Another “mystery” spoken of by Apostle Paul is found in Romans 11:25-33.
Romans 11: 25-29 For I would not, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins. As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the father's sakes. For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.
Romans 11: 30-33 For as you in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief: Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy. For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all. O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!
Different scholars have different views on what these verses actually mean. The general consensus, however, is that at some point at the end, when “the fulness of the Gentiles be come in,” the ethnic nation of Israel, or a remnant of the ethnic nation, shall be saved. Some believe it happens at the time of Christ’s coming. The following verses could be used to affirm that view.
"The fulness of the Gentiles" may be referring to the various empires or “beasts” that have ruled over the world, the Antichrist being the final beast. In Revelation 11:2 we have the term “Gentiles,” referring to the Antichrist forces, taking over the “holy city,” which seems to refer to Jerusalem, for 42 months, or 3 and ½ years, the time of the Great Tribulation. Let’s read the verse.
Revelation 11: 2 But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.
Remember, the Antichrist will break the covenant, stop the daily sacrifice, and place the abomination that makes desolate at the “midst of the week,” the middle of the seven year period. He invades Jerusalem to do so and takes over, probably implementing the “mark of the beast” technology which will be necessary in order to operate in his New World Order system.
But some will rebel and not cooperate. The orthodox Jews may be in that category, especially if the "mark" is some sort of tattoo or micro-chip implant. God’s word forbids them from making any markings on their flesh.
Leviticus 19: 28 You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the Lord.
We can conclude, therefore, that at least some of the unsaved Jewish people living in Israel and or around the world will be anti-Antichrists. They will be against the Antichrist, though they may at first have been deceived by him and his “Holy Covenant.” Remember, the covenant may be what gives the Jewish people permission to start the daily sacrifice on the temple mount, the holy place, in the first place. Therefore, at first, the Jewish people would see the Antichrist as someone they could work with.
However, when the Antichrist invades Israel, stops the daily sacrifice, and places the abomination of desolation in the holy place, some of the Orthodox Jews and other Jewish people, at least a remnant, if not many or most, will finally realize that the New World Order leader is evil. They will begin to understand that the Christians prophets were right. They will begin to have their blindness removed.
Since Apostle Paul says that the blindness in part to Israel will last, “until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in,” we need to try to understand when “will the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.” If it is at the point when the Antichrist steps up or is revealed, as Apostle Paul says in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4, then we can expect Jewish people to begin to come to Christ during the Great Tribulation period. Those that do, would be raptured with the other Christian believers at the Lord’s coming.
Let’s look again at 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4. Apostle Paul is talking about the coming of the Lord and our gathering together unto Him.
2 Thessalonians 2: 3-4 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there comes a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sits in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
If what Apostle Paul is talking about is the moment the Antichrist stops the daily sacrifice and places the abomination, then that would be the sign that Jesus gave that the great tribulation would start. That would be distinctly at the “midst of the week.”
But, maybe, “until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in,” is not until Christ appears at the time of the Rapture or later when He comes with His saints in the Battle of Armageddon. It is at that point, at Armageddon, that the time of the Gentiles would actually come to an end. If the Jewish people remained anti-Antichrist during the great tribulation period and refused to worship the beast and his image and refused his mark, if, also, they lived throughout the tribulation period and the wrath of God, then they could be in that “blessed” group of people the prophet Daniel talks of in Daniel 12:12.
We will look at that verse in more detail a little further on in our argument. How “all Israel shall be saved” is still a mystery. Earlier in Romans, Apostle Paul had also written,
Romans 9: 6-7 Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel: Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called.
Romans 9:27 Esaias also cries concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved.
Romans 11:24 For if thou [a gentile Christian] were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature [false gentile beliefs and traditions about God], and were grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree [the seed of Abraham by faith that follows of the true God]: how much more shall these [the ethnic Jewish people], which be the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?
Obviously, some shall be saved. Throughout Israel's history it was usually a small group who were faithful to the Lord. But at times, under a good leader or king, much of the nation became righteous because they believed and obeyed. Pray for them. Not all are Anti-Christ and even now many are Anti-antichrists.
One extra note I need to add. From Zechariah 13:8-9 it looks like the remnant saved may be as many as one-third of the Jewish population of Israel. When they are in unbelief, God lets them be persecuted and chastised by the Antichrist for their sins. Two-thirds of the Jewish population die during that horrific period of tribulation. Then they finally repent and come to faith. It may be when they see the two prophets in Jerusalem killed and then come back to life three days later. From that point on, Jesus starts to protect them and saves them from further persecution and death at the hands of the Antichrist forces.
Zechariah 13:8-9 And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, says the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die, but the third shall be left therein. And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them; I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord (JESUS) is my God.
We see the same thing in Isaiah.
Isaiah 10:20-21 "And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again stay (depend) upon him that smote them (the Antichrist?); but shall stay (depend) upon the Lord, the Holy One of Israel (JESUS), in truth. The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God.
Who is the mighty God? Let's look at the prophecy from chapter nine.
Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
It is none other than Jesus Himself. A remnant of the Jewish people after passing through the Great Tribulation period shall come to Jesus. It may be that as many as 144,000 Jewish Christians, who had already come to faith, are slain during that period of great tribulation. However, on seeing the rapture event, one-third of the unbelieving Jewish people will finally come to faith. They will also be saved from their enemies when Jesus returns during the Battle of Armageddon and live on into the Millennium period.
The following verses from Jeremiah express that an remnant will be saved during that horrible period of human history.
Jeremiah 30:5-7 For thus says the Lord; We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace. Ask now, and see whether a man does travail with child? Wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness? Alas! For that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he will be saved out of it,
Why will Jacob be saved? Because he has turned to the Lord Jesus. The named their leaders cursed, is the name they shall come to believe in. We read further in Zechariah.
Zechariah 12:10 -11a And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem (at the time of the Rapture), the spirit of grace and of supplications; and they shall look upon Me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him, as one mourns for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for Him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem,
One third of the Jewish people will come to find the true God Jesus Christ during that horrific period of Antichrist persecution and war. They will mourn because of their rebellion against Him for so long. The blinders will be removed as they see Jesus coming in the clouds to rescue His bride.
Revelation 1:7 Behold, He comes with clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him: and all kindred of the earth shall wail because of Him. even so, Amen.
Jesus had come unto His own some 2000 plus years ago, but His own received Him not. Now, after much affliction, suffering, and sadness they see Jesus coming in the clouds to rescue His bride. As the two slain prophets rise to their feet and then supernatural ascend up into heaven, the remnant believe. Too late for the rapture, but not too late for God to intervene and save them from the hands of the Antichrist, who is determined to exterminate them as a nation.
Zechariah 14-3 Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight those (Antichrist) nations (gathered against Jerusalem), as when He fought in the day of battle.
Revelation 19:20-21 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the nark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant (of the Antichrist forces) were slain with the sword of Him that sat upon the horse (JESUS), which sword proceeded out of His mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.
It seems as if these days are almost upon us. Don't delay. Receive Jesus today. It may be later than you think!
To go to a related post The Day of Jacob's Trouble
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Seems to be balanced look at this controversial topic.
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