All Israel shall be saved
In discovering the future of Israel, as the Bible prophesies, it would be good to look at Dan. 9, Is. 10, and Rom. 11. The language there seems to speak about Matt. 24, Lk. 21, both of the destruction of Jerusalem and the Jewish nation, and of the end of the age.
“Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.” (Dan. 9:24). The Hebrew word for “determined” is chathak, meaning “to cut off.”
So right at the outset of this prophecy the Lord God of Israel told them He was giving Daniel no doubt about what He was going to do to—not His people and nation—but to Daniel’s people and nation. That must have sent a chill down Daniel’s spine.
It was a follow-on message from that given by Isaiah, “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again stay upon him that smote them; but shall stay upon the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.
The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God.
For though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return: the consumption decreed shall overflow with righteousness.
For the Lord God of hosts shall make a consumption, even determined, in the midst of all the land.” (Is. 10:20-23).
This Isaiahic language was repeated by Gabriel to Daniel, “And He shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week He shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations He shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.” (Dan. 9:27).
The desolation and consumption decreed upon Israel were due to being “cut off” from God, cut off as a nation because their circumcised spiritualism was “incurable” (Jer. 30:12), but not cut off as individuals who would repent, as Paul testifies in Rom. 11:20 and infers in verse 22. This desolation and cutting off happened at the end of the 70 week prophecy by Daniel which occurred at the stoning of Stephen in AD 34, and which heaven made painfully clear to the Jews in AD 70.
Put together, the two complementary prophecies show what it is that Paul was speaking about to the Roman Christians. A remnant of Israel would “return...unto the mighty God,” or “be saved.” (Rom. 9:26). That remnant, according to Paul, were not those Jews who returned to Israel under Ezra’s revival after 70 years of Babylonian captivity, but those who accepted righteousness by faith under the Messiah’s great gospel revival. (Rom. 11:6). “Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.” “What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded.” (vs. 5,7).
It was this election, those who were more than called, but also chosen by God because they chose Him, (Jas. 4:8) who were precious to God and were spoken of in verse 28: “As concerning the gospel, they [the nation of Israel] are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election[those of Israel who accepted faith], they are beloved for the father’s sakes.”
The Gentile believers were beloved because the Jews were God’s enemies. And, not the whole Jewish nation, but the believing Jews were beloved because they were following the original plan of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, and Moses, David, Daniel, all the prophets, etc. that is, they were walking by faith and not by depending on their behavior or self-generated repentance to get God’s approbation.
And Paul was staunching any superiority by Gentile believers over the Jewish believers because their rebellious nation was fighting against God through Christ at the time.
But its a false hope and wrong exegesis of scripture to say that verse 25 says a partial blindness of Israel occurred which will be healed just before Jesus comes. True exegesis says that part of the nation of Israel was blinded and will remain that way until the very end of the Gentile dispensation, when all who were called and chosen, Jew and Gentile, come into Christ, “added to the church daily such as should be saved.” (Acts 2:47).
Why make such a fuss over this verse?
Because the other interpretation subtly teaches a deadly heresy. To say that God’s blinding of Israel was partial insinuates that God is arbitrary and that He disregards human choice; it says that no matter what Israel does, it will be saved. It says that the Israeli nation cannot escape Christ’s acceptance and favor. And the falsehood also says the same about the Gentiles, by default.
After all, doesn’t the Lord protect Israel with a covenant, and also those that love her? “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.” (Ps. 122:6). And of Abraham, “I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” (Gen. 12:3).
But the Lord always blesses on condition of obedience from the heart. “For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which He hath spoken of him.” (Gen. 18:19).
But if I don’t have righteousness by faith by experience, then I will jump at a lie that a certain group of people can be saved without contrite, willing obedience, because if I can imagine that then I can imagine myself being saved, by proxy.
To boost this erroneous doctrine, verse 29 is called into the argument that God saves without repentance. But free will isn’t really free then. In that theory, the absolute sovereignty of God’s will is all that matters, and if He wants to keep all the Jews throughout eternity, even if all of them don’t want to be near Him, He will force them to stay there.
It’s a wonderful truth that God calls to us carte blanche, and abundantly ministers to the wants and needs of His alienated children without a word of repentance required in return. It is with His everlasting lovingkindness that He draws us. It’s this divine goodness that leads us to repentance to Him.
And then it is that salvation happens—after our involuntary repentance. “I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners”—“to repentance.” And, for 7 years He came specifically for “the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (Matt. 9:13;10:6). But they refused to be called lost sheep and were more concerned that “the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation.” (Jn. 11:48).
Savation is not based on sovereign will of God, but His response to our repentance, which is a spontaneous and natural response to His goodness that began the process. The truth is that salvation is not by grace alone, but by grace through faith in His love. We have an essential part to play in whether or not we are saved by grace.
To say that the the Jews will be saved as a nation really speaks of “once saved, always saved.” Once God’s people, always God’s people. Even though Paul, in Romans 9:18-22 plainly writes that God has the right to put away the Jewish nation, and He will. Because these verses are speaking in support of the Gentile believers, and against the Jews and their theocratic obedience. They unsuccessfully sought righteousness by seeking righteousness. The Gentile believers (and Jewish believers) found righteousness by seeking Jesus. (Rom. 9:30-32).
Here is the crux of the whole issue: those whom God has accepted and always will accept are those who serve Jesus through love and trust, “Even us, whom He hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles,” “both Jews and Greeks.” (Rom. 11: 24;1Cor. 1:24). “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” (Rev. 14:12). The gospel to go to the whole world has never changed in its character and requirements. It is the unchanging gift of God.
“And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation , and kindred, and tongue, and people.” (Rev. 14:6). It is an everlasting gospel from Christ’s day to the day He returns, and is for every nation, not for Israel only.
Thus, it is sound doctrine to say that all who have responded to Christ’s call, through His Holy Spirit, are the new Israel. And thus it is Biblically sound gospel to replace the old nation of Israel with the believers around the world. “And so all Israel shall be saved.” (Rom. 11:26). That is, all true believers will be saved; as Christ said, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.” (Mk. 16:16). “Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision. For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.” (Phil. 3:2,3).
Let us discard the deceptive ploy by the Jesuits to focus our attention on the Middle East, and let us revitalize the original Protestant movement to preach and uplift Christ’s justifying cross to a Christian and non-Christian world, both of which are dead in trespasses and sins.
Let us protest the Vatican’s move to derail Protestantism and destroy it through erroneous teachings on the Jewish state. Speaking of the Papal power, the word of God prophesies, “He shall…think to change times and laws.” “And…it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised, and prospered….And he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people….And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand…and by peace shall destroy many.” (Dan. 9:25;8:12,24,25).
Let us appropriate the threats and warnings of God to ancient Israel, and take them personally, and fear that if He destroyed recipients of the old gospel dispensation, He can destroy the recipients of the new one also. As it is written,
“But with whom was He grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness?
And to whom sware He that they should not enter into His rest, but to them that believed not?
So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.
Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into His rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.
For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.” (Heb. 3:17-4:2).
And let’s not look in vain for a nation-wide conversion of the modern Israeli state by some romantic group of 144,000 evangelists. But let us look for the conversion of lost sheep of the Israel of God wherever they are, in whatever nationality, whatever kindred, whatever tongue, and whatever peoples we find them.
“Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.” (Dan. 9:24). The Hebrew word for “determined” is chathak, meaning “to cut off.”
So right at the outset of this prophecy the Lord God of Israel told them He was giving Daniel no doubt about what He was going to do to—not His people and nation—but to Daniel’s people and nation. That must have sent a chill down Daniel’s spine.
It was a follow-on message from that given by Isaiah, “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again stay upon him that smote them; but shall stay upon the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.
The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God.
For though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return: the consumption decreed shall overflow with righteousness.
For the Lord God of hosts shall make a consumption, even determined, in the midst of all the land.” (Is. 10:20-23).
This Isaiahic language was repeated by Gabriel to Daniel, “And He shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week He shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations He shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.” (Dan. 9:27).
The desolation and consumption decreed upon Israel were due to being “cut off” from God, cut off as a nation because their circumcised spiritualism was “incurable” (Jer. 30:12), but not cut off as individuals who would repent, as Paul testifies in Rom. 11:20 and infers in verse 22. This desolation and cutting off happened at the end of the 70 week prophecy by Daniel which occurred at the stoning of Stephen in AD 34, and which heaven made painfully clear to the Jews in AD 70.
Put together, the two complementary prophecies show what it is that Paul was speaking about to the Roman Christians. A remnant of Israel would “return...unto the mighty God,” or “be saved.” (Rom. 9:26). That remnant, according to Paul, were not those Jews who returned to Israel under Ezra’s revival after 70 years of Babylonian captivity, but those who accepted righteousness by faith under the Messiah’s great gospel revival. (Rom. 11:6). “Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.” “What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded.” (vs. 5,7).
It was this election, those who were more than called, but also chosen by God because they chose Him, (Jas. 4:8) who were precious to God and were spoken of in verse 28: “As concerning the gospel, they [the nation of Israel] are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election[those of Israel who accepted faith], they are beloved for the father’s sakes.”
The Gentile believers were beloved because the Jews were God’s enemies. And, not the whole Jewish nation, but the believing Jews were beloved because they were following the original plan of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, and Moses, David, Daniel, all the prophets, etc. that is, they were walking by faith and not by depending on their behavior or self-generated repentance to get God’s approbation.
And Paul was staunching any superiority by Gentile believers over the Jewish believers because their rebellious nation was fighting against God through Christ at the time.
But its a false hope and wrong exegesis of scripture to say that verse 25 says a partial blindness of Israel occurred which will be healed just before Jesus comes. True exegesis says that part of the nation of Israel was blinded and will remain that way until the very end of the Gentile dispensation, when all who were called and chosen, Jew and Gentile, come into Christ, “added to the church daily such as should be saved.” (Acts 2:47).
Why make such a fuss over this verse?
Because the other interpretation subtly teaches a deadly heresy. To say that God’s blinding of Israel was partial insinuates that God is arbitrary and that He disregards human choice; it says that no matter what Israel does, it will be saved. It says that the Israeli nation cannot escape Christ’s acceptance and favor. And the falsehood also says the same about the Gentiles, by default.
After all, doesn’t the Lord protect Israel with a covenant, and also those that love her? “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.” (Ps. 122:6). And of Abraham, “I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” (Gen. 12:3).
But the Lord always blesses on condition of obedience from the heart. “For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which He hath spoken of him.” (Gen. 18:19).
But if I don’t have righteousness by faith by experience, then I will jump at a lie that a certain group of people can be saved without contrite, willing obedience, because if I can imagine that then I can imagine myself being saved, by proxy.
To boost this erroneous doctrine, verse 29 is called into the argument that God saves without repentance. But free will isn’t really free then. In that theory, the absolute sovereignty of God’s will is all that matters, and if He wants to keep all the Jews throughout eternity, even if all of them don’t want to be near Him, He will force them to stay there.
It’s a wonderful truth that God calls to us carte blanche, and abundantly ministers to the wants and needs of His alienated children without a word of repentance required in return. It is with His everlasting lovingkindness that He draws us. It’s this divine goodness that leads us to repentance to Him.
And then it is that salvation happens—after our involuntary repentance. “I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners”—“to repentance.” And, for 7 years He came specifically for “the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (Matt. 9:13;10:6). But they refused to be called lost sheep and were more concerned that “the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation.” (Jn. 11:48).
Savation is not based on sovereign will of God, but His response to our repentance, which is a spontaneous and natural response to His goodness that began the process. The truth is that salvation is not by grace alone, but by grace through faith in His love. We have an essential part to play in whether or not we are saved by grace.
To say that the the Jews will be saved as a nation really speaks of “once saved, always saved.” Once God’s people, always God’s people. Even though Paul, in Romans 9:18-22 plainly writes that God has the right to put away the Jewish nation, and He will. Because these verses are speaking in support of the Gentile believers, and against the Jews and their theocratic obedience. They unsuccessfully sought righteousness by seeking righteousness. The Gentile believers (and Jewish believers) found righteousness by seeking Jesus. (Rom. 9:30-32).
Here is the crux of the whole issue: those whom God has accepted and always will accept are those who serve Jesus through love and trust, “Even us, whom He hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles,” “both Jews and Greeks.” (Rom. 11: 24;1Cor. 1:24). “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” (Rev. 14:12). The gospel to go to the whole world has never changed in its character and requirements. It is the unchanging gift of God.
“And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation , and kindred, and tongue, and people.” (Rev. 14:6). It is an everlasting gospel from Christ’s day to the day He returns, and is for every nation, not for Israel only.
Thus, it is sound doctrine to say that all who have responded to Christ’s call, through His Holy Spirit, are the new Israel. And thus it is Biblically sound gospel to replace the old nation of Israel with the believers around the world. “And so all Israel shall be saved.” (Rom. 11:26). That is, all true believers will be saved; as Christ said, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.” (Mk. 16:16). “Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision. For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.” (Phil. 3:2,3).
Let us discard the deceptive ploy by the Jesuits to focus our attention on the Middle East, and let us revitalize the original Protestant movement to preach and uplift Christ’s justifying cross to a Christian and non-Christian world, both of which are dead in trespasses and sins.
Let us protest the Vatican’s move to derail Protestantism and destroy it through erroneous teachings on the Jewish state. Speaking of the Papal power, the word of God prophesies, “He shall…think to change times and laws.” “And…it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised, and prospered….And he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people….And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand…and by peace shall destroy many.” (Dan. 9:25;8:12,24,25).
Let us appropriate the threats and warnings of God to ancient Israel, and take them personally, and fear that if He destroyed recipients of the old gospel dispensation, He can destroy the recipients of the new one also. As it is written,
“But with whom was He grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness?
And to whom sware He that they should not enter into His rest, but to them that believed not?
So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.
Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into His rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.
For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.” (Heb. 3:17-4:2).
And let’s not look in vain for a nation-wide conversion of the modern Israeli state by some romantic group of 144,000 evangelists. But let us look for the conversion of lost sheep of the Israel of God wherever they are, in whatever nationality, whatever kindred, whatever tongue, and whatever peoples we find them.
posted by David | 7:38 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home