There are two kinds of heirs of Abraham, but really mainly one, and it is not the one many people think it is. The biological descendants are not the main kind. There is a descendancy which is behavioural, spiritual persuasion: Persuasion about God and correct behaviour of the same kind for which Abraham is famed. Many today have inherited it, even down to the present day, because of many factors but mainly because of one particular man: Jesus Christ. Those who focus on this are found in various parts of the world, but their location and human background does not matter. It is by spirit, not by location or biological or ethnic or cultural heritage. Those who focus on biological, ethnic, cultural heritage can be hardened to this reality. Their blindness to it can result in geopolitical troubles, by their geopolitical stance. The prophecy of Isaiah is remarkable in its presenting both of these two domains. On the one hand it has comfort for those who are inheritors of the biological, cultural, and ethnic descent. This is sometimes what grabs the attention of zealous people. Yet these people often miss the other message in the prophecy, which pre-announces what is called the gospel, the message of the coming Christ, who has a name similar to Isaiah’s, namely in Middle Eastern language, Isa, or more familiar to the West, Jesus. It was mainly the apostle Paul who brought this message to everyone’s attention, that through this message a salvation is given by God to those who are persuaded of its veracity, no matter their biological, cultural, or ethnic heritage. This message we call the gospel, because it is a proclamation of such good news. Through Jesus Christ, and faith in him, and persuasion about him which leads to acceptance and persistence of his teachings, walking in them, people of any background, and location, any heritage, can come to God and know God, and His Son, Jesus, leading to hope of eternal life. Such hope is beyond the scope of biological, cultural, or ethnic heritage and descent. The result of these two ways is often conflict and enmity, but God foresaw this disparity from the beginning. God owns the disparity and works mysteriously through it to bring about His purposes.
