The Land Promise Fulfilled
Here is a simple study showing that the Land Promise to Israel was fulfilled. First we will examine the land
promise in the context of…

I. GOD’S THREE-FOLD PROMISE
A. THE LAND PROMISE…

1. Made to Abraham while still in Ur of Chaldees – Ac 7:2-3; Gen 12:1
2. Repeated several times to Abraham – Gen 12:7; 13:12-14; 17:8
3. Confirmed to Isaac, and later to Jacob – Gen 26:3; 28:13
4. Its borders were to extend from:
a. From the river of Egypt (the Brook of Egypt, or Wadi el Arish) – Num 34:5; Jos 15:4
b. To the Euphrates River – Gen 15:18
— This promise refers to the land of Canaan, later known as Palestine

 B. THE NATION PROMISE…
1. Made to Abraham – Gen 12:2
2. Repeated to Abraham several times – Gen 13:16; 17:6
3. Confirmed also to Isaac and Jacob – Gen 26:4; 35:11
— This promise refers to the nation of Israel, the descendants of Jacob

 C. THE SEED PROMISE…
1. Made to Abraham – Gen 12:3
2. Repeated to Abraham – Gen 22:18
3. Confirmed also to Isaac – Gen 26:4
— This promise refers to Jesus Christ – cf. Ac 3:25-26; Ga 3:8,16
Christians agree that the nation promise and the seed promise were fulfilled. What about the land promise…?

II. THE LAND PROMISE EXAMINED
 A. WAS THE LAND PROMISE FULFILLED…?

1. Most dispensational premillennialists believe the promise is yet to be fulfilled or say it was fulfilled,
but that the land was to be Israel’s:
a. “forever” – Gen 13:15
b. “as an everlasting possession” – Gen 17:8
— Thus their belief that Israel needs to be restored to the land today

 B. THE LAND PROMISE WAS FULFILLED…!

1. As stated by Joshua

a. God gave the land – Josh 21:43-45 “The Lord gave Israel ALL THE LAND He had sworn to give their ancestors, and they took possession of it and settled there. The Lord gave them REST on every side, JUST AS he had sworn to their ancestors. NOT ONE of their enemies withstood them; the Lord gave ALL their enemies into their hands. NOT ONE of ALL the Lords good promises to the house of Israel failed; EVERY ONE WAS FULFILLED.�?

b. Israel possessed the land – Josh 21:43
c. Israel lived in the land – Josh 21:43-44
d. “not a word failed…ALL came to pass” – Josh 21:45; cf. 23:14

2. As implied by the cities of refuge
a. Six cities were promised, three cities on each side of the Jordan – Num 35:9-15
b. Three were given in the trans-Jordan, three more promised if God kept His promise to give Israel all the land promised to their fathers – Deut 19:7-9
c. Six cities were given; so God must have kept His promise! – Josh 20:7-9
3. As experienced during the reign of Solomon
a. The extent of the land promised described to Abram – Gen 15:8
b. The extent of the land ruled over by Solomon – 1Ki 4:21
c. God’s promise regarding the land had been fulfilled!

4. As praised by the Levites upon their return from Babylonian captivity
a. God made a covenant with Abraham concerning the land – Neh 9:7
b. God performed His words – Neh 9:8,23-25
5. As praised by the Psalmist
a. God remembered His promise to Abraham – Ps 105:42
b. He gave His descendants the land – Ps 105:43-45

 — Without question God fulfilled the promise to give Israel the land!

 D. WAS THE LAND PROMISE UNCONDITIONAL…?

1. The promise to receive the land was unconditional – cf. Deut 9:5

2. But the promise to retain the land was conditional – cf. Josh 23:15-16

3. Captivity and return to the land was foretold – Deut 4:25-27; 28:15-68; 30:1-10

— The OT thus describes the history of Israel’s captivity and restoration

F. WAS THE LAND PROMISE TO BE FOREVER AND EVERLASTING…?

1. It was indeed promised “forever”, “as an everlasting possession” – Gen 13:15; 17:8

2. However, the Hebrew word translated ‘forever’ and ‘everlasting’ is olam
a. “meaning a very long time” – TCWD
b. “may cover a person’s lifetime (Exo 21:6; 1 Sa 1:22) – ibid.
c. “a period of many generations (Josh 24:2) – ibid.
d. “the time of the present created order” (Ps 73:12) – ibid.
e. “The term ‘forever,’ means as long as the order of things to which it belongs lasts.” – Barnes
f. “…to the end of the present dispensation” – Clarke

3. If ‘everlasting’ always meant lasting forever, then we should still be observing:

a. Circumcision – Gen 17:10-13
b. The Passover – Exo 12:14
c. The Feast of Unleavened Bread – Exo 12:17
d. The priesthood of Aaron – Exo 29:9
e. The Sabbath – Exo 31:16-17
f. The sacrifices, with their portions for the priests – Lev 6:18; 7:34-36; 10:15
g. Fasting and animal sacrifices on the Day of Atonement – Lev 16:29-34
h. The Feast of Tabernacles – Lev 23:39-42
i. …and many other elements of the Law described as ‘everlasting ordinances’

4. Yet the New Testament teaches such ordinances were not permanent

a. They were fleshly ordinances, imposed until a time of reformation – He 9:6-10
b. Circumcision is clearly no longer binding – Ga 5:1-6
c. Even Sabbath days are no longer bound – Col 2:14-17

— Thus the promise of the land was to last only as long as it fulfilled God’s purpose

CONCLUSION
1. God fulfilled His promise for Israel to receive the land…
a. So says Joshua, the Psalmist, and the Levites
b. At the very least Solomon ruled over the entire land described to Abraham
2. Israel’s retention of the land was always conditional…
a. Moses and Joshua warned Israel that it was conditional
b. The Assyrian and Babylonian captivity illustrates how Israel lost the land
c. The Restoration described in Ezra, Nehemiah, Haggai and Zechariah illustrates how Israel regained the land
Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2011

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GOD’S PROMISES TO ISRAEL – FULFILLED!
From Chapter VII of Philip Mauro’s Book “The Hope of Israel: What Is It?�?

Joshua 21:43-45 throws clear light upon the question we are investigating- the future of Israel.

“The Lord gave Israel ALL THE LAND He had sworn to give their ancestors, and they took possession of it and settled there. The Lord gave them REST on every side, JUST AS he had sworn to their ancestors. NOT ONE of their enemies withstood them; the Lord gave ALL their enemies into their hands. NOT ONE of ALL the Lords good promises to the house of Israel failed; EVERY ONE WAS FULFILLED.�?
Joshua 21:43-45

It appears that nothing now remains to be fulfilled of ALL that God promised to the fathers of Israel He would do for their natural descendants. God has shown us that he fulfilled this promise physically in history in this passage, and that he has expanded and completely fulfilled this and every promise forever in Jesus, or Messiah Joshua, of whom Joshua, was a type. In Christ, all Jews are completed, and all Jewish covenants are completed as well.

Joshua led the children of Israel across the river Jordan and into the land which the Lord had promised their fathers to give them. He led them victoriously against their enemies, subduing one after another, until, “he left nothing undone of all that the Lord commanded Moses” (11:15). And finally, he divided the entire land among the twelve tribes.

God completed ALL He had pledged Himself to do for the children of Israel under His unconditional covenants with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; and this is plainly declared. The confusion and misunderstanding that now exist, in regard to the present status and future prospects of “Israel after the flesh,” would never have arisen had due attention been given to these facts of Scripture:

I) God’s promise to the fathers of Israel concerning the land of Canaan went no farther than He would:
1) bring their descendants into that land,
2) would give them complete possession of it,
3) and would subdue their enemies under them;

II) And second, that their continued possession of that promised land would depend – CONDITIONALLY – upon their faithfulness to Him and their perfect obedience to His commandments.

Accordingly, when the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had fulfilled to their seed, through Joshua, all He had pledged Himself to do for them, all of which He faithfully accomplished to the last detail, then the unconditional covenants with the fathers were fulfilled so completely that “there failed not one of any good thing which the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel.”
Therefore, they stood from there forward, as to their relations with God, wholly upon the conditional covenant He made with them through Moses, which we have considered in a previous chapter (Deut. 29:1).

The details of that substituted covenant, which is strangely ignored by Bible teachers in our day, were that, upon the express condition that the children of Israel would diligently keep the commandments of God – those commandments being of the essence of the covenant – He would plant them firmly in that land, would establish them in permanent possession of it, and would, moreover, give them to enjoy certain specified blessings in it.

But if, on the other hand, they should be disobedient, should adopt the customs of the people of the land, and should forsake Him to worship their gods, then He would bring sundry curses upon them, and eventually, for persistent rebellion and apostasy on their part, would destroy them from off the land and scatter them among all the nations of the world (Deut. 28:15-68). This is stated in the clearest and strongest terms (See Deut. 29:23-28; and 30:17,18).

God did not obligate Himself to give the land of Canaan to the natural seed of Abraham for an everlasting possession, unconditionally. Moreover, those who so teach overlook the fact that, IF God had indeed obligated Himself by an unconditional promise, to bring the children of Israel into that good land, and to establish them in it forever, then it would have been breaching a covenant on His part to pluck them from off the land and scatter them among all nations of the world, as He has now done. But, as to the conclusions we should reach regarding this important matter, we are not left to an inference, however plain; for we have this clear record:

“And the Lord GAVE unto Israel ALL THE LAND which He swore to give unto their fathers; and they possessed it, and dwelt in it.. Lord gave them rest…the Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand…There failed not ought of any good thing which the Lord had spoken unto the house of Israel; ALL came to pass” (Josh. 21:43-45).

God fulfilled completely “all” He had promised and sworn to their fathers to do for them, God did not fail in doing anything He promised.

But that is not all; for Joshua repeated and confirmed the conditional nature of God’s remaining promises to Israel. When about to die, assembled all Israel, (Josh 23:2) and he exhorted them to be “Very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the law of Moses”; to shun the idolatries of the Canaanites, and to cleave steadfastly to Jehovah their God, as they had done during the period of his leadership (vv. 6-8). And he again confirms “The Lord has driven out before you great and powerful nations; to this day no one has been able to withstand you�? (v.9).

And then he warned them that, IF they should “in anywise go back, and cleave unto the remnant of those nations… and make marriages with them, THEN they were to “know for a certainty that the Lord” would no more drive out those enemies; but would make them the instruments of His judgment upon the apostate people, “until you perish from off this good land which the Lord your God has given you” (11-13).

Getting this land was an unconditional promise, but KEEPING this land was a CONDITIONAL promise. Israel failed to keep her conditions.

And he concludes with these weighty words in Joshua 23:12-15:
12“But IF you turn away and ally yourselves with the survivors of these nations that remain among you and IF you intermarry with them and associate with them, 13 THEN you may be sure that the Lord your God will no longer drive out these nations before you. Instead, they will become snares and traps for you, whips on your backs and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land, which the Lord your God has given you.
14“Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart and soul that NOT ONE of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed. 15 But just as every good promise of the Lord your God has come true, so the Lord will bring on you all the evil he has threatened, until he has DESTROYED YOU FROM THIS GOOD LAND he has given you. 16 IF you violate the covenant of the Lord your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, the Lord’s anger will burn against you, and you will quickly PERISH FROM THE GOOD LAND he has given you.�?

Joshua’s last message changes in character at verse 15 from an exhortation to a prophecy; and that, in the prophetic part of that message, he plainly declares that future generations of Israelites would transgress the covenant of the Lord, and that He would then destroy them from off the land. And now the whole world has been witness for nineteen centuries that God has done just what He said He would do.

There is NO HINT in the Scripture we have been considering of the reversal of this decree and of a return to the old order of things nor in any of the words of Jesus, Paul or any New Testament writers. And finally, it was necessary that the Old Covenant and all that was connected with it should be fulfilled and vanish away, in order that a place might be found for the new and everlasting covenant, the “BETTER covenant, which was established upon BETTER PROMISES” (Heb. 8:6-13).

FROM THE DESERT TO THE RIVER EUPHRATES

Those who hold the doctrine of a national restoration for the Jews, usually refer to the word of the Lord to Abraham – “Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates” (Gen 15:18), as affording support for the doctrine. The argument is – ‘that this promise has never been fulfilled to the “seed” of Abraham, and so there must be a restoration of national Israel in the future, if only for the purpose of the fulfillment of this particular promise.’

But this argument is based upon a two-fold mistake:

1) A mistake as to the facts of history, for the above promise was duly fulfilled to Abraham’s natural “seed,” and the Bible contains clear records of the fact, as will be shown presently;

2) A mistake as to the NATURE of the promise; for the promise in its fullness runs to Abraham’s true “Seed” is Christ, as clearly explained by the apostle Paul (in Romans and elsewhere). This also will be shown below.

As to the historical facts: At Mount Sinai God showed to Moses how He would proceed to put the children of Israel in possession of their promised inheritance. He said, “I will drive them out from before YOU, until YOU are increased, and inherit the land.” He would set the bounds of their possession “from the desert unto the river” (Euphrates), and would “deliver the inhabitants of the land” into THEIR hand, and then would “drive them out” BEFORE THEM (Ex. 23:27-31).

They saw this promise to them fulfilled to them. This shows that the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham, insofar as it was to be fulfilled to his natural seed, was not to be postponed to a far-off generation, but was to be accomplished in that era of the Old Covenant; and SO IT WAS.

Again, when Moses had brought the Israelites to the river Jordan and was about to leave them, he reminded them of the word of Jehovah spoken at Horeb; where He commanded them to take their journey “to the land of the Canaanites, and unto Lebanon, unto the great river, the river Euphrates”; and said, “Behold, I have set the land before YOU; go in and possess the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give to them and to their seed after them” (Deut. 1:6-8). From this it will be seen that, as soon as the Israelites had crossed the river Jordan, they were constructively in possession of the whole land of promise, from the Red sea to the Euphrates river. And once again, in this last message, Moses says: “Every place where YOU set your foot will be YOURS: YOUR territory will extend from the DESERT to Lebanon, and from the EUPHRATES River to the western sea.” (Deut. 11:24).

Furthermore, in God’s first word to Joshua after the death of Moses, He commanded him, saying: “Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I do give them, even to the children of Israel” (Josh. 1:2). And what was the extent of the territory that God gave to the children of Israel at that time? The next verses answer the question: “Every place that the sole of YOUR foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto YOU, as I said unto Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon even to the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be YOUR coast” (vv. 3-4).

Therefore, we have a record of the FULFILLMENT of the promise, considered as a promise of an earthly possession to an earthly people, in its widest extent.

But there are later records that make it yet MORE CERTAIN that nothing remains, of the promise we are considering, for fulfillment to be a re-constituted Jewish nation. Thus we read (2 Sam. 8:3) that “David smote also Hadadeger, the son of Rehob, King of Zobah, as he went to recover his border at the river EUPHRATES.”

This record makes evident that the eastern boundary of the territory of the nation of Israel was “the river Euphrates.” It shows, moreover, that part of that territory has been wrestled from them, and was occupied by the King of Zobah, and then when David defeated the latter he did not conquer alien territory, but merely recovered his own proper “border at the river Euphrates.” (See also 1 Chron. 13:3).

A little further on we read: “And Solomon reigned over all kingdoms, from the river [i.e., the EUPHRATES] unto the land of the Philistines, and unto the border of EGYPT… For he had dominion over all the region on this side of the river, from Tiphsah even to Azzah, over all the kings on this side of the river” (1 Ki. 4:21, 24. See also 2 Chron. 9:26).

While the original promise had Abraham’s natural “seed” immediately in view, its FULLNESS was intended for his SPIRITUAL SEED, i.e. BELIEVERS. 

For in Romans 4:9-25 Paul shows what was in God’s sight for Abraham’s children was to be not only of a natural line of posterity, but also “the father of ALL them that believe, though they be not circumcised.” And in that connection he refers to the promise we are considering, and says: “For the promise that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the LAW, but through the righteousness of FAITH” (v. 13).

Here we get a view of the vast extent and the TRUE character of this promise; and we see also that the heirs of the promise are, not Abraham’s natural descendants, but his SPIRITUAL children. And this is confirmed by what is written in Galatians 3:7 and 3:29. “Understand, then, that (all) those who believe ARE children of Abraham… And if you belong to Christ, then YOU ARE Abraham’s seed, and HEIRS according to the PROMISE.”

“The Promise” referred to in this chapter of Galatians IS THE PROMISE OF GENESIS 13:15. And the “offspring�? of Genesis 13:15 is Christ, the LAST real Jew whose race mattered. NOW the promise to inherit the spiritual promised land -the REAL promised land- extends ALL those who belong to Christ and who are grafted in through him, “All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever.�?

Galatians 3:16 contains a very illuminating explanation of it: “Now to Abraham and his SEED were the promises made. He says not, and to your SEEDS, meaning many people; but meaning ONE, And to your SEED, which is CHRIST.”

This promise is NOT for any people by GENETIC seed any longer. It is for those children of the promise grafted in through Christ. The promise is FOR US! From the beginning, the physical Promised Land was a SYMBOL, a shadow, pointing to the real everlasting spiritual Promised Land, which we enter through New Covenant life in Christ. It is new creation life based on a better, everlasting covenant. We are citizens and heirs of this Promised Land through faith in Christ.

Thus we find that, from the beginning, the promise to Abraham had in mind an offering to the whole world. The true and sole heir of that promise is Jesus Christ; through God’s wondrous grace, those who believe in Christ are reckoned “the children of God. And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ” (Rom. 8:16, 17).
“THE SON OF THE BONDWOMAN SHALL NOT BE HEIR”

But the Scripture does not leave the matter there. While Galatians 3 states the positive side of the truth, showing that Christ and His people are the true “Israel of God” (6:16), the seed of Abraham and heirs of the promises. Chapter 4 presents the negative side of the same truth, making it evident that God does not view people by their race or lineage anymore.

And further it is shown that the setting aside of “Israel after the flesh” is not a new revelation given to Paul, but was to be found in the O.T. records that Paul preaches on. For there is evidence in the words: “Tell me, you who want to be under the law, do ye not hear the law? For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondwoman, the other by the freewoman” (Gal. 4:21,22).

Paul’s question implies that those who construed the Scriptures in the sense that is called “literal,” should have known better. And he goes on to show that these things “are an allegory,” or symbols, in which Hagar stands for the old covenant and her son, Ishmael, for the natural Israel; whereas Sarah represents the new covenant and Isaac the true Israel, the seed of Abraham, the heirs of the promise.

Gal. 4:23- 24 “But the son by the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and the son by the free woman through the promise. These things may be taken figuratively, for the women represent two covenants…�?

And the climax of the lesson is found in the words of Sarah, which the apostle here declares to be the voice of Scripture; for, in declaring what was to be the outcome of the controversy between the natural Israel, that which “was born after the flesh,” and the true Israel, that which “was born after the Spirit,” and which was being persecuted by the natural Israel, he says: “Nevertheless, what saith the Scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son; for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the free-woman.” And he concludes with this comforting statement: “So then, brethren, WE are not children of the bondwoman, but of the FREE.”

It is evident that these New Testament Scriptures make certain that the national restoration of Israel after the flesh is not a part of the revealed will of God. Not now, or in the future. These and other passages show us that God regards that earthly kingdom with utter detestation, that He will never restore it. This is why John the Baptist preached to the Jewish people, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand,” he was not announcing the setting up again of the earthly throne of David.

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And So All Israel Will Be Saved
by Max R. King, July 9, 2005

Many look to Paul’s assertion in Romans 11:26, “And so all Israel will be saved,�? and see a prediction of Old Covenant Israel’s national restoration to their former place of temple worship and service in ‘the land,’ which allegedly marks the beginning of an earthly thousand-year reign of Christ that supposedly fulfills promises to Israel that were not, and could not, be fulfilled in the ‘church age.’  Countless predictions and calculations allege that now is the time for it all to happen.
The restoration of national Old Covenant Israel is one of the major tenets of dispensational premillennialism.

Dispensationalism stands opposed to amillennialism on the question of Israel’s national restoration.  However, there is no general consensus on Romans 11:26 in the amillennial world.  Some see it referring to a future mass conversion of Jews to Christ. Others feel that Paul spoke of the sum total of individual Jews who will eventually turn to Christ during an extended Christian age. Then, there are those who are not sure what it means—except they ‘know’ what it doesn’t mean.
Here is the picture. Premillennial theologians say that the amillennial proponents are wrong, and the amillennial scholars say that the premillennial position is wrong.  The irony of all this is their united stand on that which causes both camps to miss the significance of this passage: namely, the assumption that Christ’s Second Coming is still future. It is precisely this supposition that leads both groups to miss the context and setting of biblical covenantal eschatology.  Romans 11:26 is no exception.

Here is the basic problem. The eschatology found in the New Testament emerges from the Old Testament. The setting of its fulfillment is the closing period (the last days) of fleshly (Old Covenant) Israel in the first century.  One could rightly say that the New Testament has no eschatology of its own because eschatology pertains to the end of the Old Covenant, not to the end of the New.  Naturally, since the apostolic writings were composed during the last days’ time of fulfillment they contained a ‘future’ perspective, but this future never extended beyond the full end or consummation of the Old Covenant age in 70 A.D.

We see in Romans 9-11 that Paul was not looking to some far-distant time for the salvation of “all Israel.”  In Romans 11:25, he connects Israel’s salvation with the coming in of the fullness of the Gentiles.  Paul understood this as the goal of his Gentile ministry. Then in verses 26-27, he linked this goal with the coming of the Deliverer (Christ) out of Zion (his Second Appearing) in keeping with God’s covenant to “turn away ungodliness from Jacob,�? and to “take away their sins.�?  The covenant under consideration here is the New Covenant that God had promised to make “with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah saying, “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more” (Jeremiah 31:3ff.; Hebrews 8:7-13).  With this one New Covenant, God would take away the sins of Israel and Judah.
Here is the problem as commonly presented:  If this covenant was the New Covenant, and if the New Covenant was ratified in Christ’s death, how could Israel’s salvation (the taking away her sins) be ‘future’ when Paul wrote Romans years after the cross?  And why would this act of God be tied to Christ’s Second Appearing rather than to His death, resurrection, or the beginning of the church on Pentecost?
Atonement Background
The problem is resolved when considering of the role of “atonement” in eschatology and the range of action it involves.  Israel’s yearly Day of Atonement typified the once-for-all atonement Christ made. But what did it entail?  It consisted of three basic actions on the part of Israel’s high priest—(1) slaying the sacrifice; (2) entering the Holy of Holies with its blood to make atonement in the presence of God; (3) his returning and appearing to Israel at the door of the tent.  His return was anxiously awaited by Israel because it signaled God’s acceptance of the atonement.
The atonement, therefore, was not completed when the sacrifice was slain, nor when the high priest entered the Most Holy Place.  The ATONEMENT WAS ACCOMPLISHED when the high priest returned the SECOND and final time. Bear in mind that the priest entered TWICE with the blood of the sacrifice: first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the PEOPLE, Hebrews 7:27. The latter was the MAIN focus of his return and of a consummated atonement.
Hebrews 9 ascribes the SAME pattern of action to Christ’s fulfillment of Israel’s atonement. The Book of Hebrews intentionally prefaces comments on this matter in chapter 8 with a discussion about the New Covenant’s ability to take away the sins of Israel and Judah.  Christ’s atoning action is under careful consideration in 9:23-28, where we see the three-fold atonement pattern:

First, the offering of the sacrifice (Himself). 

Second, Christ’s entrance into the true Most Holy Place with His own blood to make atonement. 

Third, his returning or appearing “a second time, apart from sin, for salvation�? to those eagerly waiting for Him (v.28).
The Book of Hebrews was written after Christ’s death, but before His “Second Appearing.�?  Thus, it was composed during the time he was making atonement in the Presence of God (9:24).  In Christ’s case, the atonement involved His reigning “till His enemies are made His footstool�? (10:11-12)—the last of which was death (1Corinthians 15:25-26). The author of Hebrews believed [and TAUGHT authoritatively] that Christ’s return (Second Appearing), that signaled a consummated and accepted atonement, was IMMINENT. The writer exhorted his readers, “To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation” (9:28).  They could see the Day approaching (10:25). “For ‘soon, very soon’…he who is to come will come and will NOT DELAY” (10: 37, NEB).  In this way, the writer encouraged the original audience to have “boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus” (10:19f).
Significantly, the author of Hebrews affirmed that Christ’s atonement, when consummated at his Second Appearing, would enable the saints to enter the presence of God in the true Holiest of All—the one not made with hands.  This was not possible with the atonement made by Israel’s High Priest. The Old Covenant High Priest appeared at the door of the tent to bless the waiting congregation, but he could never receive them into the presence of God in the Holy of Holies. He could not even remain there himself.  However, Christ’s atonement and return would be of a different order, as Jesus himself noted in John 14:1-6.
We have, therefore, a biblical atonement setting for Romans 11:26 where Israel’s New Covenant salvation was still future (from Paul’s standpoint) since it was tied to Christ’s Second Appearing, which was near when the Book of Romans was written. “And do this, knowing the time, that NOW it is high TIME to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day IS AT HAND” (Rom.13:11-12).
Paul was not saying that they had received no salvation when they first believed.  Rather, in view of the time, it was then nearer than when they first believed. Their salvation was nearer both in time and in fullness, as indicated in Romans 11:12.  Here Paul spoke of “how much more” the Gentiles would benefit in the near future from Israel’s soteriological (salvation) “fullness.�?  The Gentiles received “riches�? (reconciliation to God) through Israel’s fall, but the “much more�? to be received in Israel’s acceptance would be “life from the dead” (11:15).  The “dead�? here is Israel, whose acceptance/resurrection would yield the benefit of life for the Gentiles.
Paul did not change from one salvation in 11:26 (for Israel) to another salvation (in 13:11).  The salvation in 11:26 was not in the infinite future while the salvation in 13:11 was “nearer” and “at hand.”  If he did, for whom is the salvation in 13:11? The Gentiles?  Were they to receive a different salvation than Israel was promised?  That cannot be because Paul in chapter 11 states that the Gentiles were grafted into Israel’s olive tree to receive what precisely what Israel was to receive; nothing more, nothing less.
As noted above, the scriptures in Hebrews and Romans tell us that the salvation of all Israel in Romans 11:26 was in the immediate future, that it was tied to the New Covenant and to Christ’s Second Appearing, and that it pertained to consummated atonement. Both premillennial and amillennial theologians have overlooked this historical setting, covenantal connection, and theological background.
New Covenant atonement is eschatological, and it falls into the closing period of the Old Covenant age. The end in view when “all Israel” would be saved is the precise end addressed by Jesus in Matthew 24 which was marked by the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple.  This event ushered in Israel’s promised New Covenant creation (Isaiah 65:17f) wherein righteousness dwells (2 Peter 1:3).
Stepping into the middle of that short eschatological period of time (from the cross to the fall of Jerusalem) and breaking off that imminent future from its past and then-present action being recorded in the New Testament texts and transferring that immediate future to some alleged end of an extended “church age�? disregards the context of the first-century historical situation and the Old Covenant theological grounding.  Christ’s second appearing is integrally connected to his atonement, his death, and his entering the Most Holy Place. If Christ has NOT yet appeared the second time, then only one of two possibilities must be valid.  One, the atonement is not yet completed.  Or worse, it was not accepted by God.  These are the only possible conclusions for the amillennial and premillennial positions.
The Essence of Israel’s Salvation
Identifying Israel’s salvation sheds light on the time and manner of its fulfillment. There is general agreement that Paul recognized Israel’s salvation as being rooted in God’s promise to Abraham as confirmed in Christ.
Yet the dispensational position argues that that promise includes a restored earthly temple, kingdom, and animal sacrificial system in Canaan.  Is this what hardened Old Covenant Israel failed to obtain—the fleshly ordinances (Romans 11:7)?  This is precisely what Torah-zealous Israel held on to.  This is not what Paul had in mind when he wrote that some branches were broken off from the holy rooted olive tree (Rom. 11:17).  Paul would not permit the Gentiles to revert to the Old Covenant system by being grafted into Israel’s olive tree (the Abrahamic promise in Christ).  They could not gain that which unbelieving Israel had failed to attain (9:30-33) by going back into the Old Covenant.  Paul never affirmed that the Gentiles would attain to restored land, earthly temple, Jerusalem, kingdom, and animal sacrifices.
If we can learn what the Gentiles obtained in Israel’s olive tree, then we can know the essence of Israel’s salvation in 11:26.  Paul confirmed, “What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness of faith; but Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness. Why? Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were, by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumbling stone” (9:30-32).
“Righteousness” is a historically controversial subject among theologians.  Suffice it to say that Paul tends to use it interchangeably with “justification.�?[1]  In Galatians 3:21 it is equated with “life”—the soteriological life and glory of God that humanity came short of (Romans 3:23).  It is called “the righteousness of God” because it is God-given. And its only foundation is God’s grace (Ephesians 2:8-9).  The difference between the Gentiles’ attaining to God’s righteousness (not having pursued it) and Israel’s not attaining unto it (while having pursued it) is this.  Paul said in 10:3, “For they [Israel] being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God.” What is Paul’s point?
First, he didn’t say that the Gentiles were not ignorant of God’s righteousness, although they were until its revelation in Christ through the gospel (1:16-17).  On the other hand, Israel, who was chosen or elected of God to carry the promise forward to Christ (cf. 9:1-5), did not know God’s righteousness in advance of its revelation in Christ.  They took matters in their own hands. Rather than waiting for God and the promise by faith, Paul said they set out “to establish their own righteousness” through “a law of righteousness,” which they presumed could be found (and handled) in the Law given through Moses. But they found the opposite of what they were seeking.  Paul states the reason. “For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of law, ‘The man who does those things shall live by them’” (10:5). Thus in seeking a law of righteousness, Israel found instead “a law of sin and death” (8:2).  Paul describes this dilemma more fully in 7:13-25.

The Gentiles, therefore, in attaining to righteousness by faith through being grafted into Israel’s olive tree (11:17f), demonstrated the true meaning and essence of Israel’s salvation in 11:26. They were proof that Israel’s promise in Christ excludes fleshly circumcision and subjugation to the Law of Moses and its ordinances. These were “shadows” of things to come, but Christ is the “substance” or body (Colossians 2:16-17). Hence, Christ was “the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes” (Romans 10:4).
Yet, if the Gentiles already had attained to righteousness when Paul wrote Romans, does this not prove that the full salvation was not ‘future’ in 11:26?  No, it merely confirms what we stated above about the past, present, and future range of eschatology in Paul’s time.  We find it again in Galatians 5:5: “For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.”  How could Paul and the Galatians be eagerly waiting for this hope if it were fulfilled already?  Elsewhere Paul said that “hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees” (Romans 8:24)?  This illustrates consummated salvation or “righteousness by faith” cannot be simply collapsed into the time period of the cross or Pentecost.  Furthermore, Paul’s “eagerness�? shows that he expected the consummation to occur in HIS near future—not our extended future.
The Gentiles’ attaining to righteousness already (from the perspective of when Romans was written) is based on the benefits received in Christ through what he had done and was then presently doing as High Priest.  Thus they could look with assurance and eager anticipation to the approaching consummation. It is the same situation seen with respect to the atonement in Hebrews 9 and the eager waiting for Christ’s Second Appearing.
In Romans 11:11-15, Paul spoke of the initial blessings (riches, reconciliation) that the Gentiles received through Israel’s fall, but there would be “much more” to be gained through Israel’s “fullness” and “acceptance.” Paul, therefore, had a definite future in view that would yield benefits for the Gentiles through God’s acceptance of Israel.  These complete blessings would surmount those that they had already received.  This promise refuted the notion that God had cast away His people whom He foreknew because the blessing to the Gentiles was contingent upon God’s acceptance of Israel.
What was this future and the “much more” that would come through Israel’s acceptance? How is it relevant to the fulfillment of “the hope of righteousness by faith” eagerly awaited through the Spirit”?  Before answering this, we must address an overriding question.
WHO Comprises the “All Israel” in 11:26?
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.
Our task, then, is to see the connection between 1) the coming in of the fullness of the Gentiles and 2) the salvation of not just part of Israel, but of “all Israel.�?
Importantly, Paul links the salvation of the Gentiles and the salvation of all Israel.  To see this connection, one must observe what Paul says in 11:26-27: “as it is written, The Deliverer will come out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; For this is my covenant with them, When I take away their sins.”  With whom is this covenant made?  To whom does the Deliverer come? Whose sins are taken away?  Paul quotes from Isaiah 27:9 and 59:20-21, and this prophetic text is closely linked to the covenant that Jeremiah speaks of the in 31:31-34; i.e., the New Covenant that God would make, not with part of Israel, but with BOTH “the house of Israel” and “the house of Judah.”  So, how does Paul’s mission to the Gentiles fit in with God’s fulfillment of His covenant with both houses, Israel and Judah?
Historically speaking, Christ came in the flesh to the house of Judah—the tribes of Judah and Benjamin in Judea. But WHERE WAS THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL? We know the answer to that. The ten tribes of the northern kingdom fell to the Assyrians in 721 BC, never to be restored to their former tribal “people of God” status in Palestine. The few who were left in Samaria intermarried with non-Jews who were imported to occupy the vacated land and cities of Israel. Out of this amalgamation grew the Samaritan people despised by Second Temple Jews.  Apparently a few managed to join with Judah either before Judah’s Babylonian captivity or at the time of her return and the restoration of Jerusalem. As for the rest of the captives who were scattered among the nations, nothing is recorded about what became of them.
But this much we do know. God’s casting away of Israel was not His last word concerning the ten tribes.  The prophets foretold that in the days of the Messiah, Ephraim/Israel/the ten tribes would be gathered or assembled with Judah and become ONE NATION.

God instructed Jeremiah, “Write in a book for yourself all the words that I have spoken to you. ‘For behold, the days are coming,’ says the Lord, ‘that I will bring back from captivity My people ISRAEL and JUDAH,’ says the Lord” (Jeremiah 30:2-3). And again, “I will be the God of ALL the families of Israel, and they shall be My people … He who scattered Israel will gather him, And keep him as a shepherd does his flock” (Jer. 31:1, 10).

Through Micah, God said, “I will surely assemble all of you, O Jacob, I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them TOGETHER like sheep of the fold, like a flock in the midst of their pasture; They shall make a loud noise because of so many men” (2:12).

The clearest, most graphic prophecy of Israel’s recovery and reunion with Judah is recorded in Ezekiel, chapters 36-37.  In chapter 37 Ezekiel saw a valley of dry bones. He was told that these bones were “the WHOLE HOUSE of Israel.” They depict Israel’s condition in captivity saying, “Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!” (37:11). Then God spoke to them saying, “Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves” (37:12-13).
Next, Ezekiel was instructed to take a stick and write on it, “‘For Judah and for the children of Israel, his companions.’ Then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for ALL the house of Israel, his companions.’ Then JOIN THEM one to another for yourself into ONE stick, and they will BECOME ONE in your hand�? (37:15-17). Ezekiel is told that this means that Judah and Ephraim (the ten northern tribes) WILL BECOME ONE in God’s hand. “Then say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: Surely I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone … and I will make them ONE NATION in the land, on the mountain of Israel; and one king shall be king over them all; they shall no longer be two nations, nor shall they ever be divided into two kingdoms again” (37:21-22).

Furthermore, God said, “David My servant shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd … and I will set My sanctuary in their midst forevermore … indeed I will be their God, and they shall be My people” (37:24-28).
In John 10, Jesus echoed Ezekiel’s prophecy, applying it to himself.  He told those of the house of Judah, “I am the good shepherd … and I lay down My life for the sheep. And other sheep I have (the scattered house of Israel) which are not of this fold (the fold of Judah); them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd” (John 10:11-16). Indeed, that is salvation, not for just part of Israel, but for ALL ISRAEL —BOTH HOUSES, Israel and Judah. This is what Paul had in view in 11:26 when Paul spoke of the fulfillment that was occurring in his time.
“Not My people” versus “My people”
We are now ready to take up the prophecy of Hosea concerning God’s scattering and re-gathering Israel (the ten northern tribes).  We will see its relevance to what Paul affirmed in Romans 11:25-26 concerning the coming in of the fullness of the Gentiles and the salvation of all Israel.
The prostitution or idolatry of Israel (the ten northern tribes) and God’s punishment of them is pictured in Hosea 1.  Israel is symbolized by through Gomer (the woman of prostitution whom God instructed Hosea to take for a wife). The children born of this union were Jezreel (meaning “God will disperse”), Lo-Ruhamah (meaning “without mercy”), and Lo-Ammi (meaning “no longer my people”). This was to show that God was going to disperse or scatter Israel without mercy in a place where they would not be his people, and thus “bring an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel” (1:4).
But Israel would not be cast away forever. Hosea foretold Israel’s restoration in chapters 1 and 2. “And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not My people,’ There it shall be said to them, ‘You are the sons of the living God.’ Then the children of Judah and the children of Israel shall be gathered together, and appoint for themselves one head; And they shall come up out of the land, for great will be the day of Jezreel!” (1:10-11).  In 2:23 the prophet wrote, “And I will have mercy on her who had not obtained mercy; Then I will say to those who were not My people, ‘You are My people!’ And they shall say, ‘You are my God!’”
Returning to Romans, Paul, in speaking of the vessels of mercy which God “had prepared beforehand for glory,” quotes the prophecy from Hosea applying it both to Jews and Gentiles in Christ (9:23-26). Paul related Hosea to the restoration of the ten tribes scattered among the nations. Why, then, did he apply it also to the Gentiles?
Israel became a “no people of God” when scattered among the nations or Gentiles. But how was Israel to be recovered?  Not only did Christ not go to her during His earthly ministry, but he did not permit his disciples whom he sent out in Matthew 10 to “go into the way of the Gentiles,” nor to “enter a city of the Samaritans” (Matt. 10:5).  Only after his death and resurrection would it be possible to assemble both Judah and Israel—not in the earthly, but in the New (heavenly) Jerusalem of the new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17; Revelation 21:1ff).
How, then, would Christ gather His sheep, particularly His “other sheep” scattered among the nations?  It would be by his ministry through the Holy Spirit imparted to his apostles, and by the preaching of the gospel in all the world for a witness before the final end of Israel’s earthly commonwealth (Matthew 24:13,14; 28:18-20; Acts 1:8).  The remarkable ingredient to this commission was Paul’s call to be an apostle to the Gentiles.  In going to the Gentiles, Paul had opportunity to preach to Israel scattered among the nations whom God said through Hosea, “You are not My people.”
But how would they become “the people of God”?  In precisely the same way the Gentiles who (like scattered Israel) were a “no people of God” became his people. The Gentiles, therefore, served to demonstrate to Israel (and to Judah) the meaning of their adoption or sonship in Christ through His death and resurrection.
From that perspective, Paul (in Romans 9:23-26) drew the Gentiles into Hosea’s prophecy concerning Israel, for they too stood on equal ground as the “no people of God.” It is interesting to note that the place where it was said of Israel, “You are not My people,” (i.e., among the nations) there it would be said, “You are My people.” Peter confirmed the fulfillment when writing to the “Dispersion” in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia saying, “But you are a chosen generation … who once were not a people but are now the people of God” (1 Peter 1: 1; 2:9-10).
They did not have to be transported back to geographical Palestine to be God’s people. The new dwelling was “in Christ.” Christ fulfills the “land promise�? for all Israel.  The place of worship no longer is in Jerusalem or Mount Gerizim (John 4:20-24).  As God said, “I will establish them and multiply them, and I will set My sanctuary in their midst forevermore … indeed I will be their God, and they shall be My People” (Ezekiel 37:27; Revelation 21:3).
The Gentiles’ Impact on All Israel’s Salvation
We now are set to see how the “fullness of the Gentiles” connects with the “salvation of all Israel” (11:25-26). While the word “fullness” denotes a filling up or bringing to completion, Paul was not concerned about aggregate numbers per se.  He was interested in bringing the Gentiles from birth to full maturity in Christ (Galatians 4:19). He ministered among the Gentile to accomplish this.  At the same time, he did not separate from Jewish believers in their midst, nor did he permit Gentile believers to isolate themselves from their Jewish brethren.  Together they grew “into a holy temple … for a habitation of God in the Spirit.”  Together they would “come to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 2:19-22; 4:11-16).
Paul’s accomplishments amongst the Gentiles amid the Diaspora Jews had a profound effect, not only on them, but also on the Jews in Jerusalem and Judea. Torah-zealous believing Jews in Judea were disturbed because believing Jews among Gentile believers were not compelling the Gentiles to become circumcised (Acts 21:20-21).  Paul’s Galatian letter suggests that Judaizers outside of Judea persecuted these believing Jews to the effect that some began to compel Gentile Christ-followers to be circumcised, not out of conviction, but to keep from suffering persecution for the cross of Christ (6:11-15).
Thus Paul, in laboring to keep the Gentiles from coming into that out of which the Israel were emerging (circumcision and Law-observance), contended with Jewish believers on two fronts: (1) the Judaizers coming out of Judea, and (2) the Diaspora Jews who were being pressured to bind circumcision on Gentile converts. However, we learn from this that the Diaspora Jews were advancing toward maturity in Christ more rapidly than those Judea. This can be attributed to the impact of Paul’s Gentile ministry in their midst.
Nonetheless, Paul’s full impact would be felt by Jews in Judea in due time. It was God’s plan that the gospel of the kingdom would be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end would come (Matthew 24:14). The coming in of the fullness of the Gentiles played a crucial role in the gospel’s bearing witness to Israel’s destiny in Christ. With the ingathering of the Gentile fullness, the stage was set for the full transformation of Israel’s fleshly, Old Covenant commonwealth.
The Gentiles and Jerusalem
There are three specific incidents that show how Jews in Jerusalem were impacted by the conversion of Gentiles without their subscribing to circumcision and Law observance. First, the conversion of Cornelius in Acts 10-11.  Second, the Acts 15 conference.  Third, Paul’s arrival in Jerusalem with the Gentile offering for the poor saints as seen in Acts 21 and Romans 15:14-33.
The effect of the first instance (the conversion of Cornelius) becomes evident in Acts 11. After Peter reviewed at Jerusalem what took place at Caesarea (and how the hand of God was in it), the previously reluctant Jews “glorified God, saying, ‘then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life’�? (11:18).  But the broad significance of this was yet to be seen, felt, and dealt with as the non-essentiality of circumcision became more evident as the Gentile mission advanced.
This led to the second incident: the Acts 15 conference on the question of Gentile circumcision.  After much disputing, Peter took the floor.  He reminded the assembly “that a good while ago God chose among us, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe … and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they. Then all the multitude kept silent and listened to Barnabas and Paul declaring how many miracles and wonders God had worked through them among the Gentiles” (Acts 15:7-12).
Peter’s conclusion that “we Jews�? shall be saved in the same manner as the Gentiles is closely related to Paul’s statement in Romans 11:25-26 about the coming in of the fullness of the Gentiles, “And so,�? or in this manner, “all Israel will be saved.�?  This helps to illustrate why Paul magnified his ministry to the Gentiles by keeping it tied to its Jewish roots (the promise in Christ), but at the same time keeping it free from those things that countered “the righteousness of God by faith.” Among these were Israel’s trust in fleshly lineage, circumcision, works of the Law, and other national privileges that were provisional for bringing the promise to Christ (cf. 9:1-29).
In the third incident (the Gentile offering for Jerusalem), Paul’s concern for the collection’s acceptance ran deeper than just meeting the needs of the poor. The reception of the gift would have bonded Jews and Gentiles, thereby bringing Israel to recognize the “exceeding grace of God” in the obedience of the Gentiles to the gospel of Christ (2 Corinthians 9:12-15).  This may well have been effective in bringing thousands of Jewish believers who were still “zealous of the Law” (Acts 21:20) to see the full “light of the gospel of the glory of Christ,” particularly when they began to recognize the approaching judgment of God upon the city and temple—which Jesus anticipated in Matthew 23:38-39.
The advance of the Torah-free gospel among Jews and Gentiles without distinction stirred zealots to aggressive action against the conservative ruling class in Jerusalem. The ensuing civil war and revolt against Rome led to the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. This is the eschatological setting for the “time of the end” spoken of in Daniel 12.  This is “the consummation of the age” found in Matthew 24 that fulfilled what Paul affirmed in Romans 11:26-27.  This is the end-time setting for the fulfillment of God’s promise to Israel: “I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. O Death, I will be your plagues! O Grave, I will be your destruction!�? (Hosea 13:14; cf. Ezekiel 37; Daniel 12:1f; and 1Cor. 15:54-55).
Israel’s Resurrection “Fullness”
We learn from Romans 9-11 and Paul’s ministry to the Gentiles that in every sense “salvation is of the Jews” (John 4:22).  God designed things that way by calling Abraham, giving promises to him, and choosing Israel to carry the promises to consummation in and through Christ.  It follows, therefore, that every facet of eschatology pertains to the Comprehensive Grace of God in fulfilling Israel’s comprehensive salvation.
Therefore, all facets of this salvation are included in Israel’s “time of the end.”  The resurrection, which is the core of salvation, is no exception. Resurrection was promised to Israel (Isaiah 25:8; 26:19; Ezekiel 37:1-14; Hosea 13:14; Daniel 12), and it constituted “the hope of Israel” (Acts 26:6-9).  This hope resided at the heart of the gospel preached to Israel (Acts 2:22-39; 4:1-2; 13:32-39; 23:6; 24:14-15).
So, when Paul in Romans 11:12-15 points out to Gentiles that the “much more” of Israel’s “fullness” and “acceptance” would mean for them “life from the dead,” he referred to the fulfillment of Israel’s promised resurrection. The Gentiles, thus, benefited from Israel’s resurrection just as they profited from every aspect of Israel’s hope, promise, and inheritance of salvation.
It is from this perspective that we can read and understand Paul’s teaching on resurrection in his epistles.  In his resurrection texts, he either corrected or gave further instruction to Gentiles relative to the fulfillment of Israel’s resurrection through Christ.  He showed the relevance of this fulfillment to the Gentiles’ own soteriological fullness and perfection in Christ. They could not set aside Israel and claim any advantage or perfection in Christ independently of Christ’s making good God’s promises to the fathers of Israel (Romans 15:8-9).
Consequently, Romans 11 is concerned with stemming the tide of a Gentile renunciation of Israel’s place and role in salvation—influenced no doubt by Israel’s lingering hardness and opposition to the gospel. There is evidence of this at Corinth when some contended that “there is no resurrection of the dead.” This was not a denial of resurrection in general, but for a particular class labeled “the dead” who were perceived by some as being without hope of resurrection life in Christ. “The dead” in 1 Corinthians 15:12 refers to Israel under the Law.  Likewise, “the dead” in Romans 11:15 refers to Israel under the Law.  Therefore, showing the consequences of the Gentiles’ denial of Israel’s resurrection, Paul follows the same logic in 1Corinthians 15 as he does in Romans 11—you Gentiles do not bear the root, but the root bears you. Christ came to fulfill Israel’s promises, but if there is no resurrection of the dead (Israel), then Christ (Israel’s covenant representative) is not risen, and if Christ is not risen, you (Gentiles) are still in your sins (cf. verses 1Cor. 15:12-17).
In other words, the resurrection of Christ, Israel’s Messiah, was the pledge or guarantee that all Israel would be raised. But if ALL ISRAEL would not be raised, if Israel had been cast away, then there would be no resurrection life in her “olive tree” for the engrafted Gentiles. With the olive tree metaphor, Paul links the salvation of all Israel with Israel’s resurrection.  Also, he connects it to Israel’s “fullness” and “acceptance” (Rom. 11:12-15), without which there would be no hope of resurrection life and glory for the Gentiles. With this in mind, Paul in 1 Corinthians 15 instructed the Gentiles as to the meaning and full benefits of Israel’s resurrection for all were dead “in Adam,�? Jew and Gentile without distinction. The blessing through Abraham was to be for “all families of the earth” (Galatians 3:8).
For an extensive exegesis and analysis of 1Corinthians, I invite you to see pages 440-648 in my book, The Cross and the Parousia of Christ.  In 1Corinthians 15, Paul defends and explains Israel’s hope, promise, and fulfillment of resurrection. We see it in his concluding statements on death’s defeat and victory through Christ (verses 50-57) where he quotes Israel’s prophets. First, in 15:54 Paul quotes Isaiah 25:8.  “[T]he saying that is written, ‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’�?  Isaiah prophesied concerning Israel’s release from the bondage of sin and death in the day that “the Lord of hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem and before His elders, gloriously” (Isa. 24:23).
The second prophecy that Paul quotes in 1Corinthians 15:55 comes from Hosea 13:14. It pertains to Israel’s restoration after being scattered among the nations. God said, “I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. O Death, I will be your plagues! O Grave, I will be your destruction.”  See also Ezekiel 37 in this regard where, by means of resurrection from captivity, Israel and Judah are made one nation, under one King, having one Shepherd, with God’s sanctuary set in their midst.  Paul argued in 1Corinthians 15 that Christ was fulfilling every aspect of this prophecy thereby bringing salvation to ALL ISRAEL.
Paul saw Israel’s restoration as “redemption from sin”—hence a ‘resurrection restoration.’  “The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:56-57). Bear in mind that Paul is writing to a primarily Gentile church.  Thus, in view of the surety of Israel’s ‘resurrection fullness,’ Paul, in verse 58, exhorted the engrafted Gentiles to be “steadfast, immovable … knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” Their labor was not in vain because Israel’s resurrection from death in sin was assured in the death and resurrection of her Messiah. Through Israel’s fall the Gentiles obtained riches, but through Israel’s acceptance/resurrection they would obtain “life from the dead.”

Therefore, Paul encouraged them to be steadfast to the end (1 Corinthians 1:7-9) when they would receive the full benefits of Israel’s fullness—the ultimate adoption (Romans 8:23) as “sons of God, being sons of the resurrection” (Luke 20:36).
Paul reasoned in this manner because the Gentiles were not the producers but rather the partakers of Israel’s spiritual things. Israel’s resurrection is no exception to this rule.
Resurrection and Righteousness By Faith
Since “righteousness by faith” is the essence of Israel’s salvation, a brief word is in order at this point concerning the connection between resurrection and righteousness by faith.[2]  Paul said in Galatians 5:5, “For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.”
What would fulfill this hope?  In Philippians 3 Paul connected his obtaining “the righteousness which is from God by faith” to his being conformed to Christ’s death and knowing the power of His resurrection (Phil 3:7-16).  The context shows he was speaking of past and present action—”to the degree that we have already attained” (Phil 3:16), in anticipation of consummated attainment—”Not that I have already attained … but I press on…” (Phil 3:12-14).
What Paul wrote here about dying and rising with Christ bears directly on his attaining to the resurrection from the dead (verse 12) and to his being “found in Christ, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ�? (verse 9).
Firstfruits and Harvest
It will be helpful to see the explicit two stages of resurrection in Scripture— (1) the firstfruits and (2) the harvest.  This stems from an Old Testament concept where the firstfruits were the first grain of the harvest to be cut and offered to God.  This would be followed shortly thereafter by the ingathering of the entire harvest.  In 1Corinthians 15:23, Paul calls Christ the firstfruits of the resurrection, thus indicating that the entire harvest was ready to be gathered in.
Paul referred to the firstfruits stage of the resurrection in Philippians 3.  This was the time preceding the end of Israel’s covenantal age when others were becoming joined to Christ as firstfruits for the purpose of being built up in him in conformity to his image (Romans 8:29; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Ephesians 4:13).  The “remnant according to the election of grace” in Romans 11:5-7 belongs to this “firstfruits” category.  Therefore this remnant was the pledge and promise of the whole harvest, the pending salvation or resurrection of “all Israel” in 11:26.
The “harvest” stage of the resurrection encompasses the Old Testament saints for whom Christ died (Hebrews 9:15), thus not limiting “all Israel” in 11:26 to Jews living at the time of Christ’s Second Appearing.  His end-of-the-age coming would gather together “His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other” (Matthew 24:31).  Both the living (the firstfruits) and the dead (the harvest) were to be caught up and united in him for eternity in Israel’s promised “new heavens and earth” (Isaiah 65:17f, Revelation 21).

We can identify the end goal of “the hope of righteousness by faith” eagerly awaited in apostolic time.  In the words of Peter, “Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:13).  A cursory reading of Daniel 9 sheds light on Israel’s time of the end “to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy.” (Dan. 9:24). Truly, God did not cast away his people whom he foreknew.
Conclusion
Romans 9-11 recognizes the process of the Northern Ten Tribes (“My people,” Hosea 1:4) becoming dispersed among the Gentiles (“not My people,” Hosea 1:4) only to be reconciled as the people of God (Hosea 1: 10-11; 2:23) through taking the gospel into all the world (to the Gentiles, Diaspora, etc.) before the end could come (Matthew 24:14).
The process of scattering and gathering allowed God to be faithful to his promise to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah, as well as to all nations (Gentiles) through the forming of a New Creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17; Revelation 21:1ff.).
Romans 9-11 gives us rich insights to Paul’s understanding of the scope and method of achieving the salvation of all Israel. He recognized that the time was near, that it was tied to God’s promise of a New Covenant with Israel and Judah, and that Christ’s atoning “Second Appearing” fulfills the promised salvation.  He appreciated the irrevocability of God’s promise that ultimately “all Israel” would be restored to God as his people. He wrote that “the righteousness of God by faith in Christ” was the essence of Israel’s salvation, and he realized the impact of his ministry to the Gentiles through Israel’s hardening, thereby provoking “many to salvation.�?
Finally, Paul’s eschatology pertained to the closing period of the Old Covenant economy and to the full realization of all things “which the prophets and Moses said would come” (Acts 26:22). This was the gospel that he had been separated unto (Romans 1:1-6) and that he preached as “the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes … For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘the just shall live by faith’�? (1:16-17).
First published in Living Presence Journal (vol. 9, no. 3, May/June 1998), this article has been updated to include fresh research and scholarship.  Max’s book on Romans 9-11 is scheduled to be released in June 2006.
[1] I will explore this at length in my forthcoming book on Romans 9-11.
[2] Again, I will expand greatly on this in my book.

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THIS NEXT ARTICLE TAKES A DIFFERENT APPROACH TO SHOWING HOW ALL THE PROMISES TO ISRAEL ARE YES AND AMEN – FULFILLED – IN JESUS. MEYERS SEES THE LAND PROMISE AS FULLY FULFILLED IN JESUS. SO EVEN IF IT WERE MEANT TO HAVE BEEN AN UNCONDITIONAL FOREVER PROMISE, IT STILL HAS BEEN, AND CONTINUES TO BE, FULFILLED IN JESUS.

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Based on the article “Forever Means Forever: God’s Promises to the Jews�? By Jeffrey Meyers

Romans 9:6 “It is not as though God’s word has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. Nor because they are his descendants, are they all Abraham’s children. On the contrary…�? In other words, it is not the natural children who are God’s children. But it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring. Paul’s point here is that God looks at his children THROUGH CHRIST NOW, once and for all, NOT at their race or lineage.

Also, Galatians says, “..there is no longer Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female in Christ Jesus�?. The only two categories God sees are those who are in Christ Jesus and those who are not.

If one is worried about the recipients of these promises really being Jews, genealogical sons of Abraham, then Jesus himself literally fits the bill. Jesus is literally and physically a bloodline son of Abraham and David (Matt. 1:1-17; Luke 3:23-38). All the promises made to physical Israel are for him. He is the recipient of all of these promises. He lives today. He now literally owns the land of Palestine. Since Jesus rules the world, the land of Palestine is included in his Kingdom. It is ALL his!  If God promised a certain land to the seed of Abraham, saying that it would be theirs “forever�? (Gen. 13:15), how should we understand the passages that seem to imply that the Israelites have a secure place in God’s plan forever?

Just about everyone who reads the Bible will eventually end up asking questions like this. One cannot avoid them for long in today’s world. Not only does the Evangelical Christian culture in America relentlessly preach and popularize its own answer to these questions (i.e., Left Behind etc), but the escalating conflict in the Middle East cannot but cause us to wonder about the place of modern Israel and the Jews in God’s plan.

There is no need to over “spiritualize�? these promises them and make them apply directly to the Christian Church. We are not talking about “replacement theology�? here. That is a distorted accusation often launched by the premillenial dispensationalist propaganda and it is based on a misunderstanding of a Covenantal view.

That is not to say that these Old Testament promises don’t also apply to the Church at all, but indirectly. These promises are FULFILLED IN CHRIST, a real Jewish man, both a physical and spiritual heir of the promise, and, THROUGH CHRIST they apply to believers; the Church. This is not by way of spiritualization and not by the Church super-ceding the Jews, but by real physical genetics and real spiritual inheritance.

In modern theology “supercessionism�? is the term used to describe the theological position first expressed by early church theologians Justin Martyr and Irenaeus that the Church is the “true�? or “spiritual�? Israel. But this is a misnomer and does not convey the critical role that the humanity of Christ plays in it. Jesus was incarnated as a real Jew with the appropriate geneology for a reason.

Every promise and prophecy given to Israel has a very real fulfillment (This does not always mean a physical-literal fulfillment, as, for example, only 35% of the Old Testament prophecies about Jesus were physically-literally fulfilled, but they were all really fulfilled.) This is also true about the real nature of the Promised Land for God’s children, spiritual children and heirs of the promises.

These were spiritual promises from the beginning, using physical types and shadows as symbols to teach us what God’s ultimate plan of redemption was, something to be offered to ALL.

Renown Christian author Gary DeMar is also one who believes as such. He says concerning Israel’s future, “The text says nothing about the restoration of Israel to her land as a fulfillment of some Covenantal obligation. All the land promises that God made to Israel were fulfilled.�? He is referencing Joshua 21:43-45, “The Lord gave Israel ALL THE LAND He had sworn to give their ancestors, and they took possession of it and settled there. The Lord gave them rest on every side, just as he had sworn to their ancestors. NOT ONE of their enemies withstood them; the Lord gave all their enemies into their hands. NOT ONE of all the Lords good promises to the house of Israel failed; EVERY ONE WAS FULFILLED.�?

This helps answer the charge made against some believers of “spiritualizing�? the promises made to physical Israel. On the whole, we have failed to emphasize the fact that Jesus is the last faithful Jew and therefore the INHERITOR OF ALL THE PROMISES made to the sons of Abraham in the Old Testament.

There are no unfulfilled promises that apply to anyone other than Jesus Christ and those in union with him. Ultimately, all the promises and prophecies made to the people of God in the Old Testament are all GIVEN TO JESUS, and then indirectly TO US us “IN HIM.�?

Jesus is the only Jew [whose Jewishness] matters any more [as far as Christian theology is concerned]. And united with him any person can be grafted into the olive tree of God’s promises. WE partake of all the promises to the Jews in the Old Testament “indirectly.�? United to Christ, the faithful and immortal Israelite, we are graciously permitted to enjoy what has been fulfilled by and given to him. In electing the Jews God had one purpose in mind–namely, the coming of the Messiah. Once the Messiah came, descended from Abraham and David (Matt. 1 and Luke 3), then genealogical Israel’s purpose ends. JESUS IS THE FINAL ISRAELITE THAT MATTERS IN THE REDEMPTION PLAN.

He [Jesus] is Israel reduced to one. He is the elect Jewish Man. He is the remnant. This is why Jesus had no physical descendants. God’s children were not counted by race or lineage, but united to him by faith in Jesus.

When Jesus hangs on the cross, everyone else who is IN HIM is crucified with him, and if you are IN HIM you are resurrected with him – whether Jew or Greek. As Paul says over and over again in his letters, the ONLY election that matters now is that which takes place “in Christ.�? God’s election of Israel was indeed vindicated in the life, death, and resurrection of Joshua Messiah. God’s first physical land promise was fulfilled with Joshua, a type of Christ, and the ultimate, better, and everlasting covenantal promises were made complete in Christ.

THE KINGDOM OF GOD WITHIN US AND AMONG US IS THE TRUE PROMISED LAND AND THE ONLY “LAND” THAT REALLY MATTERS NOW. Physical Israel was a type and a shadow of the true Promised Land, Jesus living in us, or salvation. The Kingdom of God on earth is “where” God dwells with us. He sits on the throne of our hearts and rules and reigns there. This is why Jesus says the Kingdom is WITHIN US and AMONG US. He was trying to get their minds up off of geographical kingdoms and focusing on God’s Kingdom. This is why Jesus predicted the Jewish Temple would fall in 70AD, to signify that the old way of race and geography was bursting open to now include the WHOLE WORLD where God reigns in people’s hearts and EVERY race on earth.

If we take this seriously, then we must conclude that nothing else need happen concerning the modern-day Jews. Once Jesus died and rose again, the last generation of Jews that were in covenant with God by means of the old system were given an opportunity to repent and be incorporated into the Messiah’s body (see Romans 9-11).

They were preached to and given and entire 40 year generation before their judgment befell them in 70AD at the destruction of Herod’s Second Temple in Jerusalem. This is what the ministry of Peter and Paul “to the Jew first�? is all about. After that first-century offer, physical, cultural, and religious Judaism had no claim on or special place in God’s purposes for the world. The resurrected, ascended Jesus, the ever-living Jew is the only genealogical Israelite that now matters.

This means that are no more promises to ethnic Israel for today. Unless, of course, you don’t exclude Jesus from those promises! He is the last, faithful living Israelite. And ALL the promises are “yes and amen in him�? (2 Cor. 1:20). The man Jesus is Israel reduced to one and “in him�? we are all beneficiaries of the promises.

How much more Biblical and actually Good News is it to see that all nations, peoples, tribes, and tongues are equal, and treat them all accordingly. This is not anti-Semitic, it simply levels the playing field. There is neither Jew nor Greek in Christ Jesus. All are made one in Him.

There are no genealogies recorded in the New Testament after Christ’s (see Matt. 1 and Luke 3). This is because genealogies have NO religious significance in the new covenant world. Paul warns AGAINST “endless genealogies�? (1 Tim. 1;4; Titus 3:9). Their purpose was fulfilled in Christ. Christ has done away with the whole bi-polar division of humanity (Jew-Gentile) that was in force during the Old Covenant. This is all over the New Testament (1 Cor. 12:23; Gal. 3:28; Eph. 2:11-3:12; Phil. 3:2-11; Col. 3:11; 1 Thess. 2:14-16; etc.).

The Israel/Gentile division has served its purpose and is now obsolete. To try to resurrect it or continue it is to deny that Jesus is the true and final Israelite. This is an important point. The Gospels indicate that he is the last faithful, bloodline, racial Israelite. Jesus himself disdains the notion that being a physical descendant of Abraham gives one a special favor in God’s eyes. He rebuked the Jews of his day for making such a claim (John 8:48-59).

YES AND AMEN IN HIM
Is the Abrahamic Covenant still in force today? Will those who bless Abraham be blessed and those who curse him be cursed? Yes and no. The Abrahamic Covenant was transformed by the Mosaic Covenant and so in some sense it was altered then. The Mosaic Covenant was transformed into the Davidic Covenant. The Davidic covenant underwent changes after the exile and something new came from the old. There’s been a sequence of “new�? covenants in the Old Testament. Each time this happens the older covenant is taken up into the new one, expanded and transfigured. The promises of the older covenants are taken up and furthered in the new.
And ALL of this comes to completion in what we call the New Testament or Covenant with the birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus.

All of the covenants are fulfilled in him and all of the promises of the all these previous covenants are “yes�? and “amen�? only in him (2 Cor. 1:20)! Jesus fulfills the Abrahamic Covenant. He is a bloodline “son�? of Abraham (Matt. 1). All the genealogies end with Jesus. The whole purpose of a bloodline “seed�? is fulfilled in him. That’s why the New Testament, especially Paul is so adamant about the fact that the people of God are those who by faith are united to Christ.

All who bless Jesus are blessed. You love and bless Jesus, the Greater Son of Abraham, you are blessed. You curse Jesus, you are cursed. That is the fulfillment of the Abrahamic Covenant. The Abrahamic Covenant has nothing to do with how USA treats modern day nation of “Israel.�?

And once again, this is not “spiritualizing�? the promises, as dispensationalist accuse. Jesus was and remains a very physical, human Jew. Jesus, the very physical heir of Abraham, David, and Judah! There is no spiritualizing here, because Jesus is the bloodline heir of these promises. Those who are united to him are co-heirs of the promises.

Did the fig tree refer to Israel becoming a nation again? Lk. 21:29-31

The fig tree was not the main symbol of Israel. Instead, it was the olive tree. There really is no indication that the budding of the fig tree in Lk. 21:29-31 referred to Israel becoming a nation in 1948 (or in any other year). This is a recent man-made idea, a reading this idea into Scripture. (The seeds of this interpretation were unleashed upon Americans in the notes of the 1917 Scofield Reference Bible. It took off among American Christians in the 1900’s, but not others.) Jesus was using an example from nature and changing seasons here to exemplify the timing of the signs he mentioned. Verse 29 shows that the fig tree is not the only thing that sprouts leaves when summer is near, ALL sprout leaves.

Jesus said, “Watch the fig tree and ALL the trees�?. If we are to take the budding fig tree to mean Israel becoming a nation, then we must take all the other budding trees to refer to all the other nations in the world somehow becoming nations. But this would not make any Biblical sense. It was a contrived idea and it’s already on the decline. It will be remembered as a relatively short-lived idea on the Christian theological landscape in the long run.

Jesus DID at other times use a fig tree to illustrate fleshly Israel and her being CUT OFF FOREVER. Once was when he cursed a fig tree on His way to Jerusalem (Matt. 21:19). After He cursed it, He said to it, “Let there be NO more fruit from you FOREVER.�? This indicated the cutting off of fleshly Israel as God’s chosen nation FOREVER, just like it is stated. FOREVER MEANS FOREVER. To believe Israel becoming a nation again has any theological significance is contradicted by Jesus’ plain teaching.
Today Christ’s Kingdom is God’s Nation of believers from ALL earthly nations, and all physical Jews are welcomed to become citizens of that nation. But fleshly Israel will never again, according to Jesus, produce fruit as God’s chosen nation. That holy duty and privilege belongs to Christ’s followers, from any race, both now and forever (cf. Lk. 13:7-9; Rev. 6:13).
If Jesus had plans to restore a physical nation of Israel on earth with any theological significance, He probably would have mentioned it in the Bible. Of all the teaching and prophesying of Jesus (and every other New Testament writer), He never once mentioned or event hinted at a physical restoration of fleshly Israel. In fact, many times and in many ways he said the opposite. In Mt 23 Jesus cleansed the Temple and said “your house is being left to you desolate�? meaning God’s favor is leaving the Temple and the Jews. He cursed the olive tree and portrayed Israel as cut off forever.
The belief that God has future plans for a racially Jewish nation has no foundation in the Bible. It is a belief, usually part of the rather new doctrine of dispensationalism that arose in the past two centuries among evangelical Americans. This is not a popular view outside of American dispensational evangelicals. It is constructed by reading this popularized idea into verses in the Bible based upon a misunderstanding of how God was to fulfill his covenants. A piece of land is NOT what matters to God, but calling out a new people from the Jews and opening the blessings of sonship to every believer.

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TESTIMONIES – Leaving Dispensational Zionism Behind

Whenever I approach a topic of concern and debate as heated as the Israeli-Arab conflict, I almost always find out what the opposition is saying. In my studies and preparation for these messages, I am continually awed by the media’s complete disregard for the foundation of America’s alliance with Israel and the media’s unwillingness to search out the history of the matter.
And of course, since abandoning premillennial dispensationalism I have been able to see and become convinced that the eschatology that developed in the 19th century called dispensationalism has brought about the devastating effects on America through Christian Zionism and the American-Israeli alliance. Again, I am in no way shape or form advocating violence, or support for Islam and Israel. I am no left-wing liberal waving a flag of peace on the steps of the capitol. In fact, the vast majority of those who protested the war in Iraq did so with complete ignorance to the fact that this is an eschatological issue.
I am an American and love my country but I despise our ignorance. And having been a die-hard dispensationalist for 26 of my 36 years of life, this issue is all too real for me. It remains an open wound for me and will continue to remain an open wound until America changes its policy in meddling in others’ affairs based upon dispensational eschatology. At first, today’s message may seem merely indirectly related to preterist or fulfilled eschatology. But if you follow this presentation attentively, you will hopefully see how the fulfilled view of eschatology (i.e. preterist or transmillennial eschatology) can drastically affect not only the middle east, but the world as well.
The present middle east problem has as its foundation a recent development in Judeo-Christian eschatology known as premillennial dispensationalism. Terrorist organizations pertaining to this situation are secondary issues, or what I would view as tributaries coming from a lake. America, ultimately in the name of the second coming of Christ and the regathering of Jews to Israel (under the guise of peacemakers), have meddled in an affair that is not ours in blatant contradiction to the command of God and His work in the first century: Proverbs 26:17 He that passes by, and meddles with strife belonging not to him, is like one that takes a dog by the ears.
If we are to have an impact on the middle-east, we must have an impact on American foreign policy. If we are to have an impact on American foreign policy, we must have an impact on American politicians. If we are to have an impact American politicians, we must have an impact on fundamentalist Christian Zionists. If we are to have an impact on Fundamentalist Christian Zionists, we must use the Bible. For they claim that justification for their agenda can be found in the pages of what we know as the Old and New Testaments.
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Comments on Philip Mauro’s Writings

Date: 23 Nov 2009
I have been suspicious of Dispensationalism for many years, but never realized just how much it had infiltrated eschatology. Philip Mauro has helped me greatly in my understanding of it, and I thank God for his insight given by the Holy Spirit.
John

Date: 11 Dec 2009
As a pastor who has been teaching and preaching for more than three decades, I only wish that I had read this book at the outset of my ministry. Like the author, I spent some of my earlier years as a proponent of the popular dispensational view which I have now come to see as not just a violation of a basic rule of hermeneutics (what did the text mean in its original context), but which more distressingly, runs the risk of negating much of which the New Testament writers are at such great pains to make clear.
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Date: 29 Sep 2006
Thank God for Philip Mauro’s writings, that we have recently discovered, even though I had owned a booklet by him from my father sixty years ago. That the delusionary teachings of John Nelson Darby have eroded the Truth of the Gospel in millions of lives, is horrendous. What delusions! To read a clear explanation of many of the Scriptures they use, is wonderful.
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Date: 30 Sep 2005
Matt. 23:38 “Behold, your house will be left to you desolate.”
When GOD says something has ended, it has ended! When God says the temple will not be rebuilt, that’s the meaning of Matt. 23:38 “Desolate”, no rebuilding of the Jewish temple, or any of the sacrifices should happen, or  you are saying that The blood of Jesus was of none effect…so choose you this day whom you will serve. After learning all about this and after have been deceived for 20 plus years, I thank God that there are people who stand for Bible truth and not doctrines that are mixed up with man’s ways. I’m also standing for this truth now…and speaking up!

Kathleen
Australia

RESOURCES FOR FURTHER STUDY

What is Christian Zionism?

Brief History of the Statehood of Israel

FILMS:

1) With God On Our Side  – Trailer

2) Occupation 101 – Trailer

AUTHORS:

1) Rev. Stephen Sizer, PhD – Christian Zionism Expert

2) Great Articles and MP3 Presentations

MAPS/ VISUAL AIDS:

Palestinian Loss of Land 1946-1999

 

BOOKS about Jewishness being a religion, not a race, by non-Zionist Jewish authors:

The Thirteenth Tribe (full book FREE PDF here), by Arthur Koestler

What Price Israel? and The Jews are Not a Race! by Dr. Alfred Lilienthal – Jewish historian, journalist, lecturer, and graduate of  Cornell University and Columbia Law School. During the Second World War, he  served with the US Army in the Middle East. He later served with the  Department of State, and as a consultant to the American delegation at the  organising meeting of the United Nations in San  Francisco. Since 1947, he has been at the forefront in the  struggle for a balanced US policy in the Middle East. He is the author of  several acclaimed books on the Middle East, including The Zionist Connection: What Price Peace?  On  December 18, 1993 Dr. Lilienthal celebrated both his 80th birthday and the 40th anniversary of his first book, What Price Israel? Dr.  Lilienthal, who is a courageous anti-Zionist Jew, was joined by more than 200 guests who travelled from all over the United States to  attend.

The Invention of the Jewish People , Prof Shlomo Sand – The distinguished work of an Israeli academic who shows that Jewishness is a religion, not a “race”. Sand identifies two connected myths which stand in the way of Middle eastern peace, but which have served the Zionist cause well. Sand deconstructs as historically false: the myth of the Jewish “people” and the myth of the “exile” of this people from the land of Israel. If essentially there is no Jewish race, rather a Jewish religion; and if the Jewish diaspora was driven not by forced exile — rather by the impulse to proselytize, then the Zionist-sponsored “return” of the Jewish “people” to the land of Israel in the mid twentieth century has lost its entire basis. He also wrote THE Invention of the Land of Israel: From Holy Land to Homeland