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Did the Jews have a chance...?

JohnMarsten

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If you look at the quote again..

Matthew 21:42

‘The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone.
This was the Lord’s doing,
And it is marvelous in our eyes’?

You can read that the rejection od Christ was the Lords doing or that Him becoming the chief cornerstone was the plan. When you think about it, why would the people rejoice that they rejected God?

of course it could also be the other way round
 
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We also have the inspired commentaries.
Stryder's replies were right on in harmony
with Scriptures and the SoP.

The hardening of the heart takes place when the Lord sends light to correct our errors and to lead us into safe paths. It is by the rejection of that light that the eyes are blinded and the hearts hardened. Often the process is gradual and almost imperceptible. When one ray of light is disregarded, there is a partial benumbing of the spiritual perceptions, and the second revealing of light is less clearly discerned. So the darkness increases until it is night in the soul. Thus it had been with the Jewish leaders. They were convinced that a divine power attended Christ, but in order to resist the truth, they attributed the work of the Holy Spirit to Satan. In doing this they deliberately chose deception; they yielded themselves to Satan, and henceforth they were controlled by his power. See D.A.322,323.

This is what happened to Pharaoh of Egypt and to all who follow in his footsteps.

sky
 
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JohnMarsten

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We also have the inspired commentaries.
Stryder's replies were right on in harmony
with Scriptures and the SoP.

The hardening of the heart takes place when the Lord sends light to correct our errors and to lead us into safe paths. It is by the rejection of that light that the eyes are blinded and the hearts hardened. Often the process is gradual and almost imperceptible. When one ray of light is disregarded, there is a partial benumbing of the spiritual perceptions, and the second revealing of light is less clearly discerned. So the darkness increases until it is night in the soul. Thus it had been with the Jewish leaders. They were convinced that a divine power attended Christ, but in order to resist the truth, they attributed the work of the Holy Spirit to Satan. In doing this they deliberately chose deception; they yielded themselves to Satan, and henceforth they were controlled by his power. See D.A.322,323.

This is what happened to Pharaoh of Egypt and to all who follow in his footsteps.

sky

one might argue about this one, but I will abstain from it...

the thing that I was actually interested in is that the text implies that the 'hardening' will only last 'until' a specific event is complete, in this case 'the number of Gentiles has come in'

btw a thing that strikes me is that Paul still connects the Israelites with a prophecy from Isajah, there is no mention of it being conditional or something.

the text implies that all israel will be saved (he is speaking of literal and not spiritual israel IMHO)

now the times of the Gentiles last almost 2000 years, I know that it is technically possible for them to be still hardening their hearts and there are of course Jews that have converted to Christianity. But it is still interesting if we take the verse at face value it does imply that the hardening of the heart will be over one day, or not?
 
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"He is a Jew who is one inwardly." "And if you are Christ's, then are you Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." Rom.2:29; Eph.3:24.

Therefore "All Israel" does not mean the Jewish nation in the Middle East though individually if they rest in the merits of Jesus Christ for their salvation, they are included just as anyone else who trusts in the merits of Christ alone to attain to righteousness.

sky
 
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O

OntheDL

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In the bible we find a couple of instances in which the Lord hardened the heart of the people (for example Pharao)...

Now I was thinking about the israelites and when you see

Matthew 21:42

‘The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone.
This was the Lord’s doing,
And it is marvelous in our eyes’?

you might notice that the builders rejected the chief cornerstone and it is said it as the Lord's doing... I think we can argue about this, but still there is this impression that the whole thing was planned and that they absolutely had to reject it...

furthermore we find

Rom. 11:25b-29 -- Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:
"The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob, and this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins." [Isa. 59:20,21]
As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies on your account; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, for God's gifts and His call are irrevocable.

In this verse we see that Israels heart has been hardened until the number of Gentiles is complete...

What do you think about all this?
If that's your God, I want nothing to do with him.

But the bible paints the whole picture of the God who died for all of mankind and anyone who wishes to accept and follow him can be saved.

In this verse the God who died also for the Jews calls out to them:

Ezekiel 33:11 Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?

Unless God is a liar, your characterization of God can't be true.
 
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OntheDL

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Also, read Deuteronomy 28. This is the last sermon Moses gave Israel. While speaking for God:

Deut 28
1 And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth:

2 And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God.

And it continues to list all the blessings from the Lord to vs 14 if Israel were to obey the Lord.

It however also lists all the curses if Israel chooses not to obey.

15 But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:
16 Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field.
17 Cursed shall be thy basket and thy store.
18 Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.
19 Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out.
20 The LORD shall send upon thee cursing, vexation, and rebuke, in all that thou settest thine hand unto for to do, until thou be destroyed, and until thou perish quickly; because of the wickedness of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me.
21 The LORD shall make the pestilence cleave unto thee, until he have consumed thee from off the land, whither thou goest to possess it.
22 The LORD shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning, and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue thee until thou perish.
23 And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron.
24 The LORD shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed.
25 The LORD shall cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies: thou shalt go out one way against them, and flee seven ways before them: and shalt be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth.
26And thy carcase shall be meat unto all fowls of the air, and unto the beasts of the earth, and no man shall fray them away.
27 The LORD will smite thee with the botch of Egypt, and with the emerods, and with the scab, and with the itch, whereof thou canst not be healed.
28 The LORD shall smite thee with madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart:
29 And thou shalt grope at noonday, as the blind gropeth in darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways: and thou shalt be only oppressed and spoiled evermore, and no man shall save thee.
30 Thou shalt betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her: thou shalt build an house, and thou shalt not dwell therein: thou shalt plant a vineyard, and shalt not gather the grapes thereof.
31 Thine ox shall be slain before thine eyes, and thou shalt not eat thereof: thine ass shall be violently taken away from before thy face, and shall not be restored to thee: thy sheep shall be given unto thine enemies, and thou shalt have none to rescue them.
32 Thy sons and thy daughters shall be given unto another people, and thine eyes shall look, and fail with longing for them all the day long; and there shall be no might in thine hand.
33 The fruit of thy land, and all thy labours, shall a nation which thou knowest not eat up; and thou shalt be only oppressed and crushed alway:
34 So that thou shalt be mad for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see.
35 The LORD shall smite thee in the knees, and in the legs, with a sore botch that cannot be healed, from the sole of thy foot unto the top of thy head.
36 The LORD shall bring thee, and thy king which thou shalt set over thee, unto a nation which neither thou nor thy fathers have known; and there shalt thou serve other gods, wood and stone.
37 And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all nations whither the LORD shall lead thee.
38 Thou shalt carry much seed out into the field, and shalt gather but little in; for the locust shall consume it.
39Thou shalt plant vineyards, and dress them, but shalt neither drink of the wine, nor gather the grapes; for the worms shall eat them.
40 Thou shalt have olive trees throughout all thy coasts, but thou shalt not anoint thyself with the oil; for thine olive shall cast his fruit.
41 Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, but thou shalt not enjoy them; for they shall go into captivity.
42 All thy trees and fruit of thy land shall the locust consume.
43 The stranger that is within thee shall get up above thee very high; and thou shalt come down very low.
44 He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him: he shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail.
45 Moreover all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou be destroyed; because thou hearkenedst not unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which he commanded thee:
46 And they shall be upon thee for a sign and for a wonder, and upon thy seed for ever.
47 Because thou servedst not the LORD thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things;
48 Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the LORD shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee.
49 The LORD shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand;
50 A nation of fierce countenance, which shall not regard the person of the old, nor shew favour to the young:
51 And he shall eat the fruit of thy cattle, and the fruit of thy land, until thou be destroyed: which also shall not leave thee either corn, wine, or oil, or the increase of thy kine, or flocks of thy sheep, until he have destroyed thee.
52 And he shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy high and fenced walls come down, wherein thou trustedst, throughout all thy land: and he shall besiege thee in all thy gates throughout all thy land, which the LORD thy God hath given thee.
53 And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters, which the LORD thy God hath given thee, in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee:
54 So that the man that is tender among you, and very delicate, his eye shall be evil toward his brother, and toward the wife of his bosom, and toward the remnant of his children which he shall leave:
55 So that he will not give to any of them of the flesh of his children whom he shall eat: because he hath nothing left him in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee in all thy gates.
56 The tender and delicate woman among you, which would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her eye shall be evil toward the husband of her bosom, and toward her son, and toward her daughter,
57 And toward her young one that cometh out from between her feet, and toward her children which she shall bear: for she shall eat them for want of all things secretly in the siege and straitness, wherewith thine enemy shall distress thee in thy gates.
58 If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful name, THE LORD THY GOD;
59 Then the LORD will make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed, even great plagues, and of long continuance, and sore sicknesses, and of long continuance.
60 Moreover he will bring upon thee all the diseases of Egypt, which thou wast afraid of; and they shall cleave unto thee.
61 Also every sickness, and every plague, which is not written in the book of this law, them will the LORD bring upon thee, until thou be destroyed.
62 And ye shall be left few in number, whereas ye were as the stars of heaven for multitude; because thou wouldest not obey the voice of the LORD thy God.
63 And it shall come to pass, that as the LORD rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you; so the LORD will rejoice over you to destroy you, and to bring you to nought; and ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest to possess it.
64 And the LORD shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other
; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone.

The list of blessings and the long list of curses were conditioned upon Israel's choice to obey or to reject the Lord. The Jews were given the choice and were promised of blessing and were warned of the curses.

Israel chose to reject the Lord despite His repeated pleas. God's love is limitless, however He can only allow sin and rebellion go so far.

Romans 11
20 Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear:
21 For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.
 
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Stryder06

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"He is a Jew who is one inwardly." "And if you are Christ's, then are you Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." Rom.2:29; Eph.3:24.

Therefore "All Israel" does not mean the Jewish nation in the Middle East though individually if they rest in the merits of Jesus Christ for their salvation, they are included just as anyone else who trusts in the merits of Christ alone to attain to righteousness.

sky

:thumbsup:
 
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