Blessings and Cursings
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God told Abraham,
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. Genesis 12:3
This is a dual promise. For one thing, it is the foundation verse of why all people and nations should bless Israel. Abraham had a son Isaac. Isaac had a son named Jacob. Jacob had twelve sons from which came the nation of Israel. Jacob’s name was changed to Israel. So when it comes to what “bless them that bless thee” means, it ultimately means blessing and standing with the nation of Israel.
“In thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed.” This is prophetic regarding Jesus. Jesus brought salvation to the world. Jesus came as the seed of Abraham, his lineage can be traced back to Abraham. The redemptive work of Jesus Christ is the blessing that allows reconciliation with God. Jesus is the blessing that blesses the whole world.
But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: John 1:12
I Do Always Those Things That Please The Father
Types and shadows have been mentioned before. The definition of a type is “a person or thing symbolizing… something.” (Source) The definition of a shadow is “to represent vaguely, mysteriously, or prophetically.” (Source) Enoch is depicted this way in the Bible.
And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him. Genesis 5:24
This foreshadows the resurrection of Christ, of Jesus being raised from the dead.
It also has another meaning. Enoch walked with God. Jesus said that he always pleased the Father.
And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him. John 8:29
The Harrowing of Hell
It is known through the scriptures that Jesus was crucified, died and was buried. As the Nicene Creed then says, “He descended into hell, and the third day rose again from the dead.” Here is some of what the scriptures have to say:
For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. (KJV) I Peter 3:18-20
Scripture also says:
And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, Matthew 27:52
There are some documents that did not make it into the official version of the Bible. One of these is the Gospel According to Nicodemus, otherwise known as the Acts of Pilate. In this, it talks about Christ’s descent into hell and various of the Old Testament believers speak: Isaiah, Seth, and Adam. John the Baptist also speaks and the saints rejoice. It describes how the Lord led the saints out of hell, which is also mentioned in the above verse in Matthew.
