Election & The Restitution Of All

[Cardinal]

 :cloud9: He can do anything, but I agree I think it's going to be each man in his own order, probably, too, John......

[Pierac]

Who Comprises the "All Israel" in 11:26?
There has been much discussion about the meaning of "all Israel" in this verse. But the context shows that Paul uses 'Israel' here the same way he uses it throughout chapters 9-11, as a reference to Jacob's physical lineage. Changing here to a 'spiritual' usage to include Gentile believers (as some hold) would counter the point Paul makes.  Paul was not replacing Israel with the church.  He was not attempting to prove the supposed 'spiritual identities' of Jew and Gentile in 11:26.  Instead, he was establishing for his Gentile audience that God had not cast away Israel and that "all Israel" will be saved.

Our task, then, is to see the connection between the coming in of the fullness of the Gentiles and the salvation of not just part of Israel, but of "all Israel."

Importantly, Paul links the salvation of the Gentiles and the salvation of all Israel.  To see this connection, one must observe what Paul says in 11:26-27: "as it is written, The Deliverer will come out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; For this is my covenant with them, When I take away their sins."  With whom is this covenant made?  To whom does the Deliverer come? Whose sins are taken away?  Paul quotes from Isaiah 27:9 and 59:20-21, and this prophetic text is closely linked to the covenant that Jeremiah speaks of the in 31:31-34; i.e., the New Covenant that God would make, not with part of Israel, but with both "the house of Israel" and "the house of Judah."  So, how does Paul's mission to the Gentiles fit in with God's fulfillment of His covenant with both houses, Israel and Judah?

Historically speaking, Christ came in the flesh to the house of Judah—the tribes of Judah and Benjamin in Judea. But where was the house of Israel? We know the answer to that. The ten tribes of the northern kingdom fell to the Assyrians in 721 BC, never to be restored to their former tribal "people of God" status in Palestine. The few who were left in Samaria intermarried with non-Jews who were imported to occupy the vacated land and cities of Israel. Out of this amalgamation grew the Samaritan people despised by Second Temple Jews.  Apparently a few managed to join with Judah either before Judah's Babylonian captivity or at the time of her return and the restoration of Jerusalem. As for the rest of the captives who were scattered among the nations, nothing is recorded about what became of them.

But this much we do know. God's casting away of Israel was not His last word concerning the ten tribes.  The prophets foretold that in the days of the Messiah, Ephraim/Israel/the ten tribes would be gathered or assembled with Judah and become one nation. God instructed Jeremiah, "Write in a book for yourself all the words that I have spoken to you. 'For behold, the days are coming,' says the Lord, 'that I will bring back from captivity My people Israel and Judah,' says the Lord" (Jeremiah 30:2-3). And again, "I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be My people ... He who scattered Israel will gather him, And keep him as a shepherd does his flock" (Jer. 31:1, 10).

Through Micah, God said, "I will surely assemble all of you, O Jacob, I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together like sheep of the fold, like a flock in the midst of their pasture; They shall make a loud noise because of so many men" (2:12).

The clearest, most graphic prophecy of Israel's recovery and reunion with Judah is recorded in Ezekiel, chapters 36-37.  In chapter 37 Ezekiel saw a valley of dry bones. He was told that these bones were "the whole house of Israel." They depict Israel's condition in captivity saying, "Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!" (37:11). Then God spoke to them saying, "Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves" (37:12-13).

Next, Ezekiel was instructed to take a stick and write on it, "'For Judah and for the children of Israel, his companions.' Then take another stick and write on it, 'For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel, his companions.' Then join them one to another for yourself into one stick, and they will become one in your hand" (37:15-17). Ezekiel is told that this means that Judah and Ephraim (the ten northern tribes) will become one in God's hand. "Then say to them, 'Thus says the Lord God: Surely I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone ... and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountain of Israel; and one king shall be king over them all; they shall no longer be two nations, nor shall they ever be divided into two kingdoms again" (37:21-22).

Furthermore, God said, "David My servant shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd ... and I will set My sanctuary in their midst forevermore ... indeed I will be their God, and they shall be My people" (37:24-28).

In John 10, Jesus echoed Ezekiel's prophecy, applying it to himself.  He told those of the house of Judah, "I am the good shepherd ... and I lay down My life for the sheep. And other sheep I have (the scattered house of Israel) which are not of this fold (the fold of Judah); them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd" (John 10:11-16).

Indeed, that is salvation, not for just part of Israel, but for all Israel—both houses, Israel and Judah. This is what Paul had in view in 11:26 when Paul spoke of the fulfillment that was occurring in his time.

"Not My people" versus "My people"
We are now ready to take up the prophecy of Hosea concerning God's scattering and re-gathering Israel (the ten northern tribes).  We will see its relevance to what Paul affirmed in Romans 11:25-26 concerning the coming in of the fullness of the Gentiles and the salvation of all Israel.

The prostitution or idolatry of Israel (the ten northern tribes) and God's punishment of them is pictured in Hosea 1.  Israel is symbolized by through Gomer (the woman of prostitution whom God instructed Hosea to take for a wife). The children born of this union were Jezreel (meaning "God will disperse"), Lo-Ruhamah (meaning "without mercy"), and Lo-Ammi (meaning "no longer my people"). This was to show that God was going to disperse or scatter Israel without mercy in a place where they would not be his people, and thus "bring an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel" (1:4).

But Israel would not be cast away forever. Hosea foretold Israel's restoration in chapters 1 and 2. "And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them, 'You are not My people,' There it shall be said to them, 'You are the sons of the living God.' Then the children of Judah and the children of Israel shall be gathered together, and appoint for themselves one head; And they shall come up out of the land, for great will be the day of Jezreel!" (1:10-11).  In 2:23 the prophet wrote, "And I will have mercy on her who had not obtained mercy; Then I will say to those who were not My people, 'You are My people!' And they shall say, 'You are my God!'"

Returning to Romans, Paul, in speaking of the vessels of mercy which God "had prepared beforehand for glory," quotes the prophecy from Hosea applying it both to Jews and Gentiles in Christ (9:23-26). Paul related Hosea to the restoration of the ten tribes scattered among the nations. Why, then, did he apply it also to the Gentiles?

Israel became a "no people of God" when scattered among the nations or Gentiles. But how was Israel to be recovered?  Not only did Christ not go to her during His earthly ministry, but he did not permit his disciples whom he sent out in Matthew 10 to "go into the way of the Gentiles," nor to "enter a city of the Samaritans" (Matt. 10:5).  Only after his death and resurrection would it be possible to assemble both Judah and Israel—not in the earthly, but in the New (heavenly) Jerusalem of the new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17; Revelation 21:1ff).

How, then, would Christ gather His sheep, particularly His "other sheep" scattered among the nations?  It would be by his ministry through the Holy Spirit imparted to his apostles, and by the preaching of the gospel in all the world for a witness before the final end of Israel's earthly commonwealth (Matthew 24:13,14; 28:18-20; Acts 1:8).  The remarkable ingredient to this commission was Paul's call to be an apostle to the Gentiles.  In going to the Gentiles, Paul had opportunity to preach to Israel scattered among the nations whom God said through Hosea, "You are not My people."


But how would they become "the people of God"?  In precisely the same way the Gentiles who (like scattered Israel) were a "no people of God" became his people. The Gentiles, therefore, served to demonstrate to Israel (and to Judah) the meaning of their adoption or sonship in Christ through His death and resurrection.

From that perspective, Paul (in Romans 9:23-26) drew the Gentiles into Hosea's prophecy concerning Israel, for they too stood on equal ground as the "no people of God." It is interesting to note that the place where it was said of Israel, "You are not My people," (i.e., among the nations) there it would be said, "You are My people." Peter confirmed the fulfillment when writing to the "Dispersion" in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia saying, "But you are a chosen generation ... who once were not a people but are now the people of God" (1 Peter 1: 1; 2:9-10).

They did not have to be transported back to geographical Palestine to be God's people. The new dwelling was "in Christ." Christ fulfills the "land promise" for all Israel.  The place of worship no longer is in Jerusalem or Mount Gerizim (John 4:20-24).  As God said, "I will establish them and multiply them, and I will set My sanctuary in their midst forevermore ... indeed I will be their God, and they shall be My People" (Ezekiel 37:27; Revelation 21:3).
This Information was taken from the paper And So All Israel Will Be Saved written by Max R. King. (Of course there is much more to this paper)

Paul

[laren]

Who Comprises the "All Israel" in 11:26?
There has been much discussion about the meaning of "all Israel" in this verse. But the context shows that Paul uses 'Israel' here the same way he uses it throughout chapters 9-11, as a reference to Jacob's physical lineage. Changing here to a 'spiritual' usage to include Gentile believers (as some hold) would counter the point Paul makes.  Paul was not replacing Israel with the church.  He was not attempting to prove the supposed 'spiritual identities' of Jew and Gentile in 11:26.  Instead, he was establishing for his Gentile audience that God had not cast away Israel and that "all Israel" will be saved.

Our task, then, is to see the connection between the coming in of the fullness of the Gentiles and the salvation of not just part of Israel, but of "all Israel."

Importantly, Paul links the salvation of the Gentiles and the salvation of all Israel.  To see this connection, one must observe what Paul says in 11:26-27: "as it is written, The Deliverer will come out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; For this is my covenant with them, When I take away their sins."  With whom is this covenant made?  To whom does the Deliverer come? Whose sins are taken away?  Paul quotes from Isaiah 27:9 and 59:20-21, and this prophetic text is closely linked to the covenant that Jeremiah speaks of the in 31:31-34; i.e., the New Covenant that God would make, not with part of Israel, but with both "the house of Israel" and "the house of Judah."  So, how does Paul's mission to the Gentiles fit in with God's fulfillment of His covenant with both houses, Israel and Judah?

Historically speaking, Christ came in the flesh to the house of Judah—the tribes of Judah and Benjamin in Judea. But where was the house of Israel? We know the answer to that. The ten tribes of the northern kingdom fell to the Assyrians in 721 BC, never to be restored to their former tribal "people of God" status in Palestine. The few who were left in Samaria intermarried with non-Jews who were imported to occupy the vacated land and cities of Israel. Out of this amalgamation grew the Samaritan people despised by Second Temple Jews.  Apparently a few managed to join with Judah either before Judah's Babylonian captivity or at the time of her return and the restoration of Jerusalem. As for the rest of the captives who were scattered among the nations, nothing is recorded about what became of them.

But this much we do know. God's casting away of Israel was not His last word concerning the ten tribes.  The prophets foretold that in the days of the Messiah, Ephraim/Israel/the ten tribes would be gathered or assembled with Judah and become one nation. God instructed Jeremiah, "Write in a book for yourself all the words that I have spoken to you. 'For behold, the days are coming,' says the Lord, 'that I will bring back from captivity My people Israel and Judah,' says the Lord" (Jeremiah 30:2-3). And again, "I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be My people ... He who scattered Israel will gather him, And keep him as a shepherd does his flock" (Jer. 31:1, 10).

Through Micah, God said, "I will surely assemble all of you, O Jacob, I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together like sheep of the fold, like a flock in the midst of their pasture; They shall make a loud noise because of so many men" (2:12).

The clearest, most graphic prophecy of Israel's recovery and reunion with Judah is recorded in Ezekiel, chapters 36-37.  In chapter 37 Ezekiel saw a valley of dry bones. He was told that these bones were "the whole house of Israel." They depict Israel's condition in captivity saying, "Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!" (37:11). Then God spoke to them saying, "Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves" (37:12-13).

Next, Ezekiel was instructed to take a stick and write on it, "'For Judah and for the children of Israel, his companions.' Then take another stick and write on it, 'For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel, his companions.' Then join them one to another for yourself into one stick, and they will become one in your hand" (37:15-17). Ezekiel is told that this means that Judah and Ephraim (the ten northern tribes) will become one in God's hand. "Then say to them, 'Thus says the Lord God: Surely I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone ... and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountain of Israel; and one king shall be king over them all; they shall no longer be two nations, nor shall they ever be divided into two kingdoms again" (37:21-22).

Furthermore, God said, "David My servant shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd ... and I will set My sanctuary in their midst forevermore ... indeed I will be their God, and they shall be My people" (37:24-28).

In John 10, Jesus echoed Ezekiel's prophecy, applying it to himself.  He told those of the house of Judah, "I am the good shepherd ... and I lay down My life for the sheep. And other sheep I have (the scattered house of Israel) which are not of this fold (the fold of Judah); them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd" (John 10:11-16).

Indeed, that is salvation, not for just part of Israel, but for all Israel—both houses, Israel and Judah. This is what Paul had in view in 11:26 when Paul spoke of the fulfillment that was occurring in his time.

"Not My people" versus "My people"
We are now ready to take up the prophecy of Hosea concerning God's scattering and re-gathering Israel (the ten northern tribes).  We will see its relevance to what Paul affirmed in Romans 11:25-26 concerning the coming in of the fullness of the Gentiles and the salvation of all Israel.

The prostitution or idolatry of Israel (the ten northern tribes) and God's punishment of them is pictured in Hosea 1.  Israel is symbolized by through Gomer (the woman of prostitution whom God instructed Hosea to take for a wife). The children born of this union were Jezreel (meaning "God will disperse"), Lo-Ruhamah (meaning "without mercy"), and Lo-Ammi (meaning "no longer my people"). This was to show that God was going to disperse or scatter Israel without mercy in a place where they would not be his people, and thus "bring an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel" (1:4).

But Israel would not be cast away forever. Hosea foretold Israel's restoration in chapters 1 and 2. "And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them, 'You are not My people,' There it shall be said to them, 'You are the sons of the living God.' Then the children of Judah and the children of Israel shall be gathered together, and appoint for themselves one head; And they shall come up out of the land, for great will be the day of Jezreel!" (1:10-11).  In 2:23 the prophet wrote, "And I will have mercy on her who had not obtained mercy; Then I will say to those who were not My people, 'You are My people!' And they shall say, 'You are my God!'"

Returning to Romans, Paul, in speaking of the vessels of mercy which God "had prepared beforehand for glory," quotes the prophecy from Hosea applying it both to Jews and Gentiles in Christ (9:23-26). Paul related Hosea to the restoration of the ten tribes scattered among the nations. Why, then, did he apply it also to the Gentiles?

Israel became a "no people of God" when scattered among the nations or Gentiles. But how was Israel to be recovered?  Not only did Christ not go to her during His earthly ministry, but he did not permit his disciples whom he sent out in Matthew 10 to "go into the way of the Gentiles," nor to "enter a city of the Samaritans" (Matt. 10:5).  Only after his death and resurrection would it be possible to assemble both Judah and Israel—not in the earthly, but in the New (heavenly) Jerusalem of the new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17; Revelation 21:1ff).

How, then, would Christ gather His sheep, particularly His "other sheep" scattered among the nations?  It would be by his ministry through the Holy Spirit imparted to his apostles, and by the preaching of the gospel in all the world for a witness before the final end of Israel's earthly commonwealth (Matthew 24:13,14; 28:18-20; Acts 1:8).  The remarkable ingredient to this commission was Paul's call to be an apostle to the Gentiles.  In going to the Gentiles, Paul had opportunity to preach to Israel scattered among the nations whom God said through Hosea, "You are not My people."


But how would they become "the people of God"?  In precisely the same way the Gentiles who (like scattered Israel) were a "no people of God" became his people. The Gentiles, therefore, served to demonstrate to Israel (and to Judah) the meaning of their adoption or sonship in Christ through His death and resurrection.

From that perspective, Paul (in Romans 9:23-26) drew the Gentiles into Hosea's prophecy concerning Israel, for they too stood on equal ground as the "no people of God." It is interesting to note that the place where it was said of Israel, "You are not My people," (i.e., among the nations) there it would be said, "You are My people." Peter confirmed the fulfillment when writing to the "Dispersion" in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia saying, "But you are a chosen generation ... who once were not a people but are now the people of God" (1 Peter 1: 1; 2:9-10).

They did not have to be transported back to geographical Palestine to be God's people. The new dwelling was "in Christ." Christ fulfills the "land promise" for all Israel.  The place of worship no longer is in Jerusalem or Mount Gerizim (John 4:20-24).  As God said, "I will establish them and multiply them, and I will set My sanctuary in their midst forevermore ... indeed I will be their God, and they shall be My People" (Ezekiel 37:27; Revelation 21:3).
This Information was taken from the paper And So All Israel Will Be Saved written by Max R. King. (Of course there is much more to this paper)

Paul

http://www.presence.tv/cms/allisrael.php

[Cardinal]

 :cloud9: I see your point Paul, but are the Jews in the inner court, spiritually speaking, of the new priesthood (which is spiritual and has the baptism of the Spirit as proof), or no? If no, then they have to be in the outer court, as that's all there is in the pattern, and the pattern cannot lie. That was my point......blessings to you.....

[pneuma]

Kratos;

God ain't done with natural, racial, genetic Israel just yet. Not by a long way. But our dear brother Paul, who had a way of saying things many find hard to comprehend, and many more only think they understand, said this in a moment of prophetic lucidity:

All Israel will be saved...

The Church of today is different from natural Israel. [At least it is reckoned differently.]The New Testament Church was born and bred in the "Times of the Gentiles when Jerusalem is to be trodden underfoot..." This NT Church is referred to in the scriptures as the "Body of Christ" and is never referred to as the "Bride of Christ." We are His body, and as He is, so are we in this age. {Let the importance of that thought get hold of you!}

There are things here I am not going to say right now. This needs to be short. But let me finish...

Israel; natural, genetic Israel, the one I said God wasn't finished with yet, is always His Bride in the scripture. Who did God marry? Who did God divorce? Natural, Racial Israel. One of the results of the fact that Jesus died on the Cross is that now He can legally re-marry His ex-wife. But the time for that is not yet.

And Paul, in a moment of prophetic lucidity, wished to God that he could die and be consigned to hell if only his brethren could be saved. And then he proceeded to tell us of a dispensational allotment of time when Israel would be saved, and the glory to come upon the world as a result.

I don't want to labor a lengthy amount of time on this subject. I don't really even want to change your mind on your 1% thing with Pneuma. Just planting a seed to see if it takes root.

Hi Ben, good to see you again my friend.