Romans 11 and the future of ethnic Israel

Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, Dec 2000 by Merkle, Ben L

I. INTRODUCTION

The final destiny of ethnic Israel is both a sensitive and important topic. It is sensitive, because it involves real people and real outcomes. It is important, because it involves God's promises and God's integrity. In Romans 11, we find Paul's clearest description of the final destiny of Israel. It is the contention of this author, however, that many who read Romans 11 read into the text a future mass conversion of ethnic Israel. In this paper I will seek to demonstrate that Romans 11, and in particular Rom 11:26, does not teach a future mass conversion of ethnic Israel, but rather that there will always be a remnant of believing Jews until the end of time. After briefly reviewing the three main interpretations of the phrase "all Israel will be saved," I will then examine the reasons why "all Israel" refers to the elect ethnic Jews throughout history. Finally, I will answer some possible objections to this view.

II. THREE INTERPRETATIONS OF "ALL ISRAEL WILL BE SAVED"

The key verse for the interpretation of Romans 11 is found in 26a, "and so all Israel will be saved." In his commentary Douglas Moo states, "the first clause of v. 26 is the storm center in the interpretation of Romans 9-11 and of NT teaching about the Jews and their future."1 The three main interpretations of the phrase "all Israel will be saved" are as follows: (1) all the elect, both Jew and Gentile; (2) the ethnic nation of Israel as a whole; (3) all the elect of ethnic Israel throughout history.

1. All the elect, both Jew and Gentile. Scholars such as Calvin, Jeremias, Barth, and Wright have held this interpretation. 2 In his commentary on Romans Calvin states, "I extend the word 'Israel' to all the people of God, according to this meaning: when the Gentiles shall come in, the Jews also shall return from their defection to the obedience of faith, and thus shall be completed the salvation of the whole Israel of God, which must be gathered from both."3 Calvin uses Gal 6:16 as part of his defense because there Paul refers to the Church as the "Israel of God." N. T. Wright, a modern scholar who affirms this view, writes,

What Paul is saying is this. God's method of saving "all Israel" is to harden ethnic Israel (ep. 9.14ff.), i.e. not to judge her at once, so as to create a period of time during which the gentile mission could be undertaken, during the course of which it remains God's will that the present "remnant" of believing Jews might be enlarged by the process of "jealousy," and consequent faith .... This whole process is God's way of saving his whole people: that is the meaning of ical ... nd;'... CYCO"GE:Tat. 4 2. The ethnic nation of Israel as a whole. This second interpretation is by far the majority view. Although there are some who maintain that every individual Jew will be saved,5 most simply interpret "all" as referring to ethnic Israel as a whole. That is, "all Israel" refers to the mass of Jews living on the earth at the end of time, who, after the full number of elect Gentiles are gathered in, will be a part of a large-scale mass conversion. This event will take place just previous to (or at the moment of) Christ's returns Support for this view comes from the OT and rabbinic literature where the term "all Israel" does not necessarily include every single Israelite.7

Cranfield explains the salvation of "all Israel" in three distinct stages: "first the unbelief of the greater part of Israel ... then completion of the coming in of the Gentiles, and finally the salvation of `all Israel.'8 He notices a reversal of the salvation order as found in Rom 1:16, which states that salvation comes first to the Jew and then to the Gentile. In Romans 11, salvation comes first to the Gentiles, provoking the Jews to jealousy, which ultimately results in their salvation.

There is also debate as to whether the salvation of "all Israel" is synchronic (Jews alive at the end of time) or diachronic (Jews of all times). Most scholars favor the synchronic position. Moo comments, ". . . Paul is probably using the phrase `all Israel' to denote the corporate entity of the nation of Israel as it exists at a particular point in time."9 Others, such as Mussner, Hofius, and Bell, favor the diachronic position. 10

3. The elect of ethnic Israel throughout history. The third interpretation is often included in surveys but is usually simply dismissed rather than refuted. Although not many scholars hold to this view, there continue to be a few who embrace it." This interpretation maintains that God will always save a remnant of Jews throughout history. Israel will experience only a partial hardening until the end of time (i.e. until the fullness of the Gentiles come in).

111. REASONS WHY "ALL ISRAEL" REFERS TO ELECT JEWS THROUGHOUT HISTORY

1. The context of Romans 9-11. All acknowledge that Romans 9-11 forms a unit in Paul's thought. Therefore, any interpretation of Romans 11 must also be consistent with Romans 9 and 10. In chapter 9, Paul demonstrates how God is indeed faithful to his promises although most of Israel has rejected the Messiah. Paul states in 9:6, "For they are not all Israel who are of Israel." God's promise to Abraham never included the promise that his descendants would be saved based on their ethnic identity. True Israel consists of those who are the children of promise, rather than children of the flesh. God never promised that every individual Jew would be saved, but only those he unconditionally elected within Israel. Paul then presents two examples of God's sovereign discrimination within Israel. In Isaac, not in Ishmael, Abraham's descendents were named (9:7); and it was Jacob, not Esau, who was chosen to perpetuate the covenant lineage and in whom the covenant promises were to be fulfilled (9:9-10). Therefore, Paul refutes the notion that God's Word has failed by pointing out that God's promises apply to the spiritual offspring within ethnic Israel. 12 Bavinck rightly concludes,