There’s a curious verse, right there in Romans, one of the most well-read books in the New Testament which states that all Israel will be saved. Huh? What does that mean: “All Israel”? How can that be? Surely salvation is a personal matter, not a national one?
It’s such an apparently strange verse that many will just shrug their shoulders and turn the page, as happens to many other oddities in the Old Testament, or Hebrew Scriptures as we like to call it. But wait! As is so often the case, for those who linger on that spot, for those who recognize that puzzling passages such as this often hold great treasure if we dig a little, a whole new world opens up.
A run through the context of Romans
Paul has painstakingly explained the Gospel very thoroughly in the book of Romans. He’s been perfectly clear that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and in the first two chapters he goes into vivid detail about how depraved humanity has been. He has expounded on the truth that believing in the death and resurrection of Yeshua is the only way to be saved, and articulated that it’s by faith in Messiah Yeshua alone that we have salvation. He has even described the unusual hardness of Jewish people towards the Gospel message that saves us, so what does this mean? “All Israel will be saved”? The answer is pretty exciting.
In order to understand that verse about all Israel being saved at the end of chapter 11, let’s take a bird’s eye view of what led up to that statement.
The book of Romans is written to believers in Rome who were mostly Gentile, but there were also Jewish believers there among them. Issues of what it is to be Jewish and Gentile come up a number of times, with Paul making it abundantly clear that the Jewish people need salvation through Yeshua the Messiah just the same as everyone else. In the very first chapter he declares:
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. (Romans 1:16)
In the next chapter, he clarifies that for Israel coming first, like having a name at the beginning of the alphabet, also has its downsides:
There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For God does not show favoritism. (Romans 2:9-11)
Later in chapter 2 Paul makes the distinction between Jewish people who are Jewish only by birth, and ones who are born again, who have received salvation. Though some confuse these verses to mean that Gentiles are now Jews, as we shall see that’s not what Paul means at all. Nor does he mean, as we see reading further in the book, that unsaved Jewish people are no longer ethnically Jewish. The word “merely” here shows that there is more to the matter than just ethnicity, not less. Jewish people must be born again, just the same as Gentiles!
A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. (Romans 2:28-29)
As we continue to read, we see that Paul believes that Gentiles are distinct from Jews, but that Jews not automatically saved. Chapter 3 starts with Paul’s recognition that the Jewish people are indeed set apart and that God’s choice of them still has value. He then spends the rest of the chapters emphasizing the sin that we have all fallen into — Jew and Gentile alike — and explaining that the law cannot save anybody.
“What shall we conclude then? Do we have any advantage? Not at all! For we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin. As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one.” (Romans 3:91-10)
In chapters 4 and 5 Paul goes into the faith of Abraham that was credited to him as righteousness, and explains how Yeshua is the “second Adam”. In chapters 6 and 7 he explores the law of sin and death, and in 8 the forgiveness and freedom that comes with life in the Spirit.
In chapter 9 Paul expresses his anguish that the people of Israel, by and large, are not saved. Clearly, this means he does not see Israel and the church as one and the same. Paul is concerned that Israel is, by and large, not yet saved.
“I speak the truth in Messiah—I am not lying, my conscience confirms it through the Holy Spirit—I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Messiah for the sake of my people, those of my own race, the people of Israel.” (Romans 9:1-4a)
In the next chapter, he explicitly says that he wants all of Israel to be saved:
“Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved.” (Romans 10:1)
He grieves, “not all the Israelites accepted the good news,” in Romans 10:16, because of course, many did.
When the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost over 3000 Jews believed the message that first (Jewish) disciples eagerly proclaimed in the temple courts. Later we read that the number of Jewish followers had reached 5000 (Acts 4:4) including priests and Pharisees (6:7 and 15:5). Later, Acts 21:20 records that tens of thousands (Greek: μυριάδες – myriads) of Jews came to believe in Yeshua. That’s quite a lot!
However, at the time of writing (much like today) the majority of Jewish people had not made that decision to accept the free gift of eternal life made available to all humanity through the Messiah’s sacrifice. So how on earth can they all—everyone in the people group—be saved?
How can all Israel be saved?
Here’s a reminder of what the passage about all Israel being saved actually says:
I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited:
Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, and in this way all Israel will be saved.
As it is written:
“The deliverer will come from Zion;
he will turn godlessness away from Jacob.
And this is my covenant with them
when I take away their sins.”
As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies for your sake; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable. Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience, so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now receive mercy as a result of God’s mercy to you. For God has bound everyone over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all. (Romans 11:25-32)
Paul says, the people of Israel have “experienced a hardening in part” and as a result the majority have not accepted the Messiah. Yet. However, the key word here is “until”. Recent research1 indicates that about a million people of Jewish decent believe in Yeshua today, out of 15 million Jews worldwide. But that’s still a fraction.
Paul says Israel will remain hardened in part (by God’s decision) “until” the full number of the Gentiles has come in. This is something Yeshua Himself also mentioned in Luke 21:24. He said, “Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.”
It’s time to understand what that means.
It’s not that every Jewish person who ever lived will have eternal life—clearly Judas won’t be there with us for example—but rather a world event is coming at which the people of Israel will en masse come to a saving faith in Yeshua, the Messiah. Yes, all Israel. Let me explain.
The salvation of all Israel is a recurring theme
The promise that “All Israel will be saved” is not only found in Romans 11. In fact, it’s all over the place once you know where to look. It’s not as random as it might appear to those who spend most of their time in the New Testament.
There are many promises specifically made to the people of Israel that have not yet been fulfilled. In Romans 11:26 Paul refers back to Isaiah 59:20-21 which speaks about His covenant with Israel and how Jacob will turn from their sin when the Redeemer comes to Zion. It’s a theme throughout all the prophets. Here are some examples of other prophets saying the same thing:
For on my holy mountain, the high mountain of Israel, declares the Sovereign Lord, there in the land all the people of Israel will serve me, and there I will accept them. (Ezekiel 20:40)
In Hebrew it actually says it twice, to emphasizes the point: כִּי בְהַר-קָדְשִׁי בְּהַר מְרוֹם יִשְׂרָאֵל, נְאֻם אֲדֹנָי יְהוִה–שָׁם יַעַבְדֻנִי כָּל-בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל כֻּלֹּה, בָּאָרֶץ [“For in My holy mountain, in the mountain of the height of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, there shall all the house of Israel, all of them, serve Me in the land; there will I accept them”]
There I will require your offerings and your choice gifts along with all your holy sacrifices. I will accept you as fragrant incense when I bring you out from the nations and gather you from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will be proved holy through you in the sight of the nations. Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I bring you into the land of Israel, the land I had sworn with uplifted hand to give to your ancestors. (Ezekiel 20:41-42)
You’ll notice that this dramatic statement comes once Israel has been regathered (1948 was key), and are back on His “holy hill” (Jerusalem). Ezekiel here speaks of the time after Israel has been regathered from being scattered in many nations when God is “proved holy in the eyes of the world” through Israel. Clearly, this has not yet come to pass. It’s at this point that ALL of Israel will worship God, and He will accept them.
This promise to pour out His Spirit on all Israel, revealing His true identity, is also mentioned very clearly in Zechariah 12:10. Every tribe of Israel suddenly realizes on the glorious appearing of the Messiah who comes to save His people from calamity, that the Messiah is indeed Yeshua. The verse preceding the promise that all the tribes and clans of Israel will recognize the truth tells us the context:
“On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that attack Jerusalem.”
The nations of the world will all turn against Israel, but God will come to save the day — the Messiah will swing into action. But look who it is! Yeshua from Nazareth!!
“And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son. (Zechariah 12:9-10)
Again in Hosea we see another prophecy that after a long season of exile with no temple or leader, Israel will return to seek not only God but also “David” in the latter days. Although king David has gone to glory, as we see in Isaiah 55 and other places that his name is used as an ongoing symbol to reference the Messiah and the Davidic covenant. Yeshua will come back to Jerusalem and reign from the temple, sitting on the throne of David. Note that this passage is speaking of the latter days, not the return from Babylon which took place in the sixth century BC. The people of Israel will come trembling to Him and His blessings in the last days. They will turn to Him and be saved.
“For the Israelites will live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred stones, without ephod or household gods. Afterward the Israelites will return and seek the Lord their God and David their king. They will come trembling to the Lord and to his blessings in the last days.” (Hosea 3:4-5)
The exciting story with a happy ending – and you have a part to play
The story is really about God, first and foremost, and His plan to save the world. The cross is key: it is central, but it is not the climax. The best bit is still to come.
The reason many Christians struggle to understand this one verse in Romans is because they are not used to seeing the meta story of Bible. For too long people have treated the Bible like a pocket book of wisdom for their own daily lives, failing to see that we are not the main character. God loves each one of us very much, but this is His story, not ours, and God has chosen to hang the whole thing on the story of Israel. Moreover, despite what replacement theologians would have you believe, it’s not over yet! God will get His happy ending.
God chose Israel to be His covenant people and He has never reneged on His promise. He betrothed Himself to them at Sinai and for much of history He has lived with the pain of unrequited love. But the day is coming when all Israel will one day turn around, open their eyes, and recognize the One who has loved them the whole time. What a day that will be!
The climax is the return of the Messiah in glory, His victory over Israel’s enemies, and all Israel suddenly seeing Yeshua for who He is. Jewish and Gentile believers together as the bride will finally meet our groom face to face. This is the overarching theme, hung on the frame of the story of Israel into which Gentiles have been included, invited, adopted, and grafted in. Grafted into what? Into the regathered twelve tribes of Israel. Israel is not replaced, just expanded.
All Israel will be saved. Those from the twelve tribes who have been regathered to the land of Israel and then attacked by the nations will be saved from certain destruction, along with everyone from all the nations of the earth who have accepted the invitation to join His covenant people.
God will win
Every day we are one day closer to the return of the Messiah. The ground is getting ready. Israel is back in place and the enemies all around are breathing threats of violence. The battle is on for Jerusalem.
It’s no coincidence that every terror group around here is obsessed with Jerusalem. Iran’s IRGC has the elite “Al Quds” force, the Jerusalem force, and the wise should wonder why. Hezbollah have laid out plans at their HQ in Balbank, Lebanon, to “liberate Jerusalem” focusing on the Temple Mount.2 Moreover, the October 7 attack from Hamas was codenamed “Al Aqsa Flood”, referring to the mosque right next to where the temple once stood. The PLO insignia has of the Dome of the Rock with the words, “Jerusalem is ours”. Satan wants to be worshiped by God’s people (all Israel), in God’s land (the land of Israel), on God’s holy hill (Zion, Jerusalem), and in God’s temple on the Temple Mount.
God’s purposes have been declared by the prophets of old, and we know that the Messiah will return to Jerusalem. Yeshua also makes it clear that He expects the Jewish people to be there—and to welcome Him with open arms—when He turns up.
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’” (Matthew 23:37-39)
Even Yeshua says it: All Israel will be saved. This is the longing of God’s heart, and if we care about God’s heart, it should be something we yearn for too.
The pieces are all falling into place and the antichrist will come. There will be a covenant with him according to Daniel 9:27, a “deal with death” according to Isaiah 28:18. The vision of the future in Ezekiel 39 describes several times how regathered Israel will have a period of dwelling in apparent safety and security before the enemies suddenly swoops in to destroy from the north. The chapter describes the war of God and Magog with yet another all-Israel-will-be-saved passage.
“Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will now restore the fortunes of Jacob and will have compassion on all the people of Israel, and I will be zealous for my holy name. They will forget their shame and all the unfaithfulness they showed toward me when they lived in safety in their land with no one to make them afraid.” (Ezekiel 39:25-26)
When I have brought them back from the nations and have gathered them from the countries of their enemies, I will be proved holy through them in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am the Lord their God, for though I sent them into exile among the nations, I will gather them to their own land, not leaving any behind. I will no longer hide my face from them, for I will pour out my Spirit on the people of Israel, declares the Sovereign Lord.” (Ezekiel 39:27-29)
And lastly, back to Romans, Paul writes that God’s call and choice of Israel is permanent and irrevocable, but that the “partial hardening” of hearts was in order to make sure the Good News of salvation went far and wide, welcoming all the families of the earth to join the story. And how does this hardening come to an end? What brings the change? The mercy shown to the Gentiles will be the key to mercy coming back to Israel. That’s right, it’s Gentiles who have received salvation who will be key to helping bring the mercy of God back to His covenant people. The truth of the Gospel must be shared with all Israel, laying down the groundwork of information for when the Lord comes again. Then the floodlights will be switched on. All Israel will suddenly see the light.
As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies for your sake; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable. Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience, so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now receive mercy as a result of God’s mercy to you. For God has bound everyone over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all. (Romans 11:25-32)
What an amazing plan. Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
- https://allisraelnews.com/this-yom-kippur-1-million-jews-believe-atonement-comes-only-from-messiah-jesus-and-only-he-can-write-their-names-in-the-book-of-life
- https://succathallel.com/jerusalem-the-throne-of-jesus-and-the-nations/
