{"id":1690,"date":"2026-03-30T00:00:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T05:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/faith.edu\/faith-pulpit\/?p=1690"},"modified":"2025-10-30T13:06:35","modified_gmt":"2025-10-30T18:06:35","slug":"a-future-for-israel-in-romans-9-11","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/faith.edu\/faith-pulpit\/posts\/a-future-for-israel-in-romans-9-11\/","title":{"rendered":"A Future for Israel in Romans 9-11"},"content":{"rendered":"

James Montgomery Boice relayed the account of Frederick the Great, king of Prussia, conversing with his chaplain concerning the reliability of the Scriptures.1<\/a><\/sup> <\/span>\u201cIf your Bible is really from God,\u201d insisted the monarch, \u201cyou should be able to demonstrate the fact simply. Give me proof for the inspiration of the Bible in a word.\u201d The undaunted chaplain responded, \u201cYour Majesty, it is possible for me to answer your request literally. I can give you the proof you ask for in one word.\u201d King Frederick was taken aback and demanded, \u201cWhat is this magic word that carries such a weight of proof?\u201d His chaplain succinctly replied, \u201cIsrael.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his comments on Romans 11:26-27, Boice underscored the \u201cstriking phenomenon\u201d of the continued existence of Israel: \u201c<\/span>Dispossessed of her homeland and dispersed throughout the world, Israel has nevertheless survived while other peoples in similar situations have not<\/span>.\u201d Boice further affirmed that God \u201chas a plan for the Jewish people that will unfold in the last days.\u201d As Senior Minister of the historic Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, Boice\u2019s comments challenged some historic interpretations from the Reformation era.<\/span><\/p>\n

Overview of Historical Interpretations<\/h4>\n

The 2003 <\/span>Reformation Study Bible <\/span><\/i>refers to \u201call Israel\u201d in Romans 11:26 as \u201cA critical expression at this point in Paul\u2019s argument, and one whose meaning is much debated.\u201d2<\/a><\/sup><\/span> The study Bible provides three possible interpretations of \u201call Israel\u201d: (1) \u201cIt could mean \u2018all (spiritual) Israel,\u2019 that is, all elect persons both Jew and Gentile.\u201d3<\/a><\/sup><\/span>\u00a0(2) Alternatively, it could mean \u201call the elect of Israel,\u201d that is \u201call Jews destined to be saved throughout history.\u201d (3) Or, \u201cit may point to a time of mass conversion among Jewish people,\u201d that is, a future and general salvation of national Israel. One could summarize these three options for \u201call Israel\u201d as (1) \u201call the elect whether Jews or Gentiles,\u201d (2) \u201cthe elect Jews throughout history,\u201d or (3) \u201cthe eschatological Jewish people [those in the end times] as a nation.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Martin Luther wavered in his interpretation of this text. In his <\/span>Lectures on Romans<\/span><\/i> (1515-1516), he seemed to support option (3), \u201cthe eschatological Jewish people as a nation.\u201d He noted, \u201cThe Jews who are now fallen will return and be saved \u2026 Christ, therefore, has not yet come to the Jews, but he will come to them, namely, in the Last Day.\u201d4<\/a><\/sup><\/span> Yet, later in his career, Luther moved toward alternative (1), \u201call the elect whether Jews or Gentiles.\u201d5<\/a><\/sup><\/span> John Calvin\u2019s <\/span>Commentary on Romans<\/span><\/i> definitely favored this first option of \u201call the people of God.\u201d6<\/a><\/sup> <\/span>The Genevan reformer described this corporate body of all the elect as \u201cthe Israel of God\u201d or \u201cthe Church, gathered alike from Jews and Gentiles.\u201d He reasoned, \u201cThis interpretation seems to me the most suitable, because Paul intended here to set forth the completion of the kingdom of Christ, which is by no means to be confined to the Jews but is to include the whole world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, Charles Hodge (the nineteenth-century Presbyterian theologian from Princeton) insisted that \u201cIsrael, here, from the context, must mean the Jewish people, and <\/span>all Israel<\/span><\/i>, the whole nation \u2026 as a people, they are to be restored.\u201d7<\/a><\/sup><\/span> As noted in the introduction, James Montgomery Boice\u2019s four-volume commentary on Romans firmly sided with alternative (3), an eschatological salvation of the Jewish nation. Douglas Moo (a biblical scholar whose academic work has focused on Romans) has also favored the eschatological salvation of national Israel. In an extended discussion on \u201cThe Future of Israel,\u201d he has maintained that both the immediate context of Romans 11:26 and the broader context of Romans 9-11 point to \u201cthe conversion of a significant number of Jews at the time of Christ\u2019s return in glory.\u201d8<\/a><\/sup><\/span><\/p>\n

Immediate Context<\/h4>\n

In the immediate context, the previous verse declares, \u201c<\/span>For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.\u201d One notes that \u201cIsrael\u201d in verse 25 is contrasted with \u201cthe Gentiles,\u201d and that \u201cblindness in part\u201d has overtaken this \u201cIsrael.\u201d Our focused text of verse 26 then follows in quick succession: \u201cAnd 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.\u201d In this close sequence, the temporarily blinded \u201cIsrael\u201d of verse 25 becomes the delivered \u201cIsrael\u201d of verse 26. This unfolding progression of events is directly called a \u201cmystery,\u201d which can be defined as \u201ca purpose of God that previously has not been revealed\u201d (cf. Rom. 16:25-27; 1 Cor. 2:7-8; Eph. 3:1-12; Col. 1:24-27).9<\/a><\/sup><\/span><\/p>\n

Moreover, \u201cIsrael\u201d in verse 26 is associated with \u201cZion\u201d (Jerusalem) and with the household of \u201cJacob\u201d (a name applied corporately to the Jews in the Hebrew Scriptures). The combination of these three specific terms alludes to Psalm 14:7: \u201c<\/span>Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! when the\u00a0<\/span>Lord<\/span>\u00a0bringeth back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad<\/span>.\u201d The same vocabulary also echoes the prophecy of Isaiah 59:20: \u201cAnd the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the\u00a0<\/span>Lord<\/span>.\u201d The very next verse in Isaiah references \u201cmy covenant with them\u201d (Isa. 59:21). A similar sentiment is expressed in the prophecy of Jeremiah 31:31-32: \u201c<\/span>Behold, the days come, saith the\u00a0<\/span>Lord<\/span>, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Furthermore, Jeremiah 31 expands its explanation, \u201cBut this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the\u00a0<\/span>Lord<\/span>, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. \u2026 for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the\u00a0<\/span>Lord<\/span>: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more\u201d (Jer. 31:33-34). According to this prophecy of Jeremiah, God would make a \u201cnew covenant\u201d with \u201cthe house of Israel\u201d because \u201cthey shall all know me,\u201d and he would \u201cremember their sin no more\u201d (cf. Ezek. <\/span>20:37-40; <\/span>36:25-29; 37:23-2). Romans 11:26-27 echoes this material, \u201cAnd so all Israel shall be saved. \u2026 <\/span>For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.\u201d Moreover, the Apostle Paul solemnly affirms that this will happen, because \u201cthe gifts and calling of God are without repentance\u201d (Rom. 11:29).<\/span><\/p>\n

Broader Context<\/h4>\n

The \u201ceschatological Jewish people as a nation\u201d interpretation of Romans 11:26 also fits the broader context of Romans 9-11<\/span>. At the commencement of chapter 11, Paul states that the prophet Elijah pleaded with God \u201cagainst Israel\u201d (Rom. 11:2). This statement comes on the immediate heels of the apostle\u2019s self-identification in v. 1: \u201cFor I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.\u201d Traversing backward across the bridge between chapters 10 and 11, one comes upon a citation of the divine message spoken through Isaiah: \u201cBut to Israel he saith, All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people\u201d (Rom. 10:21). In Paul\u2019s own day, this \u201cIsrael\u201d remained in unbelief. Therefore, the apostle acknowledged: \u201cBrethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved\u201d (Rom. 10:1).<\/span><\/p>\n

This apostolic desire for the salvation of Israel already surfaces in chapter 9, where Paul discussed those \u201cWho are Israelites\u201d (Rom. 9:4). He expounds, \u201cFor I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh\u201d (Rom. 9:3). Paul insists that \u201cthe adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises\u201d were given to these \u201cIsraelites\u201d who were \u201cbrethren\u201d and \u201ckinsmen according to the flesh\u201d (Rom. 9:4). Israel\u2019s reception of \u201cthe covenants\u201d here in Romans 9:4 thus bookends with the mention of \u201call Israel\u201d in Romans 11:26-27 and its predictive reference to \u201cmy covenant \u2026 when I shall take away their sins.\u201d Meanwhile, however, this Israel \u201caccording to the flesh\u201d remains blinded by obstinate unbelief and stands mired in unforgiven sin, until \u201cthe times of the Gentiles\u201d be completed (Rom. 11:25; Luke 21:24-28).<\/span><\/p>\n

Even so, has God cast aside his people Israel fully and forever? Paul responds with a thunderous \u201cno.\u201d<\/span> He maintains that God\u2019s placing Israel aside is (1) not total but is (2) temporary and (3) purposeful. First, God has preserved a faithful Jewish \u201cremnant\u201d from \u201cthe number of the children of Israel,\u201d so that his casting aside is not total<\/span> (Rom. 9:27). \u201cEven so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace\u201d (Rom. 11:5). Second, the divine casting aside is only temporary, \u201cuntil the fulness of the Gentiles be come in\u201d (Rom. 11:25). Third, God is using Jewish unbelief for his own sovereign purposes. The current \u201cfall\u201d of the Jewish people has become \u201cthe riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles\u201d (Rom. 11:12). But this salvation of the Gentiles is also meant \u201cto provoke\u201d the Jews themselves \u201cto jealousy\u201d (Rom. 11:11). Ultimately, God is \u201cable to graft them in again,\u201d and he will do so in the future (Rom. 11:26).10<\/a><\/sup><\/span><\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h4>\n

In sum, the eschatological [end times] salvation of the future nation of Israel is founded upon the unchanging character of God himself<\/span>. The Apostle Paul aptly concluded Romans 11 by breaking forth in ardent praise: \u201cO the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.\u201d Divine wisdom engenders worship, as the seeds of doctrine blossom forth into doxology. By divine grace, Israel awaits a glorious future, and all the glory belongs to God alone.<\/span> Soli Deo gloria<\/span><\/i>!<\/span><\/p>\n

This article first appeared in Frontline magazine, 2024. Used with Permission.<\/em><\/p>\n

Works Cited<\/h3>
  1. <\/span>James Montgomery Boice, <\/span>Romans<\/span><\/i> (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1993), vol. 3, 1375-1376.[↩<\/a>]<\/span><\/li>
  2. R. C. Sproul (ed.), The Reformation Study Bible<\/i> (Orlando: Ligonier Ministries, 2005), 1633.[↩<\/a>]<\/span><\/li>
  3. Of course, in the full Reformed system, this \u201cspiritual Israel\u201d is \u201ctaken as basically synonymous with the church\u201d (Sproul, Reformation Study Bible<\/i>, 1633).[↩<\/a>]<\/span><\/li>
  4. Martin Luther, Lectures on Romans<\/i> (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1971), 316.[↩<\/a>]<\/span><\/li>
  5. See Martin Luther, Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans<\/i> (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1954), 146.[↩<\/a>]<\/span><\/li>
  6. <\/span>John Calvin, <\/span>Commentaries on the Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Romans<\/span><\/i> (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1955), 436-437.[↩<\/a>]<\/span><\/li>
  7. Charles Hodge, A Commentary on Romans<\/i> (London: Banner of Truth, 1972), 374; italics original.[↩<\/a>]<\/span><\/li>
  8. Douglas J. Moo, Encountering the Book of Romans: A Theological Survey <\/i>(Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2002), 163-172.[↩<\/a>]<\/span><\/li>
  9. Moo, Encountering the Book of Romans<\/i>, 170.[↩<\/a>]<\/span><\/li>
  10. <\/span>This present article addresses neither the full unfolding of eschatological events nor differing views concerning \u201cnew covenant\u201d blessings and present-day believers, both of which would require systematizing materials far beyond Romans 9-11.[↩<\/a>]<\/span><\/li><\/ol>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    James Montgomery Boice relayed the account of Frederick the Great, king of Prussia, conversing with his chaplain concerning the reliability of the Scriptures.1 \u201cIf your Bible is really from God,\u201d insisted the monarch, \u201cyou should be able to demonstrate the fact simply. Give me proof for the inspiration of the Bible in a word.\u201d The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1733,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[66,16,134],"series":[],"faith-pulpit-author":[114],"class_list":{"0":"post-1690","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-eschatology","8":"tag-israel","9":"tag-new-testament","10":"tag-prophecy","11":"faith-pulpit-author-paul-hartog","13":"post-with-thumbnail","14":"post-with-thumbnail-large"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/faith.edu\/faith-pulpit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1690","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/faith.edu\/faith-pulpit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/faith.edu\/faith-pulpit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faith.edu\/faith-pulpit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faith.edu\/faith-pulpit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1690"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/faith.edu\/faith-pulpit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1690\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1717,"href":"https:\/\/faith.edu\/faith-pulpit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1690\/revisions\/1717"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faith.edu\/faith-pulpit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1733"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/faith.edu\/faith-pulpit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1690"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faith.edu\/faith-pulpit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1690"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faith.edu\/faith-pulpit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1690"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faith.edu\/faith-pulpit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=1690"},{"taxonomy":"faith-pulpit-author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faith.edu\/faith-pulpit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/faith-pulpit-author?post=1690"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}