Saturday 20 February 2016

All Israel

I'm not sure about that outlook.

Jesus said the Gospel would be preached to all nations and then the end will come.

Not, and then the Tribulation will come;

nor, and then His program for Israel will begin;

But, and then the end will come.

The Gospel was to the Jew first, and also to the Greek - not, to all nations, and then once again to the Jews last.

But, to the Jews first and also to the Greek, Paul said.

Not to the Jews first and then to the Greek, as if it momentarily stopped being for Jews once it went to the Gentiles,

But to the Jews first and also to the Greek - once it went to the Gentiles, it would be for Gentiles and Jews simultaneously.

Once Gentiles started getting saved, it didn't mean God had momentarily finished with Jews. Far from it, for the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. Rather, God used Gentiles to provoke more Jews to faith. That was the scenario which fulfilled Bible-Prophecy, Paul asserted.

"And so all Israel shall be saved", he summarised the scheme.

Not, "and then all Israel shall be saved",

But, "and so (in this manner, with this outcome, the prophecy is seeing its outworking which said) all Israel shall be saved".

So the Old Testament prophecies hadn't literally meant all Israel - but believers - first Jews and also Gentiles.

And Paul also said how long that scheme would last for (the scheme he'd just fished describing, in which both Gentiles and Jews continue getting saved simultaneously) - it would last until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. In other words, until the end.

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