PROMISE
(Heb. “omer,” said, “promise,” Ps. 77:8;
“dabar”, word, “promise”, 1 Kings 8:56;
gr.: “epangelia”, “promise”, Lc. 24:49;
“epangelma”, “promise”, 2 Pet. 1:4; There are also several derived and compound terms).
In the Bible we find a large number of
“very great and precious promises” (1 Pet. 1:4).
“God, who does not lie, promised” (Tit. 1:2).
God, who foretells things to come from the beginning (Is. 46:10),
always maintains the word that has come from Him (cf. Is. 46:11; 58:14).
The first promise found in the Bible after the fall is that of the coming of the Deliverer (Gen. 3:15).
Starting with this primary nucleus from which God reveals his plan of redemption, the following promises of God can be cited:
(a) The promise to Abraham to bless in him all the families of the earth, and to give to him and his descendants the land of Canaan (Gen. 12:2, 7, etc.).
This promise is frequently echoed in the OT (cf. Ex. 12:25; Deut. 1:8, 11; etc.). This promise is also mentioned by Paul (Rom. 4:13-25), exposing how the Law given later does not constitute the basis for the reception of what was promised (cf. also Gal. 3:15-18).
Thus, the promise is kept, while the Law had a temporal purpose (cf. Gal. 3:19).
(b) David was given the promise that his descendants would have the throne of Israel in perpetuity (2 Sam. 7:12, 13, 16, cf. 2 Sam. 7:28).
This promise was reaffirmed in the darkest times of Judah’s history (Jer. 23:5 8; 30:9; 33:15-17, 20-22, 25-26; Zech. 12:7-13:1; cf. Mt. 1:1 ss; Lk. 1:32, 69; 3:32; Rev. 5:5; etc.)
(c) The promise of the New Covenant (Jer. 31:31-40); of the restoration of the nation of Israel to the land and united in one kingdom (Ez. 36-37), the promise of the outpouring of the Spirit (Ez. 36:25-27)
All promises are fulfilled in the person and through the work of the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 13:23, 29-39).
Through his death he effected reconciliation (Rom. 5:10) and his people received “the promise of the Father” at Pentecost (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4).
The promise given to Abraham is, as it was told to him, a blessing for all the families of the earth; All those who by faith become children of Abraham appropriate it (Rom. 4:9-16; cf. Gal. 3:14, 29).
The promise of eternal life (1 Jn. 2:25) that is in Christ (2 Tim. 1:1) will be manifested in a full way when we are gathered by Him, when He returns to take believers with Himself (cf. Jn. 14:1-4). “For all the promises of God are in him Yes, and in him Amen” (2 Cor. 1:20).
The last book of the Bible closes with a promise that should fill the believer’s heart with hope and expectation:
«He who bears witness to these things says: Surely I am coming shortly. Amen; yes, come, Lord Jesus” (Rev. 22:20; cf. Tit. 2:11-14).