"My eyes have seen Your salvation
Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples,
A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles,
And the glory of Your people Israel."
~ Luke 2:30-32 (NKJV)
I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not! ... But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles... Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear... Blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved.
~ Romans 11:1,11,20,25-26 (NKJV)
O seed of Abraham His servant,
You children of Jacob, His chosen ones!
He is the LORD our God ...
He remembers His covenant forever.
~ Psalms 105:6-8 (NKJV)
In my opinion, Israel's past glory climaxed when God's glory so filled Solomon's newly dedicated temple that the priests could not minister there. David had conquered her enemies and the nation was at peace. Solomon had yet to fall into the idolatry that would become rampant.
Israel shall yet reach the pinnacle of her glory. The children of Jacob wait for the Son of David they rejected at His first coming. Some argue there is no such thing as Jews of faith unless they believe in Jesus. I contend that Jews who call upon the name of the Lord live by the faith of the Old Testament covenant which YHWH did not break. Paul calls their blindness partial.
The day is at hand when the fullness of the Gentiles has entered the kingdom and Jesus returns. Even now, many eyes in Israel are being opened to see their Messiah.
Israel! Behold Your God! His name is Yeshua Ha-Mashiach (Jesus Christ). He brings glory to His people Israel. You need only say, "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!"
God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, have mercy on Your chosen people! Open their eyes and hearts to fully receive You. We gentiles do not deserve the grace You've shown us at their expense. Please come and establish the glory of Your people Israel. Please put in their mouths the words to herald Your return.
Feedback invited. Post to BuildingHisBody.com "Comments" or e-mail to BuildingHisBody@gmail.com. Copyright 2009, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
Thank you. I've heard whispers here and there that all Jews are saved. I wish I had the scripture they use, I believe it is in Roman's. Just thought it would be interesting to hear your thoughts. Is that what you were reffering to in your first paragraph? My DH uncle is a theologian and he surmised that he didn't really have an answer that possible the Lord could do as he wished. Sorry for rambling! It's getting late.
ReplyDeleteOur Lord is just and righteous.
Hmmm...deep thoughts. This is a great post to get us thinking. Thanks, Anne!
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ReplyDeleteMy position would be that although there are Jews of faith, they can only come to the Father through Jesus (John 14:6). I would venture there are many paths to the Father, but they must enter through Jesus.
If Jews' faith is under the old covenant, then I see no reason for their destiny after death to be any differnt than that of Old Testament men and women of faith. What became of Noah, David, Esther, Ruth and others of faith when they died, before the sacrifice of Jesus which pays the final penalty for sin? Some believe they are the prisoners to whom Jesus preached (1 Peter 3:18-19). I offer that Jesus referred to two places after death he called "the bosom of Abraham" and Hades, with an unbreachable gulf between them (Luke 16:22-23).
Paul goes into detail about the salvation of Israel in Romans chapters 9-11. He defines that one is not "of Israel" by birth, but by the faith of Abraham. He also says those who call on the name of the Lord will be saved (Romans 10:12-13) in the context of Israel's salvation.
Christians fully know salvation in Jesus as Lord and Savior. My belief is that Jews of faith who call upon the Lord shall also be saved.
I suspect God's manner and timing of this is the day of Jacob's trouble, during the Great Tribulation, though I'm a little fuzzy on that.
Anne thank you for your well thought out explanation. How amazing and wonderful is our God!
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