What is God’s Plan for Israel? – Romans 11:11-26
The Jewish people have a marvelous history and heritage, but everyone needs to be aware of the Bible’s teaching on God’s future plan for Israel. In this passage Paul teaches us about how Israel’s unbelief have led to the hardening of their hearts toward Jesus Christ and the blessed gospel of peace. Since most Jews have rejected Christ, God has rejected them. They have missed the way, the truth and the life found in Jesus Christ. Yet, we learn in chapter eleven of Romans that God has special plans for their regathering, restoration, and redemption. (Rom. 11:26) When Israel rejected Jesus Christ, the nation lost her favored position before God, and the gospel was then preached to the Gentiles. God allowed this so that the Jews would hopefully become jealous and turn back to God and be saved. God plans to graft Israel back into the olive tree as a demonstration of the fulfillment of His Abrahamic covenant. Let us examine several aspects of God’s plan for Israel in the days to come.
1. God plans to restore Israel for the world’s salvation. Ray Steadman, the former Pastor of the Penisula Bible Church in California gives us some outstanding insights from his teaching on the future of Israel when he writes:
“Scripture refers to only one archangel. His name is Michael. He appears a number of times in the Bible and always in connection with the people of Israel. One of the places where he is mentioned is in the twelfth chapter of Daniel, the same prophet to which Jesus referred concerning the desolating sacrilege. In verse 1 Daniel is told:
"At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people [Daniel’s people, the Jews]. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time [unquestionably, the Great Tribulation]; but at that time your people shall be delivered, every one whose name shall be found written in the book."
It is strongly suggested here that Michael, the great archangel, is responsible for opening the eyes of certain Jews living in Judea at the time of the departure of the church, and that they will then recognize the Lord Jesus as their true Messiah and become believers in him.
We may link this passage with one in Revelation chapter 7:2-4, where there is a description of an event that seems to be remarkably similar, if it is not exactly the same. There the apostle John says:
"Then I saw another angel [Here is a great angel who undertakes a special task connected with Israel. He is not called an archangel, though he well might be Michael] ascend from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, saying, ’Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God upon their foreheads.’ And I heard the number of the sealed, a hundred and forty-four thousand sealed, out of every tribe of the sons of Israel."
These 144,000 will clearly be Jews, for the passage goes on to list the twelve tribes of Israel and to declare that 12,000 are chosen from each of the tribes. Further information is given us concerning this special group in Revelation 14:1,3-5:
"Then I looked, and lo, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, [Jesus] and with him a hundred and forty-four thousand who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. And they sing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the hundred and forty-four thousand who had been redeemed from the earth. It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are chaste; it is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes; these have been redeemed from mankind as first fruits for God and the Lamb, and in their mouth no lie was found, for they are spotless."
The same chapter goes on to describe the Great Tribulation as "the hour of his [God’s] judgment." Before that hour arrives, these 144,000 from the tribes of Israel will be seen with the Lamb on Mount Zion. This is a specific location within the city limits of Jerusalem. This account confirms the fact that Jesus Christ will be on earth during this time, and will reveal himself from time to time these Jewish disciples, just as he appeared from time to time to his followers during those remarkable forty days following his resurrection.
Evidently these 144,000 Jews are to be turned from unbelief to belief much in the same dramatic way as was the apostle Paul. He was converted on the road to Damascus by the sudden appearance of the risen Lord Jesus Christ. Paul speaks of himself, in 1 Corinthians 15, as "one untimely born," very likely thinking of himself as properly belonging to this special band of Jewish believers, but who, by the grace of God, was born ahead of time and given the privilege of belonging to the church.
Israel Revisited
Since these 144,000 Jews are in frequent touch with the risen Lord they will be like so many Pauls, proclaiming the eternal gospel in mighty Spirit-given power throughout the whole earth. During this time the Lawless One will be moving to consolidate his power and to present himself to the world as God. This appearance of Christ to the 144,000 is the beginning of the fulfillment of God’s renewed activity with the Jews, long predicted by the Old Testament prophets. Paul also specifically says that despite the centuries of wandering following the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, God will not cast off his people. He will call them back again and renew a relationship with them.
In Romans 11 Paul warns that we Gentiles must never assume that God has totally and irrevocably set aside the nation of Israel, for all the promises which has been made to them in the past will be fulfilled. Because of unbelief, Paul says, God scattered them around the earth and opened the door of blessing to all the nations of earth, without distinction. But the Gentiles, too, will fail God as did the Jews, and then they will be set aside and God will call Israel back into national blessing. That is the work he will begin with the calling of the 144,000. Will anyone believe the message these 144,000 proclaim? If they do, of course, it will probably be at the risk of their lives, since the Lawless One will soon be in full control. The answer to that question is given by the apostle John in Revelation 7:9,10,13,14:
"After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no man could number, form every nation, from all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ’Salvation belongs to our God who sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb!’ Then one of the elders addressed me saying, ’Who are these, clothed in white robes, and whence have they come?’ I said to him, ’Sir, you know.’ And he said to me, ’These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.’"
This great multitude of Gentiles will be converted at the eleventh hour of history, evidently by believing the gospel preached by the 144,000 of Israel sent by the Son of God. Probably the greater part of this multitude will be martyred for their faith. In other parts of Revelation we are told that many will be put to death because they will not worship the Beast (the Antichrist) or his image.
Though they will indeed be "a great multitude" as John said, yet it is immediately evident that they will be different in one most remarkable way from the present day church. Apparently they will not exercise the ministry of salt. They will have no softening or restraining effect upon the people around them nor on the society in which they will live. They will be the light of the world, of that day, exposing and thus condemning what goes on, but they will not be as salt as Christians are today, preventing corruption, restraining evil, resisting the work of injustice in society. They will live as individuals, facing, at the risk of their lives, a society dedicated completely to powerful delusion.”
2. God plans Israel to be used as world-class evangelists after the return of Jesus Christ. Even though we know that many believers will be martyred for their faith, the Jews will persist according to God’s power with the evangelizing of the whole world. God chose Israel from the beginning to be an elect people possessed with special abilities to accomplish His purposes. We will see God uses a little leaven to leaven the whole earth through these fervent witnesses. Can you imagine 144,000 apostle Pauls moving about the earth with such steadfast commitment that nothing will deter them from their mission. Paul wrote, “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed, perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned, stuck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body…Therefore, we do not lose heart.” (2 Cor. 4:8-16) The world will see God work great wonders through this mighty band of committed Jewish apostles of Jesus Christ. Ask the Lord to help you learn all you can from such committed followers and seek to emulate their level of faith.
3. God will fulfill Zechariah 8:23 through the Jewish nation during the seven year period of tribulation. Zechariah wrote, “In those days ten men from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, ‘Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you.” God promises to supernaturally bless the ministry of the Jews by multiplying their fruit in exponential measure. We know that God will also perform His promise to His people, “Many people and the inhabitants of many cities will yet come, and the inhabitants of one city will go to another and say, “Let us go at once to entreat the Lord and seek the Lord Almighty. I myself am going. And many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the Lord Almighty and to entreat him.” (Zech 8:20,21) We can look forward to how God will use the witness of the Jews to bring many nations and people groups to Jerusalem to find salvation despite all of the troubles in the world.
4. God plans to fulfill His word that says, “For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? God is promising that many millions will become Christians when they witness the miraculous restoration, reconciliation and redemption of the Jewish people. God uses the elect people of Israel to show His mighty power and to demonstrate to the world their need of redemption through Jesus Christ. Ask the Lord to use you in similar ways as they witness the love, faith and hope that you have in Jesus Christ and His plans.
5. God plans to have multitudes come from the east and the west to find salvation in Jerusalem. This is one of the reasons why we know God will preserve Jerusalem as it is the center of God’s future activities here on the earth. No longer will it be known as the divided city. It will be in Jerusalem that the people of the nations will sit down at the table in peace, harmony and reconciliation because of what Christ has done to bring them peace in their hearts. Ask the Lord that He would hasten the nations coming to Jerusalem by finding peace in their own hearts through the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ.
6. God plans to have the whole world learn about Christ and the gospel through the evangelistic ministry of the Jews. Not a day goes by when Israel is not in the news. We know how the whole earth will also one day turn its attention to what God will do through the Jewish people in being His witnesses first in Jerusalem so His Spirit can then help disseminate the gospel to the utter most parts of the earth. (Acts 1:8) Many Gentiles will find Christ through the witness of these Jews. Then in the millennial reign of Christ there will be all nations that will turn themselves over to the earthly rulership of Jesus Christ our Lord.
7. God plans to use the Jews to bring spiritual renovation, restoration and redemption to the world in ways that demonstrate His supernatural fulfillment of Biblical prophecy. It is important to trace how God will fulfill His Biblical prophetic messages through the Jews in a way that proves God’s faithfulness, truth and unchanging promises. God’s plan can never be thwarted and we can trust His sovereignty to carry out His plans in perfect order in a way that makes all people realize their need to submit to His supremacy. Ask the Lord to help you be grow in faith and not stagger at the promises of God in the light of what He plans to do in you as well as through the Jews in Israel.
