Question: Why do I hear so much preaching about how ALL OF ISRAEL will be saved? I would love to see the people of Israel accept CHRIST as LORD AND SAVIOR; but the way it is being taught sounds to me like ethnic salvation, because they are born Jewish. And the Bible clearly says that all who say they are Israel are not Israel. Israel is the church, is it not?
Answer: No! Israel is not the Church. Much confusion has been caused by this "teaching." Through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, God was forming a nation to ultimately produce the Messiah (Jesus Christ); and show Himself to the surrounding pagan nations. (Acts 13:47) This was during the dispensation of Promise, beginning with the call of Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3) and ending with the Exodus (Exodus 12:40), and also during the dispensation of Law, from the Exodus to the Cross.
God wanted the Jews to reach out and bring other nationalities to Him. They could become Jewish proselytes and keep the rituals and sacrifices. These sacrifices only covered sin; and the shedding of innocent blood showed what the Messiah would do when He went to the Cross. They believed and were saved, looking forward. We look back, and believe and are saved. When Christ came,
"He came unto His own, and His own received Him not." (John 1:11).
After the cross, we enter a new dispensation; the Church Age, or Age of Grace. Under Promise and the Law, God dealt through one nation, Israel. Under Grace, He deals with the world, all nationalities.
"Is he the God of the Jews only? Is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also:" (Romans 3:29)
"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: ye are all one in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:28)
There is one kind of salvation for all.
"For God so loved the WORLD, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life." (John 3:16)
It is not ethnic salvation. Everyone is saved the same way, by believing that Jesus Christ died to pay for our sins.
After the Rapture, we have the 7-Year Tribulation Period. God again deals with the Jews as a NATION for their rejection of Christ, and with the world as a whole for its ungodliness. It is called "Jacob's Trouble." (Jeremiah 30:7; Daniel 12:1; Reve-lation 6-19).
The total quote from Romans 11:26 is
"And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer (Christ), and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob (the Nation of Israel):"
This occurs at the end of the Tribulation Period. THEN, the Jews will know the Antichrist is not the Messiah; and the Real One, King Jesus, has come on the scene! Individual Jews surviving at the end of the Tribulation Period will either believe in Christ as Messiah; or, if they have taken the Mark of the Beast, 666, by trusting the Antichrist (Revelation 13:16-18), will hear the devastating words...
"Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire."
It will be the same with surviving Gentiles. This occurs at the Judgment of the Nations (or "judgment of the survivors") at the end of the Tribulation and beginning of the Kingdom. (Matthew 25:31-46). The only surviving Jews entering the Kingdom will be believing Jews.
"...So all Israel shall be saved."
It is the same for the Gentiles.
Then begins the 1,000 year Kingdom when Christ reigns from Jerusalem. (Revelation 19, 20:4-6).
You have got to make the determination according to the context of the Scripture; as to whether a passage is speaking of individual salvation, or the nation as a whole.
For more information on the subject of Bible Prophecy, you will find Pastor Younce’s book, “I Know Who Holds Tomorrow, A Book on Bible Prophecy” helpful. It has many charts and diagrams to make things clear. You can read it free here: Click Here to Read Online
