Justin Martyr, Christians Are The True Israelitic Race.

Truth7t7 said:

Writer I believe Romans 11 gives the best explanation regarding the subject of the Jew in Gods eyes?

Verse 2: "God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew"?

Verse 5: "A remnant according to the election of grace"?

Who Is God Looking At In Verses 2 & 5?

Click to expand...

My answer will unfortunately have to be a little long, But I will here answer with an article I wrote a few years ago, when this discussion had come up at that time.


The True Meaning of Romans 9-11

We need to consider this passage of scripture in detail because it has been so severely wrested by many that claim to be teachers of the word of God. These false teachers insist that the ancient nation of Israel has been completely and permanently rejected by God. They imagine that the Bible teaches that all the blessings promised to Israel have been transferred to the church. And they claim that these three chapters support this idea. But in actual fact, they clearly teach the very opposite.

This important section begins, “I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit, that I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh, who are Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises; of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen” (Romans 9:1-5)

Here the Apostle’s great stress is his personal concern for his “countrymen according to the flesh, who are Israelites.” But in considering these words, we need to remember that, although we are reading words written by a man, we are actually reading words that come from the Holy Spirit. Before we can fully understand what the Holy Spirit is here saying, we need to clearly understand who these words are written about. The object of these words is “my countrymen according to the flesh, who are Israelites.” Thus we see that the object of the Apostle’s concern is unquestionably those who are Israelites “according to the flesh.” That is, members of the fleshly nation of Israel. These words leave no chance whatsoever that the group he is talking about is actually the church. The specific words that were used completely eliminate that possibility.

But what does this passage say about these people? It explicitly says “to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises.” As we have already noticed, the words “my countrymen according to the flesh, who are Israelites,” just before these words, prove beyond a possibility of rational debate, that this is about those who are members of the fleshly nation of Israel. So here the Holy Spirit, speaking through Paul, has given us a list of things that pertain to the fleshly nation of Israel. This list is:

“to whom pertain
the adoption,
the glory,
the covenants,
the giving of the law,
the service of God,
and the promises.”

It is critical to understand that the Holy Spirit is not here saying that these things pertain to (or belong to) the church. Rather, He expressly says that these things pertain to (or belong to) Paul’s “countrymen according to the flesh, who are Israelites.”

(Some may challenge this stress on the words “to whom pertain,” because the word pertain was not actually in the Greek text, but was added by the translators to complete the meaning. That is why the NKJV, which we are using, put this word in italics. But while this word was not actually in the Greek text, essentially every translation agrees that this is the true meaning of the Greek words actually used. The KJV gives exactly the same reading, while the ESV, the ISV, the NRSV and the HCSB all say to them belong, as does the MANT except it changes the word belong to belongs. The NASB says to whom belongs, as does the Douay, except that it says belongeth. Young’s literal translation says whose are, which Darby also said, but he bracketed the word are. The CEV and the GWN use is theirs. The ASV gives whose is, while The NCV gives they have.)

While everything in this list is important, for our present purposes we need to notice two specific items in this list. At the time this was written, “the covenants” and “the promises” still pertained to (or belonged to) Paul’s “countrymen according to the flesh, who are Israelites.” This was written long after Jesus had said, “your house is left to you desolate,” (Matthew 23:38 and Luke 13:35) long after Jesus had been crucified, long after that day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descended on the church, and long after Stephen had been stoned, completing Israel’s rejection of Jesus as their Messiah. Yet “the covenants” and “the promises” still pertained to (or belonged to) the fleshly nation of Israel. This conclusively proves that the time Paul wrote his epistle to the Romans, “the covenants” and “the promises” had not been transferred to the church. They still pertained to (or belonged to) the fleshly nation of Israel.

We now need to take a detailed look at the next verse. Romans 9:6 says, “But it is not that the word of God has taken no effect. For they are not all Israel who are of Israel,” We need to examine the last portion of this in the Greek. The Greek words translated “For they are not all Israel who are of Israel” are “ου γαρ παντες οι εξ ισραηλ ουτοι ισραηλ.” (In our alphabet, “ou gar pantes ho ex israel outoi israel”) These Greek words translate literally to “not for the out of Israel these Israel.” We need to carefully notice the words “not ... the out of Israel these Israel.” Some think that these words mean that the true Israel is something different from “the out of Israel.” If these words were taken by themselves, they could indeed be interpreted that way. But that is not the only possible interpretation of these words. They can fully as legitimately be interpreted to mean that not every one out of Israel is Israel. That is, that just being an Israelite by birth does not make someone a true Israelite. In order to determine which of these possible interpretations is correct, we need to consider what the rest of this passage says.

The true meaning of these words is clearly shown in the next verse, for Romans 9:7 says, “nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, ‘In Isaac your seed shall be called.’”

This statement has two parts, which we must examine separately. The first part is “nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham.” The actual Greek words used here are “ουδ οτι εισιν σπερμα αβρααμ παντες τεκνα” (in our alphabet “oud hoti eisin operma abraam pantes tekna.”) These Greek words translate literally to “not however that am seed Abraham all children.” We need to particularly notice the Greek words ουδ (oud) and παντες (pantes.) These translate literally to not and all. So we see that individual words that literally meant not and all were explicitly used in the Greek text. This, then, clearly shows the meaning of the previous sentence. It was most certainly not that the true Israel was something different from the physical descendants of Abraham. Instead it was saying that just being a physical descendant of Abraham did not make someone a true Israelite.

This is the same concept we see in John 1:47, where “Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, ‘Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!’” Here Jesus was saying that the fact that there was no deceit in Nathanel made him true Israelite. And Paul said that not every one out of Israel is an Israelite. The principle expressed in both passages is the same.

The second part of this statement is “but, ‘In Isaac your seed shall be called.’” This is a direct quotation from Genesis 21:9-13, where we read, “And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, scoffing. Therefore she said to Abraham, ‘Cast out this bondwoman and her son; for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, namely with Isaac.’ And the matter was very displeasing in Abraham’s sight because of his son.
“But God said to Abraham, ‘Do not let it be displeasing in your sight because of the lad or because of your bondwoman. Whatever Sarah has said to you, listen to her voice; for in Isaac your seed shall be called. Yet I will also make a nation of the son of the bondwoman, because he is your seed.’”

Here God explicitly recognized that Ishmael was physically of the seed of Abraham, but said that he would not be counted as Abraham’s seed. Thus, the example the Apostle used was not a case of substituting someone of faith (Abraham’s spiritual seed) for Abraham’s physical seed. It was rather a case of recognizing some, but not all, of Abraham’s physical seed. This again shows that the Greek words which translate literally to “not for the out of Israel these Israel.” Do not mean that the real Israel is something different from the physical descendants of Abraham. Rather, they mean that just being a physical descendant of Abraham does not make someone a true Israelite

This leads us into the next statement, where in Romans 9:8 we read, “That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed.” Some imagine that while the words “the children of the flesh” clearly mean the physical descendants of Abraham, the words “the children of promise” mean the church. But this is an explanation of the meaning of the previous words. And we have just seen that those words mean that only some of the physical descendants of Abraham are counted as his seed. This sentence explains which of Abraham’s physical descendants will be counted as his seed. Not all of Abraham’s physical descendants are his seed, but only the ones to whom the promise applied.

The Apostle continues, “For this is the word of promise: ‘At this time I will come and Sarah shall have a son.’” (Romans 9:9) The promise was that Sarah would have a son. And only the son of promise was counted as Abraham’s seed. Now Sarah’s son is not the church. Sarah’s son was Isaac, and there is no passage anywhere in the Bible than can even be interpreted to mean that the church was ever called Isaac. So the promised son the Holy Spirit was referring to was Isaac, a physical son of Abraham, and not the church.

We see this again in the next example the Holy Spirit gave us. For we read in Romans 9:10-12, “And not only this, but when Rebecca also had conceived by one man, even by our father Isaac (for the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but of Him who calls), it was said to her, ‘The older shall serve the younger.’ As it is written, ‘Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.’” There is not even one scripture that ever even hints at the idea that the church is Esau’s younger brother, nor does any scripture whatsoever associate the name Jacob with the church. So we see that neither of these two examples of God’s election speak of the church. They both speak of God choosing some of the physical seed of Abraham, but not all of it.

(continued)

(continued from my last post)


Next, we read “What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not! For He says to Moses, ‘I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.’ So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.” (Romans 9:14-16) This passage is critically important to coming to an understanding of what God is saying, particularly when considered in the light of the preceding one.

In verses 10-12, the Holy Spirit stressed that He made the choice between Jacob and Esau before they had done “any good or evil.” Now we are told that “it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.” Why is this so important to understanding the overall message of this part of the word of God? Because many claim that all the promises made to Israel were conditional. They claim that since Israel failed to keep the conditions, they lost the promises. But Romans 9:10-16 makes it exceedingly plain that God’s election is not conditional; that his choices stand, regardless of what men do.

This is stated in great plainness in the 89th Psalm, where God made his eternal promise to David: After the promise was made, God said:

“If his sons forsake My law
And do not walk in My judgments,
If they break My statutes
And do not keep My commandments,
Then I will punish their transgression with the rod,
And their iniquity with stripes.
Nevertheless My lovingkindness I will not utterly take from him,
Nor allow My faithfulness to fail.
My covenant I will not break,
Nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips.”
(Psalm 89:30-34)

Here God very explicitly said that his promise to David could not even be canceled by sin. He made it clear that He would deal with any sin that might be committed, but that the promise would still stand unchanged. And Romans 9:10-16 teaches us that this is because God’s promises to Israel are based upon his election, not upon their obedience.

God’s sovereignty in such matters is stressed again in the two verses that follow. “For the Scripture says to the Pharaoh, ‘For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.’ Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens.” (Romans 9:17-18) Here God declares that He not only has mercy on whoever He wills, He also hardens whoever He wills.

But this generates a potential problem. Men object to this doctrine because they imagine it would make God unfair. But God’s answer is not to explain why this is indeed fair. Instead, He simply says: “You will say to me then, ‘Why does He still find fault? For who has resisted His will?’ But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, ‘Why have you made me like this?’ Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?” (Romans 9:19-21) God therefore does not defend this course of action on the basis of its fairness, even though it is fair, but on the basis of his right as the creator to do as He pleases.

So He continues in Romans 9:22-24:

“What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory, even us whom He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?”

Again, the point God is making is that He can do as He pleases. And He pleases to call not the Jews only, but also the Gentiles. This right of God to do as He pleases, and to choose whomsoever He wants to choose, is now illustrated by quotations from the Old Testament. The first of these are from Hosea, and are given in Romans 9:25-26.

“As He says also in Hosea: ‘I will call them My people, who were not My people, And her beloved, who was not beloved.’ ‘And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them, ‘”You are not My people,”’ There they shall be called sons of the living God.’”

The first part of this, “I will call them My people, who were not My people, And her beloved, who was not beloved.” is a quotation from Hosea 2:23, Where we read, “Then I will sow her for Myself in the earth, And I will have mercy on her who had not obtained mercy; Then I will say to those who were not My people, ‘You are My people!’ And they shall say, ‘You are my God!’” The second part, “And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not My people,’ There they shall be called sons of the living God.” is a quotation from Hosea 1:10, where we read, “Yet the number of the children of Israel Shall be as the sand of the sea, Which cannot be measured or numbered. And it shall come to pass In the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not My people,’ There it shall be said to them, ‘You are sons of the living God.’”

In both of these places, some might imagine that these passages refer to the church. But a close examination shows that this is cannot even possibly be their meaning. Looking at the last passage first, for it was first in the Order God gave them in Hosea, verses 1-9 of Hosea 1 detail God’s rejection of “the house of Israel.” (verse 8) Then we read the wonderful promise that, even though they were rejected, “it shall come to pass In the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not My people,’ There it shall be said to them, ‘You are sons of the living God.’” This blessing, “You are sons of the living God,” was not to be said to someone else, but “it shall be said to them.” The very ones to whom God had said, “Lo-ruhamah” (not pitied) and “Lo-ammi” (not my people,) would be told, “You are sons of the living God.” But they would not only be told this, but they would be told this in the very place where they had been so cursed. This is concluded in the first verse of chapter 2. (We must remember that the chapter and verse divisions in our Bibles were added by man, there were no such divisions in the scriptures when God first gave them. And in some places the divisions actually break up what God was saying.) So God concluded this portion of his holy word by saying, “Say to your brethren, ‘My people,’ And to your sisters, ‘Mercy is shown.’” (Hosea 2:1) To whom were these words to be said? To the church? No. They were to be said “to your brethren.” and “to your sisters.” Whose “brethren” and “sisters” were to be told “My people,” and “Mercy is shown.”? The very ones to whom it was said “Lo-ruhamah” and “Lo-ammi.” These were unquestionably the sinning “house of Israel.” No scripture anywhere even suggests the idea that either the church or its individual members are the “brethren” and “sisters” of the “house of Israel.”

We find the same thing again in the next portion of Hosea, where God first pronounces his divorce and judgment of guilty Israel; (Hosea 2:2-13) but then, just as in the first chapter, He continues by promising their eventual restoration. (Hosea 2:14-23) Even as He had just pronounced his divorce and judgment, He now promises his betrothal and blessing of the children of that same guilty nation which He had divorced. For even as He had said in verse 2, “Bring charges against your mother, bring charges; For she is not My wife, nor am I her Husband,” He now repeatedly tells them, “I will betroth you to Me,” (verses 19 and 20) and says “you will call Me ‘My Husband.’” (verse 16) God had called the one He had divorced, “your mother,” but He now calls the ones He will marry, “you.” This, then, is the context of verse 23, where we read, “Then I will sow her for Myself in the earth, And I will have mercy on her who had not obtained mercy; Then I will say to those who were not My people, ‘You are My people!’ And they shall say, ‘You are my God!’”

We have taken this detailed look at Hosea 1 and 2 to clearly understand that the two passages from Hosea which the Holy Spirit quoted in Romans 9:25-26 are most certainly not about replacing the physical nation of Israel with a different people, but about a future restoration of that same nation which had previously been rejected for her sin.

Continuation...


But the Holy Spirit, speaking through the Apostle Paul was not finished. He continued by quoting two passages from Isaiah, saying: “Isaiah also cries out concerning Israel: ‘Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, The remnant will be saved. For He will finish the work and cut it short in righteousness, Because the Lord will make a short work upon the earth.’ And as Isaiah said before: ‘Unless the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, We would have become like Sodom, And we would have been made like Gomorrah.’” (Romans 9:27-29)

The first of these passages is quoted from Isaiah 10:22-23, Where we read, in the translation which we are using, the NKJV, “For though your people, O Israel, be as the sand of the sea, A remnant of them will return; The destruction decreed shall overflow with righteousness. For the Lord GOD of hosts Will make a determined end In the midst of all the land.” (The difference in wording of the last portion of this passage apparently comes from the process of translating the Old Testament from Hebrew into English and the New Testament passage from Hebrew into Greek and then into English.)

To truly understand what this short passage from Isaiah meant, we need to examine it in its context. This is part of a rather long section that runs from verses 5 through 34 of Isaiah 10. This section begins, “Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger And the staff in whose hand is My indignation. I will send him against an ungodly nation, And against the people of My wrath I will give him charge, To seize the spoil, to take the prey, And to tread them down like the mire of the streets.” (Isaiah 10:5-6)

Most modern Bible scholars have entirely missed the significance of Isaiah 10:5-34 because they have simply (but wrongly) assumed it was only speaking of the destruction of the ancient Assyrian king Sennacherib. Thinking it was only speaking of past events, they have neglected this most instructive portion of the word of God. But if they had paid careful attention to this opening passage, they would have realized their error. For Sennacherib attacked Judah during the righteous reign of king Hezekiah, who “trusted in the LORD God of Israel, so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor who were before him. For he held fast to the LORD; he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments, which the LORD had commanded Moses.” (2 Kings 18:5-6) “Also the hand of God was on Judah to give them singleness of heart to obey the command of the king and the leaders, at the word of the LORD.” (2 Chronicles 30:12) But “after these deeds of faithfulness, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and entered Judah; he encamped against the fortified cities, thinking to win them over to himself.” (2 Chronicles 32:1) Hezekiah cried out to the Lord, who answered him, “I will defend this city, to save it For My own sake and for My servant David's sake.” (Isaiah 37:35)

But in Isaiah 10:6, the Lord says of the king of Assyria that “I will send him against an ungodly nation, And against the people of My wrath I will give him charge, To seize the spoil, to take the prey, And to tread them down like the mire of the streets.” Both Hezekiah and his people had been righteous and the Lord promised to save them from Sennacherib. But in the day described in Isaiah 10 the nation will have been ungodly and He will send Assyria to punish them. Sennacherib was an enemy of God, while this Assyrian will actually be His agent. Sennacherib indeed attacked in ancient times, but the attack described here has never happened, even to this time.

This is highlighted in Isaiah 14, where, immediately after saying the Assyrian (Sennacherib) would be destroyed, (verses 24-27) the Lord added, “do not rejoice, all you of Philistia, Because the rod that struck you is broken; For out of the serpent's roots will come forth a viper, And its offspring will be a fiery flying serpent... Wail, O gate! Cry, O city! All you of Philistia are dissolved; For smoke will come from the north, And no one will be alone in his appointed times.” (verses 29-31) In stating that “out of the serpent's roots will come forth a viper” and that “its offspring will be a fiery flying serpent,” this passage clearly sets forth two separate attacks, one in the past (relative to the time referred to) and one in the future. These two attacks are separated in time by an unspecified number of generations, as the second attacker is the “offspring” of the first.

We see this future Assyrian attack again in Micah 5:5-6, where we read that “When the Assyrian comes into our land, And when he treads in our palaces, Then we will raise against him Seven shepherds and eight princely men. They shall waste with the sword the land of Assyria, And the land of Nimrod at its entrances; Thus He shall deliver us from the Assyrian, When he comes into our land And when he treads within our borders.” This prophecy, which was given at about the same time as that of Isaiah, was never fulfilled in ancient times. When Sennacherib invaded Judea, no one rose to oppose him, much less “Seven shepherds and eight princely men.” And Israel has never wasted “the land of Assyria” “with the sword.”

But although Isaiah 10:5-6 says this future Assyrian will be God’s agent, the next verse says, “Yet he does not mean so, Nor does his heart think so; But it is in his heart to destroy, And cut off not a few nations.” What is the result? “Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Lord has performed all His work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, that He will say, “I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his haughty looks.” (Isaiah 10:12)

The reason for this rather long digression has been to help us understand the central part of Isaiah 10, where we read, “And it shall come to pass in that day That the remnant of Israel, And such as have escaped of the house of Jacob, Will never again depend on him who defeated them, But will depend on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. The remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, To the Mighty God. For though your people, O Israel, be as the sand of the sea, A remnant of them will return; The destruction decreed shall overflow with righteousness. For the Lord GOD of hosts Will make a determined end In the midst of all the land.
“Therefore thus says the Lord GOD of hosts: ‘O My people, who dwell in Zion, do not be afraid of the Assyrian. He shall strike you with a rod and lift up his staff against you, in the manner of Egypt. For yet a very little while and the indignation will cease, as will My anger in their destruction.’ And the Lord of hosts will stir up a scourge for him like the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb; as His rod was on the sea, so will He lift it up in the manner of Egypt. It shall come to pass in that day That his burden will be taken away from your shoulder, And his yoke from your neck, And the yoke will be destroyed because of the anointing oil.” (Isaiah 10:20-27)

Thus we clearly see that the context of Isaiah 10:22-23, which is italicized in the quotation above, and which the Holy Ghost quoted in Romans 9:27-28, was God’s promise of the deliverance of a remnant of Israel during a future attack by an oppressor that the scriptures call “the Assyrian.”

All this just gives character and meaning to the next quotation the Holy Spirit gave us in this ninth chapter of Romans, “And as Isaiah said before: ‘Unless the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, We would have become like Sodom, And we would have been made like Gomorrah.’” (Romans 9:29) This is quoted from Isaiah 1:9, where we read, “Unless the Lord of hosts Had left to us a very small remnant, We would have become like Sodom, We would have been made like Gomorrah.” This is the final sentence in a description of the judgments of God on the guilty nation of Israel. (Isaiah 1:5-9) It is critical to realize what this is really saying. The Holy Spirit is stressing that Israel will not be totally destroyed, as were Sodom and Gomorrah. Instead, He would leave a very small remnant of them.

continuation...


All this discussion of Old Testament scriptures may seem like a distraction, but it is not. Its point has been to make it crystal clear that every one of the Old Testament quotations in Romans 9 has been from a passage that explicitly speaks of the preservation and eventual blessing of a remnant of the ancient nation of Israel. They do not speak of a different people being called Israel in a future day, but of the eventual blessing of the descendants of the very people that had been previously rejected for their sins.

At this point the Holy Spirit turns from the future blessing of Israel, and takes up their current status. This is a reversal of what was typically done in the Old Testament prophecies. For they usually first gave Israel’s condemnation for its sins, finishing with a promise of eventual restoration. But here the Holy Spirit stresses their eventual restoration before he takes up their present condition. Why this reversal? Because, as we progress through Romans 9-11, we will see that the Holy Spirit, knowing all things and thus knowing what men would say before they said it, answered ahead of time the false doctrine that He has permanently rejected Israel. This is similar to what He did earlier in this chapter when He said, “You will say to me then, ‘Why does He still find fault? For who has resisted His will?’ But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God?” (Romans 9:19-20)

But now he takes up their present status, saying, “What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness of faith; but Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness. Why? Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were, by the works of the law.” (Romans 9:30-32a)

So we see that Gentiles had attained righteousness without even pursuing it, because of their faith. But Israel, pursuing righteousness in the wrong way, had not attained to it. The reason is very simple. They sought righteousness by the works of the law. And “by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.” (Galatians 2:16) “For they stumbled at that stumbling stone. As it is written: ‘Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense, And whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.’” (Romans 9:32b-33)

As was done before, this is a combination of two quotations from two different Old Testament passages. The first of these is, “He will be as a sanctuary, But a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense To both the houses of Israel, As a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.” (Isaiah 8:14) This is typical of God’s ways in many places. Since this guilty nation did not want to repent, He gave them a stumbling stone. He came to them in a way that could only be received by faith, and those who had no real faith could not accept him, even though “whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”

The change of subjects is now complete. Since the Holy Spirit is now speaking of Israel’s current status, all is on an individual basis. For at the present time Israelites can only be blessed as individuals. We see this in the words “whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” This is quoted from Isaiah 28:16, where we read, “Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; Whoever believes will not act hastily.’” Again, the difference in wording, from “act hastily” to “put to shame,” comes from the difference between translating from the Hebrew directly into English and translating the Hebrew first into Greek and then into English.

Continuing...


The subject now being Israel’s current status, the Apostle continues, “Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.” (Romans 10:1-4)

Paul never gave up his earnest desire to see all Israel saved. He wanted this so badly that he wrote, as we have already seen, “I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh.” (Romans 9:3) How many of us have this kind of love for those around us, enough love that we would even be willing, if it were possible, to give up our own salvation if it could save them. But that could never be possible. God has already given the greatest sacrifice possible. If they do not accept that, they cannot be saved. But though he loved them so much, he had to point out why they could not be saved. Although they truly have “a zeal for God,” that zeal is “not according to knowledge.” For they are “seeking to establish their own righteousness” instead of submitting “to the righteousness of God.”

How sad and how common is this very basic and almost universal sin. Men are unwilling to admit that in God’s sight their own righteousness is really only “filthy rags,” as we are told in Isaiah 64:6. Like Cain of old, they want to offer the fruits of their own labors, instead of simply trusting the blood sacrifice already offered by our Lord Jesus Christ. But “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.” For “everyone who believes,” the law has ended. But even for “everyone who believes,” this does not only say that “Christ is the end of the law,” But “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness.” We still value the law, for “the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.” (Galatians 3:24) And “whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.” (Romans 15:4) “But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.” (Galatians 3:25) We remember that earlier in this same epistle, the Holy Spirit had already said, “Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.” (Romans 3:31) The law has passed away only for those who in faith have trusted in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ as atonement for their sins.

For any who seek justification through the law, it is still in force, for the Holy Spirit warns all of these that they are debtors “to keep the whole law.” (Galatians 5:3) And He warns them that “whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.” (James 2:10) Since we are all sinners, the law can only curse us, as we read, “For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.’ But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for ‘the just shall live by faith.’Yet the law is not of faith, but ‘the man who does them shall live by them.’” (Galatians 3:10-12) There are very few that would pretend they are perfect. And the law contains only curses for anyone who is not perfect. But “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.’)” (Galatians 3:13)

Returning now to Romans 10, the Holy Spirit reminds us, “For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, ‘The man who does those things shall live by them.’” (Romans 10:5) This is a quotation from Leviticus 18:5, where we read, “You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, which if a man does, he shall live by them: I am the Lord.” We need to realize that this promise is not a promise of justification. It is only a promise of life in this earth. The fact that every one of them died is proof that not even one of them ever kept the law.

The Holy Spirit then continues, “But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, ‘Do not say in your heart, “Who will ascend into heaven?”’ (that is, to bring Christ down from above) or, ‘“Who will descend into the abyss?”’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? ‘The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart’ (that is, the word of faith which we preach):” (Romans 10:6-8) This series of quotations is from Deuteronomy 30, where we read, “For this commandment which I command you today is not too mysterious for you, nor is it far off. It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it.” (Deuteronomy 30:11-14) The point here is that there we should just believe the message of the gospel, “the word of faith which we preach,” rather than ask how it could possibly be true. For that message is easy to understand.

And what is this “word of faith which we preach”? “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9) This is the pure, simple gospel of Jesus Christ, the way to be saved. “For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:10) And it is for everyone. Whether someone is Jew or Greek has no bearing on the simple offer of salvation. “For the Scripture says, ‘Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.’ For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For ‘whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’” (Romans 10:11-13)

The first of these quotations is from Isaiah 28:16, which says, “Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; Whoever believes will not act hastily.’” The second one is from Joel 2:32, “And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the Lord Shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, As the Lord has said, Among the remnant whom the Lord calls.” The Holy Spirit quotes these to show that this is not a new doctrine. It had been revealed in the Old Testament, the scriptures they already had. But here He explicitly points out that these scriptures, which had been given long before, clearly showed that this “word of faith” would go out to all nations, not just to the Jews.

Many have made a bad usage of this principle to deny that there is still a future program for Israel. But this says no such thing. It only says that the same “word of faith” is offered to all, Jew or Greek. There is no suggestion whatsoever that Israel is fused into the church. This idea is not taught here or anywhere else in the entire word of God. Such an idea would directly contradict the central message of Romans 9-11, as well as many Old Testament scriptures.

But now the Holy Spirit continues, “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!’” (Romans 10:14-15)

The quotation here actually comes from two Old Testament scriptures. It is not a combination of two Old Testament scriptures, as some of the others have been, but a statement that occurs twice in the Old Testament. The first of these is “How beautiful upon the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who proclaims peace, Who brings glad tidings of good things, Who proclaims salvation, Who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!’” (Isaiah 52:7) And the second is “Behold, on the mountains The feet of him who brings good tidings, Who proclaims peace!” (Nahum 1:15)

But the Holy Spirit had asked, “how shall they preach unless they are sent? Sadly, many preach or teach just because they want to, “desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm.” (1 Timothy 1:7) These self-willed preachers or teachers do more harm than good. “For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith; but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was.” (2 Timothy 3:6-9)

But the Holy Spirit’s basic subject is the present status of Israel, so He continues, “But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, ‘Lord, who has believed our report?’” (Romans 10:16)

This is a quotation from Isaiah’s description of Israel’s rejection of their Messiah, “Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” (Isaiah 53:1)

As the Holy Spirit had already pointed out, these rejecters of their own Messiah did not have faith. So He adds, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17) It is only by hearing the truth of the word of God that faith can come. And “The entirety of Your word is truth” (Psalm 119:160) This concept is critical. We need to consider all of the word of God, not just part of it. For “Every word of God is pure,” (Proverbs 30:5) and Jesus himself said “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’” (Luke 4:4) This was a quotation from Deuteronomy 8:3, Where we read, “He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.” Those who choose to ignore anything the word of God says are willfully blinding themselves. And anyone who listens to such a teacher will be led astray.

Continuing...

The Holy Spirit continues his message, saying, “But I say, have they not heard? Yes indeed: ‘Their sound has gone out to all the earth, And their words to the ends of the world.’” (Romans 10:18) Some imagine that this is some kind of a call to Israel to be a missionary witnesses to the entire world. But when we examine the quotation in this verse, we see otherwise. That quotation, in its original context, is: “The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language Where their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their words to the end of the world.” (Psalm 19:1-4) So we see that the sound referred to is the testimony of creation, not the words of any man, whether Jew or Gentile.

And now the Holy Spirit asks? “But I say, did Israel not know?” (Romans 10:19a) This question is addressed towards the point He has been making, that the “word of faith” has now “gone out to all the earth.” So He now demonstrates that it had been plainly stated in the Old Testament scriptures, the ones Israel already had, even before Jesus came. So He gives two examples, and a scriptural statement of the reason for this action.

The first example is, “First Moses says: ‘I will provoke you to jealousy by those who are not a nation, I will move you to anger by a foolish nation.’” (Romans 10:19b) This is a quotation from Deuteronomy 32:21, where we read, “They have provoked Me to jealousy by what is not God; They have moved Me to anger by their foolish idols. But I will provoke them to jealousy by those who are not a nation; I will move them to anger by a foolish nation.” Here we are told that God, in his jealousy over their unfaithfulness to himself will take action to provoke them to jealousy.

In considering this, we need to realize what jealousy is in a love relationship. In this context jealousy is the feeling a person experiences when someone they love gives their love to someone else, instead of to themselves. So God was jealous because they worshiped false gods. And He said He would provoke them to jealousy by giving his love to others. We need to particularly notice what God is saying here. Some imagine that God has permanently rejected Israel. But an act designed to provoke jealousy is the very opposite of a permanent rejection. It is an act designed to win back a lost love. So this act of God was not rejection of Israel, but an effort to win back its love. And other scriptures tell us that this will eventually happen. For in a coming day “he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy—everyone who is recorded among the living in Jerusalem.” (Isaiah 4:3) and “No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them.” (Jeremiah 31:34)

The second of the two examples the Holy Spirit gave is, “But Isaiah is very bold and says: ‘I was found by those who did not seek Me; I was made manifest to those who did not ask for Me.’” (Romans 10:20) This is a quotation from Isaiah 65:1, which says, “I was sought by those who did not ask for Me; I was found by those who did not seek Me. I said, ‘Here I am, here I am,’ To a nation that was not called by My name.” Again, we see that this had been foretold long before it happened. But why did God do this?

His stated reason for it is very interesting, for God had originally been given it as the reason He said He would be “found by those who did not seek” him. The reason the Holy Spirit gave for this is, “But to Israel he says: ‘All day long I have stretched out My hands To a disobedient and contrary people.’” We remember that the second example we just examined was from Isaiah 65:1. The reason quoted by the Holy Spirit had been given in the very next sentence, the first sentence of Isaiah 65:2. “I have stretched out My hands all day long to a rebellious people.” So we see that God turned aside to the Gentiles because, and specifically because, Israel rebelled. But while this is true, we must remember that his turning aside to the Gentiles was not an act of final rejection. It was an act designed to provoke them to jealousy, that is, to win back their hearts.

This is not just an interpretation of scripture. It is explicitly stated in the beginning of the next chapter. We must remember that the chapter and verse divisions were added by man. This was simply the next few sentences of the epistle to the Romans as it was originally written. So we read:

“I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew.” (Romans 11:1-2a)

How could the Holy Spirit, in speaking through the Apostle Paul, have made this more clear? “God has not cast away his people.” This is stated in so many ways that it is mind boggling.

He continues, “Or do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel, saying, ‘Lord, they have killed Your prophets and torn down Your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life’? But what does the divine response say to him? ‘I have reserved for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.’ Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace.” (Romans 11:2b-5)

Elijah’s accusation had been made twice. The first time was, “So he said, ‘I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.’” (1 Kings 19:10) Then he said again, “And he said, ‘I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; because the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.’” (1 Kings 19:14)

But God had answered him, “Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.” (1 Kings 19:18)

The Holy Spirit gave this example of one of the worst periods in Israel’s past history to show that He had always preserved a remnant of his people, even as He does to this day. And that remnant is “according to the election of grace.”

So the Holy Spirit goes on, “And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work.” (Romans 11:6) Thus the Holy Spirit ties together what He has been saying, in two short sentences pointing out that He reserves to himself the right to choose who will receive his mercy, and also pointing out that his mercy comes entirely by his grace, and works have nothing to do with it.

He then continues, “What then? Israel has not obtained what it seeks; but the elect have obtained it, and the rest were blinded. Just as it is written: ‘God has given them a spirit of stupor, Eyes that they should not see And ears that they should not hear, To this very day.’” (Romans 11:7-8)

As He had often done before, the Holy Spirit here quoted two Old Testament scriptures together. The first one was, “Yet the Lord has not given you a heart to perceive and eyes to see and ears to hear, to this very day.” (Deuteronomy 29:4) And the second was, “For the Lord has poured out on you The spirit of deep sleep, And has closed your eyes, namely, the prophets; And He has covered your heads, namely, the seers.” (Isaiah 29:10) It was the leaders of Israel that caused the people to turn aside from the pure word of God. But since the blindness was willful, both on the part of the leaders and on the part of the people, God responded with a judicial blindness, making repentance impossible. He had done this before, in the time of Isaiah, and He did it again when Jesus was here, for we read that “Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again: ‘He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, Lest they should see with their eyes, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.’” (John 12:39-40) Jesus quoted this from Isaiah 6:10, where we read, “Make the heart of this people dull, And their ears heavy, And shut their eyes; Lest they see with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And understand with their heart, And return and be healed.” We also find this same principle in action in Romans 1:24-25, where we read, “Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.”

The Holy Spirit stated this again in his very next quotation from the Old Testament. “And David says: ‘Let their table become a snare and a trap, A stumbling block and a recompense to them. Let their eyes be darkened, so that they do not see, And bow down their back always.’” (Romans 11:9-10)

This was a quotation from Psalm 69:22-23, which says, “Let their table become a snare before them, And their well-being a trap. Let their eyes be darkened, so that they do not see; And make their loins shake continually.”

So we see that our God was stressing that He had inflicted a judicial blindness upon those that had rejected his message through his only begotten Son. Because of their hardened rebellion against himself, He had intentionally put a stumbling block in their way. But He is not finished with them yet, as we shall see in the next few verses.

For the Holy Spirit continues, “I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles. Now if their fall is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness! For I speak to you Gentiles; inasmuch as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, if by any means I may provoke to jealousy those who are my flesh and save some of them. For if their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?” (Romans 11:11-15)

How much more clearly could the Holy Spirit have stated this? They were not caused to stumble “that they should fall,” but to provoke them to jealousy. We have already noticed that this act of provoking to jealousy is an act designed to restore a relationship, not an act of final rejection. So the Apostle Paul was earnest in his ministry in hopes of provoking jealousy in “those who are my flesh,” in hopes of saving “some of them.” But these statements are interspersed with two others of even greater significance. These are, “Now if their fall is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness!” and “For if their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?” These last two statements highlight two things. First, they both refer to Israel’s future acceptance, and second, they answer the unbelieving complaint that preferring Israel in a future day would be unjust. God here is stressing that when Israel is finally once again accepted, it will be such blessing for the Gentiles as to seem as if they had risen from the dead.

Continuing...

The Holy Spirit now begins a solemn warning to those that He knew would in a future day deny this wonderful truth. “For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches. And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, ‘Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in.’ Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either. Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off.” (Romans 11:16-22)

This is not just an idle threat. When we study the history of the church, we find that at about the same time as the essentially universal acceptance of the doctrine that Israel was permanently set aside, the “church” also lost the essential doctrine of salvation by grace through faith. This was the beginning of what we call the dark ages, a period of well over thousand years in which “the church” taught salvation by works, not by faith. Indeed, they were cut off the tree of blessing, even as these ancient Jews had been. For it is “not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us.” (Titus 3:5)

But after this warning, the Holy Spirit continues with his subject, saying, “And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. For if you were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, who are natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?” (Romans 11:23-25) Here God stresses his ability to graft these, the natural branches, back into their own olive tree. Many have stressed the application of this principle to individual Jews in the present day. And that application is both true and appropriate, for today God will graft any believing Jew back into that olive tree of blessing. But that is not the only correct application of this promise.

The promise has a condition attached to it. That condition is “if they do not continue in unbelief.” God has explicitly promised that if Israel does “not continue in unbelief,” He will graft them back into their own olive tree. This promise is indeed conditional, and thus will not be kept unless Israel indeed does “not continue in unbelief.” But if that is the case, how can God have so explicitly promised their eventual restoration in so many places? It is because He, who declares “the end from the beginning” (Isaiah 46:10) Has already told us, in no uncertain language, that in a future day they will indeed “not continue in unbelief.” We have already noticed two scriptures about this, that in a coming day “he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy—everyone who is recorded among the living in Jerusalem.” (Isaiah 4:3) and “No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them.” (Jeremiah 31:34) But now we need to notice several others.

The repentance that will bring about this state is explicitly described in Zechariah 12:10-14, saying,
“I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. In that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning at Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. And the land shall mourn, every family by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of Shimei by itself, and their wives by themselves; all the families that remain, every family by itself, and their wives by themselves.”

We have already noticed Isaiah 1:9, where we read, “Unless the Lord of hosts Had left to us a very small remnant, We would have become like Sodom, We would have been made like Gomorrah.” Those who repent in the way we have just seen will indeed be only a very small remnant, for this will only take place after “‘it shall come to pass in all the land,’ Says the Lord, ‘That two-thirds in it shall be cut off and die, But one-third shall be left in it: I will bring the one-third through the fire, Will refine them as silver is refined, And test them as gold is tested.’” (Zechariah 13:8-9a) Some have quite incorrectly pretended that this speaks of the time of the time of Titus, when he was used by God to destroy guilty Judea. But there is no way to even pretend that at that time two-thirds of all those in the land died, and all the rest became believers as described in the rest of this passage in the words, “They will call on My name, And I will answer them. I will say, ‘This is My people’; And each one will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’” (Zechariah 13:9b)

The prophesied repentance will also be after the time of which we read that “‘As I live,’ says the Lord GOD, ‘surely with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out, I will rule over you. I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you are scattered, with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out. And I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I will plead My case with you face to face. Just as I pleaded My case with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will plead My case with you,’ says the Lord GOD. 'I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant; I will purge the rebels from among you, and those who transgress against Me; I will bring them out of the country where they dwell, but they shall not enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’” (Ezekiel 20:33-38)

So the God who cannot lie has told us that He will bring Israel through a time of intense trouble that will kill a full two-thirds of them, and even after that He will personally purge out all the rebels from their midst. Then, after that time, they will truly repent and turn to him with their whole hearts. Anyone who denies that this will indeed happen is denying explicitly stated scripture.

But before leaving the subject, the Holy Spirit once again stressed this eventual restoration of Israel, saying, “For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: ‘The Deliverer will come out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; For this is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins.’” (Romans 11:25-27)

The quotation here is from Isaiah 59:20-21, where we read, “‘The Redeemer will come to Zion, And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,’ Says the Lord. ‘As for Me,’ says the Lord, ‘this is My covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants’ descendants,” says the Lord, “from this time and forevermore.’” So once again, we see that the Old Testament passage quoted by the Holy Spirit was another one about the future restoration of Israel. How do we know it is not speaking of the present age? Someone who trusts in the Lord Jesus today receives salvation. But that salvation is not promised to their “descendants” and to their “descendant’s descendants... from this time and forevermore.” This is common language for promises to Israel, but no similar promise was ever made to the church, even a single time.

But returning now to Romans 11, we need to notice that the Holy Spirit defined a distinct limit to the time of Israel’s partial blindness. It was to last “until the fullness of the gentiles has come in.” Some want to pretend that this refers to the time of Jerusalem’s destruction in AD 70. But we see differently in the place where Jesus clearly predicted that destruction. For Jesus said, “when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her. For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people. And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.” (Luke 21:20-24)

Here we see clearly described the coming of the Roman armies and the instruction to flee when this happens. Jesus explicitly said it would be “the days of vengeance, that all things that are written may be fulfilled.” It is obvious that this could not mean that this was when absolutely everything written would be fulfilled, for there are many prophecies about other things. So it clearly means that at that time, all things written about the vengeance on Jerusalem would be fulfilled. That indeed came to pass at the hands of the Romans, including, exactly as Jesus said, “great distress in the land and wrath upon this people. And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations.” We know from history, and even from logic if we did not know the history, that they were not “led away captive into all nations” until after Jerusalem was destroyed. But it is only after this that we read, “And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.” So we see, just from the stated order of the events Jesus referred to, that the time of trampling began when Jerusalem was destroyed. It did not end at that time. It began at that time. And it is still going on. Even to this very day, Jerusalem is still being “trampled by Gentiles.” This clearly demonstrates that “the times of the Gentiles” are not yet “fulfilled,” even to the present day.

Thus we see that “the fullness of the gentiles” has even yet not “come in,” and thus Israel’s time of “blindness in part” is not yet ended. But it will end when “the fullness of the gentiles has come in.” This, then, is the context of the Holy Spirit’s statement, “And so all Israel will be saved.”

This is again demonstrated by what He said next, “Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” (Romans 11:28-29) We first need to notice that the subject is most definitely not the church for the ones under discussion are called “they,” not “we,” and “Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake.” This very clearly shows that these are not Christians, not the church. But then what does the Holy Spirit say about them? “But concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers.” So we see that these ones, who are most definitely not the church, “are beloved for the sake of the fathers.” Thus we are directed back to Abraham, Isaac, And Jacob, the fathers of Israel, to whom the promises were made.

Further, this is “concerning the election.” Many assume that whenever we find the term “the elect” in scripture, it is always speaking of the church. But here the concept is applied to these ones who are “enemies,” “concerning the gospel.” We find that Israel is called “my elect” three times in the book of Isaiah. The first of these is, “For Jacob My servant’s sake, And Israel My elect, I have even called you by your name; I have named you, though you have not known Me.” (Isaiah 45:4) The second one is, “I will bring forth descendants from Jacob, And from Judah an heir of My mountains; My elect shall inherit it, And My servants shall dwell there.” (Isaiah 65:9) And the third one is, “I will rejoice in Jerusalem, And joy in My people; The voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her, Nor the voice of crying. No more shall an infant from there live but a few days, Nor an old man who has not fulfilled his days; For the child shall die one hundred years old, But the sinner being one hundred years old shall be accursed. They shall build houses and inhabit them; They shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. They shall not build and another inhabit; They shall not plant and another eat; For as the days of a tree, so shall be the days of My people, And My elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.” (Isaiah 65:19-22)

Finally, the Holy Spirit gives his basic, essential reason for all this. “For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” (Romans 11:29) This is the reason the fleshly descendants of the ancient nation of Israel must be restored to their land and blessed there. That reason is the faithfulness of God. It has nothing to do with the faithfulness of Israel, or with the lack thereof. It is based entirely on who God is, and what He is. He made promises to his ancient people, and He will keep those promises. Some imagine that his promises were not absolute, but only conditional. They say that since Israel did not fulfill the conditions, they lost the promises. But as we have already noticed, God has also clearly stated otherwise, saying, “My mercy I will keep for him forever, And My covenant shall stand firm with him. His seed also I will make to endure forever, And his throne as the days of heaven. If his sons forsake My law And do not walk in My judgments, If they break My statutes And do not keep My commandments, Then I will punish their transgression with the rod, And their iniquity with stripes. Nevertheless My lovingkindness I will not utterly take from him, Nor allow My faithfulness to fail. My covenant I will not break, Nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips. Once I have sworn by My holiness; I will not lie to David: His seed shall endure forever, And his throne as the sun before Me; It shall be established forever like the moon, Even like the faithful witness in the sky.” (Psalm 89:28-37) We already noticed that in this place God explicitly said that not even sin could cancel his covenant. He said that if they sinned, he would deal with that sin. But “nevertheless My lovingkindness I will not utterly take from him, Nor allow My faithfulness to fail. My covenant I will not break, Nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips.”

God closed this passage by saying that David’s throne would be “as the sun before Me; It shall be established forever like the moon, Even like the faithful witness in the sky.” He later expanded on this, saying, “Thus says the Lord: ‘If you can break My covenant with the day and My covenant with the night, so that there will not be day and night in their season, then My covenant may also be broken with David My servant, so that he shall not have a son to reign on his throne, and with the Levites, the priests, My ministers. As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, nor the sand of the sea measured, so will I multiply the descendants of David My servant and the Levites who minister to Me.’” (Jeremiah 33:20-22) Some will protest that the promise to David was fulfilled in Jesus. But we need to notice that this promise includes not only “a son to reign on his throne.” It also includes “the Levites, the priests, My ministers.” Levites and priests are parts of Jewish worship. They have no place in Christian worship.

Is there any way God could have been more absolute in saying all this? The Holy Spirit has now finished the basic message of these three chapters, but he added a little more at the end, saying, “For as you were once disobedient to God, yet have now obtained mercy through their disobedience, even so these also have now been disobedient, that through the mercy shown you they also may obtain mercy. For God has committed them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all.” (Romans 11:30-32) God has used the disobedience of Israel as occasion to give mercy to all, so that same mercy, being now offered to all, may come back to Israel. For God has found all disobedient, that he might have mercy on all.

This brings forth a wonderful doxology as a conclusion to these three chapters.

“Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! ‘For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become His counselor?’ ‘Or who has first given to Him And it shall be repaid to him?’ For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.” (Romans 11:33-36)

The first of quotations here is from Isaiah 40;13, “Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord, Or as His counselor has taught Him?” The second one is from Job 41:11, where God said, “Who has preceded Me, that I should pay him? Everything under heaven is Mine.” Again, the different translation procedures rendered slight differences in the wording.

We have gone through this exercise to clearly demonstrate what the Holy Spirit was actually saying in these three chapters. Israel is indeed rejected, but only temporarily. In the future, she will again be restored and blessed. This is so plainly stated, so many times and in so many ways, that nothing but the blindness of unbelieving prejudice could keep anyone from seeing it.

Yes, I read Biblewriters good exposition. Most will say: TL-DR, however.

You prove your case for the true descendants of Jacob to be those who will receive God's promises. Although many Gentiles will join them. Isaiah 56:1-8
But as I have said before; Who are those people? They cannot be just the Jewish people, as they do not have any actual proof of their ancestry and as Zechariah 13 and Romans 9:27 says: Only a remnant of Judah will be saved.
Many prophesies say that Israel will be as many as the sands of the sea. The Jewish people have never been, and are not now that numerous.
The answer is simply: only God knows who and where the real descendants of the Patriarchs are, Amos 9:9, now His true faithful people, all born again Christians, the sons of the Living God. Romans 9:24-26

Biblewriter said:

But before leaving the subject, the Holy Spirit once again stressed this eventual restoration of Israel, saying, “For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: ‘The Deliverer will come out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; For this is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins.’” (Romans 11:25-27)

Click to expand...

Based on Luke 21:24-28, the times of the Gentiles ends at the Second Coming of Christ.

The Church as a whole has never been a Gentile Church.
When the Church first began almost all of its members were Israelites. Acts 2:36

Were all of the Israelites "partially blinded" or were part of them blinded and part of them were not?

What is the covenant that took away sins and when did this New Covenant (Matthew 26:28) go into effect? Hebrews 8:6-13, Hebrews 10:16-18

.

Truth7t7 said:

Read your extensive article

You still haven't answered my questions below?

Writer I believe Romans 11 gives the best explanation regarding the subject of the Jew in Gods eyes?

Verse 2: "God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew"?

Verse 5: "A remnant according to the election of grace"?

Who Is God Looking At In Verses 2 & 5?

Click to expand...

Actually, I did answer it, in the following words from post #48

“I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew.” (Romans 11:1-2a)

How could the Holy Spirit, in speaking through the Apostle Paul, have made this more clear? “God has not cast away his people.” This is stated in so many ways that it is mind boggling.

He continues, “Or do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel, saying, ‘Lord, they have killed Your prophets and torn down Your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life’? But what does the divine response say to him? ‘I have reserved for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.’ Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace.” (Romans 11:2b-5)

Elijah’s accusation had been made twice. The first time was, “So he said, ‘I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.’” (1 Kings 19:10) Then he said again, “And he said, ‘I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; because the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.’” (1 Kings 19:14)

But God had answered him, “Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.” (1 Kings 19:18)

The Holy Spirit gave this example of one of the worst periods in Israel’s past history to show that He had always preserved a remnant of his people, even as He does to this day. And that remnant is “according to the election of grace.”

So the Holy Spirit goes on, “And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work.” (Romans 11:6) Thus the Holy Spirit ties together what He has been saying, in two short sentences pointing out that He reserves to himself the right to choose who will receive his mercy, and also pointing out that his mercy comes entirely by his grace, and works have nothing to do with it.

He then continues, “What then? Israel has not obtained what it seeks; but the elect have obtained it, and the rest were blinded. Just as it is written: ‘God has given them a spirit of stupor, Eyes that they should not see And ears that they should not hear, To this very day.’” (Romans 11:7-8)

Click to expand...

Romans 11 is a classic spiritual “believing baby - unbelieving bathwater” scenario. The previous chapter has concluded with:

Romans 10
21 But to Israel he saith, All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people.

Paul is describing the "unbelieving bathwater" ethnic majority of the nation of Israel, having already recognized in Romans 9:27 that only a "believing baby" remnant will be saved, and that the remainder will be lost. This is the reason for his anguish at the beginning of Romans 9. In Romans 11:1, he is asking rhetorically if God is going to dispose of the believing baby with the unbelieving bathwater. “His people”, spiritually qualified as “His people whom He foreknew”, specifically identifies those of whom Paul is speaking as being the believing baby. Paul then declares that ethnically he is the unbelieving bathwater, but spiritually he is the believing baby. As the latter, he will not be lost and disposed of along with the former.

So Paul's question in effect is:
“Has God cast away the believing remnant of ethnic Israelites, His people whom He foreknew; because the majority of ethnic Israelites are unbelievers who are cast away”?

His answer:
“No; I'm an ethnic Israelite, of whom the majority are unbelievers; but I myself am a believer, which qualifies me as one of His people whom He foreknew, and I'm therefore one of those who is not cast away”.

God has only one people of Israel who are “His people whom He foreknew”, and they are His "believing baby" remnant who are not cast away, the true Israel of God.

Truth7t7 said:

Romans 11 verse 2 describes a called, chosen believer "Church", verse 5 also represents the"Church"

Click to expand...

The ENTIRE context of the passage was Paul's "brethren according to the flesh, who are Israelites," which had been the subject since chapter 9. This can be clearly seen in 11:1, "I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin." Romans 11:1 This passages is saying the very opposite to what many claim, that God has cast away the nation of Israel, by saying, "God has not cast away His people, which He foreknew."

Biblewriter said:

The ENTIRE context of the passage was Paul's "brethren according to the flesh, who are Israelites," which had been the subject since chapter 9. This can be clearly seen in 11:1, "I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin." Romans 11:1 This passages is saying the very opposite to what many claim, that God has cast away the nation of Israel, by saying, "God has not cast away His people, which He foreknew."

Click to expand...

The "ENTIRE" context of Romans 11 also includes the Gentiles being grafted into the Olive Tree, by faith in Christ.

God has not cast away, any person, of any race, who has accepted His Son.

God foreknew from the foundation of the world who would reject Christ and who would accept Him.

Paul uses the Olive Tree as a symbol of the New Covenant Church made up of Israelite and Gentile branches grafted together into one tree.

Paul provides no method of salvation outside of the Olive Tree in this passage.

Will there be a massive ingathering of the descendants of Jacob in the future?
I pray that it be so.
However, the destiny of every race of people on the planet is now tied to Christ's Church, which He revealed in Matthew chapter 16.
Nobody will come to salvation during a future time period outside of the Body of Christ, represented by the Olive Tree in Romans 11.

.

Truth7t7 said:

Romans 11:5 "A remnant according to the election of grace"? 100% my christian brother "Church"!

Does that apply to all National Israel, absolutely not!

"Remnant" is the smaller portion..

Zechariah 13:8-9 shows this remnant as 1/3

All Ethnic National Israel will not be saved, a teaching in grave error.

Click to expand...

I never said, nor even implied, that ALL of ethnic national Israel will be saved. The scriptures very clearly state otherwise. Ezekiel 20 very clearly says that, as they are brought back to the land (which, according to Isaiah 65, will be AFTER Messiah returns) He will purge the rebels from their midst. It is only then, that is, after that purging has taken place "that he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy--everyone who is recorded among the living in Jerusalem." (Isaiah 4:3 )

In addition to this, we need to keep in mind that this will also be AFTER two-thirds of all those in the land will be killed.(Zechariah 13:8-9)

But the scriptures simply could not be more explicit in stating that the "mountains of Israel," along with" the hills," "the rivers," and "the valleys," "the desolate wastes," "the cities that are forsaken," (Ezekiel 36:4) will again be inhabited by "all the house of Israel, all of it." (Ezekiel 36:10) And that Ephraim and Judah will be reunited as one nation in the land. (Ezekiel 37:22) Nor could they be more explicitly clear in defining the borders of the nation of Israel in that fay in Ezekiel 47:15-19, nor in how it will be divided among the twelve tribes of Israel in Ezekiel 48.

When you deny all this, you are denying explicitly stated scripture, not an interpretation of what some scripture means.

Truth7t7 said:

How many times will the book of life be open,
You believe once in the future at the GWTJ?

After the book of life is open, eternity begins?

Click to expand...

I try not to deal in interpreting passages whose meaning is questionable. I specialize in explicitly stated scriptures.