Romans 11:25-27 is one of the most highly debated passages in all of scripture.
What does it mean? What was Paul teaching there?
Is it a new prophecy that Paul was making about some time in the future when all Israelites, or everyone in the nation of Israel, will be saved?
Or was Paul referencing an Old Testament prophecy and explaining its ongoing fulfillment up until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in?
Let's take a look and see.
Romans 11:25 I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, 26 and in this way all Israel will be saved. As it is written:“The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. 27 And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins.”
We can see that this is NOT a new prophecy that Paul was making because he said "as it is written...". He was referring to an old prophecy. He was referring to this prophecy:
Isaiah 59:20 “The Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who repent of their sins,” declares the Lord. 21 “As for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the Lord. “My Spirit, who is on you, will not depart from you, and my words that I have put in your mouth will always be on your lips, on the lips of your children and on the lips of their descendants—from this time on and forever,” says the Lord.
So, a question we should answer here is when in the future from the time of the prophecy being made in Isaiah 59:20-21 would the Deliverer/Redeemer come to turn godlessness away from "those in Jacob who repent of their sins"? Didn't He already do that? Scripture says He did.
Acts 3:25 And you are heirs of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers. He said to Abraham, ‘Through your offspring all peoples on earth will be blessed.’ 26 When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways.”
Peter made it clear that, according to a covenant God made with the people of Israel, God sent Jesus to the people of Israel "to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways". If that's isn't a fulfillment of Isaiah 59:20, I don't know what is.
Notice that the prophecy related directly to a covenant that would result in the Spirit of God coming to dwell in people without departing from them. Has that not been happening since the day of Pentecost long ago? What is the covenant God made with people that results in taking away their sins and in the Spirit of God dwelling in people? That is the new covenant established by the blood of Christ long ago, is it not? Passages like the following would indicate that is the case.
Luke 22:20 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.
2 Corinthians 3:4 Such confidence we have through Christ before God. 5 Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. 6 He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
So far I have established that Romans 11:25-27 is not a new prophecy that Paul made that will be fulfilled some time in the future, but rather it is a reference to an old prophecy that was already being fulfilled back then. The only covenant God has ever made that takes away sins is the new covenant and that was established long go. So, that must be kept in mind when interpreting Romans 11:25-27.
But, you might be asking what about Paul saying that all Israel will be saved in relation to the prophecy he referenced (Isaiah 59:20-21)? How could that already be fulfilled or be in the process of being fulfilled? Well, keep in mind that he said all Israel would be saved according to what was written in Isaiah 59:20-21.
According to the prophecy from Isaiah that Paul interpreted for us, all Israel is saved by way of the Deliverer coming to turn people in Israel away from godlessness in fulfillment of the covenant God made to take away their sins. Again, that covenant is the new covenant since that is the covenant God made to take away sins.
So, we know how all Israel is saved. By way of repenting of their sins which places them under the new covenant of salvation and forgiveness of sins through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.
So, when Paul said all Israel will be saved, the question is this: was Paul talking about all people in the nation of Israel being saved in the future which would mean every person in Israel would repent of their sins at some point in the future? I don't believe so. It wasn't just the future that Paul had in mind there. Again, he was not making a new prophecy about something that would occur in the future, but was referencing an Old Testament prophecy and talking about its fulfillment by way of a covenant that had already been established back then rather than some time in the future.
What else could Paul have meant when he said all Israel will be saved then? To answer this, we need to go back to something Paul had written a little bit earlier in his letter to the Romans.
Romans 9:6 It is not as though God’s word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. 7 Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children. On the contrary, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” 8 In other words, it is not the children by physical descent who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring.
In this passage Paul contrasted two Israels. One that consisted of those who were physical descendants of the nation of Israel. Paul said that not all those who are physically descended from that Israel are Israel.
How do we identify the other Israel and who are part of that Israel? I highlighted natural, physical Israel (nation of Israel) in red and the other Israel in blue. Notice that the other Israel consists of those who are "Abraham's children", are reckoned "through Isaac", are "God's children", and are "children of the promise".
Who does scripture teach are "Abraham's children", "God's children", "children of the promise" and are reckoned "through Isaac"? We can see that here:
Galatians 3:26 So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Galatians 4:28 Now you, brothers and sisters, like Isaac, are children of promise.
We can see here that the ones who fit the description of those who are part of the other Israel (what many call Spiritual Israel) are those who belong to Christ.
So, in which Israel are all its members saved? The one from which people descend physically which would suggest that nationality has something to do with salvation? National Israel, in other words? Or the one of which is comprised of those who have faith in Jesus Christ and belong to Christ, which I'll call Spiritual Israel?
The answer is clear. It's Spiritual Israel. When Paul said all Israel will be saved by way of the covenant God made that takes away sins, as propesied in Isaiah 59:20-21, he was talking about Spiritual Israel since it is those who are in Spiritual Israel that have been saved under the new covenant established by Christ's blood long ago. This is the way people have been saved for almost 2,000 years and how they will continue to be saved until the fullness of the Gentiles comes in.
What does it mean? What was Paul teaching there?
Is it a new prophecy that Paul was making about some time in the future when all Israelites, or everyone in the nation of Israel, will be saved?
Or was Paul referencing an Old Testament prophecy and explaining its ongoing fulfillment up until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in?
Let's take a look and see.
Romans 11:25 I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, 26 and in this way all Israel will be saved. As it is written:“The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. 27 And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins.”
We can see that this is NOT a new prophecy that Paul was making because he said "as it is written...". He was referring to an old prophecy. He was referring to this prophecy:
Isaiah 59:20 “The Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who repent of their sins,” declares the Lord. 21 “As for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the Lord. “My Spirit, who is on you, will not depart from you, and my words that I have put in your mouth will always be on your lips, on the lips of your children and on the lips of their descendants—from this time on and forever,” says the Lord.
So, a question we should answer here is when in the future from the time of the prophecy being made in Isaiah 59:20-21 would the Deliverer/Redeemer come to turn godlessness away from "those in Jacob who repent of their sins"? Didn't He already do that? Scripture says He did.
Acts 3:25 And you are heirs of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers. He said to Abraham, ‘Through your offspring all peoples on earth will be blessed.’ 26 When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways.”
Peter made it clear that, according to a covenant God made with the people of Israel, God sent Jesus to the people of Israel "to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways". If that's isn't a fulfillment of Isaiah 59:20, I don't know what is.
Notice that the prophecy related directly to a covenant that would result in the Spirit of God coming to dwell in people without departing from them. Has that not been happening since the day of Pentecost long ago? What is the covenant God made with people that results in taking away their sins and in the Spirit of God dwelling in people? That is the new covenant established by the blood of Christ long ago, is it not? Passages like the following would indicate that is the case.
Luke 22:20 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.
2 Corinthians 3:4 Such confidence we have through Christ before God. 5 Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. 6 He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
So far I have established that Romans 11:25-27 is not a new prophecy that Paul made that will be fulfilled some time in the future, but rather it is a reference to an old prophecy that was already being fulfilled back then. The only covenant God has ever made that takes away sins is the new covenant and that was established long go. So, that must be kept in mind when interpreting Romans 11:25-27.
But, you might be asking what about Paul saying that all Israel will be saved in relation to the prophecy he referenced (Isaiah 59:20-21)? How could that already be fulfilled or be in the process of being fulfilled? Well, keep in mind that he said all Israel would be saved according to what was written in Isaiah 59:20-21.
According to the prophecy from Isaiah that Paul interpreted for us, all Israel is saved by way of the Deliverer coming to turn people in Israel away from godlessness in fulfillment of the covenant God made to take away their sins. Again, that covenant is the new covenant since that is the covenant God made to take away sins.
So, we know how all Israel is saved. By way of repenting of their sins which places them under the new covenant of salvation and forgiveness of sins through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.
So, when Paul said all Israel will be saved, the question is this: was Paul talking about all people in the nation of Israel being saved in the future which would mean every person in Israel would repent of their sins at some point in the future? I don't believe so. It wasn't just the future that Paul had in mind there. Again, he was not making a new prophecy about something that would occur in the future, but was referencing an Old Testament prophecy and talking about its fulfillment by way of a covenant that had already been established back then rather than some time in the future.
What else could Paul have meant when he said all Israel will be saved then? To answer this, we need to go back to something Paul had written a little bit earlier in his letter to the Romans.
Romans 9:6 It is not as though God’s word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. 7 Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children. On the contrary, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” 8 In other words, it is not the children by physical descent who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring.
In this passage Paul contrasted two Israels. One that consisted of those who were physical descendants of the nation of Israel. Paul said that not all those who are physically descended from that Israel are Israel.
How do we identify the other Israel and who are part of that Israel? I highlighted natural, physical Israel (nation of Israel) in red and the other Israel in blue. Notice that the other Israel consists of those who are "Abraham's children", are reckoned "through Isaac", are "God's children", and are "children of the promise".
Who does scripture teach are "Abraham's children", "God's children", "children of the promise" and are reckoned "through Isaac"? We can see that here:
Galatians 3:26 So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Galatians 4:28 Now you, brothers and sisters, like Isaac, are children of promise.
We can see here that the ones who fit the description of those who are part of the other Israel (what many call Spiritual Israel) are those who belong to Christ.
So, in which Israel are all its members saved? The one from which people descend physically which would suggest that nationality has something to do with salvation? National Israel, in other words? Or the one of which is comprised of those who have faith in Jesus Christ and belong to Christ, which I'll call Spiritual Israel?
The answer is clear. It's Spiritual Israel. When Paul said all Israel will be saved by way of the covenant God made that takes away sins, as propesied in Isaiah 59:20-21, he was talking about Spiritual Israel since it is those who are in Spiritual Israel that have been saved under the new covenant established by Christ's blood long ago. This is the way people have been saved for almost 2,000 years and how they will continue to be saved until the fullness of the Gentiles comes in.
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