And So All Israel Shall Be Saved
The Messiah was prophesied to be born of a virgin. "Therefore the LORD Himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin [Hebrew, almah-- used to describe Rebekah before she married Isaac (Genesis 24:43)] shall conceive, and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel [literally, God With Us]" (Isaiah 7:14). Jesus "Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God" (Philippians 2:6), claimed no less than equality with the Father. "Say ye of Him, Whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemes; because I said, I am the Son of God?" (John 10:36). When Jesus of Nazareth said, "I and My Father are One" (10:30), the Jews that heard Him understood that He claimed an equality and unity with the God of Israel that would make Himself out to be the God of Israel. "And without controversy great is the mystery of Godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory" (1Timothy 3:16). He preserved both the Mystery and Unity of the Godhead. "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD" (Deuteronomy 6:4).
"Then the LORD [Jesus, the Son of God] rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD [the Father] out of heaven" (Genesis 19:24). "An Exposition of the Old and New Testament" by John Gill, comments on Genesis 19:24: "This destruction was brought upon them by Jehovah the Son of God, who had appeared to Abraham in an human form, and gave him notice of it, and heard all he had to plead for those cities, and then departed from him to Sodom, and was the author of this sad catastrophe; this amazing shower of fire and brimstone was rained by him from Jehovah his Father, out of heaven; so the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem both call him, the Word of the Lord."
Modern Israel understands the claim that Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem. "But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall He come forth unto Me that is to be Ruler in Israel; Whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting" (Micah 5:2). Yet, understanding this precious fact of the nativity of the Messiah did not deter Herod the Great from the slaughter of the innocents. "Thus saith the LORD; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rahel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not [Matthew 2:18]" (Jeremiah 31:15). The obstinacy of Judaism to confess the Truth of this and other promises concerning the Messiah, caused them-- along with all sinful men-- to have the LORD Jesus Christ crucified and to fiercely oppose any attempt to further declare this Truth. "Blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in" (Romans 11:25).
Needless to say, unconverted Israel must look with great disdain at any so-called Second Coming of Jesus Christ, if He has previously so miserably disappointed their expectation of a conquering Messiah, who should have given them their greatly anticipated peace, i.e., "And He [the Messiah] shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more" (Isaiah 2:4). But, Ancient Israel-- like the Modern Professed Christian Church-- forgot that peace belongs only to those who practice righteousness. "This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of Me, saith the LORD" (Isaiah 54:17). Peace has alluded Israel at the Messiah's First Advent, and continues to evade them to the present. "There is no peace, saith the LORD, unto the wicked" (Isaiah 48:22). And, that righteousness only comes by an active trust in the Living God. "For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith [Habakkuk 2:4]" (Romans 1:17).
Even today, the Almighty has a Remnant of Jews who have placed their faith in the LORD Jesus Christ. "Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace" (Romans 11:5). By no means should we cease to attempt to reach the unconverted Jew, but the certain Promise is that unconverted Israel will ultimately be converted at the Second Coming of the Messiah. "Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the Earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children" (Isaiah 66:8).
What more could be said to plead for Israel to believe that Jesus of Nazareth is not simply the Deliverer of the Gentiles, but Israel's True Messiah? "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" (Isaiah 9:6). "14 And He [the LORD of Hosts] shall be for a Sanctuary; but for a Stone Of Stumbling and for a Rock Of Offence to both the houses of Israel, for a Gin and for a Snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 15 And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken" (Isa 8:14-15). Truly, Jesus Christ must clearly have understood the mountainous difficulty of His fellow Jews to receive Him as their Messiah. "And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in Me" (Matthew 11:6).
"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" (Romans 11:26). This would be the fulfilment of Isaiah's prophecy. "Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of My planting, the work of My hands, that I may be glorified" (Isaiah 60:21). As Israel has frustrated the grace of God in extreme, just so she shall be "clothed with Salvation" (2Chronicles 6:41) in one miraculous day. "Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things?" (Isaiah 66:8).
Only the Spirit of God can persuade anyone to believe. "Behold My Servant, whom I uphold; Mine Elect, in whom My soul delighteth; I have put My Spirit upon Him: He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles" (Isaiah 42:1). No less than the prophet Ezekiel recorded the necessity of God's Spirit to transform Unbelieving Israel into a finally cleansed, justified, and obedient condition. "25 Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. 26 A new heart also will I give you, and a New Spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. 27 And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My Statutes, and ye shall keep My Judgments, and do them" (Ezekiel 36:25-27). But, is this not just what Jesus told the Pharisee, Nicodemus? "7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. 8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit" (John 3:7-8).
Conclusion Salvation is of the Jews
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