Benefits of Raw Milk- Part 2: The evidence

In my previous post, I told you about my story. In this post, I am going to cover the evidence and why you should switch to raw milk.

Invention of pasteurization

Before I get into depth of the topic I would like point out something. Everyone, my ancestors, your ancestors were all drinking raw milk up until pasteurization went main stream. Depending on your personal viewpoints will change the math on my next point.  98 years ago pasteurization was mandated and widely accepted. Let’s say you believe the world was created 6,000 years ago. That would mean pasteurized milk has been consumed for only 2.6 % of the time. Let’s say you believed the world began 10,000 years ago. That percentage now comes down to 0.98% since the world was created, that pasteurized milk has been consumed. Now, if you believe it is older than 10,000 years old, you can do the math but I think you get my point…. Out of curiosity, I did the math on 4.5 billion years ago. It comes out to 0.000002% of all history! :-o…. Please try to remember this information when reading conflicting information about raw milk.

A little history lesson

First and foremost, let’s look at the timeline. The invention of pasteurization was first created by French scientist Louis Pasteur in 1864. Notice I said pasteurization, he wasn’t interested in pasteurizing milk. He was interested in pasteurizing beer. During the time, they were having some issues with beer going bad. Louis Pasteur studied the good beer and the bad beer. Under his investigation, he noticed the bad beer had pathogens while the good beer didn’t. After he heated the bad beer to a high temp, it killed the pathogens.  They begin pasteurizing beer. It took a while before pasteurization hit the dairy industry. Americans didn’t want to have anything to do with the pasteurized milk. They felt it would destroy vitamins, nutrients, and make the milk taste bad. (man, were they not far off)

Between 1912 and 1937, 65,000 people died from contracting tuberculosis in England and Wales. Pasteurization was adopted by the dairy industry in order to prevent the spread of disease. Wait. So I’m telling you should drink raw milk after that many died from a deadly disease carried by the milk?! Yep, and I’ll tell you why. Please keep reading.

A look into the past: Why did we begin pasteurizing milk?

During 1912 and 1937, industrialization caused many people to become urbanized. At first, the travel distance for raw milk was short and caused no issues. As the population grew in urban areas, the road trip for the milk from the dairy man to the consumer became longer. Raw milk was being consumed several days old and I’m assuming with no refrigeration since refrigerated trucks were not invented until 1939. It wasn’t until 1917 that milk was mandated to be pasteurized.

During the time of the development of urban areas, the dairy industry transitioned from small farms to largely produced dairy factories. These dairy factories were pumping out milk in high quantities with a lack of sanitation. They were, gross, to say the least.

“As milk production became factory-produced instead of farm-wrought, little sanitary regulation took place. Milk wasn’t refrigerated, equipment wasn’t sterile, factory-farm owners thinned their milk with dirty water and added things like animal brains to give it body. Cows were fed waste from distilleries (creating “swill milk” or “white poison”.) These city milk centers were often infested with insects and rats and workers were unhygienic.”

Tuberculosis spread through cow’s milk, and epidemics of brucella, botulism and cholera killed many.

The rising use of technology created pasteurization equipment. People no longer had to boil their milk at home. Small farmers were forced out of the industry or absorbed by rising conglomerates who could afford the machinery.

The use of pasteurization made sanitary improvements unnecessary and increased the production of milk through crowded feedlots, cheap and unhealthy grain-feed and widespread use of antibiotics and growth hormones. Today, it is E. Coli, Listeria and Cryptosporidium that are the most common food-borne pathogens and these have only emerged within the past 25 years, after the practice of pasteurization has been established…..” (Dr. Axe.com,Raw Milk Myths, Myth 1:  Pasteurized milk is safer than raw milk.)

I highly recommend you go read the article, Raw Milk Myths, more information about claims by the FDA, food born illnesses due to pasteurized milk are much larger than raw milk, outbreaks from pasteurized milk and so forth.

If you think times have changed, think again. The unsanitary conditions still exist. The dairy man that I purchase my milk from told me a little bit about the large dairy farms. He told me he stopped by a large dairy farm (don’t remember why) and at the entrance was dead cows laying in the pasture. This is by the front entrance, may I remind you. When he spoke to the dairy man, he told him what he had seen. May I add, here in Texas farmers often will tell one another if they see a cow having a calf, cow is dead, etc. They mean no harm by this. They actually prefer this just in case they didn’t see it. It wasn’t uncommon for my parents to call/speak to another farmer if they saw a cow having a calf just in case they didn’t know or my parents received that call. The dairy man’s reply, “Yeah, I know. They’ve been there for a few days. No one comes out here except the milk truck so no one cares.” WHAT!! Seriously?! The dairy man told me and I agree 100% with him, “That is no way to run a dairy nor a business.” Now, like I stated in part 1, I was raised on a small dairy and you would have not seen this or heard this kind of behavior from the farm I grew up on.  This is not to say all dairy farms are like this but you have realize the bigger the dairy, the harder it is to keep up with the sanitation procedures even from the most dedicated. I live in TX and there are a lot of dairies around. As a matter of fact, I live close to the #1 milk producing county in TX. Passing a dairy in my area is not anything out of the ordinary. And let me say, I’ve seen clean dairies and disgusting dairies. Point is, don’t think these conditions don’t still exist. And don’t think your milk isn’t subject to this while everyone else’s is. Once the milk is taken to be pasteurized, all the milk from multiple dairies in mixed together. And if the milk truck didn’t fill up at A-Farms, they stop at B-Farms to fill up.

Clean milk vs dirty milk

So here’s the thing. When I say “raw milk” throughout the post, I am talking about CLEAN raw milk. Milk that has been produced with healthy cows that have grazed from the pasture under sanitary conditions will have the nutritional values that I am seeking and talking about. The raw milk that was contracting tuberculosis in the early 1900s was toxic because it was DIRTY milk. Plain and simple. You take ANY food, produce it in unsanitary and unfavorable conditions, and your more than likely going to get a toxic food. If you leave raw meat on the counter for a few days, what happens? It goes rancid. How about rolling that meat in dirt and then leave it on the counter? It’s going to degrade faster and the smell will curl your nose hairs. You don’t solve the issue by dumping ammonia on it (yes they really “wash” hamburger meat with ammonia hydroxide in the major meat market today). How do you solve the problem? Stop leaving the meat on the counter and rolling it in the dirt. Same thing goes for the milk. Change the conditions and you have a clean nutritious glass of milk.  Clean raw milk doesn’t need to be pasteurized, dirty milk does. 

What about the nutrition?

Before I explain the nutritional differences between raw and pasteurized, we must understand what happens when we pasteurize milk. When milk is pasteurized it is heated to a high temp 285° (Ultra high temp pasteurization, normal procedure for store bought milk) for a few seconds and then cooled. This kills the good and bad bacteria, enzymes, lowers Vitamins A,D, K, B6, and B12, and other nutritional benefits. And if you believe the argument, “Pasteurized milk has the same nutritional value as raw milk,” then why is it necessary for them to fortify (add) Vitamin D, A, and whatever else they decide to add back in? They know the milk isn’t as nutritious otherwise why would they bother to fortify the milk?

Let’s take a look at raw milk vs pasteurized milk

• When milk is pasteurized, it tuns lactose into beta-lactose. Beta-Lactose is more rapidly absorbed into your body which in turn makes you hungrier faster. Raw milk keeps you full longer. I can personally vouch for the feeling fuller longer.
• 20% of the iodine is killed after pasteurizing
• Pasteurization makes the majority of the calcium insoluble which can lead to all kinds of health problems such as rickets, decayed teeth, nervousness, and other problems
• Pasteurization kills lactic acid bacilli. After the lactic acid bacilli is killed, the milk can’t sour (sour milk can still be consumed safely) therefore decomposing the milk.
• when pasteurized milk is homogenized , xanthine oxidase is created. This can act as a free radical in the body which plays a part in oxidative stress.
• Modern breeding methods produce cows with abnormally large pituitary glands so that they produce three times more milk than normal. These cows need antibiotics to keep them well. Needless to say, the antibiotics they are given wind up in the milk you and your family drink. (http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/11/12/choosing-between-raw-milk-and-a-dead-white-liquid.aspx)
• Pasteurization destroys part of the Vitamin C
• Beneficial Enzymes are killed off during pasteurization (To learn about enzymes, visit http://www.realmilk.com/health/enzymes/)
• Pasteurization decreases manganese value- Manganese is important for formation of bones, connectives tissues, blood clotting, sex hormones, brain function, nervous function.
• Pasteurization decreases copper value- Copper plays a role in the formation of connective tissue, normal functions of the muscles, blood clotting, immune system, and nervous system. Copper also influences the formation of red blood cells, arteries, and functioning of the heart, arteries.
• Pasteurization decreases iron value- iron is required to make hemogloblin. Hemoglobin is what carries oxygen through the blood to your cells. Iron also plays a role in the brain. Neurotransmitters carry messages from one to the other and need iron to function properly.
• Pasteurization decreases the Vitamin A value- Vitamin A promotes healthy vision and skin. It is also an antioxidant. You need both vitamin A and K2 to absorb Vitamin D.
• Pasteurization decreases Vitamin D value- promotes calcium absorption, bone growth, bone remineralization, cell growth, immune function, and reduces inflammation.
• Pasteurization decreases Vitamin K2-promotes healthy arteries and prevents clogged arteries.  K2 is also effective against cancer. Look at study some of the benefits of vitamin K here. (http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2004/03/24/vitamin-k-part-two.aspx)
• Pasteurization slightly impairs the bioactivity of Vitamin B6
• Beta-lactoglobulin is destroyed by the heating process of pasteurization. Beta-lactoglobulin increases intestinal absorption of Vitamin A which can make it harder to absorb Vitamin A
• Cows that graze on grass (most conventional dairy farmer feed them grain and even things like Snickers bars. This is no joke. My sister’s husband delivers loads of feed to cows. He told us he delivered a truck full of candy bars to a dairy as feed for their cows.) contain CLA

Nutrient and Immune Factors	Pasteurized Milk	Raw Milk
Vitamin A	35% Reduction	100% Active
Vitamin C	25 to 77% Reduction	100% Active
Vitamin E	14% Reduction	100% Active
Iron	66% Reduction	100% Active
Zinc	70% Reduction	100% Active
B-Complex Vitamins	38% Reduction	100% Active
Calcium	21% Reduction	100% Active
Enzymes	100% Destroyed	100% Active
Immunoglobulins	Damaged	100% Active
Whey Protein	Denatured	100% Active

(Source:http://draxe.com/raw-milk-benefits/)

Lactose Intolerance

Upon my research, I came across many claiming those who were lactose intolerant could safely drink raw milk without any issues. In one of the conversations between me and the dairy man I purchase my raw milk from, he stated he had customers who were lactose intolerant who were safely drinking his raw milk without any discomforts. He also stated that there is something ( I can’t remember exactly what he called it. He began to lose me when he started talking about the structure of the milk and lots of scientific names that I have never heard of. lol) in raw milk that helps break down the lactose but this substance is not present in pasteurized milk.  I am not lactose intolerant so I do not have a personal testimonial to share with you. But I do find this extremely intriguing. The more I research the more I see lactose intolerant people stating they can drink raw milk but have issues with pasteurized dairy products. I have researched both pro-raw and pro-pasteurized sites trying to see if there was some kind of evidence that proved these peoples claims. The pro-pasteurized sites claim that this isn’t possible while the pro-raw sites claim it is but with no hard evidence.

With no hard evidence available, here are my personal opinions on the subject. There are too many claims for there not to be something to it. I honestly don’t think a lactose intolerant person would decide to drink raw milk just because they want to drink raw milk completely ignoring the side effects they experience. Or better yet, lie about no longer suffering from lactose intolerance when drinking raw milk. What benefit would this do? I could see a business or organization lying in order to benefit from the lie, but not someone who doesn’t receive any kind of benefits. And before you say, “well maybe these individuals are being paid by raw milk producers,” be aware that raw milk producers are VERY small business owners.  Raw milk sale laws are VERY restrictive. To put things into perspective, raw milk sales are only legal “on the farm” in 7 states. Retail sales of raw milk is only legal in 11 states. (To see more about the laws of raw milk sales, visit http://www.farmtoconsumer.org/raw_milk_map.htm.) With that being said, I don’t think the small raw milk farmers have the funding to pay people to vouch for their product. Or at least, not as many claims as I have seen.

Benefits of Raw Milk

So what are the benefits of CLEAN raw milk?

• more than 60 digestive enzymes for digestion, immune system support, and growth
• a wide range of minerals and trace minerals– One serving of raw milk contains 400 mg calcium, 50 mg of magnesium, and 500 mg of Potassium. These minerals are important for cellular function, hydration, building bone density, detoxification, circulation, muscle health, and metabolism. It also has Phosphate which helps the absorption of calcium.
• all 20 standard amino acids
• EFA such as CLA. CLA helps fight cancer and reduces body fat
• lactoferrin, an iron bonding protein that has anti-cancer, anti-viral, and anti-microbial
• higher levels of fat soluble vitamins A,D, K. These vitamins support brain, nervous system, crucial for development, focus, naturally balances hormones, supports bone density, and brain function.
• higher absorption of Vitamin D. You need vitamin A and K to absorb Vitamin D.
• short chain fatty acids, and Omega 3s– short chain fatty acid reduces inflammation, speeds up metabolism, and helps with stress.
• Probiotics– raw milk contains a small amount of probiotics but if you ferment raw milk such as kefir, cheese, and yogurt, you get the highest form of probiotics. Probiotics protect from parasites and E. Coli. They also help Colon Cancer, Diarrhea, Inflammatory bowel disease, Intestinal bowel syndrone, skin infections, weakened immune system, urinary track infections, and vaginal yeast infections
• Whey Protein and Immunoglobulins– Whey protein is good for burning fat, building muscle, high in enzymes, and proteins
• Reduced allergies
• Easier to digest- Many of those who are lactose intolerant state they can drink raw milk
• greater resistance to disease
• better fertility
• last but not least, the TASTE! It tastes SOOOOOO much better. I won’t even touch the pasteurized milk any more

 

 

The research and information is so vast that I can’t possibly include all the information on my blog post but I highly encourage you to do your own research. Look it up. You have a whole web of information available at your fingertips. And make sure to compare both sides of the argument before making your own personal opinion. If you only look up why you should drink pasteurized milk, you will only get one side of the story.

Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed. What are your thoughts? Do you drink raw milk? Why or why not?

Benefits of Raw Milk- Part 1-My Story

I have been missing for a while. Between holidays, family visiting, updating my kitchen, researching hypothyroidism, hitting writers block, and just needing a break, I have neglected our blog for a little while. I have been meaning to write a post about the benefits of raw milk and I am just now getting around to it.

Growing up on a Dairy

So here is a little background information about me. When I was a child, my parents owned a small dairy. It was a dairy that had been passed down from my great granddad or at least I think it was, but my point is that it was a family business that was passed down.  Now, they sold the dairy business when I was 8 and my dad became a teacher for 5 years before he passed away. From the time I was born until I was 8, our whole family was drinking…. ready for it…. RAW MILK **GASP**! Yep, I said the evil word, raw milk.

Drinking Raw Milk

We weren’t against pasteurized milk per say but this is how it works on a dairy or how it worked on ours. You milk the cows. The milk goes into large tanks that keep the milk cooled until the milk truck picks up the milk. The milk truck picks up the milk and takes it to a place that pasteurizes the milk. The milk is pasteurized and then packaged, trucked to the store, and sold. On a dairy, you’re not going to go buy milk from the store when you can get milk straight from the cow (figure of speech here, we did not milk by hand like the old-fashioned way. We used bucket milkers that fed the milk into the tank) for free. You simply go down to the barn with your milk jug, open the spigot on the large tank, fill your jug, and enjoy your free, fresh, creamy raw milk. We weren’t scared of the fact it’s raw, we quite enjoyed the milk that our dad, grand dad, great granddad, and generations before have always drank the milk. Just the way God intended for it to be consumed, fresh.

Family Sold out of Dairy Business and began drinking Pasteurized

I still remember the first time we began buying milk from the store. I couldn’t stand it. It was watery, bland, and was not the same as the milk I was raised on. Eventually, I got used to it but my dairy consumption basically consisted of using it to cook with or cheese. I didn’t enjoy a glass of milk like I used to. Back then, I didn’t know why the milk from the store tasted different, I didn’t even know the terms raw milk, homogenized,  or pasteurized milk. I just assumed the milk from the store was coming from a different dairy and our milk was superior to theirs LOL. Not knowing the milk at the store is more than likely mixed with our milk so technically, I was probably drinking some of our milk.

I still remember the first time I went to the dentist for a check up. I was about 10 or 11 year old. I can’t remember exactly my age but I know it was either right before or right after my dad passed away. He checked my teeth and told me, “Your teeth are in great condition. No cavities. Keep brushing!” Might not have been exact words but that was basically the sum of his remarks. I simply smiled and inside was smirking. See, here was the thing. I was NOT good at brushing so it definitely was not the brushing that was keeping my teeth in good shape. And when I say I was not good at brushing, I mean I wasn’t very consistent. I don’t like to admit that, despite the evidence and personal experience, but we are taught brushing keeps the cavities away which in fact that is obviously NOT true. Come to think of it, I don’t recall any of my siblings going to the dentist except for my brother who got braces. Until later on down the road.

A look at my health throughout the years

Fast forward, to when I was about 16 years old. I noticed the first forming cavity. I find this very interesting. 8 years of drinking raw milk, no cavities and my teeth were healthy. 8 years later give or take, the health of my teeth begin degrading. I remember when I first saw the cavity, I began to ponder what has changed. I just assumed, it was due to me getting older. It wasn’t until I began researching all the benefits of raw milk that I began to put it all together and thought it could have been my consumption of raw milk that was keeping the cavities at bay.

Looking at it now, I can see how my health began declining after beginning to drink pasteurized milk. From birth to about 10-12 years old, I very rarely got sick, I didn’t have many allergy problems and they were very mild, I was a healthy weight, my hair was shiny and soft (when I hadn’t permed it), my skin looked good, and overall my health was good. About the the age of 13 it seemed as if I was sick more often, for longer periods of time, and when I got sick, I was really sick. Now, I never thought much about it because getting sick from time to time is just a normal part of life.  I began having allergies and it seemed to slowly get worse. I began having cavities. Around the age of 17 is when I began gaining weight. My hair began to lose some of its luster and became frizzier. Overall, my health got worse. None of the signs were huge and was never diagnosed with any health condition until recently when I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism (I recently said I was Hashimotos but I misunderstood my NP). Now, I am not saying ALL of my symptoms were related to drinking pasteurized milk. I truly think it was a mix of MANY different things but I do think raw milk did play a role into good health.

Drinking raw milk again

After all my research, talking to the milk man and connecting the dots, we have began drinking raw milk again. We found a local dairy that sells raw milk. I take pride in the fact that I know who milks the cows, I pick up the milk on their dairy, I have been in the barn where the cows are milked, I’ve personally seen him fill the milk jug up right before purchasing, and I have literally got milk from him 20 minutes after the cows were milked! To put the cherry on the top, he has also offered to let us come out so he can do a homeschool field trip of the whole process and even look under a microscope at the biology of the milk! He majored in biology, taught high school biology class and knows WAY more about the structure of the milk, cows, etc than I ever will. If you’re a homeschool mom/dad, you probably understand my excitement of all of this! LOL

Stay tuned

That is my story but I know it is going to take more than just my story and my viewpoints to show you the benefits of raw milk so this will be continued in my next post….

 

 

 

 

 

Is Israel Still God’s Chosen People? Part 2: The Three Promises

In continuing my posts on the fact of whether or not modern Israel is still favored by God today, I would like to look at another point. I believe there are many justifications on the belief that modern Israel is in no way a biblical Israel and a good quick study on this issue would be my previous post about the Veil. (You can find it here.) However, let’s look at another aspect that many false teachers use to make it seem that the Jews are still protected and that modern Israel is still a chosen and favored people of God: The Promises made to Abram/Abraham.

The Three Promises

God made three promises to Abram in Genesis. To keep track of all three promises I will color code them. The Land Promise will be in green, the Great Nation Promise will be in blue, and the Seed Promise will be red. So let’s look at the first two promises in the text:

14 And the Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: “Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are—northward, southward, eastward, and westward; 15 for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever. 16 And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also could be numbered.

God makes the first two promises to Abram, first, the Land Promise to give his descendants the land which he sees, and second, the Great Nation Promise that he will multiply his descendants as the dust of the earth or as the number of the stars (in the next chapter Gen 15:5)

Now there are many false teachers that will get the audience hung up on the word “forever.” And that this land will ALWAYS be the Jews’ right to own and inherit for all eternity. These false teachers always love to quote the blessings Israel will receive from God, but usually fail to ever quote from the curses and warnings to Israel if they are to turn away from God. Take for instance Deuteronomy chapter 28, there are 14 verses of blessings that these false teachers love to quote, yet they neglect the next 53 verses of curses and warnings. In fact throughout most of the Old Testament, there are exponentially more curses warned than blessing promised to Israel. It is true that God will never back down on his end of the deal, but if you read through the Old Testament in its entirety, you will come to know that it is man that fails on his end of the bargain repeatedly, and not God. Now as far as the Promises go, there are several repetitions of these promises to Abram/Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. To see the full list of these passages, check out the chart at the bottom of this post. However, now that we have covered two of the three promises, I want to fast forward a little ways and cover the last promise made from God to Abram, The Seed Promise.

The first glimpse of this is in Genesis 18:18

18 since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?

Now all three promises are referenced when the Angel of the Lord comes to Abraham in Genesis 22:17-18 and says:

17 blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. 18 In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”

Now it’s very clear that God has promised Abraham that he will multiply his descendants, give him the Promised Land, and bless all nations of the world by his Seed. (Notice the word “seed” is singular, not plural as in “seeds.” This is very important later on…)

 

Have they Been Fulfilled?

So let’s fast forward through the scriptures. Have all of the promises been fulfilled? Or are the “End Times Prophetic Preachers” correct in that they have not been fulfilled and still need to be? If the fact is that the promises have not been fulfilled, then the Jews are very much correct in idea that they are still a chosen and protected people of God. So let’s check out these promises one by one and see what scripture has to say…..

 

The Great Nation Promise

Let’s first look at the Great Nation Promise. If we continue to follow this promise through the scriptures we will eventually come to Deuteronomy 10:20-22 but first, let’s get some CONTEXT in the story. (Context is extremely important to keep in mind. For more on this check out my blog post on context here.) Now up to this point in scripture, the Hebrews went into Egypt with Joseph, were led out of Egypt by Moses, came to Mount Sinai, received the first tablets of the ten commandments, however, Moses broke them and had to deal with the Israelites committing idolatry with the Golden Calf. Moses goes back up the mountain, receives the second set of tablets and is now speaking to Israel about the law that they are going to be required to keep in order to REMAIN God’s chosen people. So with all that understood, let’s look at the verse:

20 You shall fear the Lord your God; you shall serve Him, and to Him you shall hold fast, and take oaths in His name. 21 He is your praise, and He is your God, who has done for you these great and awesome things which your eyes have seen. 22 Your fathers went down to Egypt with seventy persons, and now the Lord your God has made you as the stars of heaven in multitude.

Notice the word “now.” They had not previously been “as the stars of heaven in multitude” until this point. It is also interesting to note that the great nation promise is always referred to as a future event up to this point in scripture. After this passage, it is always referenced as it has already happened in the past.

 

The Land Promise

If we follow the Promise God made to Abraham about the Promised Land, then we will be lead all the way from Genesis to the End of Joshua. To get some context from our earlier reading to this point: The Israelites have wandered the wilderness for 40 years, and right before Moses dies, Joshua is chosen to lead the people into the Promised Land. Moses says himself in Deuteronomy 31:7 that Joshua WILL cause Israel to inherit the Promised Land. If this promise has not yet been fulfilled to this day, then how will the modern-day Jews ever have Joshua to divide it for them as scripture says how it must happen? So Moses dies on Mount Nebo and Joshua leads them into the Promised Land. The entire book of Joshua is pretty much a war story of how this was accomplished, and when you get to the end of Joshua, there is an interesting verse in chapter 21 verse 43:

43 So the Lord gave to Israel all the land of which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they took possession of it and dwelt in it. 44 The Lord gave them rest all around, according to all that He had sworn to their fathers. And not a man of all their enemies stood against them; the Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand. 45 Not a word failed of any good thing which the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass.

I think it’s safe to say that Israel very much received the promise God mad to them concerning the land.

 

The Seed Promise

But what about the Seed Promise? Well, there is a great deal of reading from Genesis through the scriptures before you get to the fulfillment of that one. As a matter of fact, its fulfillment is not in the Old Testament. You won’t find it until after you’ve read 46 books after Genesis, in Paul’s epistle to the Galatians. But first…context, context, CONTEXT! Okay, there’s a lot to cover here so here we go:

1. Israel inherits Promised Land
2. Israel goes through the Judges Period
3. Israel goes through the United Kingdom Period
4. Israel splits and Goes through the Divided Kingdom (Israel in the North, Judah in the South)
5. Israel enters captivity
6. Judah enters captivity (Daniel foretells that the temple and the wall will be rebuilt)
7. Judah Returns and Enters Restoration Period (temple and wall is rebuilt in Ezra and Nehemiah)
8. Jesus is born
9. Jesus crucified
10. Jesus Resurrected
11. Jesus Ascends to Heaven
12. Holy Spirit Falls on Apostles on Pentecost

Ok so now that we’ve covered almost 1000 years of Israel’s history in a couple bullet points, I hope you see where we are at now. In this letter Paul is calling out the Judaizers who were Christians that thought the Old Law still had to be observed in order to receive salvation. The act of circumcision is directly called out, but it can easily be understood that all aspects of the Old Law to include tithing, burnt offerings, incense, etc. are to be included in this idea of the Old Law not applying to Christians. One of the greatest arguments Paul makes to these Judaizers is all the promises made to Abraham were in fact fulfilled, to include the Seed Promise. He shows this in Galatians 3:16:

16 Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one, “And to your Seed,” who is Christ.

Just in case there is any confusion to this idea, Paul confirms this idea a second time just a few verses later in verses 27-29:

27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

The Seed Promise was fulfilled by Jesus himself. If you check out my post on the Veil, this adds tons of content to this idea. (You can find it here.)

Conclusion

Well there you have it. It is clear that all three promises made to Abraham in scripture have been fulfilled in scripture. There is no need to keep looking for the fulfillment of these promises today, tomorrow, or any further in the future. Jesus really did die once for all (this would include Jews). Jesus really is the ONLY way, and no one will come to the Father except though him. (Not through obeying the Old Law and living in the Old Land) This study should show that it is even more important to reach out to Jews as they think they have security in the Old Law but will in fact perish if they do not come to the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. The book of Galatians is also a good text to realize that once one is baptized, there is no longer a label such as Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female. I would go as far as to argue that the only label one is to have placed on himself would be a Christian. Not a Jewish Christian, or a Messianic Jew, or any of the like. Simply a Christian is what we are called to be. I hope you have found this study as fascinating as I have, and I hope it will help mistaken Christians on this issue find the courage to reach out to our Jewish neighbors, and silence the false teachers that use these promises to lead people in thinking the Jews are still God’s chosen people.

 

Complete chart of Promises:

	Nation	Land	Seed
Gen 12:1-7	X	X	X
Gen 13:14-17	X	X
Gen 15:5-21	X	X
Gen 17:2-8	X	X
Gen 18:18	X		X
Gen 22:17-18	X	X	X
Gen 24:7		X
Gen 26:3-4	X	X	X
Gen 28:4		X
Gen 28:13-14	X	X	X
Gen 35:12		X
Gen 46:3	X
Gen 48:4	X	X
Ex 6:2-8		X
Exod 12:25		X
Exod 13:5		X
Ex 23:31		X
Exod 32:13	X	X
Exod 33:1		X
Fulfilled	Deut 10:22	Josh 21:43	Gal 3:16, 29