"...ALL Israel will be saved..." Understanding the Romans 11:26 mystery

Before we get into the promised series on 'end-time' events, I want to introduce what I have found to be a major key that unlocks a treasure chest of understanding regarding that subject.

Many would agree, Israel is very central to biblical end-time prophecy, but many would also disagree concerning the true identity of Israel. My teaching on the subject is invariably tagged as "replacement Theology" and prematurely dismissed in the minds of those within the 'dispensational theology' circle. By popular definition, however, I do not teach 'replacement Theology'...  I do not teach that 'the church replaced Israel'. But it is the New Covenant (God made with Israel) that replaced the Old. This is clearly confirmed in New Testament Scripture...

"In that He says, 'A new covenant', He has made the first obsolete." (Hebrews 8:13)

How clear is that? Israel was not 'replaced'. God's covenant, through Moses, however, was replaced by His covenant in Christ Jesus. The "Deliverer" came, as was promised and every prophecy concerning Israel's deliverance and restoration was fulfilled at that time, including those prophecies many interpret as being applicable to the 'latter days' or the millennial reign of Christ... It was in 'one day', for example---the 'day' of Christ's resurrection, that a 'Nation was born' as was prophesied.  [Actually, the 'day' of the resurrection was when the fulfillment of the prophecy was made possible---the 'day' of Pentecost was when the fulfillment was manifested; when new life sprung forth in the remnant of Israel, becoming available to the entire Gentile world as well.]

"Who has heard such a thing? Who has when new life sprung forth in the remnant of Israel, becoming available to the entire Gentile world as well. such things? Shall the earth be made to give birth in one day? Or shall a nation be born at once? For as soon as Zion was in labor, She gave birth to her children..." (Isaiah 66:8).

Contrary to popular belief, this prophecy had nothing to do with political Israel becoming a political nation in May of 1948. In the first place, God said this Nation would be "born" (not politically established). Israel (Zion) already existed as a nation, as the Scripture indicated, but gave "birth to her children" when she travailed in labor.  Secondly, God's 'Nation' of Israel was not established in 1948, it was established and first referred to as a "nation" hundreds of years prior to that...

"Then God spoke to Israel in the visions of the night, and said, 'Jacob, Jacob!' And he said, 'Here I am.' So He said, 'I am God, the God of your father; do not fear to go down to Egypt, for I will make of you a great nation there." (Genesis 46:2-3).

Many other scriptures, as far back as Genesis 12:2, indicate this same truth---that God's "Nation" of Israel was actually 'established' long before 1948. And concerning the argument that says, "Well, maybe the Nation of Israel was not initially established, but it was 'restored' to national status in 1948..."---that doesn't work either. You see, God had also declared, (through Jeremiah this time) that not only had He established Israel as a "Nation" during their 400 year stay in Egypt, but He would never allow Israel to 'cease from being a Nation'...

"Thus says the Lord, Who gives the sun for a light by day, The ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night, Who disturbs the sea, and its waves roar (The Lord of hosts is His name); If those ordinances depart from before Me, says the Lord, Then the seed of Israel shall also cease from being a nation before Me forever." (Jeremiah 31:35-36)

Here's the 'kicker'...

If God initially established Israel as a nation while in Egypt, thousands of years ago; and then declared that only if the sun, moon, and stars quit shining (last time I checked, that had not happened yet)---only then, would He allow Israel to 'cease' from being a nation---and how then, if the Nation of Israel never 'ceased' from being a nation, could Israel have 'become' a nation in 1948? And again... That which was prophesied, said nothing of Israel 'becoming a Nation' anyway. It spoke of the (already existing) Nation being 'born'---receiving new life---that life which was promised and would be manifest through the death, burial, and resurrection of Israel's Messiah and the 'Savior of the world', the Lord Jesus Christ.

I know we have just come, as it were, the 'scenic route', but we now arrive back at the prophetic words of the apostle Paul recorded in Romans 11...   Concerning Israelites, who had been 'cut off' from a covenant relationship with God, due to their unbelief; Paul writes...

"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. 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?
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 11:22-27

There are several things I would like you to keep in mind here...

First of all, Paul is writing specifically about those who at one time actually lived under the Mosaic covenant (the Old Covenant). At the risk of sounding over simplified here... What he said could not apply to people who were (or are) Jews by choice of religion, or Jews because their parents were Jews (ethnic Jews). It ONLY applied to those who had lived in accordance with the Old Covenant while that covenant was still in effect---up until the death and resurrection of Jesus, in other words.

There is no one today who could have been 'cut off from', or 'grafted in AGAIN to', the original 'olive tree'---through the Old Covenant---unless that person is over 2000 years old. Paul was addressing those of his own generation, both when he wrote of some being 'cut off' as well as those who could possibly be 'grafted in again'.   He was not applying this to Jews and Gentiles of later generations.

The 'blindness', he said, would continue until 'the fullness of the the Gentiles has come in'. Again, the problem in interpretation here, is not over-simplification. It is over-complication. How is it, that so many modern end-time prophecy teachers get by with taking that phrase and making of it a certain latter day---a prophetic period of time---or a 'dispensation' if you will? The word 'fullness' (of the Gentiles in this case) does NOT mean, 'all Gentiles who will ever be saved' as some have proposed.

It simply means, 'when ENOUGH GENTILES' (the fullness of the Gentiles) have come in (to the Kingdom of God), then the rest of 'true' Israel, those circumcised of the heart (Romans 2:29) would be 'provoked to jealousy' and be saved, "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." --Romans 11:13-14. This, by the way, is the only way that Romans 9:27 (a remnant would be saved) and Romans 11:26 (ALL Israel will be saved) could both be true.

Paul explained it even more clearly when he wrote, "... it is not that the word of God has taken no effect. For they are not all Israel who are of Israel, nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham..." (Romans 9:6-7)

It bears repeating...  "For they are not all Israel who are of Israel.."

Simply put, ALL Israel does not refer to everyone in Paul's day or ours, who are called 'Jews'. 'ALL Israel' refers to that remnant---that remnant of the Israel of Paul's generation, who once had a covenant with God through Moses but were temporarily cut off when that covenant became obsolete, and who later (some of them, much later) would come to know Jesus as Lord---even if it took some 'provocation to jealousy' to bring them around.

The plain and simple, not to mention 'correct', interpretation of Romans 11:26, "all Israel shall be saved" is this---it's a done deal! It happened... "as it is written: The Deliverer will come out of Zion [He came already] And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob [that happened at Calvary]; For this is My covenant with them (vs 27), when I take away their sins [that is the NEW COVENANT in His blood that took away the sins of the world---which also happened, once and for all, at Calvary].

Israel was not 'replaced'... Israel was saved. And beginning a few months after Calvary, at Antioch, these new believers, thousands of whom had been called 'Israel' were now being called by a new name (Acts 11:26) which was also prophesied (Isaiah 62:2)---'Christians'.

Your comments are welcome and strongly encouraged.
--Pastor Eddie Hughes

For some additional reading and study on this topic, check out this article by Dr. Sam Storms (Those Spirit-filled Southern Baptists can sure put some Word out in depth, now) :)