All Israel Will Be Saved? Who is the Israel of God? (Romans 11:26)

In Romans 11:25–26a, it says:

For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; and so all Israel will be saved just as it is written,

“The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will remove ungodliness from Jacob. This is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins.”

The question I will answer in this post is, what does the apostle Paul mean when he writes that “all Israel will be saved?” Is he implying that all ethnic descendants of Abraham⎯past, present, and future⎯will become born again? Is he indicating that at some point in the future, there will be a national conversion of Israel? Or, is the apostle referring to something entirely different with his statement about all Israel being saved?

Now before I begin, I must say that men who are far more intelligent and sanctified than me have written entire chapters or dedicated whole books to expositing Romans 11:26. Examples include Chapters 24 and 25 of Samuel E. Waldron’s More of The End Times Made Simple, William Hendrickson’s Israel in Prophecy, and O. Palmer Robertson’s The Israel of God. My point is that I certainly am not going to provide a comprehensive exposition of Romans 11 nor am I going to touch upon all the intricacies of what all Israel being saved means. What I do hope to provide you with is a basic, foundational explanation so that you can open the Scriptures and conduct a Bible study for yourself. Certainly, however a person decides to answer the question at hand, it is a peripheral matter that in no way challenges the central tenets of the gospel. Romans 11:26 merely alludes to who is saved, not how.

First, prior to analyzing our text, we have to ask, “What is the central message of Romans?” Romans is the apostle Paul’s deepest and most comprehensive explanation of the gospel. In this epistle, Paul essentially ties together all the major themes in the Bible, thereby synthesizing the different parts into a cohesive whole. In Romans, the apostle explains to us the good news of Jesus Christ and how the righteousness of God is revealed. Why is the good news good? Because there is really bad news: In short, all human beings⎯both Jew and Gentile⎯are under God’s wrath as a result of our sin. There are no special categories because “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23). Sin matters because the penalty of sin is death (Rom 6:23). This means that without a Redeemer, all of humanity is doomed because God is not impressed by human works. Without a Savior, we are not right with God and will be condemned.

Where, then, is our hope? Our hope is in the good news that a person is saved by Christ alone by grace alone through faith alone (Rom 3:24–25). We are declared righteous⎯or to be right with God⎯by trusting only in God’s Son. And why is Christ the only suitable object of our faith? Because He alone was put forth as an acceptable atonement for our sins. He is the substitutionary sacrifice who died for the elect (or those chosen to be saved; cf. John 6:37, 44; 15:16; Rom 8:28–30; Acts 13:48; Eph 1:4–5; 2 Tim 1:9; 2 Thess 2:13) so that now, all who trust in what Christ did in His life, death, and resurrection are reconciled to God and are at peace with Him.

What then of the biological descendants of Abraham, the nation of Israel? In Romans 9–11, Paul explains Israel’s purpose and plan in the Lord’s redemptive strategy. Of course, history tells us that Israel rejected Jesus. So, does this mean that God’s promises in the Old Testament have failed? By no means. In Romans 11, Paul tells us that God has not rejected His people, and Israel’s rejection serves a redemptive purpose.

Again, our focus will be on Romans 11:26, but I will read starting from the beginning of the chapter. Romans 11:1–27 says:

I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He? May it never be! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel? “Lord, they have killed Your prophets, they have torn down Your altars, and I alone am left, and they are seeking my life.” But what ^[is the divine response to him? “I have kept for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” In the same way then, there has also come to be at the present time a remnant according to God’s gracious choice. But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace.

What then? What Israel is seeking, it has not obtained, but those who were chosen obtained it, and the rest were hardened; just as it is written,

“God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes to see not and ears to hear not,
Down to this very day.”

And David says,

“Let their table become a snare and a trap, and a stumbling block and a retribution to them. “Let their eyes be darkened to see not,
and bend their backs forever.”

I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall, did they? May it never be! But by their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make them jealous. Now if their transgression is riches for the world and their failure is riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fulfillment be! But I am speaking to you who are Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle of Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, if somehow I might move to jealousy my fellow countrymen and save some of them. For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? If the first piece of dough is holy, the lump is also; and if the root is holy, the branches are too.

But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear; for if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you, either. Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God’s kindness, if you continue in His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off. And they also, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these who are the natural branches be grafted into their own olive tree?

“The Deliverer will come from Zion,
He will remove ungodliness from Jacob.” “This is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins.”

So, if I were to summarize Paul’s words in verses 1–24, I would say, “Of course, God has not rejected the Jews, because the believer writing this gospel-exalting letter is a Jew! Indeed, just as it was in the times of Elijah, so it is now. There may have been many who rejected God, but the Lord has preserved a remnant who are truly His. In fact, the Jews’ rejection of Jesus set the stage for the Gentile acceptance of Christ. This has made certain Jews jealous, which sets the stage for their salvation. In the end, no one is special because we all are wild branches that are grafted onto a cultivated tree. No one, then, ought to be arrogant, because we are not saved by biology or works but by grace, which is a free gift.”

Now that we’ve established the theme of Romans overall and the immediate content of our verse, I’ll begin digging deeper into the Scriptures.

Subsequently, in verses 25–26, Paul writes that “a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; and so all Israel will be saved.”

And so alerts the reader that the meaning of “all Israel will be saved” is linked to what was said before. Another way of translating the Greek root of the conjunction and so is to say and in this matter or and in this way. Thus, what is said before is that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in, and in this manner all Israel will be saved. All Israel being saved is connected to a partial hardening. This begs the following question: What does a partial hardening mean? Well, in the Bible, when it comes to salvation-status, a person is either saved or not. Consequently, a person is either chosen or hardened. There are no other categories, and the Scriptures never refer to hardening as a process toward salvation; it simply refers to the two states as what a person is. In fact, in the Bible, hardening is the result of a purposeful rejection of God (cf. Exod 9:12; Prov 28:13–24; Eph 4:18; Heb 3:8). Accordingly, in Romans 11:7, the apostle has already told us what he means by a partial hardening of Israel:

What Israel is seeking, it has not obtained, but those who were chosen obtained it, and the rest were hardened.

Of course, the rest were hardened is another way of saying partial hardening. And, let us take note that here, the apostle makes a distinction and separation between the chosen and the hardened. They are two opposite groups. Romans 11:7 thus helps to explain 11:25, where the apostle says that while some of Israel is saved, the rest are hardened; by logical extension, the hardened are not saved.

Verse 25 continues by explaining that “a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.” What does “until” mean in this phrase?

As Sam Waldron writes in More of the End Times Made Simple, “In many cases in the Scriptures until has a finalizing meaning. In other words, the idea of until is that a certain condition continues as far as possible or right to the end.”

(For examples of similar usage of the Greek word for until, see Acts 22:4, 1 Cor 15:25, and Heb 4:12).

What the Greek root of until helps to tell us is that the partial hardening of Israel does not cease at some undetermined future time so that once the fullness of the Gentiles comes in (cf. 2 Pet 3:9–15; Rev 7:2), Israel will no longer be hardened. Rather, until suggests that the partial hardening of Israel continues and persists as far as possible right to the end. But, to the end of what? To the fullness of the Gentiles. And what is the coming in of the fullness of the Gentiles? This refers to what Paul wrote immediately before in verses 17–24. There, Gentiles are described as being grafted onto the olive tree of God’s ancient people. Hence, the Gentiles are coming in to Israel. Putting it all together, then, the partial hardening of the Jews will persist and proceed as far as possible right to the end of the Gentiles being saved.

If one were to suggest that Romans 11:25 is referring to an end-time phenomenon in the nation of Israel, let us be mindful that the text explicitly refers to the nation’s hardening, not redemption. And, the canon of Scripture makes it clear that the Lord does not harden His elect but softens them. Furthermore, as described in Romans 1, the hardened are so because they have willfully turned their back on God’s truth; what the hardened really want is to be their own lord. Consequently, to suggest that those who are hardened now will be saved later is a contradictory statement.

If, at this point, a confusing question has popped into your head, then I am glad you are still with me and have your thinking caps on. In verse 25, Paul says a partial hardening has happened to Israel. Then, in verse 26, he says that all Israel will be saved. So which one is it? Is Israel saved or hardened? This apparent paradox is a hint that the apostle is here using the same word (Israel) but referring to different people.

Consequently, we now have to address to whom Paul is referring when he mentions Israel in the statement, “All Israel will be saved.” Well, the uniform teaching of Paul in all of his New Testament writings is that Israel⎯according to God’s mystery⎯refers to all of God’s elect, or true Church, which includes both Jew and Gentile alike (cf. Eph 3:6; Col 1:26–27). In fact, in Galatians 6:16 and Ephesians 2:11–19, Paul says that saved Gentiles become part of God’s Israel. This aligns with what is said in verses 17–24, where the Gentiles are described as coming in to Israel. Before Christ, Israel referred to a biological people who lived in a defined plot of land also called Israel. Christ, however, has changed that dynamic. Now, the true Israel consists of people from all tribes and tongues who are born again.

Again, the Israel of God is all of the Lord’s elect from both Jews and Gentiles. A reasonable objection to this interpretation is the exegetical reality that Paul’s near-exclusive use of Israel in Romans 9–11 refers to ethnic Israel. Well, let us be mindful that we are not slaves to words. Rather, we must use the mind that God gave us and interpret those words that are tools used to express meaning in a given context. Accordingly, the apostle uses Israel to refer in general to an ethnic entity to prepare us for the climax of Romans 11:26, where Israel refers to all of God’s elect. The paradox of which I spoke earlier is resolved in verses 25–26 when we see that the apostle speaks of a partial hardening of ethnic Israel and then says all of spiritual Israel will be saved. This, in fact, is exactly how God’s salvation-economy works, namely, that the kingdom of God is built through a redemptive-historical process that both safeguards the literal fulfillment of His promises to ethnic Israel and expands His Israel to include all people. Through progressive revelation, our understanding of the true Israel has matured over time. Paul brilliantly mimics this maturation in one part of the masterpiece that is Romans.

Additionally, the careful exegete may ask, “Why would Paul go through all the trouble in Romans 11 to make the point that ethnic Israel is not forgotten, only to conclude that all Israel does not refer to ethnic Jews?” I would answer that question with a question: “Why would Paul go to all the trouble to write an epistle whose entire purpose is to exalt the gospel⎯which is relevant to all humanity without distinction⎯only to demonstrate its power by peculiarizing that message to an ethnic group?” In my mind, that is looking backward to the Law, not up to Christ.

Beloved, the gospel changes how we think about Israel. The Israel pre-Christ is different from the Israel after the Resurrection. After all, the point of everything is God, and a central premise behind Romans 11:26 is that from the very beginning up to the present, God had planned to save all His elect, regardless of bloodline.

We now know what Israel means. What then does Paul suggest when he says all Israel will be saved? We must allow Scripture to interpret Scripture, and it is even more helpful when we allow the writer of one epistle to interpret himself using his own words in the same letter. And thus, Paul uses the same phrase (all Israel) in Romans 9:6. There, what does he imply? First, he tells us that all means all; that is, all refers to a total, complete whole. Second, he states that not all members of the nation of Israel are part of the true Israel. There is thus a distinction between biology and grace. Romans 9:6–8 indicates that:

But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel; nor are they all children because they are Abraham’s descendants, but: “through Isaac your descendants will be named.” That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are regarded as descendants.

Being a part of the true Israel is associated with election and spiritual birth. This explains why in Romans 2:25–29, law-keeping Gentiles are a part of “God’s circumcision” and why in Romans 9:23–26, elect Gentiles are included in the people of God. This distinction between an outward natural state and inner spiritual condition ought not to be too confusing because just as there are many Christians today who profess faith, many do not possess faith. They may be in the Church but are still not of the Church.

I now cover what I think is the most persuasive evidence to properly discern what Paul is saying in Romans 11:26. Truly, we can cross-reference and look into the meaning of the original Greek all day long, but when we listen to what the apostle Paul has to say, how does he clarify what he is writing? And the answer is, he quotes Isaiah. Again, let’s read Romans 11:25–27:

“The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will remove ungodliness from Jacob.” “This is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins.”

Did you see what the apostle did? He writes that “all Israel will be saved; just as it is written …” In other words, Paul is telling us, “In case there is any confusion about what I’m saying, let me point you back to the Old Testament to clarify.” Paul then quotes from Isaiah 59:20–21. So, what is the context of Isaiah 59 overall? At the beginning of the chapter, the prophet laments that the people’s sins have separated them from God. Then, in verse 9, the voice changes to plural. The prophet includes himself amongst the sinful community. As I now read Isaiah 59:9–21, pay attention to how the text transitions from communal confession of guilt to the divine response of sending a Messiah. In the original context, the people speaking here were ethnic Jews, but they rightly understood that their heritage would not save them because they were condemned by their works, namely, unbelief. According to the text:

Therefore justice is far from us, and righteousness does not overtake us; we hope for light, but behold, darkness, for brightness, but we walk in gloom. We grope along the wall like blind men, we grope like those who have no eyes; we stumble at midday as in the twilight, among those who are vigorous we are like dead men. All of us growl like bears, and moan sadly like doves; we hope for justice, but there is none, for salvation, but it is far from us. For our transgressions are multiplied before You, and our sins testify against us; for our transgressions are with us, and we know our iniquities: Transgressing and denying the Lord, and turning away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving in and uttering from the heart lying words.

Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands far away; for truth has stumbled in the street, and uprightness cannot enter. Yes, truth is lacking; and he who turns aside from evil makes himself a prey. Now the Lord saw, and it was displeasing in His sight that there was no justice. And He saw that there was no man, and was astonished that there was no one to intercede; then His own arm brought salvation to Him, and His righteousness upheld Him. He put on righteousness like a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on His head; and He put on garments of vengeance for clothing and wrapped Himself with zeal as a mantle. According to their deeds, so He will repay, wrath to His adversaries, recompense to His enemies; to the coastlands He will make recompense.

So they will fear the name of the Lord from the west and His glory from the rising of the sun, for He will come like a rushing stream which the wind of the Lord drives. “A Redeemer will come to Zion, and to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,” declares the Lord.

“As for Me, this is My covenant with them,” says the Lord: “My Spirit which is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your offspring, nor from the mouth of your offspring’s offspring,” says the Lord, “from now and forever.”

I would now like to draw your attention to Isaiah 59:19:

The sun rises from the east, so when he says they will fear the name of the Lord from the coastlands (verse 18) to the west to the rising sun, the prophet poetically refers to the whole earth. Why is this relevant? Because this Old Testament passage is telling us that God’s intervention for the people’s sins was not limited to ethnic Israel. Paul later quotes the next two verses in Romans 11:26–27, where he says, “A Redeemer will come to Zion, and to those who turn from transgression in Jacob.” A Redeemer will come to Zion, but for whom? For both Jews and Gentiles. For both those in ethnic Israel at the time and those as far as the west is from the east. Hence, just as Isaiah in the Old Testament had the thought of the conversion of the Gentiles in mind, so does Paul. “All Israel will be saved” means all elect Jews and Gentiles.

For any Calvinist, to say that all God’s elect will be saved is not a controversial statement at all. It’s rather self-evident. That would be like saying, “All stars are in the sky.” But to say all Israel will be saved begins to rattle some cages because it would not be immediately clear to whom you are referring. To reiterate, I am firmly persuaded that in Romans 11:26, the statement that “all Israel will be saved” refers to the simple reality that all of God’s elect⎯both Jew and Gentile⎯will be saved. Yet, what I think is often overlooked by many commentators is that this understanding incorporates two common interpretations of Romans 11:26. The first interpretation is that all elect Jews (the partial, true Israel of God) within ethnic Israel will be saved. The second interpretation is that both elect Jews and Gentiles (the full, true Israel of God) will be saved.

What I believe Paul is trying to relay in Romans 11 is that according to men, there is a distinction between Israels. That is why men get into scuffles over this text. But according to God, there is only one true Israel. Israel was, is, and always will be those who are in Christ, and a person can be made to be in Christ only by the Lord’s sovereign grace. From this perspective, the two common interpretations to which I referred are, in essence, saying the same exact thing, namely, that those whom God chose will be saved. It is irrelevant where they came from because the gospel is good news for sinners, not ethnic groups. This, of course, is the point of Romans, to exalt the gospel, which applies to all people.

The question, then, that I would have for the Bible reader is this: Is there anything preventing all Israel in Romans 11:26 from having a dual meaning? That is, the first meaning would be that “all elect, ethnic Jews will be saved.” The second meaning would be that “all the elect will be saved” without ethnic distinction. Logically, the first meaning isn’t saying anything different at all; it is merely a subset of the second. It’s as if I said that all men named Steve wear blue shirts and then said, all Jewish men named Steve wear blue shirts. Both statements are true, and the latter statement is true because the premise is valid.

In the Old Testament, Israel was defined as the descendants of one man (Abraham), and those descendants were in a special covenantal relationship with God. Now, Israel is defined by one Man (Christ), and those who are His spiritual descendants are in a special covenantal relationship with Him. In the eyes of God, He foreknew all those who were His before the foundation of the world. From the perspective of heaven, you are either elect or non-elect. Yet, man is constrained by time and material reality. And so, in our eyes, the outward contours of Israel have changed.

The point of a Jewish bloodline was to get to a Jew⎯Jesus⎯and fulfill the promise of Genesis 3:15, as well as hundreds of others. The point of the bloodline was never the Jews. This is evidenced by the fact that in the Old Testament, there were many who were non-Jews but were counted amongst God’s faithful, for example, the “mixed multitude” who left with the Hebrews in the Exodus (Exod 12:38; Num 11:4); Jethro (Exod 18); Caleb (Num 32:12); Rahab (Josh 2); Shamgar (Judg 3:31); Ruth (a Moabite); Obed-Edom (2 Sam 6); Uriah (2 Sam 11–12); the widow of Zarephath (2 Kings 17); Naaman (2 Kings 5); Job; and the people of Ninevah (Jonah 3). Truly, we may not fully understand why God did so in this precise manner, but what we do know is that all have sinned so that He may have mercy on some.

Hence, it is fitting that after Paul says, “All Israel will be saved,” he speaks of the salvation of both Jews and Gentiles and then ends by saying, “Glory be to God.” Romans 11:28–36 says that:

From the standpoint of the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but from the standpoint of God’s choice they are beloved for the sake of the fathers; for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. For just as you once were disobedient to God, but now have been shown mercy because of their disobedience, so these also now have been disobedient, that because of the mercy shown to you they also may now be shown mercy. For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all.

Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor? Or who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to him again? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.

A quick comment that I will make refers to time. When we ask ourselves when all Israel is being saved, the text is plain: right now. This passage does not contain explicit references to what will be but rather what’s happening now in the present. Accordingly, Paul’s solution to the problem of Jewish unbelief is not a future national conversion but rather the present salvation of the elect remnant. Hence, in Romans 11:5, the apostle writes:

In the same way then, there has also come to be at the present time a remnant according to God’s gracious choice.

Furthermore, let’s re-read Romans 11:30–32. Pay attention to Paul’s repeated use of now:

For just as you once were disobedient to God, but now have been shown mercy because of their disobedience, so these also now have been disobedient, that because of the mercy shown to you they also may now be shown mercy. For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all.

So when is all Israel being saved? Right now, and this will continue until the end of time. A remnant of Jews and Gentiles will be saved in every generation until Christ returns.

Finally, to conclude, I will answer the questions I asked at the beginning. First, when the apostle Paul writes that “all Israel will be saved,” is he implying that all ethnic descendants of Abraham⎯past, present, and future⎯will become born again? I think this interpretation so indefensible, the only way one can champion it is if they don’t use a Bible. After all, this interpretation would mean that Esau and Judas would ultimately be saved and that all those who died in unbelief would also be saved. To uphold this interpretation as true would be to call God a liar.

Second, is the apostle implying that all future Jews will be saved? This is essentially the same as the first view but applied to the future, not throughout all time. The same objections apply. Additionally, as mentioned before, if we asked the apostle Paul about God’s plans for Israel, he would reply that the Lord will not delay action until the future; He is taking action right now. According to Romans 11:1:

I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He? May it never be! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.

Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul thus relays that God’s plan for the past rejection of Israel is their present salvation. This is evidenced by whom? Paul himself, the former Christ-hating, Christian-murdering, God-blaspheming idolater. Consequently, if present action was suitable for one of God’s apostles, why would it not be suitable for a non-apostle?

That being said, a future mass national conversion of the elect in ethnic Israel is certainly possible but is not demanded by Romans 11:26. Again, all Israel does not have an ethnic consideration in mind. And, if Paul considers time in Romans 11, it is to look back (Elijah) and to look at what God is doing in the present. I am persuaded that the central thrust of Romans 11 is to push forward a gospel-exalting message for all people, today, everywhere, not an eschatological message where hope is delayed for the future.

The good news is good because it is for you right here, right now.

The great hope of “all Israel will be saved” is that throughout history, not one of God’s elect will be lost, and all of His children will come to salvation. The effectual call of God is 100% successful, and there is nothing that can deter His purposes for His people, the Israel of God. As Jesus says in John 6:27–29:

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.

Dr. C. H. E. Sadaphal

All Israel Will Be Saved? (Romans 11:26)

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