that we are heirs according to the promise (Galatians 3:29) and in Galatians 4:4, he makes it clear that God sent Jesus Christ as a child to redeem those under the law (Jews). This is the passage that states there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female - we are all one in Jesus Christ and we are all heirs to the Abrahamic blessing.

Jesus was sent to fulfill the promise made to Adam and Eve and then to Abraham. Sin would be destroyed and Abraham's seed would be a blessing to all the nations.