It should be borne in mind that the legal kingdom requirements as stated in the Sermon on the Mount are meant to prepare the way for, and condition life in, the earthly Davidic millennial kingdom when it shall be set up upon the earth, and at that very time when the kingdom prayer, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven” has been answered. These kingdom emphases appear in the early ministry of the Lord Jesus, since He was at that time faithfully offering the Messianic kingdom to Israel (Christians do not need the Messianic kingdom nor the new earth—NC).
It has been objected that such stipulations as “Resist not evil,” “Whosoever shall smite on thy right cheek . . .,” “Whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile . . .” and “. . . persecuted for righteousness’ sake” could not be possible in the kingdom. This challenge may be based upon a supposition that the earthly Messianic kingdom is to be as morally perfect as heaven. On the contrary, the Scriptures abundantly testify that while there will be far less occasion to sin, for the sufficient reason that Satan is then bound and in a pit and the glorious King is on His throne, there will be need of immediate execution of judgment and justice in the earth, and even the King shall rule, of necessity, with a “rod of iron” (Christ and Christians will be correcting sinners during the Millennial kingdom—NC).
It is said that “all Israel will be saved” (see notes at bottom—NC), and “They shall all know Me, from the least of them unto the greatest” (Jer 31:34). But it is also revealed that at the end of the millennium, when Satan is loosed for a little season, he is still able to solicit the allegiance of human hearts and to draw out of the multitudes within the kingdom an army for rebellion against the government of the King (Rev 20:7-9). In that kingdom dispensation “the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed” (Isa 65:20).
These kingdom commands and principles were given to Israel only (as was the Decalogue—NC), and it is the same distinct nation that shall stand first in her predicted kingdom when it is set up on the earth (present old earth—NC). The Lord Jesus was first “a minister of the circumcision” (Rom 15:8). Consequently, is it an unnatural interpretation of Scripture to understand that He was performing this divinely appointed ministry at the very time when He was offering the kingdom to the nation and when He, with His forerunner (JTB—NC), was depicting the principles of conduct that should condition life in that kingdom (Mat 3:1, 2)? Nothing is lost by such an interpretation (the Millennial kingdom remains intact and the Christian attributes unmixed with law—NC). On the contrary, everything is gained for the riches of Grace, which alas so few apprehend (most are unfamiliar with these truths concerning Israel’s millennial kingdom—NC), are thus kept pure and free from an unscriptural admixture with the law (keeping the laws of the Millennial kingdom and eternal New Heaven teachings separate—NC).
—L S Chafer (1871-1952)
NC Notes:
John Gill (1697-1771):
“And so all Israel shall be saved,....”; Meaning not the mystical spiritual Israel of God, consisting both of Jews and Gentiles, who shall appear to be saved in the Lord with an everlasting salvation, when all God's elect among the latter are gathered in, which is the sense many give into; but the people of the Jews, the generality of them, the body of that nation, called "the fulness" of them, Romans 11:12, and relates to the latter day, when a nation of them shall be born again at once; when, their number being as the sand of the sea, they shall come up out of the lands where they are dispersed, and appoint them one Head, Christ, and great shall be the day of Jezreel; when they as a body, even the far greater part of them that shall be in being, shall return and seek the Lord their God, and David their King; shall acknowledge Jesus to be the true Messiah, and shall look to Him, believe on Him, and be saved by Him from wrath to come.
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Albert Barnes (1798-1870):
“All Israel”; He does not mean to say that every Jew of every age would be saved; for he had proved that a large portion of them would be, in his time, rejected and lost. But the time would come when, as a people, they would be recovered; when the nation would turn to God; and when it could be said of them that, as a nation, they were restored to the divine favor.
www.studylight.org
Joseph Benson (1749-1821):
And so all Israel shall be saved Shall be brought to believe in Jesus as the true Messiah, and so shall be put into the way of obtaining salvation, being convinced of the truth by the coming in of the Gentiles.
www.studylight.org
MJS daily devotional excerpt for October 17
The true servant is finally subdued, but not stultified; prepared but not deprived of individuality. All that is rendered inoperative is the old man—and thank God for that! -MJS
“When we are finally prepared, our Lord says: ‘When I died, you died. When I went to the Cross I not only took your sins, but I took you. I not only took you as a sinner, but I took you as being all that you are by nature; your good as well as your bad; your abilities as well as your disabilities; yes, every resource of yours. I took you as a worker, a preacher, and organizer. My Cross means that not even for Me can you be or do anything out from yourself; but if there is to be anything at all it must be out from Me, and that means a life of absolute dependence and faith.’“ -T. A-S.
(more . . . None But The Hungry Heart)
It has been objected that such stipulations as “Resist not evil,” “Whosoever shall smite on thy right cheek . . .,” “Whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile . . .” and “. . . persecuted for righteousness’ sake” could not be possible in the kingdom. This challenge may be based upon a supposition that the earthly Messianic kingdom is to be as morally perfect as heaven. On the contrary, the Scriptures abundantly testify that while there will be far less occasion to sin, for the sufficient reason that Satan is then bound and in a pit and the glorious King is on His throne, there will be need of immediate execution of judgment and justice in the earth, and even the King shall rule, of necessity, with a “rod of iron” (Christ and Christians will be correcting sinners during the Millennial kingdom—NC).
It is said that “all Israel will be saved” (see notes at bottom—NC), and “They shall all know Me, from the least of them unto the greatest” (Jer 31:34). But it is also revealed that at the end of the millennium, when Satan is loosed for a little season, he is still able to solicit the allegiance of human hearts and to draw out of the multitudes within the kingdom an army for rebellion against the government of the King (Rev 20:7-9). In that kingdom dispensation “the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed” (Isa 65:20).
These kingdom commands and principles were given to Israel only (as was the Decalogue—NC), and it is the same distinct nation that shall stand first in her predicted kingdom when it is set up on the earth (present old earth—NC). The Lord Jesus was first “a minister of the circumcision” (Rom 15:8). Consequently, is it an unnatural interpretation of Scripture to understand that He was performing this divinely appointed ministry at the very time when He was offering the kingdom to the nation and when He, with His forerunner (JTB—NC), was depicting the principles of conduct that should condition life in that kingdom (Mat 3:1, 2)? Nothing is lost by such an interpretation (the Millennial kingdom remains intact and the Christian attributes unmixed with law—NC). On the contrary, everything is gained for the riches of Grace, which alas so few apprehend (most are unfamiliar with these truths concerning Israel’s millennial kingdom—NC), are thus kept pure and free from an unscriptural admixture with the law (keeping the laws of the Millennial kingdom and eternal New Heaven teachings separate—NC).
—L S Chafer (1871-1952)
NC Notes:
John Gill (1697-1771):
“And so all Israel shall be saved,....”; Meaning not the mystical spiritual Israel of God, consisting both of Jews and Gentiles, who shall appear to be saved in the Lord with an everlasting salvation, when all God's elect among the latter are gathered in, which is the sense many give into; but the people of the Jews, the generality of them, the body of that nation, called "the fulness" of them, Romans 11:12, and relates to the latter day, when a nation of them shall be born again at once; when, their number being as the sand of the sea, they shall come up out of the lands where they are dispersed, and appoint them one Head, Christ, and great shall be the day of Jezreel; when they as a body, even the far greater part of them that shall be in being, shall return and seek the Lord their God, and David their King; shall acknowledge Jesus to be the true Messiah, and shall look to Him, believe on Him, and be saved by Him from wrath to come.
Romans 11 Bible Commentary - John Gill’s Exposition of the Bible
Study Romans 11 using John Gill’s Exposition of the Bible to better understand Scripture with full outline and verse meaning.
Albert Barnes (1798-1870):
“All Israel”; He does not mean to say that every Jew of every age would be saved; for he had proved that a large portion of them would be, in his time, rejected and lost. But the time would come when, as a people, they would be recovered; when the nation would turn to God; and when it could be said of them that, as a nation, they were restored to the divine favor.
Romans 11 - Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Bible Commentaries - StudyLight.org
Romans 11, Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible, Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible provides Christians with deep insights into the Scriptures, emphasizing original texts and historical context.
www.studylight.org
Joseph Benson (1749-1821):
And so all Israel shall be saved Shall be brought to believe in Jesus as the true Messiah, and so shall be put into the way of obtaining salvation, being convinced of the truth by the coming in of the Gentiles.
Romans 11 - Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Bible Commentaries - StudyLight.org
Romans 11, Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments, Benson's Commentary enriches Christian understanding through meticulous historical analysis, providing profound insights into Scripture.
www.studylight.org
MJS daily devotional excerpt for October 17
The true servant is finally subdued, but not stultified; prepared but not deprived of individuality. All that is rendered inoperative is the old man—and thank God for that! -MJS
“When we are finally prepared, our Lord says: ‘When I died, you died. When I went to the Cross I not only took your sins, but I took you. I not only took you as a sinner, but I took you as being all that you are by nature; your good as well as your bad; your abilities as well as your disabilities; yes, every resource of yours. I took you as a worker, a preacher, and organizer. My Cross means that not even for Me can you be or do anything out from yourself; but if there is to be anything at all it must be out from Me, and that means a life of absolute dependence and faith.’“ -T. A-S.
(more . . . None But The Hungry Heart)
