Some Christians insist that Paul’s epistle to the Philippians provides a blanket “get out of jail free” card for all Israelites — that regardless of whether or not they believe in and follow Jesus Christ in this lifetime, if they were born as Israelites, they will ultimately be given a second chance to confess Christ and be saved upon His return.
This misguided belief is based on the cherry-picked verse from Romans 11:26,
“…and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written: ‘The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will remove ungodliness from Jacob.”
—Romans 11:26
In our previous essay, “Will All Israel Be Saved — Or Just A Remnant,” we thoroughly addressed the meaning of this verse — and showed that it is not a guarantee that all those born as Israelites are ensured salvation.
And to further prove this thesis, we wrote the follow-up essay — “John’s Baptism Of Repentence — And Why All Israel Will Not Be Saved” — and we encourage anyone who still holds these beliefs to read both of these essays.
Those who insist that this verse from Romans does ensure universal, unconditional salvation of “all Israel” will often quote Philippians 2:9-11 where Paul writes,
“For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
—NASB 1995
Young’s Literal Translation renders this verse as,
“Wherefore, also, God did highly exalt him, and gave to him a name that is above every name, that in the name of Jesus every knee may bow — of heavenlies, and earthlies, and what are under the earth — and every tongue may confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
[Note: It is not our intention to “cherry pick” the translation that best suits our purpose here — we merely chose these two as examples of how the verse has been translated — and we would encourage you to read and compare the different translations here to see how similar they are.]
What Paul is saying here is that upon the return of Jesus Christ both the living and the dead will be compelled to acknowledge sovereign power of Christ and the Father — and submit to their ultimate Judgment.
We know that “every knee shall bow” does not refer to salvation because Paul takes this phrase from Isaiah — who is quoting directly from God that He will demand submission and loyalty to His will:
“I have sworn by Myself, The word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness And will not turn back, That to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance.”
—Isaiah 45:23
Merely acknowledging God’s power and sovereignty in no way refers to or confers salvation — as James tells us,
“You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.”
—James 2:19
And we also know that “every tongue may confess that Jesus Christ is Lord” does not mean that everyone — including Israelites — will be saved — as Christ Himself tells us that “on that day” of Judgment not everyone who confesses belief in Him will be saved:
“Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness.’“
—Matthew 7-22-23
Some Christians want to believe that these verses are some sort of proof or guarantee of salvation for all Israelites — however, salvation — guaranteed or otherwise — is not mentioned at all in these verses from Philippians, nor is it even implied.
It is a grave error to lead Christians to believe that just because Israelites and non-Israelites will be compelled to “bow the knee” — as they were in Isaiah 45:23 — and “confess that Jesus Christ is Lord” — as they were in Matthew 7:22-23 — that their salvation will be ensured.
Those who nevertheless insist on believing that these verses in Philippians assure salvation to all Israelites even after death ignore what Paul writes immediately after these verses — where he explains the separate issue of salvation:
“So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”
—Philippians 2:12-13
Paul is telling the Philippians that their salvation will be based on their faith in Jesus Christ here and now — in a way that is pleasing to God.
He warns them that they should not wait until that moment when they are compelled after death to bow before God and confess Christ — for at that point it will be too late.
Jesus Christ tells us that it will be those who have faith in Him before they see Him when He returns who will receive His blessing and salvation:
“Jesus said to him, ‘Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.’”
—John 20:29
And even those who do submit to Jesus Christ in the here and now nevertheless do so “with fear and trembling” because even so their salvation is not guaranteed — only at the moment of Judgment will we know if we have pleased God.
Paul continues to explain to the Israelites in Philippia what they need to do to please God in order to have a chance of salvation:
“Do all things without grumbling or disputing; so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain. But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all. You too, I urge you, rejoice in the same way and share your joy with me.”
–Philippians 2:14-18
In other words, if Christians do not prove themselves to be blameless and innocent — and “above reproach” — then their lives will have been “in vain” — all will be lost — and salvation will be denied them at the Final Judgment.
To tell Israelites — Christian or not — that no matter what they do in this life, their salvation is guaranteed merely because they were born into Israelite flesh is exactly what the Serpent told Eve in the garden:
The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die!
—Genesis 3:4
In Philippians 3, Paul calls those — like the Pharisees — who preach confidence in the flesh “dogs” and “evil workers“:
“Watch out for those dogs, those workers of evil, those mutilators of the flesh! For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh— though I myself could have such confidence.”
–Philippians 3:2-4
Paul then explains how he — of all Israelites — who could have confidence in his Israelite flesh but does not:
“If anyone else thinks he has grounds for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin; a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, persecuting the church; as to righteousness in the law, faultless.”
–Philippians 3:4-6
Without faith in Jesus Christ — being reborn into his Spirit — Paul’s birth and life as an Israelite will be in vain:
“But whatever was gain to me I count as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things as loss compared to the surpassing excellence of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, a the righteousness from God on the basis of faith.”
—Philippians 3:7-9
At no time does Paul ever reassure the Israelites in Philippia that they have nothing to fear — that their Israelite bodies into which they were born will guarantee their resurrection from the dead — and eternal salvation:
“I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to Him in His death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.”
—Philippians 3:10-11
As we demonstrated in our essay “The Confusion Of Nicodemus — Born Again or Born From Above,” both Jesus Christ and John the Baptist rebuke the Israelite Pharisees for believing that their Israelite flesh is enough to save them.
Yes, Jesus Christ stated unequivocally that He came only for Israel:
“But He answered and said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
—Matthew 15:24
And, yes, Paul did say
“And so all Israel shall be saved, according as it hath been written, ‘There shall come forth out of Sion he who is delivering, and he shall turn away impiety from Jacob'”
—Romans 11:26
Those who cherry pick “all Israel shall be saved” ignore the next phrase “according as it hath been written” — which is a qualifier, not a blanket unconditional statement as Paul explains in the entire context of that epistle.
And in the context of Romans 11, Paul here is simply telling us that Jesus Christ will offer salvation not just to the “cultivated olive tree” — that is, the Israelites of the southern kingdom who kept the faith and the Law — but also the “wild olive branches” — or those “lost” Israelites — the so-called “gentiles” — that is, the “uncircumcised Israelites” who over time had lost their identity as Israel did not keep the faith.
The Pharisees, of course, bristled at this radical idea — claiming that only the cultivated olive tree or the “circumcised” shall be saved:
“Some men came down from Judea and began teaching the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”
—Acts 15:1
Yet Paul tells us that Christ came to regather and unify all 12 tribes of Israel — even those Israelite “sheep who are not of this fold” — and “bring them also“:
“For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall.”
—Ephesians 2:14
Christ opened the barrier between these two folds of His Israelite sheep and offered salvation to both — the circumcised and uncircumcised — this is the true meaning of “all Israel shall be saved.”
To believe that an Israelite according to the flesh will be guaranteed salvation even without faith in Christ is exactly what the Jews believe — making Christ’s death and resurrection in vain, and irrelevant to salvation.
And to believe that somehow Israelites who did not believe in Christ — nor walk with Christ in this lifetime — will be given a second chance upon Christ’s return also make a complete mockery of the entire point of the Gospels.
Nowhere do the gospels assure us that we will be given a second chance for salvation after we die — in the gospel of Matthew, Jesus Christ tells His followers exactly who shall be saved and why — those who endure the hardships of this life and remain faithful until the end:
“And Jesus answered and said unto them, ‘Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.
Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.”
—Matthew 24:4-13
Time is short — do not allow false teachers tell you otherwise — as James admonishes us,
“Go to now, ye that say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.”
—James 4:13-14
Paul exhorts us all to live now for Christ as if our eternal salvation depended on it:
“And working together, we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For He says: “In the acceptable time I listened to you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” Behold, now is the time of favor; behold, now is the day of salvation.”
—2 Corinthians 6:1-2
The short answer to the question is “No”, not all Israelites will be saved.
Anyone who believes that is literally in a cult.
——Constance——
“Cult” does seem appropriate.
Both the OT and the NT — a major theme is “Continuance”.
If All Israel is Saved was True — Why did the Apostles write letters to the “gatherings” of Israelite Christians? In those letters — the substance is mostly “how” to live your life. “Avoid Sin”.
Paul speaking to the Galatians — “…Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life….”
Notice Paul contrasts the word “Corruption” with the word “Eternal Life”.
This statement is absolutely unnecessary if “All Israel will be Saved” is to be taken literal.
Ironic in that I spent 20+ years in Evangelical Christianity having to listen to Once Saved Always Saved preached and written about from every single supposed “christian” authority.
Then I find Israelite Identity and the same POISON exists.
We preach a “Warning” to believers — Examine your lives as to whether you are in the Faith.
They don’t preach a “Warning” to believers.
Which is a more dangerous position to be in when one takes their last breath?
I guess we have the best of both worlds — We still fear the Lord and Strive to enter through the Narrow Gate. If we were wrong — and all Israel will be saved — we still squeeze in.
If they are wrong …………………..
If Jesus wasn’t wrong, he meant, in another life.
All Israel was saved. Those who heeded Christ’s words, when the Idumean Armies hired by the Judean Zealots surrounded Jerusalem circa A.D. 68, two years before the Romans came. Many became Christians and hightailed it out of the city. The Armies went on a killing rampage, taking out 8,500 Levite priests including Ananus the High Priest (one who stood in the way in 2 Thess. 2:7. Levite John of Gischala was the false messiah – the lawless one of 2 Thess., burned all the storehouses of grain so that the people starved during the Roman siege – read Josephus. The remaining Judeans put their faith in him instead of Christ, they all died.)
This is contrary to the dispensationalist teachings of Cyrus Schofield, a heritic, womaniser, marital infidel (wife divorced him in 1883 for not providing for her and his two daughters through her) and thief, who’s false commentaries to the KJV Bible poisoned the well of Protestant seminaries for the past 100 years, giving a futurist interpretation to prophecies that have already occurred, among other falsehoods.
“At the Name of Jesus let every knee bow, of things in heaven, of things in earth, and of things in hell; and let every tongue confess that our Lord Jesus Christ is in the glory of God the Father” (Phil 2:10,11)
This is the verse which provides the structure for the English prayer the Jesus Psalter. Written in the early 16th Century by the Wretch of Sion, Richard Whitfield. Much good in this prayer even if you were to strip out the more overtly Catholic elements.
https://www.preces-latinae.org/thesaurus/Filius/PsalterIesu.html
No one know’s who is an Israelite today. What you think are jews are khazars, 94% and Sephardic 6%, mixed breed Turk, north African and Spanish mixed breeds who think they are here after 2000 years of crossbreeding.
The bible says that Israel is all mixed up, yet not lost. Man doesn’t know who they are but God does.
Amos 9:9
“For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth.”
Arnie:
You might find our essay “How Do I Know If I’m An Israelite?” helpful on the subject
https://christiansfortruth.com/how-do-i-know-im-an-israelite/
No one seems to believe what The Lord Jesus told everyone up front.
Matthew 15:24
“But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
This is because they are the children of God, trapped by the Dragon and must be rescued , and that took The Lord Jesus Himself coming to their rescue.
Revelation 12:4 “And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.”
Now everyone who is chosen to believe will be adopted into the family Jesus saved.
It’s important to remember God has His own definition of Israel, and it existed long before actually physical decedents of Abraham were called Israel. Which is how Moses, Jacob, Abraham, etc. are counted among Israel even though they were never part of the literal physical nation of Israel, as it didn’t exist at the time. This is actually how the gentiles are able to get included as well.
Christ also made it clear that some who were physically of Israel were not, in fact, Israel. This is why I like going with the term Imager or Adamite. God’s goal to to have His section of repaired Adamites to Image Him like they were designed to and rule the Earth some day. We replace Satan and co. when they get kicked out of reality and into Hell after Christ’s return. So God is looking at the ability and desire to Image God and be His companion like Abram was.
To me, the real teller of whether a person is saved is if:
1. They have a heart of flesh and not stone. This is an internal transformation that makes them want what God wants. No unsaved person cares about what God wants, only a real Christian does. This is that second birth as a new creature, one sensitive to God and His wishes.
2. Having the indwelling Holy Spirit. Which is NEVER to leave or forsake us per Christ. Not even after Christ’s return. It’s the part that I think is “grafted” into us with Christ. God isn’t tossing someone with that link into Hell.
Again, you can’t work out salvation unless you already have it available to come out. What he’s telling us it that it should be visible enough that those who know us can see it. In other words, we should be Imaging as one of God’s Adamites ought now that we are new creatures.
“Christ also made it clear that some who were physically of Israel were not, in fact, Israel.”
Please show me where Christ made this clear!
Adam,
Are you familiar with Romans 9:6?
“But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel”
This verse explicitly states that not all the physical descendants of Israel, or Israel according to the flesh, can be considered as truly “Israel” or “children of the promise”.
Paul says that Israelites who reject Christ are not counted as true Israel or children of the promise, and therefore, not all the descendants of Jacob have the true spirit of Israelites.
Some will claim that this verse refers to “Edomites” who falsely pass themselves off as real Israelites, but this is false. Romans 9 explains that God has kept his promises to Israel, but not all Israel will fulfill those promises.
“Are you familiar with Romans 9:6?”
Yes, I am.
Paul is saying that not all those of Israel (the land) are from Israel (Jacob) .
Romans 8:7
7 Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called.
Adam wrote “Paul is saying that not all those of Israel (the land) are from Israel (Jacob)”
This is incorrect. Nowhere in the Bible does the word “Israel” ever refer to land, except when the phrase “land of Israel” is used.
“Israel” by itself always, no exceptions, refers to the people who are descendants of Jacob-Israel.
In Romans 9 Paul is showing us that those of Jacob/Israel are the children of the promise, and that those – being of Abraham through Esau – are not of Israel and doesn’t have the promises, hence Romans 9:7.
Adam wrote “In Romans 9 Paul is showing us that those of Jacob/Israel are the children of the promise, and that those – being of Abraham through Esau – are not of Israel and doesn’t have the promises,”
Right, but that doesn’t mean there are not Israelites who have lost the blessing through sin and rejection of Christ as the Redeemer of Israel.
Nor does it mean that only Esau and his descendants are not “children of the promise”. Two separate issues that you are conflating.
*Romans 9:7
Matthew 9:33
King James Version
33 And when the devil was cast out, the dumb spake: and the multitudes marvelled, saying, It was never so seen in Israel.
Matthew 10:23
King James Version
23 But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.
Adam,
Those two verses prove my point. They both refer to the people, not the land.
Matthew 9:33 “It was never so seen in Israel” means “seen among the Israelite people”, not the land they occupy.
Matthew 10:23 also proves my point “the cities of Israel” refers to the cities occupied by the Israelite people.
“Cities of Israel” is very much like “land of Israel”, in that these phrases refer to the Israelite people occupying certain territory.
Romans 9:7 contrasts Isaac’s descendants vs Esau’s descendants. Esau became Edom and mixed in with Judah. Jesus did not dispute the scribes and Pharisees in John 8 when they said they were related to Abraham, because Jesus knew they were related to Abraham via Esau.
There’s no proof that the Pharisees were Edomites.
According to Josephus, the Pharisees rejected the policy of John Hyrcanus to forcibly convert the Edomites so that they could become citizens of Judea and become legitimate “Jews”.
The Pharisees did not accept any Edomite converts into their ranks. The Pharisees wouldn’t even allow King Herod, a Edomite convert, into the temple. Pure and simple.
https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0146%3Abook%3D13
Very true Robert, I used to believe in DSCI. When you drop that baggage and read the scripture for what it says, the simplicity tells it all.
IMO DSCI turns off people who are looking into Israelite Identity/ Covenant theology.
You think the Pharisees were pure Israelites, that they had not been infiltrated? See Mark 3:6, Mark 12:13 and Matt 22:16.
In John 8:33 they said they were Abraham’s offspring, yet had never been in bondage to anyone (Egypt, Assyria, Babylon). Who fits that profile?
john
Firstly those three verses you have given Mark 3:6, Mark 12:13 and Matt 22:16. Are all saying the pharisees worked with the herods to get Christ, nowhere does it say they are these supposed edomites, how is collaboration evidence of infiltration? It’s not. Lets Examine John 8:30-33 to give some context “30 As he spake these words, many believed on him.
31 Then said Jesus to those Jews (Judeans) which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
33 They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?”
The direct thing Christ says to them before they said they weren’t in bondage was “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
Since the pharisees were literal minded they thought Christ meant that they were literally in bondage—at that time, so they say “We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thoy, Ye shall be made free?”
They affirm they are Abraham’s seed while also claiming that at that time (in the present tense in which they were talking to Christ) they were not beholden to any man.
Further if you say Edomites were never in bondage, that is a lie as you well know John Hyrcanus subjugated them and forcefully converted that to Judaism.
The verse here is them thinking Christ is saying they are not free (literally) which is not what Christ said, Christ was referring to the spirit.
Good article CFT, it’s like what Westwins said about the “Once Saved Always Saved” crowd. Salvation is an opportunity not guaranteed.
I do have a question regarding the lake of fire – do you view it as a literal burning place? Or perhaps is it figurative for eternal non-existence? I know it only applies to Adamites/Israelites, and that the non-Adamics simply don not exist afterword. Thanks.
G’day there. My thoughts are that the lake of fire is just a figure of speech for ceasing to exist. I don’t think it’s like the “traditional” view of hell with fire forever and ever. I may be wrong of course.
Christ said that it (lake of fire) would be the second death. The first death (the grave, or hell) was like going to sleep. so to my mind that reads that the lake of fire is just ceasing to be.
Thank you for your input Christ is King, this makes logical sense I shall ponder upon it. I have seen your other contributions to CFT and would like to thank you.
Happy to try and help,Elijah. I don’t comment much these days as I’m rather time poor, but I like to weigh in occasionally if I can. I’m here reading and commenting as a humble servant of God in order to learn things and help others learn, so we can all help each other. 🙂
“I do have a question regarding the lake of fire – do you view it as a literal burning place?”
I’ll bite this one: Hell exists inside Outer Darkness which is outside creation. See also below.
The general human view of Outer Darkness: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zY8DMV2SY98
Mate… that video is a piece from Robert Sepehr. If his physiognomy and name didn’t give it away, he’s a jew.
Some of his ideas are interesting. Some are factual. But I wouldn’t take his research and thinking as gospel.
JC also said that it would be better to hang a millstone around your neck & jump in the sea than hurt a child. What do you think Christ would think bout Jews paying dirty old men to orally sodomize an 8 day old baby boy?
This herectical idea that even unreprentant Israelites will be saved is contradicted by many verses such as
“Whoever remains stiff-necked after many rebukes will suddenly be destroyed—without remedy”
(Proverbs 29:1)
“Destroyed without remedy” seems pretty clear to me.
And 2 Thesalonians 1:5-9 completely contradicts the idea of universal salvation for every Israelite:
“This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering— 6 since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, 7 and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels 8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might.”
To say that all of Israel shall be saved is misleading and conflicts and flies in the face of the atoning work of Jesus Christ: the two can’t be reconciled.
I have known some White people including relatives who rejected Jesus Christ for various reasons. Which means they died in their sins.
The old adage which states “it’s never too late” does not apply to an individual’s salvation or where they will spend eternity.
So, in that respect, yes it is too late if you have not accepted God’s gift of His Son by the time you reach the point of death.
There is other way around it…period.
Isaiah 64:6
“But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.”
Right, reminds me of those supposed “death bed conversions”….
So I’m going to sin and scr*w people over my entire life, but in the last few hours as death approaches, I’m going to ask Jesus for forgiveness and promise to change my ways.
What good does that “conversion” do for the individual or for Christians as a whole? Imagine our nations if everyone converted only at the very last minute. We’d have destroyed ourselves already.
We owe so much to our ancestors who chose to follow Christ throughout their entire lives, not just at the end. Imagine inheriting a world from them if they hadn’t done that?
We must do our part to bring about the Kingdom here on earth through our faith. It makes our lives worth living, and our children’s lives worth living.
There is no qualifying to be done, or that can be done, of the word “all”. “Pas” in the Greek mean all, every, the whole thing. It says “all Israel shall be saved” . So we have to take that as fact. The how of it isn’t up to us? Should one accept that Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior in this lifetime, and repent and do their best to do well? You betcha! But that doesn’t change what the scriptures say. They say “all Israel shall be saved”. Full stop.
Ralsy:
Where is your second witness to the claim that literally every single Israelite who ever lived will be saved regardless of how they lived their life — or whether or not they accepted Christ?
The phrase “all Israel” has precedence in the OT, and it cannot be taken literally. Clearly, it is a figure of speech.
If you do take it literally, none of these verses make sense:
“And Moses called unto Joshua, and said unto him in the sight of all Israel, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou must go with this people unto the land which the LORD hath sworn unto their fathers to give them; and thou shalt cause them to inherit it.”
–Deuteronomy 31:7
Do you really believe that every single Israelite in the world saw Moses called unto Joshua?
“And Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us? the LORD shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after they had stoned them with stones.”
–Joshua 7:25
Do you really believe that every single Israelite in the world stoned him with stones?
‘So they spread Absalom a tent upon the top of the house; and Absalom went in unto his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel.”
–2 Samuel 16:22
Do you really believe that every single Israelite in the world saw Absalom go into this tent?
You can add Ezra 10:5 to that list….
“Then arose Ezra, and made the chief priests, the Levites, and all Israel, to swear that they should do according to this word. And they sware.”
Ezra here is writing during the Babylonian captivity where the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and Levi were held captive.
“All Israel” here refers to only those three tribes, not all 12 tribes, literally all Israel.
“All Israel” in this verse cannot be referring to the vast majority of Israel, the 10 northern tribes which were taken captive by Assyria at this time.
So “all Israel” always has to be taken in context.
Add to this God defined Israel long before it existed and people who pre and post date the literal nation are still considered Israel as well. I usually go with Adamite Imagers.
Creat,
Agreed. If any people or tribe in the Bible retained the “image of God” from Adam, it’s Israel. Only Israel kept strict marriage laws against mixing with unsuitable people.
Hi Creat,
Interesting comment, not sure how to reconcile it though.
In Revelation there are passages referring to the ’12 gates’ and some say this is in reference to the 12 tribes of Israel. Is this a wrong assumption.
Also, would Japheth’s offspring, assuming they had only pre-created with other whiteys (Adamites), also belong to Israel?
I ask because there is a belief that the Israelites will be able to travel between the ‘new earth’ and the ‘new heaven’ via the 12 gates, and be custodians (gardeners) to the earth.
If this is true (and I’m not saying it is btw), then it would beg the question who is the ‘meek’ that inherit the earth?
I’d previously assumed it was Japheth’s, or Ham’s, or even Shem’s descendants (that wouldn’t be considered Israelites) that would become the ‘meek’ that inherited the earth (and not pass freely between the ‘new’ heaven and ‘new’ earth).
Interesting.
So in those instances obviously the context means “all of Israel” who were there. What leads you to believe Paul used “all” like that when writing Romans? He was referencing Isaiah, right? Chapter 45 finishes with this, “In the LORD shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory “ Is there ambiguity in that verse for you also?
Ralsy
Read Isaiah 45 in its entirety. Do not cherry-pick or isolate any verse. It’s all about context. God is warning Israel what will happen to them if they do NOT turn back to Him:
“20 Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations: they have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save.”
Here God tells them that the pagan Gods that they follow “cannot save” them. Are you suggesting that those Israelites who continued to worship those pagan gods will nevertheless be saved?
The verse 25, which you allude to “In the LORD shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory” is not a guarantee that every single Israelite will be saved, but rather that is the desire of God that they be.
That’s why God says “22 Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.”
There is a condition in verse 22 for Israel, and that is “look to me”, God, and you will be saved. If you don’t look to Him, why would He save you? Same with Jesus Christ.
And Leviticus 20 makes very clear that any Israelite who turns away from God and worships false idols will be separated from Israel permanently:
“20 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “You must also tell the Israelites these things: Anyone living in Israel who gives one of their children to the false god Molech must be killed! It doesn’t matter if they are a citizen of Israel or a foreigner, you must throw stones at them and kill them. 3 I will be against them and separate them from their people, because they gave their children to Molech. They showed that they did not respect my holy name. And they made my holy place unclean. 4 Maybe the common people will ignore them. Maybe they will not kill those who gave their children to Molech. 5 But I will be against these people and their families. I will separate them from their people. I will separate anyone who is unfaithful to me and chases after Molech.”
Great point CFT.
Context is everything.
We can’t isolate one verse and then run with it.
Worshipping pagan Gods would not save them.
As the Israelites were instructed to look to God, we are to look to Jesus to be saved (John 14:6).
https://www.dailyeffectiveprayer.org/spiritually-rooted/