Eric Casagrande / Genelyn Novabos

The Messianic Prophecy of Genesis

I want to speak with you today, about Messianic prophecies found in the Old Testament. More to the point, I want to focus specifically on one verse in the Book of Genesis. It’s a verse frequently quoted by the Church, and which just as frequently is completely misinterpreted.

The verse in question, is Genesis 12: 3, but in order to keep everything in proper context and see the overall big picture, we will be examining both the preceding and subsequent verses as well.

“Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out

of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy

father’s house, unto a land that I will show thee:

And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will

bless thee, and make thy name great; and

thou shalt be a blessing:

And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse

him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all

families of the earth be blessed.

So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken

unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was

seventy and five years old when he departed

out of Haran.“

The backstory shows that Abram was born to his father, Terah (whose name means “delay” or “lagged behind”), while he was living in the land known as Ur of the Chaldees – which many believe was located in what is modern-day Iraq (or thereabouts). Abram was raised in Ur, then later married Sarai, who was his half-sister (Genesis 20: 12). It was during his time in Ur, that Abram received God’s calling to move into the land of Canaan (Genesis 11: 31-32).

Finally, after having obviously set aside God’s command to depart from both the house of his kindred and the house of his father – and having been delayed somewhat until the death of Terah while in Haran – both Abram and Sarai (along with his nephew Lot, and all of their servants), eventually made it to the land of Canaan.

So having filled you in with the basics of the story, let’s go back and take a second look at the problematic verse (Genesis 12: 3), without removing it from any of the surrounding verses that make up God’s plan:

“Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out

of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy

father’s house, unto a land that I will show thee:

And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will

bless thee, and make thy name great; and

thou shalt be a blessing:

And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse

him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all

families of the earth be blessed.

So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken

unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram

was seventy and five years old when he

departed out of Haran.“

My friends, while the dynamic significance of verse three should become readily apparent to any born-again believer – especially those who have been called into ministry and who teach others – nevertheless, its false interpretation has been so widely propagated, to the point that it becomes difficult to separate fact from fiction where it concerns the prophetic study of the end-times.

This is what happens when excluding the Gospel from the prophetic word!

Okay … so here is what many (but not all) believers think it means:

“And I will bless them that bless thee [ Israel ], and

curse him that curseth thee [ Israel ], and in

thee [ Israel ] shall all families of the

earth be blessed.“

My friends, nothing could be further from the truth, about this verse. The very teaching which says it refers to the nation of Israel, is blatantly false. I do not care who teaches it, or where it comes from — it’s false. It is not speaking of the nation of Israel.

May I prove it to you, friends?

Look … first of all, I am a supporter of the nation of Israel. When the Jews were forced out of their Gaza homes back in August of 2005, I decided to become involved through offering financial support to the homeless – fair enough? But what does the Bible (not your favorite pastor or evangelist), teach us about giving, as it relates to the New Covenant? Well let’s take a look at what Galatians 6: 8-9 has to say:

“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in

due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

As we therefore have opportunity, let us do

good unto all men, especially unto them

who are of the household of faith.“

Do you see what verse 8 tells us? It says that when we have the ability, let us do good unto all men, and especially to them that be of the faith.

Note that it doesn’t say: “You better give to Israel, or else you are going to be doomed.” Nowhere in the Bible are we commanded to be givers to a particular culture or political group. What the above Bible verse does tell us – at the risk of repeating myself – is that we should be doers of good to everyone, and especially to our fellow believers in Christ.

So then … to whom does Genesis 12: 3 make reference?

My friends, if it isn’t perfectly clear then allow me to make it so – this verse is pointing directly to and speaks of but one person - Jesus Christ. This is no less than a Messianic prophecy! It is not about the nation of Israel. Neither is it about Abraham. It is about the finished work of Jesus Christ!

In verses one and two, God speaks directly to Abraham on how He plans to personally bless him. But then in verse three, God speaks prophetically to His Son, Jesus Christ, who is to come into the earth through Abraham’s lineage, and become the ultimate blessing, not only to Abraham, but to all of mankind! Oh hallelujah! God is preaching the Gospel to Abraham!

My friends, let’s take a look at it once again:

“And I will bless them that bless thee [ Jesus ], and curse

him that curseth thee [ Jesus ]: and in thee [ Jesus ]

shall all families of the earth be blessed.“

Oh Hallelujah! How can you just sit there?

Now someone might say: “But Eric, it is not in Jesus, but in Abraham that all the families of the earth shall be blessed. It’s speaking about Abraham.” But this would be false. For Galatians 3: 8 gives a summary of this same text, and then, just a few verses later, it has this to say:

“Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law,

being made a curse for us: for it is written:

Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree.

That the blessing of Abraham might come on the

Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might

receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.“

Note what it very clearly states. It does not say that the blessing comes to us by Abraham. What it does say, however, is that just as Abraham came to receive all of God’s promises to him by faith – so we might also receive the promises and blessings of God by faith, through Jesus Christ.

Paul also reiterates this in Ephesians 1: 3, where he says:

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus

Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual

blessings in heavenly places, in Christ.“

Note that all of the blessings from God come to us in Christ, which is also what Paul had taught the people at Corinth (2 Corinthians 1: 19-20):

“For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached

among you by us, even by me and Silvanus and

Timotheus, was not yes and no, but in Him was yes.

For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and

in Him are Amen, to the glory of God by us.“

Eric Casagrande / Genelyn Novabos

The Messianic Prophecy of Genesis

I want to speak with you today, about Messianic prophecies found in the Old Testament. More to the point, I want to focus specifically on one verse in the Book of Genesis. It’s a verse frequently quoted by the Church, and which just as frequently is completely misinterpreted.

The verse in question, is Genesis 12: 3, but in order to keep everything in proper context and see the overall big picture, we will be examining both the preceding and subsequent verses as well.

“Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out

of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy

father’s house, unto a land that I will show thee:

And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will

bless thee, and make thy name great; and

thou shalt be a blessing:

And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse

him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all

families of the earth be blessed.

So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken

unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was

seventy and five years old when he departed

out of Haran.“

So having filled you in with the basics of the story, let’s go back and take a second look at the problematic verse (Genesis 12: 3), without removing it from any of the surrounding verses that make up God’s plan:

“Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out

of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy

father’s house, unto a land that I will show thee:

And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will

bless thee, and make thy name great; and

thou shalt be a blessing:

And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse

him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all

families of the earth be blessed.

So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken

unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram

was seventy and five years old when he

departed out of Haran.“

This is what happens when excluding the Gospel from the prophetic word!

Okay … so here is what many (but not all) believers think it means:

“And I will bless them that bless thee [ Israel ], and

curse him that curseth thee [ Israel ], and in

thee [ Israel ] shall all families of the

earth be blessed.“

My friends, nothing could be further from the truth, about this verse. The very teaching which says it refers to the nation of Israel, is blatantly false. I do not care who teaches it, or where it comes from — it’s false. It is not speaking of the nation of Israel.

May I prove it to you, friends?

“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in

due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

As we therefore have opportunity, let us do

good unto all men, especially unto them

who are of the household of faith.“

Do you see what verse 8 tells us? It says that when we have the ability, let us do good unto all men, and especially to them that be of the faith.

So then … to whom does Genesis 12: 3 make reference?

My friends, let’s take a look at it once again:

“And I will bless them that bless thee [ Jesus ], and curse

him that curseth thee [ Jesus ]: and in thee [ Jesus ]

shall all families of the earth be blessed.“

Oh Hallelujah! How can you just sit there?

Now someone might say: “But Eric, it is not in Jesus, but in Abraham that all the families of the earth shall be blessed. It’s speaking about Abraham.” But this would be false. For Galatians 3: 8 gives a summary of this same text, and then, just a few verses later, it has this to say:

“Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law,

being made a curse for us: for it is written:

Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree.

That the blessing of Abraham might come on the

Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might

receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.“

Note what it very clearly states. It does not say that the blessing comes to us by Abraham. What it does say, however, is that just as Abraham came to receive all of God’s promises to him by faith – so we might also receive the promises and blessings of God by faith, through Jesus Christ.

Paul also reiterates this in Ephesians 1: 3, where he says:

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus

Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual

blessings in heavenly places, in Christ.“

Note that all of the blessings from God come to us in Christ, which is also what Paul had taught the people at Corinth (2 Corinthians 1: 19-20):

“For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached

among you by us, even by me and Silvanus and

Timotheus, was not yes and no, but in Him was yes.

For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and

in Him are Amen, to the glory of God by us.“

My friends, every single one of the promises and blessings of God, are YES and AMEN, in and through the person of Jesus Christ!

Oh hallelujah!

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