In this video we will take a look through Romans 11 and examine that chapter in light of the rest of Scripture. In Romans 11:7-8, the apostle Paul discerned that what was already taking place in his day was the fulfillment of what Isaiah wrote about in Isaiah 29 regarding God pouring out on disobedient Israel a spirit of deep sleep. A small remnant of Israelites believed in Jesus Christ (the apostle Paul being one of them) and was saved from being blinded by God and experiencing His wrath. All had opportunity to be saved, but not all responded in obedient faith. The faithful Israelites were saved but the rest were blinded.

We need to understand the blinding of Israel in light of what we read in Romans 1. God presents truth to people and He saves those who receive the truth. God reveals wrath to those who hold the truth in unrighteousness and refuse to honor God. In this video I am going to use the Word of God to show that God only blinded first century Israel who rejected Jesus Christ. Jesus only cursed one generation of Jews (the generation that Jesus spoke to in Matthew 23:31-38). Blindness only happened in part because there was a small remnant who obeyed the gospel under the New Covenant and escaped the judgment of God.

So when we look to Romans 11:25 we need to understand what the rest of the Bible presents to us about "the fulness of the Gentiles coming in." When we compare this passage with Luke 21:20-24, we can see the correlation between the times of the Gentiles being fulfilled and the fulness of the Gentiles coming in. Let's not forget that the unbelieving Jews delivered Jesus into the hands of the Gentiles (Romans) to be crucified as we can read in Luke 18:32. So we should be able to see by comparing what Jesus says in Luke 21:20-24 with Romans 11:25 that "the times of the Gentiles" was the period that God used Gentile nations to afflict Jerusalem and pour out His judgment. These "times of the Gentiles" occurred since Old Testament times with God using the Gentile Kingdoms of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and finally Rome to afflict disobedient Israel. Revelation 11:2 describes this time of Rome afflicting Jerusalem as 42 months (3.5 years). This just so happens to be exactly how long Rome besieged Jerusalem before she was brought to desolation in 70 AD. Rome was the last and final Gentile kingdom to afflict Jerusalem. Earthly Jerusalem was destroyed and the New (heavenly) Jerusalem remains!

So the fulness of the Gentiles is not speaking of the time all Gentiles who will ever be saved coming in. Rather it is saying that the fulness of Gentile years would be finished upon Jerusalem. Rome allowed Jerusalem to ride on its back but then threw her off and burned her with fire just like we read about in Revelation 17. This was all fulfilled in 70 AD. God used Rome as a weapon of His wrath to destroy Jerusalem. God has a new Jerusalem (a new Bride) that has come from heaven, the church of the living God! Hebrews 12:22-23 and Galatians 4:26 help us to understand this. When we obey the gospel under the New Covenant in faith (Acts 2:38), we are translated into the kingdom of Jesus Christ and we can rule and reign in life as kings and priests unto God.

So we conclude that only that generation of unbelieving Jews in the first century were blinded UNTIL the Roman armies (Gentiles) destroyed Jerusalem, the temple laid waste, and there was no more city. This means the blindness that God poured upon that generation no longer exists. Jesus did not curse the Jewish people as a whole. Jews of today, therefore, aren't suffering or blinded because their forefathers crucified Jesus. Ezekiel 18:4,20 makes it very clear that the sins of the parents aren't placed upon their children. The only blindness that exists today among people is a general blindness that is equally upon both Jew and Gentile and that is the blindness of not believing that all unbelievers are walking in until they come to faith (as we can read in 2 Corinthians 4:3-4).

Romans 11:26 is then answering the question of the manner in which Israel would be saved. "And so" does not mean after all Gentiles are saved in a Gentile church age that God will then save all of natural Israel. In context, it is speaking of the manner in which all Israel would be saved and is referring to what was spoken of earlier and what is stated immediately after. Romans 11:11 reveals the manner in which all Israel would be saved as hearing the gospel preached to the Gentiles in order to provoke the unbelieving Jews to jealousy. It would take place through Jesus Christ (for out of Zion the deliverer would come and turn away ungodliness from Jacob). This is all referring to the New Covenant and what took place when the gospel was preached to the Jews in the first century. Jews and Gentiles have equal opportunity to be saved. One gospel for both. Faith in the gospel is the manner in which all Israel (the faithful) shall be saved.