All Israel Will Be Saved?

"...and so all Israel shall be saved..."

Not, "...and then..."

But, "...and so..."

In other words, "...and after this manner..."

So he wasn't giving a chronology - wasn't giving an End-Time prediction. He was summarising a scheme - the scheme he'd just finished explaining.

And that scheme was that God's promises to Israel had been fulfilled in the believing remnant of Jews first of all, and then after the Gentiles began believing, God also began using the Gentiles' experience of salvation to further provoke Jews to faith. 

So in that manner, God's promise to save all Israel was coming to pass. God hadn't entirely closed the door of opportunity to the Jews.

That was the issue Paul was addressing: a first-century issue. And to answer it he explained a first-century reality. 

He was defending his premise that the promised salvation of Israel had been fulfilled - through his Gospel. According to the scheme he'd just finished explaining.

Now look at this. After saying, "...and so all Israel shall be saved..." he added, "...as it is written..." and then quoted two verses - verses which were fulfilled by Christ's first coming, not His Second Coming. If the verses were not fulfilled by Christ's first coming, then no Jews were saved, and neither were any Gentiles because if the Saviour of Israel hadn't come yet then there was nothing for the Gentiles to be grafted in to. 

Salvation was promised to all Israel, procured for all Israel, and offered to all Israel - but only the remnant would actually believe.

It's similar to how it says that Jesus Christ is "...the saviour of ALL men, specially of THOSE WHO BELIEVE".

Even if by "all Israel" Paul was forecasting that believing Jews only will all be saved, it still doesn't mean "all" Israel literally.

And if by "all" Israel he meant the combined body of all believing Jews and Gentiles who will ultimately be saved, it still doesn't mean literally all Israel. 

If he was predicting a still-future, end-time salvation literally of all Israel, it still wouldn't mean all Israelis (who ever lived) had been saved! It would mean only the final generation of Israel were all saved.

And even that would put him at odds with Jesus' prediction of the condition of Israel in the End Times, and also the Prophets' predictions. They certainly didn't portray a picture of an entirely-saved Israel!

Nevertheless if it is to happen, it is inconceivable that their salvation could be through the Law and not through the Gospel of Jesus Christ.