My belief that Israel's hardening is absolute is based on the truth about what it means when one is hardened and blinded by God as expressed in the following scriptures:Only if you believe in individual election.
John 12:37 But although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him, 38 that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke:
“Lord, who has believed our report?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”
39 Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again:
40 “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts,
Lest they should see with their eyes,
Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,
So that I should heal them.”
If you don't believe that and believe otherwise, that's up to you. But until you can prove those scriptures to be lies, I don't have any reason to not believe God's words there.
My belief that Israel's hardening is temporary is based on the truth found in Romans 11:25, as follows:
Romans 11:25 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.
If you don't believe that either and believe otherwise, that's up to you. But until you can prove those scriptures to be lies, I don't have any reason to not believe God's words there.
Why would the preaching of Jesus to them be an issue? Such things necessarily should happen and come to pass, as they are which gives context to what comes in the future. Jesus' preaching to them and their continued rejection of it, laid out the basis of God's hardening them and paved the way for God in bringing the salvation to the Gentiles, which is also in fulfillment of the respective prophecies concerning such.Otherwise, why was Jesus preaching to them?
What is your issue with those who believed after the pentecost? Those who believed obviously and logically are not among the hardened Israel, for if they were, they would not have believed because they are not able.What about the Jews who believed after Pentecost? Remember, Paul said those hardened were not beyond being saved, so there goes your whole claim here out the window. If they could at any point in time go from being hardened to being saved, individual election is proven to be false.
You said "Remember, Paul said those hardened were not beyond being saved, so there goes your whole claim here out the window." No sir. I don't see Paul saying that those hardened by God were not beyond being saved as to mean that they are still able to believe, despite having been hardened and blinded by God. That is only a product of your erroneous take of the writings of Paul, which clearly goes against the scriptures in John 12:37-40 which unequivocally says that those hardened and blinded by God could not, that is, are not able to, believe. So until you can prove John 12:37-40 to be false, your belief there stands to be rendered false.
You said "If they could at any point in time go from being hardened to being saved, individual election is proven to be false." But those hardened and blinded by God, according to John 12:37-40 could not, that is, are not able to, believe. So until you can prove John 12:37-40 to be false, your argument there stands to be refuted.
Tong
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