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God's Oaths In the
Beginning As I live, saith the Lord, to me every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall give praise to God.—Romans 14:11, ASV margin Many are the promises of God for man. But do we realize that about twenty times God swore he would do one thing or another? In this issue we examine these oaths, that we may take them soberly and seriously. The many oaths are summarized in the first article, God’s Oaths. It is Isaiah who tells us the first sworn covenant was made to Noah. Noah’s Covenant and the Promise Covenant makes application to us of this and other covenants. Following is a short note on What is an Oath? The Great Promises to Abraham studies the Bible’s most-cited sworn promise—concerning the promised land and of blessing all the nations of the earth. (Remarkably, the promised blessing of all nations has—partly or fully—been changed to a curse by all mainstream theologies, and by most others as well.) The next four articles deal with God’s oaths against groups and individuals who sinned: God’s Wrath Against Israel in the Wilderness, God’s Oath against the Levites, God’s Oath Against Moses, and God’s Oath against Eli. The last three articles look at prominent oaths of God for blessing. Sure Mercies of David presents those mercies as a Torah of Humanity; this article is followed by an “On the Other Hand…” suggesting different understandings of four points. The Jews are returning to the land of promise, defying all human odds. God’s Oath to Judah sketches how 0.1% of the world’s population has already used new technologies to transform a desolated land into a big player in the world economy today. And there is better to come. Every Knee Shall Bow tells how the thousand-year kingdom of Christ will go beyond bringing a people back to their land, but will also bring them back to the perfection lost in Eden. Not one of God’s sworn promises has yet failed. Who can doubt that his sworn promises of the Kingdom of Christ will also come to pass, and then God’s Kingdom will follow forever? |