What does Rom 11:26 “And so all Israel will be saved” mean?
The apostle Paul had a big burden towards his fellow countrymen. Rom 10:1 “Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved.” NIV However the fact remains that many Israelites welcomed the gospel message with open arms (Acts 2: 41, 47), but many more hardened their hearts and deliberately rejected the message of salvation, even to the point of persecuting those proclaiming that message (which included all Christians, as none could be stopped from sharing this exciting Good News with others!).
And so in chapters 9, 10 and 11 the apostle Paul is pouring his soul out concerning the condition and fate of his fellow Israelites. And he concludes Rom 11:25-27 “I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:
“The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins.” NIV
Some facts are given here:
1. The apostle Paul is sharing a mystery with us, in other words what was once concealed is now revealed. If you read Paul’s writings you will notice he was a faithful steward of God’s mysteries (see 1 Cor 4:1-2)
2. Israel has undergone a hardening.
3. But notice it is only in part, which means that through the ages there always was a remnant among Israelites. This is confirmed in
Rom 9:27 “ Though the number of the Israelites be like the sand by the sea, only the remnant will be saved.” NIV
Rom 11:5 “So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace.” NIV
4. This hardening will stop once the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. In other words, once the message has been proclaimed thoroughly throughout the world, and all gentiles have made their decision about Jesus, something wonderful will be happening among the Israelites! Rom 11:11-12 “Because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious. But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their fullness bring!” NIV
5. Forgiveness will be bestowed on the Israelites, as they have accepted the One who shed His blood as their own Saviour.
Now does this mean that the whole nation of Israel will be saved at that time? It is possible.
However, nowhere in the Bible is there an example of a whole nation being saved. Yes, Nineveh was spared from its deserved consequences of a coming destruction, but not everyone in Nineveh had given their heart fully to God (see the book of Jonah). The same is true about Israel throughout its history. Even facing the Promised Land, only 2 men stood up in faith, while all the others were complaining as an impossibility to conquer that land. Accepting salvation from God is an individual choice, not a collective choice.
Also if all of Israel is saved in Rom 11:25-27, wouldn’t that be in contradiction with what was earlier mentioned by Paul: Rom 9:27 “Though the number of the Israelites be like the sand by the sea, only the remnant will be saved.” NIV
Isn’t “All of Israel” referring to all of those (gentiles and Jewish) who have accepted Jesus as Lord and Saviour? Doesn’t it say in
Rom 9:6 “It is not as though God’s word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel.” NIV
The text of Rom 11:25-27 also mentions the fullness of gentiles coming in. Coming in where? Coming into Israel, as the elected people of God. “All of Israel” would mean gentiles and Jews alike who have accepted the offer of the Lamb, as mentioned in Rom 11:24
“After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!” NIV
What a big rejoicing that day will be! Will you be part of that celebration? Have you accepted Jesus as your Saviour yet and experience the joy and peace of knowing Him intimately? It isn’t too late yet to do so. Why don’t you accept Him by answering the Saviour’s Call!
Rob Chaffart
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Plain and simply I believe that it is to mean that those of faith in Israel will be saved. Not every single person. Because as we know, those who do not accept Jesus Christ as their savior will not be saved and get into the kingdom of Heaven. It is stating that those in Israel that ‘believe’ will be saved. By using the term ‘all’ it is to mean that ‘all’ those that have faith in Jesus Christ will be saved. They are those that believe that the entire population of Israel will be saved, but truly I do not see this being the case, because there will always be those that will not accept Christ as their savior, therefore not winning the ultimate gift of eternal life.
DeeDee
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The verse is in reference to the end of the tribulation. God’s chosen elite the Jews not the Jews of the church that have already accepted the gospel (the remnant) hut the others will have thr opportunity to accept Christ as promised.
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Well it seems pretty clear from scripture that the people of Israel will receive revelation of Yeshua. The basis for this would be in Zech. 12 where it says: I’ll pour a spirit of grace and prayer over the families of David and those who live in Jerusalem. They’ll then be able to recognize me as the One they so grievously wounded – that piercing spear-thrust! And they’ll weep – oh how they’ll weep. Deep mourning as of a parent grieving the loss of the firstborn child. The lamentation in Jerusalem that day will be massive. Zech. 13 goes on to say that all the leaders of Jerusalem will wash away their sins and that lying prophets will be publicly exposed and humiliated. The Jews will pray to Him by name, and He will answer them personally and He will say, “That’s my people”. (Quotations from the Message Bible)
So, in short, there will be a supernatural, sovereign intervention of God which will impact all of the House of Israel, causing them ALL to be saved. This is not the only passage that speaks of Israel recognizing their Messiah. There are countless others that speak of the spiritual restoration of the people of Israel, and so the promise is that ALL Israel shall be saved. Once this happens, it will impact on the rest of the world, fulfilling the scripture, concerning the Jews, in Romans 11 that says “if their leaving triggered this worldwide coming of non-Jewish outsiders to God’s kingdom, just imagine the effect of their coming back! What a homecoming! If their falling out initiated this worldwide coming together, their recovery is going to set off something even better: mass homecoming! If the first thing the Jews did, even though it was wrong for them, turned out for your good, just think what’s going to happen when they get it right.” (Message Bible)
Cookie maozisrael@maozisrael.org
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In Romans 9-11 Paul is answering the question, “has the word of god failed” since the majority of Jews did not respond to the message of the Messiah. He is explaining through these chapters that it was part of the plan of god that the majority of Jewish people reject the gospel. However, when Jesus returns the Jewish people will turn to him and receive Him as the Lord and Savior – thus all Israel will be saved. feel free to ask me any questions. hope this is a satisfactory answer.
Howard Silverman