Saturday 8 November 2014

The Mystery

I think the mystery likely referred to the outcome of Bible-Prophecy which had not been completely understood during Old Covenant times - the outcome that Gentiles would be part of the same body with believing Jews and that the rest would become hardened. That mystery became better understood once the Gospel got going.

The hardening wasn't the cause of their unbelief, but a consequence of it. But even in the first century, the hardening was reversible - Paul said so - he said a Jew could be grafted back in anytime if he believed. And he used his own conversion as an example of that happening.

He also said that the provoking of Jews to jealousy was already happening - in the first century. He said he deliberately sought to provoke his countrymen to jealousy through the success of his ministry among the Gentiles - in hopes of saving some.

That scheme of things is the way the prophesied-salvation of Israel was fulfilled. It's the way the Gospel worked. It's the way Bible-Prophecy, the Gospel, the Jews and the Gentiles will interact until the end.

The believers at Rome needed to understand that scheme of things, lest they mistakenly think salvation was no longer available for Jews around them.

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