All Israel Will Be Saved

Israel is again in the news. The endless cycle of violence in the Middle East leaves us wondering, “When will it all end?” So it’s understandable that some take comfort from this verse:

… and so all Israel will be saved. (Romans 11:26)

Which is a remarkable promise given the indifference Israel showed to Jesus.

The descendants of Abraham were highly favored. They had the promises of God, the law, and the prophets. They had all the Old Testament signposts that pointed to a coming Messiah. Yet when Jesus came, they rejected him and cut themselves off from God’s favor.

Israel’s rejection of Christ broke Paul’s heart:

For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh, who are Israelites… (Romans 9:3–4a)

The unfaithful nation of Israel cut itself off through unbelief (Rom. 11:20). But was there a hope that one day the nation would be saved? That depends on your definition of “all Israel.” Is Paul referring to ethnic Israel, the nation of Israel, or spiritual Israel? This question has been debated for centuries. Here’s a summary of the different viewpoints:

“All Israel” means ethnic Israel

According to some, “all Israel” means ethnic Israel – the biological descendants of Abraham – because that’s who Paul has been talking about in the preceding verses. “A partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in (verse 25).” Ethnic Israel had rejected Christ, so it must be ethnic Israel that is ultimately saved.

But if all Israel is ultimately saved, why would Paul want to trade places with them? Why would he give up his salvation for those who are going to be saved anyway?

Something doesn’t add up.

“All Israel” means the nation of Israel will be restored

Some believe that Paul was alluding to a future restoration of the nation of Israel followed by the immediate return of the Lord. Well, the nation of Israel was restored in 1948, and Jesus has not yet returned.

I am old enough to remember people saying that the Lord would return within a generation of Israel’s restoration – that is, by 1988. You can add that one to the long list of fraudulent end times prophecies.

Or perhaps the Lord returns first and then the nation of Israel is restored. Maybe. My view is that when the King returns and all the kingdoms of this world become part of his kingdom (Rev. 11:15), we won’t be too concerned with what is happening to individual nation-states.

“All Israel” means the whole world will be saved

A Universalist reads Paul’s promise as an indicator of universal salvation. All Israel means all Arabs, all Syrians, all Iranians, and everybody else must be saved because anything less would be unjust. But again, Paul. If everyone is going to be saved, why would he offer to trade his salvation away?

“All Israel” means God’s promises are fulfilled in the body of Christ

As always, context is king. In the middle chapters of Romans 9–11, Paul is not making prophetic statements about the future of Israel; he is saying that God’s promises to Abraham remain as good as ever.

But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel. (Romans 9:6)

On the surface, it might seem that God’s promises of deliverance and blessing had not come true. Jesus had come and gone, but Israel was still oppressed by its enemies. However, all through Romans, Paul argues that God’s word had come to pass and that the covenantal promises of God were fulfilled in spiritual Israel.

A true Israelite, says Paul, is someone who shares the faith of Abraham and has been circumcised inwardly by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 2:28–29, 4:11–12). A true Israelite believes God raised Jesus Christ from the dead (Rom. 4:24).

A tree of all nations

In Romans 11, Paul paints a parabolic picture of an olive tree. It’s a tree with Jewish roots (Rom. 11:17–18) and multinational branches. Some of the original branches had been broken off (the faithless descendants of Abraham), and wild branches had been grafted in (Gentile believers).

The tree represents the multicultural family of God, which is composed of both Jewish and Gentile believers.

God’s word has not failed

Everything promised to Abraham and his descendants is coming true in the new creation family of God.

… and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will remove ungodliness from Jacob. This is my covenant with them, when I take away their sins.” (Romans 11:26–27)

There is indeed hope for the nation of Israel, and it is the same hope that God offers to all of us. This hope of salvation is realized in Jesus, the Deliverer from Zion, who bore all our sins.

In Christ, you are part of the “Israel of God,” and in him, you are loved, accepted, forgiven, and well and truly saved.

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