And So All Israel Shall Be Saved

 

The eye opening trip I've been on since I returned to the Lord in 1983-84: My journey has been specifically directed by God toward fulfilling His stated - but mysterious - plan "to create in Himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace."

What does that mean? It means the same thing for Jews and Gentiles in the faith that it does for husbands and wives in the faith. We become one, with each other and with God. Such oneness does not erase our distinctive Divine-design differences, but when both walk in it, it makes peace between them, and also them as a God-ordained joining.

Paul compares the "one new man" in the faith of Yeshua/Jesus as like a marriage. In Ephesians 5, Paul says it is a "great mystery" - which is why it is so difficult to get everyone on the same page about it! 5:31 “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” 32 This mystery is profound, but I am speaking about MESSIAH and the ekklēsia. 33 Nevertheless, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband."

The ekklēsia is bigger than the Church. It is the WHOLE body of those in the faith of Yeshua/Jesus - both the gentiles in the nations who are Christians and the Jews throughout the world who are in the faith of Yeshua, Messiah of Israel.

It is like Yeshua/Jesus said in Mark 10:9 "What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder."

Many have come between the "one new man" of God in His Son. It started early on. It was not only the "Judiazers" who sought to separate the two made one, trying to force in the same sense as genders making women be exactly like men. God does not erase the gender-specific differences and He does not erase the Jew-Gentiles specific differences either. Some of you may need to camp right there to ponder on that one.

In the beginning verses of Ephesians Paul makes a bold statement, that he is called specifically for a purpose, to understand mysteries beyond what they other apostles even understood. And his calling was, Eph 1:1 "Paul, an apostle of Messiah Yeshua by the will of God to the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Messiah Yeshua."

Later on Paul explains his mission from God clearly in Ephesians 3:1: "For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Messiah Yeshua for the sake of you Gentiles." (If you read the entire context of Ephesians 2 is how God is building a living temple out of gentiles in the nations and the spiritually restored Jewish people - the "one new man" that together we make.

Paul is not talking about being held in prison in Rome, he is saying he is a 'prisoner' of God's mission for him in relating the mysteries of God's plan to gentile Christians. His heart's desire was to bring Jews to faith, but God had another mission for Paul. It was a necessity to fulfill being an apostle to the Gentiles, so we could realize what God is up to. Romans 10:1-2 "Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is for their salvation. For I testify about them that they are zealous for God, but not on the basis of knowledge." In this sense, Paul was a prisoner to the mission God gave him, because his instinct was, I must take this message of faith to the Jews. It was not God's purpose at the time, but is is God's ultimate purpose and what He is doing RIGHT NOW.

Paul was the only Scripture-educated Jew among the apostles of Jesus. God chose Paul in part for that reason, because there are many things that cannot be understood about God and what He is doing among human beings without an understanding of the foundation laid in the Jewish people being chosen, called out and God's Word given to them.

I am no Paul, but I can relate to be called out to that purpose in my walk with God - His purpose to make of two, one new man in Messiah.

As the Church comes into understanding that the ekklesia includes the distinctly different Jews in the faith of Yeshua/Jesus too, and forwards what God wants to produce out of our Oneness, we are finding peace with each other and the blessing of fruitfulness from God in reaching both peoples with the salvation of His Son. For me, this is what it is about, and it is HOW "All Israel shall be saved." Not at some later date, but happening NOW.

For that to happen, Christians have to take their eyes off the numbers, and realize it is a matter of the spiritual maturity level that determines when the harvest comes in. Again, Paul refers to the "fulness" of the Gentiles as a great mystery. He says "hardness of heart" is the grounds that has set Israel aside in unbelief, until the fulness of the Gentiles ARISES (eiserchomai) in them.

Do you see Israel's hardeness was that salvation was not for the Gentiles, and now half of Christians believe that salvation is not for the Jews. Some Christians believe it is never going to be for the Jews again, and others think 'it is just not now' that God has His eyes focused solely on the salvation of gentiles, Israel to follow later by some unknown way. But in Ephesians and in Romans, Paul tries to lay out that mystery as a spiritual maturity level of Christians to understand what God is doing bringing them TOGETHER NOW - a unity that will produce the fruit of salvation among Jews and Gentiles. Forget the numbers of gentiles coming to faith - where is the mystery in thinking that? That is easy to think, spiritual maturity is the mystery.

God's purposes will be fulfilled by those who will humble themselves to recieve how He wants to do it. He wants it to be a joint operation, a cooperation between both Christians and Messianic Jews.

. . . .and then there is the whole fulfillment of prophecy in God restoring the State of Israel as in the Valley of Dry Bones prophecy - in stages, with the spiritual restoration IN ISRAEL after the national resurrection of the State of Israel. Again, Christians playing a part in both instances. Antisemitism rising around the world is pushing Jews to immigrate to Israel and this is God using the evil of the enemy for His own purposes, because that is the place were Jewish salvation is going to be the greatest testimony to the world. The whole world is going to be startled as they see faith arising in Israel for Yeshua/Jesus. Some gentiles will be so influenced by the testimony of Israelis coming to faith they will be persuaded to belief the truth of Israel's Messiah. Because let's face it, most of the world does not believe Israel will ever believe Yeshua is the Messiah. But many already do. The harvest in Israel has already begun in earnest! When God says He is going to do something, He will.