What about Israel? (Part 3)

When it comes to the end times, you will never hear me be dogmatic in my position. Humility is required when approaching the subject. I want to be open in learning and questioning my own positions. There are many godly men I have gleaned wisdom from that hold different positions on this subject.

I mention this because one’s view of eschatology often affects one’s interpretation of Scripture. That is certainly true for our passage tonight. If your view of the end times is amillennialism or post millennialism you will likely interpret these passages slightly different than I am going to tonight.

Let me give you a basic idea of amillennialism and post millennialism to help you out.

Amillennialism.

Do not believe in a literal thousand-year reign of Christ on earth after He returns.

They believe we are living the gospel age we are living in now is the millennium. We will experience great victory and persecution during this time, but Satan is largely bound. The church has great freedom to preach the gospel. Just before Christ returns, they believe Satan will be released to a greater power and persecution on earth will occur. Jesus will return, rapture His church, destroy Satan, and reward His people.

I admire the simplicity of the view and for many years have longed to embrace it.

Postmillennialism.

They believe the current age of the preaching of the gospel will lead to a Golden Age on earth. Eventually the gospel will so dominate the world that most people on earth will be saved. After this “millenium” (not literal) Jesus will return.

Typically, both post millenialists and amillenialists do not see ethnic Israel as playing any type of significant role in the end times. The passage we look at tonight is one of the reasons I could not embrace those views. It appears to me that Paul is teaching that ethnic Israel will play a significant role in the end times. Again, I could be 100% wrong. Let’s jump in.

v. 25 “Lest you be wise in your own sight” Paul didn’t want the Gentiles becoming conceited because they received the truth and the Jews rejected it. To guard against this he shared with them a “mystery”.

A mystery is something that had not been previously revealed but is now revealed.

The mystery- A partial hardening has come upon Israel.

This was the reason so many of them rejected Christ.

“Partial”-

1. It had not occurred upon all Jews. Paul was saved. Other Jews were being saved as well.

2. It was temporary. It would not always exist. God would lift it in the future.

“until the fullness of the Gentiles ” This is when all Gentiles who will be saved are saved. Likely this is hyperbole meaning until the vast majority of Gentiles are saved.

v. 26 “And in this way” This is how it is going to occur. When God has saved the Gentiles He will turn back to the Jewish people.

“all Israel” Many ammillenialists and post milleniailists would view all Israel in a spiritual way. They would say the Gentiles have been grafted into the tree. They are now sons of Abraham.

The problem with this is in chapters 9-11 Paul never refers to Israel in a spiritual way. If that is the interpretation this verse would be the only place he referred to Israel in a spiritual sense. Every other time it speaks of ethnic Israel.

In this section Paul is continuing to make the distinction between ethnic Israel and the Gentiles. Charles Hodge, a revered Presbyterians theologian and professor of theology at Princeton for over 50 years admits that the only proper way to interpret Paul’s words is to take them as referring to the nation of Israel.

What does it mean that all Israel will be saved? Again, it is hyperbole.

1) He doesn’t mean all Jews in history will eventually be saved (some sort of partial universalism).

2) He doesn’t mean that all Jews of a particular generation will be saved.

3) He means that just as there was a large amount of Gentiles saved there will be, in the future, a large amount of Jews who are saved.

In 26-27 he quotes from Isa. 59:20-21 & Jer. 31:33-4. These are Messianic prophecies. It proves that their salvation will come through faith in Christ. They are not saved in any special way. They are saved in the same way the Gentiles are saved.

What seems clear to me is this happens near the return of Christ.

I believe we will see a revival among the Jewish people before the end of time. I don’t know how else to take these verses. That is the most obvious reading of the text. That should give us hope. We should pray for the Jews, and we should witness to them as well.

v. 28-29 “as regards the gospel they (the Jews) are enemies” Currently most Jews were opposed to the gospel. They even persecuted the church.

“as regards election” The nation was loved by God. They were his elect. He would not cast the entire nation aside.

“beloved for the sake of their forefathers” God had made promises to the patriarchs. Particularly He promised Abraham He would bless His descendants. That promise did include other nations but it did not exclude Israel.

“the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable” God would not abandon His promises to Israel. He would keep them. They had been unfaithful, God would not be.

v. 30-31 The Gentiles had been:

Disobedient

Without mercy

It was the Jews disobedience that led to the gospel being taken to the Gentiles.

Paul’s point is the Gentiles lived thousands of years in rebellion to God, yet God had mercy on them. The Gentiles should expect that although Israel is in a time of disobedience there is hope for their salvation as well.

v. 32 God has determined that all, both Jew and Gentile, are disobedient. In a surprising yet beautiful conclusion, God’s guilty verdict on humanity opens the avenue for His mercy to be revealed. God will show His mercy on Israel in the future. He is doing so even now. There have always been Jews who come to Christ. But clearly Paul is speaking of a massive wave we can expect in the future.

v. 33-36 This is a beautiful doxology. Paul praise God for His mercy upon Jew and Gentile. This doxology ends the theological portion of the book. Let’s break it down.

Paul recognizes how deep the riches, wisdom and knowledge of God are. They are too deep for humans to fully comprehend.

Illust. We may go deep into the ocean and see the beauty. We can only go so deep before these bodies meet their limit.

God’s plan for the Gentiles and Jews is glorious.

His riches are immeasurable.

His knowledge is incomprehensible.

In verse 34 he quotes Isa. 40:13. The question is:

Who has known the mind of the Lord? Who has been His counselor? The answer is no one. God’s plan originated with Himself.

Who would have thought that using the disobedience of the Jews would work for the salvation of the Gentiles and simultaneously for the salvation of the Jews as well?

Who has given a gift to Him that He might be repaid? (35) This is a quote from Job 41:11. God needs nothing from us. He owes us nothing. This makes grace surprising. We could never earn the favor of God.

“For from Him, and through Him, and to Him are all things.” (36)

God is the source of all things- By Him they exist.

God is the giver of all things- By Him we obtain.

God deserves the glory for all things “to Him”.

I think it is fitting that Paul ends this section with praise. There is so much deep truth packed into the eleven chapters we have looked at so far. This is where the study of the Bible should lead us. It should lead us to worship.