“And so all Israel shall be saved…”
-Romans 11:26
This verse does not mean, “And so all Jewish people shall be saved.” This verse is not the Apostle Paul thinking thousands of years into the future about modern day Pharisees conquering land in the middle east and naming it “Israel”.
To put it simply, the word, “Israel” does not equal this:
And we can know this by reading carefuly through scripture with the guidance of the holy Spirit. Why do such a thing? Because this is the most important subject of our generation. It is crucial for Christians to understand that the everlasting Gospel is about God calling out a faithful covenant people by his grace, through faith in his Son Jesus, from the beginning of time, to eternity, world without end. Amen.
If we as disciples of Jesus Christ are “respecters of persons” toward a group of people, based on supposed ethnic lineage to Father Abraham through the tribes of Israel, which we know is not possible to determine, then we as Christians should not expect revival, but should brace ourselves for harsh chastening.
But let’s say that we continue to assume (wrongly) that Jewish people today are practicing the religion of the Old Testament (they are not, but those in Christ are), and we are able to link all modern Jews to their exact tribes of ancient Israel, and we continue to blindly assume they are not from the lines of Ishmael or Esau... How would this change the Gospel of Grace? Why would we treat those practicing Judaism differently than any others outside of Christ? Are we commanded in the Bible to consider ethnicity as it pertains to salvation?
“For there is no respect of persons with God.”
-Romans 2:11
The bible is about the Israel of God.
This is not the Israel of God:
Now to remove the post-WWII lenses and the fear of what man can do unto us...
First of all, I observe 3 groups of people:
1. The Israel of God – The Saints (the true church)
2. The Imposters – The Perverters of the Law and Prophets (part of the visible church)
3. The Gentiles – The Strangers (strangers to the church)
All of these groups exist today and they ultimately filter down to two groups:
1. Those called out of groups 2 and 3 to an inheritance within group 1, the Israel of God:
JESUS CHRIST.
2. Those who remain perverts and strangers.
Therefore, you are either in Christ, group 1, or you remain in group 2 or 3.
I John 2:23 states this more eloquently:
“Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.”
All groups have been ordained by God from the beginning of time, so that He receives all of the glory and honor forever. Amen.
And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.
-Exodus 9:16
This might be hard for a little human mind to comprehend, but God operates through the Covenant of Peace in Jesus Christ, which stands in contrast to all wickedness and ungodliness on earth.
“What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory…”
-Romans 9:22-23
Now let’s define “Israel” according to these select passages:
1. Genesis 32:28 – “And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.”
We could really stop here because this is the key definition of the word Israel. Who has power with God and has prevailed? There is only one name, Jesus Christ, through whom we prevail.
2. Romans 9:6 – “…For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel:”
Here we find an important distinction between two groups that cannot be ignored. There are those who are of true Israel and those who are of Israel in name only.
3. Romans 11:2-5 – “God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying, Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life. But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal. Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.
These verses precede Romans 11:26, so they are key to having a proper understanding. In verses 2-5 Paul recounts the Gospel-in-action in the days of Elijah, where God spared a “remnant according to the election of grace.” (1 Kings 19)
4. Galatians 6:15-16 – “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.”
This verse perfectly defines the Israel of God as those who are new creatures in Christ, who, by God’s grace grasp that salvation is by faith, not external signs.
5. I Corinthians 10:18 – “Behold Israel after the flesh: are not they which eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar?”
Here is another verse that distinguishes an “Israel after the flesh” from the Israel of God.
6. Romans 11:25 – “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.”
“The fulness of the Gentiles” occurs at Christ’s coming in the flesh. In Matthew 15:24 Jesus says, “…I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of Israel.” He came to gather Israel in its entirety, which included those in Gentile nations. There were always strangers being brought into covenant, even in the Old Testament, but the fulness of the Gentiles was a grand scale event that God purposed to accomplish through his Son.
Romans 11:25 tells us that Israel was not “whole”, but “blind in part” until this very event. God’s redemptive work was completed with His coming in the flesh and now ALL Israel, Gentiles included, are bound for salvation, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. (Romans 1:16)
After Christ arrives, the new and better testament is confirmed to ALL PEOPLE and there remains no other sacrifice for salvation (Hebrews 10:16-18). If you believe that Christ is the alpha and the omega then you cannot simultaneously believe that there is a separate plan for salvation in "end times" for pharisees who continue in phariseism. They need Christ, now, as much as any lost soul.
It is finished.
-John 19:30
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
-Gal 3:28
Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.
-Col 3:11
For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
-Rom 10:12
Therefore, I reject interpretations of Romans 11:26 that make the word Israel equal to modern Jewish people practicing religious or cultural Judaism. That is simply not true, but it is also not to say that some from that group cannot be saved.
Galatians 2:16 says, “by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.” I Corinthians 15:50 says, “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God.” Therefore, it cannot be true that someone’s supposed ethnicity would factor into salvation. All elect are saved through Christ alone with out special consideration for what tribe they belong to.
Personally, I like to think of myself as a descendant of Alexander the Great or St. Augustine, but even if this were true, what would it avail me with God? In any case I am most likely a Canaanite dog who received just enough of God’s mercy to catch a crumb off of Jesus’ table. And I hardly deserve that.
Now to the word Jew:
1. Romans 2:28-29 - For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.
Again, I am reminded of Genesis 32:28: praise of God and power with God. These words point to the Son of God.
I am also reminded that these verses conflict with our contemporary definitions of the word, “Jew” and I prefer to believe the word of God over contemporary definitions.
2. Revelation 2:9 – “I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.”
Revelation 3:9 – “Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.”
Notice the word, “thee” rather than, “them”. “Thee” is Jesus Christ and those represented by him. Notice He prevails over the synagogue of Satan rather than joining them hand in hand. Notice the synagogue of Satan is not just a group of gentile strangers, but imposters. They say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie. We’ll come back to this in Part II.
I’ll end this by stating that my intention of writing is to challenge those who give unmerited sympathy to those who say, “we be Abraham’s seed,” and then go on to support their wars of aggression. My prayer is that many will come to know the truth.
I am not interested in war or bloodshed or hurting others. I yearn for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven and I pray the Israel of God would stand firmly against antichrists and would quietly remain faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
-Matthew 5:9
For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
-Romans 8:19
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