Romans 11 - Will All Israel Be Saved?

Romans 11 - NIV

Enduring Word Commentary

All Israel Will Be Saved

25 I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, 26 and in this way all Israel will be saved. As it is written: “The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. 27 And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins.” 28 As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies for your sake; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, 29 for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable. 30 Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience, 31 so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now receive mercy as a result of God’s mercy to you. 32 For God has bound everyone over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.

Paul continues to teach on the fate of Israel. Though they were the original recipients of the covenants and promises of God, most of them, especially the leaders, rejected Jesus. As a result, the gospel went to the Gentiles. So the question remains, "What is the fate of the Jews, the chosen ones?" Do they still have a chance to be saved?  

First of all, Paul reminds the Gentiles that though they have been grafted into the Vine as a branch and Israel has been pruned, it does not mean that they too cannot be cut off. Just as God judged the Israelites and had mercy on them, He could do the same thing with them. But in the verses above Paul says something very interesting I want to unpack today? 

"Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, 26 and in this way all Israel will be saved." Romans 11:26

What does it mean for all Israel to be saved? Does this mean everyone of Jewish descent? This sounds a lot like "universalism". 

What does, "Until the full number of Gentiles come in mean?" How many is the full number?  

What does it mean for all Israel to be saved?

There are three main intepretations of Paul's words. 

1. There will be a future mass conversion of ethnic Jews. Usually this is a prophetic phrase referring to the end of the age. There will be a spiritual awakening en masse of all Jewish people, once the "full number of Gentiles" is saved. These would be all Gentiles, who were predestined to be saved. 

Some theologians point to Revelation 7 and 11, as evidence that one day all of Israel will be saved. The remnant of Jews is seen as the 12 tribes of 12,000 each spoken of in Revelation 7. 

 In Revelation 11:15, John writes that the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah. Prophetic scholars view this as the climax of the Romans 11 promise, where Israel is restored and united with the Gentiles in the worship of Jesus. - Got Questions.org

2. A "remnant" over time. This is the collection of all the Jews who come to Christ over time until Christ returns. Paul describes this number of people as a "remnant", who God has predestined to believe in Jesus as the Messiah. Commentators point out that the word "all" could be used idiomatically to refer to the continuous, ongoing gathering of Jewish believers.    

3. Spiritual Israel. Some commentators say that "all Israel" is a spiritual metaphor for all believers in Christ, which includes both Jews and Gentiles. Thus it represents the cumulative collection of all believers for all time. 

I would quickly toss out option number 3, because in the context Paul is specifically talking about the future of ethnic Israel, which is his background.  In the analogy he gives of the "natural braches" being cut off, and the "unnatural branches" here is clearly diffentiating the Jews and the Gentiles ethnically speaking.  Since he is talking about the future of his Jewish brothers and sisters, I don't think he would use a symbolic metaphor. 

I favor number 2 over number 1. Why? Because there have already been many Jews who have converted to the Christian faith over the past 2,000 years. The 144,000 is not meant to be a literal number. The number 12 is the number of completeness. There were also 12 tribes in Israel.  Therefore, 12 x 12,000 or 144,000 is a symbolical number of completeness. 

It would be crazy to think that only 144,000 Jews would be saved. There are 300,000 Jewish people who right now in the U.S. who would identify themselves as Christians. You can see why using a literalistic view of scripture is very problematic, especially with round numbers like this. 

In conclusion, I think we need to be careful not to build doctrine about how many people will be saved on cryptic passages. I don't think Paul was saying every Jew of all time will be saved whether they believe in Jesus or not. That would contradict the rest of the New Testament. But here are some clear guidelines from the bible from which we can answer this question confidently. 

1. When God looks at the world he does not see anyone as merely a Jew and Gentile, but as one. 

Galatians 3:28 says, "In Christ there is no Jew or Gentile, male nor female, slave nor free, but all are one in Christ Jesus!"  

2. While God desires all people to be saved (1 Timothy 2:3-4), some people will accept Jesua and others will reject him. There are other religions like "Universalism" that believe that all people will be saved regardless of their religion or beliefs. This doctrine is completely "antithetical" to what Christians believe and Jesus taught. I.e. "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me!" John 14:6. 

Or, as Paul says, "If salvation could come through some other way, than Christ died for nothing!" Galatians 2:21

3. We all should want "all people to be saved". Once we become a Christian, our main purpose and the purpose of the Church is to reach as many other people of Christ as possible before Jesus returns. Oftentimes in the church we focus on a lot of good things, but we forget that the church is the only organization that exists for those outside its four walls. 

Paul greatest desire was to preach and reach as many people as possible for Christ. When he made it all the way to Rome, it was for him the farthest end of the earth, and he got there only by God's grace and provision. 

When you get to heaven won't it be amazing to see those who you have personally helped get there. 

Paul says, "One person plants the seed, one waters, but it is God makes it grow". 1 Corinthians 3:6

Do you have a heart for all people to be saved? If not how might you cultivate that kind of heart? 

Remember for God so loved ..... THE WORLD!

Jesus, you came from heaven to earth to show us the way back the Father. You proved your love to all people for while we were sinners you died for us. Help us to have a passion to reach lost people who matter to you and should matter to us. Amen.  



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