The fate of ethnic Israel stands as one of the most influential questions in eschatological debate. Our answer to it often becomes the lens through which we interpret the future itself. For some believers, these convictions extend beyond theology, shaping political attitudes and even economic behavior today. We now arrive at the final installment in our series, turning to the chapter most often cited in discussions about ethnic Israel’s future—Romans 11.
In the epistle to the Romans, there a number of questions that the apostle Paul addresses that are significant to our understanding of the future of Israel. Is there a role in the future for ethnic Israel? What is the nature of this role? Is it in a corporate/national sense or in a more nuanced ethnical sense? Most importantly, if there is a future for Israel, when and how can we expect God to deal with them?
Paul consistently outlines the relationship between Jews and Gentiles, showing that both stand equally under sin and share the same singular hope for justification in Christ. When we arrive at Romans 9-11, he places an extra emphasis on the relationship between the Jews & Gentiles and deals with the question of unbelieving Israel and God’s promises. Romans 11 becomes a key text to substantiate the claim that God will one day turn His attention upon ethnic Israel on a national scale. Some have even granted Israel pre-eminence in our world due to these very texts! There are a multitude of approaches to question of the future of ethnic Israel:
- According to some Premillennialists, Romans 11 indicates that God has temporarily directed His saving work toward the Gentiles, but will one day return to fulfilling His Old Testament promises to Israel at the end of the church age. In this framework, the church is viewed as a temporary parenthesis that concludes with a secret rapture—the moment when the “fullness of the Gentiles” is complete—so that God may once again deal directly with national Israel. This renewed focus unfolds before the seven‑year tribulation and culminates in Christ’s thousand‑year reign from Jerusalem, where Israel receives the promised land inheritance and the restoration of temple life.
- Most Amillennialists would argue that Romans 11 is referring to the gathering of the full number of the Jewish remnant (elect) in history and not necessarily national Israel.
- Postmillennialists see this text as linked with the eventual success of the gospel in the world. When the fullness of the Gentiles has been gathered in through global evangelization, God will lift the hardening from Israel, resulting in the widespread conversion of ethnic Israel. All of this, they maintain, unfolds before the end of the gospel age and the coming of Christ.
Background
The debate on the text of Romans 11 is focused upon the phrase “All Israel will be saved”. It is evident, though, that this phrase represents the peak of a crescendo Paul has been developing throughout the last three chapters. To understand Paul’s argument and the meaning of this phrase, we need to examine how it fits with the previous contextual argument in chapters 9-11 and with the entire epistle.
While Romans explores many important themes, Paul’s primary purpose is to make clear that justification before a holy God is grounded in faith rather than in works of the law. In Rome, the church consisted of many ethnic backgrounds, but the scriptures generally categorize these ethnic backgrounds into two groups, Jews, and Gentiles (all who are not Jews). Paul’s emphasis is that for an individual to have a right standing before God, they must come to God in faith in Jesus Christ. This justification is for both the Jews & Gentiles alike. (1:18 -4:25). There is no special privilege for the ethnic Jew over the ethnic Gentiles or vice versa. Both are condemned before a holy God for their sin and in return both groups may find peace with God through faith in Jesus Christ.
Paul continues in chapters 5–8 by unfolding what life looks like for anyone justified by faith—Jew or Gentile alike. Matheson summarizes this well:
In Chapter 5-8, Paul discusses the life of those who have been justified by faith. It is characterized by peace with God (Chap. 5), sanctification (Chap. 6), freedom from the condemnation of the law (Chap. 7), and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (Chap.8).[1]
The final words of Romans 8 summarize the confidence believers in Christ should have in their justification. We read: “I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, not things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39). The believer in Jesus is assured that the justification and peace with God provided in Christ is total and certain. There is absolutely no condemnation for those who are in Christ (Romans 8:1), they are foreknown, predestined, called, justified, and can expect without any question to be glorified (Romans 8:28-29). While these words bring comfort to the Christian in this life, it also creates a serious theological dilemma. God pledges to His people that He is faithful and that His promises will never fail. But this naturally prompts a question: since God also made covenant promises to Israel and affirmed His love for them (Deut. 7:6–7; Jer. 31:35–37), how do those assurances relate to His faithfulness today? Looking at the situation in Paul’s day (and even in ours today), the vast majority of believers were not Israelites but Gentiles. The Jews had largely rejected their Messiah and His kingdom. The nation expressed its rejection most clearly in the trial and crucifixion of Jesus and thus stood condemned for refusing the promised Messiah who brought justification through His atoning death and victorious resurrection. God’s pledges to Israel were covenant promises, not casual assurances. If He had set those aside, on what basis could believers trust Him to keep His promises to them?
Paul devotes Romans 9–11 to resolving this tension, demonstrating that God’s word has not failed (Rom. 9:6) despite the condemnation of the old‑covenant people. He begins his answer by stating that the rejection of Israel was not in its entirety since there was a “true Israel” (remnant) within Israel. According to the promise, those who believed in the Messiah were differentiated from an Israel according to the flesh who depended upon their ancestry to Abraham and the law of Moses for justification. The blessings of God have always flowed from His sovereign choice, not from anyone’s lineage. There were always children of promise and children of the flesh! Paul argues this point clearly in Romans 9 in stating that even though Ishmael and Esau were children of Abraham, they were not children of the promise. The blessing was always due to God’s election (Romans 9:14-18). Whether one became a vessel for honor or for destruction rested entirely on God’s sovereign choosing (Rom. 9:21–23). He then spends the entirety of chapter 10 to make the point that justification and salvation are by faith alone and not through the physical descendants from Abraham. In Romans 11, Paul introduces the remnant to demonstrate that although a portion of Israel embraced the gospel, the rest were hardened (Rom. 11:5–7).
Chapter 11 begins with a significant question based upon the preceding argument that the Jews were cast aside. Paul asks, “God has not rejected His people, has He?” to which he responds, “may it never be!” Paul confronts the notion that Israel has been wholly rejected, insisting that God has preserved a remnant who received the Messiah by faith, and he points to himself as a living illustration of this truth (Romans 11:7-10). Yahweh had not rejected His people in total. The remnant was the proof of God’s faithfulness to Israel even though ethnic Israel was largely hardened[2].
Paul then moves to another question “they did not stumble so as to fall, did they?” He answers this question with an emphatic “may it never be!”. Their stumbling was not forever but for a time with the purpose to bring salvation to the Gentiles, and in return that these Gentiles might make Israel jealous. V. 12 summarizes this point “Now if their transgression is riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fulfilment be!”. If an incredible, worldwide blessing occurred in the hardening of Israel for the Gentiles who were blessed with the riches of God, how much greater would the blessing be in their fulfilment which leads to “life from the dead” (v.15). What does Paul mean by “life from the dead”[3]? Following the progression of Paul’s thought, we see that Israel’s present rejection sets the stage for its eventual renewal, a moment he portrays as “life from the dead.” From this, two major interpretive approaches emerge:
- It refers to the resurrection at the return of Jesus Christ
- It refers to spiritual blessing or return from a life of unbelief (such as the prodigal son)
The phrase “from the dead” refers to the final resurrection in nearly every instance (47 times), except in Romans 6:13, where it appears to describe present spiritual regeneration.[4]
Starting in verse 16, Paul brings in the imagery of the olive tree, a symbol of the people who share in God’s promises. Paul then associates the “natural branches” with ethnic Israelites and the “wild olive branches” with the gentiles arguing that those natural branches were removed to make room for the wild branches. These wild branches were “grafted into” the tree to become partakers of the rich root of the olive tree. These Gentile believers are reminded that they have no grounds for boasting, since their grafting into the tree rests entirely on God’s grace and sovereign pleasure. Paul urges them to walk in humility, recognizing the grace that has granted them such a precious privilege in Christ. The reason that the branches were broken off from the root was due to the branches’ unbelief (v.20). Paul extends a very serious warning to those Gentiles in that if God was not willing to spare the natural branches for the sin of unbelief, how much less would He tolerate those of the unnatural branches? He calls them to persevere in their faith! Paul makes the argument that if the natural branches cease in their unbelief (v.23) that God can and will graft these natural branches back into the olive tree.
Romans 11:25-26a
Keeping this background in mind, we now return to the summary passage. Paul is not shifting his argument but restating the same truths he has been developing throughout the earlier chapters.
Emphasis is on the phrase: For I don’t want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery– so that you will not be wise in your own estimation- that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; and so all Israel will be saved.
Let’s break down the key words to try to understand the culmination of Paul’s words. In Scripture, the term “mystery” refers either to a truth previously unknown that has now been revealed, or to something only partially understood in earlier times that is now being clarified for full comprehension. The bringing in of the nations and the salvation of Israel were not new concepts. The Old Testament scriptures are full of references of the blessing of the nations even within the promises made with Abraham (Genesis 22:18) , but the means by which God was bringing about these truths was being more clearly taught. The mystery is the theme throughout this chapter is as followed:
| VERSES | THE FALLING AWAY OF ISRAEL | THE BRINGING IN OF THE GENTILES | THE REDEMPTION OF ISRAEL |
| V.11 | Stumble / transgression | Salvation comes to the gentiles | Jealousy |
| V.12 | Transgression/failure | Riches to the world/ Gentiles | fulfillment |
| V.15 | Rejection | Reconciliation of the world | Acceptance = life from the dead |
| Vs. 19-24 | The breaking off of the natural branches | Kindness to the Gentiles (v.22) | Re-grafting of the natural branches (v.24) |
| Vs. 25-26 | Partial Hardening of Israel (v.25) | Fullness of the Gentiles comes in (v.25) | All Israel will be saved (v.26) |
| Vs. 30-31 | The transgression of Israel (v.30) | Mercy shown to the Gentiles (v.31) | Israel to be shown mercy again (v.31) |
The partial hardening of Israel seems to communicate much of what we read in vs.11, that while ethnic Israel had stumbled, their fall wouldn’t be forever. This is twofold in that their hardening is not total (Israelites were being saved through faith in the Messiah even in Paul’s day) and it is not final since this text foresees a blessing for Israel who will be shown mercy again in the future (v.30).
The term Until seems to denote something that is temporary in nature (See Luke 21:23-24). It seems to imply that the partial hardening of Israel is only for a time which it will find it’s fulfillment once the full number of the Gentiles are brought in.
The term “houtos” (thus/so) can be interpreted in a few different ways. Douglas Moo cites four basic options:
- and then (after the events depicted in v.25b) all Israel will be saved
- A consequence or conclusion (and in consequence of this process) all Israel will be saved.
- connects it with the “just as it is written” formula that follows: It is in this way that Israel will be saved; namely just as it is written…
- Indicate manner and linking it with what comes before- “and in this manner, all Israel will be saved”. [5]
The more natural reading of houtos refers to the manner or progression by which Israel will be saved in the future which Paul has outlined over and over again in chapter 11. The hardening of Israel to bring in the Gentiles with a purpose to make Israel jealous so that they come to their Messiah.[6]
The language used by Paul is striking when considering the result of the hardening of Israel. It would bring the fullness of the Gentiles! The term pleroma (fullness) speaks of that which is filled up and completed. The blessing that would be provided by the hardening of Israel would be riches for the world (11:12) hence we should expect a reconciling of the world to God (11:15) in the bringing in of the fullness of the Gentiles (11:25) to be something on a large scale. We should expect that All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, And all the families of the nations will worship before You. (Psalm 22:27), that All nations whom You have made shall come and worship before You, O Lord, And they shall glorify Your name. (Psalm 86:9), where The mountain of the house of the Lord Will be established as the chief of the mountains, And will be raised above the hills; And all the nations will stream to it.3 And many peoples will come and say,“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,( Isaiah 2:1-2). Once the fullness of the Gentiles has been completed, the partial hardening will then be lifted and a very large conversion of Jews will happen but this will only happen once the Lord has finished dealing with the Gentiles (nations).
In light of the material we’ve examined, we must recognize that Paul is insisting on one central truth: God’s promises never fail. Their fall and hardening were not intended to be total. God had not at that time rejected His people since Israelites were being saved including Paul himself (Romans 11:1) but it was also not final either. The hardening of Israel resulted in the blessing of salvation to the Gentiles which will in return, one day, result in the blessing of salvation to Israel. All Israel is speaking in contrast to what was happening in that day to the remnant. Paul’s concern throughout was regarding those who had been hardened and God’s faithfulness.
All Israel
My focus has been on the view that Israel’s future includes both present and coming blessing. When God brings this blessing to pass, it will be so evident that no one will doubt its fulfillment. This “all Israel” being saved is the final step in the process of God’s gracious dealings. The hardening will happen UNTIL the fullness of the Gentiles is completed and then God will turn to show mercy to those He has hardened. The “all Israel” here is speaking, in my interpretation, of ethnic Israel, not all Israelites or even an entire nation or people, but a VERY large cluster of ethnic Jews at a specific point in time[7].
While a singular, uncontested interpretation of the term “all Israel” would be welcome, the reality is that capable and respected expositors have proposed several distinct understandings. On this part of the theological debate, all sides seem to at least grant that in Paul’s day and even in ours, that Jews are being saved and will continue to be saved. A further commonality between these positions is the recognition that salvation will not extend to all Jewish individuals, whether or not one holds to a future mass conversion of ethnic Israel (Romans 9:6b). Salvation is through faith in Christ alone and was never merely through the bloodline to Abraham but by the faith of Abraham.
The interpretation that “all Israel” signifies all of the elect (Jews & Gentiles)
One argument holds that the phrase “all Israel” refers to the full ingathering of Jews and Gentiles, rather than to ethnic Israel alone. The challenge I have with this interpretation is the context! If Israel is ethnic Israel in v. 25, it would make sense to have “all Israel” refer to ethnic Israel in v. 26 especially keeping in mind that Vs. 11-16 and all references to “Israel” has referred to ethnic Israel. The citation in vv. 26–27 seems to portray Israel’s salvation in terms reminiscent of their restoration from exile. This salvation is rooted in the New Covenant promises and therefore does not signal a return to Old Covenant types and shadows.
The interpretation that “All Israel” signifies all of the elect Israelites in history
A second but much more plausible interpretation is that the term “all Israel” is referring to those who are of the elect Israelites throughout history. This interpretation shouldn’t be ignored or minimized since theologians have made a compelling case for its validity. It fits well with Paul’s earlier argument in Romans 9, where he stresses that true Israel is not defined merely by physical descent, and that being Abraham’s offspring does not itself ensure the inheritance. The promises come to those whom God, in His mercy, has chosen. It seems to me that Paul widens his lens in Romans 11 to include God’s future purposes for Israel. So if “Israel” in v. 25 is understood as ethnic Israel, it naturally follows that “all Israel” in v. 26 would refer to that same ethnic Israel, even in its hardened state. The hardened Israel is distinguished from the remnant in v.7, and they are identified as the branches that were broken off in v.17 that would eventually be grafted back in. The language communicates a temporary approach to Israel. The rejection of this hardened Israel is not permanent, and they will once again be shown mercy (v.31). I will deal more fully with this view below.
The Deliverer from Zion.
In Romans 11:26–27, Paul draws on two key passages from Isaiah—especially 59:20–21 and 27:9. The One who comes to deliver them is portrayed as bringing salvation, echoing the hope expressed in Psalm 14:7. While some interpret this text as being fulfilled in the 2nd coming of Christ where He will return to Jerusalem to save the Israelites at the beginning of the millennium, others view this text as referring to the first coming of Christ to bring salvation to Israel as their Messiah. In short, the text’s future sense reflects Isaiah’s vantage point, anticipating an event that Paul understood as fulfilled in his own day, not one still lying ahead of him. The hope of Israel is grounded in the Messiah and in return in the removal of the hardening of Israel and their sin through Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. Note that Paul uses the expression “from Zion” in his quotation from Isaiah rather than “to Zion”. Psalm 14:7 seems to echo Paul’s emphasis, presenting the Messiah as coming from Zion to save, to remove ungodliness, and to take away sins—work He fulfilled in His first advent, rather than a later coming to Zion.
The citation in Isaiah also describes a covenant made with them which states that God’s Spirit would be upon them, His words would be put in their mouths and the mouths of their offspring. This seems very similar to the promises of the New Covenant which are already upon us (Luke 20:20; 1 Cor. 11:25). We do not look to the future for the Messiah to bring salvation, the Spirit, or the blessings of the New Covenant; these are present realities. What remains is for Israel, in large measure, to one day acknowledge and receive them.
The Purpose and Position of Israel (vs. 28-29)
Paul proceeds to summarize Israel’s status by appealing to two different standpoints, as indicated by the clause “from the standpoint.” One reflects the viewpoint of the Gentiles, while the other reflects the viewpoint of God Himself. As Douglas Moo most eloquently indicates: Paul’s assertion of Israel’s dual status in v.28 succinctly summarizes the dilemma that drives the whole argument of these chapters; the Israel now at enmity with God because of the gospel is nevertheless the Israel to whom God has made irrevocable promises of blessing. [8] To bring about the blessing of the gospel, the status of Israel is that of an enemy through their unbelief but according to the promises of God, they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. It is exactly because of God setting His love upon them and especially because of the promises made to their ancestors that the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable or without regret.
Rehashing Key Points (vs. 30-32)
Paul now circles back to the point he made at the chapter’s outset. He speaks to the Gentiles, reminding them that they too were once a disobedient people, yet God poured out salvation on them through Jesus Christ—and He did so through Israel’s own disobedience. God’s design in all this is that the Gentiles would experience His mercy, and then ethnic Israel would be brought to share in that same mercy.
Most Importantly
We can sometimes be clouded by eschatological debates and scholarly analysis of scriptural text to miss the most important meaning of a text. In this instance, while we can argue for a variety of interpretations of Romans 11, we must never forget that the purpose of Romans 11 is primarily the faithfulness of God to His promises. Yahweh never reneges on His covenant commitments, and I am persuaded that this is the case in Romans 11 whether those promises are for an ethnic revival on a national scale for Israel in the future or the bringing in of remnant Israel throughout history, God’s faithfulness should never be doubted. Mathison Summarizes this well:
Here the analogy of the olive tree that Paul uses in Romans 11 is instructive. The tree represents the covenant people of God — Israel. Paul compares unbelieving Israel to branches that have been broken off from the olive tree (v. 17a). Believing Gentiles are compared to branches from a wild olive tree that have been grafted into the cultivated olive tree (vv. 17b–19). The important point to notice is that God does not cut the old tree down and plant a new one (replacement theology). Neither does God plant a second new tree alongside the old tree and then graft branches from the old tree into the new tree (traditional dispensationalism). Instead, the same tree exists across the divide between Old and New Testaments. That which remains after the dead branches are removed is the true Israel. Gentile believers are now grafted into this already existing old tree (true Israel/the true church). There is only one good olive tree, and the same olive tree exists across the covenantal divide[11].
In closing, it should be observed that Romans 11 affirms a future ingathering of the Jewish people into glory through Jesus Christ. Yet some interpreters overlay the text with numerous eschatological constructs to explain the manner in which God will save “all Israel.” I do not find that this chapter necessitates expectations such as a rebuilt temple, an antichrist, a seven‑year tribulation, or a rapture. Rather, Paul presents a chronological outline of God’s redemptive design, which will ultimately bear fruit through the advance of the Messiah’s kingdom and culminate in Israel’s conversion, much like the salvation of the nations. For Israel to partake in the blessings of the Messiah, they must become the true Israel—not by returning to Old Covenant requirements, but by entering the church and thus receiving the inhe
[1] Postmillennialism, Keith A. Matheson, Page 122
[2] Holwerda notes: “We must resist the temptation quickly to draw inferences from this statement, because what Paul declares is not new teaching. However difficult the language is for us to understand, God’s hardening of His people because of their disobedience is announced already by the Old Testament prophets. From Moses to David to Isaiah, Israel finds itself at times under a judging action of God that keeps it unresponsive to the grace of God. The prophetic language of judgment employs pictures of a deep slumber, a blindness that fails to see what God is doing, a resounding deafness,. Consequently, Israel forgot the great redemptive events of the exodus (Deuteronomy 29:4), persecuted God’s anointed servant (Psalm 69), and refused to worship God (Isaiah 29) – Jesus & Israel: One Covenant or two? William B. Eerdman Publishing Company, 1995, Page 165
[3] The blessing of Israel is not said to be in land promises but in the resurrection from the dead. The challenge is that it not only tells us how it occurs but also when or where this occurs.
[4] Notice in 6:13 the term “as” to give us the sense of a comparison which is missing in 11:15.
[5] New International Commentary on the New Testament: Romans, Douglas Moo, William B. Eerdman publishing company, Page 720
[6] Moo makes an interesting point however: this means that houtos, while not having a temporal meaning, has a temporal reference; for the manner in which all Israel is saved involves a process that unfolds in definite stages. (Ibid)
[7] The Israel in 11:1-2 & 11:11-13, 25 refers here to unsaved ethnic Israel and this will drive the context of v.26.
[8] New International Commentary on the New Testament: Romans, Douglas Moo, William B. Eerdman publishing company, Page 730
[9] See Romans 11:22; 14:4; 1 Cor. 10:12, Hebrews 4:11 and Isaiah 24:20.
[10] New International Commentary on the New Testament: Romans, Douglas Moo, William B. Eerdman publishing company, Page 690
[11] https://www.keithmathison.org/post/the-church-and-israel-in-the-new-testament