To The Jew First

[Additional Comments on The Spirit Of The Prophets]

From Joel Richardson’s “When A Jew Rules The World”

(I urge you to read the entirety of the book. If not, consider reading chapters 3–6. Otherwise, here are some relevant excerpts.)

p. 52–53

THE MYSTERY OF GENTILE INCLUSION

Up until this point, we have seen that all of the covenants — including the new covenant — were made specifically to and for Israel. In none of the passages that we’ve examined so far have the Gentiles been overtly stated to be the primary recipients of the promises. While it has always been possible for Gentiles to find salvation (see Ezekiel 18:20–21), before the apostolic age, apart from joining themselves to the people of Israel, it would have been extremely rare. The apostle Paul, in describing the spiritual condition of Gentiles prior to the cross, said they were “vessels of wrath prepared for destruction” (Rom. 9:22) and were “excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world” (Eph. 2:12). This is precisely why the opening up of the Gospel to the Gentiles, as recorded in the New Testament, was such a revolutionary concept for many. This is why Peter and all of the early Jewish believers were so shocked when the Spirit was poured out on Cornelius and his non-Jewish household (see Acts 10–11). Although many of the Jewish believers were doubtful at first, after Peter explained how the Holy Spirit had been given to the whole Gentile household of Cornelius as promised in the new covenant, we are told the skeptics “quieted down and glorified God, saying, ‘Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life’” (Acts 11:18). Although the swarming in of the Gentiles had been hinted at in the Prophets, the floodgates had not truly burst open until that moment. This is why Paul refers to the inclusion of Gentiles as “the mystery . . . which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit; to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel” (Eph. 3:4–6; emphasis added). The good news is that any individual, whether Jew or Gentile, is freely welcomed into the family of God through repentance and placing their trust in Jesus (Mark 1:15, 6:12, John 3:16, Acts 2:21, 2:38, 3:19, 10:42–43, 17:30, 26:20). Conversion to Judaism, circumcision, and adherence to the Mosaic law are not requirements for salvation (Acts 15).

p. 63–64

GOD’S BELOVED ENEMIES AND THEIR IRREVOCABLE CALLING

Let us reiterate once again, first, that no one will be saved apart from faith in Jesus. And second, the Lord makes no distinction between Jew or Gentile in terms of His offer of salvation. It is open and freely available to all: “For the Scripture says, ‘Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.’ For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for ‘Whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved’ (Rom. 10:11–13). But Paul also informs us that although a majority of Jews today are “enemies” of the Gospel, because of God’s faithfulness to His covenant promises, “they are beloved.” There yet remains a special, unique, and irrevocable calling upon Israel as a corporate people: “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” (Rom. 11:28–29). Paul could not have been more clear. He specifically stated that Israel’s calling is “irrevocable.” Make no mistake: in brazen and direct conflict with the words of Paul, supersessionists argue that God has indeed revoked His calling and election of corporate ethnic Israel. In fact, yet another term that would be entirely fair to use to refer to supersessionism or replacement theology could be “revocation theology,” for that is precisely what it is. Restorationists affirm the emphatic words of the apostle Paul in acknowledging a future restoration of Israel. We deny that Israel’s calling had been revoked. Several times in Romans 11 he reiterated that God has not dismissed corporate Israel: “God has not rejected His people, has He? May it never be! . . . God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew. . . . I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall, did they? May it never be!” (Rom. 11:1, 2, 11). When Paul twice wrote, “May it never be!” (mē ginomai), he was actually using the strongest possible construction in the Greek language to confront the absolute ludicrousness of the supersessionist claim that the Jewish people as a whole, as a nation, have been rejected. In Paul’s mind, the notion that the God of Israel, has forever rejected Israel was a complete absurdity.

p. 66–69

THE SUPERSESSIONIST STORY VERSUS THE RESTORATIONIST STORY

As we continue to consider the stark differences between the supersessionist narrative and the restorationists’ narrative, we must ask ourselves which story best testifies to the character of God. Which better conveys the faithfulness, perseverance, and mercy of God? If there is one thing that the book of Acts makes clear, it is that the new covenant has flung wide the doors of the kingdom of God and made its future inheritance freely and widely available to all people. Both supersessionists and restorationists agree on this. Restorationism affirms, however, that while the Lord has indeed opened His promises and blessings up to all people, He has done so without rejecting the Jewish people corporately. After all, they are the ones to whom the promises were originally made. Restorationism affirms that the new covenant represents an expansion and blossoming of the Lord’s original plans to include the Gentiles. The promises are far greater than we could have ever imagined! In no way, however, does the new covenant represent an abrogation or a change in His original plans to corporate Israel. Unfortunately, supersessionism, while acknowledging the universalization of the blessings, also views the new covenant as bringing a radical abrogation of the promises of the Abrahamic covenant to Israel. Let us honestly ask ourselves which view better represents the God who refers to Himself as the God of Israel more than two hundred times throughout the Scriptures and which position portrays a God who is faithful and reliable? As I have already said, by claiming that God has rejected Israel as a nation, supersessionists unintentionally cast God as an unfaithful, fickle, mind-changing promise-breaker. If you are reading this and presently hold to some form of supersessionism, I appeal to you with all sincerity to truly consider just what is being conveyed about God’s character when you espouse the view that God didn’t really mean what He said and that His words must be fundamentally reinterpreted or read figuratively to be understood properly. Try to imagine how such claims would make you feel if you were Jewish. I urge you to consider the simple and straightforward position of restorationism, with its message concerning a faithful God who says what He means and can be absolutely trusted to accomplish all that He has promised. Supersessionists must not only reinterpret the words of the Old Testament, but they must also minimize or even negate Paul’s words concerning the salvation of all Israel to mean nothing more than the historical trickle of Jewish believers that have come into the Church. For them, this alone is enough to entail the full meaning of “all Israel.” What a vapid and hollow reflection of the glories that Isaiah described! How sad the supersessionist interpretation would have been to anyone whose expectations and vision of redemption were formed by the profoundly powerful words of the prophets that spoke of such a glorious restoration of the Jewish kingdom. The contrast between the magnificent vision of restorationism and the sad satisfaction with the status quo of supersessionism is nowhere more glaring than in their respective interpretations of this chapter. On one hand, after taking a whole chapter to argue that the present remnant of Jews is most likely all we will ever see come in, as Storms concludes his arguments, the best he can muster is this:

Romans 11 does not provide explicit support for the expectation that the mass of ethnic Jews still alive at the second coming of Christ will be brought forth ravingly into the kingdom of God . . .Romans 11, as I understand the chapter, is simply silent on whether or not such a mass turning of Jews to faith in Christ will occur in conjunction with the return of Christ at the close of history. One may, indeed should certainly pray for this to happen (as one should also pray for the conversion of all people groups throughout the world). But I do not believe Romans 11 gives us biblical warrant for declaring that it assuredly will come to pass.

What an enormous wet blanket this is! What a tremendous letdown. Nowhere in Paul’s words will one find Storms’s pessimism and resignation. Instead, after announcing the good news that, indeed, “all Israel will be saved,” Paul broke out into jubilant rejoicing: “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 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” (Rom. 11:33–36). With Paul, every believer should shout aloud, “Amen and amen!”

CONCLUSION

Today God is calling all people to repent through Jesus Christ, whether Jew or Gentile. Even more wonderful, however, is the fact that in the days ahead, when Jesus returns, He will fulfill His promises to the Jewish people and they will “all” be saved, exactly as He said they would be. The Lord will take those who throughout history have in so many ways been His “mission impossible,” His “beloved enemies” and through them, He will display His faithfulness before all the nations. In fact, Paul informs us that the Jews’ coming to faith will result in a global, millennial revival: “Now if their transgression is riches for the world and their failure is riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fulfillment be! . . . For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?” (Rom. 11:12, 15). This will be the pattern: We will first see the full number of Gentiles in this present age come in, followed by the return of Jesus, then the salvation of all Israel, after which will come the redemption of the whole earth. Behold the beauty, the magnificence, and the wisdom of the Lord’s plans! While it may presently seem like a somewhat drawn-out and even confusing dance that the Lord has ordained, in the end, not only will Israel, His firstborn, His chosen people, all be serving Him, but so also will an uncountable number of Gentiles join the Jewish people in serving the Lord together. Oh, how I long for that day!