“And so, all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:” (Romans 11:26)
Although this Scripture is about Israel, we will see how that applies to us. Paul warns the Gentiles not to boast that salvation in Jesus has been hid from the Jews until the time of the Gentiles is over. “For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.” (Romans 11:25) I will be brief in explaining verse 25. Yes, salvation in Jesus has been hid from the Jews. And yes, there is a time of the Gentiles (non-Jews). This window of time opened with the early church when the Jews rejected Christianity because of circumcision. That was one of their complaints; that the Gentiles were not being circumcised. These came into the meetings and stirred up the Christian Jews. Eventually, Christianity was mostly a religion for the Gentiles. That is not to say there are not any Jews that worship Jesus. They are known as Messianic Jews and there are several congregations in every city. We are currently living in the time of the Gentiles. But in the near future, the Jews will believe. As a matter of fact, when Jesus returns and sets His feet on Mount Sion, there will be 144,000 virgin Jewish men (12,000 from each of the twelve tribes of Israel) with Him. These virgin Jewish men will preach Jesus during the Tribulation. And Israel will recognize their Messiah, Jesus, and be saved.
In explaining the main Scripture above, Jacob is Israel. Jacob’s name was changed to Israel. He had twelve sons. These sons are the heads of families which are called the twelve tribes of Jacob or Israel. So, we have the Bible revealing to us that Israel will be saved and believe on Jesus. God will deliver them much like when He took them out of Egypt and delivered them. They will walk into salvation. The Lord will bless them and just like He made a way in the Red Sea, and they walked on dry land with the walls of the sea on both sides of them, not one was lost, not one will be lost by the Lord when He delivers them.
And just as the Lord will deliver Israel, He delivers us, now. There is an appointed time. That that time will come to all of us. “For He is our God; and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand. Today if ye will hear His voice, Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness:” (Psalms 95:7-8) When we hear the “better than Good News,” the Gospel, that is the time to turn to God. That is the time to repent and surrender to the Lord. That is the time of salvation. Psalms 95 tells of the day of temptation in the wilderness. The Israelites rebelled against God. They failed to trust and believe Him. And God did not allow them to enter the Promised Land. In the 40 years of wandering, a whole generation died except Caleb and Joshua, and the next generation took the land. God is giving us that time of wandering in the wilderness of this world, not knowing where we are going. He wants us to believe in Him, worship only Him, follow only Him, repent of our wrong doing and trust Him each moment of our lives. And He will forgive us, save us and take us into the Promise of life everlasting.
If you have heard the Gospel, it may be your only time to turn to God because we are not guaranteed tomorrow. When you are God’s child through Jesus, there are some tangible assurances of His Promises. There is His Peace in the midst of any temptation, any difficulty and any affliction of any kind. There is the Holy Spirit, indwelling, testifying about Jesus and speaking God’s Word and revealing God’s Will to us. And there is His Word, the Bible revealing God, His Will and Purposes for us.
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