Previous:
God's master plan encompasses all of human history. Initially, Israel was to be a light unto the Gentiles. But after Yeshua's death and resurrection the roles were somewhat reversed. It is now the responsibility of the Gentiles to provoke Israel to jealousy.
Romans 11:25 (KJV)
25
For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
First off it is important to notice that Paul has given the Gentiles a warning, that they are not to think themselves wise. God was the one who had placed the blindness and allowed the Gentiles to come in. Any thinking on the Gentiles' part that their understanding and acceptance of Messiah is due to their being better than the Jews is arrogance and is sinful.
Secondly, the blindness that has been placed over Israel's eyes will last "until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in." But what does this mean? Many have believed that it refers to a specific number of Gentiles that are added to the Kingdom of God. Others have believed that it refers more to the quality or maturity level of the Gentiles. This is probably more likely. But the determining factor seems to be the provoking of Israel. When this is complete the blindness will be removed.
What happens when the blindness is gone?
Romans 11:26 (KJV)
26
And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
All Israel will be saved! At some point in time the nation of Israel as a whole will realize that Yeshua is indeed her Messiah. She will accept Him and He will deliver her from her sin.
Zechariah 12:10 (KJV)
10
And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.
This will be a glorious time!
But a question remains. By God's placing a blindness on the Jews has He allowed countless Jews to die in their sin, condemning them to Hell? The answer is "no". Throughout history God has accepted any Jew or Gentile who has come to Him in faith. Salvation has always been available by faith to anyone who sought the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The truth of the matter is that most human beings reject Yeshua. But there has always been a remnant of true believers throughout history. When Paul spoke about all Israel being saved he was referring to the remnant of Israel that survives the tribulation and then as a nation is saved.
But what an amazing thought. Human beings who are so fallen, can through faith participate in the Kingdom of God, whether they are Jewish or Gentile. Praise God!
Friday, December 7, 2012
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
The Role of Israel in the Salvation of the Gentile
Previous:
Regarding the relationship between Jews and Christians at this point in history, it is the job of the Christian to "provoke Israel to jealousy." This comes from Romans 11:11. But how did this occur? If the Jews are the chosen people of God what happened to cause the situation to become turned on its head?
Deuteronomy 7:7-9 (KJV)
7 The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people:
8 But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
9 Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;
Deuteronomy 7 confirms that Israel has been chosen by God, not because Israel was better than any other nation, but because of the oath that He had sworn to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Isaiah 49:3,6 (KJV)
3 And said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified.
6 And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.
The verses of Isaiah show that God would be glorified by Israel's raising up the tribes of Jacob, restoring the preserved of Israel, and being a light to the Gentiles. Salvation is the message of verse 6 and clearly God's intent was to bring salvation to the entire world, not just the Jews.
So the job that God had given the Jews was to be as a light to the Gentiles. They were to cause the Gentiles to become curious about God and to desire to enter into relationship with God. Did they do their job? Actually they were pretty successful. Huge numbers of Gentiles came into Judaism just before the coming of Yeshua. (Baron, Salo. "Population." Encyclopaedia Judaica 13 and Social and Religious History of the Jews.)
But when Yeshua came as Messiah most of the Jews did not accept Him as such. In Mark 11 the religious leaders of the Jews came to Yeshua and asked Him by whose authority did He do the things that He had been doing (cleansing the temple for one).
Mark 11:29-33 (KJV)
29 And Jesus answered and said unto them, I will also ask of you one question, and answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things.
30 The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? answer me.
31 And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then did ye not believe him?
32 But if we shall say, Of men; they feared the people: for all men counted John, that he was a prophet indeed.
33 And they answered and said unto Jesus, We cannot tell. And Jesus answering saith unto them, Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things.
Mark 12:10 (KJV)
10 And have ye not read this scripture; The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner:
After this interchange Yeshua stated that the religious leaders representing Israel had rejected Him as their Messiah.
From this point on salvation was extended to the Gentiles. This is where Romans 11:25 comes in.
Romans 11:25 (KJV)
25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
Although all of the original disciples of Yeshua were Jewish, Israel's rejection of Messiah resulted in a "blindness" being placed on the Jews. But it wasn't until Peter's vision in Acts 10 (See here:) that the disciples understood that salvation was now open to the Gentiles. Paul was the apostle who first brought the message to the Gentiles of the Mediterranean world. It caught on. Within three centuries Christianity grew to become the religion of the Roman Empire. It had also become predominantly Gentile.
The plan of God was for Israel to be a light to the Gentiles. After Messiah's rejection salvation was overwhelmingly in the hands of the Gentiles who are now to provoke Israel to jealousy. This is the current situation. Will the "blindness" on Israel continue? How long will it continue? And what will happen after that? Stay tuned for the next post!
Next:
Regarding the relationship between Jews and Christians at this point in history, it is the job of the Christian to "provoke Israel to jealousy." This comes from Romans 11:11. But how did this occur? If the Jews are the chosen people of God what happened to cause the situation to become turned on its head?
Deuteronomy 7:7-9 (KJV)
7 The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people:
8 But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
9 Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;
Deuteronomy 7 confirms that Israel has been chosen by God, not because Israel was better than any other nation, but because of the oath that He had sworn to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Isaiah 49:3,6 (KJV)
3 And said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified.
6 And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.
The verses of Isaiah show that God would be glorified by Israel's raising up the tribes of Jacob, restoring the preserved of Israel, and being a light to the Gentiles. Salvation is the message of verse 6 and clearly God's intent was to bring salvation to the entire world, not just the Jews.
So the job that God had given the Jews was to be as a light to the Gentiles. They were to cause the Gentiles to become curious about God and to desire to enter into relationship with God. Did they do their job? Actually they were pretty successful. Huge numbers of Gentiles came into Judaism just before the coming of Yeshua. (Baron, Salo. "Population." Encyclopaedia Judaica 13 and Social and Religious History of the Jews.)
But when Yeshua came as Messiah most of the Jews did not accept Him as such. In Mark 11 the religious leaders of the Jews came to Yeshua and asked Him by whose authority did He do the things that He had been doing (cleansing the temple for one).
Mark 11:29-33 (KJV)
29 And Jesus answered and said unto them, I will also ask of you one question, and answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things.
30 The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? answer me.
31 And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then did ye not believe him?
32 But if we shall say, Of men; they feared the people: for all men counted John, that he was a prophet indeed.
33 And they answered and said unto Jesus, We cannot tell. And Jesus answering saith unto them, Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things.
Mark 12:10 (KJV)
10 And have ye not read this scripture; The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner:
After this interchange Yeshua stated that the religious leaders representing Israel had rejected Him as their Messiah.
From this point on salvation was extended to the Gentiles. This is where Romans 11:25 comes in.
Romans 11:25 (KJV)
25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
Although all of the original disciples of Yeshua were Jewish, Israel's rejection of Messiah resulted in a "blindness" being placed on the Jews. But it wasn't until Peter's vision in Acts 10 (See here:) that the disciples understood that salvation was now open to the Gentiles. Paul was the apostle who first brought the message to the Gentiles of the Mediterranean world. It caught on. Within three centuries Christianity grew to become the religion of the Roman Empire. It had also become predominantly Gentile.
The plan of God was for Israel to be a light to the Gentiles. After Messiah's rejection salvation was overwhelmingly in the hands of the Gentiles who are now to provoke Israel to jealousy. This is the current situation. Will the "blindness" on Israel continue? How long will it continue? And what will happen after that? Stay tuned for the next post!
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