God’s Promises Are Eternal

Good Morning Regular Joes and Janes;

I must start out with an apology for not getting a devotional post up yesterday.

English: This is a map of first century Iudaea Province that I created using Illustrator CS2. I traced this image for the general geographic features. I then manually input data from maps found in a couple of sources. Robert W. Funk and the Jesus Seminar. The Acts of Jesus. HarperSanFrancisco: 1998. p. xxiv. Michael Grant. Jesus: An Historian’s Review of the Gospels. Charles Scribner’s Sons: 1977. p. 65-67. John P. Meier. A Marginal Jew. Doubleday: 1991. p. 1:434. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Today I have a few thoughts on Romans chapter 11.  Israel is almost constantly in the news these days.  A lot of younger people don’t realize that the nation of Israel did not exist from 70 a.d until 1948.   It is the only nation to cease to exist and then be reborn.  It is a fulfillment of Bible prophecy and also a signal on Gods time line.  Paul speaks to Christians, warning them not to be conceited regarding Gods treatment of Israel.

Romans 11: 25-29

25 I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.

26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob.

27 And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins.”

28 As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies on your account; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs,

29 for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable.

Christians both then and now can sometimes feel that we are better than the Jews.  That “the Jews crucified the Messiah and God has abandoned them forever.”  Nothing could be farther from the truth.  Yes, the Jews did play a major part in Christ’s crucifixion, but Jesus Christ went there as a planned event to die for all of our sins.  The “hardening in part” has an ending time.  That ending time is when the “full number of the Gentiles has come in”.  When exactly does that happen?  I can not tell you but here are a few things to consider:

In 1948 Israel became a nation after almost 2000 years.

In 1967 Israel took possession of Jerusalem after the 6 day war

While there are no hard numbers available, it is clear that in the past 20 years the number of Jews in Israel who have become Christians has risen dramatically.

The orthodox Jews are actively preparing to rebuild the Temple and have completed all of the temple artifacts, and blueprints for the temple.

Jews, including lost tribes, are returning to Israel in ever greater numbers

God is clearly beginning to work in the spiritual lives of the Jewish people!  Many other prophecies from both the Old and New Testament are being fulfilled and the stage is being set for Christs physical return to earth!  As Paul alludes to in verse 28, the Jews considered the Christians to be enemies.  Even that is changing today as Christians and Jews have an ever more open dialogue.

As promised in both Psalms 14:7 and Isaiah 59:20-21, “the Deliverer will come out of Zion (Jerusalem) and turn away the ungodliness of Jacob”  God’s promises are everlasting.  God’s covenants with His chosen people, the Jews, while partially set on the back burner, are going to be kept and fulfilled.  Pray for the Jewish people, that God will move in their hearts.  Pray that we will be a witness to them whether they are in Israel or our neighborhood.  Pray for the Gentile people that their “number” would be filled,  (referring to verse 25).

These are exciting times that we are living in!

Regular Joe

Related articles

• The Rise and Fall of the Antichrist (raptureimminent.wordpress.com)
• Author: Bible predicted date of Israel’s return (wnd.com)
• An Overview of the Signs of the Times (raptureimminent.wordpress.com)