Romans 11:26 “All Israel will be saved.”
We have explained in our previous two articles that it is Jesus Christ, not the Church and not the nation of Israel, who is God’s “True Israel” (Jesus 1s the True Vine, the Root of the Olive Tree, and God’s Firstborn Son out of Egypt).
But we have also explained in previous articles that Israel as a nation is God’s chosen people group to whom God has promised to: 1) bless all nations through their forefather Abraham and 2) to give the land of Israel as their inheritance.
So, where does this leave Israel if Jesus Christ is God’s “True Israel” and yet Israel is still God’s chosen people? This takes us to Paul’s statement in Romans 11:26, which plainly says, “All Israel will be saved.”
With the resurgence of Replacement Theology (the New Testament Church has replaced Israel to inherit God’s Old Testament promises), we have to answer Question #1: “Who is ‘Israel’ in Romans 11:26?” Is it the literal ethnic Jewish nation of Israel or is “Israel” figurative and referring to the Church?
To answer this question, we examine key verses in Romans chapter 11 about “Israel”:
Romans 11:1-5,7 “Has God cast away His people (Israel)? Certainly not! For I also am an
ISRAELITE, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not cast away His people (Israel) whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against ISRAEL, saying, ‘Lord, they have killed Your prophets and torn down Your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life’?
What does God say to him? “I have reserved for Myself 7,000 men (Israelites) who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” Even so then, at this present time there is a REMNANT (Israelites) according to the election of grace. What then? ISRAEL has not obtained what it seeks; but the elect (Israelites) have obtained it, and the rest (Israelites) were hardened.”
Romans 11:11-12 “I say then, have they (Israel) stumbled that they (Israel) should fall? Certainly not! But through their (Israel) fall, to provoke them (Israel) to jealousy, salvation has come to the GENTILES. Now if their (Israel) FALL is riches for the world, and their (Israel) failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their (Israel) FULLNESS!”
Romans 11:17-21 “If some of the branches were broken off (Israel), and you (Gentiles), being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them (Israel), and with them (Israel) became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, do not boast against the branches (Israel). But if you (Gentiles) do boast, remember that you (Gentiles) do not support the root, but the root supports you (Gentiles).
You (Gentiles) will say, “Branches were broken off (Israel) that I (Gentiles) might be grafted in.” Well said. Because of unbelief they (Israel) were broken off, and you (Gentiles) stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear. If God did not spare the natural branches (Israel), He may not spare you (Gentiles).”
Romans 11:23-27 “They (Israel) also, if they (Israel) do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them (Israel) in again. For if you (Gentiles) were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these (Israel), who are natural branches, be grafted into their (Israel) own olive tree?
For I do not desire, brethren, that you be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to ISRAEL until the fullness of the GENTILES has come in. So, all ISRAEL will be saved, as it is written: ‘The Deliverer will come out of ZION, and He will turn away ungodliness from JACOB; for this is My covenant with them (Israel), when I take away their (Israel) sins.’”
Romans 11:28-31 “Concerning the gospel they (Israel) are enemies for your (Gentiles) sake, but concerning the election they (Israel) are beloved for the sake of the fathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are IRREVOCABLE. For as you (Gentiles) were once disobedient to God, yet have now obtained mercy through their (Israel) disobedience, even so these also (Israel) have now been disobedient, that through the mercy shown you (Gentiles)they also (Israel) may obtain mercy.”
ISRAEL = Greek word Ἰσραήλ = name given to the patriarch Jacob (and borne by him in addition to his former name from Genesis 32:28); the family or descendants of Israel; the ethnic race of Israel.
GENTILES = Greek word ἔθνεσιν = every people group outside ethnic Israel. Context determines whether a specific verse points to a political entity (“nations”), ethnic identity (“peoples”), or religious identity outside covenant privilege.
ZION = Greek word Σιὼν = the hill on which Jerusalem was built; the city of David (because David captured it); a synonym for Jerusalem, the Temple mount, and ultimately the covenant people Israel.
JACOB = Greek word Ἰακώβ = Paul invokes Jacob here in Romans 11:26 to explain both the mystery of Israel’s partial hardening and her future salvation: “The Deliverer will come from Zion; He will remove godlessness from Jacob.” Jacob stands for the nation of Israel; God’s faithfulness to him guarantees the eventual ingathering of Israel and displays unfailing covenant mercy.
FALL = Greek word αὐτῶν = defeat or loss in terms of salvation, brought upon the Jewish people in that so few of them had turned to Christ
FULLNESS = Greek word πλήρωμα = state of being filled and complete; contrasts Israel’s present “fall” with their future “fullness”, which is the future state for both Israel and Gentiles, neither of whom will be complete until Israel is gathered in, which God’s covenant faithfulness guarantees.
IRREVOCABLE = Greek word ἀμεταμέλητα = without repentance, regret or remorse (no desire to change one’s mind or action) because it was done from deep conviction. Here, Paul emphasizes the “irrevocable” nature of Israel’s calling as a nation.
REMNANT = Greek word λεῖμμα = remainder, fraction; God preserves a faithful fraction of His people Israel amid widespread unbelief. This biblical “remnant” motif affirms both divine judgment and sustaining mercy. In Romans 11:5, Paul identifies a present “remnant chosen by grace” which highlights the continuity between Old Testament prophecy (see Isaiah 62:11-12 below, where Isaiah prophesied a “remnant” of Israel would one day “be called the Holy People, the Redeemed of the LORD”) and New Testament fulfillment, confirming our hope in God’s unwavering covenant purposes.
Isaiah 62:12 “The Lord has proclaimed to the end of the world: ‘Say to the daughter of Zion, “Surely your salvation is coming; Behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him.’” And they shall call them the Holy People, the Redeemed of the Lord; and you shall be called Sought Out, a City Not Forsaken.”’”
After we have examined Romans 11 for the meaning of these words, as well as the fact that Paul calls out Israel as a nation 36X in these verses, it is correct to treat these verses literally (as referring to Israel) and not figuratively (as referring to the church).
Literal Interpretation of Romans 11:
A literal approach to Romans 11, and to the promises of the Old Testament (see articles 637, 638, 644-646), means that a remnant of the physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will be restored to a right relationship with God and will inherit God’s promised Old Testament covenants.
Replacement Theology – Figurative Interpretation to Romans 11:
- The Church is the “new Israel,” replacing Israel and inheriting God’s promises initially made to Israel.
- Ethnic Israel is forever excluded from the promises (the Jews do not inherit the Promised Land – the actual land of Israel).
- God’s many Old Testament covenant promises are not literal but instead are “spiritual”, to be ultimately fulfilled in the church.
Why Replacement Theology fails – Romans 11:1-31 depicts Israel as DISTINCT from the Church:
1) “natural branches” = the Jews
2) “wild branches” = the Gentiles
3) “olive tree” = all of God’s people in Jesus Christ (see article 639)
4) “natural branches” (Jews) are “cut off” for unbelief, “wild branches” (believing Gentiles) are grafted in.
5) the Jews become “jealous” as Gentiles are grafted in, which Paul says will draw them to faith in Christ, so they might be “grafted in” again and receive their promised inheritance.
6) “natural branches” are still distinct from the “wild branches,” which means God’s covenant promises to His ethnic people (Israel, the “natural branches”) and His people outside Israel (Gentiles, the “wild branches”) are literally fulfilled.
In Romans 11:26-29, Paul refers back to the Old Testament in Isaiah 59:20-21, Isaiah 27:9, and Jeremiah 31:33-34 to demonstrate God’s covenant promise to one day save Israel:
Romans 11:26-29 “And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: ‘The deliverer will come from Zion; He will turn godlessness away from Jacob (refer to Isaiah 59:20-21, Isaiah 27:9).
This is My covenant with them (Israel) when I take away their (Israel) sins(refer to Jeremiah 31:33-34).’
As far as the gospel is concerned, they (Israel) are enemies on your account; but as far as election is concerned, they (Israel) are loved on account of the patriarchs, for God’s gifts and call are irrevocable.”
Isaiah 59:20-21 “The Redeemer will come to Zion, and to those (Israelites) who turn from transgression in Jacob,” says the Lord. “As for Me,” says the Lord, “this is My covenant with them (Israel): My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants’ descendants,” says the Lord, “from this time and forevermore.”
Isaiah 27:9 “By this the iniquity of Jacob will be covered; and this is all the fruit of taking away his sin…”
Jeremiah 31:33-34 “This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their (Israel) minds, and write it on their (Israel) hearts; and I will be their (Israel) God, and they (Israel) shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they (Israel) all shall know Me, from the least of them (Israel) to the greatest of them (Israel), says the Lord. For I will forgive their (Israel) iniquity, and their (Israel) sin I will remember no more.”
When Paul says Israel will be “saved” in Romans 11:26, he means they will be delivered from sin as they accept the Savior, their Messiah, in the end times. Paul is clearly stating that regardless of Israel’s current state of unbelief, there will be a future remnant who will repent and come to faith in Jesus Christ (he does this by connecting Romans 10:1-8 to 11:5).
This future turning of Israel to Jesus Christ is laid out in Moses’ prophecy of Israel’s permanent restoration to the land if they do repent and come to their Lord and Savior (Deuteronomy 30:1-10).
Deuteronomy 30:1-10 “It shall come to pass, when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God drives you, and you return to the Lord your God and obey His voice, according to all that I command you today, you and your children, with all your heart and with all your soul,
that the Lord your God will bring you back from captivity, and have compassion on you, and gather you again from all the nations where the Lord your God has scattered you.
If any of you are driven out to the farthest parts under heaven, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you. Then the Lord your God will bring you to the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it. He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers.
And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.
Also, the Lord your God will put all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate you, who persecuted you. And you will again obey the voice of the Lord and do all His commandments which I command you today.
The Lord your God will make you abound in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your land for good.
For the Lord will again rejoice over you for good as He rejoiced over your fathers, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this Book of the Law, and if you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.”
Israel’s physical inheritance of the land promised to Abraham’s descendants is an integral part of God’s ultimate plan to redeem Israel and Gentiles in Jesus Christ through the circumcision of their hearts through faith in Jesus Christ by God’s grace, to love and serve Him.
Now that we have answered Question #1 (Who is ‘Israel’ in Romans 11:26?) we are now ready to answer Question #2: How will “all Israel be saved”?
The Old Testament book of Zechariah, when combined with the New Testament book of Revelation, gives us answers, with the key verses in Zechariah for how this “remnant” of Israel will repent and turn to Jesus Christ in saving faith:
Zechariah 12:8-11 “ IN THAT DAY the Lord will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; the one who is feeble among them IN THAT DAY shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the Angel of the Lord before them. It shall be IN THAT DAY that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. IN THAT DAY there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning at Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.”
① IN THAT DAY = God’s “day of vengeance” in the End Times (Isaiah 61:2 vs. Luke 4:19; Joel 1:15, Isaiah 13:6-13).
② ANGEL OF THE LORD = Jesus Christ (examine Exodus 3:2-15 with John 8:56-59, Isaiah 63:9, Zechariah 3:1-10).
③ SPIRIT OF GRACE AND SUPPLICATION = Holy Spirit (examine Isaiah 63:9-14, Psalm 51:10-11, 1Samuel 16:13).
④ THEY SHALL LOOK ON ME WHOM THEY HAVE PIERCED = compare to Revelation 1:7; same word for “pierced” as in Psalm 22:16 and Isaiah 53:5.
⑤ THEY WILL MOURN FOR HIM = see Genesis 42:21-24, 43:26-28, 45:1-7, 50:17-21 for the picture of Jesus Christ in Joseph.
This time of mourning over the pierced Messiah is described in Revelation 1:7 “Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they (Israel) who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.”
The faithful remnant of Israel is characterized in Revelation 7:1-8.
Revelation 7:1-8 “After these things I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree.
Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, saying, ‘Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.’
And I heard the number of those sealed. 144,000 of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed:
- of the tribe of Judah 12,000 were sealed; – of the tribe of Reuben 12,000 were sealed;
- of the tribe of Gad 12,000 were sealed; – of the tribe of Asher 12,000 were sealed;
- of the tribe of Naphtali 12,000 were sealed; – of the tribe of Manasseh 12,000 were sealed;
- of the tribe of Simeon 12,000 were sealed; – of the tribe of Levi 12,000 were sealed;
- of the tribe of Issachar 12,000 were sealed; – of the tribe of Zebulun 12,000 were sealed;
- of the tribe of Joseph 12,000 were sealed; – of the tribe of Benjamin 12,000 were sealed.”
These verses tie back to Zechariah’s prophecy in Zechariah 8:3-8, to that faithful Jewish remnant that the Lord will save and bring back to Jerusalem “in truth and righteousness”:
Zechariah 8:3-8 “Thus says the Lord: ‘I will return to Zion, and dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Jerusalem shall be called the City of Truth, the Mountain of the Lord of hosts, the Holy Mountain.’
Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each one with his staff in his hand because of great age. The streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls
playing in its streets.’
Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘If it is marvelous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days,
will it also be marvelous in My eyes?’ says the Lord of hosts.
Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Behold, I will save My people from the land of the east and from the land of the west; I will bring them back, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. They shall be My people
and I will be their God, In truth and righteousness.’”
In Ezekiel 37:1-14, the famous passage on Ezekiel’s vision of the “dry bones of Israel” being brought together, covered with flesh, and then miraculously brought back to life. This is the spiritual revival of the nation of Israel Paul is speaking of in Romans 11:26 and that we have been going through in this article:
Ezekiel 37:14 “I will put My Spirit in you (Israel), and you (Israel) shall live; I will place you (Israel) in your (Israel) own land. You (Israel) shall know I, the Lord, have spoken and performed it,” says the Lord.’”
Isaiah prophesies in Isaiah 11:11-12 how in “that day”, God will bring back His remnant Israel:
“It shall come to pass in that day the Lord shall set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people who are left, from Assyria and Egypt, from Pathros and Cush, from Elam and Shinar, from Hamath and the islands of the sea. He will set up a banner for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.” (compare to Revelation 7:1 above).
- Revelation 19 documents Jesus Christ will return and destroy the armies gathered against Him.
- Revelation 20 documents the final defeat of Satan and the final judgment of all sinners according to the “Second Death” (Revelation 20:14-15).
- Revelation 21 and 22 document “New Jerusalem” and the “River of Life” where both those of Israel and the Gentiles who gave their lives to Jesus Christ sit down at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.
SUMMARIZING: Answering Questions 1 & 2
- Question #1: “Who is ‘Israel’ in Romans 11:26?” è It is literally the remnant of the nation of Israel
- Question #2: “So, how will “all Israel be saved”? è The same way Gentiles (non-Jews) are saved: by repenting and turning to Jesus Christ in faith by God’s grace
It is about focusing on “True Israel” – Jesus Christ, not on the church nor the nation of Israel.
“The Evidence of Faith’s Substance+_ Article #641
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