Collected and annotated by Eli Brayley
The 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia
-“Conversion of the Jews: According to the
interpretation of the Fathers, the conversion of the Jews towards the end
of the world is foretold by St. Paul in the Epistle to the Romans (11:25-26):
'For I would not have you ignorant, brethren, of this mystery, . . . that
blindness in part has happened in Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles
should come in. And so all Israel should be saved as it is written: There shall
come out of Sion, he that shall deliver, and shall turn away ungodliness from
Jacob.'” (Article on the "General Judgment")
Henry Alford
-“That part of Israel (considered as having continuity of
national existence) which is for a time hardened, shall ultimately come in, and
so all Israel (nationally considered again, Israel as a nation) shall be saved. Thus the covenant of God with Israel,
having been national, shall
ultimately be fulfilled to them as a
nation: not by the gathering in merely of individual Jews, or of all
the Jews individually, into the
Christian church,—but by the national
restoration of the Jews, not in unbelief, but as a Christian believing nation, to all that can, under the gospel,
represent their ancient pre-eminence, and to the fulness of those promises which have never yet in their plain sense
been accomplished to them. A clear understanding of it underlies all
intelligent appreciation of the argument of the chapter.” (Greek Testament Critical Exegetical
Commentary, Vol. 2, p. 96)
Steve Alt
-“The context of Romans 9-11, the use of “Jacob” to refer
to Israel, and the use of the term “Israel” in Rom 11:25-28, in Romans, and in
the entire NT, all demonstrate that “all Israel” in verse 26 must refer to
ethnic Israel. The evidence is so weighty that it is difficult to argue
against it without appearing to be doing so out of theological necessity.”
(Who Is All Israel in Romans 11:26?)
Ambrose
-[Commenting on Miriam’s leprosy]: “This murmuring refers
to the type of the Synagogue, which is ignorant of the mystery of the Church
gathered out of the nations, and murmurs with daily reproaches, and envies that
people through whose faith itself also shall be delivered from the leprosy of
its unbelief, according to what we read that: ‘blindness in part has happened
unto Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in, and so all Israel
shall be saved.’” (Letters, NPFN,
10:464-465)
Ambrosiaster
-“However seriously the Jews may have sinned by rejecting
the gift of God… nevertheless, because they are the children of good people,
whose privileges and many benefits from God they have received, they will be
received with joy when they return to the faith, because God’s love for them is
stirred up by the memory of their ancestors.” (Commentary on Romans, Bray, Vol 6, p. 299)
Thomas Aquinas
-“The blindness of the Jews will endure until the
fullness of the Gentiles have accepted the faith. And this is in accord with what the Apostle
says below about the salvation of the Jews, namely, that after the fullness of
the nations have entered, 'all Israel will be saved', not individually as at
present, but universally.” (Commentary on
Epistle to the Romans)
-“The priest who immolated and burned the cow, and he who
burned, and he who gathered together the ashes, were unclean as also he that
sprinkled the water: either because the Jews became unclean through putting
Christ to death, whereby our sins are expiated; and this until the evening,
i.e. until the end of the world, when the remnants of Israel will be converted.”
(Summa Theologica I-II ae, Q. 102, a.5,
reply to Obj. 5)
Clint E. Arnold
-“The nature of the relationship between the Kingdom of
God and ethnic/national Israel remains a live issue for me. The evidence seems
to suggest that God still has promises to fulfill to ethnic/national Israel.
This is expressed most clearly for me in the apostle Paul’s explanation
that “a partial hardening has come upon Israel until the fullness of the
Gentiles has come in. And in this way
[or, ‘thus/so’] all Israel will be saved” (Rom. 11:25-26). In spite of the interpretational
difficulties of this passage, it seems clear enough that something big has yet
to take place among the Jewish people.” (The Kingdom of God, A Multi-Scholar Interview conducted Justin
Taylor on The Gospel Coalition website)
Augustine
-“It is a familiar theme in the conversation and heart
of the faithful, that in the last days before the judgment the Jews shall
believe in the true Christ, that is, our Christ, by means of this great and
admirable prophet Elias who shall expound the law to them.” (City of God, XX.29)
-“For in that day the Jews—those of them, at least, who
shall receive the spirit of grace and mercy—when they see Him coming in His
majesty, and recognize that it is He whom they, in the person of their parents,
insulted when He came before in His humiliation, shall repent of insulting Him
in His passion.” (City of God, XXX)
-“‘Who will give salvation to Israel out of Sion?’ (ver.
7). Who but He whose humiliation ye have despised? is understood. For He will
come in glory to the judgment of the quick and the dead, and the kingdom of the
just: that, forasmuch as in that humble coming “blindness hath happened in part
unto Israel, that the fulness of the Gentiles might enter in,” in that other should
happen what follows, “and so all Israel should be saved.”For the Apostle too
takes that testimony of Isaiah, where it is said, “There shall come out of Sion
He who shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob.” (On the Psalms, Psalm 14)
-“Miracles are done among the heathen, fullfilled is the
faith of the heathen; burned are the arms of human presumption… And after this
glorifying, doth He yet desert the people of the Jews? of which saith the
Apostle, “I say unto you, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that
blindness in part is happened unto Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be
come in.”… And what thereafter? “And so all Israel shall be saved.” (On the Psalms, Psalm 46)
-[Commenting on the Jews]: “The time will come, the end
of the world will come, and all Israel shall believe; not they who are now, but
their children who shall then be.” (Sermons
on the New Testament Lessons, Sermons 72, NPNF, 6:472)
Greg L. Bahnsen
-“By this declaration Paul must have meant by
“Israel” what he has meant by the term throughout the chapter: namely, ethnic
Jews (his brothers “according to the flesh”).
To maintain, as some do, that Paul was simply stating that “all the
elect among the Jews and Gentiles” (that is, “all true Israel”) will be saved
is to overlook how irrelevant, obvious, unmysterious and anticlimatic Paul’s
declaration would be made. Paul is
showing the mysterious wisdom of God, how He marvelously uses the hardening of
the Jews to save the mass of the Gentiles, which in turn provokes the Jews to
save the mass of the Gentiles, which in turn provokes the Jews to seek in mass
the salvation enjoyed by the Gentiles. This
mutual interaction cannot be suppressed in interpreting Paul here.” (Gospel
Prosperity and the Future of Israel, Calvinism
Today – 4, Vol. III, No. 2)
John M.G. Barclay
-“At one moment, he [Paul] lashes out at Jews who hinder
the spread of the gospel to the ‘nations,’ and pronounces the wrath of God upon
them ‘at last’ (or even ‘completely’ [1 Thess 2:14-16]). At another, he insists
that God’s gifts and God’s calling in relation to Israel are irrevocable, such
that, despite her present ‘stumbling,’ ‘all Israel will be saved (Rom
11:11-32)… The most central text has become Romans 9-11, where Paul agonizes
over the fate of Israel and reveals his hope that ‘all Israel will be saved’
(Rom 11:25-26).” (Paul, Judaism, and the Jewish People, in The Blackwell Companion to Paul, edited by Stephen Westerholm)
William Barclay
-“Paul sets out the paradox of the Jewish place in the
plan of God. In order that the Gentiles might come in and that the universal
purpose of the gospel might be fulfilled, the Jews had arrived at a situation
where they were the enemies of God. The word that Paul uses is echthroi. It is
difficult to translate, because it has both an active and a passive meaning. It
can mean either hating or hated. It may well be that in this passage it has to
be read in the two meanings at the one time. The Jews were hostile to God and
had refused his offer, and therefore they were under his displeasure. That was
the present fact about the Jews. But there was another fact about them. Nothing
could alter the fact that they were God's chosen people and had a special place
in his plan. No matter what they did, God could never go back upon his word.
His promise had been made to the fathers, and it must be fulfilled. It was
therefore clear to Paul, and he quotes Is. 59:20-21 to prove it, that God's
rejection of the Jews could not be permanent; they, too, in the end must come
in… Whatever else Rom 9-11 may sometimes read like, it is in the last
analysis the story of the still uncompleted pursuit of love.” (Daily Study Bible)
S. Baring-Gould
-“Either these words of St. Paul in this eleventh
chapter of Romans mean nothing or they mean what they say, that at some
future time—how it will happen we know not—illumination will come to the hearts
of the Jews, conviction to their minds, and the whole body of the Jews, so
wonderfully preserved, will turn to Christ and enter the Catholic Church.” (Church Pulpit Commentary, edited by
James Nisbet)
James Barmby
-“And so all
Israel shall be saved. πᾶς ισραὴλ here must mean the whole nation;
not, as Calvin explains [i.e. of the spiritual Israel, as in Galatians 6:16, i.e.
with Jews and Gentiles], for "Israel" must surely be understood in
the same sense as in the preceding verse, where it denotes the Jewish
nation as opposed to the Gentiles. σωθήσεται, as seems required by the whole
context, means coming into the Church (cf. Acts 2:47, ὁ δὲ κύριος
προσετίθει τοὺς σωζομένους καθ ἡμέραν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ).” (Romans, The Pulpit Commentary)
Albert Barnes
-“All Israel -
All the Jews. It was a maxim among the Jews that “every Israelite should have
part in the future age.” (Grotius.) The apostle applies that maxim to his own
purpose; and declares the sense in which it would be true. 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. It is not clear that he means that even then every individual
of them would be saved, but the body of them; the great mass of the nation
would be. Nor is it said when this would be. This is one of the things which
“the Father hath put in his own power;” Acts 1:7. He has given us the assurance
that it shall be done to encourage us in our efforts to save them; and he has
concealed the time when it shall be, lest we should relax our efforts, or feel
that no exertions were needed to accomplish what must take place at a fixed
time. Shall be saved - Shall be
recovered from their rejection; be restored to the divine favor; become
followers of the Messiah, and thus be saved as all other Christians are.” (Notes on the Bible)
Karl Barth
-“But the fullness of the Gentiles—and this is the
mystery of the divine decree—is to be the first to enter. That which, according
to Rom. 1:16 naturally belongs ‘to the Jew first and also to the Greeks’ will
and must actually accrue (apart from the remnant of Israel) to the Greek first
and only then to the Jew. The first are to be the last and the last first (Mk.
10:31). The children of the household are to be thrust out and to be made to
wait whilst strangers gathered from the four corners of the earth already sit
down in the kingdom of God with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Lk. 13:28f.). And it
corresponds to this on the political level that ‘Jerusalem shall be trodden
down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled’ (Lk. 21:24).”
(Church Dogmatics, II.2, p. 300)
Basil
-“And, since ‘Many are called, but few are chosen,’ he
does not pronounce him blessed who is called, but him who is chosen. Blessed is
he whom He chose. What is the cause of the pronouncement of blessedness? The
expected inheritance of everlasting blessings. Or, does he, perhaps, according
to the Apostle, since, when the full number of nations will have entered, then
all Israel will be saved, first proclaim blessed, the full number of nations,
then later, Israel, which is saved? Certainly, not just anyone will be saved,
but only the remnant which is according to the election of grace. Therefore, he
says: 'The people whom he hath chosen for his inheritance.” (Homily 15, Homily
on Psalm 32, 7 quoted in The Fathers of
the Church A New Translation: Saint Basil Exegetical Homilies, [The
Catholic University of America, Press, 1963], p. 241).
Richard Bauckham
-“If, with Ernst Kasemann, I read Romans 9-11 correctly,
Paul means by the apocalyptic ‘mystery’ in 11:25-32 that all-Israel has been
smitten with blindness by God so that they cannot recognize in Jesus the Christ
of Israel ‘until the full number of the Gentiles has come in’. Then ‘all-Israel
will be saved’. ‘As regards the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but as
regards election they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers.’ Paul
justifies his mission to the Gentiles, which he wanted to pursue to the ends of
the earth, on the grounds of all-Israel’s rejection of the gospel: that is the
starting point; while all-Israel’s acceptance and salvation through the One
‘who will come from Zion’, the Christ of the parousia, is the final goal.” (God Will Be All in All, p. 151)
F.W. Beare
-“The ‘mystery’ of the final salvation of all Israel is
now unveiled. Alienated though they now are through disobedience, God still
purposes to show them mercy, ‘for the gifts and the call of God are
irrevocable.’… Even in unbelief and hostility they are still in God’s hands,
and his purpose for mercy will in the end triumph over their present
disobedience (vss. 25-32). And in this confidence that even the severity of God
issues at last in the manifestation of his mercy, Paul bursts into a noble
prayer of adoration and wonder (vss. 33-36).” (Romans, Letter to the, The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible,
Vol. 4, p. 120)
Joseph Agar Beet
-“The contrast with in
part in verse 25 suggests that Paul refers to all Israelites then living
[at the coming of Christ], with exceptions so few as to be of no account.” (A Commentary on St. Paul’s Epistle to the
Romans, p. 308)
J. Christiaan Beker
-“Paul’s gospel is shaped by its encounter with Judaism.
His struggle with his Jewish heritage penetrates all the aspects of his
thought. Its affective-cognitive dimensions are nowhere more evident than in
his reflections on Israel’s role in God’s plan of salvation, especially in his
‘great sorrow and unceasing anguish’ (Rom. 9:2) and in his ‘heart’s desire and
prayer to God for them… that they may be saved’ (Rom. 10:1). His perplexity
about Israel’s rejection of Christ, about its ‘being ignorant of the
righteousness that comes from God’ (Rom. 10:3) and about its present hardening
(Rom. 11:7-10, 25; 9:18) is only relieved for him when he recalls God’s abiding
election of Israel (Rom. 11:29) and knows that Israel will be saved at the
eschatological hour (Rom. 11:26).” (Heirs
of Paul: Paul’s Legacy in the New Testament and in the Church Today, p. 26)
Johann Albrecht Bengel
-“And so – He
does not say and then, but more
forcibly and so, in which then is included; namely, Israel’s
blindness will be ended by the very coming in of the Gentiles. All Israel – Israel distinguished from
the Gentiles, of whom verse 25 treats.” (Gnomon
of the New Testament)
Joseph Benson
-“The apostle calls the rejection of the Jews for a time,
and their restoration after the conversion of the Gentiles is completed, a mystery; because it was a matter of the
greatest importance to mankind, and because it had hitherto been kept a secret…
For a certain time, for Israel is neither totally nor finally rejected. 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… In consequence of the promises made to their fathers, they
shall, as a people, in some future period, become the people of God, by
believing the gospel.” (The New Testament
of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, with Critical, Explanatory and Practical
Notes, p. 98-99)
G.C. Berkouwer
-“We have to take these questions seriously, even as Paul
himself returns time and again to the theme of Israel’s election in his
epistles. ‘Has God rejected his people?’ he asks, and unhesitatingly replies:
‘By no means!... God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew’ (Rom.
11:1f.). Later in the same chapter he tells the Romans that the Jews are
‘enemies of God for your sake,’ but are ‘beloved for the sake of their
forefathers’ (vs. 28). He explains this all by saying that ‘the gifts and the
call of God are irrevocable’ (vs. 29). Paul’s emphasis on foreknowledge and
irrevocability understandably gives rise to the question whether Israel’s
history after the rejection of the Messiah can indeed be considered as finished
and without further relevance. Is it not obviously self-evident from this
irreversibility that there is still a real prospect for the Jewish people?
Berkhof does not hesitate to draw this conclusion: that the New Testament
answer to the question of Israel’s future is obvious—Israel’s salvation.
‘That nation for whom he primarily came, and which before any other is reserved
for his glory and service… will find its way back to its calling… Here and
nowhere else [God’s] faithfulness will prove to go beyond and overcome our
unfaithfulness.’ Clearly, Berkhof’s choice of words ‘obvious’ and ‘must’ is
founded on the idea of election and its irreversibility, on God’s not going
back on His promises once given. It is not merely the one isolated text—‘and so
all Israel will be saved’ (Rom. 11:26)—but the whole divine initiative of
election that acts as a guarantee of the future. What Paul says only confirms
this.” (The Return of Christ, Studies
in Dogmatics, p. 327)
-“What Paul meant by ‘Israel,’ many have concluded, was not
the nation of Israel, but the totality of those to be saved, both Jews and
Gentiles, the believers, the true, spiritual Israel. A further reference is
often made in this context to Galatians 6:16… In any case, Galatians 6:16
cannot be used to prove that Romans 11:25 is talking about the spiritual
Israel. Doekes raises another serious objection to this spiritualizing
interpretation: he points out that Romans 9-11 mentions Israel eleven times, of
which ten are obvious references to Israel as a nation, so that there is no
reason suddenly to interpret 11:26 as referring to the spiritual community.
Thus Ridderbos, in opposition to Calvin, maintains the specific meaning of
Israel; and H.M. Matter correctly observes that the ‘spiritual Israel’
interpretation cannot be harmonized with Paul’s train of thought. A final
support for the literal interpretation is the argument that in verse 28—after
talking about the salvation of all Israel—Paul speaks of the people of Israel
again as ‘beloved for the sake of their forefathers.’ The discussion of Israel
is not interrupted in verse 26… ‘Israel’
remained a compelling issue for Paul because of the irrevocable gifts and call
of God. He sees the mercy that the Gentiles have received after their
disobedience, and concludes that ‘so they [the Jews] have now been disobedient
in order that by the mercy shown to you [the Gentiles] they also may receive mercy’ (vs. 31). Thus the point here is
surely mercy for disobedient Israel.”
(ibid., p. 345)
Bernard of Clairvaux
-“And so it is: dispersed [the Jews] are. Under Christian
princes they endure a hard captivity, but "they only wait for the time of
their deliverance." Finally we are told by the Apostle that when the time
is ripe all Israel shall be saved. But those who die before will remain in
death... If the Jews were utterly wiped out, what will become of our hope for
their promised salvation, their eventual conversion?” (Letter to England to Summon the Second Crusade, 1146)
-“[The Jews] have been dispersed, cast down. They undergo
a hard captivity under Christian princes. Yet they shall be converted at even
time, and remembrance of them shall be made in due season. Finally, when the
multitude of the Gentiles shall have entered in, then, "all Israel shall
be saved," saith the apostle. Meanwhile he who dies remains in death…
Moreover, if the Jews be utterly trampled down [i.e. annihilated], how shall
the promised salvation or conversion profit them in the end?” (Letter to Eastern France and Bavaria
Promoting the Second Crusade, 1146)
Theodore Beza
-“[The world will] be restored from death to life again,
at the time when the Jews should also come, and be called to the profession of
the Gospel.” (quoted in J.A. DeJong, As
the Waters Cover the Sea: Millennial Expectations in the Rise of Anglo-America
Missions, 1640–1810, p. 9)
W.E. Biederwolf
-“This does not mean the great majority, nor does it mean
all the true people of God, nor yet “all the elect Jews” (all that part of the
nation which constitutes the remnant according to the election of grace); but
it refers to the nation as a whole.” (The
Millennium Bible, p. 425)
Craig A. Blaising
-“It is worth emphasizing here the key features of Paul’s
argument. C. E. B. Cranfield expressed twenty-one years ago what is now
broadly affirmed in NT studies when he wrote: “These three chapters [Rom.
9–11] emphatically forbid us to speak of the Church as having once and for all taken
the place of the Jewish people.” The key hermeneutical points are the
following: Paul states at the outset in Romans 9 that his concern is for his
“brethren,” his “kinsmen according to the flesh,” “Israelites” (9:3–5). Israel
has failed to obtain the righteousness that is by faith (9:30–32; 10:2– 21).
They are enemies of the Gospel (11:28). Paul nevertheless prays for them that
they might be saved (10:1). He claims that God’s Word concerning Israel will be
fulfilled (9:6, 27–29; 11:1–5, 26–29), but in a twofold way. At the present
time, God is fulfilling the word that promised the salvation of a remnant as
opposed to the whole of Israel (9:27–29; 11:1–7, 25). And so, Paul notes that
in his day, there is a remnant according to God’s gracious election which
includes “Israelites” such as himself (11:1–2, 5). The hardening of the
majority of Israel in the present time is the way God has chosen to extend the
riches of salvation to the Gentiles (11:25). This is a mystery in that whereas
one might have expected Israel to be blessed in full prior to blessing being
extended to Gentiles, in actual fact God will bring in the fullness of the
Gentiles first while Israel is for the most part hardened. So, the first part
of the fulfillment of God’s word about Israel concerns the present time, and
that is the fulfillment of the word that only a remnant would be saved (9:4,
6–12, 27–29; 11:5). But the second part of the fulfillment of God’s word
concerning Israel is what those who knew the Scriptures rightly expected—the
glorious blessing upon Israel nationally. Israel has stumbled (9:32b–33;
11:9–11), and in that state of stumbling God is fulfilling his word about
saving a remnant. Yet, Paul says, they have not stumbled so as to fall (11:11).
If their failure has meant riches for the Gentiles, how much more will the
fullness of Israel bring riches of blessing upon the world (11:12)? The fullness
here is contrasted to the part, the remnant, which is being saved in the
present time (11:7–26). Whereas Israel’s rejection in the present time means
the reconciliation of the Gentiles to God, their future acceptance will mean
life from the dead (11:15). This is the language of reversal. Israel,
which is now “an enemy of God as regards the gospel” (11:28), Israel of which
now only a remnant is being saved (9:27–29; 11:5), Israel for whom Paul is
praying and for whom he wishes himself to be accursed that they might be saved
(9:1–3; 10:1), Israel which has missed the righteousness of God by stumbling
over the stumbling stone (9:32b–33, 11:9), Israel is nevertheless beloved for
the sake of the forefathers (11:28). The lump is holy because of the first bit of
dough; the branches are holy because of the root (11:16), and even if God has
broken them out, he is able and will in fact graft them in again (11:23–24).
According to the word of the Lord, the redeemer will come from Zion and remove
ungodliness from Jacob. He will fulfill his covenant with them and all Israel
will be saved (11:26–27).” (The Future of Israel as a Theological Question, Journal of the Evangelical Theological
Society, p. 437-8)
Donald G. Bloesch
-“When Paul confesses that "all Israel will be
saved," he is indubitably thinking of the future restoration of ethnic
Israel. Calvin erred when he interpreted "all Israel" to mean the
sum total of the complete church, gentile Christians and the remnant of
believing Jews. It was the Puritans
and Pietists who reclaimed the Pauline hope for Israel as
a nation and through Israel hope for the world. This hope was shared by our
Lord himself, for Jesus looked forward to that joyous day when his people would
acclaim him as the Messiah of Israel and Lord and Savior of the world: "I
tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in
the name of the Lord'" (Matt. 23:37-39).” (‘All Israel Will Be Saved’, Supercessionism and the Biblical Witness,
p. 134)
James Montgomery Boice
-“In view of Paul‘s clear statements here and
throughout Romans 11, I cannot see how so many reformed theologians of our day
reject the idea of a future time of blessing for Israel. I know why they do it. They do not like the
details of prophecy that some have worked out, in which Israel seems to have a
separate destiny from the church. And they do not like the implied theology. To
their way of thinking, any future blessing of Israel as a nation must be a
backward step, a regression in God‘s plan. Spiritual realities in Christ have
replaced the Jewish types that pointed to them. The church has replaced Israel.
In this view the church becomes the new Israel, and the old Israel is
superseded forever. But how can they affirm that, in view of Paul‘s teaching
here? Paul is not talking about spiritual Israel in these chapters. He is
talking about the Jews as a nation.
And when he asks the question, ―Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery?
His answer is as emphatic as when dealing with antinomianism or with the good
purposes of God‘s law (Rom 6:2, 15; 7:13). ―Not at all! By no means! God
forbid! It was inconceivable to Paul that God would cast Israel off, because to
do so would mean that God would be breaking his covenant promises, and he could
not do that and remain a truth-keeping, faithful God.” (Romans, Vol. 3, p. 1323; note: Boice, a Reformed theologian
himself, was highlighting the dogmatic rather than exegetical basis for many
theologians in his camp)
Horatius Bonar
-“I am one of those who believe in Israel’s restoration
and conversion; who receive it as a future certainty, that all Israel shall be
gathered, and that all Israel shall be saved. As I believe in Israel’s present
degradation, so do I believe in Israel’s coming glory and preeminence. I
believe that God’s purpose regarding our world can only be understood by
understanding God’s purpose as to Israel. I believe that all human calculations
as to the earth’s future, whether political or scientific, or philosophical or
religious, must be failures, if not taking for their data or basis God’s great
purpose regarding the latter-day standing of Israel. I believe that it is not
possible to enter God’s mind regarding the destiny of man, without taking as
our key or our guide His mind regarding the ancient nation—that nation whose
history, so far from being ended, or nearly ended, is only about to begin. And
if any one may superciliously ask, What can the Jews have to do with the
world’s history?—may we not correctly philosophize on that coming history, and
take the bearing of the world’s course, leaving Israel out of the consideration
altogether? We say, nay; but O man, who art thou that repliest against God?” (The Quarterly Journal of Prophecy, July,
1870, p. 209-11)
Thomas Boston
-“There is a day coming when there shall be a national
conversion of the Jews or Israelites. The now blinded and rejected Jews shall
at length be converted into the faith of Christ, and join themselves to the
Christian church. There are many promises of this in the Old Testament, but I
shall confirm it from Romans, chap. xi. where the apostle purposely insists
upon it… The apostle expressly asserts it, verses 25, 26. In these he shews
that the blindness of the Jews is only in part, and to last only a certain
time, when there shall be a national conversion, and so all Israel shall be
saved. This is not meant of the spiritual Israel, for their conversion could be
no mystery as this is. But as the conversion of the Gentiles was a mystery to
the Jews, and to Gentiles themselves under the Old Testament, Eph. iii. 3-6. So
is that of the Jews, to the Gentiles and Jews themselves, under the New
Testament. And as many Jews then would not believe the one, so many Christians
now believe not the other.” (The Whole
Works of the Late Reverend and Learned Mr. Thomas Boston, Volume 3, p. 357,
358; note: Boston goes on to give practical exhortation to pray for the
conversion of the Jews)
Edward I. Bosworth
-“All Israel is
sometimes said to designate all true believers whether Jew or Gentile, but
decisively opposed to this interpretation is the fact that Gentiles and
Jews are the subject of the whole discussion. Also in the quotation ‘Jacob’ clearly
designates the Jewish nation, and the words ‘they’ and ‘you’ in verses
28-30 clearly contrast Jews and Gentiles. The quotation merges Is. 59:20
and 27:9, both of which refer to Jacob.” (Commentary
on the Epistle of Paul to the Romans, p. 221)
Manfred T. Brauch
-“The completion of the mission to the Gentiles will
result in, or lead to, Israel’s ‘fullness’ or ‘completion’ (Rom. 11:12), her
‘acceptance’ (Rom. 11:15) These phrases anticipate the affirmation that ‘all
Israel will be saved.’ The way from the anticipation of this conviction to
this climactic expression is paved by the analogy of the olive tree (Rom.
11:17-24) and its astounding claim that God will indeed graft the broken-off
branches of unbelieving Israel back into the olive tree to join the branches of
‘remnant Jews’ and believing Gentiles who have already been grafted to the
olive tree… the ‘hardening [which] has come upon part of Israel’ (Rom. 11:25) is
limited not only in extent, but also with regard to time: its rejection will
last only ‘until the fullness of the Gentiles’ comes. This completion of God’s
purpose among the Gentiles leads then to the completion of that same redemptive
purpose for Israel, in that ‘all Israel will be saved’ (11:26). Commentators
are agreed that ‘all Israel’ means Israel ‘as a whole,’ as a historical people
who have a unique and particular identity, not necessarily including every
individual Israelite… While in Romans 11:25-26 the present ‘part of Israel’
which is hardened is contrasted with ‘all Israel’ which will be saved in the
future, it is clear that ‘all Israel’ denotes both the already-saved remnant
and the yet-to-be-saved ‘others’ or ‘rest’ (Rom. 11:7). What is also clear
from the whole thrust of the discussion in Romans 9-11 is that God’s purposes
for the salvation of Israel will be realized in no other way and by no other
means than through the preaching of the gospel and the response which will lead
to ‘life from the dead’ (Rom. 11:15), clearly a reference to the eschatological
event of the resurrection which will be preceded by the ‘completion of Israel’
(Rom. 11:26) as the last stage in the process initiated by the death and
resurrection of Jesus.” (Hard Sayings of
the Bible, p. 569-70)
Keith L. Brooks
-“The Jews, at present cast off because of unbelief, will
in due time as a people be taken into God’s favor again, when the fullness of
the Gentiles be come in and when the Deliverer (Christ) shall have appeared
again. As a people they are for this age judicially blinded, although there is
a remnant according to faith in Christ. The Gentiles grafted into the Church
must not trample upon the Jews as a reprobate people, but remember that the law
of faith excludes all boasting, either of ourselves or against others.” (Summarized Bible)
David Brown
-“Not ‘all the spiritual
Israel’, Jew and Gentile (as some), for throughout all this chapter, the
apostle by ‘Israel’ means exclusively the natural
seed of Abraham, whom he sharply distinguishes from the Gentiles; nor the whole
believing remnant of the natural
Israel (as others). Clearly the meaning here is, The Israelitish nation at large. To understand this great
statement, as some still do, merely of such a gradual inbringing of individual Jews, that there shall at length none remain in
unbelief, is to do manifest violence to it and to the context. It can
only mean the ultimate ingathering of Israel as a nation, in contrast with the present remnant. (So Tholuck, Meyer,
De Wette, Philippi, Alford, Hodge). Three confirmations of this now follow: two
from the prophets, and a third from the Abrahamic covenant itself.” (Jamieson, Fausset, Brown, The Epistle to the Romans, p. 117)
Thomas R. Browning
-“That leads, of course, to the final phrase, “Israel”.
What does Paul mean when he says, Israel.” Well the older commentators like
Calvin would say that he means the elect of the Jews and Gentiles together.
That’s Israel or another way to say it is, “That’s spiritual Israel.” But the
newer commentators like Hodge, Boice and Sproul would say that he is talking
about the nation of Israel, that is, ethnic Israel. So what I want to do this
morning is take a moment and show you why they hold that view. To do that, I
need you to look back to verse 25. Romans 11:25… “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.” Who’s he talking to here? Well, we know from verse 13 that he is
talking to the Gentiles. Romans 11:13… “I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch
as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I make much of my ministry…” What does he
want them to avoid? Well, he wants them to avoid becoming conceited or “puffed up.” Now what does he mean by
“Israel” in verse 25? Well, since he contrasts “Israel” with the “the
Gentiles,” Israel must refer to the ethnic Jews or national “Israel.” If that
is the case, then Paul is saying something like this, “Look here you Gentiles,
I don’t want you to be uninformed and I certainly don’t want you to become
puffed up. The Jews have experienced a hardening but that is only until the
whole number of the Gentiles have been incorporated into the people of God.” And if that is the
case, that Paul means the ethnic Jews when he refers to Israel in verse 25,
then what does Israel mean in verse 26 when he says… Romans 11:26… “And so all Israel will be saved, as it is
written: "The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away
from Jacob."” Now I suppose he could have been talking about “ethnic Jews”
in verse 25 and then switched to talk about “spiritual Israel” in verse 26. But
the question is, really is, how likely would he have been to have done that.
No, I don’t think it is likely at all. Now I freely admit that earlier in
Romans Paul made the point that there is a spiritual Israel. Romans 2:28… “A
man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely
outward and physical. No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written
code. Such a man's praise is not from men, but from God.” Romans 9:6… “It is
not as though God's word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel
are Israel.” But I think when he uses the term “Israel” to refer to ethnic
Israel in verse 25 and then uses the same term in verse 26 without qualifying
it one way or another, you almost have to accept that it will have the same
meaning in both places. When you do that all you are doing is interpreting
the passage letting the immediate context guide you. And that is the point
of Sproul, Boice and Hodge. Now if you view the passage that way, what it says
is something like this, “As it stands right now ethnic Israel is hardened and
they are hardened until all of the Gentiles that make up God’s elect are
brought in and then at that point that will bring about the salvation of a vast
array of Jews.” Now I have to add that is not the way Father Calvin viewed the
passage. Still, I am not torn here; I am with Hodge, Sproul and Boice on this
one. I think they are right. To me the immediate context demands that Paul
be speaking about Israel and it’s national revival or salvation.” (Paul’s Letter to the Romans: And So All Israel
Will Be Saved, p. 15-18)
F.F Bruce
-“It is impossible to entertain an exegesis which
understands ‘Israel’ here in a different sense from ‘Israel’ in verse 25
(‘a hardening has come upon part of ‘Israel’). The connecting words ‘and so’
(cf. 5:12) say more than ‘and then’: they imply that ‘in this way – by the
operation of the divine purpose that the gospel should be received by the
Gentile first, and then also by the Jew – the salvation of ‘all Israel’ will
come about. ‘All Israel’ is a recurring expression in Jewish literature, where
it need not mean ‘every Jew without a single exception’, but ‘Israel as a
whole’. Thus ‘all Israel has a portion in the world to come’, says the Mishnah
tractate Sanhedrin (10.1), and
proceeds immediately to name certain Israelites who have no portion therein.” (The Letter of Paul to the Romans, TNTC,
p. 209)
“But in Rom. 11:25-27 Paul is not quoting from Isa. 59
only. He has in mind a number of Old Testament passages, which have enough in
common to indicate that they deal with the same theme, although each of them by
itself deals only with a partial aspect of that theme. When all of them are
taken together, however, the conclusion to which Paul is led by them is
irresistible. In addition to Isa. 59, he has in mind the ‘new covenant’
oracle of Jer. 31:31-34, and the Greek version of Isa. 27:9 (‘and this is his
[Jacob’s] blessing, when I take away his sin’), while the phrase ‘but out of
Zion’ (in place of ‘to Zion’ of the Hebrew text of Isa. 59:20 or ‘for Zion’s
sake’ of the Greek version) is apparently based on Psa. 14:7 (repeated in Psa.
53:6). A restoration of ‘all Israel’ is the natural implication of these
passages, taken together.” (Answers
to Questions, p. 87-88)
Emil Brunner
-“Even the temporary unbelief of the Jews is included in
God’s plan of salvation. The Jews are not the expelled but the reinstated. In
the last resort both Jews and Gentiles are equal before God. Both have at the
beginning said No to God, and then by God’s mercy faith is nevertheless
bestowed upon them. The Jews must wait until all this has happened to the
Gentiles—and this having to wait is the punishment for their disobedience. But
at last their turn comes, too.” (The
Letter to the Romans, p. 98)
Christopher Bryan
-“On this basis Paul declares (among other things) that
‘all Israel will be saved’ (11:26)—not thereby claiming that every single Jew
will go to heaven, but certainly affirming his conviction that Israel as a
whole, ethnic Israel, will find there is a place for her in the final salvation.”
(Theological Interpretation of the New
Testament: A Book-by-Book Survey, edited by Kevin Vanhoozer, Daniel J.
Treier, and N.T. Wright, p. 94)
Martin Bucer
-“The mystery which Paul proclaims and the prophecy is
that the blindness of Israel happened only in part, temporarily, until the
destined and prescribed multitude of Gentiles enter into Christ, and thus all
Israel will become saved. He speaks of the people of the Jews… They are
now indeed blinded, but by a blindness which is temporary (i.e. ‘partial’), not
to last forever. For when the fullness of the Gentiles has come to Christ, that
is, the full number of the elect, all Israel also, that is, the entire
nation, will be saved, and the kingdom of God will flourish publicly once
again among them.” (Ennarrationes in
Epistolam D. Pauli ad Romanos [Basil, 1562], p. 442)
William Burkitt
-“Here the apostle fully proves, that the rejection of
the Jews was neither total nor final; not total, because blindness in part only,
happened unto Israel; that is, part of the Jews only are left in unbelief, and
under the power of spiritual blindness. Nor is their rejection final, but for a
time only; namely, till the fulness of the Gentiles be come in: that is, till
the Gentile churches be advanced to an honourable state and fulness. And then
all the Israel of God, the faithful seed of Abraham, and the main body of the
Jews, shall make up the catholic church, and be saved from their unbelief;
according to that gracious promise.” (Expository
Notes with Practical Observations; note: 17th century scholar;
notice how Burkitt interprets ‘Israel’ as the Church, but nevertheless cannot
avoid Paul’s point that the Jewish people will be brought back in and saved.
Calvin does the same thing.)
Brendan Byrne
-“[Equating ‘all Israel’ with] the totality of believers,
Jewish and Christian… is generally rejected today in favor of a reference
to the whole of ethnic Israel.” (Romans,
Sacra Pagina, p. 354; note: Byrne is a Roman Catholic scholar)
John Calvin
-“Many understand this of the Jewish people, as
though Paul had said, that religion would again be restored among them as
before: but I extend the word Israel to all the people of God, according to
this meaning, — ‘When the Gentiles shall come in, the Jews also shall return
from their defection to the obedience of faith; and thus shall be completed
the salvation of the whole Israel of God, which must be gathered from both; and
yet in such a way that the Jews shall obtain the first place, being as it
were the first-born in God’s family.’ This interpretation seems to me the most
suitable, because Paul intended here to set forth the completion of the kingdom
of Christ, which is by no means to be confined to the Jews, but is to include
the whole world. The same manner of speaking we find in Galatians 6:16. The
Israel of God is what he calls the Church, gathered alike from Jews and
Gentiles; and he sets the people, thus collected from their dispersion, in
opposition to the carnal children of Abraham, who had departed from his faith.”
(Commentary on Romans; see Calvin’s
further comments on 11:27-29; note: even Calvin could not deny Paul’s point
that the Jews will be converted, though he interprets ‘Israel’ spiritually.
Calvin’s idea—that the Church is Israel—is not false, but is that Paul’s
meaning in Rom. 11:26? Dan Shute comments: “This is not Calvin’s finest hour as
exegete—his most ingenious maybe, but not his finest. I have found no other
Christian exegete before Calvin’s time who interpreted Romans 9, 10, and 11 in
such a way that a future conversion of the Jews was excluded.” [And All Israel
Will Be Saved, in Peter Martyr Vermigli
And The European Reformations: Semper Reformanda, p. 166], edited by Frank
James)
-“Paul quotes this passage, (Rom. xi. 26,) in order to
shew that there is still some remaining hope among the Jews; although from
their unconquerable obstinacy it might be inferred that they were altogether
cast off and doomed to eternal death. But because God is continually mindful
of his covenant, and "his gifts and calling are without repentance,"
(Rom. xi. 29,) Paul justly concludes that it is impossible that there shall
not at length be some remnant that come to Christ, and obtain that salvation
which he has procured. Thus the Jews must at length be collected along with the
Gentiles that out of both "there may be one fold" under Christ. (John
x. 16). . . . Hence we have said that Paul infers that he [Christ] could not be
the redeemer of the world, without belonging to some Jews, whose fathers he had
chosen, and to whom this promise was directly addressed.” (Commentary on the Book of the Prophet Isaiah; note: again we see
that Calvin could not escape the conclusion that Paul had the Jews in mind in
Romans 11:26, even though he softens the significance of the prophecy.)
George Carraway
-“While it is too much to see this sequence of events
surrounding the salvation of the Gentiles as having no part in the cause of the
salvation of Israel, it is likely that Paul meant to point forward (I meant
hear syntactically, not temporally) to the coming of the redeemer as the means
of the salvation of all Israel… The pairing of ούτος with καθώς γέγραπται tends
to throw the meaning forward. The paraphrase might be ‘In this way (the way
that it is written), all Israel will be saved.’ Against this suggestion,
Hvalvik argues that Paul ‘never uses ούτος correlatively to καθώς γέγραπται.’
Hvalvik is correct as to καθώς γέγραπται, but, as Wagner points out, Paul did
use ούτος with καθώς in Philippians 3:17, where ούτος more clearly points
forward to the clause introduced by καθώς. The fact that γέγραπται is missing
should not harm the argument. The way that Israel will be saved, then, is the
redeemer who will remove ungodliness from Jacob… I side with the majority
view among present scholarship that in 11:25-27 Paul refers to ethnic Israel.”
(Christ is God Over All: Romans 9:5 in
the Context of Romans 9-11, p. 173)
D.A. Carson & Douglas Moo
-“The gospel and
Israel (9:1-11:36). A key motif throughout Romans 1-8 is the question of
the relationship between law and gospel, Jew and Gentile, God’s old-covenant
people and his new-covenant people. This is the theme of the third major
section of the letter. Does the transfer of covenant privileges from Israel to
the church mean that God has spurned his promises to Israel (9:1-6a)? Not at
all, Paul answers. First, God’s promises were never intended to guarantee
salvation to every Israelite by birth (9:6b-29). Second, the people of Israel
themselves are to blame for failing to embrace God’s righteousness in Christ,
despite God’s clear word to them (9:30-10:21). Furthermore, some Israelites,
like Paul, are being saved, and in them God’s promises are being fulfilled
(11:1-10). Finally, in the climax to his argument, Paul counters the arrogant
boasting of some Gentile Christians by reminding them that it is only through
Israel that salvation has come to them and that there awaits a day when God’s
promise to Israel will come to full realization and ‘all Israel will be saved’
(11:12-36).” (An Introduction to the New
Testament, p. 392)
Cassiodorus
-[Commenting on Psalm 103:9]: “‘He will not always be angry, nor will He be wroth forever’: This
verse can be applied also to the Jewish people, who we know are to be
converted at the world’s end. On this Paul says: Blindness in part has happened
in Israel, that the fullness of the Gentiles should come in, and so all Israel
should be saved.” (Explanation of the
Psalms, Ancient Christian Writers, ed. W.J. Burghardt and T.C. Lawler,
53:22-23)
Catechism of the Catholic Church
-“The ‘full inclusion’ of the Jews in the Messiah’s
salvation, in the wake of ‘the full number of Gentiles’, (Rom 11:12, Luke
21:24) will enable the People of God to achieve ‘the measure of the stature of
the fullness of Christ’ in which ‘God may be all in all.’” (CCC 674)
The Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture
-“The time will come when the present problem of Israel's
exclusion from the salvation of the Messias will cease to exist because of her
conversion, which will follow the conversion of the Gentiles.” (The Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture, edited
by Bernard Orchard)
Colin Chapman
-“The Jews are still in a special relationship with God;
they are ‘loved on account of the patriarchs’ (Romans 11:28-29). Jews who
reject Jesus as Messiah forfeit the blessings of the covenant because of
unbelief; they are ‘broken off because of unbelief’ (11:20). But the blessings
of the covenant are still open to them (Romans 9:1-5). This means that God has
not finished with the Jewish people. ‘Did God reject his people?’ asks Paul;
and his answer is ‘By no means!’ (Romans 11:1). ‘God’s gifts and his call are
irrevocable’ (Romans 11:29). There is something better to look forward to for
them: ‘and so all Israel will be saved’ (11:26). But the only source of
salvation for them, as for every other human being, is in Christ. When Jews
believe in Jesus as Messiah, in Paul’s picture of the olive tree, they are
‘grafted back into their own olive tree’ (Romans 11:23-24)… ‘Israel’ in this
verse [11:26] probably does mean ‘the Jewish people’ and not ‘the Church’. In
all the other thirteen instances in these chapters where he uses ‘Israel’, he
clearly means ‘the Jewish people’ (9:4, 6, 27, 31; 10:1, 16, 19, 21; 11:1,2, 7,
11, 25). If Paul here understands ‘Israel’ as ‘the Church’, he is using the
word in two consecutive sentences with two very different meanings.” (Whose Promised Land?, p. 223, 227)
John Chrysostom
-“The unbelief is not universal, but only “in part.”… And,
so here too [Romans 11:25-26] he says what he had said above, “God hath not
cast off His people whom He foreknew” (Rom. xi. 2): and again, “What then? Have
they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid” (ib. 11): This then he says
here also; that it is not the whole people that is pulled up, but many
have already believed, and more are likely to believe. Then as he had promised
a great thing, he adduces the prophet in evidence, speaking as follows. Now it
is not for the fact of a blindness having happened that he quotes the passage
(for every one could see that), but that they shall believe and be saved, he
brings Isaiah to witness, who crieth aloud and saith, ‘There shall come out of
Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob.’ (Isaiah
59:20.)… If then this has been promised, but has never yet happened in their
case, nor have they ever enjoyed the remission of sins by baptism, certainly it
will come to pass… but [God] waiteth for all the Gentiles that are to believe
to come in, and then they (the Jews) also shall come.” (Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, NPNF, Vol. 11, p. 493;
note: in many other homilies Chrysostom speaks of the final conversion of the
Jews)
Gordon H. Clark
-“When this fullness occurs, then the great majority of
the Jews shall be saved also. This ultimate conversion of the Jews was
prophesied in the Old Testament.” (The
Biblical Expositor, Vol. 3, p. 254)
Thomas Coke
-“The restoration of the Jewish commonwealth, in a higher
degree than seems to be yet accomplished, is, as we have before observed,
frequently spoken of in the prophetic writings.” (Commentary on the Whole Bible; note: Coke was John Wesley’s
right-hand man.)
John William Colenso
-“It may be that here… St. Paul imagines that the Deliverer
would come, and iniquity be turned away from Jacob, by the Jews, as a nation,
embracing the Gospel, and all Israel, the whole believing Family, whether
originally Jews or Heathens, ‘be saved’ from the wrath revealed against all
willful sin and disobedience.” (St.
Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, p. 216; notice, Colenso does the same thing
as Calvin: interprets ‘Israel’ the whole Church, but accepts the salvation of
the Jews. This idea is not false, but the question is whether it is Paul’s
point in 11:25-26.)
Thomas Constable
-“"All Israel" means Israel as a whole in
contrast to the relatively small believing remnant of Jews. The context
makes this clear. This conclusion does not require that every individual
Israelite living will be saved. It only requires the salvation of the bulk of
the nation (cf. Zechariah 12-13).” (Expository
Notes)
Jack Cottrell
-“But exactly what is meant by ‘all Israel’? There are
three major views: (1) ‘all Israel’ means ethnic
Israel as a whole; (2) it means the
whole of spiritual Israel, including both believing Jews and believing
Gentiles; and (3) it means the remnant
portion of ethnic Israel. In my judgment this last view is correct.
This third (correct) approach says that ‘all Israel’
means all believing Jews in all generations. Thus in v. 26 the term ‘Israel’ is
taken in a slightly different sense as compared with v. 25 and elsewhere. I.e.,
it may be true that the mass of Israel has been hardened (v. 25), but all of
true Israel will be saved (v. 26). They will be saved not in a single mass
conversion but in the normal process of evangelism, being brought to faith in
Christ and added to his church over the whole course of church history.
What reasons can we give in support of this
interpretation of ‘all Israel’? The first argument is that (contrary to the
claims of some) it is consistent with the way Paul uses the term ‘Israel’ in
9-11. To say that Paul uses this term elsewhere in this section only for ethnic
Jews may be true; but that does not affect our view, which agrees that v. 26a
refers to ethnic Jews. The only issue is whether Paul uses the term only in the
sense of the nation as a whole, and
9:6 shows that he does not. In 9:6 Paul uses the term ‘Israel’ twice, first
referring to the nation as a whole and then referring only to spiritual Israel,
the remnant. In the Greek text of 9:6 these two uses are almost consecutive,
being separated by only one Greek word. Thus 9:6 is more than enough
justification for regarding ‘Israel’ in 11:26a as referring to spiritual Israel,
even though the same term in 11:25 refers to Israel as a whole.
The second argument for this position is that it is
totally consistent with the context in general. Some say that v. 26a must be
talking about the nation as a whole, because the status of the nation as a
whole is exactly what 9-11 is all about: How can we reconcile Israel’s lostness
with God’s faithfulness? But this is not the whole picture. It is true that in
9-11 the unbelief of Israel in general is the problem, but it is also true that the existence of a remnant who
believe is part of the answer to the
problem. Hence the remnant concept is a prominent theme in the context as a
whole. See especially 9:6, 23-29; 11:1-7a.
Third, this view is also consistent with the line of
thought Paul is developing in ch. 11 specifically. Has God rejected his people?
No. Though most are hardened, he has a remnant. But is there any hope for those
who are hardened? Yes. Especially now that salvation has come to the Gentiles,
all hardened Jews may believe in Jesus and become
a part of the remnant. Paul has just declared that God can and will graft
the broken-off branches back into the olive tree, conditioned upon their
abandoning their unbelief (v. 23). In v. 24 Paul assures us that God will graft these natural branches back
into the tree, but the condition of faith is obviously meant to be carried over
from v. 23. The same is undoubtedly true in v. 26. When Paul says, ‘All Israel
will be saved,’ in view of v. 23 we must understand it as ‘all Israelites who believe
in Jesus Christ—i.e. the remnant—will be saved.’ This shows the importance of
translating houtos as ‘thus, in this
way.’ When Paul says ‘in this way’ all Israel will be saved, he is referring
not just to the summary statement in v. 25, but to the more complete
explanation in vv. 11-24, including the emphasis on conditionality in vv.
23-24.
A fourth argument for our position is that it does
justice to the word ‘all’ in ‘all Israel.’ One of the most serious flaws of
other interpretations is that they really do not take the word ‘all’ seriously.
Often it is said that the only Jews who are saved are those who happen to be
living at and possibly after a point of time still in the future, and for many
it is only that final generation of Jews who are saved. Most individual Jews in
the scores of generations before that time are actually not saved. How can this be evidence of the faithfulness of God
toward ‘all Israel,’ if only the last generation of Jews will actually be
saved? But if ‘all Israel’ means ‘the entire remnant of Jews,’ then this refers
to every believing Israelite in every generation. All who meet the condition of v. 23 will be saved.
A fifth argument for our understanding is that it is
consistent with Paul’s teaching in the following verses that ‘all Israel’ is
being saved now. As we shall soon see, the OT texts cited as confirmation of v.
26a refer to the first coming of Jesus and to the present salvation from sin by
God’s grace. They do not refer to the Second Coming and to some future national
restoration (Hendriksen, 2:380). Especially, in v. 31 Paul says it is God’s
plan that the Jews ‘may now receive mercy as a result of God’s mercy to you
[Gentiles]’.” (Romans, p. 436-8;
note: Cottrell’s interpretation is chock full of hermeneutical errors and
failure to understand key concepts. He does not do justice to Paul’s train of
thought, and fails entirely to understand the concept of Israel as a corporate
entity.)
C.E.B. Cranfield
-“The most likely explanation of ‘all Israel’ is that
it means the nation of Israel as a whole, though not necessarily including
every individual member. We understand ‘shall be saved’ to refer to a
restoration of the nation of Israel to God at the end of history, an
eschatological event in the strict sense.” (Romans:
A Shorter Commentary, p. 282)
-“It is only where the Church persists in refusing to
learn this message, where it secretly—perhaps quite unconsciously—believes that
its own existence is based on human achievement, and so fails to understand God's
mercy to itself, that it is unable to believe in God's mercy for still
unbelieving Israel, and so entertains the ugly and unscriptural notion that God
has cast off His people Israel and simply replaced it by the Christian Church. These
three chapters [Rom. 9-11] emphatically forbid us to speak of the Church as
having once and for all taken the place of the Jewish people.” (A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the
Epistle to the Romans, ICC, Vol. 2, p. 448)
Cyril of Alexandria
-“Towards the end of time, Our Lord Jesus Christ will
effect the reconciliation of His former persecutor Israel with Himself. Everybody
who knows Holy Scripture is aware that, in the course of time, this people
will return to the love of Christ by the submission of faith… Yes, one day,
after the conversion of the Gentiles, Israel will be converted, and the Jews
will be astonished at the treasure they will find in Christ.” (Commentary on Genesis, Bk. 5)
-“Although it was rejected, Israel will also be saved
eventually, a hope which Paul confirms (Romans 11:26) by quoting this text of
Scripture (Is. 59:21). For indeed, Israel will be saved in its own time and
will be called at the end, after the calling of the Gentiles.” (Commentary on Romans, Bray, Romans, p.
298-299)
Robert L. Dabney
-“Before this second advent, the following events must
have occurred… The general and national return of the Jews to the Christian
Church. (Rom. 11:25, 26).” (Systematic
Theology, ch. 44; note: Dabney doesn’t locate the conversion of the Jews at
the second coming of Christ, yet he nonetheless affirms that Romans 11:25-26
teach the conversion of the Jewish nation.)
A. Andrew Das
-“[Francis] Watson contended that Paul’s ‘sole aim’ is to
‘maintain and defend’ the ‘separation of his Gentile Christian churches from
the Jewish community.’ Watson’s Paul wanted the Jewish Christian congregation
to ‘abandon their belief in the vital importance of observing the law of Moses’
and adopt ‘an attitude of sectarian separation from non-Christian fellow-Jews.’
They need to make a ‘final break.’ James Dunn found these assertions
‘astonishing.’ The apostle pointedly reminds the gentiles in Rom 11:11-32 that
they have been grafted on as wild olive shoots to Israel’s tree and heritage.
The gentiles do not form their own separate tree but are dependent upon Israel. Paul even looks forward to a day when ‘all
Israel will be saved.’ Far from urging his audience to sever all ties with the
Jews, the apostle holds out hope for his people and wants the gentile Romans to
think similarly. He never asks the ‘weak’ to abandon their Jewish practices in
14:1 but calls instead for mutual acceptance (15:7). The Roman gentiles
represent the fulfillment of the promises to ‘all’ Abraham’s seed (4:16).
Abraham is the Jews’ and gentiles’ mutual ‘father’ in 4:12. Such logic is
incomprehensible if, with Watson, Paul is urging a break from the synagogues.”
(Solving the Romans Debate, p. 50-51)
Horst-Heinz Deichmann
-“The Christian eschatology is, not surprisingly, a
little bit different. But, indeed, only ‘a little bit,’ because Christian
eschatology is formed by Jewish eschatology. In the New Testament there is no
doubt that ‘salvation is from the Jews’ (John 4:22), and that in the end ‘all
Israel will be saved (Rom. 11:26), because it is written, ‘The Deliverer will
come from Zion.’ What Christians can find in Paul and the Gospel of John, Jews
will find in the Mishnah, where it is stated, ‘All Israel has a share in the
world to come’ (Sanhedrin 10:1).” (Opening Remarks to the First Deichmann
Annual Lecture Series, found in Larry Hurtado’s, How on Earth Did Jesus Become God? Historical Questions about Earliest
Devotion to Jesus, p. 214)
Franz Delitzsch
-[Commenting on Is. 59:20]: “In Romans 11:26 the apostle
quotes this word of God, which is sealed with “Thus saith Jehovah,” as a proof
of the final restoration of all Israel.” (Keil
& Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament)
James Denney
-“For πάς Ισραήλ see 1 Kings 12:1, 2 Chron. 12:1. It
means Israel as a whole. Paul is thinking of the historical people, as the
contrast with Gentiles shows, but he is not thinking of them one by one. Israel
a Christian nation, Israel as a nation a part of the Messianic kingdom, is the
content of his thought. To make πάςʾ Ισραήλ refer to a ‘spiritual’ Israel,
or to the elect, is to miss the mark: it foretells a ‘conversion of the
Jews so universal that the separation into an elect remnant and the rest
who were hardened shall disappear (Gifford).’” (Saint Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, The Expositor’s Greek
Testament, Vol. 2, p. 683)
Ronald E. Diprose
-“So far as the meaning of Israel in verse 26 is
concerned, the interpreter is obliged to attribute to it the same meaning it
bears in verse 25. As there is no doubt that the reference in verse 25 is
to ethnic Israel, we may conclude that Paul is speaking about the salvation of
ethnic Israel in verse 26. The use of the proper name Jacob in verse 26 also
provides further confirmation of this.” (Israel
and the Church: The Origins and Effects of Replacement Theology, p.64)
Philip Doddridge
-“O that the blessed time were come when all Israel shall
be saved; when the Deliverer, who is long since come out of Zion, shall turn
away iniquity from Jacob; and the fullness of the Gentiles be come in; so that
from the rising to the going down of the sun, the Lord shall be one, and his
name one! Our faith waits the glorious event, but it shall be seen, for the gifts
and callings of God are without repentance.” (quoted in Henry and Scott, Commentary Upon the Holy Bible, Vol. 6,
p. 80)
Dennis C. Duling
-“[Paul] concludes that as soon as the full number of ethnē come in, all Israel will be saved. As God has shown mercy to the
non-Israelite ethnē, so he will show
mercy to Israel.” (Understanding the
Social World of the New Testament, editied by Dietmar Neufeld and Richard
E. DeMaris, p. 87)
John Dummelow
-“All Israel
i.e. the Jewish race will enter the Christian Church.” (The One Volume Bible Commentary, p. 883)
Hanley Dunelm
-“Very briefly we touch on this department of the message
of Romans, mainly to point out that the problem of Israel's unbelief nowhere
else in Paul appears as so heavy a load on his heart, and that on the other
hand we nowhere else have anything like the light he claims to throw (Romans
11) on Israel's future. Here, if anywhere, he appears as the predictive
prophet, charged with the statement of a “mystery,” and with the announcement
of its issues. The promises to Israel have never failed, nor are they canceled.
At the worst, they have always been inherited by a chosen remnant, Israel
within Israel. And a time is coming when, in a profound connection with
Messianic blessing on the Gentiles, “all Israel shall be saved,” with a
salvation which shall in turn be new life to the world outside Israel.
Throughout the passage Paul speaks, not as one who “will not give up a hope,”
but as having had revealed to him a vast and definite prospect, in the divine
purpose.” (Romans, The Epistle to, International
Standard Bible Encyclopedia)
James D.G. Dunn
-“Here at last the identity of Israel and its correlation
with the elect of God are resolved. Parallel to the triple distinction of 11:7
(Israel, the elect, the rest) we now how ‘Israel partially hardened,’ ‘the full
number of the Gentiles,’ and ‘all Israel.’ The first phrase indicates the whole
people suffering from a partial blindness. The second deliberately parallels
the final full acceptance of Israel (their pleroma—11:12)
with the ‘full number (pleroma) of
the Gentiles.’ And the third extends the scope as widely as possible—‘all
Israel.’ There can be little doubt that by ‘Israel’ here Paul means the
historic people of that name. 11:28-29 puts the issue beyond reasonable doubt.
But it is now Israel defined primarily by God’s ‘election’ and ‘call’ (11:28,
29); the echo of 9:11-12 and 24 is equally clear. In other words, the split in
the ‘I’ of Israel will be healed. The division between historic Israel and
those called of God will disappear in the ‘full number’ of Israel and Gentiles.
Paul continues to use ‘Israel’ for historic Israel, but no longer in an
excluding way. When ‘all Israel’ is saved, then the split in the people of God
will be healed, the eschatological tension resolved, and the Israel of God made
whole.” (The Theology of Paul the Apostle,
p. 527)
-“‘All Israel’… clearly functions in contrast to
λείμμα [‘remnant’] (11:5), and τινές [‘some’] (11:17; Schlier) and indeed από
μέρους [‘in part’] (11:25), as parallel to πλήρωμα [‘fullness’] (11:12).” (Romans 9-16, 681)
James Durham
“Whatever may be doubted of their [the Jews] restoring to
their land, yet they shall be brought to a visible Church-state. Not only in
particular persons here and there in congregations; but that multitudes, yea,
the whole body of them shall be brought, in a common way with the Gentiles, to
profess Christ, which cannot be denied, as Romans 11 is clear and that will
be enough to satisfy us.” (A Learned
and Complete Commentary Upon the Book of Revelation, Lecture IV, Ch. XVI,
p. 634; note: 18th century scholar)
Jonathan Edwards
-“Without doubt, they [the Jews] will return to
their own land; because when their unbelief ceases, their dispersion, the
dreadful and signal punishment of their unbelief will cease too. As they have
continued hitherto, with one consent, to dishonor Christ by rejecting the
gospel, so shall they meet together to honor him, by openly professing of it
with one mouth, and practice it with one heart and one soul, together lamenting
their obstinacy, as it is said they shall (Zech. 12:11-12), and together praising
God for his grace in enlightening them. And as they have hitherto continued a
distinct nation, that they might continue a visible monument of his
displeasure, for their rejecting and crucifying their Messiah, so after their
conversion will they still be a distinct nation, that they may be a visible
monument of God’s wonderful grace and power in their calling and conversion. .
. . But yet, we are not to imagine that the old walls of separation will be set
up again. . . . For they shall look upon all the world to be their brethren, as
much as the Christians in Boston and the
Christians in other parts of New England look on each other as brethren.” (Works, Yale, V, p. 135; footnote: “Iain
Murray indicates that many English Puritans were of this same opinion
concerning the national conversion and restoration of Israel. The Puritan Hope, pp. 175-8; “This
same belief concerning the future of the Jews is to be found very widely in
seventeenth-century Puritan literature. It appears in the works of such
well-known Puritans as John Owen, Thomas Manton and John Flavel. … It is also
handled in a rich array of commentaries, both folios and quartos – David
Dickson on the Psalms, George Hutcheson on the Minor Prophets, Jeremiah
Burroughs on Hosea, William Greenhill on Ezekiel, Elnathan Parr on Romans and
James Durham on Revelation: a list which could be greatly extended.” (The Puritan Hope, 43)
-“Jewish infidelity shall be overthrown… The Jews in all
their dispersions shall cast away their old infidelity and shall have their
hearts wonderfully changed, and abhor themselves for their past unbelief and
obstinacy. They shall flow together to the blessed Jesus, penitently, humbly
and joyfully owning Him as their glorious King and only Savior, and shall with
all their hearts, as one heart and voice, declare His praises unto other
nations. Nothing is more certainly foretold than this national conversion of
the Jews in Romans 11. Besides the prophecies of the calling of the Jews,
we have a remarkable providential seal of the fulfillment of this great event
by a kind of continual miracle, viz. their being preserved a distinct nation…
The world affords nothing else like it. There is undoubtedly a remarkable hand
of providence in it. When they shall be called, that ancient people, who alone
were God’s people for so long a time, shall be His people, never to be rejected
more. They shall be gathered together into one fold, together with the
Gentiles.”
(The Works of
Jonathan Edwards, vol. 1, Banner of Truth Trust, reprint, 1976, p. 607.
Mateen A. Elass
-“After having highlighted God's sovereign, electing
freedom in Romans 9 with regard to His promises toward Israel, and describing
graphically in chapter 10 the consequences of the divine hardening for
present-day Israel, Paul is poised to address in a final way the question of
God's faithfulness to Israel. Hence, 11.1 picks up this central theme once
again with the leading question, 'Has God then really rejected His people?' The
remainder of this chapter forms a series of arguments by which Paul
demonstrates his conviction that Israel's rejection is neither total nor
permanent. In verses 1-10 the apostle essentially reviews ground already
covered by appealing to a divine election of the remnant and a hardening of the
rest of Israel. Verses 11 -24 see Paul shifting his vision back and forth
between contemporary, hardened Israel and future, redeemed
Israel. Here Paul makes clear that in spite of
Israel's present condition, God views the nation in terms of His promises to
the patriarchs and thus her positive destiny is assured. Though this brings
no assurance that the present mass of unbelieving Israel will be saved, it
leads Paul to the disclosure of a mystery: Israel's hardening will continue
until the Gentile mission is fulfilled, and then all Israel will be saved. In
verses 25-32, Paul unfolds the elements of this revelation, cites supporting
witnesses from the prophets, appeals to the continuity of Israel's election for
the sake of the patriarchs and because of the faithful nature of God, and
finally concludes that God's purposes for both Jews and Gentiles are shaped by
mercy: the people of God are hardened in disobedience so that they may have no
means of escape except through God's mercy. By means of this climactic
conclusion, Paul substantiates beyond doubt his opening claim in 9.6a that
the word of God has not failed - God remains true to His purposes, which
include the exercise of saving mercy toward ethnic Israel in the future.
And this sovereign plan and ultimate mercy of God toward His people leads Paul
to burst forth in a final paean of praise over the wisdom and glory of God
(verses 33-36).” (Paul’s Understanding
and Use of the Concept of Election in Romans 9-11, p. 189-90)
-“But even more damaging to both these modal
interpretations is the fact they fail to support the central theme which Paul
has been working toward since verse 11, the
fact that all Israel will one day be saved. To this point, Paul has not
directly stated his conviction that God will in the end show mercy to the
hardened children of Abraham. Would it not be an abrupt leap of logic for Paul
to argue the manner in which all Israel will be saved before he has overtly
established its certain eventuality? Verse 26a provides the climax to the
argument he began in 9.6b concerning the faithfulness of God toward Israel. The
apostle's principal interest lies not in the manner by which Israel will be
saved, but in the more fundamental issue of whether God has ultimately
abandoned her or not. The modal interpretation of καί ούτως fails to do justice
to Paul's argument by drawing attention away from the fact of Israel's future
return to the mode by which it will happen. This in turn fails to support
Paul's stated purpose of deflating Gentile Christian pride—for their contention
was not over the manner in which Israel
would be saved, but more fundamentally whether
Israel would be saved at all.” (ibid.,
p. 244)
Charles J. Ellicott
-“When this ingathering of the Gentiles is complete, then
the turn of Israel will come round again, and the prophecies of their conversion
will be fulfilled.” (A New Testament
Commentary for English Readers, Romans)
Paul Enns
-“Paul deals with Israel’s election in Romans 9-11,
lamenting Israel’s rejection of Messiah (Rom. 9:1-3; 10:1-5). Israel had great
privileges but scorned them (Rom. 9:4-5), yet since God has sovereignly elected
Israel, He will not fail in His purpose for the nation. The fact that God has
not abandoned His people (Rom. 11:1) is evident by the fact that there is a
remnant of believing Jews, of which Paul was one (Rom. 11:1-5). However, while
Israel has been blinded, it is temporary. Paul envisions a future day when
Israel’s blindness will be lifted and ‘all Israel will be saved’ (Rom. 11:26).
There will be a future national turning to Christ in faith. Paul relates that event
to the return of Messiah: ‘The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will remove
ungodliness from Jacob’ (Rom. 11:26). (The
Moody Handbook of Theology, p. 113)
-“Romans 11:26 states, ‘and thus all Israel shall be
saved’—a reference to national Israel. From this statement it is clear there
is a future for national Israel.” (ibid.
p. 387)
Desiderius Erasmus
-“Truly, in the eleventh chapter of Romans Paul gives us
the fair hope that they [the Jews] shall someday convert and with us confess
the true Messiah, and there shall be one shepherd and one flock. It is in this
hope that we permit them to preserve themselves.” (quoted in Shimon Markish’s Erasmus and the Jews, p. 99)
W.J. Erdman
-“This ‘all Israel’
or sum total of the believing nation is called in a previous message ‘their fulness’ and the argument is that
when Israel is converted the whole Gentile world also will be converted.”
Millard J. Erickson
-“There is, however, a future for national Israel. They
are still the special people of God. Having declared that Israel's rejection
has meant the reconciliation of the world, Paul asks, "What will their
[Israel's] acceptance be but life from the dead?" (Rom. 11:15). The future
is bright: "And so all Israel will be saved" (v.26). Yet Israel will
be saved by entering the church just as to the Gentiles. There is no statement
anywhere in the New Testament that there is any other basis of salvation.” (Christian Theology, p. 1053)
ESV Global Study Bible
-“It seems most likely that this salvation of the Jewish
people is in the future. This interpretation fits with the promises of God’s
future work in vv. 12 and 15, and the future salvation of ethnic Israel at
the end of history agrees with the character of this passage. God is
faithful to fulfill his saving promises to his people (9:6).” (edited by J.I.
Packer, Wayne Grudem, Ajith Fernando)
Andrew R. Fausset
-“The casting away of the Jew, though most sad, is
neither universal now (for there is a remnant according to the election of
grace, and God's foreordaining is to be accepted not criticized by finite man),
nor final, for "all Israel shall be saved" in the coming age, and
their being received will be as life from the dead to the Gentile world (Romans
9; Romans 11).” (Romans, The Epistle to the, Fausset’s Bible Dictionary)
Charles Ferme
-“As some, reserved of God through the election of grace,
owned Christ as Lord in the days of Paul, so when the fulness of the Gentiles
shall have been brought in, the great majority of the Israelitish people are to
be called, through the gospel, to the God of their salvation, and shall profess
and own Jesus Christ, whom, formerly, that is, during the time of hardening,
they denied.... This interpretation of the passage is most pertinent to the
scope of the present discussion; but because that recall of the Israelites is
not yet witnessed in respect to the majority, most interpreters explain the
passage differently, and understand what the apostle here says "all Israel
shall be saved", of Israel in spirit, and also of all Israelites
according to the flesh, who at any time have believed, whether in times of
apostasy, as were those of Ahab and Paul, or of open profession, as that of
David, or of reformation, as those of Hezekiah and Josiah. In this way the
meaning will be "that the Gentiles having been added, through the gospel,
to the people of God, that is, to the Israelites, who are Israelites in spirit,
as well as according to the flesh, "all Israel´, viz. Israel in the
spirit, consisting of the elect from among Jews and Gentiles, "shall be
saved´ at the second coming of Christ.” (note: 16th century
commentator; Ferme states his opinion that the first interpretation is truest
to the text, then explains why, despite this, other commentators see it
otherwise: not for textual, but for historical, reasons.)
Robert Verrell Foster
-“And so.
Referring to the coming in of the Gentiles as the condition upon which will
follow the salvation of Israel. All
Israel shall be saved. An explicit and important prophecy. Some
commentators, as Bengel, Olshausen, and others, limit the worlds ‘all Israel’
to the totality of the believing remnant. Of every generation of Jewish history
there will be some who accept Christ as the true Messiah and Savior, and all
these shall be saved. Others, as Luther, Calvin, and Grotius, limit the words
to the spiritual Israel, whether composed of Jews or Gentiles or both. Others,
as Fritzsche and Tholuck, make the words, ‘all Israel,’ mean comparatively all,
the greater number. None of these views, however, meets the requirements of
the context or the demands of the explicit form of the statement which Paul
here makes. The words mean the whole nation of Israel; there shall come a
time when there shall no longer be a rejected, unbelieving portion, but the
entire Israel shall accept Christ. This is, in substance, the view of Stuart,
Hodge, Meyer, Godet, and many others... There shall no longer be any
distinction recognized between saved and unsaved Israel; no longer any such
things as Judaism in the present sense of the term, but only a Christianity.” (A Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans,
p. 325-326)
-“‘It is almost incredible,’ says Godet, ‘that our
Reformers should have held out so obstinately, as they have done, against
a thought so clearly expressed’—the future salvation of the Jewish people
as predicted in the above passage; though it is not necessary to understand the
Apostle Paul here as committing himself to any view concerning the
‘millennium.’ Olshausen on this verse quotes some remarkable words of Luther,
as follows: ‘A Jewish heart is so stock-stone-devil-iron-hard, that in no wise
can it be moved; they are young devils; damned to hell; to convert these
devil’s brats [as some fondly ween out of the Epistle to the Romans] is
impossible.’ And adds: ‘From this, as from other expressions, it is manifest
that the knowledge of the last events of the world’s history was a province
closed against the great Reformer’—as it was indeed against all the Reformers,
as they devoted but little attention to the study of eschatology. The
Gentile Church, however, is more and more clearly recognizing its indebtedness
to the Jews, and is more and more earnestly repaying it. Luther and the other
Reformers, if they were living now, would write and act in a very different
manner in respect to this cast off people.” (A Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, p. 325)
Arno C. Gaebelein
-“All Israel, that is, the all Israel living in the day
will be saved, when the Deliverer comes out of Zion (Is. 59:20; Ps. 14:7). It
is the second, visible, personal and glorious coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
James Leo Garrett
-“Various exegetes such as R.C.H. Lenski, William
Hendriksen, and Dale Moody have reckoned ‘all Israel’ to refer to ‘the elect
remnant of the Jews,’ or ‘all the believing Israelitees,’ who are being
gathered to the Messiah throughout the era between the Messiah’s two
advents. [This] interpretation seems to
be most viable, partly because it interprets Rom. 11:26a in the light of Rom.
9:6b and takes houtos in a modal
sense. Hence all Jewish people who have been, are, and will yet be yielding in
faith to Jesus as the Messiah and the Son of God are the beneficiaries of God’s
electing grace and members of the people of the New Covenant.” (Systematic Theology, Vol. 2, p. 480-1;
note: Garrett’s view is simplistic. He completely fails to follow Paul’s train
of thought, and he also fails to appreciate how other views accommodate Rom.
9:6, and the use of houtos in 11:26.)
A.E. Garvie
-“All Israel.
This does not mean every individual Israelite, but Israel as a whole; not the
spiritual Israel (the Christian Church), or the elect remnant, but the
historical nation (taken in its totality without any emphasis on the members of
it). Paul here is taking a broad general view of the Jewish nation and the
Gentile nations. As regards the eternal destiny of individuals, he here says
absolutely nothing.” (Romans, The Century
Bible, p. 250)
Geneva Bible Notes
-“He [Paul] speaks of the whole nation, not of any one
part. The blindness of the Jews is neither so universal that the Lord has no
elect in that nation, neither will it be continual: for there will be a time in
which they also (as the prophets have foretold) will effectually embrace that
which they now so stubbornly for the most part reject and refuse.”
-“He [Paul] sheweth that the time shall come that the
whole nation of the Jewes, though not every one particularly, shall be joined
to the Church of Christ.”
John Gill
-“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, Rom. 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. There is a common saying among them, כל ישראל יש להם חלק לעולם הבא,
"all Israel shall have a part", or "portion in the world to
come"; and in support of this they usually produce the passage in Isa. 60:21,
"thy people also shall be all righteous."” (John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible)
Frederick Godet
-“We have already said that there can be no question
here of applying the term Israel to
the spiritual Israel in the sense of
Gal. 6:16. It is no less impossible to limit its application, with
Bengel and Olshausen, to the elect
portion of Israel, which would lead to a tautology with the verb shall be saved… And what would there be
worthy of the term mystery (v. 25) in
the idea of the salvation of all the elect Israelites!” (Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, p. 411)
Michael J. Gorman
-"The first claim Paul makes is relatively clear: Israel's current unbelief ('hardening') is only partial and temporary (11:25b). It will last only until 'the full number [Gk. pleroma, as in 11:12 of the Jews] of the Gentiles has come in' (11:25)...
As for the who question, it is tempting to import the idea of a spiritual Israel comprised of believing Jews and Gentiles. A few texts in Romans and elsewhere in Paul make this a possibility, for Paul does indeed distinguish between ethnic Israel and a true, or circumcised, Israel (2:28-29; 9:6-7; cf. Gal. 6:16; Phil. 3:3). Once again, however, the whole context and flow of the argument suggest a different answer. Throughout chapters 9-11 Paul's burden is for his fellow Jews, ethnic Israel, the large number of broken-off branches. He has already expressed hope, if not confidence, that the fate of the 'batch' and the 'branches' will be that of the 'dough' and the 'root' (11:16). That is, Paul has already implied that God's nonrejection of Israel means more than that some nonbelieving Jews will change their minds. Otherwise, Paul's argument about a 'remnant' of faithful Jews would have been sufficient to demonstrate the fidelity of God. It is difficult, therefore, to resist the conclusion that 'all Israel' means 'all Jews' rather than 'all Gentiles and Jews who believe the gospel.'
The oft-quoted text 'the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable' (11:29) confirmed this interpretation. If Paul simply meant that Jews are not excluded from the gospel, he would be merely restating the obvious, for there is already a remnant of Jewish believers. But a remnant, however large, hardly seems like a long-term fulfillment of an irrevocable call; it is more a stopgap measure. On the other hand, attempts to interpret these words as Paul's affirmation of the salvation of Jews apart from Christ, or by some other means, pay insufficient attention to the context and argument of chapters 9-11. Rather, Paul affirms that the stance of all Jews will one day be reversed from disobedience to obedience, just as the Gentile believers have received mercy and become obedient (11:30-32)." (Apostle of the Crucified Lord: A Theological Introduction to Paul & His Letters, pp. 452-53).
Ezra P. Gould
-“The stock of God’s people is still the Jews, and the
Gentiles have been grafted into that stock. That is, they have inherited the
Jewish Scriptures and the Jewish Messiah. And God’s purpose in regard to Israel
remains unchanged. When once the gathering of the Gentiles is complete, God
means to stir up the Jews to jealousy, and ultimately to bring in all Israel.”
(The Biblical Theology of the New
Testament, p. 72)
Leslie M. Grant
-“When the full number of Gentiles is saved, God will
open Israel's eyes. "And so all Israel shall be saved." But how is
this to come about? By the instrumentality of the Gentile Church preaching the
gospel to Jews? Not at all. It is not to be by faith in an absent Christ, but
in One whom they shall see visibly, coming out of Sion, to turn away
ungodliness from Jacob. When they see they will believe.” (Commentary on the Bible)
James Gray
-“Chapter 11 shows that the setting aside of the nation
has not been perpetual. In the first place, there was a remnant of the faithful
even at the present time, of whom the apostle was one (vv. 1-6). Indeed, there
always had been such a remnant. There was one in Elijah's day (cf. vv. 2-7 with
1 Kings 19:18). There was one in Isaiah's day (Isa. 1:9). During the captivity
there was such a remnant, and at the end of the 70 years a remnant returned to
the land. Look at Luke 2:38 for one at the period of the first advent of
Christ. There are believing Jews in our day who constitute such a class, and we
have seen in our Old Testament studies that the prophecies focus on the
deliverance of the remnant during the tribulation (Rev. 7:3-8). It is of the
hopes and fears of this last-named that the Millennial psalms treat.
In the second place this chapter indicates that the
national blindness of the Jews had been foretold (vv. 7-10). But in the
providence of God it gave an opportunity to the Gentiles (vv. 11, 12), which
the latter are warned to profit by (vv. 13-22). throughout this warning there
are several intimations of the restoration of Israel as a nation (vv. 12, 15,
16). This is what is meant by "their fullness," "the receiving
of them," etc. The "first-fruit" and the "root" are
Abraham, and the "lump" and the "branches" the offspring
that came from him.
Finally, it is definitely stated that the nation shall
be restored (vv. 23-36), by which is meant the faithful remnant at the end
of the age. The "fullness of the Gentiles" (v. 25) means the
completion of God's purpose in them at that time, i.e., the whole body of
Christ, the Church, will have been called out from among them, and caught up to
meet Him in the air (1 Thess. 4:13-18). Observe the reference to Christ's
second coming in verse 26, and to the fulfillment of God's original promise to
Abraham in verse 29. "Without repentance" means without a change of
mind on His part.” (Christian Worker’s
Commentary on the Old and New Testaments, Romans)
Pope Gregory the Great
-“We know, my friends, that at the end of the
world even Judea will be brought to faith in the Redeemer. Paul testifies to this by saying: “Until the fullness of the Gentiles comes in,
and thus all Israel is saved.” (Forty
Gospel Homilies, Homily 22)
Wayne Grudem
-“I affirm the conviction that Rom. 9-11 teaches a future
large-scale conversion of the Jewish people.” (Systematic Theology, p. 861)
Robert H. Gundry
-“‘All Israel’ means all biological Israelites… Paul
assumes, then, that his audience will understand all Israel to be saved by
believing in Jesus. Paul’s concern relates here to the time when this salvation
will occur, not with its means. So after identifying the time as when ‘the
fullness of the Gentiles has come in,’ he uses Old Testament scripture to
pinpoint the time at the second coming of Jesus, to which the prophecy, ‘The
rescuer will come out of Zion,’ refers in Paul’s interpretation. ‘The rescuer’
is Jesus, and his ‘com[ing] out of Zion’ is his exiting heaven (the Zion above
[compare Hebrews 12:22; Revelation 14:1-3]) for a descent to earth. It’s on
this occasion that all biological Israel will be saved by Jesus’ turning ungodliness
away from them (‘Jacob’) and by the Lord’s fulfilling his covenant with Israel
by taking away their sins (see Isaiah 59:20-21); Jeremiah 31:33-34 for
‘covenant’). That only a remnant of Israel are being saved during the present
period of massive Gentile salvation means that all Israel who’ll be saved at
the second coming will consist only, but massively, of Israelites living at
that time.” (Commentary on Romans)
Donald Guthrie
-“In spite of previous adverse statements there are
mitigating circumstances for the rejection has never been total. There has
always been a remnant chosen by grace and it is with this remnant that the hope
of the future lies. In any case the fall of Israel has prompted the conversion
of the Gentiles, through whose agency they will themselves be restored. This is
illustrated by the olive-tree allegory. But there is no place for Gentile
boasting for God intends the full restoration of Israel. Such thoughts as these
call forth in the apostle’s mind an expression of amazement at the inscrutable
wisdom of God.” (New Testament
Introduction, p. 418)
David Guzik
-“All Israel will be saved: This all Israel is not
spiritual Israel. It isn’t “spiritual Israel” in Romans 11:25, because that
Israel is spiritually blind. Therefore, we shouldn’t regard it as spiritual
Israel in Romans 11:26… Another proof that this is not spiritual Israel is
because Paul says this is a mystery - and it is no mystery that spiritual
Israel will be saved.”
Scott Hafemann
-“The point of the parallel to Elijah is not that Elijah
or Paul or the small remnant of the Jews that are currently being saved (cf.
9:27-29) are all alone. The point is the promise to Elijah and to the remnant
of Paul's day that their experience points forward to the salvation of a
greater number. Rather than judgment on all the rest, the significance of the
small, persecuted remnant is that their experience is a symbol of hope for the
future of the people.” (The Salvation of
Israel in Romans 11:25-32, p. 49)
-“It is one thing to posit a future salvation of Israel
that will fulfill God's word, but it is quite another to show how God is being
faithful now to his promises to Israel in spite of the fact that most of those
who belong to Paul's “kinsmen according to the flesh (9:3) have rejected the
Messiah. In regard to the trustworthiness of God's character, faithfulness in
the future is worthless without faithfulness in the present.” (ibid., p. 44)
Ferdinand Hahn
-“‘All Israel’ relates to the Israelite people of actual
history, who are now despising their salvation… The offer of salvation will
again be made to Israel, which will again be faced with a decision about
belief, and as a believing Israel will attain salvation… But if in the case of
that first decision about belief it was only a small fraction that accepted the
message, it will at some future time be the ‘fullness’ of the Jews (cf. Romans
11:12) who will acknowledge their Lord.” (Mission
in the New Testament, p. 106-107)
Robert Haldane
-“In the foregoing verse he had declared that blindness
had come upon Israel—that blindness which he before shown was inflicted on part
of the Jewish nation by the judgment of God, verse 8-10, which would continue
till a certain period was accomplished. He now declares that at that period all
Israel shall be saved. The rejection of Israel has been general, but at no
period universal. This rejection is to continue till the fullness of the
Gentiles shall come in. Then the people of Israel, as a body, shall be brought
to the faith of the Gospel. Such expressions as that “all Israel shall be
saved,” are no doubt, in certain situations, capable of limitation; but as
no Scripture demands any limitation of this expression, and as the opposition
here stated is between a part and all, there is no warrant to make any
exception, and with God this, like all other things, is possible.” (Commentary on Romans, p. 549)
Henry H. Halley
-“Israel’s Rejection of Christ is temporary. The days
will come when all Israel shall be Saved (26). When or how that will be is not
here stated. Nor is it stated whether it will be in connection with their
Return to Palestine, but merely the bare fact that it will be. One of the
darkest spots in the panorama of human history is the age-long Suffering of
this Sorrowful, Disobedient people. But one day it will end. Israel shall turn
in penitence to the Lord. And all creation shall give thanks to God for the
Unsearchable Wisdom of His Providence.” (Halley’s
Bible Handbook, p. 590)
Douglas R.A. Hare
-“While Matthew’s negative theology concerning Israel is
historically understandable in view of the unhappy experience of
Jewish-Christian missionaries, his presentation of God’s deselection of Israel
must be placed within the broader context of Paul’s reflection on this
question. Paul contended that Israel’s negative response to the gospel can by
no means deter a faithful God from pursuing his plan for Israel, ‘for the gifts
and the call of God are irrevocable’ (Rom. 11:29). The ‘hardening’ that has come
upon Israel provides the opportunity for taking the gospel to the Gentiles;
when the full number of the Gentiles has entered the church, ‘all Israel will
be saved’ (Rom. 11:26). At that point, Matthew’s polemic will have been
superseded.” (Matthew, p. 272-3)
S.J.J. Harrington
-“According to Paul, God’s covenant with Israel has not
been revoked (Rom 11:29), and in the end he expects that ‘all Israel will be
saved’ (Rom. 11:26).” (Historical
Dictionary of Jesus, p. 40)
Stephen L. Harris
-“In Chapters 9-11, Paul discusses Israel’s continuing
role as God’s chosen people, even though most have not accepted Jesus as the
national messiah. Paul suggests that his fellow Jews misunderstand God’s
purpose in Christ because they seek salvation through Torah obedience,
allegedly depending on their own efforts to earn divine approval. True
‘children of Abraham,’ however, recognize the necessity of placing faith in
Christ. Jews withhold their faith, but the Gentiles benefit from this refusal.
In a famous analogy, Paul compares Gentile believers to branches from a wild
olive tree that have been grafted onto the cultivated olive trunk, which is
Israel. Paul also assumes that Israel’s unbelief is only temporary. After the
Gentiles have been attached to the main trunk, then the natural branches will
be regrafted onto God’s olive tree and ‘the whole of Israel will be saved’
(11:16-27).” (Understanding the Bible,
p. 490; note: Harris, a non-evangelical scholar, seems to say that ‘all Israel’
includes both Gentiles and Jews, and yet still sees Paul as teaching that the
Jewish nation will be saved.)
Robert Hawker
-“I stay not to make observations upon what is so
abundantly plain as to need no observation, that, what the Apostle hath said,
respecting the rejection of the Jew, and the calling of the Gentile, refers to
the several ministrations in the Church, in the different ages, and under the
different dispensations of it. Christ's Church is but one. And that Church hath
been set up, with her glorious Head, and Husband, from everlasting. Their names
all given, and numbered. And hence, all Israel that is, all the true Israel of
God, given by the Father to the Son, and redeemed from the Adam nature of the
fall by the Son, shall be saved; and in the effectual call of God the Spirit, shall
be brought to the knowledge of the truth. And these blessed events are included
in what is said, and as the Prophet foretold, of the Deliverer coming out of
Zion, to turn away ungodliness from Jacob, Isaiah 59:20.” (The Poor Man’s Commentary; note: although Hawker says that his
observations are abundantly plain, he gives no exegetical proof of them. The majority
of commentators disagree with him.)
Fr. Leo Haydock
-“The nation of the Jews is not absolutely and without
remedy cast off forever; but in part only and for a time: which fall of theirs God has been pleased to
turn to the good of the Gentiles. “How
much more the fullness of them (Jews)”:
As if he should say, if the obstinacy of so many Jews seem to be an
occasion upon which God …hath bestowed the riches of his grace on other
nations; and while the glory of the Jews, the elect people of God, has been
diminished, the Gentiles have been made happy:
how much more glorious will be the fullness of them? That is, according to the common interpretation,
will be the re-establishment and conversion of the Jews hereafter, before the
end of the world?... Then the receiving of them into the Church, and their
conversion to Christ, shall be like life from the dead, when the Jewish people
in general, shall rise from the death of sin…to the life of grace… and then all
Israel should be saved, when they shall submit to the faith of Christ.” (New Testament Comprehensive Catholic
Commentary, Romans 11:12-15, 25-26)
-“ This approach of the Jews to the true faith, after the
vocation of the Gentiles, is spoken of by St. Paul in Romans 11:25. Blindness in part has happened in Israel,
until the fullness of the Gentiles should come in. And so all Israel should be saved. St. Chysostom, homily 1xvi---As it is
written, “there shall come out of Sion, he that shall deliver, and shall turn
away ungodliness from Jacob. And this is
to them my covenant”. This prophecy of
Isaias (lxi20) St. Paul applies to the conversion of the Jews, and thus both
Jew and Gentile are to take up our Saviour’s yoke, which is certainly sweet and
his burden light.” (New Testament
Comprehensive Catholic Commentary, Matthew 21:2)
-“The nation at large has not embraced the worship of
idols since the former period. But it
will not be perfectly converted, until the fullness of the Gentiles come
in….And so all Israel be saved. (Rom XI 25).
C. – St. Paul terms their present state a blindness in part, because,
though few have embraced the revelation of God, made to all by his only Son,
the far greater part have obstinately shut their eyes…they seem to have a veil
on them. But, after, they shall have
been the sport of their passions and errors till the latter time, when the man
of sin shall be fully revealed, they will see how wretchedly they have been
deluded, and, the grace of God touching their hearts, they will remember the
covenant, and embrace Christ, the end of all the law. Happy those who do not defer their conversion
till that awful period!” (On Deuteronomy
4:30)
-“‘And will turn
away iniquity from Jacob.’ St. Paul hence proves that the Jews will at last
be converted. Romans 11:26. (On Isaiah 59:20)
Richard B. Hays
-“Consequently, to read Paul’s citation of Isa. 52:5 as
unqualified condemnation of Israel is bad reading, or, more precisely, it is an
interpretation possible only on a first reading of the letter. The letter’s
rhetorical structure lures the reader into expecting Israel’s final
condemnation, but the later chapters undercut such an expectation, requiring
the reader in subsequent encounters with the text to understand the Isaiah
quotation more deeply in relation to its original prophetic context. Paul depicts
God scolding Israel, like a parent chiding a child who has brought dishonor to
the family, only because Israel’s covenant relation with God remains intact, as
many other passages both in Isaiah and in Romans will insist. In Romans 2 the
citation of Isaiah functions as a word of judgment; however, the judgment
carries with it the same implicit promise that sustained Israel in captivity.
Thus, even in the portion of Paul’s argument that seems to the threaten Jewish
identity most radically, the scriptural quotation evokes, metaleptically,
echoes of the promise that God, in vindicating his name, will also redeem
Israel.” (Echoes of Scripture in the
Letters of Paul, p. 46)
Matthew Henry
-“Another thing that qualified this doctrine of the Jews'
rejection is that, though for the present they are cast off, yet the rejection
is not final; but, when the fulness of time is come, they will be taken in
again. They are not cast off for ever, but mercy is remembered in the midst of
wrath. Let us observe,
1. How this conversion of the Jews is here described.
(1.) It is said to be their fulness (Rom_11:12), that is, the addition of them
to the church, the filling up again of that place which became vacant by their
rejection. This would be the enriching of the world (that is, the church in the
world) with a great deal of light and strength and beauty. (2.) It is called
the receiving of them. The conversion of a soul is the receiving of that soul,
so the conversion of a nation. They shall be received into favour, into the church,
into the love of Christ, whose arms are stretched out for the receiving of all
those that will come to him. And this will be as life from the dead - so
strange and surprising, and yet withal so welcome and acceptable. The
conversion of the Jews will bring great joy to the church. See Luk_15:32, He
was dead, and is alive; and therefore it was meet we should make merry and be
glad. (3.) It is called the grafting of them in again (Rom_11:23), into the
church, from which they had been broken off. That which is grafted in receives
sap and virtue from the root; so does a soul that is truly grafted into the
church receive life, and strength, and grace from Christ the quickening root.
They shall be grafted into their own olive-tree (Rom_11:24); that is, into the
church of which they had formerly been the most eminent and conspicuous
members, to retrieve those privileges of visible church-membership which they
had so long enjoyed, but have now sinned away and forfeited by their unbelief.
(4.) It is called the saving of all Israel, Rom_11:26. True conversion may well
be called salvation; it is salvation begun. See Act_2:47. The adding of them to
the church is the saving of them… The Jews are in a sense a holy nation
(Exo_19:6), being descended from holy parents. Now it cannot be imagined
that such a holy nation should be totally and finally cast off.” (Commentary on the Whole Bible)
-“Another thing that qualifies this doctrine of the Jews
rejection is that though for the present they are cast off, yet the rejection
is NOT final; but, when the fullness of time is come, they will be taken in
again. They are not cast off for ever, but mercy is remembered in the midst of
wrath… The Jews shall continue in blindness, till God hath performed his whole
work among the Gentiles, and then their turn will come next to be remembered.
This was the purpose and ordination of God, for wise and holy ends; things
should not be ripe for the Jews’ conversion till the church was replenished
with the Gentiles, that it might appear that God’s taking them again was not
because he had need of them, but of his own free grace.”
-“The restoration of the Jews is, in the course of
things, far less improbable than the call of the Gentiles to be the children of
Abraham; and though others now possess these privileges, it will not hinder
their being admitted again. By rejecting the gospel, and by their indignation
at its being preached to the Gentiles, the Jews were become enemies to God; yet
they are still to be favoured for the sake of their pious fathers. Though at
present they are enemies to the gospel, for their hatred to the Gentiles; yet,
when God's time is come, that will no longer exist, and God's love to their
fathers will be remembered. True grace seeks not to confine God's favour. Those
who find mercy themselves, should endeavour that through their mercy others
also may obtain mercy. Not that the Jews will be restored to have their
priesthood, and temple, and ceremonies again; an end is put to all these; but
they are to be brought to believe in Christ, the true become one sheep-fold
with the Gentiles, under Christ the Great Shepherd. The captivities of Israel,
their dispersion, and their being shut out from the church, are emblems of the
believer's corrections for doing wrong; and the continued care of the Lord
towards that people, and the final mercy and blessed restoration intended for
them, show the patience and love of God.” (Matthew
Henry Concise Commentary)
Greg Herrick
-“The words all Israel (πάς Ισραήλ) present yet another
difficulty. At least four different interpretations have been advanced in an
attempt to exegete this phrase. First, it is affirmed that all Israel refers to
the elect of all time; from both Jew and Gentile (Calvin, 255). This is quite
untenable given the distinction between Israel and Gentiles throughout this
whole section (9-11; cf. Murray, 97). Second, some say all Israel refers to the
elect within the nation, but this makes the "shall be saved"
superfluous and redundant. It is quite obvious that all elect Jews will be
saved (Cranfield, 577). Third, some say that all Israel refers to the nation as
a whole including every Israelite at the time. However, the phrase all Israel
was common in Jewish rabbinical writings (which Paul uses) to refer to the
nation as a whole, but not necessarily every individual in it (Ezek. 20:34-38;
Bruce, 222; Harrison,123). Fourth, all Israel refers to the nation as a whole,
excepting some individuals and the remnant spoken of in 9:27 is only a
reference to a "stage in Israel's salvation history on this earth"
(Black,160). This view seems most agreeable with the context and the
extra-biblical use of the phrase all Israel.” (Israel's Present Hardening and Future Salvation: An Exegesis of Romans
11:25-32)
Archibald Alexander Hodge
-“Show that the
future general conversion of the Jews is taught in Scripture? This Paul, in
Romans 11:15–29, both asserts and proves from Old Testament prophecies, e.g.,
Isaiah 59:20; Jeremiah 31. See also Zechariah 12:10; 1 Corinthians 3:15, 16.” (The Second Advent and General Judgment)
Charles Hodge
-“Israel, here, from the context must mean the
Jewish people, and all Israel, the
whole nation. The Jews, as a people, are now rejected; as a people they, they
are to be restored. As their rejection, although national, did not include the
rejection of every individual; so their restoration, although in like manner
national, need not be assumed to include the salvation of every individual Jew.
Πάςʾ Ισραήλ is not therefore to be here understood to mean, all the true people
of God, as Augustin, Calvin, and many others explain it; nor all the elect
Jews, i.e., all that part of the nation which constitute ‘the remnant according
to the election of grace;’ but the whole nation, as a nation.” (Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans,
p. 589)
-“The second great event, which, according to the
common faith of the Church, is to precede the second advent of Christ, is
the national conversion of the Jews…. The restoration of the Jews to the
privileges of God’s people is included in the ancient predictions and promises
made respecting them….The future restoration of the Jews is, in itself, a more
probable event than the introduction of the Gentiles into the church of God.” (Systematic Theology, Vol. III)
Harold W. Hoehner
-“The context speaks of Israel’s rejection of Messiah and
her hardening which was to continue until the time when the fullness of the
Gentiles should come in. Then, in sharp contrast, at a particular moment in
history, ‘all Israel’ will experience salvation.” (Israel: The Land and the People, Israel in Romans 9-11, p. 156)
Anthony Hoekema
-“How, now, must the expression ‘and so all Israel will
be saved’ be interpreted? Calvin, as we saw, thought these words referred to
the salvation of the total number of the elect throughout history, not only
from the Jews but also from the Gentiles. The difficulty with this
interpretation, however, is this: in Romans 9-11 the term Israel occurs eleven times; in each of the ten instances other than
11:26 where the term is used, it points unmistakably to the Jews in distinction
from the Gentiles. What reason is there for accepting a different meaning of
the term here? Why should Paul suddenly shift from the natural meaning of the
term Israel to a wider, figurative
meaning? Is not the very point of Romans 11:25-26a to say something about both
Jews and Gentiles?
The more common interpretation, as we also saw,
understands this passage as pointing to a large-scale conversion of the nation
of Israel either just before or at the time of Christ’s return, after the
ingathering of the fullness of the Gentiles. There are, it seems to me, two
rather weighty objections to interpreting ‘and so all Israel will be saved’ in
this way:
(1) The thought that the salvation of the people of
Israel as here described occurs only at the end-time does not do justice to the
word all in ‘all Israel.’ Does ‘all
Israel’ mean just the last generation of Israelites? This last generation will
be just a fragment of the total number of Jews who have lived on this earth.
How can such a fragment properly be called ‘all Israel’?
(2) The text does not say, ‘And then all Israel will be saved.’ If Paul had wished to convey this
thought, he could have used a word which means then (like tote or epeita). But he used the word houtos, which describes not temporal
succession but manner, and which means thus,
so, or in this way. In other words, Paul is not saying, ‘Israel has
experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come
in, and then (after this has
happened) all Israel will be saved.’ But he is saying, ‘Israel has experienced
a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, and in this way all Israel will be saved.’
In what way? In the way Paul has been describing in the
earlier part of the chapter: (a) through the unbelief of many Israelites
salvation is coming to the Gentiles, and (b) by the salvation of the Gentiles
Israelites are being moved to jealousy. This has been happening in the past, is
happening now, and will continue to happen.
I interpret the passage, then, as meaning that God
fulfills his promises to Israel in the following way: Though Israel has been
hardened in its unbelief, this hardening has always been and will continue to
be only a partial hardening, never a total hardening. In other words, Israel
will continue to turn to the Lord until the Parousia, while at the same time
the fullness of the Gentiles is being gathered in. And in this way all Israel
will be saved: not just the last generation of Israelites, but all true
Israelites—all those who are not just of
Israel but are Israel, to use the
language of Romans 9:6. Another way of putting this would be: all Israel in Romans 11:26 means the
totality of the elect among Israel. The salvation of all Israel, therefore,
does not take place exclusively at the end-time, but takes place throughout the
era between Christ’s first and second coming—in fact, from the time of the call
of Abraham. All Israel, therefore,
differs from the elect remnant spoken of in 11:5, but only as the sum total of
all the remnants throughout history.” (The
Bible and the Future, p. 144-5; note: Hoekema’s two objections fall short
because 1) he fails to understand the Biblical concept of Israel as a corporate
entity; Paul has in mind the nation as the nation, not every individual Jew
that has ever lived; and 2) he fails to see how the traditional view is
compatible with the word houtos. He
also underestimates the weight of the argument regarding the contextual usage
of the word Israel.)
Otfried Hofius
-“There is no doubt that πάς Ισραήλ at Rom. 11:26a
refers only to Jews. The clause ‘all Israel shall be saved’, which
foretells a future event, is clearly antithetical to the statement in v.
25b that God caused a partial hardening to fall upon Israel at the present, so
that now only a few receive salvation, namely, the elect ‘remnant’ of 11:5, 7a.
‘All Israel’ thus means all Israel which at the present time does not (yet)
believe in Christ and thus does not yet participate in salvation.” ("All Israel Will be Saved": Divine
Salvation and Israel's Deliverance in Romans 9-11, The Princeton Seminary
Bulletin, p. 35)
F.B. Hole
-“The apostle very plainly predicts Israel’s
blindness is only going to last until the fulness of the Gentiles is come in.
Then their eyes will be opened, and Israel as a whole will be saved.” (Romans)
Charles M. Horne
-“The context will not support the view that Israel
means the Church. If it is argued that the phrase ‘and then all Israel shall be saved’ should be rendered ‘and so all Israel shall be saved’—meaning
that the ingathering of the full number of Gentiles is in itself the salvation
of all Israel—then it should be noted that a well-attested use of the Greek houtos, ‘so,’ ‘thus,’ is that of a
temporal sense. Actually the context demands that we understand Israel to
mean ethnic Israel. This is seen first when we consider what is meant by
‘their fulness’ (v. 12). Second, it is required when we note the subject of ‘if
they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in’ (v. 23). Third, it
is supported by the parallel instituted between Jews and Gentiles in verses
30-33. Fourth, it is evident from the phrase ‘that he might show mercy to all’
(v. 32). Finally, in Romans 9-11 the term ‘Israel’ indisputably refers
to ethnic Israel in each of its occurrences, the only possible exception being
11:26. What compelling reason can there be, therefore, to accept another
meaning here?” (The Meaning of the Phrase
‘And Thus All Israel Will Be Saved’,
Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society,
p. 331-332; note: Horne does not believe the meaning refers to the nation of
Israel, but to elect ethnic Jews only. He acknowledges as a great strength that
the national Israel view is accepted by scholars of every school: premillennial,
amillennial, postmillennial, dispensationalist and non-dispensationalists,
etc.)
Barry Horner
-“The meaning of πάς Ισραήλ, is the key here. The
context of v. 25 where “Israel” must refer to the nation as a whole is decisive,
as is the consistent use in the other 9 instances in Romans 9-11 that never
refer to Gentiles. The “all” incorporates the implied “remnant” and the
“unbelieving remainder” of v. 25. Thus Murray comments, “that it is exegetically
impossible to give to ‘Israel’ in this verse any other denotation than that
which belongs to the term throughout this chapter.” The remnant has not been
explicitly mentioned since vs. 5, 7. Again in vs. 24-25, the regrafting is
portrayed as climactic in the future, and not periodic throughout the church
age. The suggestion that Israel here is the accumulation of the remnant over
the centuries, according to Bavinck, Hoekema, Hendriksen, Palmer Robertson, is,
according to Schreiner, “stunningly anticlimactic,” Romans, p. 617. Reymond betrays this weakness in stating: “This
view still allows enough [emphasis
added!] Jewish conversions to Christianity throughout this age to meet the
demand of the ‘riches’ (ploutos, 11:12) and ‘life from the dead’ (11:15) which
Paul envisions ‘all Israel’s’ salvation will bring to the world.” If only the
remnant was in mind here with regard to this age, the present tense would be
more appropriate. Rather, “Israel will be saved [future tense]” parallels “will
be engrafted [future tense]” in v. 24.” (The
Epistle to the Romans, p. 335)
Michael Horton
-“In the latter part of Romans, Paul wrote that ‘all
Israel will be saved’ (11:26). A bit earlier he wrote that only ‘a remnant
chosen by grace’ (11:5) will be saved out of Israel. He then proceeds to show
us that ‘all Israel will be saved’ via an elect remnant.” (Putting Amazing Back into Grace, p. 106; note: Horton offers no
proof of this claim. Paul says no such thing in chapter 11. He does not say
that ‘all Israel will be saved via
the remnant of grace’ but he contrasts
the elect remnant in his day with ‘all Israel’ in the future: that is, at this time there is a remnant
according to the election of grace [Rom. 11:5], but the mystery is that when
the fullness of the Gentiles has come in ‘all’ Israel will be saved.)
Robert Hughes & J. Carl Laney
-“The promise of future restoration shows God’s equal
mercy to Israel (11:25-32; also note 11:25-26, 29)... A divine ‘mystery’
(11:25) is something hidden in the counsels of God, not accessible except as
God is pleased to make it known. In Romans 11:26-27 Paul quoted from Isaiah
59:20-21 and perhaps Isaiah 27:9 to show that Israel would one day be saved and
enjoy the benefits of the new covenant.” (Tyndale
Concise Bible Commentary, p. 538)
Erroll Hulse
-“‘The Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who
repent of their sins’ (59:20). The apostle Paul cites this scripture in his
treatise on the future of ethnic Israel in Romans 11. In answer to the
question, has God finished with the Jews? he suggests an answer in two parts.
First there is always a remnant of which he Paul was a representative. Second
there is a larger gathering yet to be a fullness which will bring blessing as
life from the dead (Rom 11:12,15, 25-36).” (The
Amazing Eschatological Dimensions of Isaiah)
Arland J. Hultgren
-“The covenant with Abraham is treated by Paul as
particularly important soteriologically. At the end of his long discourse on
the salvation of Israel in Romans 9 through 11, Paul concludes that ‘all Israel
will be saved’ (11:26). That salvation will not come about by Israel’s
righteousness under the law of Moses (i.e., keeping the Mosaic covenant) but
purely by the grace of God, whose covenantal act will ‘banish ungodliness from
Jacob’ (= Israel) and ‘take away their sins’ (11:26-27, perhaps recalling Jer.
31:34). All this will be due to God’s remaining faithfulness to his covenant
with the patriarchs (11:28), particularly the covenant with Abraham.” (Paul’s Letter to the Romans: A Commentary,
p. 357)
Aegidius Hunnius
-“These words of the Apostle are not received in a
uniform sense by expositors. Some understand, by the name of Israel, not the
Jewish people, but all believers without distinction. There are others who
think that, by this mystery, the Apostle wants to indicate that, before the day
of judgment, a great multitude of Jews will be converted to the Christian
faith. While neither interpretation is impious, yet when the entire context
of the Apostle is more carefully examined, the latter explanation, I think,
is more in harmony with the words and present purpose of Paul. For since what immediately precedes treats
expressly of the Jewish people, and the Apostle himself so comprises this
mystery concerning the salvation of Israel, as in what follows he clearly shows
he is speaking of the Jews, the intermediate words seem also such as should be
interpreted of the Jews. This is seen, besides, from the fact the Apostle calls
it a mystery. But if the sense had been that all believers of every nation
would be saved, this certainly was already known to the Roman Christians, and
was not a new mystery. Furthermore, it is certain that these words are
connected by the causal conjunction with those which are before, and depend on
them, and are the reason or cause of the preceding assertion why the Jews could
be inserted anew into their own olive tree.” (Thesaurus Apostolicus, complectens Commentarios in omnes Novi
Testamenti Epistolas; note: 16th century Lutheran commentator)
George Hutcheson
-“Here is held forth the future conversion and repentance
of Israel, the full accomplishment whereof was not that which we read of in
primitive times in Acts, but is yet to be accomplished when all their families
concur in this work… The conversion of the Jews or Israel unto the Messiah is
not to be of some few only, but national of the body of the people, and there
will be real repentance among them for all the land shall mourn and all the
families that remain, men and their wives.” (A Brief Exposition of the Prophecies of Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi)
Reidar Hvalvik
-“As to the meaning of ‘all Israel,’ there is today
almost general agreement that ‘Israel’ here
refers to the Jewish people.” (A “Sonderweg” for Israel: A Critical
Examination of a Current Interpretation of Romans 11:25-27, p. 100)
Henry Eyster Jacobs
-“The entire context (verses 12, 23, 30, 32) forbids
us to interpret this as the spiritual Israel, or even the comparatively
small number of Israelites who, from time to time, will be converted to Christ.
This argument of Paul loses all point in that way. It means that the
Jewish nation will become a Christian nation, like others among whom the Gospel
of Christ is externally revered and brings forth saving fruit in individual
lives of a large multitude. This, then, does not necessarily mean that, at the
time in prospect, every Jew will be brought to Christ; but the hostility of the
race to Christ will cease, and large numbers of them become Christians both in
profession and at heart. There seems to be no obscurity whatever about the
prophecy.” (The Lutheran Commentary,
Vol. VII, p. 239-240; note: see his excellent discussion of the interpretation
of this verse in the Lutheran tradition)
William Jenks
-“Yet God rejected not all His people, but was still
fulfilling His promises on many thousand natural descendants of Abraham, who
believed in the Messiah, and at a future period would fulfill them upon more,
since all Israel would be converted.” (The
Comprehensive Commentary on the Holy Bible, p. 103)
Jerome
-“Their sins occasioned the salvation of the Gentiles and
again the incredulity of the Gentiles will occasion the conversion of Israel.
You will find both in the Apostle (St. Paul).” (Commentary to the Song of Songs, Homily 1)
-“Because when the Jews receive the faith at the end of
the world, they will find themselves in dazzling light, as if Our Lord were
returning to them from Egypt.” (Commentary
on St. Matthew, Ch. 2)
-“Behold, a ruler
approached and was worshipping him, saying: ‘My daughter has just now died, but
come, place your hand upon her, and she will live.’ And Jesus arose and
followed him, and so did his disciples. This is the eighth sign, in which a
ruler asks that his daughter be raised. He is unwilling to be excluded from the
mystery of circumcision [note: Since circumcision took place on the eighth day,
and since Paul had taught that true circumcision takes place in baptism, the
Fathers viewed the number eight as containing a Christological mystery]. But a
woman flowing with blood enters by stealth, and is healed in the eighth place.
Thus the ruler’s daughter, who was excluded from this number, comes to the
ninth. This accords with what is said in the Psalms: ‘Ethiopia will hasten [to
stretch forth] her hand to God’; and ‘when the fullness of the Gentiles enters
in, then all Israel will be saved.’” (Commentary
on Matthew, The Fathers of the Church, Volume 117, p. 110)
Alan F. Johnson
-“Paul’s entire usage of the word Israel in this section of the book (chapters 9-11), especially in
chapter 11, and even the preceding verse, make it virtually certain that
he is denoting the ethnic Israel or Jewish people, which could not include
Gentiles. This more limited use becomes clear by also noting the subject of the
following phrase: ‘their fulfillment’ (v. 12); ‘they do not continue in their
unbelief, will be grafted in’ (v. 23); ‘their disobedience… these also now have
been disobedient… they also may now be shown mercy’ (vv. 30-31); and, ‘all in
disobedience, that He might show mercy to all’ (v. 32). ‘All’ Israel, then,
must refer to the forgiveness of the whole Jewish people or nation, the whole
ethnic group in contrast to the saved remnant of Jews in Paul’s day and ours...
The ‘partial’ hardness will be removed.” (Everyman’s Bible Commentary, Romans, p.75)
B.W. Johnson
-“So all Israel
shall be saved. After the fulness of the Gentiles has come in, the Jews, as
a people, shall be saved. That is, of the Jews then living, the great part
shall be converted. The nation shall turn to the Lord.” (The People’s New Testament)
Galen K. Johnson
-“The consensus that modern scholars have in fact
achieved over some aspects of the Israelfrage—“all
Israel” refers to historic Israel, not the church.” (Quodlibet Journal: Volume 6 Number 1, January - March 2004)
Edwin A. Judge
-“Nevertheless Israel may hope for restoration.” (Romans,
The New Bible Dictionary, p. 1101)
Walter C. Kaiser
-“However, God has not forgotten his ancient promise to
Israel about the land and about the gospel. Paul’s prayer was that Israel still
might come to repentance and faith (10:1). In the meantime, ‘a hardening in
part’ (11:25) has come over Israel, but when the ‘full number of the Gentiles’
(11:12, 25) has been reached, Israel will be saved (11:26) and grafted back as
separate branches into the olive tree from which they had been taken.” (The Promise-Plan of God, p. 283)
-“According to the plan and by the permission of God,
‘Israel has experienced a hardening in part until
the full number of the Gentiles has come in’ (Rom. 11:25). But when the
task of evangelizing the pagan, non-Jewish world has been completed and the
‘full number’ of Gentiles have come to believe in Christ, then the time will
come for the Jews to experience their ‘fullness’ in God’s gracious offer of
salvation (Rom. 11:12). The same timetable can be seen in Jesus’ prediction
that ‘Jerusalem will be trodden down by the Gentiles, until the times of the
Gentiles are fulfilled’ (Luke 21:24). Unfortunately, this timetable is not a
matter of evangelical consensus. Some object in the strongest possible terms to
interpreting the first clause in Romans 11:26 in a temporal sense—‘And then all
Israel will be saved.’ They prefer to interpret it, ‘And thus [so, in this
manner] all Israel will be saved.’ Verses 25-26a would then read, ‘Israel has
experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come
in, and in this way all Israel will
be saved.’ The most important point that needs to be raised here is that
Romans 11:26b-27 consists of quotations from Isaiah 59:20-21 and Jeremiah
31:33-34. In their Old Testament setting, these verses applied to God’s new
covenant and to his restoration of Israel. Moreover, in Romans 11:28 (‘As far
as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies on your account; but as far as
election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs’) Israel’s
future and the extension of salvation to the church are tied in with the
ancient promise-plan of God offered first to the patriarchs. Even though
the first clause of Romans 11:26 (‘And so all Israel will be saved’) may not be
directly temporal, it is sequential and consequential in thought in that the
promises made in the Abrahamic—Davidic—new covenant are tied to the coming in
of the full number of Israel and Gentiles.” (Back Toward the Future, p. 113-14)
Leander E. Keck
-"Since 'all Israel' represents kol Yisra'el (used 148 times in the Old Testament, as Fitzmeyer notes), it is likely that here Paul does envision ethnic Israel as a whole (not every Israelite) as destined for salvation. Paul does not thereby retract what he had said in 9:6, because, we may infer, he distinguishes the phenomenon 'Israel' in history (based on election) from the Israel that will be saved on the day of salvation." (Romans, Abington New Testament Commentaries, p. 280)
Craig Keener
-"After arguing that Jewish believers fit in the covenant more readily than Gentile believers do, Paul articulates his expectation that the Jewish people as a whole will someday embrace Jesus as their deliverer, consummating his covenant with them (11:25-27). Paul's use of 'mystery' (11:25) fits on common Jewish use of the term, for end-time secrets revealed to God's prophets (16:25-26; Dan. 2:28-30). This end-time mystery that Paul reveals is that God allowed Israel's hardness for a time just to allow a massive influx of Gentiles into the covenant, but God would ultimately remove the hardness and restore Israel to faith (11:25-26; cf. 11:11-12).
Once the fullness of the Gentiles has come in, 'all Israel' (Israel as a whole) will be saved. Some have argued that 'Israel' here refers to the 'fullness of the Gentiles,' i.e., the completed Gentile church from among all nations. But while Paul, like other early Christian writers, certainly regards all believers as part of Israel's heritage (and has indicated as much in the grafting image in 11:17), he has been consistently contrasting 'Israel' with Gentiles in the context (9:27, 31; 10:19, 21; 11:2, 7; and most importantly in 11:25). The context also suggests that God will remove Israel's hardness when the full measure of Gentile believers (probably representatives from among the nations, as in Matt. 24:14; Rev 5:9; cf. Rom 15:19) has come in (the likeliest sense of achri, 'until,' in 11:25).
Paul thus shared the expectation of biblical prophets and his contemporaries that his people would would ultimately turn to God, inaugurating the eschatological consummation. As commentators regularly point out, Jewish sources can speak of 'all Israel,' or 'Israel as a whole,' being saved without assuming that this applies to every individual Jewish person." (Romans, NCCS, pp. 136-7)
Joe W. Kelley
-“A second major question from verse 26 that must be
answered, which we have just partially attempted, is what does “all Israel”
mean? As already noted, one view says it means the elect believing remnant of
the Jews throughout the inter-advent age. That view was found wanting. Another
popular view is that Israel in this context refers to the Christian church
which is composed of both believing Jews and Gentiles. Such is the
interpretation of John Calvin. He wrote: “I extend the word Israel to include all the people of
God…When the Gentiles have come in, the Jews will at the same time return from
their defection to the obedience of faith. The salvation of the whole Israel of
God, which must be drawn from both, will thus be completed…In the same way, in
Gal. 6:16, he calls the Church, which was composed equally of Jews and
Gentiles, the Israel of God, setting the people, thus collected from the
dispersion, in opposition to the carnal children of Abraham who had fallen away
from faith.” In this writers’ opinion, Calvin’s view is not easily dismissed
for several reasons: first, in 9:25-26 the promises of Hosea 2:23 and 1:10 made
to ethnic Israel, calling the nation “my people,” is applied to the
Gentiles—hence, the Christian Church. It is clear that Paul sees the Gentiles
being grafted into the people of God (11:17-21) so that the Church can inherit
the promises and even the terminology that in the OT belong only to Israel.
Second, although contested by some notable scholars, the expression “Israel of
God” in Gal 6:16 more than likely is a reference to the Christian Church.
Third, the analogy of faith, whereby the meaning of a passage that is unclear
in one text is read in the light of the meaning found in a parallel clear text
is a legitimate method of interpretation. However, though these arguments are
true in themselves, in the opinion of this writer, they cannot be sustained in
Romans 11:26 for the following reasons: first, concerning the analogy of faith,
Romans 11:26 need not be read in the light of Galatians 6:16 (any more than
Galatians 6:16 needs to be read in the light of Romans) for the context
makes it clear who “all Israel” is. There is a sustained contrast between
Israel and the believing Gentiles throughout chapter 11 (11:11, 12, 13, 17, 24,
25, 28, 30-31). The term is clear in Romans 11—Israel always refers to ethnic Jews, never Jews plus the Gentiles. Second,
how could Israel be the ethnic nation in 11:25 (which is what this position
says), and suddenly, with no forewarning, mean something totally different—the
Church—in the very next verse? Third, the book of Galatians and the book of
Romans have different purposes. Galatians, the first book Paul wrote, was
written in the heat of the Judaizer conflict when the Church was being torn
apart over admitting Gentiles into the community without the requirements of
circumcision and the obligations of keeping the Mosaic Law (Acts 15). In
Galatians, Paul is arguing for the full acceptance of the Gentiles into the
family of Abraham apart from any works of the Law. His application to the
Church of the OT terms, “seed of Abraham” (Gal 3:29) and its synonym,
“Israel of God” (Gal 6:16) is clearly appropriate in the light of the purpose
of Galatians. However, Romans was written with a very different purpose in
mind—namely, to resolve the Jew/Gentile conflict in order to unify the
Christian Church for the mission of the Gospel. In Romans, Paul is warning
Gentile Christians against their proclivity for arrogance and prejudice against
the Jewish people (11:18). He warns against their tendency to look upon
themselves as the replacement for the Jewish people in the plan of God (11:19).
He even rebukes their misguided efforts in attempting to force the believing
Jews in the church at Rome to give up those practices which Jewish believers
feel duty bound by the Law to follow (14:4-7, 10, 13, 20-23). Thus in
Romans, it would be contrary to the background and purpose of the book to apply
the term Israel to the Church. In
this Epistle of Paul, Israel always
means ethnic Israel.” (‘And So All Israel Will Be Saved’—Romans
11:26, p. 13-14; note: see also his excellent discussion of “and so” in the
same article)
Max R. King
-“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.” (And So
All Israel Will Be Saved)
Fred Klett
-“The Israel of "All Believers" will only be
fully realized when the fullness of both Jewish and Gentile believers comes and
ethnic Israel is restored to faith. In order for God to be glorified the
Messiah must be exalted. In order for Messiah to be exalted, His Body, All
Believers, the Church, is being blessed and is prospering. In order for the
church to fully prosper, the Jewish people must be restored to faith and join
in the missionary enterprise (Romans 11:12). In order for them to be restored,
they must, of course, be preserved. I would argue that in order for the Jewish
people to be preserved, the Nation of Israel needed to be created and needs to
exist. We must stand for the continued existence of the state of Israel and for
a just expression of that existence. The fate of ethnic Israel and Spiritual
Israel, the Church, are bound up together. The church is to make Jewish
evangelism a priority and must stand by the Jewish people for the glory of God.
We must look with hope and expectation for the glorious day when the natural
branches are grafted in and "all Israel will be saved." In that day
the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally
to him, and the place of his rest will be glorious (Isaiah 11:10).” (Toward a Reformed Israelology)
Robert Knight
-“The apostle had already discussed the question of a
distinction within the Jewish nation, of an election who had attained
justification, and of the mass who were blinded to its true character and means
of attainment. From verse 11 he directs the attention of the Gentiles to the
objects of the consequent rejection of this mass, and to the ultimate glory of
the nation, at large, when they shall have been disciplined and prepared for
it, and when the veil shall have been removed from their eyes. In the present
verse, he adduces another argument to maintain a proper humility in the Gentile
converts, and to give them a correct estimate of the relative position in which
they, and the Jewish nation at large, stood in the designs of God. This he
introduces as a mystery, or a thing not hitherto made known, and all the
internal and mutual arrangements, influences, manner of operation and ultimate
success of which are still unknown; but this much of it the apostle unfolds, to
restrain the tendency to an overweening estimate of their own position, to
which total ignorance upon the subject would expose the Gentiles, namely, that
this blindness which rested upon the mass of the Jewish nation, was not total,
but partial, not perpetual, but temporary, and permitted to a certain extent,
and for a certain time, in order to promote God’s designs of mercy to the
Gentiles. When a certain state of things had by this means been brought round,
then this veil or partial blindness should be removed. That it is of the
body of the nation that the apostle is speaking, and of their state, seems
evident from the preceding and succeeding context. The Gentiles were in
danger of an overweening estimate of themselves, from the supposition, that the
blindess spoken of attached to the whole Jewish nation; for the apostle had all
along spoken of it in terms which precluded such an imagination. The quarter
from which he evidently apprehended peril to their humility and faith, was a
comparison of their own state with that of the Jews at large, i.e. that is to
say, the Gentiles, were, as a body, to supply in future the place of the Jewish
nation, and that the blindness of the latter was total and perpetual. This
danger he guards against by discovering to them, what otherwise he might not
have revealed, that this blindness was but partial and temporary, and that the
body of the nation, πάς ό Ισραήλ, should yet be restored to their original
relation to God. And thus, that is,
in connexion with the completion of the fulness of the Gentiles, all Israel,
the body or mass of the nation, shall be saved, or the whole nation shall
professedly embrace the gospel salvation.” (A
Critical Commentary on the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Romans,
p. 516-517)
Andreas Kostenberger & Peter T. O’Brien
-“For some, the expression ‘all Israel’ signifies the
community of the elect, Jews and Gentiles who have believed in Jesus the
Messiah. But this does not fit with Paul’s use of the term ‘Israel’
throughout the rest of chapter 11. Accordingly, most exegetes think that the
expression signifies the nation of Israel as a whole, though not referring to
every Jew without exception.” (Salvation
to the Ends of the Earth: A Biblical Theology of Mission, p. 189; note: the
authors unfortunately go on to limit the meaning to the elect of Jews within
ethnic Israel, missing Paul’s contrast between the remnant and the whole nation.)
H.J. Kraus
-“Here it is not stated simply that individual, special
favored members of the Old Testament Israel will again live from the root of
election and in the holy tree; the promise is that when God’s invitation to
join the new people of God has gone out to all nations, then ‘Israel as a
whole’ will once again be grafted into the holy olive tree. ‘For the gifts and
calling of God are irrevocable’ (Rom. 11:29). God will bring the work which he
began in Abraham to a wonderful conclusion, and by this act he will reveal
himself as the sovereign Lord of all the life of man in history.” (The People of God in the Old Testament,
p. 91)
Paul Kretzmann
-“There is here no basis for the millennial dream of the
final conversion of all Jews, but the apostle speaks of Israel in the same
sense that he has employed almost exclusively in the entire letter. Paul had
stated that the total hardening would not take place in the case of all the
members of the Jewish race, but that there is a possibility of the conversion
of some of them throughout the entire New Testament era. But in connection
herewith the apostle intends to impart to his brethren, the members of the congregation
at Rome, which was composed largely of Gentile Christians, a secret: I do not
want you to remain in ignorance of this mystery, this secret, in order that you
be not wise within yourselves. The secret of which Paul speaks is this: That
obduration, blindness, in part has happened to Israel, until the full number of
the heathen be come in, and thus all Israel will be saved. In order that the
Roman Christians might not form their own opinion in regard to the matter,
might not follow the drift of their own thoughts, he feels that it is best to
tell them this at once. The blinding or hardening that he had been speaking of
did not affect every member of the nation, but affected them only in part,
namely, in so far as some of them had been finally rejected; but of the rest it
was true that some of them were continually and gradually being converted and
saved. While the fullness of the heathen is being gathered for Christ, while
the number of those out of the Gentiles that will finally make up the body of those
that are destined for salvation is being called through the Gospel, souls will
also be gained from the midst of the Jews. Until the day of the revelation of
Jesus Christ in His glory, therefore, there will always be some from the midst
of the self-hardened Israelites that will come to the knowledge of the Savior.
And thus the final result will be that all Israel will be saved, all those that
are in deed and truth the children of Abraham, not according to the flesh only,
but according to the spirit. These are the ones, from every nation under the
sun, whom the Lord has chosen as His own and whom His saving call will reach
sooner or later.” (The Popular Commentary;
notice how Kretzmann ignores the immediate context and instead appeals to the
context of the letter at large. By doing so the verse loses all “mystery” and
become “stunningly anticlimactic” [T. Schreiner]; see Barry Horner above.)
Colin G. Kruse
-“Integral to the mystery Paul wants the Gentiles in his
audience to understand is that ‘Israel has experienced a hardening in part’.
The expression translated here as ‘in part’ is used later by Paul to mean both
‘in part’ (15:15: ‘I have written you quite boldly not some points [lit. ‘in
part’]’) and ‘for a while’ (15:24: ‘I plan to do so when I go to Spain… after I
have enjoyed your company for a while’; cf. 2 Cor. 1:14). It may be better to
translate it here in 11:25 as ‘for a while’, that is, Paul is saying that
Israel’s hardening is temporary rather than partial. This would be consistent
with the fact that Paul says straightaway that this hardening will persist
‘until the full number of the Gentiles has come in’.” (Paul’s Letter to the Romans, Pillar Commentary, p. 442)
-“Bell, The
Irrevocable Call of God, 259-60, notes four different ways in which kai houtos has been interpreted,
concluding that only two deserve serious consideration: (i) kai houtos has been understood as modal,
referring to that which precedes, i.e., referring back to the first two lines
of the mysterion in 11:25b. Thus kai houtos is translated as ‘and in this
way’ or ‘and in such a way’; (ii) it is possible that kai houtos could be understood ‘in a logical sense following on
from achri hou to pleroma ton ethnon eiselthe. Although kai houtos is here understood as
logical, it will also inevitably carry a temporal sense. This use of kai houtos is attested in the
‘intertestamental literature’. It is generally agreed that houtos never means ‘at that time’ or ‘then’, and so to construe
11:25-26 as to mean that once the full number of the Gentiles has come in, then God will act so that all Israel
will be saved is not tenable. However, Peter W. van der Horst, ‘Only Then Will
All Israel Be Saved: A Short Note on the Meaning of kai houtos in Romans 11:26’, JBL
119 (2000) 521-25, has shown there are instances where kai houtos is used with a temporal sense by classical writers
(e.g., Theophrastus, Characters 18),
postclassical writers (e.g., Epictetus 2.15.8), in Judeo-Greek literature
(e.g., Life of Jeremiah 6), elsewhere
in the NT (e.g., Acts 7:8; 1 Thess 4:16-17), and in early Christian literature
(e.g., Irenaeus, Haer. 1.30.14). He
states that the purpose of his essay is not ‘to exclude the possibility that
Paul used kai houtos in the modal
sense in Romans 11:26. What I do want to exclude, however, is the use of the
false argument that it is impossible to take houtos in the temporal sense because this is ‘not found otherwise
in Greek’ (Fitzmeyer)’ (524-25).” (ibid.,
p. 443, footnote 222)
George E. Ladd
-“Another event Paul expects to occur in connection with
the consummation is the salvation of Israel. This truth Paul expounds in Romans
9-11. The rejection of Christ by Israel and its subsequent fall was not a mere
accident of history but a factor in God’s redemptive purpose—an event in Heilsgeschichte. Even in the rejection
of Israel, God has a purpose: that by Israel’s fall, salvation might come to
the Gentiles (Rom. 11:11). Then Paul makes a key statement: “Now if the fall of
them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the
Gentiles, how much more their fullness?” (11:12)
In this statement is embodied Paul’s theology of the
future salvation of Israel. If the fall of Israel has brought salvation to the
Gentiles, in how much larger measure will salvation come to the Gentile world
if the “fullness,” i.e. the full
salvation of Israel, comes? Israel was God’s chosen instrument to bring
salvation to the world. This was the heart of the promise given to Abraham. He
was to be the father of many nations, and in him would all the families of the
earth be blessed (Gen. 12:1-3; 17:6). This is why Christ came into the world as
an Israelite. Israel’s rejection of her Messiah and her subsequent fall were
the means used by God to bring salvation to the Gentiles. But this is not the
last chapter of the story. The church age as we know it is not the end. Two
things must yet happen: the fullness of literal Israel must come in, and by her
salvation greater riches be brought to the Gentile world.
Paul further develops this truth in the following verses.
Israel is still the chosen people. She is still the special object of God’s
care and will yet be the instrument of salvation. This is asserted in Romans
11:15-16. The firstfruits of Israel (the patriarchs) were holy, i.e. the
objects of God’s election and care; and the entire lump (Israel as a people) is
also holy. If the root of the tree is holy, so is the entire tree. The people
of Israel continues to be a “holy” people—a people who God has designated for
his redemptive purpose in the world. This future purpose is indicated in the
following words: “For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the
world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?” (v. 15)
Here is a two-fold contrast: the present rejection of
Israel because of unbelief is contrasted with a future receiving of Israel in
belief. The other contrast is even more significant. The present rejection of
unbelieving Israel means that the message of reconciliation has gone out to all
the world; Israel’s future restoration will mean much more than this—a state of
blessedness that Paul describes by the phrase “life from the dead.” The
balanced structure of the sentence shows that this is a blessing that comes
upon the Gentile world. The balance of the sentence is the key to its
interpretation… Israel’s future salvation will issue in a new order of
blessedness and happiness for the Gentile world that is likened to the
emergence of life from the dead. There remains in the future for the world an
enjoyment of the reality of the life in Christ extending beyond anything we
have now experienced; and this will be accomplished through the instrumentality
of Israel’s conversion…
Paul sums up the entire matter in verses 25-27. Israel is
now hardened. The Gentiles are now being brought in. Finally, “all Israel shall
be saved.” “All Israel” does not need to mean every single Israelite but the
people as a whole…
It is impossible that Israel should be saved in any way
but by faith in Jesus as Israel’s Messiah. Saul of Tarsus was brought to faith
by a special vision of the glorified Christ; yet he was saved by faith like any
believer and was brought into the church. Literal Israel, temporarily rejected,
is yet to come to faith and be grafted back into the olive tree—the true people
of God (Rom. 11:23). Otto Piper has suggested that in God’s plan of redemptive
history, converted Israel may become for the first time in history a truly Christian nation.” (A Theology of the New Testament, p. 607-608)
“Many interpreters understand this passage spiritually
and apply the words ‘all Israel’ to the gentile church. This view makes Paul
merely assert that God’s entire people will be saved—that spiritual Israel will
be complete. This interpretation does not suit the context. There is a
movement throughout Romans 9-11 from literal Israel to the gentile church, and
in its context, ‘all Israel’ must refer to an entire generation of living Jews.
God has not finally cast off his people; when the full number of the gentiles
have been saved, God will turn again to Israel, and they too will experience a
nationwide salvation.” (A Commentary on
the Revelation of John, p. 113)
-“[Commenting on Romans 11:26:] It is difficult to
escape the conclusion that this means literal Israel.” (The Meaning of the Millennium, edited by
Robert G. Clouse, p. 27)
Père Lagrange
-“As the reprobation of the Jews was the occasion of the
reconciliation of the world, their conversion will be as it were, the signal
for the consummation of the world and the advent of a new one.” (Epitre aux Romains, p. 278)
Moses E. Lard
-“Here the future salvation of the great body of the
Jews, who shall then be alive, is distinctly asserted. This is the
clearest Scripture we have yet had on this point; and it is quite clear.
Israel is yet to be born of water and of the Spirit, and so to enter the
kingdom of God. Their unbelief and hardness are to die out. Their heart of
flesh is to return, the vail is to drop from their eyes; and they are yet to
see in him whom they pierced, their true and only Messiah.” (Commentary on Paul’s Letter to Romans,
p. 370)
Robert Leighton
-“But undoubtedly, that people of the Jews shall
once more be commanded to arise and shine,
and their return shall be the riches of the Gentiles; and that shall be a more
glorious time than ever the Church of God did yet behold… They forget a main
point of the Church’s glory, who pray not daily for the conversion of the
Jews.” (The Whole Works of the Most
Reverend Father in God, Robert Leighton, D.D., Vol. 3, p. 125-6)
Leuenberg Document
-“But Paul is certain both that God’s promise of
salvation for Israel remains unchanged, and that hence Israel’s election
remains in force and unchanged, although the majority of the people of God does
not recognise God’s acts in Christ. Paul sees this as "unbelief"
(11:23); but he also speaks of how God can and will "engraft" the
"cut off" branches again at the end of time (11:24).” (Church and Israel, A Contribution from
the Reformation Churches in Europe to the Relationship between Christians and
Jews)
Gordon R. Lewis & Bruce Demarest
-“As used by the rabbis of Paul’s day, the phrase ‘all
Israel’ meant Israel as a whole, without comprehending every individual within
the group. Thus Paul envisaged God’s elective purpose issuing in the future
salvation of a multitude of Jews who will trust Christ as Messiah and Savior.”
(Integrative Theology)
Henry P. Liddon
-“The context requires the literal Israel.” (Explanatory Analysis)
Dalton Lifsey
-“The contrast of the words "partial
Israel," "all Israel" and "the Gentiles" in verses
25-26 rule out the possibility that Paul is referencing the ethnically diverse
Jew-Gentile Church. He is intentionally making the contrasts… Paul draws a
distinction between Israel “of the flesh” and Israel “of the promise” in Romans
9:6-8. This distinction is used to differentiate between national ethnic Israel
in their state of unbelief and the “remnant according to the election of grace”
(11:6) who with converted Gentiles comprise “the Church.” This distinction is
essential to understanding Romans 11. Repeatedly in Romans 11 Paul refers not
to “Israel of the promise” but to “Israel of the flesh” who have “stumbled” and
“transgressed” and been “cast away” and “hardened” in “disobedience” and
“unbelief.” This rebellious “Israel” is the “Israel” Paul speaks about in
Romans 11:26 that will be “saved.” Paul’s quotation of Isaiah and Jeremiah in
verse 27 which includes the reference to “Zion” (Jerusalem) and “Jacob,” along
with statements “enemies of the Gospel” and “beloved for the sake of the
forefathers” in verse 28 are clearly about ethnic Jews who have rejected
the Gospel. The idea that Paul would speak of the Church in verse 26 and
then ethnic Jews in verse 28 bears no legitimacy.” (The Meaning of “All Israel Will Be Saved” in Romans 11:25-27, p.
1-2)
R.L. Lindsey
-“What does Paul say here (Romans 9-11) about the future
salvation of unbelieving Israel? This is probably the clearest passage in the
New Testament dealing with Jewry and eschatology. The critical verses are
Romans 11:25-26… There follow immediately two Old Testament quotations which
Paul uses to clinch the argument in his last statement… Note carefully the
expression ‘the fullness of the Gentiles’ and the meaning of the word Israel
here… It is clear that there is no reason to say, as some do, that Israel
here means the Church. That would mean that Paul had made a semantic switch
unnatural to the whole passage… ‘All Israel will be saved,’ that is, Jews
will turn en masse to Christ at that
time.” (Last Things, p. 50, 51, 53)
Martyn Lloyd-Jones
-“I am equally impressed by Romans 11 which speaks of a
great spiritual return among the Jews before the end time.” (Carl F.H. Henry, “Martyn Lloyd-Jones: From
Buckingham to Westminster,” Christianity Today, Feb. 8, 1980)
-“There are some, and I am among them, who believe that
Paul does teach in this chapter that before the end there will be large numbers
of conversions among the Jews. It will be astonishing and it will rejoice the
hearts of believers then alive. It will be like life from the dead.” (The Church and the Last Things, Vol. 3,
p. 113)
Richard N. Longenecker
-"My own view is that Paul is here speaking of the salvation of the Jewish people who will be alive when the course of God's salvation history is brought by God himself to its culmination... [I]t must be concluded that Paul's conviction regarding the future salvation of 'all ISrael' was very much a part of his Christian proclamation." (The Epistle to the Romans, NIGTC, pp. 897, 898)
Christoph Ernst Luthardt
-“A survey of the entire line of argument shows incontrovertibly
that here the discourse is concerning Israel only in the national and proper,
and not in the figurative sense; for, throughout, the contrast between Israel
and the Gentile world is maintained.” (Die
Lehre von dem letzten Dingen, p. 113)
Martin Luther
-“From this passage it is generally concluded that
the Jews at the end of the world will be converted to faith in Christ. However,
it is true that this passage is so obscure that hardly anyone will be persuaded
with absolute clarity, unless he follows the verdict of the Fathers who
interpret the Apostle in this sense. The meaning, then, is: The Jews who
are now fallen, will be converted and saved, after the heathen according to
fullness of the elect are come in. They will not remain outside forever, but in
their own time they will be converted… To understand the Apostle rightly, we
must bear in mind that his statement extends to the whole lump of the Jewish
people.” (Commentary on Romans, p.
161-162; note: Luther later changed his view when he wrote “Against the Jews
and Their Lies”. See comment by Robert Verrell Foster above and Hermann
Olshausen below.)
-“It is a holy secret why the Jews fell, a secret which
no man knows, namely, that the Jews who are now fallen shall return and be
saved.” (Luther’s Works, 25.429. Cf.
429-430)
John MacArthur
-“All Israel must be taken to mean just that—the
entire nation that survives God’s judgment during the Great Tribulation. The
common amillennial view that all Israel refers only to a remnant redeemed
during the church age does injustice to the text. Paul’s declaration
about all Israel is set in clear contrast to what he has already said about the
believing Jewish remnant which the Lord has always preserved for Himself. The
fact, for instance, that only some of the branches (unbelieving Jews) were
broken off (v. 17), plainly indicates that a remnant of believing Jews—those
not broken off—will continually exist while the fulness of the Gentiles is
being completed. These are Jews being redeemed who are not part of the spiritual
hardening that has come upon Israel because of her rejection of her Messiah (v.
25).” (Romans, p. 127)
-“So, what [Paul, in Romans 9] is saying is, Israel was
set aside, yes, temporarily and partially. And in their setting aside, the
riches was turned to the Gentiles. After the Gentiles fullness has come in,
after the church is complete (that's what that means) God will go back and
redeem Israel. Zechariah tells us exactly how. He says, “They will look on Him
whom they have pierced and they will mourn for Him as an only son.” That is an
indication that their salvation comes about directly as a relationship of their
focus on Jesus Christ. At that point, they will be saved. And, then He will
fulfill His covenant, verse 27, He will take away their sins. As concerning the
gospel, now, they have become enemies for your sake. In other words, their
setting aside affected the salvation of the Gentiles. But, as touching the
election, in other words, in God’s eternal purpose, they are the beloved for
the Father’s sake, for God cannot change His covenant. His gifts and callings
are without repentance, and so, He will bring them back. There is no
question that He will bring them back. But, the bringing back has to be
around the truth of the Lord, Jesus Christ.” (Bible Questions and Answers, Part 19)
Justin Martyr
-“And what the people of the Jews shall say and do, when
they see Him coming in glory, has been thus predicted by Zechariah the prophet:
‘I will command the four winds to father the scattered children; I will command
the north wind to bring them, and the south wind, that it keep not back. And
then in Jerusalem there shall be great lamentation, not the lamentation of
mouths or of lips, but the lamentation of the heart; and they shall rend not
their garments, but their hearts. Tribe by tribe they shall mourn, and then
they shall look on Him whom they have pierced; and they shall say, Why, O Lord,
hast Thou made us to err from Thy way? The glory which our fathers blessed, has
for us been turned into shame.’” (First
Apology, ch. 52)
Peter Martyr
-“The sum of this chapter’s teaching can be briefly
reviewed in the following way: the Jews have not so perished without exception
that no hope remains for their salvation. To this day remnants are preserved
who are saved, now to be sure a small number (even so they are the salt of the
earth), but one day they will become a mighty band in full view.” (In Epistolam S. Pauli Apostoli ad Romanos,
3d ed. [Basil, 1586], p. 488)
Frank J. Matera
-“Thus far, Paul’s argument has proceeded in this way. In
9:1-29 he defended the constancy and integrity of God’s word by showing that
God has always worked on Israel’s behalf through a process of divine
election/selection. Then in 9:30-10:21 he turned his attention to Israel to
show that it is not God’s word that has failed but Israel that has failed to be
obedient to that word. Now in 11:1-36 Paul comes to the crucial step in his
argument that the word of God has not failed (9:6). Focusing his attention on God
once more, he affirms that God has not rejected his people (11:1), that Israel
has not stumbled so as to fall (11:11), and that all Israel will be saved
(11:26), for the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable (11:29).” (Romans, p. 256; note: this is an
excellent summary of Romans 9-11.)
-“Although the meaning of ‘all Israel’ has been contested
(see Cranfield 1979, 576-77; and Reasoner 2005, 121-28 for a fuller
discussion), the argument of this chapter indicates that Paul is speaking of
ethnic Israel, which includes not only the remnant that has believed but also
the vast majority that has not. Historical Israel (past, present, and
future) will be the beneficiary of God’s salvation.” (ibid., p. 273)
Increase Mather
-“All Israel shall
be saved… I know not any Scripture containing a more pregnant and
illustrious testimony and demonstration of the Israelites’ future vocation,
it being a main scope of the Apostle in this chapter to make known this Mystery
unto the Gentiles.” (The Mystery of
Israel’s Salvation Explained and Applied)
-“What is meant by
all Israel? Answ. There are divers interpretations which have been given thereof.
1. Some think, that by all Israel is meant some Few of all Israel. But that cannot
be the meaning of the words, for the note of universality, All Israel, will not
bear such a particular restrained interpretation… Besides, the Apostle
opposeth that salvation of all Israel, which he predicts as future in the words
of my Text, unto the salvation of a remnant, which at that present time when he
wrote this Epistle to the Romans was accomplished, v. 5.
2. Others think, that by all Israel, is meant all the
elect of God. But though it be a
truth, that all the elect of God shall be saved, no link of that golden chain
of salvation which beginneth in election, and endeth in eternal glory, can ever
be broken, Rom. 8.29, 30; And although it be likewise true, that Israel is
sometimes used in Scripture for the elect of God, Gal. 6.16… yet that is not
the true meaning of all Israel in my Text, for the Apostle in this Chapter
discourseth of natural Israel. There is carnal or natural Israel, i.e.
those that are by generation of the seed of Jacob, who was afterwards called
Israel. Hence we read of Israel after the flesh, as well as Israel after the
spirit, 1 Cor. 10.18. Rom. 9.4, 5. Gal. 4.23. Now of this Israel doth the
Apostle here speak, as you may see, Rom. 11.14. Nor indeed had he declared
such a mystery as he speaketh of, verse 25, if only he had said that the elect
should be saved. Doubtless the Romans knew that before, whereas this salvation
of Israel was a mystery that they little thought of, and thence behaved
themselves too arrogantly and contemptuously towards the, at present, forlorn
and rejected Israelites, which error of theirs our Apostle laboureth to
correct, by informing them, that there would a time come when Jews should be
saved as well as Gentiles.
3. Others there are, that by all Israel understand, all and every one of the natural posterity
of Jacob. As if the Apostle's meaning were, that every particular person
amongst the children of Israel should partake of this salvation; but in that
there is a mistake also. For when this salvation shall take place, which is
here spoken of, there will be divers particular persons amongst the Israelites
that will stand it out against the call of God, for which they shall be
destroyed, according to that Text, Act. 3.23. We may suppose, that some of the
Jews will adhere obstinately to their old antiquated Ceremonies, for which the
Lord will be dreadfully provoked to cut them off. So some interpret, Isa. 66.3,
4. Consider also, Eze. 20.37, 38…
4. Others think, that by all Israel, is meant the body of the Israelitish Nation. And that seemeth to be the genuine
interpretation of the words; for in other Scriptures, all is used to
signify many, Mat. 3.5. It is said, That all Judea was baptized by John,
confessing their sins. Doubtless there were some in Judea, that neither
confessed their sins, nor were baptized by John, therefore all noteth a
multitudinous number: And so is All to be taken, Isa. 66.23. Joel 2.28. 1 Cor.
15.22. and in many other Scriptures. So when it is said, All Israel shall be
saved, i.e. very many Israelites shall be saved. Yea, all here noteth, not only
many, but most; it signifieth not only a Majority, but a very full and large
Generality. Hence the same thing is called their fulness, Rom. 11.12. Now as
when the fulness of the Gentiles shall be brought in, that must not be extended
to every particular person, nor yet to a few only, but to the body of Gentile
Nations, whom that prophecy doth concern; so may we say concerning this fulness
of Israel. Moreover, such as was Israel’s rejection, such must their re-assumption
into divine favour be, Rom. 11.15. But their rejection was not of every particular
person, nor yet of a few only, but of the body of the Nation; so shall their
salvation be National.” (ibid.)
-“That there shall be a general conversion of the
tribes of Israel, is a truth which in some measure hath been known and believed
in all ages of the church of God, since the Apostles’ days… only in these late
days these things have obtained credit much more universally than heretofore.”
(ibid.)
Philip Mauro
-“All this being understood, it yet remains that the
passage in Romans 11:25 leaves room for, even if it does not imply, a time to
come during this gospel era when the supernatural blindness, imposed as a
punishment upon the Jews as a nation, will be removed, or at least abated, so
that the gospel message will have a far greater effect among them than during
the time the vail was upon their hearts, and that many of them may be saved.
Paul's heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel was "that they might be
saved"; and it is reasonable to assume that, in so praying, he was
"praying in the Holy Ghost." This lends support to the expectation
that there will yet be a mighty working of the Spirit and the word of God
amongst the Jewish people, something analogous to "the latter rain" -
in which, of course, Gentiles too will participate.” (The Hope of Israel: What is It?; note: Mauro was strongly opposed
to Dispensationalism, Premillennialism, and generally any view that sees a
special place for Israel, yet even here, within his book in which he attacks a
future restoration for Israel, not even Mauro could escape the clear point of
Paul in Romans 11!)
Robert Murray M’Cheyne
-“But you say God has cast them off. Hath God cast away
His people which He foreknew? God forbid! The whole Bible contradicts such an
idea. "Is Ephraim My dear son? Is he a pleasant child? For since I spake
against him, I do earnestly remember him still. Therefore My bowels are
troubled for him, I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the Lord."—Jer.
xxxi. 20. "I will plant them again in their own land assuredly, with My
whole heart and with My whole soul." "Zion saith, the Lord hath forsaken
me, and my Lord hath forgotten me. Can a woman forget her sucking child, that
she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget,
yet will I not forget thee."—Isa. xlix. 14. "And so all Israel shall
be saved, as it is written, There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and
shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob." Now the simple question for each
of you is, and for our beloved Church, Should we not share with God His
peculiar affection for Israel? If we are filled with the Spirit of God, should
we not love as He loves? Should we not grave Israel upon the palms of our
hands, and resolve that through our mercy they also may obtain mercy?” (Our Duty to Israel)
-“I have often thought that a reflective traveller,
passing through the countries of this world, and observing the race of Israel
in every land, might be led to guess, merely from the light of his natural
reason, that a singular people are preserved for some great purpose in the
world.” (ibid.)
-“Saved Israel will give life to the dead world... ‘And the
remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from the Lord,
as the showers upon the grass, that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the
sons of men.’ (Micah 5:7) Just as we have found, among the parched hills of
Judah, that the evening dew, coming silently down, gave life to every plant,
making the grass to spring and the flowers to put forth their sweetest
fragrance, so shall saved Israel be when they come as dew upon a dead, dry
world.” (ibid.)
Philipp Melanchthon
-"Paul adds a prophecy about the conversion of the Jews, which should perhaps be understood in this way: It will come to pass that later, before the end of the world, some from among the Jews will be converted. But I do not know whether he wants to say that there will be a conversion of a great multitude around the time of the end of the world. Since this is a mystery, let us commit it to God." (Commentary on Romans 207 [MO 15:700]).
F.B. Meyer
-“The Hebrew nation will be grafted in to serve the
divine program in the last stages of human history. They are still beloved for
their fathers’ sake, and the day is coming when all their sins will be forgiven
and taken away.” (Through the Bible Day
by Day: A Devotional Commentary)
Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer
-“The modal
character of the ούτω therefore lies in the sucession of time conditioning the emergence of the fact (compare 1
Cor. 11:28), as it also in the classics, in the sense of so then, embraces what has been previously said... This notion, so
definitely expressed, of the totality
of the people is in no way to be limited; the whole of those are intended, who, at the time that the fulness of
the Gentiles shall have come in, will compose Israel. All Israelites who up to that time shall be still unconverted, will
then be converted to salvation, so that at that term entire Israel will obtain the saving deliverance... Limitations
from other interests than that of exegesis have been suggested: such as that
the spiritual Israel, Gal. 6:16, is
meant (Augustine, Theodoret, Luther, Calvin, Grotius, and others, including
Krummacher); or only the select portion
of the Jews (Calovius, Bengel, and several others, including Olshausen...;
or that πάς is to be taken comparatively
only of the greater number, of the bulk (Occumenius, Wetstein, Ruckert
Fritzsche, Tholuck)... πάς Ισραήλ is in fact, not ‘Israel as a whole,’ but rather the
entire Israel, as is also meant in 2
Chron. 12:1 and in all the O.T. passages, in contrast to ‘in part’, verse 25...
Will be saved, unto Messianic
salvation, by their conversion to Christ.” (Critical
and Exegetical Hand-Book to the Epistle to the Romans, p. 448-449)
-“It is self-evident that thus all the elements which form the points properly
so called of this interpretation [of Calvin and other Reformers] are forced
upon the text, and the result is an historical process recognizable by any one,
concerning which it is not easy to see how Paul could introduce it as a mystery.” (Critical and Exegetical Hand-Book to the Epistle to the Romans, p.
449)
Jason C. Meyer
-“‘All Israel’ should be understood as an ethnic
reference. This inference makes better sense of the preceding verses and the
subsequent verses in which Paul maintains a strict dichotomy in language
between ‘you’ (Gentiles) and the Jews. Paul distinguishes the Gentiles and
the Israelites as two ethnic groups in 11:11-25 in the olive-branch analogy
that comes before v. 26. Paul also divides Jew and Gentile into two separate
ethnic camps when he traces the pattern of redemptive history in the passage
immediately following v. 26 (i.e., 11:28-32). God’s salvific activity began
with Israel, went to the Gentiles, and then concludes with Israel once again.
The ‘all’ in v. 32 makes better sense as the summing up of both Jew and
Gentile, not ‘all people without exception,’ but ‘all people without ethnic
distinction.’ Furthermore, nothing in 11:26 demands a shift in meaning of
the word ‘Israel’ from its consistent reference to ethnic Israelites.” (The End of the Law, p. 193)
A. Berkeley Mickelson
-“All Israel.
National Israel. Compare the parallel from Jacob in the next quotation. All. Not necessarily every individual,
but enough individuals to make the believers in Christ representative of the
nation.” (Wycliffe Bible Commentary,
p. 1218)
John Miller
-“We utterly deny a prospective in-sweeping of the
Israelites. And if anyone begs us for an immediate reason, we answer, Because
Christ puts us on our immediate guard lest the Judgment surprise us at any
moment. How can that be true, and all these other things? We believe there is
no prophecy in the New Testament Scriptures. And if anyone is shocked at this,
we beg him to begin back at the original idea. If any moment may usher the
Redeemer in the clouds, and the dead, small and great, may be judged, what
mockery to stuff the time with events. We believe there is no Millennium. We
believe there is no personal reign. We believe there is no solidarity for the
Jew, or geographic trifling about the rocks of Palestine. And we beg any one
who testifies his disgust, simply to answer a question,--How can I be listening
for the trumpet, or waiting for my Lord in ‘the air’, or supposing in my short
life that the dead may be raised, when there are shoals of unfinished events,
and the ‘seals’ and the ‘viols’ and millennial splendor of the
church and the restoration of the tribes and terracing of Palestine, are all to
be interpolated before my rising? If I had to be hanged, and it might be
instantly, and the knock at my cell be at any moment, it would have a queer
influence to know that a new jail had to be built, and no end of events happen
before I or anyone else could ascend the scaffold… ‘Blindness in part.’ That is, the Jews, like everyone else, are
some of them saved and some of them lost… ‘And
so all Israel shall be saved.’ Jews are to be gathered ‘while’ Gentiles are being gathered; and so ‘all Israel,’ not in the ‘Restoration’ sense, but in the widest
sense, Jews and Gentiles, are to be converted and gathered in. ‘The children of
the flesh, those same are not the children of God’ (9:8). ‘They are not all
Israel that are of Israel’ (9:6). ‘He is not a Jew who is one outwardly’
(2:28). And, therefore, Paul has given us abundant scope to look for such
passages as this. ‘All Israel (will
have been) saved’ when Jews have been
going in ‘while’ Gentiles were going
in, and all Jews ‘inwardly’ (2:29),
whether Greeks or Israelites, shall have accepted each his place in the
everlasting Kingdom.” (Commentary on
Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, p. 319-321; notice the weakness of Miller’s
position; it is dogmatic, not exegetical.)
Bruce Milne
-“The way in which we interpret this verse will largely
determine how we see Israel in relation to the future. The important words are:
‘all Israel will be saved.’ At first sight this phrase read within its
immediate context, Romans 11:24-32, appears to assert not only the continuation
of the nation of Israel within God’s purposes but in fact a future act of mercy
on God’s part by which the entire nation will be restored to God… The
difficulties of understanding ‘Israel’ in a sense other than ‘the nation as a
whole’ however are real on a careful reading of the passage… In the light
of Romans 11:26, however, it may be that we should hope for a significant
future turning to the Lord Jesus Christ on the part of many Jewish people, with
resulting blessing for the world-wide church.” (What the Bible Teaches About the End of the World, p. 71, 76-77;
note: after listing four possible views and struggling considerably with them, Milne
comes to this conclusion cautiously)
Paul Sevier Minear
-“Did not Paul himself insist that the gospel and
salvation must come first to the Jew and only then to the Gentile? Did he not
recognize the continued importance of biological descent when he spoke of
unbelieving Jews as beloved ‘for the sake of their forefathers’ (Rom. 11:28)?
Does not this awareness of biological fact lie behind his own sense of kinship
with Israel and his own confidence that in the end ‘all Israel will be saved’
(v. 26)? To all these questions an affirmative answer must be given.” (Images of the Church in the New Testament,
p. 83)
Jurgen Moltmann
-“There can be no question of God's having finally
rejected the people of his choice-he would then have to reject his own election
(11.29)… Israel's promises remain Israel's promises. They have not been
transferred to the church. Nor does the church push Israel out of its place in
the divine history. In the perspective of the gospel, Israel has by no means
become 'like all the nations.'” (The Way
of Jesus Christ: Christology in Messianic Dimensions, p. 35)
“In its hope for the nation the church also preserves the
‘surplus of promise’ in Israel’s prophets, and therefore waits for the
fulfillment of Israel’s hopes too. In the very fact of turning wholly to the
Gentile nations with the gospel, it confirms and strengthens Israel’s hope: all
Israel will be saved when the fullness of the Gentiles arrives at salvation
(Rom. 11:25f). The common focus of Jewish and Christian hopes is the coming of
the Messiah to his messianic kingdom. Only the Christ of the parousia will save
‘all Israel’ (Rom. 11:26). The acceptance of all Israel will be ‘life from the
dead’ (Rom. 11:15f).” (The Coming of God:
Christian Eschatology, p. 198)
Douglas Moo
-“In both Galatians and Rom. 4
Paul is arguing that Gentiles, as Gentiles, can become recipients of the
blessings promised to Abraham and full members of the people of God… But Paul's
purpose in Rom. 11 is almost the opposite. Here, he counters a tendency for
Gentiles to appropriate for themselves exclusively the rights and titles of
'God's people.' For Paul in this context to call the church 'Israel' would be
to fuel the fire of the Gentiles' arrogance by giving them grounds to brag that
'we are the true Israel.'” (The Epistle
to the Romans, NICNT, p. 721)
“The reference in both verses
[Rom. 9:6 & Rom. 11:26] is to ethnic Israel.” (Galatians, BECNT, p. 402)
-“Paul has described Israel’s
‘hardening’ (porosis) earlier (11:7;
cf. 9:18). As the existence of a remnant has already implied, this hardening is
only ‘in part’ that is, it affects only part of Israel. But not only is the
hardening partial, it is also temporary. It lasts, Paul implies, only ‘until
the full number of Gentiles has come in.’ The object we must supply for ‘come
in’ is clearly the ‘kingdom’ or some such concept (see Matt. 7:13; Luke 13:24;
23:13). ‘Full number’ (pleroma), as
most commentators recognize, has a numerical reference… In other words, God has
determined the number of Gentiles to be saved. Once that number is reached,
Israel’s hardening comes to an end (see Luke 21:23-24 for a partial parallel).
The first clause of verse 26 is
the storm center in the interpretation of Romans 9-11 and of the New Testament
teaching about Israel in general…
(1) What does the transitional
phrase kai houtos at the beginning of
the verse mean? The NIV translates ‘and so,’ suggesting the idea of consequence
or conclusion. Others think the word may link up with the Old Testament
quotation at the end of the verse: ‘It is in this way that all Israel will be
saved, namely, just as it is written…’ Some interpreters and many casual
readers of Romans take the phrase as temporal: ‘and then all Israel will be
saved.’ But the normal nuance of houtos
is to express manner, and this works well here: ‘and in this manner all Israel
will be saved.’ Nevertheless, the temporal idea comes sneaking in the back
door, for the manner in which all Israel is saved involves a process that
unfolds in temporal stages.
(2) What does Paul mean by ‘all
Israel’? The heat of the debate over this verse has resulted in many options,
but three stand out as worthy of consideration. (a) An interpretation popular
among many of the Reformers and revived by several scholars recently is to take
‘all Israel’ as referring to the entire church. As we have argued, there is
precedent in Paul for using ‘Israel’ to refer to the church (Gal. 6:16), and
the addition of ‘all’ may suggest that Paul is now speaking not of national
Israel or a part of Israel but of ‘the whole’ of spiritual Israel. It is
through the removal of the hardening on Israel and the coming in of Gentiles
that all the elect of God, the entire Israel, will be saved.
This option is attractive in
many ways, but it founders on two points. First, Paul has used ‘Israel’ ten
times in Romans 9-11 so far, each one referring to ethnic Israel. There is
no hint here of a shift to a religious category. Moreover, Paul’s purpose
throughout this section is to stifle Gentile pride. For him suddenly to include
Gentiles in ‘Israel’ would fuel their pride by encouraging them to assume that
they have ‘replaced’ Israel.
(b) Another possibility is that
‘all Israel’ refers to ‘spiritual’ Israel, the elect of Jews from within
national Israel. Some interpreters who understand the phrase this way argue
that Paul is referring to the way that all the elect Jews will come to
salvation over the course of salvation history. There is precedent for this
meaning of ‘Israel’ in Romans 9-11, since 9:6 speaks of the ‘Israel within
Israel.’ But this is not the way Paul has used the word in the immediate
context, and it is something of a truism to say that the elect will be saved.
(c) Therefore, in agreement
with most commentators, we think ‘all Israel’ refers to the totality of
national Israel. This does not mean that every single Jew will be saved. The
phrase ‘all Israel’ occurs over a hundred times in the Old Testament, with a
range of meanings. But often it refers to some Israelites as representative
whole. Note, for instance, 2 Samuel 16:22: “So they pitched a tent for Absalom
on the roof, and he lay with his father’s concubines in the sight of all
Israel.’ Furthermore, the phrase almost always refers to Israelites living at a
certain point in time rather than to Israelites in every generation of the
nation’s history.
(3) The third exegetical issue
has already been decided by our conclusion about ‘all Israel’. If the reference
is to a single generation of Israel, Paul can hardly mean anything but the
Israel as it exists in the end times. This conclusion is borne out by 11:15,
where, we argued, Paul connects Israel’s ‘acceptance’ by God to the
resurrection of the dead. The Old Testament quotation that follows in the
present passage (11:26b-27) points in the same direction, for ‘the deliverer’
is almost certainly Christ, and his coming refers to his second coming in
glory. We conclude, then, that Paul here predicts the salvation of a
significant number of Jews at the time of Christ’s return in glory. The present
‘remnant’ of Israel will be expanded to include a much larger number of Jews
who will enter the eternal kingdom along with converted Gentiles.” (Romans, The NIV Application Commentary)
Leon Morris
-“But what seems decisive is
the fact that ‘Israel’ in v. 25 plainly means the nation (it is physical
Israel, not spiritual Israel, that is hardened in part), and it is not easy to
understand why in the next line it should have a different meaning (Hodge
has a strong argument for this position). A further strong argument is that
Paul has just said that this is a ‘mystery’. Now it is no ‘mystery’ that all
the elect, Jews as well as Gentiles, will be saved. Nor is the conversion of a
few Jews in each generation such as has happened until now the kind of thing
that needs to be the subject of a special revelation. That looks for a very
different kind of happening. It may also be argued that Paul is looking for the
restoration of the Jews in the sense in which they had been rejected, that is,
the nation generally. Paul then is affirming that the nation of Israel as a
whole will ultimately have its place in God’s salvation.” (The Epistle to the Romans, p. 421)
H.C.G. Moule
-“Thus far St. Paul has rather reasoned than predicted.
He has shown his Gentile friends the naturalness, so to speak, of a
restoration of Israel to Christ, and the manifest certainty that such a
restoration will bring blessing to the world. Now he advances to the direct
assertion, made with a Prophet’s full authority, that so it shall be. ‘How much
rather shall they be grafted into their own Olive?’ The question implies the assertion;
nothing remains but to open it in full.
‘All Israel shall be saved.’ It has been held by some
interpreters that this points to the Israel of God, the spiritual sons of
Abraham. If so, it would be fairly paraphrased as a promise that when the Gentile
conversions are complete, and the ‘spiritual failure of perception’ gone from
the Jewish heart, the family of faith shall be complete. But surely it puts
violence on the words, and on thought, to explain ‘Israel’ in this whole
passage mystically. Interpretation becomes an arbitrary work if we may
suddenly do so here, where the antithesis of Israel and ‘the Gentiles’ is the
very theme of the message. No; we have here the nation, chosen with a
choice never cancelled, however abeyant. A blessing is in view for the nation;
a blessing spiritual, divine, all of grace, quite individual in its action on
each member of the nation, but national in the scale of its results… A
transition, relatively swift and wonderful, shall show the world a nation
penitent, faithful, holy, given to God.” (Expositor’s
Bible Commentary, The Epistle to the
Romans, p. 311-312)
-“[These words] may refer (A) to the natural Israel, the
Jews; or (B) to the ‘Israel of God,’ the true Church of Christ… Of these…
possibilities we prefer on the whole (A) as the most in accord with the
context, and with the analogy of Scripture. The explanation (B) is in itself entirely true: the final glory
and triumph of the Gospel will surely be, not specifically the salvation of the
Jews, but that of the Universal Church—the immortal Bride of the King Eternal.
And it is extremely important to remember the full recognition in Scripture of all its true members as the ‘seed of Abraham’ (Gal. 3:29). But
this is not the truth exactly in point here, where St Paul is dealing with the
special prospect of a time when ‘blindness in part’ will no longer characterize
Jews as Jews. And the ‘Israel’ of
verse 25 is probably the Israel of verse 26, as no distinction is suggested in
the interval.” (Cambridge Bible for
Schools and Colleges, The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Romans, p.
199)
Robert H. Mounce
-“This is the crucial statement. ‘All Israel’ refers to
the nation of Israel as a whole but not necessarily to every individual. Thus
Paul is saying, God’s plan for the salvation of man involves three stages: (1)
the believing remnant, (2) the Gentiles, (3) Israel as a whole. Most of the
standard commentaries on Romans hold that Paul is here teaching the salvation
of Israel as an eschatological event.” (Themes
from Romans, p. 120)
Karl Mueller
-“If only individual Israelites are to be saved, then in
spite of everything there would be a breach in God’s promise. Therefore in
chapter 11 Paul describes the divine guidance of the peoples which finally must
lead to the salvation of Israel as a people (11:26).” (Zuvorersehung, p. 12)
George Muller
-“I now proceed to consider briefly some of the events
which will take place then… 2. The conversion and restoration of Israel
nationally. In Scripture the glory and resurrection of the Church of the
firstborn ones is always connected with the time when Israel (who will have
returned to their own land in unbelief) ‘shall know the Lord.’” (The Second Coming of Christ, p. 61, 63)
Iain Murray
-“This same belief concerning the future of the Jews is
to be found very widely in seventeenth-century Puritan literature. It
appears in the works of such well-known Puritans as John Owen, Thomas Manton
and John Flavel. … It is also handled in a rich array of commentaries, both
folios and quartos – David Dickson on the Psalms, George Hutcheson on the Minor
Prophets, Jeremiah Burroughs on Hosea, William Greenhill on Ezekiel, Elnathan
Parr on Romans and James Durham on Revelation: a list which could be greatly
extended. (The Puritan Hope, 43)
John Murray
-“‘And so’ with which verse 26 begins indicates that the
proposition about to be stated is either one parallel to or one that flows from
the revelation enunciated in the preceding verse. It means ‘and accordingly’,
continuing the thought of what precedes or drawing out its implications. ‘All
Israel shall be saved’ is the proposition thus involved. It should be
apparent from both the proximate and less proximate contexts in this portion of
the epistle that it is exegetically impossible to give to ‘Israel’ in this
verse any other denotation than that which belongs to the term throughout this
chapter. There is the sustained contrast between Israel and the Gentiles,
as has been demonstrated in the exposition preceding. What other denotation
could be given to Israel in the preceding verse? It is of ethnic Israel Paul is
speaking and Israel could not possibly include Gentiles. In that event the
preceding verse would be reduced to absurdity and since verse 26 is a parallel
or correlative statement the denotation of ‘Israel’ must be same as in verse 25.”
(The Epistle to the Romans, Vol. 2,
p. 96; see all of John Murray’s extremely insightful and important comments and
footnotes, pp. 96-98!)
Franz Mussner
-“We pose the question: In what sense here is "all
Israel" used? Perhaps simply as it is in the Septuagint? That is not the
case. For here there is very clearly a tension between the attributes "all
(Israel)" and "part" (apomerous)
from the preceding verse: a "hardening" (toward the Christ and the
gospel) for a specifically limited time or on a specifically limited portion
has come upon Israel, the Jewish people, from God. It lasts "until the
full number of the Gentiles (specified by God) come in." The
"remnant, chosen by grace" had at that time accepted the gospel –
Paul was thinking of the Jewish-Christians of his time--"but the rest were
hardened (by God)" (11:5 – 8), but not for all eternity, but rather only
"until the full number of the Gentiles come in."
Who, therefore, is meant by "all Israel" in
Rom. 11:26? The attributive "all" before "Israel" both
of itself and on the basis of the diachronic linguistic usage does not here
permit a limitation of the term "Israel" in the sense of Rom. 9:6,
that is, a limitation to that Israel which has accepted the gospel, or indeed
to the Church as the (alleged) true Israel. Rather, "all Israel"
consists of the "remnant" who by the grace of God have accepted the
gospel and the "rest" who were hardened (by God)--cf. 11:5 – 7. A
reference to the entirety of Israel also turns up in 10:16 when the apostle
there formulates: "But they have not all [of Israel] heeded the
gospel." "Not all" means a portion of Israel, namely, those who
remained "hardened." One must therefore describe the formula
"all Israel" as the sum of an addition; in this sense Paul modified
the handed-on formula.
From the perspective of this insight the much-disputed
"and thus" (kai houtos) at
the beginning of 11:26 can also be explained. It is often incorrectly
understood as an anticipation of the "how" (kathôs) in verse 26b, in the sense: All Israel will
"thus," that is, in this manner, be saved "as it is
written" in Isa. 59:20f. "And thus--as" is understood as a
parallel relationship. However, had Paul such a parallel in mind, then he would
have placed the "thus" in verse 26a in another position in the
sentence and would have begun it without the particle "and" (kai): All Israel will thus, that is, in
this manner, be saved as it is written in Isaiah. Rather, Paul proclaims:
"The remnant" of Israel, that part which had accepted the gospel, God
had already saved, as corresponds to the prophetic statement of Rom. 9:27 (Isa.
10:20: "The remnant will be saved") But also the rest whom God for
incomprehensible reasons "hardened," will be saved by him, namely,
when the "full number of the Gentiles comes in." "And thus"
in the end--the apostle states this
prophetically--"all Israel will be saved. The emphasis lies on the
attributive "all" (pas): All Israel will be saved, not just a
part of it, for example, that portion which has accepted the gospel.
Incidentally, that the "hardened" part of Israel which was not able
to obey the gospel will be saved by God is stated by Paul with the help of the
Isaiah citation not for the first time in ll:26b; he had announced this earlier
with all possible clarity in verse 24: "For if you have been cut from what
is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a
cultivated olive tree, how much more will these natural branches be grafted
back into their own olive tree." This is an indicative statement and
prediction without limitation: God will re-engraft them.” (‘All Israel Will Be
Saved’ [Romans 11:26], Tractate on the
Jews)
Navarre Bible Commentary
-“The conversion of the Jews is a secret—a mystery, the
text says (v. 25)—hidden in the future… This conversion will follow that of the
Gentiles, which will be as it were a prelude to it. Jesus has foretold that “Jerusalem will be
trodden down by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled”, which
in some way suggests that the Jews will be converted at the end of time.” (NBC, Romans 11:25)
Charles Neil
-“And (to
follow the subject one step further, in fact to its conclusion) so [thus]—ie. Under these
circumstances, after the conversion of the Gentiles (and by means of it)—all Israel shall be saved—ie. Shall be
restored, as a nation, to God’s
favor, and enjoy the complete fulfillment of all their prophesied blessings.” (The Expositor’s Commentary on St. Paul’s
Epistle to the Romans, p. 369)
William Neil
-“But Israel’s blindness is only for a time. God had not
discarded his ancient people, and in the end the Jews too will be gathered into
the Christian Church.” (Harper’s Bible Commentary,
p. 453)
Lesslie Newbigin
-"And what of those who are not chosen; who are rejected – as the unbelieving Jews of Paul’s time seemed to be? It is precisely to this deeply perplexing question that Paul immediately turns in the following chapters (9-11). One should read them continuously with this 8th chapter. The end of that long argument is this: that even the rejection of the Jews is for their ultimate salvation. Why this must be so must be the subject of another bible study, but the outcome is clear. ‘God has shut up all under disobedience that he might have mercy on all.’" ("Bible Study on Romans 8")
Jerry Newcombe
-“Some nonmillenarians believe God will do something
special for Israel at the end of time that will compel them to accept Jesus as
their Messiah. They base this view on Romans 11, in which the Apostle Paul
said, ‘all Israel will be saved.’ (Coming
Again, p. 242)
William Newell
-“And so all
Israel shall be saved—This is the real, elect, spared nation of the
future,—“those written unto life” (Dan. 12:1; Isa. 4:3, margin). The mystery comprehends this fact (as we
have said above, and as the apostle amplifies in verse 31) for the salvation of
national Israel was impossible,
except on purely grace lines. God had
given them the Law: that was necessary to reveal sin. But they utterly failed.
Now comes in the fulness of the Gentiles—by
grace: and so, after that, and on the same grace line as were the Gentiles, all Israel shall be saved! Most of that
earthly nation will perish under Divine judgments, and the Antichrist: but the Remnant will be “accounted as a
generation.”… See Psalm 22:30; 102:18. Jehovah at last “arises, and has pity on
her,—for the set time has come!” So we read the Psalmist’s words: ‘This shall
be written for the generation to come;
And a people which shall be created
shall praise Jehovah.’” (Romans
Verse-by-Verse)
John Newton
-“We have what may be called a standing miracle
continually before our eyes; I mean the state of the Jews, who, though
dispersed far and wide among many nations, are every where preserved a distinct
and separate people. The history of the world affords no other instance of the
like kind. The great monarchies, by which they were successively conquered and
scattered, have successively perished. Only the names of them remain. But the
people whom they despised, and endeavored to exterminate, subsist to this day;
and, though sifted like corn over the earth, and apparently forsaken of God,
are still preserved by his wonderful providence, unaffected by the changes and
customs around them; still tenacious of the law of Moses, though the observance
of it is rendered impracticable. Many days, many ages they have lived as the
prophets foretold they should, without a temple, without sacrifice or priest.
(Hos. 3:4-5) As yet, many Heathen nations are permitted to walk in their own
ways. But at length "the fulness of the Gentiles shall come in, and all
Israel shall be saved." (Rom. 11:25-26) The revolutions and commotions in
kingdoms and nations, which astonish and perplex politicians, are all bringing
forward this great event.” (Works of John
Newton, Volume IV, Sermon XXXII)
Anders Nygren
-“The content of the secret is that hardening has come
upon part of Israel for the present, and it will continue till the full number
of the Gentiles come in. But when that has taken place, the turn will come to
Israel as a people. Then it will no longer be a ‘remnant’ but Israel’s
‘fulness’, ‘all Israel,’ will enter into the kingdom of God. All Israel will be
saved.” (Commentary on Romans, p.
404)
Hermann Olshausen
-“That this remarkable passage contains a prophecy,
properly so called, respecting the people of Israel, is acknowledged by the
great majority of expositors, both ancient and modern; and the context so
positively requires us to understand Israelites after the flesh, that a
different interpretation of the passage will never be able to gain a permanent
foothold. It was only from a mistaken opposition to the Jews, and from
apprehensions of fanatical abuse of the passage, that Chrysostom, Theodoret,
and Jerome long ago, and in later days the reformers especially, were led to
explain the Apostle’s words as relating to spiritual Israel. The correct
application, however, was again established as early as Beza in the
reformed/Calvinistic Church, and in the Lutheran by Calixtus and Spener. How
forced the sense of the words is, according to that interpretation which refers
them to the spiritual Israel, is apparent from the translation of the passage
to which this leads: ‘Israel has been in part affected with hardness,
throughout the whole time that the fulness of the Gentiles is entering the
kingdom of God, i.e. while the Gentiles are entering into a body, individual
Jews only will become Christians; there is no help to be expected for the
Jewish people as a whole.) But then, (viz., when all the Gentiles shall have
entered), will the whole spiritual Israel, made up of Jews and Gentiles, be
blessed.’ The utter irrelevancy of this last sentence must be apparent to
every one; it is only when applied to the fleshly Israel that it acquires a
meaning.” (Biblical Commentary on the
New Testament, Romans, p. 373-374)
Origen
-“But when the fullness of the Gentiles has come in, then
will all Israel, having been called again, be saved.” (The Song of Songs Commentary and Homilies, Book III, Vol 26, p.
252)
-“Yet, after this, Jael, the Church, ‘went out to meet’
also the first people [Barak], who were pursuing Sisera. For Israel pursued
‘the law of righteousness, but did not arrive at the law.’ Therefore, the
Church ‘goes out to meet’ even that one [Barak/the Jews (the first people)] and
‘shows’ him her work; she shows him the accomplished victory and invites him
into alliance for having overthrown the enemies. For this true what the Apostle
says will happen ‘at the end time’: ‘when the full number of the gentiles has
entered in, then all Israel will be saved.’ Therefore, ‘primacy’ is indeed
brought about ‘at the hand of’ a foreign ‘woman’; nevertheless, even Barak is
not excluded from a participation in glory, he who indeed had begun as the
first but arrived at the end as the last. On the contrary, until he arrives,
Jael, the foreign woman, snatches a victory in a certain manner while escaping
notice.” (Homily Five, Homilies on Judges)
Grant R. Osborne
-“The great revival of the Jewish people will take place at the end of history after the times of the Gentiles. At that time all
Israel will be saved. And so
means that by bringing the Gentiles to himself, ‘in this manner’ God would
reach the Jewish people. This in fact is the process outlined in verses 11-14…
The conversion of the Gentiles would arouse the Jews to envy and bring them to
Christ. All Israel refers not to the
Jewish people down through the ages but to the nation at the end of history who
will be saved. The text clearly does
not detail how this will come about but rather promises the event itself, with
the Isaianic quote in verses 26-27 indicating that it will be connected to the
parousia of Christ… The promise of Israel’s future salvation has developed
throughout the section (11:1-24). At present there is a remnant who have come
to Christ, but the majority in Israel have been hardened (vv. 1-10). Yet the purpose
of this hardening has unleashed a powerful act of God whereby he first has
brought the Gentiles to himself and grafted them into the olive tree. But even
this act has been purposed to make the Jewish people jealous and cause them to
want to regain their covenant relationship with God (vv. 11-24). The result is
that after the Gentile mission is complete (v. 25), Israel will experience a
national revival and come to Christ.” (Romans,
p. 305-6)
-“The primary debate here is the meaning of all Israel, seen as (1) all the elect,
comprising Jews and Gentiles alike… (2) the elect from Israel… or (3) the
nation of Israel… The first is unlikely since the context is discussing Jews
and Gentiles separately, and in verse 25 ‘Israel’ refers to the Jewish people.
The second is possible but would be tautologous since by definition the elect
will be saved. The third is most likely, but the question is whether this
would lead to universalism, that every Jewish person will be saved (so Barth).
But as Moo says, all Israel does not
mean ‘every Israelite’ but is rather a corporate designation.” (ibid. footnote on p. 305-6)
John Owen
-[Owen, commenting on Calvin’s interpretation of Romans
11:26]: “The explanation [Calvin gives] of this verse is by no means
satisfactory. It does not correspond at all with what the Apostle has already
declared in verses 11, 12, and 15; where the restoration of the Jews to the
faith is most clearly set forth. Besides, by making Israel, in the next verse,
to mean generally the people of God, the contrast, observable through the whole
argument, is completely destroyed… Hammond
tells us, that many of the Fathers wholly denied the future restoration of the
Jews; and we are told by Pareus, who
mentions some of the same Fathers, that they maintained it. But it appears from
the quotations made by the first, that the restoration disallowed was that to
their own land, and that the restoration referred to by the latter was
restoration to the faith; two things wholly distinct. That ‘Israel’ means
exclusively the Jewish nation, was almost the unanimous opinion of the Fathers, according to Estius; and their future restoration to the faith as here foretold
was the sentiment held by Beza, Willet, Mede, and others, and is generally held by modern divines.” (Commentaries on the Epistles of Paul to the
Romans, ed. John Owen (Edinburgh: Calvin Translation Society, 1848),
436-37, n. 1)
-“[The bringing in of the kingdom of Christ awaits] The
bringing home of his ancient people to be one fold with the fullness of the
Gentiles, raising up the tabernacle of David, and building it as in days of
old, in the accomplishment of innumerable promises, and in answer to millions
of prayers put up at the throne of grace for this very glory, in all
generations.” (The Sermons of John Owen)
J.I. Packer
-“[Paul] is showing that, just as the Gentiles were first
of all shut up in sin and shut out of God’s covenant fellowship and then were
saved by grace out of sin, so the Jews are going to be saved out of sin, the
sin of unbelief.” (Engaging the Written
Word of God, p. 200)
Earl F. Palmer
-“There is no escaping Paul’s own dramatic setting
for the mystery that he is privileged to
share with the church. God is not finished with Israel even though his people
are rebellious. He will win them to faith.” (Salvation by Surprise: A Commentary on the Book of Romans, p. 134)
Wilson Paroschi
-“Though still quite popular in some circles, the idea
that “Israel,” in Romans 11:26, refers to the church at large has little if any
exegetical warrant. While it is true that elsewhere Paul seems to allude to
what is customarily referred to as “the spiritual Israel” (Rom. 2:28, 29; Gal.
3:6–9, 26–29; 6:16; Eph. 2:14), the decisive argument against reading
this concept into this passage is the context of Romans 9–11. Here the term
Israel indisputably refers to ethnic Israel in each of its occurrences, especially
the immediate context in chapter 11, which clearly distinguishes Gentiles from
Israel (v. 25). First of all, the failure of ethnic Israel to obtain salvation
is what was called for in chapters 9–11. Moreover, earlier in chapter 11,
Gentiles are explicitly distinguished from ethnic Jews: Gentiles are being
grafted onto the olive tree while the Jews, as the natural branches, are being
broken off. Indeed, to argue that Israel, in verse 26, includes believing
Gentiles, requires Paul to jump to a new meaning for the term Israel, for, in
verse 25, he says that a partial hardening has come upon Israel until the
fullness of believing Gentiles is reached. It seems obvious, then, that, in
verse 26, “Israel” refers to ethnic Israel as distinguished from Gentiles.
This is confirmed by verse 28 where the distinction between ethnic Jews and
Gentiles is still present.” (The Mystery
of Israel’s Salvation: A Study of Romans 11:26)
Elnathan Parr
-“That all the elect shall be saved? Who ever doubted
that? But of the calling of the Jews there is doubt. He calls their salvation a
secret or mystery but there is nothing mysterious about all the elect being
saved. He shows that there is an unbroken reference to Israel/Jacob, that is,
ethnic Israel. Before the end of the world the Jews in regard to their
multitude will be called.” (A plaine
exposition vpon the whole 8. 9. 10. 11. chapters of the Epistle of Saint Paul
to the Romans)
William Perkins
-“Hence I gather that the nation of the Jews shall be
called, and converted to the participation of this blessing: when, and how, God
knows: but that it shall be done before the end of the world we know.” (Works, Vol. 2, p. 231)
Friedrich Adolph Philippi
-“‘All Israel,’ in contrast with ‘in part’ of verse 25, can
be understood of nothing else than the entire sum of the people of Israel. It’s
application to the spiritual Israel (Gal. 6:16) is just as arbitrary as its
application to the believing elect portion of the Jews. Such explanations
merely show to what violent exegetical shifts interpreters can be led by
preconceived opinions.” (Commentary
on St. Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, p. 220)
John Piper
-“Not: all Israel may
be saved, but: all Israel will be
saved. Not everyone agrees that “all Israel” refers to the nation as a whole
alive in some future generation. Some take “all Israel” to refer to the true
spiritual Israel including Jews and Gentiles. Others take it to refer to the
remnant of believing ethnic Israel that is being saved all along through faith
in Christ. Both of these views deny what I have been arguing for—that there
will be a great and stupendous national conversion of Israel some day.
Five Reasons Why I Believe Romans 11:26 Refers to the
Nation of Israel as a Whole:
So let me draw out several reasons again why I believe
verse 26 (“And in this way all Israel will be saved”) means that someday the
nation as a whole (not necessarily every individual; see 1 Kings 12:1; 2
Chronicles 12:1) will be converted to Christ and join the Christian church and
be saved. And then we will conclude with some implications.
1. I think the term “Israel” in verse 25 and 26 most
naturally refer to the same thing.
Verse 25: “Lest you be wise in your own conceits, I want
you to understand this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel. . . .” That must refer to the
nation as a whole from generation to generation. He continues, “. . . until the
fullness of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And in this way all Israel will be saved.” I don't think the
meaning of Israel changes between verse 25 and 26. The hardened Israel (the
nation as a whole) will be the saved Israel (the nation as a whole).
2. The reference in verse 26 to banishing ungodliness from
Jacob fits with the national view of “all Israel.”
Verse 26: “And in this way all Israel will be saved, as
it is written, ‘The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob.'” This seems most
naturally to be a picture of Christ's return at the second coming, and
banishing ungodliness from Jacob refers most naturally to the removal of
the hardening referred to in verse 25. “Jacob” is not a natural or typical
reference to the elect remnant of Israel. The hardening lasts until the full
number of the Gentiles comes in (the climax of world missions), and then Christ
comes and lifts the veil and removes the hardening—he banishes ungodliness from
Jacob, from “all Israel.”
3. The parallel between the two halves of verse 28 point
to all Israel as the nation as a whole.
Verse 28: “As regards the gospel, they are enemies of God
for your sake.” Now that half of the verse surely refers to the nation as a
whole—they are enemies of God. So the second half of the verse surely refers to
the nation as a whole as well: “But as regards election, they are beloved for
the sake of their forefathers.” The point of this verse is to show that even
though Israel now is a covenant-breaking, unbelieving nation, that is going to
change. The nation that are enemies now, will be converted later because of
election and love.
4. The parallels in verse 12 point in the same direction.
Verse 12: “Now if their [the Jewish nation's] trespass
means riches for the world [salvation for the Gentiles], and if their [the Jewish
nation's] failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full
inclusion!” Here “their full
inclusion” most naturally refers to the same nation as “their trespass” and “their failure.” So “their full
inclusion” refers to the salvation of “all Israel” and is national.
5. The same thing is true about the parallels in verse
15.
“For if their [Jewish nation's] rejection means the
reconciliation of the world, what will their [Jewish nation's] acceptance mean
but life from the dead?” The nation now rejected will be accepted. So the
“acceptance” of the Jewish nation most naturally refers to the salvation
of “all Israel”—the salvation of the nation as a whole some day.” (All Israel Will Be Saved)
-“The point there [Rom. 9:6] is this: the privileges
given to Israel can never be construed to guarantee the salvation of any
individual Jew or synagogue of Jews, and
therefore the unbelief of Paul’s kinsmen cannot immediately be construed to
mean that God’s word of promise has fallen. But in no way does 9:6b exclude the
possibility that God’s intention may someday be to save ‘all Israel’ (11:26).
And therefore 9:6b does not give us a warrant to construe the privileges of
9:4,5 (against the wording of the text) as the privileges of eschatological
Israel (= the Church) to the exclusion of empirical-historical Israel. Why
should Dinkler prefer to see a contradiction between Rom. 9:1-13 and Rom.
11:1-32 than to allow God’s intention for Israel’s future in 11:1-32 to help
him see that Rom. 9:6b should not be construed to rule out a future for ethnic
Israel?” (The Justification of God,
p. 24)
“But, someone may say, if he saves the whole end-time
generation, an Israelite will be able to boast legitimately: I was saved
because I am a descendant of Abraham and so had a sufficient merit in God’s
eyes! There are two responses to this objection: 1) the banishing of ungodliness from Israel (Rom. 11:26)
will mean the elimination of precisely that attitude; 2) if anyone does
manifest that attitude he will not be
saved, since salvation is always on the same basis for Jew and Gentile.” (ibid. p. 27)
William S. Plumer
-“Paul was proving that the dark cloud which was hanging
over the Jewish people should, in God’s own time, be dispersed, and that all
Israel should be saved… There is a difference as to the meaning of ‘all
Israel.’ Calvin extends it to all the people of God. If this be the correct
view, we may understand the ‘all’ in an absolute sense. Then ‘all Israel’ in
this verse embraces all believers, whatever their lineage and nationality may
be and that to the end of time. ‘All are not Israel, which are of Israel.’ ‘He
is a Jew, which is one inwardly.’ The other view makes ‘all Israel’ to mean the
mass of the Jewish nation. In that case the word all must be taken in no
absolute sense, as it simply designates the great body of Jacob’s descendants,
who shall be living when the Jews shall turn to the Lord and accept their
Messiah. This is pretty certainly the correct view of the passage.” (Commentary on Paul’s Epistle to the Romans,
p. 552-553)
Matthew Poole
-“By Israel is
not meant the whole church of God, consisting of Jews and Gentiles; so that
word is used, Gal. 6:16, and elsewhere; for then, what he spake would have been
no mystery at all: but by Israel here
(as in the precedent verse) you must understand, the nation and people
of the Jews. And by all Israel is not meant every individual Israelite, but
many, or (it may be) the greatest part of them…. These prophecies and promises
[from Isaiah 27:9; 59:20 and Jer. 31:33], though they were in part fulfilled
when Christ came in the flesh, (see Acts 3:26,) yet there will be a more full
and complete accomplishment thereof upon the Jewish nation and people towards
the end of the world.” (Commentary on the
Whole Bible)
Prosper of Aquitaine
-“He delayed for centuries while he was educating Israel,
to enlighten the countless peoples of infidels; and now he allows that same
Israel to go blind till the universality of the Gentiles enter the fold. He allows so many thousands of this people to
be born and die and to be lost when only those whom the end of the world will
find alive will attain salvation.” (The
Call of All Nations, Book 1, Cap. 21)
-“The great parsimony in bestowing grace which in past
ages befell all other nations, is now the lot of the Jewish people. Yet, when
the fullness of the Gentiles shall have come in, then a flood of the same
waters of grace is promised for their dry hearts…When the Apostle Paul stopped
in his knowledge and discussion of this problem and gave way to utter
astonishment, who would be so presumptuous as to believe that he could try and
explain it rather than admire it in silence?” (The Call of All Nations, Book 2, Cap. 9)
Edward Purdue
-“All Israel shall
be saved; the Jews, as a nation, shall be converted to the Christian
faith—shall acknowledge Jesus to be the Messiah, and thus be restored to the
favor of God.” (A Commentary on the
Epistle to the Romans, p. 77)
Vic Reasoner
-“The consensus of Methodist commentators was that
there would be a future conversion of Israel. This hope was based on Romans
11:25-26.” (The Hope of a Christian World: Wesleyan Eschatology and
Cultural Transformation, The Arminian
Magazine, Issue 1 Spring 2007 Volume 25 Page 1-4)
Reformation Study Bible
“He is showing how God will, in the future, bring such
widespread salvation to the Jewish people that, in an obvious general sense, it
can be said that “all Israel will be saved” (v. 26) … some form of this last
view seems most likely for the following reasons. First, hints of it
seem to appear already in vv. 11, 12, 15, 16, 24. Second, v. 25 suggests that
an end to the partial hardening of Israel is in view. Third, “Israel” in v.
26 is not naturally interpreted as signifying a different entity from the
Israel in view in vv. 1–24 and vv. 28–31, where national Israel (not spiritual
Israel) is in view. Fourth, “mystery” in v. 25 would seem inappropriate and
exaggerated if Paul’s teaching were simply that all elect Jews will be saved.
Finally, this view accords well with the quotations in vv. 26, 27 from Is.
59:20, 21; 27:9; Jer. 31:33, 34, which appear to speak of a comprehensive
banishment of that sin that has been the cause of Israel’s alienation from God.”
William E. Riddell
-““And so that,” or “and in this way,” or “and thus” all
of Israel shall be saved. This expression, “and so that” is frequently used to
imply a manner and result. In this case, the manner/method is “a partial
hardening until the end of the Gentiles” and the result is “all of Israel shall
be saved.” We see a similar usage in Acts 27:44, where Paul was stranded in a
shipwreck. Men floated on planks and pieces of ship and “in this way” they were
all brought to shore. In other words, a “partial blindness” has happened to
Israel so that or in this way all of Israel might be saved. The reason this is
going to happen is because of Old Testament promises regarding Jacob. But more
than that, the astounding conclusion that Paul is about to reveal is that the
saving of the Gentiles is not for their sake, but for the sake of the
Jews!—that all of Israel might be saved.
Many have argued that Paul’s use of “Israel” in this
verse means spiritual Israel. They say that Paul really means the remnant of
saved Jews and Gentiles. It is true that Paul frequently speaks of spiritual
Israel, but in this case, the most obvious reading of “all Israel shall be
saved” (11:26a) is that he must be thinking about hardened or blinded Israel
(11:25b), which is ethnic Israel. First, verse 25 is speaking about an
end-time event that is centered in his discussion about the hardened Jews, who
are his kinsmen. Second, this is what he is calling the “mystery.” This mystery
is a different sort than the mystery of the Christ and the church, which was a
mystery to the Jews. This is now a mystery to the Gentiles. Paul’s main idea,
at this point, is that this mystery is that the hardening of Israel will be
lifted after the fullness of the Gentiles. Paul grounds this idea in a
quotation of the scriptures found in Isaiah 59:20-21 and 27:9. If Israel is
only spiritual or elect Israel, why apply Isaiah’s salvation to an already
saved group? It must be ethnic Israel who has rejected the gospel. The entire
point, going all the back to Romans 9:1, has been about hardened Israel. This
is further clarified in the verses to follow: “As concerning the gospel, they
are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for
the fathers’ sakes. For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.”
(Romans 11:28-29) In these verses, Paul expands his main idea. Israel is the
enemy of the gospel. These are “enemies” for your sakes, but are still beloved
for the sake of their fathers. In other words, these are the enemies of the
gospel so you Gentiles can be saved, but even so, they are still beloved of
God.” (Does Israel Have a Future?)
Herman Ridderbos
-“‘Full number’ stands over against Israel’s present
‘reduction.’ In an antithetical sense it also corresponds with ‘remnant’ (pleroma over against leimma) in verse 5… The entire
argument of Romans 11:15-32 is intended to throw light not only on the
possibility, but also on the certainty of this ‘acceptance’ and ‘fulness’ of
Israel.” (Paul: An Outline of His
Theology, p. 357-58)
-“There is therefore no contradiction between the
definition of the essence of the New Testament church as the people of God and
holding to Israel as the object of God's irrevocable gift of grace and
calling.” (ibid., p. 360)
Maurice Roberts
-“There were four men sent by the Church of Scotland:
Andrew Bonar, Robert M’Cheyne, Dr Alexander Black and Dr Alexander Keith. The
purpose of the mission was to enquire into the state of the Jewish people in
what had once been their homeland but which for many centuries now had been
more or less occupied by other nations – or rather left desolate. What lay in
the minds of these men and of those who were responsible for sending them was
the belief which we refer to as the ‘Puritan hope’. That is to say the belief
that one day in the future God will revive the Jewish people and graft them
into the Church once more. The classic passages which refer to this prophecy
are these. First Paul says: ‘There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer and
shall turn ungodliness from Jacob’ (Romans 11:26).” (2010 Evangelical Library Lecture)
A.T. Robertson
-“All Israel (pās Israēl). What does Paul mean? The
immediate context (use of pās in contrast with apo merous, plērōma here in
contrast with plērōma in Rom. 11:12) argues for the Jewish people “as a
whole.” But the spiritual Israel (both Jews and Gentiles) may be his idea
in accord with Rom. 9:6 (Gal. 6:16) as the climax of the argument. At any rate
we should strive for and pray for the conversion of Jews as a whole.” (Word Pictures in the New Testament)
Samuel Rutherford
-“O to see the sight, next to Christ's Coming in the
clouds, the most joyful! our elder brethren the Jews and Christ fall upon one
another's necks and kiss each other! They have been long asunder; they will be
kind to one another when they meet. O day! O longed-for and lovely day-dawn! O
sweet Jesus, let me see that sight which will be as life from the dead, Thee
and Thy ancient people in mutual embraces.” (Letters of Samuel Rutherford, Banner of Truth, Letter 50, p. 122-3)
Michael Rydelnik
-“So how do these references to the remnant of Israel
provide evidence that God is faithful to His Word? It is because the remnant, the true Israel, is designed to
be the earnest that God has given that one day God will fulfill His promise
that ‘all Israel will be saved’ (Rom. 11:26-27). Arguing that today, Israel’s
rejection of the Messiah Jesus is only partial (‘a partial hardening has come
to Israel’) and temporary (‘until the full number of the Gentiles has come in’).
But, in the future, when the Liberator comes from Zion, the entire nation will
believe and then all Israel will know the Lord.” (The People, the Land, and the Future of Israel, edited by Darrell
Bock and Mitch Glaser, p. 264)
J.C. Ryle
-“[The Jews] are kept separate that they may finally be
saved, converted and restored to their own land. They are reserved and
preserved, in order that God may show in them as on a platform, to angels and
men, how greatly he hates sin, and yet how greatly he can forgive, and how
greatly he can convert. Never will that be realized as it will in that day when
‘all Israel shall be saved.’” (Are You
Ready for the End of Time?, p. 137-138)
-“The future salvation of Israel as a people, their
return to Palestine, and their national conversion to God appear as clearly
and plainly revealed as any prophecy in God’s Word.”
-“Throw aside all prejudice, and view the subject with
calm and dispassionate thought. Take up anew the prophetical Scriptures, and
pray that you may not err in interpreting their meaning. Read them in the light
of those two great pole-stars, the first and second advents of Jesus Christ.
Bind up with the first advent the
rejection of the Jews, the calling of the Gentiles, the preaching of the gospel
as a witness to the world, and the gathering out of the election of grace. Bind
up with the second advent the
restoration of the Jews, the pouring out of the judgments on unbelieving
Gentiles, the conversion of the world, and the establishment of Christ’s
kingdom upon earth. Do this, and you will see a meaning and fullness in
prophecy which perhaps you have never yet discovered. It is high time for
Christians to interpret unfulfilled
prophecy by the light of prophecies already fulfilled. The curses on the
Jews were brought to pass literally:--so always will be the blessings. The
scattering was literal:--so also will be the gathering. The pulling down of
Zion was literal:--so also will be the building up. The rejection of Israel was
literal:--so also will be the restoration.” (The Second Coming of Christ, p. 38)
Charles Ryrie
-“In the discussion in chapter 11 Paul returns to the
original question, ‘Has God cast away His people?’ answering it with an
emphatic no. This answer is confirmed by two considerations: (1) the extent of
Israel’s rejection is only partial (vv. 1-10), and (2) the duration of it is
only temporary (vv. 25-32)… The partial nature of the rejection is illustrated
by Paul’s own case… The gracious action of God in preserving to Himself a
remnant is further proof that God has not cast away His people… God can easily
graft in again the natural branches. Thus Paul makes it clear that the
future restoration of the Jews is more probable than the salvation of Gentiles
has been. Not only is that restoration highly probable but it is certain, for
Israel’s rejection is not permanent (vv. 25-32). It is temporary because it is
only ‘until’ a certain event. Since there is no other possible way to
understand ‘until’ (v. 25), it is clear that the rejection must end eventually...
Thus Israel’s future rests secure on the promises and nature of God.” (Biblical Theology of the New Testament,
p. 214-15)
William Sanday & Arthur Headlam
-“πάς Ισραήλ. In what sense are these words used? (1) The
whole context shows clearly that it is the actual Israel of history that is
referred to. This is quite clear from the contrast with ‘the fullness of
the Gentiles’ in verse 25, the use of the term Israel in the same verse, and
the drift of the argument in verses 17-24. It cannot be interpreted either
of the spiritual Israel, as by Calvin, or the remnant according to the
election of grace, or such Jews as believe, or all who to the end of the world
shall turn to the Lord. (2) πάς must be taken in the proper meaning of the
word: ‘Israel as whole, Israel as a nation,’ and not as necessarily including
every Israelite.” (A Critical and Exegetical
Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, p. 335)
E.P. Sanders
-“It is God who hardened part of Israel, it is God whose
word will not fail (Rom. 9:6), and it is God who will see to it that all Israel
is saved, though this does not happen apart from Christ.” (Paul, the Law, and the Jewish People, p. 194; note: Sanders is
referring here to ethnic Israel.)
Robert Saucy
-“On the meaning of ‘all Israel,’ most contemporary
scholars reject the first interpretation—that the phrase is a reference to the
elect Jews and Gentiles of all ages—and they do so because of the context.
In chapter 9-11, Paul uses the term ‘Israel’ no less than eleven times. The
preceding ten indisputably denote the Jews as opposed to the Gentiles, and
there is no compelling evidence to view the last use differently. Moreover,
the close connection in thought between verses 25 and 26 demands ethnic
Israel.” (The Case for Progressive
Dispensationalism, p. 254)
Francis Schaeffer
-“The Word of God is explicit still about the
future. In Romans 11:25 it is made clear that the blindness which now in
part is happened to Israel is not forever, but "until the fullness of the
Gentiles has come in". And then what is to come to pass? The 26th verse
tells us that "all Israel" shall then be saved when the Deliverer
"will turn away ungodliness from Jacob". The 29th verse is one
that Christians love and use for ourselves, "For the gifts and calling of
God are irrevocable." We may apply it to ourselves because God never
breaks any promise but let us notice that the primary application in this place
is to the Jew. God has promised great things for Israel as a nation, and the
Word here tells us that he will bring them to pass. If he does not bring them
to pass, then "the gifts and calling of God" are not "irrevocable".
Clearly, again, in Zechariah 12:10 it is stated that the day will come
when the Jews, "will look on Me whom they have pierced; they will mourn
for Him as one mourns for his only son." In the day when Israel shall be
saved they shall look upon Jesus and know that in His first coming he was their
true Messiah. Again, it is not only the Old Testament, which promises that the
land of Palestine will once more belong to the Jews. In the New Testament,
also, in Luke 21:24, we are told that, "Jerusalem will be trampled by
Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled". The Word tells us
that the day will come when "all Israel will be saved", that the Jews
will "look upon" Jesus as their true Messiah and that the Promised Land
will be theirs once more. It is not only for the past, not only for the
present, but also for the future, that we who are now Christ’s should love the
Jew.” (The Bible-Believing Christian and
the Jewish People)
Philip Schaff
-“The last word of Christ and the apostle concerning this wonderful people—which, like the burning bush, are never consumed—is a word of promise and hope that their blindness will be removed, and that after the fullness of the Gentiles has come in, ‘all Israel will be saved.’ Rom. 11:26.” ("Hebrews", A Dictionary of the Bible, ed. Philip Schaff, p. 370)
Philip Schaff & Matthew B. Riddle
-“All Israel shall
be saved. This statement has been narrowed in many ways, and on the other
hand the obvious sense has been loaded down with notions to which Paul does
not allude, here or elsewhere. The view now generally adopted is: that
the ancient people of God (so marvellously preserved in their distinctive life,
as if in earnest of this) shall be restored, as a nation, to God’s favor.
As in Rom. 11:25, it is not implied that every individual Jew will be
converted; but probably the proportion will be greater than in the case of the
Gentiles, since ‘all’ is more definite. We must also place in connection with
this statement, the argument of Rom. 11:12; Rom. 11:15. But respecting the
details of this restoration of the Jews as a body little has been revealed. The
picture is everywhere drawn, only in broad outline. The attempt to fill it out
has always produced a reaction, which has opposed even the obvious literal
sense of the clause. Luther, Calvin, and others of the reformers denied the
reference to the Jewish nation, mainly on dogmatic grounds. Whether Paul
expected this to occur sooner or later does not affect the points revealed;
chronological and prophetical nearness are not necessarily identical. The
lengthening term of Israel’s unbelief presents cumulative evidence that
Israel’s preservation is to the end that ‘all Israel shall be saved.’” (A Popular Commentary on the New Testament)
Adolf Schlatter
-"But when all the Gentiles elected by grace have 'come in,' then Israel will be liberated from the hardening that now renders them incapable of receiving, and thus 'all Israel will be saved.' The contrast to pas Israel is that which happens now and is indicated by apo merous... When salvation will be bestowed upon 'all Israel,' the message of Jesus will not obliterate the national community, but will cause them to be subject to him... What he [Paul] gave them was the certainty that the rebellion of the Jews against Christ is not the end of their history." (Romans: The Righteousness of God, translated by Siegfried S. Schatzmann, pp. 224, 225)
Friedrich Schleiermacher
-“By the same token, Paul too inquired as to how, despite all else, it should happen that by the Word the Spirit of God would have a more powerful impact on the Gentiles than on the Jews. This observation, moreover, he expressed to all intents and purposes teleologically in this way: ‘a hardening has come upon part of Israel, until the full number of the Gentiles come in, and so all Israel will be saved.’ This statement, despite all else, means nothing other than that in comparison with the Jews it was precisely the Gentiles who were sick whereas it was the Jews who were well, and that on the whole, once the Jews would have come to be entirely surrounded by the greater health that the Gentiles had attained through the Gospel, they too would come to a feeling of their sickness.” (On the Doctrine of Election, p. 74; note: this is an interesting interpretation, nevertheless even Schleiermacher sees that Paul is talking about ethnic Israel.)
Thomas R. Schreiner
-[Against “all Israel” referring to the church, Thomas
Schreiner, in his commentary on Romans, calls this argument decisive:] “The
central and decisive objection to this interpretation is the context of Rom.
9-11, especially the immediate context of chapter 11. The failure of ethnic
Jews to obtain salvation is what provoked chapters 9-11 in the first place.
Moreover, the preceding verses in chapter 11 preserve a distinction between
Gentiles and ethnic Jews: the Gentiles are being grafted onto the olive tree
while the Jews–as the natural branches–are being removed.” (Romans, Baker Exegetical Commentary)
-"This period of a great Gentile ingathering is happening 'until' all Israel will be saved. I have already observed in 11:1-10 that despite the election of a remnant among Israel most of Israel remains hardened. It follows, then, that the hardening of the majority of Israel in verse 25 is parallel to verses 1-10, where the hardening of most of Israel is a reality despite the election of a remnant. Now this observation is extremely important for the interpretation of verses 25-26, for the latter verses imply that something more than the hardening of the majority of Israel is to be anticipated. The word 'until' implies that the hardening of the majority of Israel will be lifted after the full number of Gentiles are saved. This expectation is fulfilled in verse 26, which promises the salvation of all Israel, suggesting not merely the salvation of a remnant throughout history but a great ingathering of Jews into the people of God... The citation of Scripture in verses 26-27 supports this interpretation." (Romans, BECNT, pp. 617-8, 19).
-“Romans 9–11 has increasingly been recognized by
scholars to be a central part of the letter to the Romans. Moo concurs with
this judgment and argues that it is an integral part of the Pauline gospel.
Paul argues in this section that God’s promises to Israel have not been
rescinded and that they will indeed be fulfilled. Some scholars have claimed
that Paul’s argument in this section is internally contradictory, but Moo
defends well the coherence of Paul’s thought. Other scholars have suggested
that Israel will be saved without faith in Christ. This theory, though
attractive, is shown to be wishful thinking through Moo’s careful exegesis of
the text. What does Paul mean when he say that ‘all Israel shall be saved’
(Romans 11:26)? The idea that the reference is to both Jews and Gentiles is
rightly rejected, for the Jews are distinguished from the Gentiles in chaps.
9-11. Moo argues that the reference is to ethnic Israel and that Paul
predicts the salvation of a great number of Israelites near the second coming
of Christ. In my opinion, this is the most satisfying interpretation of
a controversial text.” (Reading Romans Theologically:
A Review Article, JETS, p. 649-650)
James M. Scott
-“The inclusive interpretation is improbable not
only in light of the established usage of ‘all Israel,’ but also in view of
Paul’s argument in context, where he explicitly contrasts ‘Israel’ and ‘the
nations’ (cf. Rom. 11:1ff.). Thus, for example, the apostle states that ‘a
hardening has come upon part of Israel, until the full number of the nations
has come in’ (v. 25). Then, immediately after stating that ‘all Israel will be
saved’ (v. 26), he supports this assertion with a citation of Isa 59:20-1 +
27:9, where ‘Jacob’ must refer to ‘Israel’ in the literal sense of all
twelve tribes. In Rom 11:18, the apostle makes it abundantly clear that
the ‘all Israel’ of v. 26 must be ethnic Israel, since it is obviously
ethnic Israelites who are now ‘enemies for the sake of the nations’ and who
‘are beloved because of the fathers according to election.’” (Restoration: Old Testament, Jewish and
Christian Perspectives, edited by James M. Scott, p. 517)
Thomas Scott & Matthew Henry
-“The continued care of the Lord towards that people, and
the final mercy and blessed restoration which appear intended for them, show
the preserving patience and victorious love of God, to those whom he has chosen
in Christ before the foundation of the world, and who he finally will save for
his sake.” (A Commentary Upon the Holy
Bible, Vol. 6, p. 80)
Mark A. Seifrid
-“The ‘mystery,’ Paul explains, is that a hardening, in
part, has come upon Israel. This ‘hardening in part’ also has a limited time:
‘until the fullness of the Gentiles has entered in’ (11:25c-d). This statement
is most naturally understood as an expression of Paul’s argument thus far in
chapter 11. The ‘hardening in part’ is something of a litotes that describes
the divine judgment on the nation that preserves a not inconsiderable ‘remnant’
as a sign of the coming salvation of Israel as a whole (11:1-9, 14). Paul has
already made it clear that Israel’s ‘fall’ is not final, that God will finally
accept them again (11:11-16). He now makes clear that they will be ingrafted
again into ‘their own olive tree’—that is, into the community of faith that
proceeds from Abraham (11:23-24)… ‘the fullness’ of Israel signifies the
eschatological salvation of the nation as a whole… the Gentiles’ time will come
to an end, and when it does, the ‘hardening’ of Israel will end as well… Paul
does not cast aside his affirmation of the priority of Israel: salvation
remains ‘for the Jew first, and also for the Greek.’
…Paul’s point here is not that every last member of
Israel in all of time will be saved; if that were the case, his deep lament,
with his willingness to suffer his own condemnation for Israel’s sake, would be
pointless. ‘All Israel’ does not signify every descendent of Abraham for all
time; rather, as an allusion to Scripture, it speaks of Israel as a corporate
reality (e.g. Deut. 1:1; 5:1; 29:2; 31:11; Josh. 3:7; 1 Sam. 7:5). Paul is
concerned instead about Israel as a nation, as a people with a history,
as an ethnic reality. Christ alone remains the way of salvation, but Israel’s
way to Christ will differ from that of the nations that hear the gospel: Israel
will see and believe in him as the coming Redeemer, as Paul himself did. The
final act in the drama of redemption is not the formation of a church that
consists largely of Gentiles, but the creation of salvation for the people of
Israel. The gospel of Christ does not stand at odds with his coming as
Redeemer, but rather announces it. Before that coming, then, Paul hopes to save
‘some’ of his people. As the larger dynamic of the passage makes clear, the
surprising turns in the path of God’s purposes are by no means arbitrary. God’s
untraceable ways reassert his right over us as our Creator, who acts in the
freedom of mercy.
…Of course, there have long been different readings of
Rom. 11, interpreting ‘Israel’ as referring to the church or the remnant of
Israel throughout the ages (see Hoekema 1994). It is beyond the scope of the
present work to engage in detailed debate with such readings, but two
observations are appropriate. First, such a reinterpretation of ‘Israel’ can
hardly be reconciled with the apostle’s opening lament for his people in
9:1-29, which is echoed in the prophet Isaiah. Biblical lament arises only in
the face of unanswered promise. Likewise, Paul’s sorrow over the nation is
hardly answered by a redefinition of the term. Second, and more importantly,
such readings remove us from recognizing our limited time and place as Gentiles
(as most of us are), which is precisely what the apostle is trying to prevent.”
(Commentary on the New Testament Use of
the Old Testament, edited by G.K. Beale and D.A. Carson, p. 672-3, 678;
note: see Seifrid’s entire comments, which are excellent.)
Shui-Lun Shum
-“Theological continuities between the Isaianic and
the Romans contexts are very clear. Just as the prophet introduced in his
oracle the notion of divine unsearchable power and wisdom to assure his
audience that Yahweh’s plan of delivering and restoring Israel would surely be
achieved, so also the apostle stresses God’s unsearchable power and wisdom in
his concluding ‘praise-hymn’ so as to affirm that Israel will one day be
re-accepted by her God.” (Paul’s Use
of Isaiah in Romans: A Comparative Study of Paul’s Letter to the Romans, p.
246)
Richard Sibbes
-“The Jews are not yet come in under Christ’s banner; but
God hath persuaded Japhet to come into the tents of Shem, will persuade Shem to
come into the tents of Japhet, Gen. ix. 29. The ‘fulness of the Gentiles is not
yet come in,’ Rom. xi.25, but Christ, that hath the ‘uttermost parts of the
earth given him for his possession, Ps. ii. 8, will gather all the sheep his
Father hath given him into one fold… The faithful Jews rejoiced to think of the
calling of the Gentiles; and why should not we joy to think of the calling of
the Jews?” (The Complete Works of Richard
Sibbes, 1:99)
Larry Siekawitch
-“In Romans 11:26, Paul says that eventually all Israel
will be saved. This proves that God still has a future for Israel. To say
that this verse is referring to Christians as the true Israel is to reject the
context of this verse which is clearly separating Jews from Gentiles (see all
of chapter 11).” (Dispensationalism
and Eschatology, p. 6)
Charles Simeon
-“It is surprising, how indifferent even pious Christians
are on the subject of the future restoration of the Jews. Though the Scriptures
speak so much of it, the generality are contented to be altogether ignorant of
God’s designs respecting them… ‘All Israel shall be saved.’ Hitherto, even in
the best ages, there have been but few that truly feared God: the great mass of
the people have been ungodly; and the saints have been but as a remnant of
them. But in that day ‘a spirit of grace and of supplication will be poured out
upon them in a more abundant measure; and they will look on Him whom they have
pierced, and mourn, even as one mourneth for his only son:’ and ‘they will all
fear the Lord, from the least of them even unto the greatest of them:’ yea, so
universal shall be the prevalence of real piety amongst them, that ‘every
vessel in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness to the Lord; and there shall
be no more the Canaanite in the house of the Lord of Hosts.’” (Horae Homileticae, Vol. 15, Romans, p. 442-443)
Menno Simons
-“The Jews despised this King Christ and therefore they
were blinded. Yet they shall return and come to Christ, their King David, as
Paul testifies, saying: Blindness in part has happened to Israel, until the
fullness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved, as it is
written: There shall come out of Zion a deliverer, and shall turn away the
ungodliness from Jacob. For this is my covenant with them, when I shall take
away their sins. Is. 59:20. Since Israel is yet to be converted unto Christ, it
follows incontrovertibly that the King David, who Israel shall seek, can be
none other than Christ.” (The Complete
Works of Menno Simons, p. 38)
Philipp Jacob Spener
-“In the first place, we have the glorious prophecy of
St. Paul and the mystery revealed by him in Romans 11:25-26, that after the
full number of the Gentiles comes in, all Israel will be saved. So if not all,
at least a perceptibly large number of Jews who have hitherto hardened their
hearts will be converted to the Lord… In order for the Jews to be converted,
the true church must be in a holier state than now if its holy life is to be a
means for that conversion, or at least the impediments to such a conversion
(which, as we have seen above, have hitherto consisted of offenses) are to be
removed. On the other hand, if the Jews are converted by God’s power in a
manner which it is impossible for us to foresee, it is unthinkable that the
example of this newly converted people (who would undoubtedly have a zeal like
that of the early heathen who were converte to Christianity) would not be
followed by a remarkable change and improvement in our church.” (Pia Desideria, p. 76-77)
R.C. Sproul
-“And so all
Israel will be saved. The context indicates that Paul must be speaking
of the Jewish people. He does not mean every Jew that ever lived, but the
nation of Israel. Now why do I say that ‘Israel’ in this phrase refers to the
Jews? All through his discussion Paul is talking about Israel in part: part of
Israel has been blinded, part of Israel has been cut away, part of Israel has
been stubborn, part of Israel has been excluded from the kingdom of God and its
blessings. The Jews as a people are presently under judgment. But as there was
a national judgment, so there will be a national restoration. Their rejection,
even though it was a national rejection, did not include the rejection of every
individual. So the restoration doesn’t necessarily mean that every individual Jew
will be saved, but the nation as a nation will be restored to God.” (The Gospel of God, p. 236-237)
-“So all Israel
will be saved. If Paul is referring to spiritual Israel, he is departing
from the way he uses term Israel here and in the preceding three chapters.
Since chapter 8 Paul has been talking about ethnic Israel.” (Romans, St. Andrews Expositional
Commentary, p. 387)
Charles Spurgeon
-“Though blindness has happened to Israel in part, yet
not to all Israel. The Lord knoweth them that are his, and he will save them by
his grace. Better times are, however, coming even for Israel after the flesh,
for in the latter days they shall be converted to the Saviour.” (Expositions of the Bible)
-“I think we do not attach sufficient importance to the
restoration of the Jews. We do not think enough of it. But certainly, if
there is anything promised in the Bible it is this. I imagine that you cannot
read the Bible without seeing clearly that there is to be an actual restoration
of the children of Israel. ‘Thither they shall go up; they shall come with
weeping unto Zion, and with supplications unto Jerusalem.’ May that happy day
soon come! For when the Jews are restored, then the fullness of the Gentiles
shall be gathered in; and as soon as they return, the Jesus will come up Mount
Zion to reign with his ancients gloriously, and the halcyon days of the
Millennium shall then dawn; we shall then know every man to be brother and a
friend; Christ shall rule with universal sway.” (Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, I, no. 28, 1855, 382)
“The day shall yet come when the Jews, who were the first
Apostles to the Gentiles, the first missionaries to us, who were far off, shall
be gathered in again. Until that shall be, the fullness of the Churches’ glory
can never come. Matchless benefits to the world are bound up with the
restoration of Israel; their gathering in shall be as life from the dead.” (Spurgeon’s Sermons, Vol. 17, p. 703-4)
Ekkehard W. Stegemann
-So with most of the contemporary interpreters and Jewett I take πᾶς Ἰσραὴλ as meaning the whole ethnic Israel, and πᾶς as the emphatic expression of the reunification of all of Israel or all Israelites (Rom. 9:6) in the apocalyptic salvation, the salvation at the end of times and history, namely the reunification of the remnant or the rest (11:5, 7) with the part of Israel, which is hardened by God. And if one accepts the sentence in 11:26 at its face value, namely that 'all Israel shall be saved in such a manner, as it has been written: The deliverer shall come from Zion,'... the construction of Romans 11:25ss. seems clear to me: The hardening of a part of Israel (namely all Israel minus the remnant) lasts until the fullness of the nations εἰσέλθῃ, namely the believers of the Gentiles, comes in or arrives... and then the deliverer shall come from or out of Zion to pick up all Israel and prepare it to follow him to heavenly Zion, too. So it is not the entering of one of the earthly εκκλησιαι which Paul is looking at, but the unification of humankind in salvation in heaven." (Modern Interpretations of Romans, Romans Through History and Culture Series, p. 129)
James M. Stifler
-“The illogical notion that ‘Israel’ here is the
spiritual Israel is no longer held. It is the fallen, rejected, natural Israel,
the only nation in this age that has the promise of salvation as a whole. It
will not merely be Christianized, but Christian... The word ‘Jacob’… found in
the quotation, gives the meaning of the word ‘Israel’.” (The Epistle to the Romans, p. 196’ note: Stifler exaggerates the
truth by saying that commentators no
longer hold the ‘spiritual Israel’ view. It is true, however, that most commentators do not hold the
‘spiritual Israel’ view)
Kenneth M. Stiles
-“There is simply no compelling reason to not
understand Romans 11:26 as teaching a
future salvation of national, ethnic Israel. Not
only is it possible, even probable, that God will save the hardened majority
of national, ethnic Israel at some point, but Paul argues definitively
in verses 25–27 that God will save the hardened majority of national, ethnic
Israel… There is a remnant of chosen ethnic Jews in the world right now, the
rest are hardened. It is not the remnant that needs to be saved, or grafted
back in, in Paul‘s argument here. It is the hardened majority. Paul argues that
there is coming a time when all of the hardened majority of national, ethnic
Israel will be saved. That time is pinpointed as when ‘the fullness of the
Gentiles comes in.’” (‘All Israel Will Be
Saved’: The Nature and Circumstances of the Salvation Mentioned in Romans
11:25-27, p. 9, 12-13)
Sam Storms
-“ View (5) is that “all Israel” means the total number
of elect ethnic Jews, the sum total of all Israel’s remnants throughout the
present, inter-advent age. “All Israel” thus parallels the fullness of the
Gentiles (v. 25). “And if ‘All Israel’ indicates, as it does, that not a single
elect Israelite will be lacking ‘when the roll is called up yonder,’ then ‘the
fullness of the Gentiles’ similarly shows that when the attendance is checked
every elect Gentile will answer ‘Present’” (Hendricksen, Romans, 381).
Several objections have been raised against this
interpretation by advocates of the FR [Future Restoration] view. Most of these
have already been answered earlier in this chapter. Let me here respond to two
others. Often one hears that Paul must be referring to a future restoration of
Jews in vv. 25-26, for he has used the future tense repeatedly in this chapter
whenever describing salvation. But surely this is no reason for accepting the
FR view, for how else could Paul possibly have spoken? If someone in the first
century is writing about the salvation of others that has yet to occur, it is
only normal that he should employ the future tense. In other words, if Paul is
describing in his day (obviously) the manner in which all elect Israelites will
come to faith up to the end of the age, how else could he have stated it if not with the future tense? May I also
remind the reader of the repeated emphasis Paul makes on the present as well
(cf. 11:1-2,5,31).
Another objection goes something like this: “If all Paul
meant to say is that all elect Israel will be saved, the climactic element in
v. 26 is lost. Of course all the elect of Israel will be saved! How utterly
prosaic!” But this objection fails to realize what that so-called climactic
element in v. 26 really is. Paul is not simply asserting that all elect Israel will be saved but is describing the
mysterious manner in which it will
occur. That is, it is not so much the fact as it is the fashion in which they
will be saved. It is by means of nothing less than the incredible scenario of
Jewish unbelief > Gentile salvation > Jewish jealousy and salvation >
Gentile blessing. This is the way in which all elect Israel will eventually and
progressively come to saving faith. Furthermore, in a context in which the
question has been raised whether any
Israelites will be saved (cf. 11:1-5), it is even less prosaic, indeed, it is
profoundly important!
Is it compatible with what we read in the New Testament
to suggest that God will in the future obligate himself to save all (or at
least most) of a particular group of people based on an external, which is to
say, non-spiritual characteristic? Part of the word of the cross is that by his
death Jesus Christ has abolished the distinction between Jews and Gentiles as far as spiritual privilege is concerned.
Jews are still Jews and Gentiles are still Gentiles, but neither has any
advantage over the other simply because
he is a Jew or Gentile (Galatians 3:28). It is spiritual circumcision of the
heart, not physical circumcision of the flesh that avails before God (Romans
2:25-29; Philippians 3:2-3). It is not Abraham’s blood but his faith that gains
entrance into the olive tree (Galatians 3:16-29). But if the FR view is correct,
a different state of affairs shall obtain when Christ returns, in which one’s ethnicity alone either guarantees or at
least greatly increases the probability of being saved.” (Romans 11 and the Future of Israel, Part II; note: Storms misses
Paul’s point. He is wrong to say that the question in Romans 11 is whether any Israelite will be saved. The real
question is whether God has rejected His people [11:1]. Storms is wrong to say
that Paul’s main point is the manner
of Israel’s salvation. The real point is the fact of Israel’s salvation, which, as just mentioned, is the great
question of the entire section. Finally, Storms fails to distinguish between
God’s election of Israel as a nation and the truth that in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek.)
John Stott
-“In this passage in Romans, however, the mystery seems
to be what he is about to tell them. It consists of three consecutive truths.
The first is that Israel has experienced
a hardening in part (25b). This fact is now new, since Paul has already
stated it in verse 7. As we have already seen, it is God who ‘hardens’ (9:18),
although this is a judicial process by which he hands people over to their own
stubbornness. The ‘hardening’ takes the form of spiritual insensitivity. In the
case of Israel it is the same as the ‘veil’ which Paul elsewhere says lies over
their hearts and minds.
But now the apostle stresses that it is only partial (in part), since not all Israelites have
experienced it (i.e. not the
believing remnant), and only temporary (until…),
since it will last only until the second stage of God’s unfolding plan. This
Paul now states: until the full number of
the Gentiles has come in (25c). While Israel remains hardened, and
continues to reject Christ, the gospel will be preached throughout the world,
and more and more Gentiles will hear and respond to it. And this process will
continue until the full number or
full complement (plēroma, the same
word having been used of Israel in verse 12) of the Gentiles has been made up.
This will bring about the third stage: And so all Israel will be saved (26a).
The three main words in this statement, namely, ‘all’, ‘Israel’ and ‘saved’,
need some investigation.
First, what is the identity of Israel which is to be saved? Calvin believed it was a reference to
the church. ‘I extend the word Israel’,
he wrote, ‘to include all the people of God’, so that, when the Gentiles have
come in and the Jews have returned, ‘the salvation of the whole Israel of God,
which must be drawn from both, will thus be completed.’ It is of course true
that Paul referred to the church as ‘the Israel of God’ in Galatians 6:16, but
throughout Romans ‘Israel’ means ethnic or national Israel, in contrast to the
Gentile nations. This is plainly so in verse 25 of this context; so the word
could hardly take on a different meaning in the very next verse (26). The
natural interpretation of the ‘mystery’ is that Israel as a people is hardened
until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in, and then at that point (it is
implied) Israel’s hardening will be over and ‘all Israel will be saved’. I do
not think John Murray was putting it too strongly when he wrote: ‘It is
exegetically impossible to give to ‘Israel’ in this verse any other denotation
than that which belongs to the term throughout this chapter.’
Secondly, there is the word all. Whom does Paul intend to include in ‘all Israel’? At present
Israel is hardened except for a believing remnant, and will remain so until the
Gentiles have come in. Then ‘all Israel’ must mean the great mass of the
Jewish people, comprising both the previously hardened majority and the
believing minority. It need not mean literally every single Israelite. This is
in keeping with contemporary usage. ‘“All Israel”’ is a recurring expression in
Jewish literature,’ writes F.F. Bruce, ‘where it need not mean “every Jew
without a single exception”, but “Israel as a whole.”’
The third word is saved.
What kind of salvation is in view? The scriptural foundation, which Paul now
supplies, will help us to answer the question. It is a potpourri of three texts
about the salvation of God’s people.
‘The deliver will
come from Zion;
He will turn godlessness
away from Jacob.
And this is my
covenant with them
When I take away
their sins.’
These verses together make three affirmations. First, the deliverer will come from Zion. This
was, in Isaiah’s original, a reference to Christ’s first coming. Secondly, what
he would do when he came was described in moral terms: he would ‘turn godlessness away from Jacob’. This
seems to be an allusion to Isaiah 27:9, where Jacob’s guilt would be atoned for
and removed. Thirdly, the deliverer would establish God’s covenant, which
promised the forgiveness of sins. Putting these truths together, the deliverer would
come to bring his people to repentance and so to forgiveness, according to
God’s covenant promise. It is clear from this that the ‘salvation’ of Israel
for which Paul has prayed (10:1), to which he will lead his own people by
arousing their envy (11:14), which has also come to the Gentiles (11:11; cf.
1:16), and which one day ‘all Israel’ will experience (11:26), is salvation
from sin through faith in Christ. (Romans,
p. 302-304; note: although Stott writes here of the salvation of the people
of Israel as a whole, he rejects the conclusion that they will inherit the land
of Israel as a part of their salvation)
-“The Jews are the chosen, special people of God, the
descendants of the noble patriarchs with whom the covenant was made, and to
whom the promises were given. So then, in relation to election, and for the
sake of the patriarchs (because God is faithful to his covenant and promises),
he loves them and is determined to bring them to salvation. For the fact is
that God never goes back on his gifts or call (29). Both are irrevocable. His gifts are the
privileges he bestowed on Israel, which are listed in 9:4-5. As for his call,
‘God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change
his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfil?’ It
is because of God’s steadfast faithfulness that we can have confidence in
Israel’s restoration.” (Romans, p.
306)
-“There is going to be a wide spread turning of Jews to
Jesus. The hardening that is taking
place now that makes them blind to their own Messiah is only temporary. The veil is going to be lifted. They are going to see and believe – maybe
hundreds of thousands, maybe more – someday in the history are [sic] going to
believe and to be grafted back in.” (The
Place of Israel; note: in this particular sermon, contrary to his above
commentary, Stott, like Calvin, interpreted ‘all Israel’ as ‘all the elect’,
but nevertheless could still not avoid the thrust of Paul’s point in Romans 11)
Moses Stuart
-“When the fullness of the Gentiles shall have been
joined to the Lord, then his ancient covenant people shall also be reclaimed…
πάς here means all, in opposition to
the ‘in part’ of the preceding verse. But whether this means strictly every individual, it would be difficult
indeed to determine.” (A Commentary on
the Epistle to the Romans, p. 490)
Peter Stuhlmacher
-“That which the apostle now imparts to the Romans he
calls a ‘mystery.’ A ‘mystery’ is an event which has been prepared by God and
hidden from the world and its wisdom, but disclosed, as a matter of grace, to
the apostle. In turn, now the apostle not only may, but also should share it
with his fellow Christians (cf. similarly, 1 Cor. 2:7). And the first part of
the mystery is this: The hardening, which Paul spoke of in 10:2f. and 11:8-10,
is ordained to remain over the majority of Israel only until the ‘full number’
of the Gentiles who have been destined to salvation through the gospel (Mk.
13:10) have ‘entered in.’… Although this means that the Gentiles may still
enter into the community of salvation before the large part of Israel and
rejoice in the presence of God and his Son, their incorporation nevertheless
becomes a signal for the salvation of ‘all Israel.’ For this is the second part
of the mystery announced by Paul. As already indicated in the (Hebrew) text of
Is. 59:20 (cf., moreover, Is. 45:17, 25), and anticipated in the early Jewish
literature (T. Benj. 10:11; m. Sanh. 10:1), the people of God as a whole (and
not merely the small remnant of 11:5, who have already now been chosen to
believe in Christ) will participate in salvation. God remains faithful to his
elective promise and will not bring it to fulfillment only partially, but
fully. But the Scripture not only says that all Israel will be saved, it also
indicates in what way this will take place. As declared in (Ps. 50:2 and) Is.
59:20f., the redeemer will appear from Zion, the mountain of God, and remove
ungodliness from Jacob (= Israel). On the basis of 1 Thess. 1:10 (cf. with Rom.
5:9), there is no doubt that the
redeemer in view is Christ. The messiah, Jesus Christ, sent by God and descended
as a man from the people of God (1:3f.; 9:5), will redeem the people of God
from their sin at his arrival in glory, the so-called parousia from Zion (cf. 1
Thess. 2:19; 3:13; 4:15; 5:23; 1 Cor. 15:23 with Mtt. 24:3, 27, 37-39). After
the acceptance of the Gentiles, his atoning death also comes to benefit the
very people of God who have opposed Jesus and the gospel in an unknowing
delusion (cf. 1 Cor. 2:8 with Rom. 10:3; 11:8-10). But now they will recognize
that Jesus was and is not only the savior and Lord of the Gentiles, but also,
and above all, was and is the shoot of the root of Jesse sent by God as a
confirmation of his promises to the people of God (Is. 11:10), that is, that
Jesus is the promised messiah (cf. Rom. 15:8, 12). He is the one who frees Israel
from the guilt of its sin! For God promised to the Fathers of Israel, beginning
with Abraham (9:4f.; Gal. 3:15-18), and repeatedly confirmed through the
prophets Isaiah (cf. Is. 59:21) and Jeremiah (Jer. 31:31ff.), who according to
Sir. 48:22ff. and 49:7 likewise belong to the Fathers of Israel, that the final
valid covenant arrangement to proceed from God will be composed of the fact
that Israel’s guilt will be forgiven (cf. Is. 27:9 with Jer. 31:34), and that
the Spirit of God will enable God’s people to come to a genuine knowledge of
God (cf. Is. 59:21 with Jer. 31:33f.).
The mystery of revelation which Paul made known in Rome
thus runs as follows: When the full number of the Gentiles have entered into
the city of God and have been led into the community of salvation, the partial
hardening of Israel will be taken away. In accordance with the biblical
promise, Israel too, in its entirety, will thus be redeemed from its sins
through the Christ who appears from Zion and likewise be led into the community
of salvation. It is primarily this salvation of all Israel from the hardening
of unbelief that is the goal of salvation history, and not the fact that the
Gentiles are already obtaining salvation. This understanding of the goal of
redemptive history, which Paul here announces as special knowledge gained from
revelation, God had imparted to him before through Scripture, since Paul hears
and reads them in the Spirit of faith as the word of the living God (cf. the
constant reference to the speaking and acting of God as ‘I’ in 9:9, 13, 15, 17,
25, 33; 10:19-21; 11:27). The Pauline prophecy concerning history thus
corresponds to his spiritual interpretation of Scripture.” (Paul’s Letter to the Romans, A Commentary,
p. 171-3)
Joseph Sutcliffe
-“This great prophet, this doctor taught in the third heaven,
clearly foresaw that the Jews would remain in unbelief, until Christian
missionaries should have succeeded in largely converting the gentiles of every
name and nation, and in disseminating the holy scriptures in every language. He
foresaw that the veil would then be taken away by the lucid comments which
providence would give to prophecy. He saw that the Jews, struck with this work
of heaven in causing the stumbling-stone, the rock cut out of the mountain
without hands and filling the whole earth, would read their prophets with new
eyes; would study their ancient targums or paraphrases with divine light, and
perceive that their elder rabbins were in effect all Christians. What then
shall the receiving them back be, but life from the dead? David Kimchi speaks
to the same effect. “When Rome shall be laid waste, then salvation shall come
to Israel.” Now as the Jews, estimated at seven millions of people, wander in
all countries, and speak all languages, heaven has reserved them in store as a
world of missionaries, to look on Him whom their fathers have pierced, and
glory only in the cross of the great Redeemer. The first Christians, after they
came into power, retaliated on the jews the blood of Christ, and the persecution
of their two thousand brethren, Acts 8:4 : but now they nowhere find friends
like the true believers in Christ. Let us continue that kindness towards them,
till the full accomplishment of our Redeemer’s promise of one fold, and one
shepherd. John 10:16.” (A Commentary on
the Old and New Testament; note: an 18th century Wesleyan
commentator; Sutcliffe, although a postmillennial, affirms the salvation of the
Jews at the end of the age)
Tertullian
-[Commenting on the relationship between Christians and Jews]:
“For it will be fitting for the Christian to rejoice, and not to grieve, at the
restoration of Israel, if it be true, (as it is), that the whole of our hope is
intimately united with the remaining expectation of Israel (Rom 11:25).” (On Modesty, Ch. 7)
-“Christ is the proper and legitimate high priest of
God. He is the Pontiff of the priesthood
of the uncircumcision, constituted such, even then, for the Gentiles, by whom
He was to be more fully received, although at His last coming He will favour with
His acceptance and blessing the circumcision also, even the race of Abraham,
which by and by is to acknowledge Him.” (Contra
Marcion, Ch. 9)
Theodore of Mopsuestia
-“[The Jews] will not always remain outsiders to true
religion: there will be a time when they will also know the truth, as soon as
people everywhere may receive knowledge of true religion.” (Theodore of Mopsuestia’s Commentary on
Romans: An Annotated Translation, ed. And trans. Charles David Gregory, p.
109)
Theodoret of Cyrus
-“Paul insists that only a part of Israel has been
hardened, for in fact many of them believe.
He thus encourages them not to despair that others will be saved as
well. After the Gentiles accepted the
gospel, the Jews would believe.” (Ancient
Christian Commentary on Scripture, Bray, Volume VI, p. 298)
Frank Thielman
-“Paul claims in Romans 11:7-32 that although it may not
appear that way, God still plans to be faithful to his people Israel and that
one day all Israel will be saved through faith in Christ. Contrary to
expectations, God has planned to do this by bringing such large numbers of
Gentiles into the company of his people that they will outnumber the Jews. This
does not mean, however, that the Jews will be excluded. Rather, the Gentiles
will provoke them to jealousy for the promises that God gave to them in their
Scriptures, and this in turn will lead them to embrace the gospel.” (Theology of the New Testament: A Canonical
and Synthetic Approach, p. 39)
Samuel H. Turner
-“St. Paul is addressing himself principally to the
Gentiles converts. In order to prevent them from cherishing feelings of
superiority over the Jewish nation, he informs them of what they did not know
before, namely, that the unhappy spiritual condition of the Jews was only
partial and transitory. ‘In part’ is better connected with Israel than with
blindness. The meaning is not, ‘blindness in some respects has affected them,’
but, ‘it has taken place on a part of
them.’ This phrase is in evident contrast with ‘all Israel’ in the next verse.
The expression is like the modified language of v. 17, ‘some of the branches are broken off,’ and doubtless was prompted by
the same motive. The next point shows this state to be temporary: ‘until the
fullness of the Gentiles be come in.’… ‘All Israel:’ That is, the whole nation
which shall then subsist. Such expressions are often used in a general
sense.—‘Shall be saved:’ In other words, converted to the Gospel and partake of
its blessings. Compare 10:1.” (The
Epistle to the Romans in Greek and English, p. 206-207)
Merrill F. Unger
-“Restoration of
the Nation Certain, 25-36. It is assured by special revelation, 25… This truth is that of Israel’s partial
blindness during this age, which is to last till ‘the fullness of the Gentiles’
is effected, 25. This means the completion of God’s purpose in calling out a
people from the Gentiles in this age (Acts 15:14). The restoration of the
nation is the subject of prophecy.
The kingdom is to be restored to Israel, 26 (Acts 1:6; 15:15-17). All Jews
living at the second advent will be saved when Christ the Deliverer shall come
out of Zion, 26, as Isaiah predicted (Isa 59:20-21). The new covenant with
converted Israel, 27, was foretold by Isaiah (27:9) and Jeremiah (31:31-37; cf.
Heb 8:8; 10:16). The restoration of the nation is according to the divine plan, 28, and the divine principle, 29. Although she is temporarily hostile to
the gospel, the election of Israel as a nation is irrevocable. God has not
changed His mind about the covenants and promises made to the nation. The
restoration of the people will constitute a
fulfillment of God’s purpose, 30-32, and redound to God’s glory, 33-36.” (Unger’s Bible Handbook, p. 621-622)
Juan de Valdes
-“By the words ‘all Israel,’ it appears that he means
all the Israelites who shall then, at that time, be found living.” (Commentary Upon St. Paul’s Epistle to the
Romans, p. 217; note: Valdes, 16th century Reformer, was
uncertain about the meaning, and only here writes what to him “appears” to be
Paul’s meaning)
Richard Valpy
-“This grafting in again seems to import that the Jews
shall be a flourishing nation again, professing Christianity in the land of
promise, for that is to be reinstated again in the promise made to Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob… In the prophets there are very plain intimations of it.”
(quoted in Henry and Scott, A Commentary Upon the Holy Bible, Vol.
6, p. 79)
J. Van Den Berg
-“For virtually all Dutch theologians of the
seventeenth century, 'the whole of Israel' indicated the fullness of the
people of Israel 'according to the flesh': in other words, the fullness of the
Jewish people. This meant that there was a basis for an expectation of a future
conversion of the Jews—an expectation which was shared by a large majority
of Dutch theologians.” (Eschatological
Expectations Concerning the Conversion of the Jews in the Netherlands During
the Seventeenth Century, Puritan Eschatology: 1600 To 1660, ed. Peter Toon
[Cambridge: James Clarke, 1970],p. 140.)
P.H.R. van Houwelingen
-“At the heart of this exegetical discussion we find the
Greek words καί ούτως (v. 26). It is questionable, however, whether the
weight often attached to these words is justified. Regardless of how this
expression is understood, it must be acknowledged that there is something
conditional about it: the text presents a contrast between a part of Israel and
all Israel. A part of Israel is hardened, but when the condition-the coming in
of the Gentiles-is satisfied, all Israel will be saved.”
The phrase καί ούτως has three possible meanings: temporal
(after that all Israel will be saved); modal (in this manner all Israel will be
saved); or, logical (in the same way, all Israel will be saved). Currently, the
temporal interpretation is gaining favor and rightly so, for the temporal
meaning of καί ούτως has been shown to exist in postclassical Greek, and Paul
uses it this way elsewhere. It is also clear that the apostle is thinking of
a progression in time because "until" (άχρι ού) also indicates the
passage of time (cf. the "then-now" scheme in vv. 30-31). The
majority of the church fathers follow this line of interpretation using
"then" or "after that." The point is that, not how,
all Israel will be saved.
The expression "all Israel" (πάς Ισραήλ) occurs
only once in the New Testament but is found in the Septuagint… This expression
can be understood as the New Testament church consisting of Jews and Gentiles.
However, in Romans 9-11, the name "Israel" is consistently used in an
ethnic sense, meaning the Jewish people. Where a narrowing within this group
is possible (see Rom. 9:6: Not all who are descended from Israel are Israel.),
an extension to others outside the group is not. Moreover, the significant
use of' "Jacob" in the immediately following quotation can only be
a reference to the twelve tribes of Israel. The phrase can also be
understood as the faithful remnant of Israel, representing the entire people. This,
however, would not fit with Paul's earlier hopeful speech about the full number
and acceptance of Israel (Rom. 9:11, 15). Paul's question revolves around
the fate of a people who have hardened themselves in disobedience (Rom. 11:1):
Does a disobedient Israel still have a future? In Paul's chain of thought, the
chosen part of Israel (εκλογή; Rom. 11:7) is simply Israel in a nutshell;
"Israel" is in apposition to "the others" who were
hardened. It is also argued that the phrase refers to every single Israelite.
However, πάς Ισραήλ is not the same as πάντες οί Ισραηλίται. Furthermore, in Romans
9:3, Paul says that he would be willing to be cut off from Christ, to sacrifice
himself and take the place of his countrymen who live without Christ, for apart
from Israel's Messiah there is no salvation. The contrast between faith and
unbelief is central to Romans 11. Not to be hardened in unbelief is an
indispensable condition for being received again (Rom. 11:23). Finally, the
phrase can refer to Israel as a whole. This reading may be comparing "the
fullness of Israel" and its counterpart, "the full number of the
Gentiles." An often-quoted statement from the Jewish Mishnah says:
"all Israel has a share in the world to come." Then, immediately
following that phrase, we find a long list of people who, because of their
sins, have no share in the world to come. After all, Israel is not a sum of
individual persons but a collective entity of twelve tribes; after his
conversion, Paul still considered himself to be a Jew, of the tribe of Benjamin
(Rom. 11:1b; Phil. 3:5). In the visions in Revelation, we also encounter the
twelve tribes of Israel, first as a messianic army of 144,000 warriors from all
the tribes of Israel (Rev. 7:1-9), and then in the names inscribed on the gates
of the new Jerusalem, the abode of all the tribes of Israel (Rev. 21:12). Hence,
all Israel refers to the whole of Israel—its twelve tribes together.” (The
Redemptive-Historical Dynamics of the Salvation of ‘All Israel’ [Rom. 11:26a], Calvin Theological Journal 46, p. 305-7)
George Vanderlip
-“Paul’s third crucial statement concerning Israel was
that the rejection of Israel is not
final. There is a day coming when ‘all Israel will be saved’ (11:26). Paul
talks about ‘their full inclusion’ (11:12), ‘their acceptance’ (11:15), and
their being ‘grafted back’ (11:23,24). It is only ‘until the full number of the
Gentiles come in’ (11:25) that the present state of affairs will continue.” (Paul and Romans, p. 82)
Cornelis P. Venema
-“`Israel' in this phrase must refer to the
special people of God, not all the elect, whether Jew or Gentile, gathered
throughout the entirety of redemptive history. This is because the term is used
no less than eleven times in Romans 9-11, and in every instance it refers to
the people of Israel. It is hard to see why Romans 11:26 should be an
exception.
To take 'all Israel' as a reference to the total number
of the elect among the people of Israel throughout all of the history of
redemption would be anti-climactic and largely irrelevant to the Apostle
Paul's interest in Romans 9-11. In these chapters, as we have seen, the
apostle is dealing with the mystery of God's will for the salvation of the
people of Israel, a people who have mostly disbelieved the gospel but whom God
has not forsaken nor cast off irrevocably. Were the reference only to all the
elect of Israel, the entirety of the remnant according to God's purpose of
election, it would not answer to the argument that the Apostle Paul
specifically develops in this in this passage.
The argument of this passage is that the hardening of the
people of Israel will eventually come to an end, and this will occur after the
people of Israel have been provoked to jealousy by the conversion and riches of
the fullness of the Gentiles. Through their being provoked to jealousy, the
fullness of Israel (11:12) will come to salvation. This fullness is the
equivalent in Romans 11 of what is variously described as the acceptance of
Israel (11:15), the grafting in of Israel (11:23-24), or the 'all Israel' of
this phrase (11:26).
Though the expression 'and so' that is used in Romans
11:26 refers primarily to the manner in which all Israel will be saved — that
is, as Israel is provoked to jealousy by the conversion of the Gentiles — its
temporal aspect cannot be suppressed. In Romans 9-11 the Apostle Paul is
describing an obvious sequence of events in the history of redemption:
the unbelief of the people of Israel leads to the preaching of the gospel to
the Gentiles; the faith and conversion of the Gentiles thereupon leads to the
jealousy and subsequent conversion of the fullness of Israel. Within this
sequence of events, the phrase 'and so all Israel shall be saved' most
naturally seems to mean that after the fullness of the Gentiles is
ingrafted, the time will come when the people of Israel, provoked to jealousy,
will be converted and God's purposes of redemption be accomplished in them.
Finally, the main point of Romans 11:25 seems to be that
the hardening of Israel will come to an end and thereupon Israel will be
restored. This point would actually be undermined, were we to understand
the 'all Israel' of Romans 11:26 to be a reference only to the total number of
the elect
people of Israel, who make up only a remnant throughout
the history of redemption.
Though these considerations could be elaborated upon and
various objections answered further, this should be enough to show that the
most likely reading of this passage is one that takes it to teach the future
ingathering and conversion of the totality of the people of Israel. This
does not mean necessarily that every individual member of the people of Israel
will ultimately be saved, or that all members of this people will be converted
at some future time. The fullness of Israel need not mean the salvation of
every member of this people any more than the fullness of the Gentiles means
the salvation of every Gentile. However, it does suggest that the Apostle Paul
taught that through the preaching of the gospel to the nations the time will
come in which a fullness of Israel will be converted, an ingrafting again of
Israel as a people, a restoration of this special people of God to gospel
favour and blessing.” (The Promise of the
Future, p. 136-8)
Michael J. Vlach
-“In sum, the early church adopted a moderate form of
supercessionism in regard to Israel and the church. The church believed that
the nation of Israel had been rejected by God because of its disobedience and
rejection of Christ. This rejection appeared to be confirmed by the destruction
of Jerusalem in AD 70 and 135. The early church held that the church was now
the new Israel and that the Scriptures, covenants, and promises given to Israel
were now primarily the possession of the Christian church. Yet there was a
consensus among the theologians of this era that the nation of Israel would be
converted in the last days in connection with the promises of the OT prophets
and Paul’s words in Romans 11. According to some, this salvation was to be
accompanied by a repossession of Israel’s land by the tribes of Israel. Thus,
the early church’s doctrine of Israel included the element of hope. Thus, while
we rightly note the early church’s adoption of moderate supercessionism, we
must not neglect the fact that it also believed in a future salvation of Israel
based on OT and NT passages.” (Has
the Church Replaced Israel? A Theological Evaluation, p. 49-50)
Stephen Voorwinde
-“The problem begins with the two seemingly innocuous
little words And so. They could be
interpreted in one of two ways: (a) The reference could be to the manner in which Israel is saved.
This is explained by the previous verse. They are
hardened in part, but there will come a time when that hardening is lifted:
"And so all Israel will be
saved." Paul's thought would then pick
up from the idea of partial hardening in v. 25. This is
how the majority of English translations render the expression. (b) The
reference could be to the time when
Israel is saved. Paul's
thought would then pick up from the last clause in the
previous verse: "until the full number of the Gentiles has come in".
A minority of English translations and paraphrases take the
expression in this temporal sense. Although some
interpreters firmly insist that the underlying Greek expression (Kat ouTWS)
never has a temporal meaning, it is difficult to make a choice between these
two alternatives. It is not impossible that the word ouTws in this instance
doubles as both an adverb of manner (so, thus) and an adverb of time (then).
Within the context of Paul's immediate argument it is clear that he is asking
two questions. First he asks, How will all Israel be saved? His answer is in v.
25: By the removal of the partial hardening it has been experiencing. His
second question is, When will all Israel be saved? Again his answer is in v.
25: When the fulness of the Gentiles has come in. At the beginning of v. 26
Paul is therefore picking up both these strands of thought from v. 25. He is
addressing both the manner and the time of
the salvation of all Israel. While the emphasis may be on
the manner of Israel's salvation, the time element cannot be excluded. Hvalvik
perceptively embraces both meanings in what he calls the "logical"
sense of the expression. His conclusion tersely captures the essence of Paul's
thought at this point: "This means that the salvation of the Gentiles -
according to God's plan - is a presupposition and condition for the salvation
of 'all Israel'."
All Israel shall be
saved: From the earlier discussion of the literary context to this
expression, it has become clear that, within the broad framework of Paul's
argument in Romans 9-11, Israel is used consistently in an ethnic sense. He
is speaking of those who are Jews by race and children of Abraham by descent.
In his discussion he refers to Israel no less than 11x (9:6 [his], 27 [his],
31; 10:19, 21; 11:2, 7, 25, 26). Even though he makes a distinction in 9:6, it
is not between Jews and Gentiles. Rather he is referring to an Israel within
Israel ("Not all who are [descended] from Israel are Israel"). Most telling
for our exegesis is the fact that Israel has been explicitly
distinguished from the Gentiles as recently as v. 25. It
is difficult to believe that without warning Paul would change the meaning of
such a key term within the space of a single sentence.” (Rethinking Israel: An Exposition of Romans
11:25-27, p. 37-38)
Gerhardus Vos
-“With respect to national privilege, while temporarily
abolished now that its purpose has been fulfilled, there still remains reserved
for the future a certain fulfillment of the national elective promise. Israel
in its racial capacity will again in the future be visited by the saving grace
of God [Rom. 11.2, 12, 25].” (Biblical
Theology, Old and New Testaments, p. 79)
-“To the events preceding the parousia belongs, according
to the uniform teaching of Jesus, Peter, and Paul, the conversion of Israel
(Matt. 23:39; Luke 13:35; Acts 1:6,7; 3:19, 21; where the arrival of
"seasons of refreshing" and "times of restoration of all
things" is made dependent on the [eschatological] sending of the Christ to
Israel), and this again is said to depend upon the repentance and conversion
and the blotting out of the sins of Israel; Romans 11, where the problem of
unbelief of Israel is solved by the twofold proposition: (1) that there is even
now among Israel an election according to grace; (2) that in the future there
will be a comprehensive conversion of Israel (vss. 5, 25-32).” (The International Standard Bible
Encyclopedia)
John Walvoord
-“A study of the context bears out the fact that the word
Israel as used in this passage is in contrast to Gentile. This is clear in
Romans 11:1, where Paul identifies himself as an Israelite because of his
connection with the tribe of Benjamin—a racial and national relation rather
than spiritual. The contrast is made further in Romans 11:11ff. The use of
“ye,” i.e., the Gentiles, is opposed to “they,” i.e., the Jews. In other words,
the entire chapter carefully preserves the distinction between two classes—Jews
and Gentiles. Further, the Gentiles are in most cases those who have believed
in Christ and members of the church. The contrast is not, therefore, between
believing Israel and unbelieving Gentiles, but rather the two groups are
treated racially. There is no ground whatever in this passage for the idea
that Israel is a reference to all believers as such—the interpretation
advanced by Origen, furthered by Calvin, and embraced by most amillennialists. This
interpretation would nullify the very theme of the chapter.” (Eschatological Problems IX: Israel’s
Restoration)
Matt Waymeyer
-“ The antecedent of the supplied “they” in v. 28 is
“them” in v. 27, which refers back to “Jacob” in v. 26b, which in turn refers
back to “all Israel” in v. 26a. This is significant because it indicates that
the group of individuals described in v. 28 is the same group designated by the
term “all Israel” in v. 26. Put another way, Paul’s words in v. 28 describe the
“all Israel” of v. 26 and help to establish its identity… The description of
“all Israel” in Rom 11:28, then, not only indicates that the unbelieving nation
as a whole is in view, but also points to the fact that that nation will one
day be restored. God made specific promises to the nation of Israel, and her
refusal to embrace Christ and the gospel did not mean that the gospel had
failed or that God would fail to fulfill those promises. In the words of
Bloesch: “His rejection of his people is not final but only provisional. In the
No of God’s rejection is hidden the Yes of his election.” All Israel will be
saved… It is clear that only the interpretation of view 3 [that ‘all Israel’
in v. 26 is ethnic Israel] corresponds to the dual status of “all Israel” as
portrayed in Rom 11:28, for only this interpretation envisions a scenario in
which both clauses of the verse are simultaneously and presently true of the
entity “all Israel.” On the one hand the unbelieving nation of Israel is an
enemy of God, but on the other she is beloved by Him. When the partial
hardening of Israel is removed at the end of the present age (Rom 11:25), her
present “transgression” will give way to her “fulfillment” (Rom 11:12); her
present “rejection” will give way to her “acceptance” (Rom 11:15); and the
natural branches will be grafted back in (Rom 11:23-24). And in this manner,
all Israel will be saved in accordance with God’s covenantal love and in
fulfillment of His promises (Rom. 11:26-27). God has not, and will not, forsake
His chosen nation.” (The Master’s
Seminary Journal, The Dual Status of Israel in Romans 11:28, p. 61-62, 71;
note: see whole article)
David Wenham
-“Then there is Romans 11, where Paul is concluding a
long discussion of the Jews’ unbelief and failure to come into the Church. He
sees them as under God’s wrath at present, hence their hard hearts (cf. 9:22);
but he says: ‘a hardening has come on part of Israel until the fullness of the
Gentiles come in, and so all Israel will be saved’ (11:25). This is
intriguingly similar to Luke 21, where Jesus talks about wrath on the Jewish
nation and about Jerusalem being ‘trampled under foot by Gentiles, until the
times of the Gentiles are fulfilled’ (v. 24). The ideas are not identical—in
Romans there is no reference to Jerusalem being invaded or trampled on—but
there is a broad parallel between the passages, which could point to Paul’s
familiarity with the relevant teaching of Jesus.” (Paul and Jesus: The True Story, p. 105-6)
Jonathan Went
-“"All Israel will be saved," so Romans 11.26
says. But who are "all Israel"? Some see them as "the
elect" of Romans 9.6, i.e., all true Christians; others see them as
exclusively Jews… Romans 11.25 says that "blindness in part is happened to
Israel until the fulness of the gentiles should come in." Now if, as
most Christians do, we accept that the blindness affects physical Israel then
in the next verse the 'all Israel' must still be physical Israel. The
'Israel of God' is Israel's remnant of true believers, the ever-preserved seed,
never entirely cut off, unless God be deemed unfaithful to His word. If for
no other reason than that of Ezekiel 36.22, God will go on restoring Israel for
His name's sake and because of His promise to Israel's forefathers, a promise
that stretches to 'thousands' of generations (Deuteronomy 7.9).” (Who is ‘Israel’ and What is Her Future?)
Charles Wesley
-“Set up the attracting sign
And summon whom Thou dost approve
For messengers divine.
From Abraham’s favoured seed
Thy new apostles choose
In isles and continents to spread
The dead-reviving news.
Them snatched out of the flame
Through every nation send
The true Messias to proclaim
The universal Friend.
That all the God unknown
May learn of Jews to adore
And see Thy glory in Thy Son
Till time shall be no more.
O that the chosen band
Might now their brethren bring
And gathered out of every land
Present to Sion’s King.
Of all the ancient race
Not one be left behind
But each impelled by secret grace
His way to Canaan find!
We know it must be done
For God hath spoke the word
All Israel shall their Saviour own
To their first state restored.
Rebuilt by His command
Jerusalem shall rise
Her temple on Moriah stand
Again, and touch the skies.
Send then Thy servants forth
To call the Hebrews home
From west and east, and south, and north
Let all the wanderers come.
Where’er in lands unknown
Thy fugitives remain
Bid every creature help them on
Thy holy mount to gain.
An offering to their God
There let them all be seen
Sprinkled with water and with blood
In soul and body clean.
With Israel’s myriads sealed
Let all the nations meet
And show Thy mystery fulfilled
The family complete.” (Almighty God of Love, Short Hymns on Select Passages of the Holy
Scriptures, published in 1762)
-“Father of faithful Abraham, hear
Our earnest suit for Abraham’s seed;
Justly they claim the softest prayer
From us, adopted in their stead,
Who mercy through their fall obtain,
And Christ by their rejection gain.
But hast Thou finally forsook,
Forever cast Thy own away?
Wilt Thou not bid the outcasts look
On Him they pierced, and weep, and pray?
Yes, gracious Lord, Thy Word is past;
All Israel shall be saved at last.
Come, then, Thou great Deliverer, come!
The veil from Jacob’s heart remove;
Receive Thy ancient people home,
That, quickened by Thy dying love,
The world may their reception find
Life from the dead for all mankind.” (Father of Faithful
Abraham, Hymns of Intercession, 1758.)
John Wesley
-“And so all Israel shall be saved - Being convinced by
the coming of the gentiles. But there will be a still larger harvest among the
gentiles, when all Israel is come in.” (John
Wesley’s Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible)
Daniel D. Whedon
-“All Israel—The
apostle is speaking of the Israel existing at the time of the blessed plenitude
of the Gentiles.” (Commentary on the New
Testament, Intended for Popular Use, Acts-Romans, p. 374)
Daniel Whitby
-“Hence the Second Argument for a general Conversion of
the Jews runs thus: If that part of the Jews to which blindness hath happened,
shall be delivered from that heavy Judgment, if there shall come to them out of
Zion a Deliverer to turn away their iniquity, if God will accomplish his
Covenant hereafter with them, by taking away their sins, then they who are thus
blinded, shall be converted to the Christian faith. Where note, That this
Promise is made to that part of the Jews to which blindness had happened, v.
15, and so the Promise of Salvation to this Israel, cannot be interpreted of
all the true Children of Abraham, Jews and Gentiles both.” (A Paraphrase and Commentary on the New
Testament, p. 65; note: 17th century commentator)
-“To strengthen the Arguments which I have offered from
this Chapter for the Conversion of the Jewish Nation
to the Christian Faith, let it be noted, That this hath been the constant
Doctrine of the Church of Christ, owned by the Greek and Latin Fathers, and by
all Commentators I have met with on this Place.” (A Paraphrase and Commentary on the New Testament, Appendix to Chap. XI,
p. 89)
-“Moreover, As this Doctrine hath the suffrage of all
the Ancient Fathers, and Commentators do thus generally agree in Exposition of
this Chapter, so is it easy to confirm it by showing the absurdity
of other Expositions, and the plain inconsistence of them both with
truth, and with the words of the Apostle. (See his arguments, A Paraphrase and Commentary on the New
Testament, Appendix to Chap. XI, p. 91-101)
George Whitefield
-"Went in the afternoon to the Jewish synagogue... I continued with them their whole service, and spent most of my time there in secret prayer to God, that the veil might be taken from their hearts, and that blessed time might come when his chosen people should again be engrafted into their own olive-tree, and all Israel be saved." (Journal of a Voyage from London to Savannah in Georgia, p. 59)
Warren Wiersbe
-“Paul saved his best witness for the last. He proved
that the very character and work of God were involved in the future of Israel.
Men may dispute about prophecy and differ in their interpretations, but let
every man realize that he is dealing with God’s
people, Israel.
God’s timing.
What has happened to Israel is all a part of God’s plan, and He knows what He
is doing. The blinding (or hardening, Rom. 11:7) of Israel as a nation is
neither total nor final: it is partial and temporary. How long will it last?
‘Until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in’ (Rom. 11:25). There is a
‘fullness’ for Israel (Rom. 11:12) and for the Gentiles… Romans 11:25 is one of
several ‘until verses’ in the Bible, all of which are important. Read Matthew
23:32-39; Luke 21:24; and Psalm 110:1 for other references. It is reassuring
that God knows what time it is and that He is never late in fulfilling His
will.
God’s promise.
There reference here is Isaiah 59:20-21; and you ought to read Isaiah 60 to
complete the picture. God has promised to save His people, and He will keep the
promise. There are those who interpret this as meaning salvation to individuals
through the Gospel, but it is my conviction that the prophet has national
conversion in mind. ‘All Israel shall be saved’ does not mean that every Jew who
has ever lived will be converted, but that the Jews living when the Redeemer
returns will see Him, receive Him, and be saved. Zechariah 12-13 give the
details. It seems to me that there are too many details in these Old
Testament prophecies of national restoration for Israel for us to spiritualize
them and apply them to the church today.” (The Bible Exposition Commentary, Vol. 1, p. 552-3)
Marvin R. Wilson
-“The New Testament seems to affirm a future for ethnic
Israel… In Romans 11, Paul is emphatic that despite Israel’s unbelief God has
not rejected his people (v. 1). Israel still belongs to God and is called a
‘holy’ people (v. 16) and ‘loved on account of the patriarchs’ (v. 28).
Israel’s historically unique preservation lends added support that it still has
a vital role to play in the history of redemption (cf. v. 15). This divinely
willed coexistence of God’s ancient covenant people and the Church throughout
the present age is, to Paul, a great ‘mystery’ (v. 25). He is convinced,
however, that God ‘does not change his mind about whom he chooses and blesses’
(v. 29, TEV). Paul’s argument reaches its denouement when he refers to the
future salvation of Israel, a time when ‘the deliverer will come from Zion’
(vv. 26-27). The Old Testament context for Paul’s composite quotation here is
the salvation of Israel through the appearing of its divine Redeemer (cf. Isa.
59:20-21; 27:9). Thus ‘all Israel’ (i.e., Israel as a whole) will be saved (v.
26)… It would seem from the other letters of Paul that he may have in mind the
second coming of Jesus.” (Our Father
Abraham: Jewish Roots of the Christian Faith, p. 267-8)
Ben Witherington III
-"It is extremely problematic to understand 'Israel' in v. 26 to mean something different than it means in v. 25, where it surely does not refer to any Gentiles, especially since v. 26 is linked to v. 25 by kai houtos. Furthermore, since Jews and Gentiles are contrasted throughout vv. 11-32, one would expect that to be true in v. 26 as well... The discussion then of this verse should also not be isolated from what Paul has already said in v. 15--first the reconciliation of the Gentile world while Jews are temporarily rejected, then these Jews will be accepted, which will be the signal for the resurrection.
We must remember that Paul has been discussing non-Christian Jews. He already knew of many saved Jewish Christians and it is hardly likely he has them in view here. Rather, he says this 'all Israel' group will be saved after the full number of Gentiles has come in. Therefore, he is talking about a mass conversion of non-Christian Jews at the end of salvation history. As we have seen, houtos here probably means 'then.' Some commentators have thought on the basis of this word alone, translated 'thus,' that what Paul has just mentioned is the end of the process: when the fullness of the Gentiles comes in, this itself will be 'all Israel' being saved. V. 15 is definitely against such a view. And it was Israel which was hardened in v. 25, not saved, unlike the Gentiles, and in v. 26 this same Israel is then said to be saved. Testament of Dan 6.4; Testament of Judah 23.5; and 4 Ezra 4.38-43 say that Israel has missed the mark, needs to repent, and will do so before the end, at which time the end will come and salvation will come to the Gentiles. Paul has just inverted the order of this sequence." (Paul's Letter to the Romans: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary, pp. 274, 275-6)
Herman Witsius
-“When the fullness of the Gentiles is brought in, all
Israel will be saved: That is, as our Dutch commentators well observe,
not a few, but a very great number, and in a manner the whole Jewish nation, in
a full body...They depart from the apostle’s meaning, who, by ‘all Israel,’
understand the ‘mystical Israel,’ or the people of God, consisting both of Jews
and Gentiles, without admitting the salvation of the whole Jewish nation, in
the sense we have mentioned.” (The
Economy of the Covenants, Vol. 2, ch. 15, p. 414; note: see all of
Witsius’s excellent discussion on the conversion of the Jews.)
H.G. Wood
-“But though God has the right to reject His people, and
though the Jews are themselves responsible for their refusal to accept the
gospel, yet St. Paul cannot believe that it is final. Even now a remnant has
been saved by grace; and the present rejection of Israel must have been intended
to save the Gentiles. What larger blessing will not God bestow when He restores
His people? The Gentiles must see in the fall of Israel the goodness of God
towards themselves, and the possibilities of mercy for the Jews. This is
enforced by the illustration of the wild olive and the natural branches
(11:17-24). The Jews are enemies now, in order that God may bless the Gentiles.
But they are still beloved, for the sake of the fathers. No, God has not
deserted His people. If they are at present under a cloud, it is God’s mercy
and not His anger that has willed it so. And the same unsearchable mercy will
one day restore them to His favor (11:25-36).” (Romans, The Epistle to the, in Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible, p.
804)
N.T. Wright
-“Paul actually began the whole section (9:6) with … a
programmatic distinction of two "Israels", and throughout the letter
(e.g. 2:25-9) as well as elsewhere (e.g. Philippians 3:2-11) he has
systematically transferred the privileges and attributes of "Israel"
to the Messiah and his people. It is therefore greatly preferable to take
"all Israel" in v.26 as a typically Pauline polemical redefinition, as in Galatians 6:16 ..and in line
also with Philippians 3:2ff., where the church is described as "the
circumcision.” (The Climax of the
Covenant, p. 250; notice how Wright appeals to the larger context and not
the immediate context; why doesn’t he do that in verse 25?)
Robert M. Wright
-“In Romans Paul uses the term Israel in a way which
consistently excludes Gentiles. Why does Paul describe Israelites as kindred
according to the flesh in Rom 9:4-5 if in Rom 11:26a Ἰσραὴλ has to do only with
faith? Whence Paul's anguish over Ἰσραηλῖται in Rom 9:4 if Ἰσραὴλ in Rom 11:26a
simply means the people of God who believe in Christ? If Ἰσραὴλ in Rom
11:26a does not mean ethnic Israel then the rest of Paul's discussion in Romans
11 makes little sense. No, Paul consistently distinguishes between Gentiles
and ethnic Israel throughout Romans 9-11, and it is unlikely Gentiles are
includes in the Ἰσραὴλ of Rom 11:26a.” (All
Israel Will Be Saved: An Attempt to Survey and Synthesize Different Approaches
To Romans 11:26a, p. 3)
-“All Israel will
be saved means all ethnic Israel will saved--because of the faithful
remnant, and because of the surprising and unexpected mercy of God.” (ibid., p. 9)
Ulrich Zwingli
-“They indeed are enemies of God for your sakes who
believe the gospel: but as regards election, they are those whom God elected
from eternity, and he loved them more than others: thus for the sake of the
fathers they are elect until now… The fact that they are indeed the people of
God for the sake of the fathers is plain. Nor does God repent of his promise.
He called Israel to be his people: therefore that people will not be damned but
will return to faith and will be saved, even though they have been rejected for
a time.” (In Epistolam ad Romanos
Annotationes)
