Chapter 12

 

This book has followed many different themes in order to give a better perspective on the overall theme of “Blindness in part.” We now come to the end of Romans 11, where Paul brings his discussion to a climactic conclusion. Verse 25 says,

²⁵ 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 fullness of the gentiles [ethnos, “nations”] be come in.

It is clear from this that Israel's blindness was to come to an end after the fullness of the nations had come in. Rotherham translates it, “until the full measure of the nations shall come in.” First of all, Paul calls this teaching a “mystery,” or secret. It was not something that was known to the Scribes and Pharisees, who would never have admitted to being blind leaders of the blind (Matthew 15:14). So obviously, they had not taught it to the people.

Secondly, this blindness was to continue until the full measure of the nations had come in. What does this mean? Paul had been talking about the branches being grafted into the stock of the tree (kingdom of God). So he was talking about the fullness [Gr. Pleroma] of the nations coming into the kingdom of God. This is the topic of many of the prophets in the Bible, but especially Isaiah, who had explained most thoroughly the principle of blindness upon Israel. He is also the one with the broadest vision of the kingdom, saying, “the God of the whole earth shall He be called” (Isaiah 54:5).

The Prophecy to Ephraim

Insofar as Israel is concerned, Jacob's prophecy to Ephraim in Genesis 48:19 is relevant as well: “his seed shall become a multitude [Heb. melo, “a fullness”] of nations.” This was the moment when Jacob gave the sons of Joseph the name of Israel, and Jacob prophesied that Ephraim would become a fullness of nations. This was a play on words, of course, since the name “Ephraim” means double fruitfulness.

And so, Paul's statement in Romans 11:25 could be understood to mean that Israel would be partially blinded until the promise to Ephraim and is fulfilled, whereby Israel becomes a fullness of nations. This is supported by Paul's next words,

²⁶ 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;

²⁷ For this is My covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.

God's covenant is to save all Israel. It is something that God Himself will do by His sovereign will, because of the unconditional covenant He made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It is the basis of the promise given in Isaiah 45:25, which climaxes the discussion on the sovereignty of God over all nations: “In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified and shall glory.”

For this reason, as soon as Jesus' first work was complete, God immediately began to engraft the wild olive tree branches back into the root or trunk of the Kingdom. The gospel went north and west to the lost sheep of the House of Israel, who were already spreading into Europe through Asia Minor. Some had already reached Spain, Ireland and the British Isles by sea. God sent Christians to them almost immediately after the day of Pentecost to give them the good news that their Redeemer had come and had completed His work.

In 156 AD King Lucius proclaimed Britain to be a Christian Nation. He had been baptized by Timothy, the 83-year-old son of Rufus Pudens and Claudia. (See Romans 16:13; 2 Timothy 4:21.) This was not the same Timothy that Paul wrote to in first and second Timothy.

In 156 AD Britain became the first Christian nation. In another century and a half, Rome itself fell to the armies of Constantine, a British prince. His mother, Helen of York, was an outspoken Christian, although his father was not. Constantine then turned Rome into a Christian Empire as best he knew how.

While Rome did degenerate morally, spiritually, and politically in the centuries that followed, nonetheless, the nations of Europe were at least nominally Christian. On a somewhat fleshly level, these national conversions were a fulfillment of the fullness of the nations of Israel coming into the kingdom of God. This, I believe, would finally culminate with the establishment of America as a Christian Nation in the late 1700's.

Keep in mind, however, that no matter how good the original intentions were, nations are only as Christian as its citizens and rulers. They have all degenerated and have fallen away from God, because leaven (sin) characterizes the pentecostal age (Leviticus 23:17). Hence, the historical fulfillment of this prophecy during the pentecostal age is NOT the ultimate fulfillment of the “fullness of nations” that will yet manifest in the Tabernacles age. Even so, we do see the foreshadowing of what God has yet to do. All Israel shall be saved, and with her the whole world. The field has been purchased in order to obtain its hidden treasure.

Pattern Blindness

The blindness upon Israel made them God's enemies in the sense that the majority of them have consistently refused to be obedient to Him (that is, His Law). This has made them God's enemies, despite the fact that most of them in the pentecostal age claimed to be Christians. They were Christians by religion, but their heart was far from Him. The condition of their hearts were manifested by their lack of obedience.

The Greek word for blindness is porosis, which means hardened or calloused. It refers to the hardness of heart. The word literally means to form a callous. And so we are to understand that one's heart has spiritual eyes, but that Israel's spiritual eyes were blinded because God had not removed the callous from them.

Of all people, the apostle Paul understood blindness. He was already spiritually blind the day God struck him with physical blindness on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:8). He was a type and shadow of blindness in Israel. He was also a type and shadow of the way God would remove that blindness. If you read the story in Acts 9, you will discover that Paul's Hebrew name was Saul, named after king Saul of the Old Testament—who is a classic blind pentecostal type. He was blind for 3 days, which by Hebrew reckoning meant that he was healed of blindness on the third day. Even so, the pentecostal age has lasted 2,000 years (or 40 Jubilees), and now we are at the time of the removal of blindness in the third day.

Note also that during Saul's period of blindness, he was “in the house of Judas” (Acts 9:11). This was not the same Judas that betrayed Jesus, but he is, in fact, a type of betrayer. Judas is the Greek form of the Hebrew name, Judah. It was the remnant nation of Judah that betrayed Jesus, even as the original Judah who conceived the idea of selling his brother, Joseph, into Egyptian bondage for 20 pieces of silver (Genesis 37:28).

Saul (Paul) was in the house of Judas for 3 days until God sent Ananias to pray for him and heal his blindness. Ananias means whom God has graciously given. The root of the word means mercy. In other words, Saul—and Israel in general—is in a helpless state of blindness with scales over their eyes until God has mercy upon us and sends His word of healing . It is an act of a sovereign God. We are helpless to see the truth until He reveals it.

This, Paul says, was the condition of Israel from the beginning even to the present. The reason for their blindness was that God had not given them spiritual eyes to see. The pattern for the Church under Pentecost was set under Moses during the 40 years of Israel's wandering in the wilderness. At the end of that 40 years, Moses told them, “Yet the Lord hath not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day” (Deuteronomy 29:4). It has been the same in the Church.

The lesson we must learn from this is that God has blinded the eyes of His people, and the pattern of Israel under Moses is that they would remain blinded during the pentecostal age of “the Church in the wilderness.”

The Meaning and Effects of Blindness

Jesus tells us how this blindness would affect us when He quotes Isaiah's famous blindness passage in John 12.

³⁹ Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again,

⁴⁰ He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.

⁴¹ These things said Esaias, when he saw His glory and spake of Him.

⁴² Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on Him; but because of the Pharisees, they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue.

⁴³ For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.

The blindness among the people in Jesus' day was manifested in that they believed on Him, but refused to confess Him, lest they should be excommunicated from the “true church” in their day. They believed on Him and would liked to have identified with Him, but they knew that if they did, they would be kicked out of the Church.

The word “confess” comes from the Greek word, homologeo, which means to speak the same word. In other words, to confess Christ means to speak what He does and to be in agreement with Him. It is to say AMEN to Him in all that He says. It means to do what you see your Father do, and speak what you hear your father speak, even as Jesus did (John 12:50).

Israel in the wilderness consistently resisted the words of God. They never agreed with God when they ran out of food or water, or whenever they came into any test of their faith. They always thought God to be unjust, because they never understood in their hearts the purpose of His tests. Even a spiritual child can agree with their Father concerning the blessings; but it takes a mature son to agree with their Father in the tests and trials of life, knowing that all things work together for his good.

I do not doubt that a great multitude in the Church today believes on Christ, even as many did in Jesus' day. The problem is that most prefer to agree with the Church leadership and remain in good standing with the Church, rather than agree with the truth of God's Word and risk being excommunicated. Why? John says bluntly, “they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.”

This is the prime evidence of “blindness in part.” It is not that they are pagans, but rather that they are Christians who remain in submission to men, rather than to God. This is what king Saul demanded of Israel, while David's motley crew lived in the cave of Adullam. This is what most denominational churches demand today, rather than preparing the hearts of the people to be in submission to God as fully mature sons. It is alright to be in submission to men for a while, even as David was in Saul's court for a time. Babies do need parenting. But too often the Church continues giving the children a milk diet, and they never mature into full Sonship. The Church does this in order to keep its membership rolls high. And the extra money in the offering plate certainly doesn't hurt either.

This is blindness. This is hardness of heart. The Church today is as helpless as Israel was under Moses. We need to pray that God will send forth His Ananias people and have mercy upon Israel and the rest of the world.

God Has No Regrets

Paul says in Romans 11:28 & 29,

²⁸ As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes; but as touching the election, they are beloved for the father's sakes.

²⁹ For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance [ametameletos, “unregretted”].

The fact that God chose Israel and yet blinded them to the truth of the Word means that they are “enemies” of God. An enemy is one who is fighting God all the time. Israel fought God at every test in the wilderness under Moses, and even today they continue to disagree with His Law, calling it an evil thing.

Nonetheless, God had purpose in this. Israel as a whole cannot see the truth and cannot break free of its antinomian spirit of lawlessness until God has mercy upon them. Everywhere in the Scriptures, God takes the credit for blinding all of Israel except for the remnant of grace.

God is sovereign. He is not an impotent old man in the sky who can do nothing but wring His hands in frustration. He is all-powerful and can bring all things to a close at any time He chooses. The world is not out of control, nor will it be destroyed by physical fire or nuclear war. It will be cleansed by a great baptism of the Holy Ghost and fire that will bring the Gospel of the Kingdom to all parts of the earth. His Kingdom will grow into a great mountain until it fills the earth (Daniel 2:35). That is the Word that I have heard from my heavenly Father, and I say Amen!

Get off the doom-and-gloom diet of what evil men are doing in the earth. Start feasting on the message of Hope, or Expectation, of what God is doing behind the scenes and what He is about to do. He is not about to destroy all things, as if He has regrets about His plan. No, His calling Israel and even choosing to blind them for a season was “unregretted,” because the casting away of Israel was for the great purpose of saving the whole world.

How could anyone regret such a plan? How could anyone find fault with God? The reason men would regret such a plan is if they do not comprehend God's ways. If God had blinded men for the purpose of burning them up, then obviously, we have a problem God on our hands, and someone needs to check Him into a sanitarium. But Paul says the gifts (graces) and callings of God are unregretted. It is a good plan, but only a remnant of grace even begins to understand what God is really doing.

³⁰ For AS YE in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their [Israel's] unbelief;

³¹ Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.

When God called Abraham and chose him and his descendants for a special purpose in the earth, the rest of the world remained in darkness and blindness. It was not that God wanted to keep them in darkness for ever, else God would be unjust. Rather, God made Israel the peculiar treasure that would be His excuse for buying the whole field (world).

Hence, He blinded Israel in order that He might bring judgment upon her and cast her out of His house. The seed of Israel was thus sown in the field to bring an abundant harvest to God. Meanwhile, God also purchased the field, lest he harvest in another man's field, or steal treasure hidden in another man's field. So the world was blessed through Israel's blindness and “obtained mercy through their unbelief.” Paul's final conclusion of the matter is found in verse 32:

³² For God hath concluded [sugkleio, “locked up, or shut up”] them all in unbelief, that He might have mercy upon all.

Good News: Mercy Upon All

Paul them breaks out into praise for His majesty, power, and goodness for His great plan for creation.

³³ O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out!

³⁴ For who hath known the mind of the Lord? Or who hath been His counsellor?

³⁵ Or who hath first given to Him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?

³⁶ For of Him, and through Him, and to [into] Him, are all things; to Whom be glory for ever. Amen.

Paul is anything but a doom-and-gloom preacher. He revels in the judgments of God. He stands in awe of His ways. He does not presume to be God's counselor by telling Him what He ought to do, but shouts AMEN to all that God is doing. Paul has begun to understand the ways of God, and so he does not hesitate to agree fully with the plan of God in locking both Israel and the world in blindness for a season. Why? Because out of Him, and through Him, and into Him are all things.

These words indicate that all things ORIGINATE in God; all things are processed THROUGH Him, and all things are going back INTO Him. This is just another way of saying that in the end, God will be all in all (1 Cor. 15:28). He will not be All in just a few, nor in a tiny remnant, nor will He be limited to all Israel. He will be all IN ALL.

Paul is consistent in this theme. He told the Colossians that God had created all things and would also reconcile all things back to Himself. Colossians 1:16-20 reads,

¹⁶ For by Him were all things [ta panta, “the all”] created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers; all things [ta panta, “the all”] were created by Him and for [into] Him.

This is “the all” of creation, and we read in John 1:3 that “all things were made by Him, and without Him (or apart from Him) was not anything made that was made.” Paul divides creation into things in heaven and in earth and even includes all things visible and invisible, including all authorities. Then He says in verse 20,

²⁰ And having made peace through the blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile all things [ta panta, “the all”] unto Himself; by Him, I say, whether they be things in earth or things in heaven.

In other words, “the all” that was inclusive of all creation is also to be reconciled back to God by the blood of the cross. All creation had become God's enemy in need of reconciliation. This is what Paul said in Romans 11, where Israel had become God's enemy through their unbelief, joining the world of enemies in need of God's reconciliation. This was accomplished on the cross, and its purpose shall be fulfilled, for this is the divine plan, and no man can prevent it from happening. Hallelujah!